I wake up in the forest, exactly where I had been sitting. Against the tree, but what was tough bark, now stands a mass of Infected bodies. All of them have been stacked one on top of another in a tall pile. I quickly push myself away from it, still sitting on the ground. I quickly stand and notice I'm in the same place, where camp had been, but no one else is here.
Perhaps, I moved at some point? This can't be the place where camp was, cause nobody else is here, but me.
"Drew!" I call. I need to know where him and Buddy are. They are the most important things to me and I need them. Although, maybe if I find Drew, I can find my dog.
I continue to walk through the forest of piled up dead bodies. It's almost as if the trees have been replaced with Infected dead bodies. I find that if I try to hear closely, the sound of a dog can be heard. Buddy is close. But, what about Drew.
"Drew!" I call once more, quickening my pace and searching for any more movement.
Suddenly, I do see movement. Through the piles upon piles of bodies, I see a creature. It kneels over something on the ground, as if eating something. I hear the snap of a twig from beneath my boot and the creature immediately turns to look at me. It's shining, vibrant golden eyes are narrowed, lips turned completely in, and it's thin skin that hugs the skull tightly. A Stalker. I look past it to see a dead figure lying in a torn apart pile against the tower of Infected bodies.
"Buddy?" I whisper. But, even though I'm looking at his dead body, the barking still continues, although, much louder. I step closer to the creature and it takes a step towards me simultaneously. It slowly rises with every step from it's kneeling position, and every time I take another step forward, it comes closer too. I continue to walk forward and the world around us starts to fade.
Now we stand face to face. We stare at each other for a few seconds, before I reach a hand up. It does the same. Our skin makes contact and as soon as it does I feel the warmth from the creature's fingertips. This thing isn't dead. It can't be. Infected don't create body heat. They are cold, and dead. This creature is acting like a human. It seems to have the body of a dead, cold, emotionless Infected, but in reality, on the inside, it is human. I can see the emotions playing through its eyes. It has a soul.
"Jess," I hear someone call right in my ear.
"Jess," The creature murmurs in a dry-throated voice, as if it hasn't had water in weeks. I look at the creature's face in confusion. It spoke. It said my name.
All in one moment, it lurches forward and beneath the in-curl of it's lips I see it's razor sharp fangs, which are buried into my neck.
~-*-~
I jolt upright, to my dog's loud barking and Drew having tried to wake me. I remember what happened and I reach a hand up to the left side of my neck. Nothing.
"Jess, finally! You're awake! I've been trying to wake you up for almost ten minutes!" Drew exclaims, letting go of my shoulders that he held. He was probably shaking me so I'd wake up. Buddy rushes up to me and licks my face, while I push him on his broad chest away. His long, silk-soft fur tangles in my fingers.
I look around to see everyone awake and staring at me. "What happened?" I finally ask.
"You kept calling out Drew's name." Sean responds.
"He freaked out and thought you were bitten, or shot, or something." Gabby adds.
I turn to Drew beside me, "Sorry." I say, instantly feeling bad, even though I didn't even mean it.
"It's fine," He gives me a reassuring smile, before asking, "What was the dream about?" Everyone looks at me expectantly, even Amy.
"Nothing. I didn't dream about anything." I lie.
He gives me an understanding nod, but the group seems quite disappointed. "We'll keep moving at sunrise." Sean says, quickly breaking the silence. I look up at the sky and see that it's still pitch black with a splash of dotted, shining stars. The moon sits low in the sky and I suspect that sunrise will begin in around half an hour, to an hour.
With that, everyone gets comfortable again and waits. Sean and Gabby talk about something just quiet enough so nobody else can hear. Amy takes out her dagger and twists it around between her fingers. Eventually, I get comfortable beside Drew again and Buddy trots up to my side. My dog sits down beside me and it's only then that I notice how much he's grown. When he sits down he is now as tall as me if I sit up a little more straighter and taller.
After a while, I lay across Drew's lap and I simply look up at him. He looks down at me and he gets a hold on my hand, wringing his fingers with mine. "I know you dreamt about something. You can tell me, remember?" He mutters to me, keeping eye-contact with me.
I nod, "I know. It just doesn't matter. It wasn't anything important anyway." I reply, untangling my hand from his and instead I fiddle with his fingers.
He doesn't seem to take much notice. "Come on, Jess. I want to hear it. Important, or not." He urges.
I sigh, "Fine..." It only takes me a quick five-ten minutes to explain short details of everything, and throughout the whole thing he seems quite interested.
In the end, the first thing he asks is, "You looked for me first?" He smiles.
Regretfully, I respond, "I always look for you first."
"You always look for me first?" He repeats my words with that smirk spread across his face.
I give him a mischievous look right back, "Not before Buddy though." I say.
"So, the dog is ranked higher than me to you?" He still smiles as he speaks.
"Yep." I simply say.
"But, I'm still the highest ranked person." He specifies instead.
"No."
"Than who is?"
"Jake obviously."
Drew raises an eyebrow at me, "You mean the guy that threw you in a cell and tried to kill you after leaving you to die?"
I pause, before replying, "Yep." I repeat.
Immediately, I burst into a fit of giggles as he begins to tickle my stomach, Buddy almost seems to smile with his cute face as he watches me being attacked by him. Thanks a lot, Buddy. "Wow, Jess," Drew laughs, "It's great to know that you love me so much!"
"Okay! You- Wait what?" I say in realisation of what he said. He seems to realise what he said at the same time and he instantly stops tickling me, his cheeks turning a bright red.
"I didn't mean- I- Well-" He runs a hand through his hair.
"No- Yeah- I do love you," I still lie on his lap and I look up at him, "But- As a friend." I quickly add.
"Wow... Did I just witness Drew Turner getting friend-zoned?" Sean comments. We both look over at him to see that devilish smirk on his face.
"Shut up, Sean." Drew sighs.
Sean lets out a quick laugh, "Okay," He calms himself down, "We better get moving now. Sun's rising."
I notice that the sky has gone a lighter colour and shadows have begun to form on the ground, but I don't notice the vibrant golden eyes through the trees that watches me intently.
~-*-~
