BloodBorne

Not The Shoulders

I sat on the couch hyper aware of my surroundings from the man in the kitchenette moving around and boiling pasta on the wood stove to the groans of the dead outside. My skin crawled with each moan. I tucked my legs to my chest and held them there curled into a ball. I should've stayed at the lab.. what was I thinking? I tried to focus on the bubbling water to drown out the noise but it was no use. I covered my ears and hummed , squinting my eyes shut. God I was stupid and now I was trapped in here with a strange man that could potentially be dangerous. I sat that way for no more than two minutes before I felt the couch cave in beside me and gentle hands rub my back. I didn't want to accept his comfort but I felt like there was a golf ball in my throat and I'd cry any second now. When he stopped rubbing, he got up and left the room. I peaked one eye open to see where he went. I saw him emerge from the bedroom with something in-hand. It wasn't until he got closer that I saw what it was.. headphones and an MP3 player. He came closer and sat back down beside me gently removing my hands from my ears one at a time and replacing them with an ear bud. The music coming through was none other than when you were young by the killers. I relaxed notably , it'd been ages since I heard music, and decent music at that! I calmed and listened to the lyrics pouring through the headphones. I closed my eyes and lost myself in the beat forgetting the world around me momentarily. Song after song played until I felt a gentle tap on my forearm and opened my eyes to the man holding a bowl of steaming Mac n cheese out to me. I took it thankfully and spooned a huge mouthful in. I immediately regretted this decision when my mouth started burning from the heat .

"Hashaahas FUCK!"

I spit it back into the bowl and covered my mouth in pain. He looked at me concern and amusement crossing his features with a smirk and furrowed brow.

"You alright?"

I nodded my head and he dissapeared back into the kitchenette returning with a glass of .. milk!? He handed it to me and I gulped it down happily god it'd been so long since I had milk or cheese. He watched my every movement.

"How long has it been since you've had actual food?"

I thought for a moment before speaking .

" I uh had a sandwich last week and fruit snacks and Cheetos this morning.. I've uh been living off vending machine junk food."

He looked shocked .

"That's gonna change. Eat as much as you want there's plenty more, I've a stock pile and cattle locked in the barn."

So that's where he got the milk and cheese.. self-sufficient.. impressive. I eyed him in wonder, who was this man? He was fit and knew how to handle cattle . He must have been a ranch hand for the old couple in the farm house. Then it dawned on me, I hadn't asked him his name. Should I wait or should I just ask?.. as if sensing my internal debate he cleared his throat awkwardly shifting from foot to foot .

"So .. uh what's your name? Mine's Asher, I worked for the Foster's Farm since I could lift a shovel, They practically raised me."

I set my bowl down and twiddled my thumbs looking away before whispering back.

" Katalina.. I'm uh. I'm a scientist I study imunology and genetics.. I was uh a head scientist at the HVRC about twelve miles from here."

His face lit up in surprise and questioning.

"Isn't that where this all started? How are you alive ? How am I alive? Is there a cure?"

Overwhelmed by his barade of questions I held up my hand to silence him.

" Yes , it started in the East wing of the labratory, experiment gone wrong I suppose. It would have been okay if no one was able to leave but they didn't judge it's severity accurately. So when they allowed the ones with families to leave they opened the flood gates to the sickness, affectively killing their families and everyone unfortunate enough to be in contact with them. It spreads by blood primarily but any body fluid no matter how little, can carry it. I'm working on a cure but so far no luck. It mutates rapidly within the genes. That's why we are alive , we are genetically immune."

He stared at me his jaw practically hitting the floor.

" So what you're saying is there might not ever be a cure? "

"Precisely"

He rubbed the back of his neck staring off.

"Well shit.."

We fell into silence for a while neither saying a word.
Once I deemed my Mac n cheese cool enough I began to shovel it into my mouth, I was so hungry.

Once I finished I walked my bowl over to the kitchenette area and placed it into the sink. Returning to the living area I sat down beside the silent Asher. He seemed to be deep in thought . So, To lighten the mood what did I do? I poked him in the forehead smack-dab between the eyes. This definitely caught his attention and he eyed me confused before breaking out into a hearty laugh throwing his head back. His chest Rose and fell with each laugh before he placated and eyed me again.

" You're right you're right no sense in worrying the world's gone to shit and there ain't nothing that can be done about it so might as well enjoy it for as long as we can right?"

I smiled and crossed my legs on the couch beside him.

"You're absolutely right"

He bobbed his head up and down in agreement before standing.

"So , I should probably show you around it's getting late and you're probably tired right?"

I nodded following him through each room, he had nothing more than the necessaties and it looked like he was the only one that had ever lived here. I wasn't sure if that was a good thing or not.

" You can take the bed I'll crash on the couch"

"Are you sure?"

He nodded

"Positive, there's a bucket of water and a bar of soap in the bathroom if you need to freshen up, linens are in the bathroom closet , I'll bring you a change of clothes too."

I smiled gently before nodding and going into the bathroom to clean up. Moments later a soft knock came to the door and I opened the door in my tank top and boy shorts. His face lit up bright red and he looked away gingerly handing me a t-shirt and black boxer shorts. I closed the door giggling . He was clearly not used to seeing a set of shoulders or legs.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A/N
Don't forget to comment and vote , thank you for the support !