Nothing Left to Fear || Closed

Sarah looked away for a moment, thinking his statement over. Had God really abandoned them? She didn’t think so. If so, she would have been dead within seconds of it happening. “I think He is. I think we’d be a hell of a lot more fucked if we were on our own.” Maybe it was mankind’s punishment for screwing things up so bad. What was it she’d learned in Bible school as a kid? Love thy neighbor as thy self? Yeah, that’d really screwed up that one. She glanced back towards him. “Well, if you don’t want to be around more of those things, the country is probably the best shot. There won’t be as many around.”

“Oh, that’s good,” she began. “I was beginning to think you were an asshole because of me.” She allowed herself to crack the tiniest of grins, hoping that he could tell that she was kidding. Mostly. There was still a little prickle of annoyance that was surging through her that made her think he might be an asshole more than just when he was backed into a corner. Then again, she probably wasn’t a joy to be around in that moment either. She stole a glance down the hallway, eyeing the stairs carefully. The zombies couldn’t just turn doorknobs and enter. They were safe for now. No other sounds were drifting throughout the house. She just prayed that it would stay that way.

“Oh, that’ll be nice,” she murmured, shooting him a quick grin to match his own. She took a couple of steps back as he turned to her, giving him space to lead the way. Brendan kept using we and she wasn’t sure how she felt about it. Sure, she’d used it too, but only because he’d used it first. She almost felt childish thinking that. At the very least, two people had a better chance of survival than just either of them on their own.

“I’m not sure. Eventually, someone else is going to stumble along the house and they might not be so nice.” Sarah winced at the thought. It was sad to realize just how many people became monsters in their own right when things went to shit. “A night or two might be alright, but I’m not sure how long would be pushing our luck.” She didn’t want to admit that having to listen to the shuffle of the dead walking around outside scared the absolute shit out of her. The way their feet would scuff along the sidewalk, only for them to hear a far off thump and they all take off at once. Sarah focused back on Brendan, letting out a snort of laughter only to jump when she heard something hit the ceramic floor.

“Warn a girl, would you?” She hissed, although there wasn’t much sting behind it. She was more thankful that the shower was empty. She glanced around the bathroom, half tempted to start searching for stuff to take with them then. But searching for stuff later was the smarter idea. She stepped out into the hallway, padding down until she reached the opposite end. It was the room that she’d been hiding in when Brendan had burst through the door. She stole a glance out the window, freezing when she saw the hordes of zombies under the streetlights. “Fuck,” she breathed out. “Brendan,” she called out, keeping her voice soft. “Were there this many out there when you got here?”

---

Kennedy gave a shrug of his shoulders. “I don’t really know,” he said, frowning a bit at the thought. It might things worse to think of there being a definitive before and after. Then again, it could make things easier. He wasn’t sure. “But who knows? You could end up being pretty bad ass. I mean, you did say that you looked up how to hotwire a car. That’s pretty impressive as is,” he added, giving her a quick grin.

He felt a little bit of pride as she laughed. He’d made her laugh. That was good. It had been hard to gauge how she was going to act when she’d come directly off of being ambushed in her apartment by zombies to seeing even more bodies litter the streets. But she was laughing. That was something. “Well thank you. My college friends would argue with you on the looking manly deal, though.” He paused. “Yeah, that was more stupid and panicky than being manly. But on the bright side, we’ve got bourbon.” It was nice that they were a we, at least for the time being. He’d been worried he was going to die alone. “Well thank you for not judging me because I really wanted to laugh at the scarf when I saw you wearing it, but that would have been mean. Plus, we’ll match now,” he added, giving her a quick grin.

“The more the better?” He suggested, ignoring her comment on splitting up. At that exact moment, he didn’t want them to split up. He felt weirdly attached to her, like if anything were to happen to her it meant that he’d be dead too. Rationally, he attributed it to the panic that was still coursing through his system. Hell, he was probably still in shock. He was kind of thankful for it, though. He’d rather be in shock and functioning than sobbing on the ground and useless. “Yeah, looks that way,” he said, mustering up a smile.

He followed after her, dawdling behind when he found a couple of aluminum bats. He didn’t really like the weights on any of them, and kept them aside. He started walking towards the pharmacy once more, snagging a coupe of random, small items here and there. A lighter. A couple of packs of gum. A stupid looking bandana. He shoved it into his jeans pocket as he approached the pharmacy, seeing Abby just standing there. “Hey, what’s - “

The sight that laid before him made him freeze. “Holy shit,” he breathed, the feeling that he’d had outside taking over once more. He was going to vomit. He knew it. “Abby, you want me to do it?” He choked out, refusing to back away. They had to handle this. They needed to. Despite everything else, they needed to get the medicine, whatever they could. He strained to hear any other movement back there, but there was none. “If there was a zombie back there, it would’ve heard us and come out by now,” he reasoned. “It’s - fuck.” He couldn’t stop staring at the white lab coat stained red.

Brendan curled his lips between his teeth and bit them to stem any sort of negative comments he could have replied with. Maybe this was the death, destruction, and apocalypse so many picketers had tried to warn him of. That thought left him cold and hollow and he sucked in a deep breath of air, glancing over to Sarah and studying her for a few moments. "Well, at least we know a few things are certain now. The dead are coming back and attacking any living human in sight. Humans are killing each other over doughnuts and junk food. And we're safe...for now," he told her softly, eyes slipping over her. He swallowed hard at her next comment, glancing down at the meat tenderizer in his grip. "How far do you think we'll have to go to get someplace secluded?" He asked, eyes slipping back up to hers.

There was that pesky "we" again. Honestly, he found himself thinking more and more of his future actions and including Sarah in those. Maybe it was the fact she was the first living person he'd talked to in a long time. Maybe it was because he was highly uncomfortable with the idea of ditching her to survive on his own. He was torn from his thoughts as she spoke, taking note of the grin that curled her features. It was cute. The small, sly expression that lit her eyes up just a little bit. Under any other circumstance, he'd probably have asked her out for drinks sometime then and there. "Let's just agree now that we're both a little on edge and we may say or do things that may seem rude," he told her, matching her grin for a moment. "When it's a matter of survival, I don't think manners really matter if it saves either of our lives," he finished honestly, eyes locked on hers.

He ran his tongue over his lips and drew in a deep breath of air. "And, just to clear the air, I think it'd be best if we stuck together, yeah? I'd feel a bit safer knowing someone's got my back and I'm sure you feel the same," he said with a small shrug. He didn't wait for and answer from her and merely tugged the shower curtain closed as he turned to face Sarah. "Sorry," he apologized softly, though he knew he'd only done it so something couldn't grab at the two of them as the shower curtain opened. He glanced down the stairs as they passed by the foyer, making sure nothing had snuck in during their checking of the upstairs.

"I guess that settles in then. We stay here tonight, grab what we can, try to get some shut-eye, and then take off when the coast is clear," he listed, hoping that they weren't making a mistake by leaving shelter. Then again, what could be more lethal if the front door came crashing in: a human or group of humans toting weapons and guns or a hoard of zombies?

His thoughts careened to a halt when he heard his name being softly called and he entered the room behind her, stopping his footsteps and staring wide-eyed out the windows at the throngs of zombies on the street. Brendan swallowed hard and made a note that they either needed to steer clear of the windows or close the blinds so they wouldn't be seen. "No, definitely not," he said, voice quiet and trembling slightly. "We should avoid windows when we can. I'd hate to think what damage all of those things could do if they really wanted in," he murmured, suddenly finding his mouth dry and hands trembling slightly. "Should we risk going downstairs to check the rest of the house?" He questioned quietly.

---

Abby stared down at the body, feeling a warm rush of tears flood forth and balance along her waterline. She frowned a bit as she kept her gaze forward, shaking her head a bit as she blinked once and tears streaked down her cheeks only to have more follow in their tracks. A quiet sniffle left her, pulse thudding in her ears and the world around her fading in and out. She was stronger than this. She wasn't this weak girl who cried at the drop of a hat, she couldn't be this person any more. Swallowing back the bile that licked at the back of her throat, she turned to Kennedy, keeping her gaze on him.

"It's fine," she breathed in a shaky voice, using the sleeve of her sweatshirt to wipe away at the tears on her face. "I've got to get used to this...it's...it's normal now." She couldn't believe the words that had just left her mouth, the reality that was slowly sinking in. Her lips trembled a bit as she sighed, swallowing hard again and turning to force her gaze to the corpse on the ground. "At least he's not one of them. I'd rather look at a corpse than have to run from one of them," she murmured, feeling like she may have stepped out of her body for a moment and was looking in on herself. She allowed her a few quiet moments, trying to acclimate herself to the sight of gore and death. A soft whimper left her as she finally turned away, shaking her head slowly as more tears streaked her face. "I knew him," she whispered, throat tight as she turned suddenly busied herself with searching the shelves for the names of painkillers she knew.

With trembling hands, she shoved what she could into her bag, knowing they'd have to make it a point to divide their items up at some point. The chance of them being separated was very real and she knew that she'd be hopeless by herself. If a fully grown man couldn't survive an attack, how was someone like her supposed to live on her own? She let out another whimper at that thought as she rounded a row of prescriptions, dropping a bottle to the ground. They were all dead, weren't they? It just seemed like they were dodging death until it finally got a hold of them and ripped them apart. Abby fell to her knees soon after, chest tightening as she dragged in a ragged gasp of air and dropped her axe to the side. Anxiety and fear suddenly had a vice hold on her and she could feel herself slipping toward a panic attack. She'd only ever had a few in her life, but she felt the realization that she was inevitably doomed to suffer a gruesome, bloody death was a fair enough reason to have one.

Her entire body was shaking as she hid her face behind her hands, sobbing hard into the fabric of her gloves. Now was a good time as any to have a breakdown, as it seemed they were safe for a moment. As much as she felt like a baby for breaking like she was, it wasn't exactly unmerited. She was stuck in a hellish world and her only chance for survival was a complete stranger who could ditch her at a moment's notice. "We're not going to make it, are we?" She breathed to no one through broken sobs, shaking her head as she fisted her hair in her hands and squeezed her eyes shut. "I'm only going to hold you back, Kennedy," she called to him from her hiding place behind a shelf. Part of her thought to be embarrassed by her reaction, but she had a feeling that Kennedy was just about in the same mindset at her. He maybe was just handling inevitable death better. Swallowing hard, she fought to calm herself, breaths coming in short and sharp. "I'll only get us both killed," she murmured pathetically.

Sarah winced at his mention of humans. Where were all the people chanting about love and peace now? Probably dead, because it seemed like most others that weren’t dead or bitten turning into raging dicks that would kill you over a bag of Doritos or rape someone in a grocery store because why the hell not? Once again, she vowed never to enter a grocery store alone from there on out. The things she’d seen would probably never leave her brain. “For now,” she repeated, her voice far off and distant. Now might not last long, and then they’d be screwed. They needed to get out of there, needed to get somewhere safe. Somewhere deep in the woods where zombies weren’t around. “I don’t know. Pretty far if we want the least amount of zombies. Probably a farm, or something?” She gave him a shrug of her shoulders. She was as out of her depth as he was.

She let out a snort of laughter, shaking her head at him. “As long as you’re not reminding me of my impending death, I’m fine with whatever you do,” she said, offering him a faint smart. He looked nice when he grinned. If she tried hard enough, she could almost pretend that they’d met somewhere else. In another life, she might have even thought that he was attractive - if a bit of an asshole. “You’re right, though. Manners aren’t going to do shit when it comes to killi - dealing with zombies.” She couldn’t say ‘killing’. She understood, logically, that they had to kill them to survive. But the idea of just killing someone - someone that was alive or had been alive and was now a member of the walking dead, but… The thought made her squeamish.

“It’s probably for the best, yeah,” Sarah agreed. Just like that, they were a team. It was just like in the movies. One person stumbles upon another person in the midst of an apocalypse, and within an hour they’re teamed up. She wondered just how many other movie tropes would come true for the planet. She’d seen World War Z and 28 Days Later and scads of other zombie movies. She knew what happened.

She’d heard what he’d been saying, listing off their new plan as she stared out the window in horror. None had noticed either of them, instead they just continued shuffling up and down the street. She didn’t dare count how many were out there, knowing that she’d just scare herself even more than she already was. She frowned to herself, biting down on the insides of her lips to keep from sobbing. They needed to get a grip, the both of them. They had to deal with whatever would come their way. “We need supplies. I don’t have anything to survive.” She glanced back to him, knowing that the next time she opened her mouth, her words were going to shake. “Maybe we should wait until tomorrow for supplies, see if they wander off. We could just… Sleep up here for the night?”

---

Kennedy was just staring at the blood when Abby spoke, driving him out of his trance and putting all of his focus back on her. She looked like she was about to break down - not that he’d blame her one bit. They were both fucked. The whole world was fucked. The zombies weren’t the slow lumbering ones of the older movies. No, these ones were fast and would hunt and chase you down until you were either dead or one of them. He blinked at her, steeling his resolve as he watched her. It broke his heart as she said that she’d have to get used to this. She shouldn’t have to get used to this.

He opened his mouth to offer words of encouragement or something when she said that she knew him. “I’m - I’m sorry,” he said, his voice soft and weak. What the hell was he supposed to say to that? He’d never been the best at comforting people, but suddenly it was like he didn’t even know how to act like a human being. How was he supposed to make her feel better. “Abby, I can…” He realized that it probably wouldn’t matter, him offering to gather the pills. What would she do, just stand there and look at the body of the man that she used to know?

Kennedy’s entire body froze when he heard the clatter of something dropping. It was big and heavy, and took him a couple of seconds to place what it was. Her axe. In an instant he was stepping forward, stopping only when he heard her speak. She wasn’t being attacked. She was just… Crying. Carefully, he stepped over the dead body and rounded the corner, kneeling down so he could look at her eye to eye. “Abby, hey,” he breathed out, hand reaching out and hovering above her shoulder. He waited a second before clasping it gently.

“Abby, you’re not going to hold me back, alright. We’re going to make it. I’m not going to let you die.” Suddenly, it hit him. He was not going to let this woman die. Sure, he barely knew her and this might be the most idiotic thing he’s ever thought, but if there was any good left in the world, he was going to use it to keep Abby alive. “You’re not going to get either of us killed, do you hear me? We’re going to live. We. Are. Going. To. Live. Neither of us are dying anytime soon. Do you think it was just coincidence that I was coming down the fire escape when you were in your kitchen?” Probably, but he wasn’t going to tell her that. “I don’t know how, but I know that we’re going to live. We can make it through this. We just need to go one step at a time.”

Brendan brushed a hand over his hair, drawing in a deep breath of air as he kept his gaze out the window for a few moments. How many humans were even left out there for them to contend with? He’d like to think that the bad ones, the ones that saw opportunity in the Hell outside, would get their comeuppance sooner rather than later. But, as angry as it made him, he knew that they’d probably survive the longest. His eyes slipped over to her as she spoke and he sighed softly. He’d love to be able to tell her that they’d be safe for a long time and that they wouldn’t have to worry about zombies at all. But he knew that would be a lie. When she mentioned them seeking shelter at a farm, he thought over it for a moment. “It would be faster to take a car, but I don’t know if that would be the safest option,” he said, thinking out loud as he mentally went over their options.

“Duly noted,” he replied, grinning a bit at how she’d snorted and the look that came across her features. “I’ll at least make an effort to not be an asshole. My occasionally douchebag-ery should be the last thing you should have to worry about,” he added with a laugh of his own. His grin fell slightly as she spoke again, not liking the fact he didn’t know exactly how many zombies they’d have to “deal” with. He didn’t even like the fact they were using the word “zombie”. He looked up at her, twisting his lips to the side slightly as he heaved a heavy sigh. “Yeah. It’s not like we’ll be getting any judgmental looks from sensitive grannies if we throw out a few curse words,” he murmured, chuckling dryly.

He knew that by asking Sarah to team up with him, he was running the risk of her holding him back and ending up with the both of them killed. Still, there was a part of him that knew he’d rather spend what could be his last few months, weeks, days, or minutes with someone than to die alone. “Just no more choking on me, alright?” He questioned with enough jest in his tone that he hoped she knew he was trying to make light of what had happened before. “You scared me probably as much as you were scared yourself,” he continued with a shake of his head.

Brendan’s gaze wandered back out to the street below them, watching the figures ambling along the sidewalks. Occasionally, it looked like something caught their interest and his stomach would drop, but then they would continue on their way. “It’s like the whole Goddamn city is on the street out there,” he breathed, sparing a glance over to Sarah. He knew she looked as tense as he felt, but he wasn’t exactly sure what he could say to make things seem better than they were. “We do. I don’t have anything outside of this meat-tenderizer,” he murmured in reply, eyes following a particularly fast moving group of zombies. His eyes slipped back over to Sarah, nodding slowly in agreement. “Yeah, that’s probably be our best bet,” he said softly. “I think I’ll feel a bit more comfortable looking around the rest of the house in daylight too, if I’m honest.”

---

Abby could feel her breath catch in her throat as she tried to calm herself down, but couldn’t seem to. Her mind just kept repeating just how weak she was and how she had zero chance of survival. Her gaze was focused on the floor in front of her as she sniffled and hiccuped against her tears. When Kennedy rounded the shelves, she lifted her gaze slowly to meet his, a deep frown pulling at her lips as she shook her head. She wasn’t used to people trying to keep her spirits up, so she wasn’t exactly sure what to say. Abby was thankful for it, but she wasn’t exactly the most eloquent when it came to thanking someone.

“I’m sorry,” she breathed, sniffling loudly and wiping away her tears only for them to be replaced by more. “I can’t help but to think these…bodies could have easily all been me. I mean…look at me. I’m not a strong person. I’m not physically intimidating. I can’t run very far. If I had been caught…out here…” Her voice died off as her eyes darted toward the outside windows as her bottom lip trembled. She blinked once, more tears streaking down her cheeks. “I guess I’ve just never had to face my own mortality like this. It’s terrifying,” she finished in a soft voice, eyes slipping back up to meet Kennedy’s.

She lifted her hand, placing it over his on his shoulder in what she hoped would be thanks enough without her having to say it out loud. “You saw me. I grabbed a fucking chef’s knife to fight off zombies. A chef’s knife,” she shook her head and sighed heavily. “I’d like to think that maybe you just happening to find me when zombies were busting down my door wasn’t just coincidence. Maybe it’ll give me a little bit more hope than I’ve got at the moment toward our outlook.” A soft sniffle left her, feeling herself slowly begin to calm down and she pulled her lips between her teeth. She drew in a deep breath of air through her nose, throat still feeling tight even though her tears had dried up a bit.

“Thanks, Kennedy,” she finally managed to get out, eyes slipping between both of his as she dropped her hand from his. Abby offered him a small, watery smile. “I can’t promise I’ll be the most helpful…but at least weren’t not alone in this, right?”

Sarah thought it over as he spoke, her mind racing. “If we could find a car with keys and enough gas to get us out of here, it might help. We’d just need to lose them once we got out of here.” There were a lot of factors to consider. How long would the zombies chase them? They could only run so fast, and if they were heavy on the gas pedal, they might be able to outrun them. But then there was the factor of the keys. How were they supposed to find a car with keys ready to go? She paused, a thoughtful look crossing her face. “You think the owners of this place took their car?”

It was weird, the two of them. She felt like they were practically bonding over being assholes to each other. “So you’re an occasional douchebag, then? Not just when backed into a corner?” She asked him, cocking a brow as she watched him. The corners of her mouth twitched upwards just so into a faint smile. “It’s alright if you are. I’m a giant asshole most of the time, so it’d be hypocritical of me to get really offended,” she added. She clapped her hand over her mouth so she wouldn’t laugh out loud. “My grandmother would have been horrified to hear the things that have come out of my mouth since everything went to shit,” she said, chuckling just as dry as him.

She shot him a scowl, trying to hold it for longer than what she was able to. After a couple of seconds, she broke and rolled her eyes at him despite the fact that she was smirking at him. “I’ll try my hardest not to choke so I don’t accidentally kill us both,” she agreed, although the tone in her voice was more self-deprecating than anything else. She really could get him killed if she froze up like that again. She let out a sigh, running her fingers through her hair. “I just… Blanked. I hadn’t… I hadn’t been that close to one before.”

Sarah looked between the window and Brendan, trying to get a read on what he was thinking. Honestly, he hadn’t really acted that scared to her. Maybe it was just because she didn’t know him and didn’t know how to read him, but he seemed to be handling it fairly well. “Daylight would be better,” she agreed, nodding her head slowly. She bit back a yawn, shaking her head at herself. Even despite her exhaustion, she knew that she wouldn’t be sleeping much that night. “Where did you want to sleep tonight?”

---

“Don’t apologize for any of this, really. You’re actually handling this really well, considering what’s all going on.” He knew that one day he’d probably look back on this in shock and marvel at how well they handled themselves for being thrust into all of this. Either that, or think what absolute idiots they were for being that hopeful. “They could have easily been anybody. No one’s ever had to deal with something like this before. You can’t judge yourself based on the past, because this is all new.” His thumb brushed against her shoulder in what he hoped was a comforting move.

“A chef’s knife is a hell of a lot better than a bottle of bourbon. Look, just because you were unprepared to fight off a horde of zombies at your apartment door - which, by the way, is completely understandable - it doesn’t mean anything about you. You’re smart. You looked up how to hotwire cars. You thought to get that scarf to keep you warm. You’re going to do just fine with all of this.” He offered her a small smile, watching as she took in a deep breath. It wasn’t much, but it was something.

“It’s no problem, really,” he said, offering her a weak smile. “We’re in this together now,” he confirmed. His resolve strengthened. He was going to keep this woman alive if it was the last thing that he did. “Just… Try not to beat yourself up about being freaked out about all of this. If anything, it’s a sign that you’ve still got your humanity.” He frowned to himself, thinking back to the bodies on the ground and the zombies that he’d already seen. “It’s what separate us from them.”

Kennedy knew that they were going to have to walk past the body. He knew that. He glanced behind him, looking to the left then right before looking back to Abby. “Look, let me leave first and get some - “ He cut himself off, unsure of how to word it. “- Some stuff out of the way, and then I’ll call for you to come out, alright? It might be easier on you if you… You know,” he said, making a face. Saying that it might be easier on her if she didn’t have to look at the corpse of a man that she knew probably wasn’t going to be making her feel any better.

Brendan ran a hand on his chin, feeling the few day’s old stubble scratching against his skin. He wondered if he’d be given the chance to shave; he didn’t prefer a bearded look on him but he’d probably not have a choice in what he preferred and what was practical. A beard would keep him warm and he wasn’t about to run out specifically for razors to shave. “Yeah, a car would put us at an advantage to get out of here if the things out there done clear out come morning,” he said softly, eyes flittering over the mindless bodies that were still shuffling down the street. “If I had to give my best bet, I’d say the owner was the man in the bedroom. There’s no telling if there was anyone else who lived here with him,” he murmured, eyes turning to Sarah once more.

A quiet laugh left him at her next question, a small smile curling his lips despite himself as he shook his head slowly. “When provoked? Yes, very much so,” he told her honestly, glad that he’d managed to bring a smile out of her. “I kind of…don’t have very much patience with things,” he said with a small shrug. Another quiet laugh left him at her next comment and he watched her for a few moments. “An asshole and a douchebag, what a pair?” He murmured to himself, lips tilting upward at one corner. A louder laugh left him at her next comment, eyes crinkling slightly at the corners. “My grandmother would have a world’s supply of soap waiting for my mouth if she’d heard what I’ve said and called people and…those things. I’d be burping bubbles for weeks, he commented wryly.

For a moment, Brendan thought he had really insulted her as she scowled at him and he winced a bit before noting the smirk that twisted her lips soon after. He let out another laugh, resting a hand at the back of his neck and rubbing it a bit before dropping his hand to the side. “I guess I just assumed that everyone’s come face-to-face with one of those things by now,” he murmured with a sheepish shrug. “I could feel them trying to grab at the back of my shirt if I didn’t run fast enough. I guess I’ve been as close as I ever want to get to one,” he added, pulling his bottom lip between his teeth and biting at it for a moment. He stared off into the distance for a moment, thinking of just how close he’d come to either turning into one of those things.

He ran his tongue over his teeth, staring out the window for a few moments. It wouldn’t be daylight for a while, so the only option they did have was to sleep upstairs. He didn’t know how well he’d be able to relax if he were in a room by himself. And if those things did happen to get inside, he didn’t like the idea of Sarah being in a room by himself, even if they were practically strangers. “Would…would you be okay if we stayed in the same room?” He questioned her, gaze slipping back over to her. “We don’t have to sleep in the same bed or anything—I’ll gladly take the floor. I just…I kind of don’t want to be by myself right now. And I think it’d be safer anyways.”

---

Abby sniffled again, a soft, bitter laugh leaving her that sounded more like a sob than anything. “If this is handling everything well,” she said, motioning to her tear-stained face, “I’d love to see what freaking out is.” She swiped her sweatshirt sleeve over her cheeks again, trying to clear her face of the remnant of tears. She drew in a deep breath of air, eyes slipping shut for a moment before her eyes opened once more. “I mean, I used to ask myself the same bullshit questions everyone does after watching a zombie movie, but I didn’t think it would ever be a reality,” she explained, brushing a hand through her hair. “I certain thought I’d at least have a little more of a spine.”

A wry grin curled her lips at his next comment. “Halt the presses everyone. A millennial used the internet to look up a ‘How-To’ video,” she quipped, another soft laugh leaving her. She drew in another deep breath of air, glancing up at Kennedy once more. “Look,I’m going to try and do better. I don’t want to have you end up dead because of me,” she murmured, lips twisting to the side slightly. Though, when he mentioned that they were in this together, it calmed her down a great deal. She didn’t know if she necessarily trusted his words, but she wanted to believe them and that was enough.

“My humanity,” she repeated numbly, slowly getting back up to her feet and grabbing the axe from the floor. Abby knew that she was more apt to believe she was just weak, but maybe he’d made a good point. She wasn’t calloused to the sight of death yet and she didn’t know if she would like it when she could stare at a dead body without feeling uncomfortable. In the world they now lived in, it didn’t seem like she would have much of a choice. There would only be zombies or corpses and any other live being they managed to run across. Her eyes slipped over to Kennedy as he spoke, her brow furrowing for a moment before she shook her head.

“No, I’ll be okay. I don't want to make you uncomfortable for my sake. I’ll just…try to walk by…not look,” she said, eyes slipping between both of his. “Besides, I think I’ve got everything I could hold in my bag, so we can go whenever you’re ready,” she told him with a small shrug. Slowly, she got to her feet and glanced around the corner of the shelves they were behind. “I’m going to go check and see if I can’t find us warm hats,” she murmured, gaze slipping back over to him and she extended the scarf she’d grabbed to him. “I grabbed one for you. You know, since being warm is more important than being fashionable.” She offered him a small smile, shifting her weight from one foot to the other.

Sarah watched Brendan, finding it easier to focus on him than the undead outside. But she couldn’t help herself. Her gaze shifted back to the window, focusing on a specific one. She was no more than nine - had been no more than nine, before she was bitten. Her jeans and t-shirt had been stained with blood, her hair a matted mess and a snarl fixed on her face. That had been someone’s kid. She felt her stomach curdle. “He might have a car, then. It’s worth a shot to check,” she said, wrenching her eyes away. She looked back to Brendan, trying not to betray just how horrible she felt. “My guess is that whoever could have lived here with him ended up bailing once he got bit. From what I saw downstairs, no one’s been around to ransack the place.”

It was weird to hear someone laugh. For a day or so after the news had broke, she’d wondered if she was going to go crazy. People did go crazy in times like that. They didn’t know how to cope with anything, so they just shut down and drifted off somewhere else mentally. She’d been afraid that she’d end up alone and crazy, but there she was, laughing along with a complete stranger that she was now trusting. “I’ll have to remember not to provoke you, then,” she said, shaking her head at him. “Maybe we deserve each other’s company, then,” she grinned. She let out a snort, her grin growing just a bit wider. “My grandmother always thought I had a horrible mouth as is. Now? She’d be mortified.”

“I’d managed to steer pretty clear of them. I mean, I’d ran from them, but they were behind me.” She paused for a moment. “Then again, maybe I’m just a faster runner than you are.” She remembered the way he’d been out of breath when she’d first seen him. Apparently running her occasional 5K had helped her out when it came to evading the bastards. “Maybe we’ll get lucky and never have to get that close to one again,” she suggested, pipe dream as it as.

Sarah hesitated for a moment before allowing herself just the tiniest bit of vulnerability. “I don’t want to be by myself either right now,” she admitted, ducking her head. She took in a deep breath through her nose, holding it for a couple of seconds before letting it out through mouth, just like her therapist had taught her. She glanced back to Brendan. “Honestly? I’d feel like shit if you had to sleep on the floor. I don’t move much when I sleep, so sharing a bed shouldn’t be too big of an issue.”

---

“This isn’t freaking out. I’ve seen people - especially women - really freak out. This? This is you processing,” Kennedy said, offering her a small smile. It was true. He’d seen women freak out. Specifically, women that used to be his girlfriends but now were not. Because he’s a horrible boyfriend. Or was, anyway. Most of the distractions and issues that he’d had had been taken away the second zombies came to town. “Okay, but everybody in a zombie movie always panics in the beginning. Everyone. This is just the beginning of your zombie movie. You’re going to make it out alive with a shit ton of spine, alright?”

He chuckled, feeling better as she joked. Her being able to joke was a good sign. He wasn’t a therapist or anything, but it seemed like a pretty decent sign to him. “Hey, you actually did something that could help you to survive. I got a buffalo chicken pizza because I thought, ‘what the hell?’.” His gaze softened as she spoke, his heart dropping. The last thing she should be doing was to blame herself for his death - which hadn’t even happened. “I’m not going to end up dead because of you. I’m going to end up dead because of old age because we managed to live longer than anybody else,” he said, giving her a grin.

He got up with her, slow enough to make sure that she wasn’t going to go down again. He watched her as she grabbed the axe from the floor, his mind already jumping to their next plan. Once they made it to the highway, he had faith that they’d find a car quickly. He’d seen the video footage of people leaping from their cars, needing to get away from the dead that were sprinting towards them. It hadn’t been during rush hour either, which meant that there was room to maneuver around the other abandoned cars as well.

Kennedy was jarred out of his thoughts as she spoke, a frown settling on his features. He knew better than to argue, though. She needed to do this on her own. “That sounds like a good plan,” he said, his voice quiet in the pharmacy. “That’s a good idea. I forgot about hats,” he said, giving her a faint smile. It grew as she held out the scarf to him, it’s ugly floral pattern contrasting the bright white of the shelves. “Thanks,” he said, giving her a quick grin as he took it from her. He tugged the tag off of it and then wrapped it around his neck. “How’s it look?”

Brendan nodded in agreement when she mentioned the possibility of whoever owned this house before having a car. “We’ll check the garage in the morning…after we’ve made sure the rest of the house is clear,” he told Sarah, meeting her gaze at it swung back over to meet his. He knew she’d been looking outside just as frequently as he had and it was clear they were both disturbed and put on edge by what was unfolding in front of them. A heavy sigh left him, knowing he could try to close the blinds as discreetly as possible, but there was always the risk of one of those things spotting them. It was too risky if it meant blowing their cover of safety for the night. “I just hope they didn’t take the car with them,” he murmured lowly, gaze narrowing slightly. “Though, it should be too hard for use to find at least one running car in the neighborhood with keys close by.”

The thought of the two of them deserving each other brought a crooked grin to Brendan’s features. And on anyone else he may have found the snort of laughter she let out unattractive, but on her it seemed almost…fitting? Regardless, it entertained Brendan and for a moment, their outlook didn’t seem so bleak. “Maybe our lack of manners will be the only reason we survive all of this,” he offered with a soft laugh and a small shrug. “We’ll keep everyone else but ourselves away.” Another laugh left Brendan at her next comment. “My grandma liked to seem like she was uptight and old-fashioned, but I’m sure when no one but my grandpa was around she probably cursed like a sailor.” He chuckled at the thought, briefly forgetting that they were both probably stuck at home, to weather the chaos.

He lifted a brow at her next comment. “You’re probably right,” he said, though it hurt his ego to admit she was faster than him. “Either that or I just happened to be chase by Olympic-grade zombies,” he jested with a crooked grin, though the thought of a super athlete zombie terrified him. He nodded in agreement at her suggestion and he drew in a deep breath of air. “Well…I’m certainly not going to seek a face-to-face encounter with one of them anytime soon,” he murmured, rubbing a hand a long his chin for a moment.

Honestly, he was a bit relieved when she said she didn’t want to be alone. It made him feel a little less like a pansy and more like how a normal human would react in their situation. “Good,” he breathed, turning to face her fully as he ran his tongue over his teeth. He felt his pulse spike a bit at what she said next and he stared at her warily for a few moments. “A-Are you sure? I mean…I don’t want to make you uncomfortable or anything. And I’m fine with the floor,” he said softly. “We could set up some sort of barrier between the two of us…if it’d make you feel any better.”

---

Abby gave Kennedy a look of disbelief before shaking her head as she said, “Processing. Sure.” Despite the tone she was using, her lips were tilted upwards at the corners. She carded a hand through her curly hair, sighing heavily as she glanced around the pharmacy area to make sure they weren’t forgetting anything crucial behind. She shot Kennedy at his reference of a zombie movie and how she was going to miraculously grow a spine. “Can’t I just fast-forward to the part where I’ve become some cut-throat badass?” She murmured darkly, a pout nearly curling her lips as she left out another sigh.

The young woman let out a playful growl from the back of her throat, rolling her eyes at Kennedy’s comment. “Can we stop talking about pizza? It’s making me think of all the food I’ll probably never get to enjoy again,” she murmured sourly, meaning it to be a joke, but it really did sort of make her sad the more she thought about it. She was quickly distracted by the fact that it looked like he’d been saddened by something too. Abby couldn’t help but to grin crookedly up at him, shaking her head slowly. “I think I’m already halfway there to old age, wearing a blinding-ass scarf like this,” she told him, plucking at the scarf around her neck.

It was making her slightly uncomfortable that this stranger, this person she barely knew, was taking the time to make sure she was okay. Not even the majority of her boyfriend had done that. In hindsight, she probably didn’t have the best taste in boyfriends. She hoped she didn’t seem too calloused or awkward to Kennedy. She was just used to pulling herself out of whatever funk she’d gotten herself into. It was odd to have someone else rooting for her and not having to be her own motivator. Honestly, she didn’t know if she’d ever get used to it and it made her feel slightly guilty at the thought that he would take the role up permanently.

She pulled her lips between her teeth as he took the scarf from her, watching with bated breath as he looped it around his neck. A small quiver of a noise left her at the questioned he posed and she drew in a deep breath of air through her nose. “Well…the baby-shit green color clashes a bit with your jacket. But it’s doable,” she joked with a grin before she rounded the corner of the shelves. She purposely kept her gaze to the front of the store, not looking at the corpse of the man she once knew as her pharmacist, and darted quickly down an aisle she would assume had beanies or other warm hats down. “Jackpot,” she murmured as her gaze rested on an assortment of hats, swiping a beanie and immediately shoving it onto her head before grabbing another for Kennedy.

“I haven’t heard anything that’d say otherwise,” Sarah said, hoping that she was right. She hadn’t heard anything out of the ordinary since Brendan had… taken care of the thing. But just because she hadn’t heard anything didn’t really mean anything. There could be one stuck in the basement, or in the garage. Or locked in a downstairs bathroom. She prayed to God that the rest of the house was empty. She wasn’t sure if she’d be able to handle another one. “There’s enough cars around here. One has to have gas and keys.” She wasn’t sure where they were going to go once they’d left the ruins of suburbia, but then again, she felt like just about anywhere was better than there.

It was weird, but she felt a burst of pride at the sight of his grin. Like she’d done some amazing feat to get someone to grin like that during the apocalypse. It made her feel good about herself. “Our shit manners could probably drive away the zombies themselves,” she suggested, letting herself grin at him. She stole another glance out the window and her grin dimmed. She forced herself to look back at him, focusing on his lighthearted words. It was nice, to be chuckling and grinning at each other. She didn’t want to ruin it. “Oh, she had to have. God knows mine did. I can remember being seven and hearing her say the ‘c’ word,” she said, laughing quietly at the memory. “She used to always try to explain it away, but it was seared into my brain.” She was glad that her grandmother had died before everything got this bad. She wouldn’t have wanted her to go through all of this.

“Oh, that was definitely it,” Sarah said, shaking her head at him. “The rest of them are just super slow. You lucked out and got ambushed by the American Olympic track team.” She offered him another smile, hoping that it’d make him feel a little better. She felt a little prickle of guilt. She might have made him feel like she had before, being reminded that he wasn’t good enough or fast enough to survive.

She furrowed her brow at him. “Yeah?” She replied, confusion ringing through her voice. “We’re adults, Brendan. This might be the last bed we get to sleep in for awhile. You’re not sleeping on the floor.” She knew that he was trying to make it seem more acceptable, with the idea of some sort of barrier between them. But suddenly, all she wanted to do was lie in a bed and try to sleep. “You can do that, if it’d make you feel better. I’m fine without one, though.” She wanted to tack on something else, to remind him that the zombie apocalypse is kind of a giant mood killer when it came to sex. But then, she decided to keep quiet. No need to make things more awkward.

---

Kennedy shook his head at her, mimicking the way she was doing it. “I’m serious. We’ll each have a giant meltdown once it hits us that this is real, but after that, we’ll deal. I’ve seen The Walking Dead. I know how this goes,” he said, offering her a small smile. He thought it over for a moment before shrugging. She was kind of cute when she looked at him like that, a little annoyed and pouty. “It’s not allowed. Even the bad ass characters have to go through the character development part of the movie to become bad ass.” It might have been a little fucked up of him to be relating this horror show to an actual horror movie, but it made him feel better. It was easier that way, to think about it like that.

“Hey, we can pick up a couple of frozen pizzas and try to cook them at some point. It might turn out so bad that we actually end up hating pizza.” He reached up and shoved his hand through his shorter hair, ruffling it up and making it stand up on end. Vainly, he wished that he’d gotten it cut last week. It would have been nice to be able to get a hair cut once more, or shave. He hated not shaving his beard. “Nah. You’ll be the best dressed person out there with a scarf like that.”

He grinned at her when he heard whatever kind of noise left her. He didn’t feel so bad for his reaction when he’d first seen her, although he knew that he probably looked more ridiculous with the scarf than he did. “Excuse you. This jacket goes with everything,” he argued, pretending to be offended. He picked at the scarf, arranging it a little so it wouldn’t be in the way. He stepped after her, taking care to avoid looking at the corpse. It was hard, though, and his gaze accidentally fell down to it. “Rest in peace, man,” he mumbled, sighing softly.

He ambled down the aisle after Abby, watching her as she shoved a hat onto her head. It was kind of messed up, really. Here was a girl that in another lifetime, he probably would have asked her out. And then promptly fucked her over, because that’s what he did. But instead, there he was, vowing to make sure that she lived. It was weird. He paused behind her, looking at the array of hats. “You pick one out for me too?” He asked, grinning at her.

Brendan ran a hand over his chin and let out a sigh as he tried to block out the ambient noise of the hoard shuffling around outside and focus on if there were any noises stemming from the house itself. He couldn’t hear anything. And he thought they’d made enough noise to attract attention to them should there be another one of those things in the house with them. “We’ll just make sure to block the door where ever we sleep. And make sure we’ve got an exit plan, just in case,” he murmured, shooting a glance out the window for a moment. They were on the second floor, escape routes were scarce, but he was sure he could find one. “It’s just a matter of being smart about finding one. I don’t think it’d be worth it to throw ourselves in front of a bunch of them to get one,” he murmured, motioning a hand out the window.

“We can only hope,” he offered, shooting her a glance at the mention of deterring zombies because of their lack of manners. He watched her closely; as her eyes darted out the window to the zombies out on the street and the grin on her features fell slightly. Then, as her eyes slipped back to him and her grin stabilized itself once more. It brought a certain warm feeling to him and he found himself wanting to continue to try and make her smile, to try for the two of them to keep a sense of humor in the midst of the death that lurked just outside. “Your grandmother takes the cake. Trying to explain away the ‘c’ word to a seven year old? That’s an open invitation for said seven year old to use the word,” he said, letting out a snort of laugher as he shook his head.

The man couldn’t help but to roll his eyes a bit at her next comment and shook his head. “Well…whatever those zombies were on, I managed to survive and that’s all that matters, right?” He offered with a small shrug. A sigh left him as their conversation went back to the subject of if they were going to sleep in the same bed or not and he rubbed a hand over his face, suddenly feeling exhausted. “Look…we’ll just share a bed,” he finally got out, dropping his hand to the side and shooting her a glance. “Just…if you’re going to get handsy, butter me up with a few words about how pretty my eyes are or how how firm my ass is, alright?” He added in jest, lips curling up at the corner.

“I think that…thing was in one of the only bedrooms I’ve seen…” He murmured as the grin slipped from his features slowly. “Did you want me to go and see if I couldn’t move him somewhere else before you left this room?” He asked. He knew that having her see him pulling around a corpse by the ankles wouldn’t do her any good. He though he had a strong enough stomach for it.

---

Abby shot Kennedy an exasperated look before letting her head tip back and her eyes to slip shut. “Let’s hope when that moment comes, we’re somewhere safe and not stuck in tents out in the middle of the woods like they were. Hell if I’m sleeping in some flimsy piece of fabric with those things roaming around,” she murmured, righting herself once more and shooting a glance over to Kennedy. At his next comment, she just let out a disgruntled little noise and rolled her eyes. “I’m just afraid of what the ‘character development’ portion of my story’s going to entail,” she told him quietly, lips twisting to the side for a moment.

“Frozen pizza is way inferior to freshly made stuff. Every pizza lover knows that,” she told him as if it was plain as day. She shot him a look before adding, “And without the use of an oven, frozen pizza is bound to only get worse.” Abby pulled her lips between her teeth, wondering if they should grab something that wasn’t as preserved to eat whenever they got the chance to. Then she remembered how weighty her bag was and thought against it. She didn’t really have room in it for much of anything else.

Her gaze slipped over to Kennedy as he spoke behind her, pulling the tag off of the beanie in her hands and turning to face him. “One plain beanie that’s in a color bound to clash with both your scarf and jacket, coming on up,” she murmured with a smirk before setting her axe aside. She stood on tip-toe and carefully tugged the hat onto his head. Once it was seated properly, she found that the look fit him, minus the God-awful scarf they were both wore. Grabbing her axe once more, she shot another cursory glance around the store than out to the front.

It was slowly getting darker outside and the thought of traveling around out there in the dark put her on edge. She couldn’t even stand to look at zombies in broad daylight, what made her think the dark would be any better? Steeling herself, she drew in a deep breath of air through her nose and turned to Kennedy, knowing her apprehension for the situation probably showed clear on her features. “You ready to go? My bag’s full, so I can’t hold anything else,” she murmured, eyes slipping between both of his as their conversation took a turn for the serious reality that would face them once they stepped out the door of the corner grocery store.

“So we block the door, and then jump out the window if something happens?” Sarah questioned, raising her brows at the thought. There really wasn’t an exit plan for them if a zombie or two somehow managed to get in. She thought it over, and was coming up blank. “I mean, I guess jumping out of a second floor window wouldn’t be too bad. We’d just have to be quiet about it, so the others wouldn’t come running.” She winced at the thought of having to jump out of the window. Her head turned so she could look out the window, leaning forward just a bit to see directly below them. The ground seemed pretty far off from there. “We’ll find one. There’s cars up and down the street. When not as many are around, it’ll be easy to get one.” She knew that she was being painfully optimistic, but it was better than nothing.

“Maybe we found the answer to the zombie apocalypse - shit manners.” If only it was that easy, but with their luck, it wasn’t. Then again, she had to have some amount of luck for him to have just wandered in and found her. Out of all the people that could have come across her, at least he wasn’t someone trying to take advantage of her and the situation. And he had a sense of humor, which was a real plus. “I don’t know if I ever used it when I was kid. I’ve never really liked the word. It always made me feel weird.” She paused, a sly expression easing onto her face. “Except this girl I used to work with. She was a real ‘c’ word.”

She gave a nod of her head. “So our new game plan is for me to not freeze up in the face of death and for you to run faster, then?” Sarah asked him, hoping that in including her own faults with his that it would make it slightly better. Probably not by much, but it’d be something. Her eyes widened and she grinned at him, letting out a huff of surprised laughter. In an exaggerated move, she leaned over and tilted her head a little, as though she was trying to get a good look at his behind. Once she straightened up, she shrugged. “I mean, you do have a decent ass,” she teased.

The brief happy feeling she’d gotten from teasing him left when he mentioned the zombie. “Oh. Yeah.” Her mind’s eye worked against her, flashing an unbidden image of Brendan’s meat tenderizer going through it’s brain. She frowned. “I don’t… Would it be selfish of me to say yes?” She paused, unhappy with her answer. “I can help, if you want. It’d be faster if we did it together.”

---

Kennedy just grinned at her. “We’ll either be in a car, safe in the woods and far away from them, or, if our luck holds out, we might even find an empty farm house.” There had to be one that hadn’t been ransacked yet. The movies always had that miracle farm house at the end, where the survivors found it somehow magically stocked with food and water and weapons and all the other supplies that would keep them alive. “Whatever it does entail, we’ll figure it out together. Because like you said, we might be the last people the other sees, and I don’t plan on being an asshole and making you figure this all out yourself,” he said, feeling as though he might have been rambling a bit. He decided that that’d be the closest he’d get to telling her about his plan. It was kind of weird, to make that serious of a vow to yourself about a woman you’d met not even two hours before.

“Okay, well, yeah, but we can’t really carry a freshly made pizza around with us.” For a moment, Kennedy wondered if this was the dumbest conversation on the planet happening at that very second. They were in the middle of a zombie apocalypse, and talking about pizza. “Well, if we’re not taking frozen pizza, I’m going to go grab chocolate. Oh, I grabbed Oreos too. Just in case,” he said, giving her a wide smile.

He rolled his eyes and let out a scoff. “That’s going to be impossible since this jacket goes along with everything,” he said, smirking at her. He leaned his head down so she wouldn’t have to reach quite so far, smiling faintly. She looked cuter the closer she was. “See? Might clash with the scarf, but it goes perfect with the jacket.” That might have been a lie, but he really wasn’t sure. He’d never entirely gotten the hang of what went well with what, instead preferring to just try and make it all work out. His last girlfriend had always gotten so annoyed when he’d mixed patterns, whatever the hell that meant.

“I think so,” he said after a moment. Kennedy wasn’t looking forward to leaving the safety of the store, but the corpse in the pharmacy was a reminder that even there wasn’t too safe. He gave a nod of his head before striding towards the front of the store. He took a left down an aisle, pausing in front of the candy. He’d been serious about the chocolate. He grabbed a couple of various candy bars, unsure of what Abby liked before stuffing them into the side pocket of his bag blindly. One bar fell out, and he bent down to grab it when the door chimed. He froze, head jerking towards Abby when he heard voices. “Get down,” he mouthed, holding his hand out to motion her to stay still.

Brendan contemplated the exit plan that Sarah brought up and he glanced outside. “Yes, or we make some sort of rope out of the sheets to make sure we don’t break bones or sprain anything on the way down,” he murmured, glancing over to her for a moment before running a hand through his hair. He hoped it wouldn’t come to them having to risk leaving the house through a window, especially in the middle of the night when it would be dark. Brendan didn’t know what he would do when the power went out, as it inevitably would. He made a note to himself that they’d scour the house for flashlights, batteries, candles, and matches before they left, knowing that they would be hopeless in the dark. “We should prepare for walking the whole way, just in case,” he said softly, not wanting to bring the both of them down but knowing that preparing for the worst was the only way they’d survive.

His lips tilted upwards at the corners at her next comment, glancing down to the ground beneath his feet for a moment as he shook his head. “Never have I been more proud of being a douchebag,” he jested, glancing back up at her and shooting her a wink. He found her sense of humor refreshing, especially after being chased for what seemed like miles by a group of zombies. A laugh left him as she spoke of the ‘c’ word and an old coworker. “My favorite curse word is definitely ‘fuck’. It has multiple meanings, uses, and it just feels good to say no matter if it’s under your breath or screaming it at someone,” he said before chuckling to himself again. “The world’s gone to shit and here we are discussing curse words,” he murmured with another shake of his head.

“Pretty much,” he replied quickly after she posed the question, a particular sort of glimmer in his eyes as he watched her. In that moment, he kind of wished he’d had the opportunity to meet her before the world going to hell and trying desperately to drag every living thing down with it. He may have liked having a conversation with her over coffee or taking her out on a couple of dates. He decided that it may not be worth it to start thinking of what could have been. Especially if they both ended up dying tomorrow. He lifted a brow as she examined him, merely standing there with his arms crossed over his chest. “Why, thank you,” he said with a smirk. “From what I’ve seen of yours, it’s not half-bad either.”

Brendan felt a little bad as her expression dropped, but knew that he’d take care of the zombie in the bedroom without bitching. “No, it wouldn’t be selfish at all,” he told her honestly. “You just stay here and you’ll know where I am if you need me. If you hear anything strange at all, I want you to come and get me,” he said, eyes darting between both of hers before he turned and started back down the hallway to the bedroom. He stopped in front of the door, propping the meat tenderizer he’d grabbed as a weapon just outside of the frame and pulled the door open.

He barely winced at the sight of the zombie he’d…killed? Was it possible to kill something that was already dead? Anyways, he figured the fact he didn’t feel like vomiting when he looked at it meant he was slowly acclimating to the fact this was survival now. He noted the blood on the floor and frowned a bit, figuring he’d have to cover that up for Sarah, just in case she had a problem with it. As quickly as he could, he tugged the corpse behind him into the study just next door of the bedroom and shut the door behind him. Then, he went back to the bedroom and found a few shirts to lay over the slight trail of blood from room to room, making sure none of it was visible before grabbing his weapon and starting back to the room he knew Sarah was in. He leaned against he doorframe when he got there and spoke, in a soft voice, “It’s all cleaned up. Just…don’t pick up any t-shirts on the floor, okay?”

---

“Try me, Kennedy,” Abby challenged when he mentioned not being able to carry around a freshly made pizza. “If there’s pizza to be had somewhere along our journey, I’ll be damned if I don’t find a way to take it with us,” she said with a smirk, shooting him a proud stare. What could she say? The girl was a little crazy over pizza, especially now when she knew she may never get it again. Her brows lifted a bit as Kennedy mentioned chocolate and Oreos. “A man after a woman’s heart; chocolate and Oreos,” she said, liking the way his smile lit up his features.

A soft ‘tsk’ left her as he mentioned his jacket went with everything. “Keep thinking that,” she murmured under her breath as she looked him over. She took a step back and tapped her chin thoughtfully, as if taking in a painting at an art museum. “Sans scarf, it’s not a bad look for you, if I do say so myself,” she said before a crooked grin twisted at her features. “Very…post-apocalyptic chic,” she added with a dry laugh and a shake of her head as she reseated her beanie atop her head. Her curls would not be thankful for being trapped under a cap, but she’d rather be warm than worry about horrid hat hair.

Abby’s gaze followed Kennedy for a moment as he walked away, tilting her head to the side slightly as she watched him. Seriously, what kind of coincidence had it been that he’d found her right as she needed him? There was even more of a coincidence in the fact that he seemed to know what to say to calm her down. That was not a talent most people possessed. Maybe the last of her luck had run out with him or maybe it was the beginning of a string of good luck. She could only hope for the latter. She was plucking through a few odds and ends before turning to make her way toward the front of the store when she heard the chime of the front door and voices.

She dropped to the ground and pressed her back up against the shelving even before Kennedy had motioned for her to do so. The young woman shot him a worried look from the corner of her eyes, wincing a bit when she heard footsteps leading up to the shelf just behind her. Her mind was screaming at her to get back to Kennedy, but her body was frozen in place. Clasping a hand over her mouth when she heard quiet voices talking about how the place looked barely touched, she could only hope the individuals that were now in the store were just like her and Kennedy. One of them tossed something back onto the shelf, causing her to jump suddenly and eyes to widen. Her grip tightened on her axe, body tensed and anxious.

Sarah nodded. “That idea’s way better than just jumping.” She should have thought of that. Immediately going to the more dangerous idea was probably something she should not do. She took another glance out the window. It was a long way down. If they did have to make a quick getaway, would they be able to climb down fast enough without making any noise? She prayed that they wouldn’t have to find out. “Where exactly are we going to be heading?” She asked. Saying that they’d be headed to the woods or merely away wasn’t going to be good enough. They needed a plan, something that they’d be able to focus on instead of just a general idea.

She chuckled at his words and rolled her eyes when he winked at her. It would have been nice to have met him before all of this. Then again, if he’d acted like a douchebag then, she wouldn’t have given him the time of day. “Fuck is good. It’s one of my favorites. Fuck is really good,” she grinned. She shrugged her shoulders. “Hey, there’s another bright side to all of this. No more having to talk about politics. Or having to avoid talking about politics.” She supposed that there’d be a couple of people who would disagree with her, but she had a feeling that most of the living population would agree that those in politics had fucked them over big time with all of this.

“Well thanks,” she said, grinning wide at him. She held her tongue, knowing that continuing on with that conversation probably wouldn’t do either of them good. For a moment, she’d contemplated saying something along the lines of ‘you should see it without pants on’, but decided that she was half delirious from the sleep and it would have been terrible. To be fair, though, it was ridiculous when she thought about it. There were zombies outside, and the two of them were complimenting each other’s butts.

“Thank you.” Sincerity rang through Sarah’s words. She wasn’t sure if she would have been able to move the zombie. Her pulse started to pick up a little when he left, and she berated herself. She was fine. Everything wasn’t going to suddenly go crashing down solely because he left the room. No zombie would shove its way into there magically, clawing and chomping at her. Her grip tightened on the bat as she stepped towards the window once more. It was almost masochistic of her, but she couldn’t stop herself.

There were families down there. Well, things that had once been families. She could spot that little girl down there, shuffling alongside the others. They were men and women, teens and adults, even a couple of elderly people. All of them having lost their lives in an instant because they were bit. She wondered how long it took to become like them, if there was a cure. She jumped when she heard footsteps out of the room, but was grateful that she hadn’t jumped when he’d come in. He didn’t need to see her that scared. “Okay,” she said as she turned, offering him a wobbly smile. She stepped through the doorway, brushing against his shoulder as she passed him. She kept her gaze straight, sidestepping the t-shirts before she got into the bedroom. She padded over to the bed, fingers running against the blanket slowly. This had been someone’s bed once. The thought made her sick.

---

Kennedy’s heart was pounding in his ears. If they had guns… He was a goner. They both were. He ran through his options. They could try to sneak out of the grocery store, but the second they hit that door, the chime would start and it might startle them. He hadn’t seen another way out, although there was probably one in the back. But then, they’d have to crawl the whole way to the back, past the body and the people, all without being seen or heard. Their second option was to make themselves known and pray to God that no one shot them. The pistol that he had in his pocket was a welcome weight, but it didn’t do much to quell his nerves. He kept his gaze on her, hoping that she wouldn’t do or say anything.

They were an aisle over. One more aisle and they’d find them there, probably suspicious. He held out his hand, palm facing her in an effort to get her to understand - stay where you are. “Uh, hey. Don’t shoot, please,” he called out, voice just loud enough for them to hear. All movement stopped. Slow, Kennedy stood up, bringing his hand from his jacket pocket and holding both out in front of him. There were three men, and a woman. He looked them over quickly. Two of the men looked to be in their early to mid twenties, while the third looked maybe forty.

“What are you doing in here?” The oldest man questioned. Kennedy wondered if they were a family. He glanced around the grocery store, suddenly unsure. Should he admit that they’d gotten some supplies, or pretend that they’d just gotten there? “You gonna answer me?” The man prodded. Kennedy shot him a nervous grin.

“Uh, we stopped in to hide. We saw the uh, bodies out there, and… Got nervous. My friend - she’s in the same aisle as me - is a little jumpy.” He chuckled softly, shrugging his shoulders as he started to put on the charm. Not enough to make them suspicious, but enough to gain at least a little bit of their trust. “We were hoping to get some supplies, but I’m thinking we’re just going to head out. It’s getting dark out there,” he said, giving them a smile. The one man - early twenties, blonde hair - stepped out of their aisle and stood at the entrance of the one Kennedy and Abby were in, his gaze settling on Abby.

“You know, you two could stay in here, with us for the night. It’s pretty dangerous out there,” Blondie said. Kennedy forced himself to keep the kind smile on his face even though he really didn’t like the look on Blondie’s face.

“Yeah, well, we’ve got our own people to catch up to. Thanks, though. Really appreciate it.” He was still holding his hands up, feeling like if they dropped for even a second, something bad might happen. “You ready, Abby?” He asked, gaze flickering over to her. He prayed that she’d make it to him, and that no one would try anything. The more he thought about it, though, the less sure he was of that happening.

Brendan watched Sarah for a few moments, noting the way her smile faltered a little bit when she turned to him. He guessed she’d probably had been looking out the window at the zombies below while he’d taken care of the one that he’d killed in the bedroom. He paused for a moment as she brushed by his shoulder to pass by him, eyes following after her for a few moments before he spared one last glance out the window for a few moments. A heavy sigh left him as he closed the door to the room and followed in Sarah’s footsteps back to the bedroom. Yes, their situation seemed to be a dire one, but he decided he’d rather just push all of that from his mind and focus on the fact that they had a bed to sleep in. It could potentially be the last bit of comfort they receive for quite some time.

When he entered the room, he closed the door behind him, shooting a nervous sort of glance over to Sarah for a moment. Something about the act of closing the two of them in a room seemed a little intimate to him. They were adults. They could handle this situation maturely like adults. He paused for a moment, taking note of a tall dresser off the the side of the room. That would do for blocking the door in case zombies happened to be able to get inside the building. Brendan placed his meat-tenderizer off to the side before stepping over to the dresser. Easily enough, he slid it from it’s place to rest just in front of the door. It was weighty enough that it could be moved easily, but would provide them enough time to escape if they needed to.

His eyes shifted over to Sarah for a moment, wanting to know what was going on in her mind. Maybe it was the fact a zombie had been contained in this room not minutes earlier or that he’d had to defend himself from that zombie and maybe she was still reliving that moment. It had been a close call for her and it wasn’t exactly easy to watch a meat tenderizer cracking into something’s skull, zombie or human. Drawing in a deep breath of air, he walked over to the window and looked it over, making sure that he committed the way it opened up to memory in case they needed to leave in a hurry. It seemed like just a generic window, so he turned, grabbing his meat tenderizer from the spot he’d left it, and walked over to the other side of the bed that Sarah was standing at.

“Are you going to be okay?” He questioned softly, propping his meat tenderizer up against the bedside table. He toed out of his shoes, leaving them close enough that he felt confident he could quickly slip them on if need be. This wasn’t easy for him in the least, but he was dealing with it. He had no other choice. But he found some part of him wanting to make sure that Sarah was at least attempting to adjust to the world they were now living in. If she didn’t come to terms with it all quickly, he didn’t know how they were going to survive. He paused for a moment on the other side of the bed, watching her closely. “If it’d make you feel better, we can take turns staying up and keeping watch,” he told her, eyes slipping between both of hers.

---

Abby knew now that she was just a little bit more scared of humans than of zombies. Humans could think for themselves and were severely unpredictable. It was apparent to her by now that zombies just wanted to try and rip others apart. Zombies couldn’t shoot guns, couldn’t wield knives, and couldn’t see her as something to be taken advantage of. She couldn’t see exactly how many people were in the store with them, so she tried her hardest to listen in to the sound of their footsteps to see if she couldn’t tell. However, her pulse was drumming so hard in her ears that it made it nearly impossible for her to tell. Her eyes slipped back over to Kennedy, clamping her hand even harder over her mouth as the footsteps drew nearer still.

Her brow furrowed slightly at the gesture Kennedy made, screaming on the inside, but managing to keep herself from freaking out on the outside. Abby flinched a bit when he spoke, squeezing her eyes shut as she prepared for the hail of bullets that would inevitably be shot in their direction. Her eyes followed him as he stood, watching him nervously as she dropped her hand slowly from her mouth. A fine tremble work its way up her spine, jumping a bit when she heard a voice from somewhere behind her.

Well, they hadn’t been shot yet, so that was a good sign, right? Kennedy hadn’t been rushed on sight. She kept her gaze on Kennedy, waiting for him to reply with bated breath. When the man asked him again, she jumped yet again, squeezing her eyes shut for a moment as she prepared for another blast of bullets to be fired at them. She ducked down into her jacket a bit, breathing a sight of relief when Kennedy finally answered the man. Her head snapped to the side when she heard a man around the corner of the shelves, watching him closely as he looked her over slowly. Something about it unsettled her and she just wanted to run.

At the sound of Kennedy’s voice, she glanced back over to him, both hands gripping her axe tightly as she slowly stood. “Y-Yeah,” she replied in a diminutive voice, tears starting to gather in the corners of her eyes. She shot a look over to the blonde before starting to step over to Kennedy. Before she knew it, a hand was clasping around her wrist as she was being yanked back.

“What’s in your bag?” The blonde ask, turning Abby to face him roughly. Her eyes darted to the gun he had in a holster on his belt and her eyes widened a bit. Her heart leapt into her throat and she felt like she may have been moments away from passing out.

“We just took what we needed. There’s still enough left for you,” she explained quickly, voice trembling as she stared up at him. She was shaking all over, tears slipping down her cheeks as she debated on ripping her wrist from his hand and bolting off, but decided that may not have been the smartest idea. “Please just let us go. It’ll be easier for both of us,” she pleaded, eyes darting around to the other three to see if she could read them.

“Aw, look at her. She’s trembling like a leaf,” the blonde said softly, eyes darting over her. Abby tried to rend her arm from his grasp, but he tightened his and pulled her toward him again, closing the space between the two of them even more.

“Please,” she sobbed, lips trembling as she spared a worried glance over her shoulder to Kennedy.

Sarah’s stomach flipped when she heard the door shut. It wasn’t that she was afraid of him hurting her, or anything like that. It was more of the fact that she’d gone through the motions before, and every time she’d ever shared a bed with a man, well, they didn’t just sleep. She glanced over her shoulder, watching him as he pushed the dresser in front of the door. Suddenly, it was like they were sealed in. A flurry of emotions ran through her, mainly relief that a zombie couldn’t just claw and push its way in. However, a prickle of fear was trying to surge through the relief. What if they were stuck in there and something happened? They could die in there, for all she knew.

They could die in there just like the man had. Or zombie had. She wasn’t sure what she was supposed to refer to them by. He’d been a man once, before he’d been turned. But it was like the second they became a zombie, him or her didn’t matter. She supposed that it didn’t matter in the end. In the end, she’d watched Brendan take something that was supposed to be a mere kitchen tool, and crack a skull with it. She was positive that if she closed her eyes, she’d be able to see it clear as day, happening over and over again. She could probably even recall the sound of it cracking, if she wanted to.

“What?” She murmured, blinking up at him. It took her a second to realize what he’d asked her. “Oh, yeah. I’m fine,” she said, swallowing. She used her toes to kick off her shoes, tugging the heel of it down before doing the same to the other one. She let her baseball bat rest against the wall, watching it for a moment to make sure that it wouldn’t fall over and scare the shit out of them. She looked to Brendan, giving him a shrug of her shoulders. “I think we’ll be alright, both of us sleeping.” That was a lie. She knew that she wouldn’t be sleeping much, if not at all that night. She was too keyed up, too terrified of them dying and the nightmares that were sure to haunt her.

Sarah pulled the blanket out from under the pillow on her side, hesitating just a moment before climbing in, tugging the blanket over her body. Her heart was pounding, half because of the horde from hell that could be heard shuffling faintly outside, and half from the fact that she’d be sleeping with a strange man. Sure, she’d had one night stands before with people she’d just met, but none of them had slammed a meat tenderizer into another - no. She needed to make herself relax. She couldn’t keep replaying it over and over in her mind. Nothing good would come of that.

“How about you? Are you going to be okay?”

---

Everything stopped for Kennedy the second she was grabbed. His heart stopped. His breathing stopped. Every muscle in his body just stopped. He wasn’t sure what he was feeling in that moment - a mixture of blind rage and fear that had him in some weird sort of calm. He blinked at the two of them before his gaze flickered over to the others. The woman was staring at the blonde and looked a little scared, which meant that she probably didn’t have a gun. The older man was watching the scene carefully, and the other one had his hand on his belt. Which meant a gun, most likely.

“Yeah, you’re going to let her go now,” Kennedy said, surprised at how calm his voice sounded. Blondie turned to look at him, eyebrows raised in question. To answer him, Kennedy pulled the pistol out of his pocket. His hand only shook a little. “We both know that the second I shoot this gun, it’s going to attract every single member of the walking dead that’s within a half mile.” He didn’t want to kill anyone. A zombie, he was prepared to take on. But a human? That was murder, right? Even if it was in self defense, or defense of another, that was still murder? He thought back to his mother, reciting the Ten Commandments. Thou shalt not kill.

“You’re right, which is why you’re not dumb enough to shoot it. Because you’d all be dead anyways,” the older man said. Kennedy glanced over to him, mind racing. He didn’t like where this was headed. If he shot the blonde one, there was a chance he’d shoot Abby as well, and that was the last thing he wanted. So he scrambled.

“Look, you’re right, okay? I just - please let us go.” He let his voice crack, letting his real desperation show through. “We’re already dead. She - she got bit. Back in the pharmacy. She’s my sister, I just - “ He cut himself off, eyes looking wild as he stared at the blonde one. Blondie looked down to Abby, as though trying to determine the truth. “I’m not fucking lying. Look back there. The pharmacist is dead. The thing’s probably still back there.” The older man nodded his head, and the guy not keeping Abby hostage stepped towards the pharmacy, puling out his gun. So Kennedy was right.

“Jesus,” he heard once the man had made it back to the pharmacy, then the sound of retching. “There’s a - a body.” The older man looked back to Kennedy, eyes wide.

“I’m begging you, let me take her. She’s all I’ve got left. I don’t - I don’t know how much time she has. Please.” He let himself tremble, hands shaking more even though he kept it trained on the blonde one. “We’ll leave right away. Just let her go.” Kennedy stared at Abby, eyes on hers as he prayed she wouldn’t move. Blondie regarded her carefully before his grip tightened on her, and he started to reach for his side. Kennedy realized that there might be a gun, and reacted. He took a step to the side, aimed his gun at the blonde man’s head, and pulled the trigger.

Brendan knew the moment that she first replied back she had been lost in her own thoughts. If he was a betting man, he could have all to easily bet one what she had been thinking of. It was running through the back of his mind too. Not moments before, there had been a zombie in this very room, probably near or on this bed, and now they were to try and get some rest. The noises from outside could still be heard, albeit a little quieter since they were near the back of the house. He wouldn't be surprised if a few shuffled a bit closer to their refuge for the night. He wondered if the house was allowed a fence and if the backyard provided some degree of separation from those things.

His eyes followed her movements, trying to decide for himself if she were moments away from some sort of breakdown. Though he’d probably be shit at handling it, he wouldn’t blame her for it. It was quiet now and soon they’d close their eyes and try to get what sleep they could. It was the perfect opportunity to reflect on just how fucked up their lives had gotten in the span of a few days and what more lay in store for them in however long the coming days would be. He pulled his lips between his teeth as a heavy sight left him, eyes slipping over her for a moment. At her next comment, her forced himself to nod a few times. “Sure,” he replied in a quiet voice, managing a small smile for her that fell from his features quickly.

Taking the lead from her, he pulled the covers up on his side, inspecting the sheets for a few moments for any signs of blood or trauma on the mattress that would lead him to believe the zombie had laid in bed. A snort of laughter left him as he remembered the bed was made; it had conjured up the image of a zombie tidying up the room before they got there. Shaking his head a bit, he slipped beneath the covers and lay back on the bed, head finding the pillow. As he settled into the bed, his eyes slipped over to Sarah as she spoke to him and another sigh left him. “Yeah, I’ll be okay,” he assured her. He was feeling like he’d adjusted well at this point, but that wasn’t to say he wouldn't have his moment in the future.

Dragging his tongue over his lips, he let his gaze wander to the ceiling in the near dark of the room, the only light filtering in was a streetlight through a crack in the curtains. This was proving a lot different than the last time he’d been in bed with a woman. They were both fully clothed for one and they weren’t all over each other. Brendan frowned as he tried to remember her name, eyes slipping shut as he ran a hand over her face. That had been weeks ago now and the woman and he fell into an equal silence after that third date night and hadn't contacted each other for a fourth. He pulled his eyes back open and shot a sidelong look over to Sarah once more. Suddenly, he didn't feel that tired anymore. He didn’t know if that was because that’s what typically happened to him when he tried to get some sleep, if it was because they could potentially be killed if he didn’t wake up fast enough, or if it was because of the woman beside him.

He turned on his side to face her, heart rate jumping at how close they’d seemed to be to each other without touching. Clearing his throat, he offered her a small smile. “I’ve gotta say, this is probably the only time I’ve been in bed with another woman and not been trying to take her clothes off,” he murmured softly, trying to break up a bit of the tension in the room.

---

Abby felt her heart leap up to her throat and her chest tighten considerably when Kennedy pulled out his pistol and aimed it at the blonde beside her. What was he doing? Shouldn’t he be running? Shouldn’t he be taking the chance to get as far as he could away from this situation? Wasn’t it every man for himself now? Her eyes darted wildly from the old man, to the woman, to the other man in the room, then to the blonde than held her arm tightly. She swayed slightly on her feet and felt the blonde tighten his grip on her arm in result, his fingers would leave bruises…if she lived long enough for them to form.

For the next few moments, it was like she had stepped outside of her body and was watching this all unfurl like some zombie movie better left forgotten. The voice around her were just deep mumbles of words and all she heard was the sharp intake and exhale of air into and out of her lungs as she merely tried to focus on keeping conscious. Swallowing hard, she spared a glance back at Kennedy, noting that he was still aiming the gun at the blonde who held her tight. Was he fighting for her? Risking his life to make sure she was safe? What had she done for him to deserve that?

Her gaze flittered it’s way back to the blonde, swaying again and he yanked her back into him roughly and shot her a warning glare. Though, there was a sense of fear and apprehension in his eyes. What had Kennedy said to them? Before this man had nothing but evil intentions behind his gaze, but now—now he looked almost worried. Abby just numbly shook her head in response, a soft sob leaving her lips as she took in shuddering breaths of air. Was this going to be how she died?

Abby’s next few moments went by achingly slowly. One moment, she had been watching the blonde reach for the gun at his side and the next she was squeezing her eyes shut tightly. This was it. She heard a loud bang, something zip by the side of her head, and something warm splashing down the side of her face. It took her a few moments to realize that she wasn’t dead and that the blonde man had relinquished his grip on her arm. Slowly pulling her eyes open, she was met with the sight of the blonde with a bullet wound oozing blood from his temple before he slumped down to the floor.

There were a few still moments that followed, as if no one knew what to do. Abby’s mouth had fallen open and short, clipped noises were leaving her as she swayed dangerously once more. She didn’t have time to catch herself as another blast was resounded from another part of the store. Numbly, she could feel something bite into her right arm with enough force that it pulled it from her axe. She then knew that she had to run, they both did. Turning and ducking, moving on pure instinct, she moved as fast as she could while providing whoever was shooting the smallest target she could.

“Run,” she shouted to Kennedy as she paused for a moment to wrap her free hand loosely around his wrist. Her grip was frighteningly slack and slick with some thick, warm substance that coated her fingertips. Had she been shot? Was that was that was? With what little arm strength she had left, she pulled Kennedy behind her as bullets exploded against the shelves around them and she bolted as fast as she could for the front door with Kennedy in tow.

Sarah couldn’t help but let herself relax into the bed. If her brain wasn’t going to get any rest, at least her body could. It was odd how normal it felt, just lying there. It reminded of the feeling she’d get in her back when she’d first lay down after having stood around all day, the way her muscles relaxed and it felt like pure relief. She stole a glance towards Brendan as he pulled up the covers. He was examining the sheets. That was smart of him. She’d just laid down instantly. Quirking a brow at his snort in question, she shook her head and returned her gaze back to the ceiling. He’d be okay. That was good. She wondered if she’d always feel this way, in that weird state in between sheer panic and calm. Maybe she was still in shock.

She’d been so caught up in her thoughts that when he spoke, it almost started her. She let out a soft laugh, mimicking him and rolling onto her side. The bed was smaller than she’d realized. Sure, they weren’t touching, but they were still pretty close. “It had to happen eventually. You can’t just go around trying to get women naked,” she said, giving him a faint grin. She shifted around a little, trying to get comfortable while also taking care not to touch him. Things were weird enough as is. “I think it’s the same for me, though. I can’t remember the last time I was in a bed with someone and we weren’t getting each other naked.”

The thought made her a little sad. The last guy that she’d had sex with was a friend of hers. They’d been friends for ages, and had only just decided to try dating. While the date hadn’t been the greatest, they’d somehow ended up a little too tipsy and his apartment was close by. They’d had plans for dinner later in the week when everything had gone to shit. She’d texted him when the phones were still working, trying to find out if he was alive or not. He’d never answered her, and no one in their group chat had managed to get ahold of him. She sighed softly, her eyes slipping shut for a moment before opening them.

“I don’t know if I’m going to able to sleep. I feel too… Keyed up.” Sarah wasn’t sure how to describe it. It felt like she was jumpy and nervous, her heart rate settling down only to spike once more. It didn’t help that the longer she looked at Brendan, the more she was realizing that he was actually kind of attractive. That was just her luck. Ending up fully clothed in bed with a decent looking guy during the zombie apocalypse. “You can sleep if you want. I promise I won’t get handsy with you - even if you do have a pretty nice ass,” she teased, recalling their earlier conversation. In another life, she wouldn’t have minded going out on a date with him.

---

He’d shot her instead. That’s what was going through Kennedy’s mind the second he pulled the trigger. He’d fucked up and managed to kill the woman that he’d vowed to keep alive not even thirty minutes before. His mind was refusing to catch up to the truth. How was she standing there if she was dead? But then his gaze moved to the figure behind her, and he saw the bullet lodged in Blondie’s forehead. It looked like something just out of a movie. The bullet was still visible and blood was dripping down his light skin. He’d done that. Kennedy. Kennedy John Dawkins had killed a man and saved the girl. None of it was processing.

The next few moments seemed to last like miniature eternities, each one bringing on a new wave of horror for the man. He was a murderer. He’d killed someone. Not a zombie, but a man. A living, breathing, still thinking and making (evil) decisions. But it made sense, didn’t it, to kill him? He was going to have hurt Abby, or worse. There wasn’t another way out. Had there been another way out? If Kennedy had been smarter, could he have gotten them away and no one had died?

His thoughts were cut short when a blast sounded. It was like everything had been in slow motion, and then it was all speeding up. Abby was at his side almost instantaneously, her fingers wrapping around his wrist. But something wasn’t right. Her grip wasn’t that tight and there was water dripping from her hand onto his. He let himself be pulled along, legs starting to run almost automatically as he stole a glance at her arm. It was red and oozing.

She’d been shot.

Whatever state of shock he’d been in was snapped away when he came to that realization. He ran faster, moving ahead of her so he could get the door open fast. He used his shoulder and rammed into the door, the chime sounding but he paid it no heed. “Come on,” he yelled, the window pane shattering beside him. Faintly, he could hear the woman screaming her head off and the older man yelling obscenities at them. They needed to get out of there, and fast.

“This way,” he said, letting his voice drop just a little so they wouldn’t be calling all the zombies within the tristate area. They needed a place to stop, to take care of her wound. But they also needed to make it to the highway before nightfall. The light was starting go, but they still had awhile, he figured. He took a sharp left down an alley that was thankfully empty. There was a dumpster towards the end of it, and he ran around to the other side of it, ducking behind it. “We need - your - I need to take care of your arm,” he managed to stutter out in between deep breaths. “You - fuck. Let me see your arm.”

The quiet of the room unnerved Brendan a little; it was like he could hear his own mind producing thoughts and have them wreck their havoc on his nerves. Though, he tried to let himself relax, there was still tension up in his shoulders, up the back of his neck. It was like his body was expecting him to have to jump out of bed and jolt himself into action at any time. He let his eyes slip shut for a moment, trying to will his muscles to relax but finding it impossible. A brief thought passed his mind to look through the house for some liquor or beer, as that always seemed to ease him into sleep, but he was frankly too tired to get up and out of the bed to be bothered. Not to mention, the bed was slowly warming up.

When she rolled over, he suddenly became aware that they were extremely close. What kind of grown man still sleeps on a twin bed? He wasn’t complaining, but it just didn’t logically make sense. Back at his apartment, he had a queen so at least when company was over they didn’t end up sleeping on top of each other. Maybe this guy didn’t have much company over for the night. Swallowing hard, he drew in a deep breath of air through his nose, eyes flickering over her features as she spoke. “Believe it or not, for a douchebag, I’m kind of…picky,” he murmured softly, brow furrowing a bit. “I’m not saying I don't take women home, but it’s not something I take lightly,” he added with a slight shrug of his shoulders.

Up close and in the dim light that filtered into the room, he could sense an almost tangible change in him. What if this was the last time he ever laid in a bed? What if Sarah was the last woman he’d see alive? Maybe it was this reasoning that he was thinking of doing things he normally wouldn’t do and take advantage of this situation that may prove to be the last of many things for the two of them. However, he wasn’t sure if Sarah was of the same mindset as he was. They were safe for now and that would provide them the time to do what he wanted to do—but he could easily drop the feeling if she didn’t feel the same way.

He shifted a bit on his side as her eyes slipped shut, just taking in how beautiful the woman before him was; those full lips, smooth skin, and the strength that lay in her gaze. When she pulled her eyes open to speak, he couldn’t help but to nod in agreement, spare he was too keyed up for a completely different reason. A quiet laugh left him at her next comment, a sly grin pulling at the corners of his lips as he shook his head a bit. “I mean, I’d rather you get handsy with me than…” He let his voice trail off, not wanting to talk about zombies anymore. This may have been the last chance they could even attempt at forgetting they existed.

Gathering his courage, he slowly reached out and placed his palm against her cheek, thumb brushing just beside the corner of her lips as his eyes slipped over her features. He picked his head up a bit from his pillow, putting his bottom lip between his teeth for a moment before he leaned forward and pressed his lips against hers gently. He let them just rest against hers, not wanting to push things too far in case she wasn’t okay with this. Brendan pulled away slightly, pulling his eyes open to look down at her features in such close proximity.

---

Abby winced as bullets ricocheted around them, embedding themselves into everything but their intended targets. Her arm was starting to throb, as if the shock was wearing off and she was suddenly aware of the fact that she’d been hurt in a rather serious way. Still, the pain lodged itself in the back of her mind, which she was thankful for. They were still very much in the path of danger, if not from the other people in the store, than from the zombies that were sure to be soon descending upon the corner grocery stop. When Kennedy shot past her, she realized that it seemed like he’d suddenly jolted to his senses and she was prepared to follow him where ever he thought would be safest.

A short, frightened noise escaped her as he pulled her out the front door of the building, the glass from the window beside them falling around her. She could barely feel one of the shards lick at the side of her cheek before it fell aside. It was, however, nothing compared to the pain that was starting to radiate from her fingertips to her shoulder. Her heart was lodged up in her throat and her brain didn’t seem to want to work right. She followed behind Kennedy numbly, fingertips just barely latched around his wrist.

As they barreled down the sidewalk, she kept her gaze around them instead of looking down at her arm like she so desperately wanted to do. The moment she looked down at it, she knew that it would suddenly become very real that she’d been shot and she didn’t want to have another breakdown in the open. Thankfully, there weren’t any zombies in sight, but she could vaguely hear the few left in the grocery store still making an awful lot of panicked noise and she knew that, if anything, the zombies would be more attracted to them than her or Kennedy. Unless they could somehow smell blood. If they could, she was fucked.

Abby nearly rolled an ankle when Kennedy took an unexpected turn into the alleyway that seemed safe enough for the moment. As they rounded the dumpster, she sucked in a deep breath of frigid air, followed by another ragged one. She slumped against the wall behind the dumpster, heaving in air as she let her gaze wander over Kennedy, trying to make sure that he wasn’t hurt. Gritting her teeth, she slowly lifted her arm as tears gathered in the corners of her eyes at just how much moving it hurt now that she had a moment to focus on it. Her eyes found the wound, nestled underneath a few layers of blood-stained fabric. A quiet noise left her as her gaze found Kennedy’s once more.

“He…he fucking was going for his gun,” she told him breathlessly, hoping to dispel any doubt that he did the right thing before the continued on. Her head fell back against the brick behind her, eyes finding the steadily darkening sky. Her eyes slipped shut, tears streaking her face even though she seemed pretty calm all things considered. “He would have shot either one of us…both of us, if you hadn’t stopped him.” She dragged her tongue across her lips, trying to calm her breathing a bit. She shook her head before pulling her eyes open again. “I can still feel it in there. Like someone’s got their thumb jammed in there against my bone,” she said quietly through clenched teeth.

Sarah gave a hum of understanding, realizing that what she’d said might have sounded bad. “Sorry,” she said, wincing a little. “I didn’t mean it to sound… Mean.” She was tired and scared and even a little bit hungry, but there was still no excuse for that. The thought flickered across her mind that she was hungry, and she instantly hoped that her stomach wouldn’t growl. She could handle a little bit of hunger throughout the night. In the morning, they could raid the kitchen and see what they could take with them. “Picky is good,” she said, her voice soft in the dark. For whatever reason, it made her feel a little better that he didn’t take it lightly.

She was having a hard time admitting to herself that she might have made the comment about his ass to see if he’d take the bait. It was dumb and it was irrational, but there was a quiet part of her brain that was whispering that getting handsy with him would make her feel better. She couldn’t control a lot in that situation. She couldn’t control the zombies shuffling outside, or the fact that at any moment the electricity could go for good. She couldn’t control the fact that she might never speak to her loved ones again. But what she could control was what happened with the man lying next to her.

It seemed like he may have picked up on her ulterior motives, she felt. The sly grin made her stomach jump pleasurably, although the look in his eyes made it do it even more. And then his palm was against her cheek, thumb brushing against her lips and it was almost painfully intimate. She had rarely felt out of her depth when sleeping with someone, but the second his lips were against hers, it was almost overwhelming. She didn’t not want to kiss him. She just wasn’t sure if it was a good idea. But then he was pulling away and looking at her, and she felt like something shifted.

Sarah reached out, fingers grasping onto his shirt and tugging him forward just enough so she could capture his lips with hers. Her heart was pounding within her chest, but she could handle it. This, this she could handle. Her lips moved against his slowly, unsure of how far he wanted it to go. She’d let him lead, and choose their pace. Briefly, she wondered if this was a smart choice. She knew that without a condom, she wouldn’t let it progress to sex. Sure, she’d been on the pill, but she could only take it for so long. And even on the pill, there was still the chance that she could get pregnant. And that was the last thing she needed. She pulled away just a little, gaze flickering up to his. “You’re good?”

---

“Stop talking about it,” Kennedy breathed. He was positive that he would breakdown if she kept talking about it. He’d shot a man. He had killed a man. He had murdered a man. Not in cold blood, but still. He wished that he’d shot a zombie before the man. Having a living, breathing man as the target for the first shot he’d taken made his gut wrench horrifically. “Please, please stop talking about him,” he pleaded, his voice cracking at the last word. He needed to keep it together. He needed to patch up Abby.

“Shit. Okay. It’s still in there. Okay.” He took a deep breath in through his mouth, holding it for a couple of seconds, then let it out through his nose - just like his therapist had taught him. “Okay, we need to… I need to… Okay,” he mumbled, pulling his backpack off and setting it in front of him. He dug around inside, past all of the supplies he’d gathered, and tugged out his t shirt. He tugged on the bottom hem hard, ripping off a long strip of fabric. He looked over to Abby, knowing that what he was going to say was going to suck for her. “I’m going to tie this above your wound, alright? I need to slow down the blood flow so I can get it out.”

Was he going to go to hell for killing a man? He wasn’t sure. Maybe this was his punishment. The girl he’d vowed to keep alive getting shot mere seconds after he’d done the same. It wouldn’t make sense, though, to punish Abby as well. She’d done absolutely nothing in that situation except be there with him. Maybe it was dangerous for them to be together. Or maybe, they just needed to get the fuck out of the city. “So I’m going to tie it around your arm and then - then I somehow get the bullet out.” They couldn’t leave the bullet it. He knew that. It’d get infected.

He struggled to remember any and every movie he’d ever seen where something like this had happened. The person would get shot. They’d tie some fabric above the wound and then… Then the person would have to sit there while they cleaned the area and then… Then get it out. He didn’t have pliers to get it out. He thought over what he did have. There might be a knife in one of the pockets. He wasn’t sure. “But first thing’s first - I need to tie this around you. It’s going to hurt like a bitch, alright?” He pretended to be calm. Although, if it was more for her or for him, he wasn’t sure. “You can’t scream, or yell, or anything. I just - I have bourbon? If you want some? It might take the edge off.”

Brendan thought he’d royally fucked everything up when she seemed a bit hesitant to reciprocate the kiss. He was certain she was going to think he was crazy for even attempting such a thing at a time like this. And, honestly, Brendan thought he might of been. Apocalypse was nigh and here he was thinking of putting moves on this stranger he just so happened to run across. The walking dead were shuffling mindlessly around outside and here he was, potentially making the last live person he could ever see uncomfortable. He was just about to pull away completely when her hands latched onto the front of his shirt. His eyes widened dramatically for a moment as her lips found his once more, this time with resolve.

A soft hum left him as he immediately kissed her back, lips ticking upwards at one corner for a moment. At least he hadn’t freaked her out. He felt more comfortable dealing with whatever awkward situations could arise from this than dealing with the things just outside the house. His pulse spiked a bit as he realized that he liked being tugged around by her, not expecting such a forward move from her. Granted, she’d been pretty openly mouthy with him, but her tugging him around was still surprising.

He slipped his lips against hers, hand still resting gently on her cheek as he shifted himself just a bit closer to her on the bed. His fingertips slipped up her cheekbone and up gently into her hair as he opened his mouth slightly, slipping his tongue tentatively across her bottom lip. Slowly pulling his fingers from her hair, he rested his hand gently against the back of her neck. As she pulled away slightly, he sighed softly, eyes slipping open slightly to look down at her. He hadn’t realized just how breathless he was until this moment. His brow furrowed slightly as she spoke, taking a moment to think through what she could be asking him. Was she checking in with him to make sure that he was okay? Was that was she was asking him?

“I-I’m sorry,” he said softly, eyes slipping between both of hers, “my brain’s not functioning at full capacity at the moment.” He shook his head a bit, swallowing hard as he fought to catch his breath. “I guess that was a bit sudden and…expected.” He was at a loss for words for trying to explain where his mind was at. He didn’t even know if he’d even answered what she’d asked him. His fingertips gently brushed across the back of her neck before he drew in a deep breath of air, eyes slipping between hers. Brendan supposed he was trying to forget the hell that was outside for a moment, but he wasn’t sure if he wanted to bring that up and ruin the mood. “Did I even answer what you were asking?” He asked suddenly, eyes meeting hers once more as he let out a quiet laugh.

---

Abby stared up at Kennedy for a few moments, heart clenching uneasily in her chest at the sight of him. The voice he was using made her feel guilty for even bringing up what happened and she knew he’d have to deal with things in his own way. She had just thought he should know that, from where she was standing, the guy was definitely reaching for his gun. Instead of saying anything else, she merely let her head fall forward and her eyes slip shut for a moment or two.

Her chest was still heaving in air and it felt like the reality of what had just happened finally was sinking in; how close she’d been to being killed or taken by that stranger, how she’d felt the blood splatter against her face, how near she was when she realized he’d been shot. She pulled her eyes open as she heard Kennedy talking through things and fumbling through his bag for stuff. A frown curled her lips as he pulled out his shirt and ripped it up, wanting to comment on how he didn’t need to ruin the only change of clothes he had for her, but not finding it within her to speak. Her arm was really starting to throb and she could tell the shock of being shot was slowly wearing off. Warm blood was dripping down her arm and she vaguely wondered if she’d ever have use of her arm again. Maybe the bullet had just really fucked up some tendons or muscle. Could that be repaired without a surgeon? She’d have to worry about that later, she knew they’d have to clean the wound and remove the bullet first. Use of her arm came second to a blood infection.

“Okay,” she replied, voice quivering slightly as she leaned her head back against the wall. She figured it’d be easier to get to the wound without her jacket or sweater in the way, so she carefully began to pull her arm from her jacket. Just as she was about to get it off, she brushed against her wound with her hand. A strangled sort of noise left her and she doubled over for a moment, white hot pain shooting through her as she screwed her eyes shut. A cold sweat broke out on her skin and she could feel the color slowly draining from her features. “Fuck,” she whimpered, tears stinging at her eyes as she finally found it in her to continue pulling her limp arm from her jacket.

Once she got her arm from the jacket, she carefully rolled the sweater up her arm to expose the wound in full. It wasn’t too big, but the amount of blood it had produced was a lot and had lead her to believe otherwise. Abby realized that it must not have been a very powerful gun if it didn’t obliterate her arm or go straight through. At his words her eyes flickered up to his and she shook her head stubbornly. “Just do what you need to do,” she murmured quietly, curling her lips in and biting them for a moment. “No,” she told him quietly, before managing a small shaky smile, “ we’re going to drink the bourbon when we can actually enjoy it. Something tells me you’re not a bottom-shelf type of guy.” A soft, strained laugh left her before a thought struck her. She bit the tips of her glove on her good hand, pulling it off and setting the fabric between her teeth before she clamped down on it. It would at least help to muffle any noises she could make. With a resolute nod and a final glance up at Kennedy, she leaned back against the wall once more, closed her eyes, and waited for the pain.