Dead Blood

Three months...

Three months. Three long months had went by, and nothing. But, she was dead, of course she wouldn't say anything, how could she? But, how was she alive?
"Is it really you?" Greg asked, stepping toward her slowly.
She smiled as she stepped closer to him. "It's me."
Greg was still in shock, but, he was more in denial. She couldn't be alive, it's just not possible. "But, I watched you die. You died in my arms, literally!" He screamed.
Natalie sighed as she approached him. She took his hand into hers. "Does this feel like I'm dead to you?" She asked in a calm tone.
Greg felt this sensation running through his body. Anxiety, serenity, agony, everything. It was her, it was really her. But, how was she alive? That would have to wait until later, because, everyone was beat from driving. All they wanted to do was just set up camp, and then go to bed.
Greg, Guillermo, and Brandon had set up camp for the night. The sun had gotten low enough to where it couldn't be seen, but no stars were shown in the sky yet. It was nights like these that had everyone sit in peace, only now, if you sit in peace, you risk the possibility of becoming a zombie or dying from one of the cannibals. It makes the other days seem so amazing, compared to having to live day to day.
Night had fallen, and almost all of the group was asleep. Guillermo, Star, Brandon, and Heather had shut their eyes as soon as camp was set up. Greg and Natalie had stayed awake to stand guard, in case anyone decided to interrupt their sleep. Natalie was staring intently at the ground, watching each blade of grass crunch as Greg stepped slowly around the vehicles.
Greg, who had been staring at the ground as he walked, finally took a knee, watching the stars in the night sky. "Three months, I stared at that same night sky, and it just looked like every other night... empty, with only one lone star right smack in the middle."
Natalie exhaled sharply as she looked up. "If it makes you feel better, I didn't get to see it for at least two months..." she looked down after she said that. 'Oh shit...'
Greg scoffed. "So, out of all those three months, you were alive for one. And you didn't even bother to let me know that you were alive?!"
"I didn't exactly have a phone!" She yelled as tears came out of her eyes. "I wanted to tell you..."
Greg sighed. "I went through three months of alcoholism, all because I thought you were dead..."
"Well, technically, I was," she said. "I was resurrected."
"Which leads me to my next question," Greg responded. "How exactly were you resurrected?"
Natalie stood up and walked to him. "Experimental transfusion."
Greg looked at her in confusion. "Experimental transfusion? But I thought all medical professionals had to eliminate that as a practice. There was too much uncertainty in the results, most doctors suspected that it was just luck."
Natalie nodded. "You're right about that. However, there was one doctor who found a loophole in the rulebook. That rule said nothing about performing the transfusion on a deceased person." She smirked. "Doctor Freedman. She brought me back from the dead."
Greg shot up quickly. "Doctor Freedman? Leah Freedman?" He sat with the thousand yard stare. "I thought she died in all the commotion... where is she?"
Natalie shook her head. "She's very much alive. Before the outbreak, she had taken a trip to Texas to help at an Air Force base, at least that's what she told me," she said as she helped Greg up.
Greg laughed a bit. "It'll be relieving to see her again, after all these years... and she's alive, that's all that matters." He yawned as he rubbed his eyes. "You should get some sleep, I'll stand guard for the next hour."
Natalie nodded as she went inside the truck. "Hey, Greg?"
He stared at her, his eyes seeming like he was about to shed tears. "Yeah, Nat?" He says as his voice broke.
She looked down at the grass. "Never mind," she says as she closes the door. She laid on the backseats, staring at the ceiling, pondering over what she could have told him. A simple apology? But for what? Even though he was angry for not knowing, he understood that she couldn't say anything. Tell him that she loved him? No... that wouldn't have helped the situation at all. "How do you tell someone everything when you've only be alive again for a month?" She asked herself. "I guess you really can't..."
Greg shed a few tears, all while scrolling through his phone. There were no sounds of growling, or laughing while bullets fly, so, what else is there to do? He just sat there and went through old photos on his phone. Some were of him and all his friends. Cas, Sierra, Natalie, Guillermo, Star, even Matthew. Cas, also known as Madison at one point, had died from being bitten by a zombie. She didn't want to become one herself, so, she took the easy way out. Sierra was more than likely already dead, probably from the initial explosion of the missile. "Connor... for my friends you killed, damn you to hell," he whispered to himself.
An hour passed, Greg's eyes started to slowly shut. He could barely keep them open after all that's happened today. He almost got sliced up by some cannibals, his ex came back to life, and he's got something else to keep him up at night. "I hope everyone stays safe..." he whispered as he heard the grass crunch, not from him stepping this time. He stood up and readied his pistol. "Who's there?" He ran around the corner, aiming in front of him.
The figure held their hands up, smirking. "Jeez, friendly fire, Greggy," they said.
He sighed out of relief as he put his gun away. "Jesus, Heather, you scared the hell out of me."
Heather snickered. "Sorry," she said as she walked up to him. "I couldn't sleep, so, I decided to check up on you."
Greg cracked a small smile. "I appreciate it, but, I'm heading to bed myself. It seems like we aren't getting ambushed tonight." He said as he climbed into his car.
Heather sat with him. "Well, maybe I can stay with you? It might help."
Greg slightly blushed. He wasn't asked this sort of question a lot. Actually, he was never asked this question. His face had gotten so red, it looked like he was sunburnt. "Uhh... y-yeah, sure. Whatever helps you sleep," he said as he sprawled over the left side, his knee on the door.
Heather, who had decided to lay down, had her head on his lap. She breathed softly and made herself comfortable, since she had a pillow this time. "Goodnight, Greggy," she said softly as she closed her eyes.
Greg suddenly felt his heart race. It hadn't done that in months, not since Natalie died. Was this the same feeling he had a few hours ago? Anxiety, yet serenity? Peace, but chaos? Happiness, yet sadness? It didn't matter right now. All that mattered was that he felt it again, but this time, it was someone new. "Goodnight, Heather," he whispered softly.