All Is Lost

5.

Vanessa had lain awake the entire evening until the bright morning sunlight forced her into her body's version of hibernation to avoid being burned into smithereens.

Jillian started shaking the bed around four pm with her nightmareish fits, waking Vanessa from a fitful dream. Somehow she managed to tear the bandage off in the early morning and her wound slowly bled into the comforter. 

Vanessa shook Jillian out of the trance and smiled at her.

"What are you doing?" Jillian shouted. "Why are you straddling me?"

"You were dreaming, I think. And you ripped your bandaging off." Vanessa realized their compromising positions and backed off, but kept her skillful, medical-trained gaze on the blood that sat on her pale skin. 

"Sorry. I'm a violent dreamer." Jillian sits up and cringes at the slowly-healing wound. If only she'd stayed there in that god-awful Target building. Then none of this would've happened. "Can you help me with dressing it?"

"Yes." Vanessa grabbed the bandages and antiseptic spray from her bag. "This may hurt, but try not to scream. The blood will have already let them know we're here." She told the reluctant brunette. 

Jillian bit her cheek to contain the screams as Vanessa dabbed the bandage in the spray and touched it to her bare skin. She knew that if she lost herself, she wouldn't be able to return back to her sanity. 

"I can walk, but we need to go." Jillian stood on wobbly legs. "I'm pretty sure I saw a back door, but we'll need to be quiet."

"I'll go first. If you get hurt, I won't be able to forgive myself." Vanessa slinked down the stairs, checking every corner and crevice of the hallways. "The front door is blocked. We've gotta go out the back."

"You may want to rethink that decision." Jillian peers through the cream curtains. 

"Why?"

"Plan B involves survivors of the outbreak with guns and leather jackets.....really big guns." Jill cowers behind the obstruction as the door is slammed to the ground and orders are given to search the house. "I don't want to end up dead."

"The only options left are jumping off the roof, or going through the hoard of rabids out front, or if you're really feeling like taking a risk, we can hide and knock some of them out." Vanessa's eyes visibly darkened as she fed off the hunger of the vampire hoard. "I opt for the third choice."

Jillian gulped and drew her knife from a strap around her thigh. "I think it's too late for that."

"Down on your knees, drop all weapons." A male voice commanded the girls, shoving the head of his shotgun against their backs, insinuating the exact image in his head. "Do it now, or I'll blow your minds."

Vanessa shuddered at the  thought of what the future had in store for them and she dropped her weapons, making sure she kept the shrunken version of her katana hidden away. "Happy?" She sneered, giving him the finger before dropping to her knees.

"Very." He made sure to get both girls eye-level with his junk, but suddenly he wasn't sure too sure about doing this. The other men would incinerate him if they found his captives injured mentally or physically, but he was willing to take the risk. "You want to get out of here alive?" He pointed the head of his gun at Jillian and smirked as she nodded meekly. "Then do what I say."

The bedroom doorknob rattled violently and three meaty soldiers marched in, leather jackets having replaced their camoflauge uniforms. "Recruit! Are you....?" One of the questioned. "Nevermind. Get downstairs. We'll deal with our captives."

Vanessa allowed herself to be tied up, testing how tight the binds were once the men were out of earshot. "I say we fight back once we're at their base."

"So just play the innocent girls right now?"

Jillian chuckled and Vanessa nodded. "Exactly. It's all a mask."