Apocalypse

Chapter Ten

By the time I'd found Chris again the rest of the group was with him, standing on the side of the building and holding their packs. When I reached them Chris turned to me, offering me a smile. I returned it, although I didn't feel happy.

"Hey," I mumbled. He smiled, and his hand lightly brushed mine. I couldn't tell if it was an accident or not, but it still made me smile a bit. He turned to the others, clearing his throat.

"Alright everybody," he said, shifting his gun in his hands, "Creed and I made a sweep of the surroundings. We killed everything that was close but it won't last long."

Even as he said this we heard a few distant moans, and out of instinct I shrank into Chris' side a bit. He didn't seem to mind, but still I quickly pulled away. He said nothing, but I caught him give me a glance before he spoke again.

"I say we leave now. The gunfire we've been creating has drawn in a lot of Walkers, so we should hurry. Izzy and I will lead. Ellie, behind us. Creed, Marion, bring up the back," he said. He looked around, watching as everybody nodded.

"If anything goes wrong, we form a circle. Don't break it, and don't run. Deal?" he said. We all agreed, and he cocked his gun with a satisfying noise.

"Alright... let's go," he said.

We began walking at around noon. Creed and Marion eventually fell to the back, leaving Ellie in front with Chris and I behind her. Although I couldn't make out any words I could hear Marion and Creed speaking, but it didn't sound good.

"They okay?" I murmured. Chris sighed, glancing back at them.

"I don't know." he said honestly, glancing around us. Ellie sped up a bit, pulling out her knife. A single Walker had come out of an old Subway, snapping and growling at her. She immediately stabbed it in the head, shoving it away from her. I didn't realize Chris had leaned down until he whispered close to my ear.

"You didn't need to pull away, you know. We're better than that," he said with a smile, nudging my arm with his. He was, of course, referring to all the times I'd accidentally touched him. I wondered if they really were accidents...

"Yeah, uh... thanks," I said, clearing my throat. Ellie had joined us again and I quieted, only smiling when he gave me a little nudge before jogging ahead of us.

"I'll take a look around," he called to us. I watched him as he ran, stabbing another one without slowing his pace. I sighed, my eyes trained on him...

"You like him," Ellie said, her voice painfully smug.

"What?" I asked, laughing nervously. She smiled, shrugging knowingly.

"You do," she said. I swallowed, looking forward.

And I saw him, walking back towards us with a big grin on his face. I saw him, through eyes that seemed to be suddenly clear, completely clear...

"Yeah," I murmured. "Maybe I do..."