BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG

"Survivors secured. Precautions will be taken before allowing entry into the Safe Zone."

The voice over the intercom, combined with the machine gun fire, nearly caused Max's ears to explode. They were shaking uncontrollably, and they had collapsed and dropped their bat from all the running. Eugene's arms were wound tightly around them, and he had their head tucked against his chest, as though Eugene was trying to shield Max from oncoming arrows. He was holding onto them for dear life.

"Guys, it's over."

Florian's voice forced Max's eyes open. Gently, they pulled away from Eugene's embrace, their cheeks flushed red. They could hear North whimpering and crying.

"There were so many zombies. . . ." Eugene's voice trailed off. He was still holding onto Max's arms. His face was as white as a ghost - even his freckles had gone pale. Max had never seen him so scared.

"Well, they're gone now, dude." Aadhiya said in her usual snappy tone, though it was shaking this time. "Now get up."

Max and Eugene slowly got to their feet. Max's eyes widened at the scene around them: dead zombies were splattered all over the street, blood and rotten organs staining the concrete. Max could feel nausea creeping up from their empty stomach, but they forced themselves to swallow it down.

It's okay, Max reminded themselves. I'm okay. We're okay.

"Hey, kids?"

Max jumped and turned to find a few soldiers approaching them, their uniforms smeared with zombie gore. Max picked up their bat as though the soldiers were the enemy. Their legs were still shaking.

"Y-you're not infected, right?" the head soldier asked. His name tag said RIVERS. He looked just as nervous as they were.

Max and the others all shook their heads frantically. But Max could tell by the way that Rivers looked at the other soldiers that this wasn't over. They could feel Eugene gripping their hand, as though he was afraid that they would run away from him. North was cowering by their side.

"Let's bring you into the stadium, guys," another soldier said. "We'll have to look you over, though. It's just protocol."

Max managed a nod, and they led their friends into the baseball stadium, the soldiers bringing up the rear. They were shuffled through doors and different rooms with various states of cleanliness. Max was still struggling to believe that yes, this was it. This was the Safe Zone. They were going to be okay. Their friends were going to be okay. They wanted to collapse with relief.

The atmosphere was full of confusion; Max felt like their immigrant grandparents going through American airport security for the first time. Max and Aadhiya were shoved into a locker room with the company of a female soldier with the name tag KERRIGAN. Aadhiya seemed frustrated when she told them to strip down to their undergarments, but Max nervously complied. When they were both deemed devoid of bite marks, they were instructed to put their clothes back on. Aadhiya's shotgun was also confiscated.

Max's head was still spinning. They allowed Kerrigan to guide them and Aadhiya to a plastic fold out desk where a general was sitting. Eugene, Florian, and North were waiting for them, and North greeted Max with a hug that Max didn't hesitate to return. Eugene looked very uncomfortable, and his eyes were glued to the floor. Behind the general sitting at the desk, Max could see the baseball field filled with tents.

"There're five of you, right?" the general asked sternly. He looked exhausted. "How old are you?"

"I-I'm eighteen," Max answered nervously. "Eugene is eighteen, too. Florian is seventeen. Aadhiya is nineteen. And North is eleven."

The general nodded and wrote that down on a piece of paper, which there seemed to be an abundance of on the table. Max's heart soared at the idea of dozens of other survivors. Was their mother among them?

"What're your names?" the general went on.

Max and their friends listed off their names, and the general wrote those down, too.

"We got a two-person tent and a three-person tent on hand." he said. "Rivers here'll guide you to a vacant spot with your stuff."

"Thank you, thank you," Max said breathily. Florian and North echoed their gratitude.

With that, Max and the others were led by Rivers, who was holding their bagged tents, up the stairs to the top floor, where the hot dog and cotton candy stands would usually be. Tents and small controlled campfires were scattered around. Part of Max wanted to run around the tents, screaming for their mother, asking if anyone knew a lady named Delfina Costello. But instead, they reached for a hand, any hand. Eventually, they found Florian's, and he gave Max's a comforting squeeze.

"There's a food stand around the way, near the VIP box," Rivers explained as he set down the duffle bags. "Right next to it is a stand where you can ask for people and if we have anyone by that name here. You got that?"

"Yes, sir," Aadhiya answered.

"Okay, I'll help you set up the tents." Rivers continued. "Just find a soldier like me if you have any questions."

Max and Eugene were picked to have the two-person tent, as Aadhiya had said with a smirk, "Let's give the lovebirds some space." Aadhiya, Florian, and North were in the three-person tent. Their tents were given numbers: 163 and 164. Eugene was unusually quiet as he and Max unrolled their blankets in their tent.

"Something wrong?" Max asked. They had finally managed to calm down from the chaos of being registered into the Safe Zone's list of residents.

Eugene groaned as he pulled down his hood and took off his hat. He seemed ashamed of himself.

"I had to take off my binder," he mumbled. "When I explained why I have tits, the soldiers looked at me like I was a wild animal." His voice wobbled slightly.

Max's chin quivered. They couldn't imagine the humiliation of an experience like that. They had been outed before, but never to that extent.

"I-I know how you feel," they stuttered at last.

"No you don't." Eugene snapped angrily. "Your mom was supportive. All your friends and family were supportive. Your first partner was supportive. You dunno what it's like to be shoved into a box and have to justify being who you are to the people who are supposed to love you the most. It got to the point where my sister was more of a parent to me than my actual parents were."

Max sighed and looked down at their thighs, their hands trembling ever so slightly. They didn't know how to answer that. They just wanted to make their friend feel better. They didn't want him to be angry at them, or himself. But if yelling made him feel better, then so be it.

"Max?" North's small voice drifted in from outside the tent. "Can we go get some food? I heard someone say that it's dinner hour."

(Sorry for the short chapter-)