Hallowed Creatures

2

Pulling at the drapes was a difficult task when Axel wasn't there to help. Merlot took hold of each side of the curtains and yanked with all her strength. Nothing happened. As usual, she wasn't strong enough. Groaning to herself, she ran out of the room to find Axel and Jaclyn laughing on the mini couch. She cleared her throat. Jaclyn looked up.
"What is it?"
Leave it to her to be angry that her and Axel didn't get to have alone time. Merlot had told her countless times "it's the end of the fucking world jackie" and still, the girl wanted her space.
"Please help me with these drapes. The hallows will be out soon." Merlot hated how desperate she sounded. Jaclyn sighed. Axel held up his hand.
"No, I'll help her. You have to stay and make sure this puzzle isn't messed up." He grinned, following Merlot to the other room.
She pointed to the drapes. Axel's face dropped. "Oh shit." Merlot looked up at the moment a hallow appeared in the window. She dropped to the floor. "Close the curtains!"
Axel lunged for the drapes and finally drew them together, closing out the monster and the perilous world it lived in.
For a second they could only hear each other's breaths. Jaclyn walked into the room.
"What happened?" She looked at the scene.
Axel sighed. "It saw us. A hallow." He ran a hand through his hair. Jaclyn couldn't help but admire the way his red hair fell over his eyes.
Merlot watched them both blankly. She had been the third wheel for quite some time.
"Do you have the spear?" Jaclyn asked. "I can go kill it or one of us can."
Merlot shook her head. "No we're not risking it."
She was right and Axel nodded. "Tomorrow, I'll go out and kill it. We need to get some food in us."
He stood up and the pair walked out of the room.
Merlot sat in silence. It was moments like this where she felt alone. If they ended up finding her brother she would hug him like he was the only person that ever existed.

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Thirty days. That was how long they'd been living in the baptist church. The three of them against the world. Merlot had never met them and when she found them, they had all formed an unbreakable bond. In the new world, any other person you encountered was important for survival. She remembered the day she met Jaclyn Poole.
Blood was pouring from the wound in her arm. A hallow was chasing her down the road. She had assumed it was only one but a cluster of them began to form. Merlot thought she was going to die.
"Over here! Run!" A voice out of the darkness. She ran to the source of the noise. A girl suddenly sprang from the bushes.
"Stay here." The girl said, running straight into the herd of hallows.
Merlot hunkered down and watched. The mysterious girl had a spear in her hand and began to stab the spear into the bodies of the hallows. She tore through them like it was nothing. Merlot held her breath as the girl killed every last one of the hallows. Finally, she stood up, holding her spear coated in fresh blood.
"It's safe. Come on."
Merlot slowly walked out of the shadows and finally saw what the other girl looked like. She had dark hair down to her waist in long messy waves. Merlot touched her own hair, disbelieving that a girl so beautiful had saved her. Jaclyn had been true and stunning. They had become friends and faced the zombies head on.
It wasn't until Jaclyn went to raid a pharmacy, when she ran into Axel. The guy was alone, dirty and Merlot thought he was also beautiful. The girls brought him to their church and Jaclyn had taken to him instantly. Despite the nature of the world, love was in the air and unfortunately for Merlot, it never came her way.
She resented Jaclyn, for taking away a man she had feelings for, for going back on their deal to let another person stay with them.
"You lie all the time. Fuck you!" Merlot put on her snow hat and reached for the doorknob. "I'll be back when you and him aren't making me sick to my stomach."
Over time, the three had attempted to make it better and to Jaclyn and Axel, life was fine. To Merlot, it was a cold hard relentless bitch. She knew she had to kept pressing. It wasn't until that Tuesday, when everything changed.