text: Vera didn't think it was real at first. She almost expected someone to come out with a camera and yell, “Surprise!” But no one did; they never would. It was something she had to remind herself of regularly. No one would care enough to help her if she couldn't help herself first. Not that she met many people in this hellscape. Not any that were alive, at least. But that seemed to be the luck for those that actually followed the guidelines. Vera had backed out of class when she started coughing. Of course, she wasn’t actually sick, she just wanted to avoid being around potential harbingers of this new mysterious disease. And while her grades slipped a bit, she was accommodated for the lack of face-to-face accessibility. She became very thankful for all those persistent enough to not be put off by her shitty personality--those who she called her best friends. Those that were probably dead or hunting around in the street right now. Those who had no regard for their safety, who didn’t follow the rules, choosing to instead pass it off. They weren’t the only ones, though. Everyone kept passing it off as a temporary disease. They just said it was another version of anemia that was uncommon enough as it was. Masks and gloves were discarded in the first two weeks of the quarantine that their government had established. But they hadn’t even started wearing those crucial little things--something to overlook in a drug store--when it mattered. At the very beginning, several countries had already taken notice, establishing their own quarantines, and new rules and regulations. People living in other countries who weren’t quite so aware of this development were the first to close themselves off from the public. Those were the ones that stayed up to date with world news. America took a bit longer. Vera had just returned to her dorm when the official release came out--the mystery disease with no name and no known origin had reached a deadly level, spreading rapidly across the world. Some people joked that this was Mother Nature’s way of eradicating the true disease of Earth--human beings. If that were true, though, this disease wouldn’t have begun as it did. People would have died immediately, for one. Maybe if people actually listened for once instead of arguing, then this whole pandemic wouldn’t have reached the proportion that it did. Maybe Vera wouldn’t have to fight for her life just to get some damn pads. She had to shake herself out of her thoughts. It wasn’t helping to worry about the things that could have been, and she had to move. Peeking around the corner of the magazine rack confirmed the worst of Vera’s suspicions. She was surrounded and would probably be forced to fight her way out if she couldn’t wait for them to just walk away. Those things always seemed to know when someone was near, though, because every time she tried to wait them out, they just stood there and waited for her instead. There had to be some amount of intelligence in that dead brain of theirs. Of course, Vera could just have horrible luck, but she didn’t like to consider that as an option so she dismissed it just as soon as it popped up. However, unlike those last occasions, Vera came prepared for this one. She had slathered sewage and mud all over her arms and clothes. While it wasn’t the best smelling, it seemed to distract from her original scent, and that would make all the difference. It wasn’t an original idea, though. She had seen someone else do it to get through a particularly nasty crowd the other day. They seemed to move through like it was nothing, though they also weren’t in the heart of it. God, what if they saw her and realized she wasn’t infected? Did she have enough time to shoot herself before she got eaten alive? Save the last one for yourself; wait, no. That was pirates. Pirates had a pretty good blueprint for the end of the world, though, didn’t they? Saving the last bullet was a pretty good idea, though the situation was in a different context. Save it for yourself when you get marooned on some island in the middle of nowhere. What happens when you’re the captain AND crew? Could you maroon yourself? The shuffling behind her told her that she couldn’t afford that train of thought. She had to move now. There was one biter ahead of her near the door, but it didn't seem to notice her just yet--she would know it did when it started sniffing the air. She couldn’t let it catch wind of her. If it didn’t move, though, she would have to do what she really wanted to avoid. Killing them wasn’t an issue. Vera was mainly worried about how close she would have to get in order to do it. If any fluids got in the tiniest of cuts, she’d risk a chance of infection. It wouldn’t be easy, but her knowledge of anatomy would finally come in handy--past Vera would be on the floor cackling at that. There were a few weak spots in the adult skull, spots that she could use to kill them before they even noticed her coming. If it stayed facing away from her, she might be able to get that lucky spot in the back of its head. She prayed to whatever god that was listening as she stalked forward, looking more like a hunchback than any kind of stealthy. It wasn’t the easiest position to walk in, especially when you had to carry forty pounds directly on your back, but it did eliminate a lot more sound. Sound that she couldn’t afford to let out. One shelf after another, achingly slow moments of quick glancing around corners, before, eventually, Vera found herself huddled against a cash register. God. When did her heart start beating so fast? Her feet were numb. The biter was still facing the door--her only way out. After stealing a look around the rest of the front end of the store, she could come to the safe conclusion that, after she got this one down, she could safely sprint back to her camp without anything following her. If they did, they would have to eat her dust instead. A low shuddering breath snapped Vera out of her daydream, and at first, she thought the biter at the front had noticed her, but it was the one from earlier. It was rounding the corner where she sat just moments before. Damn. Vera had to assume that when she heard the shuffling from behind her, it had already caught her scent. There was no time to think, she had to get out of there. Bracing her unprotected side with her bag, Vera readied her little knife, sucked in a breath, and drove it into the back of its neck. It went down easily enough, gurgling a bit but eventually going limp. Careful to hold up the new deadweight, Vera laid it down as quickly as she possibly could without drawing more attention to herself. Now the path was clear. Except the hand gripping her arm told her otherwise. Vera whipped her head around, swinging the knife in a wide arc around her. But instead of a biter--it was a kid. He leaned back just in time to only get clipped on the shoulder by the blade. The biter from before was laying just behind him, dead, she assumed. He raised a hand to his lips to keep her from speaking, not that she planned to. She almost felt insulted that he thought she would, but they didn't have time to mess around. He helped her, now she owed him. Not the best situation to be in, especially now. He was probably going to demand some of the stuff she scavenged from this place. The stuff she really couldn't afford to lose. If she wanted to stay alive, though, she’d have to. Maybe she could get the jump on him first? No, that’d be stupid . They didn't have a lot of time to do anything though. It wasn’t smart to stick around the dead ones. Vera noticed that when one went down, others came to snack on it. It’s like they were vultures, taking what they could get from other predators’ kills. Not that Vera, or anyone for that matter, wanted to eat those things. More power to them, at least when this was all fixed, the cleanup would be easy. The body nodded toward the door and reached out to grab her, flinching back when Vera jerked the knife away. She still had her hatchet secured in her bag but if she couldn’t keep her knife out, he might get the upper hand. Vera pointed at him, making a quick walking figure with her index and middle finger, and motioned to the door. He seemed to understand well enough, though he hesitated, feet glued to the floor. She couldn’t chance them getting caught, though, and finally said screw it, grabbed his jacket sleeve, and tugged him up with her. Looks were definitely deceiving, though, because this kid could move fast . Despite moving over broken glass, no sound came from beneath those chunky shoes. Vera had stumbled a bit to keep from accidentally stepping on it, but she kept her knife aimed his way as the two snuck out of the parking lot. He could slip away from her as soon as she blinked, and she didn't want to risk that. She needed to keep the high ground in this. “You got a place?” His voice was weird, kind of nasally, and high pitched. “You should keep your voice down,” Vera’s own was hoarse with disuse, but she couldn't find it in herself to feel ashamed. The most talking she did was to herself in her sleep. “We’re on the roof, we’ll be fine.” “You don’t know that for sure.” “I haven’t seen them learn to climb yet.” “ Yet ,” Vera spit. “Yet, indeed,” the boy grinned back at her, not even fazed at the knife aimed his way. “But I think we can assume safety up here for now.” He stopped and held out his hand for her to shake. Vera didn't move to accept it so he dropped it by his side. “I’m Adam, I go to the vocational college for funeral service near the airport, you?” “Er,” she paused, knife wavering a bit in her grasp. What was she supposed to say? Also, he apparently was much older than he looked, Vera almost felt bad for calling him a boy. “The main campus in Houston?” “Oh yeah?” that grin of his never seemed to falter. “What for?” “Arts,” she shoved the knife back in her bag. “Look what’s your goal here?” “To get to know you!” “Why?” “It’s kind of lonely out here, ya know,” he glanced around them, waving his hands at their surroundings as he turned. “There’s no one friendly out here for miles and you’re the first person I meant willing to talk to me for this long.” “That’s because no one trusts one another,” Vera said. “You can’t just assume everyone wants to be with someone.” “Well, I want to be with someone, ever consider that?” Vera swallowed thickly, letting out a dry cough when she realized out parched she actually was. She needed to get something to drink soon. “We’re complete strangers, but you killed the biter back there behind me, so I have to repay you. It’s common courtesy. What do you want?” “Your name, and your company if you’ll have me.” The response was instant and it drove Vera for a loop. What was the guy's goal? She scowled and heaved a sigh from her nose. It was nice to have someone to watch her back, and it wouldn’t hurt to have an extra pair of hands. Especially capable hands, if the silent kill back in the store was any indicator. Vera shook her head, “Fine, it’s Vera, but get in my way and I drop you.” “That’s fine by me,” he hopped to attention when she continued toward the next building, rolling back on her heels to get ready to jump. “So, where are we headed?”