Still dazed by the kiss and the knowledge that Dominic was dying, Gala didn't really know what she should do or say.
"It's time to end it, Spitfire. Kill me." Dominic's voice interrupted her musings.
What he said stopped her in her tracks. She couldn't kill him, not after everything he had done for her. Not after she started realizing she liked him from the moment she saw him.
It was strange and sounded impossible but there was a spark between them that she couldn't deny. She barely had time to accept that, no matter how strange and fast it was and then suddenly she needed to kill him.
Her head was spinning so fast that she couldn't breathe properly. There were tears running down her face, and she didn't even notice them. It took all she had to focus on her breathing because it became labored and shallow.
Gala didn't seem to be able to breathe properly, she kept gasping for air but nothing seemed to reach her aching lungs. It was unreasonable for her to have such a strong reaction about the guy she barely knew, but she couldn't help it.
Maybe in a world like the one she was in there was no time for slowly developing emotions, everything had to be much faster and stronger because no one knew what the next day might carry. Death was always around the corner for the people of the Earth she stumbled on to, but she refused to accept his death, she refused to accept he had to die so soon.
"No, no, no. I can't do that." Gala said sobbing.
It was the first time since she could remember that she allowed a stranger to see her cry. Somehow it didn't feel like Dominic was a stranger, there was a strong connection between them that she tried to cover up with anger. Only when faced with his imminent death could she allow herself to accept it and it made her angry that she was such a coward.
Social norms did dictate that you couldn't very well fall in love with a stranger, but she knew better, she felt it.
Instead of stubbornly relying on a society that no longer existed, she should have listened to her instincts. Maybe if she had, he wouldn't have been bitten because of her.
Gala looked at his pleading eyes and knew that he wanted her to be the one to set him free, but she was sure she couldn't do it. In her mind, she kept thinking that there must be a cure, maybe not in the reality they were in but in some other alternate reality.
Nevertheless, in her heart, she knew there wasn't enough time or resources to find a cure for him. Defeated she fell to her knees and started crying violently.
Never before had she allowed herself to be so vulnerable, but she didn't care.
Dominic was immediately by her side. No one really had an idea when he would turn, but he didn't want to risk hugging her. He was afraid he might be too close to her when he turned. So he just took her hands in his trying to soothe her.
It was a surprise to him that she cared so much. He himself did care enough to die for her, but he didn't think she felt the same way. But at that moment, when all her defenses fell down, he knew that she cared much more than she allowed people to see.
It was precious for him to see her baring her soul for him, but it also hurt him to see her so broken and to know he was the cause. It seemed impossible that she would care so much if he lived or died.
While he was trying to calm her down without coming too close to her, she surprised him by pulling him in a tight embrace. He was so shocked that he allowed it to happen, relying on his comrades to shoot him if he tried to hurt her.
The others were mostly in the state of shock while their leader looked like a broken man. That was his best friend there, waiting to die.
Nevertheless, his rifle didn't waver. It was pointed right into Dominic's forehead, and he was ready to shoot if he started turning.
Kay knew without his friend telling him, that it was what Dominic wanted. He would want to be stopped from hurting anyone. It was the least Kay could do for his friend who saved his life more times than he could count. Not only that, he saved his soul from rotting away from all the pain and sorrow. It was thanks to him that Kay was able to have something resembling life in a dead world they lived in.
It was risky letting Dominic be so close to someone when he was a ticking bomb, but he couldn't help it, he wanted his friend to have at least some moments of happiness before he had to die. Also, he knew that Dominic was putting his trust in Kay to stop him if he turned, and that was why he allowed himself to be hugged, to be loved.
Breaking their hug, Gala gave Dominic another sweet kiss trying to express all her emotions in that one kiss. Determination shone in her eyes.
"He is coming with us!" She said.
Kay was the one to answer her.
"He is my best friend and I would give my life for him, but I can't allow that. It is too dangerous for everyone. We don't know when he might turn and I can't take that risk," he said, sorrow coloring his voice.
"Yeah, Gala you have to be reasonable. I know it is difficult, but we have to be smart. You can't let your emotions cloud your judgment." Ali said trying to soothe Gala's temper.
They could see the fire coming out of Gala's eyes as she said: "I am not asking you for permission. I am telling you. It will pose no risk to any of you. I take full responsibility for him. If he turns I will kill him. It's not always about being smart. It's also about being humane. You all are ready to kill a human being and I refuse to do that. Just because most of the humanity is not human anymore doesn't mean we have to be inhumane.
"And yes, Ali, I can let my emotions lead me because what makes us different from them if we just kill someone in cold blood? There is only one thing you need to understand. Dominic. Is. Coming. With. Us. If anyone has a problem with that, they will have to deal with me and trust me you don't want to do that." Gala said.
As she said all that, in a low angry voice, she suddenly started stomping on a dead zombie's head and kept on stomping as she maintained eye contact with the whole group.
The cracking of the zombie's head was the only sound that could be heard and then there were brains splashing everywhere. The skull was smashed to pieces and Gala kept stomping on the brain mass as it made squishing sounds until it became mush. That seemed to get the idea across much better than any words could.
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