Apocalypse

7

Liz

We'd been trapped in the car the rest if the night and the better part of the next day. The other girl hadn't said a word that entire time, and I felt about ready to burst from the awkwardness. I had tried many times to get her to say something but she managed to answer my questions with just a look, or a nod or a hand gesture. I gave up after a while, I figured that she just didn't want to talk to me. So naturally, I was left to my thoughts. My thoughts, coincidentally, were on the girl next to me. She had a very sharp exterior. By that I didn't mean she had hard features, her face was actually soft and easy to look at. But her eyes betrayed that she had seen hell, and she was still living it. They were cold, and not just because her eyes were the shade of ice. When she looked at me, I felt shivers down my spine. I hadn't decided if I liked it or not yet. It was a strange, unfamiliar feeling that made me feel nervous in a bad way, and also in a good way. She spoke in short, clipped sentences like she wasn't used to having to talk out loud, or to anyone at all. I had half expected her to have a cold voice as well, the first time she talked to me, but she didn't. Her voice was calm, and soft. The kind of voice you'd hear from someone who was really good at calming someone down. I almost wished she'd talk more, because I could really use some calming down.

The infected would still occasionally make their way back over and scream and pound on the car. Everytime they would, I sat there completely petrified in my seat. The other girl just sat there, completely calm and watching the infected like she didn't care whether or not they got into the car with us.

It occured to me I didn't know her name. I opened my mouth to speak, but almost as soon as I did the girl turned her head to look at me and I fell silent and looked away. I thought she was going to scold me, by the look on her face. Instead she leaned down and checked my ankle, which had swolen up a little bit but otherwise it only hurt when I moved. She readjusted the bandages and then pushed me away again so my foot wasn't in her lap.

"What do I call you?" She asked me suddenly, and I jumped because I wasn't expecting her to speak.

It was like she'd been reading my mind.

"Uhm. My name is Elizabeth. But I prefer Liz, if you're close." I mentally smacked my forehead. I wasn't sure why I told her that, since we weren't close at all. It just kind of... came out.

She just nodded, like she was thinking about how to say it. "Liz?" She asks, to clarify.

I didn't correct her. I just nodded. "What do I call you?"

She took a long moment to respond, like she was reluctant to tell me or she just wasn't sure. "My name is Katelynn."

"Can I call you Kate?" I asked, feeling suddenly brave. And again, she took a long moment to respond. She almost looked like she might smile, but she didn't. She just nodded. So I was the one who smiled.

I think it must have been late afternoon by the time the infected finally left the area and didn't come back again. Kate got out of the car first. As she was getting out I caught a glimpse of the bite on her shoulder, and it struck me that she wasn't sick. No symptoms. Not a single one. She looked completely healthy, besides the thin scar on her chin that ran halfway up her jaw, her complexion was perfect if not a little pale. I wanted to ask her about it, but she'd completely ignored me the last time I mentioned the bite. To be honest, spending that long in a car with Kate hadn't made my feelings of nervousness go away any more. If anything, it made them worse.

She came over to my side of the car and pulled the door open as quietly as she could. She'd already shouldered her own bag, and mine sat on her opposite shoulder. The one with the wound. I noticed the mobility in that arm in general was lacking. When she reached for me, I saw an angry red gash on her hand.