Page 6 of Burning Love

“It’s never over,” she responded in a whisper, her fingers cold and shaky as they slipped into Alex’s hand. As Alex pulled her closer, she noted how slight she was… almost skin and bone. The second thing she saw were cuts and bruises almost wholly covering the woman’s skin.

“What’s your name, sweetie?” Alex asked, keeping her tone kind, almost soft as if coaxing a frightened animal.

“Sophia,” the woman said, tears forming in the corner of her eyes. She dropped Alex’s hand quickly, wrapping her arms around herself as though trying to hold in her terror. “Thank you. I thought I was done for. That one… He killed someone over there, right in front of me. He just ate him. I swear?—”

“You were pretty incredible, you know that? You were giving it a go! You were defending yourself. That’s more than most could do out here,” Alex said, her expression softening before she turned to Jeremy, one of her soldiers, and barked an order, “Go find the other body and get back here ASAP. I need to know what we’re up against.”

As Alex turned and held Sophia’s gaze, she could see the young woman’s cautious eyes. But at the same time, she felt something stir within her—a strange, immediate connection, like a thread of understanding between them.

You know I won’t hurt you. My God… I can’t believeyou’ve made it this far. Look at you…afraid, beautiful, with such deep eyes.

It was only a fleeting feeling but also one she hadn’t experienced in years. Alex had spent so long in military training that most of her feelings, good and bad, had long been buried to make way for honing her survival instincts. She shook off what was, for reasons that baffled her, a pleasant feeling building up in her chest and forced herself to stay focused.

“Are you out here alone?” Alex asked, her voice careful. “What are you doing here, Sophia?”

Sophia’s shoulders slumped as she gave a slight nod of her head. “I-I… I’ve been on my own for a while. I don’t really know how long. I guess since the beginning?”

Alex could detect the weariness in her words, each one heavy with exhaustion and fear. She knew that feeling all too well—the kind of loneliness that gnawed at your insides. She gestured toward the path. “You’re not alone anymore. Let’s get you out of here. Come on, let’s follow Jeremy and assess the damage.”

“Ma’am! Stay back! You’re not going to want to see this. It’s Spike. I’ve finished him off,” shouted Jeremy, his voice echoing through the trees.

“Shhhhh! Don’t holler like that!” replied Alex angrily. “Get over here!”

“There’s no sign of the others. Just Spike. He was… He was in a bad way. But he’d turned. I finished him off.”

“Does he have family back at the compound?” Alex asked urgently, her mind trying to picture which kid was Spike.

“No. No family. And even if he did, we can’t take that body back for burial. The state of it is…” Jeremy stuttered over his words, unable to finish his sentence.

“Fine. Leave him where he is. Let’s go. Maybe the others found their way back. We can’t stay out here. It’s getting dark,” Alex said matter-of-factly.

Her approach was blunt, hard and cold, but there was no other way to survive in this new broken world. They began walking, carefully moving through the underbrush. Alex realized that Sophia’s steps were unsure and that she was struggling to keep up. Possibly she was still in shock, or maybe she just needed a good meal and a good night’s rest.

“Are you okay?” she asked, slowing down the pace a little.

“No, I’m not. Who’s Spike? Did you know that boy? You don’t seem the slightest bit bothered about what just happened,” Sophie said as she looked down at her feet.

“I am bothered. But no, I didn’t know the kid. He lives on our compound, but we weren’t close. There’s a lot of them now. I can’t keep track. He was out with some of the others, looking for food… and unfortunately this kind of shit is to be expected, right?”

“Right.”

As they continued, Alex glanced at Sophia from time to time, taking in her disheveled appearance—the filthy streaks on her cheeks, the mud-caked tangles in her hair, the purple and red bruising peeking out from under her ripped clothing. Her posture was tense and guarded, but there was still a resilience in her eyes that Alex found intriguing. It was odd that she had survived alone for this long. Most of the people who turned up at the compound were in pairs or threes. It was rare to find a lone survivor. Someone uninfected. The people who tended to show up at the compound were rarely related, but they’d formed groups. It was only natural, thought Alex.

“So, where were you headed when we found you?” Alex asked, trying to keep her tone casual.

Sophia shook her head. “No clue. Nowhere, really. Just… away. I’m always just trying to get away. I don’t know where to go anymore.” Her voice was barely above a whisper, each word feeling like a confession. She let out a bitter laugh, glancing at Alex with a flicker of vulnerability. “I don’t think I have any plan. I’m just… trying to get out of here.”

Alex laughed gently. “I know that feeling all too well.”

They walked in silence for a few more moments; each lost in their own thoughts.

After a while, Sophia spoke.

“Listen, thank you very much for saving me. I honestly don’t know what I’d have done if you hadn’t been there. But I’ve got to go now. If that’s alright, I’d like to go now.”

“Go?” Alex couldn’t shake the feeling that there was something significant about Sophia—something that pulled at her despite the hardened walls she had built around herself. It wasn’t just Sophia’s vulnerability that stirred her; it was the quiet strength beneath it, the way she carried herself even amid exhaustion and fear. Even though she sensed that the girl wasn’t trusting in her whatsoever. “Go where, Sophia? You got places to be? People to see?”

“No, but I’ve been just fine. I’m fine. I’ve got to get back to?—”

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