I leap over cars and swing past street lights. Alice follows behind me. I hear her strangled huffs, her bad leg must be killing her. But I don’t look back as we continue to run through the barren street. We can’t stop, the zombies are hot on our tails.

It was a bad idea to head to the city, but we needed medicine. The one thing people are desperate for in this stupid apocalypse.

I see our escape dead ahead. A tall apartment complex. The gate in front of the doors makes a great cover while we catch our breaths. It’s at least nine feet tall and will guard us perfectly from our pursuers.

I look back and make sure the zombies are far enough behind before I grab Alice’s hand and pull her to the building.

She yelps as I yank her to the right. We slow and I see her adjust the firearm, attached to her back by a strap, so it rests nicely on her shoulder. Then we begin to climb.

Just as I pull myself over the fence I hear the snarls of the terrifying creatures behind us. One grabs my shirt through the holes in the gate and I’m pulled back.

I struggle to free myself. I pull and wiggle until I can finally swing a punch into the zombie’s face. Then I jump from its grip and dash over to Alice.

She is sitting on the floor tending to her wounded leg. I sit down next to her and we lock eyes. I give her a small smile, she laughs, for what reason, I don’t really know, but I do know how much I enjoy the sound.

“C’mon, we got to go.” I say as I wrap my arms over her shoulders and help her up.

“Ok, but where?” She whispers as she looks around.

I see a hallway with a doorway at the end, and nod in its direction.

As we walk farther down the hallway I am filled with a sinking feeling in my stomach. I jerk my head around and my eyes fall to something that makes my heart drop. I push Alice out of the way before her foot falls directly into the trap. But I sacrifice my ankle as an extremely sharp chain tightens around it. I scream as the small spikes dig into my skin. Leaving me caught and unable to walk.

These traps were built for the zombies and are meant to be inescapable.

Alice jumps up and runs to my side.

“Are you ok?!” She says frantically

“Never better” I huff as I squeeze my eyes shut. The spikes digging deeper as I try to adjust my balance.

“I’ll get you out of here, don’t worry.” She rests her hands on the side of my face and smiles comfortingly. I want to believe everything is okay when she says that but then I look to the end of the hallway.

A zombie emerges from the dark and Alice quickly pulls out her gun. She runs forward and places her body infront of mine.

The monster crawls closer and I urge Alice to shoot but she remains where she is.

“Alice hurry! Shoot it!”

Sweat builds on her face and I remember…she has never shot a living thing in her life. Tin cans in her backyard maybe, but not an animal, not a zombie.

“Alice you have to kill it. Now”

“I-I can’t” She cry’s.

Tears form in her eyes. _Those hazel eyes are soft; eyes that don’t belong to a killer._ Those are the eyes I fell in love with. Those eyes wouldn’t hurt a fly.

“No, no, no, I can’t do it. Leo I can’t” All I want to do is brush the hair out of her eyes. Whisper to her that it will be ok.

I reach out to her but firey pain shoots up my leg.

Just as I’m about to take the gun out of her hands the zombie lunges at her.