"F…followed me?" I asked.
"Anthony told us not to talk to you," She said, "He said adults couldn't be trusted."
I nodded.
"Do…do you have parents?" I asked.
"The zombies took them too," Max said.
They lost their entire family.
"Wh..what's in your bags?" I asked.
They handed the bookbags to me. Inside each was a sleeping bag, canned food, and a water bottle.
"What did you want?" I asked.
"We want you to help us," Tiffany said.
"Do…do you want to stay here?" I asked.
They seemed shocked.
"Yes," She said.
"Stay here," I said, "I'll be right back."
They both nodded.
Joven's POV
Wes showed up in the doorway, teary-eyed.
"Wes?" I approached carefully.
"I didn't kill anyone," He said, "The body….Anthony…was already dead."
"What?" I asked.
He told me about the children.
"They're in the lobby?" I asked.
He nodded. I followed him to the lobby to find two children sitting on a bench.
"Tiffany, Max, this is Joshua," Wes said, "Or Joven."
"Come into the lunchroom for now," I said, "We'll find you a room later."
Two days later…
Tiffany and Max were staying in a room right next to ours, since they were just children. There was a connecting door between the two rooms.
Laser, Mari, and Ian were prepared to go on their journey to find Sohinki's body. We met in the lunchroom in the morning for breakfast.
Anthony's POV
My vision was coming back. I could see shadows, but everything was blurry. I said goodbye to Mari, Laser, and Ian as they headed out.
"I'll be back, Anthony," Ian said, "I'm sorry I have to leave…"
"It's okay," I said, "Bye, Ian."
I watched them leave- three silhouettes-and I cried.
Joven's POV
The dark figure was back. He was in every one of my dreams. I volunteered to help Anthony around while Ian was gone.
'Kill him', The voice of the dark figure spoke into my mind.
No. Anthony is my friend, I couldn't hurt him.
'He's weak,' The DF(dark figure) spoke, 'He won't even see it coming.'
Leave me alone.
'Come on Joshua,' I shuddered when DF spoke my name, 'Anthony always treated you like shit.'
"No…" I said aloud.
"Joven?" Anthony asked.
"Hey Anthony," I said casually.
"Who are you talking to?"
"No one," I said, "Uh…myself."
"Oh," He said.
The sight of Anthony began to infuriate me, and I knew the dark figure was controlling my emotions.
"I have to go to the bathroom," I said.
"Okay."
I ran off to the bathroom. That's when I saw the figure, in the mirror, standing behind me.
"What do you want?" I demanded.
"To make you suffer," It smiled.
I shook my head.
"You can't escape me, Joshua," It said, "I'll take away everyone you care about, everything you hold dear."
Instantly, Wes popped up in my head.
"Don't hurt Wes," I said.
"Oh, I won't," It said, "You will."
"No," I said.
"His blood will be on your hands."
I ran out of the bathroom to find Wes. He was walking around the building with Max and Tiffany. I was relieved to see him alive without a scratch on him.