The Promise

She couldn't take it anymore. Her arms and legs ached and her chest burned, her drenched clothes stuck close to her, weighing her down. Her lungs felt as though they were on fire and slowly being incinerated, every breath ignited the fire more. Her body was swallowed by pain as her heart was drowning in sorrow. Zombies clawed at her in a frantic attack, hungry for her. But she didn't care, silence rung in her ears. Not even the thunderous noise of the storm around them was heard, she was too detached from the world.

"Rochelle! It's too late! We gotta move!" A voice shouted behind her, in a burst sounds reached her ears again. The deafening screams and cries of zombies, the gunshots and the rain. Everything was clear, until her eyes locked with his. Silence rang out again as she became fixated on him. He was pale, very pale, blood oozed out of his wound and various others. He stared blankly at her, his eyes barely anything but white. Then, he snarled at her.

Memories flooded in of moments just before. The storm had hit sooner than the last and caught all of the survivors off guard. The chilling wind picked up and cut through them, blowing them back slightly with its force. They were fine to begin with but the zombies kept on their murderous onslaught, overpowering them, smothering them and leaving no room for error on the survivor's part. It happened so fast that Rochelle would have thought it was her imagination if it weren't for his painful cry as he fell to the ground. His scream, that's what shook her. It wasn't particularly loud or long but the pain was evident and it shook Rochelle to her very core. Everything seemed to go slow motion when she heard it, her eyes tracking his every move to the floor. The zombie in which caused his pain still had its filthy mouth tightly gripped around his arm, blood seeping down his once white suit. Anger flared up in Rochelle at this and was about to help him when a pain filled word stopped her in her tracks.

"Run..." He had choked on blood slightly whilst saying it. His skin went an eerie pale right in front of her eyes. They locked eyes with each other and even though Rochelle could see his pain, she also saw his love as he gave his silent goodbye.

A hand yanked her back, jerking her out of her thoughts. The hand was replaced by the cold hard floor as she was thrown into the safe room. The door creaked and groaned as Ellis slammed it shut before turning around and watching his friend silently, unsure on what to say. Silence filled the safe room, everyone but Rochelle giving each other silent glances. Both of them unaware of what to say. Rochelle lay unmoving on the floor, staring into space. The others decided to leave her for a while, knowing she wouldn't respond if they tried to get through to her. Rochelle continued to stare at the cracked ceiling, listening to the rhythmic pattern of the rain hitting the walls from the outside. A cold chill went down her spine, freezing her insides. But she didn't move, not to even flinch at the sensation. Soon after, the sounds of the rain faded away as another memory washed over her.

Rochelle and Nick sat laughing together in one of the bedrooms of the safe room. Both of them joking and enjoying each other's company.

"Why are you the one to always get injured?" Rochelle asked half-heartedly, she knows he wasn't the only one. The bandages wrapped around her head proved that. She pushed him slightly as well to show her joking manner. He smirked at her.

"Who knows, perhaps I'm distracted by something," He leant over towards her slightly, putting his left hand on the bed beside her. The top half of his body leant over her making her lean back slightly. "Or maybe...someone?" His face was inches away from hers and stayed that way even as they went further down against the bed.

"That's such a corny thing to say Nick." Rochelle said shaking her head at him. He didn't let her disapproval get to him and continued smirking down at her. He repositioned himself to allow him to lift his left hand without completely falling on her. His smirk slowly died away as he brushed his hand across her injured forehead. His fingers traced over the bandages lightly. Rochelle gave him a puzzled look at the sudden seriousness he was emitting.

"Nick?" She called his name questioningly as he stared at her bandages. For a brief moment he looked into her eyes, and then sighed.

"Ro... will you promise me something?" He asked, his tone quiet and serious. She squinted her eyes and turned her head to the right slightly, puzzled by what was going on. Nonetheless she replied:

"Of course."

"If I ever get bitten and turned into a zombie..." Rochelle opened her mouth to intervene but he quietened her with a kiss to the forehead.

"Nick?" She called his name again, quieter this time. He stayed lingering close to her forehead as if contemplating on how to say what he wanted. "Nicholas." She spoke once again, more sternly this time, his new mood putting her on edge slightly. He looked at her once more, continuing with what he was saying.

"If I become a zombie..." She looked at him with full curiosity...

What he had said next still shocks her to this very day and was enough to jerk her out of the memory. She rubbed her eyes, stopping the tears threatening to fall. Clumsily she looked around the room, searching for what she needed. She saw it propped up against one of the boxes in the corner; the others must have taken it off her when they arrived at the safe room. She pulled herself up, her breathing became deeper as fear and sadness filled her whilst nearing the item. She cautiously picked the item up, as if unsure on what she was about to do. She picked up a handful of ammo placed on a nearby shelf as well and shoved them into her pocket, beginning her new search for a window. It didn't take long to find one, a slightly boarded up window which overlooked the area they came from was seen as her gaze passed the door. She dragged her feet towards it, the item she picked up scraped across the floor slightly as it hung loosely in her grip.

She tore at the boards over the window, splinters cut away at her fingers slightly as she did. She broke only a few to allow the outside to be viewed. The window had barely any glass so the wind cut through quickly; raindrops now lightly dampened her face. Shakily Rochelle began to reload the sniper rifle and raise it to the window. Pain ate away at her body and soul as it attacked her physically and mentally. The memory still burned fresh in her mind as she looked through the scope scanning over each of the zombie's faces.

"Promise me..." His voice echoed in her head. She took an unsteady breath to calm her and steady her aim as she continued scanning the area.

"...that if I ever..." She caught sight of him and her breath got caught in her throat. She didn't want to do this. She didn't want to see his pain. Conflicting emotions battled through her as her heart and mind fought for control.

"...become a zombie..." His voice still echoed at her, as if he was standing beside her at that precise moment. She was going to give up when by chance he looked up and caught sight of her. Rochelle's eyes widened and she was breathless once more. Her hands felt slightly sweaty with the burden even as the cold threatened to numb them. Tears welled up in her eyes once more and she bit her lip in a nervous manner. Her finger shook against the trigger and slowly pulled it back. She swears she can see the faintest of smirks on his lips. As if he knew what she was going to do, as if he remembered still and was happy with what she was doing.

"...kill me." Was the last thing she heard before she slammed her eyes shut and pulled the trigger. The gun shot sound masked by the storm outside for the zombies, but to her the sound was deafening. An image of him kissing her on the lips gently after he asked her swept into her mind and she choked out a sob. She turned and slumped against the wall, sliding down it as his body hits the floor. She could hear the rain pelting the walls on the other side. She only wished she could go outside in it, she'd look up at the blackened sky and watch as the rain fell on her. Let it soak her and wash all the pain, guilt and anger away. No other sounds reached her as she hunched over and hugged her knees, not even the sounds of the footsteps rushing towards her from inside the safe room as she buried her head. All she could focus on was the words that will haunt her for the rest of her life.

"I promise."