"You can't be fucking serious," Katherin hissed, gripping Morgana's wrist tightly between her fist.

Morgana shook her head silently. The red dye in her hair had washed out, leaving her roots a dull grey. It bothered Morgana, though she never complained outright. There was more important stuff to worry about than the colour of her hair; like surviving, for instance. Morgana could always grab some dye later.

"Is there something wrong?" Jaxx questioned. He wiped his mouth with his jacket sleeve, standing unsteadily. The ground trembled below him.

Katherin had forgotten that Jaxx was behind her. She flinched as Jaxx's shoulder bumped hers, the gruesome image of Jaxx tearing apart the attacker repeating in her head.

Morgana must have been thinking the same thing. She took an involuntary step back, pulling her bottom lip between her teeth as her hand went to her knife.

Morgana hadn't been witness to Jaxx's attack on the man, but she'd seen the aftermath. Katherin had been right. Jaxx was infected. A normal human wouldn't attack like that, not when they had weapons at their disposal.

Katherin tried to maintain a neutral expression, silently begging Morgana to act as if nothing had happened.

Morgana couldn't. She knew she wasn't a saint - she had killed plenty of zombies over the past month or so - but she'd never intentionally killed a human being, and she'd never been so cruel.

Morgana had been close enough to hear the man's screams before the blood had begun to gurgle in the back of his throat. It haunted her, replaying in her mind like a broken record. She couldn't imagine what Katherin had seen, what she'd witnessed when Jaxx had sunk his teeth into flesh.

Jaxx stiffened.

Katherin reached out, touching Jaxx's shoulder gently. The neck of his t-shirt was drenched with blood.

"Jaxx, don't worry about it. We just need to get you to the van, and quickly. Morgana and I will figure out the rest."

Jaxx shook his head, drawing his bottom lip between his teeth.

"I can't let you risk your life for me again," he told Katherin.

"I'm not a child. I can take care of myself," Katherin retorted with a glare.

Jaxx bit the inside of his cheek, fighting the chuckle that bubbled in his chest. He should have expected Katherin to recycle the words he'd spat out in the heat of the moment. It has been stupid of him to believe that Katherin had forgotten the assault on her personality earlier that day.

There was a thud in the distance.

Morgana shifted the backpack on her shoulders. Her heart hammered relentlessly in her chest, threatening to cease completely if they didn't start moving soon.

The zombies were beginning to close in.

Morgana tugged on Katherin's sleeve, nodding her head to the exit.

Katherin tore her gaze from Jaxx's bloody t-shirt. She began to stalk to the entrance of the shopping centre, glancing behind her to Jaxx.

"Radio the others," Katherin told Jaxx. "Tell them that we'll meet them at the entrance."

Jaxx put his radio to his lips.

Static crackled.

"We need you to meet us-"

"Jaxx!" Raven's cry was relieved.

Katherin pressed her lips together, avoiding Jaxx's eyes. She didn't want to upset him, but she really couldn't be around Raven. Not after what happened between them.

"-How did you break out of the cuffs? You were supposed to stay in the car! Why did you run-"

"Raven, darling. I really need you to-" Jaxx began helplessly.

"-you promised me that you'd stay in the car-"

Morgana sighed, fishing the radio from her pocket.

"We need you to meet us at the entrance!"

Katherin would have laughed if they weren't about to be slaughtered.

Morgana cut the signal on her radio. She, like Katherin, was simply sick of the bullshit.

They walked past a glass wall. Katherin caught a glimpse of the horde.

She understood why Morgana was panicking.

Hundreds of zombies stood in a cluster, clambering over each other like people trying to reach the front row of a mosh pit.

"I'm going to need a better weapon than a knife," Katherin murmured.

Morgana nodded grimly.

"There's a store with a bunch of sports gear up ahead. That's our best option right now," Morgana said, pointing to the store before them.

The shutters of the store were drawn, locked from the inside.

Jaxx jogged up to the store, offering to kick the shutters in, but Katherin shook her head. That would be too loud. The zombies would hear them. Instead, Katherin cut out slats in the shutters, wiggling her fingers in the small holes to unlock the door.

"I don't want to know where you learnt that," Jaxx frowned.

Katherin rolled her eyes.

"Use your imagination."

Jaxx lifted up the shutters, grunting as his shoulder protested underneath the weight. It had been fine a moment earlier, almost nonexistent, but now the wound was pulsating. Jaxx traced his fingers over his skin gently. It burned.

"Broke into a boyfriend's house?" Jaxx forced a grin on his face, hoping that his joke would overwhelm any concern that Morgana and Katherin had for him. He was sure that they'd seen him wince. If they had, Jaxx doubted that he'd be trusted to help anytime soon.

"I like girls, moron," Katherin responded.

There was dust everywhere. Katherin coughed, covering her nose and mouth with the fabric of her jacket sleeve.

Morgana rolled her eyes. She passed Jaxx and Katherin, slipping into the store. Ttod's house had always been covered in dust - he'd been too lazy to clean, especially after his father had died. Morgana had gotten used to the thick swarms of dust particles.

Besides, the homes they'd broken into over the past months had been neglected, covered in a thin layer of dust. Morgana didn't understand why no one else had gotten used to the thick feeling that hung in their lungs every time they walked into an abandoned shelter.

"Stop messing around. We have to get weapons before the zombies catch up," Morgana spoke quietly.

"They're already here," Jaxx responded dryly, his smile wiped from his face.

"You're not a zombie," Katherin hissed in response. She flinched as Jaxx reached out to grab the sleeve of her jacket, following Morgana hastily into the store.

"Not yet," Jaxx mumbled. He reached for the nearest item, a nat, tracking his fingers over the cool metal. His shoulder pulsed angrily.

Morgana hovered next to Jaxx.

"Did you really have to do that?" She asked, keeping her eyes lowered, trying to act as if she wasn't speaking.

Ahead of them, Katherin stalked through the store, hitting a punching bag in frustration. Morgana swore she saw an indent on the bag where Katherin had hit.

"I'm not going to lie to her," Jaxx responded.

"You're being an asshole."

Morgana's fingers were smudged with fresh blood. Jaxx felt his stomach lurch, suddenly ravenous. He inhaled, his breathing shuddered, trying to calm the itchiness in his throat.

Morgana noticed. She took a small step backwards.

"You're not going to freak out on me, are you?" She muttered.

Katherin's head shot up. She tucked a metal bar underneath her armpit, jogging up to Jaxx.

"There's water behind the back counter. Wash your hands," Katherin told Morgana.

Katherin reached for Jaxx, intending to press the back of her palm against his forehead.

Jaxx shuddered. He stepped backwards, darting from Katherin's grip.

"You've been cut," he panicked.

Dried blood. A cut - just below Katherin's navel.

Jaxx needed to eat.

"What?" Morgana turned to Katherin.

"It's only small," Katherin murmured. "That bitch tried to gut me."

Jaxx's fingers dug into his temple. Images flashed through his brain, of Katherin's insides spilling onto the floor, of the taste of flesh on his tongue.

Jaxx's stomach gurgled. He'd bitten someone. He'd eaten human flesh.

Jaxx vomited.

In the distance, zombies began to thud against the walls. Glass shattered.

Their radios crackled. Morgana pulled hers from her pocket.

"We're outside. Hurry up."

The voice was indistinguishable amongst the noise through the radio.

Morgana hefted her bat.

"Come on. We've got to go."

Jaxx nodded, wiping his mouth. He pulled his own bat from its place on the wall, though he wasn't sure that he'd be able to swing it. The throbbing in his arm was beginning to subside, but it still wasn't fully functioning.

Katherin reached to her left, grabbing three motorcycle helmets. She offered them to Morgana and Jaxx.

"Put them on," she urged.

Morgana complied. Jaxx hesitated, then pulled it over his head, rolling his shoulders at the uncomfortable tightness around his skull.

Katherin pulled her own over her head, tightening her grip on the metal bar.

They began to run down the halls, their footsteps echoing in the empty halls.

There was whimpering in a store to the right.

Katherin turned.

"Katherin! We've got to go!" Morgana pleaded.

It was too late. Katherin had already disappeared into the store.

It was a pet store. Toys and food lined the walls. Some of the food had been tossed from the shelves, causing it to spill over the ground.

The whimpering was more persistent.

Katherin crept to the back of the store. She could feel her pulse in her throat, begging her to turn back.

There were dead puppies in cages everywhere.

Katherin came closer.

There was a puppy with blood mattered on its snout. It scratched at the glass; a silent plea for Katherin to let it out.

Katherin shoved her elbow at the glass, shattering it instantly. She scooped the puppy in her arms, grabbing a bag of pet food from the shelves.

Morgana ran into the store, her shoes squeaking against the tiles. She frowned at the sight of the puppy, disapproving of Katherin's priorities. They wouldn't be able to care for a puppy, not when they were so stretched to feed themselves.

"Hurry up."

Katherin dropped the puppy to the floor, shoving the pack of dog food into her own backpack. The puppy trotted after her as she ran from the store.

They reached the entrance.

The van was in the distance, circling the store. A handful of zombies chased after it, though none had managed to attach to the vehicle. Gwynth hung out the window, her knife held at the ready - just in case.

Jaxx pushed the door to the staff entrance. It squeaked.

The horde turned their heads.

"Fuck," Katherin breathed.

Then, the zombies began to run.

The puppy crouched, bristling with anger too furious for its size. It ran at the horde, swallowed by the stampede immediately.

Katherin swung as the first zombie neared. It fell to the floor but didn't show any signs of dying. Katherin stamped on its head. The bone shattered. Katherin felt the soft flesh collapse under her shoe.

Morgana was busy fighting another zombie. Her metal bat connected with the zombie's jaw, snapping its neck on impact. Morgana winced as the zombie hit the ground, though she didn't have time to feel remorse.

The zombies ran past Jaxx, circling Morgana and Katherin.

Jaxx swore under his breath, running into the horde, swinging his bat recklessly. Zombies fell in groups, though he still couldn't find his way to either of his friends.

The van turned around, revving angrily, trying to divert the horde's attention. It didn't work.

There was silence from under the horde.