"What the hell, Eugene!?"

"I'm sorry, okay!?"

Max groaned loudly in frustration and slapped their palm against their forehead, rubbing their face. They couldn't believe this had happened. They had hoped for a quiet and speedy getaway, but Eugene just had to ruin it! Making the decision to leave had been hard enough!

The two of them were hiding in the back of an old bowling alley a couple of blocks away from the high school. The place looked like it was frozen in time: bowling balls were still stacked on the shelves, and there was no blood anywhere. The multicolored carpet was coated with inches of dust. It seemed completely untouched by any zombie activity; Max hadn't come across many buildings like these. The only thing about it that indicated that something was off was the broken, cracked windows in the front. It must have been locked up on the day of the outbreak.

Still out of breath, Max collapsed against the wall and slid down to the floor, letting their backpack and baseball bat fall to the ground next to them. Their forehead was coated in sweat, strands of deep brown hair plastered to the sides of their face. They wanted to scream. They wanted to cry. The main reason they had left was so no more of their friends would get hurt or worse.

Max frowned up at Eugene, whose eyebrows were narrowed, but his eyes so full of remorse. He sat down up against the wall next to Max and hugged his knees to his chest.

"Why'd you insist on coming with me?" Max snapped. Their pierced nose twitched.

"Hey, I needed an excuse to get outta there, anyway." Eugene shot back. "Besides, if we both left, it would've been less suspicious to the others."

"Who fucking cares what they think!?" Max spat, raising their voice.

Eugene seemed taken aback by their outburst, but Max just rolled their eyes.

"Pfft," Eugene scoffed. "And here I was thinking you cared about others' opinions of you."

Oh, you have no idea, Max thought bitterly.

"I do," they argued. "It's just . . ." Their voice trailed off. Eugene raised his eyebrows, waiting for them to finish.

". . . Y'know how we were all suspicious of each other after Scarlett was found dead?" Max asked.

Eugene nodded. Scarlett had been found dead in a chair in her classroom, blood spilling out of every orifice with her treasured chapstick at her feet. There had been no signs of a zombie attack or even suicide: it had to have been murder.

Max took a deep breath before speaking. They hadn't expected or wanted to have to explain this to any of their friends.

"Well, Lawrence was the one I was most suspicious of." Max finished. "He just . . . wasn't himself, y'know?" They found it hard to explain. What if Eugene didn't believe them? Nevertheless, they continued.

"And the way he acted when he, Harry, Ethan and I went to look for food, it - it was scary." Max went on. "Remember I told you how a madman chased Harry and I down? Lawrence beat the hell outta him and didn't stop even after he was dead." It chilled Max to think about it. "Besides, he was being unreasonable when we had that meeting about going to the Safe Zone." they finished.

"But I thought you agreed with him," Eugene argued.

Max almost laughed at the irony of his response.

"Ya think I wanted to disagree with him when I was scared of him?" they snapped.

"Okay, okay - that's fair," Eugene sighed, and he nodded in agreement. He fiddled with his lip piercing with his tongue.

A silence fell between the two young adults. At last, Eugene broke it.

"Y'know," he said, "there's something Zion told me a while ago that's been sticking with me."

"What is it?" Max asked dryly. Their heartbeat was at last starting to ease.

"'Dead men tell no tales,'" Eugene recited.

"Huh," Max explained. They felt a chill climb up their spine as they thought of Lawrence's smile.

"Think we should stay here for the night?" Eugene asked. "The others might be looking for us."

Max shook their head. There was no time to dwell in their frustration.

"No," they replied. "They wouldn't leave the school's grounds during the night: we should keep going. Besides, zombies are much less active during the night, remember? We should take cover and rest during the day."

Max expected Eugene to object or make a sarcastic comment, but surprisingly, he agreed with them. They were also surprised that he was letting them take the lead. Wow, he really wanted to stay with them, didn't he?

Thanks to Eugene's eagerness, Max found themselves a lot less annoyed. They were almost flattered that Eugene had decided so quickly to leave with them: he had always seemed to be much closer to their friend Zion than he was to Max, as they had known each other before the zombie outbreak. It had been a much harder decision for Max, who had been good friends with more than one of the other teenagers, especially Harry. But they knew that right now, emotions came secondary to survival.

"I brought a couple flashlights and some extra batteries I found in the storage room," Eugene offered. "Should we use 'em?"

Once again, Max objected. Although zombies were less active during the night, any stray beam of light might attract one.

"Our eyes've adjusted to the dark by now, haven't they?" Max reasoned. "Besides, we need to save battery in case of emergencies."

"Yeah, you're right," Eugene admitted.

Max had learned a lot about zombies since the outbreak had begun. Despite their damaged senses, they were sensitive to both light and noise, which Max had learned from Lawrence. Contrary to zombie media and pop culture, they were very fast, so you had to be a fast runner yourself and very clever to get away from them if they were chasing you. Sharp weapons like kitchen knives had no effect on them due to their bodies being undead, so blunt objects, gunshots to the head, or weapons using a lot of force were the best options. You could be infected by being bit or injesting a zombie's blood, and symptoms would arise within an hour. And as far as everyone knew, there was no cure or vaccine yet.

"Let's get some energy back before we go," Eugene insisted. From his fanny pack, he withdrew two granola bars and gave one to Max. "Here, eat."

For the first time in what seemed like forever, Max managed a smile: it was rare when Eugene shared his food. They took what was offered to them and ripped open the wrapper, gobbling down the solid food.

"Hey, I've been to this bowling alley before." Eugene piped up. "Doesn't look bothered. D'you think the vending machines still have food in 'em?"

Eugene had a point, and while Max wanted to leave quickly, they supposed it would be best to work out a plan before they went on their way. They shrugged.

"They might," they said. "And we should probably take another look at the map before leaving: we don't wanna be reckless."

"Agreed," Eugene replied. He stood up. "C'mon, let's go check the vending machines."

Max gathered their things and followed Eugene over to where the vending machines stood at the other end of the establishment. They were pleasantly surprised to find both of them filled with all kinds of snacks and goodies: beef jerky, chips, cookies, pretzels, cheese crackers, and a plethora of other stuff. Max saw Eugene lick his lips. They both came to a silent consensus that the expiration dates meant nothing.

"Got any change?" Max asked.

"As if we need that," Eugene scoffed. He lifted up his fire ax. "Stand back."

Max nervously took a few steps back, and Eugene wound his ax behind his shoulder before swinging it straight at the center of the glass.

Crash!

Max winced and covered their ears as they turned around. They could hear the muffled tinkling noises of glass shards falling to the carpet. Max was relieved that their jeans weren't torn, and as they looked back at the vending machine, they found that most of the glass screen had now fallen to the floor.

"Haha, score!" Eugene cried out excitedly.

A broad grin crossed Eugene's face. Max had always found his smile rather cute. But that didn't matter right now - it was time to get down to business.

"Alright, let's stock up," Max said seriously, but they grinned. "Are you gonna share with me again, Poppin' Eugene~?" They used an old nickname of his.

"Maybe, you just gotta behave," Eugene said with a smirk.

Max's stomach flipped.

Max had packed lightly when they left, but thanks to the snacks from the vending machine, they found their backpack to be considerably heavier. Eugene had also stuffed as many bags of cookies, chips, TrailMix, and jerky into his own backpack: Max had always known him to have a big appetite. They were now once again sitting on the floor in the back of the bowling alley, and Max had taken out the map to the Safe Zone, laying it on the ground between the two of them. Eugene had taken out one of his flashlights so they could see it better.

"What'd you pack before you left?" Max asked. "I know you took some flashlights, extra batteries, and the ax, but what else?"

Eugene began to list things off on his fingers.

"My blanket, snacks, a couple water bottles, some walkie talkies, and a box of matches." he answered. He paused and cleared his throat. "I also brought that kaleidascope you gave me." he said in a distinctly lower voice.

In the dark, Max could have sworn Eugene was blushing. They couldn't help but be charmed. They had found a kaleidascope in a busted locker and given it to Eugene for his eighteenth birthday a few weeks before. Eugene had been skeptical at first, but he eventually admitted that he found it enjoyable.

"A-anyway, what'd you pack?" Eugene asked.

"I packed my blanket, too," Max replied. "I also brought some water, snacks, a lighter, a crowbar, and the first-aid kit in the storage room.

"I brought some books from the library as well." they finished.

Eugene raised his eyebrow skeptically.

"Why the hell would you bring books?" he demanded.

"I mean, I didn't expect to have company," Max said, shooting him an annoyed expression, "so I wanted to bring books to occupy myself. I didn't wanna go crazy."

"Hey, you've got me now," Eugene said snarkily. "And I'm lots of fun to talk to."

Max giggled at Eugene's cocky grin. Having him for company wouldn't be so bad, they knew that. After all, they were going to miss Harry and Ethan. Hopefully, they would meet again at the Safe Zone.

~

The full moon cast an eerie glow upon the streets, leading the way. The night was still and cold, and the city was dead. Before meeting up with the friends they had made months ago, Max loathed traveling alone, as they had found it scary and disheartening. But with Eugene to accompany them, Max was comforted. They felt safe in his presence.

Lately, the weather had been getting chillier, and Max found themselves shivering.

"You okay?" Eugene asked quietly.

"Just cold," Max reassured him dismissively.

Max saw Eugene awkwardly bite his piercing before he stopped walking, took off his backpack, and unzipped the biggest pocket. Before Max could object, Eugene pulled out a striped sweater that seemed to be a couple sizes too big on him, and which Max had seen him wearing before. He offered it to them.

"Here, Max." he said. "You can have it."

"You sure?" Max asked.

"Just take it," Eugene insisted. He seemed to be annoyed by their hesitation. "I'm fine. I always wear layers, anyway."

Max decided to give in and take the sweater, and they squirmed into it. Since meeting Eugene, they had had their suspicions on why he always wore layers, why he had a feminine voice, and why he was only a couple of inches taller than them. But they had never inquired why. They didn't want to be rude or cross a boundary.

"Thanks, Eugene," Max said. They paid him back with a sweet smile.

"Consider this and my sense of humor as payment for having to take me with you," Eugene said in a salty voice. He seemed to be embarrassed about doing something nice for them, which Max found rather amusing. They had sometimes compared him to a tsundere, a character archetype in Japanese anime shows they had sometimes watched with Judy before the outbreak.

Max led the way down the sidewalk, with Eugene following them. The Safe Zone was in a large baseball stadium right in the middle of the city, which was pretty big, and as the high school they had been sheltering in was in the suburbs, they had a long way to go before getting to the Safe Zone. But as this was the first night of their escape, the two of them had decided not to go too far.

After a while, Eugene grabbed Max's shoulder, stopping them in their tracks. He pointed to a shop across the street. In the windows were blood-stained mannequins that were once well-dressed, but the windows were mostly gone and the clothes had been ripped from the porcelain figures.

"What about over there?" Eugene suggested.

Is he crazy? Max thought.

Max checked their watch. It had been thirty minutes since they had started walking, and their feet were starting to get sore. But with the shop looking so damaged, it didn't look safe.

Max shook their head. Eugene responded with a frustrated groan, causing Max to narrow their eyes at him.

"If you don't wanna keep going, you can just go back," they spat.

"Uh-uh," Eugene refused flatly, shaking his head.

Max sighed and motioned for Eugene to keep following them. This was part of why Max had hesitated before allowing him to come with them. But they had to cut him some slack: they had never left the school campus during the night, not even when searching for more food.

Finally, the two stumbled upon a motel that looked old, but not too damaged. It had now been two hours since they had left the bowling alley: it was time to rest.

"C'mon, let's go," Max said with a nod.

Out of the corner of their eye, Max could see the look of sheer relief on Eugene's face. As they approached the front door of the motel, they were surprised to find the door locked.

Eugene sighed with annoyance.

"Should we keep going?" he grumbled in defeat.

Max shook their head. Sticking their hand into their backpack, they pulled out their crowbar. Jabbing it into the side of the door, they pulled and pulled until the door swung wide open. They almost fell backwards from the sudden impact, but Eugene dove and caught them just before they hit the pavement. As Max caught their breath, they looked up to see the look of concern in Eugene's eyes. They looked beautiful with the moonlight reflecting in them.

"Are you okay?" Eugene asked.

"Yeah, yeah," Max promised, slightly embarrassed that he was so close to them.

Awkwardly, Max got to their feet, and the two made their way into the motel, shutting the door behind them. It was dark inside, and no less chilly than it was outside, but at least it would be a good source of shelter for the night and the following day. And at least there would be comfortable places to sleep. But what Max found suspicious was that it looked like someone had been inhabiting the place for quite some time.

"Hey!"

Max froze where they were standing. Stepping out of the shadows was a teenager around their age. And she was carrying a large shotgun.