Day 3: Lizzy

Peer Killer

        Kahi approached the double doors to the school. She peered inside and saw nothing moving beyond the door. She breathed a sigh of relief. This was a good place to search for supplies. It was a a school, the nurses office was sure to have some medical supplies and the cafeteria should be well stocked with food and water.

        She was amazed by the journey to the school. They had traveled by rooftop, a dangerous exercise that had ended a block from where she now stood. She and Nana had to walk on land for a block after having run out of buildings that were close enough to jump to. Their legs were sore and Kahi was still trying to figure out how they would make their way back to Tablo. The streets were not exactly the safest place to be.

         Nana glanced around nervously, her eyes peeled for any changed human shambling towards them. Still, luck was on their side for none appeared. Kahi pushed the door open, the sound made Nana jump and she smacked Kahi's arm in retaliation. Kahi laughed to herself and stepped into the building. Nana made sure the door closed quietly so as not to draw attention to their arrival if there were any changed ones running about - or shuffling as was more likely.

       Kahi walked down the hall ahead of Nana, her steps careful and quiet. Nana moved more slowly, her arms shaking and eyes alert, ready to spot any sudden movement.

        Kahi stopped in front of an open door and peered inside, her eyes searching the dim room beyond.

        "This is the cafeteria," she said softly. She stepped into the room, waving for Nana to follow her. Nana dashed forward and grabbed onto Kahi's hand, suddenly more scared since they were walking into a darker place.

         "I can hardly see in here," Nana hissed. She shuffled her feet forward, slowing Kahi down considerably.

        "It's okay. If we get to the kitchen I might be able to find a frying pan to use against any monsters that will try to eat you," Kahi said, her voice light and teasing. Nana only shook her head and wondered how the older woman could still be so normal and unafraid. She had not changed a bit since the outbreak or whatever it was that had started. She was still joking and able to smile. The death in the street didn't seem to faze her and above all else, she was still watching over Nana.

         The sound of something crashing to the floor sounded from the kitchen and halted Kahi and Nana in their journey.

        "Oh my god. There is someone in there," Nana moaned, her grip on Kahi's hand tightening.

        "Let's go see what it is. Maybe it's a survivor."

        Nana nodded though she disagreed with Kahi. She figured it was more likely that whatever was stuck in the kitchen was a monster and as soon as they opened the door they would be facing the thing that would kill them. It was all going to end because of Kahi's mindless bravery.

        Kahi pushed on the door but it did not budge. She stepped back and looked at the door, examining it from top to bottom. She pushed again but still it didn't move. "It's locked."

         "Or maybe there are so many in there that they're pressing on the door and forcing it to stay closed because they're too stupid to pull it open," Nana responded in one breath, her voice serious. Kahi had to fight back a laugh and nodded though she disagreed with Nana's theory.

        Kahi knocked on the door and called out, "Hello?"

        The room remained silent with no immediate response from the other side of the door. Kahi was about to speak once more when the lock on the other side clicked out of place. Kahi exchanged a quick glance with Nana and pushed the door open. It opened easily and the women stepped inside.

        Kahi glanced around but saw no one. "Hello? Where are you? We're not here to hurt you."

         Nana nodded along with Kahi's words, her eyes searching for anyone hiding in the room. Her eyes caught on the movement of a hand that gripped the bottom edge of a counter. Nana squeezed Kahi's hand and then pointed out her finding to the older woman. Kahi nodded and forced Nana to let go of her hand. She slowly approached the counter and bent down. She took a deep breath before peering around the edge.

        Kahi's eyes locked on a deep brown pair of eyes that were almost hidden behind a full fringe. The younger girl let go of the counter and fell back to scramble away from Kahi, her eyes wide with fear.

        "It's okay," Kahi said.

        The girl slowed and sat up straight. Her hand was holding onto a knife so tightly that her knuckles were white and her hand shook.

        "What's your name?" Kahi asked as Nana peered around the corner to take in the sight of the girl. She was obviously a student. She was even dressed in her school uniform, the badge on her chest marking her a student of the school in which they were currently invading. Her hair was pulled up into curly pigtails that hung from either side of her head and made her look younger than she probably was.

        "L-lizzy," the girl replied, her voice shaking,

        "Well, Lizzy, what are you doing here?"

        Lizzy wet her lips and dodged Kahi's stare. Her eyes fell to her lap where she folded her hands after having set down the gleaming knife in her possession. "I can't leave. There are-are... things out there." Kahi nodded in understanding. "It took me awhile but I finally made it this far. I was stuck in my classroom for a long time..." She picked at a dark spot on her navy sleeve. Nana's eyes widened as she realized that it was dried blood on the girl's sleeve and matching spots dotted her pale legs and skirt. What had this teenage girl had to do to make it to the cafeteria's kitchen? "I had to kill some of my peers to make it here." A tear spilled from Lizzy's eye, quickly followed by another and another until her cheeks were damp.

        Kahi leaned forward and embraced the girl who only began to cry harder. She wrapped her arms around the stranger.

        With a frown set on her lips, Nana backed away from the scene before her and wandered around the kitchen in search of something to eat.

        Tablo stared down at his watch and blinked twice before looking away and up at the sun that was shining brightly on that sad day. Civilization was crumbling around him. People had turned to monsters and were eating each other in the streets. Their and groaning as they searched for food reached his ears though he stood high above them.

        He took a step toward the edge, his eyes scanning over the bodies as they moved through the streets, looking for their next meal. He hadn't cared much about what they were when it all had begun. When the monster had been scratching at his door. But now he pondered it. He had never heard of something like this. He had never dreamed that an apocalypse would come in the form of mindless cannibals.

        A disgusted look took hold of his features and he stepped away from the edge of the roof. The things below were most definitely not people. Not anymore.

        A sigh escaped Tablo's lips once more and he looked down at his watch. He blinked twice.

        "What's taking them so long?" Tablo retreated to the other side of the building and sat down to wait for the return of his employees. No. That wasn't right. Without his restaurant in operation they were no longer his employees. He wasn't paying them for going out into the dangerous city to collect supplies. He had just been lucky enough to win in a game of rock, paper, scissors.

        He bit his lip as he tried not to worry about the well-being of the two women he had known for the last couple years. They had been with him right when he opened his restaurant and hadn’t even quit when times were hard. He trusted them and cared for them.

        A knock on the door leading to the rooftop brought Tablo out of his thoughts and to his feet. He quickly ran to the door and pressed his palms against it, worried that it wasn't Kahi or Nana knocking at the door. Or that if it was one of them, the other would be missing.

        He cleared his throat and asked, "Who is it?"

        "Kahi. Now open the door." Tablo smiled at the impatience in the woman's voice and dug through his pocket for the key that would undo the lock keeping the door shut. He unlocked it and then pulled away the golden key. Before he could move away from the door, it swung open and knocked him on the head. No apology sounded from Kahi as she pushed past him, followed by two other girls.

        Tablo blinked a few times, for surely he had not seen two more forms following after Kahi. The knock on his head hadn't been too bad but still he was seeing double. Nope. That wasn't double. That was certainly and entirely different person for she stood a head shorter than Nana and Kahi. Not to mention she was dressed in a dirty school uniform.

        Tablo pointed at the new girl with a look of annoyance on his face.

        "Who's this? I sent you for supplies - not burdens," Tablo stated.

        "Oh, shut up. You didn't send us for supplies and no one ever said we couldn't pick up other survivors," Kahi said, setting down the bag she was carrying. "We did get a bunch of things though; if you were wondering. Water, food, band-aids."

        Tablo lowered his arm but the look of annoyance did not disappear from his face. "Well, what's your name?" he asked the newcomer. The girl shrank back from the man and hid herself behind Nana.

        Nana groaned and stepped away from the girl, obviously not happy with the new edition either. Lizzy bowed her head and felt like crying again. It was clear she wasn't wanted but she wasn't going to give up so easily. She would show them that she was useful. With determination set into her mind, she lifted her head and met Tablo's cold gaze.

        "I'm Lizzy," she said cheerfully in an attempt to make them believe that she didn't feel like an outcast.

        Kahi grabbed onto Tablo's shirt and pulled him aside, away from the others. Lizzy retreated to see what Nana was up to.

        "She's already had it pretty tough. Can't you just behave yourself? It's one person, it's not like we brought back her entire class," Kahi stated. Tablo still looked uncertain. Kahi lowered her voice and then continued. "Not that she has much of a class left. Those who weren't already dead... the one's that were monsters – she killed them. She already has more experience in dealing with those things than we do."

        Tablo looked shocked by this revelation. He looked back over at the new girl. She was talking with Nana who already seemed to be warming up to her. With her dainty body and cheerful smile, Tablo could not imagine her killing anything at all. Not even a spider or fly. He looked back to Kahi, his disbelief evident on his face.

        "Look at the blood on her clothes and on her skin. She killed them."

        Tablo sighed and looked over Lizzy once more. It was true. Blood did stain her clothes and it was smeared across the skin of her legs. The man frowned.

         "She's staying whether you like it or not." The venom in Kahi's voice warned Tablo not to argue this. And though he was unhappy with the new comer, he had to admit it that it was only one person and that it couldn't make the biggest difference in their plight for survival.

        "Fine. So, what did you bring back? I'm starving."