I shivered in my wet clothes as I walked. The creek hadn't been one of my best ideas, but at least we escaped. I wonder if I should call Alfred first before going in his home. I pulled my phone from my pocket only to see a blank screen when I pressed buttons. I knew I should have invested in one of those water proof cases. It was useless now. I put it back in my pocket instead if tossing it in case the warranty was still valid.

"Does your phone still work?"

"It should; I left it in my car."

Well that was that. I focused back on the road ahead. We had finally reached suburbia and would be at our destination soon. The average looking houses lined each street, about the same distance from each other, like soldiers in formation. Something was off about it. From the position of sun I could tell it was around 8 or 9. There should be people leaving for work. There should still be cars in some of the drives. But all the cars were gone. There were no signs of life.

We reached Alfred and Mathew's home with ease. The door was left unlocked, Alfred probably forgot after all that happened. Feli had fallen behind and needed to be led to the house. Once he was almost there, we stood on either side of the door, I tossed a dirty plate into the bathroom. Feli lunged after the movement and was locked up safely. Of course Alfred would leave his dirty dishes about. Mathew complained about him often enough. I had this sudden desire to clean and, after changing into some of Alfred's larger clothes, that's what I did.

0o0o0o0o

I checked the clock in Mathew's room as I changed into some of his clothes. It was almost 9:30. I missed my first class, fuck! Well there was no way I was going to my other class today either. I would just sleep through the damn thing if I was able to somehow make it on campus by 10:30 without a car.

Mathew wasn't nearly as beefy as his brother but he was still much taller than me so I had to roll up the legs of the pants and sleeves of the flannel shirt. I swear his closet looked like it belonged to a Winchester. At least I didn't have to wear one of Alfred's awful superhero tshirts like Ludwig. The unlucky potato bastard was walking around in a practically skin tight Batman shirt. He looked like a tool. I handed him my dirty clothes to wash as he seemed to have gone into house wife mode. He did it all the time when he came over. Feli would leave a huge mess in the kitchen every time he cooked and that fool would clean it up for him. Speaking of my brother, he'd grown quiet in the bathroom again. I pulled the edge of the plate I'd shoved under the door earlier to try and feed him to see most of the food gone. Most of the plate was gone too.

I walked into the living room and saw a phone on a side table. They still had a house phone? It was a fucking dinosaur, with its gross yellowed curly cord and giant square buttons. I picked it up. There was a dial tone. I didn't know who to call. My brother was locked in a bathroom out of his mind. My Nonno wouldn't answer a strange number. I couldn't call Bella, she still hated me. I suddenly realized how fucking pathetic my life had become. I had no friends besides my little brother.

"Does it work?"

"Huh? Oh, yeah, it does."

"I need to call my boss. I doubt I'll make it in today."

I rested on the couch while he used the phone. It was crazy how just a few hours ago I was resting on my own couch and everything was normal. I'd almost fallen asleep when I heard a curse.

"No one will answer. I tried 3 times. It rang before it went to voicemail so I know his phone is on."

"He's a heartless bastard if he gets mad at you for not showing up. The world's gone to hell. Fuck him."

"I doubt I'll get fired and you're right, he'll understand when I explain everything to him. I think I'll try to call Alfred now."

0o0o0o0o0o

I woke to the sound of the Ninja Turtles theme. It was a call from the house phone. Why would Mattie call me instead of just knocking on my door? I pulled my phone from my pocket, weird I was still wearing jeans, and answered while yawning.

"Hullo?"

"Good morning. Are you still at the hospital? How is Mathew?"

Huh? Ludwig? Why was he at my house? I looked around. Oh yeah I was at the hospital. Everyone seemed to have dozed off. Mattie was resting too and from the rise and fall of his chest, I could tell he hadn't turned yet.

"Yeah, I'm still at the hospital. I fell asleep. Mattie's still hanging on. Did you ever find Gilbert?"

"That's good. And no we didn't. Lovino and I are at your house. Feli suddenly went deranged and well it's a long story."

"Oh no poor Feli, he turned? I'm really sorry. After we escape, we'll come there."

"Wait. What?"

"Turned into a zombie. It sounds like he got bitten. Mattie's still breathing but it-it's only a matter of time before he turns too. Me and Mattie and some hospital people are locked in his room so the zombies won't eat us, but we're leaving soon."

"You do realize this isn't a video game."

"Duh, if you weren't calling from my house I'd take a picture and send it to you as proof. I know what I'm about."

"Whatever you say. Let us know when you are on your way."

Ludwig could be a poopy head sometimes. How could he not believe in zombies when Feli tried to eat him. I wondered what they did with him after he turned. They would have mentioned it if they took him out. And on that note, what would I do with Mattie when he turned? Could I take him out? I guess I'd figure it out when it got to that.

I woke everyone else up since the sun was up real good. The nurse was a bit mad because Mattie could have eaten us all while we slept if he died. The doctor checked Mattie's vitals as he woke. He was weaker than a few hours ago. I tried not to think about it. I needed to figure out how to break the window out. It looked pretty thick. Me and the nurse both picked up chairs and bashed at the window. The window started cracking but the chairs felt apart before it could break. I looked around for something heavy to beat it with but didn't see anything that wasn't bolted down.

"I bet the bed would break it."

Mattie what? I turned and looked at him like he was cray. The nurse seemed to agree with him and was already unlocking the wheels on the bed. I scurried over and helped the doctor move Mattie into the one remaining chair. He felt really hot but I didn't say anything. His body was fighting and losing to the zombie virus. Wasting words commenting on it wouldn't help any thing. I helped the nurse prop the one end of the bed up against the glass. The ledge was a little under a foot wide. It would have been a good place to perch during a casual visit. That meant we didn't have a lot of ramming room.

We pulled the bed back as much as we could without the wheels falling and then smashed forward. The cracks in the window spread but it still stood. The noise of our escape attempts attracted the zombie pack. I could hear them clawing and growling at the door. We quickly pulled the bed back again and pushed. No good. Again. Part of the window finally fell out. There were glass chunks still dripping as we grabbed spare sheets out the cabinet and covered the sharp glass that clung to the windowsill.

I helped the women out the window and went back for Mattie. He tried to walk but couldn't, so I lifted him into a princess carry. I would have made mad fun of him but there wasn't time. I passed him through the window to the women just below before vaulting over the side as if hopping a fence. We were free from the building, but we still had to make it across town. I prayed that Mattie made it.