Apocalyptic Love

No Time To Die

Every joint and muscle in my body was begging me to stop running, I didn't know how long we'd been running or where we was but the only thing keeping me going was Carter's hand in mine.

"I can't go much further" The silence broke as I spoke, gripping my shoulder which was still seeping blood.

This was the first time he noticed my shoulder "Fuck" he spat before looking at me for a silent nod of approval, I sent him a soft one before dropping the bag from my shoulders.

Carter had a gentle touch as he slid the top of my shirt over my shoulder, just enough to uncover my wound. The gash wasn't fatally deep, but the muscle underneath was barely visible under the vast amount of blood, but if we didn't stop the bleeding we both knew it could be deadly. I stared at him in confusion as he unzipped his pack and pulled a spare t-shirt out.

"Trust me" He must have noticed my look before gripping the shirt between his teeth and ripping a thick strip of material.

I didn't know why but I trusted him and even though I barely knew him, I knew he was good. As much as he put on an act and tried to convince himself differently, it was evident.

Goosebumps grazed my skin as he wrapped his palm around my arm, pulling the material so tight I let a gasp slip "Sorry. Gotta be tight to stop the bleeding".

"Thankyou" I smiled over the pain, letting him pull my shirt back over my shoulder.

We walked the rest of the way in comfortable silence, Carter taking a few of the dead out before we stopped at a highway.

"There" He pointed to a small gas station just past the clearing of trees, it looked abandoned from this distance, and we needed to rest if we were going to make it long enough to find the others "Safest bet is the roof".

We both agreed as I followed him around to a ladder at the back of the building. I went first, grunting in pain as the pressure in my shoulder grew as I pulled myself up the metal poles. The second my feet touched solid ground I collapsed to the floor, letting the cold concrete seep through my body and send chills to my spine. Carter did the same laying a breath away from me, our shoulders gently grazing as we exhaled.

"Did you see Matt and Ramon get out?" My question filled the air as I turned my head slightly to watch him staring at the sky. The sun was rising in the distance, and I realised we must have spent the whole night running.

"I didn't see them".

I sighed, even though we all knew they were the strongest of the group there was no way to know if they made it out or not, especially with the size of the group that attacked us. Even an army would have fatalities with that amount of gunfire.

"They got out" I smiled; Hope was scary, unusual after what we just went through, but if I didn't have that I'd end up falling apart.

Exhaustion hit us both, one minute we were lost in thought and the next, I woke up to light snores next to me. Carter looked peaceful as he slept, the man was always tense, as if he was always expecting something bad to happen and I understood that. This world gave us nothing, but chaos and its danger is always something you should be prepared for, but being stuck in your mind is a dark place.

He was in a deep sleep, his hands moving every so often as if he was trying to fight his demons in his sleep. Grabbing my knife and my pack I headed for the ladder, we'd slept almost the whole day away and my bladder was aching for relief.

The door to the gas station was unlocked like most places nowadays; People were in a hurry to get to safe points and took their essentials and left.

Holding my knife at the same height as my head, I carried on through the shop being as quiet as possible. We never checked last night, and anything could be lurking in the shadows.

Once I was done, I made my way back to the main part of the shop, looting a few protein bars and bottles of water which were scattered across the floor. A huge grin was forced along my face as I noticed a huge bar of chocolate, hidden below the small till "Come to Mama" I laughed shoving the treat into my pack.

I noticed a small sign "Storeroom" towards the far end of the shop. I pushed my ear against the thin wood but the only thing I found was silence.

The door was jammed when I tried to pull it open, I tried again with more force causing it to fly open and throw me to the ground harshly. I was disorientated from the lash for a few seconds, the outlines of figures reaching towards me as their arms waved about, when I finally focused there was five dead corpses taunting closer.

Grabbing my knife that had skidded across the linen floor, I readied myself for a fight.

The first guy launched at me, the skin around his mouth dragging from his face, leaving a pool of rotten blood down his torn shirt. My knife worked through his decaying head easy while I used my foot to kick his body from my blade. The next fell at my heels, tripping over his friend that I mutilated. Its bony hands reached for my shoes, but I used brute force to slam my boots through his skull before he had the chance to take a bite.

The next two limped in unison, both their lifeless eyes stalking me as they inched closer. I unsheathed another knife that was linked in my belt and held both in each hand with a deathly grip, both hands worked in sync as I pushed myself between the two monsters and slammed both knives simultaneously into their skulls.

Then there was one.

Before I had the chance to slaughter the last, a speck of silver protruded between his sunken eyes, his body dropping to the floor revealing Carter stood behind him. His eyebrows furrowed and his knife still gripped in his palm as he took in the scene around me.

"What the fuck are you doing? Are you trying to get yourself killed?" The boy sauntered forward; his voice raised as he shoved a finger in my face.

"I mean. If I was trying to die, I wouldn't have killed them" I scoffed only getting a deadlier stare from the boy "You're not as smart as you look Lucifer" This just made his face glow redder "I had to use the lady's room if you must know. Wouldn't recommend it, the toilets kind of stink".

"Is this all a joke to you?" Carter inched closer, towering over my small height and trying to assert himself "All it takes is one bite. One scratch. Do you really want to be one of them monsters?" The boy pointed to the stench of dead surrounding us.

By this point I was screaming in his face "Why do you even care! You didn't want to be around any of us, I see it in your eyes each time I look at you. I'm perfectly capable of looking after myself, I don't need you talking to me like a fucking kid" I twisted myself and launched my pack back over my shoulders, I was about to walk out the door when his hand wrapped around my arm and pulled me back.

Even as I looked up to him, he stayed silent. He was at a loss for words, his mouth slowly parting to talk but closing again when none came.

"What" I hissed.

Carter sighed "I'm sorry okay" he couldn't hold his head up, his stare constantly dropping to the ground "I just can't watch anyone else die, I've had enough".

I could blame it on muscle movements or the fact I actually cared for him, but my fingers inched under his chin and pushed until his hazel eyes met mine "I'm not going to die, I'm not a useless girl, I can protect myself" His eyes softened as he smiled slightly "I'll wake you next time I need a piss" I couldn't help the laugh that slipped when his lips turned up.

"You really have a way with words" The man laughed before letting his gaze fall to my lips, only for a short moment before travelling back to my eyes.

For the first time he was fully open with me; I know he felt it too. Each time he laughed or smiled I saw a weight slowly being lifted from his shoulders, but I didn't want to push him. Pushing him to open up when he isn't ready would only make him drift further away and I didn't want that, I wanted him to let happiness back into his life but only when he wanted to.

And if it took forever, I would willingly wait that long.

Edited