Age of zombies

[22] The long night

The engine was off, and the darkness outside was almost suffocating. We turned off the car's interior lights, plunging us into near-total blackness, save for the faint glow of the stars through the windshield. The only sound was the occasional rustle of leaves outside and our own uneasy breathing.

"We'll take shifts," I said, breaking the silence. "One person stays awake while the others sleep. We can't risk getting ambushed."

Ethan nodded from the front passenger seat, his face barely visible in the darkness. "I'll take the first shift," he said, rubbing his eyes. "I don't think I could sleep right now anyway."

I didn't argue. I was exhausted, but my nerves were still shot from everything that had happened. I wasn't sure I'd be able to close my eyes without seeing zombies or the chaos we'd just escaped. But we needed rest. All of us.

Yabe was in the backseat, hugging her knees to her chest. She hadn't said much since we parked, her face pale and her eyes wide with fear. I turned back to her, trying to give her a reassuring look, even though I felt far from calm.

"Kohai," I said softly, "try to get some sleep. I'll wake you up when it's your turn."

She nodded, though her expression told me she wasn't convinced she'd be able to sleep either. Still, she lay down across the backseat, curling up as best she could with her backpack as a makeshift pillow.

"Senpai... I'm scared," she whispered, her voice trembling in the darkness.

"I know," I said, my voice low. "But we'll get through this. Just get some rest."

I leaned back in the driver's seat, closing my eyes, though my mind was still racing. The tension in the car was thick—none of us felt safe, not really. But this was the best we could do for now.

"Wake me if you hear anything," I muttered to Ethan, my body sinking into the seat. "Even the smallest sound."

"Yeah, no problem," Ethan replied quietly, his voice weary. "Get some sleep, man. We'll need it."

The silence stretched out between us, broken only by the occasional soft shuffle of movement from Yabe as she tried to get comfortable. I took a deep breath, forcing myself to relax, even though my entire body was on edge.

I wasn't sure how long I lay there, eyes closed but unable to drift off. Every creak of the car, every whisper of wind made my heart jump. But eventually, exhaustion won out. My thoughts blurred, and sleep finally came—uneasy, shallow, but better than nothing.

***

In the dream, it was like nothing had ever gone wrong. The five of us—me, Kenji, Malcolm, Raul, Ethan—were sitting in our usual spot, huddled around a table, talking shit and laughing like old times. It felt surreal, the way things used to be before everything went to hell. We were back in the dorms, safe, no zombies, no chaos.

"Dude, did you see the latest One Piece episode?" Kenji asked, leaning back in his chair with a grin.

"Of course I did," I replied, smirking. "You know I never miss it."

Raul chuckled. "You two are obsessed. There's other anime out there, you know."

Malcolm, sitting next to me, chimed in with a mouthful of chips. "Yeah, but none of it hits like One Piece. You guys are missing out."

Everything seemed normal. Too normal. That's when I started noticing the cracks. Kenji's smile was a little too wide, his eyes just a bit too vacant. Malcolm's voice sounded muffled, distorted, like he was talking through water. My heart began to race, even though nothing had really happened yet. Something was wrong.