Eights blinked open his eyes. The sun greeted him through a broken window. Rising from the dusty ground, he scanned the room. Nine breathed softly as they rested their head on the wall. The tiny snores escaped from their lips and made Eights chortle to himself, grr, grr, grr. The sound penetrated the thin walls. The old wooden floors creaked loudly as Eights stood to his feet. He walked to the window and peered outside. A zom appeared out of nowhere, and Eights jumped backward. Drool slipped down the dead man’s face, and its lifeless eyes lit up for a split second. It’s Adam’s Apple bobbed up and down as it gulped.

Eights smiled like a madman. He ran to the entrance and threw open the door. Yelling at the top of his lungs, “Screw you, Twelve. I made it out!” Eights gagged on the outside air, "I’m no longer your sla-”

Nine yanked the boy back into the small hut and banged the door shut. They looked through the hut's windows, examining the forest. “Are you crazy?” Nine turned to Eights. “Do you know how hard the Twelve have been looking for us? What if they heard you?”

Eights cackled at the top of his lungs, “Let them find us.” he picked Nine up off the ground, “We are unstoppable together.” 

“Put me down, you psycho.” Nine dug their nails into Eights’ arms.

“Ouch!”

“S-sorry, are you okay?” 

“I guess I got a bit too excited.” 

“Just be quieter. We aren’t far from the Twelve’s mansion.”

“But we got out, and it was all thanks to you. I couldn’t be more grateful.” Eights squished Nine’s face in his hands.

“I didn’t do anything.”

“No, I would have done something stupid if it weren't for you. I owe you, for real.”

“I did something stupid, though.” The soft mutter escaped Eights’ notice. 

Eights tilted his head.

“Now what?” 

Eights relinquished his grip on the other person, “What do you mean?” 

“Well, what do we do now? Do you have somewhere to return to?”

“There is one place we could go.” Eights held Nine’s hands, “Would you go with me?” 

“It’s not like I have a place to return anyway.”

“Then you’ll come with me. You can become part of my family.”

Nine gripped tightly to Eights’ hand, tears forming in the corners of their eyes. “I wouldn’t mind that, I guess.”

“It’s settled then!” 

Eights jumped up and down. Nine hacked their lungs out as the room filled with dust. Nine smacked Eights. They looked out the window, “Stop that. We need to be quick about leaving. The Twelve are probably still looking for us.”

“I told you, we are unstoppable! But, I guess we should see if there’s anything useful that we can use.” Eights fumbled around the hut, tossing things left and right. “All I found is this old rope and metal water bottle.” Eights flipped the container upside down. “No water in it, of course.” He then carefully holstered the tranq gun to his belt, causing Nine to raise an eyebrow. “What? You never know who we might run into. What did you find?”

“I don’t know if it’s useful.” Nine held out a worn-out book about edible plants.

“Are you kidding me? This is super useful.” Eights flipped through the book.

“Careful, it might disintegrate.” Nine snatched the book away from the careless boy.

“That’s pretty funny, Nine.” Eights snorted.

Nine’s face flushed red, “I-i-I think we sh-should get moving.” 

“Right, we need to find water to fill this cantine up too.” 

Nine glanced over the room again, confirming nothing useful was left behind.

“Let’s go, slowpoke.”

Nine followed Eights out the door. A zombie greeted them at the stairs to the cabin. Nine stumbled, falling back onto their butt. Nine scooched back through the doorway. They pinched their nose tightly as the smell was ten times worse than anything they’d smelled before. 

“Have you ever killed one of those before?” Eights picked a sharp piece of wood from the ground. 

Nine glanced at him as he walked towards the monster, “I’ve never had to.”

“Lucky you.” Eights pierced the zombie with the stake, and Nine averted their gaze. “They stink to high heavens. It’s worse the closer you get, too.”

Eights held his hand out to Nine. He lifted them off the ground, and with the force, Nine stumbled into Eights’ chest.

“You got some blood on your face.” Nine reached up and swiped the grime from Eights’ face. 

“Who?”Eights stepped away and awkwardly laughed as he cleaned the stake. Looking at the sky, he asked, “Did I wake up before or after noon?”

“It was before noon, why?”

“The sun is currently in the east. That means we need to go north.” 

“How do you know?”

“When the numbered brought me here. We were traveling south. That means my house is north of here.”

“But how do you know which way is north?” 

“It’s just something my grandpa taught me.”  

Eights set off through the woods, and Nine ran to catch up. The chilly wind rushed past swaying trees, and the sun pierced through the branches, lighting the path. The teen bent down, snatching a long stick off the ground. He examined it in his hands for a second. Before he continued down the path with the stick in hand, Eights waved it around with no care in the world.

Nine fidgeted as they looked up at the grand trees towering over them. They felt like they could sink into the soft ground at any moment. And they couldn’t help but jump at every sound the forest made.

The sun traveled slowly across the sky until it began to set in the west. “We should make camp here for today.” Eights motioned to a flattened area. “I’m going to tie this rope around some trees to keep the dead from getting to us. I need you to find some small twigs. I’ll get started on digging us a firepit.”

“Won’t that attract zombies?” Nine exclaimed.

Don’t worry, I’m gonna make something called a Dakota fire pit. It’ll be visible to any zoms in the immediate area but won’t attract anything far away.”

“O-okay.” Nine twiddled their thumbs, “What about water? Don’t we still need some?” 

“I’ll figure something out. Now go get those twigs, and make sure they’re dry.”

“I think I can do that.” Nine searched near the camp as Eights got to work setting a perimeter. The sun set beyond the horizon, and the two gathered beside the newly formed fire. “How did you learn to do this? Did your grandpa teach you this too?”

“Yeah, he and I got along well. I’m not sure what he’s doing these days, though. My parents always talked about looking for the Hidden City, so maybe they all headed there together.”
“I’ve heard about that. It’s a city the zombies can’t find, right?”

“Yeah, it’s rumored that not even the stupid Twelve can get there.” 

“That sounds nice.”

The two lay on the ground. Stars twinkled brightly in the sky, “It was always my family's dream to go there.”

“Why don’t we look for it after finding your family?”

“We could, but where would we start?”

“We are going to your house. Maybe your parents found some clues since you last saw them.”

“I doubt it. They always talked about it, but that’s all it was. Talk.”

“Even if they didn’t find it, they should be home.” Nine watched a shooting star zip through the night sky. “Then you will be with your family. Nothing could be better.”

Eights chuckled, “I guess you’re right.”

Cicadas chirped loudly from all directions. Distant growls and moans continued through the night as the two drifted asleep.

After a day of traveling, Eights and Nine came across a wooden cabin. 

“Is this it?” Nine said.

“Yeah,” Eigths slowly walked up to the front door. He jiggled the doornob. Click, click, click, “I guess it’s locked.”

Nine walked over to a window and peered inside the old building. Covering the top of their eyes, they squinted into the depths of the house. “It looks like no one is home. Also, it’s really dusty in there.”

Eights jumped off the porch and rushed to the back of the building. Where he stopped abruptly, and his breath grew ragged. A small gate separated Eights from the large stone, marking a grave. He forced the gate open and kneeled at the gravestone. Pulling his shirt up, he began wiping the stone, revealing an inscription. Billy Nelson, a loving father. Eights traced his hand over the letters. 

Nine rested their hand on Eights’ shoulder and muttered softly, “Sorry.” 

Eights wouldn’t talk to Nine no matter what they said. He just moped around the house. Eventually, Nine gave up, and they began to dust the living area. 

The floorboards creaked loudly with each step Nine took. Nine gathered dust into small piles and tossed it out until the living area was semi-clean.

Nine sat beside Eights on the couch, and the boy rested his head on the other person’s shoulder. Eventually, Nine fell asleep.