In the corner of his right eye, Chitto saw a small dark shadow suddenly appear and approach him in a flash, and slam an object against the zombie's head, sending it off him, sending him crashing off the wall and hitting the floor somewhere to his left.

He gasped for air, realizing the zombie's hands were not anymore around his throat. But he was still shivering, his eyes all popped out, still unable to process what was happening, still very much unsure if his life was over.

“Hey, Chitto, it’s me, Chitto!! It's me!!”

It was Tala, face frowning, shaking him as if he was a manakin.

“What, what?” he said, looking from Tala to the closed apartment door, not understanding how she got out.

She swiftly swiped the key next to the lock, opened the door, and pushed him inside.

"Have you been bitten?" she asked right away. "Let me see you! Let me see your hands! Put your hands down! Loosen up! Let me see your neck!!"

"I, I, I... am I... " Chitto stuttered, the horror of not knowing if he was bitten or not freezing his face in a painful expression of horror and disbelief.

“Turn around!” she ordered him as she examined his hands, his back, his legs, neck, and everything. Even looking behind his ear.

“Shit,” Tala said suddenly, sounding all disappointed.

‘What, what, what???” Chitto said, shivering.

Tala scoffed and cleaned her nose.

“What???” Chitto screamed, tears right there in his eyes, ready to come down.

“You have… not been bitten,” she answered him quietly.

“What, what, what??”

“You’re fine,” she said, suddenly sounding very nonchalant.

“What do you mean?” he said and tried to look at his back, looking over his hands, his stomach, legs.

“Chitto, you’re fine. I see not even a scratch on you, you lucky bastard.”

“Shit! Then why…” he stopped himself in the middle sentence, wiping the tears off, still trembling. "You’re so mean. So mean. Can't believe you did that to me.”

“I know,” she said, suddenly smiling and nodding her head. “But I love you, you dumbass. Where the fuck did you pick him up?”

“Shit… that was so close.”

“Yes, too close."

"But... but, are you sure I'm not bitten?"

"Hundred percent."

"I was knocking, and knocking. And..."

"I know. I'm sorry. It was not all your fault. I am to blame as well. So…" she said and hugged him, held him until he started to compose himself. "We have to be careful. More careful. Chitto, I do not know what I would do if something was to happen to you, you know.”

“Shit,” Chitto said and suddenly had to sit down on the floor, his legs too shivering to be able to hold him up, still unable to process it all. “I can't believe what happened. But... I guess I’m alive. I guess I made it.”

"Wait..." Tala said, suddenly her face going all frowning and hard. "What is that on the back of your hand?"

"What...?" Chitto asked and instantly turned his hand around to see the spot that Tala was pointing at. "What...?" he kept on looking till he heard Tala chuckle.

"This is not going to get old," she said mischievously.

But Chitto did not find that funny and instantly screamed at her, "Stop that!! How can you don't do that to me!?! Please. I'll have a heart attack, and then... you'll be sorry."

"Okay... Chitto. I promise, no more," Tala

She went to the fridge and grabbed two cans of soda, opening one up and giving it to her brother. "I think you need this."

"Yeah."

The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

"But, you know, I... think that was too close."

“Yeah… I agree.”

"We have to be smarter, Chitto."

“Where were you??” Chitto suddenly wanted to know. “I banged and banged.”

"My bad, my bad, that was really stupid from me, Chitto, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry, okay?"

“Where were you?”

“I’ll never leave you again. I promise. I’m sorry, okay…?”

He crunched in a ball, hugging his knees, still trembling, and Tala jumped to grab a clean, dry towel to wrap him with it.

Only after warming up a bit and drinking two cans of soda did he loosen up again.

"No, don't blame yourself," Chitto said, staring at his sister and a dark shadow that suddenly saddened her face. "You could not have known."

"I should have."

"You, you really are... so super fast! You're my hero," Chitto lifted his shivering head and looked at her.

“I’m so sorry I was not here,” she said.

“No. You saved me. Again. You’re a freakin’ hero,” he announced and all emotionally jumped up to hug his sister.

“I know you are still in shock, Chitto, but you need to pull your shit together. We need to think, and we need to do it fast. And get off me! You’re all wet! Did you pee yourself??”

He sniffed, not minding her anymore, and then asked, "And what... what are we going to do to the body outside? You think..."

“Shit,” Tala said and remembered the zombie outside.

She first looked through the keyhole but there was nobody there. Then she pressed her ear against the door, but no noise could reach her.

“They, they will probably come…” Chitto interrupted her. “Let’s just wait for them.”

“Who, who is going to come?” Tala asked.

“I screamed so much, someone must have heard me.”

“Shit, Chitto, I was coming up and I did not hear you till the elevator door did not open. This hotel had been constructed with walls to withstand a nuclear attack, I think. Rock band could have an orgy two doors down, and I don’t think you’d know about it.”

“Shit.”

“So, yeah… You could scream all you want. And I don’t think they have cameras here either. Besides, where did you pick that friend of yours?”

“Swimming pool.”

“Shit.”

“Yeaaaaah,” Chitto said, suddenly shaking and stuttering, the memory sending a chill down his back. “I, I, I… ran.”

“Smart, really smart. Now, let me see,” Tala said and moved toward the door.

“You’re not opening that door, are you?” Chitto asked, scared as he saw Tala grab a handle with one hand while her other one held a hammer, ready to swing with it.

“Just a peak,” Tala said and slowly opened the door enough to look at the corridor. But she could not see the side where the zombie should be lying dead. So she ducked her head out and swiftly moved it back inside. “Shit, it’s not there.”

“What?”

"Shit, it's not there anymore. I guess... I did not kill it."

“Are you sure?”

"Yes. I guess I am not that strong yet."

Chitto stood up, swallowing a big ball of saliva before he said. "We need to warn others. I do not know how, but we need to do it."

"My poor brother. Almost got bitten but is right away worried about others," Tala exhaled a deep breath and shook her head. "This world does not deserve the likes of you."

"Yeah, so, how, how do you think we should do it?"

"Let's call someone. Anyone. Everyone. What else can we do but make noise?"

“It would not do. Nobody will believe us. And while we explain things, it will roam around, biting others.”

“You’re right. They will say we… should not try to be funny,” Chitto said, remembering his call to 9-1-1.

Tala sighed deeply. “I think this is on me.”

“No, I can help,” Chitto said, still shivering. “Maybe… I can grab that big knife I bought.”

She looked at him, was ready to tell him if he grabbed the knife with those hands, he would be a danger first to himself, but decided to drop it. She just padded him on the hair and said instead, “No, Chitto, I’ll handle this. I have this.”

“Are you sure?”

“Of course. I and my hammer.”

But then she closed her eyes and remembered that maybe a moment of planning it properly would not be too bad.

“Now before I go, there is something else I need to do,” Tala announced, and then without any further delay said with determination, “Okay, sys, The Blacksmith’s Strike, Level 3!”

She closed her eyes again and this time waited patiently for the familiar bolt of energy to travel through her body.

When she felt the energy subsiding, she took a hammer and swung it through the air. It made a whooshing sound, louder than any she made before.

“Shit, Tala, what is that?” Chitto said, all impressed.

But Tala did not stop there, paying him no attention. “Blacksmith, Level Four," she asked for and after a moment of composing herself, she repeated the drill.

“Holy shit,” Chitto muttered. “My sister is a superhero, Fucken’ a!!!”

Tala sniffed, shook her head, held her hammer hard with both hands, and announced with determination, “Now I’m ready, motherfuckers.”

She pressed her ear against the door, thinking if she heard something, wondering why the system did not give her the ability to hear better.

That would be so awesome, she thought. But I guess you can’t have it all.

“You know, Tala, how we thought if maybe you are the one why the world went to hell?”

“Yeah? I never thought about that.” Tala said, not knowing what Chitto was talking about.

“Oh, come one. You behaving so weird, saying how you were infected, the first zombie appeared when we landed in San Diego?” Chitto tried to explain himself.

“Yeah, but… I’m not a zombie. Besides, he was infected before we got there. And we do not even know if he was the first one,” she said, not understanding he did not take that into account.

“Okay, I’ll give you that, but… you know, I’ve been thinking…”

“Good. Thinking, good,” she said and lifted her thumb up, “You thinking is really good!”

“No, real, hear me out. I think… you are meant to fight these monsters. That’s why you are here.”

“Shit. You… might be… more right than I…” Tala said, thinking of the note someone called Bear left for her. “But… I don’t want to.”

“What?”

“Do I really have to? I just want to keep us safe. ”

“Maybe that goes hand in hand now, no?”

Tala stopped at the door and turned around to look at her brother. “Put some clothes on. Maybe we’ll need to run fast. And wait for me here. Don’t leave anywhere, do you understand?”

“Yes,” Chitto said. “What… what…”

“What? Here. Wait. For me. No opening the door. Or leaving to go swimming, or anywhere. No leaving, okay? No matter what,” Tala spelled out the rules seeing him tremble again.

“What… what, what if there is more than one?” Chitto was able to utter out but only after Tala had already left and swiftly closed the door behind her.