I run through the forest, panting furiously. The snow crunching under my barely held together sneakers.
"Jack! Run!" I shout, turning for a brief second to see him, my best friend, staggering.
"Ivy! I cut my leg!" He shouts back.
I run, instinctively, back towards him to help, but see a group of walkers hurrying after us.
No! Damn! I think, inwardly. I am not leaving him behind.
"Jack! Duck!" I shout and shoot a walker with my gun right between the eyes.
What can I say? My father has trained me well.
The man fell down, dead. These things really don't mess around.
"Get up!" I yell, grabbing him under his arms and pulling him up.
I wrap my arms around his waist and we run.
"We're almost at the safe house!" I shout, struggling under both of our weights.
We run up the hill and see the Walmart. The Walmart we have called home for all these days. Which happens to just be 10 but, 10 days in a Walmart during the zombie apocalypse doesn't exactly feel like 10 days.
"Come on!" I yell. But then, of course, something goes wrong. This is me, afterall.
I trip on a fallen log and we go down. We go tumbling down the hill. I lose hold of Jack and do uneven somersaults down the hill, until I catch myself and go down on my side, instead.
I tumble to the bottom of the hill and bolt onto my feet, the world spinning in front of me.
"Jack!" I yell.
"Help!" I hear a strangled cry. Jack!
I turn to where I heard the scream and see him, with a walker on top of him. He kicks it hard in the face and its head whips to the side. He takes the opportunity to stab it right in the side of the head with his long kitchen knife. It goes limp and I drag it off of him.
"Did you get bitten?" I ask, tersely.
"No." He sighs. Shaking his head, his dark brown hair coated in a layer of blood and dirt. "But my leg hurts like heck."
"Shit." I mutter under my breath. I pull him up and we hurry to the parking lot, walkers following closely behind.
"Ivy!" A man yells, running out of the front door. Dad!
"Dad! Help!" I shout.
He fires a few rounds, at the walkers, I assume, and we run past him and into the front doors.
"Help! He's hurt!" I shout desperately, seeing Jack get whiter and whiter by the second.
"Jacky!" I hear a girl's voice cry as Jack's mother pulls him off of me and drags him away. "Honey are you okay?"
Hazel. Of course. His girlfriend. His wimpy, girly, idiot, girlfriend. Gross. Not to brag but, I'm way more tough than she is. Sure, maybe she is more polite and acts more like a girl than I ever will but, how would that help anyone? It wouldn't. That's the point. At least I can fight and am a good shot.
"He's going to be fine, Hazel." I say, trying to sound reassuring, but failing miserably.
"He's not bitten is he?" She asks looking truly genuine. She drives me nuts.
"No." I say.
"Oh thank God." She sighs and runs towards him. She is wearing leggings and a long sweater, changing clothes everyday as if things were normal.
I look down at my bloody jeans and ripped sweatshirt and realize that I may need to change.
"Hon, are you okay?" My dad asks from behind me.
"Yeah. Just a couple of scratches and bruises." I say, turning to him.
I know I'm only 14, but I'm braver than heck and can really fire a gun.
"Did you find any others?" He asks.
"No. We went into a town but it was completely full of walkers." I explain solemnly.
"Ah." He nods, looking sad. "You should go get washed up. It's also about time you found some new clothes."
I nod. "Yeah, especially after I feel down that hill."
"Yeah." He nods. "Take care my girl, take care."
I manage a small smile at him and hurry over to Jack. I need to check up on him before I find new clothes.
"How is he?" I ask, approaching his mom, who is the medic, and Hazel.
"He's holding up." His mom, April, says. "We've got his leg wrapped. Hey, Jack?"
He stirrs. "Mom? Ivy?"
"Hey." I say and grab his hand.
"Hi sweetie." Hazel says, worried.
"Oh, hey Hazel." He says, softly. Ugh.
"Here, drink this." April says, handing him glass of orange juice.
He guzzles it down, sitting up slowly.
"Okay. I'm gonna go clean up a little and get some new clothes. My work here is done." I say with a smile.
"Okay, I'll come with you." Hazel says. Oh great. Miss goodie two-shoes is coming along.
"Alright." I say, trying to sound pleasant.
We stride over to the women's area and I grab a pair of jeans, a blue t-shirt, and a purple hoodie.
"You're really pretty, you know that?" Hazel asks, picking up a pair of sweatpants.
"Me?" I ask. My blonde hair and blue eyes don't even begin to compare to her black hair and violet eyes.
"Yeah, I mean your hair is wavy just naturally, and it has streaks of brown and strawberry blonde on its own. And your eyes.." She says, turning to me. "They look like the ocean."
"Really?" I ask, following her over to the shoe section. "Your hair's so shiny and your eyes are violet. I mean, whose eyes are viol-"
"I'm worried." She interrupts me, bluntly.
"We all are. I mean, I don't know how much longer I'll be able to protect the kids what with-"
"About Jack." She interrupts again.
"What?" I ask, picking out a new pair of Converse All Stars.
"I don't-" She stops, biting her lip. "I don't think he likes me anymore."
"What?" I ask again, turning to her. She is tearing up. Oh no.
"It seems that he likes you. More than friends. The way he looks at you… It's not the same way he looks at me." She looks at the ground. I have no idea why we're talking about this when there are the living dead outside.
"Of course he looks at you differently. You're his g-girlfriend." I stutter, not wanting to say the word.
"No, it's like, he looks at you in a warmer way. Like he admires you more. You're so tough. It makes me feel like he likes you more." She says.
I don't know what to say. I've never dealt with this before. I sit, trying to come up with something.
"I-I'm going to go back to Jack." She says sadly.
She trudges away, leaving me more confused and elated than I've ever been.