Once I could safely look out the back window of the van, only then did my worries fade away. I let out a loud and audible sigh of relief as I slouched down onto the floor of the vehicle.

"Jesus, you could've gotten yourself killed if we didn't stop back there." The stranger across from me said in a slightly annoyed voice.

If anyone had the right to be mad, then it would be me. From the looks of it, it didn't seem like this man and his friend had any intention of slowing down. If it wasn't for Luka, then I would've gotten flattened, no question about it!

As I looked the stranger dead in the eyes with a hardened expression, I noticed that his original attitude had unexpectedly shifted. He no longer appeared intimidating, rather he was much more approachable now that he calmed down.

If I were to make a guess, I'd say that the pair were both college students. Their overall appearance was quite rugged as they both had unkempt facial hair and let their unruly hair grow out with little to no maintenance. I suppose when you're living in an apocalyptic world for so long you start to not care about your appearance as much. Your priorities are bound to shift after all.

"Hey, what's his deal?" The stranger asked as he looked at Luka with annoyance. Oh no, I'm entering dangerous territory here.

As it currently stands, Luka is huddled up in the corner with his back facing them. As it stands, Luka doesn't look like your typical zombie anymore, but he sure as hell doesn't seem completely human either. If he turns around, they're bound to realise he's a zombie!

...

But now that I think about it, I'm kind of impressed with Luka. I didn't realise he had so much self-restraint. Most zombies would've probably attacked the two strangers by now. I suppose Luka knows that we can't afford to bite the hand that feeds us right now.

Thinking of a lie, I quickly scoot myself in front of Luka to obscure the view. "He's sick." I lied pathetically. "So, we're trying to find a safe place to rest until he can properly recover."

"When you say sick..." The blonde driver in the front started. "Is that because of natural causes or..." His voice trailed off.

"He wasn't bitten if that's what you're insinuating," I answered snappily. "Besides that, shouldn't you two be introducing yourself right now? It's rude to ask people you don't know a bunch of questions like this..."

The dark stranger sitting opposite of me nodded his head in acknowledgement. "Right, sorry... I'm Cole and the guy who's driving? That there is Ryan."

It's clear that Cole is more polite than Ryan. It's like good cop bad cop... "Well, I'm Vana and my friend over there is Luka."

"Vana, huh..." Cole said thoughtfully as he stroked his chin. Ugh, I didn't even give it a second thought. Why am I reusing this name? It's going to make it easier for Bennett to...

...

I said that name on impulse. ... Don't tell me I have to stick with it forever now... Ugh, if I find out that this is the goddess of the afterlife's doing then I swear I'll be out for blood!

A hand gently touched my lap. "I don't know what you've been through up until now but trust me..." Cole gave me a warm smile. "You're safe with us."

As Ryan pulled the car over, I felt my nerves creep up over me once more. Ryan then hopped into the back and whispered something into Cole's ear. As the two nodded their heads in mutual understanding, they redirected their gaze towards me.

"There is one thing we need to do before we go any further." They slowly got closer to me. "We need to make sure you aren't bitten."

Hah? I already told them that we were fine. Luka's sickness wasn't related to zombies, so why are they bringing this up again? Ugh, I suppose they just want to be safe so I can't really blame them.

I took my green jacket off and sighed as I lowered the neck of my white t-shirt. "Look, I'm clean." I even showed off my bare wrists in case there was still doubt in their minds.

"We still can't be certain," Ryan said as he lit a cigarette from his pocket. "You should take off the rest of your clothes, so we'll know for sure."

My eyes started to twitch. "Excuse me?" I said in disbelief. Luka started to move, I feared that he was about to turn around and do something drastic. To prevent us from getting caught, I quickly grabbed a hold of his shoulder to stop him. "That's too much." I reaffirmed.

Cole rose to his feet and opened the back door to the van. "I know we're asking a lot, but we can't take any risks." He extended a hand towards me. "You can undress outside if you'd prefer more privacy. I know three guys in a van can be intimidating." He tried to play it off.

This is unbelievably sexist! Sure, the last thing I'd want is for them to search Luka since it'll 100% blow our cover. But they're not even suggesting nor considering the idea. They went straight to checking me out alone! Pigs...

Also, undressing outside is like the exact opposite of privacy! A zombie could jump out at me any second now and attack me! But still... I wasn't keen on taking my clothes off in front of everyone as Cole said. So, I might have to make do with this...

As I stepped out of the van, I refused to take Cole's hand. Instead, I silently walked behind a nearby tree. "Don't watch!" I ordered as I started to undress myself.

Goddammit, this is so humiliating! I wanted the ground to swallow me whole as the wind started to attack my vulnerable naked form. "H-Hurry up and take a look. It's freezing out here..." I commanded as I tried to cover myself up with my crossed arms.

As Cole stepped into the shadows to take in my appearance, I felt my face flush in embarrassment. The only thing separating me from total nudity is the thin layer that was the black underwear I was wearing.

"Satisfied?" I asked sarcastically through gritted teeth. But just then, Cole unexpectedly started to trail his hand from my shoulder down to my stomach.

"You have beautiful skin." He complimented.

What a creep! Is a line like that supposed to make me swoon? If so, then mission failed! All I'm doing is cringing right now!

As Cole's hand trailed back up, he went to softly stroke my lips. "You're single, aren't you?" He smiled slyly to himself. "If you were my girl, I'd never let you go."

Oh god. Please, don't tell me this guy is slowly becoming a yandere now!