Don't Let Me Go

Friendly Faces

Ken steps towards Mary-Jane, "Can I pick you up?"

She nods and he gently lifts the little girl into his arms. She leans against him and he feels his heart twist, being reminded of the little girl, Rose, that saved his life, and his own child that's left behind with his wife. He's been trying not to think of them, afraid to think that they might not be okay. He shivers and shakes his head, trying to keep his mind blank of them. The less I think about the past, the better. 

He starts walking, keeping an eye out for the infected he know will be coming their way soon. They walk in silence for a moment before Ken looks down at the girl in his arms, "The scary people you ran from.. Were they.. Did they have weapons, like guns and knives?"

Mary-Jane shakes her head, "The scary people try to get you and bite you."

Ken sighs softly, not that her answer is any better, but he'd rather deal with infected than people out to hurt him. Infected are basically mindless, they're easy to outmaneuver, other humans aren't. At the very least, maybe the infected have wandered away from Mary-Jane's home and she can be safe with her parents again. Mary-Jane looks up at Ken, "What if my parents are with the scary people?"

Ken winces, "Then.. Well, let's not think like that. I'm sure you're parents are fine."

"But what if they're not?" she whimpers, "What if they got my parents and they get me, too?"

Ken looks down at her and his eyes soften, "I won't let the scary people get you. Okay? If.. If your parents are scary people, then.. You can stay with me."

She stares at him for a moment before nodding and burying her face in his shoulder. He sighs and holds her a little tighter. Being the kind man he is, Ken can't even fathom leaving the poor child to fend for herself. They continue to walk in silence, and Ken hides behind trees when infected cross their path. They finally make it to a small cabin and Ken looks down at Mary-Jane, "Is this your house?"

Mary-Jane looks around, "Uh-huh."

There are no infected in the area, so Ken walks up to the door and sets Mary-Jane on her feet. He draws his knife, "Stay behind me."

She nods and he opens the door. It's kind of dark inside and he steps in cautiously. He listens, but there's no sounds besides his and the little girl's footsteps. He closes the door behind them and Mary-Jane calls out for her parents. She looks sad and confused when she gets no answer. She turns to Ken, "D-don't go yet.. They might come back.."

Ken pats her head, giving her a smile, "I'm not going anywhere until your parents get back, sweetie."

She smiles back at him, "Thank you."

...

Nate walks for hours almost aimlessly. He has no idea where he is anymore, and no idea which way Stephanie could have gone anymore. He looks around, scanning the area as he goes for any sign that his friends could have went this way, but he finds nothing. He sighs and decides to change direction again. 

Turning right, he stops, seeing a woman with dark hair sitting on the ground. He gasps, cautiously walking up to her. It might be Stephanie, and it might be yet another infected. Nate swallows his fear and reaches out, touching the woman's shoulder. She gasps, turning towards him and Nate drops down, pulling Stephanie into his arms, "I've been looking everywhere for you!"

Stephanie says nothing, she doesn't hug him back, but she doesn't move away. Nate pulls back after a moment, looking her over for injuries. She seems okay and he stands, "Come on, we need to find the others."

She doesn't move. He frowns, "Steph, come on. It's not safe to stay here like this."

She still doesn't move. He rolls his eyes and then wraps his arms around her and he pulls her to her feet. She stares at him, blinking slowly. Nate looks at her with concern, "Are you okay? Did you get bit?"

He checks her over again, but there's no evidence of a wound anywhere on her. He breathes out in relief then grabs her by the wrist and pulls her along behind him, "We have to find the others, and soon. It'll be dark soon."

He continues pulling her along until the sun starts to set. The darkness makes him nervous, he doesn't like not being able to see what's coming at him. He sighs and looks back at Stephanie. She's staring at the ground, following behind him. He stops and looks around, his eyes lighting up as he sees a cabin a few feet to the left of them. He doesn't see any lights on inside, so he heads towards it, knife in hand. With any luck, we can sleep there tonight. Then we can look for the others again in the morning.

He walks up to the cabin's front door and he hesitantly touches the knob. He keeps his hold on Stephanie, he doesn't want her to bolt again. Keeping the knife in hand, he turns the knob and slowly pushes the door open. Almost instantly there's a knife to his throat. He gasps, and then frowns, "Ken?"

Ken gasps and pulls the knife back, "Nate? Holy shit!"

He pulls Nate into a hug and Nate chuckles, hugging him back, "Good to see a familiar face."

"Yeah," Ken pulls back, "Everyone ran after you guys and I got separated."

Nate smiles lightly, "Sorry about that. I found Stephanie, though."

Ken looks over at her, a soft smile on his face, "Good to see you're okay, Stephanie."

Stephanie doesn't look at him or respond. Ken looks worried and Nate shrugs, "She's been like this since I found her, but she isn't hurt."

Ken moves and lets them in, "Give her time.. I'm sure she'll be normal again soon."

Nate sighs, pulling Stephanie along, "I hope so."

Ken shuts the door behind them, "There's a little girl here with me. She lives here, but her parents are missing. She said they were all attacked by infected and she ran off. I promised to stay here with her until her parents come back."

Nate frowns, sitting Stephanie on the couch before turning back to him. He crosses his arms, "And if her parents don't come back? We can't stay here long, we need to find the others."

Ken nods, "I know. She'll be coming with us."