“I can’t believe we’re alive!” Eights ran his hands tangled in his greasy hair. “How did you do that?”

“I don’t know… I think… I think I did something similar at the mansion though.”

“Nine, you beautiful person! You saved us!”

Heat rose to the girl’s cheeks, and she quickly covered them with her hand. “Don’t be ridiculous! It’s nothing compared to—”

“Don’t sell yourself short! Without you, I’d be dead three times over. You’re amazing!”

“I-I’m not amazing… you don’t know what I—”

Eights held her arms, and she winced, and he withdrew his hands, his eyes shifting to her shoulder. “Did I do that?” He shuddered.

“It’s okay.” Nine cautiously grasped her injured arm. “It happens from time to time. Urgh! Just help me put it back into place.”

“How do I?” Covering his mouth, Eights turned away.

“Oh, don’t be a baby and just do as I say.”

It took far too long to get her shoulder back to normal, causing Nine to make a mental note to never ask Eights to help again. The poor guy almost passed out at least three times before they finally got her shoulder back to normal.

Eights brought his head up from between his knees, his face still as pale as could be, now seemed to have a hint of green to it, and Nine couldn’t help but stifle a laugh, earning a fierce glare from Eights.

“Don’t laugh; I’m not good with that kind of thing.”

“Didn’t I see a bunch of animal skins when we left your house?”

“That’s different! They’re animals… you’re… you’re human and alive at that.”

“That’s fair, I guess.”

Looking around the spacious room, Nine was greeted with a semi-intact receptionist’s office. On the desk there was an old-world phone and computer. Tracing her fingers across the screen, a thick layer of dust coated them, revealing a glossy black screen.

“Brother tells me that in big cities these types of electronics still work.”

“My parents used to say the same thing. They always thought life would be easier in a big city.” Picking up the phone, Eights held it to his ear. “Personally, I think it would just make life more complicated.”

A single chain dangled from the corner of the desk, and attached to it was a metal object that read, master key. “Eights, do you want to have a look around?”

“Sure, and let’s find somewhere to rest while we’re at it.” The boy practically barreled through two metal doors that then swung back and forth, and on the other side was a long hallway with four doors, all leading down to another set of double doors at the end.

A large sign was posted in faded red that read:

BIOHAZARD

INFECTED SPECIMEN

If container is breached, contact

local health authorities.

“What do you think this means?” Eights pushed the door, and it opened partially before it jarred to a stop. "There must be something on the other side..."

“I don’t think you should do that.”

Pressing his face against the crack in the doors, Eights said, “Why not? Hm…" His breath hitched. "Doesn’t look like there’s a good place to rest anyways… Should we check the other doors?”

“I think I’d feel better the further from this room we get.”

“First door on the right it is then.” Eights walked back down the hall before grasping the door handle and attempting to turn it. “It’s stuck.”

Nine pulled out the master key, holding it up to Eights.

“Where’d you find that?” He asked.

“It was at that desk when we first walked in.”

“Well, what are you waiting for? Open it before I pass out right here.”

Sliding the key in, Nine could hear the lock click and, she continued to turn the key until the door popped open with a loud creak, revealing yet another desk framed in front of a large window, surrounded by bookshelves.

Eights pushed past her, darting for an old couch which kicked up dust the second he plopped down on it.

Holding her arm, Nine glanced down the hall. “What do you think biohazard means?”

“Don’t know, but it’s probably irrelevant now.”

Puffing her cheeks, Nine remarked, “That’s a pretty big word you used there.”

Eights mouth dropped open in mock shock as he turned to look at Nine. “Look who has the courage to make fun of me.”

“Don’t be dumb, I’ve never been scared of you, not once.”

The dumb look on the boy’s face morphed into a smirk. “Well, that’s good at least. I wouldn’t want my friend to be scared of me, now would I?”

Returning his smile, Nine followed him into the room. The books lining the shelves drew her attention. “There are a lot of words I’ve never seen before.”

“It’s a pity you can’t use big words like me.”

Nine flung a book at him, which he dodged flawlessly before picking it up, grimacing, and setting it on the floor.

“Clearly, whoever wrote that speaks a different language.”

Nine chuckled as Eights interlaced his fingers behind his head before closing his eyes. Within seconds, his rhythmic breathing turned into loud snores.

Giggling, Nine said, “I’ll never understand how boys can fall asleep so quickly.”

Walking to the desk in the center of the room, Nine pulled out the extravagant chair, wiping dust from it as best she could before sitting neatly with a sleeping Eights just in sight. Spinning around, the chair creaked all the while, and the girl quickly stopped herself. A stifled snore and a little grunt escaped Eights' mouth before he rolled over.

“I really don’t understand, boys.” She said out loud.

The grand desk was coated in dirt, and in the center sat a notebook, very different from all the other books in the room. The pages were bound with metal loops and the cover was hard. She picked it off the table, and it cracked open; the pages were yellowing but still seemed in decent shape.

Dear Reader,

If you find this, I implore you to read it until the end. This notebook contains crucial information about what happened to our world.

Looking up, Nine noticed she’d left the door opened. The dark hallway glared back at her, and in the distance, she could hear what sounded like a faint growling. Shaking her head, she promptly stood from her seat and shut the door, locking it behind her.

Leaning back into the chair, she examined the door once more before returning her attention to the notebook.

As you may know, this world has been overtaken by the dead. However, a worse danger exists: a different type of dead, an intelligent kind. Twelve people who gained immortality before promptly being infected with the zombie virus. I regret to say, this mess is all my doing, a careless mistake on my part - brought the end - and worse, it brought a terrifying evil.

The ten of us who worked at this lab were hired to find a cure for death, and we found one, but in the process we discovered a way to reanimate corpses; in other words, we fabricated these zombies. And in my distress from being forced to become immortal, I unintentionally released the virus.

In the process, my colleagues were also bitten, turning them from plain immortals into something truly monstrous. Because now they had a craving for human flesh, just as all the other zombies did.

So I dedicated myself to finding a way to cure the zombism, and I’m pleased to say I found something similar. It causes decay, but doesn’t kill a zombie instantly. Instead, it merely takes a few decades for the dead to lose all their flesh and stop being able to function. I was sure this was the solution, but my colleagues seem to have found a way to counteract this death, and I fear it’ll only get worse from here as they seem to have gathered the living to do their bidding in exchange for expanding their lifespan a few years.

Humans are so fickle; instead of working to put this evil to rest, they sell each other out for measly crumbs in life. Now my colleagues and our employers still threaten this world to this day. I regret to say I have found a way to reverse our immortality, but I can no longer get close to The Twelve as they are called these days. It took me much too long to find this serum, and The Twelve have secured measures to keep me from getting close.

Therefore, I regret to inform you that I’ve given up. I’ve lived for far too long, and I know I’ve done all that I could. It’s time for me to join my mother; it’s time for me to die. I’ve left enough of the serum to kill the rest of The Twelve in the safe located underneath this desk; the code is 123596. Please find a way to kill my colleagues—

“What are you reading?”

Nine nearly jumped out of her skin. Shifting her attention to Eights, she sighed. “You’re awake?”

“Yeah, I just woke up. So, what are you reading?”

“It’s a letter from someone who worked here in the past. They claim…” Nine swallowed her saliva. “They claim that the zombie apocalypse was their fault.”

Eights’ eyes widened. “Let me see!” Grabbing the notebook, he clenched the worn book tightly in his hands. He seemed to perk up slightly before slamming the book to the table. “This has nothing to do with us.”

“But we could get back to the mansion and—”

“We can’t ever go back there… It’s too dangerous, and I don’t want to lose anyone else.”

“With my power—”

“Even with your power, we can still get caught; you don’t know how dangerous The Twelve are. If we’re caught…”

Nine raised an eyebrow. “What? They’ll kill us? I knew that numbered told you something… what… what did he tell you?”

“I know you couldn’t… it was probably my fault…”

“I shot her. I shot… her. It has nothing to do with you.”

“You didn’t want to leave. If I hadn’t… You would be safe in the mansion if it wasn’t for me.”

“No, I’d be slowly dying there, not able to stand up for myself. I’d probably still be invisible to this day. You made me feel like I could be someone… Like I could—”

“You don’t have to be anyone other than yourself. I don’t want you to be someone else… I can’t lose you too.”

Pursing her lips together, Nine’s face tightened into a frown. “Eights… I can’t do nothing when there’s a way to stop the Twelve.”

“Fine!” Eights’ voice trembled as a glimmer of tears shimmered in his eyes. “Go ahead and get yourself killed for all I care!”

Practically kicking the door open, Eights barged out of the room and out of sight.

With shaking hands and trembling breath, Nine knelt to the safe, typing in the code. The safe opened, revealing twelve vials and some darts in a strangely cold safe. Picking them up revealed a sheet of paper written on it,

If you intend to use this, be quick and be prepared. Take your time to come up with a plan.

P.S. Down the hall, there is a laboratory; inside, there should be a corpse holding a tranq gun. Be careful in case the corpse reanimated. Good luck!