While listening to the radio I stole from one of the caretakers at the orphanage, I hummed as I looked at the sketch I drew of a pretty woman I saw the other day. I envied the beauty of the woman. Although she had dark skin and was looked down upon by many of the folk around here, I thought she was beautiful. Everybody here is racist and all kinds of other bad things, so I wouldn't trust them in what they deem beautiful.

I myself have dark skin but it was much lighter and paler than the woman. That doesn't change how the people around here still call me the n-word or the way that some of the kids at school would tell me to 'go back to Africa'. I don't go to school anymore, or well I tried to skip at least, but sometimes the adults try and drag me there.

'I'm not even African, I'm Polynesian! But they wouldn't know because they're all dumb.'

Huffing in annoyance, I stand up and stretch out my arms while looking out the window of my hideout. I made my tree house when I was 8 after running away from the orphanage because the caregivers got mad at me for hitting one of the other kids. The idiot cried even though he was older and bigger than me. Weak. Not my fault he told me to go back in the kitchen, like try being original for once Bob. His parent's must've hated him a lot to have given him that kind of name. My name is Violet but I prefer just being called Vi. It's cooler.

Now my treehouse is my safe place or just my hideout as I like to call it. It's pretty cool having a place like this, it's like in those marvel comics that I would read whenever I went to the library. I might just start calling it my HQ, like in the comics aswell. It stands for head-quarters, I found out through a dictionary when I was 10.

I was going to head out and go hunting, which I learned only a year ago cause' I got sick of being starved whenever I got in trouble back there. Might as well do all the work. I make sure to stock up on my supplies by going into the wild or stealing every now and then, although I was rusty at first, I adapted.

They say that I act and dress like a boy. Not my fault I'm not given any pretty clothes or that I have to do everything by myself around here. I don't mind dresses and all that, they're comfortable to wear and make me look pretty. I like looking pretty. But they also aren't the best when hunting and are outside my budget. I don't have much money, and the little amount I do have is of buying other necessities. I work as a waiter at a bar, and they barely pay me the fair amount since technically what they're doing is illegal, but who honestly cares 'round these parts? The police definitely don't, hell, some of them are one of our most frequent customers!

Our police force is shit.

But anyways, my life has always been pretty shitty. Things like Easter, Halloween, or any other holidays aren't even celebrated here. Although a lot of people here are pretty fucking religious, it's always god this and god that. Some of the kids even still believe in Santa, and the adults encourage them, always saying "you won't get any presents because you're being a bad kid". I find the whole situation funny since I heard an adult tell two guys who were talking and just looking happy with the other, "You two should make some space between each other or you'll look like a couple of-" and then followed that up by saying a slur at them. Basically, what I found funny about these two situations is that Santa is made up by adults to keep kids in line, and God was also made up by adults, from who knows how long ago, to keep adults in line. Although the ladder kinda goes to shit because a lot of people who believe in god and whatnot are assholes.

Didn't the bible say to love all or whatever? And yet people continue to yell out slurs at others just cause' they're different from them. I read the bible once because I was curious. There was the line where they said that "man must not lie with boy" but I always thought it meant that a grown-ass man shouldn't sleep with a lil' kid. So just don't be a fucking pedophile, easy right? Guess everyone else thought otherwise and all of a sudden gay people are gonna go to hell because they were born wrong or whatever.

Everybody is so damn Confusing.

I was going to climb down down the ladder I made out of wood but then the radio I left on, that was playing some music, shifted into a frantic man talking, warning, Everybody to stay home and beware of creatures that look like us but aren't. Before he gets cut off, he tells his listeners one more thing.

"Don't get bitten"

My eyes narrowed, and I went back up the ladder, shuffling around in the small place I call my hideout. I had a chest where I held all my weapons in. It wasn't anything flashy, but it does help. I kept some of the weapons I've made from instructions that I've read in certain books on one side, there I had a wooden bow and the dozens of arrows I spent these past few years making. Then on the other side, I had kitchen knives. Although not meant for hunting, is just as deadly as any other sharp object made to kill. And last but not least, a gun. This gun was stolen from one of the cops that frequented the bar. His hung-over ass didn't even realize he was not only getting his wallet stolen, but also his gun.

I took two knives and strapped one each on my hip and my leg. Then I strapped the gun on my other hip and took my bow and arrow, and made my way over to my shelf. There I put all the food that I either hunted for or stole. I decided I didn't want to have too much on me cause' it'll tire me out too fast, and shoved a bunch of granola bars in the small bag wrapped around my hip. It's much sturdier than the bags that go around your shoulder, I always make sure it's attached to my pants right in case it slips down and trips me.

Happened once and I'll die before I ever admit that to a living person.

Looking over myself, and then at the human-sized mirror I kept in the corner, I nodded to myself and then climbed back down the ladder. 'Time to see what's all the fuss about'.

Walking out of the forest, everything seemed pretty alright. The only thing weird was that it was practically a ghost town. The cars parked in the front were all gone, so that meant that everybody has already evacuated. The only question is, where?

"Ah, fuck. The man didn't even bother to tell me where to go if there are fucking man-eating monsters walking about, tch" I glared at nobody, and then just sighed and made my way towards the orphanage. Might as well go steal some shit from the caregiver's office.

Just as I was getting closer to the entrance of the place, I finally noticed the blobs that littered the road. Squinting my eyes, I find that those blobs were actually bodies. Bloody bodies, that look to have been eaten at different places. "Gross" I scrunched my face up in disgust, "What even- how did I just notice bodies on the ground, normal my ass" I sneered while readying my bow and arrow. 'Damn, I need glasses. Fuck those damn adults for not getting me any, I'll just steal'em later'

I made my way into the place I grew up and almost gagged at the smell I was hit with. Looking around I try and stop myself from throwing up because I found guts and all kinds of body parts just laying around. The walls were covered in smeared blood, and right in the middle of the room was a group of very familiar kids. But they weren't the same kids I grew up with.

Those things, which I'll start to call zombies because how can anybody look at these things and not call them that? I've read enough books to recognize a zombie when I see one, I've also seen enough drawn-out pictures of what one could possibly look like, and they could never live up to the real deal. All of them look up to me when I start to aim with my bow and arrow, giving one of the zombies a look before settling my aim on it.

"Damn Zoe sucks that you had to go so soon. Don't worry, I'll put you out of your misery" I smiled at the crude-looking girl-turned-zombie before letting go of the arrow and successfully hitting the forehead of the only person I would ever consider a friend in this hell-hole. I smirked to myself in victory when it went down, glad to know that they have the same weakness as the ones in the books. Quickly I repeated the same thing to the other zombies, continuing to kill each one, although some of my shots missed which caused my arrows to run out faster so I rushed to the door and closed it so no other zombies could come in. Laying my bow on the ground "I'll come back to you, don't worry" I whispered before bringing out one of my knives and rushing a zombie, successfully stabbing it in the side of its head.

Thinking fast, I did the same action to the other zombies, kicking some of their legs in so they fall and using whatever item I come across to throw at them and slow them down. People don't realize how lucky we are, because these zombies are stupid. They're slow too, so killing them should be no problem for even a kid like me. As long as they aim for the head of course'.

Once all the zombies were killed off from as far as I can see, I stopped for a second and listened for any noise. I heard some inhuman groans but they came from the other kid's rooms. I sighed, kinda tired but pinched myself and picked up my bow while going over to all the corpses to take my arrows back. I sneered at the blood on my precious arrows and went to grab a towel from the kitchen to wipe it off.

When finally done I went to work and started looting the place. I made sure to be careful when entering a room, killing off any zombies that I came across quickly while ravaging through the closets and drawers. I stole somebody's bag to pack everything in.

I gasped in excitement whenever I came across something useful, such as the gun that one of the older kids hid under their bed. Most of the time I looked under somebody's bed, mainly the caregivers or older kids, I found dildos, porn magazines, or some other weird shit. I don't get the interest in that kind of thing. Weirdos. All of them.

I found other pretty useful things, such as a bunch of lighters, med kits, and more food. All of it I took, although my bag was getting a bit heavy now.

I finally decided to stop when my watch (That I once again stole) told me it was around 5 pm, meaning it's gonna get dark soon. That's bad.

I decided to head back and come back the next day. I made sure to be as quiet as I could, hiding behind bushes and such whenever I saw a zombie walking by. 'Honestly, how did I not see them!? Why did they not have any glasses in that damned place, I'll have to look somewhere else now' huffing a bit in annoyance, I continued towards the path I came from.

The first day went smoothly.

Everything was much better than most people would think. Sure, loads of people died every day, turning into zombies, but I'm okay with that. I mean, it sucks but I can survive. I know I can. It's nothing different than before, just that now I have to beware of zombies and don't have to worry about money or school.

Although I don't hesitate to kill a zombie, and maybe I wouldn't even hesitate to kill a human being if it comes down to it, I do feel something when it comes to that point. Mostly pity. Towards the person turned into such a thing. They'll never rest in peace knowing that they were turned into something that would kill mindlessly. I definitely wouldn't be happy about that.

So I now go out every day to go killing zombies and help people so that they can die without much guilt. Maybe it's just my way to stay sane. Some stupid reason for me to go about life as if it was any other day, because although other people's daily routines have changed drastically, for me it hasn't changed much. I spend most of my time in the forest or stealing from somebody or someplace, and now I pretty much do the same thing except it's not really stealing with how the world is now. I just call it looting since everything is too shitty to have something like morals.

I don't really run into people much, although there are those rare moments. It's been 1 month and whenever I run into somebody, I always made sure my mask was on. I just thought it would be cool to wear one, it makes everything seem like a game and less scary for me. The mask I wear isn't really cool though, it's just a white plain mask that covers my whole face except my eyes. It's also kinda hard to breathe when I'm running. Although after killing so many zombies and getting dirt on it sometimes whenever I'll trip in the mud on rainy days (I sometimes trip on my stupid shoe laces, so I finally decided to replace them with laceless shoes) it's gotten a pretty scary tint to it. I wash it every week but some of the blood and dirt kinda stained it. Looks like something someone from a horror movie would wear.

Cool

Whenever I'd come across people, actual living people, it's usually when they were cornered by a hoard of zombies or they don't know how to kill one. I just come in and save them. They freak out a bit but then they start staring at me in amazement after they process the fact that I just saved their ass. They try and talk to me after that, but all I do is drop some food (mostly granola bars), water bottles, and a med kit. Although I also give them a note that gives them the basics of how to survive. I started carrying these things with me after the second time I ran into somebody and they looked like they were either starving or have scratches and such on them. I felt bad for these people, most of them not familiar with surviving by using violence.

I remember seeing my first dead body, back when I was 6 and wandering around the wrong side of town. I was a shy kid back then, always needing to find somewhere to just hide away. That day I realized that the world ain't fair, and just because you're some innocent lil' kid, it doesn't make it easier for you. The strong survive and the weak dies. The privileged are loved and the outcasts are scorned. Even now, with zombies everywhere, this cycle still continues.

Although I know to beware zombies, I also know to be wary of humans as well... one thing I know about us is that we're selfish by nature. There's a reason why laws were made. I'm not going to risk getting robbed or killed by some sick psychopath that enjoys this new freedom of doing whatever the fuck they want.

I've fallen into a routine. Wake up, eat, loot, kill, loot, eat, sleep, repeat. Somedays are different because I sometimes get careless. Dislocated a shoulder, landed on my leg wrong, shards got stuck in my arms, etc etc. The thing is, I'm still a kid myself. A 12-year-old kid to be exact. Because I'm still going through puberty, I'm weaker than adults, more fragile. Sure I'm much too tall for my age, standing at 5'6 at 12, could be mistaken for a teenager or young adult- but that doesn't change how developed I am physically. I can't afford to injure myself too severely else I'll be leaving permanent damage on my still-growing body. It sucks but after the first several times, I've learned to always have a plan b, c, and d. I always make sure to have a way in and a way out.

I don't want to stay in my treehouse for too long, it makes me antsy. I've become paranoid, or well, more paranoid than usual once this has all started.

I've made sure to cover up my tree house with leaves and such, the windows are now covered by window blinds that I took, and I now got a lamp and batteries that'll keep them running. I'm pondering about finding a new place to make my HQ (it's so fun using that word) or just sticking to my small tree house.

In the end, I decided to find a new place. Although I hold many memories up in my tree house, it won't be able to hold everything that I need, plus I want a house with a bathroom. I don't want to keep using the bushes, especially since I'm a girl, and although I have toilet paper and pads for when it's that time of the month, it's still super uncomfortable.

So I ended up spending that week looking for a place to move in. That's when I came across a two-story house that was a good distance from the forest, there being only 2 other houses around it. 'Who the fuck builds 3 houses in the middle of a forest?' I thought to myself as I readied my bow and went around taking out any zombies I find.

Since I didn't find any cars parked anywhere, I'm assuming the residents of these houses left to go to the city. I was planning on going there once upon a time, but the radio that I use to be kept in the light about what's going on in the world says that it was taken over by hoards of zombies, everyone going there never making it out alive. So they're most likely dead. The radio doesn't really help with any new news anymore, only repeatedly playing music. I found a few zombies around the place, but not anything I can't handle.

I arrived in the morning at around 8 am and decided I'd be taking over it at noon after looking over everything thrice. The mansion has a basement which I'll definitely be using. 'This is so cool' I thought to myself as I started cleaning up a bit, moving the bodies to the forest, while also looking around the rooms in the houses.

After completing that, I went back to my former HQ (I giggled a bit to myself, feeling weirdly excited for this new change) to grab the materials I'll need to build a fence. I prepared this beforehand since I already had a plan of how I wanted my place to look. Although I don't know if this would be enough to go around all three houses and the field that I'll be using to make my garden. 'I've always wanted a garden'.

This same routine continued on for a few days, me going back and forth between my former HQ and my new HQ. I haven't slept in my new place yet, I decided I wanted to do that once I got everything ready. Another few days go by, and it's been a week, I've taken all the clothes and sheets from all the rooms and washed it by hand at the river close by, keeping all the clothes even if they don't fit me. You never know when somebody comes by and they need new clothes. Unlike some others, I'm not cruel enough to just watch somebody in need and not offer a hand.

I've thrown out things that I deem useless, like spoiled food, and random pictures of strangers. I also made sure to lay blankets over the couches because it makes them look pretty. I spent a lot of time decorating the place to the best of my abilities, running around the three houses cleaning or sorting everything out. I also discovered the water works here, it might have to do with the people living here being rich rich, they probably installed some new tech or whatever. As long as it works then I'm happy.

Once everything was done in the houses, I started adding to the fence I put up without much thought since I had other things to worry about. I went back into town and brought back more materials for me to use. I decided on three layers of fences, all of them were the metal ones that were common around here. But I didn't want zombies to see through them and start pressing against them to try and get to me, so I decided to stick wood to it to block their view. This took much more time than I would have liked to admit. 2 weeks went by and I was satisfied enough to finally sleep in the room I chose was mine (it was the biggest room on the second floor of the mansion. So cool).

I believe things were going great.

I decided to keep my tree house as it was, and hid a med kit, knives, and some canned food in there. Just in case something goes down and I need to head here instead. I've also been trying to find cameras whenever I go out, but it's been hard. That's when I realized that there was literally a shop dedicated to selling electronics, and I frankly blushed in embarrassment at how much time I wasted.

When I entered the place, it was surprisingly empty, so I locked all the doors and began searching. I know you need electricity but I could probably find some way to access it if I just looked hard enough around here. Plus, batteries exist and maybe there would be something here that could only run on those small things. If that's the case then I would have a shit ton of them.

When I found the things that I came for, I tried to restrain myself from cackling madly as I made my way back.

"Okay, this place will do" I smirked to myself as I looked around the basement that was now clean (although creepy) after cleaning for a few hours. Going back upstairs, I grabs some of the TVs that I had to go out of my way to travel back and forth to get and heft them up on a disk that I grabbed from one of the rooms in this house.

I started setting everything up in the middle of the basement, grinning madly to myself as I started to connect chords and such to try and create some electricity. I know this because I spent a few days reading some books based on this shit from the library. There are a lot of things you can learn if you just pick up a book.

Turns out I could make electricity by using the sun or whatever, I'll get it down. I have enough time. When I finally stepped back and looked at what I made, my eyes lit up and I squealed in excitement. TVs were facing me, the box-shaped ones stacking atop each other while the largest one, a flat-screen T.V was in the middle. They all were atop 3 disks aligned together. Then I bring down one of those wheely chairs that I absolutely love and it's complete.

I plan for the basement to be the security room, where I can see what's going on around my property. I'll be setting up cameras on the fences, although I have to make sure it's not visible, and have some on the tree's a bit further from the fence but also near enough to cause worry if I see any zombies. I also have to be aware of humans, of course, they're just as dangerous as zombies in my opinion. They can run, think, and talk. Not to mention they're unpredictable.

'Is it weird that I think of human beings as if I'm not literally one myself?'

It's getting dark out now so I'll have to go out tomorrow. I have to make sure they're secure enough to not fall in case of a storm. I also have to make sure they don't get wet, so I'll probably just spend the night making wooden armor'ish things that cover the camera everywhere except where it needs to record.

I also have to try and build that wing-wheel thingy or whatever, to generate electricity. This is going to be so much work.

2 months passed with me still alive and happy. Well, happier than I was before, that's for sure. It would be nice to talk to people because I've always been a huge chatter-box. Always talking about nothing and everything, if that's even possible. that's probably why I liked Zoe much more than the others at the orphanage, she was more of a listener than a talker and didn't mind me and my little rants.

I have everything I need in my HQ, but still go out to kill zombies off and save people every now and then, although it's getting rarer and rarer to find people here. They've either settled down somewhere else or died. The ladder is more likely.

I was pretty bored when suddenly I spotted another person. This person was taller than I am, a man who looked to be in his twenties although you can never really tell. Appearances can be deceiving. I luckily got into the habit of always wearing my mask, so I didn't have to move to put it on. I found this person interesting because, like me, they also have a bow and arrow.

I wouldn't say I'm an expert with the bow, but I'm definitely better than the average archer. With the amount of practice I've had these past 2 months, I've gotten much better. I continued to watch this man, hiding behind trees and bushes. I've learned to be very quiet when shadowing both zombies and humans.

Unnatural groans started approaching nearby, and I knew it was most likely a bunch of zombies. Pursing my lips, nervously I watched as the man continued to go closer to the sound. I've always hated having to wait to see if they can either handle or not handle fighting the undead. Either they screamed, cried, fell to the ground in defeat, or fought back. On the rare times, they fought back, and when that happens they usually scream for some reason, alerting more zombies to their location. This pisses me off because then I have to step in and help them fight off a dozen zombies.

This man continues to cautiously walk forward, and once he has a clear view of the zombie, aims, and shoots. It lands right in the middle of its forehead. He does the same thing to the others and my eyes widen when I watch as he doesn't miss a single shot. Even I stumble up and instead of aiming for the head, I get its neck instead. Or just miss it entirely.

'So cool'

I want to talk to him. But it's been a while since I've voluntarily spoken to somebody and he seems like the type to probably almost shoot me if I startle him since I'm a stranger. I instead follow him and he leads me to what I believe is his HQ. There are other people here, kids probably around my age and more adults.

They're closer to the city than I'm comfortable with. I followed this man quite far into the forest, up on the hill. Even before I discovered him I was already way out of the zone I usually stayed in. That isn't good.

I decided I'll go back and return tomorrow morning.

It won't hurt to check these people out a bit. Who knows, they might need my help in the near future. Not like I got much else to do anyway.