Dang, I felt such a sense of relief wash over me, as we arrived; I hadn’t expected the car drive to test my thirst for him. His eyes kept looking at mine, his lips so close yet so far, his skin shining brightly as if he were a jewel. A jewel meant to be kept in a box forever, perhaps my heart.

At this point, Elliot had taken me to the front door. He was set to dash inside, his little smile widening; I wonder what he was thinking. I often wonder whether things would have turned out differently if we had stayed outdoors or if I hadn't agreed to hang out with him. As the only thing that greeted us was the loud buzzing that erupted from our pockets.

“What’s that?” Elliot mumbled to himself, frowning as he pulled out his phone.

I grabbed mine and saw the screen flashing with an emergency alert. My heart skipped a beat as I unlocked it, revealing a live stream from the news.

BREAKING NEWS

“A ZOMBIE-LIKE VIRUS HAS SPREAD ACROSS THE GLOBE, CAUSING DEVASTATION. ALL CITIZENS ARE IN DEEP DANGER, REMAIN INDOORS AND AVOID CONTACT WITH ANYONE SHOWING ANY SORT OF STRANGE BEHAVIORS.”

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My stomach churned as the flashed videos of humans biting each other, blood everywhere. This couldn’t be real right? I mean I must be dreaming; zombies are nothing more than a fantasy made by children. Was today April 1st?

“We should lock everything down,” Elliot said, his voice trembling.

“Elliot, this is a joke, right?” I replied, yet his fearful face turned into a smile. His fake smile that I was so familiar with, the mask that hid his true emotions.

“Perhaps so, but we can’t take any chances,” he said trying to sound braver than he felt. “Come on, help me lock the place up.”

We sprang into action, locking all the doors and windows we could think of. The sense of urgency was necessary, the rooms were silent, as each of us were lost in out thoughts. The world was turning into a mess outside, and the only thing we could do was hunker down and hope no one came raiding.

I mean raiding is what people do in video games…

“Do you think this will blow over?” I asked, as I grabbed anything in sight in the kitchen.

“I hope so,” he said softly. “But it doesn’t hurt to prepare for the worst.”

I nodded, feeling a mix of fear and relief. The world outside had turned into a video game, but at least I wasn’t alone. In Elliot room, I found a silver of hope. We were together, and that had to count for something. The terrifying world shouldn’t be that bad with the both of us together. If we stayed together…