Marshall almost snapped his neck, trying to turn towards the television. This was the first form of communication from the outside world since being abruptly woken up from his brief slumber. Not wanting to miss the information, he closed his eyes and focused on the Tv.

State... emergency... armed forces... the problem... an enclosed area... ability... into one... safety... protection.

The message was both sporadic and incoherent. It was hard to understand what was going on. At the same time, from the words that Marshall did understand, it was not looking good. Just hearing the terms state and emergency followed by armed forces painted the picture of what Marshall feared the most. He was not imagining things, especially the creepy atmosphere he felt outside.

As Marshall continued to watch the television, he soon found that the recording was in a loop. The more he listened, Marshall could hear the missing content to thoroughly understand the message.

I declare a state of emergency. The police and the armed forces are trying to solve the problem. If you are not in an enclosed area, try to the best of your ability to get into one. This is for your safety. I repeat, get into an enclosed space for your protection.

The governor continued to give minor suggestions to the people, but this was the most important statement that Marshall needed to understand.

Marshall turned off the television before turning to the kitten and his food. He had a worried look on his face. He was concerned for both his parents and his friend Von. The only thing that comforted Marshall was the little kitten eating its food.

As Marshall watched the kitten eat, he subconsciously started to rub its little head. The kitten stopped eating for a moment to look at Marshall. It meowed a couple of times before going back to its meal.

Marshall did not understand what the kitten was trying to say when it meowed. The message that he interpreted was that while he couldn’t help his parents or Von, the only thing he could do was keep his head up and eat his food. Marshall could not help but smile. Before eating his food, Marshall swore that if he had the chance to help his parents and Von, no zombies or obstacles would get in his way of accomplishing that goal.

Though the message on the Tv wasn’t long, the loops and trying to fully understand it was long enough for his food to go cold. Before taking the kitten off his lap, Marshall took some of his food from his plate and put it on the table. The food was for the kitten to eat when he got up to heat his food.

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During the meal, Marshall considered the food the best he had eaten in a long time. The food wasn’t prepared differently from when he bought and ate it yesterday. It had to be the gratitude he felt from still being alive. Yet, there was one thing that Marshall felt was off about the food. It was subtle but somehow apparent why the food was different. The food was fresher. How was that possible? Marshall didn’t know. He only knew that the food tasted better, and he was all for it.

After eating the delicious food, Marshall got up to his comfortable seat to clean up after himself. He did not forget to clean the table of the leftovers the kitten couldn’t finish eating. While washing his plate, Marshall realized he didn’t know what to do next. He was unable to call his parents or Von. Going outside the apartment would be dangerous, not knowing if or when a zombie would come to attack him. The internet wasn’t working. The only activities he could think of were playing phone games or exercising. Though playing games would be a worthy distraction from reality, Marshall wasn’t interested in playing them. That only left the choice to exercise.

With the choice made, Marshall finished cleaning and putting away his plate. Marshall then passed by the little kitten pacing around the tail end of the table. Every time the kitten was at the edge of the table, it would poke out its little head as if gauging about how far it would fall to get to the ground. Every time it would back away and start pacing again. Marshall found the whole situation amusing. At the time, it did not occur to him to put the kitten on the ground.

The kitten stopped pacing when it caught sight of Marshall. It meowed before raising its paw. Marshall got the picture.

After putting the kitten down, it scurried under the table. Marshall was amused and involuntarily chuckled. The kitten was only friendly when food was involved but was scared of him otherwise. The situation didn’t discourage Marshall. It was nice to have a companion in this dark time. Plus, conscious that cats were wholly independent creatures, it made sense.

Not minding the kitten, Marshall went into his room to change his clothes into something more appropriate for exercising. With some random black gym pants, he did some basic exercises consisting of different variations of pushups, abs, and squats.

About an hour later, Marshall was sweaty and had to shower. As the warm water trickled down his brown skin, Marshall relaxed. He took in all of his body and all its imperfections. Marshall admitted to himself while squeezing the fat on his belly, I have some work to do. Smiling at the thought of a small-term goal made Marshall feel wonderful.

Time passed without Marshall not noticing it. During that time, the kitten wandered into Marshall's room to search for his presence. The kitten laid its head about three feet away from him.

In all that time, not one zombie wandered its way in front of Marshall.

After some time, Marshall came to himself. When he looked at the time, it was already past eleven Pm. Usually, at this time of night, Marshall would prepare his food to eat and later get ready for work. With the situation as it stood, that was not happening.

Feeling tired, Marshall walked by the sleeping kitten without waking it up. It was time for him to go to sleep.

In the middle of the night, Marshall and the kitten were awoken by the loud noise from the living room door.