She had no idea where he was taking her, but sheâd probably have followed him until they got too far from the hospital, because her brain was sort of misfiring at the idea that it was him. That heâd come from nowhere and taken her hand, like a ghost from her past, pulling her danger and frankly she was struck kind of dumb by it. She hadnât even seen him since high school, and even then theyâd never been as close as they had been as kids, something sheâd always regretted. Where had he come from? How was he alive? Was he in a group? Her head was absolute chaos with thoughts, questions, and conflicting emotions, all underlined by the abruptly cut off panic attack that had been starting to take over her.Â
The moment his hand let go of hers, she was almost scrambling to grab it back, before she realized what he was doing, stifling a small scream at the biter that came for them and gaping at him as he ever so officially drove his knife into the head of the thing and made his way back to her side, pointing her to a broken window. Okay, now she just had a thousand more questions that she still didnât have time to ask him. Following behind him, she slid her small body through the not quite as small window, letting his hands guide her away from the more treacherously shaped pieces of broken glass left behind in the frame. Making a small face at the bloated and rotting corpses that lined the floor in front of the window, she used her hands on his shoulder to make sure she gave them good clearance as she got around them.Â
Coughing hard at the smell of the place, Charlie kept close to his side, hand back in his as she let him lead her through and up the stairs, listening to his words but not really reacting to them, once more caught up in staring at him. It boggled her mind that he was there, him of all the people she could have ran into, it was him. And he was sort of..bad ass? It was all just sort of a lot to take in. Turning to look at him as he spoke, she opened her mouth to say something, but realized she didnât want their first conversation in so many years to be while she was covered with gore. Nodding her head, she changed as quickly as she could, actually finding a pair of yoga pants that fit, though the only shirt there was too large by far, almost to her knees, but she didnât mind. At least itâd be comfortable, and it wasnât soaked in blood.
Pushing her hair behind her hear, her face cleaned of blood with a corner of her shirt before sheâd discarded it to the side, Charlie stepped back out of the room, and chewed on her lip as she looked at him. Once more, her lips parted, as if she was to speak, and once more no words came out. Instead, she rushed him, throwing her arms around his neck and hugging him for all that she had. âYouâre okayâŚâ