The Dead and the Restless (Completed with undergoing editing)

Chapter Fifteen (Edited.)

"Lease," Liam's voice prickled my ears. "Lease, wake up."

My eyes were heavy, but I willed them to open. Liam came into view in the darkness, his face only inches from mine.

"What's-"

"Come with me," he said, standing up. "Please?"

I watched him for a second, debating on what to do. Tomorrow night was when I was going to leave. I tried preparing myself to leave. I made little to no talk with anyone, even Liam. Every time I looked at him, it hurt too much. I thought about him, Sienna, Lucy, Craig...

"Lease?" He asked. I cursed under my breath. Leaving would hurt like hell, but I wanted to go out with him one more time. I held my hand out and he pulled me up, a smile lingering on his lips.

"Here's your machete," He said, handing it to me. My fingers wrapped around it, feeling the weight of it, but it was foreign. I frowned as I placed it in its sheath. Liam cracked open the door, looking around. "Come on."

I followed behind him across the cafeteria, averting my gaze from Craig and Lucy. A deep exhale escaped my lips as I realized we were heading toward the doors. He paused in front of them and I held the questions burning my tongue. I knew he knew what he was doing. I trusted that much.

He brought a finger to his lips as he opened the doors, holding it for me to go through. Once I was out, he slowly closed it.

"By the time we come back, they'll be awake," he started, reading my mind. "Jackal has the morning shift. He'll let us in."

He held up his crossbow as we moved down the hallway. The halls were dark now and I should have been afraid to walk out into the halls without being able to see well, but I felt nothing. It didn't matter if a snapper got me anymore. Tomorrow, everything was over.

It wasn't until we stepped into the lobby that I realized it wasn't late at night; it was early in the morning. My eyes stayed on Liam as he walked in front of me, determination on his face as he led me outside. The brisk morning air chilled my bones as it washed over me, goosebumps trailing my skin. By instinct I rubbed my arms, warming them up.

He didn't stop until we were in front of a red pickup truck that was way past its time. I didn't doubt for a second that the engine was wrecked as I eyed several brass spots. Liam slung his crossbow over his shoulder, bringing down the back of the truck.

"Come on," he said, getting into the bed of the truck. Without hesitation, I got onto the bed, sitting next to him. I glanced around, noticing the back of the truck faced an open field that was being readied for construction.

I was somewhat curious as to what in the hell we were doing out here, but I chose not to question it. Instead, I stared at the empty lot in front of us.

"You know," He started, "We're actually right outside the cafeteria."

"Really?" I asked, turning my head toward the hospital. A bunch of boarded up windows looked back at me. He was right.

"Yeah." He smiled. "I preferred the cafeteria without the windows, but hey, beggars can't be choosers."

His smile cracked for a second as he looked off into the distance.

"I came here a lot," he said. "This is where Abbey was. Where my mother left her...where I left her."

Silence filled the air.

"It's amazing how much we take for granted," he started. "Like time. I thought I would have enough time to convince my mother to divorce that asshole. I thought I'd be able to work off the hospital bills between Abbey's rare onset of schizophrenia and my mother's injuries every other month. God, I worked my ass off to keep a roof over our heads."