Amnesia

Alive

Click.

Nothing. No gunshot, no pain. Nothing.

I pull it again.

Click.

Out of bullets.

Shit! I try to scoot away but my arm gives out beneath me. Pain shoots through my shoulder and down my arm, into my hand.

I try to clear the tears from my eyes so I get a better view. When I do, I see another infected stumbling behind the other two.

A gunshot pierces through the quiet night and the first infected falls on top of me, blood spewing from its nose.

Another gunshot and the second falls at my feet. The third gets shot down quickly after the second. I look around, trying to find the source of the gunshots.

Then I hear a voice. "Alice!"

I turn to see the source of the voice. Chris stands behind a tree a little ways away from me.

Relief surges through me as I see the familiar face. He runs towards me, fear swimming in his eyes. I attempt to get up but my shoulder screams disapproval. I let out a cry of pain.

He kneels down next to me, his eyes searching my body for bites. Blood still covers my face from the kill of the closest infected. I think of the blood raining on my face and shiver with horror.

"Did any of them get you? Are you okay?" he asks frantically.

"I killed her," I say, more to myself than anyone else.

"You did what you had to do," he says. "Are you clean?"

"I didn't want to."

"Alice," he says sternly, "are you clean?"

"She almost killed me," I say, the thoughts flooding back to me. Tears stream down my cheeks and I sob loudly.

"Have you been bitten?" His voice is loud in my ear and I want to shrink away.

"No," I say.

"Oh, thank God," he says. "I'm so sorry."

I look at him, anger taking over the fear. "You left me."

"I didn't-"

"You left me!" I cut him off. "You left me to die!"

"I didn't want to," he says, reaching out to help me up. I smack his hand away. "Alice, listen to me."

"I don't want to hear anything from you," I snap. I try to get up but it hurts too much.

"Is she okay?" Anne comes up behind Chris and looks down at me. "Is she infected?"

"She's clean." Chris stands up and walks towards the direction he came from.

Anne looks at him, then at me. "What hurts?"

"What doesn't?" I cry. "You left me, you all left me. You left me with her!" I point at Brenda's dead body. "You knew she was going to turn and you left me."

"We didn't want to, I promise-"

I wave my hand dismissively. I'm too emotionally damaged to talk to any of these assholes.

"Please talk to us," she begs. "What happened?"

"What do you think happened?" I ask. "Do you think unicorns were shitting rainbows? What do you think happened?"

She turns away, hurt. I know I shouldn't be angry with her, but I am. And I have the right to be.

Jose appears behind her. He walks towards me quickly. "She clean?" he asks.