I then headed to the staircase and gestured for Molly to follow me. "Allow me to show you to your room," I said, intending to sound prestige. Molly lifted her chin with a smile. "Why thank you, Good Sir." I let her go in front of me and we went up the stairs with a laugh. My eyes were glued to Molly's perfect body as I followed her to the second floor. I could only imagine how soft and squishy she was. I just wanted to fall asleep while using her marshmallow ass as a pillow. Suddenly, I felt a glitch in my brain. 'Grab her.' Without thinking, I reached my hands out to her in one swift motion but stopped myself before I touched her. "What the fuck?" I asked myself.
Molly turned to me as we reached the top and I quickly returned my hands to my sides. "What is it?" She asked. I shook my head a little, trying to shake off the uneasy feeling I had. "Oh, nothing. I just thought I heard something." It was as if I passed my uneasiness on to her. "I guess you get that a lot with hearing voices and all." I changed the subject before the mood between us could shift any further. "The rooms are over here." I led her to the vacant room next to mine and stayed in the doorway after she walked in. "I'll let you get settled in. The bathroom is right across from your door, and let me know if you need anything." She nodded to me. "Thank you, but you've already done more than enough."
I scoffed. "Nothing I do will ever be worthy of you. That doesn't mean I'm going to stop trying, though." She stared at me blankly until her face became red as a tomato. I smiled and turned to leave. Once I was alone in my room I started to freak out at what just happened to me. "Erin, was that you?" Erin replied as if he had just been staring off into space. 'Was what me?' I tried to think of the words that would explain what I had just experienced. "The whole glitching feeling and telling me to grab Molly. And then the split second where I listened." Erin hesitated. 'That does sound like me... I don't know. The last few minutes are a little fuzzy for some reason.'
My mind began to race. Was Erin the fifth voice? It couldn't be. Erin tells me to do a lot of fucked up stuff, but his intentions aren't killer oriented. But still, why would the fifth voice tell me to grab Molly as if it wanted to bang her brains out once I had her? Maybe I got the wrong impression. It seemed that way but I still had no idea what I was about to do to her. That scared the hell out of me. If I hurt her somehow I wouldn't know what to do with myself. I lay awake, letting my anxiety take over. It was later in the night and I couldn't manage to close my eyes as I stared at the ceiling from my bed. Mary tried to console me. 'Try and get some sleep. I'm sure everything will be okay.'
I sighed. "Penelope? Do you know what's happening to me?" After a moment she answered. 'I only know what you know, and what you don't know you know.' Unfortunately, that was the answer I was expecting. It was a long shot that she would know what was going on with my cells. After a moment of silence, I heard a sound that came from the wall next to me. 'She's awake,' John observed. I then got out of bed and threw on a shirt to match my black sweats before leaving the room. I knocked on Molly's door lightly before opening it.
I was surprised to see that she was still dressed in the day clothes she had on before, and she was holding a pistol in her hands. Her suitcase was still packed and sitting next to her. She seemed on edge and it took a minute to realize what was going on. She was scared. I began to hear the zombie growls outside her window that I had learned to tune out because they weren't a threat to me. But they were to her. I felt selfish for thinking that she wouldn't be scared for her life just because I was here. When she noticed me her posture loosened. "Hey. What are you doing up?"
I came over and sat down on the bed next to her. "I remembered that you might not be comfortable being alone in a house that isn't boarded up." She sighed. "I thought I would be fine, but I'm still nervous. Maybe this wasn't a good idea. Anyone who can be infected should sleep in the settlement." I panicked but didn't let it show on my face. "Come on, you're just saying that because you're nervous. How about you sleep in my room tonight? I'll let you have the bed. And I'll secure the house first thing tomorrow." She hesitated. "Okay. I guess that would be fine." Relief flooded me and I tried to hide my excitement as I led her to my room. I hoped that tonight would be better than the last one we spent together. Thankfully, everything went well and I made it to sleep without interruption from the fifth voice this time.
The next morning I boarded up and secured the first floor of the house as I promised. Molly helped secure the inside, and after we finished, we had a lovely canned breakfast together. We got dressed and headed to the settlement together after we ate, and Molly got a stern talking to from Hank once we arrived. "There you are! I was worried sick! Where were you last night?" He asked as he approached us from the main street. Molly had a look of remembrance and guilt on her face as she answered. "I'm so sorry! Kane offered that I stay with him and I forgot to tell you." He looked at me with an eyebrow raised and I suddenly felt embarrassed for some reason. 'Come on. Look him in the eye. Let him see how many dirty scenarios you've created about his daughter just this morning!' Erin laughed and I shuddered.
Hank then turned back to Molly, confusion painted on his face. "Didn't you just break up with James yesterday?" She sighed. "Yes, but Kane and I aren't together now! I'm just staying with him." Hank spoke as if I wasn't standing right next to them. "You know he's obsessed with you, right? As well as not having all his bolts screwed in tight. I'm not sure I'm comfortable with this." I was about to defend myself when I realized that he was right and shrugged. "Fair enough." Molly crossed her arms. "It doesn't matter whether you're comfortable or not. I'm an adult now and can make my own decisions, thank you." Hank shook his head a little, accepting defeat. "You're right." He then turned to me with a serious look. "You better protect her." I saluted him. "With my life."