Last On Earth

~1~

My lungs were on fire, and it felt as though I wouldn't die from them but from the pressure collapsing on my lungs. This sensation was new to me too, making this running affair even worse. Because I remember going to p.e class and dreading the time I was forced to run up until the point where I felt like this. 

"Zoe run!" He yelled in my ear but even then I could barely him. 

J and I ran away from the shadows that would gain distance on us as the seconds passed. He was close on my heels and I blindly led us which wasn't the best decision for our survival because I didn't know where to go.

Tears started to sting my eyes as I thought of not only failing myself but also failing J. We relied on each other, and never once did he fail me. 

"Zoe!" J yelled in frustration as we were running directly towards a high fence and with J's injured ankle, getting over that fence wouldn't up so well for the both of us. The growls of the monsters were getting louder, it felt like they were in my head. 

I willed myself to whip my head around my shoulder to look behind me, and instantly, I regretted it. J was the only living person following me but even then, he looked like he belonged to the dead. His sharp features were tired, making his whole face sag in dread. All the sweat from running for so long matted his hair down over his pale forehead and the only color on him were his vibrant blue eyes. They looked at me and for a second, I was looking at them too. 

Brown to Blue.

The roars of the others brought me back to reality. 

I saw the horde of them sprinting at us, their bloody mouths hungry to rip my flesh between their teeth. Eat every bone within me, yet never full in the end. And that's what pushed me everyday. One reason being that I couldn't imagine the pain I would endure with their teeth tearing my skin. And reason two being that I refused to die like that. 

Looking at them distracted me, and in a way, I had failed J. Because then he grabbed my hand and led us through an alleyway in this small town. Ahead of us, I saw that he clearly had taken a risk to venture into the unknown pattern of the alleys. But his plan had saved us as I saw a store up ahead. The door was slightly ajar. 

"Get the shelves!" J commanded once we entered the house. Somehow, I managed to hear him then instantly swiped the canned good off of the small shelves. Even though the shelves were rather small, they were heavy but my adrenaline was my friend.  

J and I worked at the same time and it was a nerve racking process of throwing the items on the shelves on the floor then carrying the shelves to block the door. Somehow, the monsters had found J and I and their growls echoed off the walls, making them impossibly louder. 

"Shh..." I grasped J's shoulder, stopping his aggressive work. He listened to me and we both backed away from the door, slowing waking back. They were frantic out there, they must have smelled us nearby. My hand was frozen on J's shoulder as we waited silently and hoping that they would just leave us alone. In my opinion, we won this game this time. We must have ran miles away from them and desperately barricaded ourselves in. 

One of the store's windows shattered, meaning that they had found us. 

"Shit!" J yelled as the monsters began to force their way in. The shelves against the windows and door rattled as the monsters were working for their meal. 

"What do we do?" I asked, running around the store to look for anything that could possibly help us live a day longer. But looking around, I saw no other exit. 

"No no no no." J chanted to himself as he looked around, seeing what I saw. We had no where to go. This was it, all we had. 

"Zoe, come here." J muttered but I whenever he said my name, it was like he was the only person in the world. Sometimes, I think that we are. His arms were open as we walked towards each other and I immediately allowed him to embrace me. My small and short arms wrapped around his waist and his hands went to my butt. We stayed like that for a long time it felt like, the only sound invading my ears were our tired, last breaths and the moans of the frustrated monsters. 

"Zoe." J said gently, bringing my attention to him. His skinny finger went under my chin and he brought my face to his. Even though we kissed just yesterday, it felt like I hadn't had the touch of J's lips for a long time. So we kissed our last kiss knowing that both of our deaths were here, just outside. 

"I'm sorry. This is my fault." J said to me as tears starting to stream down my face. The sounds were getting louder and they got closer. My life was on a span of minutes, and soon trickling down to seconds. I shook my head, not wanting J to feel guilty about what had happened. 

Because as I looked up, just slightly past J's face, I saw a latch on the ceiling. It was an exit.

"J!" I exclaimed, stepping away from him and pointing at the latch. His eyes followed my finger and his eyes widened. For a second, we looked at each in hope but we were running out of time. 

"I'll raise you up!" He said then, kneeling down. I wrapped my legs around his neck, my feet dangling over his chest. Swiftly, without any effort, J stood up. Although it was so dark, making it difficult to see, my fingers messed with the latch. As I opened the door, and the sunlight blinded J and I, we laughed in relief. 

"Get up there." J said, slightly jumping. 

"What about you?" I asked, fear coming back to me. It never leaves. 

"Stay there, Zoe." J said as I was already on the small roof, looking down at him. Before I could speak, J left me there, out of my sight. I looked over the edge of the building, to see the monsters that nearly took my life. They were crowding at the entrance, there must have been dozens of them. 

One of the monsters made eye contact with me and in a way, I like to think that there may be someone in there still. Because even though their clouded eyes looked unfriendly, there was a disturbing recognition when we saw each other. But they knew me as their meal, some flesh they could feast on. 

"J!" I called out in fear as the weight of the monsters on the glass finally shattered all the glass, allowing them in. Frantically, I turned around and bumped into a chest. J's chest. 

For the night, we stayed on that roof and waited for the monsters to forget about us and leave. We laid on the cold floor of the roof and allowed the sky to become our little entertainment. As much as I tried to not think about it, this day- the day that I nearly died- it just wouldn't leave me. Because I remember the last time I had the same hopelessness and fear planted within me. 

I remember them- my family.