"I climb onto the slippy top. What if I just? Just one step, one strong wind" She peers down from the edge of the grassy hill. I think she's waiting for us. This is the end. Just one step, off this monument and the sky would fall up. No. Great.A gust of wind sweeps over her, into her clothes and she thinks of something. Something she knows I'm listening to, but not just only me.She holds her breath counting to ten. She feels the earth move, then the pulse of her heart under her eyes. The wind sweeps her away and the sky falls."Blue" She lets out a small whisper of fascination.The sky is usually pink or orange, because of how sick our Earth was. But with no humans, there was no sickness. It was like they were the virus and this was the next stage.Her back hits the ground and knocks the breath out of her, she lays on the ground staring at the sky with a vacant look. Unusual white and blue clouds float about, inching slowly and slowly together and watch as one heads to another. What does she expect? Would they pass by each other? Or would they melt together, to form a bigger cloud?"The clouds weren't the only unusual things. The world was greener, the skies had birds, kings of the skies. The grass was growing, inches by inches." Down to measuring now?She dusts her clothes and walks past a person. She had noticed something, they only attacked what they saw.According to her research, you could be right beside them and they won't even notice. But the catch was most of them were always on alert. They had an insatiable need for food, for flesh. They attacked specific things, She didn't know the reason but despite their display of high intelligence, they were sometimes stupid. A prime example was one of them whose back faced the gate that blocked off the entrance."Was this one an idiot even as a human?" Other than moments like these where the zombies camped around anywhere they were quite resourceful.She had seen one that would get on the ground leave its mouth open and let a rat crawl into its dead breath. But generally, they seemed more inclined to attack things that looked human. All this in 2 months after the outbreak.She bounds back to the house looking for another exit when she suddenly stops. Why? She turns to see another of them cackle and run straight into the first one that was blocking the gate. They look at each other for a while as if accessing the other but the second one of them leads the other away. They melt together like the clouds.Hosting three bags onto her shoulders, Zylith expertly moves around the neighbourhood and steps into pace when she views her house but before entering she does her usual patrol and then knocks on the door after ensuring no one is in sight."It's me" Zylith looks around as she waits impatiently at the door"Password?" A soft voice asks back.She lets out a puff. "Don't make me do this""Password, sweetie""Waffles coated with cream cheese and honey are the bomb" Zylith looks away from the peephole and her neck flushes"Hmm...It was maple syrup, not honey" A giggle is heard from the other side."Bliss, don't"The door is unlocked.The moment she was in the house, Bliss was all over her and squeezing the life out of her. If she has any left."Welcome back home." She hops onto one leg."Someone's happy," Zylith moves past Bliss and into the comforting house to settle on a couch. This wasn't her home."I saw some survivors, five of them, there was a girl in the group. We should look for them" Bliss hesitatingly says. She waits for Zylith to put all the bags down before rounding the couch."How'd they look?" She wants to know her opinion. Had Bliss learnt any lesson after a month into the apocalypse? Probably not"They looked, tired, and hungry, their clothes were torn but they strangely hadn't encountered any zombies. I think?" She watches Zylith as she slips a knife out of her waist. Bliss must think that's the only one Zylith has but she also carries one on the thighs, one in the boot and one in strapped at the back."You think?" Zylith cocks an eyebrow at her, no hint of fascination or play but Bliss tries not to get intimidated by this."I mean...they seemed pretty...okay? I was thinking of going over to help them. You know, give them food" Bliss catches a glint of Zylth's anger and quickly changes tact. "But I waited for you, we could go together" That wasn't enough for her, huh? Never"Oh? You wanted to go?" She feels anger at the group of survivors for putting such an idea in her precious Bliss' head. Typical"We could be friends, like next-door neighbours, they seemed out of supplies so we could share, right? Look, I know you don't want me out there with the zombies but come on, this could be our ticket out of this damned place., which is just five blocks away from here""You want to trust utter strangers that could be infected. We don't know if they're infected! They could have barged into this house and stolen anything while I was away-""Only, they didn't. They didn't. Why don't you understand? Stop seeing the bad in people. They could be good people just waiting for our assistance""Let's give them an hour. If they don't come out from the house, we will go to them." Zylith's lips stretch into a line and then curl up, causing her eyes to turn present. Was that a smile? Creepy.>>>>>POV CHANGE TO BlissI'm scared. It feels like she doesn't care. Enlighten me on what you know Zylith. I want to help but you won't let me in. So now I just have to try harder. To show you people could also be good!She was an enigma. I wait for her to explain herself but she gives me silence. Zylith wasn't a bad person, just a misunderstood person. I head to my bedroom window which gave me a perfect view of the old dilapidated building I had seen the group of five enter.The minutes tick by and I can't let my nerve go down. That smile she had shown me just now. What did that mean? I always find myself trying to read between her lines, her micro-expressions. I know she's innately a good person...I think. She was protecting me.The minutes go by so slowly and I think this is the longest I have ever focused on something for so long. Ever since the city's electricity was cut, I had to constantly busy myself. I fold my hands and lay them on the window ledge, while my back arches low. I hear Zylith downstairs walk to her room from how much the floor boards creak.I look at my room, it wasn't nearly as beautiful as my real one but it was pretty, the owner even owned a terrrium. Zylith said she took care of the owners. Did she mean she paid them off? Money always solved problems, that what my mother would sayI could be one step closer to finding my mom. I could already smell her fragrance, hear her voice, her body and feel it until.I see 4 zombies stagger into the building. What just happened? I feel cold like Mama just pushed me away from her. I sit shocked as I see them one by one follow a trail of blood into the building. No wait. I want to scream but I feel my throat tighten up, I should call Zylith but it's just 4 zombies and they are five people, they are outmatched. Yes, yes.But even one of the zombies could kill a whole school. One bite and it was done. No, no.So many hours pass but I know it's just a few minutes, I crawl into bed when I see the girl from the group come out. Her mouth is running out with black blood and her eyes are crossed out, I let out a small shuddering breath. I should be screaming, I stagger and fall to the floor. I look at a clock hung up on the whole but I can't even read an analogue clock. What time was it? Why was I so dumb?I see the four others come out and I feel lightheaded. Those were the only people I had seen in weeks. I reach for anything as I crawl into bed. I hope something might fall and alert Zylith but nothing enters my range.As I crawl into the warm sheets that I have stayed in all day, I feel them turn cold quickly. I close my eyes.When I open my eyes, the shorthand on the clock has moved 3 numbers higher. But I didn't hear Zylith go out. She had just stayed home. She abandoned them. She hadn't kept her promise.Okay Zylith, no talking to survivors.