TwentySeven - Ella

Zero slumped onto the leather couch that I'd only sat on a handful of times in the two decades I'd lived here, worn out. It was odd for me to be the one that still had energy. I guessed it was nerves that kept me going. Too much excitement. I went to through the hall toward the kitchen and stopped at the basement door. I pressed my ear against the closed door and heard nothing. But the house looked untouched and the door was still locked. He was in there. I knew it. And I would have to face him. I would have to kill another zombie tonight.

I stood in front of that door, letting time pass. I knew we'd been out longer than we intended. The whole scene on the overpass - where someone died, where three someones died and a fourth was left for dead, where I was responsible for one of those deaths - took a while. It felt lightening fast, but the stand off was nearly half an hour. How long had we all listened in stunned silence as the guy I shot bled out?

I closed my eyes. Now was not the time to think about that.

I stared at the door. I wasn't sure what prevented me from opening it, the fear of seeing my father as a zombie or the fear that this, too, would be for nothing. Was H-26 even down there? Part of me didn't want to find out. Like Schroedinger's Cat. As long as I kept the door closed, H-26 was there. And it wasn't there. But the moment I opened it, I would find out the truth.

I don't know how long I stood there, working up the courage to enter. Maybe an hour. Maybe two. I shook my head and walked away. Using the stolen flashlight to guide my way, I went to the kitchen and pulled out a light from the junk drawer. I lit a couple of candles so we could better see, but really I was stalling. I would check on Zero and light some candles and then I would go back to the door. And I would actually open it.

"Are you okay?" I asked setting a candle on the end table by Zero. She hadn't moved from where I left her when we first arrived. I knew she was tired, and she looked pale, but it was unsettling. I opened my mouth to ask again, thinking maybe killing those people had really gotten to her after all.

"I think I'm immune to the virus," she said.

"What?" That was about the last thing I expected her to say.

"It's what I wanted to tell you. I have this memory of being bitten. Vividly. But I don't remember a lot and Hunter thinks it's just a dream. I wanted to see if it could help you if I was immune."

"Why didn't you say something sooner?"

Like back when we were in the lab, before I dragged us both out here. It would have probably been helpful to know something like that prior to deciding my only option was to lock four men in the labs and leave on my own so no one else could get hurt.

"I'm telling you now," she snapped and then sighed. "I couldn't be sure. My memory can't be trusted and it wasn't a theory I could really test. Hunter convinced me it was stupid to get your hopes up, and he was worried if I told you I'd become some lab-rat anyways, you know? I don't have any scars or anything to prove I was bitten before. So I thought maybe it wasn't worth mentioning after all and then after what happened, I didn't want to upset him."

I didn't really understand why she wouldn't be more willing to help, or why Hunter would be so against it. If there was a chance she was immune, her blood could be the key to a cure. More so than trying to use the original virus to create one. I knew they didn't realize there was government left, but the moment they met us they should have said something. A lab rat... what kind of people did they think we were?

"Why say something now?"

She let out a bitter chuckle. "Well, now... I'm testing the theory."

"What do you mean?" I barely managed to get the words out as my stomach plummeted into oblivion. I took in her pale skin. How tired she was. She hadn't moved. And Zero, who was a take-charge person, hadn't barged down into the basement, rolling her eyes at what a whimp I was. I shook my head wanting to deny the truth even as the words left my lips. The truth had been in front of my face. The way she yelled as we worked our way through zombies. She rolled her shoulders and rubbed at her neck as if she were sore — hurting.

"You were bit."

She sighed and leaned forward, pulling the collar of her shirt carefully to the side. And there it was. Circled indentations of teeth, each pooled with blood. It didn't look like a death sentence, but that's what it was. Unless she was right. She let go and slumped back against the cushions. Taking the spot next to her, I did the same. She said she might be immune, but might didn't seem to offer either of us much comfort.

"We could go back," I offered. "It sets in quickly, but you aren't loosing much blood, so you have time. You could spend it with Hunter."

"Have you noticed that he smiles all the time?" She looked at me and added, "Hunter. He's always smiling."

I nodded. It was impossible to miss about him. "When we were both... trapped, he kept smiling. I thought he was insane or delirious from the pain."

Zero sputtered out a tired laugh. Shaking her head, she said, "He's a freak of nature, that one."

Maybe a little. Really he'd just been trying to keep my spirits up. But we both knew that, so I laughed with her instead of pointing it out.

"I hated it at first, or I hated that I liked it... that someone could smile that much." She went quiet but I didn't talk because I figured it was the most personal information I'd ever get out of her and I thought if I said something, she might stop. But I was interested. "It rubbed off on me."

"It did?" I blurted out. In the short time I'd known Zero, she hadn't been the picture of an outgoing, friendly person in the way that Hunter had.

To her credit, Zero didn't seem offended. Instead, she chuckled quietly and said, "A long time ago, I was a people person I think. But not anymore and that won't change. Too much has happened, but I smile and laugh a lot more than I did before." I arched an eyebrow. I was really glad I hadn't known her before, then. She probably would have shot me.

"He's been through a lot, you know. But I think maybe," she blew out a breath, "Maybe, if he had to be the one to stick a knife through my head, he might stop smiling. But he wouldn't let anyone else do it, you know. So, no, I don't want to go back and make him watch me die. I don't want to be the reason he stops smiling." A wistful smile twisted her own lips. "The world needs his smile."

I wasn't sure I entirely understood. If there was a possibility I was dying, I was pretty sure I'd want to be with the people I cared about most. But it was her choice and if she wanted to stay here. I, at the very least, got that she didn't want the man she loved to have to kill her, even a zombie shell of her. I couldn't imagine having to do something like that. But the idea that he wouldn't let someone else do it was strange to me. I'd never been faced with losing someone I cared about that much or having them turn back into a zombie, so I couldn't judge.

I reached over and placed the back of my hand on Zero's forehead. "You're a little warm, but your fever isn't high enough that I'm concerned about it just yet." She nodded, tired. Symptoms of the bite had set in quickly, but that wasn't abnormal, especially with how active we'd been in the last couple hours. Her heart was pumping the virus through her blood a lot quicker than it should have been. The fact that it had bit her shoulder, much closer to her heart and nervous system than say, her hands or legs made the effects set in that much quicker. But I wasn't going to take that as an awful sign yet. It's possible she was immune and her body was fighting off the virus, hence the fever and exhaustion.

I stood and walked to the closet in the hall and grabbed a couple blankets. I spread one out over Zero who rolled her eyes.

"I'm not completely invalid."

"I know that, but you feel crap and friends take care of one another when they're sick. You rest here. I'm gonna go down to the basement and hopefully get the samples I need. But hey, if you're really immune, maybe I won't even need them." That wasn't entirely true. Dr. Summers could probably create a cure from Zero's blood if she were actually immune, but an original sample would still be best. She would sure as heck want to look at the blood and test how it reacts for herself. But she'd still want H-26. She wanted to learn from it, study it's genius - her words, not mine. Understand each component and how it works to create the best, quickest cure.

I started to walk away, but Zero called my name, stopping me before I reached the basement door.

"How long will it be?"

"We just have to wait and see. If you start to get sicker, develop more symptoms..." I hoped it wouldn't come to that.

Knife? Check. Gun in case I drop the knife? Check.

You got this, Elle. Open the door.

My finger wrapped around the doorknob and I pushed it open slowly, cringing at the high-pitched squeaking as it opened. The mindless moan coming from the bottom of the stairs shocked me, despite having heard it over and over on our way to the house. I shined the flashlight in the direction of it and saw my father - what used to be my father. His skin had rotted off and muscles atrophied. I could tell his goal was to come up the steps for me, for food, but he couldn't. Weakened from being dead for more than a year, he could barely move enough to emit the sounds he was.

It was painful to see.

I wasn't close to my dad. He wasn't ever much of a dad. And even as my mentor, we were never close.

But he was the first zombie I'd seen that I knew as living person.

He was the first zombie I'd ever seen.

And I'd left him like that. Left him down to rot and wither away to nothing.

Was he trapped somewhere in his mind, I wondered for the first time if there was any piece of the man he was in the monster he became. Was he in pain, agony, stuck inside himself? Had I left him like that, in torture, for all this time?

The idea made me sick and I quickly pushed it from my mind. I took the steps carefully. And when the frail, skeletal, walking corpse of my father reached for me, I wrapped my hand around his wrist and held him back as I pushed the knife into his head, killing the brain and thus the monster. He fell to the ground. Dead. Dead. Dead. I'd killed him.

I swallowed the bile burning in my throat and forced my feet forward, stepping carefully over his body.

Most of his lab down there was untouched. Some of it had been bumped over and messed up, but since none of the equipment looked like food to the zombie and they didn't exactly have temper tantrums, mostly, it was the same as it was when I left. I bypassed his desk, going straight for the wall safe behind it and I froze staring at the dial.

I didn't know the code.

Shit. I didn't know the code.

Three numbers between zero and ninety-nine were separating me from H-26. I could feel it in my bones that it was in there. It had to be. Had. To. Be.

Important dates. My dad wasn't the sentimental type in the least, but it was possible he'd chosen a date that was important. On a fluke, I tried my birthday. Yeah, it was a long stretch anyway so I wasn't surprised when it didn't open. I doubted the man even knew my birthday. I tried his next and the date my mother left us; I had been too young to remember, but it was nailed to his brain, it was the only day he drank every year. But that wasn't it either.

I twisted back to his desk. He might have jotted it down somewhere.

Setting the light to the side I sifted through papers and notes, looking for the numbers.

One caught my attention. Half a page, torn from a notebook, filled with words scribbled in a hurry. It wasn't the way Dr. Fairchild did things. I picked up the light to better see it. It was sloppy, but it was definitely his handwriting. The words didn't make much sense to me. They were notes from something he'd been working on. No one would understand them without context. I squinted confused. Underneath the notes was a list of elements. I knew every one of them. We handled many of them in the lab, the list seemed to be just an inventory of what he had here, or maybe what he wanted to stock up on. I started to set it to the side, deeming it useless but something caught my eye. Next to scribbled to Br, meaning bromine, was a twelve instead of it's true atomic number, thirty-five. The atomic numbers for magnesium and antimony were wrong too.

I grinned. It was something that would easily go unnoticed a scribbled list of elements on a page of notes. I whipped back to the safe and put the numbers into dial. The lock clicked and I pulled open the door. I pulled everything out before examining any of it. I wanted to get the hell out of the basement. Grabbing it all, I darted back up the stairs and into the living room where Zero had fallen asleep. I grabbed the small canvas bag first. I'd seen it before, the medical bag was my father's favorite. I unzipped the pouch and tears sprung to my eyes. I laughed.

Three small bottles were neatly tucked into the pouch, secured in place by elastic bands around the bulk of bottle. I didn't have to pull on out, I knew, without any doubt what it was. Sliding a bottle out confirmed my thoughts. This was it. H-26. The zombie virus. The contents of these tiny bottles brought down modern society and hopefully they would help rebuild it.

I slid it back into the case and zipped it up, setting the bag gently next to me. I reached for a leather notebook that had also been in the safe, interested to know what my father had possibly journaled about. But before my eyes met the first page, something, or someone banged on the front door. I jolted upright, staring toward the source of the sound. Reaching over, I nudge Zero.

"Hm?" She muttered sleepily.

"Someone's knocking on the door," I said and nearly laughed at just how ridiculous it sounded. That got her attention. She sat up staring toward the door as someone beat on it again and then tried the handle. We'd locked it. She started to stand, but she was still pale and looked worn. "Just tell me what to do."

"I don't know why they would knock. They could break a window. Unless they're just messing with us, trying to scare us."

"It's working," I said under my breath.

She stood up. I took it as a good sign that she moved easily. Taking a deep breath, Zero looked around, seemingly evaluating the situation. Maybe she was looking for a an exit? I didn't know. Eventually though she whispered, "I'll open the door. You shoot."

I nodded and we sneaked across the room, careful not to make any noise. For the first time in my life, I was thankful that all the blinds and curtains were always kept closed by my father who had something against natural light, because I knew no one would be able to see in. Zero slowly twisted the the deadbolt so that no one outside could hear it unlocking. She looked at me, on eyebrow lifted to ask if I was ready.

No time for hesitation. I nodded and Zero yanked the door open. The second it was out of the way I saw a large figure in the doorway. I don't know what I thought was going to be at the door, but my body still jolted with surprise at the realization that someone was there, milliseconds from barging in a overpowering us.

"Hit the deck," A loud voice yelled. At the same time I squeezed the trigger. Familiar. Belatedly, it struck me that I recognized the voice. All the figures ducked the ground, but I didn't know if they ducked before the bullet had a chance to rip through someone or they moved too late.

"Oh. Oh shit!" I said, letting the gun fall from my hands as I rushed forward, covering my mouth with shaking hands. "Oh my God. Oh my God." As I got closer I made out the four faces I hadn't recognized before. The four faces that were supposed to be safely locked in Fountain Labs.

"Are you alright? Did-did I shoot you?" I asked looking over Miles for any sign of injury; it was his large frame that stood in the doorway. His wide eyes, along with the others were on me like they didn't recognize me.

"You tried to shoot me," he said, the surprise in his voice causing it to be high-pitched.

"I thought you were someone else," I said, feeling every bit as shocked to see them as they were that I'd just shot at them.

"We weren't exactly expecting friendly guests," Zero said, forcing her voice to be stronger than I knew she felt.

Miles stood and then turned back to Joel. "Yeah, knocking was a real good idea," he said scoffing.

"How I supposed to know Ella would shoot first, ask questions later." Joel responded, amused as he pushed his way into the house I grew up in. Hunter and Kyle followed while Zero and I stood there, confused.

"I thought you said they were locked in?"

"They were," I whispered back. "I have no idea how they got out, the locks are heavy duty."

"Don't say anything," she whispered. "Please."

I nodded and lead the way into the living room where four men were waiting on us. They did not look happy. The surprise of nearly being shot had managed to momentarily distract them, but now that they all sat in the living room it was clear the distraction was a non issue. I felt a little like some sort of death march should be playing in the soundtrack of our lives as the two of us walked back into the living room.

"So," I said braving to speak. "Sorry I tried to kill you."

As angry as I could tell that they were, and God were they, I was relieved to see them.

No one looked amused with my comment. Not even a little and a nervous chuckle bubbled from my lips.

So much for Hunter always smiling. I looked at Zero for help.

"Everyone's fine," Zero said, not having their attitude. She wasn't. But since she'd asked me to keep my mouth shut and she wasn't any worse than she had been, I didn't correct her. "You're not even supposed to be here," she snapped, turning the tables. It was a little impressive that she managed to act like she had a right to be annoyed with them. Hunter started to stand up, but she pinned him with a glare. "Sit down. You shouldn't even be out of bed!"

"And," I added quietly, drumroll please, "We have H-26."

"Well shit," Joel said, resigned. "All that work and our damsels weren't even in distress."

Miles chuckled and the stern, angry face they'd been wearing softened. Hunter looked upset still, not at all deterred from his irritation by Zero's attempt to turn this around, but Kyle was the worst. Tension radiated from him. Every muscle in his body was rigid and though he was staring vaguely in my direction, his eyes wouldn't meet mine. Like he was too upset to even look at me. I could only imagine what he thought. If the situation had been reversed, I would have felt used. Taken advantage of. I would have thought the only reason he made love to me - because even if love may be way too strong a word, that's what it was, as barf-worthy as that phrasing is, it wasn't just a one-off - was to distract me so he could leave.

It wasn't my intention. At that moment, it'd been the furthest thing from my mind. But after... when his arm relaxed around me and his breathing evened out, I realized if I needed to go alone, I needed to go right then.

Maybe I was reading him wrong. Maybe he was just mad I didn't let him do his job. Or that I stole from him. Or... well, he definitely had more than one reason to be upset with me.

"Run into any trouble?" Hunter asked, his eyes pinning Zero. I got the distinct impression that they already knew the answer to his question.

"Nothing we couldn't handle." She shrugged and I don't know if anyone else noticed the way her eye twitched as the fabric of her shirt rubbed against the tender bite on her skin. She was staying carefully in the dark so that they wouldn't see her pale skin. And she hadn't gone to Hunter immediately. Even mad at one another, I could still see that he was releived to see her seemingly unharmed. And even though she hadn't wanted to go back and risk turning in front of him, she was glad to see him too. He was bound to find her distance odd. They all were. I had no idea how she thought she was going to hide a bite when she was barely on her feet.

"Can I talk to you?" I asked, chewing nervously on my cheeks as I waited for Kyle to acknowledge that I'd spoken to him. Silence stretched and though I kept my eyes on Kyle, waiting for some response, I could feel everyone else looking at me. When the silence became awkward enough that I was ready to disappear, Kyle finally nodded. I released the breath I had been holding when he stood and gestured for me to lead the way. I turned to lead the way out of the living room so I could talk to him without an audience. When I got to the kitchen, I lit another candle and then turned to face him. My words ran dry.

"How did you-" I started to ask but the way his jaw ticked made me stop short. Maybe that was the wrong way to begin this conversation.

"How did I, what?" He asked, his voice deceptively low. There were so many ways to finish the question. I wanted to know how they got out of a building that was locked down. And how they found us. But I kept myself from answering. "What were you thinking?"

"I was thinking I didn't want you risking your lives for what very well could have been a wild good chase."

"Didn't you think maybe it wasn't your place?" His voice was louder now, no facade of calm holding him back. I was sure that everyone heard his shout - and the accompanying hand slamming onto the counter - almost as clearly as I did. "It was our choice, Ella. Not yours."

"I just—"

"Yeah," he interrupted with a humorless laugh. "You wanted to protect us. Do you not realize how stupid that is?" His voice boomed through the kitchen. "We have been doing this for years, Ella. Years! Every one of us knows exactly what we're getting into. You had no idea. You could have gotten yourself killed, or Zero. A couple lessons on how to use a damn weapon doesn't make you a badass!"

"I know that," I said quietly, but I couldn't meet his eyes.

"I'm not so sure you do."

Kyle turned away, taking a few steps and keeping his back to me. I stepped forward, reaching a hand out and touched his shoulder. Kyle jerked away from my touch and my hand hung in the air, surprised. When I tried again, he turned back to face me. I saw the hurt in his eyes, and while there was a chance I was misreading him - maybe he was hurt that I didn't trust him to protect me and take care of himself - I didn't think I was.

"Are you pissed because I left, because I hurt your feelings, or because you were scared?"

"Yes!"

"Oh." I hadn't expected him to be that honest. I hadn't actually meant to even say half of the words that flew out of my mouth. But now it was out there and neither of us could take it back. "I didn't use you."

"Sure you did," he said as if it were the simplest thing as if he weren't hurt by it. Maybe he wasn't. Kyle smiled. "An escape, right?"

I flinched away when he threw my words at me. I shook my head.

"It was more than that." And he knew that. He felt it. I was sure.

We stood, staring at one another, tension radiating off of each of us. I couldn't take it.

"I'm sorry."

"Are you?"

I was. Nodding, I took a step closer to him. I hadn't intended to hurt him or scare him. And if I had it do all over again... I couldn't say for certain that I would have made the same choices again. Zero had been bitten and sure, that could have happened even if we all went, but maybe not. A lot of things would have been different. And I didn't want be told again how wrong I was, and I didn't want my mistakes thrown at me, but I didn't think he would do that. I hoped not.

"I killed someone."

Kyle's expression finally softened in the pale candlelight. He didn't hesitate or cling to his anger for another second, he stepped forward opening his arms. I was sure he was still upset with me. Nothing felt resolved between us, but I was glad he put it aside. I fell into him as what I did washed over me. Consumed me.

I killed someone.

A living, breathing human being.

Murdered.

I was a murderer.

I could tell myself that it was self-defense. Me or him. It was, wasn't it? He was going to call for backup. I prevented that. There was no other choice. At least, it felt like there was no other choice.

Knowing all of that didn't change the fact that I pointed a gun a human and fired it.

"Oh, baby, I'm so sorry," Kyle whispered, his warmth the only thing keeping me grounded.

He didn't tell me it was okay, because it wasn't. Maybe one day it would be, like Zero had said. Maybe one day it would be easy. But right then, it wasn't. Bad guy or not, I wasn't okay with having killed him. Kyle didn't point out that if I'd let them go with me I wouldn't have even been holding a gun to shoot someone with. He just held me.

I didn't cry or turn into a blubbering mess. I'd done enough of that in the few days to last a lifetime. I was cried out. Possibly for eternity.

I just let him hold me.

Hold isn't strong enough a word. His warmth cocooned me and made the world feel okay, even though it wasn't.

-----------------------

AN - Heyyy!! Sorry for any typos and mistakes! Hope you all liked this chapter :]]