Hammers and Strings

"Lex, stand behind me," William said as Pete started to trudge towards us. His eyes were hazed over, now a bluish color, his skin pasty, and I just blatantly stared at him. I didn't move. "Alexis Cameron, I'm not kidding. Get behind me!"

"Why should I?" I raised my club. "I can defend myself!" Pete lunged, and I shrieked, slamming my back into the door. I winced.

"That's why." William raised his bat. "Sorry, Pete. You were a good pal--" He smashed Pete's head in with the bat, and the blood squirt everywhere. He continued to beat him until Pete stopped moving. William sighed. "Lex, what do we do with him? Now I feel horrible."

"William, he was about to murder us both. What did you want to do? Keep him around like a pet?" I walked over towards the large window in his living room area and opened it. "All right. Let's push him out the window." I sniffled. Oh my God, was I feeling guilty? Why did Pete have to be bitten buy some "sick fuck"? "William?" I wiped the tears from my eyes.

"Could you help me?" He was attempting to lug Pete's body towards the door, and the blood was dripping onto his maroon dress shirt. I didn't even know why William was all dressed up. I twitched, but I lifted up Pete's legs and shoved him out the window. I looked at my hands and saw dirt. Eww.

While I was washing my hands, William removed his shirt. Flattering. "I have to wash out the blood before it stains permanently," he said as I was staring at him. What a girl.

"Can't you just get a new shirt?"

"There's nothing wrong with this one. Aside from the blood stains!" He started to soak his shirt in the kitchen sink.

I shook my head. "I'm going to take a shower. So I can get blood and shit out of my hair. Don't follow me in!" I shouted, slamming the door shut. Then I realized that I didn't have a change of clothes. There was a knock on the door. I opened it.

William thrust an arm in with a pair of jeans and a shirt. I said "thanks" and shut the door again. After taking my shower and attempting to wash out the dark red blood stains from my clothes, I looked at the clothes William gave me: A pair of my old jeans and my yellow Something Corporate shirt from back in the day. Since when did he have these in his closet?

I stepped out of the bathroom and saw William glued to the television screen. More news about psychotic men and women eating the brains of...William turned it off and looked at me. "Hi there," he greeted, placing the remote down on the coffee table. "What's up? You look lost."

"You kept my clothes?" I crossed my arms. "You haven't been wearing my clothes, have you?" I glared at him. "And is there a reason why you moved into this building?"

He stood up. "Are you accusing me of something? I am, in no way, obsessed with you, Lexi." Denial always means something. Remember that. William strutted towards the kitchen, to the refrigerator. "Do you want something to drink?"

"I'll have an alcoholic beverage. Please, and thank you." I collapsed onto the nice white sofa. It was soft.

He handed me a soda. A Sprite. I didn't even get the joy of some caffeine. "I want you to be sober. You can't be drunk at a time like this." William put an arm on my shoulders. "Look, Lexi. I'm scared for both of us. I want us both to be alive at the end of this. I don't want you to go outside and get yourself...eaten."

I nodded, sighing. Being sober was boring. I had gotten into drinking once I broke up with William, because I just...honestly, I don't understand why I did it. I may have been because I didn't want to think about him. It may have been because I actually felt I needed him. I hate emotions. They're annoying.

"What do you want for lunch?" William turned the television back on, so he could keep up with this insane zombie invasion. I was getting sick of the news. Half of the camera crew had been eaten on MSNBC, and the news anchors were making their interns go outside and document this phenomena. I felt bad for these barely out-of-college students like myself.

"I don't know. Anything." I sighed. "William, what if we run out of food? What do we do then?"

He shrugged. "To be honest, I don't know. Let's hope someone will find us before then. I'm sure we'll be fine." He pulled me into a tight hug. "But I won't let anything happen to you, Lex. We're going to be fine."

"I didn't ask that, but okay." William frightened me sometimes. Like right then. It sounded as though we were going to die, and he was just reassuring me. It had me pretty freaked out. "And what about Sisky, Chiz, Santi, and Butch?" I saw William's dusty X-Box sitting underneath the television, in the cabinet. I slipped off the couch and reached for it, but William held my shoulders.

"Lex, I'm sure they're fine."

"Well, I'm making damn sure." I turned on the X-Box and made sure it was the same game the guys were obsessed with. I changed the television's mode and put on the headset. I prayed that the internet wasn't down. I prayed my friends were still playing.

I hoped that none of them were eaten.