Friends For Life

They had promised a cure, but what they had given was so much more horrific. Daily hundreds joined the droves of the undead, it seemed. No zombie or Apocalypse movie ever created had quite captured the true nature of the actual "end of the world". The most ironic part was how unchanged the world actually seemed, zombies were literally stalking the streets eating people, yet life continued like it was just a normal run of the mill event. When Raynell brought it up to anyone they just kind of scoffed and said, "It's LA baby, nothing is crazy here."

Raynell just didn't understand how people could be so okay with a zombie eating the Uber driver as they were coming to catch the Uber. She would have run in horror, but no, they'd just kind of laugh and call another Uber. She tried to understand how it could just become part of their "new normal", because it was apparently perfectly acceptable for a zombie to eat the Uber driver. It baffled her how they could just shake it off like it was nothing more than said Uber driver getting a bad review. She wanted to scream, "Wake up people, this is crazy. This isn't just a bad review left by a disappointed passenger. This is a freaking zombie eating the freaking Uber driver right in his freaking Uber car!"

Life all around her continued, no one seemed to grasp how messed up the world was, and it just wasn't the zombies. Establishments like zoos and safari parks had been neglected when the outbreak had first begun and the animals had organized and escaped. You walked down Hollywood Boulevard and it was nothing to see a group of giraffes munching on a tree, like it was its natural habitat. People didn't even stop to point and take pictures, they barely looked up from their cellphones.

Raynell was at her wit's end, she just didn't understand how she was the only one who had a problem with the world around her. She couldn't comprehend how she was the only one who seemed to think it had been flipped upside down. Even her friends and family, those who hadn't been devoured by zombies or formerly caged beasts, seemed perfectly adjusted to this new world. Raynell on the other hand felt like she had awoken in a live version of some pod people movie.

The worst part was that after a day or two Raynell had figured out that she wasn't supposed to have a problem with the way things were, so she had ever so reluctantly started acting like she found it perfectly normal as well. Every day she did her best to go about her normal everyday activities, like nothing was amiss in the world.

That fateful Tuesday, Raynell was on her way to the gym, after narrowly escaping a horde of zombies and a pack of hyenas, when by chance she met Lexi.

The only word that could be used to describe Lexi was unique. Everything about Lexi, from her hair to her shoes was different than anyone else that Raynell had ever seen. Raynell had just slipped inside to the safety of the gym, when Lexi had burst through the doors. Although Lexi had quickly covered her fear, Raynell had caught it and it had made her feel relieved, because she was certain she had met another "normal" person like herself. Lexi had quickly looked around, making sure no one had seen her true reaction and then she had scampered off toward the sauna, which was normally deserted this time of the morning. Raynell hung back several minutes before heading toward the sauna, with the hope of meeting Lexi. Raynell quickly stripped out of her clothes and wrapped one of the fuzzy yet awfully scratchy towels around her body and after taking a deep breath to center herself, plunged into the steam filled sauna. At first she thought she was alone and she felt a second of disappointment, but then her eyes adjusted to the steam and she saw Lexi draped over one of the wooden benches in the far corner, looking so comfortable and natural,Raynell thought she looked more like a sculpture than an actual person. Raynell nonchalantly sat on the bench right below the one Lexi was on and tried not to stare. After a few seconds however, Raynell just had to break the silence.

"Nice weather we're having, isn't it?"

Lexi groaned in annoyance and rolled her eyes. "If that's what you call having to decide if its better to be a zombie's dinner or a lion's morning snack, sure bloody brilliant weather we're having. I'm so bloody ecstatic to live in our awesome world."

Raynell breathed a sigh of relief, was it possible that Lexi was normal, as in actually normal like her. She wanted to blast right into how relived she was, but she thought it best to remain cautious at first, in case Lexi was baiting her.

"Oh, was it lions for you, it was hyenas for me. They're lovely aren't they and just think, its almost whelping time for them, so they'll be lots of cute little hyena puppies running around soon."

Raynell found herself holding her breath as she waited for Lexi to answer, but instead Lexi grabbed her bathrobe and in one fluid motion got off the bench.

"Bloody hell, you're one of them, daft you all are. There is nothing bloody beautiful about anything happening out there in that freakshow."

Lexi stepped down onto Raynell's bench, on her way to a quick exit and Raynell grabbed her by the ankle, careful not to trip her or pull her off balance.

"NO, please don't go, I'm not one of them!" Raynell practically screamed.

Lexi stopped and studied Raynell for a moment, before sitting down on the bench next to Raynell. They introduced each other and began talking like they had known each other their whole lives. Raynell found herself holding nothing back and it was a relief because it seemed Lexi was doing the same. They talked for over an hour, neither seeming to notice the steam or heat of the sauna, they were lost in the bliss of friendship, the kind that can only be made in unusual circumstances. Just when Raynell thought she might actually be able to survive the craziness of the world, thanks to her new friend, the doors to the sauna burst open and five burly men, dressed in dark clothing rushed into the room. Lexi stood up and pointed to Raynell.

"We've got a loose wire boys, she's rejected her programming. This is unacceptable, she's a danger to the whole system. Take her back and make sure it's done right this time."

As the men grabbed and drug Raynell away, she realized that Lexi had felt like an old acquaintance because she in fact was an old acquaintance, in that she had captured and reprogrammed Raynell several times before. Last time the world had been pirates, talking food and a flesh eating bacteria. This time around it had been zombies, escaped wild animals and an extremely deadly virus. Raynell wondered what the next world would be and wondered how long she'd survive before getting captured again. It didn't matter, it was better than the alternative of working her boring office job and maybe this time her and Lexi would manage to be friends for longer than a day.