Dead Love | Michael Clifford

two.

I'm awoken by light streaming in through the mostly boarded up window in my room. Kyra's still asleep next to me but she's rolled over to face the opposite direction.
I sit up on the old, tattered mattress which I call my bed and pull out my journal from the space between the wall and the edge of the mattress. I open it and the pencil falls out onto my lap.
"Okay, let's try this again," I sigh to myself.

Our guild consists of four people currently.
Jasmyn: 20, leader. 5'7" Medium-length straight, brown hair with natural blonde streaks. Best works with projectile weapons. Pet: cockatoo named Sydney.
Amanda: 21, hunter. 5'5" Shoulder-length straight, dark brown, nearly black hair. Specialises in using guns as her weapon. Pet: lab mix named Lucy.
Kyra: 20, in charge of weapons. 5'8" Long curly, medium brown hair. Trained archer. Pet: west highland white terrier named Chip.
Lijy (me): 19, healthcare person/caretaker. 5'9" Waist-length straight, light brown hair. Preferred weapon is blades. Pet: cat named Buyo.

Don't judge. Descriptions make me feel peaceful.

Like I said before, there have been others in our guild who we've lost to the zombies. Originally, there were twelve of us. The four of us girls, Eliza, Olli, Rosella, the twins Benji and Will, Kyle, Jason, and my older brother... Jareth.

I close the book again, on the verge of tears. Kyra stirs behind me so I shove my journal back into its spot behind my bed.
"Hey," I say softly, moving her hair out of her face.
"Hi," she mumbles.
"How did you sleep?"
"Better once I came in here."
"Glad I could help," I smile down at her and she smiles back. "Let's go see what the girls are up to."
We both stand up from the bed and walk into the main room of our hideout.
Since the whole thing had started, we had moved around at least three times, due to invasions or other humans taking over our camp. Our current hideout happens to be an abandoned warehouse or storage unit of some sort. It's not a five star resort but it's not a complete dump. Plus, if we find anyone to take in, there's plenty of room. There are a lot of extra rooms in the building we're in, they're just blocked off in some way. I'm sure we could get into them if we tried.
"Good morning guys," Jasmyn says as we sit at the small table that we found in one of the storage rooms.
"Morning," Kyra replies as chip jumps up onto her lap. Sydney is perched on Jasmyn's shoulder while Buyo and Lucy are curled up together under the table.
"What are the orders for today, cap'n?" I ask jokingly.
"You and I are going hunting," Amanda speaks up for the first time today. I nod in agreement.
"Kyra and I will stay here and try to get to some of the other rooms to see if we can find anything useful," Jas explains.
I get up to change into some clothes that are better for hunting. I choose a plain black tank top and a pair of black skinny jeans with a grey jacket over my shirt. I grab Jareth's old snapback and put it on top of my tangled hair. Then I pull on my brown combat boots before going back out to the main room.
"What do you want for weapons today, Lij?" Kyra asks once I'm out.
"Can I have... Two daggers, a katana, and a handgun?"
"Coming right up," she smiles and goes off into the inventory room. Amanda comes in while I sit on the table to tie my shoes. She tosses me a granola bar and I catch it then set it next to me.
"You ready?" She asks, twirling the pistol in her hand.
"Almost."
I finish tying my shoes then eat the food she'd given me. Kyra comes back with the weapons I'd asked for and I gear up. Then I grab my nearly empty backpack from next to the door.
"Let's go," Amanda smirks before opening the door and walking out into the fresh air. I follow her outside.
Zombie apocalypse "hunting" is very different than actual "hunting". What we do is look for things, anything that can serve as useful to us.
Some of the most important things are water and food, but in the hideout we're staying in, we've managed to find a running sink.
Amanda and I walk through rubble of old buildings and random shrubs that poke up through the debris. We talk quietly and keep a constant watch in every direction for zombies.
Finally, after maybe 30 minutes of walking, we find something that looks hopeful.
There's a building still standing for the most part, with broken looking sliding glass doors.
We approach it and try to open the doors which are either locked or stuck in place somehow.
"Stand back," Amanda warns. I step back a few feet and watch as she takes the riffle from her back and holds it firmly in both hands. She lifts it above her head and slams the butt of the gun against the glass, shattering most of it.
"Nice," I raise my eyebrows at her. She smiles and steps through the door frame, putting the strap on the gun back over her chest.
"Looks like an old grocery store," she observes, looking around. There are no lights except what comes through a few holes in the ceiling and walls.
"Should we split up?" I ask.
"Yeah. If you need help with anything, call my name like a civilised person. If you run into any walkers, scream like a maniac."
"Got it," I nod once before heading off into one of the aisles.
Squinting in the dark, I walk slowly to make sure I don't miss anything.
Hmm... Baking supplies. Not useful. A whisk? Maybe... But what would we use it for? Ewww, none of the fresh food is going to be good.
I take one look at the moldy vegetables and nearly want to vomit.
Canned foods? Now we're getting somewhere.
I grab some cans of spaghetti-o's for Kyra, knowing they're her favourite. Of course I stock up on canned fruits, vegetables, and beans for protein. I put a box of Cheez-its in my backpack then move on to the next aisle.
Eventually I find matches and candles which are good since we have no electrical lights. I take five boxes of 100 matches and a bunch of small tea light candles.
Then... My eyes scan over something familiar. Batteries. I put as many as I can in the front, smaller pocket of my bag, taking them out of their packaging so I can fit more.
My bag is getting kind of full now and I know I'll regret it if I fill it too much and have to walk for half an hour to get back to the hideout. At least it's good exercise.
I wander around, ruling out many of the things I see. I find a bread aisle and nearly every loaf is rock hard. But I find one that's not quite terribly stale and decide to take it back for Kyra.
It's the last thing that fits in my backpack so I decide to try and find Amanda now.
"Amanda?" I call, walking back towards the front of the store. "Mandy!"
After a few seconds she comes out of one of the aisles and towards me with an annoyed look while I smile angelically at her.
"You know I hate that name," she throws me two water bottles which I catch and manage to fit in my backpack.
"Well that was a fairly easy day of hunting," I summarise as we head out the shattered glass door.
"Uh oh. It won't be for long if those guys get to us," Amanda points to our left. I look over to see a group of about five zombies walking limply towards us.