Guilt (A Zero Spin-Off)

ThirtyEight - Kyle

Words weren't working for me.

I just stared, like an idiot, the weight of her words hitting me.

"Ella," Hunter called from the top of the stairs in a tone that made me think he'd been standing there for long enough to catch the conversation. "Could use your help up here."

Ella's eyes met mine and I thought she wanted to say more, I thought she would. But then she tore her eyes away from mine and walked away. We could hear their hushed voices at the top of the stairs and then Hunter jogged down the steps.

"She's gonna get herself and Zee cleaned up so we can move out." His hand clapped my shoulder in reassuring way, confirming he'd heard the letdown in her voice just as clearly as the rest of us had. "Let's pack up." Noticing Shauna, he quickly introduced himself. "You coming with us?"

Her brow furrowed as she contemplated what he asked. "Where are you heading?"

"We're headed back to base—"

"Base? Military?" I nodded. "I didn't think any military was left."

"Don't worry about it," Joel said. "Most people have written us off."

"There's a place we'll stop—" I stopped myself from giving further description of the churches location. The girl, Sam, was still in the room and I didn't want to be responsible for the information on the churches location getting back to her group. "They've got a good thing going there."

Hesitantly, she smiled. "I think... that'd be good."

Hunter nodded as if it hadn't mattered one way or the other, her answer. "We should get out of here."

"You boys just gonna let me go?" Sam asked.

I didn't think they wanted to know my answer. Wrong as it was, I thought we should kill her. She was just as guilty as the rest the people lying dead on the floor had been. And if we let her live, she'd do her best to make sure we regretted that decision. And my job was to get everyone out of here in one piece. Alive. Safe.

Hunter smiled. "I've got an idea." He took the girl's wrist, not too tightly - he wasn't trying to hurt her - and escorted her upstairs. When he came back down minutes later, Zero and Ella were with him. Ella had changed in a new pair of jeans, a pair that fit much better than the pants I'd grown accustomed to seeing her in. She was in a clean shirt too, and with the exception of a little blood still around her hairline - that may have been hers or not, she looked good. Tough. But there were still shadows under her eyes that hadn't been there three weeks ago when we first met.

"Locked her in the closet," Hunter said. "Her people will probably find her." He shrugged, silently admitting that he wasn't going to lose sleep over the idea that they might not find her. I wouldn't either.

"We ready?"

Joel stepped out of the house first, moving a step and then two and three, pausing to look around. Leaving now, during the cover of night, was the smartest move. We knew we could use the darkness to our advantage, sticking to the shadows. Even so, we didn't know what to expect outside of the house. Unsure just how their group operated, we had to expect that people knew where they were and that someone would be coming to check it out. If the gunfire hadn't alerted someone, time would.

When it seemed all clear, Joel motioned us on and the rest of us followed in a line out. Quickly, moving in the darkness, we left. The gunfire had attracted a few zombs but nothing worth wasting our time or energy on. We stayed on edge; Hunter, Miles, Joel, and I all ready to pull the trigger if anything shows up. We were by far the steadiest, though Zero remained calm as well, keeping her eyes open. Ella and Shauna, to their credit, weren't freaking out. I didn't miss the way Ella's spine stiffened every time an animal made a noise, or when she noticed a zombie and thought it might be a living person.