《The Salt of the Earth》


 Chapter 1

    Heat blaring from the sun onto a lonely tractor in the middle of an open field. Hanish Johnson stepped off the tractor. He was a stout man with short, honey-toned hair. A beard to match. He adjusted his dark blue plaid shirt and brushed his hands down his blue jeans. He put his hand over his eyes to look up at the sun. ¡°No birds,¡± he stated, clearing his throat. He glared at his house, and an empty sound rang out. ¡°It¡¯s about 10 a.m. now,¡± he started walking towards the house. There wasn¡¯t a thing following him, but he started to pick up his pace as if there was. He grabbed the rickety hinges of his wooden door and slammed it shut.


    ¡°Honey,¡± a heavenly voice rang out. ¡°Is that you?¡±


    Hanish looked over to a slim woman figure on the couch. She was dead staring at the TV.


    ¡°Who else the fuck would it be?¡± Hanish said in a harsh tone.


    ¡°You shouldn¡¯t use such foul language,¡± the voice said. The woman turned to face him. Her face was pale and her eyes sunk in. It was the face of a woman who had been weathered over the years, but she was as young as he was.


    ¡°Ah, I am sorry Alesha, darling,¡± he said, rubbing his neck and bowing to her. She moaned and smiled. He approached her, placing his hand on her frail shoulder. He leaned down to kiss her forehead. It was cold. He peered back, and her eyes were bloodshot and dazed. Her head snapped back as if it wasn¡¯t attached to her spine. Her mouth was swollen and sewn shut. He shot back, and his eyes watered. He forgot. He looked to the home that was once bright and lively, but it was now dull and dimly lighted. His wife, who had once been lively, was laying in his arms. She was void of life and was a hollow woman now. Her dress was tattered, and she smelt of rot. It was foul. He felt his breath catch. He laid her down on the couch and wiped the tears from his eyes. He opened his eyes to see an empty couch. She was never there. She hadn¡¯t been in a long while.


    He took a deep breath and walked into the room in the far left of him. In the middle of the room was a bed that was rickety and almost falling apart. He sat down and grabbed a gun from out from under the pillow that lay in the center of the bed. He placed it in his lap and stared at his door.


    Two years before


    Alesha, who was sitting at the table, held a ladle in her hand, and she was chewing on a carrot she held in her other hand. She was staring at the TV watching a woman talking about a homemade broccoli cheddar soup on the TV.


    ¡°My love, you¡¯re going to go blind staring at the TV,¡± Hanish said as he was sitting on the floor fixing the coffee table next to the television.


    ¡°Oh, hush up.¡± She smiled at him, and they both started laughing. Their laughter quickly died as the TV started to flash¡ªit was a news outbreak.


    A man holding a piece of paper stared at them through the TV. His voice was deep, and his hair was a dusty gray toupee. ¡°We interrupt this television program with an emergency press conference from the President of the United States.¡±


    Hanish and Alesha both looked at each other and then moved themselves in front of the TV. The screen turned to an older man with faded black hair, and his face stuck in a half turn.


    President Ronald Vance. He wasn¡¯t a smart man. Hanish had known that the election was a joke in the state¡ªso many promises were broken. He was going to make farm life easier for Americans, but it had only gotten worse. Hanish didn¡¯t trust the man at all. He had broken all the trust Americans had by saying on TV that Americans needed to take over the Middle East. Hanish knew then that a war was going to start. It was only three months into Vance¡¯s presidency that it happened. The first attack was at a military base in Texas, and then it had just escalated from there.


    Soon, in the first year, the death toll was 100,000 Americans. Hanish didn¡¯t know how many people were left. He looked up to the mantle for a moment. A picture of a young man in a gold frame. The man mirrored Hanish, but his hair was shaved. This was his brother, Leon. Leon had only been 26 when the war broke out, and he was drafted. It took three weeks before Hanish and his family got the news his brother had been killed. Hanish had lost over 50 family members, close and far, since.


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    My fellow Americans, it¡¯s with a heavy heart that I have to inform you that¡­¡± Vance cleared his throat, looking down at the ground, taking a deep breath before looking back to the camera with almost tears in his eyes.


    ¡°We advise people to evacuate major cities as we speak and¡­¡± A noise caught his eye. ¡°Get him out of here,¡± Vance whispered to the bodyguard standing to his left. The man peered off-screen, and sounds of a struggle were going on. Blood splattered onto Vance¡¯s face, and he looked up in horror off-screen. The cameraman was knocked down in a loud bang, and a blurry image of a man flashed across the screen as the president was knocked to the floor. In the background, the sounds of screams broke out. The camera went black.


    ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± Her eyes swelled with tears. Hanish grabbed her tightly to him. The screen flashed back to the original man on the TV. He touched his ear, his eyes wide, looking to the TV.


    ¡°We advise people to flee for your lives. If you have a shelter, get to it now!¡±


    ¡°We prepared for this, my dear. We will be okay.¡± He looked to the window. The smoke was off in the distance. There was a stillness in the air. It was enough to make you choke. Hanish didn¡¯t know if they would be truly okay. It was true he had prepared for the end of the world, but was he prepared for this? He grabbed his wife¡¯s fragile hand, directing her to the basement door. He opened it and down the stairs they went. Before them was a steel door with a pin pad attached to it. Hanish placed his hand on the pad, lifting his fingers, and he typed in a code: 0407. The code was their anniversary.


    He remembered her back then on that day. She had more rose color to her lips, and her hair was slightly shorter back then. She smiled so brightly, coming down the aisle to him. She wore a low-cut gown and a veil that was a shoulder length. She was gripping for dear life to her bouquet. He was so focused on her and how beautiful she looked on that day. He could feel time stop in that moment. He grabbed Alesha close to him as they entered their bunker. Food in cans lined the wall, and there were supplies stacked to the roof. She ran her hand over a can of powdered eggs. ¡°Hanish,¡± she whispered.


    Present Day


    He never expected that all this would happen. For years, they had been safe, but when Leon died, he knew he had to make a change. So what did he do? He went to the store, stocking up on all prepper supplies he could. He found bread, unprocessed rice, and powdered eggs. He paced back and forth. He left a $20 bill on the counter with the other money he had left in the last 6 months. He went out to the parking lot. He looked around for people or those creatures. He seemed in the clear.


    He makes sure to test his farm land every day for any changes in the ground. He couldn¡¯t risk radiation poisoning. When the wave hit, he found his way to the local army base just to find it abandoned. He felt like he and Alesha might be the only people left. He hoped it was just them.


    He drove down the road, looking left and right for a sign. He saw the base in the distance. Its gate seemed broken; his curiosity got to him. He pulled up far from the base. He got out of his car and slowly walked up to the building.


    He walked past the guard area. The container essentially was empty. There were signs that not long ago, there had been someone there but not in a while. A half-eaten snack cake on the counter in front of a camera that had a cracked screen. The chair was broken and dried blood stained the leather and polyester. Hanish ran his finger along the metal bars and leaned over to click the keyboard in front of the camera, but nothing happened. The computer was dead. Where was the person who managed this station? He wondered as he looked around. He held his gun in front of him and walked through the broken gate doors when he saw a person hunched over a window in one of the buildings. He slowly approached the body and poked it. A moan rang from the body, but it might have just been air leaving the body. He remembered Aleaha telling him that she used to be a nurse, that death took 20 minutes.


    For that was the last moment of breath before the body would start decaying. He pushed the body over, and it was a young woman. No older than 19, she had piercing blue eyes, and they were glaring at him, bloodshot and empty. This woman was gone. He looked at her name tag on her suit. It read ¡°Harrison.¡±


    He grabbed onto her and pulled her from the window, and laid her on the ground. Her body was purple and black. Her left leg was missing, and bone was snapped from it. ¡°What happened here?¡± Hanish asked himself. He looked into the building, and it looked empty. He grabbed the frame and lunged himself in. ¡°Anyone here?¡± he spoke, but the only response came from the echo from the room. There was an eerie feeling coming from the room. He could feel the memory of why this base was empty. Something truly terrifying happened here. He reached into his back pocket and put his gun back, his pistol.

 Chapter 2

    Hanish raised his gun high over his head, waiting for something to come out of the shadows. He felt a knot form in his throat as he rounded a corner. He was just waiting for anything. He began to sweat, his heart raced. He almost felt like he might have a heart attack, but he couldn¡¯t give up. He had to stay strong for Aleaha. She was out there somewhere, waiting for him. He kept that hope in his heart.


    Bam! Hanish looked over to his right to see a can fall off a shelf. He quickened his pace over to it, running from it was a small rat. He crouched down to pick it up when he saw a door in the distance with a light beaming from under it. Was it possible that he truly wasn¡¯t alone? He slowly approached the door, grabbing the handle. He jerked it back, causing it to click. He looked and noticed the door was locked. He needed a key, but he didn¡¯t know where to begin to look. He saw a crowbar against a box full of tools. He reached to grab it when he saw a figure of a creature underneath the table next to the window. He bent down to see what looked like an old man whose head was half caved in and was gnawing on some food. The man jumped up and shot at Hanish.


    Pop! Hanish held his hand firmly on his gun, drawing it to the man. His hand now hot, realizing that he had shot it off at the man. The man fell back, and out of his hand was a foot, with a half-broken bone. ¡°Harrison¡¯s leg,¡± the man lay there. Hanish stood over him, and he drew his gun again, this time firing it directly into the temple of the old man. He noticed the man was decaying, and his eyes were sunken in and bloodshot. Blue veins were popping out of his face. The man was just as gone as Harrison, but he was still moving around. It was a risk that Hanish had come to understand with the state of the world now. The first case was the day of the presidential address. 3,000 cases in 48 hours.


    Hanish felt lucky being on his farm because he was so far from it, so he figured it would take a while before they reached them. It wasn¡¯t long enough, he thought. But Aleaha, she thought it was too long.


    Aleaha, in the first few months in the bunker, began to feel weary. She was up and down all night. He tried to draw her close to him, but she pulled away. The cold metal frame of their bed was too rough on her. Hanish woke up to the sounds of her vomiting. He touched her back to comfort her, which brought on the sounds of her crying. He held her close. He didn¡¯t know what else he was supposed to do. He just wanted them to be safe. Aleaha turned to him, her eyes swollen from tears. She gripped his arms as he held her. ¡°I can¡¯t believe this is all happening now,¡± she spoke into his chest.


    ¡°I know, but at least we have each other,¡± he stroked her cheek with his hand.


    He opened his eyes to an empty room, noticing she was gone. The bunker door was swinging open. The house was in shambles. There was dust everywhere; the front door was busted. Glass covered the floor. The television screen was busted. ¡°Aleaha!¡± he shouted, searching for her. He placed his hand on the couch, and it sunk in. He then opened the door to see her car was gone. He dropped to his knees. She had abandoned him. He felt his heart twist as his head spun. He ran to the room and grabbed his gun from the nightstand. He raced to his trunk, jumping in. He went to start it. He drove down the road screaming for her. He noticed some of his neighbors¡¯ houses looked abandoned. He saw bodies in some yards. He saw doors open. He got out of his car and approached one of the houses.


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    ¡°Aleaha?¡± He called out. The house was covered in blood. He saw the body of his neighbor hunched over the staircase. He noticed a trail of bloody footprints leading to the kitchen.


    He slowly approached to find a man hunched over a kitchen table. Flies swarmed around a setup of a family dinner. It was obvious that something had interrupted it. He grabbed the shoulder of the man, pulling him back. The man¡¯s eyes were gone. A knife stuck in his throat, blood pooled on the floor. Hanish felt sick to his stomach. He dropped the man to the floor. Turning to the trash can in the kitchen, he grabbed it, emptying the contents of his stomach into it. The smell of human decay washed over him. Hanish realized he had never felt more sick in his entire life.


    He felt something hit his leg. Hanish looked down to see the body of a woman gasping against the oven. He leaned toward her. ¡°Miss, what happened?¡± Hanish spoke softly to her. She moaned, and her head went limp. She pointed to the door that led to their backyard. ¡°Is it out there?¡± She nodded and then closed her eyes. He watched as her breathing labored. He could tell she probably didn¡¯t have much longer. She was bloody, but he couldn¡¯t make out her injuries to try to help her. He stood up, proceeding out the door. He kept himself low, drawing his gun from his back pocket. He noticed that the people who lived here¡¯s back fences were knocked down. Blood trails died in the grass.


    ¡°Damn it,¡± Hanish shouted. Then, from behind him, he heard a sound, a buzzing noise. He turned to see the woman from the kitchen standing up. She raced forward, jumping on him. She snarled and tried biting at him. He managed to try to fight her off. He was confused as to why this woman suddenly had the strength of a tiger when moments ago she was hanging onto death¡¯s door. He started firing his gun at her. He lost about 3 bullets into her head, and then she finally stopped. He leaned down, checking her pulse on her neck. She was cold and stiff. She was gone. His heart began to race in his chest.


    He opened his eyes to find himself back in that room. The man¡¯s dead body lay before him. He had begun to understand that something had happened to cause all this. There was a calm in the air, but he was afraid of it all. He felt alone, but still, he had hopes that Aleaha was out there, waiting for him. Maybe she was back home. He was optimistic with the thought that she had calmed down from all this.


    He took a deep breath and noticed a key card covered in blood. He picked it up and used his shirt to clean it off. He was covered in blood, not his own. He had developed a sort of immunity to the smell. He could deal with the animals on his farm quite easily, but humans were something different. He shook his head as he staggered to the door, placing the key card in its slot. The door opened to a long, open area, and bodies lay everywhere. There had to be at least 100 people in here. Some were not even in uniform. He assumed they were civilians. Blood painted the walls and tables. He gagged, and his eyes teared up. These bodies reminded him of his brother. Some of these were younger than his brother. He choked as he walked past them. He could tell that some had tried to fight. Some just gave up. Hanish could only imagine what had taken place.


    A normal day of drills turned into chaos when the creatures attacked. He noticed that things were broken, and a door was off its hinges. He went around collecting items from each man. Hanish wondered if they could stop them. How could he? One man versus¡­ ¡°Well, he didn¡¯t know how many there were. He turned to see another door in the far corner. It was wide open.

 Chapter 3

    Hanish navigated the base until he arrived at the medical room. As his hand reached for the door, number 502, his heart began to pound in his chest. He stumbled inside, collapsing against a table before sliding to the cold floor. As his vision began to fail, he was suddenly transported back to the moment he learned of his brother¡¯s death.


    Hanish heart ripped from his chest by the phone call from his mother. She told him his brother was dead. Aleaha held him close, both of them sobbing. The words echoed in his ears, sharp and painful: ¡°Your brother was killed on duty.¡±


    The day before the funeral, Aleaha and Hanish drove to Cleveland to be with his mother. They arrived at a yellow brick house with a red lawn jockey on the white porch. An elderly woman opened the door, her hair thin and gray. ¡°Mama,¡± Hanish spoke with ease. Hanish¡¯s mother, a woman in her early seventies, had thin, silver hair and faded green eyes. He fell into her arms, and they sobbed together. Aleaha stood back, watching.


    They were invited inside, and Hanish looked around his mother¡¯s house. It was different from what he remembered. The house was in disarray. Boxes were scattered everywhere, trash was strewn about, and papers were thrown around. Hanish hadn¡¯t realized just how much his mother depended on Leon until now. He then noticed his mother was unkempt, as if she hadn¡¯t bathed in months. Her hair was matted and tangled. ¡°Mama, do you need any help?¡± He asked.


    ¡°Could you brush my hair for the funeral?¡± Her voice trembled. ¡°And Aleaha dear, would you go get my glass of tea out of the kitchen?¡± Aleaha nodded, and Hanish turned his head to his wife in silence.


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    ¡°Of course, Ma,¡± Hanish said, grabbing the brush off of her coffee table. Aleaha, still without saying anything, walked into the kitchen, leaving Hanish and his mother alone.


    His mother sat in a chair, and Hanish took a brush to her hair. He pulled gently, but strands began to fall out. He gasped, and his mother turned to look at him. Her head snapped back, revealing a skull beneath her melted skin. He jumped back, dropping the brush, which rolled across the floor. ¡°What did you do?¡± Aleaha stood before him, crying blood. She collapsed to the floor. Hanish ran to her, tripping over his mother¡¯s brush.


    He opened his eyes, realizing he was in the medical office. He shot forward in the chair, his stomach churning. He felt sick and uneasy.  He grabbed some medical supplies: a first aid kit, some electrolyte drinks, and some pain pills. He tossed those into it as well.


    Next to the medical office was a room designated for documents. Hanish reasoned that if he were to find more information about his brother, it would be in this room. He found the corpse of a woman clutching a file, a pen protruding from her head. Her eyes were wide open, seemingly fixed on him. He reached down, covering his mouth with one hand. He took the file out of her hand and opened it. It read a familiar name, Ryan Miller. Why was she clutching this file. He noticed papers were taken out and then shredded in the shredder. He wondered what they were trying to hide.


    Hanish decided he had to find his brother¡¯s file and get out of there. He noticed the cabinets behind the woman were organized alphabetically. Assuming army standards, he figured the files would be arranged by last name. He opened the Js, searching through six other Johnsons, but his brother¡¯s file wasn¡¯t there. A wave of dread washed over him. Could it be too late? Had his brother¡¯s file been destroyed?


    Hanish frantically gathered his belongings, desperate to escape the base before sunset. For that was when they rose from the grounds ¨C creatures that lay hidden in the grass, their forms indistinguishable until it was too late. They were too fast for him to outrun. As Hanish raced towards his car, he saw bodies begin to stir. Just as he started the engine, he glanced over and saw the ghostly apparition of a woman silhouetted against the gate. ¡°Go,¡± she whispered urgently. He slammed the car into gear and sped away.

 Chapter 4

    Hanish lay back on his bed, staring up at the ceiling. He had been on the farm ever since that day, a prisoner of his own memories. He had gone back to the base, scavenging for MREs and managing to snag some weapons. The emptiness of the base still haunted him ¨C no soldiers, no undead, just an unsettling silence. He glanced at his drawer, where the pistol lay.


    Suddenly, a noise from outside jolted him. He got up, his heart pounding, and walked to the door. For a fleeting moment, he wondered if Aleaha had returned, a flicker of hope igniting in his chest. He stepped outside, only to find one of his cows alone in the field. He screamed for it, his voice echoing in the stillness, and ran towards it as it approached the tall fence that now encircled his farm.


    The ringing began, a sound he recognized as if he¡¯d forged it himself. He yelled again towards the cow. A hand shot up from the ground, sharp and swift. Then, about 50 more. The bodies of the undead tucked themselves low in the grass. They were swift and fast. Suddenly, they were at the fence, reaching for the cow. The undead had risen. Hanish managed to reach the cow, firing at the undead, one by one. They snarled, saliva dripping from their mouths.


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    Hanish raised his pistol and began firing. One by one, the undead dropped. The startled cows returned to the area with their herd. Tears streamed down Hanish¡¯s face as he shouted for the creatures to leave. He saw people he knew, his neighbors, including the man he sold feed to.


    Hanish had never felt truly alone before this moment. All he wanted was Aleaha back and his brother alive. He wished he could turn back the clock to before everything went to hell. He stepped back, glaring at the herd of undead before him. It was a terrifying sight. They were fast, but his fence was invincible.


    Hanish turned around and locked the gate to the field where the cows were kept. ¡°Rita, you are a bad girl,¡± he said, swatting the escaped cow on the rear. She let out a soothing moo, and he wiped his eyes. He dropped his pistol down as he went into the house. He opened his refrigerator, grabbing a cold beer. He popped it open and chugged it. He wasn¡¯t a drinker before all this happened, but something about the situation made him crave it.


    He turned around, facing the disaster his house had become. Open food packets and cans littered the floor. If Aleaha were here, she would be ashamed of him, or so he believed.

 Chapter 5

    Hanish left his house before dawn, heading towards his remaining pigs. Only two were left, frail and failing. He looked out at his cornfield, its stalks withered and dying, victims of the undead. He leaned over, tossing a bucket of last night¡¯s supper ¨C carrots mixed with cabbage. He¡¯d made cabbage soup, a dish Aleaha had loved. The pigs eagerly devoured the food. Hanish straightened up, noticing a figure in the distance. He glanced at his watch. It was 4am, just as he¡¯d expected, far too early for them to start rising now. The figure screamed something, a muffled cry. Hanish was confused. He ran towards it, hoping it was Aleaha.


    The figure clung to his gate, her hands grasping, trying to hold on. Hanish reached the woman, realizing she was much curvier than Aleaha. Her hair was a fiery autumn red, and she was soaked in blood. Was she undead, he wondered. He opened his gate and pushed at her. ¡°Please,¡± she gasped, ¡°help me.¡± He was relieved she was alive. He grabbed her arm quickly, pulling her into the area. He had to act fast before they could reach her. He didn¡¯t know how she had managed to escape, let alone get away from the dead.


    He rushed the woman into his house, carefully laying her down on the couch. He grabbed the first aid kit from the counter and returned to her, gently examining her for injuries.


    He couldn¡¯t help but notice she was a stunning woman. ¡°Can you tell me where you¡¯re hurt?¡± he asked. She pulled her camisole top up slightly, revealing a shard of glass embedded in her stomach. His heart lurched. He wasn¡¯t equipped to handle something this serious.


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    ¡°I had to jump out the window,¡± she gasped. He barely touched the glass and looked back at her.


    ¡°I don¡¯t have medical training, but my wife did,¡± he said.


    ¡°Where is she?¡± The woman gasped. Hanish cringed. He didn¡¯t know. It had been so long. It was months ago.


    ¡°I¡­¡± he opened the box, trying to think, ¡°¡­don¡¯t know.¡±


    The woman extended her arm, grabbing Hanish¡¯s and squeezing it. ¡°You can do this,¡± she said. Hanish¡¯s mind flashed back to Aleaha. She had come home in her scrubs, her hair a mess and all kinds of mysterious stains on her. She plopped down on the couch, reached under the TV into the stand, and pulled out a book. *I Wasn¡¯t Strong Like This When I Started Out: True Stories of Becoming a Nurse* edited by Lee Gutkind. Hanish then remembered the book was still in the house. He dropped the woman¡¯s arm. ¡°My name is Janice Williams, by the way,¡± she said, smiling at him, though her voice was strained. Hanish bent down, searching under the TV. There it was, and next to it was Aleaha¡¯s nursing notebook.


    ¡°Hanish Johnson,¡± he said, pulling the notebook out. He leaned back and looked at Janice. ¡°So that means you¡¯re related to the Williams who live down the road,¡± he said, laying the notebook in front of him and flipping through it. *cleaning a wound*


    ¡°Yes, I am Ivan¡¯s sister,¡± she said, her voice weak. Hanish jumped up and went over to the first aid box, pulling out the alcohol wipes. He stood in front of her.


    ¡°This is going to sting,¡± he said, his lip curling slightly. ¡°Maybe,¡± he said slowly, starting to clean the area. She winced in pain. He pulled out the tweezers and examined them before gently grasping the glass piece. He slowly pulled it out. It began to bleed, and he quickly grabbed the gauze to stop the bleeding. He was holding it tight when he looked up to realize Janise had passed out. He threw the tape out with his other hand as he held tight on the gauze. He taped her down and pulled her shirt over the wound. He stood back and looked at her.


    ¡°Ms. or Mrs.?¡± he snapped his fingers in front of her face. She was still unresponsive. He grabbed the smelling salts, snapping it and waving it in front of her nose. She gasped, opening her eyes. Her gaze was stuck on him.


    ¡°Thank¡­¡± she gasped. ¡°You.¡±

 Chapter 6

    Hanish watched Janice sleep on the couch, a wave of frustration washing over him. He was angry at himself, at his helplessness. What was he supposed to do about this woman? He couldn¡¯t let her simply walk away, not with everything that was happening, but he couldn¡¯t force her to stay either. He felt no attachment to her, yet she was the only person he¡¯d encountered in the last six months. His mind drifted to her brother, wondering what had become of him.


    Hanish grabbed his pistol and placed it in the waistband of his pants before stepping out into the early morning. He found one of his pigs pressed against the gate, caught in the fence. It was dead. He wiped his eyes, tearing up at the sight. He walked over and yanked the carcass free.


    Unsure if the undead affected animals, he grabbed his pistol and shot the pig between the eyes, deciding not to eat it in case the meat was spoiled. He watched the ground as he walked to the side of his barn and grabbed a shovel, then started digging a hole.


    ¡°Hanish, it¡¯s okay,¡± he looked up, imagining Aleaha standing before him, holding a blood-soaked blanket. ¡°Sometimes they reject their babies.¡± He remembered about three years ago when one of the goats they had¡ªbefore he decided to get pigs¡ªrejected its kid. He watched Aleaha try to help and revive the kid, but after an hour, she waved her hand and shook her head. Hanish remembered that a few months later, he made the painful decision to sell both goats. Pigs, he thought, were the smarter choice.


    He looked over at the gate where the other pig was, and it was freaking out. He walked over to it, leaning over the gate. ¡°August,¡± he said, tearing up. ¡°I am so sorry your friend is gone.¡± He looked to the north where the undead lay in the grass. ¡°Food is going to get a lot more scarce.¡± He went back to digging the hole, now four feet deep. He climbed out and grabbed the pig¡¯s corpse, dropping it into the hole. He covered it over with dirt, patting it down tight.


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    Hanish looked up and noticed Janice gripping the door frame. She mouthed something he couldn¡¯t hear, clutching her waist and staggering. ¡°Hey, you, get back into the house!¡± He didn¡¯t want this woman, who had managed to survive all this, to die on his doorstep.


    ¡°Ah, I¡¯m okay,¡± she said, squinting into the distance. ¡°I was just looking for someone.¡±


    ¡°Ain¡¯t nobody out there,¡± he said, looking in the same direction.


    ¡°I was¡­¡± she started but trailed off. She had a point. He¡¯d thought he was alone until he came across her. She started tearing up.


    ¡°Come on, let¡¯s eat breakfast,¡± he said, helping her back inside and onto the couch. He went into the kitchen and started searching for what he had. He grabbed some bread he¡¯d made a month ago. He opened his cabinet to get out some eggs, but he had none. ¡°I gotta go get some eggs. Stay there.¡± He pointed at her. He walked out to his chicken coop and looked inside. The chickens were gone, and he searched through the hay, finding nothing. No eggs, no chickens. ¡°Fuck,¡± he mouthed. He then heard a loud commotion coming from inside the house.


    Janice was in the kitchen, making a racket as she moved things around. ¡°What the fuck are you doing?¡± Hanish asked, his voice laced with irritation as he stared at her.


    ¡°You cooked yesterday, so I¡¯ll cook today,¡± she replied. He almost laughed but managed to stop himself. He grabbed her by the shoulders and gently pulled her out of the way.


    ¡°You aren¡¯t in any shape to do anything,¡± he said, staring directly into her face. He then noticed the scars that marred her face, and a wave of sympathy washed over him. ¡°What were you planning on cooking? I don¡¯t have any chickens, bacon, or eggs.¡±


    ¡°Spaghetti!¡± she shouted at him. She remembered it was her favorite, but she hadn¡¯t had it in three years. She figured it would be the easiest thing to make.


    Spaghetti? He thought, confused. Did he have the ingredients for spaghetti? Maybe one or two of the MREs he had left were spaghetti meals. He grabbed his backpack and opened it. ¡°Elbow macaroni in tomato sauce,¡± he read. He happened to have two of them. He picked them up and put them on the table. ¡°Is this good enough?¡±


    She looked down at the packages. Her eyes began to swell.

 Chapter 7

    "You are in no shape to go anywhere,¡± Hanish said, staring Janice up and down.


    She grabbed the door, swinging it open before he finished speaking. She rushed out, heading for the gate.


    He shot after her, reaching her just as she passed out right in front of it.


    He scooped her up into his arms and felt them begin to rise above the fields. ¡°No!¡± he screamed, rushing back inside with her.


    As he laid her back down on the couch, she whispered, ¡°Lila.¡±


    Confusion washed over him. Who was Lila? The only Lila he knew was¡­ Ivan¡¯s wife. Was that who she meant?


    Lila lay next to Janice, both staring up at a drawing of the sky on the ceiling. Across from them, Ivan lay asleep in his bed, his breath hitching with each inhale. The smell and sight of her brother made Janice feel ill. Janice turned to Lila and smiled, signing, ¡°This is beautiful.¡±


    Lila nodded. Janice inhaled Lila¡¯s sweet scent. She felt awkward, wondering if she had developed Stockholm syndrome for her brother¡¯s wife or if she was genuinely in love with her. The feeling washed over her with every breath Lila took. Even when Lila had tantrums or fits, Janice wanted nothing more than to protect her.


    Janice opened her eyes to see Hanish gently wiping the wound on her stomach. Despite being stranded with him at the end of the world, her desperate longing for Lila¡¯s survival persisted.


    She recalled their emergence from the bunker, met by a horrifying scene of countless undead. Lila, despite her bravery, was physically frail. They had made a pact: in case of separation, they would reunite at the base. Janice clung to the hope that she would find Lila waiting for her there.


    Hanish finished bandaging her wound and pulled her shirt back down. Janice observed his disheveled appearance. His hair was greasy, and his skin was tanned and weathered from exposure to the sun. His beard was unkempt, yet she found his presence more tolerable than her brother¡¯s. She also couldn¡¯t help but notice that he was actually quite fit, unlike her brother.


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    ¡°Thank you¡­again,¡± she said, rolling her eyes and leaning her head back.


    She knew she was weak. Her body might have been full-figured, but she wasn¡¯t strong, nor much of a fighter. In fact, she was often sad. People always told her she was strong and brave, but she constantly felt on the verge of breaking down and crying. Hanish¡¯s eyebrows furrowed. ¡°What, are you stupid?¡± The statement caught her off guard.


    ¡°What?¡± she stammered.


    ¡°You need to get healed before you go off willy-nilly,¡± he said, grabbing a blanket and throwing it over her. She cuddled it to her chest, glancing down at her feet. She hadn¡¯t even noticed she was barefoot and dirty.


    ¡°Do you have a bath?¡± she asked.


    He pointed outside.¡±Round back. There¡¯s a pitcher pump and a metal tub, and you can use the outhouse for your business,¡± he said sternly. She felt like he had to be joking.


    A wave of gratitude washed over Janice, yet she missed Lila with a deep, burning ache. She felt a surge of hatred for her brother, whom she believed had rotted to death in the bunker. She watched Hanish in silence as he filled the bucket with water. This stranger had helped her more in two days than her brother had in his entire life¡ªeven if his motives weren¡¯t entirely altruistic; he didn¡¯t want to be alone with Lila. She had sensed that from their first encounter. He made no effort to communicate with her directly, relying on written threats or Janice¡¯s interpretations. Lila confided in Janice, having told no one about the abuse she had suffered at Ivan¡¯s hands¡ªa man who exploited her vulnerabilities, even openly starving her.


    He held her close as he helped her around the back of the house. To her surprise, there was a metal tub and a pitcher pump. A red bucket lay knocked over next to it.


    Hanish grabbed a scullery pad and handed it to her. The man barely talked. She took it and nodded. ¡°Do I get any privacy?¡±


    He looked at her, then around them. ¡°Ain¡¯t a soul around, ma¡¯am,¡± he spoke softly. ¡°I ain¡¯t interested in looking.¡± But that wasn¡¯t fully truthful. Hanish was a little tempted. It had been months since he had seen a woman, let alone another human being.


    Janice watched Hanish walk away, wondering if his departure stemmed from obligation or a mere performance of the bare minimum, designed to make her perceive him as a gentleman. Once healed, she pondered whether to stay or leave. But where would she go? In this apocalypse, he had isolated his farm from the outside world. She wondered if they would ever encounter other survivors. His wife¡­ and Lila. Were they still alive?


    Janice removed her camisole and tossed it to the ground. Her gaze fell upon the bandages on her stomach. She gently touched them, and a sharp pain shot through her body. The memory of the attack flooded back. Lila and she had stepped out of the bunker, eager to see the open sky, only to be met with a horde of the undead. Lila, already weakened, was quickly overwhelmed. Janice screamed her name as she desperately ran for help. She lunged toward the door, but a hand grabbed her leg, causing her to crash through the glass window. She screamed as the shards tore into her. Spotting the house in the distance, she dragged herself through the thinning crowd until she reached safety. That¡¯s how she had ended up here.

 Chapter 8

    Janice¡¯s stomach churned with pain as she stared, transfixed, into the distance. She leaned down to the pitcher pump and lifted the handle. Water gurgled and splashed into the bucket, flowing more freely than she¡¯d seen in a long time. But the water wasn¡¯t clear; she could only imagine the bacteria teeming within. She poured the murky liquid into the tub and repeated the process for what seemed like an hour.


    Finally, she dropped the bucket and began to pull down her jeans. A sharp sting shot through her leg as the denim slid down, revealing purple skin and a long scar down her thigh. She winced in pain, lifting her legs to step into the tub. She kept her panties on, clinging to some sense of privacy. She tried to see if Hanish was watching her from even a small crack in his wall, though she felt she knew this stranger well enough to believe he wasn¡¯t.


    Janice glanced down at the bloodstain on her arm, a stark reminder of how long it had been since she¡¯d last seen her reflection, let alone bathed. She sat there, letting the water wash over her. She couldn¡¯t bring herself to touch her body. It was too painful. She clasped her hands together and began to cry. ¡°Spare clothes,¡± she choked out. She had nothing. The blood-stained clothes lying in the dirt were all she had left.


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    She looked up to see Hanish with his hand covering his eyes, throwing a towel over the chicken coop. She chuckled weakly at the image. He said nothing to her and returned to the house. She grabbed the towel and dried herself off. She stood up and leaned over to step out of the tub. She gathered her clothes and hugged them tight to her chest. ¡°Do you have any spare clothes?¡±


    Hanish, without looking up from the couch where he was whittling at a piece of wood with a knife, pointed towards his bedroom door. ¡°Some of Aleaha¡¯s stuff is in there.¡±


    She entered the room. An untouched bed sat in the middle, its torn blanket and flat, unfluffed pillows adding to the room¡¯s disarray.


    Turning to the closet, she opened it. Women¡¯s dresses hung on the rack, all size medium and made of floral cotton. Aleaha, she thought, must have embodied the perfect homestead housewife. Janice noticed a few scrubs pushed to the back, a size large. Besides the women¡¯s clothes, there were also men¡¯s clothes. She grabbed a yellow shirt that looked like an extra large, figuring that Hanish wouldn¡¯t mind if she borrowed it.


    Folding the shirt over her arm, she walked to the mirror on the closet wall, nearly stumbling back in shock at her reflection.

 Chapter 9

    Janice screeched, touching her face in disbelief. The image in the mirror was undeniably her, yet distorted and horrifying. The woman staring back had faded eyes, red blotches marring her skin, and unrecognizable scars. Her lips were cracked, her face riddled with blackheads, and a fresh scratch marred her chin. Though her body retained its curves, she felt thinner, more gaunt than she remembered.


    ¡°What the hell are you doing?¡± Hanish shouted. He ran to the door, trying to open it, but she had locked it from the inside. Janice held her face in her hands, her head down, her heart pounding in her throat. Tears welled up.  She looked up as Hanish continued to pound on the door. She pulled the shirt down over her head down her body. Wiping the tears from her eyes, she went to open it, but before she could, he forced the door open.


    ¡°What happened in there?¡± he shouted, his voice softening as he saw the tears welling in her eyes.


    Reminded of Aleaha, he pulled Janice into a tight hug. Surprised by his comforting gesture, she embraced him in return, then pulled away, crossing her arms over her chest. A wave of nausea washed over her as she realized he reeked of rot, blood, sweat, and decay.  She stared at him for a moment.


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    ¡°It had been two years since I last saw my reflection, and I hadn¡¯t realized the extent of the damage to my face.¡± Her hand, trembling slightly, stroked her cheek. He cocked his head, a puzzled expression on his face.


    ¡°I don¡¯t see anything wrong with your face,¡± he said, his voice sincere. To him, her skin was clear, her eyes sparkled with life, and her lips were full and vibrant, like rose petals. She glanced around at the decaying state of the room.


    ¡°Everything is falling apart,¡± she murmured, her voice barely audible. He looked at her and smiled, his eyes filled with warmth. He glanced around the room he had kept clean and orderly, the room he had painstakingly restored to the way it was when he and Alesha had slept there.¡±Do you think Aleaha is still alive?¡± she asked, turning to face him. He picked up a picture frame from the side table and showed it to her. It was a wedding photo of him and a blonde woman. Janice assumed it must be Aleaha.


    ¡°In my heart, she is,¡± he stated. ¡°See, when you love someone dearly, you can feel it ripping away when they¡¯re gone.¡± Janice understood what he meant.


    ¡°My best friend, my lover, Lila,¡± Janice said, her voice trembling. ¡°I watched her get eaten by them.¡±


    Hanish glanced down at the picture frame in his hands, his gaze fixed on Aleaha¡¯s face. He stared at the subtle glow of her skin on their wedding day. His eyes narrowed, and he gently placed the frame back on the table.


    ¡°I need to show you around the farm,¡± he said, standing up.


    ¡°Oh¡­ okay,¡± she replied, watching him, a growing realization that he was living in a delusion settling over her.

 Chapter 10

    Hanish paused in his yard, gazing at the field beyond his gate. Bucket in hand, he unlatched the gate and stepped through. He carefully navigated the field, stepping around lifeless bodies, until he reached the tomato plants. Kneeling, he meticulously examined each tomato. He began to pluck one but twisted it off silently, not to disturb the undead.


    Hanish stared blankly at the tomato in his hand. The sun glared, reflecting off its surface and mirroring his vacant expression.


    He crushed the tomato, its juices, seeds, and pulp oozing between his fingers, the wetness slimy and unpleasant. He shook the remnants from his hand, then turned to the next tomato, tossing it into his basket.


    He glanced up at the adjacent area, his gaze settling on his carrots. Rabbits would be getting to them, he figured. He scanned the area but saw nothing. An eerie emptiness of wild animals had settled over the land since the undead took over. Not even the birds remained.


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    He grabbed his basket and walked over to the carrots. He yanked one up; it came up too quickly, with ease. It was decayed and rotten. They were all like this. The undead were starting to affect his carrots. He wondered when they would start to affect his other vegetables.


    Hanish walked across the field, kicking at the undead bodies that littered the ground before his house. Reaching the gate, he slammed it shut and locked it tight. He lingered there, hand on the gate, staring out at the overrun world. Then, lowering his head, he headed toward the house.


    Inside, Janice moaned in her sleep on the couch. He noticed her legs as she kicked the tattered blanket off. He cringed, finally noticing the extent of her bruises. Despite the injuries, she still looked peaceful. ¡°Lila,¡± she moaned. He gripped the couch as he leaned closer to listen, desperate to understand why she had pined so much for Lila. He never really understood how people could have a whole story, a life unfolding away from his own.


    He pulled the blanket up over her shoulders, then went into the bedroom and sat on the bed.


    He picked up his pistol again and placed it on his lap, staring intently at the door until his eyes grew heavy and he drifted off to sleep.


    ¡°Hanish,¡± he awoke, instinctively pulling his pistol up against Janice¡¯s head. She recoiled, and he lowered the gun.


    ¡°What¡­?¡± he stammered, noticing her trembling, her fear of him palpable. ¡°What is it?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s 2 PM,¡± she said softly, momentarily paralyzed by fear.


    ¡°Shit!¡± he exclaimed, leaping out of bed and running outside. His last pig was pressed against the gate, a half-eaten leg pulled through the bars. He turned and saw only two cows behind their gates. He looked out into the field. ¡°Damn you!¡±

 Chapter 11

    Janice pressed against the door, her heart hammering in her chest as she watched Hanish work with his pig. Suddenly, he erupted, screaming and throwing his tools. The outburst reminded her of her brother¡¯s rages; while her brother also screamed, he would physically lash out, knocking her down and hitting her. She stumbled back into the house.


    Hanish turned and stopped abruptly, seeing her. Before him, she morphed once again into Aleaha, her eyes swelling as she stared at him as if he were a monster.


    ¡°No,¡± he whimpered, reaching for her. Something tugged at his pant leg. He turned to see one of the undead grabbing at his leg. He yanked himself free, took aim with his pistol, and shot the creature three times in the face. He turned back, but Janice was gone. He jumped up and kicked the fence.


    He burst past Janice in the house, ran into the bedroom, and she heard a loud commotion as he ruffled through things. He then went back in, pulled out one of the chairs, and placed it in front of the gate. He sat down in it.


    ¡°What are you doing?¡± Janice asked. He sat in silence, staring straight ahead, his body shaking. He held his pistol in front of him, his eyes searching the area as he swallowed hard.


    ¡°Ain¡¯t losing any more animals,¡± he stated. Janice looked around; he only had the two cows left. She wondered how long it would take for them to starve to death in this wasteland anyway.


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    Back in the house, she started searching through his cabinets. Baskets held a meager supply of vegetables, but there was no meat to be found. Opening the refrigerator, she discovered it was almost entirely empty, save for a few containers of milk. The realization struck her: they were essentially destitute. They couldn¡¯t survive on vegetables alone.


    The thought of running back to her brother¡¯s house crossed her mind, but she had barely managed the mile¡¯s walk to Hanish¡¯s. Stepping outside, she found him frozen, staring out at the field.


    Janice spent the day preparing undressed salads. She brought one or two to Hanish, who sat motionless in his chair, staring blankly out the window. Occasionally, he would fire wildly at the dead in the fields.


    ¡°The food is turning¡­ the vegetables are being affected¡­ they are becoming rot in the dirt,¡± he finally said to her. He drank the glass of milk she brought him. ¡°We have a week left at most.¡± She felt trapped, knowing there¡¯s no feeling more miserable than not knowing what to do. She remembered that in zombie stories, the characters would find stores or something¡ªa food source rooted in mystery.


    ¡°Should I go explore tomorrow?¡± she asked, taking the glass from him and holding it close to her chest. He looked up at her, a lost expression on his face. He figured it might be best to just let her go.


    ¡°Do what you want,¡± he said as the sun set at 5pm. He leaned up and started firing as they rose from the fields.


    Hanish raised his gun and pressed it against his temple. Janice turned and, seeing him, dropped her glass. It shattered on the ground as she lunged at Hanish, knocking the pistol from his grasp. The gun hit the ground, discharging a bullet that struck the gate. ¡°Why the hell did you do that?¡± she shouted at him. He looked up at her, his eyes swelling with tears.


    ¡°Go,¡± he growled. ¡°Leave. You don¡¯t need to be here. You are a stranger.¡± She smacked him hard, and then she, too, started crying.


    ¡°We don¡¯t know who all is out there, but as of right now, all we have is¡ª¡± she wiped her eyes and leaned closer to him. ¡°Each other.¡±


    He sat back, then stood up abruptly. ¡°God damn it, Janice,¡± he muttered, leaning down to pick up his pistol. ¡°Have you even looked around? There isn¡¯t anything left. We are alone out here!¡± He gestured to the fields and the surrounding area.


    ¡°We need to leave this farm,¡± she said. ¡°There isn¡¯t any food here, but we can explore the town. You still have your truck.¡±

 Chapter 12

    Hanish placed his hand on the steering wheel and took a deep breath, staring at the road ahead. Janice closed the truck lid and jumped into the passenger seat. ¡°We should be good to go,¡± she said with a smile.


    He glanced at her, but his thoughts drifted back to Aleaha. ¡°We have to get to shopping,¡± he murmured, the words seeming to whisper on the wind. ¡°There is a storm coming.¡±


    ¡°Hanish, did you hear me?¡± Janice asked, leaning closer to look at him.


    ¡°Huh?¡± he responded, blinking at her.


    ¡°I said you can start the car,¡± she said, her expression concerned. His mind seemed to be drifting more and more lately. She was worried about him; the farm was driving him insane.


    Hanish turned the key, starting the engine, and shifted gears. Checking his surroundings, he turned the steering wheel, and the truck began to move forward. As he drove through the gate and onto the road, the farm seemed to fade into the background. He kept his eyes fixed straight ahead as they continued down the long road.


    ¡°It¡¯s been a long time since I¡¯ve been in a car,¡± Janice stated, leaning over with her arm hanging out the window. A wave of nausea washed over her. She gagged and moaned, ¡°Stop the car!¡±


    ¡°What?¡± Hanish asked. ¡°Why?¡±


    ¡°The contents¡ªthe small contents of my stomach¡ªare about to be all over your dash!¡± That¡¯s all he needed to hear. He quickly slammed on the brakes. The truck screeched to a halt, and Janice jumped out. He watched as she desperately ran into the field and began to vomit. She hadn¡¯t been in a car so long that she had developed motion sickness.


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    In the fields, Hanish noticed the undead beginning to rise from the ground. Janice, however, remained hunched over something, oblivious to the imminent danger. ¡°Janice!¡± he shouted, rushing toward her. Panic tightened his chest as he scooped her up into his arms. Janice, finally seeing the undead, started kicking and demanding to be put down.


    Ignoring her protests, he threw her into the truck and slammed the door shut. He scrambled to the other side as the undead shambled toward them with alarming speed. One lunged, tackling him just as he reached the driver¡¯s seat. He fought it off, shoving it to the ground, and finally managed to get inside. He started the engine and slammed his foot on the accelerator. The undead slammed their bodies against the vehicle.


    Tears streamed down his face as Janice screamed in his ears, urging him to go faster. He pushed the engine as hard as he could, reaching nearly 100 miles per hour. Still, the undead clawed and hit the truck. The fields transitioned into trees, and then houses came into view. Janice¡¯s mouth dropped at the images she was seeing: undead everywhere, dead animals, and people torn apart.


    Tears welled in her eyes as her search led her to a figure against a tree. It was Lila, hunched over and gnawing on a deer. This wasn¡¯t the woman she knew. Blood stained everything¡ªthe house, the yard¡ªand entrails pooled from fresh wounds. Janice sank into her seat, drawing her knees to her chest.


    ¡°No,¡± she cried out, repeating the word over and over. Janice looked at Hanish, who was wide-eyed, staring straight ahead. They both knew the gas in the car wouldn¡¯t take them very far. As they passed the houses and began to enter city limits, Janice noticed a Sam¡¯s Club off in the distance, about half a mile away.


    It seemed like a Hail Mary. The place was always stacked to the brim with everything you would need.¡±There!¡± Janice exclaimed, wiping away her tears.


    Hanish steered his car into the right lane, heading for Sam¡¯s. ¡°Why didn¡¯t you come here before?¡± Janice asked.


    Hanish glanced at her. ¡°I don¡¯t have a key to the door.¡±


    Janice looked at him, concerned. ¡°Are you serious?¡± she asked, pointing.


    ¡°Yeah¡­ so, do you have a key?¡± he responded, acting as if she had asked a stupid question.


    ¡°We can break in,¡± she said, almost rolling her eyes.Hanish possessed a moral compass. He understood that breaking in would be wrong. Therefore, he reasoned that they should simply check if the door happened to be unlocked upon their arrival.

 Chapter 13

    The lights were broken. The doors were sealed shut with metal wires, a lock dangling loosely. Janice scanned the area for a rock or something heavy to break the glass, while Hanish searched for a key.


    Leaning down, Janice noticed a crack in the storefront. Shopping carts were scattered haphazardly across the parking lot, and a large ¡°closed¡± sign was prominently displayed on the wall.


    Spotting an opportunity, Janice saw a baseball bat leaning against the side of the store near a trashcan. She picked it up and looked at Hanish, who was still searching the ground for a key. ¡°Step back,¡± she said, lifting the bat and pointing it at the door. She swung. The bat smacked against the glass, but it didn¡¯t break. She was never good at sports.


    She swung again, hitting the glass harder, but it still didn¡¯t break. ¡°Fuck it,¡± she muttered, grabbing Hanish¡¯s pistol and aiming it at the door.


    The force of the shot nearly knocked her backward. The recoil clipped her hand, causing her to drop the gun, but the glass shattered. Hanish stared at her, shocked.


    She stepped over the broken door frame and into the store. It was like stepping into a magical kingdom, even better than she remembered. She felt as if she were in a dream, recalling zombie films with empty stores, or the movie ¡°Where the Heart Is.¡± She had always dreamed of living in a department store.


    Bloodstains marked the floor, surrounded by shattered shelves and broken items strewn haphazardly. Janice and Hanish carefully stepped around the food scattered.


    ¡°Make sure to stay away from the fridge section,¡± Hanish said, certain that those foods would be spoiled by now. She nodded and went in, immediately starting to check things. She noticed a chair for sale in the distance: an oval wicker chair. She forgot about everything she had seen earlier as she sank into the chair.


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    Hanish wandered through the store until he located the outdoor section. A display of various weapons caught his eye, and he examined each one with interest. He then spotted inflatable mattresses in the camping area and picked up two before turning to Janice, who was still sitting in a chair, tears streaming down her face.


    ¡°Are you okay?¡± he asked as he approached.


    She dug her nails into her knees, groaning in pain. ¡°Lila was back there.¡± She scratched herself until she bled. Leaning forward, she noticed her toenails had grown, and her feet were dirty. She hadn¡¯t been wearing shoes this whole time.


    She realized she had stepped on glass; her feet were cut, the pain now a distant echo.


    ¡°What was Lila to you?¡± Hanish asked, crouching beside her. She wiped her eyes and looked at him.


    ¡°Everything,¡± Janice said, her voice softening. She gazed up at the ceiling.


    Janice reminisced about Lila and herself, recounting to Hanish how she became Lila¡¯s support system two years into her brother¡¯s marriage.


    Initially, their relationship was a simple friendship. However, as Lila grew increasingly distressed by Janice¡¯s brother¡¯s abusive behavior, Janice found herself falling in love with Lila. They began an affair and made plans to run away together, but the undead attacked that very day, thwarting their escape. Janice assumed her brother had been unaware of their relationship. She expected the truth to surface when he trapped them both, but her brother was so gullible that it was easy to manipulate him. They needed him alive until Lila, finally reaching her breaking point, shot Ivan in the head.


    ¡± She killed him?¡± Hanish asked concerning growing for Janice. Janice nodded.


    ¡°We left the bunker and.. Lila was attacked, ¡± she told him, leaning into her hand. ¡± she wasn¡¯t the same.¡±


    ¡°Well, how did you get glass embedded into your stomach?¡± He asked, wondering if she did it out of desperation.


    ¡°I was being chased by my undead brother, and while I escaped.. it was my only choice, ¡± she said as her hand drifted to touch her stomach. ¡± It was the kitchen window..¡± I fell threw it,¡± she said. He wondered how she managed to get all the way to his hour a mile away with cuts all in her and away from the undead with that kind of injury.


    She was scared, and if it hadn¡¯t been for being covered in her and her brother¡¯s blood. They didn¡¯t seem to notice her.


    ¡± Their blood.¡± She said, looking at him.

 Chapter 14

    Hanish strolled down the aisles, attempting to determine what was still good and what had gone bad. He broke some of the rules he had set for himself by stealing things from the shelves. He returned to the gun section and examined an Ithaca 37.


    He snatched his shirt and tore off some of the material, then tightly wrapped it around his hand. He tightened his fist, contemplating breaking the case and stealing the gun.


    ¡°Oh my God, just do it!¡± Hanish looked up, but it wasn¡¯t Janice. It was a vision of his brother Leon. ¡°You still hide from what you want to do!¡± He spoke to him, gleaming in the light of the afterlife.


    Hanish whispered, ¡°I don¡¯t think you understand. It¡¯s not right.¡± He looked back at the case, running his hand across its length.


    ¡°Brother, you¡¯re being foolish.¡± Leon was taunting him. Hanish had a deep sense that his brother was right.


    He was by himself in a building that had been abandoned, with a strange woman at the end of the world. He was uncertain if he would wake up tomorrow or if the divine would just destroy the Earth. Was he the last man on the planet or just in the state or city? He didn¡¯t know. Hanish felt sick to his stomach, but he felt that if he just kept it easy, maybe he would find his way back to Aleaha. He just knew she was out there, still alive. She would come back to him. ¡°You have to give up on her. She abandoned you.¡±


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    Hanish leaned over and smashed his fist into the glass. It broke all over his hand, shattering around the gun. His heart pounded, and he scurried down to retrieve it. He could hear the beat pounding in his ears. He glanced toward his brother, but the ghost had disappeared.


    ¡°What happened?¡± Janice said, standing before him, holding a can of Spam. Hanish took hold of the gun, catching his breath. ¡°We can use this,¡± he said, showing her the gun. She dropped the can and raced to remove the gun from his hands. He retracted it. ¡°Are you hurt?¡± she asked, worried for him.


    He stood there shaking, his hands dripping with blood. ¡°No, I am fine,¡± he said, walking away from her, still cradling the gun. As she followed him, her face became worried. She reached for his shoulder as he dropped to the floor. He screamed in pain. Janice covered him with her body to comfort him. He cried and shook as he came to terms with his shame.


    She had him sit down in front of her to clean up his wound. She stared at him as he told her what to do: clean the wound and stitch it up. She didn¡¯t do a good job, but it was good enough to keep the wound together.

 Chapter 15

    Hanish watched as Janice slept, taking in each breath she took. He observed to see if it would stall. He turned onto his back on his air mattress and looked up at the massive ceiling. His eyes followed the giant pipes; he felt as if he could just lift up and float away. He closed his eyes, briefly experiencing what he felt.


    He opened them to see Janice standing before him, holding a plate of chickpeas. She smiled at him and said, ¡°Good morning.¡± He took the plate from her, noticing a small light gleaming from the sheets she had hung over the glass doors. Big tables were flipped and blocked the opening. He wondered how she had managed to do that alone. She didn¡¯t really speak to him much, but every once in a while, she would glance up at him.


    ¡°Is there anything on your mind?¡± he asked, taking a spoonful into his mouth.


    She looked at him and placed her plate at her feet. She glanced away from him, and he noticed her eyes were not meeting his. She sighed and bit her lip. ¡°Hanish, how have you been able to survive?


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    ¡°What do you mean?¡± he chuckled. She took a deep breath and looked him straight in the eyes.


    ¡°You¡¯ve been on your own for two years, and yet you seem to be able to avoid the undead. How?¡± She was staring at him with a nervous expression; he noticed it on her face. She wasn¡¯t asking to know; she was scared of him.


    ¡°I guess it¡¯s just luck?¡± he said, shrugging his shoulders. She narrowed her brow and looked down at her plate. It wasn¡¯t a good enough answer; there was something more going on, something unseen. Hanish couldn¡¯t explain it himself. He figured he had been lucky or that maybe something about his scent was blocking him from being affected anymore. Janice once again looked up at him.


    ¡°Are you enjoying your food?¡± she asked, poking around in her food. He nodded. The moment was awkward; the silence was so loud. Hanish wondered how much longer Janice was going to keep following him around. The sounds of groaning became present outside the sheets; the silhouettes of the undead gleamed through.


    Hanish gestured to Janice to be silent. She looked behind her, jumping up. She ran behind Hanish for protection, holding on to his arms as he kept her behind him. He slowly pulled the curtains back and started shooting. Some were following, but others kept going faster than his bullets.


    They were trying to push past the tables, and then Hanish turned to Janice and told her to run. She swallowed hard and then nodded to him. She ran towards the back of the store as fast as she could. She picked up her feet as she heard Hanish behind her. He was marking each Undead in the head. They fell like leaves. He didn¡¯t have time to look back at Janice. He just wanted her to be safe.

 Chapter 16

    Hanish stood in the middle of the store, surrounded by dead bodies. He huffed and wiped the blood and tears from his face. He wondered where Janice had gone. He made his way around the store, shouting for her, but received no response. He figured she had probably run out of the store.


    He saw his truck still where he had left it days ago. He was sore from his shoulders to his feet. His head was pounding, and he found the bathroom and splashed water on his face, looking at himself in the mirror. He was fading; his hair was greasy and graying. He started bawling and screaming at himself. He dropped to his knees and curled into the fetal position. He wondered if he was still a good person.


    ¡°Of course you are,¡± he heard from the voice in his head. He knew that he was just doing what he needed to do to survive. He then thought about Janice. He wondered if she was okay. He picked himself up and dusted himself off. He staggered out of the bathroom, walking to the aisle with backpacks. Hanish glanced down the aisle and ran his hand over the different kinds of backpacks, pulling two down.


    Breathing heavily, Hanish unzipped the first bag and shoved the food they had collected into it. He grabbed three water bottles and looked over to grab some of Janice¡¯s stuff, but he noticed she didn¡¯t have anything. She had come to him with nothing. He felt bad for her, realizing he had to go after her. He needed her company after all. He grabbed two first aid kits and threw them into the other backpack. He slung it over his shoulder.


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    He grabbed the gun and a gun holster. He looked at himself in the mirror and smiled. ¡°You got this.¡± He walked out, past the broken doors, and down through the parking lot to his truck. He went to turn it on, but it stalled. ¡°Fuck,¡± he screamed, slamming his hands on the wheel. He hit the wheel multiple times and screamed. He looked at the road before him. She couldn¡¯t have gotten too far. He knew she was a strong person, so she had to be somewhere close by.


    He got out of the car and decided he would just have to walk. He took a deep breath and looked both north and south of the road. The undead littered the parking lot and some bodies on the road. He knew he would have to work fast. It was just trying to figure out which road to take. He looked ahead, noticing a craft store and a jewelry store in the distance. He looked behind him, and there was an abandoned Mexican restaurant and a dress store. Which way would she have gone? he thought to himself. He thought about Aleaha.


    ¡°If I lived in a craft store, I would be the happiest,¡± Aleaha spoke in a memory he had. She was drinking an iced tea while she made trinkets out of broken bottle tops and felt fabrics.


    He chuckled, looking to the north of the road. ¡°I guess I¡¯ll check there first.¡± He picked himself up and headed towards the craft store.


    The road was longer than he thought. He walked for what felt like an hour, but he wasn¡¯t anywhere close to the buildings. He felt them moving away from him. He noticed his body was starting to cramp, and the sun glared down. Working on the farm, he was used to the heat, but he realized he hadn¡¯t had anything to eat or drink in quite some time.

 Chapter 17

    Hanish finally, as exhaustion set in, reached the craft store. He noticed the doors were not broken, and he fell against the wall. He felt hopeless, and he slid down. ¡°Where are you?¡± he spoke. As he looked back down, he noticed a gleaming piece of metal next to the door. He leaned down and snatched it up. He felt as if it were a blessing from the universe. The key to the door was just left there out in the open.


    He used the key to unlock the doors and went in. The building was smaller than he expected. ¡°Aleaha,¡± he shouted, then realizing that he meant to say Janice. He shouted again, ¡°Janice, are you in here?¡± He heard no response. He walked in, looking around. There wasn¡¯t a soul in the store. He noticed a skeleton hanging against the storage area, a crochet needle in the rib cage.


    He yanked it out, and the skeleton shattered, bones scattering to the floor. Hanish jumped back when he noticed spiders crawling all around the floor. There had to be at least ten of them.


    His heart pounded in his chest. He was terrified of spiders; Aleaha had been the one who could hold her own when it came to them. He figured it was because of her night shifts as a nurse. She wasn¡¯t scared of anything, or at least he thought she was scared of nothing.


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    He flew out of the building, noticing that another building was off in the distance. He couldn¡¯t make out what it was until he started walking again.


    His feet began to slow on him, the realization that he was tired hitting him; his feet were wet from sweat. Sore and deflated, he needed to rest. He walked towards the next building, starting to feel his feet drag as he noticed it was a coffee shop.


    The doors were busted open, so he figured one, if not both, of the women had been in there. He approached slowly and entered. The building was bare, as if it once had been a cafe, but it was no longer. He sighed as he saw it torn up. He decided he would have to rest here for the night. He made himself a small setup in the corner.


    Settling down, Hanish opened one of the backpacks, and a can of spam rolled out of it. He grabbed it, cracking it open by the tab. He decided to dig in when he saw, across from him, a rat that looked sad and depleted. He picked out some of the spam and placed it on the floor. The rat ran to it, taking it in its paws and mouth, then ran away from him. He felt like the rat was him.


    Hanish picked at the spam, eating it slowly as it mashed between his fingers. After he finished the can, he drank a bottle of water and chugged it. He then dropped down on the floor, his head hitting the ground. He closed his eyes, finally coming to the sweet relief of sleep.

 Chapter 18

    Hanish found himself walking down the road. It had been days since he had seen Janice and even longer since he had eaten or drunk anything. He felt himself wasting away. His stomach growled in empty homage to his growing hunger. He started to drag his feet as he saw a figure off in the distance, waving him down. It was Janice. She was standing in front of an abandoned restaurant. When he reached her, he silently entered the building. He followed behind her as she directed him to the kitchen area. There was a container of water sitting out in the open.


    Exhaustion weighed him down, and he felt severely dehydrated. He looked up at Janice, attempting to cry, but found himself unable to produce tears. He quickly fetched himself a glass of water, adding a dash of salt. Recalling his brother¡¯s advice that a pinch of salt could aid hydration, especially for those suffering from dehydration, he made sure to add only a small amount. He swirled the water to dissolve the salt and then looked down at the glass.


    He shook his head. ¡°No, I don¡¯t want it,¡± he said, pushing it away. He began to laugh, a hollow, broken sound. He dropped the shirt and looked at Janice, who was standing back, still holding the glass of water. ¡°Why are you here?¡± he asked.


    ¡°Because you need me,¡± she said, feeling hopeless. He stood up, grabbed the glass, and stared at his reflection in the water.


    ¡°Thank you,¡± he whispered.


    ¡°It¡¯s no problem.¡± She smiled at him and cocked her head, pulling herself onto the counter. He heard a noise coming from the back of the kitchen.


    ¡°Did you hear that?¡± he said, looking at her, confused.


    ¡°No, I didn¡¯t.¡±


    He went to investigate. Inside, chairs were stacked on tables, covered by a large plastic sheet. He slid the sheet aside, revealing napkins folded into swans. It was Aleaha¡¯s specialty; she had practiced for months to perfect the technique. He always thought it was quirky. He chuckled, finally feeling a sense of relief. She had made it this far. Then Janice noticed the office door to the left was jammed with a broomstick. As she walked toward it, she heard a moaning sound coming from inside. Hanish turned to see Janice staring at the door.


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    ¡°What are you doing?¡± he asked.


    She pointed to the door and mouthed, ¡°In here.¡± He rushed past her and pulled the broomstick away. The door flew open, revealing a woman hunched over, naked, and covered in blood. She looked up at Hanish, and he realized it was Aleaha.


    ¡°Aleaha!¡± He shot past Janice and grabbed Aleaha, holding her tight. She moaned and groaned in his arms, weak and gaunt. Then she fell limp. He shook her, and she smiled at him as she closed her eyes. He carried her out to the truck, laid her in the back, and held her tight. He instructed Janice to drive.


    She watched him carry Aleaha into the house. Janice grabbed the backpacks, looking for medical supplies. Hanish laid Aleaha down on a display mat and began administering mouth-to-mouth resuscitation as Janice gathered supplies, dropping them next to him and Aleaha.


    ¡°Let me go,¡± Aleaha spoke as she looked up at Hanish. Her eyes glossed over. Hanish kissed her hand as she brought it to his face. She dropped back, and he counted as she stopped breathing¡­ twenty minutes. Janice leaned down and hugged Hanish as he screamed, holding Aleaha limp in his arms.


    She was gone. He couldn¡¯t believe it. Shaking and sobbing, Hanish kissed Aleaha¡¯s cold forehead. Janice gently touched his shoulder. ¡°I¡­¡± she began, stepping back, ¡°I¡¯m so sorry.¡± She didn¡¯t know how to console him. Her gaze drifted to Aleaha, whose body was shockingly emaciated.


    Janice noticed a bracelet dangling from her wrist, adorned with a diamond ring. Her breasts were also mutilated, the wound extending down to her navel. Janice couldn¡¯t begin to imagine what Aleaha had endured.


    Hanish looked at Janice, his heart twisted. He was shaking, confused, and beginning to see his world twist and turn. He looked to see Janice was gone. He realized he wasn¡¯t at the store. He was back on the farm. He was in the bunker, embracing Aleaha¡¯s lifeless body.


    He remembered then what all that had happened. She was sick in the bunker; she refused to eat, even though he took it upon himself to feed her. He watched her wither away in front of him. Until one morning, he found her on the floor, unresponsive and unrecognizable. He held her tight as she whispered, ¡°It¡¯s okay,¡± in his ear. He laid her to rest out in the fields.


    He found himself fighting with the imagery to the point that he imagined her coming to life, even bringing his brother to life as well. But he recognized that they were undead. He struggled with the ghost and thoughts of death. He staggered down the road to the neighbors to see if they were okay. He fell limp into the field. Birds flew rapidly away from him, and he started crying. His eyes weeped until he was sore and passed out in the field. ¡± Hanish,¡± he heard an angelic voice whispered as he rolled on to his back to staring up at the blaring sun.


    Over the next few days, he gathered her up and took her body. He laid her in the truck and horrified he covered her with her favorite blanket. The vultures swooped down, and he fought them off as they swatted at her body. Shredding into her. He drove down the road with her in the truck.


    He had to get her far away from him. He saw the abandoned restaurant, and he pulled off. I Thinking he was going to lay her in there and catch the building on fire so that the memory wouldn¡¯t follow him. He laid her on the table and kissed her lips one last time. She was still warm, but her body was collegiate and bruised. He emptied the contents of his belly as he wanted to tear at himself. He screamed as he cried to the point of dehydration. He couldn¡¯t help himself.

 Chapter 19

    Bloodied and covered in dirt, Hanish hiked up the hill, his gaze fixed beyond the horizon. In the distance, he spotted a woman wielding a baseball bat, smashing it against a door while screaming. ¡°Janice!¡± Hanish shouted.


    She turned, but she was not the Janice he remembered. Though still curvaceous, her face was marred by scars, and her rose-colored lips were busted.


    She wore a tattered, dark blue dress, her red hair pulled back in a bun. She smiled and waved as he approached. He noticed bandages wrapped around her legs. ¡°Why are you breaking into this house?¡± he asked, observing her failed attempt to break the lock.


    ¡°This house has a pool!¡± she exclaimed, swinging the bat into the door¡¯s glass frame. Reaching through the shattered glass, she unlocked the door with a crooked finger. Hanish watched in amazement as she swung the door open.


    She entered the house as if she knew her way around. Hanish watched her, a headache tightening its grip as he began to feel lightheaded. He stumbled against the doorway as she skipped about the room, fading into her background. She was lost in her own world.


    He slid down the wall, paralyzed, watching her move about. A cough wracked his body. She turned and rushed to his side. Touching his forehead, she shouted, ¡°You have a fever!¡±


    Hanish lay frozen as Janice searched the cabinets for medicine. ¡°There isn¡¯t a thing in here,¡± she said, slamming the cabinets. ¡°They just have oils.¡±


    He shivered, finally able to move slightly.


    ¡°Janice, it¡¯s okay,¡± Hanish spoke, coughing again. ¡°Let me rest here. You go on.¡±


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    ¡°You saved me back then.¡± He woke up to find himself in his bed at home. Janice was sitting before him, wearing a jeans jacket, black leggings, and a white t-shirt. He thought she looked nice, and he smiled.


    ¡°What do you mean?¡± he asked.


    ¡°When you came back from burying Aleaha, I was out of the bunker then¡­ you found me and rescued me.¡± Hanish looked at her and shook his head.


    ¡°No, you came to me a couple of weeks ago with glass embedded in your stomach,¡± he groaned. He would have remembered saving someone back then; why would he forget that?


    ¡°You might have forgotten because you didn¡¯t know you saved me,¡± she said, placing a damp towel on his head. How could someone save someone and not know? She sat back in her chair and looked away from him. ¡°You shot and killed Lila in the backyard¡­ I was in the pantry hiding,¡± she said. ¡°I knew she was half dead then. You left me alive, but you didn¡¯t know I was in there.¡±.


    ¡°Lila? She was the first woman I killed,¡± he said. ¡°But we saw her when we were on our way to the department store.¡± He remembered because Janice had freaked out and was in pain then.


    ¡°Because¡­ that means they don¡¯t stay dead¡­ when they evacuate the city¡­¡±


    ¡°Evacuated the city?¡± he said, confused. ¡°When did they do that?¡± he said, trying to sit up, but he couldn¡¯t bring himself to.


    ¡°Two weeks after the presidential address ¡­ that¡¯s why none of the living are here,¡± she spoke to him.


    ¡°But you know, I thought it was just the two of us¡­ we went looking¡­¡±


    ¡°For more food,¡± Janice said, cutting him off. Janice forgot to mention that to him: that beyond the city, there were living people.


    Hanish shoved himself away from her. He began to sob; he had, for a long time, thought he was alone. That¡¯s why he had given up on searching for others. He had just thought maybe that Aleaha would be the one thing that wouldn¡¯t have left him, but she died on him.

 Chapter 20

    Janice stood firmly, staring at Hanish. He was hitting his fist against the dry wall and was trying to break the house down. He was still weak and feverish. She wanted to stop him, but felt like it wasn¡¯t her place to intervene. She even noticed he wasn¡¯t doing the damage. He believed he was. He was rabid and screaming, throwing things about. But it was weak throws. She felt quite embarrassed for him. She squenched her face and looked away from him. She realized that because of all this, she had become numb and mentally exhausted. She knew he was mad, mad at her but it was too late. What he had done was done. ¡± You knew all along,¡± he screamed


    ¡± It was hard not to tell you,¡± She said, grabbing him to calm him down. He started crying and fell into her arms.


    ¡± I had to do it,¡± she whispered as she held him tight.


    ¡± Why didn¡¯t you leave..¡± he whimpered into her shoulder. If she had left, maybe he would have been brave enough to end his own life. She closed her eyes and began to tell him about that day.


    Janice sat up the table for dinner time, she was sitting the table with fried chicken and mash potatoes, corn as a side. She was proud of her work. She then heard a commotion upstairs. She looked to see Lila coming down the stairs. She was panicked and rushing as fast as she could. Janice stopped her, noticing she was carrying suitcases. ¡°We have to leave!¡± Lila said to her.


    ¡°Why?¡± Janice was confused and hugged Lila tight. Lila held up the remote to the living room TV and turned it on to the news.


    The screen was almost static, but they could only hear screaming. People were gone by that point. The news spoke of the outbreak, but they were silent about the undead. They spoke of a virus, an infection making people sick enough to kill them, but it was death upon exposure, they told the people.


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    ¡°People are dying in droves. They told people to get to the bunkers, but they are saying we need to evacuate now,¡± Lila said, but then there was a knock on the door. Lila groaned as she opened the door; she was shocked to see a man in faded blue jeans and a plaid shirt standing in front of them.


    ¡°Ivan¡­¡± both ladies said, grabbing each other for safety.


    ¡°What are you doing here?¡± Lila spoke, her voice trembling with fear. Janice knew, as Lila did, that her brother was capable of anything. He looked at them, then coughed blood down his shirt. They both recoiled.


    ¡°You¡¯re sick!¡± Lila exclaimed, a chilling realization washing over her: they were likely moments away from death.


    Janice noticed her brother was dazed and disoriented. ¡°Ivan, get the fuck out of here!¡± Janice shouted, shoving him in the chest. He swung at her, and she retaliated with a punch to the face. He grabbed her, throwing her against the wall. She landed hard, her back seizing in pain. Unable to move, she watched helplessly as her brother seized Lila, who fought against him. The sounds of the struggle drew Marcus, Lila¡¯s sixteen-year-old son, down the stairs. Though young, he possessed his mother¡¯s fiery rage.


    ¡°Let her go!¡± Marcus shouted at Ivan.


    ¡°No, don¡¯t involve yourself,¡± Janice choked out, but Ivan moved like a bird. He darted up the stairs after the boy, snapping his neck with a swift, brutal action.


    Lila screamed and charged after Ivan, swinging her bag at him. Janice, broken and realizing Lila could handle herself, slid along the wall towards the kitchen, desperately trying to slip unnoticed into the pantry.


    Peeking through a small opening, paralyzed with fear, Janice watched Lila fight Ivan with all her might. Distracted, Ivan noticed the meal on the table, and animal instinct took over. He began to devour it. Seizing the opportunity, Lila grabbed a knife from the counter and, with the last of her strength, plunged it into his neck. He collapsed, immobile.


    Lila fell to the kitchen floor. Janice knew it was too late. She watched the woman she loved dying in front of her. Thirty minutes later, Hanish ran in, but he didn¡¯t check the pantry.


    Janice reminded him of what had ensued. Still scared, Janice watched Lila stand up in amazement. She realized that Lila hadn¡¯t died, but in that moment, Lila was no longer the woman she loved. After the gunshot, Hanish had walked back through the house, yet he left without checking the pantry. Hours later, Janice mustered her strength and managed to burn the bodies of Ivan and Marcus. When she went to retrieve Lila, she discovered Lila was gone from the yard. Janice looked around and saw her dragging herself toward the tree. Janice considered what she was going to do, but she couldn¡¯t bring herself to hurt Lila, for she cared too much for her.


    Hanish sat back, watching as Janice¡¯s heart broke again before him. He knew the same pain she was in. ¡°If I had known, I would have¡­¡±