BEYOND THE DEAD ZONE | COMPLETE

Twenty-Eight | Cerci

Twenty-Eight |

Cerci

We separated quickly after that. I think I almost cried leaving them behind. If someone had told me that in less than a week my entire life would be uprooted by a new friendship I would have laughed. I would have laughed hard enough that I'm sure Dad would think I was cry. No doubt Mom would give him a soothing pat on the arm and then make me a rose water tea. Dad would then tell me a story about his dead childhood friend and Mom would leave the room.

I guess, it's good no one told me.

A sigh left my lips and I looked around. We had to be walking for a few hours now. My legs ached and my body felt trampled with tiredness. Gosh, how long has it been since I left slept? Dramatic or now, I was terribly tired. All I could think about was my warm bed and Mom's tea. I'd even opt out of a shower right now and I felt filthy. Like one of Leon's pigs.

"Alright baby girl," Valen suddenly said, making my cheeks burn, "Tell me what's going on. What the hell happened outside the walls?"

"Oh!" I realized we'd been walking for such while and I never spoke yet. We were so comfortable walking with each other I had just forgotten to fill him in, "Um ok. The girl's name is Cora, she's from the compound beyond the wall. They had scary and smart zombies called Deltas in their basement and I suppose they escaped and are now going to destroy all of us if we don't warn everyone and plan something."

He was quiet for a moment and I brushed my fingers against Flash as we walked.

"How smart?" he asked sliding down a hill.

I blinked, "Pardon?"

His hand reached for me and I accepted the help, "How smart are they?"

"I'm not sure," I admitted, "But Eero said very smart."

When his hand dropped from mine my skin felt oddly cold. I frowned slightly but didn't say anything as we walked along the river that led home. It was crazy to think that home was only a short distance away—which was nice. I was getting hungry, and I could definitely go for a nice shower. That's after saving the world of course. Which also meant we should go to Wolf Sanction first. That would be even better—then they could tell Dad how awesome I was. 

A smile pulled onto my face. I could finally show Dad that I wasn't his dead friend that he had to protect. I was his brilliant and brave daughter who helped save the entire world. 

"That's fucked," he grunted.

Flash stopped in front of Valen suddenly.

Valen halted and grabbed my arm.

I let out a gasp of surprise before he placed a finger on his lips. Down the river there was an undead man with both his arms missing shambling about. I pressed my free hand to my lips, and we waited a moment before he went on his way. Even with our immunity, fighting zombies were just too risky. You could still be hurt or draw others around. Thank goodness for Flash—he might have seen us if she didn't stop us when she did. I glanced at Flash who got up and went back to walking, her nose sniffing along the ground. A wave of jealousy filled me. I wish I had such a bond with someone. It must be nice to have something like that.

"Do you think we can trust her?" he asked.

I frowned, "Eero?"

"Yeah."

That made me pause. The question hurt my heart but I understood his concerns. This girl comes out of nowhere and suddenly the world is ending? It did sound utterly crazy but I did trust her—I trusted her completely. She had a temper and was emotional but she had passion and determination and my god she was smart. It didn't matter the situation; she could think clearly and (most of the time) so insane that it worked.

"I do."

He sighed, "Well damn."

I giggled at that.

"If we're going to die," he suddenly purred, turning towards me, "Will you be my last kiss? Come on baby girl, don't let me die without tasting your soft--"

"If," I interrupted before my face could burn, "we survive all this I'll kiss you."

His eyes sparked with delight and I internally cursed myself. Good lord—why did I say that? I quickly stepped past him and walked faster following the river. He followed after me without saying anything but I could feel that stupid smirk on his face. Darn it. He always made my heartbeat like crazy and it sucked. I knew he was like that with every girl and I wasn't special but Valen...he always knew just how to drive me crazy.

I sighed, rubbing my cheek to keep from crying.

"What is it?" he asked softly.

My head shook, "We should go to your place first. B-because my Dad won't let me back out if he knows a war is starting. I'll have to start preparing with them."

He nodded, "Sure."

Fear suddenly filled me. The Town of Roses was the closest to the wall. That meant we would be the first to encounter the Delta zombies. If it wasn't stopped by us then we'd be dead. I clutched my hands to my chest, the fear of losing everyone I've ever known hit me hard. I could feel my bottom lip quiver with panic and my eyes burn. Darn it. I wish I was strong like Eero.

"Can you hold my hand?" Valen suddenly said.

I looked at him carefully. His cheeks were pink and he refused to look at me.

"W-why?" I whispered sniffling.

His shoulders shrugged as he offered me his hand, "Come on baby girl, I'm nervous about this whole thing. Just do it ok?"

I smiled slightly, "Ok."

Taking his hand I realized these were big feelings that I felt but I wasn't alone. Again, my heart melted. He always knew exactly what to do and what to say. But it worked and I relaxed slightly as we walked through the forest—moving away from the river that led home and towards Wolf Sanction. I squeezed his hand and he squeezed mine. I felt a wave of determination fill me and for a moment I think this is how it felt to be Eero.

Bravery warmed my body and I nodded to myself silently.

Whatever happened, everything would be ok because we would fight.

Just as the sun began to set, we reached Wolf Sanction—and it seemed Valen's dad was not as happy as I'd expect to see us. Unfortunately, I realized why very quickly—Dad was with him. I let out a deep sigh. At least this meant we could tell them both at the same time. That was sure to save us some time?