CDC, day 63…

The room was tense and quiet. Anderson's face was smooth and emotionless, as usual. But, there was something in his dark eyes. Something like hurt and anger. Betrayal in its purest form, hidden underneath his veil of stoicism.

"He turned?" It was a simple enough question, but Anna couldn't seem to get her answer past the lump in her throat. So, instead, she simply nodded, her eyes trained on the floor. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"I didn't…, I didn't want to hurt you." Anna choked out, hot tears flowing down her heated cheeks. She chanced a glance at him and could see the gears in his head turning.

"He was my best friend, Anna."

Anna could feel her knees weaken at the way his voice strained, but she forced herself to remain standing. She had stolen his chance to mourn the only person who had really known him, and she couldn't give that back. She couldn't give any of it back.

Anderson turned away from Anna and began to pace the room. "He turned…" he repeated. "He was shot…and he turned…"

"I know. It was my fault. I couldn't care for him while you were away. He was delusional, he wouldn't eat, the wound went septic—"

"He wasn't bitten." Anderson stated, effectively cutting Anna off.

"…no…?" Anna asked, drawing out the word as if it should have been obvious.

"Not when I left him..., he wasn't bitten…." Anderson murmured, just loud enough for Anna to hear, but seeming to be talking to himself. "Were you attacked after I left?"

"No…" Anna said, her confusion evident. "He died from the gunshot wound."

Anderson turned back to her, finally including her on his thoughts. "He wasn't bitten, he died from the gunshot wound… he turned."

"Yes." Anna was trying to figure out what he was working through when it hit her all at once. She thought back to how she hadn't questioned Evan's sudden reanimation. She hadn't even considered it worth mentioning that he hadn't been bitten, hadn't considered that Anderson might not know what she had readily accepted; and she had accepted it, without any more thought than it took to breathe.

"We're all infected."