Dangerous Fellows Two-part short story

In Sickness and in Health...

Jadyn was sick. She had a high fever and the more they moved the weaker she got. She was slowing them down and it was just getting worse by the day. When she passed out, Harry carried her, maneuvering her onto his back with Ethan's help. She woke back up a few hours later, but because she was still weak and barely conscious Harry refused to set her down. Finally they managed to secure a small house. There was only one bedroom. Jadyn didn't vote and Scarlett disagreed but everyone else thought Jadyn should get the room. It was obvious Harry would share with her especially since he scarcely left her side. Jadyn sank into the mattress, glad for something at least kind of soft to lay on. They found some more blankets and pillows in a closet and Harry laid with her until she fell back to sleep. Harry, Eugene, and Scarlett raided the house for anything useful while Ethan and Zion disposed of the rotting zombie corpses. Their search yielded some food but not much else, much to their disappointment. Still it was better than nothing. Ethan and Zion returned, barricading the door behind them. "We passed some zombies on our way back. I don't want to take any chances." Ethan explained. Harry nodded, he agreed. "If nothing else they might deter anyone else who comes around." He replied offhandedly. A few days passed and Jadyn seemed to be much better. Enough that Harry thought it might be okay for her to go out with them to look for some supplies. She did well enough until a zombie ambushed Harry. She screamed his name and he turned, automatically putting his hands up in defense. Possessing no weapon Jadyn picked up a piece of glass and sprang forward. Stabbing the zombie over and over in the jugular until it stopped struggling. Harry pushed it off, panting hard. He put a hand to his chest. "Christ..." He turned to Jadyn. "I owe you one.." Jadyn scoffed. "Like you wouldn't do the same for me?" She retorted. Zion and Eugene came running. "Are you guys okay?!" Eugene asked. Harry nodded. "Yeah. We're okay..." Zion looked from the zombie on the ground to the two in front of him. "Kid, you're bleeding." Jadyn examined her hand to find that she was indeed bleeding. "It's from the glass.." She hadn't even noticed. There was a fairly deep cut across her palm. The blood blurred and she swayed on her feet. "Jadyn?" HArry's voice sounded far away. She was helpless to stop herself when she began to fall and connected with something soft; Harry had caught her. "Jadyn??" He asked again. She didn't respond. He cupped her cheek. She felt feverish again. "We need to get her back.." The other two didn't question it. "Give us your bags so she can ride piggyback. Harry slipped Jadyn's from her shoulders before taking his off and handing it to Zion. Zion and Eugene helped their silver haired friend get his finance onto his back.

When they returned Ethan removed the barricade to let them in and Harry took Jadyn straight to the room. When he didn't return Ethan went to check on him and found him sitting in a chair by the bed. "Are you okay?" Ethan questioned, nudging him. Harry nodded. He had wrapped Jadyn's hand up where she had cut it. "I'm grateful she saved me...but I feel like it's my fault her fever spiked again..." He confessed. "It's not your fault, Harry." Ethan's tone was gentle. "I'm just glad we didn't decide to get back on the road again and went out on a run instead.." Harry had no words, but he was glad as well. A good kind of smell wafted in from the open door. "Who's cooking?" Harry asked. "Probably Zion. Him and Eugene were complaining about being hungry." Ethan replied. Harry just nodded again. Reaching up his hands to massage his temples. His worry over Jadyn was giving him a splitting headache. "Harry, we both know she's strong...." Ethan tried to encourage. Harry glanced at him with a sympathetic smile. They both knew it was just going to take time, but that didn't mean Harry was keen on leaving her side. "Can you let me know when Zion is done cooking? It smells good and honestly I could eat..." Harry wasn't trying to be rude, but he just didn't want company right now. Ethan nudged his shoulder again. "Of course." He took his leave, getting the message and taking it with a grain of salt. They all had their moments where they preferred to be left alone for awhile.

Twenty minutes later he returned to tell Harry that the food was done, only to find the male asleep in the chair. Ethan was a bit torn between waking him up and knowing he needed some sustenance. Thankfully the choice was made for him when Harry woke himself up. He blinked a couple of times, looking around to get his bearings when his eyes fell on Ethan. "Hey. Dinner is ready.." Harry nodded, wincing just a little when the action made his head throb. He stood, stopping to kneel on the bed and check that Jadyn was breathing under the guise of checking her temperature before delivering a chaste kiss to her forehead. He followed Ethan out of the room to Zion and Eugene playfully cheering. He smiled but made the small motion to keep it down. Although the loudness didn't help his headache, that wasn't his only reasoning. He didn't want them to wake Jadyn up, and he wasn't entirely sure how soundproof the house actually was. The last thing they needed was zombies barging in on them in the dead of winter. Zion had made some stew from the cans they had found. It smelled pretty good. "Thanks for cooking, Zion." He shrugged. "I was hungry and we had this stuff and that camp stove thing we scored, so I figured why not?" They all sat down at the table to eat. It had become kind of a tradition for them. The boys were close enough to be family. Scarlett kept her distance for the most part, but that didn't stop her from trying and failing to place doubt. "Are you guys sure she didn't get infected trying to save Harry? I mean...all that blood." Harry sighed much like an annoyed parent. "She's not infected Scarlett. I told you she's sick and her body is weak. All the blood you saw was from when she had that glass." The girl glared at him but said nothing more.