"No, I want to stay with you. I guess I'll need to get used to it, but it disgusts me."
-"Sorry, I am not like you thought I was."
"That's not your fault. I have a problem with you, not you, that's on me."
I'm stunned. I thought she'd want us to part ways.
-"Uh... ok... then let's find this car, I saw some light there."
We find a black SUV.
-"What a car!"
"Yeah, this is a car."
We get in the car, her in the driver's seat as she can drive.
She turns the key and starts the car.
"There is still gas to spare."
-"Enough to get out of here and find a smaller city?"
"Yeah, I think so."
She stops the car and puts the key in her pocket.
"Search the car, I'll look into the trunk."
I open the glove box but find nothing interesting.
Then the door opens and Lana appears.
-"Nothing, you?"
"Nothing."
-"So what do we do, we leave now?"
"We need to see the state of the road. I know there are fewer zombies roaming each day as they are moving, but we should check. If all is good, we put everything in the car and get out of here."
---
Day 21
There are still lots of zombies in the street. I don't think we could leave.
"Why did I move in such a big city... that's my biggest regret right now."
I am glad she did. I met her.
But I don't say it out loud.
-"Yeah, you are right."
"We still have food for ten days. We can just stay here, it's safe."
---
Day 27
And that's what we did.
We each had a different routine.
I, with military discipline, wake up each day at 7, meditate one hour outside.
Feeling the cold wind on my cheek turning red. Contemplating, feeling as one with the dark, lightless world. I can't see any monster when I can't see. As such, I feel calm, as if it were just another morning. That I would stand up and get to work on my game.
I stand up and stretch.
Take breakfast.
And do some exercise for about an hour.
Then it's free time for the rest of the day. I spend it reading, playing games like card games with Lana, or talking with her.
It's a good life. I hope it could last, but it's just a dream. Soon I'll wake up, when we don't have enough food.
But for now, let me dream.
I am happy.
We go to sleep when the sun sets and I start all over again.
---
Day 28
9:00
--------
"Alex, look, there are just a few wanderers. We could just avoid them. I think we should depart soon."
-"You are right. We'll run out of food eventually, and we need some for the trip."
"Let's pack."
And we put every bottle of water, can of food, drug, bandage, weapon—everything that could be useful.
I'll miss this place, but it's for the better.
We put everything in the trunk silently.
10:00
--------
-"Did we forget anything?"
"No, I think we can go now."
I manually open the garage door to the outside, dangerous world, with Lana having my back in case there is danger beyond the door.
There are some wanderers that Lana takes care of.
We get in the car and start to drive on the main street.
The drive is not pleasant. She takes impossible angles to avoid the zombies reaching out to us.
I look behind, and there is a trail of zombies following us slowly.
BANG
Lana hits a zombie and the windshield is painted in rotten flesh and black, thick, sticky blood.
She panics a moment but manages to stay on the road and continue.
I get out from the window and get the arm which blocks Lana's vision out of the windshield.
12:00
--------
We are finally out of the city and driving on rural roads with green plains and trees around us. We can see some zombies walking on these terrains, but there are just a few of them.
We can see some houses and farms in passing, but we decide not to stop yet.
We are almost out of gas, so we'll need to stop soon. But I want to reach a village first.
I silently try to put on the radio, and there is an automatic message:
--WARNING, SECURITY CODE 0, APOCALYPSE SCENARIO, GO TO THE NEAREST MILITARY BASE FOR YOUR SECURITY--
I try to change the radio, but it's the same on all frequencies.
"Should we go to a military base?"
-"Maybe, I don't know. They usually fall pretty early on."
"I'd want to check, but we don't have enough fuel."
-"We should stop at the next house or farm to loot and find some fuel."
We rode 10 more minutes and found a big and old house with an old car in front of it.
Before going in, we grabbed a bite in the car.
We get out and breathe the fresh, unpolluted air.
Lana opens the trunk and we get our weapons and empty backpacks.
-"Look, if the car is open, I'll cover you."
She tries to open the driver's door, but she can't open it.
"Maybe we'll find the key inside."
We walk toward the front door.
CLICK
It's also closed.
Then we hear a harsh voice screaming at us:
"Who are you?! Get off my property!"
Followed by the sound of a shotgun being pumped.
I jump on Lana to get to the ground and—
BANG BANG
He shoots twice at the door.
"Still alive?"
-"Don't shoot! We are people, not monsters!"
"I don't care. What do you want, huh? You want to take all my things?"
-"We thought it was empty. We are sorry."
"You need to give me something for the broken door."
We stand up, and before having the chance to get our guns, he comes out, pointing his barrel at us.
He looks in his 60s, greyish long hair and beard.
He looks at us and continues:
"What can you give me for my trouble?"
With both our hands in the air, Lana starts talking:
"We can give you some food, sir. Please don't kill us."
I am nervous. Our fate is in the hands of a crazy old man.
This wouldn't be enough. I see you have a new car—it's better than mine. I'll take this with everything in it."
-"No, you can't! That's everything we have!"
I grit my teeth. This is the worst.
"It may be everything you have, but I have the gun, so I take everything."
-"Please have mercy. We won't survive if you take everything from us."
He points his gun toward Lana and takes a step toward her, shifting his attention to her.
"Well, I've been lonely here all alone. Girl, if you let me have my way with you, I'll let you and your boyfriend go away."
While talking, he looks at her thighs, boobs, and face alternately.
Lana is visibly disgusted and takes a step back.
I am boiling. While his attention is not on me, I grip his gun to point it toward the sky.
BANG
He shoots the clouds, and with my whole body, I slam him to the ground.
We land in the gravel, a cloud of dust rising around us.
He struggles beneath me, trying to buck me off, but seeing red, I don't move. I punch him repeatedly in the face.
SMACK
SMACK
SMACK
SMACK
SMACK
His face is barely recognizable, full of blood like my hand.
SLASH
Uhh, a knife!
He stabs my left thigh. I barely contain my scream. He pushes me to the side.
This was his biggest error, as this clears a line of sight for Lana. His sexist ass might have excluded her from the fight.
She shoots near the stomach.
Blood pours out. He looks shocked and confused.
I look at him and smile through the pain briefly, but then I hear a gun clattering on the ground.
I instinctively look at Lana. She looks horrified—more at herself than at this creep.
"What did I do?"
She takes a step back and falls to the ground.
I painfully stand up and go toward her.
-"Thank you, you saved my life."
My words are slow, heavy with a strange mixture of gratitude and guilt. I can't stop thinking about what just happened—what she had to do, and what I did—pounding him like crazy, liking the sensation of my fist hitting his face.
She looks out of it. She can't hear me. She keeps shaking her head in denial, repeating:
"What did I do? It's a human. Why?"
Her voice keeps cracking.
She is shaking.
If talking doesn't work, I'll try something else.
I hug her suddenly to calm her down.
And she stops talking.
"?"
I look into her eyes. She looks surprised.
-"Thank you. You saved my life."
"Oh... yeah."
She answers half in a daze.
The old man is still alive, bleeding out on the ground.
"You bitch... Uh..."
I look at him. This trash made Lana feel like garbage. I won't let him make her a murderer.
I pick up Lana's gun from the ground and point it at his head.
I look him in the eyes. He keeps them barely open.
-"Any last words?"
"I..."
BANG
Thinking about it, he didn't deserve it.
Stone cold, I look at him. Any struggle stops. His eyes completely close.
His hands, which were trying to patch the hole in his body, fall to the ground, raising a bit of dust.
The weight of the life I've taken presses down on my shoulders.
-"You didn't kill him... I did... I am the killer.
You, you just saved me."