"I don't want any sneezing from you today, gay boy." Aadhiya hissed.

"I'm still sorry, Addy!" Florian snapped.

"You still almost got us killed." Eugene shot back.

Max rolled their eyes. It had taken a considerable amount of willpower to leave the bar, as the electricity would be sorely missed by the four teenagers. Still, the Safe Zone was still waiting for them, and they knew they had to keep going. Puddles were scattered around on the wet pavement, and the air was thick and humid. Max's least favorite weather.

As though by some miracle, the party managed to avoid zombies for the next several hours as they trekked through the streets and alleyways of Culmont. When the sun was starting to sink into the west, up came the debate of where to hide for the night. Florian and Eugene suggested an apartment complex, where they would probably find extra food, but Max pointed out that it was probably full of zombies. Then Aadhiya pointed to an office building. While it didn't look that different, there was still the fact that most of the people working there on the day of the outbreak had most likely fled.

And so it was settled. Florian smashed the front window, and the four ran inside before any zombies could be alerted by the noise. They dashed up the winding stairs to the third floor, where they hoped they would be safe for the night.

The lights were out, so Eugene took out one of his flashlights and switched it on. Books were scattered on the carpeted floor, and dried blood was splashed on the gray walls of the cubicles. The sight made the hair on the back of Max's neck stand on end. They could only imagine the fear and panic that had gripped the employees on the day of the outbreak.

"All clear," Eugene confirmed.

Max nodded. As them, Aadhiya and Florian followed Eugene as they weaved through the cubicles, a quiet, sniffling voice broke the tense silence.

"Hullo?"

Max felt as though their brain had been struck by lightning. Florian let out a dramatic shriek, causing everyone to look at him. He smiled awkwardly, and Aadhiya responded by bopping him in the head.

"You. Fucking. Moron." she snapped in a deadpan tone.

"At least he didn't sneeze," Eugene muttered bitterly.

Max was distracted by that same sniffling voice, which was now accompanied by shuffling footsteps. They grabbed the flashlight out of Eugene's hand and pointed it in the direction of the voice. Standing there in the beam of light, shielding his face with his arms, was a black boy no older than eleven or twelve. He was a bit chubby, and he had a small puffy afro. He appeared to be shaking.

"Holy shit," Max whispered, their face falling. How the hell did this kid end up here?

"Are you okay?" Eugene demanded.

The boy slowly took his arms away from his face. His eyes were bloodshot - a symptom of the virus.

"Are you infected?" Aadhiya snapped. "Like, were you bit?"

"N-no, ma'am," the boy stammered. "P-please don't hurt me. . . ."

Max handed the flashlight back to Eugene and gradually approached the boy. Emotions come secondary to survival! their brain screeched at them. But the sight of this preteen shaking and sniffling was enough to make Max's heart melt. All they could see was themselves a few months ago, trembling with fear as their soon to be friends debated whether or not to welcome them into their survival group.

"What're you doing here, sweetie?" Max asked kindly as they looked down at the boy.

The boy sniffled again.

"I came here to look for my mom," he whimpered. "But she ain't here."

"Can I tell you something?" Max asked in a tender voice. They managed a sad smile. "I dunno where my mom is, either. D'you maybe wanna come somewhere safe with us?"

Max could feel their friends' eyes boring into their back, but they ignored them as the boy nodded. They knew that this child needed help.

"I'm Max," they said. "What's your name?"

"North," the boy answered. "North Paulson."

"It's nice to meet you, North," Max replied. "You're gonna be safe with me and my friends."

North nodded again.

"Thank you, miss," he responded.

"I'm not really a girl - I'm just a person. So use they/them pronouns for me, please, okay?"

"Okay."

"Thank you so much, honey." Max said with a smile.

Max then introduced North to their friends, who greeted him curtly. After finding a cubicle that wasn't too messy, Max insisted that North borrow their blanket for the night, which he was very grateful for. They also gave him a protein bar. Pretty soon, he was fast asleep on the floor and snoring softly. Only then did Max's travel partners pull them aside.

"The fuck are you thinking, Max?" Aadhiya snarled. "He's a kid. Why don't I just put him out of his misery?" To Max's utter horror, she gestured to her shotgun.

"He's a baby." Max snapped back angrily. "We can't just leave him by himself."

"But he probably doesn't know how to defend himself against a zombie." Eugene argued. "Look, I'm not saying we should kill him, but he could slow us down. Remember when the guys and I rescued you, Max? We didn't leave you behind 'cause we knew you'd be of some help."

Max glared intensely at Eugene. They understood where he was coming from, but . . . they couldn't just leave North behind.

"Let's just take him with us," Florian sighed. "There's four of us and one of him: we'll be able to protect him against the zombies if we need to."

"Thank you," Max replied pointedly.

Eugene smacked his palm against his forehead.

"Fine then," Aadhiya grumbled. "I'm gonna find my own cubicle. 'Night."

With that, Aadhiya threw up a peace sign and headed over to a cubicle not too far away. Florian did the same, leaving Max and Eugene just outside of the cubicle where North was sleeping peacefully. Max leaned against the wall and exhaled deeply.

"Why d'you care so much, Maxi?" Eugene asked cynically. His arms were crossed.

Max shrugged. So many times, they had been forced to kill infected people, and they knew Eugene had done the same. They didn't want to have to kill anyone who happened to be uninfected.

"I dunno, I just . . . when North said he didn't know where his mom was, it just tugged on my heartstrings." they answered at last. "When I lost my dad when I was nine, Ma became my rock."

Max could feel a lump forming in their throat as an idea popped into their head. They didn't want to, but . . . they had to. They just had to.

Max put their backpack down on the floor and dug around for their phone, which was now at full battery due to having charged it the night before. The cracked screen was blaring white, but Max blinked away the sudden brightness and clicked on the messages app, opening the chat log with their mother. Their heart cracked down the middle when they saw what was on their screen.

Are you okay, baby?? I think there's some sort of virus spreading in Culmont.

Maxi, please answer me. I need to know that you're safe.

Come on, text me back.

The messages went on and on. . . .

I'm gonna assume that your phone's outta battery. Don't worry, pudding pie, I'm coming to find you.

Max's eyes began to well up with tears that spilled down their cheeks. They heard Eugene's voice, but it sounded so far away. They sank to the floor, sobbing quietly. It seemed as though the darkness of the room was swallowing them. The mental image of their rotting, zombified mother was nothing short of gut wrenching.

"H-hey, it's okay."

Max felt Eugene's arms around them as he sat down next to them. They didn't hesitate before curling up against him, burying their head in his shoulder. How could Eugene understand? His mother had intentionally left him.

"I miss my ma," Max sobbed. "What if I never see her again?"

"I know," Eugene responded awkwardly. He began to pet Max's fluffy brown hair. "Please don't cry. Just . . . just don't think about it. I'm here."

Max managed a nod. It would be okay. As long as Eugene was here, they would be okay.

"Can I do anything to cheer you up?" Eugene asked softly.

Max put in an effort to take some deep breaths. Eugene was now twirling a lock of their hair around his finger. It resulted in a tingling sensation in Max's stomach. In that moment, all they could think of was the first time they heard Eugene's singing voice.

"Sing for me," they said at last. "Please. I miss your singing."

"Sure thing," Eugene replied.

Max tightened their arms around Eugene's waist as Eugene began to sing to them. It was a Hozier song: Hozier was one of those artists that Max had always listened to whenever they needed to cry out their feelings.

"A husband waits outside
A crying child pushes a child into the night
She was told he would come this time
Without leaving so much as a feather behind
To enact at last the perfect plan
One more sweet boy to be butchered by a man,"

Max closed their eyes as they felt Eugene begin to gradually rock them side to side. He was holding them like a lover. They recognized the song now: 'Swan Upon Leda.'

"But the gateway to the world
Was still outside the reach of him
Would never belonged to angels
Had never belonged to men
The swan upon Leda
Empire upon Jerusalem,

"A grandmother smuggling meds
Past where the god child soldier Setanta stood dead
Our graceful turner of heads
Weaves through the checkpoints like a needle and thread
Someone's frightened boy leads her on
She offers a mother's smile, and soon she's gone,

"The gateway to the world
The gun in a trembling hand
Where nature unmakes the boundary
The pillar of myth still stands
The swan upon Leda
Occupier upon ancient land,

"The gateway to the world
Was still outside the reach of him
Would never belonged to angels
Had never belonged to men~"

By now, Max was fast asleep, and Eugene felt himself blush as he heard their soft snores in his ear. He wished he had had his guitar to strum the melody, but he hoped his voice had done enough, as it had in the past. Carefully, he removed Max's head from his shoulder and laid them down next to him on the floor. He then took his blanket from his backpack and draped it over them, making sure to tuck the hem around their chin.

As Eugene lied down next to Max, he reached out to wrap an arm around them. He thought of his sister Portia, and what she would say in this moment. Perhaps she would tease him about his obvious crush, or say something cheesy like, "You okay, big man?" In the end, Eugene only hoped that she was proud of him. And he hoped that he was doing this right.

Eugene thought about how rude he had been to Max when they first met, and how he had regretted it so much that he had avoided them for days. How could he have been so hostile? How could he have been so closed off?