RESENTMENT

Her eyelids were heavy. She was tired, both physically and emotionally. She just wanted to let go and rest, but some kind of ruckus in her close vicinity stimulated her senses enough to prevent her from returning to unconsciousness.

"…at's eno…!!"

"…iece of sh…!"

"…iam, sto… eady…!!"

Her head hurt. She knew they had recently gotten out of a complicated situation, but she had issues remembering the full extent of it. She forced her eyes open, and waited for the blurriness to go away.

Nora saw herself resting on what seemed to be a sofa, in a living room. A deep orange sky was visible through the windows on the opposite side. It was about to get dark. The thought made her inner self shudder, but her body didn't showcase any physical reaction.

There were more people in the room with her. Claire was on her left, sitting on the sofa with her and holding her hand. She looked freaked out by something. Nora dragged her vision around, until she spotted William. Desmond was right in front of him, on the floor, with a bloody nose. William was pointing a gun at his head. He looked angry.

There was also another man she barely recognized. Long brown hair, cunning eyes, with his arms crossed and witnessing the scene from a corner. She did the same thing, she watched. She didn't have the strength to do much more.

The ongoing argument became coherent and decipherable as her consciousness gradually came back to her.

"Give me one reason, motherfucker. One single reason to not splatter your fucking brains across the wall right now." said William, in a threatening tone.

"There's still shamblers in the area! You'll put us all in danger if you shoot now!" Claire tried to reason with him.

"The girl is right, you know?" added the man on the corner.

"Shut up… Especially you, Marcus! Don't tell me what to do! I haven't even started with you yet…"

"…p-please… I'll explain everything, Will… Please… I c-can't deal with this anymore…" Desmond curled himself into a ball on the floor and started sobbing.

William wasn't too impressed by his reaction. The gun moved even closer to his forehead.

"Why? Just… why!?"

"Before I joined you guys months ago, I was with someone else… J-Jacobs…"

"Jacobs…!? The hell…?" William looked at Marcus with an inquisitive expression on his face.

"I… know nothing about this… Months ago… This might have happened before I arrived at the shelter…" he answered.

William faced Desmond again. "Go on…"

######

"Those bastards are growing quite quickly, aren't they…?"

Jacobs fidgeted with a pocket knife, sitting on a ruined couch in a corner of the room. Everyone else watched in silence. They knew it wouldn't be a good idea to open their mouths, unless they had a very good reason to do so.

Desmond wasn't too sure why had he been called to that "meeting". They had never arranged a meeting before. Everyone minded their own business, grabbing whatever food and drink Jacobs and his goons left behind, while staying out of trouble.

Why him, of all people? He analyzed the rest of the men in the room with him. None of them were trustworthy. Mostly thugs and delinquents, gathered under Jacobs' flag. And Jacobs himself was the worst of the bunch. A far as Desmond knew, he was convict that somehow managed to escape after the start of the pandemic.

Desmond didn't fit in that group, he stood out like a sore thumb.

"It pisses me off, you know…? We're dragging ourselves underground like rats, and they get to live up there in their own personal fortress? Besides, the more people they get, the more food they'll eat. And I'm fucking hungry." he coughed and cleared his throat. "Does any of you know why I called you here?"

He waited for a while, combing the room with his eyes. He stared at Desmond for a particularly long amount of time.

"Nobody…? That's fine, I didn't expect an answer anyway." his knife took a couple more laps around the fingers of his right hand, before aiming directly at Desmond's face. "You… I won't beat around the bush. You'll go and join their community. Make friends with them. Learn the layout of the place, their routines, their activities. You'll keep in contact with us, and you'll let us know of any meaningful developments. Refuse, and your wife and daughter will pay the consequences."

"H-Huh…? W-Wait, what…?" Desmond's mind took a good deal of time to process what he had just heard. "N-No, you can't… Eh…!? W-What do you m-mean…!?"

"Did I fucking stutter? You're no good for anything, and neither are those two women. Well, you better believe I'll put you to good use. You're the perfect guy for the job: you're skinny, you don't stand out, you're forgettable in every sense of the word… And you have two beautiful handicaps hanging off your ass."

"A-Ah… Aaahh…! P-Please…! Don't h-hurt them…! Not them…!"

"Damn right I won't, as long as you do as you're told. Otherwise, I'll have to get… creative with them."

Desmond's breathing got accelerated, his eyes open wide as if about to pop out of their sockets.

"…o-okay…"

"Good boy." Jacobs looked at the others. "You guys will go on the next looting trip. Take him with you and drop him off somewhere near that apartment building. Don't let them see you."

He gave the knife a couple more laps around his fingers before folding it and sticking back in his pocket. He stood up and started walking towards the door.

"He got devoured by the zombies. That's all you know. Keep everything else out of the story. In case you have any second thoughts, think of that sweet extra loot filling your pockets. We might end up hitting the jackpot with those guys."

######

"Your wife and daughter… What are their names?" asked Marcus.

"A-Alice… and Eleanor…"

"Right… They weren't here today. They have been moved to the hospital shelter in the west some weeks ago…" Marcus scratched his chin while talking.

"Hospital…? What are you talking about?" said William.

"As I said before, we've been setting up safe rooms and shelters around the area. This one is located on the top floor of the Saint Marie Hospital, west from here. It's quite far away, but it's spacious, and the area is packed with resources and medical supplies. We've been moving people to that particular shelter over time, and we were planning to move out entirely when… well, you get the idea. I can confirm that his family was sent to the west." Marcus frowned. "If I had to make a guess… I'd say Jacobs knew Desmond would remain obedient as long as he didn't get the chance to reunite with his family and plan an escape."

The room was full of silence for a while, interrupted only by Desmond's sobbing and William's breathing, which got increasingly heavier over time.

"Is… that it!? Is that it!? That's why!!? That's why you sold us!!? You just went and sold us out!!? Left us to die!!!?"

"…what would y-you have done…?" Desmond looked genuinely terrified to speak.

"Huh…!?"

"…what if A-Amanda was under similar circumstances…? …w-what then, Will…?"

"Don't… mention her name…! Just… Ugh!"

William's hand trembled with agonizing anger; his trigger finger yearned to unload the entire weapon on his target. After a short, tense period of time, his facial expression got distorted with rage, and he turned around, venting it on a nearby table.

"Aaaaarrgh!!!"

His arm swiped the entire surface of the table, pouring a myriad of objects onto the floor and sending them crashing against the wall.

"Damn it! Damn it! Damn it!! Damn it!!!" each scream came with a heavy blow to the table; his fist causing waves of dust and dirt to rise and float across the room. "Fuck!!" he grabbed the entire piece of furniture and flipped it over, before resting his head against the wall.

Claire cuddled Nora and closed her eyes tight, as if she wanted to avoid making accidental eye contact with William at all costs. She didn't say anything. Nobody said anything. Nobody dared.

"Am I supposed to hate you…? Am I supposed to feel sorry for you…? Am I supposed to forgive you…? What the hell am I meant to do…!? Bloody hell… Amanda…" William's tone sounded distorted, twisted by all the emotions that boiled inside his head.

He turned around to face Marcus.

"You…" he said, taking a couple of steps towards him and threatening him with the pistol. "You're a doctor, aren't you…?"

"Yes…" answered Marcus.

"I'll be blunt. With the help of Lilian, can you cure this… disease, whatever it is? Can anyone do it?"

Nora's body was shaken up upon hearing those words. She knew what they implied, and it brought her nothing but distress. She wanted to move, to speak, but she couldn't; she was still on the verge of unconsciousness.

"That's… not an easy question, you know…?"

"Easy or not, think of an answer…! Can it be cured or not!?"

"I might be a doctor, but this isn't exactly my field, I can't tell whether or not—"

"He's lying." Claire's voice interrupted their conversation.

Both William and Marcus turned their heads in her direction. She stared at Marcus intensely, with distrust painted all over her face. She reached for one of her pockets, took out a small brown object, and offered it to William.

"I found this in the nest. I've been waiting for a good chance to show you…"

William hesitated for a moment. He approached her and grabbed the object, which he unfolded to take a look inside. His head tilted and his eyes narrowed while he read its contents, his mouth twisting in disbelief.

"Hang on…! What the hell…!? Isn't this a military badge…!!?"

"It's no wonder he wanted to keep Lilian in check. He's with them."

William dropped the badge and turned back towards Marcus, this time aiming at him with clear killing intent.

"Alright, the jig's up. I'm fucking tired of secrets. You better start talking now…!!"

"Okay, listen… I'm not your enemy." Marcus had started sweating, and he stepped back, putting his back against the wall.

"That's not what I asked. You surely don't expect me to believe you don't know what's going on, do you? I don't like you. I have resented you since the very moment I met you. And now this? Now it turns out that you're a soldier? What's the next thing I'm gonna get dragged into? I keep watching my life turning into a twisted action movie, and I'm done with it. Give me a clear answer, or I'll get rid of you. Right here, right now."

William looked frustrated. And anxious, and nervous, and stressed, and angry... All kinds of negative emotions were written all over his face.

"I... I can't tell you anything…! You don't understand, I cannot spread confidential information just like that…! I wish I could, my own judgement tells me to help you out, but I have a duty to fulfill…!"

"Fine. Alright, I get it…" William grabbed his gun with both hands, the barrel aimed steadily at Marcus' forehead. "Fuck you, then—"

"Wait…! Wait!! You want a cure, right!?"

William stopped. His finger was already exerting pressure on the trigger.

"…"

"It might be possible. But we can't know until we get a chance to take a look at the girl. We… have a base of operations within the city. It has a small laboratory with medical equipment. I know where it is. If we can take the girl there… you'll have the answers you seek."

"…"

"This is all I can tell you."

After pondering for what felt like an eternity, William lowered his weapon. Then, without a warning, he buried his fist directly on Marcus' face, knocking him down and giving him a severe nosebleed.

"Aggh…!"

William didn't say anything else. He turned around and abandoned the room, leaving both Desmond and Marcus on the floor, with bloody faces, deep in thought.

******

Claire didn't have the courage to do anything besides watching the conversation unfold. William's attitude had seeded her with unease. It felt like he was now determined to find Lilian and bring her under military custody as well. Wasn't he pursuing exactly the same goal as Julien and Logan?

[She will keep dragging people towards her, colliding interests with clash over her custody, and calamity will follow.]

Marcus' voice bounced around in her memories. Was this what he was referring to? Perhaps he knew all along, he expected inner conflict to arise sooner or later. But why? Why William? What was the driving force behind his actions? He didn't sound like he wanted her as a way to escape the city. He wanted… the cure?

Claire's thoughts were suddenly interrupted. Something tightened around her hand. Something warm.

"Ah…!"

Nora's eyes were trying to establish eye contact with her, but they seemed twitchy, as if they couldn't manage to stay still. The rest of her body was mostly immobile. Her left hand gripped Claire's right hand with all the strength she had, which wasn't a lot.

"Nora…! Are you awake!? Hey, Nora…! Can you hear me…!!?"

"Mmmh… Nnngh…"

"W-What's going on…? Can you hear me…!?"

"May I take a look…?" asked Marcus.

Claire turned her head to face him, drilling him with spiteful eyes.

'I don't trust this man, no matter what he says… But… h-he's a doctor… right…?'

"Okay… But I'm watching you…!"

She didn't have any weapons with her at the moment. She didn't feel safe. She just hoped he wouldn't try anything malicious.

"Don't worry… I have no reason to hurt anyone here." he said, as he slowly approached the sofa.

He kneeled beside Nora, and started examining her. He inspected her eyes with a small flashlight he pulled out of one of his pockets, he took her pulse, he checked her joints, her reactions and reflexes… Claire observed him in silence.

"Stiff joints, abnormally high heartbeat, mild nystagmus, pale skin, impaired verbal communication… Her nervous system also seems to be displaying certain erratic behaviors I can't quite identify. I'm afraid I can't give a proper diagnose with just a basic examination. Do you know if she suffers from any particular illness?"

"Huh…? N-No… Not that I know of…" replied Claire.

"I see… Let's let her catch some rest. Perhaps she's just freaked out from everything that happened today. Everyone is tired."

"R-Right…"

There was no way that statement was genuine. Marcus scratched his chin again. He seemed to have something in mind, something he couldn't manage to figure out. Claire hugged Nora. Her friend stared at her as if asking for help, yet there was nothing she could do.

…

Minutes later, the two girls had been left alone on the living room. Claire didn't leave Nora's side even for a second.

"Don't worry, Nora. I'm here. I'm not leaving you, okay? We'll get through this. I promise."

She rested her head on Nora's shoulder, softly holding her hand. She didn't get to see the tears that slid down her cheeks, flowing from her tired yet restless eyes. Tears that carried all the conflictive emotions piled up inside her body, with no other way to get out.

******

Nora woke up again. She had been waking up and falling asleep countless time throughout the night. Yet this time, it was morning. She hadn't moved from the sofa yet.

Her entire body was sore. With a lot of effort, she brought her hand to her face and rubbed her eyes.

'Uggh… Jeez, I feel horrible…'

She stopped to think for a moment.

'Wait… I can move.'

Something bulky moved and stirred by her side, before bouncing itself straight on the sofa and letting out a soft squeal.

"A-Ah…! Nora…!? Nora! Are you okay!?" Claire was almost chirping, Nora wasn't sure if she was surprised, excited, agitated, or all at once.

"Claire…!? Well… yeah? I think so? I'm just… numb. My entire body hurts…"

"Oh god, I'm so glad! I thought you—"

One of the doors leading into the living room opened, cutting their dialogue off. William walked in. He gave Nora a look from top to bottom.

"Are you feeling better?" he asked.

"Y-Yeah… I think I do."

"Alright. We're leaving soon. We're going back to the apartments for the time being, we'll be safer there. Once we get back… we need to have a talk. A serious talk."

"Huh…?"

"And… There's something you should see. Both of you."