"I guess you haven't eaten anything; this is the only thing I could prepare for you at this late hour." Alicia, due to the blood on Dominic's hands, didn't hand him the food directly but wrapped it in aluminum foil.
Dominic looked up and appreciated that she took the trouble to do this. "This is my own blood; I caused these wounds to release my anger."
"I heard you lost someone; forgive me for being so direct, but Emma was bitten, right? I don't know what to think; Matt was bitten too but didn't turn instantly." Alicia began talking and told Dominic about her boyfriend.
There was no need to think about what would happen or had already happened, but Dominic, understanding the pain Alicia was going through, said to her, "Emma was bitten too; she asked me to shoot her because she didn't want to keep suffering. You know what the worst part was? She could see her mother turned into one of those things and let herself be bitten by her."
"Isn't there a possibility that someone is immune?" Alicia knew the answer but didn't want to accept the reality.
"If the bite gets infected, what happens next is a fever that will rise until it kills you. Was your boyfriend bitten?" Dominic ate the sandwich but paused when asking this question.
"He bit himself..." Alicia nodded as tears welled up.
Obviously, right now, Matt should be a walker.
A doubt about something so real can give false hopes that are hypocritically used to make you feel better.
And Alicia surely didn't want to feel better.
"Did you shoot her while she was still herself?" Alicia looked at Dominic, who hadn't cried since the beginning.
Dominic took a few seconds to respond and said, "I didn't want her to see me as weak, nor was I going to let her suffer for hours just to end up becoming a walker. If you know what I mean, you must have noticed Matt's condition was bad before you left him."
"He had a high fever..."
"Do you want to check?" Dominic asked as he pulled out his gun and handed it to Alicia, who received it without saying anything.
She didn't look like she had the ability to do what Dominic did.
"I can't do it..."
Dominic drank water and said, "You're not going to have this same chance again; we can go quickly now and check. Don't let doubt torture you; you have to put an end to this."
Alicia looked at Dominic, who wasn't joking with his words. She nodded and said, "Then let's go; I at least want to know."
"Then let's go; you have to make your family think you'll be asleep." Dominic said as he opened the door and stepped out of the house.
Alicia didn't want to waste time, so she looked for her brother to cover her exit. She warned him that if he told mom, she would never treat him like a brother again, and he agreed before it got to that point.
Once outside, Dominic went to find a car and easily took one from the neighbor. He had cleared the walkers from the area long before, so there was no problem.
Alicia came out minutes later and got into the car.
"Do you know how to use the gun?" Dominic asked, looking at Alicia holding the pistol.
"I've seen it in movies; I just have to take off the safety and pull the trigger, right?"
"Exactly, just keep your hands steady and be careful of the recoil." Dominic didn't look at Alicia much because he was driving.
"I thought it would be worse." Alicia looked at the streets and was surprised that there weren't many walkers around.
Dominic knew that right now these rural areas weren't a target, so he said, "The city is the hot spot at the moment, and due to its large population, there will be a greater concentration of walkers there."
"How do you know so much?" Alicia always wanted to ask that.
"I have good information."
The rest of the journey remained silent; Alicia only gave him detailed instructions about where Matt lived, and without many more questions, they arrived.
"I'll look around in your car." Dominic took his rifle and opened the car door. Moments before, he had been waiting inside the car to see if any walkers approached.
When he got out, he couldn't see anything in the darkness, which told him that there were no walkers outside these high-value residences, so he tapped on the window, and Alicia got out.
"Are you sure about this?" Dominic knew what awaited them inside.
Alicia felt it without any problem; she had to do it.
"There doesn't seem to be anyone in the house; do you know how to get in?" Dominic turned to Alicia, expecting a quick answer.
"It should be unlocked..."
Dominic opened the door and wanted to curse when he saw how easily it opened. They walked a few meters, and a figure appeared in the kitchen.
"Matt, is that you?" Alicia wanted to approach but was stopped by Dominic, who said, "That's not Matt, it's not him."
Arghhh!!!
Matt turned around at the voices, and then they both could see his purple face, white pupils, and strange growls that only a walker could emit.
"It can't be..." Alicia was about to collapse, but Dominic looked at her and said, "Do it for Matt, Alicia, shoot."