Page 9 of Once Upon an Apocalypse

When I begin walking, he turns around to face the rear, making sure nothing comes up from behind. But what if something attacks from the front? I don’t have a weapon.

The pockets in my dress were a dream before, but now have proven to be lifesaving because that’s where I put my house key and phone. I walk up the three steps to my front door and slide the key into the knob.

A branch snapping in the direction of Jonah’s house has my bones jumping out of my body. Before I can turn to see what made that sound, Jonah moves to my side, opens the door and shoves us both in. The door is closed and locked behind us, but I still feel unsafe, like at any moment something is going to pound down that door and eat us alive.

“Is something out there?” The voice that comes out of my mouth is unrecognizable, as if I am drowning in water and not just fear.

“My dad,” Jonah says, his voice void of all emotion. “We need to make sure all the windows and doors are secure. Okay?”

I nod, taking the cue that he does not want to talk right now. Since I am so in the camp of not splitting up because when people split up in horror movies, bad things happen, I walk alongside Jonah as he checks every door and window on the ground level of my house. I help him push the large couch in front of the sliding glass door that leads out onto the patio.

As we head upstairs, I hear shuffling outside the front door. I stare at the door for a moment, hoping I hadn’t heard Jonah properly. “My dad.” Jonah grabs my hand and leads me upstairs, where he closes the child gate securely. My mom installed this a couple years ago when my cousins would bring over their littles. They are big enough now that we don’t need to use it, but it’s just become part of the furniture. Now an extra added layer of security, I guess.

I let Jonah continue to lead me down the hallway and into the bathroom. He switches on the light and begins to undress. “We need to make sure neither of us has been bitten.”

A wave of panic hits me hard and I nearly collapse, but Jonah rushes over, holding me against him. “Lori, are you okay? Please tell me you weren’t bitten.”

“No. I mean. I don’t think so. I’m just scared.”

“Me too, Shortcake.” Jonah uses my childhood nickname, likely to bring my spirit up. It works. I can’t help but smile.

When he sees I can stand on my own feet, he slips his hands behind my back to unzip my dress and steps back to continue removing his prom attire. Then Jonah puts his hands on my naked body. Not in a sensual way. I am being examined. When it’s my turn to examine Jonah, my hands tremble. Not just from fear, but nerves. I’ve never been naked with Jonah before.

No bites.

I breathe a sigh of relief as Jonah’s arms wrap around my waist. He hoists me up—still naked—and brings me to my bedroom where we fall into bed and a few minutes later, a restless sleep.

Jonah is gone when I wake up in the morning. His side of the bed has already gone cold. I wrap the blankets tightly around me as I roll over to my side, staring out the window. Flashes of the previous night run through my mind. A scream piercing through the slightly too loud music Jonah and I were happily dancing to. Sarah with a bite on her neck. Coach Warren with his bloodshot eyes and pale skin looking like a drugged up zombie. He was a zombie. That’s what I saw last night, right?

I close my eyes tight to remember the details I missed in the chaos. Coach Warren’s eyes weren’t just bloodshot. The white of his eyes had completely turned red. I don’t think he could actually see us with his eyes, but somehow sensed we were there. When he was running toward us at horrifying speed, he wasn’t looking at us, but through us. As if he was following the sounds of the screaming within.

If I’m right, Coach Warren didn’t see his undead death coming. He likely didn’t see his actual death coming either. Neither did Sarah, at least not until the very end. My best friend is dead. Likely all my school friends. Jonah’s dad, probably his mom too. My brother and mom? I don’t know if they are alive, how badly the zombie outbreak hit them. If this even happened anywhere else.

I was too hyped up last night to even check my phone.Where is my phone?My dress. Which is in the bathroom. I begrudgingly roll out of bed, wrapping the blanket around my icy body. When I step out into the hallway, I hear no signs of Jonah.Please be okay. Please, please, don’t be a zombie,I think to myself.

Our prom attire is on the floor of the bathroom, right where we left them last night. I grab my dress and pull my phone out of the pocket. There are a few texts from my mom asking if I’m all right. Nothing from Hayden though. I try to call my mom, hoping that the phone lines are still active. I breathe a sigh of relief when it rings. But the ringing doesn’t stop.

I hang up and try Hayden. Same thing. Then I try my mom again. Nothing.

The phone slips from my hand as I crash to the floor, letting all the emotions from last night explode from my chest. I yell to no one in particular. My words pouring out of me. I feel like I am suffocating. The world around me is gone. Everyone I know is gone. Except for Jonah. Where the hell is he?

I gasp for air, trying to remember how to breathe. Why is it so important to breathe anyway? Jonah sprints into the bathroom, collapsing in front of me.

“Shit, Lori, what’s wrong?”

My head feels like it’s made of lead and my throat closes as if someone is pressing their hand down on my windpipe. Black spots appear before my eyes. I’m likely going to pass out if I don’t calm down, but I cannot breathe.

Jonah wraps his arms around me, saying, “I’m here, Lori. I’m here. I love you so fucking much. Breathe, Shortcake. Breathe.”

With one hand on the back of my skull and the other gently stroking my back, Jonah holds me against him like I am the most precious thing in the world. Perhaps I am now. To him. Because Jonah is the most precious thing to me. I have no one else. We have no one else. We have each other and maybe that is all we need to survive this new reality.

I take a shuddering breath, filling my lungs with cold, stuffy air. It burns, but it’s blissfully fulfilling.

“That’s it, Shortcake. Keep breathing.” When my breathing evens out, Jonah lets me go just enough to place his forehead to mine. His whispering voice brushes my lips. “What happened?”

“I…I was checking my phone. I can’t reach my mom. She texted me last night.” Tears fall freely down my face again, but I keep breathing, steadying myself against Jonah.

“That doesn’t mean she’s…your mom is a tough motherfucker. She’ll be okay.” Jonah’s confidence brings some warmth back into my blood and my heart pumps a little stronger.

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