WHEN THE WORLD ENDS

12.1

"Did you hear that?" Esther mumbled, peeling off the blanket that covered her frozen toes.

Ivory paused. There had been a bump, but it was probably nothing. It certainly wasn't the others. Jaxx, Morgana and Gwynth had only set out a couple of hours ago and Ivory doubted that they'd be back before tomorrow.

If they came back at all.

"It's nothing. You're still in shock," Ivory said instead.

She glanced at Lyria, motioning at the source of the noise. The upstairs apartments, where the last zombie had broken through the window.

Lyria nodded once, slipping out of the room. Rosabelle followed suit. This wasn't the time to be venturing alone. They'd already had one zombie invade their shelter. It wasn't difficult to believe that another would find a weakness in the walls.

"I heard a noise," Esther insisted.

Ivory leant over, readjusting the blanket over Esther's thin frame. She didn't dare disagree. It wasn't worth it. Esther had been riled up since Katherin's capture and there was nothing anybody could do about it.

This wasn't like Raven's panic attack those few days ago. Katherin had been captured and they didn't know where she was, or whether she was still alive.

Ivory didn't want to think about the possibilities. She'd already lost one friend and been abandoned by another.

"Are you hungry? You didn't eat lunch," Ivory asked softly, hoping that Esther would drop the topic with the mention of food.

Esther shook her head.

"I don't want to eat rice and canned beans again."

Ivory looked to Raven for help.

They were already running low on food supplies. Morgana and Gwynth had prioritised food that would last long periods and was nutritious in their raid, not food that was enjoyable. The food that they had taken for comfort, packets of chips, lollies, soft drinks and chocolate bars, had been rationed. Everyone was allowed one treat a week unless there was an emergency situation - there was no food remaining, or Katherin's blood sugar had dropped drastically again.

This wasn't one of those moments. Esther had already eaten a chocolate bar this morning, after refusing to eat anything else. She was just relying on the chemicals to feed her a morsel of happiness.

"We have fruit?" Raven spoke hesitantly, not wanting to be the next victim to Esther's unhappiness. "There's also vegetable soup. It's canned, but Rosabelle told me it's delicious."

Esther nodded, a frown still evident on her face.

Raven jumped off the kitchen counter, searching through the cupboard for another can of vegetable soup. She'd sworn there was another can, hidden behind all the types of beans. There was nothing.

Raven shut the cupboard, searching through the cabinets. There were canned peaches, tomato soup, lentils. No vegetable soup. Raven checked the food list. There was one can of vegetable soup left, but it hadn't been moved from the downstairs kitchen.

There was a muffled bang.

Esther jumped, her muscles clenching as if she was ready to fight.

Ivory held Esther down by the shoulders.

"I'm sure it's fine. They must have accidentally slammed a door. There's no reason to panic."

Raven nodded, though there was a lump in her throat.

There was an intruder upstairs. She was sure of it.

Raven opened the kitchen drawer, pulling out a small knife. She slipped it up her shirt, careful not to cut herself with the blade. Then, Raven stood near the wall.

Jaxx had taught her how to fight, after an incident in the parking lot six months ago. A man had tried to grab her as she'd slipped into the front seat of her car.

Raven touched the scar on her neck absent-mindedly. The man had pressed a knife to her throat, but she'd been quick enough to push him away and drive to safety. There was just a small scar, where he'd cut as he fell.

Jaxx had been adamant that Raven needed to learn to fight afterwards. He'd sent her to self-defence classes, even investing in a personal trainer on their small budget. Raven had resisted. She didn't think she'd need to defend herself, let alone how to attack someone. It just seemed to be a waste of money. They'd planned to spend the money on better experiences, like going on an overseas holiday to France, where Jaxx's older sister had moved.

Jaxx was right, though. Raven did need to know how to defend herself. It was necessary in a world like this. 

Ivory was wary too. She didn't believe her statement; at all. There was someone in the house. She just hoped that Lyria and Rosabelle were safe and that they'd find the attackers; before they found them.

Ivory didn't think she could handle any more violence. She'd only killed that little girl to save Katherin.

Katherin. What if her attackers had come here to finish the job? Esther had said that they'd seen her, but they hadn't been fast enough to catch her, too preoccupied with Katherin's rage.

If Katherin's attackers were here, then they'd surely die. Katherin was more skilled at fighting than all of them. Besides, she'd had the advantage whilst fighting her attackers. She'd seen them coming.

The others didn't have that luxury. They'd have to fight blind. 

"We need to leave. Now," Lyria appeared at the doorway, a backpack brimming with food on her back.

Rosabelle stood at Lyria's side, her hair pulled back into a tight bun. She held a torch in one hand, a piece of paper in the other.

"What's wrong?" Ivory asked softly.

"Zombies. A whole hoard of them."