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Cool crisp air flowed through the windows of the front room as Kay sat looking up at the sky. The stench of decay stole in along with the nights wind toward her nostrils. It was hard to ignore but the apartment needed to circulate. Briefly wondering if the things could smell her too she rose to releave herself in the bathroom. Before she sat down to pee, Kay looked out the bathroom window to see if any of those things were wandering around in between the apartment ally ways. There was still the one from earlier lying on the ground near the fence. Dead flesh, sinew, and muscle tissue caught in the twines of the fence was more a realization of what was going on than the decaying body of an unknown neighbor lying in the ally walk way. Earlier in the evening she had shot the wandering dead woman because it had strayed to close to the apartment. More often than not she tried not to shoot them, the shots would bring more.

Those things, the living dead, zombies, walked outside looking for something to eat, something that was living. During the night Kay could hear them moaning and scuffling back and forth on the street. It seemed as if some of them knew she was there, others just walked or shuffled or dragged themselves aimlessly. At first it had scared the crap out of her, she wanted her husband to be there protecting her. After awhile the fright wore off and she did all the things that she knew necessary to do.

Kay wandered back into the front room. When everything had first started she had prepared, emptying out the front room of everything but the necessities. Her husbands guns were all in the room with her now, looking at them made her feel lonely missing him desperately. He had always joked when I die you can have all my stuff. Now he was far away unable to get to her when it all started, Kay knew he was still alive and coming for her. Often the past few months she was wondering what he was doing. Sometimes she would laugh to herself musing that he found another woman, she knew he was not the cheating kind, but they had always joked that if he found a girl he better bring her home so they could all have the fun. Their relationship was like that, that’s why they were married. Neither of them could survive without the other in their life.

Tired of thinking and staring at the television that months ago had stop working, she shut the front windows and double checked every window and door in the apartment. Staying up the late hours was no good if she was to be alert in the morning. She resolved that she had better get some rest; she had to burn the dead thing before it attracted more. Shoving her SIG under her pillow, Kay curled up safe under her "Harry Potter" blanket and drifted off to sleep.

Morning brought warm sunshine through the windows slowly rousing Kay from her slumber. Fluffing what was left of her brown hair back and then stuffing it under her "Assie" hat she gathered herself to go outside. Typicly during the day the creatures would stick to the shade, Kay never left the apartment un-armed. There was always the chance a brave one would walk to get her, as a rule one always did. Near the body the air was filled with the strong smell of death, the woman had been long dead before Kay shot her. Choking back the smell, she covered her nose with a hankey as she squirted lighter fulid over the body and lit it with her Zippo lighter. Matches and a different accelerant would have been perfered but she couldn’t be coosey since she gathered all of her supplys while she was on foot. A month ago she had tried to hot wire a car, after an hour of trying she gave up. She had everything she needed with in the vicinity or the apartment so she need not wander far.

Footsteps came from behind the house coming up the concreate steps to the walk way where she was. Her mind began to race, since when can they walk up steps! It

sounds faster than most of them do…is it human… what is someone alive still doing here?! Kay slowy raised her firearm tward a man with sandy blonde hair coming up the ally walk way.

"Hay whoa, don’t shoot, I’m alive and my name is Dave." He sounded like he had practiced his mantra and was quite pleased to be able to speak it.

Kay did not lower her weapon; Dave did not lower his hands. Slowly he walked closer to her; she noted that his eyes wavered when he looked quickly down at the burning corpse.

"I think you and I are the only one’s left in the city here" he said nervously still warily walking toward Kay’s direction.

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