It had been a full year since the pandemic started. Aiden, Julie, and Lydia had made it to the Golden City, but not without loss. Dylan had died helping them get there. Now, the three kids were hiding inside an old pharmacy, standing a few steps behind a closed door.
Lydia stood behind Aiden with Julie at her side. Her breathing was getting louder, and her eyes were already filled with tears. She tried to remain quiet like the others, but the sound of footsteps coming closer was making it harder and harder.
Aiden noticed how shaky her breathing had become. He lifted a finger to his lips. "Shhh."
"I'm scared…" Lydia whispered.
"We are too," Aiden whispered back, "but it's going to be okay."
The footsteps suddenly stopped right outside the door. All three of them froze. They looked at each other, then at the door, holding their breath as the tension grew.
Aiden was the oldest, even if just by a few months. He felt like he had to step up and be the one to keep them safe. Dylan's last words kept echoing in his mind. His final request was for Aiden to protect Julie. The thought that she was relying on him now gave him strength.
The boy glanced back at the girls. Both of them were terrified. They knew exactly what was on the other side of that door. He then turned to face the door again, sighing before slowly walking toward it. Julie and Lydia watched him nervously until Julie spoke up.
"What are you doing?" Julie asked softly.
"Don't worry, Julie, I'll protect you," Aiden replied. "I promised your dad I would."
Julie frowned. "My dad? Are you still going on about that?"
"Guys, please… not now…" Lydia interrupted.
Aiden nodded and resumed his walk to the door. Lydia quickly covered her mouth as he reached it, expecting him to open it, but instead, he dropped to his knees and leaned down. He paused for a couple of seconds, trying to stay brave, then peeked under the door.
"There's no one there…" Aiden said quietly, but his voice was still loud enough to be heard outside the room.
Without warning, a heavy stomp came down on the other side of the door, making Aiden jump back in shock. Startled by the noise, Lydia screamed in fear, triggering pounding on the door that made it rattle with each hit.
"I'm sorry!" Lydia shouted, her words coming out in a panic. "I didn't mean to!"
"It's okay! We'll be fine!" Julie responded, attempting to calm her.
While Lydia kept apologizing, Julie, afraid the damaged wooden door wouldn't last, searched the room for something to use and took a pair of scissors from the desk. She held them tight with shaking hands, pointing them at the door as it continued to rattle.
Aiden saw how unsteady her hands were. He moved to the desk, grabbed a pen, and held it up toward the door the same way she had with the scissors. After that, he looked at her with a crooked smile. "Well… it's pointy, right?"
The pounding didn't stop. More footsteps sounded in the hall, mixed with more growls, until it was clear the number of infected outside the room was growing. The strikes against the door grew constant, and the wood started to splinter under the pressure.
"No… Please, no…" Lydia whimpered.
Aiden yelled at Lydia, believing she'd be the first the Zeds would attack. "Lydia! Get behind us!"
"I don't want to die…"
"Lydia!"
Lydia finally did as she was told and got behind them. Aiden knew their chances of escape were small. Their only way out was through the same door that the infected were breaking down. To make matters worse, a pair of scissors and a pen would obviously not be enough to save them. Julie looked around the room for another way out, but there wasn't one. Even though they were kids, they had already learned how cruel the world had become.
With every blow from the Zeds, more of the door broke away, forming gaps in the wood. Several arms soon reached inside, causing the damaged sections to widen. Eventually, the opening was large enough for the infected to make their way in. They entered one after another, leaving the kids no choice but to retreat to the desk by the wall.
Just when it seemed hopeless, the sound of muffled gunshots could be heard from the hall, but the kids were too focused on the Zeds in the room to notice. Lydia stood frozen with fear while Aiden and Julie braced themselves to fight.
Julie stabbed one of the infected in the stomach with her scissors as it approached her. However, the wound barely slowed it down. She took a few steps backward until the wall prevented her from going any farther. Cornered, she could only watch as the Zed reached for her.
When Julie cried out for help, Aiden reacted right away by stabbing the Zed's arm repeatedly.
"Stop! Don't touch her!"
Despite Aiden's efforts, the Zed grabbed Julie by the wrists. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't pull them free. Suddenly, several muffled gunshots were fired inside the room. After being struck several times, black blood came from the Zed's mouth, splattering across Julie's clothes. Its body fell on top of her, and she screamed, afraid it was about to bite her.
"Get off me! Get off me!"
Julie struggled to push the body off her until Aiden hurried over to help. Together, they shoved it aside. She was still shaking, but he tried to reassure her with a relieved smile. "Julie, it's okay! We're safe!"
After glancing at the deceased Zed beside her, she looked around the room. The rest that had gotten through were already dead, their corpses scattered across the floor. Finally, she turned to Lydia, who was curled up in a corner with her hands over her face, trembling.
Julie sat there for a second, then got back up on her feet. She gazed down at her hands, still covered in black blood, then wiped them on her clothes before facing Lydia again. She softened her voice out of concern for her friend. "Lydia, are you okay?"
Lydia did not answer right away, but she slowly lifted her head. Her cheeks were wet with tears, and her eyes wandered across the scene in front of her, though she stayed quiet. Julie didn't ask her to speak. Instead, she noticed a bald man in casual attire standing near the doorway. His brow was furrowed as he observed the kids in silence.
A moment later, another person entered the room. It was Amanda Sandoval, her mother. She hurried over and knelt beside her daughter. Without saying anything, she began checking her for bites or scratches.
"I thought I told you not to leave the Golden City. That wall is there for a reason."
"Sorry, Mom. You said you were sick, so I wanted to help by looking for medicine."
"Honey, did you forget? I work as a nurse there. They already provided me with what I need to get better. There was no reason for you to come here."
Seeing her mother's blue scrubs, Julie realized she must've come straight from work. She began to cry, struggling to control her emotions. "I'm sorry, Mom! I'm so sorry!"
Amanda hugged her tightly for a few seconds. When she let go, she kept her hands on Julie's shoulders. "It's okay. It's okay. You're safe now. I'm here."
Amanda then looked at Aiden and Lydia. Her voice remained calm, but the disappointment in her tone was clear. "Why didn't either of you stop her? Did you really think she would be safe if you went with her? You all could've been killed if we hadn't gotten here when we did. No, all three of you would be dead if we hadn't heard one of you scream."
Both Aiden and Lydia lowered their eyes with shame. "We're sorry…"
Amanda sighed and brushed away the last of Julie's tears with her fingers. Julie wasn't crying anymore, but her expression showed how much her mother's words affected her.
Julie repeated her apology. "Sorry, Mom."
"You said that already," her mother told her gently. "Don't worry. You're okay now."
Amanda refocused on Aiden and Lydia. She rose from her kneeling position, standing upright again. Although she had already checked her daughter for injuries, she hadn't yet examined the other two.
"Have either of you been bitten or scratched?"
Before they could answer, Felix finally spoke. His unfriendly attitude came through as he mocked Amanda's question. "Hey, glasses, aren't you supposed to be a nurse? If those kids were infected, they would've turned by now."
"Better safe than sorry," Amanda replied.
"Do you see any black veins underneath their skin? No. They're fine."
Amanda didn't back down. "You already know how the infection progresses. It starts with a bite. The veins around that wound would darken first. From there, it spreads. It's not like the veins in their entire body would turn black immediately."
Felix scoffed. "And you should already know that it would spread throughout their entire body in literal seconds. The black veins would've been visible by now. Hell, it would've probably reached their brains by now."
"The Black Blood Virus corrupts the entire body in a bit over a minute," Amanda corrected, "not seconds."
"For fuck's sake! It's not that much of a difference! Besides, one minute has definitely passed by now. I don't see any black veins underneath their skin. They're fine."
"Just making sure."
Felix, with a sarcastic tone, made absurd suggestions. "Oh? If you want to be extra sure, then why not stab them to see if they bleed black instead of red? How about cutting them open to see if their organs are black now too?"
Amanda chose to ignore him. She rolled her eyes and turned her attention back to the children instead. "Anyway, please don't do that ever again. Even if the hospital hadn't provided me with what I needed, I could still afford to pay for it."
Without granting the children an opportunity to respond, Felix smirked and chuckled, finding the continued use of money in the Golden City amusing. "Oh, how charitable. The world has gone to shit, and yet here we all are still using money. That shit's hilarious."
"Money is still being used to make sure society doesn't fall apart," Amanda argued. "It'll also make it easier for us to return to our old way of life once this is over."
From outside the room, a distant, commanding voice called out to them. "Hurry it up, guys! We must get back before nightfall! We have to move now while the Zeds are still indoors! We can't risk being overwhelmed!"
Felix narrowed his eyes, obviously annoyed. He knew that voice belonged to Jordan, a man he didn't like at all. "Ah, Jordan. The so-called greatest Wolf of all time has spoken. It looks like it's time to go, sweetheart. No need to be so afraid of a bunch of slow-ass zombies."
Amanda couldn't hold back her frustration when Felix called them zombies. She snapped at him, determined to make the difference clear. "They aren't zombies! Zombies are undead! These people are just infected! They're still alive and could still be cured! Our scientists have been working on a cure for the past few months! It's only a matter of time!"
"You sure didn't seem to mind watching me kill them earlier."
Amanda glared at him. "The children were about to die! I'd prefer to leave them alone unless they pose a threat! Jordan's intentions of conserving ammunition works well with that!"
Felix looked at her with a smug expression. "Jordan? I could've sworn I heard him call them the 'Zed menace.' I'm pretty sure he doesn't share your sentiment."
"At least he doesn't kill any Zed he sees!"
"Ease up, doctor, before you give yourself a heart attack. I'm just joking around. Although, I'm pretty sure everyone has killed their fair share of Zeds."
Felix laughed and walked out of the room. He headed to the front of the pharmacy, where the others were waiting.
"Asshole," Amanda quietly said after he left.
Julie glanced at her, surprised to hear that kind of language from her mother. "Mom…"
Amanda paused when she noticed her daughter's reaction. Not wanting to be a bad influence, she smiled and apologized. "Sorry about that. We've been butting heads during our entire trip here. Anyway, forget what you just saw. It's time for us to go home."