Mya

I wake up to the sound of a heart.

It beats in my left ear in slow thumps, two hits, a pause, then two more hits, like a circle of sound. I smile at the feeling of warmth that bleeds into my skin.

I'm back at home again and surrounded by plush blankets. Finn curls up beside me, and his heart is as strong as ever, as in shape as ever, as alive as ever. I extend my fingers slowly and reach out without opening my eyes to feel his face above my head.

My fingertips come in contact with something wet and cold. Strands of slimy hair squish between my fingers. Has Finn been in the shower? I take a deep breath and open my eyes just enough that the shapes before me materialize into blurry squares.

What I see slams my body back into reality.

The cave wall stands in front of me, dripping with gray, calcium rich water. My hand has entangled itself in the disgusting green algae, and now my hand looks like a sea monster. I jerk my hand back and wipe the slime off on the blanket I'm wrapped in.

Glancing around the cave tells me Sakir is gone. His bag rests beside me, tied shut. The worn out spot he was sitting in cries about his absence, and the water pools in the shallow crater.

"Sakir?" I whisper and push myself into a sitting position. The rest of my surroundings fade into view as my eyes adjust to the honey-thick darkness. The moon illuminates the rocks with its silver light and casts eerie shadows behind the moss-coated turrets around me.

Silence answers me.

"Sakir?"

My whisper echoes around the hollow space as I unroll myself from the thin shield.

Nothing.

Not even a grunt of acknowledgement.

Did he leave me here?

No, he wouldn't do that.

Would he?

I mean, I saved his life, after all. He owes me big time, but it's not like I can exactly hold him to it. He could have easily just snuck off in the middle of the night and left me to wander in circles in the woods. I don't think he would do that, but do I even know him well enough to make that assumption about his character?

Earlier today he was willing to jump four people with fully loaded weapons. Is he really as harmless as I envision him to be?

Still, though, why would he help me find shelter just to abandon me?

I shake my head against the doubt and stand up. My legs ache from the walking, forcing me to limp towards the opening of the cave. I wince with every step, sucking air in through my teeth.

"Sakir?" I hiss once again out into the black and blue darkness of the forest. The skinny trucks couldn't hide his broad shoulders if they wanted to, but I can hope. Maybe he's just out for a walk.

Just as I'm about to turn and go back to my 'bed', a figure walks into view.

"Sakir! Where did you go?" I ask, clutching the dry section of wall I'm holding.

The bent over shape of Sakir continues to limp towards me, arms dangling at his sides, as if they weigh a thousand pounds. The moonlight behind him prevents me from making out his face, but it casts enough light for me to see that sweat has plastered his black hair against his head.

"What happened to you?" I ask, taking a step out into the open.

His clothes hang from his form in torn strips, reaching towards the ground just like the moss behind me. Something drips from his fingertips. Water? Is he sweating that badly?

"Why are you walking so slow? Get in the cave so I can see what's wrong with you," I scold, waving him towards me. As if he's hearing me for the first time, his head tilts up, and I catch sight of his eyes in the dim light.

Two yellow, clouded orbs stare back at me, threaded with red veins and surrounded by purple and black bruising. The thing's mouth opens as it lifts its nose into the air and breathes in deeply.

Infected.

I'm frozen to the spot as it continues to smell the clean air.

I can tell it's blind. Maybe if I don't move or breath it won't hear me. If I stay still, it will wander away. I couldn't go anywhere if I wanted. My heart races in my chest like an entire orchestra of bass drums are fighting for superiority. Surely the thing can't hear that.

Yet, his head turns back towards me, and his mouth opens even wider.

The yellow eyes settle on me, and he lets out a animalist, guttural scream.

I wouldn't have had time to run if I could. Before the thought even properly forms in my head, he stands in front of me, shoving me to the ground with gnarled fingers. One index finger is missing, and the bone digs into my neck as he grabs for my throat.

Our screams blend together until I can't tell them apart. I push him away from him, but the infected is stronger than me. He tears through what little clothing I have with sharpened teeth, breaking the skin along the way. His nails sink into my skin and tear through it.

I scramble away from him, but my hands slip on the wet ground under me.

"Sakir!" I scream, kicking at the infected as it grips my leg in both it's filthy, bloody hands. My skin's already cut into pieces from walking through the woods. That's what attracted him.

How could we have forgotten?

Still kicking, pointlessly because he's latched on like a leech, I scoot all the way back to our bags and dig through for something to fight back with.

The pain spreads over my body like wildfire, and my hands shake as I fumble through the bag. Sweat drips from the end of my nose, and my hair glues itself to my forehead. I peer through the strands and jerk my leg away from the infected. His fingers just dip deeper in, forcing more screams out of my mouth.

I glance down at him when I feel something warm and wet on my bare leg skin. At the sight, I stop moving, and my mind dives in to sheer panic mode.

He holds my frail ankle in between his jaws, and his graying tongue moves against my dirt-covered skin. The slime of his saliva strings between his top and bottom teeth and drips onto his skin.

Even if I am immune, I can't live through blood loss from a wound as severe as the one he's about to inflict on me. I might be able to pull away from him if I threw my entire body into it, but two thoughts cement me to the spot.

At least I'll be with Finn if I die. Who would miss me anyway?

He bites down then, sinking his teeth into my ankle and begins to shake his head like a dog holding onto the leg of its prey. I fall onto my back as the pain spreads faster, setting fireworks alight behind my eyes.

My own screams deafen me, and I wrap my arms around my head.

Please, hurry and kill me. Please don't drag it out.

He pulls me towards the entrance of the cave, and the coarse floor scrapes my bare back. The darkness sneaks back into the corners of my eyes. My own blood warms my back as he drags me through it and fills the air with an acrid rusty smell. I shut my mouth and fall limp, accepting my fate.

At least I'll be with Finn. Who would miss me anyway?

Where is Sakir? Why would he leave me to die?

I close my eyes as the rocks turn into grass as we're engulfed in the cold air of the empty space.

Through my arms, I hear a singular echoing gunshot, and my foot slams back into the ground. Warm liquid runs over my skin, but I can't find the energy to open my eyes and figure out what is happening.

Sakir didn't have a gun.

Ashford found me.

"Go find Sakir! That's him screaming," a female voice says to my right. Her voice is frantic and tense. Sakir is screaming? Then, I hear it, a shrill girly scream coming from behind me. Was that him the entire time? Had I been screaming at all? My raw throat says I have.

I groan and attempt to lift my head. Hands cradle my skull as my neck fails and I rocket back to the ground.

"Don't move," the female says again in a much more gentle voice. Her hands are cold and calloused, but I feel her heartbeat in the fingertips. She's real. I'm not imagining this. "Isaac, go!"

I open my eyes then, but the people surrounding me are blurry and dark. I don't see faces, just three shapes. The one kneeling beside me points at another, and he, Isaac I'm assuming, jerks the third shape towards the entrance of the cave.

I expect her to put me in chains as she moves across my body and lays her cold hands on my wounds. Instead, I feel the cold, coarse surface of a wet rag as she dabs at the blood.

Why is she helping me? They're supposed to kill me.

Wait. Isaac.

Where have I heard that name before?

A/N: I said it would be Monday, but I found some spare time! 

Our favorite heroes are here to save the day! Mya's not in the clear, yet, though. What's Sakir screaming about? Oh, the action!