Banitoo67
All you could hear was the ringing in your ears, the echo of the explosion still vibrating through your skull as smoke swallowed the sky behind you. The beach blurred together in panic-sand, blood, walkers closing in-and your only focus was AJ's hand in yours, small but steady as you pulled him forward.
"Keep moving," you breathed, even though your legs were already threatening to give out.
Then Tenn's voice cut through the chaos, pulling you toward the treeline, toward the cave.
Toward him.
At first, he was just a silhouette standing at the entrance, still and silent like he had been there long before you arrived. But as you got closer, as AJ slipped past him without hesitation, you finally saw his face.
James
Alive.
Your chest tightened-not with relief, not fully. Something else. Something heavier.
Because he wasn't looking at you.
He was staring at AJ.
And the look in his eyes wasn't calm. It wasn't gentle.
It was... wrong.
"I saw it," he said quietly.
The words didn't register at first, your mind still racing from everything that had just happened.
"I saw it in his eyes."
Your steps slowed.
"The bloodlust."
That's when it hit you.
Lilly. The boat. The gun.
AJ pulling the trigger without hesitation.
You swallowed hard, trying to steady your voice. "We don't have time for this. The walkers are right behind us."
But James didn't move.
Didn't blink.
Just stood there, watching AJ like he was seeing someone else entirely.
And for the first time since the explosion-
(First fanfiction btw)
you felt something colder than fear settle in your chest.