The Virus

Forty One

Ophelia's P.O.V.

For a while she just tagged along. With her family dead, I guess she had nothing else to do. It was nice to talk to her and just have a relaxed conversation with a human being. I hadn't realised how lonely I was getting without human interaction. She's very gentle, not like most people that have survived this, she's also incredibly naive. 

Kay already loves her. "Traitor." I whisper as she plods along next to Marley. Marley giggles hearing my remark and bends down to stroke her. I suppose Marley looks a lot like Claire. Slightly darker hair, slightly smaller and a lot gentler. I smile as I realise this. "She thinks you're Claire." I say through a sad smile.

"Who?" She asks, looking at me.

"The owner of the dog." I reply.

 "Where is she?" She asks, almost excited.

 I turn around and carry on walking. "Like I said, I've lost people too." I reply. Marley catches up but her face is more sombre.

For about an hour we walk along and Marley gives me an in depth story of what happened to her during the outbreak and where she went. What her family did. How they died. She's a master storyteller, her story is similar to many survivors and yet it deeply saddens me, I feel her hurt and her fear.

When she is finished she pressures me to tell her about my own past, what I had been doing since the end of the world. She asks about my family, friends, where I am from. I eventually shut her down, refusing to retell what happened to me. There were things that didn't need to be said.

I see a small clearing ahead in the trees and decide to camp out. I begin wrapping the plastic around the trees. "This is awesome!" She exclaims when I'm done.

"Yeah well I'm a one woman show, I can't stay on watch all night. This keeps me safe while I sleep." I say.

"So you just sleep out in the open?" She asks. I nod. "Look. I don't have anywhere to go. Can I stay with you tonight. It's getting dark." She asks.

"Fine. Come on, I have food." I say, trying to stop a smile coming to my lips. 

We share some food and talk some more, quieter now. It was dark, we had little way of knowing who or what was out there. And it wasn't like it was on the day, we couldn't run away, all of our supplies were unpacked. It was important that we took every measure we could not to attract anything. Eventually we turn in to get some sleep. I haven't slept next to a real person in months. It's strange. It's strange to hear their slow breaths, feel them shifting in the night. 

I wake earlier than Marley. Kay is asleep by her leg. I think of Claire again. How comforted Kay must feel to be with her 'owner' again. I wish I could be that happy. Tucked up in bed with Noah's arms around me. All my friends asleep in the rooms surrounding me. Even Jayden. Claire across the hall with Kay. I took all of it for granted. Being with my friends, being safe, having people that loved me. All of it. I took it all for granted. And now I'm alone and I'm completely exposed and there's no one but Kay that still knows I'm alive. 

With that thought, I inevitably wonder about everyone. Whether everyone was alive, if Noah had made it after everything had gone wrong. I wonder if they had a funeral for me, for the both of us. I imagine the field behind the school, full of colourful fruit and vegetables, and to the side, three graves, and only one body. 

Surprisingly, I didn't dream about Noah last night. I don't know whether its comforting or lonely to not dream of him. Even though it's not real, it always really felt like he was there. Holding me. And it comforted me for a while. Now I have no comfort. For those few moments, I felt close to him again. Maybe I was forgetting him?

Marley begins to stir and gets up. "You planning on staying longer?" I ask.

She gives me a big smile. "If you'll let me." She says.

 I shrug my shoulders. "You're a good kid. Kay loves you. I don't see any reason why you shouldn't stay." I say. Her smile gets even bigger and she pulls me into a hug.

It's not long before we're packed up and walking again. I tell her small details about my life. Before the outbreak. How I fell into a coma induced by shock and woke up with my friends in a school. Noah. And Claire. How I got lost more than once and when Noah and I split up. How I've been travelling. Who's been with me. It's strange to say it all out loud. Like it wasn't real but saying it made it real. 

Slowly, the conversation fades away and I stay quiet. A headache was stabbing me in the brain, it was the worst one I had had yet. Every movement, every word I spoke felt like a knife in my brain.

Kay begins to whine and I know a walker is close. I  glance at Marley and listen for it. I find it's location and throw a knife at it. Once again, I hit it straight in the forehead. Marley is completely baffled by my knife skills. "How do you do that?" She exclaims.

 "Practice." I say while shrugging my shoulders.

I hand her the knife and point to a tree. "Hit it." I say. She takes the knife and concentrates before throwing it. It doesn't quite hit the tree and stabs into the ground. She retrieves it and I show her how to stand. The next time she hits it. "Okay that's good. But now hit it right in the middle." I say. She nods and within a few tries she has it. "Now just practice on moving targets and you'll get good." I say with a smile.

"You're amazing at it." She says in awe.

"I was clumsy enough to do this." I say before rolling up my sleeve. I show her my scar and she's completely take a back. I chuckle.

 "How the hell?" She asks.

"A while ago. I lost my balance during a fight and fell on it." I reply.

She nods. "I bet that hurt." She says.

"Oh it did." I reply.

For the rest of the day we walk quietly, talking sometimes. Sharing stories from our past. I tell her how I can make both a bow and arrows and shoot them. How I can shoot a gun. She is completely in awe of me. It's quite amusing to watch her react to my stories.

When night comes we set up camp and eat dinner in peace. No Roamers venture our way and disturb us. Kay nuzzles herself up to Marley again. She seems more relaxed now. And for once in a very long I go to sleep feeling carefree and happy. Which means only one thing. Something is about to go horribly wrong.