Flashback
I’m running, I’m running to her. The second the news of the zombies gets out I start running to her. Getting out into her street I see the zombies are everywhere, I don’t think I get keeping running. Dodging in between them, my body running on adrenaline I barely think about the fact I could die any second I just know I need to reach her before they do.
Finally I reach her door but it’s been broken in...
“Lisa! Lisa!” I call out hoping she’s made it somewhere safe.
“Anyone?” I try hopelessly as I get back is silence. Walking through Lisa’s parent’s house all I see in broken furniture and signs of a struggle, walking into the kitchen blood covers one of the counters. My heart stops and peering over the counter I see Lisa’s mum lying on the ground, blood surrounding her.
“LISA” I scream.
“Alex...” the voice is light, far away sounding but it’s there but it is her.
“Lisa!” I call back, I start running to the stairs leaving Lisa’s mum in the kitchen long gone... Reaching Lisa’s bedroom I find it empty, her room didn’t look any different than it had a few days ago except the drips of blood now o the carpet leading towards the bathroom.
“Lisa?” I push open the door, she’s standing in the middle of the room. She looks a mess, fear in her eyes and she’s shaking like crazy.
“Alex” she says, her voice strained. I go to step closer to her but she pushes me away with her right hand why keeping her left close to her chest.
“Lisa....What’s going on? What’s wrong?” I hear it, the trip of something falling onto the tiles at my feet; blood, blood was tripping onto the bathroom tiles from a wound on Lisa’s left arm.
“Lisa... No” I try to come to her but she pushes me back again.
“No Alex you have to leave, you can’t be here you can’t watch me....”
“And I can’t, I can’t let you die alone” I say, tears running down my cheeks.
“You have to go Lex, I don’t want to hurt you” she almost begs, she doubles over in pain and I reach for her. Putting my hand on her skin I already find her cold to the touch.
“Lisa please! No, no, no, no” I’m sobbing now. She looks at me, her once bright brown irises gone now that horrible grey colour of the dead.
“GO” she screams, pushing me out of the door. I look back at her one last time just in time to hear her whisper.
“I love you” before all I hear is the moan of the dead.

Present day

I wake up in a cold sweat, the memories of that night still fresh on my mind. I didn’t just lose Lisa, I watched her become one and there was nothing I could do to stop it. Sitting up in bed I notice not only are the curtains wide open but Jack is not in the bed, pulling myself up I head to another part of the house looking for my fellow survivor. I find him sitting in the living room, peering out the window.
“Morning Alex” he says, as I silently sit down next to him.
“I don’t think it’s a good idea to leave here today, look at the sky I think it’s going to be a storm, and I’d rather not get struck by lightning”
“Okay” I mumble, looking down at my hands.
“Hey, what’s the matter?” he asks, noticing my silence.
“It’s nothing”
“Alex you look like you haven’t slept all night, why don’t you go have a bath?”
“There’s a bath?”
“We’re in a house of course there’s a bath! I doubt there’d be any hot water, but cold in enough for a wash” I nod my head and trot up the stairs. Jack’s right there is a bath but no hot water, filling the bath up with just enough water I strip my clothes and get in. The water is freezing but it’s best wash I’ve had in weeks, washing away the dried, muck and tried blood from my skin and showing me how pale my own skin has become. Months of eating nothing but can food doesn’t do wonders for the body, they’re scars from fighting my away zombies and the small one on my hip that I got from my first dates with Lisa where I tried to impress her and ended up injuring myself.
Putting my clothes back on and feeling cleaner than I have in forever I go back down to Jack. He’s sat in the middle of the floor, trying to heat up a mug of something over the little stove. The rain is now hammering on the windows and a flash of light tells me there’s thunder in the air.
“You were right about that storm” I say, sitting down opposite him.
“Yep, good thing we stayed” he hands me a mug, sipping the warm tea I smile at him.
“So what are we going to do?” I ask.
“Well... I have a bit of an idea” I raise an eyebrow at him why continuing to drink my tea.
“Go and get the duvet off the bed” he says, taking me tea I walk up to the bed and grab the covers and pillows before walking back downstairs. What was previously two couches is now a big pillow fort, taking the things I’d brought Jack lays them in the middle and crawls in. I follow as Jack puts a blanket in the ‘doorway’ and we lay in our own little fort.
“This is awesome” I say.
“Yeah I thought you might like it, just because the world is ending doesn’t mean we can’t have some fun right?”
“Right, there’s a party at the end of the world”
“Jack, can I ask you something?”
“Yeah” he turns over to face me in the small space.
“What’s your story?”
“Well when two people love each other very much they...”
“No Jack your zombie story, not your life story” I say, muffling a laugh.
“Okay, hmm well I remember waking up on the afternoon that it started it was on the news. I just thought it was some prank and they weren’t real zombies; that was until dad came back from his shift at the hospital. He said he’d seen them and they were as real as me and mum. We had a plan, to go different ways and meet up at May’s as we thought we’d have more of a chance slit up than together. Really I think as my parents were older they thought I’d have more of a chance alone than I would have with them. Saying goodbye to them outside our house was the last time I saw them, as for May and Joe I have no idea. When I got to May’s house it was empty, they could be alive for all I know but I doubt it”
“Jack I’m sorry”
“Hey it’s okay” he wraps his arm around my shoulders. “It’s the end of the world, he all lose people and we’ve just got to keep moving because we have to survive”
I sniff and nod my head against his shoulder.
“What about you? How’d you make it?”
“By running, mum, dad and me all three of us ran aimed with whatever we could pack in our bags and dad’s old rifle. We had made it out of Baltimore but not by much when we were attacked, there were so many scared people around and so many zombies the whole thing was such a blur. Mum was taken, we were running and running but one managed to grab her, dad was yelling at me and yelling at me to shoot but I couldn’t...I couldn’t do it. She was dying, lying there on the edge of the road with dad next to her. She told us to run, that we had to get out but dad wouldn’t leave her. I tried to stay too but he wouldn’t let me, he said I was the next generation and that I had to survive. I think a part of him blamed me for mum and to be honest I blame me too”
“Oh Alex...” he pulls me into his chest and I continue to cry.
“No one’s blaming you for that, that’s a horrible poison to be in! I wouldn’t have been able to do it if I’d been in your place”
“Really? You’re not just saying that to make me feel better?”
“Really” I snuggle closer into Jack and I feel him kiss the top of my head.

Notes

For anyone who can spot the Fault In Our Stars reference I love you!