She walked calmly through the streets full of zombies. She occasionally used her specially made steel microphone to bludgeon a zombie lunging at her or the terrified man scurrying along beside her. How he annoyed her. She had found him on the street alone, and for old-Middle-School-times-sake she had told he could live in a few extra boxes in the hallway outside of her apartment. Her landlord, however, had demanded that she pay a $20 rent for him. She had annoyedly given in and paid, in exchange for Her old friend’s complete servitude. Frustratingly, she needed his assistance on this matter.
She had been waiting for this day for so long, she had lost count of the years…. Finally she would be able to prove that Esmerelda Grinwall could fail, and that when she did, She would make sure the world knew… She pointed at the ten-foot high concrete wall surrounding Esmerelda Grinwall’s home.
“Up.” She demanded, glaring at the young man beside her.
“But-”
“Did I say you could talk? Now get up there.”
He frowned, and then started the tedious climb. He eventually made it over, then, with eyes wide, he turned around and said, “There’s lots of security, including some Rotwiellers…”
“I care why?...”
“How am I supposed to get through?”
“Be creative.” She turned around, crossing her arms over her chest, facing the horde of fifteen or so zombies ambling her way. She glared at them, daring them to come closer. They continued over, and when She heard some yelps and loud barks, then some chaos coming from the side of the three story building, she almost smiled. She heard the scraping of a window, and knew he had found a way inside. It took an annoyingly long time, almost ten minutes, before he opened the front door and then after somehow evading the dogs, opening the heavily bolted gate. Esme certainly knew how to protect herself, which was good enough for Her, She knew there eventually would be a flaw, and She would be there to capture it…
She walked calmly and emotionless through the three story house and up the stairs to the top story. There were cameras in each room, but She knew that Her presence would soon be known by its inhabitant. She walked from the first living room up the stairs to the second floor, which held a work out room complete with mini-fridge of bottled water, and various equipment, none electrical. She continued up the stairs to the third floor, which led to a hallway. She walked to the door at the end. She savored the moment before opening the door that would most likely ruin Esme’s life. She even gave a small smirk before carefully opening the door and walking to the side of the bed. She motioned at the man to turn on the camera he had been holding on to for dear life the entire time, and then held Her microphone to her face, and making another signal at the man, said in Her most flat and depressing tone…
“Day One.”
…
He carefully climbed the wall, finding tiny cracks between bricks to grip on to and hang on for dear life. Although She probably wouldn’t kill him for falling, She might do something just as bad… As he got to the top, he sat down, and swung his legs over. That’s when he saw the dogs. They were staring up at him, growling loudly. He tried to protest, even though he knew it no use against Her.
He decided to get it over with. With a quick gulp, he dropped down, and ran as fast as he ever had in his life. He quickly jumped and grabbed a support beam from the top of the overhang that hung over the front porch. He pulled his legs up and climbed, very carefully, to the edge, where he swung himself onto the top of it. He thought he might of heard snickering, and realized he must have yelped a couple of times…
He was strong and agile enough to escape the dogs because he had been on the street for a couple of years after his failure of a fashion career and lack of college education. Although She did take him away from those terrible years, he sometimes wondered if his situation now was any better…
He jumped inside from an open window and found himself in a very modern and chic kitchen. He remembered thinking why a person would have an upstairs kitchen before seeing beyond the open door to the elegant dining room and beyond that stairs that resided in what appeared to be a home gym. He shook his head in wonder at the size of this house. He meandered through the first floor to find another kitchen, living room, doors to a large backyard that appeared to have a horse stable, and a large garage that had at least five or six racing bikes in it.
Then he realized he had taken too long and rushed to the kitchen to look for something to bait the dogs with. He found a couple of slabs of raw steak and carefully walked outside. Once the dogs caught attention of the bait, it was a simple matter of throwing them as far as he could. He rushed to open the steel bolts and let Her in. They walked carefully up the stairs until they reached the third floor.
He followed her through the last door of the hallway, and at Her command starting taping. He said the words they had previously rehearsed using the same low mumble he had used in Middle School. Those were the days… But before he could reminisce, the young woman in the bed woke up, and turned around.
…
“Who the hell are you?!?” Esme said increduosly. “And how the hell did you get into my house?”
The two people ignored her questions and the woman continued in the same melancholy voice,
“Carnivorous zombies are roaming all of New York. You and I and Nathon here” (Did Esme detect a bit of disgust in her voice when she said his name?) “are the only ones left. How do you feel?”
Esme didn’t know what else do to so she answered.
“Ummm, pretty freaked and high on adrenaline I guess… how much do you know? Is only New York infected or is the entire country? Continent? World?”
Esme received no answer so she went out to the balcony that connected her to the rest of the neighbor hood. She had to balance her self on the railings to see the whole city. As she carefully raised her head up, she was overcome with dis-belief. She searched the horizon, but all she could see between the buildings of her city were a million people- all moaning, all ambling. The only thing that went through her mind was-
“Holy shi-”
