Yuri was holding the satellite phone in her hand, fiddling with the buttons in silence. It looked like an old Sony Ericsson; big and bulky with the weird antenna sticking out at the top, but with a build like a brick. It was a gift from Taeyeon, in case anything cropped up. It was the only means of communication now, assuming the satellites did not break down from non-maintenance. She turned it on and looked as the green coloured screen flashed to life. It was ancient.

She glanced out the window of a very sweet Audi Q5, looking at the trees in the distance as they zoomed past them at a hundred and seventy kilometres per hour. The leather seats were so luxurious to the skin to a point that it was pure bliss to touch. Yuri always liked the sound that it made when she moved around while sitting on these seats. The dashboard looked fancy like a cockpit. It even had proper touchscreen for the radio but too bad no radio stations were left functional. The DJs were all dead. There weren’t any CDs around or a pendrive of MP3s. The ride was smooth and the interior sound insulation was fantastic, which made the drive even more silent than what she was comfortable with.

She missed their caravan.

It wasn’t fancy or luxurious, but it was home.

“Jess, where are we headed?”

“North. Apparently, there’s a safe haven there.”

“I see.”

More trees. More thoughts about how good this car was. More poignant reminiscence about the old caravan. More dread about how Krystal was no longer with them and how Yuri never got to say goodbye. It was like there was a gigantic hole in their family now, and somehow, things would never be the same again.

“Aren’t you going to say something, Jessica?”

“I’m not the one with explanation to do. I know you lied to Taeyeon as well. That wasn’t how it unfolded. I can read you when you’re lying.”

Yuri sighed reluctantly, resting on her arm and looking straight ahead at the empty highway. Not a car was in sight. The road was bare . It felt weird driving on an expressway that used to be the pinnacle of human achievements in creating preposterously absurd lengths of traffic congestion.

“Forget it,” Jessica said, holding on to the steering wheel, “I haven’t slept in three days. I’m exhausted.”

“We should probably stop somewhere, Jess. You don’t look like you’re fit to drive.”

“What? The traffic police will catch me?”

“Jess.”

“Fine, fine. I’ll turn off at the next intersection.”

Jessica knocked out faster than a speeding bullet. As soon as the car stopped under a shady tree, sheltered by thick bushes, she fell to slumberland with a snore and a reclined seat. hung wide open in tiredness. Yuri wasn’t sleepy at all, so she quietly unlocked the door and let herself out, closing it back as silently as she could. The sun was up but the air was still cold and clammy from the days of rain that preceded today. Jessica wasn’t getting up within the hour, so she figured she might as well take a walk around, help her clear her head.  She walked for ten good minutes, pondering upon the swirling events that took place this week.

She grabbed a rock, the size of her fist.

She sat down under a big tree and smashed the rock on her forearm.

The pain came immediately, and so did the bruise. Her hand throbbed with the sting, but it didn’t last long. Within seconds, the bruise absorbed itself and the pain was gone; her hand was as good as new. She took out her penknife and stabbed her thigh. She wanted to scream in pain but she bit her lip till it bled. She pulled out the knife, leaving behind a bleeding four-inch deep wound that slowly stained her jeans maroon. Within ten seconds, her skin was back to perfect. If someone were to check, they would think that the blood on her pants now came from someone else.

“What is happening to me…?”

***

“This looks like a good place to rest for the night…” Jessica murmured, driving into a housing estate that looked newly built, right before the Enigma happened, “We should settle down before dark.”

They had been on the road for ten hours, covering a very good distance indeed. It was already 6.30pm and dusk was about to end, giving way to the night to take reign once more. If the past had held any lessons at all, it was that night time was bad news all around. They needed shelter to bunk in.

“Are they all vacant in the first place?” Yuri glanced through the houses as they drove by.

“It is a new area. Their ‘To Let/For Sale’ banners are still hung up on most of the houses.”

“Well, empty uninhabited houses meant no furniture, unless you fancy sleeping on cold tiles.”

“We’ll find showroom then. Pretty sure it’s furnished.”

They followed the signboard and went straight for the model house. Time and abandonment wasn’t doing it any favours. It looked haunted, even. However, in a world full of undead walkers, there wasn’t enough space for ghosts to exist as well, or at least that was what they hoped. It would be even more screwed up if the world added possessions and demons to a place already lurking with walkers. They definitely did not needed walkers to get possessed by some demonic entity and acting more freaky than usual, going all Exorcist.

Jessica parked the SUV into the porch. She put on the high beam that shone through the glass sliding door. It was furnished, all right, but the sliding door had a thick layer of grime on it, turning it translucent, almost opaque. Jessica got out of the car with her shotgun ready. Her shoes gave a weird, slippery and grainy sound as the soles made contact with the dirty porch floor. The years had covered up the patterns on the tiles with layers of dust and sand, flushed in with the wind. It was a modern looking house, albeit a little empty and thus, echoed. She went forward and pulled the sliding door open.

The interior was clean, somewhat.

The windows were all shut and so were the doors. The dust couldn’t get in, mostly.

“Nice…” Jessica looked around the hallway, “Very nice.”

“Alright, I’ll check upstairs,” Yuri volunteered.

“I’ll go down then.”

Jessica scouted around the living room first. It was chic, if that was the appropriate way of describing it. It felt very hipster-ish; that was what Jessica thought. From the fur carpet, to the modern fireplace beneath the flat screen TV, to the spotted Dalmatian-coloured couch, it was clear that this interior design strived to be different. Then, she saw rocking chair just next to couches, made completely out of glass.

“Seriously?”

The kitchen was an even weirder sight to behold. The floor had silky-white tiles while everything else, like the sink and cupboards were made from dark grey cobblestones. The refrigerator was apple green; the stark colour contrast was stinging to Jessica’s eyes. That wasn’t the worst part; the ceiling fan was orange.

“Goddamn hipsters and their colour senses…”

***

“You want some more pork and beans, Jessica?”

“Nah.”

Jessica slurped on her instant noodles. Tom Yam flavour was always her favourite and not even the apocalypse could change that. Cancer had never tasted better because nothing could beat slurping on a hot bowl of noodles, right next to a fireplace when it was raining cats and dogs out there. The storm was brewing strong, stronger than before. The wind howls were getting louder by the hour, so loud that there might actually be a tornado out there. At least they didn’t have to worry about any walkers wandering in in such a drastic weather out there. They would most likely be blown away or get slammed in face by a flying tyre.

Jessica lost herself gazing at the gentle swirls of the flames engulfing the firewood. It was just so soothing and hypnotising.

“Who are these people?” Yuri grabbed a photo from the table, “A family photo? Isn’t this a showroom house?”

“Stock photos from Google… fakes. Salesmen would use that as an empathy point… make their customers more susceptible to saying yes.”

“I don’t get it. Don’t people know this is a showroom house? They’d actually buy that there’s an actual family staying here?”

“I don’t know… some people are dumb…”

Yuri scrapped the last bits and put the empty can in the plastic bag. She lumped everything inside. She couldn’t stand a messy place to stay in; perhaps it was her meticulous upbringing, or maybe it was just common sense to not leave lying around after. She tossed Jessica’s ramen flavourings into the trash bag too, wiping off the rest of the seasoning powder that spewed out on to the table. The other woman was busy stoning at the fire, slurping her noodles loudly. Yuri didn’t even know why she cared in the first place; it wasn’t her home to begin with. They were just bunking in the night. Perhaps it had been a long while since she had actually stayed in a home that triggered something in her once more. She had spent the last ten years in that good old caravan, which was reduced to nothing but ash now.

After a quick and brief housecleaning, she tied the black bag up when she heard her friend burping and belching for quite a bit.

“Are you alright, Jessica…?”

She continued slurping her noodles, ignoring her.

Yuri sighed, tossing the trash bag just next to the sliding door and joined her staring at the fire.

“Jessica, I’m not who I was…”

The other woman’s eyes were fixated on the flames. Yuri wanted to say something but the words choked her. It didn’t help that Jessica wasn’t receptive in the slightest bit. Yuri just didn’t know what to say. In the end, she said nothing.

“So, who are you?” Jessica mumbled out of the blue.

“Huh?” Yuri got caught off guard.

“Who are you?”

“I- I don’t know…”

“And so… down we go…”

“It doesn’t have to be that way, Jessica!”

“You… tell me… in a world that has ended… what is there to look forward to? Is there even a future?”

“You have to believe it. You just have to.”

“I did... but I’m tired. I’m very tired. Within a week, I’m reduced to suicidal… What else do you expect of me…? I don’t… I don’t really care anymore.”

“Suicidal? What are you talking about?” she leaned forward and smelt the vapours of whiskey invading her nostril, “Are you drunk!?”

“No…” her speech became noticeably slurred and stuttered, “I ain’t drunk…”

Yuri grabbed and sniffed her bowl of Tom Yam; she smelt the strong alcohol emanating from it. She then saw the bottle of Bushmills stashed under the table, hidden away. She picked it up and at least half was gone. Jessica probably mixed the seasoning with pure whiskey instead of water to make the damn soup. The stench of whiskey was so strong that Yuri grimaced by just smelling it. It was a wonder how Jessica pulled off the poker face eating that.

“I think you had enough. I’m gonna pour this aw-”

It was then Jessica snatched the bowl away from her and vomited into it.

“Damn it, Jessica,” she rubbed the drunkard’s back as she emptied her stomach from intoxication, “Why do you do this to yourself?”

She puked and puked her entire dinner out. Once she was done, she belched and burped uncomfortably. Yuri grabbed a towel and wiped while the drunkard was groaning and coughing in utter discomfort and dizziness. Her face was tomato-red and she was burning hot. She could barely sit up straight on her own.

“Jesus…” Yuri croaked, pulling the string of noodles dangling from Jessica nose, “Oh, that’s disgusting.”

Jessica swayed a little before falling on Yuri. The latter managed to grab a hold on her before she fell face flat on the carpet. Jessica was completely wasted, that was beyond a reasonable doubt.

“Oh, you’re heavy,” Yuri held Jessica’s shoulders, “Come on, let’s put you to bed.”

Yuri set her down on the couch and grabbed a wet towel. The weather was cold enough to make that towel at least a little bit chilled. She wiped Jessica’s face before rolling it and putting on her forehead. Jessica was mumbling gibberish in her state of intoxication. She had not let herself go like this before. Yuri could make out only one thing from her mumbles but nothing much else.

“Krystal…” Jessica jerked about in her sleep, “Krystal…”

Yuri sighed, looking at her like this. Jessica fumbled about for a moment before the alcohol totally seized control and she crashed like a pink baby. Yuri pulled the blanket up to her chest and tucked her in. She rolled Jessica to her sides in case she needed to puke again. She snored silently, from exhaustion and sorrow.

“You can’t give up, Jessica. It’s over if you do. You can’t give up.”

***

Yuri drove today.

Jessica was still stoned, sitting on the passenger seat, gazing outside blankly, no doubt with a massive cracking headache. She wasn’t exactly sober; the amount of alcohol she ingested would no doubt still intoxicate her till now. However, at least she wasn’t as sombre as she was last night. That definitely wasn’t who she was, but it could very well be how she felt at this very moment. The road was long and difficult to begin with, but they had each other to toughen one another; to survive. Now, with one gone, the dynamics had changed. It was tougher.

The storm last night struck like a hurricane. The empty highway was now filled with trash; black plastic bags were strewn everywhere. Pieces of trash engulfed the surface. There was even a random roof out of nowhere, lying in shambles, probably blasted right in the middle of the road, being blown off miles away. Many trees nearby were uprooted, collapsing and blocking the road. The highway was straight and empty, but now it was filled with so much rubbish that it became a windy ride.

Yuri had already stopped twice for Jessica to puke but it looked she had to stop once more. She was right. She stopped just in time for Jessica to rush out and get on her knees, gripping the grass to their death for strength, and pouring her insides out. A second later and the interior would be redecorated with her gastric content.

“You okay?” she passed Jessica a couple of tissues, “Wipe that grime off your face. You look like .”

“Thanks.”

“Drink some 100Plus. It’s by the compartment over there. I’ve let the fizziness out. You need to replenish your electrolytes.”

“You’re really well-verse with hangovers…” Jessica croaked, drinking it as advised.

“I’ve had more than my fair share of headaches, vomits and regrets back in the days. I love the booze but not the hangover; can’t say I miss it at all, the feeling is .”

“It is. I can tell you that first hand.”

“That’s what the truth potion does.”

“You spill the beans when you’re drunk, Yuri?”

“I think I do. I got drunk at a class reunion once and the next day, everyone knew which guy I liked.”

“Nice.”

“But it did help me get together with him, so it’s not that bad, I guess.”

“I used to beat people when I’m drunk.”

“To that, I say, stay your violent at home and drink.”

“I’m the unsung hero, terrorising bar fights and beating down womanisers. I beat them in the darkness beneath the flashing disco lights. They’ll never see me coming.”

“Wow, aren’t you the dark knight.”

“What can I say?” Jessica yawned and held her head again, “I like being in the shade.”

“Shade? What are you, fungus?”

Jessica finished the isotonic drink, leaning against the window, hoping that some sunlight would remedy her throbbing headache. She slowly sighed, tapping her temples with her palm, trying to smack her brain around a little. At least the sun did some degree of comfort. She couldn’t really think without her brain sparking different kinds of aches. She had already popped a couple of painkillers but they did not seem to help much.

“Do you remember last night?”

“I stopped remembering half way through my noodles. Why? Did I make advances on you?”

“Hmmph no,” Yuri scoffed, “You were asking if there was a future.”

“Oh…” Jessica reclined her chair and laid flat, closing her eyes, “There will always be a future; time never stops. Is it the future that we want, now that is the right question.”

“I think you already know the answer.”

“Of course I do, Yuri. I understand this world perfectly. In fact, it’s simpler now.”

“I refuse to believe that there’s nothing at all ahead of the road. There has to be something… something to hope for.”

“A quick death?”

“Now you’re just being morbid, Jessica.”

“I know. It’s the goddamn headache.”

Yuri let out a huge sigh, holding the steering wheel and kept her eyes ahead.

The road took a bend downwards and they went through a dark tunnel. She the high beam to blast the darkness out of its comfort zone. Water was trailing down the sides of the tunnel, leaking from every crack in the foundation. It was practically drizzling in there, and that made the two of them anxious about the crumbling structural integrity. The tunnel looked like it could collapse at any second. Yuri saw a group of walkers emerging from the shadows, attracted to the headlights. There was a horde of them in there, clawing their way out from the opened door of the maintenance room to the main road. Somehow, they looked worse than the walkers outside, perhaps from the lack of sunlight and the consistent moisture had hastened their rotting process.

Anxious, Yuri sped up and pressed the pedal furthe