Page 48 of What Remains

"Fuck," Seth muttered, adrenaline still pouring through his veins. Jay's voice called out from the other vehicle, sharp with alarm. Seth barked back that it had only been an infected.

The door opened a moment later anyway. Josie stepped out, a blanket wrapped around her shoulders, eyes wide with the residue of sleep and fear.

"You okay?" Seth asked, lowering the rifle.

She nodded shakily. "I heard the shot. Is it⁠—?"

"Handled." His voice was calm and measured, betraying none of the adrenaline still raging through him. "One of the sick wandered too close. He's down."

Josie moved closer, hugging the blanket tight against the cold. The moonlight caught the exhaustion in her face, the worry etched into the lines around her mouth as she stared toward the crumpled shape at the edge of the clearing.

"It doesn't make sense," she whispered, her voice strained.

"What doesn't?" Seth asked, keeping his eyes on the tree line.

"The decay. It's too advanced. It shouldn't be …this… just gone." She shook her head. "Why are some of them still walking?"

Seth leaned back against the bumper, his rifle still in his hands. "I saw a lot of strange things overseas," he said, "but nothing like this. It doesn't affect everyone the same way. Some burn out fast, and some just keep walking."

Josie frowned, considering his words. "Or maybe it attacks the nervous system at different rates."

"Could be. Some drop and stiffen up right away. The walkers, though..." He let out a long breath. "They're like fever zombies. Not dead, just cooked from the inside out, still running on whatever's left."

Josie shivered. "That's exactly what it looks like."

They stood in the silence that followed, the wind carrying a faint copper scent of blood across the clearing.

Seth glanced at her. "Sorry it woke you."

"I wasn't really sleeping," she admitted. "Not well, anyway." She hesitated, then stepped closer, her voice dropping. "Does it ever get easier? Killing them?"

Seth looked at the dead man for a long moment, then back at her. "No," he said. "But it its harder to let them get close to the people you're responsible for."

Her breath caught slightly, understanding exactly what—and who—he meant.

"You're keeping us safe," she said.

"Trying to."

"And..." She swallowed, searching for the words. "Thank you. For last night. And for this."

Seth nodded once, his eyes flickering to Layla's tiny silhouette in the SUV window. "She's not going to end up like the others," he said, his voice low but unwavering.

Josie didn't push for details. She didn't need to—the weight behind those final words told her everything, and she recognized his grief because it was the same one she carried.

Instead of retreating to the warmth of the SUV, she lowered herself onto the bumper beside him, pulling the blanket tighter around her shoulders.

"Mind if I sit with you a little while?" she asked.

Seth surprised himself by answering, "Sure."

And together, beneath the thin light of the crescent moon, they kept watch—two survivors staring out into a world gone feral, finding an uneasy comfort in no longer facing it alone.

Chapter 10

Snow, Corpse, Denver

The sky hung low and heavy, promising snow. Jay's breath visable as he studied it, his practiced eye reading trouble before it arrived. They still had miles to cover before Denver, and the timing couldn't be worse. "It's gonna make things slow going," he muttered, rubbing the back of his neck. "Road will ice over fast."