Twenty Minutes Later…

The walk from the Diamond Beach to the Golden Beach took much longer than I had previously anticipated, seeing as how we were watching for any zombies that may have appeared a lot more than we were moving. There were a few that we spotted, but they were too far to notice us, which was very fortunate for us and allowed us to do our best to not attract their attention. Still, the rising tension of being spotted by ourselves, vulnerable to any creature that considered us a meal, made matters that much worse. There was not a single moment when I was not looking over my shoulder to see if anything was there, following us at a slow yet relentless pace, while Drake remained close to me and kept an eye forward and to the sides. His arms wrapped around my waist while his scanned every single crevice he could find, hoping that a zombie would not pop out and chase us down like the classic cartoon – the one with the cat and the mouse; I cannot remember the name at the moment. Nevertheless, we continued to make our way to the Pool House, hoping the survivors were still there. The last thing we wanted was to find a group of zombies attacking said location and jeopardizing the lives of the innocent. Just the mere thought of it sent a shiver down my spine. If they reached the Pool House, who knew how long it would take before they broke through the doors and killed everyone inside? And if that happened, there would be nowhere else for us to go that we knew of at the time. We had abandoned our home, left them to the fucking demons, trekked all the way to Pool House on foot, only to find that it was overrun by the same creatures that tried to overrun our home. It frightened me, but I kept a calm demeanor so as to not alert Drake.

After a few minutes, I suddenly began coughing violently, but it was only for a brief moment. Drake looked up at me rather quickly, and out of the corner of my eye I could see a hint of fear and worry in them.

"Are you feeling okay, Abbey?" He questioned, his voice matching his expression. "You don't look so good."

I sent him a reassuring smile.

"Yeah. I'll be alright."

"But you're starting to look really pale."

As he said those words, a wave of dizziness came over me, causing me to fall forward a bit. Drake did his best to keep me from falling over and onto the ground, and fortunately it worked. After taking a moment to regain my balance, I sighed before looking at him again.

"I'll be…alright…" I muttered. "We just need to…to focus on getting to the…to the Pool House as soon as we can."

"But…but we can't go if you're disoriented like this," he explained. "At least take a seat for a moment. Rest a little."

I shook my head slowly so as to not make myself dizzy again.

"No, I can't sit down. Not out in the open like this. Not with those things wandering about."

Drake pouted a bit.

"Then sit on the floor at least. I don't have the strength to carry you all the way there, you know…"

Complying with that simple and much desired request from my worried brother, I shrugged absently and slowly sat down on the ground, taking a moment to lessen the dizziness from the blood loss, or worse the infection. I looked out at the water once more for a long moment; staring at its ethereal beauty just like I had done when I was so young. It reminded me of the days when I went outside just so I could stand at the water's edge, staring out at the water and enjoying the place I once called Paradise; my Paradise. To know that all of this was happening made me want to go back to the days when life was actually good, amazing actually. Not just for myself, but for everyone on the island. True, there were some illegal issues here and there, but it did not change a thing about Banoi. People still flocked from all over the globe – The globe! – to come here, to come to Paradise and escape their lives. As for me, I never wanted to leave this sanctuary of mine to explore the world as other friends wanted. This was my home; everything I could ever ask for was right here. The world was a place that needed peace, not the newest fad on the line, and Banoi was the place to be in order to find that peace. Then again, that is just me boasting about how great an island Banoi is in general, seeing as how I had been living here for twenty-five years. It is hard not to say good things about it.

Blinking once, I scanned the area briefly in search of any wandering demons before slowly looking back at Drake, who had sat down next to me and kept a close eye on me while keeping his sense of hearing elsewhere. His mismatched eyes held a look of worry, but his face was calm. He may have known how to hide fear on the outside based on his facial expressions and his body posture, but it was hard to hide on the inside. Deep down, I knew he was still the scared young boy that was my little brother. He was scared that the worse-case scenario would come to reality. Smiling with assurance, I place my hand atop his head comfortingly. Even though I had very little time to spend with him, I did not want him to worry as much as he was right now. For the time being, I was his older sister, someone he respected and looked up to, and that was how I wanted him to remember me. I wanted him to remember all of the good times we had together and know that I will be going to a better place – wherever that better place is - not some mindless animal trying to eat his face off. Better to think of the good times we shared than bad during the last moments of life. That was how I saw it, anyway.

After another moment of silence, I used my machete to slowly return to my feet again, hoping that my balance would be at least back with me. Drake had followed suit, but made sure that I would be able to stand on my own without any real assistance. When I knew I would be safe to walk, I nodded toward him before we continued our trek to the Pool House. To be safe, he kept an arm around my waist, since he was tall enough to do so, and walked at a slow pace – it was in-between keeping my balance and out of caution. I could tell he wanted to be safe when it came to keeping me up, but it was a bit much. Still, I had no complaints; as long as there was nothing around that would harm us, it did not matter to me. When he did that, though, something in my mind sparked. Memories of Nathan began to flood my mind, bringing me to a day that was different than this. It made me want to smile; it made me want to cry. Either way, I could feel the emotions welling up inside of me. Seeing as how everything was falling apart around us with every passing second, it made me upset just thinking about it all. It made me realize just how great those times were. Granted, I was able to cherish many of those moments, but others did not get the attention it needed, the attention it deserved. Glancing out at the waters again, something about it picked a memory that remembered vividly in my head, even after several years. After thinking long and hard about why it seemed so familiar, it hit me.

This was the place where I first met Nathan nine years ago; back when I was still in high school.


I yawned lazily as I trekked along the Diamond Beach and toward the Golden, picking up any seashells that I found interesting to me. It was not every day that I went out looking for seashells the way I was; I was asked to go by a couple of friends. Apparently, they wanted me to help them with their project about the ocean and believed putting seashells in it will make it look more "stylish." It was something for their environmental science class, and I was dragged along with them. Despite telling them that I had homework to do for psychology, they insisted I should go with them and find the perfect spot to look for shells. My parents did not mind at all, much to my dismay, as they knew I would be near home anyway. Even they had some trouble understanding the hints I was trying to give them: pleading looks, mentioning of homework, my non-involvement with the class to begin with. However, they claimed it was a great way to "get outside more" and "enjoy the outdoors with friends." The thought made me pout a bit; I was outside nearly every single day of my life. And to think that they were supposed to be my parents.

Noticing another shell near my feet, I bent down to pick it up, observing it closely to see what kind it was and if it was something that I was looking for. It was a hermit crab shell with a sandy beach color to it, with reds, yellows, and oranges blended together in one picture – or in this case, shell. Unfortunately, it was not enough despite its beauty. Frowning, I glanced over it once more before tossing it nonchalantly. They said they wanted something with "pizzazz," and the one I picked up was nothing near their standards. It was difficult to find the right kind of shell for them, as they worked extremely hard to make their protects picture perfect as if it came straight out of a movie, but even I knew how much was a little too much. The best ones I found, after a little too much trial and error, were not even in this location at all, but somewhere up north. However, it was not my position to judge where they wanted to look, so I kept my mouth shut. Better to let them go through what I went through until they figured it out.

"UGH!"

I looked over my shoulder toward one friend of mine – Martha Roberts – who was sitting on the sand. A pout appeared on her full, pink colored lips while she looked out at the see with deep set brown eyes. Her skin was dark, darker than the natural caramel color that was my skin, but would eventually become darker if she sat out in the sun so much. Her light green shorts were covered with sand, while her yellow t-shirt billowed against the breeze. Her medium sized feet were bare and had sand stuck to it, giving me the impression that she had stepped into the water at some point in order to look for shells; her medium sized hands, also, had sand on them, telling me that she also stuck her hands in the water in search of the shells.

"This is hopeless!" She cried out, scrunching up her duchess shaped nose unconsciously. "There's nothing good here!"

A smile formed on my lips as I made my way over to her, carrying my orange sandals in my hand.

"Would you like to look somewhere else?" I suggested, scratching my celestial shaped nose and pushing away my dark hair from my face. "I'm pretty sure there are other good places to look. It is an island, after all."

Martha looked up at me.

"But that's just gonna be too much work to deal with!" She groaned, letting her head fall forward just as her short brown hair fell past her, creating a curtain around her face.

I raised a thin eyebrow in her direction.

"I thought you wanted to do a good job on the protect?" I questioned. "I mean, you did drag me here from doing my psych homework just to help you out."

"Haven't you noticed that Martha is too lazy to do anything?"

I glanced over at a young man – Adam Roberts, Martha's elder brother and twin – approaching us with a handful of shells that he had picked up off the shore. His short brown hair parted to the left side and bounced a bit as he jogged up to us. His eyes – big and brown – looked at me for a moment, smiling at me with a toothy grin, before looking at his twin. He had a bit of stubble on his chin, and was fit – I know this based off his washboard abs against his dark skin. As he approached us, he towered over the both of us at about six foot two inches - just standing next to him made me feel small. His grin was wide, as if he were a young boy instead of the high school senior that stood before me.

Martha glared up at him.

"Shut it, Sasquatch!" She scolded him teasingly, earning a light glare from her twin. "I'm no good with outdoorsy stuff. I'm the intellect type in our little duo, as you can see."

Adam rolled his eyes before setting down some shells next to her.

"All I see is a lethargic bum sitting on her fat ass," he retorted, grinning wildly as if he knew what buttons to push. This only caused her to flip.

"FAT ASS?! LOOK WHO'S TALKING!" She exclaimed. Shaking my head, I turned away in order to look for more shells. "YOU'RE SO FAT, YOU COULD BE RELATED TO WHALES!"

"I am related to a whale, and its name is Martha."

"I'M GONNA FUCKING KILL YOU FOR SAYING THAT, YOU LITTLE SHIT!"

I laughed but chose against looking over my shoulder at the twins. I knew that Adam was the one person who knew how to push Martha's buttons; he did it out of love…and to see his sister lose her mind. Unlike Adam's comments, Martha was actually skinny, skinnier than me actually. She never did sports at all, never trained for anything in her life, yet she was thin and fit. Her secret: she was a hardcore vegetarian. She had not eaten a single piece of meat since she was six years old. It was not just because she wanted to keep herself from eating animals, but because she "wanted to lose weight." I told her that if she lost anymore weight by eating nothing but lettuce, she would turn anorexic. Fortunately, she did have her off days, but that was only once a year when she would eat meat and be a hypocritical for at least one day in the year. That, and because she needed some protein in her diet – as if protein shakes were not enough of a replacement. Still, Adam seemed to enjoy pointing out that his sister was fat when in reality she was not even close to it. The reason behind it all was beyond my knowledge, but it made me wonder sometimes afterwards.

Scanning around a little bit, I prayed that something – anything – would appear so that I could give them something and head home. My psychology homework was not going to do itself, thus needed my attention and assistance to get done. However, before I could give up my long search, I suddenly spotted something near the water's edge, something that had a bit of a glimmer to it. Curious as to what it was, I unconsciously started to make my way over to mysterious object, hoping the sea water would not swipe it away like that stupid fox from the TV show I was forced to watch during my Spanish class in seventh grade – I believe it was Dora the Explorer or something like that. Maybe it was seashell for Adam and Martha's project, since the shells that Adam brought were not exactly what Martha wanted – I looked over them before leaving the quarreling duo. Then again, maybe it was something that I could take home. Better to have some sort of reward for being out here when I should have been inside doing homework that was to be due tomorrow morning. The things I did for friendship was a pain in the ass sometimes.

As I approached it, though, I soon came to realize that it was not exactly the seashell that I worked tirelessly to find for the twins. Instead, it was something else entirely, something that shined much brighter than a shell. My curiosity grew even more with every step I took, wanting to know just what it was. When I was close enough to it, I stopped before bending over to pick it up. It was small, small enough for only my index finger and thumb to pick it off the ground. After closely examining it without the sunlight, I realized that it was, indeed something entirely different than what I had previously expected. Instead of it being a shell, it was a ring. I was certain it may have been an engagement ring for someone. I knew that much after looking at my mother's on more than one occasion. Unfortunately, it made me worry about who it belonged to, seeing as how any happy couple would be frantically looking for it. Worried, I looked around, hoping to find anyone that may have appeared to be searching for something valuable. I was unable to find them after a few minutes of scanning; however, the people – actually, the person – had found me instead.

"Hey!"

Blinking, I looked forward to find someone approaching me quickly and almost frantically. I found a boy – probably a few years older than myself; about eighteen or nineteen – running up to me with nothing but a pair of black and white swim shorts. His skin was a light shade, as if he had never been out in the sun at all, and he almost stuck out like a sore thumb. His hair – a sandy blonde shade – was cut short and neat. It was the only thing that made him appear more like an islander like myself. His big blue eyes, from what I could see, gave him an almost childlike innocence to his face. His body was thin, but not enough to consider him anorexic. Instead, he was well fit even though he did not have any washboard abs like Adam – in fact, he did not have any abs at all. His swim shorts stopped just at his knees, and I immediately knew that he was no ordinary person, but a tourist coming to visit the island just like the other thousand people that I spotted near the beaches at around three in the afternoon.

Remaining in my spot, I waited until he had come up to me before speaking to him. When he did, he slowed down before bending over in order to catch his breath. He tried to speak, but then held up a finger telling me to give him a moment to regain his breath. I could not help but smile at him, finding it funny that he was so out of breath so quickly. Then again, I was unsure as to how long he had been running along the beach for.

"Looks like you've had your exercise for the day, my friend," I said, giggling a bit. "If you tire out this quickly, then someone needs to head to the gym."

Instead of appearing or sounding offended, he laughed along with me as he stood up straight; he was taller than me by several inches.

"As a matter of fact, I have been going to the gym," he said with a grin. "I never used to look like this. I used to look like a big 'blob of crap,' or so my friends used to tell me in the nicest ways possible."

I shook my head, keeping my smile on my face.

"They don't sound like very good friends if they are that honest about your weight."

He shrugged and said, "They were more my motivators than actual friends sometimes. But hey!" He flexed his arms in a mock fashion and grinned triumphantly. "I'm starting to get that god-like physique that every guy would kill to have!"

This time, I laughed out loud, finding it humorous that he saw himself getting closer to such a desired ideal. Whether he was convinced he would become that way by his friends or by talking to way too many women and getting their opinions of what they liked to see in men, his mind was set to this odd goal. Frankly, I was not there to judge him. It was his choice that he chose to lose any weight that he may have had before today.

"You tourists are so funny!" I told him, calming down a little to speak again. "Worrying more about your physical appearances than living life like you should!"

He raised an eyebrow curiously, but not in a manner in which he was offended in any way. I could tell by his smile that lingered on his face.

"You talk as if I'm a different species."

Once I stopped laughing, I shrugged absently.

"Well, I've been living on this island for sixteen years so far. The tourists, to me, are kind of like a different species to me." I raised one hand. "Don't get me wrong; I have nothing against you or any other tourist. I just find it funny sometimes that so many people are so brainwashed."

He tilted his head curiously.

"Brainwashed?"

"That's what I call it." I explained it. "I've noticed a lot of people becoming so infatuated with being 'in with the crowd' and listening to what other people tell them is right and wrong or what they should look like to become like everyone else. I call it brainwashing because people are so willing to listen in order to be normal." He smiled at my words; it was clear that he was very intrigued by what I was saying. "I'm guessing that's why so many people, like you, come to places like Banoi. To get away from normality and just be themselves without anyone ever having to judge them."

"Wow…" He muttered. "I never thought of it that way."

I looked out at the water's edge before asking, "Is that why you're here? To escape normality?"

"You could say that." He stated, his eyes never leaving mine. "I wanted to get away from my life in general; you know, overbearing bosses, constant nagging from friends and family, all that junk." I looked at him, looking into his blue hues. "I guess I didn't want any of that. So I came out here with the few friends that didn't bother me so much, and decided I needed a bit of rest and relaxation."

"Or a bit of pampering," I added.

He laughed.

"Yeah, maybe a little bit of pampering, too!"

We both enjoyed a good laugh for a good thirty seconds or so. It was odd, really, to be laughing as much as I did that day. I never really spoke to any of the locals unless they needed help looking for a specific location on the island. It was the first time I had a good conversation with a tourist and actually enjoy it. Not many tourists spoke to any natives unless they really needed to. It did not matter to me, since it was none of my business to begin with to make friends. I usually let people come to me first, but whenever I tried to strike up a conversation, they would either nod or say very little words to me before leaving. It was a small act of kindness that I wanted to do, to make them feel welcomed, but it was their decision to accept the invitation or let it go. This guy was one of the few who chose to accept it. I was not used to having any sort of conversation continued by any tourist, and it made me feel happy to know that there were some people that were nice enough to talk with. However, he was different in some strange way. I was unable to decipher what it was exactly, but I hoped to find out soon. Or at least some day in the future.

Looking down a bit, I realized that I was still holding onto the ring in which he may have come looking for. Glancing at him quickly, I handed the tiny object to him.

"I believe this is yours," I said, "am I right?"

Snapping back to reality, he looked down and spotted the ring in my hand, to which his smile grew more.

"Oh, thank God! I'm so glad you found it!" He exclaimed happily, taking the ring and examining it. "I must have dropped it while passing by here, but when I went searching for it, it was gone."

"Was it in your pocket?" I questioned. When he nodded, I went on to say, "Then there must be a hole in it. Rings don't fall out unless there is a whole in your pocket, or you took it out yourself and dropped it.

He looked at me for a moment, staring into my eyes.

"Thank you. This is my mother's engagement ring. She gave it to me and told me that I should give to the one person I knew I would be with for the rest of my life."

My smile grew.

"Well, with your humorous ways, I'm sure she'll come around." I said to him. "Just be careful, though. Not all women are what they seem."

"I'm guessing you know from experience?"

I nodded.

"That I do, my friend. Plus, I'm trying to major in psychology when I graduate, so I've gotta know these little things."

He looked over his shoulder briefly, as if he heard his name from a distance.

"I guess I should be heading back, now. My friends are probably wondering where I ran off to," he said. He looked back at me. "Again, thank you so much for finding this…um…" He chuckled. "I'm sorry; I never got your name…"

I giggled.

"You're very welcome." I responded to his gratitude. "And it's Abigail. Abigail Mason."

"Abigail…such a nice name," he commented.

"Well, thank you…um…" I trailed off before laughing lightly. "It seems you never told me your name either, Mr. God-Like Physique."

He laughed in response.

"Lovely little nickname, but you can call me Nathan. Nathan Rodgers."

I nodded, engraving his name, face, and eyes into my mind.

"It was very nice to meet you." I paused for a moment as he turned away, but something told me to keep speaking. "Hey! Nathan!" He stopped and looked at me. "How long are you staying here? In Banoi?"

"Just flew in yesterday. Won't be leaving until next Friday." That was only a week from now; interesting. "Why do you ask?"

I looked away for a moment, feeling a small blush rise on my cheeks.

"Well, I was wondering…" I started before looking back at him. "I was wondering if you wanted to do something later tonight. Since you're staying for the rest of the week, I figured I could show you around." I grinned. "Think of it as a 'Welcome to the island' present."

He stared at me for a moment before his signature smile returned to his face.

"Yeah. That sounds like fun." He said. "I could bring my friends, too. If that's okay?"

"Of course!" I responded. "And I'll bring a couple of mine! The more the merrier, I say!" He laughed once again; I was starting to grow accustomed to his laughter, as if I were enjoying it. "We'll meet up right here! I'd call or text you, but I didn't exactly bring anything to write my number down."

"No worries," he said with a grin. "I'll get after tonight."

With that, he waved a small good-bye before making his way back to his friends, while I watched him silently. I had a feeling that tonight was not going to be the last night I would see him. I knew deep down that what we had was friendship, a friendship I did not think would last, since he was going to leave. I did not know that eventually he would return every few months not to enjoy a nice vacation, but to see me and other friends he made here. What we were, I hoped, was going to be something worth keeping.

"Abbey!" I heard my name being called, but as I turned my head, everything disappeared. Eventually, I found myself closing my eyes as if I were blinking. Unfortunately, that simple motion brought me back to reality, a reality I wanted to avoid.


"Abbey!"

Opening my eyes once again, I found myself still staring out at sea, but not moving anywhere. Confused, I looked down at Drake, who had a look of horror on his face.

"What is it?" I questioned anxiously.

Without a word, he fearfully pointed forward, giving me the chance to notice his visibly shaking. Blinking again, I followed his arm and looked ahead, only to be just as horrorstruck as he was. We had finally reached the Pool House, but my worse fear had come to pass. Multiple zombies found their way to the same location, one of them standing at the door and slamming their hands against it. The rest of them were on the beach itself, moving toward something that I could not see at the moment. Squinting my eyes, I tried to looked around and see if I knew any one that may have needed help. Just as I did that, I watched as one of the creatures suddenly collapsed to the ground, blood pooling from its neck and becoming motionless. I heard Drake gasp and pull me closer, inflicting pressure on my side wound and making me wince with pain. Before I had a chance to look down at him, something caught my eye – something very familiar at a distance. Looking around for the second time, I was able to find that familiar thing and recognize just who it was in a matter of seconds. Drake, before I could speak, must have also recognized him, as he moved forward a bit.

"Abbey, that's Sinamoi!" He exclaimed, looking back at me. "H-he needs help!" Immediately, he tried to run over there, as if he were going to fight him, but I quickly grabbed him by the back of his shirt. "Let me go! We've gotta help him!" He exclaimed, struggling against my grip.

"No, I've got to help him!" I told him as I pulled him back toward me. "You're completely defenseless and will only get yourself killed! That's something that I won't allow!" He wanted to say something, but kept his mouth shut. "What I need you to do is hide. Hide in a place where they can't find you. If and only if one of them does see you, run to the door of the Pool House. But only when you need to or when the time is right."

"I can't let you fight those things by yourself! You'll die!" I cringed at his words, but kept a strong demeanor. "I can't lose my sister!"

"You won't have to…not yet…" I muttered, glancing away from him briefly and inhaling before putting on my calm look once more. "Now hide in the brush and stay put until it's safe to come out. Go!"

Without another word, he immediately took off in the direction in which there were a few bushes nearby; they were big enough to hide him from plain sight, but for how long I did not know. After watching him for a moment, I quickly turned my attention to helping Sinamoi, gripping my weapon tightly, before sprinting into his direction. Despite the fact that another one of my worst fears – the creatures reaching the Pool House – had become a reality once again, it did not mean I had to leave them there to die, especially not Sinamoi. He was one of the only few things I had that reminded me of Nathan and my home, and that was something I did not want to lose. Looking over at the door of the Pool House, I noticed the creature had turned its head, looked at me for a split second, before slowly turning around. It was as if he were trying to reach me even though he was at a distance from me. Choosing to ignore him, I slowed my pace as I watched Sinamoi fend off one of the creatures; he, too, held a machete of his own, but was covered in more blood than my own.

"Sinamoi!" I called out to him, though I thought it was a bad move. In seconds, the creatures that were closest to me turned simultaneously, looking me down just like the others had done before them. "Shit…" I murmured as they began walking toward me. Their bodies were mangled and covered in either their own or someone else's blood; I just did not know anymore. One of them was a young woman – around my age, which only made me tense a bit – with one of her breasts completely missing from her body, while blood poured from the massive wound and revealed some of her organs as well. The other two were men; the first tilted more to one side and pieces of his arm, torso, and legs were gone from their original places, while the second had a missing side similar to my own wound only his was missing more skin and bled out more profusely. Both were nearly caked in blood and sauntered over to me as if they were hunting me down.

Repressing the fear that nearly took over, I instinctively made the first move by attacking the one closest to me; the first man of the two. Swinging my machete toward it, I was able to land a diagonal blow on its chest, causing it to lurch back a little and pause briefly as if to examine the wound that had been inflicted on it. After I did that, the woman charged at me, but failed to get a hold of me as I sidestepped out of harm's way. Worrying more for Sinamoi's safety, I quickly looked over at him as he tried to fend off five of those things. Knowing that he would never be able to handle it for very long, I quickly ran over to aid him. Approaching the first one I saw, I brought my machete down on the back of its head, watching as the blade went right into his skull and brain before kicking him off to the side, holding in the contents of my stomach and some of the brain matter slipped out and poured onto the ground. As I did that, Sinamoi pushed one of the demons off him and looked over at me, a sense of relief overtaking him.

"You're alive, I see!" He said, looking back before hacking and slashing the creature that attacked him until it was dead. "I wasn't sure if you'd make it here."

"Believe me, Sinamoi," I responded, taking a swing at a female zombie and slitting her throat cleanly. "I'm still not sure if I'm gonna make it."

He looked at me as I kicked the female zombie to the ground, allowing it to bleed to death for a moment.

"What happened?" He asked, moving out of the way of one of the creatures that tried to land a hit on him.

"My parents are dead, that's what happened!" I shouted as another creature tried to grab me, but I was able to punch it in the face hard enough to snap its neck. "Two of these things got inside and killed them before I got there. I arrived too late!"

For some reason, I could have sworn I heard the doors of the Pool House open up, but I continued to focus more on the creatures than who was opening the damn door.

"What about Drake?" He went on. I looked over at him for a moment and watched as he decapitated another demon before I went back to slashing a second female zombie – the one I saw before.

"Surprisingly, unscathed. Just brought him over here and told him to hide in the brush until it was safe!" I told him. "I'm just hoping he listens to me this time!"

The zombie screeched just before my machete connected to its face, slicing it open before falling forward and onto the ground. Panting, I suddenly felt as if all of my energy had been depleted. The hacking and slashing of these things was much more tiring than running from the hotel all the way to my own bungalow, since I was just using brute strength to take them on. Fighting off those things were a lot harder than they were portrayed in those dumb old zombie movies – thanks to Nathan for making me watch too many of them. I felt like I needed to rest for just a moment, get my energy back, but when there was a horde of flesh eating demons surrounding me, there was no time to rest until they were all gone from sight. Sighing more out of frustration, I tried to stand up straight, but nearly shrieked as I heard something snap and groan from behind me. Turning around rapidly, I pointed my blade forward, nearly stabbing the person in front of me out of a fit of fear and self-defense.

Wait…Person?

Blinking, I took a moment calm myself as I found myself staring up into a rather familiar pair of eyes once again. Only this time, I was more relieved than actually surprised.

"Logan!" I exclaimed, lowering my blade slightly. I looked around for a second, noticing that there were three other people finishing off the last zombie before looking back at him. "You're…you're okay!"

He smiled, gripping his battered paddle as if he were still tense.

"I could say the same for you, but you look like you've been through Hell and back." He said to me.

Shaking my head, I lowered my blade to my side.

"You don't know...the half of it." I explained as I walked passed him.

Instantly, my eyes were on the creatures that lied on the ground. The others – I assumed Logan as well – were doing the same thing. After what seemed like forever, I looked forward again, noticing that Logan had passed me and looked in a direction that was not mine. Following it, I looked over to find that he was looking in Sinamoi's direction. When he was done, he looked up at us, paying more attention to me (and the wounds I had sustained).

"Everyone okay?" He asked, looking around at the others.

I rubbed my eyes lazily before looking back at him, head tilted to the side.

"I think...for the most part," I said through tired breaths, "we're all going to be-"

My sentence was cut short by something grabbing my shoulder and my neck, a loud groaning or shriek, and pain shooting straight into my neck. It was so close to hitting a major artery that I accidentally jumped and dropped my machete before screaming bloody murder. Out of my peripheral vision, I realized it was one of the undead sinking its teeth into me – the third one in just one day. Why the fuck was this happening to me?!

"AHHH! GET THIS GODDAMN FUCKER OFF ME!" I shrieked, taking hold of its hands and trying to pry it off me frantically.

In a matter of seconds, something had clasped my arm and tugged as hard as he or she could, causing the undead hand on my shoulder to loosen just enough for me to pull it off. Before it had the chance to return it, I clenched my fist tightly and swung my fist into the creatures face as hard as I could. Doing so not only released the grasp on my arm – the one that was trying to help me, but I was also able to knock the creature off me and back away. Pain continued to course through me as I felt a piece of my skin tear off in the process. Turning around, I stared at it just as my hand fell my bleeding shoulder, noticing the small piece of flesh clenched into its teeth before swallowing it. I gasped with horror and paled just as the same hand took hold of my arm again and pulled me back. Just seconds after the person did that, something flew past my face and toward the creature. Looking at it once more, I realized that it was a machete – Sinamoi's to be precise – that had been thrown. Fortunately, it had embedded itself into its head, killing it instantly as it fell to the ground lifelessly and without a single sound to escape from it.

Other than the sound of my frantic panting and the crashing waves of the ocean nearby, it grew quiet once more. Unconsciously, I placed my other hand – the one free of oozing blood – and placed it on the hand that had assisted in saving my life. It was then that I realized I was shaking violently not just because of the blood I was losing but out of pure terror. As I did that, I looked over my shoulder before looking up slightly, only to find that it was Logan who had pulled me out of getting a machete to the head. Unable to speak out of both fear and lightheadedness from the blood loss, I could only give him a weakened smile as a sign of gratitude. Suddenly, as I did that, the lightheadedness started to take its toll on my body, causing my legs to give way all too suddenly. Fortunately, Logan happened to be there to keep me, using the arm that held me to wrap around my shoulders and lower me to the ground.

"Abigail!" I heard Sinamoi's voice call me, but it was starting to sound faded. I knew I was going to black out, or worse turn into one of them.

"Hey, don't go givin' up on us over a small bite wound like that!" I heard Logan tell me. I wanted to make a remark, but did not have the strength to do it.

"That's not the only wound she's got," I heard the voice of an Australian accented woman, but could not look up at her to see what she looked like. "She's got at least two more – one one her arm and abdomen."

"Man, fuck her then!" I heard another voice, who sounded a lot like someone from the ghetto – for lack of a better term. "If she's been bitten by those motherfuckers already, she's gonna turn into one of them, too!"

"No, she's not!" I heard Sinamoi say, almost as if he were in denial. "She's stronger than that. We may still have a chance to save her." By then, my eyes were starting to close and I could feel my head leaning into Logan's chest. Oddly enough, it felt way too comfortable.

"Then we have to get her to the doctor!" The voice of an Asian woman spoke. "Hopefully, he can help her."

"Yeah, help her and get her back to her little brother." Responded Logan. "Surprised he even made it here at all."

I wanted to smile, but instead closed my eyes completely. So, I thought, you did go against my words, huh, Drake? With that, I slowly slipped into unconsciousness as I felt myself being lifted off the ground. The only thing that ran through my mind was that things were starting to calm down…for now.