As Lynn laid, sprawled, on the ground staring up at the dark blue sky, she wondered about the past events that lead up to this.

She was six when the plague broke out. She remembered hiding around a corner as the news blared, “WARNING, WARNING, IF YOU SPOT ANYONE WITH THE FOLLOWING SYMPTOMS....” She remembered her mother piling her into the car and the long drive into the mountains.

She was fifteen now, her mother gone like a ghost in the wind. Lynn tried to drown out the memory of her mother walking into the river, to her death, with the smell of grass and dirt.

She was broken out of her stupor by Meg’s barks. Lynn stood up, slightly alarmed. Meg was a retired cadaver dog, trained to alert their partner when they caught the smell of decay. There must be a zombie nearby.

She popped open the car door and slid into the driver’s seat. Her mother had been teaching her how to drive ever since they had left for the mountains. She used to call Lynn her little wild thing.

She sped down the little path that used to used for bikes. Meg sat beside her in the passenger seat, not barking but still whimpering.

She came to a crossroad, and pausing for a moment, she chose the one that led to an paved road. Meg was finally calm, whatever zombie she smelled long gone. Lynn slowed down. On the paved road, the trees covered the sky, blocking out whatever light it would have given.

Suddenly a figure bolted out of the trees. It was a girl, maybe around her age. Meg began to howl. Behind the girl a lumbering figure staggered on her heels. Lynn didn’t need light to know what it was.

Not thinking she yanked open the passenger door. Meg leaped out, and channeling her old police dog tackled the lumbering shadow.

The girl soared into the passenger seat, Meg right behind her. Just when Meg was crawling to the back seat, the strange girl gasped.

“Drive”.