It had been three days since my car broke down and Daryl got stuck housing me. The news had gotten progressively worse - outbreaks were happening throughout the midwest and southwest, and even New York City had a few cases. My hometown was locked down, stores were running short of supplies, and there didn't seem to be an end in sight.

I was determined to make it home eventually, but I wasn't naive enough to think that I'd survive out there until things were under control. Oregon hadn't had an outbreak but we knew it was just a matter of time. Daryl spent some time in the woods every day, partly just to get away from me and my constant conversations with family and friends, I suspected, and when he was home we barely spoke.

On day two, he apparently ran into one of those things and had to shoot it. Even he seemed a little shaken and said he'd shot it in the chest and it didn't even pause, just kept staggering toward him until he put an arrow in its head. He begrudgingly talked to my husband and my father briefly that night, at my request, to explain what he'd seen and what he had to do. I wanted them to be prepared for what was coming, and Daryl certainly seemed to know how to defend himself. My dad is good at all that survival stuff, and I knew he'd keep the whole family together and take care of my kids as long as he had the right information. My husband would defend them with his life too, of course, but he's not the outdoorsy, gritty type that thrives under this kind of scenario and I was glad he'd have my dad's guidance.

I didn't think my husband was thrilled at the idea of me staying in a random guy's trailer but it was pretty clear that Daryl was barely tolerating my existence and didn't have any plans to seduce me. I was pretty sure I wasn't his type anyway - I've always been more comfortable reading a book than tromping around in the woods, herbalism retreats aside, and I couldn't imagine my career was particularly appealing to him. I didn't mind the way I looked, but I knew I would be described as 'cute' or 'nice-looking' at best, not a stunningly beautiful siren he couldn't resist.

I'm 34 years old with two kids and a husband, barely 5'2" tall, still hanging on to a couple of pounds of baby weight, and it would be fair to describe me as a frequently bossy know-it-all (though I preferred the term "leadership skills"), possibly because my stature and gender meant I had to work twice as hard for my career as my male counterparts. I felt fairly confident that I was nothing more than an inconvenient houseguest that Daryl couldn't wait to be rid of, and I was determined to do everything I could to make myself useful.

I bought as much food at the convenience store as I could fit in Daryl's tiny kitchen, and cooked dinner and breakfast every day. I'm not a fan of stereotypical gender roles, but there weren't many other ways I could contribute. I married into a French family full of amazing chefs, and I'd had to get pretty good to hold my own around them so I felt comfortable in the kitchen.

Daryl didn't say much. He ate my food and stayed away from the trailer most of the day so we coexisted fairly peacefully, but I suspected my constant video chats irritated him. Occasionally he'd turn up the TV in a not-so-subtle hint that I should turn my computer off, but when I tried to establish what time he'd like me to hang up with them each night, he rolled his eyes and ignored me.

I saw him glancing at the screen occasionally when I was talking to my kids and wondered if he would be less irritated if he knew more about my family. "I guess you've seen quite a bit of my family by now," I said awkwardly one night. "My kids are Luke and Lucy, 11 and 8 respectively, and I'm the oldest of four kids so my extended family is pretty big. My brother Jake, who you talked to, is a couple of years younger than me, and my two sisters are adopted, from Korea and Vietnam."

Daryl didn't seem interested but didn't make any racist remarks either, for which I was grateful. I couldn't tell what he thought about almost anything, and while outwardly he fit the closed-minded redneck stereotype, I hadn't seen anything in his behavior that was a major red flag.

I finished writing letters to my family and asked my husband to print them out and save them "just in case". Things were getting worse around the world, and we both knew that I wasn't going to get out any time soon. I was just thankful we could talk every day, and that they were safe thus far.

On day three, I decided I really needed to do some laundry so I could stop wearing my work clothes, which felt ridiculous in the hot trailer. I had been to the convenience store once and noticed a coin-operated washer and dryer, so I threw all my comfortable hiking clothes in a bag and headed over. The woman operating the cash register glanced up as I walked in and I tried to give her a friendly smile. She stared at me blankly for a moment before returning to her phone and I gave up. I'd tried very hard to be nice to her the last time I was there as well, and she was rude, so I felt I'd give it my best shot and wasn't going to bother any longer.

I put in my wash and headed back to the trailer for another meeting with Matt, who told me that the court system was completely shutting down because of the outbreak. This simplified the loss of my help at the practice, but was a really ominous sign. At the height of COVID, things had continued moving, albeit more slowly, and the fact that the government was permanently suspending the constitutional rights of folks in the criminal justice system meant they didn't think the world was going back to normal in the near future.

I ran back to the convenience store and put my wet clothes in the dryer without a second look at the woman at the counter before returning to the stifling trailer. Daryl was out hunting for the day and I was reading the latest news online when I heard a scream from outside. I peeked out the window and saw the woman on the ground, flesh being torn apart by two reanimated corpses. I watched in horror, knowing that it was too late to help but unsure what I should do.

Suddenly a new voice screamed out and I saw her young daughter standing on their step, staring at her mother. The creatures looked at the little girl and began to get up. I rushed out on the step and yelled at her to go back inside. She looked at the figures stumbling toward her, sobbed, and disappeared but my yells had gotten their attention and they were making their way in my direction. I slammed the door and locked it, shutting all the windows, but I heard their moans and felt them thumping against the door, scrabbling to get through.

I grabbed a kitchen knife and curled back against the kitchen cabinet, shaking in fear. This was the first time I had seen one of these creatures in real life and it was terrifying. I had no idea what I'd do if they got in, or how capable they were of breaking through. The door was holding for now, but I could see it give slightly under the repeated weight of the bodies knocking against it. If there were enough of those things out there, they might get through.

I realized that Daryl had been out in the woods, and they might have come from there. Was he dead? Injured? Had he turned into one of them? My mind raced, terrified at the thought of losing him. Surly as he was, his presence had become comforting and I'd been relying on it more than I'd realized. What would I do if he was gone?

A sudden thump came from outside as one of the bodies slumped against the trailer and ceased its moaning, then the second one did the same. Someone tried to open the locked door and I heard Daryl's voice. "Ana? Let me in - I took care of em." I flung open the door and wrapped my arms around his waist as he pushed inside, burying my head in his shirt.

"What the fuck? Jesus, woman, let me go!" he muttered, shoving me back slightly. I wiped my eyes, "I'm sorry, I was just so worried! I thought maybe they'd gotten you or you were hurt, or . . . " I trailed off, embarrassed at my show of emotion. Daryl rubbed the back of his neck and shrugged, "They musta come from the highway cuz I didn't see any in the woods."

The little girl screamed again from outside and Daryl flung open the door. She must have gone to her mother once the dead had been put down, but her mother had evidently reanimated and was tearing into her daughter's neck. I started to cry out but Daryl clapped a hand to my mouth.

"Ssshh! There's nothin' we can do now." He fitted his bow with a bolt and sent it into the mother's head, then reloaded and did the same to the girl who had stopped screaming and lay lifeless on the pavement. He walked to the bodies and pulled the bolts out, bringing them back to the trailer so he could clean them, face set into hard unreadable lines, and I realized he might have just killed a friend.

I sat shakily on the couch staring into space, unable to think clearly. I wasn't sure how much time had passed or what Daryl was doing but I jerked my head up when the lights went out. I hadn't realized how late it was, but the trailer was dim and the fan had shut off. Daryl came into view and met my eye.

"Guess that's the power. Thought it might go at some point." He eyed me warily, probably wondering if I was going to break down. "Ya might wanna call your family. Cell towers might go soon if the grid's starting to fail." I stared at him, reality dawning on me. I had been clinging to the sight of my family's faces every day, avoiding the idea of being cut off from them but Daryl was right. If things were out of control, eventually the grid would fail, at least in the quarantine zone. It was hardly going to be a priority from the outside to keep electricity and cell phones going in here.

I called my family and explained what was going on, trying to sound strong and steady. "I think I might not be able to talk to you guys anymore. I'll be okay where I am, but I'm going to need to focus on staying safe and I need you to do that too, okay?" My kids were in tears, and I knew they had realized I might not ever come home.

I tried to calm them and spend our last conversation letting them know how much I loved them. My daughter, in particular, was inconsolable and when I told her I would do everything I could to get home she cried harder. "Mommy, you don't know how to fight or anything! How can you get away if one of those is trying to get you?" Before I could come up with an answer, Daryl came to stand behind me.

He leaned into the phone's camera view slightly and talked directly to them. "I'll take care a her - won' let those things get 'er." When my kids just stared at him, tears running down their cheeks, he said again, "I'll bring her home as soon as I can. Need ya ta believe me and keep yourself safe, ya got it?" They nodded and I could see them straighten up a bit, feeling the responsibility of Daryl's request settle in.

I put my hand on Daryl's knee under the table and squeezed gently, silently thanking him. I could tell he was uncomfortable and I wasn't sure what had prompted him to make such a commitment but I appreciated it. My battery was getting low so we said our last tearful goodbyes and my husband sent them out of the room while we had one last moment together.

He had tears in his eyes and shook his head. "I don't know how we're going to do this without you," he said. "If you had just stayed home from that damn backpacking trip you'd be here with your family while all this happened, not thousands of miles away!"

His words cut me deeply, but I had been thinking the same thing and I couldn't blame him too much. It was true - the backpacking trip was just for a hobby and if I'd been less focused on what I wanted to do, none of this would have happened. "I know," I whispered. "I'm sorry. If I could change it, I would, but right now all I can do is try to stay alive and get back to you as soon as I can."

He wiped his eyes. "No, I'm sorry, it's not your fault. I just feel helpless, like I can't protect you and we're relying on some random guy. Don't get me wrong, I'm glad you aren't alone but it's hard to trust him with you."

That was exactly the kind of macho stuff that drove me crazy. "Don't act like you're handing me over to him - I'm in charge of what I do, not you and not him." He shook his head stubbornly. "That's not fair and you know it. I'm not saying you're property I'm handing over, just that those of us that love you are trusting this guy to keep you safe and it's really hard to do that when I don't know anything about him."

I decided to let it go, and exhaled. "Yeah, okay. I'm not trying to argue. This could be our last conversation for a long time." We spoke at length about the kids and worried about how they would handle another pandemic, one that was much more deadly, without their mother. Neither of us said it out loud, but I could tell we both thought it was more likely that I wouldn't make it than would.

Just before my battery died I blurted out, "Don't wait too long. I mean, if it seems like I'm not coming back, it's okay for you to move on. You can't just be in limbo forever." He nodded, tears flowing freely, and reached out to touch the camera. "I love you," he whispered, and I managed to sob "I love you too," before the screen went black.

I stared into the dark, unable to make myself get up and make dinner. Daryl got out a camping lantern from somewhere and lit it, plating up some leftovers that he put in front of me. He made his way to the couch and we ate in silence barely tasting the food. When we'd finished he took my bowl and spoon and washed up, and then disappeared to his bedroom.

I cried myself to sleep on the narrow couch but was awoken by a banging sound just above my head. The wind had kicked up and the small window, which was open to let in a breeze, must have been loose because it was rattling loudly with every gust. Over the noise, I heard a moaning and scraping and saw fingers curl around the edge of the sill. I scrambled away quickly, almost falling off the couch, and ran to the bedroom door. I knocked quietly, frantically whispering "Daryl!" as loudly as I dared.

He jerked open the door and I clutched his arm. "The window is making a lot of noise and one of those things is trying to get in!" I whispered. He pushed past me, silently easing his way to the couch, and peered out cautiously while I waited by the bedroom door. After a moment he made his way back to me, and pulled me into the bedroom, shutting the door.

"Three of them. Noise musta drawn them over, but I think they can also smell us. I'll take 'em out," he said quietly. I panicked and grabbed the front of his shirt to prevent him from leaving. "No! You can't shoot all three before they see you at this distance. They'll get to you while you're reloading, and then what? You should wait until morning - maybe they'll even go away, but at the very least you'll be able to see if there are any more of them wandering around out there."

He grabbed a big hunting knife off his bedside table and held it up. "After the bow, this. An' if I wait that sound could draw more. It's gotta be now." I didn't relax my death grip on his shirt and he sighed, prying my fingers off. "Chill the fuck out, Princess. I'll be back in a sec."

I wanted to offer to come with him but I had no idea how to kill those things, and would probably just get in the way so I sat in the middle of his bed hugging my knees to my chest, and waited for what seemed like an eternity. I heard the thunk of a body hitting the ground, some scuffling, a few bangs against the side of the trailer, and then silence. Several agonizing moments later, Daryl opened the door and I heard him running the water in the sink before returning to the bedroom.

He set his bow down and glanced at me, still curled up in an effort to stop myself from shaking, staring at him with wide eyes. "S'fine. They ain't hard to kill, long as you go for the head." I relaxed slightly as he flopped down on the edge of the bed. "Were you able to fix the window?" He nodded tiredly. "Yeah. Should be ok for now" he replied. I straightened out my legs and scooted to the edge of the bed, but leaned over and hugged him tightly before heading back to the couch. I was completely exhausted after the emotional evening and interrupted sleep, and it seemed Daryl was too, as he allowed me to hug him and even briefly wrapped an arm around me in return.