The Shine in Dead Eyes

Warmth

For AnnMarieThrush

"Mitch?" I sat up in a panic when my hand extended to his side of the bed and he wasn't there. I slipped out of the bed to figure out where the other boy was. I searched the whole store we had slept in and he wasn't here. It scared me. There was zombies around here. If he were to be-

"No!" I heard Mitch scream at the top of his lungs. I ran to go look over the railing. Mitch was tackled to the ground with a zombie on top of him. I ran towards the stairs. When I was running down, it was a scream of pain. I jumped at the zombie on top of him. I took the decaying creatures face and began spamming his head against the cool tile. When only a involuntary twitch came out of the zombie's body, I turned back to look at Mitch.

"Are you okay?" He shuffled away from me.

"Don't touch me!" He brought his jacket tighter around his body.

"Wait. Let me see if you're okay."

"I'm fine!" I went to help him up. He completely ignored my hand. This was a completely switch from the happy and go lucky boy that I was with yesterday.

"Why did you leave the shop?" He was walking up the stairs. I grabbed his hand to stop him. "Mitch, you could have been bit-" I stopped. When I had pulled him to a stop, it pulled his jacket down to reveal what he was hiding. Right above his collarbone was a bite that extended to the peak of his shoulder. The blood bubbled from where it mingled with oxygen. I could see the indent of every tooth. Mitch pull his jacket up to conceal it.

"It's not what you think."

"You're bit." I went over to hold his face gently in my hands. "Maybe we can find something. Maybe we can cut off the infection. We can....We can-"

"It doesn't matter, Scott."

"What the fuck do you mean it doesn't matter?!" He forced my forehead down to rest against his.

"I mean exactly that. It doesn't matter. Trust me." I could feel my rage boiling up.

"Bullshit!" I broke away from him. His hand went to put pressure on the bite. "I finally got you back! I was finally able to see you again and touch you and kiss you. Then you go and get yourself bit!" I turned my back to him, dropping my head in my hands. I heard his soft footsteps moving towards me.

"Scott-"

"No, Mitch!" I began pacing in front of him. "I'll get bit, too. Then we'll go out together."

"It won't work." It was a soft whisper.

"Why not-" I had whirled around to look at him and stopped at the sight. My hand went to touch where his sleeve had been pulled up. My fingers glided over the bumps of the raised and lighter skin with ease. "When did this happen?"

"A week after I left you." I clasped my hand over the scarred bite mark. "It scared me. I wasn't being smart and I still had a fire going and it bit me." I lifted up his shirt and found one on his ribs as well. "That was its second bite. I'm sorry, Sc-" I cut him off by bringing his lips to mine. I was so glad he was okay. I don't know what I would do if he wasn't.

"How many times?" I asked after breaking the kiss.

"This will be my fourth time." His hand slipped into mine. "I need to ask you a favor."

"Anything." He pulled a knife out of his pocket.

"I need you to cut it so it doesn't look like a bite."

"No. I can't hurt you." His hand tightened its grip on mine.

"You won't. I promise." He slowly led me over to a bench. I sat down next to him. When he handed me the knife, he gave me a reassuring squeeze. He trusted me. He pulled down his shirt collar. I raised the knife to rest against his skin.

"How does it feel? To get bit?"

"You can feel the infection. I can constantly feel it. It's like a warm ball of energy in my heart that's waiting to pump into my body. Jack says that I need to limit the number of times because it could mean that one more bite could activate it." I let the knife dig in slowly. He didn't react. I began altering the shape.

"How did you feel after the first time?"

"Scared." He answered quickly. "I was waiting to change and it never happened. That's when Jack found me. He's in the military and he said that the last contact he had with the CDC was telling him to bring possible cures to a hospital in Texas. But we stopped. He never told me why." I finished on his wound and gave him back his knife.

"I'm sorry I wasn't there."

"I'm sorry I left." He leaned over to kiss me again. I turned my head away.

"We should go. We need to get that patched up." I helped him up. He smiled thankfully. Then we walked back, sneaking into the fence and trying to get home.

"Where the hell were you two?!" I looked at the outlined silhouette of Jack before he stepped into the morning light.

"I got bit." Mitch said sheepishly.

"God damn it. Now he knows."

"I would have to Scott anyways. I trust him." I couldn't help the smile that spread across my lips.

"Let's get you to a doctor." Jack took Mitch into his arms. I saw the worry of that of a father written on his features. "No going out today. You have to wait twenty four hours before contact with anyone else." Mitch waved back at me as he was carted away by the still talking Jack.

I felt the warmth in my heart at his smile.