I heard the rushing of water long before I saw it. I was getting dizzy from the pain, but I refused to stop moving. I could hear steps in the woods behind me, all around me, as I walked. A few times, I caught sight of something following me, but when I turned to get a good look, it was gone. The steps of whatever or whoever it was were heavy when I heard them, setting the tiny hairs on the back of my neck to standing. Was it one of the dead coming after me? Part of me doubted it. I would've heard the sounds of their groans, smelled the rotting flesh, or already be dead. An animal of some sort, I kept thinking to myself.

Following the sounds of the water, I emerged from dense bushes onto the banks of a large creek. The water was low, a rapids of sorts was crashing and churning around glistening dark grey rocks. The water looked clean and fresh. I knelt by the water's edge, mindful of what might be behind me, and pulled the canteen from the bag the mysterious couple had given me. Twisting the cap off, my hands shaking from weakness, I held it beneath the water, watching the bubbles of air gurgling up out of the opening as water rushed in to replace it. The bubbles stopped and I lifted the canteen out of the water, twisting the cap back into place before tucking the canteen into the outer pocket of the bag. I didn't want anything inside the bag getting wet, not knowing when I'd have the chance to clean anything again.

I looked behind me, checking my surroundings for the mysterious follower. Satisfying myself that I was alone for the moment, I cupped my hands together and began to drink my fill of water from the creek. Water dripping from my hands, running down my forearms to drip from my elbows, I was lost in the need for water. It took a few minutes, feeling my nose and my lips begin to go numb with how cold the water was. It was absolutely delicious, sweet even, as I drank my fill. It was then that I noticed it. The mysterious follower sitting on the bank of the creek just on the other side of a small bush, its gold-green eyes watching me, a black panther was licking its chops, water dripping from its chin. I swallowed hard, not sure if I should stay still or take off running. I came to the quick conclusion that with as close as I was to the panther, that if I tried to move to run, it'd pounce on me. Instead, I knelt there, staring back at the animal, wiping the few remaining drips of water off my nose and my own chin.

It felt like I was frozen in place with this giant cat staring me down. The few gnats hovering over me moved in slow motion, the slight breeze cool on my sun-warmed skin, and the sounds of the woods fading to the background. Suddenly, the spell was broken, the panther going to full alert before disappearing into the woods once again. I grabbed the machete, pulling it free from the strap of the bag, expecting to see one of the rotten dead coming out at me. Instead, it was a girl. She crashed through the brush on the opposite side of the creek, landing on her hands and knees in the mud. Her dark hair had slipped over her shoulders, shielding her face from my view, but her clothes were torn, the back pack she was wearing covered in the tell-tale dark streaks of blood, and she was obviously running away from something.

Climbing to my feet, the machete held in one hand, I walked closer to her, standing across from her on my side of the creek.

"Where'd you come from? What are you runnin' from?"

My voice was scratchy from disuse. When the girl looked up at me, I saw the fear in her eyes.

"Them."

It was all she said before I could hear the moans in the distance. I could feel my eyes widen at the sound, the urge to flee the area foremost in my mind. I looked back down at her, reaching out with my free hand to motion for her to come across the creek.

"Come on, get over here! We gotta run!"

I waved her over; impatient with how long it seemed to take her to get to her feet. She stepped into the water, and hopped over the deepest part, coming up on the bank beside me. I saw the bat hanging from a loop on her backpack.

"That ain't gonna help you if you don't have it in your hands."

I turned and started heading along the creek's bank, looking back over my shoulder as the girl followed, gripping her bat in obviously shaking hands. The zombies came out of the trees, stopping at the water's edge and turning to look at us as we took off. I saw them turn to start following just as the girl and I disappeared around a bend of the creek and into an open meadow.

The meadow should have seemed safe, but I had grown weary of large open areas. There was no cover or place to hide if something or someone came along. The girl must have had the same idea as me because we both took off at a full run, not bothering to stop or look back until we were well within the opposite tree line, lost in the shadows of the dense canopy. I came to a stop, bent over with my hands resting on my knees, trying to catch my breath. Breathing heavy, a cold sweat having broken out over my skin during our supposed escape, I looked up at the girl. She was pale, still shaking, and she was leaning against a tree. If I knew anything, I knew she was on the verge of fainting. I stood up, slipping my machete back through the strap of my bag and walked to her side. I kept my hands up to show her I was unarmed, watching her eyes widen in pure terror before slowly going back to normal. Her grip on her bat was so tight, her knuckles stood out a stark white against the wood of the bat.

"What's your name?"

I needed to find some way to distract her, hopefully get her to calm down. I looked around, not seeing anything dangerous in our vicinity, and kept talking to her.

"Mine's Caryn. You alone? Got anyone that'll be lookin' for you?"

She looked like she was about to speak, but her throat wouldn't work. I pointed to my side, where the canteen was sticking out of the side-pocket of my bag. I turned so she could see my hands as I grabbed the canteen and held it out to her. She wouldn't take it at first, so I twisted the cap off and held it up to her lips. Before the water came out to run down her lips, she took the canteen in a hand and started drinking. She handed me back the canteen, wiping her face dry with the back of her hand. I took the canteen and tucked it away once again, repeating my questions.

"Em. And…no, I'm alone. I got separated from my camp a few days ago."

I frowned at her, not knowing if I should buy the story or not. Deciding I didn't really have a choice, and not wanting to leave her alone, I motioned for her to follow me. She nodded slightly; I could tell she was still terrified.

"Come on. We should find a place to make a camp or somethin'. Don't wanna be caught out in the dark. Those fuckers like to sneak up on you."

She nodded, her eyes practically bulging out of her head at the thought. Maybe that's how she got separated…but I didn't press for more information. Part of me didn't want to get too close to her; the other part of me just didn't want to know. We walked in silence, me looking for someplace to camp, her, it seemed, locked in her mind, reliving some sort of waking-nightmare.

After maybe an hour or so, the light fading quickly beneath the trees, I spotted a downed tree. The root-system was exposed, creating a massive hole in the ground that could be easily defended from one side. I looked at her over my shoulder and motioned with my head towards the spot.

"I think that's gonna be home. For the night at least. If we don't get settled now, it's gonna be too dark to keep going."

Em simply nodded. I had hoped she'd actually heard and understood me. We walked towards the hole in the ground and I let her go in first. She curled up in a ball in the deepest recess of the make-shift cavern. The trees roots hung around her head, but she seemed oblivious to them as she lay there. I followed behind her, taking up a spot near the opening. With the way she was acting, it seemed like I'd be keeping watch through the night. I was exhausted, but somehow found myself not wanting to let anything happen to this girl. There was something innocent about her. Even if she wasn't completely innocent, she seemed like the type of woman I might have been before Window-Knocker and his Friend had shattered my world.

Hours passed by slowly, everything becoming pitch-black as night crept over us. I could hear animals stirring, bugs going on about their business, and the occasional footsteps of a wandering zombie. For whatever reason, they never got too close to us. I was more than thankful for that, feeling my strength and warmth seeping out of me and into the cold ground. My eyes adjusted to the dark, seeing the shadows of things moving. I held my machete tight in my grip, twisting my palms around the hilt, reassuring myself that I would make it through the night.

When the sun finally started to rise, the dawn's grey light slowly flooding the woods and pouring slowly down into the hole around me, I could finally feel myself relaxing. I had been scared beyond words through most of the night. It was the first night I hadn't climbed a tree and slept up high on a branch. Being on the ground through the dark hours of the night had terrified me, but I would never let Em know. I turned to look at her, the light obviously stirring her to wakefulness.

"Morning, Em."

She opened her eyes and looked at me and I could see a soft smile on her face. Somehow, I felt like that was the first peaceful night she'd had in sometime, and it pained me to realize that.

"Good morning, Caryn."

So, there I was. I was with Em. Together, those five words seemed to cement our friendship. It was all it took. It was all we needed. Each other.

Caryn and Em.