Katherin Hassan-Clarke and Esther Quinn, young lovers living on the coast of Riga, Latvia, face the terrifying realisation that their home is no longer safe when a deadly zombie pathogen ravages Eastern Europe. Fleeing their home before they are for...
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Ivory pushed the door open.
Colourful bedsheets had been strewn over the floor and assembled as a blanket fort. Pillows and beanbags were stuffed haphazardly into the shelter; pushing precariously against the thin walls. The others couldn't believe it. When had Ivory found time to work on this? They were sure that she'd been downstairs with them for the entire evening.
Rosabelle faintly remembered Ivory excusing herself to the bathroom over an hour ago, but she had returned only moments later. No one had offered to go with her. Why would they?
Going to the bathroom was demoralising. They couldn't flush. There was only so many methods to remove the waste. Rosabelle had used the bathtub after the water within it had run dry. She refused to open the window to shovel the waste out. It wasn't worth the risk. They'd have to find some way to remove the waste now.
"There's more." Ivory smiled.
She led them into the blanket fort. Bowls of hand-cut fruit and half-eaten packets of chips, courtesy to the original owners, had been placed in the centre of the space. It smelt delicious. Esther immediately dove for a slice of watermelon. While the others had left for food, that didn't mean that they'd bring some back. Esther wasn't taking the chance. She refused to starve to death.
"So, tell me about Katherin getting arrested?" Raven smiled.
She had sprawled out across the beanbag, her previous embarrassment forgotten. The paleness of her skin had slowly ebbed away. Raven's hands weren't wringing anxiously in her lap. It seemed as if Raven had forgotten of the dangers outside, but everyone knew that wasn't the case. Jaxx was permanently etched in the corners of her mind.
Rosabelle chuckled, popping a grape into her mouth as she remembered Katherin's arrest. The grape was mushy. Gross. Rosabelle had forgotten that there wasn't electricity anymore. All the grapes would be room temperature. She'd always preferred frozen grapes. They were like a dessert.
"Last June, Katherin was frustrated about the lack of colour in the underground carpark of our apartment. I told her to do something about it. I just figured that she'd talk to the investors and once she'd convinced them, a contractor would be hired to liven up the place."
Ivory shook her head; a light smile playing on her lips. She held back from filling in the details. This was Esther's story to tell.
"The next morning, Katherin told me that she'd be back in a couple of hours. I went back to bed. That was possibly the second-worst decision I've ever made in my lif-"
"Second worst?" Raven interjected; a frown compressing her forehead into small crinkles.
Raven was confused. She knew where this was going. Esther's lack of clarification would surely result in Katherin's unfortunate arrest. It didn't make sense that it would serve as Esther's second-worst decision. There was nothing worse than letting your bad decisions affect the actions of your partner.
