~ 8 ~ A New Friend

Sofia sat in the same room... in the same chair... for hours. No food or water. She felt dehydrated and hungry. Her mother's body was starting to rot and the smell filled up the enclosed room Sofia sat in. The smell got her dizzy and her head started hurting. Sofia's stomach grumbled from hunger while it hurt from the smell and the handcuffs started hurting her hands whenever she moved slightly. She wanted to sleep, but she was afraid. She was afraid of her next dream, waking up to be just like her mother. 'Or to just never wake up again.'

Sofia's body shivered at the thought. There was a sharp and loud thud at the door. She quickly turned towards the door, terrified. The door slammed open and quick footsteps ran down the stairs. A young woman emerged from the staircase, panting softly. The young woman held a small knife in one hand, a flashlight in her other hand and was looking around for something. Or someone. She looked at Sofia. The young woman had blond hair with almond shaped light brown eyes. She had freckles and seemed at least a year older than Sofia. She had a white dress that was stained with fresh blood and dirt. Sofia almost felt bad for the dress. She also had pink socks and white shoes both covered with dirt. She ran over to Sofia and started cutting the rope off of her.

"You alright?" The woman asked Sofia, cutting the last rope off her. Her voice was smooth and calm. Sofia nodded and gestured towards the handcuffs on her arms. The young woman quickly pulled out a key and unlocked Sofia's hands. "Anyone with you?" Sofia rubbed her hands to soothe the aching pain from the handcuffs as she nodded slowly. Sofia pointed at her mother, avoiding her mother's body. The young woman was quiet for a moment before standing up. "I see. We need to go. They're looking for me, and soon, you." She grabbed Sofia's arm roughly and lifted her from the chair. The woman quickly walked out the room, pulling Sofia with her. Sofia looked at her mother's lifeless body. She didn't know if it was an hallucination, but she saw her mother's hand twitch for a split second.

The pair ran up the concrete stairs softly. The stairway was dark and narrow. The young woman stopped at the top of the stairway and looked around. Making sure the coast is clear, she tugged on Sofia's arm and quickly ran down the hallway. Sofia stumbled at how fast she was, but did her best to catch up.

"M-My friends...." Sofia managed to stutter out to the woman. She glared at Sofia before she quickened her pace. Sofia stumbled again, frightened that she was making too much noise. They stopped at what Sofia assumed to be the front door. The young woman fumbled with the locked door, not seeing a way to open it without force. She took a deep breath before kicking down the door, causing Sofia to jump and look around. Sofia heard someone from upstairs and someone from a room nearby run towards the pair. The young woman grabbed Sofia's wrist this time, causing her to yelp in pain, and ran outside the house. They were in front of a cornfield under the bright moonlight. Sofia made sure to follow the woman closely as they started running through the field.

Sofia stole glances behind her to see the two men from before run to the front door with guns. Sofia screamed and looked at the young woman, who noticed Sofia's scream and looked behind her. She silently cursed to herself before making a sharp left, barely dodging some bullets the men shot at them. She crouched down behind a small haystack and looked at Sofia, causing Sofia to crouch as well. "Listen here," the woman whispered. "They're looking for us. They want to kill you and I'm pretty sure they'll eat you."

Sofia's eyes widened. "My friends... and my mom-"

She interrupted Sofia, annoyed. "Are most likely dead. Listen kid, I'm in the same boat as you. I lost my friends and family, and I chose to escape. I've been in there for at least two days. Just yesterday, I heard you and your mother screaming down there, so I wanted to help you guys." She sighed and calmed herself down. "I'm sorry I didn't get there earlier, but it was hard escaping by myself." The woman sounded strict. "So if you want to live, you'll need to just shut up and follow my lead. If you want to die, by all means, go back to them for your friends and family, I won't stop you. But you will not bring me down with you." Sofia stared at the woman, shocked and upset. 'I have no choice, do I?' Sofia slowly nodded and the young woman smiled.

She softly held Sofia's hand this time. The woman's hand was shaking, showing Sofia how nervous she really was. She looked around before they slowly walked through the cornfield, making sure they didn't make a sound. The men repeated shot a bullet at some corn, making the pair jump and walk faster. They quickly made it to a fence, which the pair simply jumped over, before making a dash to the road. After they ran for a little more than a kilometer, they stopped in the middle of the road, nothing around them but empty land. The young woman shined her flashlight around them, making sure nothing was near them before looking at Sofia.

"Okay. So do you have any idea where we are?" Sofia shook her head at the woman, causing her to groan in annoyance. "We're two helpless girls without food, water, or a weapon. I'm pretty sure dropped my knife in the field by accident." Sofia looked down in thought when there was a sudden flashback in her mind. It was like a memory of Sofia in the back of a truck, with the doors wide open and a run down gas station in the background. Sofia's mother was throwing Desirae out of the truck, with no signs of anyone else nearby. 'Why was Mom throwing Desirae out of the truck? And where was everyone else? Either way, I think I know where to go.'

Sofia looked at the young woman, hopeful again. "There might be a nearby gas station!" Sofia looked around, uncertain of the direction where the station is. The young woman looked at Sofia for a moment then looked around for any clues.

"Any idea where it is?" The young woman asked. Sofia shook her head, apologetic. The woman shined her flashlight to the road, spotting a light trail of oil. The woman knelt down and put her finger on the oil. Her eyes followed the trail, watching it lead down the road away from the house. "I think we go this way." She pointed down the road, looking at Sofia.

Sofia looked at the road, nervous. "Will we be okay?" Sofia asked.

The woman looked down, as if thinking, then nodded. "There's only one way to find out, right?" She turned around to take a step before looking back at Sofia. "By the way, my name is Lucy." Lucy smiled at Sofia. Sofia opened her mouth to introduce herself, but Lucy spoke before Sofia could say anything. "I know, you're Sofia." She hesitated before saying, "Your mother kept yelling it."

Sofia looked down, upset. "I want to say thank you, by the way." Lucy looked confused.

"For what?" She asked.

"For saving me. I wish you could've saved my mother but…" Sofia hesitated, unsure of what to say. "I'm really grateful you came when you did."

Lucy scoffed and ruffled Sofia's hair softly. "I'm sorry I couldn't save you both. I just hope we make it through this ordeal. When we do, you can thank me for the rest of my life." Lucy smiled warmly. Lucy started walking on the road, shining the flash light in front of her. Sofia quickly followed her, knowing that she was Sofia's only chance of survival at the moment.

The pair of women walked side by side down the dark road. Lucy occasionally shined her light to their sides to find any luring zombie before facing front again. Sofia grew weak, feeling immense pain on her back. 'I have to keep going. I can't slow us down.' Sofia was determined.

Lucy looked at Sofia, noticing that she looked pale. "Hey, are you okay?" Lucy stopped moving.

Sofia panted lightly, feeling hot and exhausted. "I can keep going. We can't stop now." Sofia took a step but fell.

Lucy quickly grabbed Sofia, holding her up. "We can't keep going if you're not feeling well. We need to find a house or something, and quickly. Lucy held Sofia's waist, Sofia wrapping her arm around Lucy for balance. Lucy shined her flashlight around, carefully looking for any structure in sight. In the distance to their left was a small triangular-like structure. "Just hold on a little bit longer."

Sofia frowned as Lucy led Sofia off the road and through the grass. The triangular structure slowly focused a grew into a 2 story house. The exterior was covered with green wooden walls and a white trim around the corners on the house. The house was a decent size. Lucy looked around, cautious.

"Do you think it's safe?" Lucy asked Sofia. Sofia shook her head slowly. Lucy nodded and walked up the porch, flinching at the creaks the wooden porch made as it struggled to hold the pair's weight. Lucy looked at the window, seeing it broken and sighed softly to herself. "Yeah, you might be right." There was a small bench on the porch, where Lucy sat Sofia down. "Stay here."

Sofia frowned and sat up. "No, I'm coming in with you." She disagreed.

Lucy put her hand on Sofia's shoulder and made eye contact with her. "Have you ever killed a zombie, Sofia?" Sofia blinked, taken back by the question.

"Huh?" She stuttered.

"I asked," Lucy waved her flashlight around, "have you ever killed a zombie?" Sofia looked down. 'I don't think I have.' She thought to herself. 'Am I really a liability to everyone else?' Lucy sighed and smiled sheepishly at Sofia. "Listen, it's not that bad. It shows that you still have humanity left in you." Lucy looked at the front door, taking note that it was wide open. "It's not a good situation that we're in." Lucy looked at Sofia. "However, I'll try to help you out, and you just help me in return."

Sofia looked at Lucy. "What do you need help with?"

Lucy said, "With redemption." With that, Lucy walked to the front door. "Come on, no more stalling. Stay close, alright?" Sofia nodded and slowly stood up, hissing in pain. "Hopefully we find some medicine for you."

Sofia suddenly remembered how blood attracted zombies. "Wait actually, I think-"

A zombie burst through the front door, snarling at Sofia. The pair jumped, screaming as they dodged the zombie's grasp. Sofia fell on the floor, landing on her knees while Lucy gripped her flashlight and bashed the zombies head. It fell, still softly growling. Lucy bashed the zombies head again, grunting. Another zombie limbed out of the house, looking at Sofia. Lucy panted and kicked the zombie back into the house.

"Stay here!" Lucy shouted at Sofia as she ran into the house. Sofia trembled as she heard the zombie growl again. She stood up with the help of the bench and watched as the zombie reached for her feet. She stomped on its hand roughly, not phasing the zombie. Sofia looked at the fence and grabbed a wooden piece of it, breaking it off. She looked at the zombie, spotting the opened wound Lucy inflicted on its skull.

"Die!" Sofia screamed to the top of her lungs as she stabbed the zombie in the wound with the broken fence, killing it. She panted softly, and fell to her knees, feeling weak. "Did I do it?"

Inside the house, Lucy looked around the house, looking for any other threat. The zombie on ground growled, recovering from the kick. Lucy glared at the zombie and bashed it multiple times in its head with her flashlight, soon killing it. She panted harshly, wiping some blood from her cheek and frown.

"My dress." She mumbled. She walked back outside and ran to Sofia. "Are you okay?"

Sofia looked at Lucy, smiling widely. "I did it, Lucy!" Lucy looked at the zombie, with a broken fence sticking out of it's brain. "I killed it!"

Lucy chuckled softly. "Good job." She smiled at Sofia and helped her stand up. "Let's get inside and board up the place after clearing out the zombies." The pair walked into the house. "We don't want them smelling up the place."

A few hours passed. Sofia sat on the wooden floor, in front of a small fireplace that Lucy lit up with a match she found in a cabinet. The pair moved all the furniture from the living room, couches and chairs, to block the broken front door. They then took the fridge that barely had anything inside and blocked the exposed window. Lucy dragged the zombie bodies out onto the road before blocking the door.

Lucy walked upstairs and looked around a bit, finding some pain medication and some almost empty bottles of water under beds. Lucy walked downstairs, spotting Sofia by the fire. "Are you okay?" Lucy asked.

Sofia looked at Lucy and nodded, spotting the medication and water bottle. "Yeah. I see you found some medicine."

"Thankfully." Lucy handed Sofia the medicine and bottle of water. "Drink some water with it." Sofia looked at the bottle of water, suspicious. "I wiped the bottle already with a paper towel." Lucy chuckled as she sat down next to Sofia. "So you're okay." Sofia nodded and took some medicine. She downed it down with the remaining water and frowned at the taste.

"It's gross." Sofia complained.

Lucy ruffled her hair. "It's medicine. If you take it every 6 hours, you should be alright." Lucy hesitated as she glanced at Sofia's back. "How did that happen anyways?"

Sofia looked at Lucy then at the fireplace. "It was when the apocalypse just started." Sofia hugged her knees, remembering the fear and panic she felt while escaping her school. "My friends and I escaped our school and we heard a car trying to start. There was a guy, young like us, trying to start the car. My friend Desirae said that if we helped him fix the car, he needed to give us a ride to my house, where my mother was going to meet us at. He agreed and Desirae started to fix the car. He acted a bit nervous and off, but I couldn't really understand why. When Desirae fixed it…" Sofia took a deep breath.

"You don't have to continue, Sofia." Lucy reassured.

Sofia firmly shook her head. "I'm alright." She cleared her throat before continuing. "When she fixed it, he pulled out a gun and forced us to drop our weapons in exchange for letting us go. When we did, he shot at Desirae. My body moved on its on and I just took the bullet for her." Sofia sighed and looked at Lucy. "It was almost done closing until I got kidnapped by those people." Sofia scoffed as she remembered her mother's screams and cries. She covered her ears, distraught.

Lucy hugged Sofia tightly. "I'm sorry. I really am." There was a long moment of silence. "Would you like to hear my story? About why I need redemption?" Sofia looked at Lucy, confused. There was no emotion present when Lucy said, "I believe I contributed to my sister's death."

"Huh?"