They Left Us For Dead

Hard Rain: Return to Town

As soon as the storm had settled, we decided to keep moving. Milltown was messy, especially after the tornado had passed through. Too bad it couldn't have wiped out the population of infected in the area along with it.

Most of the town was quiet, and we began noticing the landmarks. First it was the porch light, then the yard sale sign, and then we knew we were nearly to the nest safe house. It was one of the shortest of journeys, considering everything we've been through this far.

The ambulance, and the playground were crossed through next, and they were both relatively clear of infected. It was weirdly silent, like something was getting ready to happen...

Within a few minutes, we were within eyeshot distance of the safe house.

This safe house was inside of an actual house. We hadn't really got to have such a luxury before. I had hopes of maybe spending the night here, and getting a good night's sleep before signaling Virgil tomorrow.

The house had an upstairs bedroom and bathroom, while the downstairs portion contained a large kitchen, living room, and three more bedrooms. I was absolutely thrilled, and could tell everyone else was too. We explored every room, crook, and cranny before people started to claim their own rooms.

"I call this one to myself!" Coach hollered, placing a claim on one of the downstair bedrooms. Rochelle followed, and Nick got the last bedroom. Leaving Ellis and I to the upstairs master bedroom with our very own bathroom.

"Damn, this is nice. Haven't seen a house like this since, hell, maybe ever." Ellis smiled at me, and he took the left side of the bed. I walked over to the right, and took my soggy shoes off. As I pulled my socks off, my feet revealed several blisters and scratches. I sighed and gathered a few of my surgical tools.

"What are you doin'?" Ellis asks, but I avoid answering. This definitely wasn't going to be pretty, but I needed to be at my best to get us back on that boat. I couldn't do that if I was hurting over a few blisters on my feet.

I cleaned my needles, and began popping the blisters. Each one took around seven minutes, allowing for the infection to flood itself out of my skin cells. It was gross, but I definitely had seen worse in my days of residency.

"Okay Dr. Kelsey. What's my diagnosis?" Ellis jokes, as he changes into something else. I had almost finished bandaging my feet with gauze.

"What are your symptoms?" I continued with the joke, and slid under the covers. The bed had a memory foam mattress, and fit well with our bodies. I had to stop myself from falling asleep immediately. I could see Ellis fighting it as well, but he still hung on to the consciousness.

"We should get some sleep, I love you Kelsey." Ellis kissed my forehead, and moves his body around mine. His arms were protectively placed around my body, and his head was inches. away from my shoulders.

I felt his breath begin to sync with mine, and I felt as warm and comfortable as I had ever felt as I slowly drifted into a wave of sleepiness.