Today

"There's a car lot not too far from here. Should be able to find a ride there." The unfamiliar woman walked just ahead of me as she spoke, "we thought about going there before. Too many zombies for three people."

"Three?" Vick questioned skeptically. "You have two other friends?"

"Maybe, if they're still alive."

I observed her as she walked. Her body was an hourglass shape and her skin was a golden tone. To me she seemed to be Spanish as she also had a slight accent. I guessed that she's in her early thirties.

"What's your name?" I called from behind her. "I'm Jake."

"My name is Nista."

"Nista?" Andy chimed in.

"Ni-sta." She repeated, "when this all started, we knew it was the beginning of a whole new world. Therefore, our old names have no relevance."

"So you just pick names for each other? Maybe play some house?" Christie questioned with a scoff.

Courtney turned to flash Christie an expression that said 'shut the hell up, Christie.'

"Keep an eye out for any rv's. Maybe we'll get lucky with the tires." Vick commented, "all our supplies are inside that thing. We can't just leave it."

"I'll help you find them if you help me find my friends." Nista offered. "Just follow the fireworks."

Is she crazy? I haven't seen any fireworks. I hear them but it's difficult to tell the difference between that and gunshots when we're so far away.

"If you're setting us up, if you try anything — I will kill you myself. Do you understand?" Christie stepped in front of Nista to block her path.

Nista came to a halt just inches away from Christie. Their gazes pierced through each other as they stood toe to toe in middle of the street.

"I wouldn't do that. If I wanted to kill you, you'd be dead already." Nista responded without breaking eye contact. "You would've never made it out of the school."

When we made it to the car dealership, we realized Nista was right. There's a hell of a lot of zombies wandering around this gigantic lot and the cars make it difficult to navigate.

Vick came up with the plan. Christie and I would go to the far end of the lot and set off one of the car alarms. The others were directed to trail behind and make sure we don't get surrounded. Then, they're going to head off and make their way inside for keys to one of the vehicles.

Grrr...

Two zombies approached Christie and I. She immediately stormed off, kicking one to the ground before stabbing the other in the skull. Before I could help, both were lifeless and she was moving forward.

"Christie," I called out, hustling to catch up to her. "You don't have to do it alone. I can help."

"If you want to help you gotta move faster." She called over her shoulder in a hawkish tone. "Her friend needs assistance. We don't have much time."

"Shit!" Andy cried out from behind.

One had him pinned to the ground. Vick turned and ripped the zombie off of Andy before putting it down for good.

Grrrgh!

Another came out from underneath the nearby vehicle. It tackled Vick and sent him tumbling to the ground.

"Vick!" I called, immediately backtracking.

I whacked the zombie man with my embedded baseball bat. It sent him to the ground quickly.

"Thanks, kiddo."

"You alright?" I examined Vick with worry on my face.

"I'm all good. C'mon."

_

Beep! Beep! Beep!

The blue suv now lit up, attracting all the zombies nearby. Christie and I scurried away, running into a few of them. I helped her this time by sending them to the ground with a blow from my bat.

I examined Christie as she brushed herself off. Her dark eyes fell upon mine and she yelled one word.

"Duck!"

Without thinking twice, I complied.

Whack!

She slugged the zombie behind me. I turned to her in shock.

She commented, slightly amused, "good thing you ducked that time."

I huffed, examining the now lifeless body. "Thanks, Christie."

"Go! Go! Go!" Courtney barreled out of the front doors of the building, screaming in panic.

The others trailed behind her. Just behind them, multiple zombies shuffled and trudged with their arms out. The infected from the parking lot were now catching up and in result, they swarmed us.

I slugged them back to back in an attempt to make a path for the others. That car alarm drew zombies from miles away in all different directions.

"To the van!" Vick directed.

A nearby van lit up in response when he hit the lock button on the new set of keys. It was a purple Chrysler and luckily it was ready to go.

"We will head to the general area of the fireworks," Nista planned from the backseat. "Haze knows I'm coming and he knows it won't be long. He should be ready."

I inquired, "What if he's not there?"

"If he's alive, he will be."

When we reached the area where the fireworks supposedly went off, I was taken aback by the amount of zombies. They were everywhere — some were stuck under cars and pinned against buildings by vehicles that crashed. At some point, we passed a bus still full of people.

"You sure he's down here, Nista?" Vick questioned as he coasted through the infested city. "Nobody in their right mind would —"

Grrrgghh.. rrrgghh..

"There! He's in there!" She exclaimed, holding her pointer finger up to the building nearby.

For a moment, I wondered how she knew. Then, I noticed all the zombies surrounding the small building. They must've chased her friend in there and surrounded him. There was almost as many zombies as there were back in the city below the overhang I stood on.

Now, how the Hell do we get him out of there?

"We're going to need something loud to pull them away from that building," Vick spoke unsurely. "I just —"

Nista interrupted, "that won't work. They tried the fireworks already. If that didn't help, no noise will."

"So you expect us to pick them off one by one?" Christie scoffed.

I turned my gaze down the street and there it was in the near distance.

An ambulance.

"Hang on," I chimed in. "If we can get to that ambulance, if the driver is still inside with the keys, we might be able to distract them."

"You think a couple lights and sirens will do the trick?" Nista hissed.

"It might," Vick agreed with me. "Jake, you go try the ambulance, alright? Drive around until those skin bags notice you."

"He's not going alone." Kara objected firmly, "I'll go with him."

"Andy, you too." Vick responded, "the rest of us will head inside when most of the zombies clear."

I turned to Andy. His eyes were red and he seemed extremely exhausted. I hope I don't look like that.

"Andy, you alright, man?" I asked softly as we now walked in the direction of the ambulance. "You seem off."

"I'm fine. Tired. Very tired."

I laughed, "I think we all are but damn man, you look like shit."

When we approached the ambulance, a smile came across my face. The driver was still inside. Now, we have to hope the keys are too.

"I found them!" Kara exclaimed.

I dragged the EMT's body out of the vehicle and laid it on the side of the road. We had to put her down the same as any zombie but this time it was different. This woman was out trying to help and she never made it back home.

"You got the keys?" I questioned, hopping into the driver's seat. "You're going to have to show me how exactly to use this thing."

Kara's dad was an EMT and she often got the chance to go on rides inside the ambulance. As a kid, she expressed how much fun she had watching the lights and hearing the sirens up close.

"I will. Just drive."

Andy was in the back. He didn't say much besides when we finally got closer to the zombie surrounded building, he muttered the words, "I don't feel well."

"Should we stop?" I turned to Kara.

"No. I'll help him. You keep going. Haze needs us and we have to get there quick."

"We don't even know him, Kara," I argued softly. "If one of us needs help, that's more important."

"Why can't we help everybody?" She questioned, "I don't want to live in a world where we have to pick and choose who we help."

Before I could respond, she flicked on the lights and sirens and headed to the patient compartment of the ambulance.

Andy lay on the stretcher.

"He's not responding!" Kara yelled from the back. "What do I do?"

Rrgghh...

The zombies began to follow the ambulance. It's working.

"I don't know! They're coming, Kara! We can't stop!"

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Their fists started slamming against the side of the vehicle. I pushed through the crowd of them as they turned away from the surrounded building and began to follow.

Kara started checking Andy's pulse.

My eyes widened as I realized what's happening.

"Kara! Get away from him! Now!"

"Oh my God, there's a bite on his chest!"

Grrgghhh!

Andy was now one of them. His eyes were soulless and completely white. He went at Kara mercilessly.

Rrrrt!

I swerved to avoid an abandoned car in middle of the road.

The turn sent both Kara and Andy sailing into the air. Andy hit the wall of the cab and Kara immediately went at him. More zombies continued to trail us as Kara and Andy struggled.

When Andy could no longer be heard, Kara returned to the front of the vehicle.

"There's my girl," I smiled wide. "You got 'em."

"That's not all," she sobered with tears in her eyes. "He got me, too."

She pulled the collar of her shirt down to reveal a bloody bite mark on the side of her neck. Tears fell from her eyes as she apologized in a weak voice.

"I'm so sorry, baby."

"Kara, I —" my voice broke as it trailed off into a pause. "I can't do this without you. Please, tell me I'm dreaming. Tell me this isn't true."

"I want to tell you it's not," she buried her face into her hands. "I don't want to die, Jake. I don't want to leave you. I can't leave you."

"Maybe, maybe it doesn't change everybody. Maybe —"

"Stop." She interrupted through tears, "you know what this means. We both know what's going to happen. You can't let me change! Please don't let me become one of them."

"It's Andy's fucking fault!" I barked. "He should've told us he was bitten! That bastard, he's the reason this happened. I should've killed him back in the city!"

I clenched my fists before slamming them into the steering wheel I sat behind. Hot tears streamed down my face. The slamming of the zombies got louder and louder but it was now the least of my worries.

"You did what was right. That's what we need in this world," she reached out to trace her fingertips along my arm. "You're a soldier, Jake. Please, you have to stay strong for me."

"I — I can't." I shook my head in denial, "I can't stay here without you, Kara. You've been my life since we were fifteen! How can you expect this to be okay?"

"It has to be okay. You have no choice but to keep going for me. You're strong — I know you'll make it. This world didn't turn you evil like everybody else. Please, don't ever let it."

I gulped as I stared at Kara through blurry vision.

"I love you, Kara. I can't go on without you."

"You have to. For me." She leaned in to place her lips on mine. "I love you and you've been my world for so long. Don't let my world die — even after I'm gone."

When her breathing weakened, I became worried. Her eyes started to cloud over and we both knew what would come next.

Today, my world was taken from me.