Don't Let Me Go

Time To Judge The Guilty

The windows shattered and the wood door split from the force of so many trying to get inside. Within minutes, Mark and his friends are trapped in the basement, at the mercy of Mary-Jane's padlock on the door. They can all hear the moans of the infected above them, an unsettling sound, seeping through every crack in the house. A sound that's all too soon become familiar and normal. Despite the state of normalcy the world has now become with the walking diseased dead, the fear is still new and dangerous.

They wait in the basement, all lined up along the far wall. In silence and in fear. Mary-Jane clings to Ken, burying her face in his chest. Her small body trembling in his arms, he tightens his grip around her. His heart is beating fast, trying to keep a calm front for the others. They're in a difficult situation right now, with literally nowhere to go.

Ken sort of sees himself as the "father" of the group, not necessarily the leader, but nonetheless it's his job to keep everyone calm and safe in situations like this. Beside Ken, Tyler sits with his knees to his chest and his arms wrapped around himself. He's shaking lightly, being in the basement makes him uncomfortable, since the last time he was in one was when Matthew died. When he let Matthew die.

Beside him is Mark, with Jack by his side. Mark's scared, trying to keep a straight face. His injured ankle gives him searing pain, and it's bleeding more than he'd like. Jack looks at him sympathetically, rubbing his back soothingly. They can't afford to panic right now. Jack knows it won't be long before someone notices Mark's injury and questions the origin of it. He knows Mark won't lie about it, either.

Jack's afraid of what will happen when that time comes, he doesn't want Mark to be sent away. Truthfully, he doesn't know what he'll do if Mark isn't around anymore. Through all of this, Mark has been the one giving him the strength to keep going, whether Mark knows this or not. Beside Jack is Stephanie, who still shows no reaction to the world around her. Next to her is Nate, who's trying so hard not to show how hopeless and lost he feels.

And finally, there's Felix and Marzia. Both scared out of their minds, but both trying to keep up a brave face. Felix holds onto Marzia, mostly for his own comfort as well as hers. No one says anything for awhile, and then Tyler speaks up, "Mark, you're bleeding."

Mark winces at his words, looking down at the blood beginning to pool around his foot. Tyler frowns as the group's attention turns to Mark, "What happened to you?"

Mark bites his bottom lip, shivering. He's been afraid of this question. He knows he can't lie to them, so he sighs, closing his eyes.

"I was bit before I got to the house." he replies.

Tyler stiffens, glaring at him, "What?"

His voice is dark and angry. Mark opens his eyes, glancing at his old friend before looking away again. Tyler growls, "And you didn't say anything?! We're trapped down here with you now!"

"Hush!" Nate hisses, glaring at them, "Do you want those things knowing we're down here?"

Tyler glares back, speaking a little softer, "Doesn't change the fact that we're all fucking dead now anyway! Mark's bit! He's going to become one of them!"

Jack frowns, "You have to stop, we'll deal with this later."

"When?" Tyler scoffs, "When he's eating us?!"

"Enough!" Ken groans, "This isn't the time or the place to deal with this. We need to be quiet so the infected don't find us. Once they've wandered off and we're safe enough to escape, we'll figure this out. Until then--"

"We're all going to die down here!" Tyler snaps back, shaking, "Why don't any of you understand Mark's been bit?! He's a fucking threat! We need to get him out of here before we're all infected or worse!"

"Keep your voice down," Marzia says softly, "We have a bigger problem right now."

"Yeah," Felix adds, "So we're just gonna have to suck it up and deal with this as it happens. We don't have a choice here. The main priority is getting the infected upstairs to wander off when they don't find food."

Tyler stares at his friends like they've all got three heads, "You're all fucking stupid. You're going to get us killed."

"Those are big accusations coming from the only one of us who's actually caused someone's death." Nate states quietly, but everyone heard him.

Tyler's eyes widen and he clenches his hands into fists. His expression shifts and his eyes narrow, "What did you say..?"

Nate looks back at him, eyes dark and dangerous, "You heard me. And you know exactly what I'm talking about."

"I don't---" Tyler tries but Nate cuts him off, "I went back to that house. I found him down there, and he was still alive when you trapped him down there to die."

Stephanie looks over at Tyler, something passes through her eyes as she speaks in a whisper, "It was you..?"

Nate winces at Stephanie's voice, but he says nothing, keeping his eyes on Tyler.

Tyler shakes his head, "You've got it all wrong."

Nate stands, "No, I don't. It's about time you told us the truth, Tyler. You're a danger to the safety of this group, and I won't allow that anymore."

Ken sits Mary-Jane beside him and then stands, "Hang on, let's talk this through."

"Yeah, let's." Nate tilts his head, crossing his arms, "Go on, Tyler. We're all waiting."

"Nate," Ken frowns.

Tyler shakes his head, "This is about Mark being bitten, not me!"

Jack stands slowly, "We can't start turning on each other."

"Too late for that," Nate growls, "Tyler killed Matt and lied about it."

"I didn't kill him!" Tyler stands, taking a few steps back towards the door.

Nate drops his arms to his side, hands clenched into fists as he takes a few steps towards Tyler, "You trapped him and left him to die! Admit it!"

He grabs Tyler by the shirt, "Tell me the fucking truth! What happened to Matt?!"

Ken moves towards them, "Nate, stop!"

"You have to quiet down!" Marzia says, eyes widening.

Jack moves towards them as well, "Calm down, we can talk this through!"

Mark stares at his friends, feeling responsible. His eyes widen as the infected start banding on the basement door, effectively silencing  everyone in the room.