Licensed Apocalypse

*one* The house

The man closed his eyes, waiting for death to come. Then he heard something. Some sort of thunk. He opened to see another masked individual standing over him holding a bloody double sided ax.

"Your late Oliver." Lucis said as his friend helped him up.

"Aw come on, I was just in time." Oliver said. "Are you okay?"

Lucis nodded, "I'm okay."

"Wanna check the house again?" Oliver asked. "Two's better than one against the zombies."

"Sure." Lucis said. "But I'll need a weapon. My gun wouldn't work earlier."

"We'll get you a weapon." Oliver promised. "Let's go."

"Lead the way." Lucis said, sweeping his arms towards the stairs. Oliver nodded and began walking up the stairs. Oliver's hand gripped the ax. A gust of wind blew the door open before Oliver reached it.

"I don't see anything so far." Oliver said. Lucis stepped forward, passing his dropped gun. He walked deeper into the house followed by his friend. He pushed a door open, expecting a zombie but the room was empty. He walked into the room, looking around. It looked like a bedroom. Oliver followed him inside.

"Look." Oliver said pointing. "Weapons." There was a stack of guns in the corner. Lucis walked over and gratefully picked up his next form of protection. "Ready?" Oliver asked.

"Of course I'm ready." Lucis said, cocking the gun. "Let's get huntin'."

**

They had cleared the house of all remaining zombies but there was one room they still had to check. Lucis waved Oliver over.

"There's one last room." Lucis said. "I hear weird noises coming out of it." Groaning came out of the room. It sounded like the creaking of floor boards. Oliver stepped forward, double bladed ax ready.

"Ready?" Oliver asked, hand on the doorknob. Lucis nodded. Oliver opened the door and jumped into the room, ax swinging. The ax missed the two zombies by inches. "LUCIS!" Oliver yelled as the zombies reached forward. Bullets tore through the zombies. They collapsed. "Thanks." Oliver said, kicking the zombies.

"Anytime." Lucis said, staring down at the dead Zombies. "Is that it?"

"I think so. Let's get them outside." Oliver said. "Maybe we can fortify this place so we can have a place to sleep well."

"I'll get the bodies out and you start blocking the doors and windows."

Oliver nodded and got to work. After Lucis dropped the zombies outside he stood outside, drinking in the fresh crisp air. He took in multiple deep breaths. He turned to go backside, listening for zombies. When he got inside Oliver had finished boarding up the back door.

"Can you help?" Oliver asked.

"Yeah." Lucis said. "But remember, we still have to leave."

"Traps at the front door?" Oliver suggested.

"I'll get the traps. You work on the windows." Lucis ran off. Oliver sighed as he watched his friend disappear. Oliver remembered Lucis' stories of what it was like before the apocalypse. He would say 'there were actual people not worrying about zombies!' and people would go around everywhere without weapons! Can you believe that?'. Oliver had laughed every time. Oliver, like Lucis, had been born into the apocalypse. All Oliver's life had been centered around the apocalypse. There was a crash. "I NEED SOME HELP!" Lucis hollered from a nearby room.

"Coming!" Oliver yelled. When Oliver found Lucis there was stuff everywhere. "What happened?" Oliver demanded.

"I fell off a ladder." Lucis explained, pointing to a fallen ladder.

"Do you need help getting up?" Oliver asked.

"Yes please." Lucis said, extending his hand. Oliver laughed and helped Lucis up.

"Be careful next time."

"I will." Lucis grinned.

**

Oliver stood guard outside the house. Oliver watched the darkened street, eyes trained for the slightest movement. Oliver's ears perked up at a sudden noise. Oliver raised the ax and turned. Something was moving across the ground. Oliver stepped backwards, hands gripping the blade of the ax.

"Please..." The thing croaked. "Help me..." Oliver realized it was a human.

"What happened?" Oliver asked, instantly lowering his ax.

"It's... a zombie..." The human said.

"Where is it?" Oliver asked.

"I killed it... but not quick enough..."

Oliver knew what was going to happen. The person in front of him was about to turn into a zombie.

"I can't help you, I'm sorry." Oliver said. "Nothing can reverse the bite of a zombie."

"Exactly." The human's voice was steady now, unlike the shaky mess it had been before. It had begun. The human was turning into a zombie. Oliver watched in a panicked stupor as the once broken human straightened up. It's head snapped to the side with a sickening crack and it began walking forward. The transformation had finished. Oliver stepped back, clutching the ax. The zombie walked forward, its smell growing more horrid by the second. Oliver raised the ax and brought it down. The zombie fell to the ground, dead. Well deader. Oliver looked down at the body, panic not ebbing away. Oliver looked into the half dimmed lights of the house Lucis was in. Hopefully Lucis didn't get bitten by a zombie. Oliver returned to surveying the street, bloodied ax clutched in hand. Oliver waited. And waited. No zombies.

**

The next day Lucis was on guard. He was sitting on the brick steps leading up to the house as the sun rose in the sky. He took in a deep breath of the chilly air. Oliver had told him about the zombie last night so Lucis was a bit more careful than usual watching the street before him. Next to him sat a iPad that he had found in the bedroom. He had connected it with the security cameras around the house so now he could see the backyard too. Lucis stretched, a yawn breaking out. The door creaked open behin him. Lucis looked up to see Oliver carefully avoiding the traps. Oliver was carrying two pieces of toast. Lucis took one out of his friend's extended hand. Oliver sat down next to him.

"Any zombies?"

"No."

"That's good. When I saw it last night it was freaky. I do't want to imagine what it looks like with lights on."

Lucis laughed.

"I won't see any zombies." He said. "And if I do, I'll kill 'em." Oliver smiled.

"Of course you will." Oliver said. "I'm counting on it." Lucis smiled.

"I know you are."

**

Lucis came back into the house around mid-morning. The day was getting colder and his slim vest and hoodie weren't really doing much to stop it. He carefully avoided the traps set up by the door and put his iPad on the kitchen counter. Oliver was in the bedroom messing with something. Lucis saw that it was some wires. Oliver liked messing with electricity. It kinda calmed Oliver when Oliver was stressed. Lucis walked into the living room and collapsed onto the couch. Today was going to be a long day. Well, these days, every day was a long day.