The Dead World/Issue 113

It had been about an hour since the road incident and the group had stopped on the road somewhere once they had decided they were far enough from the little zombie herd they faced. Now they were all sitting around, unsure what to do....or waiting for the time to come.

Anthony was sitting alone in the RV with only a unconscious Karen to keep him company. However he wasn't focused much on the fact he was alone. Instead his thoughts were on memories of him and Karen having "moments" together which seemed to keep flashing around his head.

"you know now I think about it, I think I'd rather kiss you at midnight" Anthony admitted playfully as she took a drag of her cigarette before turning to raise an eyebrow at him with a certain look.

''"you think?" she parroted making him shift on his feet as he chuckled and nodded thinking of something "sweet" to say but just as he opened his mouth to say something he had come up with, she placed her finger to his lips.''

"don't even try to say something "sweet" Mr. Romantic" Karen told him causing the two to burst out in laughter while Karen flicked the cigarette out of the window before leaning over to him and kissing him fully on the lips causing him to blush thinking about how lucky he was to have Karen as his girlfriend.

Truth be told, Anthony knew there was no chance she would survive until midnight, so they could have their midnight kiss....

He knew at some point soon his girlfriend would die, possibly in her sleep? that way he wouldn't be able to even say goodbye but then whoever kept giving them this rotten luck probably wanted them not to speak before she died.

He just couldn't wrap his head around what had happened. Karen had just got BIT, all this time they've survived and now they're so close to making it to a safe zone and NOW she gets bit?

Anthony couldn't help but blame himself for her being bit. He should've been keeping an eye out for zombies like she had told him to but instead he had been looking through that car, making jokes and didn't pay attention.

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry I screwed up....again" Anthony admitted quietly as he leaned down and kissed her cheek gently but as he began moving his lips away, he burst out crying and pulled her close as he rocked gently.

"I'm sorry...." Anthony repeated over and over as he held her close to him, letting all the tears he had been holding for a long time out as he tried to wrap his head around the situation. Tried his best to prepare himself but never mind what he done it didn't work.

Nothing could prepare him for losing Karen forever....

The rest of the group were all sitting in a circle like position as they all remained silent. All unsure of what to even think never mind say. All they knew was Anthony was about to loose his girlfriend and they were about to loose a great friend....

"we should end it now, just in case she suddenly takes a turn for the worse" Angelica said finally breaking their silence but the only response she got was a load of glares aimed in her direction making her sigh and bow her head again.

"come on I'm not the bad guy here I'm just pointing out it needs to be done at some point" Angelica continued and this time no one glared at her. Deep down they all knew she was right but they just didn't want Karen to go....

"let Anthony be ready for it first, then we deal with...her" Will told Angelica in a don't question me voice making Angelica shrug and get up as she grabbed her rifle, truth be told the situation didn't bother her much. Yeah she was sad to see yet another one of them go but she wasn't going to cry about it like everyone else.

"whatever, just don't blame me if something fucks up" Angelica commented before she walked off leaving the remaining group members again in silence as they looked down to the floor, shifting on their feet a little.

"by the way guys we have a little problem...." Annie admitted quietly causing them all to sigh as they looked up to her with a face that told her they didn't really want to know what the problem was but they had to find out sooner or later.

"well when we left that road in a rush, we left behind the ambulance and that's not necessarily a bad thing but....all of the medical supplies was in it to" Annie told them softly and she could tell they were all annoyed but didn't blame it on her, thankfully.

"we going to go back and get them?" Emily asked looking around the group before her eyes settled on Will like everyone else's did. Whether he liked it or not, Will was the better leader out of them all and they all knew if Will wasn't the one in charge they wouldn't even have a chance of getting to that safe zone.

"we have to, without them we're screwed" Will stated as he put a hand on his chin as he thought up a plan to get the supplies while everyone waited patiently for him to come up with one which he picked up on causing him to sigh inwardly.

"who volunteers to come then?" Will asked and obviously instantly Bella raised her hand with a smile which Will returned with one of his own but had to resist the urge to tell her not to come. He may not like her putting herself in danger but with them at such a small number he had no choice but to allow her.

"I think its best I came to, just in case we have to only pick out certain medical supplies" Annie stated and Will nodded in agreement before he grabbed his crossbow and stood up, everyone's eyes still on him as he spoke.

"alright me, Bella and Annie are going to go back for the supplies, we wont take a vehicle because we don't want to attract more zombies to us before we get there and the rest of you stay here" Will said and was about to walk off before he looked to the RV one last time and sighed turning to them all again.

"and keep an eye on Anthony, yeah?" Will asked them and they all nodded resulting in Will giving them a thankful smile before walking off quickly followed by Bella and Annie. It was best they left as soon as possible. They didn't want to still be on the road when it got dark....

Opening her eyes carefully, Karen could barely see through blurred vision for a few moments until she was finally able to tell that she was in the RV and her head was currently laying in Anthony's lap which made her smile.

However this smile soon disappeared as she had remembered she was bitten not to long ago and as if on cue she started coughing a lot completely jolting Anthony from the little nap he had been having but he didn't mind at all, as usual he was more worried about her.

"Karen?, Karen you ok?!" Anthony asked frantically as he held her a little to stop her falling off the sofa which she appreciated but she still couldn't answer him, all she could do was cough for the moment, even a little bit of blood coming out.

Once the coughing had stopped, Karen laid back onto the sofa while Anthony began dabbing her soaked forehead with a cloth despite her protests of him not wanting to nurse her back to health.

"just wait here a minute, i'll go get Annie or someone" Anthony told her but just as he got out of his seat, Karen weakly grabbed his arm stopping him, making him confused as she sat back down and looked at her.

"Anthony we need to talk-" Karen started but Anthony put his finger on her lips giving a smile in the process as he opened his own mouth to speak in his usual happy tone....

"yeah we will after, Annie said she's going to check your vitals and all that and we're going to see how this infection works and then hopefully when we reach Charleston they can fix you up" Anthony said with so much hope in his voice and It was then Karen realized that he was pretending everything was going to be ok because he couldn't face the truth.

He couldn't deal with the fact she was dying....

"Anthony" she whispered softer than she had ever said anything as she looked him in the eyes finally getting his full attention when she gave him a small sad smile before speaking up again, trying to say the next sentence as softly as she could.

"we both know I'm going to die and I need YOU to make sure I don't turn"

Sneaking up towards the ambulance, Will kept his crossbow ready as Bella kept her machete ready with Annie just following them closely behind, with no weapon that made her feel a little awkward standing next to two armed military people.

"looks like there's only two zombies in the way of us and the entrance to the back of the ambulance" Bella stated but Will shook his head as he nervously ran his hand through his hair before pointing to in front of the vehicle.

"yeah but there is a load of zombies in the front of it, if we tried to get the vehicle out of there we'd be surrounded before we even realized" Will told her and Bella quickly noticed this to be true and sighed.

"does this mean were giving up on getting the medical supplies?" Annie asked worriedly as she looked in between the two of them but thankfully Will shook his head as he aimed his crossbow and took down one of the two zombies in their path while Bella went to kill the other one.

"no but if its ok with you it means we're going to have to leave the ambulance itself behind" Will stated but Annie just let out a little laugh and nodded as she and Will quietly followed Bella who was currently opening the back of the ambulance, Will retrieving his arrow along the way.

"that's fine, there is no need for three vehicles anyway with the low number we have" Annie whispered to him, now they were very close to the small zombie herd which had gathered nearby them as she climbed into the vehicle.

Nodding in agreement Will picked up three bags and handed one each to Bella and Annie before keeping the third one to himself so the three of them could pack as many medical supplies as they could carry.

However as Annie picked up something she winded up dropping it on the floor of the vehicle resulting in a loud banging noise and the three of them could tell by all the sudden groaning from outside they had attracted some unwanted attention.

"shit, go as quick as you can now!" Will ordered as he practically speedily just shoved whatever he could grab into the bag before he done it up and held it tight as he grabbed his crossbow again and exited the vehicle.

"come on Annie" Bella told Annie as she two done up her bag before gripping it tightly and grabbing her machete before exiting the vehicle to join Will. However Annie kept packing and packing and Will could see they were about to be surrounded soon.

"ANNIE, NOW!!" Will scolded her and this seemed to snap her out of her trance as she quickly done up her bag and exited the vehicle leaving the three of them to sprint down the road as fast as they could back to the others, knowing that had been a close one....

Sitting back in his chair, Anthony held his head in his hands as he took more than a few deep breaths while Karen just watched him sadly until he finally looked up to her, shaking his head as he had a few tears in his eyes.

"no, no, NO....we cant give up, there has to be something we could do to help you" Anthony stated but all Karen could manage to do was shake her head as she burst into a fit of coughs making Anthony feel even sadder as he watched her.

"you have to....please, I don't want to become one of them" Karen said softly after her coughing had gone down a little. Reaching out to grab his hand she looked him in the eyes making him sigh and bow his head, breaking their eye contact.

"I've lost enough people because of them monsters, please....I cant lose you too" Anthony admitted in such a sad tone it made Karen feel a lump in her throat because she was so upset. She didn't want to leave the love of her life, she really didn't but she knew she was going to turn soon.

She knew she was going to die soon, one way or another....

"I'm sorry Anthony" Karen whispered as she grasped his hand tightly and eventually he nodded bravely, giving a sad sigh but she knew he'd realized now. She was going to die and it was up to him to put her down.

"hey....you remember our all night date to the city of the dead?" Karen asked smiling as she sat up to lean her head on his shoulder while he leaned his head on her own head, chuckling a little as he wiped a couple of tears away.

"yeah, not exactly the best of first dates was it?" he asked with a laugh which made her laugh as she nodded a little before she suddenly burst into another lot of coughing, leaning away from him to lay back on the bed sighing as she ran her hands through her hair one last time. She felt so weak....

"did you.....did you....want to say goodbye?" Anthony practically forced out of his mouth but Karen shook her head, a tear going down her cheek as she thought about the other members of their group and the ones they had lost up until now.

"no, no.... I was never good at saying goodbyes" Karen said honestly and Anthony nodded in understanding as they both leaned towards each other to share one last kiss before Anthony stood up and un holstered his gun.

"bye, bye my love" Karen whispered to him as she closed her eyes, taking her last few breaths, accepting her death. However Anthony just stood there shaking as he aimed his gun at her until eventually he took aim, closed his eyes, took a deep breath....

And fired.