Cody

After Durbin made a quick stop at a gas station--looking over his shoulder every second as the fuel pumped— we began to drive down the highway, another vision of the flat, golden fields of Kansas to our right and left. Unkempt grass swayed in the wind, making the fields seem like an ocean, waves tumbling down and down until they became buried in the array of gold.

“When will this end?” I asked, irritation filling my voice. “I'm tired of seeing the same thing every time I look out this damn window.”

Durbin chuckled next to me, his hands gripping the steering wheel. “We're almost to the border,” He said, his voice scratchy. “Next is Colorado.”

“Thank God,” I said, resting my head against the window, the cool of it taking my mind away from my throbbing leg.

“Maybe you should get some rest,” Durbin said, his tone sounding like a concerned father. “You're bound to be exhausted.”

“All I've been doing is sitting in this truck for six hours.” I slouched deeper into my seat, liking the idea even though I protested it. “What would I be tired from? Staring out the window?”

“You know what I'm talking about.” Out of the corner of my eye Durbin's finger pointed down at my leg. “Pain and disease can wear you out too.”

“It hurts,” I said, my eyes involuntarily shutting. “But I'm not sick.”

“It's infected.” Durbin's voice was low and serious. “You need to save your strength, so sleep while you can.”

I wanted to fight his words, to object to him and say he was wrong, but my jaw fell slack as I drifted away into sleep.

In my dream I was standing in the forest. I glanced around taking in the trees before stepping over the fallen tree branches and thick brush. I wasn't sure what I was looking for until I saw her.

Desi was standing between the trees, a ray of sun peeking through the leaves and beaming onto her golden hair. Her eyes were closed as she looked up at the sun, deep breaths coming in and out of her nose as if she was trying to remember the scent.

“Desi,” I spoke her name, my hand reaching out to her.

Her eyes popped open, her frosty blue eyes looking right at me. Right through me. Confusion swept across her delicate features.

“Desi,” I said again louder as I took a step towards her.

Desi's hair whipped around her head as she glanced frantically around her, trying to find the source of the voice.

“Cody?” She asked, barely a whisper.

“Yes!” I said, lunging towards her. “It's me!”

“Where are you?” She choked.

“Right here,” I stood in front of her, her eyes staring straight ahead as if I wasn't even there. I lifted my arms and wrapped them around her, coming up short when they went right through her. “No..” I whispered bringing my hand out and watching as it slipped right through her stomach, not being able to touch her or feel the warmth of her skin.

“CODY!” She screamed, the beam of sun disappearing as a dark cloud loomed overhead. A tear streamed down Desi's face dropping to the ground with a faint drip as the rain began to pour around us.

Her wet hair clung to her skin, slapping across her face as she spun trying to find me. Lightning streaked across the sky followed by a deafening boom making Desi sprint into the trees.

“Desi!” I yelled as I picked up my feet to run after her.

The trees began to fade around us, the wet grass turning to soggy sand. Rain pelted down on us as we ran through a desert, clumps of sand slung into my face as Desi picked up her pace, leaving me behind.

My legs began to give out underneath me and I stumbled, my face planting into the wet sand below me. I jumped up, scrambling to my knees, wiping my eyes away so I could see. My eyes flitted around the scenery, a vast emptiness overtaking me.

Desi was gone. And I was left kneeling in the sand while the rare hot rain of the desert washed over me.

Desi

It didn't take me long to figure out what I was going to wear to the match tonight. I immediately grabbed for the long, black silk dress and slipped it over my body, the material slinking across my skin.

I slipped on a pair of black stilettos, before looking at myself one more time in the mirror, raking in the eyeliner I had applied specially for this match. I looked dark and angry, and I smiled at myself, happy with my appearance.

Ryder stood in leaning in the front doorway as I rounded the corner out of the bedroom. He wore a black button-up with black slacks, looking as dark and driven as I was. His lip twitched up into a smirk when he saw me enter the room, his eyes trailing down my body.

“I love the dress,” Ryder said, backing out of the doorway so that I could pass.

“Thanks,” I grunted quickening my pace down the hallway, ignoring Ryder as he caught up to me, his hand resting on the small of my back.

“What's wrong?” He asked, concern spreading across his face.

“What do you think is wrong?” I stopped and turned to face him, my hands on my hips. “I'm not happy about all of this.”

“Well, I don't want to go do this either,” Ryder said. “But there's nothing we can do about it.”

I sighed and closed my eyes, remembering when I had left Ryder in the training room and raced up to Evan's room only to see her crying out on the balcony. Her hands had gripped the railing as she hoisted a leg over, letting it dangle below her.

“Evan!” I had yelled at her as I ran across the room, towards the open doors. “Don't do it!”

Evan had turned her head to look at me, her cheeks red and raw from crying. “Just let me fall,” She begged me as she lifted more of her weight over the railing. “There's nothing left for me here.”

I had lunged the last few feet towards her, my hands gripping her shoulders as I pulled her back down onto the balcony. My arms were wrapped around her as she sobbed, drenching my shirt with her tears.

Eventually her wails turned into sniffles and slowly she pulled her head away from my shoulder and looked at me with swollen eyes.

“You have to fight,” I had told her, my hands still on her shoulders. “We all have to fight. We cannot just lay down and die.”

She nodded her head at me, not speaking.

“No matter what happens I am with you,” I had whispered, not wanting my words to be too loud. “If you live through tonight I will fight with you. If it goes the other way, then I will fight for you.”

Evan had wrapped her arms around me, hugging me tightly as she told me about her life and her love Damen who she knew didn't betray her. Their love had gone too deep for that, it was most likely his sister that had betrayed her, never liking Evan in the first place. But Evan did know that Damen was probably dead now, after she poisoned Vivian's coffee, making a dreadful guilt flow through her.

“Desi,” Ryder's voice was loud as he shook my shoulders. “Snap out of it!”

I blinked my eyes and looked at him, quickly glancing away when I saw how deep his gaze was. “Let's just go,” I told him, pulling away from his grasp, letting his arms fall down empty to his sides.

Ryder walked behind me, not wanting to get in my way anymore, and stood silently next to me in the elevator, the annoying music droning in our ears.

When the sliding doors opened to reveal a crowd of people making their way towards the theater for the match, I reached down and grabbed Ryder's hand, letting the calm of his touch sweep through me. His fingers tightened around mine as he led the way out of the elevator and through the aisles of slot machines.

Vivian stood next to the staircase to the balcony seats, a tall man standing in front of her with his lips at her neck. Her eyes met mine and a smile spread across her lips.

“Desiree,” She said, greeting me but I paid her no glance as the man lifted his head from Vivian. Turner looked back at me, a mock smile of Vivian's sitting on his face.

I quickly looked away from the couple, anger filling me as I even thought about them. I let Ryder pull me into the theater and to the pair of seats we usually sat in. I let go of his hand as we sat down, feeling frustrated with myself at my need to feel his touch.

Ryder sat silently next to me, deep in thought as his jaw twitched. I gazed at him wondering what he could be thinking about when the announcer's voice rang through the theater, saying Evan's name.

I turned around to see the red doors open as Evan walked through, her dark hair pulled up on top of her head. She strode with strength, eyes narrowed at the cage in front of her, fists clenched at her sides. The audience cheered for her but she ignored them as she opened the door to the cage and stepped inside.

Evan glanced at Ryder and I quickly before looking up towards Vivian in the balcony, a blaze of anger searing across her face. Vivian's eyes widened at the intensity of Evan and tore her gaze away to say something to Turner.

The doors opened again, revealing one of the biggest men I had ever seen. The infected man stood at least seven feet tall, chains locked around his wrists and ankles as the guards drug him forward, loud growls erupting from the man's throat.

The audience grew quiet in awe of the masculine infected man, not wanting to gain any attention from him, just in case the guards lost control.

When the procession finally halted at the entrance to the cage the guards quickly undid his restraints before pushing him into the cage and slamming the door behind him. Evan's eyes widened in horror as she stared at her empty hands.

“She has no weapon!” Ryder yelled angrily next to me, making the audience murmur around us.

Evan tried to gain her composure before the man let out a roar and charged at her, but she was too late and he was too fast. His monstrous hand gripped tightly around her throat, lifting her slowly off the ground as her fingernails clawed into the skin of his wrist.

Evan's face began to turn purple from lack of air and the infected man breathed in the scent of her, a snarl ripping through his teeth. She kicked her legs, the toes of her shoes pounding into the man's stomach, but it was no use.

The infected slammed Evan's body down into the ground, a loud crack echoing through the theater as her back broke. The audience gasped, some women covering their open mouth in shock.

Evan's breath was raspy as she panted for air, her neck bruised from the man's grip. She couldn't scream when his teeth dug into her torso, only a horrible gurgling sound came through her mouth as she began to die.  Hot tears began to sting my eyes.

I looked away from her, to the guards behind the cage, watching motionless as the infected man killed Evan. My eyes trailed away from them, over the still audience, waiting for someone to say something, to stop this madness, but the silence continued.

Evan grew quiet, her breathing stopped, her eyes still, unmoving and I'd had enough. I stood abruptly from my seat, shaking Ryder's hands off of my arm as he tried to get me to sit back down.

“Evangeline Natalia Longoria,” I recited loudly, causing every head in the theater to turn to look at me. “That was her name.” I heard Vivian's sharp intake of breath from the balcony, practically urging me to continue. “She lived in Oklahoma her whole life and had an abusive childhood that led her to drug abuse and eating disorders, not having a single love for herself, considering that she'd been given none growing up.” No one said a word as they listened to what I had to say.

“When she met the love of her life Damen, he showed her what she had been missing all her life, and took her away from every single form of abuse.” I looked up to Vivian, who was watching me with a scowl on her face. “Nothing could have torn their love apart.”

“Evangeline had a life before the infection happened,” I continued, glancing away from her and to the crowd sitting around me. “She was a person and felt that death just as much as you would have.” I pointed my finger accusingly towards them, landing on figures in the audience.

I reached behind me and grabbed Ryder's shirt, pulling him up to stand beside me.

“We are people,” I told them, my eyes narrowing. “Remember that.”

I stepped forward into the aisle of seats, Ryder following closely behind me. Heads turned in the audience, watching us leave.

I almost thought that I would get off scot-free seeing as no guards were rushing me from the sides of the theater. I walked through the red doors with a victory smile on my face, until several hands gripped my arms, pulling me up the staircase to the balconies, leaving Ryder screaming and resisting below me.