Company

While driving to her hometown, Trace tried to strengthen her heart and make her mother's effort to save her to be her determination to keep on living. Losing a parent is already too much for her, what's more if she also lost the last one. Nearing a convenience store, Trace noticed that she's feeling a little hungry so she chose to stop by to fill her tank. A few zombies were on that store, and she concluded that those are the personnel of the convenience store and the passengers of a nearby crashed bus.

She carefully held her metal pole and started smashing the heads of the zombies. As time went by, she started to be immune by the sight of flesh and blood. She resolved that if she went on puking at every scene like that, she'll never live long, and she'll fail her promise to her mother. After clearing the store, she safely wandered inside to gather food.

After choosing to gather some canned goods and noodles, she felt that someone was watching her. Her senses seemed to be sensitive to anything after the traumatic experience with her mother.

She glanced around the store, holding the metal pole in her right hand and holding a plastic of foods in her left. She silently sensed the surroundings. After much consideration, she found her target in the counter. She crept to the said area of the store while looking at the door. There might be zombies coming in, but she knew that she already finished all of the yucky creatures off.

"Who's there?"

She calmly asked, focusing on sensing if there's a change in the surrounding.

Behind the counter, a girl in a store employee uniform was shaking in fear. It has been a few hours since the outbreak started.

As her duty is in the cashier, she saw some weird people run in the roads outside, making a driving bus immediately apply the emergency break and crash near the store. The people in the store then went out to see what happened and to help the injured passengers when the weird looking people chased the store people and bit them. Some of those weird people is missing an arm, some has ears bitten of. It was one of Kate's worst memories ever.

As those people run towards the store, she immediately hid behind the counter. She heard some roars and can feel the chaos in the store. People were biting each other, howls of pain could be heard and cries of anguish housed the air. It was a gruesome scene.

Trying to erase that scene in her head, she tried to hide behind the counter. But then, she heard a car engine stop a few meters away from the store door. She tried to look at who came but her fear of seeing those zombies was greater than her curiosity. She then heard the sound of roars once again and the sound of hitting something hard with a pole. And the sound of falling heavy things can be heard. That person then went around the store, trying to find food.

Even though she wants to stop that person from stealing from the store she works on, she can't. It's the apocalypse. Laws are now nothing in the eyes of zombies.

Then she heard footsteps coming towards the counter. When she's waiting for some more foortsteps, that person stopped and she heard a soft yet firm voice of a lady.

"Who's there?"

The person asked. Her heart beat faster, excited of meeting another survivor of the apocalypse. Trying to be careful, she stood from the counter to be seen by the person.

What she saw was a store with blood, flesh and organs scattering on the floor around a girl, seemingly in her teens with a metal pole in her right hand and a plastic of foods in her left hand. She's in a uniform, a uniform of a school that was too familiar with Kate. Hope High School's logo was on the girl's bloodied vest. The girl's body has blood all over, making her look like a dead person coming alive. Of course, if Kate hasn't seen the girl's normal eyes, she'll think that this is an intelligent zombie.

"Who are you?"

The girl once again asked using her soft yet firm voice. Kate can deduce that this little girl is brave, facing those creatures outside without fear, when she'll shake uncontrollably with just a sight.

"Uhmm... I'm Kate, a cashier of this store. Say, who are you, and why are you stealing the foods?"

Thinking that this girl is no zombie, Kate finally got the guts to ask. Trace raised her eyebrow at Kate, trying to hide her vigilance towards the other.

"Stealing? The world is ending and you're still calling this stealing? Look, lady, this is called surviving. Now, stay put and don't disturb me."

The current Trace now has a hint of coldness in her gaze. She then disregarded Kate and brought her supplies to the car while decapitating the incoming zombies.

Kate observed this girl decapitate the zombies and she shuddered. 'This girl might have experienced something traumatizing to be this merciless to zombies. I better avoid pissing her off or she'll also decapitate my head,' Kate thought and held her head.

Thinking about how Trace will kill her, she felt like crying. 'I just got accepted on the job today and this apocalypse happened. Am I really unlucky? That mean girl also didn't introduce herself. To think that she asked for my name and she even threatened me after I gave it. Hmmph!'

Meanwhile, Trace finished her decapitating spree, and now have a month's worth of goods. She felt satisfied with her work and went back to the store to invite the lady to safety. 'The more, the merrier,' she thought.

"Hey Kate. Want to go to a safe place with me?"

She asked that Kate-lady directly after collecting the food. The moment she asked the lady about going to safety, she saw a twinkle of hope in the eyes of the other, but after that, she saw hesitation.

"But if you don't like, you can stay here and be a food to those creatures."

She threatened and then turned around towards the car. She's about to open the car door to the front seat when she felt a soft tugging in her uniform. She turned her gaze to the culprit who's now looking at the ground, shamefully like a kid.

"Alright, I'll follow you. But I can't promise that I can help much. Given my fear towards those creatures, I might faint when seeing one."

Kate said feeling embarrassed. Trace just rolled her eyes and opened the door at the back seat.

"Can you drive?"

Trace asked hopefully to the embarrassed store cashier. Kate just nodded. She has her driver's license because she's already 20.

"Alright. You drive. I'll give you the directions."

And the both of them left the scene.