Lizzie gently closed the bedroom door, shutting out the muffled laughter from the rooms below. The house was warm and full of good spirit, like a family on the eve of the festive season, but there was only so much Lizzie could take.

She had been locked up for so long, with no one to converse with beyond her own thoughts. Going from that to a large group, full of non-stop chatter was a little too much too soon for Lizzie.

It had been wonderful to get to know Max's friends, and her rescuers, and she felt at peace in the knowledge that they were all safe, together, finally. It was as if all the clickers and awful people in the world had been instantly lifted from their lives for one night, just for a moment.

Lizzie wanted to enjoy every second, she wanted to stay down there and continue sharing stories, laughs and digs at Max all night, but what she needed was rest.

She clambered into bed, wincing at her aching limbs as she sank into the padded mattress, letting it absorb all her weight, and envelope her like a protective lioness.

Ignoring hospital beds, this was the first night's sleep Lizzie had enjoyed on a mattress since her time at the Jennings'. It felt foreign to her. The sheets were too soft, the mattress too spongey, and she felt so light and helpless.

After tossing and turning for what felt like hours, Lizzie slid back out of bed and curled up on the floor below, realising already that her time in that cell would stay with her forever.

***

A crash outside Lizzie's bedroom window awoke her instantly, as she leapt to her feet, eyes wide and fists raised. It took her a few moments to realise where she was, at which point, some of the fear and tension was eased from her bones, but not all of it.

The four walls around her seemed to be closing in, trapping her like an animal in a pen, ready for the slaughter. Her breathing became harsher, and her heartbeat grew faster, as the bedroom felt more and more like a prison.

Lizzie tore open the window for some fresh air, scanning the bushes below for any sign of movement, just in case any unwanted guests had stumbled upon their current abode.

The fresh air was like little bursts of heaven across Lizzie's skin, brushing in up and down, massaging any sense of panic from within her.

She had to escape these four walls, just for a while, just to feel free once more. With little thought, Lizzie's legs were already clambering out the open window frame, dangling helplessly over the edge as her fingers scrambled around for something to grip. Luckily the roof didn't sit too far above her head, and so Lizzie grasped her fingers around the stone gutter and heaved herself up and over onto the summit.

"Jesus fucking Christ!" JJ exclaimed, clamping his hand against his heart in shock. "Where the hell did you come from?"

Lizzie's hand slipped, as she too was startled by the presence of another midnight roof dweller. She began to slide back down the tiles towards the edge, only regaining her balance at the last second as JJ threw out a hand for her to grab.

"Thanks," Lizzie gasped. "I'm sorry, I didn't expect anyone else to be up here!"

"Don't mention it," JJ grinned. "I think Max would be pissed if I just let you die, after all we went through to rescue you."

Lizzie laughed as she climbed up to JJ's perch on the very crest of the rooftop.

"Why the fuck are you up here anyway?" she asked in bemusement.

JJ shrugged, "Just wanted some space away from that lot down there. Plus, Karl snores. What about you?"

Lizzie averted her eyes nervously, "You'll think I'm crazy."

"Try me."

"That little bedroom down there...it just felt too much like my cell at the castle," Lizzie admitted.

"Claustrophobia, makes sense," JJ nodded. "Do you know what I figured out after I climbed up here?"

"What?"

"I'm not the biggest fan of rooftops."

Lizzie snorted, "Really? Why the fuck are you up here then genius?"

JJ smiled, "Only just realised. God knows how I'm going to get back down."

"You weren't scared of them before?" Lizzie asked.

"Let's just say I blame a little incident involving your Father and a burning building," JJ chuckled.

Lizzie grimaced.

"What's wrong?" JJ asked.

"Nothing. It's just, I'm still not used to hearing that word. I don't even know how I feel about Max being my...you know, yet."

"The way I see it, you're one of the lucky ones," JJ exclaimed honestly and nonchalantly.

"Lucky? What the fuck about this situation is lucky? I'm sixteen and I've only just met my Dad for the first time-"

"At least you met him," JJ retorted, with a distant hint of sadness.

Lizzie retreated from her aggressive stance, "Did you..."

"Orphan," JJ replied simply. "Way I see it, you had an amazing Mum before all this shit, who raised you, and loved you, and cared for you. Now you have a Dad to do the same now...in all of this." JJ waved his hands towards the dark night sky.

"Yeah...yeah I guess I hadn't thought of it like that," Lizzie admitted.

After a moment of silence, JJ rubbed his hand against the bandaged part of his opposite arm, where a red tinge was beginning to shine through the white cotton.

"What happened to you?" Lizzie enquired.

JJ hid his wound immediately, shifting nervously before answering, "Oh, nothing, just a bit too slow as usual."

"Can I see?" Lizzie asked softly, but in actual fact, she had already gripped JJ's arm and was pulling it back into vision.

The blood stains were still faint, but a defined shape could clearly be seen through the mass of white padding.

"A bite," Lizzie exclaimed, half question, half shocked statement.

JJ laughed unrealistically, clearly putting a brave face on his utterly petrified interior, "I did always want to be a vampire as a kid."

"I'm so sorry, Max never said...how...when?" Lizzie stuttered, unsure of what to say.

"Back at the camp," JJ explained. "Didn't see the bastard sneaking up on me, before I knew it, his teeth were hanging off my arm like a rabid dog."

Lizzie pondered over JJ's story for a second, before confidently blurting, "Bullshit."

"Excuse me?" JJ exclaimed, his face screwed up in shock.

"Max told me about what went down at the camp. From what I heard, those clickers had you penned in pretty bad. But you say one snuck up on you?"

"This was after all that," JJ defended.

"One snuck up on you, when you were with at least four other people?" Lizzie interrogated. "Why won't you just tell me what ha-"

Lizzie suddenly remembered her earlier conversation with Max. What had he teased her about? Something to do with JJ being her 'guardian angel'.

"I didn't want to tell you this," JJ assured.

"It was me, wasn't it?" Lizzie stated, already riddled with guilt.

"It's not your fault...it's no one's fault, okay?" JJ pointed out eagerly.

"You were protecting me," Lizzie droned, unsure if she would be able to live with another death on her shoulders.

"Look, it wasn-"

"Tell me what happened," Lizzie insisted. 

JJ sighed, but obliged, "Max waded into the thick of it, as usual, asked me to stay back and look after you. I wasn't happy about sending my friends off to do the fighting, but I didn't argue. At first, it was fine, the clickers all surrounded them so quickly, they never seemed interested in us for a second. Hell, it took everything I had not to rush to their rescue, but there was that little nagging voice in my head saying, 'what if?' So, I stayed."

"Then what happened?" Lizzie asked, despite not wanting to hear.

"I guess the noise attracted them...just a couple at first, but then a couple more, and more. There must have been six or so surrounding the pick up before long. I tried to hold them back, whilst also keeping you safe. I knew that I had to keep you safe," JJ reiterated.

"And one got you, because you were keeping me safe?"

JJ nodded, "I managed to get rid of a few, but they were spaced out by now, attacking from all angles. I was fighting two in front of me, but also had to stop the third getting you from behind. Just as I stabbed my knife into one of their heads, the third went for you. H-his teeth were...they were going for your face, there was nothing I could do. I leapt back and just threw my arm in the way at the last second, it was the only way I could stop him, only way I could hold him off long enough to kill them both."

Lizzie's eyes were glazed over, thick with tears, "Are you...?"

"We don't know," JJ said. "I just have to...wait."

Lizzie threw her arms around him, pulling him into the tightest of hugs, despite him being almost a complete stranger. "Why?" she sobbed into his shoulder.

JJ laughed, "If you knew how many times Max had saved our skin, you'd get it."

"How are they all so cheerful down there?" Lizzie asked, completely bemused by the lack of a solemn atmosphere.

"They're convinced I'm immune. Said I would have shown signs of a fever by now, but I know it's bullshit. They think if they pretend nothing's wrong, I'll start to think nothing is."

"I'm so sorry," Lizzie said. "I won't ever be able to repay you."

"Do me one favour?" JJ asked.

"Anything."

"If this does get me...if this does finish me off, look out for Karl. If I'm not immune, there's no way he is...he'll have to live with that. Live knowing that a single bite or scratch or whatever might kill him. I don't think I could cope with that," JJ said.

"I'll look out for him, I give you my word," Lizzie promised.

"Thank you."