I’ve been sitting in this moist, dark gym for so long, listening to these kids argue over who could be out there. Do people that live with others have to deal with this often, or did it start when Serafina and I got here? The time on my watch reads two, twenty-three am.

“Hey, Nitro, do you care about what’s in this journal?” Sophie asks, waving around the small leather book. I walk over to the little circle they’ve all gathered in. Sophie holds the book flat down so we can all see, written in the journal is:

Robert B.

Today is March 17th, 2021, I have just arrived home from work to find out through the local news that a virus has spread causing people infected with it to become vicious-cannibal-like, creatures. The government absolutely knows what caused this, hell they probably did it themselves, did they try keeping this a secret until they got the population down enough, then a citizen found out? These monsters move at the same pace as a normal walking human, the only ones at risk should be the fat fucks, old people and small children.

March 19th, 2021.

Yesterday a middle-aged lady arrived at my house with her infant son, she was crying, it seemed fake so I ignored her, before she had the chance to talk I shut the door. Today, early in the morning a man who claimed to be her husband started banging on the door, when I answered his mood changed to neutral, he said, "My wife and I have a son, he's only 11 months and we could use somewhere to stay." The virus hasn't been known to the public for long, why would these people need a place to stay? I simply asked where they lived, the man replied, "We used to live with my mother who caught the virus and passed away in her sleep." What bullshit, I closed the door on him, I hope this is the last time I see or hear of his pathetic family.

March 22nd, 2021.

Why am I writing in this dumb thing, do I think that someday someone will find it and read it, or that I'll go down in history as the person who documented a zombie apocalypse?

There are so many of them in New England, my neighborhood is becoming a hideout now, I'll probably have to leave soon which is a shame because this only started a little over 3 days ago and I'm already thinking of evacuating my house.

March 24th, 2021.

I left to see my girlfriend yesterday, she isn't picking up my calls, I remember her saying the day we found out that she would probably go to her parents first, so I'm headed there.

I killed my first monster yesterday, it made me think... a lot.

Should I even call them zombies, it seems like they are, I sound like an idiot, I'll stick to zombies. It didn't die when I shot it, but when it got too close I struck its head, and boom, dead. My theory is that this is some type of brain disease or fungus, they only die when the brain is damaged.

March 25th, 2021.

THOSE ASSHOLES I KNEW THEY WOULD TAKE HER.

Kate's parents took her, of course, they did, but where, why without calling me, I showed up and Kate's phone was on her bed, it was on 15% so I tried charging it but it wouldn't work and she didn't have any signal, I still got into her contacts to find out she blocked me. I hope those fuckers die a painful death, they took the one person that cared.

March 29th, 2021.

I'm still on the road, I've killed many zombies already, I've gotten used to it, actually, maybe I find fun in it.

April 7th, 2021.

Hello. Still here.

April 10th, 2021.

Zombies smell so bad. I killed a horse, then I waited, and waited, I waited a whole day, then I came back today and it still hasn't turned, that means only humans can turn, at least I think so.

April 14th, 2021.

A teenage boy dressed in all black with long black hair that covered his eyes, holding an icepick passed by me today, I went back and followed him, after some time he finally spoke, I was relieved when he opened his mouth but then the boy spoke GERMAN.

April 17th, 2021.

I went back to see if I could try communicating with the boy, and I found something more interesting than a German-speaking emo... a dead, German, not really speaking, emo. I took his body to this shack and sliced open his brain which probably isn't that safe, and he didn't turn. I'm assuming if you damage the brain before they die, they don't turn, but if they die, no matter what, bitten or not, with a non-damaged brain they turn. That means the bite just speeds up the process. Maybe people are immune, maybe people with brain disorders don't turn.

April 23rd, 2021.

I FOUND SOMETHING A LITTLE METAL HOUSE I found a metal house garage, probably owned by a mechanic. There's food in this little fridge, I'm staying here.

April 24th, 2021.

Someone came by, a little girl, there is an elementary school nearby. I let her in and we talked, she's very smart for a 2nd grader, if I ever have a daughter. no stop.

Her name is Gem, weird name, most teens are naming their almost abortions weird shit now, next I might meet a kid named Uranus

April 26th, 2021.

Gem is smart, she eats a lot, fucking pig.

I lost track of the days

So far I’ve realized they can breathe underwater, survive getting beaten harshly anywhere but the head and don’t attack their own. One got Gem on her leg, I’ll see what I can do to save her.

CUT OFF THE BITTEN AREA. The left side of her face was bit, I held her down and cut out part of her cheek and she actually made it. It’s the blood, or fluids, like spit, if someone wanted to poison you with those guts they could.

“Wow, so he started writing this the day they notified the public.” Serafina comments.

“So that was the guy who impaled that little girl and tied up those zombies, he never became one of them. Must’ve expected no one to find it but this is good information… in case any of us you know.” Eli says.

“If you cut off your bitten body part in time you’ll survive,” I say.

“Figured.” He replied.

I looked back at the last few sentences in the journal ‘I lost track of the days. I'm going to do something hopefully it's successful.’

“You think any of us will end up like that?” I ask.

“Yeah,” Serafina says looking at Eli.

“Hey, don’t point fingers at me.” He chuckles.

Serafina jolts her head towards the door, “OW!” She yelps.

“Are you ok?!” Ally asks, staring at Serafina.

“Yes, I just turned my head too fast,” Serafina says while rubbing her neck.

“Where’s Alexa?” She asks.

“She should be upstairs,” Logan says.

I follow Serafina upstairs, it’s quiet, as we move further down the hallway I can start to hear faint music, it’s coming from one of the classrooms. I open the door to see Alexa sitting in a dark green metal chair, strumming a light brown guitar covered in stickers, Six is asleep in the corner of the room with her beanie over her face.

“What?” Alexa asks, setting down the guitar against a desk.

“You’re pretty good at that,” I say.

“My dad taught me when I was eight. I found this guitar in the music room, there’s another in there behind the risers… If you want it.” She says, not taking her eyes off of Six.

“I’ll pass. How’s she?” I nudge my head towards Six.

“Sick I think, I really hope I’m wrong.”

“Well it is getting colder and all we have here are sheets and towels,” Serafina says.

“You’re right, we should scavenge,” Alexa affirms.

“I saw some blankets in the store we passed by, we should go back tomorrow,” Serafina says.

“Lots of zombies in that area, no?” Alexa yawns.

“We can go tonight’ - I look down at my watch.- “It’s one am.”

“You can’t really trust that watch,” Alexa says.

“Judging by the sky, I think it’s close enough.”

“Should we tell the other that we’re headed out?” Serafina asks.

“Yeah, pick one person and don’t tell the others, we can’t have a whole group of thirteen to fifteen-year-olds running around a store at night,” I say.

“Got it.” She runs down the hallway and into the gym.

Alexa and I stare at the wall silently until Serafina returns. She comes in with Ria who has changed into a red coat.

“Okay but don’t tell the others about this, they wouldn’t like us going out after Zander’s sister,” Ria says while we walk down the hallway and through the front doors.

“What do you guys even need from this place?” Ria asks, combing her hair with her fingers.

“Six might be sick and it’s getting cold,” Serafina says.

“Well, no shit. As someone from up North, you guys don’t sound like you can handle cold well.”

“It’s Six, not us,” I added

“Six can man up, I haven't seen a well fed toddler die from a cold before.”

“Toddler?”

“Whatever.” Ria sighs.

We keep walking… and walking, for what seems like hours, it’s cold and dark, all I can hear is the leaves blowing off the trees and our footsteps.

“Where’s your truck?” Ria asks, looking back at the school.

“It’s gone?” I breathed.

“I didn’t see it out front when we went to the garage but, I thought you parked it somewhere else.”

“We need to find those people, the ones that killed Zander’s sister,” I say.

“What if they were with the guy that killed the little girl in the garage?” Serafina suggests.

“No, he would’ve mentioned them in the journal, they seem new to the area.” Ria replies.”

We keep walking, I go out of my way to step on leaves and kick rocks.

Behind me a start to hear faint footsteps, I turn around; behind me is a lanky zombie but it’s not attacking, looks like someone sliced its nose off, probably Robert. I take my crowbar and slam its neck into the ground until the head falls off.

“We’re almost there, be careful,” Serafina says.

***

I’m standing outside the store, this is the first time I’m noticing that it says ‘Clearway Supermart’.

“Ria, is this entire town called Clearway?” I ask.

“Yeah, thought you knew that.” She giggles, walking inside through the large, wet, glass doors.

I go down an aisle titled ‘Camping Supplies’, most shit is gone, except for a dark blue tent, I check inside and fortunately, there’s a rolled-up purple blanket.

“You think the girl would like this?” Ria asks, holding up a fuzzy pink blanket with teddy bears on it.

“Who cares if she likes it? If it helps her make it through the winter then yes, she loves it.” Serafina says. She’s standing near the window looking outside, I never have to ask her to keep watch, she just does whatever she knows will help.

I can’t bring this whole tent, I grab the purple blanket and walk over to the home decor aisle… nothing “They really cleared this place out, huh?”

“Who, the town’s people? Yeah, they took their shit and went as far South as possible. No one in this town cared about others, the only thing we were known for was our school fights and weird criminals.”

“Like what kind of criminals?”

“Well, this one lady shaved off all her hair, piled it with her old clothes on the street and soaked it in ammonia and bleach.”

“What?”

“It killed someone.”

“Hey guys, I think you need to hurry up,” Serafina says staring out the window.

A herd of zombies is walking in the distance.

“They don’t see us, we’re fine,” I say.

“No, Nitro. There are people, I saw them.”

“What did they look like?” I say as I walk up next to Serafina.

“A skinny man with a hat, a fat man in red, a black man in white and a lady with short hair wearing flannel.”

“I think those are the people I saw earlier, there were only three though.”

“What’s going on?” Ria shouts from the food area.

“Keep your voice down.” Serafina says half as loud.

“Which direction did you see them go in?” I ask.

“Uh, the same way as us but they kept going instead of stopping at the store, looks like they came from the school.”

“Ria, are you almost done?” I ask, turning around.

Ria stands a couple feet away from me, back turned facing the register, she’s holding a white plastic bag, with food and the baby blanket. She turns back at me and says, “We need to go.”

“Did you see someone?” Serafina asks.

“No, I feel something. We got what we need, right?”

“What if they find us and start chasing us, we can’t go to the school and out the others’ location.” I say.

“We run to the garage, we could lock ourselves in and the others could find us easily.” Ria says. “I’ll try to find a combination lock.” She walks over to the other side of the store.

“Nitro, sit down.” Serafina says. She crouches down behind the wall while still looking through the window.

I sit down next to her and look around the store, “It’s so dark.”

“What time is it?” She asks, pulling my wrist up to her eyes. She looks back at the window and says, “Almost four. Ria needs to hurry up.”

“I’ll get her.” I say, then I walk to the other side of the store where I saw Ria go. "Ria?" I whisper, turning around. Nothing, I don't hear a response, not even a footstep. I turn back to look at Serafina, she raises an eyebrow at me then looks back out the window.

I walk further and start to see moldy food spread across the floor. Where did she go?

"I found it." I hear Ria say from the front cash register. I run over and see that Serafina is just as confused as I am.

"Where did you go?" I ask.

"The store loops around, I found it in the hardware aisle."

Serafina pulls herself up with her red bony hands and wipes them together letting the dirt fall off. "Let's go."

Ria and I follow behind Serafina out the door, once outside I expected to get chased or jumpscared by that group of people, but nothing happened.

"Sera, we shouldn't go back to the school, in case they're still around," I whisper.

"Right." She says back.

The three of us start to the garage. After walking for a while we look around, no one still. I sit down against the garage and so do Serafina and Ria.

"You sure you saw someone back there?" Ria asks Serafina.

"Yes, four people."

“What if they were watching us, should we go back to the school?” I ask.

“We could stay here tonight?” Ria says as she slumps down, her back against the ground and neck against the wall.

“No, we’re going back, it’s almost-” Serafina gets interrupted. She stands up and pulls out her gun quickly while scanning the area.

“What is it?” I ask.

“I saw a girl, she looked young,” Serafina whispers.

“Which way did she go?” Ria asks, she stands up and tries to follow Serafina’s eyes.

“Uh, down the street, back near Sophie’s neighborhood.”

“Julia.” -She raises her voice.- “Fuck you, Julia.” Ria takes out her knife and sits back down.

“I’m not sure what I saw, it could be anyone,” Serafina says, confused.

“It’s her. Julia, Zander’s ex-girlfriend. When I say ex, I don’t mean they dated in the third grade or for a week over the summer, they got together a few days before the world started ending. She’s a skinny, short, white girl. Silky black hair and blueish-silver eyes. She’s fucked up. Ever since the fourth grade she’s been watching gore and creepypastas, she sent bdsm porn to our math teacher once. Her and Zander started dating, he doesn’t care about love though, she wanted most of us out of the school after we kicked out the others, especially Ally because she didn’t get along with Julia’s friends, after she started threatening us and taking all the supplies to give to her friends we kicked her out. Zander and her kinda broke up without saying. I’ve seen that girl get into a lot of drama with scavs, she would’ve killed someone’s father. It’s her they’re after, but us they’re taking it out on. There aren’t many kids in this area, they'll find the school sooner or later.”

“So we should go back now?” I ask, standing up with them.

“I need water, let’s go.” Ria says as she walks carefully and quietly walks back onto the gravel.

***

I’m standing in front of wide glass doors again, this time they belong to a place I trust, more than that store at least. Ria knocks on the door once and it quickly opens. Sophie is standing with the door open and Alexa by her side.

“You told them?” Serafina asks.

“Yes, it’s okay, what do you have?” Alexa peeks at the bag on the verge of breaking in Ria’s sweaty hands.

“Three blankets, some food and a lock. I have an announcement for the others though.” Ria says stepping inside.

We follow her back to the gym, everyone’s sitting in a circle around a candle like the tamed dogs they are.

“Guys.” Ria says. Serafina and I go sit down next to the others instead of awkwardly standing behind Ria as she talks about how we’re being chased by…

“Four adults are after us. Nitro told you about the three people at the gas station. Not too long ago we saw them with someone else, following us. They are after us, they did kill your sister -She looks at Zander.- they’re after us because Julia killed a man’s dad.”

"Ria, you sure you aren't just pulling shit outta your ass, this sounds really detailed," Zander says.

"Should we prepare?" She asks, ignoring Zander.

Maybe ignoring someone who just lost his sister is a little harsh but, I don't know these people that well, I can't say much or imply anything about what's going on.

"No, don't focus on it. I doubt they'd go out of their way to track us down." Eli says.

"Got any plans for this week?" Ria asks.

"It is going to get colder, we should just look around outside more, and maybe find a backup place in case someone does end up finding us." Eli states.

Sophie clears her throat, "You think my mom will look for me?" She asks with her voice soft.

"Just now you think of that?" Eli asks.

"Sorry, dumb question, I still think we should leave this place. I mean none of us are safe here, the area is rundown, my family is nearby, Julia is alive, and those scavs are looking for us."

"Then look around tomorrow, there should be hotels all over Clearway but, don't expect them to be empty," Eli says.

Some people start to disband, it's not like I have tasks, too dark to search around, I'll just sleep, I'll definitely need it if this group's idea of living consists of hunting at night and staying up until four. I stand up and walk up the stairs to the classroom I'm staying in, I pull the cold, thin sheets over my head and curl into the fetal position, I can't sleep on my back. After sitting under the covers with my eyes closed for God knows how long I hear the door open, but I don't jump or turn, I keep my eyes closed and ignore it. It's probably just Serafina.

"Sleeping again?" A deep voice that definitely does not belong to Serafina says. I sit up and turn around. Eli is looking down at me, holding the blankets we've gathered.

"You don't have a plan, do you?" I say.

"No one does, the people with routines are all either dead or mentally unstable now."

He walks over to me and sets the fuzzy baby blanket on top of me.

"What are you doing?" I ask.

"I'm supposed to give these to Six."

"I can see that, go do it then."

He leaves the blanket behind and walks away

Tomorrow I'm assuming we'll look around for shelter and more supplies, then hunt or train and sleep some more. Ah yes, the American dream.

***

I'm still half asleep, my shoulder feels lighter, Eli must have taken the blanket off while I was sleeping. I’m thirsty, my throat feels so dry, if I had a container I could collect water from the river, I should’ve thought about that yesterday.

Still, sleeping at this school, that doesn’t belong to me and never has feels weird, I don’t feel welcome here. I’m not sure what I think of the others but, Ally and Sophie I trust, not that much but, I’d take food from them if they offered it, speaking of food I haven’t had any in a while. Ria has personality, she’s brave and could protect someone if they needed it but she probably wouldn’t, she seems like one of those ‘every man for himself’ type of people. Zander, I have mixed feelings about, he gives off emotionless vibes, I can tell he doesn’t like people he isn’t close to, I don’t think we’ve even talked. Eli is weird. That’s all I think of him, he was nice to Alexa and not the meanest to Serafina but, I can’t tell when he’s lying, one moment he’ll say I’d be better off dead and the next he’d be saying, I’ll freeze as if he’s worried about me. Logan seems nice but, hesitant, he would answer my question but not out of kindness. One thing I know for sure is that everyone in this school except for Six could kick my ass if I said something wrong.

I look at my watch, it reads, seven, forty-five am. I could get more sleep if I wanted, I should get more sleep.

I wake up to the feeling of something cold against my neck, like teeth, a zombie. I jolt up and grab my pistol.

“Hey! Calm down.” Serafina says.

I feel my neck with my right hand, she left a bite mark.

“That wasn’t necessary,” I say.

“Yes it was, I’ve been up all night, and you’ve been off sleeping. I found a thermometer in the science lab.” She smiles.

“What’s it say?” I ask, walking over to her and tilting my head to see the temperature. 50° degrees fahrenheit.

“How many months has it been?” I mumble.

We left in March… should be around September, Serafina’s birthday is October 15th, which means it’s soon, soon she’ll be fourteen.

“Isn’t your birthday soon?”

“Probably. Yours is in June, right?” She replies.

“Yeah, the 19th.”

“Guys, you coming?” Ally says. She’s standing in front of the doorway wearing a leather jacket and black sweatpants, holding a blue drawstring bag.

“Where?” I ask.

“We’re going to search downtown.”

“Walking?”

“Logan and Ria found your truck last night. If we need to, we can siphon gas from the school buses.”

“Hold up. You found the truck?”

“Not me. But yes, they found it in the woods by the gas station last night while they were examining the place.”

“Did they find anything?”

“Empty beer bottles and a shoelace.”

“Yeah, we’ll go,” Serafina says.