He felt a liquid on his shirt so he opened his eyes to see his love crying softly on him. He held her tighter against him. "Zoey, I love you so much...I miss them too...but we need to stay strong." He was right and she knew it. She couldn't be strong though...she killed her own father and lost Bill...and now everyone she cared most on this earth is gone but Ellis. She couldn't bare to lose him ever.

Ellis rubbed her head gently until she fell asleep. He knew she loved being close to him. It comforted her in her darkest hours. But soon he felt darkness creep up on him and he succumb to it. That night Zoey woke up and was surrounded by darkness. No light at all. She questioned if she was really awake until she felt HIS warmth next to her. She slowly moved away from him and stood up, trying her hardest not to wake him up. She removed her jacket and placed it over Ellis's sleeping form.

She hadn't noticed it before but there was a little amount of food in a box in the corner of the living room. She tip-toed over slowly and turned on the flashlight from her pistol. "There's a note attached" She read to herself "Take what you need." At this point they needed all the help they can get. Food was scarce and shelter alone was hard enough to find. She looked at the food and back to Ellis, debating if she should wake him up. She knew he was hungry but he also needed rest not to mention one of them needed to keep watch but their exhaustion is taken hold of them.

She waited for a moment deciding what to do. But as she did she heard small thuds against the window.

Her heart began to race..."What ifs" just flying all over her mind. Next thing that happened was a loud thunder. Shit it's starting to rain..." How right she was. She began to remember the day she, Ellis, and the others went to Mississippi to pick up gas at Ducatel Sugar Mill. The rainstorm was intense. She had never experienced something in Pennsylvania.

But she didn't even know her current location...what city...what state. But she didn't care as long as she was with Ellis, she wouldn't care.

Ellis began to stir in his sleep causing him to wake up. He whispered to Zoey telling her to go to bed with him.

Zoey did as she was told and went back to Ellis' side and began to shut her eyes once again.

When Zoey opened her eyes again the morning light peeked through the boarded up windows. The light hurt her eyes for a bit but she became accustom to it quickly "Well good morning darling" he greeted her with his signature smile. "Morning" she replied back. "What time is it?" she asked almost immediately.

"I had to guess maybe around like 6" he answered.

She yawned slightly and got up from the cold floor and walked into Ellis' arms.

He embraced her, warming her up with his body heat. "Reload your weapons darling; we're heading out in a few"

"I don't wanna go back out there anymore" she said now gripping on to him. Zoey was scared for him. She was scared how something might go wrong like always.

In her mind it seems like NO MATTER how hard they tried the fucking apocalypse would come around the corner and destroy them further than they are now. Ellis could feel her trembling but not outta cold but from fear. "Zoey look at me" he demanded. She did as told and looked into those beautiful blue eyes of his.

"No matter what happens I will always protect you"

He pressed his lips against hers and held the passion between them for a couple of minutes. Zoey melted in the inside. Maybe he was right? Maybe everything will be okay as long as she had him.

"Come on, y'all get bored stiff if we don't leave now" he held her hand in his and opened the saferoom door. They walked into the morning fog to an unknown destination.

They walked for what felt like hours and in complete silence. Ellis wasn't the same after they lost the rest of their friends. He wouldn't even tell her a Keith story.

She couldn't bare the silence anymore. "Ellis, do you want to rest somewhere?" She asked more worried for him than herself.

"No...I'm fine" he responded with barely any oxygen. He was tired…they both were.

Zoey looked at him with the face she makes when she gets worried. Ellis slightly blushed looking at her angelic face and those sparkling green eyes she had. "Alright alright, let's go sit down" he said playfully. Her eyes lit up with happiness and she guided him towards a small hillside nearby.

"You know the sky is beautiful right now" she said watching as the day had gone by and the sun beginning to set. "Nah man, your way beautiful than the sky" he shoved her playfully

He brought her close to him and held her.

"Guess what, Zo?"

"What, El?"

"Ya know if this goddamn apocalypse never happened, I wouldn't have ever met you"

She didn't say anything. It's true. They would have never met each other if the zombies didn't come or would she have met Nick, Rochelle...or Louis…and the others. A small frown played on her face and she looked back to the sky trying to forget everything and live for now. Ellis noticed this right away and embraced her letting her know he is here for here NO MATTER what. The sun eventually faded and the sky was dark. No stars. No moon. Nothing in the sky. It looked like someone had erased the moon and stars. Pfff or maybe the zombies ate them...But suddenly a familiar sob was nearby. How could they be so careless!? Zoey turned her head slowly to see IT. A Witch. Ellis wasn't sure what to do. If they moved they will startle her. But how? Why couldn't hear her before? Are they being that reckless about their surroundings? Zoey's eyes began to water up as the next thing she saw sent chills up her spine."Ellis look..." she whispered to him. There on the Witch's body...a pink shirt that said "Depeche Mode" Zoey couldn't believe this...

"That Witch...is..." she began whispering to Ellis once more but was cut off when Ellis put his hand over her mouth.

What should they do?

They can't just move or she will kill them. But then again they can't sit there forever either. That's when Ellis had an idea. He whispered to Zoey as softly as he could. "I want you to move as slowly as possible down the hillside" Zoey was shocked to hear this! He wanted her to leave him alone with the Witch?! WHAT!?

"Trust me darling, I have an idea" She looked at him hesitantly and began moving slowly down hillside away from the Witch and Ellis.

Zoey's movement is spooking the goddamn Witch. Ellis began to cry softly. "Oh Rochelle...how could this had happen to YOU!?" When Zoey reach the bottom of the hill all she heard was a high pitched scream. Zoey couldn't just stand and let Ellis face Rochelle alone...

So she rushed back up the hill.

When she reached the top of the hill she stopped frozen in her tracks. She saw two bodies on the ground...neither of them were moving.

"ELLIS!"

She ran up to him and slapped his face gently "PLEASE WAKE UP"

When he didn't move she cried even more...

"Please...please"

She lost it...Was she alone now?

Is this real?

Or some bad dream...

Maybe it was...she thought that she'd wake up back in her father's apartment from a movie marathon. She looked away from Ellis and at Rochelle. She cried even harder...Her friend had become one of them…Is this what happened to the rest of them? Francis, Louis, Coach and Nick? Did the survivors who were immune turn into the fucking special infected!? WHAT KINDA OF FUCKING JOKE IS THIS? So many questions were running through her brain. Trying to process this all. She was so focused on this bloodbath she didn't hear a faint mumbling.

She pulled out her dual pistols and was in a defensive stance. She looked left then right for any zombies nearby...but there wasn't any.

Was she going crazy now?

But she heard it again...

"Ellis...?"

She prayed to God that Ellis was alive and not turning into one of them. She slowly walked over to Ellis' form and kneeled beside him.

She put her head over his heart...and waited...

"OH MY GOD! A Pulse...he's alive"

"Ellis please can you hear me?"

She started to panic. But then she heard it "I thought I told I will always protect you." Her sobs stopped and was replaced with an anger smile. "Don't do that again!" she said to him. "We need to find you some first aid and fast"

He chuckled and his signature smile played on his face like always. Her heart almost sank when she heard him speak.

She pulled him to his feet but he couldn't walk on his own so she wrapped his around her neck and became his support. They slowly walked down the hill and headed to a small town they passed by earlier for medication.

30 minutes later they reached the town but Ellis was so pale looking from the amount of blood loss. Zoey guided him into a small bar that luckily had a 5 health kits on the bar itself. She slowly placed Ellis against the pool table and went to grab the first kit and look for some pain pills. Ellis was fading in and out of reality. He hadn't realized she was back so fast…or was he losing a sense of time too? Zoey returned back to his side and gently pulled his shirt up to reveal a slash mark on his torso. She looked at it and saw how deep it really was.

"Zoey..." he said with his eyes closed.

"Yes Ellis?" "How do you feel there, darling?"

"I'm fine" she said sheepishly. Ellis took his bloody hand placed it on her dirty cheek accidently smearing his blood on her face.

"You know you still are beautiful even with all that blood and dirt on you" he said.

He leaned her head in for yet another kiss. But this kiss was strange to her.

His lips were cold...But the kiss lasted 3 minutes.

He pulled away and looked at her emerald color eyes once more. "You gotta be strong...I love you, Zoey" and with that he closed his eyes again.

That's when it hit her.

Ellis wasn't moving

He wasn't breathing!

He's gone... The last person she ever cared about was gone. She couldn't believe it...She stared at him thinking this was one of his pranks...Her eyes flushed with tears each falling down on his hand that touched her face.

"Please don't do this to me now Ellis"

"I need you...I can't do this on my own! I CAN'T!"

"We made it so far and now you're going down like this?!"

"Don't leave me, you bastard...please..."

She cried even harder listening to herself speak in denial. She laid her head again his shoulder and cried the rest of the night until she passed out. When she awoke the next morning she stopped crying. There was nothing left to cry about. She lost everything...

Her home

Her parents

Her friends

Her...boyfriend...

There's nothing left to fight for.

She took one of her pistols out and looked at it. She placed it against her temple but before she could pull the trigger. She looked at Ellis once more. He was smiling...Even in death his signature smile was there. "I'll be strong...for everyone, I promise" She said to him and put the pistol away. She grabbed his hat from his head and put it on hers and looked at him once more before leaving the bar.

"I love you too, Ellis"