RudyGasparrini

People fear death for many reasons. For some, the fear of what comes after. The fear of being forgotten. A threat to the meaningfulness of life. Being forced to stop life projects.
This was what the world feared before. Now, what we fear is what we become 
After Death.

A suspenseful story told by different characters over the years of the zombie apocalypse. The group consists of high school kids and deals with troubling events in which not everyone survives. 

TW: This story contains graphic descriptive content, strong language, and disturbing descriptive images and is intended only for mature audiences.

AFtER DEAtH

"She's not yours, is she?" Catherine asked, "You look too young."

"You don't look like the type of person to steal a baby."

"I didn't steal her. She was a friend's."

I didn't answer, leaving the question hanging in the air.

"Your name was Rudi, right? What's that short for? I don't think I'm close enough to you to call you by a nickname."

"No, Rudi's fine; it's not short for anything," I lied. Catherine nodded, seemingly satisfied with my answer.

"And her name is Juna? Was that your choice?"

We sat in silence for a few minutes, and she wrote what I had said in a small black notebook. I didn't like it here. I felt like I couldn't protect Juna from here. They didn't have us get rid of our weapons, but they had guns too. And something about everything just felt off. The atmosphere was tense, and I couldn't shake the feeling of unease. As Catherine continued to jot down notes, I couldn't help but wonder if there was more to her questioning than met the eye.

"You want to kill me, don't you, Rudi? Have you had to do it before?" I stayed silent, but I think that answered the question for her.

"I've never killed anyone," I replied blankly. I prayed she would believe me; I was honest. Ethan told me not to speak the truth, but I feared if I lied, she'd do something painful.

I didn't want to answer; this felt like torture. Her whole demeanor was appalling. I had to strain to tell the truth; I couldn't let her think ill of us. We deserved to live.

"No, just the dead." I could tell she didn't believe that, but she didn't question it or do anything alarming. Relief washed over me as she moved on to another topic.

"Do you trust Ethan?" I hesitated before responding, unsure of how to answer. The thought of trusting Ethan brought back conflicting emotions and memories. However, I couldn't deny the bond we shared and the trust we had built over time.

"Yes." I finally replied, my voice filled with a mix of vulnerability and insecurity. Catherine leaned in closer and studied my face, her eyes searching for any sign of hesitation or doubt.

"He's not some sort of experiment; you people here are weird."

"I trust him more than anyone else," I answered without hesitation. The thought of Ethan being anything other than genuine and trustworthy seemed unfathomable to me. Catherine looked taken aback at my lack of indecisiveness. She seemed surprised by my unwavering trust in Ethan, as if she had expected me to have reservations or doubts. However, I had known him for a long time and had seen firsthand his loyalty and integrity. He was the leader this group needed.

"Do you think Ethan is fit to lead your group?"

"Of course he's kept us alive." I smiled.

"But he hasn't kept all of you alive." My smile faded. She had a point—there had been losses along the way, but I still believed in Ethan, but the more I thought about it, the less I knew why.

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"What is your opinion on Ethan Warren?"

"We should have left him to die from the start."

Chapter 10 (Interviews)