BETTER SAFE THAN ZOMBIE

OZTS 7| Dark

Christian still didn't wake up.

"Is he going to be alright?" Kailey asked, her eyes frightened. She had put his head on her lap and was slowly caressing his hair with trembling fingers.

"He just passed out," I assured her. "He'll wake up anytime soon."

I wanted to tell her that we needed to get out of here, before any other zombies could be alerted to our location. But Kailey seemed firmly fixed in place, her body hovering protectively over Christian.

"Um," I hedged, not wanting to push it, "We really need to go."

"You go," she said, not even looking up. "I can't leave him."

"We'll carry him," I offered, wincing at the thought of how heavy he would be. "You can take his right and I can take his left."

She didn't even look up.

I sighed internally. I couldn't leave them, but we needed to go and meet the rest of the group at exactly eleven. Otherwise, they would start the search party and put their lives into risk. And all for nothing.

"Kailey, it's our only choice," I said. "Do you want to die?"

She didn't answer.

"Do you want Christian to die?"

A slight tremor shook her body and she looked up, her eyes wide. "I don't want Chris to die."

"Well then," I said, breathing a sigh of relief. "Let's go and carry him."

"I don't want anyone to touch him either."

For the love of Jesus H. Christ, Shepherd of Judea.

"Kailey," I said impatiently, "Christian will die if you leave him here. We have to go."

She hesitated. I could see her resolve weakening, so I pushed her even more. "Besides," I added, "If Christian had suffered concussion from his fall, it's better to have two scientists check him out, don't you think?"

I stifled the triumphant smile that was about to break out from my lips as Kailey looked at me with her shoulders sagged. "Okay," she finally relented. "But I'll carry him. You stay back and protect us."

I blinked. "Wait, what?"

"I don't want you to touch him," Kailey told me, matter-of-fact. "In fact, I'd like you to stay away from him starting from now. You don't care for Christian, Kathryn. You won't even bat an eye if he dies."

"That's--" I began.

"True," Kailey finished, cutting me off. Her blue-green eyes lasered in on me, as if she knew what exactly hid at the very dark recesses of my mind. "And this is why I hate you."

I flinched.

"In fact, I hate each one of you," Kailey continued. "I hate Hazel, who cares more for herself than for anyone and thinks she's all that. I hate Ethan, who doesn't show who he truly is. I hate the adults because all they care about is curing the plague and about saving their children. I'm still here because Chris actually cares for all of you."

I snorted at that and Kailey's eyes narrowed.

"But make no mistake, Kathryn," she said. "The instant Chris is in danger, I wouldn't hesitate to treat you all as bait to get the both of us to safety. I'd kill you myself if that's what I needed to keep Chris alive."

A shiver crawled up my spine at her words, trying not to look away from her gaze. I already knew she was a psychopath, who for some reason had a thing with Christian. But what she said still stung, especially since I had thought she was warm and open just a while ago.