After a while, I carried her to the bed, trying to lay her down, but her arms entwined around me like a tender vine. Her sleeping form resisted separation. A smile spread across my face, touched by her unconscious dependence on me. Our fingers stayed intertwined as we relaxed into the chair and snuggled under the blanket. With her weight settled against me, my eyes grew heavy, surrendering to sleep. The next morning, just as the first light of dawn filtered through the window, her tender kiss graced my nose. My eyes fluttered open, and her big brown eyes met mine like a little kid waking their parents. However, the loud rumbling of her hungry stomach moment interrupted the moment.

Looks like somebody’s hungry, She nodded enthusiastically, darting into the kitchen to rummage through the empty cabinets. After her unsuccessful search, she looked at me with a pouty expression, silently demanding an explanation. We’ll have to explore and find something to eat—and she lets out an exaggerated groan. I chuckled and scooped her up. It’ll be fun! We’ll find something. With a huff, she nestled her head into my shoulder, and we set off to explore the city’s ruins. Hours later, we stumbled upon a half-destroyed supermarket and slipped through the caved-in entrance. We found rows of bare shelves with a few expired items, but then discovered a small cache of canned goods. As we were about to grab them, we heard heavy and deliberate footsteps coming from the back of the store. We froze, listening intently, and noticed the cans had teeth marks punched into them.

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Instinctively, I grabbed the metal coat rack, tightening my grip and feeling its sturdy weight in my hands, and took slow, deliberate steps forward. A low, menacing growl coming from behind us heightening my senses, and a rabbit dog lunged out from underneath a collapsed shelf, its jaws spread wide as they wrapped around the metal coat rack-Struggling for control, I used the coat rack as leverage to throw the dog off.

A woman dressed in a white lab coat emerged from behind the corner, shotgun in hand, and fired. The dog’s head exploded, splattering the walls as its lifeless corpse collapsed. With tears streaming down her face, the little girl nestled her face into my chest. The woman had a bag swung over her shoulder, adding a subtle weight to her presence—On the side of her lab coat were the same three letters embroidered on the little girl’s Hospital gown.