Act 1

Chapter 4

Coleen awoke to a serenity that hadn't been felt in years. The sun was shining down on her face ever so slightly and the position that she was laying in, on her right side with her knees tucked in and her hands together under her head to make a pillow, made her body feel refreshed. The only thing that was missing from this picture perfect awakening was the birds chirping and the smell of freshly baked pie, but she hated pie so that wasn't missed very much.

It took her a moment to realize she wasn't outside, even though she should have noticed from the tile floor and matching walls, it took the skylight to make her actually see it. She, in fact, was in a bathroom; one that she recognized almost as quickly as she could point out a song that was playing on the radio station she knew.

She was alone, and that scared her for a moment as she sat up and stretched her neck and spine, rubbing her eyes to rid them of the crust. The mirror that ran along a good chunk of the fancy-ish bathroom showed her a reflection that she was all too familiar to. Her hair was a mess and her clothes looked, and felt, heavy. The dark circles under her eyes were a little faded, but she could hardly notice because her skin was a sickly pale color.

Realizing that is when her stomach convulsed, telling her that it wanted some food and it wanted it now. If she was in fact correct, and in the women's bathroom at the Mall, then there had to be food just outside of the wooden door with the "remember to wash hands" poster plastered to it.

She tried to stand but something seemed to be holding her down, like a hand was clutching her thighs and pulling them toward the ground. They felt like that too, probably from all the running and the lack of food but Coleen wasn't sure which. She felt as if she should be asking questions but her stomach was taking over for her brain at the moment, and all she could think was "food!"

The door opened slowly, as if someone was trying to keep from waking another someone and they probably were. The person that stepped in, with various food stuffs tucked under his arm, was a familiar one and she felt a little relieved to not be alone anymore. A weak smile crawled its way across her face.

"I brought some food." Tommy said, stating the obvious while whispering as if he was still afraid to wake her.

Coleen wanted to say something, even a witty comment would do, but she could only clutch at the food as she began to massacre the array of bread, cheese and meat he had brought with him. Tommy didn't look alarmed, just tired and worn like the leather jacket he was currently wearing. The very same leather jacket he had worn to his high school graduation, the very same one that he wore to her fifteenth birthday party, and the very same one that he had worn as he said goodbye, promising to return, and boy did he return.

After the food was gone and her stomach still wasn't fulfilled Coleen sat quietly, almost afraid to break the serenity. Everything seemed so perfect, yet so screwed up. He was here like he promised he would be, forever and always, but why did it have to be during this thing, whatever it was. She felt a little angry that she couldn't fully enjoy and old friends return, but she was still too hungry to show it.

Tommy knew, so he stood and exited the room again promising to return. Coleen stood, feeling a little strength returning to her body, and walked over to the door that had just shut behind Tommy. She pulled at the handle and it obliged, letting her exit the bathroom into the noisy food court at the Danville Mall.

The sound was a little overwhelming at first. There were too many groups of people, all talking about the same story just at different parts, and the sounds of hammers hitting wood came from most directions. It made her feel claustrophobic at first until her ears and head adjusted to the recent influx of activity.

She spotted Tommy compiling some more food stuffs on a table near the opposite end of the food court so she began to walk her way towards him, her sneakers softly scuffing at the floor as she went. She passed a few groups of people that had faces she recognized, and even a few old school friends but she didn't stop to have a chat or anything like that. She kept her head down and counted the footsteps that it took to reach Tommy's table. About 47 give or take a few.

He only greeted her with a smile as he pulled out a chair for her to sit in. She coerced and slid into the chair placing her gaze onto the food that was laid out before her. On most occasions she would need someone to tell her it was ok to start eating, but this wasn't most occasions, so she dug in. She ate like it was the last time she'd ever eat and for all she knew at the time it might have been.

Tommy picked up a sandwich and began to eat as well as he took seat in an identical copy of the chair he had pulled out for Coleen. His eyes looked like they were seeing ghosts as he stared directly at her, as if he was trying to remember exactly who she was. He closed his eyes and when he opened them again he was staring up at one of the skylights that are strategically placed throughout the Mall.

"How'd we end up here?" Coleen asked between bites. "I mean, like here, together."

"I don't know." Tommy said looking back down at Coleen, who was now going for her third sandwich. "I drove us here from the Y, but I don't know how you got into my car. It was very alarming to find you sleeping back there. How'd you know I was back?"

"I didn't." She was remembering how she ran from the screams and spotted the green mustang. "I just saw your car and knew it was yours, as cliché as that sounds."

"Where were you?" Tommy's eyebrows had risen in a questioning way as he asked. "When this all started happening I mean."

She thought for a moment, remember the beautifully cold Sunday morning. Awakening to the sound of her mom's voice was a luxury she felt like she was going to miss after she moved out to go to college, now that thought seemed just short of pointless. She remembered getting dressed, and breakfast, and then the discussion about why her mother and sister wouldn't be attending church with her father and her.

She remembered the silent drive to Burger King for breakfast, and the even quieter drive to the church. The sounds of the sermon were like faint whispers and the screaming that erupted from the mouth of the undead stood out like a nuclear explosion on a peaceful backdrop. She wanted to tell him about all of it but her brain wasn't functioning quite right so she just summarized.

"Church," She said, taking another bite from a sandwich. "I was at church when this started happening. I ran to the Y, saw your car, and prayed that it was unlocked."

"Yeah, I always leave it unlocked." Tommy said, half forcing a smile. "Who were you with?"

"What do you mean?" Coleen knew the answer, but she didn't want to give it so she just played dumb.

"Well you don't go to church alone."

"How would you know?" Coleen asked, feeling a little anger build in her chest. "You haven't been around to really know."

"I know." Tommy said, his eyes still appearing to be seeing ghosts and he stared at her. The conversation seemed to die there, mainly because Tommy had no idea what to say. Coleen felt a little bad since he was right, she never went to church alone and she had no idea why she had chosen now to get angry. She watched as his gaze went from her to the sandwich he was eating, his bites becoming more spread out and less vivacious.

"I was with my father." She finally said, setting down her last sandwich.

"I'm sorry." Before Coleen could even say what had happened Tommy seemed to already know. He had a knack for assuming things that turned out to be true and she hated it almost all of the time, or she used to. Honestly she wasn't sure what she hated about him at that moment. "I'm sorry about leaving too."

"No need." She said, waving a frail hand at him. "You're here now, and that means more to me now than you not being here in the past."

He smiled slightly and that made her face pull back into a smile, revealing the teeth that she used to be ashamed of. Remembering back two years ago she realized how much, and how little, she had changed. Of course she looked differently somewhat, more mature and adult, but she also felt differently about a few things that had sort of defined her when Tommy had left. She wondered if he knew that she had changed so much just by looking at her, and was almost positive he did.

She had so many questions she wanted to ask him, some of them dealing with him, some dealing with her, and some dealing with what was currently happening. She was completely and utterly lost and she didn't want to feel like that, but from the look on Tommy's face he didn't have a clue either.

She knew this wasn't the right time, or place, to start a conversation that could possibly last hours, so she began making a mental list of exactly what she wanted to know and stored it for later.

That's when she heard the gunshot.