The End

One

One

For the past few years, everyone has been talking about the end of the world, and the idea of a zombie apocalypse has been popular. However, nobody had truly been expecting it to happen, and especially not so soon. Somehow, a disease managed to break out of a lab in Illinois, and zombies became a real life problem. So far, there was no known cure for the disease, and the world was practically falling apart and getting infested with the annoying creatures. I had managed to survive for a while - it had been about a month since the undead had reached my college campus.

I had survived for so long by practically locking myself in my dorm room. I was living on the fourth floor of my building. For a few days, I just moved furniture up against my door while I was in the room and I only left it to go to the bathroom. I had plenty of Ramen noodles and water, so there was no need to leave. However, after a week, I knew I needed to get out and find ways to defend myself. I hated being alone in the world - my roommate had run for it along with all of my friends, and I couldn't get in contact with any family. I had a little hope left that maybe someone I cared about was still alive, which was why I knew I needed to stay alive.

I had managed to get my hands on a few knives and guns without getting myself killed. There were a ton of zombies in my college town, so I was glad that I was able to get weapons. After also getting some extra food, water, and a few other necessities, I was back to staying in my dorm. I had moved furniture from the other unoccupied rooms on the floors to block the stairs, eliminating some of the chance that zombies would get to me while I was inside. I might have had weapons, but I didn't want to use them if I didn't have to.

For a long time, things had been going well. I was used to my new lifestyle. I hadn't had any run ins with any infected people in a while, and I was actually able to relax. In fact, that's exactly what I was doing on a typical Tuesday when I suddenly heard loud banging. I had been reading a book, escaping from reality when I was jolted right back into it. My hand immediately went underneath my mattress, where I kept my favorite knife. I gripped it tightly in my hand, also slipping a gun into a holster that I always wore now. I moved my dresser and then unlocked and opened my door cautiously, slowly peeking out. I didn't see anything down either end of the hallway, but the banging was louder now. It sounded like it was coming from the stairs. Even though a zombie probably wouldn't get through my barricade, if there were a bunch of them, it was possible. I'd rather check out the situation now than be surprised by a group of the undead later.

I quietly made my way over to the staircase at the end of the hall. I found a gap in between some furniture and looked through it. There was someone there alright, but it was a guy who didn't look at all infected. Sure, he was a little scraped up and dirty, but still human. Even so, he could have been in the early stages of infection, so I had to be careful. I started thinking about my situation, wondering if I should reveal myself to him or not.

"Hey!" I heard a deep voice call out, and I saw the man looking at me through the gap. Dammit. I guess I didn't have much of a choice, now.

"No infected humans or zombies are allowed. Sorry," I spoke.

"I realize I'm not in the best shape right now, but I'm not infected."

"You think I'm going to believe you just like that?" I asked. He pushed until he was able to move some furniture and crawl through the empty space. I instinctively pulled my gun out and held it up towards him.

"Easy, there," he said, holding up his arms to surrender. Now that I had a good look at him, I really hoped he wasn't lying about being free of infection. Despite the dirt and tattered clothing, he was actually pretty attractive. Dark hair, brown eyes, sexy voice... But even so, my life was on the line, and I had to be careful. I kept the gun pointing at his face, my expression unchanged. "Look, I'm not infected, alright? I mean, honestly, I don't have any deep scratches or bites..." he outstretched his arms and adjusted his clothing so I could see that there were no suspicious wounds. "I can strip down if that's what it'll take for you to believe me," he added, when I still hadn't moved a muscle.

"That's not necessary," I rolled my eyes. "What are you here for?"

"The same thing as every other living human - food, shelter, safety," he answered. He didn't appear to be infected, and he seemed somewhat friendly. I decided to put a little trust in him.

"Well, it's relatively safe here. I've been living here for a while. Although I had to deal with the undead when they first got here, they haven't bothered me lately," I explained.

"Is that an invitation to stay here with you?" he wondered.

"As long as you're not infected or an asshole, sure," I decided.

"I guess I should probably leave, then. I can't make any promises about not being an asshole," he laughed.

"Let me show you where I stay." I led him to my dorm room, knowing that many of the other rooms had been broken into and torn apart. I wasn't sure how letting a strange man sleep in the same room as me would go, but I wanted to be nice.

"Which one of these is yours?" the guy asked, pointing to the name tags on the outside of my door. Somehow, they were still up.

"My name is Taylor. And yours is?" I let him into the room and once we both were inside, I locked it, just in case he had brought any zombies with him.

"Mark. Hey, this is pretty nice," he noticed, looking around the room at the decorations and pictures that were up.

"Thanks. That bed is yours, if you end up staying. My roommate ran for it when all hell broke loose, so it's not like anyone is going to miss it," I offered.

"Thanks, I appreciate it. Well, I know you have weapons, but how about other supplies?"

"We're good on food and water for now, if you like microwavable meals and soup."

"That works for me, roomie," Mark smiled, putting an arm around me.

"The showers are down the hall, to the right. You'll need one before you ever touch me again," I told him, moving his arm off of me. "And we might be roomies now, but we're not friends. I don't open up to people that easily."

"Alright, alright. Towel?" I tossed him one and dug through my dresser drawer to find men's sweatpants and a t-shirt. Mark gave me a weird look when I gave them to him.

"What? I've had boyfriends before! I thought you might like some clean clothes to wear that would actually fit."

"Do you happen to have any men's underwear, while you're at it?" he chuckled. "I'm only kidding. Thanks for everything. I'll be back!" He left the room and I shook my head, unsure of how I would deal with him for however long he stayed there with me. I did have to admit that he was kind of funny, even if I acted unamused. I didn't mind looking at him, either. I guess I could handle living with Mark for a while. Who knows, maybe I'm better off with him than I would be alone.