Be Careful What You Wish For: A Zombie Apocalypse
Chapter 338: Betrayal

Chapter 338: Betrayal

Bishop stared at Réne and Alicia, wondering just what the hell was happening. It felt like he had been sucker punched by people who he had lived with and ate with for the past four years.

It was only with new eyes did he see Alicia’s smirk right before she dropped her head. He used to think that she was shy and that it made her uncomfortable to meet other people’s eyes. But it turned out that looking at the ground was so much easier than trying to control her expressions.

"I am not a traitor," he announced, standing tall against the onslaught of hatred and disdain being flung his way by the very humans he had wanted to protect. "I am not responsible for what happened last night."

Réne closed his eyes and inhaled a deep breath. "I considered you my best friend," he said at last, his voice carrying across the now silent audience. "I never once doubted your commitment to me or to this base, but now I know the meaning of knowing a face but not a heart. You might not have dealt any killing blows, but you were the one who brought the rebels through our gates. You are the one who put a knife in their hands."

"It wasn’t me," gritted Bishop, his teeth clenched together so much that he was getting a headache. Gripping Sophia’s hand harder, he took strength from her. It was fine that no one believed him; at least she was still at his side.

As if his move reminded Sophia that her hand was still in his, she quickly flung his hand away before rushing over to Alicia’s side. Grabbing the other woman’s arm, she hid behind Alicia’s back, looking at Bishop like she had never seen him before.

"If it wasn’t you, then why didn’t you stop it?" demanded Réne. The crowd, now completely focused on Bishop, nodded their heads along with their leader.

"Yeah!" shouted one brave man who had locked himself in the bathroom all night long. "Why didn’t you stop it! If it wasn’t you, then why didn’t you stop it?!?"

More voices echoed his sentiments, but Bishop couldn’t give a fuck what the others were saying. Why was Sophia treating him like a monster? Like she had never seen him before? She knew all his deepest, darkest secrets; he had never hidden his past from her. Four years of being by his side, and now she was acting like he could kill her at any moment?

Dear God, why wasn’t this making any sense?

Alicia gently stroked Sophia’s hand before getting her to let go. With her head still down, she approached Bishop like a bunny might have approached a wolf. Her entire body trembled until her front was almost completely pressed against his.

"It’s not personal," she said softly. Her words were nothing more than a sigh on the wind, but Bishop heard every last one. "New Dawn Sanctuary is meant for humans and only humans. I won’t have it dirtied by having an angel living amongst us."

Before Bishop could say anything, Alicia pulled out a knife and plunged it into the fleshy part of her hip. Letting out a scream, she fell backward, the blade still embedded in her. "Please, please don’t kill me!" she begged as tears streamed from her eyes. "I don’t want to die! I’ll do whatever you want! If you want to stay, then I can ask Réne. I’m sure he’ll listen to me."

Bishop looked down at the one woman play and scoffed at her. There was no point in trying to defend himself. He knew Réne’s power just as well as he knew everything else about the man. If he could change people’s memories enough to believe that it was humans instead of zombies and experiments that hunted them down and killed them last night, then he could easily make them see Bishop stabbing Alicia.

"Don’t bother," he replied, all emotion gone from his voice. "I would rather stab you in the heart than stay here another minute." Not bothering to collect any supplies or anything from his apartment, he simply jumped down from the makeshift stage.

The crowd parted like breathing the same air as he would infect them, and Bishop made his way through. It took a few minutes, but some of the more courageous humans started to spit and throw rocks at him. Soon enough, more and more objects pelted Bishop as he made his way to the front gates.

No one threw food, though. Even rotten fruits and vegetables were too prize to be thrown at a traitor, but rocks and dirt were fair game. A particularly large, jagged piece of concrete the side of someone’s palm managed to hit him in the temple, breaking skin.

Feeling the blood starting to pour down the side of his face, Bishop didn’t bother to wipe it away. Pulling his shoulders back even more, he looked over his shoulder one last time. On the stage behind the podium stood Réne, Alicia, Adam, Eve, and the only woman he had ever loved.

The men were all giving him the same blank look back, but Alicia was smirking while Sophia looked betrayed.

Bishop scoffed at that idea. Right. She was the one betrayed. She was the one who was blindsided because of a comment he had made about her. She was the one who had people spitting on her, the one who was now bleeding.

He loved her enough to fight the world to stay by her side. She loved him enough to feel betrayed by something that had never happened.

Maybe Hattie had it right.

Maybe, if he had listened to Dante if he had...

But it was too late for regrets. The only thing he could do was move forward.

Seeing the open gates and the guards looking at him with scorn, Bishop ignored them and continued to walk forward. There was no one around right now; news of the massacre had already spread, so no one bothered him.

"If I am such a monster, then I guess it’s time I stopped trying to be the hero," he announced to himself. If Hattie could live the way she wanted to, then there was no reason why he couldn’t, too.