Katherin wove through the fog. Hair clung to the nape of her neck. It was unbearably hot.

Katherin was becoming dizzy. She wasn't supposed to be running, not without medication. Her blood sugar would be dropping rapidly.

No one would be able to help her if she fainted.

She'd be left alone for the zombies to tear her apart.

"Katherin!"

A hand latched onto Katherin's arm. She was tugged through a doorway into a lobby. The group stood at the entrance. Grim expressions shrouded their faces. There were grazes over Esther's arm, but she was otherwise fine.

No one was missing. That was a small miracle, at least. Katherin didn't know how Jaxx managed to keep them all running in the same direction. She was grateful.

They'd found somewhere to bunker down. It looked like an apartment, one of the expensive ones near the docks.

Most of the people in the area had abandoned the town by boat when the lockdown was initiated. Katherin didn't blame them. If they had a method of escape, it would be wise to use it.

The bottom level was an open lobby. A marble staircase curved around the elevator and disappeared to the next floor. Staff entrances and locker rooms were around the back. There was a staff entrance around the back, and another door to the gardens, but that was it. They'd have to board up the bottom level. Then they'd be safe. If there weren't any zombies upstairs, that was.

"Where's Rebeka?" Morgana asked softly. Her thick hair was tied back into a messy bun. She seemed to be coping well for someone who had just been abandoned by her long-term boyfriend. They were supposed to be moving in together next month.

Katherin shuddered. Images of Rebeka being torn about clouded her vision. Bile churned in her stomach. She forced herself to stay standing.

"She's dead. I couldn't stop it."

Choked sobs echoed through the group. Jaxx clenched his jaw, balling his hands into tight fists. Raven lent in Jaxx's shoulder, wrapping her arms around his neck. Esther stood frozen.

She wanted comfort from her girlfriend but knew something was wrong. Bile. Katherin pushed the feeling down. She had lied. She could have gone after Rebeka and pulled her away from her brother before it was too late. Everything was her fault. The grief of her friends was a weight almost too heavy to bear. She shouldn't have told them. Not this way.

Bare it so others don't have to. Katherin thought to herself firmly.

This wouldn't happen again. Especially not when it affected Esther. The group would survive this if someone absorbed the damage. Katherin wouldn't let the others fall to pieces. It was her duty. She'd lived through worse. The others hadn't.

Katherin climbed the stairs of the apartment, pursued by Morgana in the darkness. She'd offered that they scout out the building, just to check that it was safe.

Jaxx would stay downstairs to protect the others.

Not that he'd be able to do much if the zombies stormed through the boarded-up door. No one knew how to stop them.

Lyria didn't think they had any weaknesses.

"Evade them," she had pleaded. "It's better to run and start again than suffer being torn to shreds." Katherin agreed. Rebeka's frightened wails were still echoing in her subconscious. Accusing her of doing nothing.

"Are you okay?" Morgana asked. Her tone was light but genuine.

They'd used false happiness to overcome their personal traumas. Morgana had fallen into a state of deliria after her father had snapped her dog's neck. They'd been wrestling on the front lawn. The doctors had diagnosed him with PTSD, from the war he'd fought many years ago. He was referred to a psychologist and wasn't charged by the court. Not that his mental illness excused his actions. Morgana's family had lived in fear after that. If he could kill their beloved dog, who knew what he'd do to them if they stepped out of line.

"Are you?" Katherin responded.

She couldn't talk about Rebeka. She wouldn't. Morgana didn't need to share the burden of her sins. Not when she would have gone back. Even Esther would have gone back. Katherin was the worst of them all. She didn't deserve to be looked towards with kindness.

"If Ttod doesn't come back, then it's his problem," Morgana spoke with hard reserve.

Katherin turned away. She didn't have anything to say.

It was true, of course. He'd die without the aid of his friends. It's difficult to manage an entire ship alone. When Ttod slept, he'd have to anchor. He'd always have to risk the zombies floating towards him. They'd climb aboard the ship and tear him apart in his sleep.

Katherin shuddered. Would those thoughts plague her until her own gruesome death? It had been less than an hour and her psyche was already crumbling; melting out her eyes and onto the creaky stairs below her feet.

They searched the entire complex. All ten floors, up the stairs and down again.

Their thighs screamed in protest. They jumped at every sound. Every knock in the wood sent their hearts pounding.

But they found no reason to be alarmed. No zombies resided in the cracks, nor in the shadows lurking against the walls. Katherin was relieved. She hadn't thought to bring a weapon. Neither did Morgana. They hadn't prepared for facing the zombies a second time.

The complex was spacious if they were to look on the bright side. There was a kitchen in every apartment, with two bedrooms and a bathroom for each. Fully furnished. Not that they had expected anything different.

People didn't just leave with their couches and their king-sized mattresses.

The top floor of the complex featured an expansive ballroom. A ballet barre stood underneath a wall of silver mirrors. Had there been dance classes here? Katherin couldn't remember. She stared at her reflection in the mirror. The skin surrounding her eyes was too pale.

The remains of a buffet stood in the corner of the rooms. Crumbs covered the white china and spilled onto the tablecloth. Katherin entertained the idea that the buffet was a final meal; one last celebration before the residents risked their lives outside.

Moonlight spilled onto the floor. Katherin looked upwards in awe. The ceiling was completely glass. A glistening pool loomed overhead. Katherin looked at Morgana uneasily. There had to be an entrance. A possible weakness in the complex. They hadn't even thought about a fire escape, let alone pathways on other floors. Did each of the apartments have balconies? Katherin couldn't remember.

The doorway to the staircase was across the room. Morgana raced for the buffet table. The wood squealed as it was dragged across the polished floor. Katherin shuddered. She ran over to help, lifting the door so that it was tilted onto the doorframe. It wouldn't hold for long if the zombies made their way to the top floor. At least it would warn them of their arrival. They would be able to escape in time.

Katherin nodded to Jaxx as they returned to the lower level. It was safe. They just needed to board all entrances and ensure that the zombies didn't beak down the doors. Nor that they'd be able to let their guard down, even if they were completely protected from harm. Someone would always have to keep watch during the night. Even if it meant they had to live on a different schedule.

There wasn't any wood, but there were nails in the utility closet. Jaxx pulled the doors from their frames. He used a pair of scissors to pry the nails from the wood. They might need it later.

They split the doors into boards. Splinters flew across the room and settled underneath their nails, and in the flesh of their hands, but they didn't stop their line of production. This was how they'd survive. Splinters could be pried from their skin. People couldn't be revived from the dead.

Katherin knew that. Rebeka would never return.

"You look pale," Esther murmured.

The sky was rising through the cracks in the wooden boards. All the windows were covered, as well as the entrances. Only one remained. Their only method of gaining supplies from the outside or escaping from a breach.

"I'm fine." Katherin murmured. She shook Esther off as she rested her hands on Katherin's bunched shoulders. "I'm just tired."

That was only partially true.

Katherin was tired, of course, but there were more pressing matters. She hadn't been regulating her blood sugar levels. The constant fear from the zombies had worn her down and left her shaky.

Besides, Katherin hadn't eaten since breakfast. Her blood sugar would be critically low. Whilst it wasn't dangerous now, the side effects would soon become fatal. Pale skin and fatigue were only the beginning. It would only get worse. She'd begin convulsing soon.

"Go get some sleep," Morgana spoke from the staff locker room.

She'd slept for the last few hours; miraculously finding rest despite the noisiness of their labour. Morgana had thought ahead. She'd stand guard while the others slept. Then maybe they could rotate. It could work on a biweekly schedule or possible daily. That way, one person wouldn't have to live in isolation.

Katherin and Esther found a small apartment at the end of a hallway.

The bedroom was comfortably crowded, just like it had been at home. There was no room for bedside tables next to the bed. It touched the walls on either side. Katherin craved it. The walls were her comfort. She stripped off her jeans and slid underneath the folded covers. Everything would be fine in the morning.

"No!" Katherin lurched from the bed.

Esther held her down. Her hands were firm against Katherin's wrist, preventing her from leaving the sheets.

Sweat dripped down the crevasse of Katherin's back. It was too hot. The air was damp and suffocating. Katherin gasped. Air rushed from her lungs. It was becoming difficult to breathe.

The group surrounded Katherin; worried expressions plastered on their faces. Morgana held a damp cloth in her hands. The moisture dripped onto the wooden planks beneath her feet, but Morgana didn't move an inch. She had always been fussy about water stains on the floor. It ruined the appeal of the house.

It was clear this wasn't the first time Katherin had called out during the night. She'd woken everyone else. Bile was rising in her throat. Churning the contents of her stomach.

The walls were suffocating. Katherin gasped for air. It was too hot. Katherin's vision distorted into hues of grey and purple; the faces of her friends blurred together into an abstract painting. The type of artwork that would have been sold for thousands of dollars to the highest bidder. A monstrous waste of money.

"I just need some food – I'm so sorry – Just-"

The covers were unbearably hot. Katherin peeled the sheets off her skin and tried to stand. No one said anything.

She pushed through the group and painfully began searching through the kitchen cupboard of her apartment. There was nothing that would raise her blood sugar. Condiments and a sack of plain rice stood opened in the bottom of the shelf.

Katherin's heart began pumping erratically. Panic set in. She couldn't survive on uncooked rice and tomato sauce. It wasn't positive. She needed something containing sugar. A chocolate bar, maybe. Even a handful of sugar would do.

"I need some food," Katherin mumbled incoherently.

Ivory rushed to her aid; shouting for the others to check the cupboards of every apartment. The group dispersed through the doors. Footsteps echoed through the house. Esther stood in the doorway. She didn't know whether to stay and reassure her girlfriend or aid in the search for food. Ivory shooed her out the door.

"When was the last time you ate? What did you have?" Ivory spoke calmly.

She pressed the back of her hand against Katherin's forehead and helped her to the floor. It was too hot. Katherin was shaking.

If the nation hadn't collapsed around them, she'd have been rushed to the hospital. Doctors would have stuck a drip in her arm and forced glucose tablets down her throat. Esther would have been notified. She'd have taken the day off work and sat next to the hospital bed, holding Katherin's hand and reading a book.

But that wasn't an option now. She'd die if couldn't find some sugary snack.

"We had damper; we'd made it for breakfast. There was nothing else with it. Have you checked my bag? I think I have a chocolate bar there. It was supposed to be for Esther but..."

Katherin froze.

She hadn't grabbed her pack before fleeing the gruesome scene outside. There was no food spare, not if they couldn't find something in the cupboards. Her friends wouldn't be able to eat; not anything nutrient-dense anyway. Especially if they had to waste their sugary rations on keeping Katherin alive. It wasn't fair for them to suffer for her mistakes. Their lives weren't worth less than hers.

Esther rushed into the room. She held a small Mars Bars. Katherin unwrapped it hurriedly, shoving the chocolate into her mouth. The food only lasted for a couple of seconds, but she ceased shaking. The dryness of her mouth was slowly receding. She would be okay, for a while. They just needed a plan. To prevent this from happening again.

Hi everyone! 

This part is longer than usual. I hope you don't mind. This chapter was originally split into two parts, but the second part only ended up being around 500 words. I figured it would be better to keep this chapter together. If you think this chapter is too long though - give me a shout! I'm more than happy to adjust to your preferences. 

Who's your favourite character? Tell me why in the inline comments here. I'd love to hear your opinions! 

Please consider voting on this chapter if you enjoyed reading it. You probably hear this from lots of authors on Wattpad, but it's super motivating to see comments and votes on your story. I'm almost always connected to Wattpad and I'm always eager to respond to some of your comments. 

Happy reading x