They Walk

Chapter Twenty Seven

I open my eyes, to see Gabe leaning over me so close that his face fills my vision. His eyes are dark and wide, and I suddenly feel his hands on my arms. I’m covered in sweat and I can’t stop shaking, with the dream still fresh in my mind. I must have been moving around in my sleep, because his body is lying on top of mine as if to still me.

I can feel the weight of him and I notice there is a blanket between us, and my breathing picks up. He leans in a little closer to me and I can feel him shaking now too. His face is so close to mine now, that there is very little space between our lips. I hold my breath, knowing that if we even breathed our lips would touch. His hands squeeze my arms and he closes his eyes. I’m about to break the space between us, when he pushes himself up on his arms. With a sigh, he leans back from me and sits up.

Pulling myself up in a sitting position, I notice now that there is no light in the room, and it’s a lot quieter than earlier. Squinting my eyes and taking in the room, I can see blanket covered bumps around the living room. I suddenly feel confused, and unsure of how long I was asleep. Bringing my gaze back to Gabe, I can see that his arms are resting on his knees and he has his head buried in his hands.

I toss the blanket off of me, and slide over so we’re side by side. I place my hand on his back, and only have time to feel that he’s sweating too, before he flinches from my touch.

“Don’t do that Maggie.” He grumbles into his hands.

“Don’t do what?”

“I shouldn’t have tried-. It’s just not right, I’m sorry.” He lowers his hands and looks at me.

My eyes widen and I know what he’s talking about. I’m pretty certain we were about to kiss, and just yesterday I killed my boyfriend. My chest feels tight, and I can’t help to feel guilty. What kind of person am I? At least he has the decency to not take advantage. Feeling like I might be sick, I lean back into the couch.

“You were yelling in your sleep before, bad dream?” He asks after a moment of silence, and he leans back beside me. I do notice that he’s not close enough to touch me though.

“Sort of. Did I wake you up?”

“I wasn’t asleep. We needed someone to keep watch, and I offered. I don’t think I could ever fall asleep again.”

I remember then, that I’m not the only one to kill someone I cared about. Just a few hours ago he killed his father. I know it’s not the same, but the hurt and guilt is still there, and I can understand that.

“Do you want to talk about why you can’t sleep?”

“Not really no. That’s something I’d rather forget about. I’m sure you’d understand that.” He glances at me and he tries to smile, but it doesn’t quite reach his eyes.

“I do, but the offer still stands. Did you guys ever come to a decision?” I ask remembering them fighting over what to do.

“I suppose we did I guess. After you fell asleep, the girls came into the room. And after a heated debate, we thought it would be best to move on and find help.”

“When are we leaving?” I ask, even though I can already guess.

“As soon as everyone wakes up, the plan is to just drive right into the city. Head for the biggest buildings we see.”

“The biggest buildings you see? That really seems like a long shot, you know that right?”

“I do. But everyone is pretty adamant on finding help or at least someone else who knows what’s going on.”

“Finding people makes sense, but if the main square of town is filled with the dead. Then it’s probably safe to say that the city will be filled too.” I can’t help the terror that fills my voice.

The thought of going up against more of the dead makes my blood chill inside my veins.

“I don’t really agree with the way we’re doing things, but the end result should make it worth it.”

“And what’s that?”

“Answers...” He turns so that he’s facing me, and he’s so animated that I know he really means it.

“That does make sense. I just hope we can actually find our parents, if they’re still alive that is.” I whisper that last part, a part of me knows I should just give up. But I can’t.

“Mags, I promise you we’ll find your parents one way or another.” He raises his hand and gently caresses my temple and then down my cheek.

Closing my eyes, I sigh and hope that he’s right.

Gabe pulls his hand away, and leans away from me. When he gets up off the couch, I finally have to be honest with myself. As hard as I’ve tried to not have feelings for Gabe, it hasn’t worked at all. It just doesn’t make sense to not admit anything, especially the way things are.

Hell, we could all die tomorrow, and then where would we be?

“I should go and check the doors and windows. It’ll be light soon, and it would be nice to know we’re alone here.”

Without waiting for a reply he walks away from me. He has to walk around everyone in the room, and goes off around the corner and disappears.