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FIGHT OR FLIGHT: CHAPTER TWO—of eating and empty towns

❝you stay soft, get eaten... only natural to harden up.❞

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 IF YOU HANG around a monster for too long... you get eaten.

That friend who drains you mentally? Is a monster, and is eating you. Your boss who yells at you? Eating you. Your step-mother who hates you? Eating you.

It's a fact of life: don't be friends with those who will eat you. Don't be near people who will eat you. You don't want to be eaten. Trust me.

And zombies? Definitely is a monster, and is eating you, no matter how far or fast you run.

It's not the zombie itself that's eating you—that is, unless you get caught. It's the gnawing, growing, eager fear. It's the tension that holds your chest tight, the panic in your throat when you hear a branch crack behind you, the paralysis in your limbs before you turn around to meet your doom.

Your emotions are eating you.

And there's nothing to do about it.

Except to harden up. Toughen up. Grow up.

But that almost never works.

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"Where, exactly, are we going?" Pluto asked, looking over their shoulder for...something. Anything. Maybe another person, maybe even one of those gross zombie creepers. Just some kind of movement instead of this empty town.

"Somewhere better than this hell-hole." Zane glanced back at Pluto, then past her. The emptiness was... disquieting.

"What, are you bored?" He asked, trying to fill the silence.

"Yes," Pluto answered, arms crossed.

"Bored of walking, or of me?"

"Yep."

"Wow," Zane said, in mock offense. "Rude. I thought you liked me."

Pluto just made a hmph sound in response. Then, she tilted her head to the side. They heard... something. Was that a nearby crashing sound made by one of those creatures, or just normal sounds that a town makes when there's no one there to hear it?

Then: a loud bang! sound comes from near the gas station. Then nothing.

Zane and Pluto stared at the empty town. The empty town stared back.

Pluto started, "What was that—"

They stopped talking once it appeared. A creature. A zombie.

Pale, white skin looked like it was melting off its bones, stringy hair just barely hanging on to its scalp. It stood, hands curled into claws, under the gas station roof, its head so tall it almost touched the ceiling. It looked around as Pluto covered her mouth and Zane crouched, backing away. He and Pluto moved to watch the thing from around the corner of the nearby alleyway.

The thing shuffled its feet, scuffing the ground as it turned. Pluto and Zane could see it sniffing, searching for... something.

No, searching for... them.

The zombie sniffed and turned slowly and crookedly towards the two. It took a shaking step forward, head twitching towards the side. A thick stream of slobber dripped from its mouth, landing wetly on the asphalt.

Cold dread worked its way up Pluto's spine. Zane blew out a slow, steadying breath.

They waited.

Then it ran.

Full speed ahead, it barreled towards Pluto and Zane. The two took off running down the alleyway.

The thing was right behind them.

Pluto was fast, from all the soccer playing—but they were afraid they wouldn't be fast enough to outrun the creature. Her heart was in her throat, making it hard to breathe, and even harder to focus on running.

Zane's heart pounded, gulping in breaths. They were athletic, of course—they were the quarterback for the school football team. An important position, in Zane's opinion. The most important position.

Zane was important, therefore, he refused to die.

But... he made a mistake.

He tripped over the curb.

The curb—the damn curb—was concrete, and hard, and hot, not to mention just next to a junkyard surrounded by a thick wall. A perfect place to hide. A perfect place to stay.

But no. They hadn't made it that far.

Zane fell on hands and knees, palms skinned and bloody from the concrete. He turned, facing upward, just as the zombie pounced on him.

Its claws pinned Zane down to the ground. They could hear Pluto screaming their name. The creature roared, spittle splashing on his face, turned to the side and eyes shut tight. Zane prayed for a quick, glorious death. They prayed to the God they barely knew for many people, dressed in black, mourning the death of him, the hero.

But then, a sharp crack! echoed THROUGH THE AIR.

—THE AUTHOR SPEAKS.

0.6k words.

hello!! second chapter finally done! sorry for the cliff hanger, i originally had this chapter longer, but i wanted to end it out on a cliffhanger. also: pluto and zane's funny friendship is just >>>. they're so fun to write!

i hope you guys liked this chapter. i like it :)

love you guys!