THEN...

"Check…" James said with his finger on his chin, he's staring at the chessboard in front of him.

Jane, his sister leaned over the chessboard. She moved her horse piece.

"Checkmate…" James finally in satisfaction.

"Ah, fuck!" Jane curse, she jumped back in irritation.

"Hey!" James warned "Dad said no swear words!" He pointed at her playfully.

"Whatever, man! We're 12. It's okay to swear." Jane leaned back with her arm supporting her.

James only laughed "Did Thomas Devin told you that?"

They both laughed, and as they did James looked from the edge of the apartment building. The sunset on the edge of the outside world, he could see the overgrown buildings outside the wall he lives in.

James noticed that Jane is cleaning up the chessboard they just played, she puts the board aside and sat next to him.

James looked at her at the corner of his eye "How's your relationship with Lucas?"

Jane raised her shoulders "Not working, I guess…"

James only nod.

"How come you don't have a girlfriend?" Jane bumped him in the shoulder playfully.

"There's not many girls here, besides, I don't think they can keep their eyes of Thomas…" James said, inside he felt a little disappointed.

"Those dumb bitches…" Jane said.

James raised his eyebrow "So they're the bitches, huh?" He felt it was okay to swear without his father around.

"Don't feel too bad about yourself James, believe me if I say that most girls would consider you." Jane rested her head on James's shoulder, she hugged her feet while staring at the sunset.

James looked at the outside world, most of the girls? Surely not the girls in the community, right? James thought again if there was anyone out there who is still alive.

"Thanks Jane…" He said, James too rested his head on hers.

"Speaking of which," Jane removed her head from James's shoulder "I would probably date you."

James smiled at her, Jane made a reassuring smile. But to James she never looked more beautiful, her long straight black hair drooping down her shoulder.

"Can we?" James coughed, he quickly added "I mean, brothers and sisters?"

"Dad never said there was anything wrong with that." Jane said hesitantly, her cheeks suddenly turned pink "What? You want me to date you?"

James rubbed the back of his neck "I-I don't know. I guess? You are beautiful… And cute…"

Jane giggled, she got closer to him. James wondered what will she do, Jane pulled his face closer to her. Then James felt his lips touched hers, Jane's lips were soft and a smidge taste of sugar.

They both locked their mouths for a while, James closed his eyes in bliss. Jane pulled back from him, James cocked his brow.

"But… Maybe we should keep this a secret." Jane whispered.

James thought about it for a moment, without him knowing he leaned his forehead a bit to touch hers. It did felt wrong, but at the same time he liked it.

"Yeah, okay." James reassured her, then Jane kissed his lips again. It was brief, but it was all James needed.

NOW...

James felt his shoe stepped in a puddle, he pulled his feet out with a plop from the mud. James wiped his shoes on a piece of mossy debris, he continued walking through the lush vegetation. Fortunately the tall grass is only as high as his waist, James tried to avoid another mud puddle by jumping from one large piece of debris to the other.

James saw something that caught his eye, he moved his messenger bag to his back to get a closer look. James observed the rusted blue object once he got it in his hand, it had a hinge on one side and reminded James of a pair of tweezers.

He looked up, several monk parakeets flying above him in a group. James traced their movements, they disappeared to the corner of the street. James heard the tweets of birds above him, somewhere inside the deserted buildings he guessed.

"James?" His father, Jeremiah called from afar. His lever action Winchester rifle strapped to his backpack fully loaded, in his hand he held a jungle machete to cut the grass.

"Coming." James called back, the object is put inside his hand. He trod lightly to Jeremiah, trying to make as little contact with the mud as possible.

Once he got beside his father, James showed him the object "What does this thing called?"

Jeremiah titled his head around the object in James's hand "Ah, this is… Um… This is a stapler of some kind."

"Stapler? What does it do?"

"It connects two pieces of papers together, it must've fallen from that building." Jeremiah stared at the leaning office building in front of them "But it's useless without the staples, it's the little thing you put in the stapler."

"How does that work?" James realized the stapler had an empty space under the handle "Does it work like an ammo or some sort?"

"Yeah, ammo. Without the staples the staples can't connect two pieces of paper together, just like firearms." While they chat, Jeremiah and James walked continued to walk.

Manhattan, New York is filled with lush vegetation like grass, vines, and wild trees like anywhere else on the planet. The buildings some of them had been crumbled up, Jeremiah told James that the old President tried to bomb the city once. James knew that long ago everywhere in the world were once proud and advance, but then suddenly the infectious mutated cordyceps took most of the human civilization 20 years ago. Jeremiah didn't want to talk about the first outbreak, James wasn't there but he knew back then it was far more terrifying than what it was now. He was born six years after the outbreak, he adapted.

James has always wanted to follow Jeremiah when he is clearing the city of Infected, to see what the outside world looks like. Jeremiah however did not agree most of the times, but he encourages James to prepare himself before he was ready.

James knew that killing an Infected is a tricky business, their community only take those who are properly trained can be a Sweeper. Jeremiah takes shifts every Sunday like one third of the community, today is third July 2033. And since James is 14 and a half, but Jeremiah successfully convinced the leader to let him come.

"Shhh…" Jeremiah put a hand to stop James from walking, he bend down in alert. They both had just entered W Thirty-Seventh Street.

James felt his wariness rising, he listened closely to the surroundings. There was a painful chokings which similarly sounds like distant clicking, James remembered what his father told him about clicking in the wild.

"Is that a…" James whispered, his eyes still observing the area "A Clicker?"

Jeremiah didn't answer. James stayed silent, Clickers are like bats, they hear by sound. James saw his father unsheathing his machete.

"Over there!" Jeremiah gasped, James quickly turned his head to see a Clicker crashing out of a building's window.

The Clicker limped after it went through, several glasses got stuck inside its skin. But James saw the Clickers to be much more horrifying with its mushroom melded to its face, the Clicker had been infected for a long time resulting in the giant growth on its head.

The Clicker made a terrible screech, it ran towards them in an inhuman speed. James automatically jumped back a little, Jeremiah jumped forward and sunk his machete inside the Clicker's head. The machete went out with a slash, the Clicker was left dead on the asphalt with a trench on its crown.

James looked up in horror, more Infected running out of the buildings around them. All of them had something growing on their faces, their clothes were ragged and bloody, and some of them looked like they had lost several scoops of flesh.

"RUN!" Jeremiah took James by the upper arm and they both dashed away from the scene.

Behind James, he could hear the sounds of them running and screeching. They turned left at a junction, and didn't stop running. The Infected didn't stopped, they trampled over each other as they chased. James and Jeremiah both stopped when they saw that there was a flooded gap in Eighth Ave.

"This way!" Jeremiah took James by the hand and took him to an abandoned clothing store.

They jumped through the broken glass panels and went inside, there was a dust everywhere and clothes scattered all over the grown. Jeremiah and James zig-zagged through the mannequins, James could hear the Infected's cries outside. They seemed to outrun them, James felt a hundred times more relieved.

"Where's the backdoor?" Jeremiah said as he turned on the flashlight.

The inside of the building became clearer, Jeremiah tip-toed to the back of the building. Behind the counter there was a door leading to the storage room.

The door did not creaked, Jeremiah peeked through the gap and lighted the inside.

"Christ…" Cursed Jeremiah.

"What is it?" James tried to peek but Jeremiah closed the door.

Jeremiah let go of his backpack "There's spores, luckily I got us two gas masks." He said in a whisper, from his backpack he took out two military grade gas masks.

James took one and put it on his face.

"Make sure that there's no way the spores can get in, and remember if it did get in. Don't. Breathe." Jeremiah said strictly. James had been warned about spores, he knew what it was.

Jeremiah puts on his own mask and took off his Winchester from his backpack, he loaded the gun and opened the door wide. James followed his father from behind, he couldn't see clearly from the dirty mask.

Jeremiah tilted his flashlight right and left, he then gestured to James that it's clear.

James can't see anything other than what the flashlight's showing, but he noticed that the storage room was untouched. The boxes full of clothes still sitting in different shelves, the light from the flashlight showed a lot of spores flying in the air.

Jeremiah pointed the Winchester forward, James felt a trickle of sweat going down his cheek. Jeremiah turned around the corner of a shelf, he made a scowl under his mask.

James went up to him, and he is staring right at the corner of the room. Where a body sat leaning to a wall, covered in fungus all over its body.

James felt a tinge of fear, is this what will happen to him if he got bit?

"AAAHHH!" James screamed in surprise, his heart jumped when suddenly two withered hands grabbed one of his shoulder and his mask.

James felt himself being dragged backwards, a hot searing pain was felt on his shoulder. James cried out, he tried to shake the Infected off.

Jeremiah shot the Infected, the blood bursts out from its head. James fell to his back, he groaned in pain

Jeremiah came up to him very quickly, he kneeled down beside him "Oh God! Oh God! Hang in there James! Just- hang in there!"

James looked at the back of his shoulder, a hot and open red wound. His hand tried to touch the bite wound but it was too painful.

"GAH!" James cried in agony. Jeremiah took off his backpack again, his hand searched the insides then he took out a roll of bandage.

"Take off your clothes! Hurry! Take it off!" Jeremiah said in a breath.

James is now leaning against the wall on one side while being topless. His father carefully poured rubbing alcohol on James's wound, James bit his lip while trying to hold the pain. The wound was burning, and burning, and burning, when it suddenly went cold.

"You okay?" Jeremiah said in a rather worried tone, he wrapped the bandage around James's wound.

"I'm fine…" James said. But he is not quite sure, he is going to turn soon "What are you going to do with me?"

"Nothing. Absolutely nothing." Said Jeremiah stiffly, his eyes still focused on the bandage.

James didn't bother to ask again, he saw the flashlight and the Winchester rifle thrown to the floor. Then he sighed.

Jeremiah froze, he stopped wrapping James's bandage "Where's your gas mask?" He said in a low whisper.

James raised his brow, his hand touched his face, his bare face. James looked around the storage room, it must've fallen off when the Stalker had ambushed him.

"How the hell-" Jeremiah said in concern, his eyes widened inside his gas mask "-are you still breathing?"

"What do you mean? People turn in like two days, right?" James asked, when Jeremiah didn't answer quickly James became more frightened.

Jeremiah puts his thumb on James's cheek "People turn in two days by bites! Not spores!"

"So… What does this mean?" James said in a rather shaky voice. Should spores be filling his lungs by now?

"I don't know…" Jeremiah sighed "I don't know anything anymore…"

"How are we going to explain to the community?" James's thought of the worst.

"I am keeping you safe, and keeping them safe. We can't tell anyone, not even your sister." Jeremiah told James, he put his hand on James's bandaged shoulder.

James could not think of anything else, he could only think of his live is on the edge. It's only a matter of time before he turn, no, he can't turn just yet. James breathed in and out, it felt no difference.

Jeremiah and James gasped when there was screeching coming from outside followed by aggressive clicking, a Clicker must've heard the gunshot.

"Can you get up?" Jeremiah whispered.

"Yeah." James puts on his shirt and puts on his backpack. But he left his gas mask.

Jeremiah equipped his Winchester and flashlight, he pointed them forward. He looked around the storage room, there in front of him was a hallway that leads to the exit.

"Come on, you go first…" Jeremiah whispered. James stared at him for a while, he gulped and began walking.

Jeremiah covered James's back, the Clicker's noise went silent. They assumed it had left the building. James saw on the left of the hallway end, was a rusty metal door.

James turned the knob, it didn't budge "It's stuck, dad!"

Jeremiah tried to open the door as well, but nothing changed. He inserted a hand to his back pocket, and took out a small Swiss army knife.

Jeremiah went in front of the door, he inserted the knife onto the keyhole. He jiggled the knife while the blade stayed inside, Jeremiah pulled it down with force making the blade stuck inside the keyhole. Fortunately the door wasn't locked anymore.

Once they were outside, Jeremiah took off his gas mask and took a gulp of air.

James noticed they were in an alley, the grasses jutting out of the ground and trees growing from the side of the building. He held his shoulder gently, he tapped his finger on the bandage covering the wound. He gasped as he saw a figure on the alleyway next to him, a stag suddenly lift its head off the grass and saw James.

James watched it ran.

"Hey, come on. Let's go home…" Jeremiah came up to him, he looked at the hole on James's shirt "When we get there, cover your shirt hole with the shoulder straps on your backpack. And if anyone do see the bandage, tell them that you got ran over by a stag…"

"Dad…" James shook his father off "What's going on with me? Why am I not getting infected?"

"For now let's not worry about that, to me that's a good thing because you just scared the living light out of me!" Jeremiah said reassuringly.

He patted James on the back, he adjusted the strap on James's backpack to cover the bloody bite hole on James's white shirt.

"Where to now?" James said, he looked around the alleyway.

Jeremiah held his Winchester tightly, he looked left and right. He told James to follow him to another alleyway, they carefully tread along on the overgrown concrete road. The buildings around them are covered in thick vines, the window above them are broken as if someone jumped out of it. The alleyway was blocked by a rusting car, the front had crashed to the wall and the insides were black like ash. James and Jeremiah both jumped over the car, once they were outside the alley they arrived at another street.

"We're in W Thirty-Ninth Street probably, that means we have to go this way…" Jeremiah pointed to an intersection on their right, which filled with cars crashing to each other.

"I don't hear any Clickers…" James said.

"Good. That's good."

They both entered the intersection, the cars around them had overgrown grasses under them. There are more likely than twenty cars lining up across the Seventh Ave, they went passed a rolled over truck.

Neither did James nor Jeremiah spoke a single word, James went back to sinking in his own thoughts. How can he keep his secret from his sister, the person who knew him from top to bottom? James thought again, if he could manage getting Jane convinced for three whole days, that way he can prove that he is not infected. But another thought came to mind, how is he not infected?

"You okay?" Jeremiah suddenly said. He strapped his Winchester back on his backpack.

James looked up, his pace had slowed down without him noticing. He ran up to Jeremiah and assured him that he's fine.

Though he said that, his father doesn't seem to stop peeking from his shoulder to look at James. But James didn't bother to tell him to stop.

As they continued walking through the street, James wiped his brow from sweat. It was hot, Jeremiah calls this month 'summer'. Jeremiah tried to get his mind distracted, he thought of air conditioners, of their extraordinary capability to create false indoor weather. Then he thought of staplers, wondering on how it works.

"There, there's home!" Jeremiah exclaimed in satisfaction, James went beside him. They both stared in the distance, a tall ten feet concrete wall supported by metal supporters from the inside covering all entrances to the Times Square, where their community was built sixteen years ago. In the middle of the wall was a two layers of gates, a metal fence and a sliding metal panel.

They approached the wall that stretched between two abandoned buildings, on top of it were barbed wires, then a figure of a man with an automatic rifle came up to the top.

Jeremiah waved to the man, James stood still and acted calm.

The man strapped his automatic rifle to his back, he looked back behind him and gave the people inside an a-ok.

The metal sliding panel opened first, second the metal fence opened inwards. Two heavily armed man were waiting for them at the entrance, one tall and one broods.

"Hey Graber…" The tall man greeted them, Jeremiah nodded and smile while James followed his father.

James watched as the gates are being closed behind him, the community never looks so hopeless considering how all these people would react if they knew James had been bit by an Infected.

The Times Square wasn't a large place but it held about 93 men, women, and children from age 3 to 17. The buildings around Times Square are used for good use, the old restaurant is used for food storage and supplies, the broken down police department is rebuild and used for armory, and the dusty apartments is now used for housings. Some of the buildings though had been quarantined for a long time, and it was highly recommended to stay out of the inside due to the unknowable terror inside. People often seen inside their homes only comes out by breakfast, lunch, and dinner hours.

James saw many people chatting under military tents, the guards walking past him with hunting rifles and other guns.

"Come here…" Jeremiah whispered at James, who is walking next to him.

"Where are we going?" James asked, he saw Jeremiah changed route from their apartment.

"We're going to the pharmacy, come on…" Jeremiah said again.

James noticed they were heading to the TKTS. The staircase is now unused, the red is now shading and some of the glass panel railings had fallen off. James often like to see his father's photo collection when Jeremiah was still 19, it used to be very crowded, the Times Square. People go to work and home, visitors from other places called 'tourists' lining up in front of the TKTS.

Under the stairway, the TKTS is used to be a booth for people to get tickets. Now all the window panels is covered with blue tarps from the inside, the glass door is also covered by blue tarp.

Jeremiah opened the glass door for him and James, once inside there was nobody there only four hospital bed and a movable table. Jeremiah went to the back of the pharmacy, where there were rows of drawers stacked on top of each other.

Jeremiah looked around the pharmacy "Good, nobody's here." He said to James.

"What are you going to do?" James raised his eyebrow.

"Sit down on a hospital bed." Jeremiah said, while he looked through the drawers "We need to get you checked up."

"Okay." Was the only thing James could say, he went outside again and sat on the nearest bed. He put his backpack on the floor and looked at his hands, he played with his thumb, and he doesn't feel very well. His stomach felt like stinging, but he knew that was nothing, he had anxiety-aches sometimes.

James father came out with his flashlight, a needle, and a bottle of antibiotic.

Jeremiah sat beside James "Turn around." He said. James pulled his feet onto the bed, then Jeremiah inserted the needle to the antibiotics "This is going to sting."

James nodded, he waited and felt the needle touched his wound through the bandage. The pain did sting, but not that much. Jeremiah pulled out the needle and threw it to away, he told James to turn around again. Jeremiah began to check his eye.

"Hmm… There is nothing wrong with you…" Jeremiah said in a troubled voice, as if he was trying to solve a puzzle "I don't get it…"

James felt his eye being released, Jeremiah jumped down the bed and sighed. He puts on his backpack and puts the flashlight on the side pocket.

"But from now, you can't go outside yet." Jeremiah said in disappointment "I need to keep you safe from now."

James looked down, he enjoyed walking outside. Seeing urbanization blends with nature itself. Be he could only nod, he understands his father's will.

"Good, and please take care of your sister when I'm gone. I-I haven't told you yet but I need to work my shift on the farm." Jeremiah rubbed the back of his head.

James went puzzled "But… You're shift on the farm is next month!"

"I know! I know!" Jeremiah said guiltily "But food storage is going downhill, just last week a band of outsiders attacked the farm and took most of our crops. None of us died, and that's not actually very good."

The farm is located outside of town, where patches of vegetables and healthy Cattles are guarded by tall picket fences and farmers with guns. Sometimes the farmer changes, one goes home after their shifts done and another person takes his place until his shifts done as well.

"Just…" Jeremiah rubbed his temple "Take care of your sister while I'm gone for two months, alright? I'm really sorry James, I really am!"

James sighed loudly.

"Take care of your sister, please James?" Jeremiah kneeled down to his height.

"Sure." James muttered.

Jeremiah then hugged him "I'm sorry James, I'll be back in two months. Okay?"

James thought for a while, two months with him and his sister "Okay."

"Thank you…" Jeremiah let James go, James puts on his backpack and they both walked out of the infirmary.

"Dad." James began, Jeremiah looked at him "Am I having a slow infection?"

"No son." Jeremiah suddenly looked serious "You're not infected. You're a miracle! But…"

"But I can't tell anyone because they'll panic?" James finished for him.

"Yes James, remember that until I come home." Jeremiah puts his hand on James's head "Go home to Jane."

James watched his father walk away while he stood there in front of the door, Jeremiah looked back and smiled sadly before continued forward.

James looked at his feet as he walked back to his apartment, he walked passed a few army tents and people. They looked at him weirdly every time he went by, James is used to it.

When he reached the front door the apartment lobby was dusty and lit very dim, nobody had swept it for years so the floor had footprints all over them. James walked passed a metal barrel which used to be lit by fire, on the right he saw the restaurant door boarded up with planks of wood.

James used the stairwell door, the stairwell is empty but lit by candles on top of the railings. James walked up a few flights to the fifth floor, he pushed the metal door which had a number 5 painted to it. On the other side James then walked through a hallway, on the right there were doors and on his left were rows of windows where sunlight lit the whole hallway.

James stopped at the fifth door from the stairwell which is next to the elevator, he knocked twice and built up his confidence.

"Jane?" He called softly, he entered the living room "Jane, I'm home."

The living room had only one sofa and two desk, the place which used to be a TV is a mattress for Jeremiah's bed. While James and his sister Jane, took two bedrooms, and the bathroom is as a place for a dirty bucket.

His sister didn't answer, James went to check her in her bedroom. The he opened one of the three doors in the apartment, inside he saw her.

Jane's long black hair flying around her head, her clean face is beautiful as ever. The sheets on her blanket was barely covering her body, Jane is only wearing her black lingerie.

James stopped all his thoughts, he took off his backpack and carefully jumped to her bed.

He felt the mattress pushing up his weigh, he is thankful for the comfort. Though the heat made him sweat, James were too tired to think about it. He looked at the back of Jane's head, James uses his left hand to remove the hair from her cheek.

Jane sniffled when she felt James's hand touched her cheek, Jane looked behind her "James?" She said sleepily.

James smiled, then Jane turned to look at him. James looked at the ceiling, he felt his arm being hugged by Jane, her breasts touching against his skin.

"Don't you think you should take of your shirt?" Jane said while she snuggled with her eyes closed.

James paused, he just needed three days "In a minute…" He pretended to yawn.

Jane opened her eyes, she climbed on top of James and stared at his eyes. They both locked their eyes.

"How was the outside world?" Jane asked.

James chuckled "I think I won't be going outside in a moment."

"Why? What happened?"

"I-I saw some Clickers?" James said, he didn't told her the whole story but he didn't lie.

Jane arched her brow "I'm glad you and dad are fine. Where is he by the way? He's not outside, is he?"

"He had to go work his shift on the farm, I guess people there needed more men. And he will be back in the end of August I hope." James told her.

"Two months without dad?" Jane said in a rather worried voice.

"Yes." James rested his head against the pillow, Jane purred as she slept on his chest.

But James was still wary in his head, he couldn't let Jane knew he got bit. She would believe him if he said he was immune, but it wouldn't stopped her from worrying James.

James closed his eyes, he drifted off to sleep and the stench of his odor had disappeared.