16 Unexpected

For a reason unknown, Alex had been able to put up with Rebecca's drabbles all the way back to the apartment complex. He'd rolled her eyes at her countless of times and snorted even more, but he did admit to himself that while she was indeed tiresome to listen to, it was becoming more bearable. He figured it could have something to do with her likeness to Dana. Her cheekbones, jawline, color of hair. The way she moved and talked also had a lot of similarities to his sister. If he didn't know better, he'd thought them to be twins. He realized he actually didn't know. He didn't remember anything before waking up in that morgue in the basement of Gentek. It was completely blank whenever he tried to think back, except for the brief flashes of seemingly random things. For all he knew, his suspicions might as well be true. In which means, Rebecca would also be his sister. Huh...

As they entered the front doors leading them into the lobby, Alex's instincts started to silently whisper in his ear. With every step he took it increased, until it was a wrench in his stomach. Paranoia was what made him whip his head around to glare into the dark hallway on the other side of the room. The same feeling that had overwhelmed him back at the dump was back, though to a lesser extent. Something was out there, creeping around in the dark. He was about to go find out what, when Rebecca spoke up.

"Alex? Are you coming, or what?"

He turned back toward the ravenhead that had accompanied him all the way here. She had cocked an eyebrow at him and was standing with a hand on her hip, the other holding the two bags with the stuff she'd bought from the store. Two choices then swirled in his head. Either he come with her and deal with this later, or take care of it now and risk her finding out about him. The choice was made when she opened her mouth again; "Dana is down there with the others. I didn't want her to be alone in the state she was in".

He grit his teeth against the feeling and gave a grunt for a response. There wasn't any imminent threat, so it could wait. Dana couldn't. He had to see her, make sure she was okay. He had to prove to her that he was still with her and not a wandering corpse like she thought he was. Not like he'd been some minutes ago...

He pushed the thoughts out of his head and followed Rebecca down the flight of stairs, down to the steel door that would lead them to the damp cellar where the others were waiting. There was about half a second of hesitation. Did they all think he was dead? Last time he was down here, the guy they called Shaun had pointed a gun to his head, and before that, the blonde girl had been anything but friendly toward him. They weren't exactly on good terms, and he doubted it had changed by him dying and resurrecting. But then again, what did it matter? If they proved to be a liability, he'd just have to get rid of them.

While Alex was intent on getting out of the hallway as soon as possible, Rebecca obviously had other plans. Instead of pushing the door open for them to walk inside, she squeaked it open only enough for her to peek her head in. He heard her whispering about something, but his ears were focused behind them. He wasn't about to get jumped by one of those walkers again. Last time wasn't exactly a success, and he had no intentions whatsoever to repeat it. He'd have to take care of that soldier eventually. He knew too much already, and having him around was simply not good. He could hope that the military would deal with him themselves, but doubted that he could be so lucky.

Six long seconds after they first stepped down the stairs, the door was finally opened to reveal the dank cellar. Rebecca looked back at him with a grin as she stepped to the side to let him pass. He would've cocked an eyebrow at her if not for the creeping feeling of being followed, as well as the looks he got from the people in the room. The debate whether he should step inside or turn on his heel was cut short when the ravenhead urged him on. A sigh trough his nostrils, then the door closed shut, and he was yet again in a room full of people he didn't know if he could trust. Rebecca had proved herself enough for now, but the other three.

Both of the blondes looked at him as if he'd been a ghost. In all honesty, he might as well be. Resurrected from the dead. Cured after becoming a walker. What else did he expect? Flowers and confetti? Yea, like that'd ever happen. 

"Dana is resting over there" Rebecca said softly, a hand touching his arm as she nodded toward one of the mattresses. It was placed behind some piece of equipment, so he couldn't see her from where he was standing. He hesitated barely a second, looking over Rebecca a second time for any signs of a lie. Seeing nothing, he walked around, and as promised, Dana was sleeping soundly on the mattress. He almost didn't dare come any closer, her expression when she told him to basically fuck the hell off clear as day in his head. She'd been pissed at him, and he had no idea if she'd feel the same way when she would wake up.

Nevertheless, he went for sitting down on the floor close to her head. He watched her snuggle deeper under the duvet, mumbling incoherent things and incomplete sentences. She was dreaming, he realized. By the crease of her eyebrows, it wasn't a pleasant one. He adjusted his position to sit cross-legged, subconsciously scooting a little closer. There was a sting in his chest as his name passed her lips. Was she having bad dreams about him? Did she experience him dying, or was he a monster that killed anyone and everyone she cared about? Both scenarios made a scowl appear on his face. His hands reached up to comb through his hair, pulling the hood down as he did. He wanted to wake her up. Take her in his arms and rock her slowly. He did neither - didn't see a reason for it.

She startled him by suddenly jerking up to a sitting position, a yelp leaving her. Rebecca, wherever she was, didn't come to her aid, apparently content with just Alex there. Unlike what she thought though, he had no idea what to do. He could only helplessly wait until his instincts would kick in, telling him to fight or flight. They didn't. Even when she turned her head to look at him, they stayed silent. Their eyes met, and he held his breath.

"Alex...?" she breathed. He blinked, not knowing what to respond - or if he should. Half a second later, his head was whipped to the side from the force of her hand hitting his face. While it was surprising, he didn't blame her. She had thought him to be dead.

"What the hell were you up to Alex?!" Dana scolded, her hands clenching into fists at her sides. "You were gone for three days and you came back only to leave again. You never come back to eat, you barely sleep and I have no idea where you go or how long you'll be gone. Dammit Alex, they told me you were dead! That you had become one of those-..! They told me you were gone.. I thought I'd lost you..."

Alex knew all of this. He'd seen the sun set and rise during his escapades, even if he wasn't exactly available. He'd been busy draining memories and searching for what information he could get a hold of. His searches were more often than not fruitless, but once he did get something, it was valuable. He'd found out what blackwatch had to say about him, what they knew and what they didn't. He knew that the island had been quarantined with no way off. He knew they were planning something big, but as of yet, only bits and pieces had fallen into place.

Dana was silent for a moment. He could hear the shuffling of fabric and her irregular breathing. The fact that he'd yet again made her upset was tearing at his insides. Even if he wasn't looking at her, he could see her teary eyes in front of him. A vague memory pushing up into his conscience, reminding him that she'd been worried. She worried about him, and she was one of the only things he cared about anymore. Perhaps the only thing.

Frail arms wrapped around him, surprising him once more. Her face buried down into the crook of his neck, wetting it with her tears. For about a second, he was paralyzed. What was he supposed to do? He didn't remember- Couldn't recall. Then finally, something came to his aid. A voice in the back of his head.'Comfort. Time. Patience'. Slowly, hesitantly, he wrapped his arms around her and held her close. Intimate bodily contact, but this time more or less subconsciously wanted.

The feeling of eyes on him made him glance in the direction he knew the others were. Rebecca was sitting in her fold-out chair, seemingly trying to hide behind the screen of her laptop. There was a slight discoloration of her cheeks, but she fired a smile at him and winked. Was that her way of saying 'way to go'? He snorted. Humans...

- - - - - LINE BREAK - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Soon enough, Dana had fallen asleep again, though this time her head was resting on her brother's chest. Alex himself was lying on his back, arms crossed behind his head to support it. His eyes were closed, mind traveling. He'd seemingly lost the ability to sleep after losing his memory. It didn't exactly bother him, but it could sometimes become troublesome, since he would have to entertain himself instead of sleeping during the nights. Either that or continue with his little revenge mission, if one could call it that.

As if an upper deity or some other being had heard his thoughts, his instincts kicked in. Barely a second later, a loud, metallic clank resonated through the room. The little flames in the oil lamps flickered, and so did Alex's eyes. The sound had come from one of the doors. He remembered the feeling he'd had back in the lobby-

"Rebecca, don't!" he shouted, on his feet in an eyewink. Too late. She'd already pushed down the handle, and the door practically flung open in her face. In turn, a creature with poorly evolved blades for arms threw itself over her, pinning her to the ground. Alex had about a tenth of a second before it would burrow its teeth into her shoulder, ripping through flesh and most likely infecting her in the meantime, if it hadn't already just by being here.

Suddenly he was the one pinned, trying to push off the abomination, with no success. The blank space in his memory should bother him, but he was a little busy at the moment. If he'd been alone, he would've slashed the damn thing's throat. Get it over with. With them here though, risking detection and getting blackwatch sent on his ass? No thanks.

Like before, he got a leg in between them and flung the creature to the side. He followed close behind to tackle it with his shoulder, knocking it off balance. A fist connected with its head, then an elbow to its back. It growled at him, enraged, and got up on all fours to charge. Alex, brilliant as he was, completed the calculation in a mere second, one foot sliding backwards as it jumped. It was defenseless while in the air. He reached out with both arms to trap its head between his hands, then pulled down abruptly to slam its forehead against his knee. It dropped lifeless to the ground.

His instincts still raged inside him - there were more of them. He should've dealt with it before making his way inside. Dammit- Rebecca- 'Check. Care. Infection'. He couldn't do else but blindly listen to the instinct. Walking over to her, he could confirm that she was okay, if a little shaken. Having that over with, he could divert his attention to more important things.

"Get that thing out of here!" be barked, stomping through the door and knocking a walker to the ground with a fist to its face.