A telephone: Something that would've came in handy at a time like this. Electronics weren't extinct, nothing technically was. They were just extremely hard to aquire with lack of resources. Yes, certain parts of the quarantine zones were wired up with working lights, fridges and etc. However, they didn't allow anyone to have telephones; things that seemed like they would be granting people too much freedom. Mail wasn't prohibited, but it was highly moderated. People rarely wrote to one another because everyone knew the government read their letters even though they claimed not to.

Zee cleaned every time she was nervous, and it tied in very well together since she was expecting unwanted company. She picked up the few toys Nia had and washed the very couple of dishes that were left to soak in the sink. She swept the floors and wiped the bathroom mirror—very sporadic cleaning that consisted of jumping from one unrelated task to the next. Eventually, they was nothing left to do but sulk in her own anxiety. She couldn't sit still, so she walked into the living room and rested on the wall, watching Nia in complete wonder.

Baby Nia laid on a small rug in the center of the living room. She scribbled in her coloring book with the eight mediocre crayons Zee fortunately found lying around in the quarantine zone. When Nia happened to look up at her, Zee saw the perfect mixture of her and Reese's DNA. Brown skin, thick & dark curls, the cutest button nose and almond shaped eyes. Nia had so much of her father in her, that there were nights Zee would just stare at her daughter's face while she were napping just to get a refreshment of how he looked.

Words couldn't explain how much Zee yearned for Reese's touch. With everything that was currently going on, all she needed was for Reese to be there to comfort her. He was so great at putting up a front around others, but he was especially a comic around her. He knew exactly what to do or say to make her feel better...and she needed that right now. She daydreamed, biting the nail of her finger into oblivion. After a good snip, she yanked her hand away and looked at her thumb, seeing a tiny bit of blood ooze from the nailbed. She walked into the bathroom and opened up her cabinets—a first aid kit being the only thing there. After bandaging her finger, she heard a knock on her apartment door. Nervously jumping from fright, the first aid box fell to the floor, having many of it contents fall everywhere,

"Who is it?" Zee shouted from the bathroom.

"Ms…" the stranger stumbled a bit, "Zeezanna-Isabel? We're here to ask you a few questions like we said we would?"

Zee cursed quietly, obviously unhappy with the entire situation,

"Just...give me a minute please!" Zee said, quickly picking up the fallen contents from the floor and stuffing them into the first aid box. It was so unevenly packed, that the box could no longer be shut, "Ugh, whatever…" she scoffed, getting up from the bathroom floor. She closed the door behind her and walked towards her apartment door. Opening it, she saw three armed soldiers in military gear; none which she recognized. Comparing height and body mass, they were almost identical.

"May we come in ma'am?" One of the soldiers asked as if she had a choice.

Zee took a quick glimpse at his name tag. Earls, she read in her head.

"Sure," Zee said.

She stepped aside as she opened the door wider, welcoming them into her apartment. Out of the three soldiers, two stepped in while the other remained outside her apartment door. One was a man and the other was a woman, both white and seemingly friendly. As they walked further into her apartment, she took a silent breath that was equivalent to a deep one. If there was anything Zee excelled at, it was keeping calm under pressure. Closing the door behind her was like sealing herself in a cage with two unpredictable animals. Walking into the living room, she asked Nia to go into their bedroom and wait until mommy was finished with her interview...as if Nia even knew what an interview was.

"Would you like to sit?" Zee kindly offered, trying her best to remain on their good side in case anything unwanted happened.

"There's no need, we won't be here long," Earls said.

"Unless you're hiding something…" the other chucked, hoping to lighten the mood. The woman soldier passed in her own mind, but failed in Zee's.

Zee looked at her name tag quickly and saw the name "Gilbert".

"So do you know why we're here?" Earls asked, taking out a notepad.

Although she was afraid, Zee fought to give them eye contact, but not too much to the point where it didn't seem like she was sizing them up,

"I'm sure it's about what happened these past two weeks. That explosion?"

"Is that all you heard about it?"

Zee knew there were Fireflies involved, but she wasn't going to say that. The more ignorant she seemed, the better,

"I just know that it was an explosion. Probably terrorists?" Zee shrugged.

"Can you recall where you were when it happened?"

"Home. I was putting-" Zee smoothy caught herself from saying her daughter's name, "-my daughter. I was putting her to sleep."

"She was scared I bet, huh?" Gilbert genuinely asked.

"She wouldn't stop crying," she watched the soldiers faces, as if they wanted to hear more. People were devoid of emotions in a world today, but children were a powerful enough topic to be a soft spot, "The scariest thing is seeing your daughter so afraid, but I had to remain strong. For her."

They both nodded in approval. After a split second, they both gave enough a unanimous yet discreet look.

"We're going to search your apartment now, okay?" Earls informed after looking away.

Zee slowly nodded to concealed her nervousness. She called Nia out of the bedroom and held her close to her legs as the soldiers investigated everywhere. Once they vanished into her bedroom, Zee's breathing picked up. She gulped and closed her eyes, praying that they wouldn't find a thing. They weren't things considered "evidence", but they were things that could get you into a lot of trouble, things that every household was permitted from having.

Hearing footsteps come closer to the doorway, Zee opened her eyes. Instantly, she noticed her shabby coat hanger standing by the entrance of her apartment. Accompanied with her flimsy gray cardigan was a copper colored firefly pendant. Just as she was about to release a loud gasp, she was thrown off and distracted by the soldiers exiting her bedroom. As they both walked out, Zee could sense that Earls was a bit unsatisfied. Probably because he knew that everyone was hiding something; which was correct, but failed to locate it.

"Alright Ms. Zeezanna-Isabel. Looks like your good to go."

"Zee. Zee is fine," she said reluctantly, doing whatever she could to stop them from looking at the coat hanger, "Would you both like some water? I-I know you both are very hot in that get-up."

Both of the soldiers looked at one another, almost surprised by the kindness. It couldn't have been sudden from Zee because she naturally came across as a hospitable person. It was probably just rare to receive from a civilian. However, her current situation translated it more into bravery if anything else. Keeping herself "locked" in this tense cage was something others couldn't do for this long.

"That's very kind of you Ms. Zee," Gilbert thanked, "We are burning up."

Zee walked over to her mini fridge—her only fridge in the entire apartment. She opened it, seeing a couple of sandwiches wrapped in aluminum foil and one final bottle of water. She scoffed, eventually informing the soldiers that it would have to be split between the both of them. Equally pouring out the water into plastic cups, she offered it to the both of them, which they happily accepted.

With the soldier's definitely distracted and their nerves quenched, this was Zee's chance to act first. She quickly walked towards her apartment door and opened it, beating the quickness and sharpness of the soldiers eyes. Once she pulled it open, the coat hanger was successfully hidden behind the door. Surprised by the reminder that there was another officer guarding just outside her doorway, she tensely stepped aside to let the others exit her home. Nosey, yet troubled, neighbors walked by, impressed to see that Zee hadn't been dragged out by the hair like the others.

"Thank you for your time, ma'am," Earls said with a gracious and subtle nod, "The water was refreshing."

"You're welcome," Zee replied softly. Her smile was definitely forced and she prepared to push the door shut as they walked away, "Have a good night."

The same evening, Zee was chopping up some saved fruits and veggies in her candle lit home. Her plan was to make a tasty salad with some grapes. Zee eagerly wanted to live the life of a vegetarian, but she couldn't because of the rations; they were already so optionless. Plus, natural vegetables were something hard to come by since the quarantine zones didn't really allow farming and harvesting. There were some gardeners that grew a few vegetables here and there, and Zee knew exactly where to go to nab some. She didn't feel guilty. She had a child to feed and others did it all the time.

Doing what was normally her favorite activity, she thought about the visit. Stressfully placing the knife down on the cutting board, tears welled up in her eyes. She placed her head down and made sure the tears didn't get into any of the food.

She turned around to check if Nia had noticed anything—she was asleep on the couch, completely unbothered and unaware. Living the life of a three year old seemed a lot more preferable. She didn't have the stomach to admit it, but Sheila was right. Even more so, Zee had felt the same way before her confrontation with her stern friend. Zee stepped close to a small office lamp on her counter and checked the time: 8:03 PM. There was an fifty-seven minutes left until curfew.

She looked back at Nia who was still sound asleep, drowning out basic sounds with her soft snores. Zee grabbed her apartment keys from the kitchen table and exited her apartment, leaving the door open behind her. She walked two doors down and knocked a neighbor's door, crossing her arms and standing with notable impatience. Just as she was about to knock once again, Zee quickly pulled her head away and rested it on her forehead after seeing her neighbor's face,

"Hi, Zee."

"Hi, Vicky. Is Wes there? I was wondering if he could watch Nia for a couple of minutes while I run out. It's sort of an emergency…"

Vicky called Wes too the doorway, her teenage son, to the door. Having a Polish mother and a Filipino father was something that heavily contributed to the way he looked. He had dark hair, olive colored skin and freckles around his nose. All the boy ever did was listen to music on his walkman, read and smoke weed. She never caught him smoking, but Zee just knew, she was a teenager once too. He was a complete apocalyptic hippie. However, he was one of the most obedient children Zee had ever come across considering the way she was raised and who she was raised around. It was why Zee trusted him alone with her daughter. Plus, he reminded her of Reese. Wes came out of his home and closed the door behind him, knowing Zee's request beforehand

"Hey, Ms. Zee," he greeted respectfully.

Zee couldn't help but smile. She placed her arm around his shoulder, something a 'cool' mom would do,

"Hey, Wes. Honey, I'm running out really quick. I need you to watch Nia for me. Is that okay with you?"

"Sure," he said, standing by her doorway. But before Zee could make her escape, Wes spoke again, "But Ms. Zee, it's almost curfew…"

"It'll be very quick. She's asleep, but if she wakes up, just give her some of the fruits I already cut up for her in the fridge. You can have some too if you want, sweetie," she said while walking off, "And be careful not to touch the knife on the counter."

Zee was officially out of sight once she took a sharp turn out of the hallway. Wes looked at the Zee's apartment, and took a frightening double take at Nia, who was rubbing her eyes and yawning by the doorway.

"Mama..." Nia's voice cracked.

"Mommy's gonna be right back, okay?" Wes calmed.

Picking her up, he walked inside and closed the door shut with his foot.

Zee quickly walked through the streets. She walked through the very same alleyways that served as a shortcut to Sheila's home. She saw familiar faces, all walking towards the opposite direction with the desire to get home before some soldiers caught them loitering. She felt at risk, that was for sure, but this was all for her daughter and the legacy of her lover.

Finally making it to Sheila's apartment, Zee quickly checked in at the front desk,

"No visitors at this time, Zee, you know that," A voice full of bass said from behind the counter.

"I understand, Malik, but it's really important," Zee walked away from the counter and continued up the stairs, "Sorry!" she shouted.

She quickly ran up to the second floor, breathing heavily and having sweat run down her visible chest. She walked down the hallway, which was entirely teal with ugly beige tiled floors. She knocked on the door marked with the symboles '2-G' on it. Knocking rather frantically, Sheila eventually answered and partially opened the door,

"What are you doing here?"

"Let me in…" Zee demanded breathlessly.

"I can't do that right now," Sheila said, obviously still drowsy, "What is it?"

They whispered back and forth,

"It's an emergency. It's about what we spoke about yesterday."

Sheila sighed,

"Where's Nia?" Sheila searched.

"The neighbor's son I told you about? He's watching her."

Sheila let out a soft groan,

"Hold on, let me put on some pants."

The door was instantly closed in Zee's face. She stood outside, again, bouncing around impatiently with her arms crossed. Once Sheila's door could be heard being unlatched from the other side, Zee immediately pushed himself inside. Zee began speaking frantically, causing Sheila to do the same. They both whispered sharply at each other, almost trying to see who could whisper the loudest and be the best oxymoron. After Sheila locked the door, she was shocked by the words she could almost make out in the mumbo jumbo of sentences. She instantly threw herself onto Zee, covering her mouth once she heard the word "Fire" escape her lips,

Zee fought Sheila's hand off of her mouth and looked at her in bewilderment

"What the hell is wrong with you? Why are you acting so strange…?"

The last bit of her sentence faded once she saw a man exiting Sheila's bathroom. He was in nothing but some tight, red underwear. It was epitome of an awkward moment. With her back facing him, Sheila winced and kept her eyes shut since there was no way avoid the embarrassment and judgement altogether. The man, stood frozen by the bathroom with his one hand on the doorknob and the other over his crotch, clearly torn between running back in or awkwardly introducing himself in his underwear. Zee tried looking the other way since he was in her full view, but hoping to eventually use it as something to laugh over, Zee was surprised to see that it was Earls—the soldier who interrogated her and investigated her home. More afraid than ashamed at this point, Zee just stared at him. He gave an obvious look of suspicion, probably hoping to give her a scare, but she was already past that.

"A-are you staring at him?" Sheila questioned under her breath, offended once she looked at Zee.

"I'm just gonna go," Earls declared, running into Sheila's bedroom.

I know him, Zee mouthed.

What? Sheila mouthed back.

I. Know. Him, Zee mouthed more aggressively, putting her entire body into it.

"Zeezanna-Isabel, I have no idea what you're saying," Sheila said aloud, crossing her arms and looking away.

Zee threw up her arms, completely stunned that this was actually happening right now. What was this, some corny rom com?

Earls finally came out of Sheila's bedroom. It was obvious that he braced himself before stepping out, but didn't realize that the women had noticed him. Finally walking out in uniform, he smirked and gave Sheila a kiss on the cheek before exchanging a untranslatable look with Zee. He awkwardly smiled before waving goodbye one last time and closed the door behind him. Zee quickly looked through the peephole of the door and watched Earls walk away from the door. Once he was out of sight, she placed her ear against the door to hear his heavy boots depart.

"Are you crazy? He's military," Zee finally spat.

"Really? I totally missed the part where I helped take off his uniform,"

Zee ignored Sheila's smug attitude,

"I know him!"

"What?" Sheila said, looking a bit disgusted, "How?"

"I came to tell you that I was interrogated and searched by the military today," Sheila's mouth dropped. Anticipating that reaction, Zee continued, "He was one of them."

"You're joking? Shit," Sheila cursed, walking off. She turned back around, "Well, I'm guessing they didn't find anything since you're still here?"

"Just barely. I almost slipped up today. I would've been dead. They looked at the apartment log books and I figured they'd be coming after you next."

"They were. He came to warn me."

"He came to warn you?"

"We...We've been seeing each other for a while now."

Zee scoffed,

"And you always called me the weaker one…"

"Can we not do this right now?" Sheila asked, rubbing her face in frustration.

She was clearly bothered by the entire situation and Zee knew the feeling,

"I'm sorry," Zee apologized. After a long paused she spoke again, "Does he know…"

"What? That I'm a Firefly?" Sheila cut off, "Hell no," Sheila scratched the back of her neck, "He can't know that. I don't know how he'd take it."

"But he came to warn you, Sheila. You can use that to your advantage."

"He came for sex, Zee!" Sheila aggressively said. Zee remained quiet, unable to counter that argument, "That's all it is," Sheila confidently clarified.

"How do you feel about him?"

"That's not important," Sheila dismissed, "...What else did you come to tell me?"

Zee hesitated,

"About earlier. You were right, it isn't safe here...and I've known all along, but I've just been too afraid of what could happen to Nia. So I've decided that I want to leave. But if anything-" her voice began to crack,"If anything happens to Nia, that's blood on your hands. Do you understand me?"

"That isn't fair Zee," Sheila defended.

"And why not?!"

"Because that means Ariel's blood is on your hands too," Zee was stunned to hear those words come out of Sheila's mouth, "Both of ours!"

"No, no, no!" Zee was now breaking out into full on sobs, "I was against going out that night and you know it! I lost everyone I loved that night! Saul, Ariel, Reese…!"

"Oh, spare me the tears…"

"...You!"

"Me?" Sheila questioned over Zee's chatter, "Wait, hold on, Zee. What do you mean me? I'm right here."

Zee sniffled,

"Forget it."

Unless it wasn't obvious by now, Zee and Sheila were never the best of friends. Their friendship was built on a horrible history, and that seemed to be it. Even now, it seemed like they were only in this together because they were all each other had. The night of Reese's death, Sheila was the only one there to comfort her, so because of that, Zee felt like she was in debt to her. The only issue was that Zee never knew how to repay her for showing such support that night and the following months she grieved. They had grown close, but it was almost by force, and too much force on something as stiff as their relationship would eventually snap—they just wondered when it would happen. Another silence came between the two.

Zee looked down at her watch: 8:32 PM.

"I have to get home…" Zee sniffed, patting her cheeks dry.

"Offer still stands if you really want to do this…" Sheila said just before she could leave.

Zee stood by the door and looked at her, aware that this decision would ultimately determine her and her daughter's future,

"I do…" she nodded.

"Then we're gonna have to leave first thing tomorrow morning."

"...T-tomorrow morning?" Zee stammered.

"My place is a goldmine for them. I can't stay here. They'll find guns, pendants, wanted posters, all they'll see is that I've been hoarding and hiding all this Firefly shit. Once they find this stuff, they're coming after you no doubt. You're my number one visitor and Earls just saw you here."

"You're right…" Zee understood.

"I have a car hidden in some old shed outside the zone. If you want to hitch a ride with me, you have to make that choice tonight. Pack your things and remember that it's a zoo out there. You're gonna have to kill whether you want to or not..."

Zee shuddered at the thought of it: The blood, the snarls, the teeth and the worst of them all; the eyes. The last time she saw an infected was when she snuck out of the school at teenager that dreadful night, and she never wanted to experience those critters up close ever again.

"Okay…" Zee said apprehensively.

"Before you go…" Sheila walked into her living room and grabbed a compact cassette from the very top of her empty bookshelf, "For your neighbor's kid you told me about. Give it to him as a reward for watching Nia all those times…I know it's tight for you so you can't always give him something."

Zee grabbed it and rotated it in her hand,

"What's on it?"

"I don't know," she shrugged, "I found it in the trash, but it's better than nothing."

Zee thanked her and smiled.

"...Did you see his face when he walked out?" Zee randomly brought up.

"Who?"

"Earls. He was beet red, girl!"

Zee didn't want to be the first to laugh, but her face was almost changing colors itself from wanting to laugh so desperately. When Sheila finally let out a mild chuckle, it was enough to set Zee off. They laughed with one another until it shortly died out. And that was all Zee wanted before they departed that night. She turned to the door and nodded while giving a small wave. However, once she opened the door, Sheila felt the need to tell her one final thing,

"By the way, Nia has nothing to worry about. She has us to protect her. I'll always be there for you and her no matter what. And...I know it's not what you want to hear, but if anything happens, I'll always be there to look after her."

Zee gave a brittle smile, unable to convey any real pleasure from that sentence. Fully emerging into the hallway, Zee closed the door behind her without saying a word and headed home.