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  The light from three flashlights bounced up and down as whoever was carrying them traversed the yard. It was a small group of people, but from where I stood, I couldn’t tell anything about them.

  I couldn’t see if they were sick. And I couldn’t tell if they were here to help us. For all I knew, it was Bronx, Blair, and Maggie looking for survivors.

  They kept moving across the yard, moving slowly from left to right. My eyes moved along with them, following their lights as they moved across the ground.

  When the group stopped, my breath felt like it was stuck in my throat. They flashed the lights at one another briefly before pointing them around in various directions as if they were discussing which way to go.

  I swallowed hard, and the action pinched my throat. The gulping noise I’d made sounded much too loud in the silence, and I wondered if Jamie had heard it in the other room.

  My feet were glued in place as I watched them. Perhaps Bronx, Blair, and Maggie decided to leave the apartment and go find help, but it was far too dark to see who it was.

  One of the lights moved across the yard toward the apartment building. My body stiffened, and my lungs forced the breath I’d been holding out. The breath I instantly sucked in was sharp in painful in the center of my chest.

  I could see the light as it moved up the exterior wall, moving closer and closer toward my window. Just as it hit the glass, I took an abrupt step back. It was like something pulled me away.

  Had they seen me? Why didn’t I want to be seen?

  I was too afraid to step closer and see if they were still out there. The light was gone from the window, but I still couldn’t move.

  I wasn’t sure why I was so frightened, after all, whoever was out there might be there to help us. Maybe I wanted them to see me. Maybe I should have jumped up and down, pounded on the window, and waved my arms until they saw me.

  But I hadn’t.

  And I wasn’t sure why I hadn’t. It was just a feeling deep in my gut that had made me leery.

  For all I knew, I’d just let the only chance for Jamie and me to be rescued walk away. Then again, if whoever was out there had been here to help, they probably would have done more than flashed a light on the building in the middle of the night.

  When someone knocked on the apartment door, it felt as though my heart had actually stopped for a moment. After a few seconds, it kicked back in and was pounding harder and faster against my chest.

  I walked toward the living room, and the second I stepped out of my bedroom Jamie was standing in front of me. My hand went to my chest, and my knees buckled. I couldn’t tell which part of my body was going to give out first… my legs or my heart.

  “Shit, sorry,” he said reaching out to hold me up. “I didn’t mean to… it’s just that… someone’s at the door.”

  “I heard,” I whispered.

  “Are we going to open it?” Jamie asked.

  I held onto his shoulder because I was afraid that if I let go, I’d crash to the floor. “Depends.”

  “On what?”

  “Who it is.”

  Six

  The knocks were sharper. Urgent. And it felt like each knock was vibrating through my body and rattling my organs.

  “It’s us. Can we please come in?”

  I recognized the voice. It was Bronx. The guy from earlier.

  “Want me to send them away?” Jamie asked.

  “It’s fine.” I stepped past him and walked toward the door. Before I opened it, I peeked out to make sure I was right about who was standing outside my door.

  My fingers shook as I unlocked the door and stepped back slightly.

  “They’re all dead,” Bronx said, his voice heavy. “Please, can we come in?”

  I swallowed but stepped to the side. It wasn’t like I could have sent them away. They all looked far more afraid than they had when I’d seen them earlier.

  Once they were all inside, I closed the door. The room was dark, but I could see Blair’s eyes as they locked onto the pillow and blanket on the sofa. Her lips curled upward slightly into a satisfied smile.

  “Sorry, I know you didn’t want us to come back,” Bronx said crossing his arms as he stepped in front of me. “But it’s just us. We’re all that’s left.”

  “Maybe others aren’t answering their door,” Jamie said.

  Bronx nodded. “It’s possible. But some doors were open. We could see, and it’s similar to the scene outside of your door in the hallway.”

  “We all got sick,” Maggie said. “For some reason, we survived.”

  “Immunity?” I asked so softly it seemed as though no one had heard me.

  Bronx took a step closer. “Is there any chance I could talk to you… privately?”

  “Um….” My eyes shifted toward Jamie for a second before turning back to Bronx. I jerked my chin toward my bedroom. “This way.”

  We stepped into my bedroom and Bronx reached over my shoulder, closing the door nearly all the way behind us. He was so close I could smell his woodsy, masculine deodorant.

  Bronx moved away from me slowly and stared down into my eyes. A small amount of light slithered through the small space between the door and the door frame striping his face.

  “What can I do for you?” I said shifting my weight to put a bit more distance between us.

  “I think we all need to stay together.” Bronx held up his hand. “Before you say no, let me tell you why we all need to stick together.”

  I tilted my head to the side waiting for him to go on. It wasn’t like I even had any more room in my apartment, and I definitely didn’t have any more pillows.

  “If we’re all that’s left, we can help each other. We can work together to find food and water. Who knows when we’ll get the all clear.”

  My jaw was stiff, and I was sure Bronx noticed the tension even in the darkness. “I don’t have enough room or blankets. And the food I have… well, I need it.”

  “We can get our own food from our own apartments or from one of the other now unoccupied rooms.” Bronx’s eyes shifted toward the cracked door. “We can find our own pillows and blankets… sleep on the floor. It’s just that I think it’s better if we all stay together. We won’t be a bother. I promise.”

  “Well,” I said watching as a shadow moved past the door. Someone was trying to listen in, and I was pretty sure it was Jamie. “It’s okay with me I guess if it’s okay with Jamie.”

  “Are you two like—”

  “No!” I said too sharply. “I barely know him, but he was here first.”

  I tried not to roll my eyes at myself. It was hard to explain, but I felt close to Jamie. Probably because I’d known him a little before the attack.

  “Blair said she used to date him,” Bronx said, his voice feather soft.

  “Oh,” I said, putting the pieces together. The kiss she’d planted on him. Her noticing where he was sleeping. Maybe she wasn’t entirely over him, which I could totally understand considering Jamie was extremely good-looking.

  “You sound disappointed.”

  I cocked my head to the side. “I do not. And I am not. There was some kind of attack, and you think I’m worried about who Jamie dated?”

  I wanted to stomp away from him, but it was my bedroom. It was odd that Jamie hadn’t mentioned it, but then again, why would he? He had no obligations to explain anything about why Blair had thrown herself into his arms.

  “Well, if it’s all right with Jamie and you all don’t mind sleeping on the floor, then I guess you’re welcome to stay.”

  Bronx nodded and reached over my shoulder again, opening the door. I held myself stiff, refusing to look at him as he walked past me.

  He boldly walked over to Jamie and began telling him all the same things he’d told me. After he finished, Jamie simply shrugged and said that if it was okay with me, then it was okay with him too.

  “It’s settled then,” Bronx said clapping his hands and flashing me a cocky grin. “We’re a team.”


  And it seemed as though Bronx had already promoted himself to team lead. Not that it really mattered to me considering what was happening outside wasn’t giving us a lot of options anyway.

  “All right,” Bronx said rubbing his hands together. “The first thing we need to do is go back to our apartments and get some blankets and pillows.”

  “I don’t want to go back to my apartment,” Maggie said, tucking stray hairs behind her ear.

  Blair placed her hand on Maggie’s shoulder. “I’m sure we can find some stuff at my place.”

  “We’ll be back,” Bronx said walking over to the door. He hesitated, turned, and locked eyes with me. A grin grew on his face. “You’ll let us back in, right?”

  “Yes,” I said pressing my lips together.

  “Perfect. Be back in a few.” Bronx, Blair, and Maggie stepped out into the hall, and walked across the room, locking the door after them.

  I exhaled loudly as I slowly paced the floor. My eyes shifted over to the sofa where Jamie had been resting.

  “I’m sorry about this,” I said.

  “What are you sorry for?” Jamie asked, his narrowed eyes barely visible in the darkness.

  “This was your space, and now you have roommates.”

  Jamie chuckled. “This was your space… I’m the one that forced myself into your territory. Nothing is stopping me from going back to my apartment.”

  “Still,” I said shaking my head. “You were here first.”

  “Don’t give it another thought,” Jamie said, the floor creaking as he walked over to the sofa. He groaned as he sat down, running his hands through his messy hair. “Do you think this is smart though? I mean, we don’t know anything about them.”

  I cocked my head to the side. It wasn’t like I’d known much about Jamie either but that hadn’t stopped us from teaming up.

  “Seems to me you know Blair,” I said unable to stop the words from seeping out between my lips.

  Jamie’s body tensed for a brief moment. “We dated. Still, we don’t know anything about Maggie or Bronx.”

  “Have you ever seen them around here?” I asked.

  “Yeah,” Jamie said. “They all lived here. Even talked to Maggie’s boyfriend a few times. He was a good guy.”

  All of this was making me realize just how much I had kept to myself. The only reason I knew Jamie at all was because he lived down the hall. Socializing made me anxious. Hell, people made me anxious. Now here I was, feeling as though I had no choice in the matter.

  “I’m sure it’ll be fine,” Jamie said glancing at me over his shoulder.

  “Are you?” I said raising my brows although he couldn’t see me.

  “Having them here will be fine. What happens out there is anyone’s guess.”

  I nodded, but still, he couldn’t see me. Even though it was night, the apartment started to feel warm. Little droplets of sweat gathered at my temples. Maybe it wasn’t heat, maybe my fever was coming back.

  I sighed and combed my fingers through my hair as I walked over to the window. My body was craving rest and after what I’d gone through, I knew I needed it. Even though there was going to be a group of strangers in my apartment, I hoped I’d be able to get some sleep. I also hoped my insomnia would stay away for the rest of the night.

  There was only darkness as I peered out between the curtains. Whoever had been out there was long gone.

  It wasn’t long until the others returned. They’d brought blankets and plastic bags filled with food.

  Maggie set up her sleeping area on the floor next to the TV and Blair set hers up near the sofa. Bronx spread out his blanket near the window and sat down resting his back against the wall.

  Everyone was quiet, and no one seemed even a little bit comfortable, not that they complained. It wasn’t like I was going to be all that comfortable in my bed and it was my place. Everything was a mess, and the only thing we could do was to make the best of it.

  And try to survive whatever was happening.

  Seven

  I tossed and turned most of the night, but I’d slept better than some of the recent nights since losing my job. My body was doing what it could to get well, and in fact, when I woke, I was warm, but I felt okay. Hungry, but okay.

  I sat up and listened, but there were no sounds coming from the other room. It wouldn’t surprise me to be the first one up, after all, it was still dark outside, but I could tell it would be morning soon.

  The electricity was still out, I could tell from the lack of humming, not to mention my alarm clock would have turned back on. I pressed the button on my phone even though I knew nothing would happen.

  The room felt warm, perhaps from the lack of air conditioning or maybe it was from whatever was going on outside.

  I stepped over to the blinds, slowly moving them to peek out between them. Most everything was still dark, but there was a slight orangish glow rising above the horizon where the sun would soon come up. Without a doubt, I knew the sky would still be red.

  I waited in my room, watching the sky change colors as the sun started to rise. It was probably at least an hour before I’d heard someone moving in my living room.

  There was a big part of me that wanted to stay hidden in my bedroom until everything blew over, but there was another part of me that knew I couldn’t. I’d have to go out there even though none of us knew anything more today than we did yesterday.

  I wrapped my arms around my middle and stepped out of my bedroom. Jamie instantly turned and looked at me, Blair wide awake near his feet.

  “Morning,” Jamie said, pushing himself off of the sofa and walking over toward me.

  “Morning,” I said looking around the room. The others were all awake although none of them had moved from their sleeping areas.

  Jamie followed me into the kitchen, and I offered him a fresh bottle of water. We both unscrewed the caps at the same time and took a big swallow.

  “It seems less,” Bronx said jerking his thumb toward the window.

  I nodded, but I wasn’t sure if I agreed. Someone had blown out the candles, and the amount of light we’d had inside the apartment seemed about the same as yesterday.

  “So, I was thinking,” Bronx said pushing himself to his feet. He pushed his shoulders back and stepped into the kitchen area joining Jamie and me. Having him there made the already small kitchen feel smaller. “Maybe we should go around and gather supplies from the other apartments. Pack some in bags in case we need to leave.”

  “Like go through other people’s things?” I asked.

  “They won’t be needing them,” Bronx said with an uncaring shrug. “It’s just that what if we’re forced to leave? We’ll want to make sure we’ll have everything we need.”

  Jamie crossed his arms. “What would make us leave? We’re supposed to stay indoors, at least that’s the last I heard.”

  “And it seems that’s the last any of us will hear,” Bronx snorted.

  “We don’t know that,” I said holding up a hand. I could feel the tension in the room being pulled tighter, like a stretched rubber band.

  “No, we don’t know, but I think it’s best if we’re prepared,” Bronx clasped his hands loosely in front of him. “What if there’s a fire?”

  Blair took several steps closer. “I think it’s a great idea, Bronx. If I can do anything to help, just let me know.”

  “Of course you can help. I think we should all go together,” Bronx said. “We’ll each fill two bags… watching each other’s backs.”

  I looked at Jamie, and he offered me a barely there shrug. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t come up with an excuse not to go along.

  “Okay,” I said. Perhaps Bronx was right. Maybe his plan was smart… it wasn’t like I had any idea what to do. He was being proactive. Wanting to position ourselves better in an already shitty situation.

  And we had nothing else to do with our days. Sitting in the red apartment staring at the walls probably wasn’t good for any of us. Getting out an
d keeping ourselves busy, hoping that we were doing something that might help us was probably the right choice.

  “Awesome,” Bronx said rubbing his hands together excitedly.

  He started going into detail about the types of bags we’d look for as well as all the things we’d put inside.

  “How do you know so much about all of this stuff?” Blair asked.

  “I don’t know anything.” Bronx shrugged. “Other than having done some reading on the subject.”

  “Which subject?” Jamie asked.

  Bronx blinked, keeping his eyes wide. “Survival.”

  My stomach swirled. Not from illness but from the very mention of the word. Survival. Was that what this was?

  Deep down I think I knew it was, but it wasn’t something I was able to wrap my head around. How could this be real? What if no one came for us? What if there wasn’t anything left?

  My heart started to race, and the beads of sweat at my temples increased. I willed myself not to have a panic attack in front of everyone. That was the last thing any of us needed… me freaking out.

  Bronx stared at me as if he could hear the blood pumping through my veins. He placed his hand on my shoulder and gave a light squeeze.

  “We got this,” he whispered as he stepped around me and into the living room. “Gwen?”

  “Yeah?” I said sucking in an awkward, sharp breath.

  “Got any bags?”

  I dug through my closet and found an old bag I used when I’d traveled to my grandma’s. It was in good condition because I hadn’t used it all that much.

  We were each going to go through our own apartments and pack anything that was important. Then if we still needed more, we’d go through the now vacant rooms.

  The others gave me space as I filled my bag. I put in an old flashlight, a change of clothes, some bandages, and other things I thought might come in handy, like snacks.

  When I was finished, I left my bag hidden in my closet, locked my apartment door, and followed the group to Jamie’s room. He quickly filled two bags that had his delivery company’s logo on it while we waited in his living room.

  His apartment was a level of clean I’m not sure I’d ever witnessed before. The only thing that had been out of place was the blanket that was draped over the back of his sofa.