"What in the nine circles..." were the words that came out of my mouth after waking up.
I looked around and found myself strapped to a bed.
Wow... am I in a Fifty Shades of Grey film?
I tried to move but immediately regretted it as the bite wound on my arm brought me pain. It's been patched up nicely. Despite the fact that I can still see blood seeping from it.
"H-hello?" I called with a low tone.
The breezy wind blew the curtains as I glanced at the window beside me.
It's already morning. Where am I?
The door to the room creaked open, and a guy with an axe came in.
"Oh, you're... awake. Well, that's good news," he said, waving the tool around.
"W-what do you mean?"
"Nothing. I was just planning to chop your head off if you turned into one of those mindless creatures. Luckily, you're fine, and there's no need for me to use this."
He then placed the axe on top of a table and leaned against the wall.
I just stared at him, processing every word he said.
"You good?" he asked.
I shook my head. "Yeah, just... could you please remove these straps?"
He raised an eyebrow and didn't move from his position.
"Look, I will not turn if that's-"
"I know," he interrupted. "I heard about people like you. You're one of those who got abducted and mysteriously disappeared a year ago. People who don't turn even after getting bit. Instead, your body reacts to the infection in an unusual manner."
So he heard about rejected subjects. I wonder if he knows anything other than that.
He walked toward me and removed the straps.
"Thanks..."
"My name's Dean," he said, offering a handshake.
I just gave him a blank stare and remained silent.
"Not a fan of exchanging names, huh?"
"There's no point in giving mine."
"Fine. How's your arm?"
"It hurts... a lot." I hissed.
"Well, a bite tore a part of your skin off. I'm estimating an entire month for it to heal. But that's not the problem right now. You need to take antibiotics to prevent infection. Sadly, I don't have any."
"It's fine. I won't be needing any antibiotics."
I overheard from those who performed experiments on us that the blood cells of a rejected subject are way more different from those of a normal person. It is all because of the bone marrow transplant that they did to us, and as a result, it made our blood cells mutate in such a way that even wound infections don't really matter to us.
"What do you mean you don't need antibiotics? That wound must be treated immediately. You don't want that infection to spread to other parts of your body."
I knew it. He only heard about us, yet knew nothing about how our bodies work. Guess I'll just agree to whatever he's saying...
"Yeah, I heard you. Forget what I just said."
He sighed and scratched his head afterwards.
Can I trust this man?
I moved to the side of the bed to gain some distance and then closed my eyes. "Thanks for patching me up."
"Oh, don't mention it. Honestly, I had a hard time because your arm kept on bleeding. I really thought you had already died and would soon turn. That's why I strapped you to the bed and waited until morning before making any decisions."
"I guess you won't be chopping anyone's head off."
He smirked and walked towards the door. "Don't move around. I'll go grab something to eat. Do you need anything else?"
I shook my head, and he left the room.
So his name is Dean. I remember him saying Isabelle's name last night. Was it really Belle? Or someone with just the same name as hers?
I stood up and stared outside the window. Trees are all around the area, and rushing water can be heard somewhere nearby.
"Oh, I forgot to mention-I'm pretty sure that you're not one of those bandits that escaped the construction site last night, so... what were you doing there alone?" He asked from the other room.
"We..." I paused for a moment and bit my lower lip before continuing. "I was ambushed by their group on the road and ended up captured."
"Huh, so you were ambushed. What happened to we?"
I remained silent and stared into the distance.
"So they didn't make it. Sorry for your loss," he apologized as he stood in the doorway holding a tray.
He handed me one of the plates, which contained a chunk of unknown grilled meat and some ketchup on the side.
It's been a year since the outbreak happened. I believe this ketchup is already expired, but whatever.
We both sat on the bed and started eating with our bare hands. The room was filled with silence for a few minutes until I spoke up.
"There were three of us on a supply run in search of guns. We found this police department and entered it. But... we're too oblivious to our surroundings. Some crazy old man sneaked up on us, shooting one of my friends from behind... and killing him."
I took a deep breath and continued talking.
"Me and the last guy called it a day, but we were ambushed. They captured us and held us in two different rooms. They beat him just to get information on where we live, but in the end they got pissed and brought a captured infected to threaten him."
I paused for a couple of seconds to maintain my emotions. Everything that happened yesterday came flashing into my mind.
"He got bit, but those bandits killed the infected immediately to prevent it from gobbling him up. Then the door to my room opened, and they threw him inside, threatening me to speak before my friend turns into one mindless creature."
"So... you told them where you live?"
"Of course not. Instead, we used his remaining hours to devise a plan for me to escape, and part of that plan is for me to get bitten by him when he finally turns." I replied.
"So that's where you got that bite on your arm, and you killed him afterwards."
I looked at him and slowly nodded.
"I'm sorry for asking..."
I took a bite of the meat and smiled. "It already happened. All we can do is to get a move on and accept the reality no matter how hard it is."
Just like what Jake told me...
"Such wise words for someone who just lost a friend. You have a brave soul."
"Stop, you sound like my old man."
We both finished our plates, and he told me to follow him outside.
I was left in awe after I discovered that the rushing water I heard earlier was coming from a waterfall nearby.
"Beautiful, isn't it?" he asked.
"Sure is. I only find pictures of it in books. Now I'm seeing it with my own eyes."
"Speaking of eyes, that right eye of yours--"
"No, I'm not blind."
"Really? That appears to be a blind eye to me."
"Fine," I said, covering my left eye and looking around the area. "That's a huge rock over there. There's a massive tree right there, and over there in that direction..." I paused and squinted.
"What's over there?"
"Infected, three of them." I said, which made him look in the direction I was facing.
"Wait, you said three, right?" he asked.
"Yeah?"
"There's two more coming out behind those shrubs."
Where did they come from?
"Weird, they've never reached this area before," he mumbled.
"The numbers are increasing. Should we leave?"
"It looks like they don't know we're here. It'll be better to just let them pass."
We walked back inside the house and started moving furniture to act as a barricade.
"Can infected smell us from here?" he asks as he moves the wooden sofa towards the front door.
"I have no idea. I honestly don't know if they retain other senses after death. But one thing is for sure, they can see and hear us."
"Well, crap. I hope they didn't see us before we ran inside."
I was about to move the wooden chairs when I suddenly felt dizzy.
"You okay?"
"Yeah... no." I replied while massaging the side of my head.
I completely forgot that I'm experiencing some traumatic brain injuries.
"What happened?"
I hissed. "Concussion, it was pretty bad."
"Wow, you've been through a lot."
"No shit."
"Alright, you just sit there and relax. Let me do the barricading."
- - -
Minutes passed, and multiple infected could be seen walking around the area.
It's like a riot out there.
"Damn it, where is she?"
"What's wrong?" I wondered.
"That girl should be here any moment, and yet there's no sign of her."
I stare at him as I remember the name he said last night.
Isabelle...
"Girl?" I asked, pretending to be clueless.
"There was someone with me last night, shooting on any infected who tried to approach us while I was carrying you to safety. She lured the infecteds away from the area and said she'd meet us here before sunrise. But it's almost noon... I'm starting to get worried."
"W-what's her name? Was it Isabelle?"
His expression changed and showed confusion. "Wait, how did you know that?"
A loud gunshot suddenly echoed around the area. We both looked out the window and saw multiple infected walking in unison.
"Dean! I know you're in there! I need a little help here!" a female voice outside the house shouted.
"Shit! You stay here! I'll be back in a minute." He grabbed his axe and went straight to the front door.
"Wait! I want to help."
"No, woman, you have a concussion, so it's better for you to stay here."
"I can take care of myself, Dean."
He shook his head and handed me a leather knife sheath. I pulled the handle and was surprised to see a Bowie knife.
"Where the hell did you get this? Were you an outlaw?"
"W-what? No, that doesn't matter. Just stay close to me, alright?"
I nodded, and he slightly opened the front door, revealing dozens of infected walking towards the sound of gunshots.
"There are too many. We need to split up and create a diversion." I suggested.
"You can't be serious. This is like half the number of a horde."
"Well, we don't have any plans on the table, do we?"
"Fuck it, let's just run past all of them" he said.
I nodded, and we both ran at the same time.
I followed him and ignored every single infected, squeezing and pushing my way between them.
"On your left!" he shouted.
I glanced in that direction, and an infected was ready to lunge at me. I dodged and stabbed the side of its head, causing its body to drop on the soft and wet ground.
"We can't handle their numbers! Let's just get Isabelle and run away from here!" he said.
Then, gunshots in the distance stopped, and it made me worry.
No...
I pushed every infected in front of me, but some of them are already walking towards my position- slowly trapping me inside a circle.
"I need some help here!" I shouted, but Dean just ran past the infected and ignored my situation.
Motherfu-
An infected to my right growled. I fought back and stabbed its forehead. The same goes for the ones on my left, my front, my back, and both my sides.
Even if I kill every single one that's approaching me, there's always another one behind them waiting for their turn.
"Damn it!" I glanced to my right and saw an infected with none of his buddies behind him.
I wasted no time and pushed its body down to the ground. As soon as I got out of the circle, I stabbed it in the head and sprinted away.
"Crap..." I muttered after I felt pain in my arm. The bandage covering it is slowly turning red.
It looks like the wound has opened.
Gunshots were fired once again, and it brought me hope. I went past Dean, who was killing a bunch of infected in his path, but I ignored him like he did to me.
As I followed the sounds of gunshots, I caught a glimpse of someone to my far left. It was a young girl using her hunting rifle to defend herself. She fired three more shots and started reloading.
"Look out!" I shouted as soon as I saw two infected slowly approaching her.
She looked behind her and panicked, which caused her to drop the bullets from her hands.
One of the infected grabbed her shoulder, but she quickly stepped back and smacked its head with her rifle.
The other one is also about to lunge at her, but I got there just in time, stabbing the back of its head multiple times before letting it drop to the ground.
"That was close," I said between my heavy breathing.
I looked at the girl, and she had just finished crushing the head of the infected with her rifle.
"So annoying," she mumbles.
That voice...
"Belle?" I called as I slowly walked towards her.
She looked in my direction, and my eyes couldn't believe it.
I was about to give her a hug, but she suddenly pointed her gun at me.
"W-wait... Belle! It's me!" I said, but she cocked the rifle, and a loud noise rang in my ears.
She pulled the trigger.