Savannah

My heart hammers inside my chest. Sweat drips down my face, clinging to my lashes and stinging my eyes. But I don't dare move. I hope that my hand clamped against my mouth is enough to muffle the sounds of my ragged breaths.

From outside this cramped cabinet, I can hear the shuffling of their feet. Their low, primal growling sends a flurry of goosebumps across my skin. Those near-indestructible things whose only goal is to bite and spread their disease used to be human. And somehow that thought makes my heart pound even faster. I swallow hard. Tucked into this dark space, trapped and defenseless, I wait. I count the seconds as they drag by, each one slower than the last.

The last footsteps fade off into the distance. I count out a few hundred more seconds, to be sure. Fighting back the tears that cloud my vision, I let out a shaky breath. I'll allow myself to fall apart soon, but first, I have to get somewhere safe. I lean forward, push the cabinet door open a crack, and peer out. It seems empty. I open the door just a bit further. Still nothing.

I take a deep breath and let the door swing wide. In the quiet room, the squeaking of the hinges seems as loud as a shout into a bullhorn. I freeze, listening. The only sound is a gentle breeze through the window. I hop out, grab my bag, and hurry outside.

"No!"

I dive behind a bush. As my heart races, I peak out, searching for the owner of the deep voice. Zombies mill around the base of a gnarled oak tree up ahead. I'm sure they're growling, but the sound doesn't carry this far. But where is... There. Halfway up the tree, a man crouches, one arm wrapped around the trunk. With the other arm, he throws something. The silvery metal reflects the sunlight until it collides with one of the zombies below. The gun – apparently jammed or empty – only makes the growling horde more restless.

There are too many. I blink the tears from eyes, focusing on my mission. I should go. I have to go. Shaking, I open my eyes and turn away.

"Ahh!" The man screams, venting his fear and frustration.

I can't. Swiping at my face with the heel of my hand, I turn back toward the sound as my mind races. The man looks down, wondering if he'll break an ankle if he jumps. A zombie finds a toehold in the tree and starts to climb. I don't have much time.

I take a quick look around – I'm alone. I drop my backpack and pull a slingshot from a side pocket. Loading a rock into the strap, I take aim. "Hey!" The man's head jerks in my direction. The biters, too focused on the target in front of them, ignore me. The rock sails from my grip. It connects with the climbing zombie's nose, sending out a spray of blood. The creature loses its grip and tumbles to the ground. I let out a relieved laugh.

Victory is short-lived. A second and third zombie learn from the first, and now they start to climb. I load another rock into the slingshot and let loose. It clips the zombie's arm. The creature goes on, unfazed. A third rock goes flying. It goes wide. My heart leaps into my throat. We're running out of time.

Taking a deep breath, I grab a jar from my bag. "Red pickup! Behind the house!" Before I lose my nerve, I barrel toward the tree. The man's wide eyes fix on me. Taking notice, the zombies start to turn in my direction. I keep running at them. At the last second, I veer to the right. One's fingertips scrape across my arm, but can't latch on. Adrenaline propels me forward. I hear the stampeded start behind me.

I let the jar fall behind me. The sound of shattering glass drowns out everything else. I can barely make out the soft swish as the marbles spread across the pavement. With a thud, I'm sure one of the zombies just fell. A second thud and the growling seems to grow more distant. I don't dare look back.

I round the corner. The truck sits right where I left it, as the man opens the door and waves me closer. At the sight, relief washes over me and nearly causes my legs to buckle underneath me. I press onward though and fling myself into the cab. Somehow both exhausted and amped, I jam the keys in the ignition, throw the truck into drive, and peel out down the street. Heading south, I watch the rearview mirror as the zombies round the corner and disappear into the distance.

"Thank you. I was ready to give up back there. I wouldn't have made it out if it weren't for you."

My breath is coming in ragged gasps while tears stream, unfettered, down my face. I just nod at the man.

"Name's Shawn, by the way."

Wiggling out of the backpack, I nod again. I yank out a water bottle and take a swig. I manage to catch my breath enough to speak. "Faye." I turn west to go over a few blocks, then start traveling north once more. Those things may seem mindless, but they'll follow until they either can't any more or they find a new target. If they saw me go south, that's the way they'll go.

"Well, thank you, Faye." Shawn turns to look out the window.

"You're welcome." I tuck the bottle back into my bag. "You got a camp or something nearby? I can drop you off."

"No. It got overrun." He turns toward me again. "You want some company? I'll earn my keep."

I glance at him. "I don't know. I have somewhere important I need to go."

"Well..." He sighs. "I don't. So, you want company on wherever it is you're going?"

I dry my face. "Fine."

---------------

Three days later

"Are you–"

With a finger pressed to my lips, I turn around and glare at Shawn.

"You know they don't hunt by sound." He huffs at me before continuing in a whisper. "Are you ready to tell me where we're going yet?"

"Yes, I do know that. But when you keep blabbing, I can't hear them." I turn my back on him to peer through the narrow opening. "And no, I'm not ready to tell you. You'll see when we get there tonight. Now hush!" I'm sure there is sufficient eyerolling behind my back, but I keep an eye on the adjacent room.

After a few minutes of watching and waiting, I straighten up and push the door open. "Alright. It seems empty. Let's go." I open my backpack and start filling it with cans and boxes of food. "See if you can find water. And maybe some sports drinks."

Shawn nods and hurries down the aisle.

Finally, the bag is filled to the brim. The zipper strains to pull the opening shut, but I give up. The seams struggle to hold the fabric together. I've only got to get it back to the truck.

I peek my head around the end of the aisle. "Shawn? Are you..." My words fade away as I spot it, crouching at the other end of the building. A shiver runs through me. I take a step backwards, hoping that it doesn't turn around. I dash down the aisle, hurrying away from the zombie. "Shawn!"

Shawn's head pops out from between some shelves. Grabbing him by the sleeve, I spin toward the door. I stop in my tracks. Caught off guard, Shawn slams into my back and the overly full bag strains against its contents. The zombie – the same one who had just been crouching on the other end of the store – stands in the doorway. Her hair covers most of her face, but I can still make out the dilated pupils, set against a backdrop of gray.

She lets out a low growl, but doesn't move. Sweat beads on my forehead and I swear I can hear Shawn's pounding heart from here. He and I both take a tentative step backwards. The zombie doesn't move. So we take another. And another.

I'm starting to think we just might make it out when my bag snags on the corner of a shelf. The seams explode. Cans and boxes slam to the ground. The zombie's head jerks up. She screeches and charges forward. I spin and bolt down the aisle after Shawn, as supplies continue raining down behind me.

We turn, skidding around the endcap. Shawn's foot slips. He tumbles forward, but I grab his arm and yank him along. He regains his footing and sprints along, now just behind me. We turn once more and speed up another aisle. The exit is in sight.

The zombie's screech pierces the air again. I run and crash into the door. It swings outward. I hold it just long enough for Shawn to tumble through, then slam it shut with my back against it. The zombie barrels into it, nearly knocking me to the ground. I right myself and shove back against the metal and glass door. Shawn pulls a cable from one of his pockets and wraps it around the door handles. As he ties the knot, I step away and watch as the creature hammers against the doors.

Shawn steps around the corner of the building and falls to the ground, panting. "At least... we've still got... the drinks." He pulls a drink from his own bag, takes a swig, and hands it to me. "We can find... food  somewhere else."

Pulling my tattered bag from my back, I nod at him. I turn toward the truck. But that's when I notice, and my heart drops into my stomach. It's not just the food. Everything that was in my bag is gone. Tears well up in my eyes. "You go. I can't leave yet."

"What?" He shoves himself up off the ground. "Why?"

"I..." I don't even know how to explain. "I dropped something in there. I have to get it back before I can leave."

Jaw dropping, he looks at me as though I've grown a second head. "What? What could possibly be so important?"

"Don't worry about it." I start around the side of the building, looking for another way in. "I won't ask you to help me."

"Gah!" Shawn's heavy footsteps follow me. "Just tell me what you need me to do."

I turn and look him in the eye. "I think I can get in through the back. Just go around front and keep this one's attention on you. I'll creep in, grab my stuff, and meet you back out front."

Shawn opens his mouth to protest, but I hurry off. Resigned, he heads around front. I make it to the back door and pull. Sending up a silent thank you as it opens without protest, I shimmy inside. I tiptoe down the short hallway and into the main room. The zombie – her eyes focused on Shawn as he paces past the front door – seems oblivious to my entrance.

I sneak across the room to that fateful spot. I crouch down and begin to sift through the wreckage. It takes a few moments, but at last I find the small, rectangular parcel. I clutch it to my chest. Another soundless thank you goes out as I stand up and start back out.

Noise from the front door catches my attention as I make my way out. Shouting. I turn my head in time to see the zombie's eyes fixed on me. Shawn, behind her, fumbles at the cable on the door that's now keeping him out. The zombie growls and bursts into a run. I pivot and duck down another aisle, then toward the front. Shawn keeps tugging at the doors. The zombie screams from close behind me.

I have to go to the back. I turn again, toward the rear exit. Adrenaline surges as I hurl myself onward. It's not enough though. Her jagged nails dig into the flesh of my arm. I cry out as I lose my balance. Unwilling to let go of my prize, I fall heavily to the floor. I roll over in time to see a can flying through the air. It collides with the zombie's face and she stumbles to the side. Shawn grabs hold of the zombie and slams her head into the ground over and over and over. Eventually, she lays motionless.

Covered in blood, Shawn grabs my elbow and drags me back to the truck. "Well, Faye? Was it worth it?"

The derision in his words sets my heart pounding all over again. "I didn't want you to get hurt. I told you to go away."

"I tried to save your life, like you saved mine!" He stops in front of me and his eyes bore into mine. "But because of... whatever the hell stupidity that was, you got scratched and I got soaked in that thing's blood. We're probably both infected now!" His nostrils flare as his eyes search mine. "I think I at least deserve an explanation after that!"

"Fine!" I choke back the tears. "Let's go. I'll tell you on the way."

I climb into the vehicle and start up the engine. As soon as Shawn takes his seat, I start down the road and toss the package into his lap. "Open it."

He complies. "A children's book?"

"Yeah."

"You're..." He lets out a humorless laugh. "No, tell me thi–"

"I told you to leave!" I glare at him for a moment before turning back toward the road. Softening my voice, I start again. "I appreciate your help. Really, thank you. But I didn't want anyone to get hurt. I just..."

I sigh. "Whenever my daughter was little, she loved that book series. The heroine shared her name: Savannah." I chuckle at the memory. "We went to the library every other week to get her a few books. She couldn't leave without at least one book about Savannah.

"This went on for years. But then the day came that we had to move, so I told her we had to return all our books. Now, I had every intention of getting a membership at the new library, but you know how kids are. Maybe she thought that this was the only library that would have those books. Or maybe she just thought the new library wouldn't let us have a membership. I don't know exactly. Anyway, whatever the reason, she couldn't bear to part with it.

"Unbeknownst to me, she stole the book. I didn't find it for almost a year. I meant to mail it back, but life just got in the way and I kept forgetting. I started to joke that I'd return it when she graduated college." The words suddenly catch in my throat. I take a long drink of water.

"How old was she when..."

"When the world fell apart? She was just about to turn twenty-two." My voice cracks. The rest of the words are barely more than a whisper. "She would've graduated this month."

"I know it's silly and it won't bring her back. But when all this happened and I knew I'd never see her again, well... I had to find some kind of purpose. So I chose to celebrate her last achievement in a way that would have made her laugh." I clear my throat and glance over at the blood that's drying on his face. "I'm so, so, sorry you might have been infected. I never wanted that to happen."

Shawn stares down at the book as we continue down the road in silence. At last, I pull into a parking lot and turn off the truck.

"Well," I look up at the familiar structure. "We're here."

With a nod, Shawn hands me the book and climbs out. I step out as well and lead the way toward the abandoned building.

The doors are locked. I take a rock and send it flying through the glass doors. Carefully, I break the remaining shards away and reach in to twist open the lock. I go in, followed by a silent Shawn. My feet remember the way. I stop in the center of the children's section. "Congratulations, Sweetie. Don't ever forget how proud I am of you." I slide the book back into its rightful place, and sink down to the floor.

"I'm sure she'd be happy." Shawn drops down beside me and sighs. "You did tell me to leave."

My brow wrinkles as I look over at him.

"And, honestly, I wouldn't have made it this far at all if you hadn't rescued me in the first place. Maybe we're not infected and we'll have a badass story to tell." He slips an arm around my shoulders. "Or maybe we are and this'll be our end. But I can think of a lot worse ends than hanging out in a library with one of the best friends I could've asked for."