The streets were never busy in the med center. No one really wanted to spend too much time near possibly diseased blood. Especially if that disease could slowly eat away at their brain if it gets in the blood. Or, take it over. Either way, the virus could transition a person from "I'm a vegetarian" to "I eat brains" over a day or so.

Sun glistened off the windows of the old hospitals and into Devyn's eyes as they walked down the street. Some of the buildings continued to show the state of the world with broken windows and sparse greenery falling from the opening. The Council wanted to renew the hospital system as needed leaving an area that once bustled with over 160,000 people a day to a sparse few thousand.

A few cars went by slowly, making Joy sigh. "I wonder what it would be like to drive," Joy stated after a pause.

Devyn shrugged. "Jim doesn't seem to think it's that exciting. We probably could have learned if we wanted."

"I'm sure we could have handled it. But, where would we go? I can easily get to my house, comic store, and work by walking and taking the trains."

"Your priorities are always on point."

Joy snorted while rolling her eyes. "Whatever. It's probably a pain. The potholes here are historically horrible and the reason I don't like to bike."

Devyn smiled as they stopped at the crosswalk and looked both ways. Not seeing any cars, they walked across the street to the old light rail station. The two scanned their wristbands and waited for a train to take them further into town.

"We both know you don't bike because you don't like to sweat," Devyn stated.

Joy snorted. "If that were true, then I would be driving everywhere."

Devyn fluttered her eyes mockingly at Joy. "I promise I wouldn't judge you if you broke down and got a car."

"Please, you would just have me drive you everywhere."

Devyn shrugged and smiled as the train pulled to a stop in front of them. "Seems like an equivalent exchange for being your friend."

Joy swatted at Devyn's brown ponytail as the two walked onto the train. A salt and peppered-haired lady sat in the first seat with her Pomeranian sitting beside her. Joy moved to pet the dog, but it snapped at her.

"Sorry, she's not used to other humans yet," the woman said while petting the tiny puffball with ears and teeth.

"It's okay," Joy whispered, following Devyn to sit a few seats away from the old lady with the devil dog.

The two sat silently as the train moved out. Devyn let her mind wander as the familiar building passed. The next stop allowed a few young doctors on. A curly, brown-haired doctor's eyes lit up slightly on seeing Joy, making Devyn look at her friend. Joy slightly nodded to the green-eyed doctor, who seemed vaguely familiar to Devyn. Was this one Gabe or Paul? Many people looked familiar when the population had been cut by at least 50%.

The forward movement of the train jostled them slightly in their seats, and they moved on to the next expected stop. Devyn mildly clocked who got on and off at each stop. A long-term side effect of living in her family: paranoia. But, maybe, everyone had their own inherited paranoia after the first three waves. Joy said she found a great book in the archives about hereditary trauma.

Maybe the addiction to the trauma is why we kept the Main/Fannin cages active so long. Devyn mused as the train reached the Wheeler Transit Center stop.

Joy got up first and glanced back at Mr Green Eyes to give him a small wave before they exited.

"Who was that?" Devyn hissed at her as the train doors closed behind them.

Joy's eyes fluttered slightly in shock. "You don't remember Rob? We met him at that party last month? He came in to study from Atlanta. He has the cutest little accent."

Devyn nodded her head as they walked towards the old Montrose area of Houston. She did not remember that night. The apartment complexes surrounding the old freeways had become hollow look-outposts. Not that anyone expected a raid this far inland of the walls, but it is better to be prepared than dead.

Joy's eyes lingered at the entrance of the US59 underpass. The freeway underpass once held the cages for the undead training specimens. Her lips pressed together unconsciously as she thought about that night.

"Do you think the release of the captured undead was an accident?" She whispered.

Devyn shook her head. "My dad said he thought he knew who did it. Some of the Protectors of the Living didn't want the vaccine released and acted out."

Joy spat while walking. "Assholes."

Devyn nodded. Neither wanted to discuss the number of people lost that night. Devyn because she didn't want to think about the gore. Joy because she didn't want to think about her family.

"So," Joy started after a few moments. "We check on your brother and then head out to meet with everyone else?"

Devyn glanced over her shoulder to check for cars before nodding. The two women cross the road.

"Hopefully, this doesn't take long," Devyn stated. "I hate being the last one there."

Jim lived in one of the townhome communities in old Montrose. He didn't want to live in a grand house like the other Central officers did. Most of them took over mansions in River Oaks. Jim just wanted a gate and plenty of privacy.

"I still don't get why your brother chose this area. It still smells like death."

Devyn nodded. No amount of jasmine or bluebonnets could cover that smell.

"Most of the city smells like death," Devyn responded. "Well, the areas they haven't deep cleaned yet."

"Do you think it smells the same outside the wall?" Joy asked. "I mean when they don't have the hunts."

Devyn shook her head. "I doubt it. I think that's why the ghosts chose to go live with them."

"Like Don?"

"Let's not talk about Don right now."

Joy's eyes widened, and she blushed slightly. "Sorry, I wasn't thinking."

Devyn shrugged and shook her head. "I'm mostly over it. Just can't handle thinking about that and Jim right now."

Joy nodded. "I'm still sorry."

Devyn shrugged as they turned down a side street. Trees provided shade on the sidewalk as the two friends approached two rows of three-story brick townhomes surrounded by a ten-foot-tall fence. Devyn's eyebrows furrowed as they got closer to the gate, and she heard the soft buzz.

The automatic gate was pulled open a few feet. Their steps transitioned from hurried to sprinting when Devyn saw the crowbar lying on the ground a few feet inside the gate.

"Keep your head!" Joy hissed beside her.

Devyn nodded. "Keep the usual formation. He usually stays in C."

Joy fell a few steps behind her as they transitioned to a trot at the last house on the right. Both women pulled guns from their belts. Joy's purple hair flew across her right shoulder while motioning towards the slightly open garage door. Devyn pulled two small balls from a pouch on her belt and rolled them underneath the door as she ran across the opening. Joy pressed her back against the brick pillar to imitate Devyn's stance. Devyn glanced around the brick pillar and motioned for Joy to follow her as she moved around the corner. Joy ran across the garage door as smoke filtered out at her feet.

Joy turned the corner to see Devyn crouching at the door. The steel door had a few dents in it but remained closed.

"I didn't hear any bodies falling in the garage," Joy whispered.

Devyn nodded. "Let's go through the back. I know where he keeps the spare key."

Devyn led Joy around the side of the house to a wooden fence. Her foot made contact with the cut padlock in the grass. She kicked it to the side and glanced at Joy, who shrugged and motioned for Devyn to keep going with her head. Devyn pressed the metal lever up and opened the gate. It swung open, making Devyn roll her eyes. If he wasn't already dead, Devyn would lecture Jim about his flimsy defenses.

A smell made Devyn stop and stand. She glanced at Joy before shaking her head and lowering her gun.

"What?" Joy whispered.

Devyn swiftly walked to the house's edge and glanced around the corner. She turned to Joy and rolled her eyes before placing her gun back in the holster.

Joy furrowed her eyebrow and imitated her friend.

"You are such an asshole!" Devyn screamed while walking around the corner with Joy a step behind her.

Jim turned his head to look at his sister and blew a cloud of cigar smoke in her direction. He shrugged at his sister.

Whatever else Devyn wanted to say halted in her throat as she took in the blood on his shirt that matched the color of his eyes.

"Guilty. But, glad you're here. We'll need your help with the bodies," Jim sighed before taking another long inhale of his cigar.

Devyn pressed her lips together, trying to compose herself.  "You have bodies?"

Jim nodded.  "Protectors of the Living showed up. Just a few of them. I actually went on a few hunts with one of the guys. He didn't even blink when he shot at me.  All he saw was red."

The three stood in silence as another puff of smoke filled the backyard air.  Devyn's hands shook slightly before she let out a hiss of air.  Joy looked from Devyn to Jim and back again. Devyn pressed her lips together and nodded, making her friend sigh.

"Well, I guess we aren't making the meeting," Joy muttered and walked towards the backdoor.

***

Apocalyptic News

Houston is excited to celebrate Founders' Day. Today we will discuss Peter Davis. This founder had been a dental hygienist before the first day of the fall. He transitioned his bow hunting skills from deer to the undead. Peter maintained a position at a local brewery where he dropped old caskets on undead and then used them as shooting practice. Peter once said this experience made him so deadly as part of the purification unit that would later become Central. He received an almost unanimous vote to become part of the Houston Council. The Honorable Peter Davis founded our hunting season too. He—

Jim stopped reading the paper and threw it into a fire. "Is an alcoholic asshole."

WC Chapter: 1,731

WC Total: 6,207