The journey from Makayla’s home to the daycare stretched for a length of 3 blocks. It sat just outside of the neighborhood, and anyone fit could jog the distance in a few minutes. For Makayla and Raj though, jogging the entire way out in the open was not an option that day. In fact, they’re journey got cut short by a suspicious individual walking shakily on the sidewalk.

As soon as Makayla and Raj saw him, they hid behind the wall of a house. Fortunately, the stranger was turned away so he hadn’t noticed them. Makayla and Raj carefully observed the man as he took sporadic steps forward. The entire street was silent except for the man’s shuffling. They couldn’t make any sudden movements.

Raj whispered as low as he could to Makayla, “We have to go another way.”

Makayla whispered back, “Yeah, but what other way doesn’t have one of those things?”

Raj couldn’t argue, they were already on the fastest route to the daycare and they were lucky only one threat inhabited this street. Makayla looked around, “Jumping through backyards would make too much noise, and it’s more dangerous.”

“More dangerous?”

Her hair whipped as she turned to look at him and said, “I’m surprised you never bothered to learn how to survive an apocalypse.”

Raj’s head shook in confusion. She continued, “Open areas are better because there’s less places a zombie can jump you from.”

Raj slowly nodded his head, “Oh. Huh.”

“Of course it’s easier to get spotted but at least you’ll see the zombie coming.”

“So what, you wanna fight it?”

“No estúpido, are you crazy?” she made a face at him, “If we had a weapon maybe... but I kind of rushed out without thinking didn’t I?”

Raj’s eyebrows scrunched down as his eyes narrowed looking at Makayla. He rolled his eyes at her before inquiring, “So what do we do then?”

“The obvious answer.”

Makayla picked up a rock next to the house and threw it into the window of a house across the street. There was a yelp from inside the house. The man who’d been shuffling immediately turned around to the sound. He began running towards the house and Makayla and Raj took deeper cover. It ran towards the front of the house and grabbed a ledge on the house and started climbing up to the broken window. Watching the display of athleticism made Raj and Makayla’s hearts drop.

“Holy…” Raj whispered.

“Wait till it’s inside, then we book it.” Makayla tried to stay calm, but if they messed up, it could cost them their lives.

The stranger reached the broken window and started climbing inside. There was a scream from within the house and the man climbing screeched. His pace quickened and he crashed inside. “Alright now!” Makayla silently shouted. The two picked themselves and began running down the street again.

Raj looked back at the house as they ran. “I think you just killed someone,” he said concerned.

“Better them than us,” Makayla retorted.

In all the years Raj had known Makayla, this was the most cold-blooded he’d seen her. Granted, he recalled, there was the time she abandoned a dude who asked her to prom. And another time a guy in their class got left on Read by her for half the semester. After she responded, Raj remembered how excited the guy got. Then she left him on Read for the rest of the semester. Makayla was just ahead of him. Raj stared at her as they ran. “If it’s not friends or family, she can get pretty cold,” he thought to himself. He appreciated that he was one of those friends.

Every turn they reached, Makayla checked around the corner and motioned to Raj it was safe. The two managed to reach the outside of the neighborhood, and the daycare was in sight. It was about half a football field away. But, Raj felt something was off when he looked at the daycare. As they drew closer to it, a mysterious anxiety grew within him. Just when they reached the porte-cochère of the daycare, Raj figured out why. The front doors which were mostly glass were broken into. Inside, it was completely dark.

“Makayla.” Raj said to her.

Makayla stared at the broken door. Her fists clenched. Her breathing began to deepen. Raj could see that same fire still in her eyes. A fire beyond the sparkling amber of her gaze. He knew she was going to go in. He knew he couldn’t convince her otherwise. He pondered, could they even turn back now? Her house was three blocks back the direction they came from. There was no telling what would happen, and they would have risked their lives for nothing if they tried to turn back. While Raj was lost in thought, Makayla tossed a rock through the open door. They heard the pops of it bouncing on the ground. Suddenly, there was a growl from inside. Raj’s heart beat through his chest. He prayed for any rabid or wild animal to reveal itself from the darkness. He prayed Makayla’s little brothers and sister would just run out to them completely unharmed.

Raj’s prayers aren’t answered. They stare into the darkness and it stares right back. From within the darkness, a hunched over, snarling man emerges. His eyes are bloodshot and his face and teeth are stained with blood. He stares directly at them with a face twisted in fury. Raj’s mind is racing as it just stands there. “Is it waiting for us?” Raj thinks. He can’t feel anything. He can’t feel his hands, his feet, nothing. No part of his body is responding. All he can feel, is the need to escape. If he gets away now, he might still have a chance-

“¡Vamos diablo!” Makayla yells at the top of her lungs. She pounds her chest and puts her fists up at the ready. In a split second, Raj feels a sense of bravery. The darkness in his mind suddenly vanishes as he looks at Makayla. She’s ready to fight. She’s ready to die. Raj turns back to the bloody man who lets out a blood-curdling screech that echoes throughout the street. The inspiration from Makayla is fleeting but Raj’s spirit grasps it. He stands his ground with Makayla.

“Let’s go!” Raj shouts and pounds his chest all the same. He isn’t sure if he yelled it for the monster that stood before them, Makayla, or himself, but his courage has arrived. And it's here to stay.

Immediately, the monster charges at them with it’s arms flailing about. Raj and Makayla both rush at it at the same time. The monster targets Makayla and hurls itself at her. They both go crashing down on the pavement but Makayla manages to grab it’s face and keep it away from her. With her hands holding it back, she sees an opportunity and takes it. “Go to hell!” she screams as she sends both of her thumbs into its eyes blinding it. Raj grabs the monster by it’s shirt and tries to pull it off of her but to no avail. It’s strong. Raj thinks back to the other monster they saw scale an entire house in seconds. Very strong. The monster is still trying to chomp into Makayla as her thumbs continue to seep deeper into it’s eye sockets. She’s barely managing to push it back even with Raj’s help. She can see the thing’s veins bulging through it’s skin as it tries to use every ounce of force to close the distance between them. Raj continues pulling when he hears tapping behind him. Raj immediately turns around in time to stop a woman covered in blood from attacking him. Raj just barely managed to grab it’s wrists and stop it from progressing. It has an insane amount of blood profusely leaking from it’s neck. He tries to hold it back, but it’s pushing forward. For some reason, it’s not going for his hands, which works in his favor. But it’s still stronger. Much stronger. With every push, Raj is forced back more. He tries to twist and turn but it’s overpowering him nonetheless. Meanwhile, Makayla is left on her own now. Makayla is even using her legs to push the monster on top of her back. But it’s taking every ounce of her strength. And she’s losing it. Inch by inch, it’s jaws close in on Makayla. She needs more. She cries out as she can feel her arms and legs growing more tired.

“Makayla, I’m almost there!” Raj shouts at her. He thinks about something risky. He needs to end this stalemate. No. It wasn’t a stalemate. He was losing. Bad. He can’t even fight back against the monster attacking him, he can’t save Makayla.

Makayla cries out again. Her thumbs have fully penetrated through the monster’s eyes, and it still isn’t giving up. In fact, it’s only getting more persistent. It’s getting stronger. It’s getting closer. And Makayla can’t do anything else. She winces in pain. Her strength isn’t enough. She needs more. Makayla sees past the monster. She sees the reason she came here. The reason she’s fighting. Rico, Leo, and Isabella. They’re all waiting for her. She has to reach them. She has to protect them. Images of their faces swirl through her mind. Sadness, torment, hopelessness. “NO!” Makayla screams out at the monster. She can’t let that happen. She won’t let that happen. She feels her desperation transforming into rage. She feels a burning sensation like none other boiling inside her. She’s never felt this feeling before. This feeling of wrath taking over her body. She can feel it giving her strength. It travels from her gut to her chest. Then her shoulders. Then her arms. Makayla grits her teeth and brings her face closer to the monster. It’s still gnawing but she’s sick of this sight. She wants it gone. She lets out another warcry as the strength within her travels up to the palms of her hands. The monster shouts back just before a faint whistle is heard and then BOOM. The monster’s head suddenly bursts into flames like a volcano. It’s entire body flies back away from Makayla. Raj and the monster attacking him turn towards the sudden eruption taking place before them. The monster wails in agony as it’s flesh melts away. The fire crackles away violently, not letting up a single bit. All three of them witness the scene in utter astonishment as the monster’s body flails around. Then becomes motionless.

“What was that!?” Raj shouts at Makayla. Even she can’t answer that question. She looks down at the palm of her hands which are still warm. They’re so distracted they forgot the fight isn’t over. The monster next to Raj suddenly returns to normal and jumps towards him. Raj wasn’t paying attention. It manages to grab Raj’s shoulder just as he realizes his crucial mistake. It’s too late. It’s directly on him now and he doesn’t have the power to force it back. Makayla reaches her hand out forward and yells “Stop!” She’s not close enough to help him. Raj screams in terror as it’s jaws open wide for his neck and there’s a sudden whining chill. A moment before it’s jaws chomp down on Raj’s neck, the entire monster’s body is covered in ice. Raj looks at it in shock, trying to process how he’s even alive. It’s just... frozen. He steps away immediately and gets a better view. The monster wasn’t covered in a block of ice, but it was enough that it turned blue and icicles hung from it. The icicles weren’t facing downward, they were pointed the opposite direction of Makayla. Raj’s eyes followed a trail of mist from the monster’s body to the hand that Makayla had reached out. She was in as much shock as him.

Raj felt light-headed, he dragged his words as he struggled to stand upright, “What… is going on…?”