[I]Last Life - Chapter 1: Kill or Turn[/I]

A bedroom door cracked open and two silhouetted shadows slipped inside a vacant room. There was a long window with white, transparent drapes and boards nailed all the way up the wall to prevent anything from getting in. Candles lined up on an antique dresser against the window were the only light source that existed inside. There was a bed with an old handmade quilt with three stitched pillow cases with feather pillows inside them.From the look of it, a teenage boy sat down on the bed and looked up at another man who did not sit. There was a long pause of silence before the man in his mid-twenties spoke up, [B]"What is it, J?"[/B]

[B][I]"Remember how things were before mom and dad and Laina turned?"[/I][/B] The "boy" spoke, but [I]his[/I] voice was slightly off. It became silent again and the mid-twenty year old walked over to sit on the bed. The light the man had been blocking made the teen on the bed more visible, and it revealed that the [I]boy[/I] on the bed was in actuality a girl. The jacket and ripped shorts she wore were far from feminine however. She wore no make-up, and the wounded expression she had on her face was similar to that a guy would make when troubled. Her eyebrows furrowed and she just sat there gazing off into the darkest part of the room - waiting on the man to respond.

The handsome man in his mid-twenties just nodded his head. [B]"Yeah, I do."[/B] He half whispered in the dark. His well fit, muscular build underneath his t-shirt was apparent in the candle light. The flames of the candles reflected in his deep brown eyes as he placed them upon the tomboy. He could tell that something was wrong and that something was bothering her badly. He had a feeling that reminiscing on good times wasn't truly what she wanted to talk about. He assured her, [B]"It's always best to be present. Looking back will only make things worse."[/B]

[I][B]"What if I can't stop remembering?"[/B][/I] The girl called J asked.

[B]"You have to try or else the good memories will haunt you almost as bad as the sad ones. The world is not the same. Remembering how the world was before and imagining how our lives would be if the outbreak hadn't started will only depress you." [/B] The man was beginning to jump to conclusions, because his curiosity of what she wanted to tell him was getting the best of him.

[B][I]"Yeah, but it's way worse now."[/B][/I] J said with a pissed off tone. [B][I]"I use to be fine, but now I'm fucked up."[/B][/I] Her fists were clenched tight, and she bit the inside of her cheek in order to distract her mind from the inner pain that was tormenting her. The dark concealed the tears that tried to swell in her eyes, but she wouldn't let them spill. She'd be damned if she let them fall.

[B]"We're all affected by what happened. You're not alone Joan."[/B] The man called her by her real name now.

[B][I]"Nah, you don't fucking get it Josef. There's more to it."[/B][/I] J said jumping up from the bed with an angry voice. [B][I]"Yeah we all feel it, but I'm going through much worse."[/B][/I] She looked around the room quickly as if she was looking for something to break. 

[B]"What is bothering you? I'm not going to keep sitting here while you beat around the bush. Tell me what I don't get?"[/B] The man now known as Josef asked. Josef could see that she was clearly upset now, and he wasn't sure what the hell was going on.

J dropped her head and stuffed both fists into her pocket. The room grew completely quiet, before she finally spoke, [B][I]"Laina wasn't bitten."[/B][/I] J bit the inside of her cheek even harder until she could taste the blood before she continued, [B][I]"I killed her."[/B][/I]