Andrea finds herself sitting speechless at the last words of this man she interviews. William looks away from her knowing the disgust she sees in him, a welcome change to the sympathy she showed earlier. The two sit in silence as she contemplates the gravity of his confession and begins wondering how long he lived in this delusion. As he leans his head towards his shoulder and wipes away the barely passable black tear from his cheek, Andrea finally breaks her silence.
"You fed her? Do you mean you honestly believed....." The words cannot come out as she tries to question him on the subject. She has heard stories of raiding parties throwing people to one of the infected to "Fight for freedom" for their personal entertainment, but never believed anyone could be that cruel until now. William slowly looks up with the same attempted saddened look with the cold dead eyes that bring chills to her upon contact.
"I had just lost my wife and she killed me. When I came back and found what had happened to me when I fed, all I could think is 'Maybe she will too'...... It doesn't make it right and it doesn't ease the images I carry in my head, but you should understand."
"How can you even expect anyone to understand?" Andrea stands slowly drawing her gun and raising to target the man's head, feeling shocked at the first sign of emotion she has seen from the man as his eyes seem to cry out two simple words....... Do it.
"Before this world went to hell, where you in love? Did you have someone you would have brutally tortured anyone who even thought about hurting them? Someone you would kill or die for?" The questions he asks cause her gun to slowly lower as William stares into her eyes and continues,"I was desperate to have her back. I was willing to do anything to bring her back to me and I did. Don't ask me how many because I lost count, but I kept hoping that I would finally see just the smallest spark of Shannon reignite in those eyes. I thought if she came back to me then maybe some sliver of who we both were could return. I was ready to destroy what was left of your race for the chance, even after I got to the point I forgot what love even felt like." William's words end as the thick black tears run down his face as Andrea slowly holsters her gun refusing to sit down as she slowly paces in front of the door.
"So you began finding survivors and just what, locking them in a room with her? How could you live with yourself doing that?" Her pacing stops as she glares at the restrained man she now fights to not put a bullet in his head.
"At first, I showed mercy. I thought about the woman I attacked and rip to shreds and I could remember the fear and pain in her screams. I couldn't deal with knowing Shannon caused the same pain just in case she was still inside there somewhere. I had my plan after I realized what happened to me and had the decision made before I walked out of that bathroom." William's mind drifts back to that day as he continues the story of where he came from.
After stripping the bloody clothes and washing himself off, William looks back to the remains of the young red haired woman and wonders how he will remove her from here for his wife. If she can come back, maybe this will be enough. He walks over and slowly opens the door on the opposite corner that leads to the bedroom to find no infected have come this way. Slowly creeping to the bedroom door, William finds only two infected still remain outside the bathroom door. He walks through to the living room to find any type of weapon before deciding on the cast iron frying pan in the floor of the kitchen.
"I'm pretty sure we have this part of the story understood, okay? You killed the infected that stood between the remains and your wife.... no need for explanation. What I am curious about is from day one, no infected every took an interest in you? How does that work?" Andrea's eagerness to hear his story has gone away on this day, yet that question remains with her.... How this man is able to walk in both worlds, human and infected.
"They will eventually when I am like this, but they have to be provoked severely. Smell is the first instinct they follow, sound is the second. Maybe I don't smell like a meal, but when I begin taking them down I guess I sound like one. It's a lot like an animal hunting in we don't follow our eyes like a human. It's in the hunger."
"Why do you refer to yourself as one of them? Seems you would search for your humanity instead." Andrea's question seems aimed to sparking the man inside, she hopes maybe he still exists so they will have another body in the fight for survival and answers to ending the fight. William gives as close to a smile as he can before locking eyes with the woman again.
"I am not one of you or them. I call myself one of them to remind myself what I am capable of. I only know one feeling anymore and that is hunger. The senses never dull, but the hunger controls all. Take yourself for example. I can smell every emotional change seep from your body. If I close my eyes, I can hear the blood course through your veins to the rhythm of your heart. If I concentrate enough, I can actually taste you in the air. All are intoxicating on a level I know you cannot possibly understand." William pauses as he looks to the ceiling for a slight pause before continuing, "I have to fight to control who I am otherwise I would break free and devour you."
Andrea feels the hairs on her neck stand on end as she notices William trying to not sniff the air. The awkward moment is quickly interrupted as one of the camps soldiers comes into the interview room in a panicked hurry.
"Miss Mitchell, we have a problem. The away group radioed in and have been pinned down on their scavenging run. Three injured with two bitten. Fenton appears to have more Saint Louis bleed over than we thought. The rescue team is being assembled at this moment awaiting your decision." Andrea stands with her head hanging at the news. She tried to convince the camp this scouting was not safe rather than command the way most look for her to do. She turns her head sharply realizing their guest already knows the basics inside her head before he ever speaks.
"Both teams will die if you send them in that area. Raiding parties were corralling infected to that area in hopes to take the city. You do not have the manpower to go in after them, not like this." William glares between the two people as the uncomfortable silence becomes near unbearable for the two captors before Andrea breaks her silence.
"If you believe that, what do you suggest? I will not leave my people out there to die." Her words force William to hang his head as he knows the only safe course of action for entering Fenton to save them, no matter how crazy it will sound to them.
"Cut me loose and let me have the night in the fields to feed. Tomorrow, I will find the men to go make sure I bring them back to you."
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