❝ We have before us the glorious opportunity to inject a new dimension of love into the veins of our civilization. ❞
— MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR. —

—

THE night had fallen on us rather quickly. I picked at the remaining scraps of beans in the can with the raking of my spoon. It dragged across the inside of the can, the only noise – besides the flicker of the fire – happening in this pitch black darkness.

Paul had been done with his for a while now, already tossed the can inside the fire to watch it burn; only, aluminum cans don't burn, so it was just to get it out of the way than discarding it on the ground.

It has only been a few short months since the world fell, and the dead started roaming the Earth like us remaining humans. Every second, we live in fear of any dark spots where danger could be lurking.

My twin brother, Paul, had always been there for me since the very beginning of life. Most siblings don't get along, especially when they are different genders, but that wasn't the case when it comes to me and my brother. He has always looked out for me since we were kids.

When we were younger, we lost our parents just like that. Ever since then, until we were both eighteen, we were lost in the foster care system. At some points, the system tried to separate us, but it never worked because we always broke out to reconnect with each other. We were each other's only living family left, besides the family who turned their backs on us when our parents died. Nobody wanted to take us up and raise us, so the system took us in.

I could never, ever imagine my life without my brother. So, when the sickness started and rapidly spread, he was going through hell and back to get to me and bring me to safely. Don died two weeks ago, after we tried to keep him alive in a remote cabin that we had found. His own battle with sickness had finally taken its course, and we sadly had to say goodbye. I still miss him very much.

Paul and I agreed not to mention Don again. It would only make us feel worse on the inside, but there was nothing else that we could do to keep him here. Besides, he is in a better place than here. Anywhere else than being on Earth has to be better.

I turned my head towards my brother, who was just sitting there on the log and staring down into the fire without any emotion across his face. I whispered over to him, "Are we close?"

It took him a few seconds to come back to reality, blinking his eyes a few times before glancing back at me. "Yeah, Tess," he responded, trying to wear a smile now. It looked like it almost hurt him to smile now. "We're getting closer."

What I was referring to was the Hilltop. It was this big house on the hill, like a huge mansion. We used to go there on field trips from public school, always admiring how huge it was. We figured, after Don passed away, we would try to go there and make the place our own. Eventually, we want to rig some strong fences up to keep everything out.

When it comes to survival, I trust my brother the absolute most. His instincts are almost always right, so if he ever were to walk straight into a fire with purpose, I would probably walk in right behind him. I loved my brother more than anything else in this pitiful life.

I was still curious, so I asked, "When do you think we will be there?"

He didn't even need to yank out the map to estimate, so this is why he answered rather quickly. "Maybe two days. Three tops."

I slowly nodded before turning back to the now-empty can, sighing. Damn, it's all already gone. Nonetheless, I decided to follow in on what my brother did and throw the empty can down into the fire to watch it not burn.

I tried to picture life at Hilltop for me and my brother, feeling like royalty up there on that hill. Safety is the most important thing when it comes to this life now, more than anything else. We always counted our bullets and tested our strength.

Glancing back over at my brother, who was back to staring down into the fire as emotionless as before, I knew one thing was for certain: We were going to make it. Me and him. We're going to make it. We're going to beat this world.

Like Paul always tells me: "It's us against the world, Tess. It's us against them."