I'm going to try to update the summary soon. :)

I will also be working on a cover. :)

Thank you for reading! :D

"Sri!"

The familiar call rang out and I searched my surroundings, trying to sense a comrade who sounded in distress.

THUMP!

My gaze was directed towards the edge of the building I usually slept on. I could hear heavy panting and my comrade cried out again,

"It's horrible," he exclaimed, "horrible!"

"Laika?" I began slowly and I felt a greater force push me into the concrete roof. Yup, it's Laika.

"Sri," he whispered harshly. "The apocalypse...It has started..."

If I had control over my dead eyes, I'd probably roll them.

Laika was my best friend; possibly my only friend. He found me during my first few moments of transformation. He offered to take me into hiding until I was able to fight for myself. Laika, like myself, has a different name; the one his family used to call him. I think it was Tyson or Tyler; I can't recall. We are always in the same state, but most of the time, we are separated.

Game has been sparse. Laika was forced to go past state boundaries in order to find a meal for me, himself, and a little Huntress we watch over named Moki. Even in these dark times we are currently facing, he still finds a way to make others laugh with his clever thinking.

Laika rolled off of me and smiled slyly. "You know, I expected a small chuckle. It took me all night to come up with that one."

"It's hard to smile on an empty stomach," I admitted.

"What about that Survivor you found today?" Laika questioned. "Didn't that provide enough of a snack?"

"Yeah, a snack." I flopped backwards and looked towards the sky. I have heard a lot about what it looks like from the other Infected that can still see. They say it's lost it's blue and slowly turned into a murky grey. "Did you find anything on your hunt?"

"Well," Laika said, "you know, most of the Hunters are resulting to...Cannibalism."

It was a dirty truth, unfortunately. We were forced to tackle down our own kin in order to feed ourselves. Most of the Hunters in our area, however, just dropped dead, not wanting to tear apart their relationships like that. I won't go into detail, because a lot of it is nasty, but I will say this; if we find food that we don't have to tackle down, we'll take it. Even if it's just a tiny rat. Some of us have even started eating grass or nibbling on tree bark to keep alive. Once or twice, Laika and I had to result to this. And let me just say, trying to feed a picky eight year old tree bark is not fun at all.

"Since we still have a good supply of meat," Laika continued, "we won't have to resort to that. But we need help. I was barely able to find something big enough so we won't starve tonight." He pulled open his jacket and a hunk of meat fell out. "I already ate something earlier, so it's mostly for you and Moki."

"Speaking of Moki," I began, "where is that feisty Huntress?"

Moki was a messenger. She pounced from building to building, delivering good and bad news. Today, she'd probably be talking about the upcoming famine and the loss of Survivors.

"I saw her by Iorek's house before going on my hunt," Laika assured. "She's probably finishing up her...OOF!"

Laika fell backwards as a tiny mass pushed all of her weight on him. A small girl, about four feet in height, laughed happily. "Here I am!" she called.

"Nice to see you, Moki," Laika groaned. "Can you get off of me...Please?" Moki kindly stepped off, only to resume her tackle by shoving my to the ground. "Hey Sri!" she greeted cheerfully. "How are you?"

I laughed lightly. Usually, I don't associate myself with over-excited zombies like herself, but there was something special about Moki. "Hey Hon," I replied back. "I'm good. Guess what Laika brought us?"

Moki's eyes widened. "Meat!" she called out and sniffed the air before diving to the side where our treat awaited for us. I heard Laika chuckle quietly as he moved away from the two of us and to the edge of the building. I wanted to follow him, but Moki pulled me aside and she shoved half of our meal towards me. I gave Laika one last glance before sinking my teeth into what was going to be my final meal for the day.

"You sure you don't want any?" I asked Laika and he laughed.

"I told you; I already ate."

"But there's so much here!" Okay, that was a lie. Moki was already gnawing at the bones and she still looked hungry. I was going to have to give up a half of my half to satisfy her needs.

"I'm fine, Sri," he called out. "We're all going to starve anyway."

"Ooh!" Moki exclaimed. "That reminds me! I need to tell you guys the news for today!" Moki scrambled to her feet and stood tall. She was always so excited to recite her message to everyone. "Obviously, we are facing an upcoming famine because of the lack of Survivors. However, just last night, King Cairo contacted District Leader Iorek and announced that he would be arriving to our area to assist in our quest for prey. But that's not all! King Cairo wishes to have an heir to his throne and so he's been searching for a potential mate! That means you can be a Queen, Sri!"

Laika froze, as did I. We shared a nervous glance and I returned my gaze to Moki. "My duty is to care for you and Laika," I told her slowly. "I couldn't possibly move away with King Cairo..."

"Oh, come on, Sri! You'd get to travel the nation and when it's available; the world!" Moki exclaimed and squealed with joy. "And besides; you're the prettiest Huntress I know!"

I smiled. "Thank you, Moki," I replied, "but I can't imagine leaving you guys behind. The idea...It's just so foreign."

"I dunno, Sri," Laika piped up. "Think about it; if King Cairo does choose you, you could get out of this poor place and live somewhere else; where game is roaming the streets. Your adventures could be more dangerous and exciting. You wouldn't have to eat trees for a food supply. You could be happier..."

"Who said I wasn't happy where I am today?" I asked sharply and Laika paused. An awkward silence fell among us and I slowly pushed myself up. "Moki, you can have the rest of my food. I'm going out." And with that said, I reared up and jumped off the building, landing onto another, and repeating this process until I was far away from Laika, Moki, and all of the other Hunters. Right now, I needed to think, and you can't do that when distractions are near.