Chapter 2

Night falls quick above the dense forest. With the duo travelling back down the highway they both know being caught out in the open in the dark would be bad for them both. Scanning the area carefully and moving swiftly and quietly they move forward constantly looking at their map. Battered by the rain of the storm and the wind which accompanies it Marcus’s eyes pierce the fog catching glimpse of a body off the side of the highway lying tattered not far from where the earlier incident had occurred. With hearts pulsing and their eyes sharpened they approach ever so cautiously with Orelius’s hand ready to pull his trusty knife out at any second. With a sight that halted their hearts Marcus rushes quickly towards the body of Jessica. While Marcus puts foot after foot in front to get to Jessica as soon as possible the once strong Orelius stands with an expression never before seen on his face.  With the infinite question of if she is alive or not pacing through his mind he can’t bring his feet to move fast enough to exit a slow walk. The stench of blood is futile and it becomes clear to them that it is originating from her. As Marcus reaches Jessica he takes a knee beside her. Distraught by the sight of his once ally lying on the floor his eyes widen with rage. As he peers over her body with sorrow he realises there are no cuts, bruises or bites on here. No bullet holes or scrapes. As wild thoughts race through his head he puts his hand to her face. With Marcus’s hand gently touching her face, Orelius standing from afar notices Jessica’s right hand slowly rising gripped with a sharp piece of wood. Without any warning and not enough time for Orelius to open his mouth Jessica’s eyes open widely as she thrusts the piece of wood in her hand into Marcus’s shoulder. As he falls back in pain confused, Jessica retreats into an animal like stance ready to strike the next blow whilst all Orelius can do is stand in sheer shock.   Snapping out of his part time shock and realising Jessica has no idea what is happening Orelius rushes towards Marcus. As Orelius rushes towards his Marcus, Jessica scrapes the ground to find another piece of wood and with a blood soaked body leaps towards Marcus. With the sharp piece of wood clutched tightly in her hand she looms ever closer to Marcus who has no idea and has no time to react. With a swing of her arm she aims the wood at his head with the intention of killing until she is stopped in her tracks by an arrow piercing her hand and knocking the wood towards the floor. As Jessica looks at her hand stunned a mysterious shadow tackles her to the ground ahead of Orelius, restraining her and pulling a knife to her neck...Earlise. As Earlise remains on top of her Jessica’s tantrum is soon stopped as she just lays silently staring up at Earlise until bursting into tears. With relief in his heart Orelius tends to Marcus whilst looking confusingly at Earlise. He had never thought it would be this easy to find them but as his heart rejoices he remembers there were two other members with them which leads his mind to ponder about the arrow in Jessica’s hand. With a sharp look to his right and into the forest stands a tall man with a crossbow in his hand and his face covered from the nose down. Lowering his crossbow and fixing his glasses which sit on his nose he walks slowly towards them removing the piece of cloth covering his face.

“Cross give me your cloth! I need it to cover Jessica’s wound”

With the noticing of Earlise, Jessica and Cross still alive a slow soothing  fills the hearts of Orelius and Marcus however they know now isn’t the time to rejoice as being stuck in the dark near a highway after making so much noise is no good scenario. Not to mention the fact two of them are now injured. 

“We need to move. If we stay here we risk everything. We’ll wait till sun up to get back to wherever everyone is”

Orelius looks towards Cross knowing his words are true. If they stay there or even try go back it goes against everything they stand for and incorporates many risks. Lifting Marcus and Jessica to their feet Orelius pulls Cross aside to discuss a temporary safe haven for the night.

“About a mile back down the highway there’s a little house. If we can get there we can take refugee for the night and tend to the wounds better”

With this suggestion from Cross, Orelius nods and turns to address the group of five.

“There’s a house down the road. No doubt there’s going to be a flock of dead coming at us after all that’s happened. So I’ll take point and Cross will take the back. Jessica and Marcus you’ll stay in the middle with Earlise”

With a conclusive nod from the gang and no time for a reunion they are quickly up and moving with no food or water, just their weapons and each other.

CHAPTER 2

“we’ll stay here for the night. Earlise...take care of their wounds. I’ll take watch”

Stuck in an old tattered house, the small group know that they will be very lucky to make it through the night without a single disturbance; however it’s not this fact that sends an era of unease through Orelius’s body. With his back turned to the group and his feet moving closer to the door exiting to the patio outside the house, rampant thoughts run riot through his head. They happened to find three members of the dislodged crew meaning either one member is still left outside or dead and it’s this fact that takes Orelius away from any comfort. With a small candle burning slowly under the wooden ceiling above, the question of where Sam is becomes a ticking time bomb on not Orelius’s lips but Marcus’s.

“Sam...”

With just the call of her name Earlise senses the nature of the question and with her head slowly heading into a decline she manages to open her mouth and utter four  words which takes what seems like a century to exit her mouth.

“He didn’t make it.”

With the speaking of these words the room fell back into an awkward silence with the breath of tense body’s filling the air. In an attempt to clear the mood in the room, Earlise manages to again speak in an attempt to divert from the topic of Sam’s death.

“your wounds all patched up Marcus. It should hold for a while. Just remember to�"“

Without finishing her words she is interrupted by a tone of voice none of the group have ever come across from Marcus before. All though not loud it silences the room once again and everyone knows what his single word speaks.

“Earlise...”

With the front door open to the patio his word reaches even Orelius’s soul and keeps him quiet for what comes next. Knowing full well the meaning behind her name calling she looks away to fiddle with her hands and with a distorted voice she tells Marcus what he’s asking.

“After what happened we left and thought we’d travel down the highway to try and see if we could meet up with you, but when we got back to the highway...”

Pausing to say anything else her lips are froze. Shrugging off his wound and standing firm to his feet with his back to them Marcus is adamant for an answer.

“what happened?”

With her lips froze Earlise can’t bring herself to say what happened, and so sensing this triggers an answer which shocks both Marcus and Orelius not because of the contents but rather who it came from. With a bandage on her hand, her legs crossed and her eyes piercing through Marcus’s back its Jessica who lets the next words resonate through the empty house.

“I killed him.”

With his whole body stunned, Marcus feels his temperature slowly drop as he turns to face Jessica. With his eyes panning over Earlise, Jessica and Cross his voice fills with an anger of uncertainty as he pry’s deeper.

“How?....How?!! What do you mean you killed him?!You don’t just kill people!”

As his tantrum continues with the hope of finding the truth he is soon silenced by a hand gently touching his shoulder. With a face filled with anger he turns to see Orelius standing behind him with his hand on his shoulder but his eyes fixed to Jessica. 

“Did you have to?”

With her eyes staring back into the depths of Orelius’s she hesitates to speak before finally being prompted by Earlise’s hand reaching across the floor to grab hers. Bursting into tears yet again she struggles to utter her next words. 

“He turned ok. I didn’t know what to do”

With the standing up of a powerful presence Orelius turns his attention towards Cross’s tall figure rising from the corner.

“As we were moving Sam got cornered in the mess and got bit. A few hours later we got split up even further. Jessica was trapped with Sam. So we made a meeting point. I guess in that time Sam must have turned and Jessica was the only one there to deal with it.... When we went to meet up with her was the same time we found you guys.  It explains why we found her like that. She must have been scared out her mind”

With his head turning towards Earlise comforting Jessica as he finishes his words he utters final words before turning to go to the patio.

“It’s not her fault...”

As he turns to walk towards the patio he stops shoulder to shoulder with Orelius as they face different directions. With Cross’s tall body towering in comparison to Orelius’s it takes a good few seconds before any word from the two is said.

“I’ll take watch.”

With this said both their heads remain the same. They don’t move to look at each other or to address anything for any reason. With Cross walking towards the patio, Orelius’s body soon swivels into the other direction to follow Cross onto the patio leaving the girls and Marcus in the room. As Orelius exits the house to walk onto the patio again he finds himself side by side Cross but both facing the same direction. With the sound of night crickets and the storm finally passing, Orelius proceeds to turn his head towards the sky where Cross’s head is already looking. With the night becoming so clear after the storm the two men stay heads up gazing at the sky. For the next hour they are stood side by side with their eyes panning the surrounding area but always coming back to look at the stars in the sky. With the creaking of the door Marcus slowly exits closing it behind him leaving the girls asleep inside and walks forward not saying a word but to takes a place standing beside Orelius. With the three men standing side by side looking steadily towards the stars not a word is spoken and none needs to be spoken for the breeze of the wind and the light of the stars speaks for them all.

With the gradual coming up of the sun its Cross who is on watch and begins to notice a small smoke stream rising from the direction they had met Orelius and Marcus. Swinging the door open to the house with enough noise to wake everyone up, Cross pans the room. with his eyes staring at Orelius, he senses the urgency and grabs his gun whilst rushing outside. As his eyes exit a blur and finally begin to concentrate they widen with fear as he knows the direction and distance of the smoke means only one thing.

“Holy s**t! The others!”

Shouts Marcus as he bursts through the door to see the smoke. With a bad feeling in his heart, Orelius turns around to walk back in the house as everyone looks towards him for his next words. As he enters the house again he speaks.

“We’re leaving  in thirty seconds!”

As he walks into the house to pick up his stuff his words finally hit the others ears sending them into a frenzy to get ready. As he exits the house Orelius stands firm on the patio looking straight at the smoke and it’s a matter of seconds before the others join him standing on the patio, together and ready. With a few seconds of silence and everyone’s hearts beating they all look towards Orelius as he jumps off the patio. With no smiles and no words it’s the girls who follow next and Marcus and Cross who take the rear. Packed up and on the move hoping for the best, they can’t help but feel a soothing feeling in their hearts as they know there is no one each one of them would rather be with. With the team almost reunited they race back towards Tucker and the others, ready for whatever may happen. With wild thoughts running through their minds they travel the few miles back on foot...without stopping, without slowing and without a sound.