A few days later, Isabel and Lucia decided to go to the grocery store. They couldn’t stay home and do nothing, because nobody would take care of them if they didn’t. Their parents would never come back, and the girls had to understand it. Lucia felt her heart fall down her stomach at the truth, and it was hurting her. 

She always remembered what her mother used to say, when she was younger. She wouldn’t be at home a lot, and every single day as she woke her youngest daughter, she kissed her forehead and spoke wise words... My dear Lucia, if ever I don’t come back, tell yourself that I’ll always be in your heart, okay? But you don’t have to worry, because I’ll always be with you until the day that I die. Because yes, someday, we must get to the other side. 

“Are you okay?” Isabel asked with genuine concern, her expression growing into a frown. 

“I-I miss mom and dad...” The girl sobbed as her eyes flickered, “I know it’s stupid because I’m fourteen and that I shouldn’t be a crybaby, b-but...--” 

“You’re not weird, Lucia.” Isabel cut her off rudely at first, but then she softened her voice. “It’s normal to be scared. Nobody told us this was going to happen, and nobody knew. Now, we must live with it, whether we want it or not. But if we don’t eat, we’ll either get eaten or die of hunger.” 

Lucia stood silent; she had to remind herself of that. She had to be strong, for her mother, for her father, who-probably- lost their lives at their job. They had to work together, and they didn’t have the choice. Now, they had to grow stronger and do whatever it took to survive. 

“You know what? You’re right. Let’s get to this damn grocery store...” The fourteen-year-old teenager admitted after a silence, lifting her chip up. 

“Great! I knew you’d end up agreeing!” Isabel smiled as she took a deep breath herself, as she wasn’t fully collected, “Now, what do we bring to defend ourselves? We can’t use our bodies as shields.” 

“What about kitchen knives?” 

*** 

The streets were dark. The darkness gave an atmosphere of horror, as the chilly breeze was hitting them. It whistled around, with such violence that the girls almost stumbled. They decided to leave at seven in the evening, when the light began to stop showing itself. Lucia had a dagger attached to a belt on her waist, as Isabel had a kitchen gun in her back pocket. Were they safe? Not really, but if they had to survive, they had to do whatever it took. 

They were in this together. Fortunately, zombies were slow, and they could hear them from anywhere. Yet they stood back-to-back, shifting around cautiously to make sure they weren’t being spied on. 

“Stay close to me, and everything should be fine.” Isabel spoke silently, raising her index in front of her lips to remind her to be quiet. 

“You don’t know anything about that!” Lucia replied, “We might as well get attacked in two seconds and I wouldn’t even have the opportunity to say I warned you!” 

“Shush. The zombies might be a little drunk-alike with their behaviors, it doesn’t mean they’re deaf.” 

“B-brainnns....” A gravelly voice agreed with her comment. 

The sister jumped in surprise, startled by the sudden voice. A zombie. Isabel’s heart started to beat faster, and she felt like she was about to choke in the air, to vomit. When she watched around, she noticed a woman, her eyes rolled back, her arms in front of her as she had a green skin with an arm off. The girl noticed that the woman had deep black eyes with long black hair, and broken reading glasses hovered on the tip of her nose. She gasped. Her mother. 

“L-Lucia, I-it's mom...” Isabel stammered, not able to remove her gaze from the woman that raised her. 

“She’s going to kill us...” Lucia implied, her eyes filled with tears as her whole body shook in anticipation, “We must survive, and we don’t have the choice!” 

“B-but what if we can save her? W-what if we can find a cure?” 

“There isn’t a cure to someone who’s already condemned, Isabel. Go, shoot her.” 

“I-I don’t want to; I don’t want mom to die.” 

“If she doesn’t, we will be the ones to die. Do you want to die, Isabel?” 

After some hesitation, the oldest sister pulled her gun out and took a deep breath, before aiming right into her mother’s heart. The woman that grew her immediately grunted and fell to the ground, as her soft white dress was stained in red. 

Isabel couldn’t help it, and so she started weeping uncontrollably. She couldn’t believe it; she had just killed her own mother! Her own mother, the one who took her life in charge. Tears flowed down her cheeks as she covered her face with her hands. 

“L-Lucia! I-I killed mom...” 

“I know...” The youngest sister spoke in a trembling voice, visibly on the verge of tears as she patted Isabel’s back. “It was what you had to do, trust me. This might look ridiculous considering what this means but you have to understand it. When you’re in such a situation, it’s the entire world against you.” 

“What about dad?” 

“He’s condemned.” 

Isabel took a deep breath and wiped her tears, glancing over at her sister with determination. She was right, and she knew it too. They would have to deal with their own shit, whether they wanted it or not. From now on, it was the Fletcher sisters against humanity. Never would they see their father of their entire life-well, in their opinion- neither their mother alive. 

“Let’s get this damn food.” 

*** 

As she peeked through the grocery store, she felt her heart beating against her chest. Even though she was sixteen almost seventeen and that she had her driver's license, that she was the oldest of her siblings and the most responsible one, Lucia took care of her. Deeply. Although she was only fourteen and she wasn’t always mature, she took the situations at hand. And that, Isabel would be infinitely grateful for it. If it wasn’t for her, her own mother would’ve devoured them, as Lucia’s simple dagger wouldn’t kill their opponent. 

“Thank you. I don’t know what went through me. You know, I just felt really shitty shooting her.” 

“I know.” Lucia whispered. “Now let’s speak about something else, because I feel like I might cry.” 

The oldest sister didn’t complain, and both began strolling through the food alleys, shocked by the amount of food that remained. They thought that the people from their village would’ve stolen some, since most of them were still alive. Well, it didn’t look like the case now. 

And it wasn’t only about their mother. 

“Ooh! Do you think that those cereals are rotten?” Lucia questioned with a laugh, gesturing to a box of Fruits Loops, amused. 

“Lucia! It’s only two days!” Isabel retorted, a smile playing on her lips. 

Her heart sank. It’s been a while since she smiled, genuinely. She missed Lucia, truly. She didn’t realize it before then, as she was more focused on her own self. But now, she noticed that she absolutely loved her sister, and that they were getting along. Two days without a real family, all torn apart was hard. 

She missed her family, and the atmosphere that reigned. Isabel only noticed it now because every day she would barely see them. When she was younger, it wouldn’t be the case, though. 

“We never know! Bugs are hiding through those shelves, Isa!” Lucia laughed a little too loudly. 

Then, the girl brutally heard a rushing sound, along with footsteps. Quick, quick footsteps. Those people weren’t zombies. Yet whoever they were, they were in danger, and they didn’t have a doubt about it. 

“Shh...” Isabel slammed her hand on her sister’s mouth insistently. 

“Mhmh-Mh!” The youngest complained in confusion, raising her hands in innocence. 

“I heard something. So, when I’ll remove my hand, you better stop talking. We’ll already in deep shit.” 

Lucia looked down and nodded, admitting her defeat. Isabel took it as a sign and removed her hand, her breathing heavy, as she tried to focus on what she heard. Then, her gaze shifted to the grocery bag, and she noticed bread was missing. Her eyes widened and she pointed it to Lucia, who then gestured to a young kid standing in the middle of the alley. 

A small boy, of about six years old. He stood there, with his big innocent eyes and his pouty face, holding the bread in his hands. He had this short blonde hair that barely covered his eyes, and that expression that made her melt. Yet he held something in his gaze, like mischief, as if he was tricking them. 

“Hey! Get back here, you chipmunk!” Lucia yelped as she ran after the boy, trying to catch him. 

Isabel went to the other side, trying to leave the child no other option but to give it back. After a while of running, they were both next to him as Lucia pulled the bread, trying to give it back. Yet the boy didn’t resist this easily, his whole-body gripping the bread. 

“It was ours! Give it back!” 

“I didn’t think that teenagers these days could be so desperate.” A voice resonated behind them. 

The sisters looked over, just to see a boy of about nineteen years old, with the same traits and figures as the small kid. They were brothers. Isabel took the time to reflect on it; they were like Lucia and her; except they were boys. She wanted to give the bread back, but she stopped herself when she remembered that it was everyone against everyone. She recognized this man; she remembered seeing him. She wasn’t sure where, but it wasn’t the first time she had seen him. 

“You’re as desperate as we are, Jonas.” Lucia spoke slowly, staring at the blonde boy with hatred in her eyes. 

“You never changed, Lucia, I can see. And neither did you, Isabel...” Jonas replied as he folded his arms, his eyebrows arching. 

The light switched through the concerned one’s head. Jonas was her ex’s older brother. He knew them from her, as Lucia always hated Jonas sincerely, from her interior being. Isabel tried to ignore how troubling it was to see her ex’s brothers, in front of her, if he wasn’t with them, because perhaps he was dead. She still loved him. 

“Please, Jonas, we’re doing what we can to survive, you can see this very well. We weren’t trying to hurt your brother, we’re all desperate and we must do our best. Our parents died and we have nobody left, hear us out--” 

“You think you’re the only one, Isabel? We’ve lost Sam, Kimmy, and our parents. Even my cousins are dead. We’ll give you back your stupid bread if you promise to leave us alone.” 

Isabel felt her heart thumbing down her stomach. Sam died. And she didn’t even have the time to tell him goodbye. She felt like she was frozen in place; she couldn’t move as her feet were stuck to the ground, staring at Jonas in horror. He was right. She wasn’t the only one, and it was selfish of her to think that way. Lucia seemed to notice the trouble because she took the bread and her sister’s arm, pulling her away. 

“Let’s go. They clearly don’t want us here.” 

“Wait!” 

Jonas and his brother shifted to them in surprise, wondering what they could want again. The kid’s expression was curious, as Jonas’ was pissed off. 

“Good luck, the Evans.” 

“Good luck, Fletchers.” 

And so, the survivors of both families left each other to find a place, as they knew they probably wouldn’t see each other again. This was the start of something big. This was the end of the world, and they would be the last ones to see it. While the world was falling and exploding, the only ones that could help them were themselves. 

And that, Isabel was fully conscious of it; nobody would step on her foot again. One wish ruined her life, but she wouldn’t let it ruin her happiness-even though it was quite contradictory.