26 hours. They had kept us locked in there for 26 hours. It felt like an impossible nightmare that had no end in sight. No bright reality to wake up to. I shook my head, trying to clear such nasty thoughts. While I was safe, that could easily change. Daydreaming meant death.

My legs cramped as I continued to huddle in our hiding spot. In the hours that had passed, the three of us had built a shabby fortress. Barstools provided a roof, the bar counter our walls. On both sides we had exits, not that we would need them.

At hour 13, the first wave of infected had collapsed. It was a tsunami of bodies hitting the floor in one giant wave. Some had convulsed and seized, while others laid deathly still. It had put a dent into the number of infected, but more and more people joined their ranks.

My best guess was that it was an airborne contagion. So, at hour 15, I had torn the sleeves off of my blouse to create a double layered mask to wrap over my mouth and nose. Iivo had scoffed, but at hour 20, he had made his own. Leif just stared into the middle distance, until slowly he fell asleep at hour 19.

It was ironic really. That I had lost all meaning of time. I had my watch on my wrist, as any good agent would. However, I wasn't on military time. I was counting the minutes since the first incident. The old man. His horrible image, pale and wheezing on the floor, was burned into my retinas.

My eyes shot open. I didn't remember closing them. My heart raced as I startled back into consciousness. I scanned the area, assessing our situation. The roof was still intact, our exits clear, and Iivo was staring right at me. He looked amused, the asshole.

"You are allowed to sleep, you know?" He grinned a shit-eating grin.

"Can't afford to." I grunted back. He stopped smiling at that.

"Love, yes you can. Those things?" Iivo pointed up. A zombie (God I hated using that word) shambled by. It groaned as it stomped his feet onwards. "Don't realize we are here."

It was true, my mind supplied. Around hour 5, we had realized that no zombies (ugh) had come towards the bar. But when I had stood up to grab the first barstool, they suddenly had an interest. The virus apparently took away their intelligence completely. A real shame given why they had come here in the first place. But as I hunkered back down again, they made it to the bar entrance and stopped. The small movable counter to admit people in and out was too much for their zombified minds. They just stood, clawing at the air towards us.

The thought makes me smile. Why were we even afraid of them?

The next time I had reached up for another stool, I got my answer. I had placed the stool between them and us and draped my jacket over that. It was a very ineffective way to hide. To my surprise, it was more than enough. But we needed more, so I had slowly stood up, scanning the crowd for anyone paying attention. They weren't. The mass was still concerned with the idiots who had just resorted to running away. It was easy, too easy. Like last time, I reached forward and grabbed the chair. Suddenly my wrist was in a vice grip. I jerked back.

A low groan. I turned quickly and saw a young woman. She had to be freshly out of her teenage years. A damn shame that a young light was being snuffed out, but that wasn't my problem. I chopped her wrist, right on the pressure point. She released me with a snarl. In her moment of distraction, I lunged forward and grabbed the chair. It was awkward, dragging it up and over, but I was able to put it between us before she could fully recover. She glared at me with shining eyes, as she rubbed her wrist.

Not that I cared. With two stools and two jackets up, we had the beginnings of a barrier. Slowly over time, I grabbed more. Those combined with our suit jackets, I built a strange fort. The stools were laid across the counters as a protective shield. Our discarded jackets were on top to provide some coverage so they couldn't see us.

After hour 11, we were in the clear. It was built and we were hidden. Without something to do, the gravity of the situation settled onto my shoulders. It was heavy, threatening to suffocate me completely. I huffed in annoyance at my own brain. I had been like that ever since, stuck in downward spiral. I have handled terrorist negotiations, with a gun pointed to my head, with ease. Guarding a room with nothing but time on my hands? Child's play. But this? Why was this any different?

"You're panicking." Iivo's voice spoke up.

"I am not." I snapped back.

"Nothing is goin-"

"I know!" I hissed, biting my tongue. Shouting would no doubt draw attention to us. "I know. I just don't want to be bitten, is that so bad?"

"Oh hon..." Iivo sighed. "Since when have you been afraid of dying?"

I scoffed. When he had started, I thought for once that I would get some sort of comfort from him. Some kind of real emotion. Yeah, as if I'd be that lucky.

"I'm not afraid of dying." I rolled my eyes. "Death is a natural part of life. We don't ever make it out alive..." I paused. "But I refuse to die like this. Groaning and shuffling and choking on my own bile."

"So that's what you're afraid of...." He trailed off. But he was right on the money. That's why I couldn't fall asleep. I literally couldn't afford to. It's not that I didn't trust him, I did. Iivo and I had been through so many tight spots, we might as well have been family, blood brothers or closer. He might be flighty and fake to everyone else, but he was real with me.

But only I could ensure my own safety right now. Only I could make sure that I didn't fall asleep and never wake up as myself. Only I could keep myself together. It was a heavy burden but it was one I had to do myself.

Thank God that I was used to staying up for days on end, because otherwise I would be in hot water. I sighed and gave our surroundings another scan. Leif had awoken and was whispering with Iivo, the idiots. I shook my head at them, flirting at a time like this. Like always, the fort was holding perfectly fine, and there was only a low level of noise outside.

We were safe.

I looked down to my watch as the seconds ticked by. Tick. Tick. Tick.

Hour 27.