So I figured I'm getting good at updating these at least once or twice a week. Naturally, my brain thinks 'well why not start another?' I'm quite happy with the number of reviews I've been getting and—well… Shaun of the Dead, Dawn of the Dead, Night of the Living Dead… pretty much loads of zombie movies inspired this. I've only seen NotLD like… once when I was younger, DotD a year ago and SotD I'm watching right now.

At the moment nothing belongs to me

The first thing she thought when she opened her eyes was how thirsty she was, and how soaked she seemed in comparison to the dry, scratchy feeling in her throat. As if she had been dumped in a large vat of water, but none of it had gone into her mouth. The next thing she felt was confusion at the strange room she occupied; no longer seeing the colourful walls that Jude had given her, but instead seeing depressing, gray brick.

Thirst overruled her confusion and she stood up, noticing for a moment that she was wearing a pair of men's pajamas that seemed much too big for her. Blue with lavender piping, hanging off her thin body. She dwelled on this as she wandered out of the room and into the bathroom across the hall, ignoring the fact that there wasn't a cup and simply sticking her hands beneath the faucet, letting the water run over them until she lowered her head and drank.

Unlike the bathroom she happened to use at her usual apartment, this one had a mirror and she looked up at her reflection with a startled expression. All her life she had been petite, thin, fragile-looking, but as she saw herself for the first time she realized that something had gone horribly wrong. Her dark eyes were sunken, cheeks hollow; her black hair was messy and tangled, sticking to her forehead as sweat evaporated off her body.

She didn't understand what could cause something like this, unable to wrap her mind around a way that her looks could be altered so drastically by one night's sleep. With a frown she un-did the buttons of the strange pajamas and slipped into the shower, delighting in the feel of the warm water against her skin.

Getting out she wrapped a towel around her body and wandered back into the strange bedroom. Upon inspection she found that there were no more changes of clothes, and it was with reluctant disgust that she donned the pajamas once more. Her head was beginning to ache; a dull throbbing behind her eyes that made her question the actions of the night before. When she looked around the room again her mind searched for an explanation, something to explain her new location, her new look…

Voices from the other room met her ears, familiar and very much welcome. Relief flooded her and she ran a hand through her damp hair before exiting the room, padding into the room that served many purposes, her expression going from relif to shock at what she saw. Everyone living in the apartment, save a few that weren't equipped to be up at the ungodly hour of ten, was clustered around the television set Paco had brought by such about a year ago. Jude hadn't been quite happy then… or so she had heard, having not come back until much later.

Those who were around the television were some of her closest friends, but their overall appearance was one that appalled her. Yes, they might not have had a lot of money but they still managed to look presentable. Lucy's blonde hair was tangled, her clothes looked somewhat old. She was perched on the arm of the chair occupied by Jude, who had an overall disheveled appearance, worry etched onto his face. Next to the couple was Max, who, judging by the stubble on his face, hadn't shaved in quite a while.

Behind this sorry-looking group was Jojo, his usual calm expression gone and replaced with a tight-lipped sort of worry. None of them looked up when she entered the room, at least, not until she cleared her throat.

Jude was the first to look up, and a tired grin spread across his features. "Pru!" He vaulted off the seat and picked her up in a large hug, holding her for a long time before realizing what he was doing and letting her go with an embarrassed cough. "'s great to see you."

Then Prudence was surrounded, it seemed, with some of her friends patting her on the back, others giving her hugs. Their reactions failed to make her feel better, but confused her even more. Biting her lip she looked around at everyone's expressions, at the way their eyes flitted nervously toward the television.

"What… where'd I go?"

This time Lucy was the one to break the ice, looking concerned as she draped an arm around Prudence's shoulders. "You were really sick… Desmond found you in the bathroom, convulsing… it didn't look good…"

"We'll have to disinfect the place."

"WHAT?!" Sadie's reaction was certainly not what the men in the apartment wanted to hear. When they had been called, it had been on a doctor's recommendation only because he wasn't sure what was wrong with the small Vietnamese-American girl that had been found in the lavatory. She had been moved shortly after, delirious and shaking, into a bedroom far in the back of the complex.

One of the men, wearing a full suit of what seemed like rubber, and a face mask, looked over everything and then turned to Sadie. "You heard me. It's too dangerous—"

"But that's Prudence," Max exclaimed, pointing in the direction of the girl's room. "She's our fucking friend you don't expect us to leave!"

Jude, meanwhile, was sneaking back to the bedroom. He had been slipping in and out of that room with various things like water, and whatever Prudence happened to ask for in her state. This time he clutched a glass of orange juice, condensation rolling off the sides, but was stopped by a man who was now blocking the entrance.

"You can't come in here."

The phrase was about as impersonal as you could get, which made Jude angry. Max could see him from the 'whatever room' getting more and more frustrated as he tried to reason with the man. "'Ey, tha's me friend in there ye don't jus' expect me ta leave 'er, d'you?!"

"Sir, I'll need to ask you to come with me—"

"Bugger off!"

"Si—"

"NO."

He made an attempt to get past the man but crumpled with a particularly painful-sounding punch to the jaw. The glass dropped from his hand and shattered on the floor, pieces of it flying in all directions and the juice splashing upon the ground. If the man at the door noticed any change, he didn't show it, and continued to stand staring straight ahead.

"What the fuck did you need to punch him for?" Sadie's voice was getting shrill, which was a very rare thing indeed. "He was bringing her a glass of orange juice!" It was also rather rare to see Sadie get so worked up over something, but considering the circumstances, nobody thought anything of it.

Lucy chose to enter the room then, having been talking to Desmond who had been quite shaken at finding Prudence and had gone into his room. "What's going o—Jude?" She frowned and headed over to her boyfriend, who hadn't moved an inch since the punch. "What the hell?"

"We're going to have to ask you to leave… you'll be quarantined to avoid further exposure—"

"What's that supposed to mean?" Max questioned, glaring at the man talking to them.

"Naturally it means you'll have to—"

"No, no, I get what that means, but what I don't get is why you think we'll leave."

"Sir, this is highly contagious."

"So's fucking chicken pox but I survived that!"

Eventually they wore the men down, all of whom left. One paused to look over the supposedly doomed group, mumbling 'you're crazy' as he turned his back and left the apartment.

Prudence listened to the story with growing horror. She had been sick? And there had been men coming to quarantine the entire apartment?

"H-How long was I out?"

"Six days," Jojo's voice was still soft, but strained somehow as he walked back to the television, staring at the screen nervously. "Give or take."

She wasn't sure how to handle that sort of news, with the idea that she had been so sick that there had to be a quarantine, and that they had stayed with her. At that moment she truly felt lucky, but also somewhat guilty for possibly exposing her friends to a virus that could very well kill them.

"You didn't have to stay," she murmured as she moved toward a window, looking out onto the streets that were usually so active. What she saw out, however, made her gasp and jump away.

BAHAHA.

I wanted to try my hand at writing something involving Prudence. And Desmond. Because he's amazingly awesome to the MAX.
Expect an update from ILtGT sometime tomorrow, or the next day.