Alicia froze.
Her breath hitched, chest rising and falling in quick, shallow waves. She looked back at Nick's body, watching it twitch, his limbs moving with jerky, unnatural spasms as the virus took over.
Her fingers loosened around my collar, blood smeared against the fabric from her torn nail. I could see it—the fear bleeding through fury.
"Looks like it's time." I reminded her as the world seemed to slow down, Kenny was already moving, yanking Katjaa out of the room the room, "Get back!" He barked.
I pulled Clementine behind me, and Lilly looked around for a weapon.
Carley stood still in horror, and Madison took a few steps back in fear and guilt.
Nick's head turned, slowly, and those glassy, unfocused eyes rolled toward Alicia, who stood in the middle of the horror taking place.
Nick groaned.
The sound was wet and broken, like the first gasp of someone drowning in air. His mouth opened, teeth clicking against each other, hunger replacing thought.
"Alicia," I said, voice low and even. "It's time."
She didn't move; her face paled, drained of rage and strength. Her hands shook.
"Do it," I said. "You said you would."
Nick began to move. He pushed up one arm, his head jerking in sudden, animalistic movement.
Alicia reached for the pistol I was holding in front of her, but her hands wouldn't close the distance. Her finger's clawed around it, but never touching, her arm trembling so hard it looked like she was seizing.
"I can't…" she whispered.
Nick lunged.
I pushed Alicia out of the way, my leg going straight for Nick's chest, and as he was flying back. I aimed my pistol and fired.
The shot echoed through the motel to the forest, loud and clear.
Nick collided with the wall and fell to the floor, motionless, once again.
Dead for good.
Silence followed.
Alicia collapsed onto the floor, sobbing uncontrollably. Her head dropped onto the floor, her shoulders unable to bear the weight of it all, and Clementine emerged from behind me, kneeling beside Alicia, trying to comfort her.
Kenny came back inside the room after the gunshot rang, looking at the corpse, and a wave of relief came over him as he sighed.
Carley turned away, unable to look at anything at the moment, especially me. Lilly met my gaze for a moment before her expression softened. She inched closer and wrapped her arms around me.
"Thank you," She whispered.
***
The motel had gone quieter than the void.
I stood next to Kenny with a shovel in hand, both of us wordless for different reasons, as we dug into the hard-packed dirt behind the motel. The sun beat down without mercy. Sweat rolled off Kenny's brow. I didn't want to waste my time digging a grave for Nick of all people, but Kenny and I were the only ones who could do it fast enough.
Maybe it was what Lilly had told me, or that I had killed Nick myself, that I was indifferent to everything related to Nick, though there were exceptions.
Still, I dug the grave. Not for him, but to get out of here as quickly as possible.
When it was done, no one said a word. No goodbyes, just silence, except for the quiet cries of Madison.
Alicia stared at everything in silence. There were no tears in her eyes, just anger and incredulity at everything around her.
***
Kenny drove the RV with Katjaa and Duck. Alica sat on the couch in the back, head pressed against the glass, away from Madison.
I led the way in the blue truck. The front bench seat was packed. I continued to drive east, and Lilly sat in the middle, her hand resting on my thigh, and Carley sat on the far side, her hand on her lap. Clementine adjusted between them, she was basically on top of Lilly and Carley's laps.
Tension ticked at every mile.
Lilly tried to break the silence. "Carley… I know you're upset, but maybe we could—"
Carley shook her head. "Don't."
That was it. No venom, no shouting. Just a word that deflected any approach.
I sighed and tapped the wheel. "Alright. That's enough."
Carley turned her head slightly toward me. "You don't get to tell me what's enough."
"You think I wanted to do that?" I snapped, "You think I enjoyed forcing Alicia to kill Nick? Both of them brought a corpse into the Motel, after I told them that you turn no matter what."
"He wasn't a corpse when they found him," she said, voice tight. "He was hurt. She hoped she could save him. That's not a crime worth the punishment you gave her."
"No," I said. "But endangering everyone else because of that hope? That is. Kenny knew, they should've listened to him. What happened in that room? That was consequence. Not cruelty."
Carley looked away, watching the trees blur past as she clenched her jaw. "You didn't even hesitate… If I turned… Would you treat me the same?" she turned back to me.
"Carley!" Lilly turned to her with a frown of her own, as I flinched for a moment at Carley's question.
I felt Lilly clench my leg harder, gesturing for me not to answer. Maybe she knew what I would say, maybe all three of them knew.
"I can't be as fervent as you," I said before my focus returned to the road. Lilly's grip on my leg softened, but she didn't let go; instead, her body leaned into mine just slightly.
Carley turned away with a complicated expression on her face, and so did Clementine.
She looked down at the floorboard. Eyes shifting between all three of us. Morality or Loyalty, her mind clashed between the two.
The end result? More silence.
*
*
*
The St.John's Dairy rose over the horizon as I crested a familiar hill, the fence still working, the dancing plants in the cool breeze bathed in the setting sun's yellow light.
Instead of the cheers and laughs of joy, all that was heard were footsteps, the engine turning off, and items cluttering in the boxes we moved inside.