Chapter Seven

Emily

She wanted to cry. Well, she wanted to cry again. She'd waited until Paige had fallen asleep before letting her tears fall, but that had been at least two hours ago.

Her brain would just not shut off. She thought that sleeping in a more comfortable and safer environment would equate to getting a better night's sleep, but that apparently wasn't the case.

There were too many questions about her parents floating around in her head and there was no way for her to get answers. Not even travelling to Illinois could promise that she would ever get any. She clenched her eyes shut harder in frustration, willing for sleep to come so that she didn't need to think about it anymore.

It was a minute or so later when she felt Paige's fingers twitching against her hand, managing to divert her attention away from her parents. Emily instinctively stroked her thumb back and forth over the top of Paige's hand, thinking about their conversation before Paige had fallen asleep.

Emily had an infinite amount of respect for her. Something had happened to Paige, something so awful that she couldn't even speak about, and yet here she was, still going. Emily wasn't sure she could do the same. She was barely holding it together as it was, and that was with a chance that her parents were still alive.

Paige's fingers flexed again, this time accompanied by anguished groan. Emily's eyes flew open; Paige was having another nightmare, just like she said she would. Unable to see a thing, Emily gently slipped her hand from Paige's grasp, hoping that Paige wasn't going to grab her again like the other night.

"Shhh, it's okay," she whispered into the darkness, tentatively moving her now-free hand up Paige's arm, her fingers stroking over her bare skin. She cautiously shuffled closer, bracing herself for Paige's body to react much like it had the last time she'd tried to comfort her during a nightmare.

Her fingers reached Paige's shoulder, tenderly tracing swirling patterns there, relaxing as Paige's breathing evened out again. She retraced the path along Paige's arm several times until she was sure that Paige's distress had subsided, smiling softly to herself as she took Paige's hand again, not bothering to move back to her previous position.

She sensed that Paige's head lay less than a couple of feet from her own. If she focussed, she could just feel the slight breeze from her breath brushing against her face. She smiled wryly into the pillow, thinking back to that embarrassing comment she'd made in the car about them sleeping in a bed together. Now here we are. Who'd have thought.

Admittedly her thoughts hadn't been their purest in the moments following that blunder, but now, actually sharing a bed with Paige- she had never imagined the comfort and security that could bring her. Knowing that Paige was right beside her, feeling the warmth from her hand radiating up her arm…

She was glad that she had been honest in admitting to Paige that she wanted her close to her while they slept. Now she just had to resist getting even closer.

She sighed quietly.

Paige

The sun shone into the living room through a gap in the curtains, warm against her face, Paige finding it difficult to peel her eyes open. She turned her nose into the pillow with a tired groan, stretching her toes towards the bottom of the bed, frowning slightly when she realised she still had her boots on.

It took a moment for everything to click into place.

She wasn't in a bed; she was in a random house, lying on a mattress in the middle of a living room floor with…

She forced her eyes open, immediately seeing Emily. She was lying on her back, staring up at the ceiling. Paige watched as she blinked slowly, seemingly in some sort of daze. "Hey," she said quietly, not wanting to frighten her, but Emily jumped anyway.

She recovered quickly, a slight smile spreading across her lips. "Hey, you're awake."

"What's the time?" Paige murmured. She was only just grasping that it was morning. She had fallen asleep last night not long after the sun had set, and now it was morning. She had no recollection of waking up during the night.

Emily lifted her arm so that Paige could see her watch as she said, "It's almost nine." Paige's expression of surprise made Emily laugh quietly. "I know," she nodded, rolling onto her side to face her, tucking her hands under her cheek. "Not sleeping in a car makes a difference, huh?"

Paige stared at Emily, distractedly saying, "So it seems. I actually slept through the entire night? No nightmares?"

"I guess so," Emily replied after a brief pause, giving her an encouraging smile.

Paige exhaled slowly, her lips twitching. "I can't even remember the last time I slept an entire night." Emily looked at her softly, Paige once again finding herself admiring Emily's eyes, feeling them drawing her in. She brought her own hands up, tucking them under her head to reflect Emily, still smiling. There was a strange, unfamiliar emotion coursing through her.

Happiness, she realised. She felt happy.

Her eyes slowly closed again with contentment. Maybe she wasn't beyond repair; maybe sleeping through the night was a sign that things were getting better, that she was getting better. As good as she could get, anyway.

Maybe they should make this a regular thing, sleeping in houses. The car was so bashed up now that it was probably just as risky to sleep there. They may as well be more comfortable-

Her eyes flew open, abruptly pushing herself into a sitting position. "The car!" she exclaimed, beginning to scramble off of the mattress but Emily caught her hand.

"Paige! Calm down." Paige stopped in her tracks, looking at Emily in bewilderment. She should be more concerned- the car could have been cleaned of their supplies or taken altogether while they slept so late into the morning. "I've been up for about an hour. I already checked it; the car is fine. It's still there."

"Oh," Paige said after a moment, taking a steadying breath, reminding herself to have more faith in Emily now that she knew what was what. "Why didn't you wake me?" She thought Emily would have wanted to get going as soon as possible.

"Because I knew you needed the sleep," Emily said, giving her hand a light squeeze. "And it's the least I could do, letting you sleep in."

Paige suddenly felt guilty. She had conveniently let Emily believe that what she was doing was a completely selfless act; that the only reason she was going with Emily to Illinois was to help her find her parents. And although that was a big part of the reason, she was also doing it for herself.

There was no longer the promise of getting into a base, but there was the promise of Emily and her presence in Paige's life. Paige couldn't go back to being alone, not now she had experienced what it was like to have a friend again.

Looking down at where Emily was still holding her hand, she wanted to tell her the full reason she was helping her, but for whatever reason, couldn't get the words out. She just settled for a mumbled 'thanks', unintentionally sliding her fingers in between Emily's.

It was different this time. She'd never had to worry about her face betraying how holding Emily's hand made her feel before, but now, with the sunlight streaming into the room, there was nowhere to hide.

She hesitantly looked up, not knowing what expression she was going to find on Emily's face, her breath catching when she saw the soft smile on Emily's lips. She found herself giving a smile of her own. If Emily didn't find this weird, then she wasn't going to either.

She became aware of a crunching noise from the bottom of the mattress, turning to see Jack gnawing on a large bone. She glanced back to Emily, giving her a questioning look.

"We might have raided the kitchen while waiting on you to wake up," Emily explained with a grin. "There was more for him than us, unfortunately."

Paige gave a short laugh. "Well, good. He deserves a treat." Emily nodded in agreement, both of them falling silent again, Paige seeing Emily's smile slowly fading. "How are you?" she asked quietly, knowing it was a dangerous question. She didn't want Emily to have another breakdown like last night, but still wanted to know how she was feeling. "You know, after- everything."

Emily shrugged, avoiding her gaze. "Honestly? I don't know." Paige stroked her thumb up the side of Emily's index finger soothingly. "I'm just going to try and take it one day at a time. I'm not going to think the worst, like you said." Emily glanced up at her, Paige giving her a small nod. "But, I'm also not going to get my hopes up. I'm just going to do my best not to think about it."

Maybe that was wise. She'd told Emily to keep the faith last night, and while Paige desperately wanted things to work out for her, there was a chance that it wasn't going to go that way. She really had no idea of what had happened to Emily's parents.

Paige nodded again in acknowledgement, deciding that was the cue to the end of the conversation. "So, you ready to get out of here?"

"Actually, I'm gonna have a quick shower- or bath, whatever works. I'm starting to feel really gross. I probably look it too."

"You don't," Paige said, thinking that Emily couldn't look bad even if she tried.

Emily snorted, looking away awkwardly. "Well, I'm not quite sure I believe you, but thanks anyway." She gave a bashful smile that created a fluttery feeling in the pit of Paige's stomach, Paige choosing to actively ignore the sensation. She couldn't afford to pay it any attention.

Emily gave her one last fleeting look before slowly pulling her hand back, heaving herself upwards. "I won't be long."

"Okay," Paige said quietly, watching Emily as she left the room. As soon as she was out of sight, Paige sighed heavily, flopping back down onto the mattress, running a hand over her face.

Shit.

It was about fifteen minutes later. She was standing by the window in the kitchen, her gaze fixed firmly into the back yard. She was itching to get back into the car. This was the longest that she'd been away from it and she was feeling some sort of weird separation anxiety.

She'd settled for keeping an eye on it while waiting on Emily. She'd heard the faint running of water from upstairs, doing her best to tune it out, but being incredibly aware of when the noise stopped. She'd channelled every thought away from Emily getting into the bathtub, instead focussing on the small bird that was hopping around the overgrown yard.

She watched as it managed to dig up a worm from the soil with its sharp beak, tipping it down the back of its throat before fluttering over to another patch of the grass. She found herself smiling ironically. The most advanced species on the planet had fallen and the rest of nature continued perfectly fine in the general absence of humankind. Paige wouldn't be surprised if it actually flourished.

She moved away from the window, her gaze flitting around the kitchen, landing on a portable mirror that was lying on the table at the side of the room. She strolled over, picking it up and staring into it.

She'd almost forgotten about the band-aid on her cheek. Gripping one of the corners between her thumb and index finger, she pulled, wincing slightly as the firmly adhered piece of fabric peeled away from her skin.

She rolled it between her fingers, discarding it onto the table top before smoothing over the now-healed over cut on her face. It would be totally gone in a week or two. She noticed that there was now a white rectangle framing the cut, directing her attention to the amount of dirt that had accumulated onto her face over the past few days.

She replaced the mirror back onto the table, moving over to the sink where she grabbed a dish towel, running it under the tap briefly before scrubbing at her skin.

Just as she was dabbing her face dry, she heard Emily making her way back downstairs. "Paige?" she called quietly.

"In here," Paige answered, turning to face the door as Emily appeared. She'd changed into a fresh t-shirt, her damp hair pulled back in a ponytail once more. She began to walk towards Emily, noticing that her body appeared rigid, her jaw clamped so tightly that Paige could see the muscles in her cheek twitching. "You okay?"

Emily nodded quickly, obviously seeing the concern etched across her face. "I'm fine," she said through chattering teeth. "I just need to grab a sweater."

"I'll get it," Paige replied, not giving Emily a chance to object.

She was out to the car and back again within thirty seconds, handing Emily a zip-up hoodie that she pulled on immediately. Emily dragged the sleeves down over her hands before tucking them under her chin, her body folding in on itself in an effort to heat up.

"Come on," Paige said, placing a hand on her shoulder and guiding her back through to the living room, finding Jack hadn't moved an inch from his position on the floor, still crunching away at the bone Emily had given him. "Go hug Jack."

Emily turned to throw her a dubious look. "What? No- he's busy."

Paige rolled her eyes. "You need to heat up," she told her, beckoning Jack over to where they were standing since Emily didn't seem to be moving. "Jack, come here." They both watched as Jack stopped chewing and lifted his head to stare at them. "Here," Paige called again, crouching down to entice him over.

Paige could have sworn that he gave a slight shake of his head before going back to his bone. She stood up again with a snort of disbelief, Emily laughing quietly. "Told you," she smirked as more shudders shook her body. "Nothing comes between a dog and his-"

Paige cut her off by pulling Emily into her, her arms curling around Emily's back, Emily's arms trapped between their bodies. "What are you doing?" Emily asked uncertainly, but making no effort to pull away.

I don't know, what am I doing? While Emily had been in the bathroom, she'd told herself to try harder to avoid unnecessary physical contact between them in an attempt to stop the burgeoning feelings within her- hugging Emily was the opposite of what she had meant to do.

"You know, transferring body heat," she mumbled, shrugging nonchalantly, feeling anything but. "They do it in movies, right?" She silently cursed herself. She sounded like a complete dork.

Luckily Emily seemed to find the situation amusing, Paige feeling warm puffs of air grazing her bare shoulder as Emily laughed. Emily moved her arms out from in between them to wrap around Paige, Paige feeling how tense she was. She could feel the cold radiating from her skin through the material of the hoodie, beginning to rub her hands up and down Emily's back in an attempt to generate heat.

"Can't have you catching hypothermia or something," Paige explained, clarifying that she was only doing this for pure, scientific reasons and nothing to do with the fact that she enjoyed being close to Emily.

"I had no idea that you were such a drama queen," Emily teased even as she shivered against her, causing Paige to grin against Emily's sweater.

"Yeah, well, there's a lot you don't know about me." She immediately cringed at her flirty tone, floundering for something else to say when Emily didn't reply. The silence felt deafening and her mind had gone completely blank.

She eased slightly when Emily's body began to relax into her, Paige continuing to smooth up and down her back, a drip of water splashing onto her hand from Emily's hair. "Tell me something then," Emily mumbled a few minutes later.

"Hmm?"

"Tell me something that I don't know about you." Paige could hear the smile in her voice, her own lips tentatively curving in response.

"Like what?"

"I don't know; anything." Paige struggled to think of a single thing that she could tell Emily about herself. "What's your favourite colour?" Emily added, deciding to help her out.

Paige snorted. "Seriously?" She felt Emily nod against her shoulder. "Okay… blue." She gave a wistful sigh. "It reminds me of the water." Her chest ached at the thought of the pool. Amongst the nightmares, she'd sometimes dreamt about swimming- not even a competition or a big meet, just her moving freely through the water, sometimes so vivid that one morning after she woke, she swore she could smell a hint of chlorine in the air.

"I'm sorry," Emily said.

"For what?" Paige asked, the statement disrupting her thoughts.

Emily pulled back slightly from the hug, her eyes instantly connecting with Paige's. "I didn't mean to make you sad." Paige began to shake her head in disagreement, but Emily looked at her knowingly. "I can hear it in your voice, Paige."

Paige's mouth opened and closed, ducking her head when she failed to come up with anything other than the truth. "Okay, fine. I miss swimming."

Emily sighed quietly. "And there was me thinking that was a safe question…"

"It's fine, Em." Paige looked back at her, trying not to acknowledge just how close their faces were, using all her effort to focus solely on Emily's eyes; Emily's wonderfully brown eyes. Maybe that can be my new favourite colour…

She quickly focussed back on what she was saying. "Honestly, I don't think 'safe' questions exist anymore."

"What do you mean?"

"Even the most basic questions are gonna lead to things you don't want to think about. Like, I can't even ask you what your favourite food is, because that's going to make you think about the fact that you're probably never going to have it again."

Emily arched a brow. "Nice."

"Just being realistic." She could feel her mouth starting to water as she subconsciously thought about rosemary chicken and kale salad.

"Well, what if I told you my favourite food is stale instant noodles?"

Emily's face was straight for a full five seconds before she cracked, both of them laughing quietly, swaying into one another. Something expanded in Paige's chest as her eyes flitted over Emily's face, taking in the slight dimple on her cheek as she grinned widely, the way her lips pursed together as the grin faded to a smile.

Paige looked at Emily gently, one of her hands coming down to rest on her waist as she took a small step back. "Warmer?" Her voice came out like a whisper.

Paige felt Emily taking in a deep breath, staring at her from under thick, dark lashes. Emily nodded. "Yeah," she said quietly. "Thank you."

Both of them still wore slight smiles on their lips, Paige beginning to feel increasingly nervous the longer she maintained eye contact with Emily. Their closeness, the flirty tone… things were starting to feel intense. Intimate.

She wanted to kiss her.

It wasn't the first time that thought had crossed her mind, but it was the first time that she didn't push it away. What was the point? Ignoring it wasn't going to make her developing feelings go away.

The question was: did Emily feel the tension between them too? Did Emily want to kiss her?

The smile disappeared from Paige's mouth as she swallowed. She was so close to just giving in and asking that very question by slowly leaning towards Emily, potential awkwardness be damned.

She quickly analysed the situation; it wasn't completely out with the realm of possibility that Emily could like her too, was it? Emily had been happy to hold her hand, had been happy to hug her. She'd even told Paige that she felt safe with her. Maybe there was more to those things than just friendship.

Before she had the courage to do anything, Emily ducked her head, stepping backwards, Paige's arms falling limply to her sides.

There was a short silence before Emily said, "You took your band-aid off."

"Huh?" Paige replied, feeling slightly dizzy, like Emily had been holding her up the past few minutes and now she had nothing to hold onto. Emily glanced up from the floor, Paige's brain finally processing what she'd said. "Oh, yeah." She touched her cheek automatically, her fingers feeling the small bump of the scab that had formed. "It's healed over. You did a good job."

Emily flashed a quick smile. "You ready to go?"

Paige nodded, disappointment swirling within her. As they began gathering their belongings, she couldn't help but feel like she'd missed her moment.

Emily

It took a bit of coercing to get Jack to move from his position on the floor, but it turned out all Paige had to say were the words 'bath time' and he briskly took the bone between his teeth and made a dash for the backdoor, both Emily and Paige laughing.

It felt so good, laughing and joking with Paige. Too good.

She slid into the car through the driver's door, leaving it open for Paige who was packing their things away in the trunk. She massaged her temple, stressed about how she was supposed to curb her feelings for Paige when she was doing things like hugging her to make her warm.

Paige would need to stop; Emily didn't stand a chance, otherwise.

Lost in thought, Emily inadvertently caught sight of Paige in wing mirror of the car. She was doing up the button on her jeans, Emily realising that she was changing. Emily hastily averted her gaze, but couldn't stop her eyes from flicking back to the mirror a second later.

Paige was pulling her tank top over her head, Emily unable to look away. She swallowed heavily as she soaked in the view. Paige may not have been in the pool for a while, but she still had the tell-tale signs of a swimmer's body; her broad shoulders, her defined arms, her toned stomach and trim hips.

Emily bit her lip hard, watching as Paige put on a clean t-shirt, only looking away when Paige momentarily disappeared from her view. A few seconds later, the car shook as Paige closed the trunk.

Paige opened the back door, Emily hearing her calling on Jack, seeing him bounding towards the car from the bottom of the yard, bone still firmly in his mouth. His apparent happiness was enough to push the image of a half-clothed Paige from Emily's mind for the time-being, Emily relaxing in the seat as Jack leapt into the back of the car, Paige sliding into the front beside Emily.

She handed Emily a bottle of water, placing another in the door compartment. "We'll need to get more water soon, we're almost out." Emily nodded, her fingers playing with the bottle cap. "I was thinking…"

"What?"

"Maybe we could try staying in houses every night."

Emily gave her a questioning look. "Really? You didn't seem that into it last night?"

"That was before I actually experienced what it's like to truly sleep again." She grinned, Emily smiling at the sight. Whether it would last or not, she was glad that Paige had had one night where she didn't wake up in a cold sweat. She'd decided to refrain from telling Paige that she'd had a nightmare and just didn't remember it when she saw how elated Paige looked to have had a night's reprieve.

"So, what do you say?" Paige probed when she didn't answer.

Emily sighed, thinking about lying close to Paige again on a soft mattress. "You'll get no argument from me."

The next few days passed quickly and slowly all at once.

The nervous eagerness that had been present within Emily on their journey down to Texas had completely disappeared, now replaced with a hollow sickness at the pit of her stomach with every mile they got closer to Illinois. She still couldn't help but go over and over the worst case scenarios as to what had happened to her parents- wasn't really sure what the worst case scenario was.

On the one hand, finding her parents Infected and beyond recognition would be crippling, but never finding them or not knowing what became of them was almost as bad. But then again, that allowed her to live in the peaceful land of denial…

They were currently in a house somewhere in Missouri, deciding to crash earlier than normal because the stormy weather was making it impossible to drive. A car that had all of its windows and no cracks in the front windscreen might have sufficed better, but Paige's old, beat-up car couldn't handle it (although Paige had been reluctant to admit that).

They'd stuck to their earlier agreement in trying to sleep in houses rather than the car. They'd managed the first two nights after Texas, but last night the house they had located and checked out turned out to be occupied.

As they had been trying to break through the door, a very frightened voice had yelled "Go away or I'll shoot!"

The incident had shaken them and had highlighted how dangerous it really was to be spending nights in random houses, Emily also feeling extreme guilt about what they were doing. That poor person would probably have been cowering inside their house, deciding whether to pick up the courage to threaten them or to back down, possibly making a hasty exit out of the back door and giving up their home. It wasn't right. None of it was.

As night had been approaching, they'd had no choice but to find a secluded spot to park the car and sleep. If it hadn't been for the bad weather, they might have chosen just to go back to sleeping in the car permanently.

"Em, will you relax?" Paige said, walking into the living room, Jack at her heels. Emily was anxiously looking out of the window through a gap in the curtains, watching the rain bouncing off of the ground. "The house is empty."

"Right now," she muttered. "It's still early; someone might come back."

"From where? Their trip to the grocery store?" Emily turned, giving her an eye roll. Paige gave a small shrug. "Look, all I'm saying is that it's unlikely someone is staying here. There's next to no supplies and you'd have to be crazy to go out in that."

Emily looked back outside, looking up at the dark clouds that showed no signs of moving on. "I guess you're right."

She heard Paige moving over to the sofa, hearing something rattling. "Look what I found."

Emily moved away from the window, smiling when she saw what Paige was referring too. "Seriously?"

Paige pulled the Monopoly board out of its box, pulling the coffee table in closer to the couch so she could set it up. "What?"

"There are only two of us."

"So? It passes the time, doesn't it? And Jack can play." Paige patted the seat next to her. "Come on. Scared I'm gonna kick your ass?" Her goading tone made Emily shake her head with a smile.

"Oh, you don't know what you just started."

The game remained fairly friendly (even when 'Jack' was blatantly playing in Paige's favour) until about forty five minutes later when a dispute broke out about the rules of mortgaging a property, Paige claiming that she should only get half the purchase price back from the bank after Emily had taken the full amount.

Emily started scouring through the rule book from the box, Paige watching impatiently. She had to squint in order to read the small print of the text, the increasingly darkening room not helping matters.

Emily did her best to conceal a smirk when she realised that Paige was right. When she looked up, Paige had such a frustratingly, adorable, smug face that she decided to mess with her. "Yeah, I was right- you get the full amount back."

Paige's face fell instantly, Emily having to bite the inside of her cheek to stop herself from laughing. "I was sure you didn't." She frowned, holding her hand out. "Let me see."

Emily shook her head, transferring the rule book to her other hand and half-holding it behind her back. "You don't need to see, I just told you you're wrong."

Paige's eyes narrowed, looking at her suspiciously. "Emily… let me see."

"No."

Paige began to smile, starting to edge towards her. "Let me see it. Are you lying to me?"

"No," Emily repeated, the smirk breaking its way through onto her lips, her heart rate picking up. Paige lunged, Emily squealing as she was pushed back against the sofa. She quickly rolled onto her stomach, holding the rule book close to her chest, feeling Paige's weight on top of her as she tried to pry it from her hands.

They were both giggling and slightly breathless as Paige attempted to get her hand under Emily's body.

It was the noise of scattering Monopoly pieces all over the hardwood floor that made them freeze, Emily laughing and turning her face into the cushions as Jack attacked her with licks to her face, his front paws jumping up onto the sofa as he tried to join in the fun.

Emily felt Paige rolling back against the sofa, her weight on Emily's back replaced by that of Jack who made himself comfortable by laying down on top of her.

Emily turned her head so that she was facing back out into the living room, taking a deep breath of much needed air, blowing strands of hair away from her face since her arms were still trapped underneath her.

She looked at the Monopoly board; the only thing left on it was an overturned house. Everything else was now on the floor. She felt Paige shifting beside her, sensing her placing an arm on Jack's back. "Guess that was a lucky escape for you. You were definitely about to get your ass kicked."

Emily moved her boot sideways to lightly kick against Paige's. "I guess we'll never know." She didn't bother moving her foot away again. She snorted. "God, you're so competitive."

"I'm a swimmer. What did you expect?"

"True," Emily relented, thinking back to her high school days when she'd had that same competitive spirit. It had faded slightly with time, but she was sure that Paige could bring it back out in her.

They fell silent after that, Emily feeling her eyelids growing heavier with the fading light, the warmth of Paige and Jack radiating through her, her heartbeat slow and calm.

One of the last thoughts to cross her mind before she fell asleep was how even though she was separated from her parents and friends, she still felt like part of a family.

Emily woke up when Jack moved off of her. She didn't know how much time had passed, except that it was now pitch black around them. She heard Jack give himself a shake before settling down on the floor alongside the sofa.

Emily took the opportunity to shift position, turning onto her side, the crushed Monopoly book she'd been shielding falling to the floor. Her body felt stiff, but that was soon forgotten when her back came flush up against Paige's front. It was only then she realised that Paige's arm was slung across the curve of her hip, her hand dangling off of the side of the sofa.

Emily's movement caused Paige to stir behind her; Emily felt Paige's nose bury into her shoulder, her arm moving upwards, her hand unconsciously coming up to rest on Emily's wrist which was tucked up against her chest. Paige pulled Emily even closer in her sleep, Emily's breath catching in the back of her throat.

They were spooning. Paige was spooning her.

She dared not move, wondering if Paige was going to wake up and pull away.

After a moment though, Paige's breathing evened out, Emily relaxing as her eyes fluttered closed, relishing in her proximity to Paige.

A few nights ago, she'd told Paige that she'd felt safer with her close by, and now, wrapped up in her arms as a slow smile graced her lips, those words couldn't have been truer.

They found themselves in a similar position in the nights that followed. They never talked about it, but each day ended the same; the two of them curled up together where they slept, sometimes joined by Jack, other times not.

They always waited until the other was asleep- or at least feigned sleep, in Emily's case. They would say their goodnights, and roll onto their sides facing away from each other. Emily grew to love the flutters of anticipation in her stomach as she waited for Paige to roll over and cuddle into her from behind, or the buzz of nerves as she became impatient and decided to turn herself, shuffling closer to Paige and tentatively sliding an arm around her waist.

Paige's nightmares had returned, but they were nowhere near as bad as Emily had witnessed when they'd first met, and Emily liked to believe she had something to do with it. Sure, sleeping in comfier circumstances and thereby sleeping better probably helped, but Emily sleeping so close to Paige meant that she could comfort her as soon as the nightmare began.

Paige sometimes woke up and fell back asleep quickly, or some nights she wouldn't wake at all but just slip back into a peaceful slumber. Either way, she seemed to be getting more sleep than Emily these days, but Emily didn't mind if that meant playing a part in lessening Paige's bad dreams.

They were currently holed up in a small house in Southern Illinois where they had been staying for a couple of days now. They needed to find out the location of the old military base where her dad had been taken. They weren't sure if 'old' meant that it had been there a while, or if it meant that it was a decommissioned base that hadn't been in use before the Infection broke out. They both agreed that 'decommissioned' was probably what the soldier had been referring to.

There weren't any decommissioned bases marked on the road map they had, Paige suggesting they had two options; go to another base and try to obtain information on the old base's location, or go in search of a map specific to Illinois and pray that it had the base marked on it.

Emily was seriously starting to pine for Google.

After much discussion, they both agreed on the latter option. Their experience at the base in San Antonio wasn't something they wanted to repeat if there was any other way.

"Right," Paige said, throwing their map aside and slumping back onto the mattress, rubbing her eyes. "I can't look at it anymore." She'd been trying to pinpoint the best place to go in search of another map.

"It's fine, Paige. We'll just drive around and use our own judgement." Emily, who had been sitting on the nearby couch, stood up and made her way over to the mattress that they'd once again moved into the living room. "If the town looks too dangerous, we'll move on until we find one that isn't."

Paige gave a weak smile. "Okay." She closed her eyes, the smile waning quickly.

"Everything okay?" Emily asked worriedly, kneeling onto the mattress. Was Paige having second thoughts?

Paige's eyes opened again as she frowned slightly. "Yeah, why?"

Emily shrugged, falling onto her hands and crawling up the mattress, lying down on her front beside Paige. She watched her fingers play with the pillow case as she said, "I don't know." She could feel Paige's gaze hot on the side of her face. "You can back out, you know. If you want."

As she said the words, Emily could feel fear building within her. She had to give Paige the option, but she didn't know what she'd do if she actually took it. Thankfully Paige replied instantly. "What? No. No way."

Emily tried her best to hide her relief. She looked over to Paige, giving her a questioning look. "Well, there's something up. I can tell."

"Oh, you can?" Paige teased, Emily laughing slightly.

"Yeah, I can." She took great pleasure in being able to say that, especially when she thought back to how adamant Paige had been about them keeping their distance with one another.

Paige smirked, casting her eyes downward, Emily waiting patiently for Paige to tell her what was up. "It's just feels strange now. Not having an exact destination to head towards, I mean." Paige glanced up to meet her eyes. "Since I met you, we've been heading to a specific place. First it was Texas, then it was Illinois… and now we're here, no destination in sight."

Emily nodded in understanding, feeling strangely calm. She'd already had her freak out about the seemingly impossibility of their task way back in Texas, and Paige had reassured her. Now, it was Emily's turn to do the same.

"We'll get there. We'll find the base and get there, just like you said." She said it with a firm tone, willing both Paige and herself to believe the statement. "We could find it on a map tomorrow. We just have to wait and see, okay?"

Paige sighed quietly. "Yeah." She still looked troubled, but gave Emily a small smile anyway. "We should probably call it a night. Got a long day tomorrow."

"Yeah," Emily said slowly, having to force herself to turn away from Paige, settling down on her side as she felt Paige sitting up behind her.

"Jack," Paige called, Emily hearing Jack's paws clicking quickly against the wooden floor as he returned to the living room. He'd wandered off down the hall, obviously bored of watching Paige pour over the road map and Emily alternate between pacing and sitting on the couch, pacing only when she felt herself starting to stare at Paige.

Emily heard Paige patting the floor beside the mattress, saying, "Down." There was more rustling, Paige briefly getting off of their makeshift bed before lying down beside Emily. "It's kinda chilly tonight. Do you want a blanket?"

Emily suppressed a shiver at hearing Paige's voice so close behind her, her thoughts already drifting to what it would be like to hear Paige's voice right up against her ear. "Yes, please."

They hadn't had to use any covers while they slept, the heat of the day usually residing in the air and making it too warm for one. But it was September now, and Illinois wasn't remotely as warm as it had been down South. Emily didn't even want to think about having to survive winter out here.

She was expecting Paige just to hand her a blanket and turn away from her. What she didn't expect was for Paige to move in closer, throwing her arm over Emily with a blanket before moving her arm down to its usual place around Emily's waist. "There's only one," murmured Paige, Emily feeling her breath on the back of her neck.

They were spooning while they were both fully awake. This was certainly a first.

Emily realised that her body was as stiff as a board, having to will herself to relax before Paige noticed (if she hadn't already). Play it cool. Don't make a big deal out of nothing.

Only it didn't feel like 'nothing'.

Emily needed to know what Paige was thinking at that very moment. She needed to know what Paige thought on the mornings where she woke up first to find Emily wrapped around her body. Did she think anything of it?

Throughout the past few days, Emily had looked for opportunities to bring up their dating histories. She wanted to know if Paige had been single before everything had happened, wanted to know if Paige had ever been with a girl, or if that could even be a possibility for her.

But she hadn't been able to ask without it coming from out of the blue, and she didn't want Paige to become suspicious of the reason that she was suddenly so curious.

"Paige?"

"Hmm?" She already sounded half asleep. Emily chewed her lip, debating with herself. Should she?

No, she decided. Now definitely wasn't the time to ask, no matter how desperate she was to know the answers. "Night," she murmured with a small sigh, shifting slightly. She felt Paige snuggling into her back, a smile spreading across her lips.

Just because she didn't know what was going on inside Paige's head didn't mean she couldn't enjoy this.

It started with the lightest brush of lips against the back of her neck. So light, that at first she thought she'd imagined it.

But then she felt it again.

Her body was instantly alert, hyperaware of every movement Paige was making against her. Was Paige awake? Did she know what she was doing?

The question left Emily's mind the moment Paige kissed the nape of her neck again, harder this time. Paige's hand moved languidly up and down Emily's side, Emily humming quietly and arching back into Paige as she fleetingly touched the side of her breast.

Emily felt Paige's groan vibrate through her as her hand slid down over her stomach, fingers brushing the hot skin of her abdomen where her t-shirt had ridden up.

Paige's kisses travelled around to the side of her neck, Emily's skin burning in their wake, Paige pulling Emily's hips back against her so that there wasn't an inch of space between them. Paige's hand moved upwards over the material of Emily's t-shirt, Emily's stomach flipping as she confidently smoothed over her breast.

Paige sighed against her ear, cupping Emily gently, dipping her head to nip Emily's neck, her tongue soothing over the skin.

Emily moaned quietly, her fingers digging into the mattress as Paige's thumb rubbed over her hardened nipple through her clothes. "Paige," she gasped. A subtle throbbing had started between her legs, intensifying when Paige moved her hand back down, her fingers softly teasing the skin of Emily's lower abdomen just above the waistband of her jeans.

Paige slipped her hand under Emily's t-shirt, roaming slowly over her ribcage before sliding up under her bra, taking Emily fully in her hand. Emily inhaled sharply, reaching behind her to clutch at the back of Paige's jean-clad thigh as Paige kissed her neck heatedly, palming her nipple roughly.

"Emily," Paige breathed, Emily instantly wanting to hear Paige saying her name like that over and over again. Her head was spinning. Her body was on fire. She couldn't quite process what was happening, so she didn't try to.

She craved Paige. She needed Paige. She wanted to feel Paige's lips and tongue against her own, teasing of things to come.

Before she got a chance to turn around, Paige distracted her by grinding into her ass, Emily automatically pushing back against her. "Emily…" Emily gripped Paige's thigh harder, biting her lip as Paige raked her nails lightly down her stomach all the way to her jeans, not hesitating to pop the button out of its loop.

Emily's hips bucked forward as Paige slid down her zipper. The pressure between her legs was becoming unbearable. Thankfully, Paige wasn't messing around.

Emily let out a noise that was half sigh, half moan, as Paige's fingers slid straight into her underwear, slipping up and down through her wetness before focussing on rubbing against her clit. Their hips began to rotate in sync as Paige stroked her, Emily releasing Paige's thigh in favour of reaching up to run her hand through Paige's hair, gripping at the back of her head.

Paige was breathing heavily against her skin, Emily wanting to feel that heat against her lips. She turned her head towards Paige, urging Paige's mouth towards her own. Paige leaned further up off the bed, placing kisses along her jaw.

Paige's fingers began to circle her clit faster, her kisses moving up Emily's cheek. So close…

She could feel her orgasm beginning to build within her. "Em," Paige gasped against her. She sounded urgent, as if spurring her on. She gripped Paige's hair harder, trying to pull her to her mouth. She needed to kiss Paige. She needed to kiss Paige and then she could let herself come undone.

"Emily." Paige was working two fingers against her now, Emily starting to feel a tightening in the pit of her stomach, a tingling in her toes.

"Paige," she moaned quietly. Finally, she could feel Paige's breath against her lips. Paige's nose bumped her own, their lips millimetres apart.

"Emily!"

She jerked. Suddenly everything was gone. Paige wasn't wrapped around her. Paige's hand wasn't where she needed it. Paige's mouth was much too far away from her own. Paige wasn't touching her at all.

It took a second to gather her bearings, dread spreading through her body as she came to the realisation of what had just happened.

Oh no.

Paige

Paige had been pulled out of her sleep. It had taken her a few moments to realise why.

She immediately thought she'd had a nightmare, but it must have been one of those rare occasions where she couldn't actually remember what had happened in it. In her sleepy state, she'd shrugged it off and snuggled closer to Emily under the blanket, her nose pressing into the space between Emily's shoulder blades.

She let out an involuntarily hum of contentment, the warmth of Emily easily drawing her back into unconsciousness.

Well, almost.

That's when she'd heard it; the noise that must have woken her up. It was Emily.

Paige moved her head back slightly as her eyes opened, but they were only met with darkness. She lay still, listening intently. After a moment, Emily let out a small groan, shifting against Paige in her sleep.

Paige wasn't the one who had been having the nightmare.

She instantly moved her hand from where it had been resting beside Emily's stomach to land on her upper arm, her thumb smoothing over Emily's warm skin soothingly. "Shh, it's okay," Paige whispered, mimicking Emily from previous nights.

She wasn't sure if Emily was aware that she was sometimes awake after a nightmare; awake and letting Emily's words of reassurance wash over her, focussing on Emily's gentle tone and soft touches on her arm. Emily really did help lessen the horror of her nightmares, but she could never find the words during the day to let Emily know how grateful she was.

So, it went unmentioned, along with the fact that they seemed to gravitate towards one another during the night. There was still so much she didn't know about Emily, but that didn't seem to matter. They were developing a bond unlike any other Paige had ever experienced. She couldn't even describe it.

She continued stroking Emily's arm with her thumb, willing Emily's nightmare to dissipate into a peaceful sleep.

After another few minutes of nothing, Paige's eyes closed, her arm returning to its position around Emily's waist, Emily's hair tickling her nose as she tucked her head in closer.

It was then Emily made another noise, but this time, it was different. The noise was louder; deeper. It was a moan, and going by the way Paige's stomach dipped, it definitely wasn't a moan of anguish.

Paige's body was frozen, her heart suddenly beating erratically against her ribcage. She struggled to swallow. Maybe Emily hadn't been having a nightmare. Maybe Emily was having a different kind of dream altogether…

She lay there, praying that Emily didn't make that noise again (part of her praying that she did). Not that it mattered; she could still hear the sound ringing in her ears. She realised that it wasn't right for her to be this close to Emily, not like this.

Finally, she cautiously began to move away, but stilled again when Emily released a stifled sigh, this time her body arching back into Paige. Paige inhaled sharply, her fingers reflexively gripping Emily's hip before rolling away quickly.

She closed her eyes and counted to ten, ashamed at the feeling of arousal burning through her core. This was a hundred times worse than what she'd felt that night in the car.

Another groan from Emily and she couldn't stand to listen to it anymore. "Em," she said. With any luck, she could just disrupt Emily's dream and not actually wake her up, and then she could just forget this ever happened…

"Emily," she pleaded, propping herself up on her elbow as she turned back towards her, being careful not to touch her.

"Paige," Emily moaned, her voice breathy, Paige's heart stopping. It didn't sound like Emily was awake. A small groan met her ears, Paige alarmed to realise that it had come from her.

"Emily!"

The mattress bounced as Emily jumped awake, Paige hearing Jack spring to his feet behind her. Paige collapsed back onto the bed, blood pounding in her ears, her mind hazy.

"What is it?" Emily asked quickly, Paige struggling to answer the simple question. Had Emily been having that dream about her?

No, surely not…

"Paige," Emily snapped, sitting up.

"What?" Paige said blankly, absent-mindedly reaching out to let Jack know that everything was okay, feeling him settle back down on the floor.

"What is it? Why did you shout?" Emily's voice sounded slightly shaky and unsure. Paige faltered. Shit. What was she supposed to say? 'I think you were just having some sort of sex dream about me'?

"Uh, sorry." She swallowed. "You were having a nightmare."

Emily was silent for a long moment, before Paige felt her moving away and getting up from the mattress. "Did I…" She cleared her throat. "Did I say anything?"

"No," Paige answered, cringing at how quickly the word flew out of her mouth. Smooth, Paige. Real smooth. "You okay?" she asked, desperately trying to play along with the 'nightmare' scenario for both of their sakes.

"Yeah, fine. I barely even remember what it was about." Paige could tell she was lying by the tightness in her voice. "I'll be back in a minute."

She heard Emily begin to walk towards the door. "Wait," she said hurriedly. "Where are you going?"

"I need air."

"You can't go outside, Em." They weren't in the middle of the woods where there was unlikely to be any Infected. Although the neighbourhood they were in seemed quiet in activity, it certainly wasn't safe to be standing out in the pitch black of night.

"I know, I'm not stupid," Emily retorted, Paige taken aback at her frustrated tone.

"I know you're not," she said, sitting up slowly. Emily was starting to sound upset. "Em…"

"I just need a minute, okay?"

"Okay," Paige replied quietly, deciding to give Emily her space. She listened as Emily hurried out of the room and up the stairs in the hallway.

Paige massaged her temples, trying to wrap her mind around the last ten minutes. She was starting to regret waking Emily; the last thing she had wanted was to embarrass her. But at the same time, it would have felt wrong to continue to lie there and listen to her.

And then there was the part where Emily had said her name…

It was a dream, she had to remind herself. Whatever had happened in it didn't necessarily reflect what Emily wanted in the real world. However, the aching want within Paige made it clear that she desperately hoped that it did.

Emily

She stumbled blindly up the stairs of the house, her eyes brimming with unshed tears. From the way Paige was acting, she knew; Paige knew that it hadn't been a nightmare she'd been experiencing. What Emily didn't know was if Paige knew who she'd been fantasising about.

She used her hands to guide her along the walls of the landing, opening the first door she came into contact with. She fell back against it heavily as it closed behind her, her breathing ragged. They hadn't spent a lot of time up here, but from memory she knew she was in a small bedroom.

She moved across the room, her leg briefly bumping into the bed frame with a small thud. She reached the window, fumbling with the latch, finally managing to open it a sliver. She inhaled the cool air deeply, willing it to clear her mind of thoughts of Paige.

Paige pressed up against her back, Paige's hand slipping under her clothes, Paige's hand running over her skin…

The air wasn't helping.

Before Emily could think about it, the heel of her hand pressed against the front of her jeans. Emily bit her lip with a moan. She was uncomfortably wet, the pressure on her clit making her feel like she was going to combust.

Screw it.

She quickly undid her jeans, slipping her fingers into her underwear, gripping the wall for support as she replayed the dream in her head, only managing to get to the part where Paige had toyed with the waistband of her jeans before she was shuddering against her own hand with a gasp.

Her legs shaky and weak, she slumped against the wall, sliding down until she was sitting on the floor. She wiped her fingers on the top of her underwear distractedly, guilt already beginning to seep in; for the dream, for what she'd just done… all of it.

She sniffed, trying to keep the tears at bay. Not only did she feel guilty, but now, she also felt empty. It had just felt so real.

She sat there for a while in an attempt to compose her thoughts, coming to conclusion that she'd just do her best to pretend that the whole thing had never happened. How else was she supposed to look Paige in the eye?

After a quick trip to the bathroom, she slowly made her way back to the living room, momentarily glad for the absence of light that meant she wouldn't need to worry about seeing Paige right now. She tentatively moved onto the mattress, laying down gently, facing away from Paige.

She kept deadly still, waiting for any sign that Paige was awake. She was sure she would be. Part of her wanted Paige to say something- what, she didn't know- she just needed some kind of reassurance that Paige wasn't completely grossed out.

Emily got confirmation that Paige was indeed awake when she felt her shifting in the bed. Her heart leaped in her chest; for a split second, she thought Paige was going to wrap an arm around her again, but after a moment she sensed that Paige was facing in the opposite direction.

She clenched her eyes shut, but not before a few tears managed to leak out, sliding across the bridge of her nose and onto the pillow.

She had ruined it.

Paige

They'd been driving all over town for around four hours now, stopping to check small convenience stores, gas stations, anywhere there could be a possibility of a state map. So far they'd only come across one that had a map.

"And it's not even on here," Paige snarled, throwing the paper to the floor of the car in frustration. She'd been pouring over it for the better part of an hour- inch by inch, and nothing. "It doesn't even seem to have any active bases on there, never mind inactive ones."

She'd had to kill three Infected already today, and it was now a wasted effort. They were no closer to having a clue where they were meant to be going.

Emily picked the map off of the floor, smoothing it out over her lap, but her eyes were moving too fast for her to be actually looking at it. "Maybe we need to go someplace bigger."

"What do you mean?"

Emily sighed quietly, pausing before saying, "I mean, maybe we need to go into a mall, or somewhere that sells- used to sell more stuff. We're obviously not having much luck here."

"That's crazy," Paige snorted.

Emily rolled her eyes, looking at Paige sharply. "Got any better ideas? How about walking the streets and knocking on doors for info?"

Paige quirked an eyebrow, unable to stop herself from smirking in amusement. Emily was awfully snappy today. Paige contemplated asking if it was because of the lack of sleep, but she felt that could earn her a kick to the shin.

However, the smirk was enough; Emily flushed, looking out of window to the small parking lot they were currently sitting in. Paige studied her for a second, trying to figure out where her head was at.

They'd only shared basic small talk the entire morning, an obvious side effect from what had happened last night. Discussing it didn't seem like an option, so she was trying to find a way to let Emily know that she wasn't weirded out without letting her know there was anything to be weirded out about. And then of course there was the possibility that Emily was the one who was freaked out…

God, she was starting to get a headache.

"Hey," Emily said, Paige snapping out of her thoughts to see that Emily had her finger held to the map. "How about a library?" Paige slid over in the seat, Emily moving her hand out of the way so that Paige could see what she was referring to. "There's one a few towns over. Maybe there'll be something in there that could help us?"

Paige automatically scanned the area around the library. It didn't look too congested or busy from what she could tell. There should be plenty of room if they had to make a quick exit from the street the library was located on.

"Yeah," Paige nodded, a glimmer of hope flickering within her. She began to smile. "That could really work. Good idea, Em." She looked up from the map at Emily, finding that Emily was already looking at her.

"Let's just hope we find something," Emily said quietly, her eyes darting all over Paige's face, like she didn't know where to look, only meeting her gaze for milliseconds at a time. She was nervous, Paige realised. She noticed the way Emily occupied herself with folding the map, shifting subtly away from her.

Paige felt slightly deflated. Was this what it was going to be like now? Had that bond they'd developed, that closeness they'd shared- was that gone now? All because of a silly dream?

She slipped back in front of the wheel, jumping about an inch off the seat when Jack barked loudly in her ear. "Jeez," Paige said, rubbing her ear vigorously in an attempt to get rid of the ringing, all the while looking around the parking lot for the reason Jack had barked.

She spotted movement in her side view mirror, looking behind her to see an Infected staggering around slowly. It didn't seem to be particularly heading in their direction, but Jack was agitated and they had to get going anyway.

She started the engine, Paige noting the way the Infected instantly began to move towards the source of the noise, like it was completely on autopilot. Noise equals movement which equals food.

"It's okay, we're going, bud," Paige said soothingly, reaching back to give his head a quick scratch before beginning to drive back onto the road.

With Emily directing them, they drove to the street where the library was situated, managing to get there fairly quickly despite Paige driving slower than normal since they were surrounded by houses and she wanted to be as quiet as possible. They passed several Infected on the way, but they were spread out enough that they passed without incident.

"Okay, so there should be a train crossing up ahead, and then the library is just beyond that." Paige nodded, seeing a sign post signalling in the direction of the library.

Soon enough, the tracks of the crossing Emily had mentioned came into view. "That's it there," Emily stated, scooting forward in her seat as she pointed to a reddish coloured building in the distance.

They approached it cautiously, Paige stopping in front the car dealership that the library was positioned beside (the only car left in the lot was a banged up hatchback that didn't look like it could make it ten yards with an engine).

Nervous energy coursed through her, her fingers tapping restlessly against the steering wheel as she surveyed the area. Nothing stuck out; there was no movement drawing her attention. Still, as always, she didn't feel comfortable leaving the car out in the open.

She turned into the empty lot, backing the car in amongst the abundance of trees behind the dealership building. "We'll wait ten minutes to make sure no one's watching us," she told Emily, killing the engine and settling back against the seat.

She rooted around in the door compartment for a snack bar she'd left there, the rustling of the wrapper the only noise filling the car. "There's more in the back if you want one," she said, Emily taking a sip from her water bottle.

"It's okay, I'm good." Emily gave her a brief smile before staring straight ahead. Paige would have thought that she was just focussing on the task at hand had it not been for the way Emily was twisting the map between her fingers.

Emily's anxiety seemed to seep through the air and into her, Paige becoming aware of how tense her body felt, her leg briefly jiggling up and down. She took a bite of the snack bar, too distracted to pay attention to the complete lack of taste.

Her eyes darted around the outskirts of the building now in front of them, praying that no one came investigating. She just wanted to get in and out of the library as quickly as possible, hopefully with a new destination in mind.

She gritted her teeth, still seeing Emily fidgeting out of the corner of her eye. She inhaled sharply, reaching for Emily's hand with her own, pulling her fingers away from the map and moving their hands to rest on the seat between them.

"You're gonna tear a hole in that thing," Paige explained, jerking her head towards the map.

Emily's head snapped down to look at their hands before up to her face, Paige making sure she didn't look away. Please don't pull away, she pleaded. Please don't be freaked out over that stupid dream.

"Sorry," Emily said quietly. Paige ran her thumb over Emily's skin, tension starting to drain from her now that Emily hadn't flinched away. So maybe it is more of an embarrassment issue than a grossed-out one. I can handle that.

She was so busy looking at Emily that she didn't realise that Jack had jumped up on the back of the seat, turning to find that she was now holding an empty snack bar wrapper, Jack's jaws chomping loudly behind her ear.

"Jack," she whined, her head flopping back in despair as Emily's laughter rang through the air, the sound causing a smile to tug at her lips.

"You should have let him have that bone before we left," Emily snorted, Paige rolling her eyes over-dramatically as she lifted her head back up.

"It's called rationing," she stated, trying to be serious but unable to hold back a grin, Emily's hand warm and comforting in her own. Emily shook her head playfully, both of them facing straight ahead once more. Paige subtly inhaled a slow deep breath, wanting to savour the moment. Sure, they were currently parked in amongst trees watching for any sign of danger in this virus-infested new world, but if she focussed hard enough, she could almost pretend that they were simply on a road trip, maybe the one that she'd always intended to take.

It was these moments of normality that she craved. It was these moments that made her glad she was still here.

They ended up sitting there longer than ten minutes, maybe because they hadn't being paying full attention for the first five, or maybe - in Paige's case- because she wanted to hold onto Emily's hand for that little bit longer.

She could have happily sat there all day, but she was brought back to reality when movement to her left caught her eye. She instinctively ducked low in the seat, Emily following a split second later. She squinted, sitting back up when she deciphered it was Infected.

"We better get going," she said, reluctantly pulling her hand from Emily's. The quicker they were on the move again, the better.

She moved to get Jack's leash from the trunk, not wanting him to run at any Infected he caught sight of. She handed it to Emily so she could get Jack organised while Paige topped up the bullets in her handgun, shoving the remainder of the box into her rucksack. It didn't escape her notice how their supply was slowly but surely dwindling. Ammunition was going to one of the harder things to get a hold of…

She slung the rucksack onto her back, keeping her gun in her hand as she closed the trunk gently and moved around to Emily. "Ready?" Emily reached behind her, checking she had her gun before she nodded quickly.

Paige walked out of the trees, keeping the Infected in her line of sight as she scanned for any other movement- nothing. The Infected appeared to be an old one, moving particularly slowly, and didn't appear to be aware of their presence.

Hopefully it would stay that way.

She could already hear Jack's threatening growls behind her, quickly crouching down in front of him, scratching his head as she whispered, "Shhh", urging him to understand the need for silence. She glanced up to Emily, using her head to signal towards the library.

They began to walk in the opposite direction of the stumbling corpse, Paige slightly in front. Emily's hand bumped against her own as Jack pulled forward on his lead, their fingers lacing together instinctively. It was bizarre given where they currently were, but Paige had a sudden fluttery feeling in her stomach that made her feel about fourteen years old again.

Focus.

They moved slowly around the back of the dealership, Paige poking her head tentatively around the corner of the building to make sure it was clear before they made a beeline for the library, Paige nervously checking the houses on the opposite side of the street for anyone watching them.

They reached the library entrance, Paige releasing Emily's hand to pull on the door. She wasn't surprised to find it locked. She yanked on the handle harder, the door budging slightly. "This shouldn't be too hard," she muttered, slipping her gun into her belt and pulling the screwdriver from her boot.

Just as she was about to jam it into the side of the lock, Jack barked loudly, making her leap into the air, the screwdriver missing the door completely and jabbing into her opposite hand. Paige gave a sharp cry of pain, turning rapidly to see a couple of Infected further up the street, both of which turned in their direction as Jack continued to bark.

Emily used both hands to clamp Jack's jaws shut, but he didn't like it, trying to wriggle away from her. "Paige," Emily grimaced. "What do we do?"

"It's okay," she replied, looking around for any more Infected. They could handle a couple. "Just hold on a sec."

She turned back to the door, her hand stinging and grazed as she worked on the lock. As she suspected, it gave way without much effort.

She stared down a small dim hallway, spotting set of double doors about ten feet away. "Go on," she said to Emily, looking over at the Infected with a heavy sigh. "I'll be there in a minute."

"Paige…" Emily started.

"It's fine," she stated. She'd already killed a few of them today. She was feeling even number than usual to the process. "If I don't get rid of them now, they could trap us later. Go on, I'll be fine."

It was an unspoken agreement between them that Paige was the one who took front and centre on this side of things. Emily hadn't killed an Infected since that first time at the roadside, and although she appeared to have mostly moved past the incident (as much as someone could, at least), Paige could tell that Emily wasn't mentally ready to do it again.

Emily placed a hand on her forearm, Paige dragging her gaze from the Infected to Emily. She looked so worried that Paige wanted to draw her in for a hug, but she knew if that happened then the Infected would probably have reached them by the time she let go.

"Be careful," Emily said quietly, Paige giving her a comforting smile and Jack a quick pat before striding off down the street. She heard Jack barking behind her, but Emily must have muffled him again as the noise soon stopped.

Paige scanned the street as she walked, making sure she only had the two of them to deal with. She touched her gun anxiously, just wanting to put a bullet in each of their heads, but she couldn't risk the noise. She could only use her gun as a last option.

She spotted a brick lying on the sidewalk. She picked it up quickly, her other hand going white with the pressure she was gripping the screwdriver with.

She was getting close, the snarls and gurgled growls of the Infected raising the hairs at the back of her neck. You can do this. She did her best to blank out their deformed faces. They're not human. They're not human.

They were too close together. Paige had to separate them before she could take them out. She made sure she had a firm grasp of the brick, raising her arm back as she focussed in on one of the corpses that were now only fifteen feet away.

She threw the brick hard, hitting one of them squarely on the head. It toppled backwards, landing hard on the road. With any luck, the blow had been hard enough to kill it. She shifted her attention to the one still headed her way. Its arms were swinging wildly, its fingers clawing at the air. It was moving relatively fast for an Infected, but Paige was faster.

She dodged around it, moving so quick that it didn't seem to realise she was now behind it. Without overthinking it, she drove the screwdriver up into the base of its neck, just under the skull, the screwdriver sliding easily into its brain, its scraggly hair brushing against her hand.

Paige repressed a gag at the sensation and the smell of the rotten body. It was a testament to how far she'd come that she didn't throw up on the spot.

The Infected was still moving. She took in a breath, gripping its decaying shoulder for support as she rammed the screwdriver in further, dry heaving once more.

After a moment, it went limp, Paige pushing it forward, the screwdriver sliding out of its head with a sickening suction noise. The body slumped onto the road, Paige only staring at it for a brief moment before turning to the other one.

It was still struggling to get off the ground, having only managed to get into a crawling position. Paige moved over to the brick beside it, picking it up once more. The Infected hissed, trying to look up at her, its gross white eyes unblinking.

Paige gritted her teeth, throwing the brick down harshly on its head, turning abruptly from the sight of its caved-in skull. She stood still for a moment, waiting for her stomach to settle, before exhaling a shaky breath as she started back down the street.

She saw Emily and Jack peering out from behind the library door, having obviously watched the whole thing. She felt a pang of anxiety, irrationally scared Emily was going to judge her in some way for what she'd just done and how easily she'd done it.

Killer. Murderer.

Paige rubbed her forehead aggressively with the heel of her hand. "Shut up," she muttered under her breath. I had to do it. I had to.

Jack jumped up excitedly to see her the moment she reached them, Paige relaxing slightly, her mind clearing as she kissed the top of his head. "I've only been gone a few minutes," she mumbled affectionately. She smiled with a slight shake of her head, Jack's tail now hitting off her leg as it wagged back and forth in happiness.

Paige lifted her head to look at Emily, but was abruptly met with that hug she had been thinking about five minutes ago. Paige's arms encircled Emily's waist, making sure to hold the Infected-covered screwdriver away from her back. She sighed quietly with relief that Emily didn't seem to be judging her for anything. "God, the way you two are acting; you'd think I'd been missing for a month," she joked.

Emily ignored the comment. "Thank you," she said sincerely into her shoulder, Paige knowing that she was thanking her for doing something that she couldn't. As Emily was pulling back, her lips grazed the side of Paige's face in a rushed kiss.

Did she just-

"I'm glad you're okay," Emily said quietly, flashing her a small smile, her eyes darting to her feet as she took a step backwards. Paige could only nod dumbly, her mind still fixated on the sensation of Emily's soft lips on her skin.

"I told you I would be," she managed to reply with much more confidence than she felt. Emily was making her feel light-headed.

Emily just smiled again, her gaze warm. "We should…" she nodded behind her.

"Yeah," Paige said.

She drifted after Emily and Jack into the library, pulling the door shut behind them. She couldn't lock it again, but the door opened outwards and from what she'd seen, Infected weren't clever enough to know how to pull a door open. Hopefully they weren't going to be in the library long enough for it to be an issue, anyway.

Emily was staring through the small square of glass in one of the doors in the hallway, Paige mirroring the action on the adjacent one. There wasn't much to see; light spilled in from long rectangular windows near the roof into the library, highlighting a few large desks, a rack of books… nothing out of the ordinary.

Paige placed her palm flat against the door and banged it several times, turning her head so that her ear was pressed against the glass. Emily listened as well, both of them staring at each other for several moments with bated breath, waiting for any noise from inside the library.

Paige raised her eyebrows in question, Emily giving a quick shake of her head.

They stepped back, Emily pushing through the door, Jack pulling forward into the library as soon as he could. Paige glanced quickly over her shoulder to make sure the outside street was clear before following after Emily and Jack.

"Did you bring a flashlight?" Emily asked. "I can't see a damn thing."

Paige stopped beside Emily, swinging her bag off her shoulder and digging around for the flashlight and handing it to Emily. She used the opportunity to wipe the screwdriver down with an old rag before placing it back in her boot, trying not to think about the amount of bacteria probably still on it. She would definitely need some sort of bath tonight.

They moved further into the library, Emily moving the light back and forth amongst the book cases. The library seemed bigger from the inside; it curved round in a sort of 'L' shape, the flashlight shining all the way down one of the dark aisles, landing on a door at the other side. Some book stacks were squinty, some books were on the floor; overall though, the library seemed in pretty good shape.

Before they began their search, Paige observed Jack- he was standing completely still, his hackles raised, a slight growl escaping him. Standing there in the dim library in the almost complete silence was eerie to say the least.

"I don't like this," Emily whispered beside her.

Paige had to agree. "Hello?" she called out, her voice ricocheting off the walls. She held her finger nervously on the trigger of the gun as they listened, ready to pull it from her belt at a moment's notice.

After a minute of waiting, they relaxed a little. "I think we're good," Paige said quietly. "But let's be quick." Emily nodded, strolling off down an aisle towards -according to a sign hanging from the roof- the non-fiction section.

Paige followed after her, her footsteps sounding too loud on the creaky library floor. They reached the 'Travel' section, Paige about to start at the opposite end of the row with Emily at the other, but she quickly realised that the little light spilling in from the outside wasn't enough to allow her to see the books in front of her properly, and they only had the one flashlight.

"Here," Emily muttered, placing Jack's lead in Paige's palm as she began trailing her index finger down the spines of books in quick succession. "Nope. Nope. Nope." Paige found herself smiling as she watched Emily 'in the zone'.

A few minutes later, Emily started pulling books from the shelf and piling them into Paige's free arm. After the seventh one, Paige's arm was starting to ache. "Okay, Em," she started, just managing to peer over the increasing tower. "How about we check out some of these?"

Emily seemed to suddenly realise that Paige was struggling, her eyes going wide, quickly relieving her of half the weight. They crouched down, placing the books onto the thin, scratchy carpet covering the floor.

"Sit," she told Jack, having to push his backside towards the floor when he ignored her, too distracted to pay her any attention. His ears were twitching as he stared rigidly behind her in the direction they had come. Paige felt her uneasiness increase, quickly glancing back but seeing nothing.

She turned back to see Emily looking at Jack worriedly. "Should we get out of here?"

Paige wanted nothing more than to be back on the road, but to do that, they needed to have somewhere to go. They were in a library surrounded by a mountain of information and she refused to leave before finding what they needed. They needed to catch a break, and this was it.

She slid Jack's lead around her wrist, grabbing the top book and flipping it open, Emily automatically shining the light onto it. "We need to make sure we have something first," Paige murmured, leafing quickly through the pages before discarding the copy of Explore Illinois. The book was more geared towards tourist destinations than actual maps of Illinois.

The second book appeared more promising, but was so detailed that it would take forever to look at it properly. She hastily stuffed it into her rucksack before moving onto the next book, Emily starting on another to speed up the process.

Paige was about to reach for the last book when her arm was suddenly jerked backwards as Jack took off, the lead just slipping past her fingers. "Jack!" she yelled, but it was too late. He disappeared around the corner, seemingly heading towards the door they'd come in, Paige hearing his loud, aggressive barks echoing through the stacks.

She scrambled after him, pulling her gun from her belt as she ran, terror flooding her senses. What the hell was getting him so worked up…

Jack had thankfully been stopped by the double doors; he was standing at full height in order to peer through the small window, his barking turning into growls. Paige grabbed a hold of his collar, pulling him away from the door and tightly wrapping his lead around her hand, relieved that she had him by her side again.

She heard Emily come up behind her, turning to see her adjusting the rucksack on her shoulder, now containing three of the seven books they'd pulled from the shelves. "What's wrong?" she asked, slightly breathless.

Paige forced herself to look through the window towards the library entrance, her stomach dropping to her feet as she realised what had aggravated Jack.

Infected. At least eight of them, from what Paige could see. They were pressed up against the door, their collective groans creating a constant drone of horror. "Shit," she said, gritting her teeth. As she suspected, they didn't seem to be able to open the door, but she noticed the way the door was opening ever so slightly every time there was a slight reprieve of the pressure against it. Eventually, a hand would slip into the space. Eventually, the Infected would flow into the library.

She swallowed hard. This was bad. This was really bad.

"Where did they even come from?" Emily gasped, panic etched into her features.

It didn't even matter now. What mattered was finding another way out. The door rattled loudly, Paige feeling a paralysing fear starting to take hold of her limbs, claustrophobia threatening to surface. They were trapped.

She jumped at a bang behind her, turning to see Emily smashing one of the wooden chairs against the ground, crying out with the force that she put behind it. The chair shattered after the second attempt, Emily grabbing two of the legs and bringing them towards the set of double doors, sliding them through the handles to act as a barricade.

There was a sense of determination and resolve radiating from Emily, giving Paige the strength she needed, pushing down the fear with a lungful of air.

"Come on," she said. She had to drag a still frantically barking Jack away from the door, heading back down an aisle towards the door she remembered seeing at the other side of the building, praying that it was a back exit.

She pulled on the handle as soon as she reached it, but it didn't open. "Of course," she muttered angrily. That would have been too easy. She noticed that the door had two locks, one on the handle and one up above it. Once again she brought out the screwdriver, Emily taking control of Jack as she began digging at the lock of the handle.

"This one is stronger," she puffed after a minute of making zero progress. "I can't get it." She pulled on the handle desperately, starting to feel her panic swelling again. "Fuck!" she yelled, kicking the door in frustration. Jack's constant barking was only stressing her out even more, clenching her eyes shut as she tried to block out the noise, trying to think of what they were going to do.

We're trapped. There's no way out. We're going to get ripped to shreds.

"Paige." Emily placed a steadying hand on her shoulder. Paige slowly opened her eyes to connect with Emily's; she looked shaken but was doing a better job of keeping it together than Paige was. Emily squeezed her shoulder lightly, Paige focussing on her touch, Emily bringing her out of her spiralling thoughts. It's not over until it's over. We still have time.

A thud from the other side of the library signalled the Infected had made it to the double doors. Emily had to use both hands to prevent Jack from running towards them, Paige praying that Emily's barricade worked.

Paige looked down at the gun in her hands, and then to the locks on the door. It was their only option. "Stay back!" she shouted over Jack's barks, aiming the gun at the top lock, bracing herself as she pulled the trigger.

The noise was shocking to her ears and was enough to momentarily silence Jack. She quickly fired again, this time at the lock of the door handle. Pieces of metal fell to the floor, Paige rushing forward to open the door. She had to fidget with the top lock a little more with the screwdriver, but it eventually gave way.

Any hint of relief she might have had as she pulled the door open disappeared instantly. Although it did in fact lead outside, it was to a small, narrow alley, which would have been fine had it not been for an Infected waiting on the door opening.

"Paige!" she heard Emily cry out just before cold, slimy hands grabbed hold of her shoulders, jaws snarling, snapping the air beside her face, Paige able to see dangly pieces of flesh stuck in between its teeth.

Paige quickly wrapped her foot behind its ankle, pushing hard against its chest- the Infected fell backwards slightly, but the grip it had on her shirt was strong, meaning she only had a second to drive her arm upwards, the screwdriver piercing through the underside of its chin.

It gurgled, brown blood spilling from its mouth and seeping down Paige's hand, arms going limp at its side. She shoved it away from her, stepping back into Emily as she looked out into the alley. There were more Infected making their way towards them, all the commotion only drawing more of them. Every time she blinked, another one seemed to appear.

She heard the chair legs Emily had placed on the double doors at the other side of the library hit the ground in quick succession, followed by the creaking of the library floorboards as Infected filtered in.

They couldn't be in a worse situation.

"There's so many of them," Emily said, her voice sounding thick with unshed tears, Paige barely hearing her. How could I have let this happen?

Another Infected reached them, this time Paige shooting it square in the head, Jack tearing into its calf. She grabbed his collar pulling him away as the body fell.

Jack glanced up at her, barking once, a proud look on his face. Paige's heart shattered in that moment, an aching dread spreading through her limbs. She turned to Emily, seeing her pulling out her gun with a shaking hand. They shared a look, Paige having to blink away tears. She knew Emily was thinking along the same lines.

We're going to die.

Jack lunged at another approaching Infected, literally jerking Paige from the thought. She watched as he tore the body to the ground, Paige once again shooting at its head, Jack already searching for the next one to take down. He wasn't giving up, Paige realised. Jack was going to fight, and the sight gave her the kick she needed, finally readying herself for what they were about to face.

We're not dying. Not like this.

"We're getting out of here," she told Emily, her tone leaving no room for doubt.

She analysed each direction, deciding what their best option was. Infected were now approaching from around the corner, beginning to move down the aisles. They were getting closer with every passing second. There seemed to be no end to their horde, but at least they would have more room to manoeuvre around them in the library than in the alley.

She made the decision.

"Stay close," Paige said to Emily, alarmed to find that her legs were shaking when she started walking to the far left wall of the library. Emily wound Jack's leash around her knuckles so that Paige could release his collar, now free to use both the gun and screwdriver.

They reached the wall, moving quickly down it, the aisle thankfully empty from Infected. It was when they reached the end of it that they found themselves face to face with at least ten of them.

Paige tried to stay in front of Emily and Jack, managing to stab the first body that reached them in the side of its head, but after that it all went to hell. There were too many of them reaching them too fast.

She soon found herself separated from Emily and Jack, Infected all she could see and hear around her. One of them grabbed her arm, its teeth managing to brush her flesh. Another grabbed at her from behind, its rattling breath right beside her ear.

She roared, flailing madly from their grasp, her feet connecting with whatever they found, the handle of the gun smashing into a face before she shot at another, not even sure if the bullet hit its head or not. The screwdriver plunged through an eyehole, her knee connecting with a stomach.

Just as she felt she was making the slightest bit of progress, she felt herself being dragged down. She heard a piercing scream fill the air, a sob wracking her body as she realised it must have come from Emily.

"No!" she choked out, angry tears spilling down her cheeks as she felt nails clawing at her, teeth grazing her body. "Get off of her!" she yelled, managing to struggle away just before jaws clamped down on her side. One of her arms was trapped beneath a fallen corpse, the screwdriver now useless. She managed to fire another two shots before hearing the click of an empty bullet chamber.

There were still three Infected crouching down at her, Paige now virtually unarmed. She was having difficulty breathing. She heard shots being fired, glad to know that Emily was still fighting. As she stopped struggling, she focussed on the thought of Emily and Jack breaking free from the library. They would be fine. They would take care of each other.

She closed her eyes, bracing herself for the first bite, hoping that her death would come fast.

Then suddenly an Infected was thrown heavily against her legs. Her eyes snapped open, seeing Jack ripping into its neck. For the first time in what felt like hours, Paige could see out into the library again, her eyes landing on Emily just in time to see her kicking an Infected's head so hard that it almost came clean off, a feral expression on her face.

Paige used the space Jack had given her to wriggle free from the mess, taking in a gasping breath of air as she managed to find her way onto her feet, staggering around, completely disorientated.

A sharp yelp focussed her attention, a scream of anger filling the room, Paige moving to pull an Infected from Jack's back leg, throwing it onto a desk before smashing at its skull with the gun. She could still hear a scream, becoming vaguely aware that it was coming from her.

She hit it again and again, feeling a rage like she had never felt before coursing through her. Specks of blood splashed her face as she pounded its head. She was grabbed from behind, turning sharply to turn her rage onto the next one, managing to stop just before she came into contact with Emily's face. "Paige! It's me!"

Emily was standing there, blood smearing her face and clothes, an arm raised in defence of what Paige had been about to do. Paige came back to herself, breathing so heavily that she suddenly felt woozy. Emily had hold of Jack's lead again, Jack still trying to attack the remaining Infected.

"Come on," Emily gasped. "The exit." It was only then Paige noticed that they finally had a clear path, the shining light from the sun framing the library entrance like a beacon.

They hurried towards it, Paige using all her strength to lift her legs over the fallen bodies scattering the floor. Almost there.

Another Infected suddenly appeared in the door way, but Emily shot it straight through the head before it could become an obstacle. They stumbled outside, the space around them almost overwhelming.

There were still a few Infected around them, but they were no longer a threat. They could easily move past them in the direction of the car. As they moved around the back of the adjacent car dealership, Paige almost smiled. She looked up at the trees and then the sky. She couldn't believe it. They'd actually made it out!

"Paige," Emily said, Paige having to turn around to see her as Emily had stopped walking. It took Paige a moment to notice the tears cascading down her face. Paige's heart stilled, time seeming to slow.

"What?" she asked quietly, already feeling her throat closing over as her eyes began to search for any visible bite marks on Emily's body. No, not after all that. No.

Emily started shaking her head, her bottom lip quivering. "Jack…" she gasped quietly, covering her mouth with her hand to muffle a sob as she looked down at their feet.

Paige frowned, following Emily's gaze and seeing Jack standing there. She was about to ask what Emily was talking about when her vision seemed to shift, finally seeing what was really there.

Yes, Jack was with them. Yes, Jack was alive. But soon Paige realised the way he was having trouble staying on his feet, the way he was trying to lick at his side, the way that blood was pooling onto the concrete they stood on.

Paige fell to her knees, dropping the screwdriver and gun she was still somehow holding and taking Jack's face in between her hands. "Hey," she said gently, her vision blurring. Jack's ears were flat back against his head, his tail giving a small wag as he briefly licked her cheek. Paige forced a smile, continuing to stroke his cheeks as she shifted him so that she could get a better look at his body.

He was missing large tufts of fur, some with nasty looking scratches underneath, but it was a deep looking wound on his upper thigh that looked the worst, Paige suddenly recalling the yelp she had heard back in the library, the one that had caused some sort of rage blackout. It looked like the Infected had managed to get a large chunk of skin.

"We need to stop the bleeding," Paige muttered, her voice sounding strange to her own ears. She held Jack's head close to her chest. "I think there's a bandage in the bag."

Emily immediately dropped to her knees beside her, beginning to search for it in the rucksack. "It's okay," Paige whispered to Jack comfortingly, placing a kiss on the top of his head. "You're gonna be okay." She stroked Jack's neck gently, closing her eyes against a brief wave of dizziness. She felt funny, like she was there but she wasn't. Maybe this was what an out-of-body experience felt like.

Emily ended up tipping the rucksack upside down, the contents spilling out onto the ground, frantically flipping the books from the library out of the way. "Got it," she said quickly, ripping the plastic wrapper away from the bandage and unravelling it, shuffling closer to Jack's leg.

Paige shifted Jack fully onto the ground, bending over him to help Emily. The wound looked even worse from this angle, Paige's hand starting to tremble violently as she took the bandage from Emily, Emily elevating Jack's leg slightly so Paige could start wrapping the wound.

As soon as the cotton material touched it, Jack whimpered, trying to struggle away, Paige having to pin him down. "I'm sorry," she told him, starting to say the words over and over, her tears giving way to gravity and falling onto his fur. All she could see was red, covering the ground, covering the bandage, covering her hands.

"Paige…" Emily sobbed, shaking her head hopelessly.

Paige continued to apply pressure to the wound, only briefly relenting to plunge a hand into her pocket, pulling out the car keys and practically throwing them at Emily before placing her hand back against Jack's leg.

"Go get the car," she ordered. "We need the first-aid kit. Once we clean the wound and dress it properly, the bleeding will slow. He's gonna be fine, okay?" She looked up to see that Emily hadn't moved. "Emily!" she roared, her voice cracking. Why wasn't she doing anything?

Emily sucked in a deep breath, doing little to stop the tears streaming down her face. "Paige," she said slowly, reaching out for her, her hand gripping her upper arm. "He's gone." Paige frowned heavily. "Jack's gone, Paige."

"What are you talking about?" she said, recoiling back from Emily's touch, but refusing to relieve the pressure on Jack's leg, noticing that there didn't seem to be as much blood flowing. "The bleeding's stopping," she told Emily, smiling slightly. "See? It just took a moment, but it's stopped."

Now they just had to clean it. She didn't think an Infected's bite worked the same way on animals as it did humans. The virus wouldn't kill Jack and make him Infected. It was just the bacteria they had to worry about.

She reached over to pet Jack's head. "It's going to be okay, bud," she whispered. "Just hold on." It was only then she noticed Jack wasn't responding to her touch. He was lying completely flat on his side, his head not turning up in its usual fashion to look at her when she spoke. She leaned over him, giving him a light shake.

"Jack? It's okay, I stopped the bleeding." She looked into his half-open, unblinking eyes, giving him another shake. "Jack?" Her voice had turned small and pleading, her mind refusing to cooperate with the sight in front of her.

She turned to Emily, looking for answers, some sort of understanding. The sight of Emily struggling to take gasping breaths through her tears brought a sudden clarity to the moment.

Paige looked down at Jack, seeing his lifeless body for the first time. Uncontrollable sobs started bubbling out of her. She collapsed forward, burying her face into his fur, her hand clutching at his form, not wanting to let him go. "I'm sorry," she told him again, barely managing to get the words out, her body shaking with grief.

She'd failed him. He had protected her and kept her safe for months but she hadn't managed to do the same.

Jack was dead.

A/N: Okay, again I'm sorry for the length of time it took to post this. It's been a combination of factors such as not having time and being too distracted by the actual show, but I think a large part was also because I was really dreading writing the last scene. I'm was (am) kind of terrified to post this. I know people take their animals seriously, myself included, and I'm sorry if it was hard to read. It was certainly hard to write. I hope you guys don't hate me too much.

The next chapter is going to be pretty intense, and will lead into the second phase of the story. There are some big changes coming up.

I also just wanted to let people know that I will never abandon this story without at least leaving a message saying that I have (but hopefully that's never going to happen). I've received a few messages over the last few months asking if I've stopped writing, so I just wanted to reassure those who are still reading that even if there is a large gap between updates, I'll still be writing away unless I say otherwise :)