TwentyNine - Ella

Waking up to a loud bang and large, looming figure in the doorway wasn't part of the plan. I yelled and grabbed tightly to Kyle, scared that those people found their way into this house and were going to kill us all. But we weren't found. And standing in the doorway wasn't an enemy, but a friend - I fumbled with the flashlight until it flooded the room and we could see Kyle's face - a very angry friend.

Okay. I wasn't sure he was much of a friend at the moment. And depending on Zero's state, there was a chance he'd come here to kill me. Or at least kick my ass. He looked like someone who could hit pretty hard and I was not someone who could take a punch.

Hunter's voice was a roar. A mix of panic, anger, and desperation that had Kyle jumping out of the bed and blocking his path as the man stormed into the room. There was almost no light and I could only make out his silhouette in the darkness of the room, but it was a looming presence and he was pissed as hell. There was absolutely no mistaking was this was about. Kyle held his hands out, keeping space between himself and Hunter and remaining firmly between Hunter and I. I was going to take a wild guess that something was wrong. And I was praying to every deity I could imagine that Zero was still breathing.

Stomping up the stairs had my attention flying to the doorway where Miles and Joel now stood equal parts worried and confused. Neither Kyle nor Hunter acknowledged their presence, even as they muttered.

"Back off, bro," Kyle said, his voice low in warning. It was the deep, threatening voice that he'd used when he first met me. The one that left me close to tears. Surprise, surprise, Hunter wasn't exactly shaking in his boots. I wasn't entirely sure he even really saw Kyle. He looked over his shoulder, pinning me with a glare.

"You let one get her," he accused pointing at me. I flinched back from the accusation, but some part of me knew that he didn't blame me, he was just scared.

"Back. Off," Kyle said again, slower this time as he stepped closer to Hunter, puffing his chest.

Hunter stepped forward into Kyle's hands and for a second I was sure punches were about to be thrown. I didn't know who would win either. Kyle was big and strong, but Hunter was too. And he looked like he wanted to kill someone. He wouldn't hold back. At that moment, he wasn't looking at his friend, his brother, someone he loved. He was looking at an obstacle preventing him from getting to me.

Kyle's shoulders were tensed, ready for anything.

I wasn't ready for anything.

But his anger had me concerned, and not just for my own welfare - because I hoped Hunter would actually hurt me - but for Zero. If he was like this, I didn't know what shape to expect the girl who'd become a friend to be in.

"What happened?" I asked, my voice near a whisper but loud enough to catch the attention of both men. I'd managed to successfully keep them from taking out their frustration and worry on one another and instead of pushing any further, Hunter stepped back dragging his hands through his hair and down his face. His shoulder softened as he lost the fight in him.

Instead of pushing harder, Hunter took a step back and dragged his hand through his hair and then scrubbed his face before they fell helpless to his side. I crawled out of the bed and tried to cross the floor to Hunter, but my self-appointed body guard blocked my path, his hand pulling back gently on my arm. I looked at Kyle and he shook his head subtly. He didn't trust Hunter right now, not with the way he'd barged into the room on a warpath. But he was half-broken and out of steam.

"It's okay." I held Kyle's eyes until he finally gave in, releasing me and stepping out of my way, but he stayed close. I could feel his body heat on me even as I stood inches away from Hunter.

"She's not..." he paused, choking back a sob, "she's not waking up."

I didn't know what to do. I stepped forward and wrapped my arms around Hunter, squeezing tightly. He was crying, it was too dark to see, but I could feel it when I hugged him, the ragged breaths he took. And there were a few things I could do, but if she was gone, I couldn't save Zero. We didn't have any way to save her, not yet. Hunter returned the hug, holding me just as tight. He gave himself a moment to be comforted before he pulled away.

"You knew."

It's not a question, it's not even an accusation, but a resigned understanding. Still, I nodded.

"God, dammit," he cursed under his breath.

"I'm sorry. She asked me not to say anything until she knew..." I trailed off because we both knew the end of the sentence and the words didn't matter anyway. I hadn't said anything. Hunter knew why. Zero asked and while we'd become friends, she was more than a little intimidating.

Hunter nodded like he understood. I thought it must it must be hard loving someone like Zero so much. She cared and she was fierce and protective. If I could be anyone else, I would choose her. But she chased danger. I liked Zero, I did. Not at first, but I understood the attraction. Everyone wanted to be in her world because she was the type that just drew you in. Well, once you got past the bitchy exterior anyway. Just... loving her as much as Hunter did, it couldn't be easy.

"I should have said something anyway. I'm sorry."

"I'm sorry," he said to me and then looked past me at Kyle and repeated himself. "I'm sorry. I'm freaking, but I didn't mean to scare anyone."

And I got it. Zero had said the world needs people like Hunter, people who smile as bright as they did before. She thought if Hunter had to be the one to kill her, it'd ruin him enough that he wouldn't smile like that anymore. He'd never bounce back. And I think now that she was right, but also, she was wrong. If she didn't bounce from this, neither would he. It wouldn't matter if he was the one to end her reanimation as a zombie or not, he wasn't going to be smiling and joking ever again if she didn't wake up.

Kyle opens his mouth and by the look on face whatever was on the tip of his tongue wasn't going to be nice. I wanted to smile at that, just a little bit, because he was being all macho and protective of me and yeah, I sort of liked it. But no one needed to know that I secretly liked that he'd beat up his friend for me because that was a little twisted.

"You don't have to apologize," I said before Kyle could make him feel worse. I looked back at Kyle. "Would you mind getting candles from downstairs, or another flashlight?" He looked reluctant but did as I asked, not questioning why I hadn't asked either of the men in the doorway to go. I thought it was best to remove Kyle from the situation for a minute. Hunter was rubbing his forehead, worried. "Go back to her, I'll be there in a sec."

I nodded to Miles and Joel who, understanding, followed Hunter and then walked to the bathroom where we stocked medicines and first aid supplies. Pushing the door open I fiddled around, reaching for the first aid kit I knew was in here. My fingers touched the box and I grabbed it and a washcloth before feeling my way along the wall to the guest bedroom that Zero and Hunter had claimed.

Kyle beat me to the room, he brought candles and found a lantern light that must have been packed in one of the bags because it definitely wasn't something my father owned. The room was well lit and Hunter was kneeling on the floor next to the bed, holding Zero's hand. His other was combing through her hair. He didn't bother to look up but I could still see him red-rimmed eyes. It was a depressing scene. She really, really needed to wake up.

Kyle met my eyes looking every bit as hopeful as Hunter had. As if I were a real doctor. As if I had a cure readily available. As if there were anything I could do. But there wasn't. There wasn't anything I, or anyone else for that matter, could do. It was a waiting game. Either she would pull through or she wouldn't. Hunter knew that, I was sure, but he didn't want or need a reality check right then. I did spend time in the clinic, so over the last year, I've learned a few things about the virus.

I crossed the room and since Hunter was on the floor, I climbed on the other side of the bed.

I looked at Hunter and braced myself. "Has she had any seizures?"

"What?" Great, there was the panic I was trying to avoid. I quickly did what I could to calm his panic. Offering a reassuring smile I told him, "I just need to know."

"No," he shook his head, "no seizures."

I pulled the collar of her shirt to the side and saw that she'd cleaned the tender teeth-shaped cuts on her shoulder. Her skin was raw and inflamed, but it didn't look infected. It wasn't bubbling with puss or oozing anything. It looked much like it had earlier. That was only concerning because scabs hadn't formed. It wasn't freely bleeding but it looked like it would if she exerted herself at all. Her cheeks were flushed and her skin was clammy and warm. And Hunter was right, she wasn't stirring even a little. I had to lean down close to her mouth just to make sure she was breathing still. Opening the first aid kit, I pulled out the temporal thermometer - thank God for batteries that last forever - and pressed it to Zero's forehead. After a tense moment, the thermometer's beep had us all jolting forward. I looked at screen, lit up in green, and sighed with relief.

"103.2," I said.

Hunter and Kyle didn't smile.

"That's really high," Hunter said, worried.

It wasn't low, it was definitely higher than we wanted it to be. But I wasn't concerned. Well, I wasn't to the point of planning her funeral. Hunter and Kyle, I realized, didn't know.

"No. I mean, yeah, but no," I said quickly. "When patients who've been infected reach a point of seizures and coma, they've reached fever in excess of 105 degrees. That's when it's bad enough that it's effecting brain function. It's the point of no return." I took a breath. Ever so slightly, he relaxed and I wished I had more to offer him, more to offer all of us in a way of explanation, but I didn't. "Her fever is a huge concern yet. I think she's okay."

"She's not waking up, though."

Yeah. That was a bit of a problem. I looked over to where Kyle stood with Miles and Joel, they were all waiting just as Hunter. They couldn't help me right now any more than I could help Zero.

"I know," I said, lamely. "It could just be her body reacting to the fever. We need to try to bring it down. We'll get some Tylenol in her. We might have some instant ice packs..."

I was in well over my head.

I stood to go look for some ice packs and Tylenol and instructed one of the guys to wet the washcloth and give it to Hunter to put on her forehead. They needed to sit with him, someone did.

Kyle followed me out and into the bathroom. Before I could start to search through the medicine cabinets again, he stopped me. "How much of that was bullshit?"

Turning to face him, I rested my hip against the counter and sighed.

"She's not any worse than she was earlier."

"Except that she won't wake up."

"We could try dumping water on her," I said, shrugging one shoulder. He lifted an eyebrow. "It worked to keep me awake when they were," I lifted up my bandaged arms, "you know."

The hint of a smile faded from Kyle's expression and I felt bad for bringing it up.

"Sorry."

He cleared his throat, shaking his head before he said, "Don't be. You want to talk about it, we can talk about it."

My lips parted, ready to say something but I shook my head. "There are more important things going on right now."

I pushed off the counter top and squatted down to resume my search, pushing aside toiletries, old make up, and nail polishes that had long since been forgotten, hoping to find a couple icy packs. Angling my neck, I looked back up at Kyle and put him to work so that he wouldn't be looking at me like he wanted to know all my secrets and take away all my pain.

"There should be some Tylenol or ibuprofen in the mirror cabinet."

"Yeah. I'll get—"

"Guys! Ella!"

My eyes went wide, not at hearing my name shouted, but at the undiluted terror in the shout. Forgetting everything, we both moved, urged on by the continued shouts. I pushed through the doorway to see Hunter standing up, his hands pushed into his hair as he watched Zero's body convulsing on the bed, unsure what to do.