Don't Be Scared

S.1 E.13 ~ Doctor of the Dead (Ch. 110)

Even if I would've kept my mouth shut, Charlie would've still ended up with a bullet in his head. It's the way of life and it's how I'm going to end up. Death is the inevitable. Without thinking it through, I leaned forward and wrapped my arms around his exposed neck.

I landed in between his legs, my cheek pressed against his own while my knees were pressed to the ground. My eyes were closed tight to savor the moment I felt connected with 10K. This is the first time I've ever felt close to him.

He told me something from his past; he trusts me with this information after so long. I squeezed our bodies tighter together as I felt him fall back onto his butt from the unexpected collision, but not once did he shove me off or make a noise of disgust.

"Thank you so much."

He didn't speak any more encouraging phrases or degrading words back, but I felt his right hand come to the middle of my back and just pat. This was his own way of comforting me. 10K has protected me from Zs.

10K has protected me against other humans, who would've loved to paint the cement of a road, or a wall, with my blood. He continues to protect me from myself when I begin to fall down a rough hill.

Why? What did I do right to deserve him in this period of the world? Words were nonexistent between us as he gradually lifted both of our weights up and got me back onto my two feet. He stopped short of his standing so I wouldn't dangle from his body.

I didn't make a move to let go; I don't want to ever let go. He's the closest thing I have to home; closest thing that feels similar to a home. I'm safe, I'm warm, and I feel.. I feel accepted. 

"Let's get those antibiotics." 10K finally whispered in my ear, tapping the middle of my back one more time with his large, warm hand. 

I nodded my neck in understanding of the time limit we were running on, and cut him free from my constricting embrace. Before I could make a move to wipe the wet tears from my flustered face, I saw a hesitant hand slowly creep up to rest on the side of my neck.

I looked into the eyes of my protector, breath hitching in my chest as he only stared deeper into my orbs. I saw the words he was trying to say to me without having to actually admit them; he was promising to protect me from myself and whatever crossed our paths.

All because of Cassandra. Because he promised our mutual friend I was going to see the Promise Land, even if it was without her. 10K looked like he was holding back his own oxygen to seep through his lungs as his movements progressed.

A calloused thumb extended from his palm and rested over my left cheekbone. I could feel the roughness of his thumb's skin under the heat that radiated from my face. Like he had never done this before, he wiped the falling tear and the trail of tears from my left cheek.

We only stared at each other for a moment, not moving anything else and surely not speaking about what he had just done. His hazel orbs seemed to be getting darker as his hand stayed rested on my neck even after the last tear was removed from the display of my features.

His eyes change from hazel with hints of blue to dark brown, and it amazes me. I've never once envied the color, nor have I adored it on anyone--not even on Mack--, but now I think they're the most beautiful shade of darkness I've ever witnessed.

The special occasion of 10K getting close to me, out of all the people here, was short lived once he cleared his throat from whatever blocked the small windpipe. The sensation of hand encasing my skin burnt like a fireplace once the appendage was removed.

His back was turned to me faster than one of my falling tears, walking away from the scene he helped create. Not even waiting for me to catch up with his long strides, he swung the entryway open and walked inside. 

What just happened to us? I jogged to catch up with the more extended strides. Why did he do that? Why did I let him do that? Once the thoughts settled down from the ranging questions, screams separated me from my mentality. 

Time to focus on reality.

"What's going to happen to me?"

I know that voice. The room I had entered was large and had two columns of metal slabs going up and down the whole space. Cabinets lined the walls with counter tops below them. This must be where they experimented on the subjects they kidnapped.

'Cause let's be honest, who would willingly sign up to be someone else's guinea pig? 

"We don't know." The familiar fake-concerning voice of Doctor Merch answered the riled up patient. 

I passed by five metal slabs before getting in between the fifth and sixth slab. They were similar to the one we left Cassandra lying on. Murphy was beside a.. a glob of.. I stopped in the middle of my tracks, viewing something that most children would refer to as a monster.

The skin of whatever, or whoever, it was seemed to be slimy and sticky to touch. The nose of whatever, or whoever, it once was resembled to a witch's nose, but lacking the hairy mole.

|| I spend hours looking through lyrics and quotes to find the words I cannot say ||