Making it home was easy enough. 

   I pushed on the pedal as fast as I could but it was still being stable in the rainy weather. I didn't lift my foot off until we were at the front of the steps. If someone else were to be standing in the rain I wouldn’t give a fuck. 

I’m pretty sure the insurance companies are trying to deal with people eating each other and not in the pleasurable way.

   By the time we made it to the casa, the rain was lifting up and the clouds started to part like it was Moses and the Red Seas. There were still a bunch of cars lined up in front of us, parked. These people should be grateful they never had to experience the start of the apocalypse .

   Glancing at the time on my phone, my face couldn’t hide the shock that appeared. It has been only three hours. 

   I then glanced outside slowly like those people in horror movies trying to build tension. And guess what? The streets were a fucking mess!

   Cars crashed into poles with the alarms going off. Some other cars were abandoned on the street but good thing for my clever driving skills, that I was able to snake past them with ease.

   In the span of three hours… the city has gone to shit. 

   I got out of the car in a very suave manner, In my head at least. I stepped one foot out but clipped the side of the seat with my other foot and fumbled onto the ground. Both my hands laid palmed on the ground while my ass was probably gracing the eyes of Kayla.

   “Can you stop playing around.” Kayla whispered as if I was enjoying myself on the ground.

   I crawled forward and propped myself back onto my feet. I leaned back into the car and Kayla was holding her box up at me as if I was her personal maid. Wait, wouldn’t that be a butler? Why did my mind latch onto maid? I feel like I'm discovering parts of myself that should’ve been locked inside a vault.

   I shot her a blank stare but she shot me a piercing one that felt like a dagger was entering my soul. I quickly took off my jacket and threw it over to Kayla before taking the crate with both hands. In my head this made it so she would be carrying something of mine and I would be carrying something of hers. The laws of equivalent exchange, mhm mhm.

   Kayle put the coat over her head and shoulders until none of her skin was showing. She even  hugged the front of her face so even her cute nose wouldn’t be touched by the now light rain. 

   She climbed over to my seat and proceeded to get out of the car. My eyes naturally gravitated to her jean shorts as she got out but I quickly mentally slapped myself. This really wasn’t the time to be getting horny! We just killed a fucking zombie Jack! What the fuck Jack!

   I could feel stares on me as I mentally reprimanded myself. I gave the girl a nervous smile and  walked forward to close the door with my hip and proceed up the stairs into the apartment building.

***

When we entered inside the place seemed eerily quiet and dark. It took a few moments for our eyes to adjust to the darkness but even then, we had to squint to see in front of us.

   The walls were thin so naturally we would hear the occasional door slam when someone entered their apartment. Was everyone already in their homes and unsuspecting of the outside world? Should we warn them? Maybe I can print out some “BEWARE OUTSIDE” on some copy paper or something and plaster it onto this door.

   Thud!

   Oh, looks like someone was about to leave. Should warn them of the flesh eating people outside. The least we could do as neighbors!

   Thud….Thud….Thud….

   The sound got closer as I was mostly focusing on what to say when the person or people come. Should I just say it straight and hope they believe me? Or should I try to break it down slowly to each individual that some zombies apparently were conjured up and are now taking over the city. Haha, would they believe me with either explanation?

   Just then a grey human appeared from around the corner like this was some daily routine! 

   Kayla slid behind me and grasped onto my arms as if hiding behind me would help!

   “You know, after that thing finishes with me, you’re next.”

   “You’ve been gaining weight recently by always sitting in that chair. It will take a while before it finishes nomming you.”

   I looked at the girl behind me with astonishment. I knew this girl is always straightforward but did she have to be so shameless to announce that I am merely just a human meat shield? I mean, my stomach might be protruding a little more than normal but I wouldn’t go to the degree of calling me thick!

   The zombie twitched its ugly head and stared at us with its dead eyes. 

   If the zombies have already made it inside here, does that mean everyone else is dead?! Also, how tf are these zombies even coming to fruition? 

Is there some mastermind conjurer behind all this? Is there like a Skyrim necromancer out here summoning the dead? Maybe its whatever the fuck was inside my conciousness giving me quests.

   I placed the crate down and picked up the wrench. If this thing wanted to come at me I wasn’t about to give it a fair fight! Zombies must seriously have an amazing dentist. Otherwise how are they able to go from person to person ripping pieces of flesh from peoples bodies? Wouldn’t that be considered a superpower?

   I would’ve thought that zombie would be running toward us but instead, it just walked precariously towards us. As if it was trying to make sure we were the walking bags of meat it could eat. 

   With Kayla holding on behind me, I slowly shuffled us to the side. The zombie’s head wasn’t following us but instead started to twitch.

   Clank!

   Kayla’s foot bumped into the crate and the metal made a small resounding noise! 

   She pulled her foot back but it seemed too late, the zombie snarled and ran towards the crate! Is this the end?!

   ...no it wasn’t.

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   I shuffled backwards until Kayla was pushed against the wall and her small chest against my back. I swear I wasn’t doing this on purpose but, somethings just happen you know! I swallowed saliva as I lifted the wrench up ready to whack the zombie like a baseball and make a homerun. 

   However, the zombie didn’t seem ….interested? 

   Instead, the zombie ran towards the crate and started clawing at it viciously as if it was something it could eat. WIth each claw forward, the materials inside clanged together lightly which made the zombie snarl even louder.

   Could it not see them?  Is it possible that they are attracted to….

   I dug into my pockets and fished out a couple of loose change. I looked over to the empty space to our right and chucked the coins at the faded wall.

   Kayla tugged on my sleeve like a maniac but quickly the zombie lost interest with the crate and sprinted towards the wall. It started clawing and snarling viciously.

   It was sound!

   The zombies are blind in the dark and switch to their other sensory, hearing. If that’s the case, we can only hope that the light in the hallways stays off!

   However, this doesn’t mean we are in the clear just yet. They may not be able to see but their hearing seems to be amped to max. The slightest clang would attract their attention… We need to go slowly.

   I brought one arm to pull on Kayla’s jacket. I turned to her and put a finger on my lips to be so quiet a pin could be heard across the apartment. She nodded her head and I quickly took the first step forward.

   As we walked into the middle of the room, I could feel Kayla bending down to pick up the crate. I turned my head around and watched as she lifted the thing slowly. Even in a zombie apocalypse she was still focused on her toys, huh?

   We quietly moved across the room until we made it to the stairs up to the first floor. Our rooms were on the second floor but at the far end… getting there won’t be easy and if there’s anything on the stairs… we are fucked!

***

   We proceeded up the first flight of stairs.  I peeked into the hallway of the first floor and didn’t notice much activity. Maybe three or five zombies max just chilling in the area. We didn’t wait for them to notice us, so we continued up the staircase. 

   Luckily for us there was nothing to fear when ascending up to the second floor...that was until we actually took a peek into the hallway.

   Now when I said our rooms were at the end, I meant that quite literally. They weren’t in the middle or even at the end of this hallway! But it was at the end of the floor. 

   This hallway stretched far and afterwards, split into a right and left hallway that was equally as long. Our rooms were located at the far end of the right hallway… but after looking at this first hallway I could feel my heart fall.

   Even though it was difficult to see, there was some movement happening inside the hallway… Tens of zombies were swaying in the middle of the floor! Someone bumping their bloodied heads across the walls while walking aimlessly. Even though they are blind and couldn’t see us, swerving through this crowd would be very difficult without bumping into anyone at all.

   I felt a tugging sensation of my sleeve and realized Kayla was trying to get my attention. I turned around and she raised her eyebrows while widening her eyes as if I could read minds.

   I dug into my pockets once more and fished out my wallet.  The loose change from earlier fell from my wallet so naturally, I would have some more stuck between the folds. I fingered the first flap and pulled out two quarters. Was this all I got? I’m not seriously this poor am i?

   I inspected the couple of bills to sate my ego but realized it wasn’t more than $100.

   Feeling a tear form at the ends of my eyes, I put the two quarters in one hand and pocketed my wallet right after.

   The zombies rely on sound, so I'm just going to need to make as much as sound as I could with each coin. 

   I spun around and looked towards the wall down the staircase we just came from. I’m going to have to once again rely on my arm strength!

   I pulled back my arm and chucked it right down at the wall at the bottom of the stairs! 

   Clink!

   The loud sound rang out and I quickly stepped to the side along with Kayla.  Soon after about six of the swaying zombies flashed their eyes and started hurtling over towards us! 

   However, I knew that they weren’t really coming for the two of us. Instead, the zombies fell down the stairs and started scratching at the wall. 

   I gave a sly grin towards the tech girl beside me, feeling a bit proud of myself. She rolled her eyes and gestured towards the last stray of zombies in the hallway. 

   I frowned inward. I really hoped that this hall would be cleared with just one… now I need to utilize the last quarter I have.

   With a final sigh, I repeated my actions from before and threw the quarter a little higher up than the herd.

   Clink!

   Side stepping once more, I pushed my back against the wall to make room for the final strays in the hall.

   I grinned towards Kayla but could hear something strange come from behind her. Tumbling down were a few zombies coming from the third floor! 

   Without hesitation, I grasped both of Kayla’s small shoulders and pressed her back towards mine. I could feel her heavy breathing as she almost gasped so I made the executive decision to cover her mouth and bring her head under my chin.

   The zombies tumbled down in front of us as we scooted our feet back as much as we could. However, this action came with a price…. Kayla’s butt was seriously pressed up against me! I know in this situation i shouldn’t be thinking with my head but it really made it difficult to focus! 

   Like what the fuck!

   There’s a zombie right in front of me and I’m worried about my little friend pressed against Kayla’s back! Have I known shame.

   The zombie moved swiftly past us, missing us by just a hair. The rest of the zombies in the hall were also tumbling down the stairs, leaving an open pathway for us.

   Nice!

   We shuffled quietly until we reached the end of the hall and we peeked down into the right hallway where our rooms were.

   This was the moment where my heart sank… How were we going to get past this amount of zombies!

   The amount was no laughing matter. There were probably about twenty zombies down this hallway. I glanced behind me to see the left hallway and guess what? It was fucking empty! Was someone being chased and lure all the zombies towards this side? If so, congradu-fucking-lations! You have just killed us! 

   I emptied my pockets and found nothing. My wallet wouldn’t be loud enough to make a sound to draw all these zombies away since the ground was carpet. What to do, what to do….

   I glanced at the crate of tools and a lightbulb flashed inside my head. A spark of a genius if i must say!

   I grabbed onto the crate from an unsuspecting Kayla. She looked at me with wide eyes and started biting her lip as if cursing me inside. However, I could feel the cursing and almost wavered when I thought back to our last interaction and how I took advantage of it. 

Am I doing the right thing?

   She then lowered her gaze and stepped aside for me to do what needed to be done.

   I nodded my head as sweat beaded down my forehead. Feeling like I would rather die to the zombies than to Kayla. Wait, scratch that. If Kayla killed me I would at least have died to a decent looking girl instead of balding grey freaks.

   I looked down the hallway we just came from and with a single sway, I tossed the crate of steel materials onto the floor! I threw the crate for good measure and quickly pressed our backs against the wall.

   The giant horde of zombies looked at the direction like rabid animals from Zootopia. They hurtled over each other like stampeding elephants. I held my breath as they ran past us and down towards the crate of metal. Even some were running back up the stairs to join in on the zombie fun!

   I glanced at the now empty hallway and did my mental high five as I finally let out a breath of air.

   We shuffled quickly towards the end of the hall and inserted the key to get us inside. 

   As soon as we made it inside, we shut the door and double locked it. Exhausted and absolutely terrified, we rested our back against the door.

   I looked down at the girl beside me who was huffing and puffing with her small chest going up and down.

   I swallowed my saliva and closed my eyes while leaning back behind me.

   “Mission success.”