Bleeding Hearts (Bloodhearts prequel)

Epilogue

I turn my attention from the picture of our younger selves. I look into the mirror and see Cory putting his white shirt on. He's in our bedroom (if you can call it that) whilst I'm in the hallway of the house my dad owns. It's big enough to fit him and my mom and then Cory and me on the top floor. Our place is like one big room more or less, but it is great. It's more than what most people have these days. It's a luxury - plus my dad is almost never around. Cory and I only spend very few hours of the day here also, otherwise we'll be out on a mission or helping my dad with something. It takes a lot of energy, time and patience to maintain a camp like this one and to make sure that everything is under control. So far we've managed to keep this place up and running over a period of four years.

Cory's arms go around me and I resist the temptation to give in to his touch and melt in his arms. Instead I don't respond. "Are you still pissed at me?" he asks quietly and places a peck on the side of my neck.

I sigh. "No. I'm just frustrated."

He holds me tighter. "Which is understandable," he tells me and looks me in the eyes. "Trust me, I hate this as much as you do - but we've made it through with less before."

I turn around in his arms to kiss him. "Yeah, I know. You should go grab your gun, we gotta leave."

He nods and heads off to find said weapon. It's only a small handgun, standard equipment. We're lucky we've got some spare bullets also. When Cory corks the gun and walks down the stairs, I am yet again surprised by how much he has changed over the years. He is almost stronger than me now. He was deadly serious when he said he would go through military training. In the end he beat nearly everyone although he started out somewhat... slower. He's always been persistent and doesn't stop until he reaches his goal. That's the attitude that makes him strong, makes him a survivor.

I take him to my dad's headquarters where all the armory and guns are kept - all the important stuff. By the gates we the man himself awaits us along with those few of my troops I am allowed to bring. This is the reason I've been pissed all morning. My dad doesn't understand why I need more than five people with me on this mission. I have Cory, Jason, Sadie and two of my very finest men. Still, that won't count for much if we suffer a great attack out in the fields. If we don't have numbers, they will win.

"So," I say out loud when I reach that general father of mine. "I take it you're not gonna change your mind and listen to my request."

He hands me an old map of the city, giving me a stern look. "We all have to make sacrifices, James, and I cannot spare any more men at this time. You know very well the situation is getting more tense every single day. We must protect ourselves."

I check the route on the map and run a hand over my face to calm myself. "Of course," I mumble and move away from him. I catch Jason's eyes and he nods towards Cory who's biting his lip with a deep frown. He has been acting a little weird all today.

"Are you ok?" I ask as I stand beside him.

He looks up at me and I recognize the worry in his eyes. "There's just something off about this entire thing. Call me superstitious, I just know it."

I kiss his temple. "You're seeing ghosts, Cor. But don't worry, we aren't going very far this time. Only into the city and back." I grab his hand, giving it a gentle squeeze before letting go.

"It's just a feeling," he mumbles, and I deliberately or unconsciously choose not to answer and assemble everybody so we can get going.

While we move through the gate, I gaze over the dusted and abandoned lands that used to be a highly livable city with more than you could ever wish for all in one place. I used to take Cory there a lot, I remember, when a nagging sensation gets to me; what if Cory is somehow right? Would I be responsible for the death of some of these fine people? I would die before I let that happen. The very thought is giving me chills. It's something I have to put behind me. The mission has to come first.

Suddenly, it's already in the middle of the day and the sun is at its highest. We're all walking with our guns pointed in all directions to protect us from any enemy out here. Cory is beside me and I can tell he's nervous. Still, he keeps his back straight and gun pointed outwards. He told me he just wanted this mission over quickly. I only want the same. We're just a bunch of people out of our usual squad and I'm still pretty pissed at my dad for not allowing me to bring more people with us on this mission. He doesn't get why I need more people to protect everyone. In his eyes, I'm nearly invulnerable because I have survived every mission he's sent me out on so far. Oh, he should know how many times I almost died, only surviving because of the professionalism of my crew. They are the best people to have around. Right now, it's us against what feels like the entire world.

We are all as quiet as we need to be in order to keep clear of any of the infected around here. You never know when one of them might be waiting around the corner or tries to sneak up on you. If you aren't ready, you're dead meat. The dead themselves can actually run, mind you, but their bodies are stiff as a mannequin's and they groan more than they think, which is what gives them away fairly quick. They look awful too, with chunks of skin bit or cut off here and there, and black drool running down their chins. Some of them have red blood all over them also. It's disgusting. When it's just one or a few of them, they are easy enough to kill. Shoot them in the head and they stop haunting our world for good - but is also a dangerous method if their buddies hear. One dead person is one thing, but a whole pack of them is certain death to fight, so the only option is to run and fast. Every day their numbers grow and we lose another living.

I send Cory a reassuring look and he just rolls his eyes at me, gripping his gun tighter. I smile even though he doesn't see. He thinks I'm an idiot for taking us into this part of the city. "It's crawling with them here," he would say when I told him it's part of our mission. I've asked him not to worry and that everything would be okay. Why wouldn't it be?

We move forward, hiding behind building after building, passing a few confused corpses who drag themselves to nowhere. All in all, it's a quiet day on another mission, nothing special.

That is until I hear Sadie scream on the side. I hear a few gunshots and Jason yells for everyone to take cover. I second that and try to locate the threat. To my dread it's not a small pack of undead like we've faced so many times. No, this pack is huge. There has to be at least fifty of them and I have to think fast to get us out of here unharmed. But all those thoughts get interrupted when a corpse grabs hold of Cory. He yells at us and we try to help but shooting is risky; there is a possibility that him might be hit instead of the corpse which holds it cold, dead arms locked around him. I take a look at Jason who awaits my orders. Then I take a deep breath, throw my gun on the ground and jump straight at the corpse who's holding on to Cory. I tackle it to the ground and hear bullets flying over my head, which means my men are backing me up. Cory is yelling at me to get up and I try, but the dead guy I'm fighting won't let me go that easily. His eyes are a dull grey that penetrate mine and it's like these few seconds last longer. I know I can't make it back because there are too many of them. Even if my guys are shooting at them with all they've got, they still outnumber us by far. New friends have joined in. My heart thumps boldly in my chest. Even if I can fight off the guy holding me down, others will take his place. I see Cory screaming at me and there's nothing I can do. Shadows surround me and someone takes a bite of my neck and my blood runs cold. It is a strange feeling. My heart takes it last few beats and like a bullet from a gun I disappear into a different kind of darkness that I haven't known before and let it consume me.