by Theo Vigo
Billy: Um…
Margaret: What? What would be wild?
Billy: If uh,… If the doctors… or doctor… the ones working on improving the parasite, if they end up being here, working on it in this very compound.
He tries to not let her leg bother him and eases himself down into the cover of the sheets.
Billy: Tomorrow's going to be an interesting day.
Margaret: Yea, I guess.
Billy: What's the matter?
Margaret: (sighs) Nothing… It's just… I found something out today, myself, when we were on the helicopter. Everyone was sleeping… Except that Sharp guy. I don't think he ever slept.
Billy: What did you find out?
Margaret: I found out who Abe is… or who he was.
Billy: What do you mean? How can that be possible?
She reaches underneath the covers. Billy unnecessarily moves over a bit, as to not get in the way of her hand. She pulls something out of her pocket and brings it out from under the covers. Billy sees that it is a wallet-sized picture of something. It looks quite dingy, muddy and old, like it has been through a lot. Margaret hands it to him so that he can get a better look. He takes and studies it.
Billy: Who are these people?
Margaret: The young girl's name is Lynn.
He isn't sure, but Billy can swear that he has heard that name before.
Margaret: The woman's name is Karen.
Billy: Wait a minute. Lynn and Karen. These are the people that you left the hostel with. But who's this guy? Where did you find this?
Margaret: On the helicopter. It was sticking out of Abe's pocket.
Billy: Then this is… holy shit.
He looks up at Abe, who is still sitting in the chair in the corner by the foot of the bed and back at the picture, trying to match the zombie in front of him with the man in the photo.
Billy: He was so handsome… and happy.
Margaret: I know,… it's horrible… what these people did to him. What they did to everyone. It's just hard because I remember him. He was already sick when he arrived at the hostel with his family. They had to leave him behind when it got overrun, then the same thing happened to my father. It's stupid, but I feel like Lynn's dad is lucky. At least he got the chance to be a zombie. My dad is just… dead.
Without thinking and in an effort to comfort Margaret, Billy turns over on to his right side, facing her, so that he can look into her eyes while he speaks. He hands the picture back to her at the same time.
Billy: Don't think like that. Being like Abe might not be that great.
Margaret: But if they find a cure, they can heal him. There's no cure for death.
Billy: Your dad is resting in peace. He has nothing to worry about anymore. He's not sick. He's not fighting for his life. He's not experiencing this hell that we live in. There's only peace for him. Think about that. Who knows what is going on in Abe's mind, what kind of torture he might be going through. If there's any piece left of the consciousness he once had, of the man in that picture, he must be fighting to hang on to it, and that must not be very fun at all.
Margaret: He's definitely still in there… and I swear I'm going to keep him safe until they find a cure. For him, and for his family.
Billy thinks to himself how miserable it would be for this man, who's name is now Abe, to wake up completely cured and find out that his wife and daughter had not made it, that they've already been killed. If he is truly currently living a nightmare in his mind, as he is now, he would certainly live another one when cured. He can't tell this to Margaret though. She loves Abe, what he represents. If not before, more than ever now, like a father. It's like this is her second chance, her chance to make sure this father-like figure survives, and this time, she will guard him with her life. She will never run away.
Billy: That's very admirable of you… and like I said before, I'm with you guys till the end.
While talking about him, Margaret's eyes had been focused on Abe's slouching body, sat in the chair in front of them, but she looks into Billy's eyes when he reminds her of his pledge to them. She too, had made the pledge, to stick with him through this whole nightmare, and suddenly she realizes how lucky she is to have met the brave young man. It was he who had been the one to invite her along with him, when he could've easily left her and her pet zombie behind.
He has shared his food with her in a time where food is as gold, and even carried her on is back when his only hope for survival was to leave her behind. And he would've made it too. If he had just left her in that field beside the highway, he would have been able to escape by himself, but he didn't. Meeting him might've been the luckiest day of her life, and the gratitude flows through her entire body, an exhilarating sensation that makes her feel the happiest she has felt in a long time. Though younger than her, Billy has been her hero, and still is, and would continue to be. How lucky she was to find this kid, but him looking down on her in this bed, in this dimly lit bedroom, she doesn't see him as a child anymore. She sees her man, her hero.
The next thing Billy knows, his eyes are closed, and the soft, slightly wet massaging of lips is the only thing in the world. Time stops as Billy and Margaret share a passionate but calm kiss; Billy's first. He has no idea how long it lasts. It can last forever for all he cares, and then he feels Margaret's warm hand gently land on his left cheek. He would reciprocate, but the inexperienced boy doesn't know much about the socially accepted practices of kissing, at least not from actual experience. All of the relationship books and articles in the world couldn't have prepared him for this moment. He'd rather stay still than do something out of the ordinary and mess everything up, for right now, everything is perfect.
He is only aware that the kiss has come to an end when he feels Margaret's lips pull away from his own and her hand leave his face to be replaced by the cool air of the room. He has no idea how much time has passed, but the forever had gone by much too quickly. He opens his eyes and Margaret is already staring at him. Her face still looks tired, but it glows with allure, both felt and exuded. Her mouth wears a tender smile, but her eyes send a stranger message.
Margaret: Heh, I-I'm.. sorry about that. I didn't mean to-- Can you close you mouth, please?! Ha ha, oh gosh.
Billy realizes that after the kiss, he'd opened his eyes, but he had forgotten to close his mouth. A mistake made surely because of his lack of kissing practice. He closes it.
Margaret: Ha ha. Umm, yea. I'm sorry.
Billy: Why? It's okay.
Margaret: No. It's not… Sex has this silly habit of making things weirder than they need to be.
Billy: It doesn't have to… We're not even having sex.
Margaret: It's just… I'm… Uhh… Maybe we should just get some sleep now, okay?
Billy: Yea. Yea, sure. No problem.
Margaret: Can you turn the lamp off?.. Whenever you're ready.
Billy: Yea, I'll get it.
Billy quickly turns off the lamp, leaving the whole room in an opaque darkness. Nothing can be seen.
Margaret: Thanks… Goodnight, Billy. Sleep well.
Billy: You too, Margaret.
Margaret: Goodnight, Abe.
Abe: …… Gooood… niiiight.
Margaret: What the fuck?! Abe?!… Billy, did you hear that?! … Wait.. That was you, wasn't it?
Billy: ……. Yea.
Margaret bursts out into a short laughing fit and slaps Billy's arm under the sheets.
Margaret: You ass! I actually thought it was him for a second.
Billy: Heh heh, sorry. I couldn't help myself.
Margaret: Tch, it's okay. Sweet dreams,.. jerk.
Billy: Sweet dreams.
Silence then becomes the dominant force in the room. She may have proposed they get some rest, but Margaret lays in bed with her eyes open, looking up at the ceiling that would be there if the lights were on. How can she sleep after what she had just done? Kissing Billy was a mistake. It feels like a mistake. Was it? She didn't mean to do it.
She just reacted. It could never work, could it? He's only two years younger than her, fine, but he looks borderline preteen. Although it might not show five years from now, their age difference shows clearly today. Hopefully he wouldn't think anything of it. Hopefully he wouldn't take it seriously. He is, after all, smarter than your average teenager. He wouldn't expect anything from her like all the other "almost men" would. He would respect her. He would stick with her. And that's what she loves about him, but now is not the right time.
From hoping that Billy understands, Margaret's thoughts gravitate to the events of the pass two weeks. She thinks about having to pull Lynn away from her father. He had already become a zombie, and she hadn't known then, but Margaret soon found out how hard it is too leave someone you love behind. If anything, what she had done was worse. She left her father behind before he had even changed, while he was still alive. At least Lynn had her mother to look to after her father was taken. Margaret's father was the only family she had left, and she just abandoned him. It had been burning inside of her everyday since then, that she could've done something more for him. Even if she lost her own life in the process, she should've stayed and helped her dad fight for his.
She should've stayed with him, like Billy had stayed with her, but she is no hero, not like the boy lying beside her. He is a true hero; always ready to die for what he loves. It's a lesson that he has helped teach her, and she is so very thankful for that. The awkward feeling that still fills the room, battling the silence for dominance, suddenly begins fading away. It fades away to be replaced by gratitude once again. Who cares how old Billy is? At this moment, he is the best thing in her life, and the last thing she wants him to think is that she doesn't care, so she acts on her feelings, sliding her left hand over to his right and taking hold of it under the covers. Although his eyes are closed, Billy isn't asleep either. The feel of Margaret's hand taking his is a mild surprise. He inhales and forgets to exhale for a good while. It doesn't even register for him to hold Margaret's hand back.
Margaret: Billy?
Billy: Yea?
Margaret: I want you to know that I care about you a lot and… I do love you.
Billy: We've been through a lot, Margaret. I've grown to love you too.
He can sense the sincerity in the tone of her voice, and it finally sinks in for him to return her affection. His limp, stunned hand comes to life and compassionately holds Margaret's back. When she feels him holding her, she smiles brightly in the completely dark room and holds him even tighter, which in turn causes Billy to smile. Reaching new levels of comfort with one another, Billy and Margaret fall asleep within minutes, hand in hand, watched over by their undead father figure and friend.
GONE MISSING
The thing about waking up in a room with no windows is that there is no opening for the sun to pour in and let you know that it's time to wake up. In rooms like these, it is very easy for one to sleep hours longer than they originally intended to. This can cause a person to over sleep and feel just as tired waking up as they did when they laid down to rest. Fortunately, this is not the case for Margaret. When her eyes creep open, and she takes her first conscious breath of the day, she feels well rested, even more so than she did on their nights spent at the department store. The room glows in a soft light, and Margaret can tell that the lamplight has been turned back on. She looks down past her feet, and even though her vision hasn't fully come back, she finds it odd that she can't see Abe's physique resting on the chair at the foot of the bed.
She turns her head to the left to see if Abe may be standing in some other part of the room, then realizes that not only are they no longer holding hands, Billy isn't even on the bed with her, and she can't see him anywhere either. Looking into the middle of the room, she sees nothing at first, but then she notices an unknown black figure bobbing up and down near the floor. It appears and then disappears, down to where the bed hinders her vision. She pushes herself up into a seated position so that she can see what the bobbing black thing is and is reminded of the extra weight she now carries in the form of a cast. It slightly annoys her, but she quickly remembers to be thankful, especially when she realizes that it's only Billy on the floor doing push-ups.
She's surprised to find that he is no longer wearing the white t-shirt and grey gym shorts that they had been given by Professor Gwen the night before. He's back in his original outfit, headband and all, going all out in a set of push-ups. She dare not say anything for fear of interrupting him. She waits it out, counting as he goes along. He finally stops twenty-nine push-ups in and hops up to his feet in a flash, breathing in deeply but controlled. When he looks up and sees Margaret sitting up straight, he jumps back, startled. Margaret gets a good chuckle out of it.
Margaret: Whoa, why so jumpy?!
Billy: (huffing) I don't know. I'm not.
Margaret: Ha ha. Sorry about that. Good morning.
Billy: Good morning… Actually, it's almost three o'clock in the afternoon.
Margaret: Are you for real?! Why'd you let me sleep so long!?
Billy: Don't worry about it. I only woke up about an hour ago. I guess we were more tired than we thought.
Margaret: Seriously. Say, where'd you get those spiffy new clothes?
Billy: Uh, they were just here when I woke up.
He points to the desk, and laying on top, looking fresh and folded in a neat little pile, are the clothes that Margaret had been wearing when she and Billy had first arrived to the Sector. Her pink bandana sits delicately on the top.
Margaret: Who-
Billy: I have no idea, but I'm thinking the professor.
Margaret: How sweet of her, but where is-
Billy: That too, I have no idea, but I'm thinking the professor took him. I wonder if she's even gotten any sleep.
Margaret: Those poor doctors… I feel sorry for them, but I can't deny it… I feel great… Minus the cast. It's kind of itching… but other than that, just great.
Billy: Ha ha, I feel good too. It's weird, like, hopeful even.
Margaret: Maybe it's our intuition. Maybe something amazing is going to happen today.
Billy: I hope you're right.
Margaret: I should get changed.
Billy: Oh, okay. I'll just be right outside the door.
As Margaret begins to get herself out from under the sheets to sit on the side of the bed, Billy starts for the door and reaches for the handle.
Margaret: You don't have to go outside.
He stops and looks at her, wonderingly.
Margaret: You can stay. It's fine. I trust you. Plus, you can't just leave me in here. I'm injured. I might fall over and die or something, then how big of an ass would you feel like then, huh?
Billy: Okay, all right. I'll stay. I'll stay.
Margaret: Good. Now, can you hand me my clothes, please?
Billy: Yea.
Billy hops, skips and jumps into action, scooping Margaret's freshly washed clothes up off the professor's office desk and handing them graciously to her.
Margaret: Thank you.
Billy: No problem.
He stands there watching her for a moment, her clothes cupped in her arms.
Margaret: Uhhh….
Confused, Billy wonders what the problem is. Margaret raises her index finger and twirls it around in consecutive circles, letting him know that she may be allowing him to stay inside the room, but he still has to avert his eyes while she changes. He apologizes promptly and turns his back to her. Margaret giggles again at his unrefined innocence. She finds it cute and strangely attractive, how he can be as courageous as a lion in the face of a thousand zombies, but in front of her, he acts as timid as a week old lamb. He makes it so easy to forget that he is only a teenager, the type she thought she had moved on from. She had forgotten that the night before when she kissed him.
Margaret has already taken off her borrowed t-shirt and put back on her white tank-top, right in the middle of sliding down her gym shorts when Billy starts tal
king.
Billy: Hey, Margaret. I just wanna say… about that kiss last night.
Margaret: Yea?
Billy: I want you to know that I don't expect us to be dating now, or to be anything more than what we were before.
Margaret: Oh?
Billy: Not that I didn't enjoy it because… I did. That was my first kiss, and… it was incredible. I'll remember it forever, and.. I'm glad it was with you.
He gets a little excited as he tries to explain himself to her, and his body automatically turns itself around so that it can face her while it's talking. Margaret has already changed into her clean panties but is still in the middle of pulling up her clean black and grey camo pants. She exclaims when Billy turns around, and he quickly corrects himself.
Billy: Sorry sorry sorry. It was just a reflex. I didn't see anything.
Margaret: (laughing) It's okay… Billy, I'm glad I could be your first kiss. It was a really great kiss for me too, just to let you know. It wasn't my first, but it was one of my best, and that's the honest truth.
