Zombies on the run

High school

She could clearly remember the first day. Every moment, every thought, every gesture, everyone she killed, everyone she protected. Every area they conquered. Every corpse they burned in the schoolyard. The smell. The panicked screams when th...those things appeared. The transformation of her friends. Everything. She dreamt of it every single night.

It wasn't a nightmare, not anymore. It was her usual dream. She woke up from it as if it had been a nightmare, but it wasn't, really. It wasn't traumatizing. It wasn't painful to think about it, not when lives depended on her. It was just a reminder that, although she was asleep, the world was moving on, always the same.

Zombies were lurking outside and they were just hiding in that school. Pathetic, maybe, but it was all they could do. Occasionally, she went with the boys to look for food. The other girls were too unlikely to make it back.

"Lola..." Stephen started. "I... I think we should... err..."

"I know."

They were on the roof. She was gazing into the distance, like she did every night. The others thought she was clearing her head, so they let her be. But he knew better. She never took a break. She was thinking. She was trying to decide where they would go next. The food in that city was running scarce. They had to move on.

"Where?" he asked. They got along so well some would think they were in love, but who had time for that? Not them. Not the leaders.

"I don't know. Maybe south. Better weather. We need to tell the others, anyway."

"True..."

Lola sighed heavily, glancing at him. She would never admit it, but he was her strength. He kept her sane. She would have jumped out, into the sea of zombies, a long time ago had he not been her support. She looked down, at the lurking bodies, with disgust and guilt. Stephen sighed.

"You're thinking about him again."

She knew who he was talking about.

"How can I not?"

"It wasn't your fault. Mirajane pushed him off when they argued."

"I could have prevented it. They argued because of my orders."

"No sex? Come on, it's a reasonable order no matter how you look at it! We barely manage as it is, a baby would drive us up the wall!" he argued.

She just kept looking into the distance, seeing and hearing things he could hardly fanthom through the destruction and guttural sounds of the zombies below. And she smiled.

Stephen always found her smiles the saddest thing in the world. They weren't happy, not even relaxed, they were only sad. Not the obvious sad, even. Her smile was fake, covering a thick layer of tears and misery. Tears and misery she wouldn't allow anyone to see. Tears and misery she masked with a smile which everyone knew was fake, but nobody said it out loud for fear the fragile balance of the group would shatter. Lola was strong, no matter what, that was what they kept telling themselves. It was a huge lie. A daily one.

"Lola..." he started, wanting to come up with something useful and relevant to say. Nothing.

"Go to sleep, Stephan. You're gonna bring food tomorrow. Maybe some weapons too." she said thoughtfully.

The thought of disobeying her order was very tempting, but he didn't want to unbalance her authority. Without arguing, he made his way downstairs.

The others were sleeping soundly. He took his usual seat on the floor, in his sleeping bag, and closed his eyes, trying to rest. His mind kept wondering to Lola.

She watched the moon. Every night. More often than not, she slept on the roof. Even on a rainy weather when she couldn't see the sky. She knew it was there, and that was enough. Her friend was always with her, albeit hidden. Like the constant threat outside.

Lola closed her eyes and sat down, wrapping her arms around herself. Mirajane's boyfriend had been her rival in leadership and the other girl would have loved to see him rule. Unfortunately, he had no such desires. The couple had had an argument about it, right there on the roof and the girl had accidentally shoved the boy off the building. Lola had had to make a decision about Mirajane's punishment. Her weakness was shown that day. The girl escaped unpunished.

Lola got into her sleeping bag, trying to fall asleep.

In the morning, Stephen left with most of the other boys to look for everything they needed. Lola stayed behind with the girls, who woke up late and started eating. Lola distributed food rations.

"This is too little." Mirajane complained as she ate.

Lola closed her eyes, then constructed an appropriate glare, which she sent at the other girl.

"So? It's not like I kept more for myself. We're running out of food." she stated.

"How so?" Defiance was clear in her tone. The 5 other girls were silent. They didn't want conflicts.

"We're gonna have to move to another city sometime soon."

"No."

"I think it's a sane decision." another girl dared say. Mirajane glared at her.

"Whose side are you on?" she snapped.

"The less hormonal one's." the other girl snapped back.

Mirajane was pregnant. She had been since the apocalypse began. Lola had been unable to do anything about it. Only ban other pregnancies.

"Why you..."

"Enough." Lola hissed, venom dripping from her voice. "I hold no responsibility for you or your baby. I know you need more food than us, but unfortunately you can't eat everything you see. We all make sacrifices."

Mirajane snorted in disbelief.

"Just because you do, doesn't mean we all have to."

"Don't make me kick you out."

"W-what? You can't!"

"She can." another girl said. "We agreed when we made her leader."

Mirajane closed her mouth and gulped, stepping back submissively. Lola smirked in victory.

"Lola! We've got guests!" a boy yelled. He'd been left behind to help Lola guard the school.

She went to the window and saw a bus parked outside. A group of adults was inside, a woman holding a baby. They were pleading to be allowed inside. Lola's eyes narrowed.

"Josh, what do you think?" she asked.

The boy crossed his arms over his chest, frowning. He scrutinized the group.

"They seem... fearless." he stated. Lola glanced at him, so he continued. "They don't look too desperate. Their appearance is rather proper. They don't seem starved. And... I see evil in the woman's eyes." He was the oldest of the group and a good people reader.

"I agree. Don't open!" Lola yelled to the girls. The group was flabbergasted.

"B-but... They need shelter!"

"We couldn't possibly... abandon them."

"No means no!" Lola hissed. "I don't trust them. I'm getting the guys back."

"How?"

"I'm gonna go after them."

"And you want us to leave these people there until then?"

"Yes." Lola was already getting her sword. "Josh's in charge till I'm back."

Ignoring all the other girls' protests, she went to the roof, from which she jumped on a nearby building, then made her way to the area where the boys were supposed to be.

They were fighting against a rather big hoard of zombies. She joined them in battle, trying to end it quickly. The boys were confused, but didn't lose their focus.

Eventually, they managed to get away from the zombies. All the boys gathered around Lola, waiting to hear her orders. She gave them a brief explanation, then they all rushed back. It was too late.