“I’m not asking again.” a lady waving her hand in front of my face says, her curly, brown hair is tied to the side and she’s underdressed for the weather, a flannel sweater, and black sweatpants.

“Where...are...your... fucking supplies?”

“I don’t have any supplies, I’m on the road.”

“Bullshit! How’d you make it this long?”

“I used to live in a community in Vermont called Red Easton.”

“Mhm, where is it?”

“Grantham, behind a diner.”

I look outside, it’s darker and there isn’t as much snow on the ground.

“Pennsylvania to Vermont is a long way.”

“Pennsylvania?”

“Yep, some of your friends are back in New York, not alive.”

After a minute she snickers, “I just wanted to see the look on your face. They’re in the shed.”

I’m in a kitchen, tied to a wooden chair with zip ties, a man sits on the couch in the living room with a shotgun.

“Speaking of your friends, I really should check on them.” She winks. Her hand hovers above the front door doorknob, “Blake, make sure he doesn’t move, if he does you know what to do.”

If something happened to the others all because I walked up to a truck I wouldn’t forgive myself. I don’t believe in God, never have, but every now and then when something bad happens I find myself praying to him.

I’m not sure what Blake knows to do but not after too long he falls asleep, giving me a chance to escape. I rub the zip ties against the chair but nothing happens. There’s a knife on the countertop, maybe a meter away. I hop up in the chair so it moves forward, it makes some noise but not enough to wake up Blake. When I’m within hand’s reach of the counter I realize I can’t use my hands, they’re behind me. I try sliding the knife off the countertop with my forehead to get it to land in my lap, instead it lands on the linoleum. I can’t reach but there’s nothing I can do now anyway, Blake is up, he yells, “You shouldn’t have done that!” he slams the chair to the ground with me in it and picks up the knife to cut the zip ties. He drags me by my hair to the back door and tosses me in the grass, “You move, I shoot.” Blake raises the shotgun and shoots at the air.

“What are you doing?!” I ask, though I know exactly what he’s doing.

The sounds of feet and gurgling along with the smell of decaying corpses answers my question pretty damn well. At first only one comes near me, I back up and reach for a heavy rock then smash the skull in.

“Don’t fight it, I thought you wanted to be out here,” Blake shouts from the back door.

More and more keep coming, I start throwing rocks at them, but throwing rocks at zombies doesn’t kill them that easily, it does distract them. I keep tossing rocks at the zombies and far behind them but they just keep coming. I risk getting shot and throw a big, white, stone at the door, Blake shoots but the bullet gets stuck in a zombie’s gut. I run around the side of the house when I see the shed, a brown, decent-sized shed, and the woman talking to someone from outside, holding a gun that looks like an assault rifle but different, a carbine.

“Hey!” I shout.

“Where’s Blake?” She asks without hesitation.

“Inside, he had a heart attack.”

“Don’t fool with me, kid.” She aims her gun.

“Don’t believe me? I could drag his body out here myself but that might take a while, he’s one fat fuck.”

Zombies near the woman, if I can keep her eyes on me long enough maybe one will get her.

“Why did you capture us?” I ask.

“Everyone needs food, some more than others. You clearly well-fed kids just happened to be in the right… or wrong place, at the right time.”

“You look well-fed, you have a HOUSE too.”

“Bought it with my own money.” When she finishes her sentence a zombie is so close to her it’s practically ‘breathing’ down her neck.

“Behind you!” I yell.

She doesn’t even bother to turn around before it gnaws on her flesh. That zombie wasn’t the only one. Everyone comes out of the shed, Serafina rests her right hand on my upper arm, “Hey, you okay?”

“Yeah, are you?”

“I’m fine, she was going to kill you and bring someone else in there if you didn’t talk or something.”

“I didn’t need to.”

“Thank you, Nitro.”

When the others are a little way ahead of us I tell her, “My mom told me how my dad died, and apparently my name was supposed to be Nikolas.”

She smiles, her teeth are so straight yet she’s never needed braces, “Like Santa Claus?”

“I guess?”

“I’m gonna say she killed him…”

“Yeah, we were right this whole time.”

“And only one of our parents ended up in jail.” She says as we start to catch up.

“How wonderful.”

“How far into Pennsylvania did she take us?” I ask.

Zander looks over at my wrist, “What time is it?”

“Seven.”

“Shit we’ve been with those people all day.”

“Since what, ten?” I ask.

“You’re the one with the watch, dude.”

Ria points to a two-story, tan house with a blue van in the driveway, “Let’s check that place out.”

Once my feet are on the driveway made of pebbles I open the door to the backseat of the van, “I’ll stay here for a bit.”

“You feeling alright?” Serafina asks.

“Mhm, the last time we did this we got captured, I’ll just… keep watch.”

“And send everyone else inside?” She asks sarcastically.

“Yep, I hope you die in there.”

“Bitch.” She walks away smiling.

I hop into the van and close the door, the interior is beige, hanging from the rearview mirror is a yellow name tag that says, ‘Ben Ressville. Green's Elementary’ other from the water bottle in the passenger seat cup holder the car is very clean. I slept last night but something about getting kidnapped makes me really tired.

***

I wake up to the feeling of someone brushing my hair with their fingers, Elias.

“Finally.” He says.

“What?” I jolt up, “How long was I asleep?”

“Like a few minutes. Dont worry,” he reaches over to his left and holds out the dagger, “That woman had it.”

“I didn’t even notice.” I take the knife, “Hey, you have a mark on your forehead.”

A gash above his left eyebrow, splattered with dried blood.

“Don’t remind me, I just stopped the bleeding, it’s for sure scarring.”

“I think it looks good. . . in a way.”

“Easy for you to say.” He motions toward my hand with his eyes. The zip ties left a deep mark around both my wrists.

“I thought something happened to you. I was worried,” I say.

“I was in that shed with everyone but you, you were knocked out cold the entire time. I was worried.”

“Hey, let me see your hand,” I can feel my heartbeat moving faster and my vision gets blurred with almost tears, of anxiety.

“Why?”

I take his hand and rest mine on it, he curls his fingers around my hand then looks back up at me. We sit there and stare at each other, his blue eyes have a ring of orange around the pupil, more on the left than right. Eli sets his hands around the back of my head and pulls me closer to him, his lips touch mine, they move against mine, he kisses me and I don’t stop him, in fact, I kiss him back, this is what I wanted, just not what I expected.

After a pause, he says, “This is weird.”

“What do you mean?”

“The other day Logan and I were arguing about this. About me liking you.”

“You didn’t want him to know.”

“Yeah, he’s my best friend but- you know what, it doesn’t matter. Nitro, I just need you to know that I’d do anything to protect you, I can’t lose you.”

“I don’t need you to protect me... but I feel the same about you.”

“Believe me, I know.” He laughs.

* * *

I walk inside the house with Eli, it’s clean and there are lit candles. I stand in front of Serafina, “Did you light these?”

She doesn’t answer, she changes the subject and asks, “Can we talk” Then turns to Zander behind her, “alone?”

“I’m not listening," He doesn't move.

She opens the back door and waits for me to follow, she looks angry, not normal- Serafina-angry but ten-year-old-Serafina-angry, the same ten-year-old that found out her dad was going to jail. She raises an eyebrow then looks me up and down, “I saw you kiss him.”

“Why didn’t you say something then?”

“I didn’t feel the need to, besides it would be weird.” She looks down at her shoes. “I feel like you’ll regret that.”

“You can’t be serious, you aren’t usually like this.”

“Maybe because the boy I loved since I was eight wasn’t usually kissing other boys.”

“Sera… I had no idea.”

“Even if you did you wouldn’t love me back, that’s what hurts. I spent so many years wanting to be with you” —She starts crying— “I would hold your hand or try? I would call us a family, I loved you!”

“I love you, so much, but-”

“But not in the same way? I know. I have thought about it like that but I forced myself to believe that maybe one day you’d end up liking me. This was a wake-up call, a fucking sad one.” She goes inside and slams the door behind her.

“What happened?” I can hear Ally ask from inside.

I go inside and April says to me, “Can you come with me and Ria?”

Ria who stands behind her asks, “Bad time?”

“No, I’m good. Where are we going?”

“The attic, April was instructed to go on her own but she really wanted you to come with her.”

“No, not reaalllyyy wanted.” April reports.

“So do you have flashlights?”

Ria looks at me, “Uh.” She then laughs which means a definite ‘no’. The attic’s in the upstairs hallway, I pull down the string, releasing the ladder. I climb up first, then the others behind me. A little boy with a shaved head holds a gun way too big for him. We all hold up our hands in surrenderment.

“I’m April, what’s your name?”

“Ben.”

April steps closer to the boy, “Did your dad give you that gun?”

“Well someone had to.” She says.

“Your hair is like mine, do you have cancer?” Ben asks.

“No… do you?”

“No, the only girls that have shaved heads have cancer.”

April sighs, “Okay.”

“Where are your parents?” Ria asks.

“Outside.”

“Will they be back soon?”

“Probably. Will you leave my house soon?”

April walks closer, “I’m sorry is that thing even loaded?”

Ben shoots the wall behind April, “Shit!” She ducks down, covering her ears.

“What was that?!” Logan yells from downstairs.

“How many people are here? I want them gone.” Ben states, groggily.

“Wait, why are you even in this attic if your parents are just outside?” I ask.

He doesn’t respond but there’s no need as I see the bloody, melted-looking, bite mark on his neck.

April sees it too, “Ben, is your neck okay?” She keeps getting closer.

“April he’s bitten!” I call out.

She tackles him down and must’ve landed on the gun, the trigger goes off. Only a moment later gunshots can be heard from downstairs too. The boy growls and scratches at April. I sprint to them and pull April off the dead boy, latched tightly onto her, “That’s his parents, Ria get down there!” I yell. Ria picks up her previously dropped gun and kicks open the ladder. “What do I do?” April asks.

“You have to kill him, I can’t risk him getting you if you hold him down.”

“How? I don’t have my axe.”

“Stomp on his head.”

She makes a disgusted face and asks, “Are you sure?” That’s when the corpse pushes my head down and attempts to bite my face. His brain matter splashes across my face and chest. April, still standing in the boy’s bloody mess of skull and other things holds her hand out for me.

“Thank you, you saved my life, April.”

“I’m glad you didn’t die.” She smiles with her mouth closed.

I peek down the ladder, after seeing it’s clear I climb down just to be pulled back, restrained by someone. “April!” I yell to warn her not to come down but I’m abruptly cut off by a raspy, deep voice saying, “One more word, I blow your brains out.” April comes down and the man, who I can now see looks in his forties and has a completely bald head with some black hair on the sides, lets go of me to grab April. I reach for the gun in my holster and the man says, “Not so fast.” A woman from behind me pushes Ria in front of me then cocks her rifle aimed at Ria’s head, Ria holds up her hands and looks down at April beside her.

“Tell me, do you have any siblings?” The woman asks, her teeth are as yellow as her tee-shirt under her blue sweatshirt.

“No.” I respond.

“So these people mean nothing to you, this little girl?” She points at April without looking over.

The man grumbles, “You killed our son.”

“He was already bitten.” I say.

“If he just quarantined he could’ve lived!” The woman spits.

“It doesn’t work like that.”

The man switches his gun for a long switchblade and holds it above April’s head as if he’s ready to cut a watermelon. From one of the bedrooms behind the two parents a door opens, this is our chance.

“So what do you expect me to do?” I ask.

“Watch this girl die, there can’t be nothing you can do about it.” The man ridicules.

Logan and Eli appear behind them, both armed with small guns, a pistol, and a revolver. The first one to shoot is Eli, blood soaks April’s white jacket. Ria immediately breaks free just seconds before the woman who was at once holding her at gunpoint is shot down. April dashes to hug me and says, “I’m gonna need a new jacket.”

“There should be plenty.” Ria lays her hand on April’s shoulder, “Ben wasn’t the only kid here.” When Ria and April leave down the hall Eli walks up and tells me, “Really, you don’t need my help?”

“Maybe not twenty-four-hour protection. . . but thank you, Eli.” From down the hall, I can feel Logan’s eyes burning into me, eventually, he comes through the hall and lifts up the dead mother’s feet, “Eli, come help me with this.” Halfway down the stairs, he asks again, “Nitro, shouldn’t you check on Serafina?”

The guy hates me, so much. No matter what I would do he'd keep despising me.

I find her in the master bedroom downstairs, “Thank god you’re okay. I heard shots but I lost my gun, back in that shed and I didn’t wanna go unarmed.”

“Hey, it’s fine. Everyone’s okay.”

“Also, Nitro, I’m sorry for yelling at you. I’m really glad he cares about you, someone other than me should, right?”

I just laugh and sit next to her, “You have grass in your hair.”

“Oh.” She drags her fingers through her hair pulling out clumps of what I used to call ‘Prickly things’ and grass.

From the kitchen, Ally yells, “Help!”

Zander is passed out on the kitchen floor in a pool of vomit, Ally and Ria are standing over him, Ally crying. Ria bends down and lifts up his eyelid, shakily she utters, “He had an overdose.”