The melancholy of the cloudy weather was something he always found fascinating, and at the same time, one of the worst feelings to have when he was feeling lonely.

The loneliness was getting worse, and he was left feeling worse than crap.

Sighing softly, he stared with a lost gaze at the horizon that that vast treeless plain couldn't hide.

He had no idea where he was, but with each passing day, he felt he was approaching the end of the world.

The more he walked, the more things seemed to die.

He let himself be consumed by that abyss of the cloudy sky. A neutral expression lingered on his face. He was like a robot, he didn't even know if he could make an expression anymore.

He didn't know if he could force a smile, or force a sad look.

Nothing scared him anymore, nothing made him sad, apart from the thoughts that haunted him.

He lightly shakes the gun he had in his hands, dirty, already worn out. He found that gun a long time ago, so long that it seemed to have been in a past life.

He raises the pistol to his head, touching the cold barrel of the gun to his temple, feeling a slight chill run through his body.

He had no reason to wait, or what to think.

All he did, was think. Every day.

He pulled the trigger, but nothing happened. Sighing softly, he lowered the empty gun to the side.

He didn't need it anymore... hadn't for a long time.

He didn't know if it was something in his head, but he heard some footsteps approaching quietly beside him.

As long as it wasn't someone trying to steal his things, he didn't care.

In fact, he might even feel more excited.

He was sitting beside a tree, on top of a hill, looking at the horizon, if that person wanted to kill him, he would be dead by now.

The footsteps stopped, and a silence lasted between these two strangers.

- Hello... may I sit next to you?

A woman's voice caught his attention, and he turned, staring, somewhat curious and surprised, at the blond-haired woman who was staring at him neutrally, hugging her own body.

For a few moments, he thought he had heard wrong.

-... Of course.

He said after some time staring at her, and the woman sat down a few centimeters away from him.

He couldn't help but be surprised, and confused.

He couldn't even remember the last time he had sat next to someone like that.

Or the last time he had talked to someone.

They were silent for a while, something they both seemed to enjoy a little, but which at the same time made them a little confused, or even uncomfortable.

- Do you have a group?

The woman's voice next to him made him look at her, puzzled.

-No... you are the first person I have talked to in... quite some time, to tell you the truth.

His rough, hoarse voice, different from the last time he had heard himself, was a little deeper... more tired, more sad.

It was as if he were someone else.

And in a way, he felt like someone else.

The woman also stared at him for a while, until she began to look at the horizon as well.

- I understand... I haven't seen another person in a long time either. At least one who wasn't trying to kill me.

She said, her tone as melancholy as the cloudy weather.

As cold as he himself felt.

-And you approach a stranger?

He asked, looking at her curiously, still puzzled by this unusual situation.

Not that he was going to complain, it was rather nice to see someone alive for a change.

It was also very "liberating" to talk to another person, after spending so much time talking to himself, or simply not talking at all.

- I only approached you because I saw you point that gun at your own head, and then throw it aside.

She said, looking at the pistol a few steps away from her, a certain intensity in her gaze, as if she missed a gun...

Or maybe missing being in front of one...

- I don't need it... it ran out of ammo a long time ago... it's just an empty shell now.

He said, looking at the lone zombie that was struggling to walk across the plain towards the horizon.

- Like us... just a useless object without what completes it.

The woman said, a distant look in her eyes, almost as if she were being consumed by the silver barrel of the pistol.

- Just empty husks without those who are important to us.

He said, looking at the woman with a certain interest.

A small smile broke out on her lips.

- I didn't think I'd find anyone else like me around here... I've been alone for so long. I lost everything I had in a heartbeat.

She said, hugging her knees, feeling the light cold breeze gently kiss her face.

- Sometimes I wonder if it's worth it to go on like this... that's why I decided to come here, after I saw you pointing the gun at your own head. I saw myself in your place.

She said, resting her head on her knees, looking with some understanding at the lonely zombie, who even in death, is still walking around in search of something.

- Sitting here, watching the horizon, feeling this light breeze against our bodies, seems peaceful. But I have no peace here.

he said, pointing his finger to his own head.

- I killed everything that hurt me... everything that made me suffer, and my body had peace. I thought that if I killed what hurts my mind, maybe it would have peace too.

He said, closing his eyes and trying to imagine what it would be like not to hear those voices all the time.

What it would be like not to be reminded of his failure.

What it would be like not to keep repeating his mistakes over and over again.

- Sometimes I think the same thing. And it's even a little funny, because until a while ago, I thought I was fine on my own, that nothing could bring me down if I didn't trust anyone, little did I know that I would be brought down by myself.

She said, bowing her head and laughing humorlessly.

She always told herself that she wouldn't be taken in by the stupidity of others, and she ended up falling into her own stupidity.

- Only then did I realize that I had nothing left... no one. My parents are dead, my sister is dead, my friends... companions... and I abandoned the guy I liked, because I was under the false impression that the group was falling apart.

He looked at her, one eyebrow arched, intrigued and curious by the little story she was telling. She was not so different from him, they were both broken and lost.

Both were forgotten by the world.

- Are you looking for him? To redeem yourself?

He asked, looking at the horizon again, noticing the darkness slowly spreading behind him as the sun set, making that cloudy weather even more melancholy, and a little colder.

More dead as the gray spread and became more intense.

- Yes... I have been looking for him ever since, but I think I am too late. I don't even know if he is alive anymore, if the group I was with is still alive. I don't know if one day I will see them again, or at least find what's left.

A small, solitary tear ran down the woman's face, she closed her eyes and let her chest be consumed by that destructive feeling she had learned to live with.

And that, little by little, was destroying her.

- I understand you... for a long time, I've been looking for a ghost. Sometimes it feels like I'm getting close to her, and other times, it feels like I'm still standing in the same place...

He said, closing his eyes as he remembered all the path he had traveled.

All the things he has been through.

All the lives he has taken.

All the lives he saved.

All the times he felt like giving up.

- What else can we do? Besides keep looking? Trying, even if in a futile way, to get back to those we lost... that we abandoned... that we hurt, and try to make things right.

He said, a distant expression, a choked voice, and thoughts racing furiously through his mind.

The woman stared at him for a few moments, grateful for the simple words, but ones she hadn't heard in a long time.

- You know... that was pretty deep for someone who held a gun to his own head.

She said with a slight smile on her face, almost imperceptible, but a smile she hadn't given in a long time.

The man arched an eyebrow at her, and gave her a slight expression.

- Do as I say, not as I do. I just... got carried away with the frustrations, and the feelings I've been trying to control for so long.

He said, watching with some curiosity, and interest, as the woman stood up.

He looked around, night was coming, and with it a new wave of destructive feelings that both of them would have to deal with once again.

- It was... good, to have talked to someone, it was a conversation I needed, although it was short.

She said, looking at his face, which was also standing up. Only now did she realize how tall he was.

- Yes, I can say the same... it was a rather interesting experience, considering that you are the only person I have met in this end of the world.

He said, shaking his head slightly, preparing himself for the next battle he would fight, for the next efforts he would make to last another night, and the subsequent ones.

- It's a pity we are going in opposite directions, it would be nice to have some company... to be alone, walking through ruins and dead bodies, is a bit maddening. I hope you succeed in your search.

The woman said, gently squeezing his hand, who nodded with a light, and somewhat sad, expression at leaving the path of the only living thing he had found.

- The same goes for you. I hope you find them. Maybe we'll meet again someday.

He said, taking a few steps away, while still staring at the woman.

- That would be good. Especially if we are with the people we are looking for. What is your name?

she asked, preparing to turn around and walk away forever.

- Lee.

He answered, there were times he almost forgot that name. Maybe that was the only thing that set him apart from the dead, his name.

- It's a pleasure, Lee. I'm Jane. I hope we'll see each other again.

She said, nodding to him, before turning and walking toward the emptiness of the darkened horizon.