Borderlands....(a zombie romance story)

Sitting here by the Marina I wait for the little bob as the catfish comes to take the rolled up popcorn from the hook. How I hated waiting. But it was all there is for us now. A white koi fish surfaces, its pretty eyes staring up at me. It blinks when I smile and it swims in a figure eight around my legs. I giggle as it sucks on my toes. I stroke it gently, telling the beautiful fish to wait for me.

Walking into the shop by the Marina, I see a Flesheater woman hunched over a young man. He looked terrified, barely warding her off as she tried relentlessly to bite into his uninfected flesh. I grip the machete by my belt tighter and get behind her, lifting her neck and grabbing her long blonde locks. Quickly, I lice my machete over her throat, the snap of her spine and the slurching sound of her flesh sickening me. Without so much as an effort, her head was broken off from her body and rolled under the counter.

The young man jerks away from the beheaded body, kicking it away and causing it to stumble from its still hunched over state. He was still staring at the dead body, his glance shifting from the body, the head, and finally, to me. I only sigh and empty out the bowl containing "The Marina" key chains and was about to return outside when I feel him following me.

I go back to the bay to see the beautiful fish there, waiting for me. Just like I told it to. I scoop up some water with the bowl and it leaps in. I smile and empty the bowl, refilling it only to have it jump in again! This causes me to laugh and am a little surprised to hear him chuckle softly.

"She was my sister" His words startle me and I almost lose my catch. My arms scramble after my fishing pole, only to find I've lost my lunch. I mutter a curse and look up at his face, haggard from fear, exhaustion, and sadness. Then I remember his words. God...I killed his sister. I shake my head 'no' and his hazel eyes harden.

"She wasn't your sister anymore. She's become a Flesheater." He sits next to me and stares into the water, as if it could wash away his grief. Without looking at me, he speaks.

"I'm Carlos." I look over at him, my expression guarded. He seemed familiar, but I couldn't quite put my finger to it. I take my catch for the day and head for one of the jet ski's parked over the pier of the Marina. I haul the fish over it and some food I salvaged from the food court of the dam.

"Rucca." Slinging myself over the empty jet skit beside my haul, I hook the two together, a definite goodbye on my part. I rev up the jet ski and water sputters behind it, giving the machine life.

"Wait! Dont go!." I sigh and look over at him, pointing to the other jet skis that line the pier.

"If you want to come. Then come. I'm not waiting around for you." Yeah, I know I said that, but I waited anyway. Using the excuse of putting the bowl of my fish in with the cargo I'm delivering back to the safety of the island. I grin a little, seeing him struggle but rev up the jet ski just in time to hear his own vehicle sputter to life. I didn't look back, knowing that he was following me.

I slow my vehicle when we near the shore, letting it coast to the beach. My vehicle coasts to shore gently. I was careful, afraid my cargo would spill. Carlos was a little less lucky. He ricochettes a little, causing me to laugh. He blushes and I smile at seeing him squirm. I start to unload my cargo and he scrambles to help. He was like a child, holding on to me like this. The thought causes my brow to furrow, uncomfortable at the small intimacy. Intimacy from a stranger.

In the distance, I hear the familiar hum of the yacht making its way to the beach. My heart leaps with joy at seeing the Scavengers again. Knowing their back, safe and sound. That Mike is back. I drop the cargo on the shack we use for reserves and supplies and motion for Carlos that i'll be right back. I run to shore, my long black hair sweeping behind me.

Stopping right behind Mike, I allow my body to get some much needed air. As if sensing me staring at his muscled back, he turns around and opens his arms. Opens his arms to me. Only it wasn't me he was looking at. Short blonde waves catch my vision and I see his strong arms wrap themselves around her body. Around Alexis. Though I hate to admit it, pain wrenched itself into my chest. Tightening and squeezing until I couldn't breathe. Blinking away tears, I watch motionless as he smiles at her, his hands traversing over her face. How I ache to be like her. To be beautiful. To be cherished and loved. To have someone from before the Infection.

Just like all the other times I look at he, he somehow senses it and looks at me. He smiles and I somehow couldn't blink the tears away fast enough, the familiarity of it only twists the knife at the wound. I wipe at my eyes and through the blur, I see him make his way towards me. With all the pain and strength I could muster, I turn away from him, running from the beach and up the path, further into the island. He was so much faster, so much stronger. So when I feel arms around my shoulders, I wrench them away, expecting it to be Mike. But it wasn't. Instead, I see the worried face of the boy that was such a stranger to me not so long ago.

Giving in, I allow him to take me into his arms. Like a damsel in distress, I allow myself to collapse into him, sobbing into his neck.

"Shhh, it's okay Rucca. you're going to be okay." I wanted to yell. To pound my fists onto his chest. But I didn't. Instead I held on to him, letting him support me. Letting him carry the weight of my pain with me.

Hearing somebody clearing their throat, Carlos's head jerks away from my hair, and he looks over to whomever made the sound. I didn't have to look to know it was Mike. He walks closer, putting a strong hand on Carlos's shoulder. He only shrugs it off and I hear Mike sigh.

"Look, I just want to talk to her." No. I dont want to talk to him. I dont want to hear him say that he loved Alexis. I dont want to hear him talk about how perfect she is. How beautiful. That I could never be good enough for him. Never be good enough for anyone...

"look, I don't want you near her. C'mon Rucca." The poison in his voice startled me and I look up at him. He tugs at my hand and I finally get to see him. To really see him.

Carlos was handsome, but had that cute boyish look to him. Then I realize that I know him. Have known him. Before the Infection hit. It never even occurred to me that he remembered me. And I killed his sister. We stop in front of my little house, the one that my parents along with me and Rephaim made together. I look at him with new light. He was no longer the boy who was confused with is feeling. He was no longer #32 of the Liberty High School Varsity football team. Yet he was the same. But he was definitely different as well. Rougher around the edges. Maybe it's the way he looked at me now. Maybe it's because I no longer see hesitation and confusion in his eyes. He's grown.