To Die Unknown

I couldn’t imagine something more rewarding.

After all of this time on the move, to be able to relax, even just momentarily, was better than anything else.

I let my body slide further into the bath. The water had turned a murky color from the dirt on my body, but it didn’t even matter. It felt unbelievable to have been able to wash myself with soap, and shampoo. I was surprised most that I could actually shave my legs.

A small smile slipped my lips as I ran my hands down the length of my legs, feeling smooth skin in response.

I was just as surprised as they had been, when I first discovered they had running water. It was a miracle, although they knew it wouldn’t last forever. A small stream ran through the town in case it came to that.

A knock on the door brought me out of my thoughts.

Diana poked her head in through the dark wooden door.

“Hey, you done? I just brought in some clothes and towels. I’m so glad you’re the same size as Jane. Well, Jane was that size.” Diana walked into the bathroom, placing the fabrics onto the toilet seat. She opened the cabinet below the sink, exposing different toiletries. “Help yourself to whatever you need.”

“Who is Jane?” She paused turning back from the doorway she had been exiting. Her brow was furrowed.

“Jane is Zacky’s wife. I don’t know her very well. But seeing as she is six months pregnant, she doesn’t need her old clothing at the moment. I can introduce the two of you later.” Diana turned back around, as she exited the room, she closed the door behind her.

“That doesn’t help. I have no idea who Zacky is.” I mumbled quietly to myself.

I pulled the plug from the bottom of the tub, allowing the water and dirt to escape. I stepped out, the cold tiled floor sending a shiver down my spine. I heard a banging outside the door. I wrapped the towel around my body quickly, searching for any kind of weapon.

Frowning, I picked up a plunger. I pulled off the rubber end, holding the wooden handle in front of me defensively. Inching my body towards the door, I listened closely to the noise in the other room. The noise continued.

I pulled the door open slowly, hoping to create as little noise as possible. I rose my body up on its tippy toes. My hands tightening on the wooden plunger handle, I stepped out of the room.

“Ah!” Jimmy shouted in alarm, throwing the apple he’d been eating at me. I ducked down, avoiding the flying fruit. He pointed a finger at me. “What are you doing here? Where are your clothes?”

“Diana brought me here, and I took a bath. I didn’t know anyone else was in here.” I stated, dropping my makeshift weapon. I clutched my towel closer to my body, feeling uncomfortable.

“Well, it is my house.” He said, staring at me as if I were stupid. He scratched at his head, dropping his body onto a plush sofa. The bandage he had previously wrapped around his head was gone, exposing a large purple bruise and a bump.

“I’m sorry, about that.” I said, gesturing towards his head. He shrugged nonchalantly.

“It’s not that big of a deal,” He smiled largely. He used a finger to poke the bruised poke, scowling at the pain. “It’s my battle wound.”

“So, I’m going to go put some clothes on.” I nodded my head in the direction of the bathroom. He smiled at me in turn. I walked back into the room, closing and locking the door.

Pulling on the fresh, clean underwear, I let a sigh escape my lips. The feeling of being clean was only heightened by the fresh clothing. The jeans were light washed and fit perfectly. I then pulled on the form fitting shirt. It was a deep red long sleeve, accentuated with a v neck. I sat on the lid of the toilet to pull on the black socks, closely followed by a pair of black sneakers.

I searched for a hair brush among the many items within the cabinet. The one I came across nearly ripped apart my scalp, fighting the many knots.

When I looked at myself in the mirror, I was beyond surprised at my reflection. A girl with pale skin and deep brown eyes stared back. The dark circles around the eyes made her look tired. Her cheekbones were high, and her lips the slightest bit plump. Dark curls hung down far past her shoulders.

I barely recognized myself.

I definitely looked older than the last time I’d seen myself. For years of fighting the undead, I looked like a normal person. I just looked older. I had finally become a woman.

Turning on my reflection, I walked out of the room, leaving the towel in a hamper.

Jimmy was still situated on the couch, sprawled out. His long legs hung over the edges. Although he looked completely content with Diana laying beside him, her arms wrapped around his waist.

Diana raised her head from Jimmy’s chest a small grin on her face as she looked in my direction.

“You clean up nicely.” She pushed herself away from Jimmy, raising to her feet. He made a noise of complaint, reaching his arms out to her. She giggled as she stepped back, just out of his reach. “Come on, your Uncle wanted to speak with you.”

“And Victoria?” I asked in regards to the whereabouts of my sister. Diana continued to the door.

“She’s being shown around at the moment.” She then slipped through the door, leaving it open for me to follow her.

I gave Jimmy one last glance before I left. He grinned cheekily and gave an enthusiastic wave. I shut the door after me. Stepping away from the modestly small house, I nearly tripped over Diana.

Diana was hunched over, speaking lowly to a little girl before her. The girl had light brown hair tied back into piggy tails. Her eyes were a pale gray, and were alight with a child’s delight. Her brown overalls were covered in mud, and she had smudges of dirt across her face. She poked her head around Diana and smiled brightly at me, exposing a missing front tooth.

“Hi, I’m Cassandra. Who are you?” Her voice was high pitched and accentuated with a childish lisp. I smiled as she stuck her hand out for me to shake. Taking her hand, I felt the dry dirt residing on the palm of her hand.

“I’m Hayley.” I took back my hand, wiping the dirt on the back of my pants. Her eyes widened and her mouth dropped. She turned away from Diana and myself, and began running. I stared after her retreating form in bewilderment.

Diana rose up to her full height, which wasn’t very much. She faced me, a small smile on her lips. She turned her acknowledgments to someone behind me as she rose her hand into a wave.

Turning, I saw Johnny running towards us. He paused, resting his hands on his knees in an attempt to catch his breath. He raised his head, grinning at us.

“Have you seen Cassie? I thought she came this way,” He spoke between sharp intakes of breath. Sweat broke out over his brow. “She doesn’t want to take a bath.”

“Does she ever?” Diana laughed. She nodded her head to the right. “She went that way.”

“Thanks.” He sighed. Straightening his form, he took off after the little girl.

“That’s his daughter. She just turned three.” Diana said, her eyes watching Johnny disappear around the side of a building.

“His daughter?” Johnny didn’t look very old, much less old enough to be a father.

“Yes. Her mother was killed a year ago. So, Johnny focuses, almost solely, on his daughter. Cassandra is the splitting image of her.” She smiled sadly at me. I remained silent. Diana turned to the left and began walking in said direction. Her red hair swishing in its ponytail.

This wasn’t unusual. It was hard to linger on any death when you lived in a world thriving off of it.
----------------------------------------------------------
----------------------------------------------------------

“So, how have you been?” I raised my eyebrows in surprise at my Uncle. This was he wanted to speak about?

“Surviving.” I stated. I shifted my body, crossing my right leg over my left. The right side of his mouth lifted into a half grin. He leaned forward, placing his elbows onto the large wooden desk in front of his.

The room was dark and formal. The walls were painted a navy blue, accentuated with a dark wooden border. Tall bookcases covered the right side of the room. A lone bookcase stood against the middle of the left wall. In the middle of the room, I was seated in a large, stiff navy blue arm chair. Separated by the large wooden desk, my Uncle Robert sat in a similar chair.

“How did you find me?” He asked, his eyes looked tired.

“Find you?” I questioned, bewildered. I hadn’t even considered he would have been alive.

“Yes. Did your parents give you the book? Do you have it?” He slammed his hands down onto the table in frustration. I jerked back instinctively.

“What are you talking about? Your men found us in a grocery store. Hell, I don’t even know where we are. And my parents? They didn’t speak one word of you. It was in assumption that you were no longer alive.” I responded, my eyes narrowing. I clenched my hands into fists, hiding them by my sides.

“So you honestly didn’t know I was here?” He looked surprised. I shook my head in denial.

“I thought we were the only ones left alive.” I admitted, not understanding the purpose of this interrogation.

“They didn’t tell you anything?” He inquired. When I again shook my head no, he sighed.

“I was sent here,” He started, folding his hands on the desk. “To find a cure.”
“A cure?” The shock, I’m sure was written on my face. He nodded. “Why you?”

“I’m one of the reasons this happened.” I could only stare.

My Uncle, one of the only people I’d grown up admiring, and wishing to be around, was the reason for all of this carnage. He was the reason billions of people were dead. Why it was crazy not to sleep with a weapon clutched in your hand. Why we no longer lived in fear of death, because daily, it breathed its putrid scent down our necks. He was the reason for the end of humanity.

It was as if my body had a mind of its own. I pounced from my chair, sliding over the desk, and smashing into my Uncle. The chair he was seated in, tumbled backwards with my added weight. I brought my fist into his face, over and over again. I screamed obscenities, and didn’t give him a chance to respond.

Hands clenched onto my shoulders, roughly pulling me back. I fell back into the right wall, knocking books from the shelves. My Uncle was pulled to his feet my a man I hadn’t seen before. His lips parted, coughing up blood. He used his hand to wipe the blood seeping from his nose.

“Let’s go.” A rough voice demanded. I was dragged out of the room by my wrist. I stumbled to get to my feet. Shadows turned and glared at me. “You’re going to sit in a cell for a while and see how you like that, Princess.”

I glared at him, spitting on his feet. He growled, pushing my in front of him.

I looked ahead of me, seeing Victoria coming towards me. The smile dropped from her face as she took in the situation I was stuck in.

“What’s going on?” She asked, her eyes wide and frightened.

I shrugged, not wanting to get her involved. I decided to follow Shadows, knowing that he would most likely find me if I tried to run.

“Where’s Sebastian?” I questioned her, the two were nearly inseparable. Her face scrunched up in bewilderment.

Shadows turned to us, putting a pair of aviators over his eyes. He crossed his arms, his annoyance was obvious.

“Sebastian’s been bit.” My eyes widened. I could feel my heart pounding, my ears were ringing. Victoria dropped to her knee’s, a sob shaking her body.

“There’s no way.” He started walking away, he lacked remorse. I ran after him. “You don’t understand. I’ve been with him, there’s no way he’s been bitten. I would have known.

He continued walking.

“Please. Listen to me!” I shouted at his back. “You’re making a mistake, I can feel it. Sto-“

He whipped his head around, a glare on his face. “No! You listen to me! You endangered all of us with your stupidity. He was bitten! You need to get that through your fucking skull. He’s dead!”

“Please, don’t say that.” I sobbed, letting tears cascade down my face. I reached out for his arm, hoping he would change his mind, tell me he was lying.

“Get off me.” He shoved me back. I stumbled, falling hard on my side. I looked up at him, tears blurring my vision. “You’re pathetic.”