The End

Nine

Nine

"Do you ever wonder how many people are still around this place?" I thought out loud. About a week had passed since we had decided to be a little more than friends. Mark and I were sitting in the grass, underneath a bright orange tree, leaves falling from it every so often. The air was chilly, and we both wore a few layers to keep warm.

"I'm sure there are people out there, surviving like us. I doubt that the zombies drove every single person away. They didn't scare you off."

"They did scare me, I just didn't know what to do! I felt safer in the dorm than I would have outside," I explained.

"Well, you're still alive, aren't you? I bet there are others out there, surviving like us."

The sound of a ringing phone broke the peacefulness of the situation, and for a split second, my stomach dropped. Was it Sam, finally calling me back? But then Mark pulled his own phone out of his pocket and I wished I hadn't gotten my hopes up.

"Bob? Hey, how's it...Bob, are you okay?" It sounded as if his friends might have been in trouble, so I gave my full attention to the phone call. I couldn't quite overhear what Bob was saying, so I relied on Marks's responses to understand the situation.

"Oh god...wait, is everyone okay? Alright...yeah, that's completely fine. There's plenty of space here...there are a few, but nothing we haven't been able to handle...yeah, it's BSU...alright, I'll see you guys soon, then. Stay safe out there and call me if you need me...Bye."

"What's going on?" I asked, curious.

"My friends have to move. It seems like zombies have found their safe zone, so they're headed here now. I think they might do some exploring on the way to see if they can find any other safe zones that might be better places for us to stay."

"And they're okay?"

"Yeah, they're fine. Just a little panicked."

"Understandable."

"Yeah. It's getting kind of cold out here - let's go inside." He took my hand and helped me up off the leaf-littered ground.

"Wait a second," I stopped him, pulling my camera out of my jacket. The outside world was so gorgeous during this time of year, and I couldn't help myself.

"We haven't had a photo op in a while," Mark realized.

"Exactly. Okay, you go first. Stay under the tree, and maybe lean up against the trunk." He posed for a few photos and he looked perfect in all of them - even the ones where he wouldn't cooperate and made the strangest faces possible.

"Now you go pose," he prompted me, and he took photos of me this time. We took a couple of selfies together as well, and by the time we got back to the dorm, we had a handful of new pictures to decorate the walls with.

We wasted time doing our usual - watching movies, playing games, messing around at the rec center. The only difference was the hand holding, the kissing, the increased intimacy. It was kind of nice to be alone with him and not worry about being bothered. We could show as much PDA as we wanted, and nobody was there to complain. I knew that wouldn't be the case, soon. Mark and I had determined that the drive for his friends would be 10 hours, without any breaks. If they did take breaks and search around, they could end up splitting the trip up into a day or two.

Mark texted them throughout the day, and they decided they should be there the next morning with the way they were exploring and gathering supplies. They apparently found a town just a couple hours away that lacked people but had safe shelter, and they felt good about staying there and getting rest. rather than arriving here late at night.