𝗦𝗛𝗘 𝗟𝗢𝗩𝗘𝗗 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗦𝗜𝗡𝗡𝗘𝗥𝗦
CHAPTER TWENTY FIVE!

〔 Season two, episode eight 〕

𝑻𝑯𝑬 𝑵𝑰𝑵𝑬𝑻𝑬𝑬𝑵 𝒀𝑬𝑨𝑹 𝑶𝑳𝑫𝑺 𝑯𝑨𝑫 𝑩𝑬𝑬𝑵 𝑻𝑹𝑨𝑽𝑬𝑳𝑰𝑵𝑮 𝑺𝑰𝑵𝑪𝑬 𝑻𝑯𝑬𝒀 𝑾𝑬𝑹𝑬 𝑾𝑶𝑲𝑬𝑵 𝑰𝑵 𝑨 𝑷𝑨𝑵𝑰𝑪, it was midday now judging by the sun. Cassandra's feet were aching, sweat and blood clung to her skin from travelling through the heat

Dehydration was what she was most worried about as her feet dragged across the road. Seeing abandoned cars ahead of herself she glanced at Nick, hearing the groans of the dead — yet it didn't faze her, she had realised how immune she was to them while covered in there blood like Nick — though being up close and personal with them still scared her

Nick searched the car, noticing a trapped infected the car, holding his hand out, his fingers touched its outstretched hand. Cassandra eyes switched worriedly between the one approaching and the one Nick was...playing with. Its snarls grew louder as Nick made contact

"Nick," Cassandra warned,

She watched as he opened the door, avoiding the undead as he tried to search through the car it tried to reach for him which meant the smell of the blood was waring off which meant she was covered in blood for nothing

Nick pulled out a bottle of water, which was pretty much empty, sighing. He held it out to Cassandra, and she shook her head. She wasn't going to take the only water

"Drink it," he told her, smiling slightly as she took it out of his hand. As she brought the bottle to her lips, Nick went back to searching the car, finding a radio

Cassandra's watched as he fiddled with it.

In the distance Cassandra could hear a vehicle approaching, looking up and towards the undead that was approaching she saw a vehicle, quickly tugging at Nicks up she pulled him down and behind the car — her hand kept a tight grip on his arm — as she stared at him worriedly

She kept her head down and hidden, hearing male voices, speaking in Spanish

Nick poked his head out, watching as three men jumped out of the vehicle, killing the infected. He watched them closely. They didn't look like the type of people that would be approachable — his gaze switched to Cassandra's feeling her grip on his arm. He noticed her expression was a mix of fear and worry

Nick watched as they approached a car that was left on the highway, both Nick and Cass made out certain words but one they clearly understood was alive, the man in the car was alive so as Nick watched the leader of the three men, stab the man. He knew they were in trouble

Cassandra heard the impact. She let out soft gasp quickly, covering her mouth once she realised what she had done, and at the same time, the radio Nick was playing with made a loud noise

Nick gave Cassandra a look before quickly pulling at her arm and pushing her arm in front of himself

"Run," he told her, making sure she was in front as he heard a gunshot go off once the men spotted them, run and don't look back, he thought

The two of them continued to run, heading through fields of long grass, the men close behind them shouting in Spanish and firing guns at them. The two of them ran in a panic, Cassandra struggled to keep up as Nick overtook her. She struggled to breathe

Nick turned around, noticing her struggle he grabbed her hand, pulling her along. She had always struggled with her breathing, when in a panic or running

After a few more minutes, the shouting disappeared, and the two of them reached a clearing. Nick dropped her hand as he bent over tyring to catch his breath, Cassandra tried to catch her breath but she was struggling which left her in coughing fits, tears welled up in her eyes as she continued to struggle

She paced around, trying to catch her breath.

Nick noticed her struggling, grabbing her forearms, and he turned her to face him. She stared up at him, and Nick grabbed her hand, placing it on his chest

"Breath, come on," he whispered, taking his own hand and placing it across where her heart was, Cassandra smiled weakly at the familiar gesture

She leant her forehead against his as she tried to steady her breathing, her hand placed firmly against Nicks chest she could feel his muscles under the shirt but the most important thing she could feel his heartbeat and his breathing, she matched her breathing to his, it helped calm it down, knowing the pace it should be going

A few more hours of walking, Cassandra laid on the grass ignoring everything around her as she listened to Nick struggling to try and eat a cactus, glancing up at the sun she let it blind her for a moment, a moment she wished she was somewhere else

𝘊𝘢𝘴𝘴𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘳𝘢 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘊𝘭𝘢𝘳𝘬𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘢 𝘧𝘦𝘸 𝘥𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘦 𝘕𝘪𝘤𝘬 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘥, 𝘚𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘤𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘶𝘱 𝘢𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘦 𝘔𝘢𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘰𝘯 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘈𝘭𝘪𝘤𝘪𝘢 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘰𝘶𝘵.

𝘚𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘢𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘢𝘱 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘬𝘪𝘵𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘢𝘴 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘬, 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘻𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘢 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘦

𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘧𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘺 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘥𝘦𝘤𝘪𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘬𝘦𝘦𝘱 𝘴𝘦𝘦𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘕𝘪𝘤𝘬 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘥𝘦𝘤𝘪𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘰 𝘮𝘶𝘤𝘩 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦 𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘊𝘭𝘢𝘳𝘬𝘴 — 𝘺𝘦𝘵 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘪𝘥𝘯'𝘵 𝘴𝘦𝘦 𝘢 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘣𝘭𝘦𝘮 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘪𝘵, 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘪𝘥 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘴𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘩𝘦𝘳, 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘧𝘦𝘤𝘵 𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘴, 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘢𝘭𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘺 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘭𝘢𝘸 𝘴𝘤𝘩𝘰𝘰𝘭, 𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘭𝘺 𝘢𝘥𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘰.

"𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘥𝘰𝘯'𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘥𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵" 𝘚𝘵𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘊𝘭𝘢𝘳𝘬 𝘴𝘱𝘰𝘬𝘦, 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘊𝘢𝘴𝘴𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘳𝘢 𝘫𝘶𝘮𝘱 𝘢𝘴 𝘩𝘦 𝘯𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘯𝘰𝘳𝘮𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘴𝘱𝘰𝘬𝘦, 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘣𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘺 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘩𝘪𝘮

"𝘐 𝘥𝘰𝘯'𝘵 𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘥" 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘱𝘭𝘪𝘦𝘥 𝘲𝘶𝘪𝘤𝘬𝘭𝘺, 𝘱𝘪𝘤𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘶𝘱 𝘢 𝘵𝘰𝘸𝘭 𝘵𝘰 𝘥𝘳𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘴 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘧𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘩𝘪𝘮, 𝘢𝘴 𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘯𝘦𝘢𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘰𝘰𝘳. 𝘚𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘪𝘮, 𝘪𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘳𝘦𝘮𝘢𝘳𝘬𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘮𝘶𝘤𝘩 𝘕𝘪𝘤𝘬 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘩𝘪𝘮, 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘭 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘪𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘰𝘣𝘷𝘪𝘰𝘶𝘴 𝘦𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘪𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘺𝘦𝘴

𝘚𝘵𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘮𝘢𝘥𝘦 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘸𝘢𝘺 𝘵𝘰𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘥𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘗𝘢𝘳𝘬𝘦𝘳 𝘨𝘪𝘳𝘭, 𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘥𝘳𝘺 𝘪𝘵

"𝘕𝘪𝘤𝘬𝘴 𝘭𝘶𝘤𝘬𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶" 𝘚𝘵𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘰𝘭𝘥 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘳𝘶𝘯𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘦 𝘧𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘻𝘦 𝘢𝘴 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘪𝘮, 𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘪𝘥𝘯'𝘵 𝘯𝘰𝘳𝘮𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘢𝘬 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘯𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘴𝘱𝘰𝘬𝘦 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘕𝘪𝘤𝘬 "𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘥𝘰 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘔𝘢𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘰𝘯 𝘥𝘰𝘦𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘮𝘦, 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘢𝘳𝘬. 𝘠𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘓𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘕𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘩 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘳, 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘩𝘰𝘮𝘦"

"𝘐𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵'𝘴 𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘦 𝘐 𝘰𝘣𝘷𝘪𝘰𝘶𝘴𝘭𝘺 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦𝘯'𝘵 𝘥𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘢 𝘨𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘦𝘯𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘫𝘰𝘣" 𝘊𝘢𝘴𝘴𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘳𝘢 𝘮𝘶𝘮𝘣𝘭𝘦𝘥,

"𝘕𝘰𝘸 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵'𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘦. 𝘐𝘵𝘴 𝘥𝘪𝘧𝘧𝘪𝘤𝘶𝘭𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘥𝘦𝘢𝘭 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘕𝘪𝘤𝘬 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘥𝘰 𝘢 𝘨𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵 𝘫𝘰𝘣 𝘢𝘵 𝘴𝘶𝘤𝘩 𝘢 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘨𝘦. 𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘶𝘯𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵'𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘦 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥𝘴 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘯𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘨𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘶𝘱. 𝘛𝘰 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘊𝘢𝘴𝘴𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘳𝘢 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘶𝘯, 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘥𝘢𝘳𝘬𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘰𝘦𝘴𝘯'𝘵 𝘭𝘦𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘢𝘳𝘬𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘵𝘰𝘶𝘤𝘩. 𝘠𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘭𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵"

"𝘞𝘩𝘺 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴?" 𝘊𝘢𝘴𝘴𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘳𝘢 𝘸𝘰𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘥, 𝘪𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘱𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘦, 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘴𝘢𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘨𝘰𝘰𝘥𝘣𝘺𝘦

𝘚𝘵𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘴𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘴𝘢𝘥𝘭𝘺, 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢 𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘯 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥𝘦𝘳, 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘥𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘺𝘦𝘴

"𝘑𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘥𝘰𝘯'𝘵 𝘨𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘶𝘱 𝘰𝘯 𝘮𝘺 𝘣𝘰𝘺"

𝘚𝘵𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘊𝘭𝘢𝘳𝘬 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘦𝘭𝘴𝘦 𝘬𝘯𝘦𝘸 𝘊𝘢𝘴𝘴𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘳𝘢 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘢 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘢 𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘕𝘪𝘤𝘬, 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘥𝘦𝘤𝘪𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘕𝘪𝘤𝘬 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘮𝘢𝘥𝘦

Cassandra shook her head, her mind coming out of the memory. She and Nick had continued walking, and once again night had fallen,

They had leant up against an old and rusty car with the windows poped out, she leant her head on his shoulder her legs huddle into her stomach as she buried her head into his shoulder, she felt his arms wrap around her trying to shield her from the cold

He held her tightly, as if trying to shield her not only from the cold but from the world, placing a soft kiss on her forehead

"Sleep. I'll keep watch, " he mumbled, smiling contently as she cuddled closer to him

𝘊𝘢𝘴𝘴𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘳𝘢 𝘱𝘢𝘤𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘧𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳'𝘴 𝘰𝘧𝘧𝘪𝘤𝘦 𝘵𝘶𝘨𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘯 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘴𝘭𝘦𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘴 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘧𝘦𝘭𝘵 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 100𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘧𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘕𝘪𝘤𝘬 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘯𝘰 𝘨𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘩𝘪𝘮

𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘪𝘥𝘯'𝘵 𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘦, 𝘩𝘦 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘦𝘳. 𝘔𝘢𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘰𝘯 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘦𝘳, 𝘢𝘴𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘦𝘳, 𝘱𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘥 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘴 𝘕𝘪𝘤𝘬 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘚𝘵𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘥𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨. 𝘚𝘩𝘦 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦. 𝘚𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘕𝘪𝘤𝘬 𝘪𝘧 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘧𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘥𝘪𝘦𝘥.

"𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘣𝘰𝘺 𝘪𝘴 𝘯𝘰 𝘨𝘰𝘰𝘥. 𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘨𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘢 𝘭𝘢𝘸𝘺𝘦𝘳. 𝘠𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘨𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘸 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘢𝘸𝘢𝘺" 𝘌𝘭𝘪𝘫𝘢𝘩 𝘭𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦𝘥 "𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘮𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘐'𝘷𝘦 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘥𝘰 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘺𝘰𝘶"

𝘊𝘢𝘴𝘴𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘳𝘢'𝘴 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘵 𝘶𝘱, 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘭𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘥𝘢𝘥

"𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘯𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘮𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘺𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘩𝘦𝘳" 𝘊𝘢𝘴𝘴𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘳𝘢 𝘱𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘪𝘤𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘮𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘴𝘢𝘵 𝘰𝘯 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘬 "𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘱𝘪𝘤𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘐'𝘷𝘦 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘴𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘰𝘧 𝘩𝘦𝘳, 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘪𝘦𝘥 𝘨𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘣𝘪𝘳𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘦, 𝘴𝘰 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘣𝘷𝘪𝘰𝘶𝘴𝘭𝘺 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘥 𝘮𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥𝘯'𝘵 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘺, 𝘐 𝘩𝘰𝘱𝘦 𝘴𝘰, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘯𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘮𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘺𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘐 𝘥𝘰𝘯'𝘵 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵. 𝘚𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘰 𝘸𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘨𝘶𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵"

𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘣𝘰𝘵𝘩 𝘧𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘢 𝘴𝘭𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦, 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘦𝘺𝘦𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘤𝘶𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘪𝘤𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦. 𝘚𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘮𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘪𝘵 𝘮𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘣𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘥 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘧𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘰 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘦𝘳, 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬𝘴.

"𝘊𝘢𝘴𝘴𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘳𝘢 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘐 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵'𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘺𝘰𝘶. 𝘍𝘰𝘳 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘢 𝘨𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦, 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘴𝘶𝘤𝘤𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘧𝘶𝘭"

"𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘵'𝘴 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘐 𝘥𝘪𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘳 𝘥𝘢𝘥, 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘴𝘢𝘺 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘢 𝘨𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢 𝘨𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘣𝘦𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦𝘴 𝘮𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘺. 𝘐 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘐 𝘸𝘰𝘯'𝘵 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘺𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘺 𝘐 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘩𝘪𝘮" 𝘊𝘢𝘴𝘴𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘳𝘢 𝘢𝘳𝘨𝘶𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘬𝘯𝘦𝘸 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘴𝘵𝘶𝘱𝘪𝘥 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘥 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘢 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘴𝘪𝘤𝘬 𝘵𝘦𝘦𝘯𝘢𝘨𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘰𝘺 𝘴𝘩𝘦'𝘴 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘪𝘴 𝘨𝘰𝘯𝘯𝘢 𝘣𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘴𝘩𝘦'𝘴 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘬𝘯𝘦𝘸 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘕𝘪𝘤𝘬 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘞𝘢𝘴 𝘥𝘪𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘵

"𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘥𝘰𝘯'𝘵 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘪𝘴"

"𝘠𝘦𝘴 𝘐 𝘥𝘰. 𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵'𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘵 𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘥𝘢𝘥" 𝘊𝘢𝘴𝘴𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘳𝘢 𝘴𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘦𝘥 𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘥 𝘤𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘪𝘮, 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘦𝘺𝘦𝘴 𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘢𝘥𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴 "𝘥𝘢𝘥𝘥𝘺, 𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘩𝘦 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥𝘴 𝘮𝘦, 𝘩𝘦'𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰𝘭𝘥 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘧𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘪𝘴 𝘥𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘐 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘥𝘰𝘯'𝘵 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘢𝘯𝘺𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦, 𝘐 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘭𝘦 𝘣𝘰𝘺, 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘵𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘮𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘶𝘱 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘮𝘦, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘭𝘦 𝘣𝘰𝘺 𝘸𝘩𝘰'𝘴 𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘰𝘬, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘢𝘺 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘮𝘦𝘵 𝘩𝘪𝘮"

𝘌𝘭𝘪𝘫𝘢𝘩 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘥𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘥𝘢𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘦𝘳, 𝘴𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨. 𝘚𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘶𝘨𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴

"𝘋𝘢𝘥 𝘏𝘦 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥𝘴 𝘮𝘦. 𝘏𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘣𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘢 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘣𝘦𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘪𝘵𝘶𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘦𝘥"

𝘌𝘭𝘪𝘫𝘢𝘩 𝘬𝘯𝘦𝘸 𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘥 𝘰𝘯 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵'𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘕𝘪𝘤𝘬 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘨𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘩𝘦𝘳, 𝘢 𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦 𝘢𝘨𝘰.

"𝘞𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥𝘯'𝘵 𝘮𝘰𝘮 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘺"

𝘊𝘢𝘴𝘴𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘳𝘢 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘨𝘰𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘧𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳'𝘴 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘵 𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘥𝘳𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘳, 𝘣𝘰𝘵𝘩 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘳𝘶𝘴𝘩𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘊𝘢𝘴𝘴𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘳𝘢 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘕𝘪𝘤𝘬'𝘴 𝘴𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘮 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘨𝘰𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘯 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘴𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘰𝘭𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘥𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘸𝘢𝘺, 𝘪𝘨𝘯𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘶𝘢𝘳𝘥𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘧𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘥𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘵 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘩𝘦𝘳,

𝘚𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘢𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘰𝘰𝘮 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘰𝘸 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘸, 𝘕𝘪𝘤𝘬 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘔𝘢𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘰𝘯. 𝘏𝘦𝘳 𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘥 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘰𝘰𝘳𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘣 𝘰𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘵 𝘴𝘰𝘧𝘵𝘭𝘺 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘢𝘴 𝘴𝘰𝘰𝘯 𝘢𝘴 𝘕𝘪𝘤𝘬 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘰𝘰𝘳 𝘨𝘰 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘦𝘺𝘦𝘴 𝘴𝘯𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘥 𝘶𝘱 𝘮𝘦𝘦𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘣𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘣𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘬 𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘤𝘳𝘰𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘰𝘰𝘮 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘳𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘮𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘩𝘪𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘧𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘯𝘦𝘤𝘬 𝘢𝘴 𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘦𝘵 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘴𝘪𝘭𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘴𝘰𝘣𝘴

"𝘐'𝘮 𝘴𝘰 𝘴𝘰𝘳𝘳𝘺" 𝘊𝘢𝘴𝘴𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘳𝘢 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘴 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘥 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘵𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘣𝘰𝘥𝘺 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘴𝘰𝘣𝘴 𝘢𝘴 𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘭𝘶𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘦𝘳. 𝘈𝘭𝘭 𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘩𝘦𝘳, 𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘢𝘪𝘯 𝘨𝘰 𝘢𝘸𝘢𝘺

Once again Cassandra was awoken with a start, growling echoed in her ears yet not the kind she had gotten use to, her eye's shot open and panic shot through her veins as she jumped seeing two dogs, which looked hungry for blood

"Get up, Nick" she whispered shoving him slightly, he mumbled a bit but once his eyes adjusted to the light, he jumped up in panic which in return startled the dogs and one of them latched onto his leg, Cassandra looked around finding a rock to the side of her, she grabbed it quickly smashed it repeatedly on the dogs head untill it realised Nicks leg, without having time to think, Cassandra grabbed onto the rusted vehicle her and Nick had been sleeping against and started to climb up, Nick following close behind when one of the dogs latched back onto his leg

Cassandra dropped to her knees grabbing ahold of Nick and using All her strength to pull him up as he kicked the dog off his leg, he collapsed ontop of the truck and Cassandra could see the pain in his face
— and all her attention went on his wound

She pulled his trousers leg up, apologising as he hissed in pain. She grimaced as she saw the deep teeth marks, the ripped skin, and all the blood

"I don't have anything to clean it." She panicked."There's no water or badges. It could get infected" her worried eyes met his, as the barks of the dogs continued but they switched and trained themselves on another target, Cassandra quickly dropped onto the roof beside Nick as the two of them stared at the approaching herd

The two of them watched as the dogs tried to fight the infected but there was to many and they got trapped and overwhelmed, Cassandra turned around not wanting to see them be eaten — but Nick couldn't tear his eyes away, a small smile on his face

A few hours passed, and the two were still stuck on the creaky old roof of the vehicle. Every movement made noise, and they couldn't make noise before the herd was still below them,

Cassandra kept a strong grip on Nicks hand as he whimpered in pain. It reminded her of when he used to withdraw — a feeling of helplessness when the man she loved was in pain

The dead heard the creek of the metal and started to head towards them. Cassandra watched them in pain before glancing at Nick who had his hand clasped together and his head bowed almost like he was praying — Ofelia told her, it looked like he was praying when she was taken — she found it strange, he never did before. He never believed. Why would he?

But then a horn blared in the distance, drawing the undeads' attention towards it and away from them... along with gunshots, which made Cassandra realise just how close those people were to them

Once they got far enough away, Nick jumped down, but the moment his leg hit the ground, he collapsed, groaning in pain

"Idiot," Cassandra mumbled, jumping down beside them "your real smart sometimes, aren't you Nick, oh i have a bad leg. Why don't I just jump off the roof" she raised her eyebrows

Nick sent her a look before hopping over to the dog carcass and eating part of its meat, making Cassandra scrunched her face in disgust, especially because the infected had just torn it apart

"Nick, are you sure that's a smart idea. What if it turns you?" Cassandra asked, but he ignored her, eating more from the carcass before crawling over to a crippled zombie, taking its belt to use as a tarnkit for his leg

His eyes glanced towards the herd and then back to Cassandra, and with that look, Cassandra knew his plan. They were going to walk with the dead again.

♱

Following the herd had led them back to the highway, but Cassandra was worried about Nick. He didn't seem right, it was like he was hallucinating, Cassandra kept a watchful eye on him but she was also trying to keep aware of there surroundings, walking with the dead and once they reached the highway her fears was came true

The gunshots they had heard were from the same people who chased them. Cassandra looked at Nick from the side of her eye as the men started to fire into the herd, the dead around them dropping like flies, and each time, the bullets were getting closer and closer to them

Was this how she died, her blinde loyalty to Nick.

Nick saw the panic on her face, Linking their hands together slowly, he continued to act like one of the dead in hopes she would. Nick glared at the man, not blinking, not breaking eye contact, and despite all odds the man recognised him — he tried to reload his gun quickly, making him drop the bullets

And the herd caught up on him, it made Cassandra realise how important a second is in this one world — one second is all it takes and then you're gone

She watched as the undead tore apart the men, till there was hardly anything left, she watched the fascination in Nicks eyes and she didn't know how it made her feel. She knew she shouldn't be watching but she couldn't take her eyes away

They continued walking with the dead, travelling down the highway, but gradually Cassandra could see Nick was getting worse. He kept dropping back, and then he finally dropped to his knees. Cassandra caught his head before he hit it against the road, dropping to the ground beside him. She placed his head on her lap as she brushed his hair away from his forehead

"I'm here," she whispered, but in truth, she felt helpless.

♱

Cassandra held onto Nick, helping him walk through the town they had found. They needed to find supplies. His leg was just getting worse, and Cassandra was worried

The rain last night had washed the blood off them, so now they were out in the open, with nothing to defend themselves and with Nick injured. Both of them were starving and dehydrated and exhausted. Nothing was in their favour. Both of them had bad sunburn,

Cassandra glanced around at her surroundings, noticing a barber shop that seemed empty

"In there, Nick," she led him towards the shop, helping him sit on a barber chair

She looked around the shop, searching everywhere but all she could find was ductape and some tissue

"This will have to do," she sighed, running a hand through her hair before crouching in front of Nick, placing the tissue on the open wound and ducktaping around it

Both of them were oblivious to the three armed people standing at the entrance, until Nick looked up immediately, holding his hands up to show they meant no harm

Cassandra turned around, spotting them, two men and women, yet the women had speed to be in charge. Cassandra smirked at that slightly, but her eyes never left their guns

She stepped closer, assessing what Cass was doing. She said something in Spanish
But not even Cassandra could understand what she said. The man then started to speak. And all Cassandra could understand was the word infected

"He's not infected. It was a dog. It attacked us. Two of them, " Cassandra spoke, looking up at the man before glancing at the women. She was quite beautiful.

She had on a jean jacket ripped jeans, and a beautiful blue stoned bracelet.

"¿Por favour agua?" Nick asked. The women looked at them both before signalling the man to give water to Nick, who at first held it towards Cassandra

"I'm fine," she told him. "You need it."

Nick shook his head but knew she was right and decided to drink it until it was taking away

The women started to speak again before heading towards the door. The only words Cassandra understood was let's go

"She wants us to follow her" Cassandra said helping Nick out of the chair, she didn't think following strangers was safe but if they could help him it would benefit them because at this rate they won't last long

♱

The strangers lead them back to a settlement and lead them to what Cassandra could make out was there makeshift infirmary,

Cassandra sat on one of the beds as Nick wondered around, trying to look out the window. They both could hear children, which led them to believe it was a good place

To hear children's laughter it made Cassandra smile. Maybe they made the right decision to trust in strangers

A man came down the stairs addressing Nick as he did

"You shouldn't put any weight on it." He gestured to the bed Cassandra was sitting on "please"

Nick limped over to the bed, taking a seat beside her. The man grabbed his leg, taking a look at the wound

"I'll have to cut your trousers. Is that okay?" He asked, taking hold of a tray beside him.
Nick nodded in response, watching as the man, with obvious medical training, started to cut his trouser leg

He started to treat the wound, and both of the teens looked at it in disgust

"I'm sorry. You are on the edge of infection."

"You're a doctor, right?" Nick asked, making Cassandra stare at him. Even if he wasn't, he's probably the best there gonna get now

"You would have died in the wilderness."

"I wouldn't mind that." Nick replied, making Cassandra hit his shoulder

"Stop it," she sighed. "Stop saying things like that."

Alejandro could hear the frustration in her voice. He understood by the looks of his arms this was probably a conversation they have had many times

"This will hurt," he replied. Before cleaning the wound, Nick winced in pain, gasping and moving around. Cassandra held in a small smile. Of course, she was worried about him, but it she couldn't help it

"Strange," he observed. "Luciana said you were brave,"

"Luciana." Cassandra tasted the name on her tongue, "That's the woman who brought us in."

"I'm not," Nick mumbled, still in pain

"No, you are foolish," the man replied, making Cassandra squint her eyes at him
"Death is not to be feared, but it shouldn't he pursued. There's a difference"

Cassandra faceplamed mentally. Please tell me we didn't just walk into another cult, she thought.

"He's been doing that most of his life." Cassandra casted a glanced to his track marks before closing her eyes and sighing
Alejandro held Nick's wound, making him sqirm, Cassandra knew he was doing it to help him, but she still hated seeing Nick in pain.

"You will recover."