Kiana woke to light. It was subtle at first, then a great, warm glow that penetrated her skin. It lit a room full of dusty furniture, old magazines, and almost a dozen cats that milled around and knocked over every stale cup of coffee. Dazed by the stagnant sight, she blinked away the sleep and swung her legs over the side of the couch.

A blanket was draped across her lap while a black cat brushed against her ankles. The mess was almost calming to her eyes, although it was hard to tell why. A stiff organization seemed frightening to her as strange fragments of a dream drifted through her head. Blue hair and a pristine room of medical equipment were followed by droplets of blood sprayed across each memory and shattered wrists...

Kiana's breath caught as her eyes fell to her arms. Cuffed below each hand, red scars burned her skin until every memory began to flood back. Panic welled in her throat and memories of Jonathan coated each thought. She was alone, abandoned, and moments from death.

"Jonathan!" A gargled cry escaped her lips as she scrambled back to the couch, pushing herself farther and farther into the cushions as if she might become one of them. She cried for her safety or whatever escape he might offer her.

"Jonathan!" Desperately she begged for survival. A cat jumped onto her lap and she screamed, gripping it tightly as the panic set in. Death was the only thing on her mind.

"Jonath..."

"Kiana!" Swift as a kite, the man swooped in front of her. Collapsing to his knees, he stared into her eyes and rested a hand on her knee as she drew breath after breath. Her lungs wanted to collapse, heart wanted to burst. A prisoner to Jonathan's madness, she couldn't quite grasp the sudden kindness.

"Just breathe, okay?" He spoke calmly, but the fear still spilled from her lips.

"He's going to kill me!"

"No one's going to hurt you. Johnny's..."

"He tried to take my brain!"

"Kiana, just take a deep breath..."

"He's not going to leave me alone! He'll come back! He'll find me!" She gasped for air as the man held her trembling hand. "He's going to kill me!"

"He won't kill you." Calmly, his words began to relax Kiana's fear.

"Hunter." She swallowed, relieved at the sight of a familiar face. Nodding, he took a deep breath and sank back.

"I...didn't know who to call after I found you." He spoke with more clarity than their entire first meeting. "I don't have your parent's number and I didn't really know what to say to the police..."

"But you don't need to worry anymore." He quickly reassured with a slight grin masked by the thick beard. "Johnny can't hurt us anymore. He uh...he passed on."

"He's dead?"

"I...don't know." Hunter paused as a deep sadness overtook his voice. Turning his eyes to the ground, he shrugged his shoulders as his voice grew heavy. "I found him at the morgue last night. He was...a monster. He was talking of death and scars..."

"I always wanted him dead. He drove me to insanity and I thought everything would just be alright if he wasn't...but I was wrong. I saw him and I just wanted him to be free. He already suffered enough. So I said goodbye...I held him in my arms...and for the first time in years, my head felt clear."

"He's really gone?" She gasped as if she wasn't quite sure wishing was enough. She loved Jonathan and every adventure he promised, but the pain he caused was unforgivable. Staring into Hunter's eyes, she hugged herself as he nodded.

"It was time we both moved on." He bit his lip as his face was lit with pain, a love for his brother he had never known until then. "...I just don't know how I'm going to live past this..."

"Zombies..." Kiana breathed and he nodded. A mutual understanding sat between them; a silent knowledge that the rest of the world would never understand. The experience they shared was the only evidence they had of the horrifying underworld and one that would never be told.

"I should get you home." Hunter pushed himself to his feet and Kiana nodded her head.

"I don't want to go." Biting her lip, she tried to imagine seeing her parents, her school, and every normal thing that covered up the horror. She could already feel the fear seeping into her bones and the loneliness from the secrets she carried. "Hunter, don't make me go."

"I have to."

Kiana held back a sob as she pulled the blanket to her chin. She didn't want to be alone, didn't want to live in fear.

"But you can come and visit whenever you need!" Quick as lightning, he gripped her hand and held her fragile, breaking sanity. "I mean, I'm not that put together as it is, but we can talk about anything! Zombies and monsters and everything that hurts. We can take care of each other. Get through this together."

"I don't..." She sobbed as fear filled tears streaking her face. "Is this really the world we live in?"

Hunter held her hand limply as she got to her feet. She was small beneath his towering, shriveled form, but she didn't mind. He blocked out the bad memories with his protective shadow.

Pulling Kiana into a hug, she let her face fall against his chest and her tears streak his shirt. "Yeah." He mumbled, holding her so tight, she could feel his trembling, throbbing heartbeat. "I wish I could change it, but...but we'll survive. Our world might not see the zombies yet..."

Kiana hugged Hunter with all her frail, broken will. All the horror was over for her, yet it raged behind every corner and fresh memory. She was falling apart, shattering by Jonathan's horrid sanity.

"Don't let me go!" She sobbed as tears rolled down her cheeks and onto Hunter's brittle, scrawny arms. "I don't want to go at this alone."

He only pulled her closer while his own eyes grew wet with tears. They'd be alone together, but there would always be too much pain for their words to hold.