The Infection

Dale

Around me was nothing but darkness. Through the fog, I could not see or hear anything, and in the distance, I saw a figure standing; unanimated and silhouetted. I called out to it and it turned its head to look at me. Her face was familiar. It was Atris. Her face was saddened and in pain. I started walking to her, calling to her as I walked, but every step I took, she got farther away. I began running, and then she disappeared completely in the fog. I fell to my knees crying in frustration, pinching my eyes shut. When I opened them, I was surrounded by the infected. None of them attacked though and, all of them were just standing there; silent and unmoving.
        “Hey. Hey buddy, are you awake yet?” The voice was faint, and almost inaudible. My eyes opened slightly, and I saw several hazy figures standing over me. “He’s starting to come to. Go get him some water. Bud, can you hear me?”
        I struggled to make a groaning noise. I moved my hand slightly and when I did so I heard some weeping from one of the figures. It was Atris. “You’re awake! Oh, you had me so worried.”
        With much effort, I managed to produce sensible words. “Atris, you’re alive.”
        “Yes, I’m alive, and so are you!” She came down and hugged me tightly.
        My vision was clearing up now, and I could hear the sounds of the room now. One of the men came into the room holding a glass of water and he handed it to another guy, who in turn, handed it to me. I drank it quickly, for I was very thirsty. “How long was I out?”
        “About two days. Your girl didn’t leave your side for even a minute while you were out.” I looked at her, and she looked at me. A tear fell from her face as she smiled at me. “We’ll just leave you two alone, if that’s alright.”
        She nodded at them and the four men left the room. “What happened? Why did you have that episode?”
        “I don’t know. I’ve had episodes like that before, but they were never that severe. I’ve been having them off and on for about a week now.”
        She gave me a hard stare. “Were you bit at any point that you’ve neglected to tell me about?”
        I remembered the knife in New York City, but I didn’t want to tell her. So I didn’t. “No, I was never bit; at least not that I know of. I’ve had several close calls, but never actually bitten.”
        I could tell that she didn’t believe me, but knew that she wasn’t going to get any more information out of me. “Okay, fine, but the next time that happens, give me a warning please.”
        “Okay.”
        “By the way, I don’t think I ever caught your name.”
        “Oh yeah, it’s…” I stopped mid-sentence. I could not remember my name. Suddenly, I realized that entire parts of my memory were gone.
        “What is it?”
        “I don’t know. I’m sorry, but I can’t remember at all.”
        “Do you remember who I am?”
        “Yes, you’re Atris. Our dog is Jack. That’s all I can remember though.” She was silent. “Look, I’m sure it’s only temporary. It will come back.” I hope. “In the meantime, where are we?”
        “Well, when you passed out, these people helped us and took us in. They’ve been very kind to us.”
        I looked around the room and studied it. There was a single chair sitting up against the only window in the room. A door was on the wall opposite of the bed. The walls were white with a few pictures hanging on them. The pictures were of a family that I assumed used to live here. I tried to sit up, and with a little struggle and help from Atris, I managed to lean against the wall that the bed was laying against.
        “Where is Jack?”
        “He’s here; he’s probably just in the other room playing with the kids.”
        “Kids?”
        She laughed a little. “Yeah, these people have kids.”
        “Well I should like to see and meet everyone.” With a little effort, most of my strength returning to me by now, I managed to stand on my feet. I was a little wobbly at first and Atris had to hold me up, but I caught my feet. Once I was sure I was steady, I walked out of the room.
        Outside in the living room, two men were standing there against the wall, apparently waiting for me. Two women, each with a kid, were sitting in chairs, fixing their children’s hair.
        “Well hello there sleepy head,” one of the women called out to me as I walked out.
The two children rushed at me and started a barrage of questions that I tried to answer to the best of my abilities. Finally, the two women called for them.
        “Are they your children?” I asked inquisitively.
        One of them, the blonde one, laughed slightly. “Yes, they’re ours. The boy is mine; his name is Andrew.”
        Andrew proudly spoke up in a way that he was seemingly trying to sound older. “Just call me Andy!” He was a little boy; about ten I was guessing and had red hair and freckles.
        The other woman, who had darker hair that was almost black, then spoke. “The girl is Mei. She’s actually my sister, but I’ve taken on the role of mother for her.”
        “Hey why don’t you kids go see if you can help your father in the garden.” The blonde one called out to the kids.
        They both answered in unison. “Okay,” and they ran out the front door and disappeared around the back of the house.
        After they had left the blonde one spoke again. “Sorry about that, they can be a bit of a hand full at times, but what can you say? They’re kids being cooped up in a house for far too long. Anyway, I’m Julie, and she’s Sarah. What’s your name?”
        Before I could speak, Atris chimed in. “He’s experiencing a bit of amnesia. I think it would be best to try and let him remember who he is before we question him.” The two women nodded in understandment, and it struck me as being strange that Atris was being a little more protective over me than usual. The thought soon slipped when Julie spoke.
        “So do you guys at least know where going or where you’re from?”
        I thought for a moment and I seemed to remember a cabin. “I think we live in a cabin, but I don’t know why we left.”
        “We left for supplies.” Atris completed my thought.
        “Oh yes, we needed some food, water, and batteries. You wouldn’t happen to have any would you? We just need our supplies and we’ll be out of your hair.” I exclaimed.
        Julie thought for a while. “Yes, we have a few batteries that we can spare, but nothing else.” She left the room briefly and returned shortly holding out four batteries. “Will this be enough?”
        She handed them to me. “Yes, thank you so much. We appreciate it.”
        Atris cut in suddenly. “We really should be getting back home.” I looked at her, slightly puzzled. Studying her face, she looked very anxious and slightly uncomfortable.
        I excused myself from Julie and went to speak to Atris in the corner. “What is it, Atris?”
        “I just feel really uncomfortable here. Not to mention, the fact that there is a one way sign outside on their front gate, and that Dale guy gives me a wicked and uneasy feeling.”
        “Who’s Dale?” I asked inquisitively, unfamiliar to the name.
        “He’s these people’s leader. Every time I see him, he gives me a very hollow stair, as if we don’t deserve to live. It’s as if he’s some kind of cult leader. Nonetheless, I would just feel a lot more comfortable if we just left this place. We got what we needed.”
        I took this new information in and considered it. I haven’t yet met this Dale character, but at the moment, I had nothing to base him off of other than Atris’s account, but I highly trusted Atris. If we stayed, then we might actually have a better chance of survival, but if Atris was right, we might be better off on our own. “Alright, we can go.”
        “Are you ready to leave now?”
        “Yes, if you are.” She nodded in assurance.
        I went to Julie and Sarah. “I thank you for taking us in and for showing us your hospitality, but really must be going. I have a group myself that I need to return to.” I lied.
        Both Julie and Sarah’s face suddenly went serious, and it gave me an uneasy feeling. Looking at Atris, I could tell she was affected as well. The man standing on the wall behind us, who I had previously forgotten was standing there, became unsettled and left the room. This was all very strange to me. “You’re going to have to talk to Dale if you wish to leave.” Julie finally said.
        “Where is he?” I asked.
        Without saying a word, she pointed outside, then took Sarah and left the room. I looked at Atris, and with a look that assured we were thinking the same thing, we went outside. Atris pointed out who Dale was and I approached him. Before I got within ten feet of him, he said without even looking up at me in a low grumble, “No.”