DECAY

"Nora, are you sure you're alright!? You're not dizzy, or anything?" Claire was unable to hide her concerns over her friend.

"I'm okay, really. I just feel tired, but I think I'm getting better already." said Nora. She gave Claire a tiny smile. "Thanks for worrying. I appreciate it."

"Fine… But make sure you let me know if you feel anything weird again. You had me really nervous yesterday…"

Claire turned her attention towards the huge vehicle in the middle of the parking lot. Hidden underground, with all entrances locked and secured, Marcus had kept a big military truck on standby. As far as the other survivors knew, he found it abandoned and took it for himself. Of course, that was a blatant lie. He had the truck from the very beginning.

Armored plates on all sides, bulletproof glass, and with a spacious cargo container on the back which allowed it to carry both supplies and people alike. It would be safer than any ordinary vehicle, even in the middle of a shambler horde.

"So… We're riding this thing back to the apartments… I wonder if—"

"…I'm sorry." Nora cuddled her from behind, sinking her head on her back.

"Huh…!?"

"I didn't get a chance to apologize yet… For rushing out the way I did, for putting everyone in danger… I should've thought about things better, more rationally…"

"Hey, hey…" Claire turned around to face Nora, holding her by the shoulders. She was biting her lower lip, frowning in self-disappointment. Her eyes were wet. "You did nothing wrong. You were worried about Lilian, and you were desperate to help her, that's all. Anyone would've freaked out in that situation…"

"Oh god, Lilian… I just want her back…!" she started sobbing. "I know what you're going to say… They won't hurt her, they need her… She'll be okay… Right…? She will, r-right…?" her weeping intensified, hindering her speech. "Please… Please, tell me she'll be okay…"

"Blaming yourself and crying won't help her, will it?" William's voice emerged from underneath the truck.

Claire faced the vehicle. She couldn't see him, but she knew he was crawling somewhere down there. Since he used to be the owner of a fairly busy car repair shop, it wasn't too surprising that he volunteered to give the truck a look and make sure it was ready to go.

"We'll ready ourselves, and we'll somehow find her. That's all you need to focus on right now. Keep your mind on the goal, it'll make everything easier." he said, half-grumbling as he fiddled with some kind of tool underneath the truck.

"Um… William, can I ask you something…?" said Claire.

"Yes…?"

"Yesterday, when Lilian disappeared… You were so hesitant to follow Nora, to go after her… But now, you seem to be okay with this. How come…?"

She hadn't brough up that specific subject so far, but she had definitely noticed a change in William's behavior. Something was different about him, only a fool would be oblivious to it. The day before, his conversation with Marcus had displayed an aggressive obsession towards Lilian, towards the possibility of a "cure." If that compulsive behavior were to turn predatory…

Curing the disease was what the military wanted to achieve. The concept of the greater good, at the expense of a few misfortunate people. But William didn't sound like he cared about saving the world. And if it wasn't that, then what was it?

He kept tinkering with the truck's underbelly for a long time before he gave an answer to her question.

"I did say I wanted to have a talk with you, didn't I? I made up my mind about something. But now isn't the time. Besides, I'm not sure talking would be of much use… I'd rather show you instead."

'Huh…? He'd rather show us…?'

"Let's get this thing moving first, okay?"

******

The humming sound of the truck's engine was somewhat comforting in Nora's ears. Lately, if it wasn't an ominous silence, it was either growls, screams or gunshots. The monotonous purring of the machinery, ugly and annoying for others, was a cleansing melody for her.

She didn't let go of Claire's arm during the entire trip. Her body warmth helped soothe the turbulence deep within her mind.

Her head hurt like hell. Then it didn't. Then it hurt again. Something wasn't right about her. Ironically, she was thankful, because it prevented her form focusing her thoughts too much. She'd rather suffer from headaches than wallow in her own pessimism. Still, it reminded her of the strange experience she had the previous day, right before she blacked out.

Was that phenomenon related? She didn't have a logical explanation for it, beyond a twisted hallucination caused by stress. But… she couldn't get Lilian's voice out of her head.

[This way.]

[This way.]

[This way.]

'Oww…! It hurts… Am I really okay…?'

[This way.]

'Lilian…'

******

Desmond and Marcus had been locked up on the top floor, along with the rest of the survivors. William didn't trust any of them, he didn't want them to roam freely around the building. At least, not yet.

They had things to do. They needed to gear up before attempting to find Lilian, figure out who was going with them, who was staying… But before worrying about any of those things, there was something in particular he needed to get off his chest.

Nora and Claire followed him quietly along the sewer corridors. Claire looked as uncomfortable and freaked out as she did the last time. Nora, on the other hand, seemed to be lost in thought, not minding the darkness, the moisture or the limited amount of space in the tunnel.

He guided them corner after corner, intersection after intersection. It was a path he knew very well. A path he made sure to memorize, for a variety of good reasons.

About ten minutes of walking later, his flashlight illuminated something at the end of a hallway. A set of concrete stairs, leading up to a door. Heavily rusted, it looked like it had seen vast amounts of wear and degradation over the years, most likely caused by direct exposure to the sewers themselves.

William walked up the steps, pulled out a small key from his pocket, and slot it into the keyhole. The hinges made a clunky creaking sound as the door swung open. He gave the girls a signal with his hand, inviting them to follow him inside.

"Um… Where are we…?" asked Claire. She sounded afraid to raise her voice too much.

"See for yourself." said William.

He aimed his flashlight at a small box-shaped object on the floor. A car battery, connected to some electric devices and wires. With the flick of a switch, the lights in the room flared up. The girls had to cover their eyes for a moment.

"Ah…!! B-Bright…!"

Their frowning faces rapidly filled with awe when they laid their eyes upon the contents of the room.

The place itself was the basement of a destroyed building. The entire structure above ground had collapsed months ago for unknown reasons, leaving the basement completely inaccessible from the surface. Inside, shelves, tables and boxes were organized neatly along the walls and in the center of the room, creating a layout meant for storage purposes.

Most of the available surfaces were covered with weapons. Pistols, combat rifles, shotguns… Ammo boxes and magazines filled the shelves. One particular table showcased many batons of different sizes, along with other tools and utility items. The place was pretty much an armory.

"My goodness… So, the thing about a weapon stash was no joke…" Claire took some steps around, her eyes jumping from shelf to shelf. She looked both scared and fascinated. "Is this what you wanted us to see?"

"No. It's behind that door." William pointed towards a door at the back of the basement. "But first, I need to confirm something. Let's see… Nora?"

Nora looked at him in the eye, although she was visibly hesitant. "Yes…?"

"I'm not sure if she's informed you already, but we've talked about some things. She told me what happened. I know what you're going through."

"…yes, I know." she shuddered as those words came out of her mouth. "Um, I'm… … …nevermind. What do you want to talk about?"

William noticed how apathetic she looked. A blank expression, tired eyes that stared at him as if begging for release, yearning for even an instant of rest.

"It's about Lilian's condition… Is it getting worse?"

"Ah…! W-Well… Um…" she was shaken up by his question.

"I had a talk with Marcus. The bastard wouldn't say a thing about himself, but at the very least I managed to convince him to talk about her. We talked about her behavior. I told him about the things I saw over the last week, and at a certain point in the conversation, he said something that made me think…" Nora fidgeted with her hands and avoided eye contact while listening. "Resistance isn't immunity. That's what he said."

Claire held Nora's arm with both hands, stroking it with gentleness.

"Nora…" she whispered, looking at her with a worried gaze.

"For god's sake, be honest. You should be quite aware that lying will only bring further issues." said William.

"…she… was okay at first..."

'I knew it.'

"It's getting worse, yes… It is…" tears started sliding down her face and dripping down to the floor, by her feet. "It keeps aggravating…! Shit… S-She was… s-so full of life…! S-She was… such a s-sweet girl…!" her legs trembled, and eventually her knees failed her, causing her to drop on the spot.

"Nora…! Oh, Nora…" Claire crouched down beside her, getting teary-eyed.

"I k-kept telling myself… that she would be o-okay in the end…! But… But…! Aaahh…!" her intermittent sobs had escalated into sorrowful cries.

William approached her and kneeled down in front of her.

"So? Do you really want her to keep getting worse? Instead of looking for a solution? Is that it? Is that your plan?"

"No…! Shut up…!! They'll take her a-away from me…!! God knows what kind of testing they'll perform on her!! They m-might hurt her…!! Kill her…!! I d-don't know what'll happen to her…!! And w-whatever it is, once it happens, it'll be too late to take a step back…!!"

"I asked you, what's the plan!? For fuck's sake, Nora! This shit is degenerative, it's eating at her from within! She's literally withering away as we speak! And you'd rather do nothing!? I thought she meant something for you!"

"Enough…!!" Nora lunged forward and shoved William away, making him fall back. She hunkered down on all fours and buried her face on the floor. "She means everything for me!! I love her to death!! I d-don't want to live in a world where she's gone…!! If taking the risk means she could be taken away from me forever, I'd rather let her wither with me instead!!"

…

"Bullshit."

"W-What…!?"

"You have no fucking idea what you're talking about."

William stood up. His facial expression no longer displayed anger or frustration; it was contorted with grief. He turned around and headed towards the door at the back. Along the way, he grabbed a nearby chair, which he later set down directly in front of the door.

Then, after letting out a deep sigh, he turned the doorknob.

******

William took a couple of seconds to sit in front of the open door, hunched over, with his elbows on his thighs. Claire let go of Nora and stood up. Her gaze was set on something inside that small room. Nora was also looking at it, confused, but she chose to remain on the floor.

What was it? There was something there, a shadowy figure, practically immobile. Claire got a bit closer, to take a better look.

She gasped once she realized what it was.

A shambler. A female. Her ankles were tied together. Her arms were bound behind her back and chained to a pipe on the wall. She was wearing a sweater and a long skirt, both of uncertain color, dirty and decayed. Her long brown hair, which might have once been smooth and vibrant, was now in total disarray, all tangled and disheveled. Her bony face was emaciated, her nonexistent expression darkened by the gray color of her skin.

She was in similar condition to the shamblers Claire had seen slumbering in the sewers. Starved, lethargic.

The picture sent a shiver down her spine, shaking her to the core.

"N-No way… William… Don't tell me… I-Is that…?" she muttered.

For a long whole minute, nothing happened. Then, William looked to the side. He wasn't making visual contact with Nora, but his attention was clearly directed at her.

"You'd rather let her wither away? Let me tell you something: you're wrong."

He stared at the shambler again.

"Hi, honey."