Rebecca Anderson switched off the radio bored

She’d heard it all before. They played it every hour on the hour for months and it meant nothing. The radio couldn’t save her or anyone else all it did was remind people just fucked they were.

“Turn it back on” came a voice from the darkness. It was Grace. There was no one else it could have belonged to since it was only them there. Rebecca sighed silently as she pulled her ear phone off and stared into the absolute darkness that engulfed the room. There was no light allowed inside the room. Rebecca couldn’t see because of it, but she’d been living in the dark for so long she didn’t need to see in the dark. She knew where everything was and could see anything she wanted to, if she tried hard enough even though Grace said was against it.
Both Grace and Rebecca lived in the bosses private office on the seventh floor of the main Santec electronic solutions building in Durban.
Every morning *before the illness killed everyone) Rebecca had come in at seven to work and left as soon as humanly possible to get on with her social life. She hadn’t left the building or her own floor in a year now. Every night for a year both Grace and Rebecca sat staring at the beach through the tinted bomb proof windows of the office. The zombies(or Slawe as Grace preferred to call them) lived inside too. They moved around in their floor though hiding from them had become easy. Except during the day or during full moon, then any movement was impossible.

The dark silhouette of an arm slapped Rebecca’s silently. Rebecca instinctively put the ear phone on and listened.

“This radio station has made contact for the first time with other stations but we have not been able to communicate fully just yet. We will report any news from that. In even bigger news we have a cell phone tower! Yes a cell phone tower has been activated but it can at the cost of three lives. Xolani Getali died without turning, the other two group members Gerald Van Dyk and Vennessa Van Dyk turned when they died. I witnessed the transformation with my own eyes. It took the first one and hour to transform into a Turenne. The other…
We didn’t wait for her to turn. They are in all our prayers.

Please any one with a cell phone on them I beg you try calling us. Our number is 011 345 9802 please I implore you to call us. We will try and retrieve you, if we can’t then try you’re best to come here to us. We can give you food and security and the promise that you won’t be alone in this.
If there is a way for you to get here, our location is on what’s left of the Durban waterfront, there are other points across the three piers in and around town. We are situated on a ocean liner. You’ll be able to see it from the beach. If you find your self in a desperate situation, swim out to sea and we’ll pick you up. Use a boat if possible there are a few set up along the beaches. Fortunately the Turenne’s fear of wat-

Rebecca pulled off her ear phone again and crawled as silently as possible across the floor until she stopped by favourite spot by the window. There was shuffling behind her. It sounded quick like a scampering rat. Rebecca would have killed for it be one. It had been a few months since she last ate something real. The shuffling didn’t stop and it sounded too heavy for any rat.

“Grace?” Rebecca whispered squeezing heavily on her Berretta. Rebecca’s heart sped up as her breath was held tight by her fear.

“It’s me” Grace replied moving up to Rebecca. Rebecca held Grace’s hand and helped Grace pull herself up.

The window they stared out of was huge and covered the whole Sentec building. There was a broken pine table sitting opposite the window that they leaned against. There were also other tables but they were all plastic. Rebecca and Grace had thrown in the extra tables from the other office rooms. It was slow work and it had taken them weeks just get them into the room. They pushed the tables a little bit every night when the moon was not too bright for them to be noticed. They now used the tables to hide with during the day and during a full moon.
There was no guarantee that there weren’t any Turenne on their floor or in the building and it was a fact that all Turenne attacked closed doors. So Rebecca and Grace had both decided it was safer to leave the door unlocked and slightly open. The radio said that neither of the creatures could see well at night. Thepair had seen that fact for themselves, it had most likely kept them alive till now. Theysat out in the open next to their mountain of tables half facing the open door and half facing the beach. There was another separate table that they would run into at night if the moon came out and caught them off guard. They’d used it to survive on three occasions.
The thought of those frightening first few months made Rebecca cringe and the many precautions they took were beyond depressing. Rebecca squeezed the handle of her gun for comfort. Her whole body shivered when she heard the sound of a door slamming open nearly causing her finger to pull on the trigger exposing their position. The noise had completely shattered her nerves and now suddenly she felt like she was at the breaking point when less than ten seconds ago she had been completely calm following her boring routine. It wasn’t their door but it didn’t sound too far off. The beginnings of tears and a silent cry welled up inside of Rebecca. It started with normal breathing but it got heavier and a tiny noise came out as Rebecca almost literally started choking up. Grace held Rebecca in her arms while sitting behind her and rocking Rebecca in her arms.

“Sssh” Grace whispered as she rocked Rebecca back and forth. Rebecca couldn’t stop herself. She wasn’t sure what made her like this all of a sudden. Was it that they didn’t have a cell phone to call for help with or was it that they were running out of food. The real issue Rebecca thought numbly, was the fact that her Two Beretta’s were starting to feel more real than she did.

Both girls were getting very thin now. They had made their food last as long as humanly possible. Rebecca had followed Grace’s advice and the both of them had cut their movement down to sleeping and listening to the radio. But they were still getting thin and weak.
Rebecca bit into Grace’s shirt to stop from making a sound as her whole body heaved. Grace kissed Rebecca on her temple brushing Rebecca’s hair with her lips to calm her down.

It took an hour before Rebecca stopped shivering. In truth she’d fallen asleep and only woken up when the shivering stopped. Looking up from Grace’s bosom Rebecca saw Grace leaning against the table fast asleep. Rebecca would have loved to leave Grace like that but it was time for them to go out of the open. Carefully Rebecca readied her hand for what would happen next.

Ever so carefully she tried to wake Grace up shaking her softly. Slowly Grace woke, her eyes flittered while still closed then suddenly they tensed heavily before opening wide. Rebecca moved quickly and grabbed Grace’s mouth and pushed her to the floor when Grace tried to scream. Grace stopped when she realized where she was.
“It’s me” Rebecca whispered in her ear ever so quietly. When Grace calmed down fully they pushed their way across the sideways laying pine table into the mountain of plastic tables which lay against the wall like a frozen tent. It was a tight fit but they managed like they always had and without touching any of the sides so they never made any noise.
They were force fully in each others embrace now. This was how it worked, this way they would both weigh each other down so there was no extra movement that would give them any. It had hurt before but they were used to it after so many months.

Rebecca woke up to the warmth of the sun. The sunlight didn’t reach their hiding spot though. And it wasn’t supposed to. The Slawe/zombie might be able to see them if they were in the light. Rebecca looked around and saw that Grace was staring at her. That fact couldn’t be helped since they were in each others faces all the time. Rebecca stared back at her. Grace mouthed out a greeting. Rebecca smiled sheepishly and returned it. For another minute they stared at each other intently. Rebecca watched Grace’s thin but lively face that echoed with sadness and love. Gracereally was gorgeous even as gaunt as she looked right now. It was an awful existence for Rebecca but she was glad she was with Grace.
‘I love you’ mouthed Rebecca and Grace mouthed it back. Rebecca laughed silently and Grace grinned. Rebecca said it again and Grace said ‘I love more’. Rebecca shook her head, it was impossible for Grace to love Rebecca more than she did. They went back and forth until Rebecca shuffled even closer than they already were and their lips touched. But they never kissed fully because kissing tended to make a sound that could be heard and they weren’t willing to take a chance. Rebecca’s lips moved slowly exploring Grace’s cheek crossing over until Rebecca lips and tongue were on Grace’s neck. Rebecca stopped there since Grace was wearing two jackets for the cold of the night. Grace got the chills a lot easier than Rebecca did even though she was the older one by at least three years and had a whole extra jacket. Rebecca felt a hand on hers, it was warm and gentle. It lifted her hand to Grace’s chest and onto Grace’s jacket. Rebecca pulled the zip and found that her shirt was backwards. Rebecca grinned at Grace who grinned back. Grace had clearly thought about this beforehand. Rebecca couldn’t think of when the hell she had done it. Their lips touched again.. They made love silently but passionately while touching each other as gently as possible. It wasn’t awkward or difficult. Rebecca reasoned it was because they loved each other and therefore it was easy. It was because they were meant for each other. Rebecca held Grace’s mouth as she came and Grace held Rebecca’s mouth as Rebecca came. Rebecca had to fight not to make a sound as Grace’s fingers gave one of the best climaxes she’d ever had in her life. She bit into Grace’s palm while pushing Grace’s head deeper into her chest. Their entire bodies were wrapped around each others and moving in perfect sync. Within minutes Rebecca fell asleep. Grace stayed awake for an hour before she too fell asleep.

The sky had become orange when Rebecca woke up again. She shuffled carefully so not to make a noise. Open ahead of the tunnel the tables turned to anther smaller but higher set of tables. Rebecca pulled off her underwear and bent over a suitcase that was lined with plastic bags. The stench of urine filled Rebecca’s nostrils making her want to gag. The fact that they had to ration their water left them dehydrated. Rebecca shut the suit case and shuffled her way back to Grace’s arms. Rebecca watched the day move by, by watching the shadows move silently and slowly across the opening in between one of the tables. They moved slowly until they disappeared completely, but the room wasn’t dark yet. It was rather a faint shade of grey. Grace woke up and stroked Rebecca’s head as they both waited for the darkness to take over completely.

Finally it was dark enough to move and Grace was the first to stir. She patted Rebecca on the head and pushed her head down. Rebecca slid down and turned her body so she could flip herself around like a car reversing out of a drive way. She stuck her gun out first, then poked her head out fully with her breath held tight while she waited.

The Slawe were restless creatures and they moved around a lot. In that way they reminded Rebecca of sharks who drowned of they didn’t keep moving. The hour mark passed without a sound. The door was more open than usual so Rebecca waited before she blindly reached for the window. She felt the cool glass against her fingers and she felt her way around the glass until she found a thin string. Rebecca pulled it ever she slightly and the door closed silently. Rebecca stopped it before the latch sealed the door since she knew full well a shut door attracted unwanted attention, they’d already learned that beforehand the hard way. Satisfied Rebecca leant back and pulled Grace by her shoe. Rebecca heard movement from behind her and made space so Grace could come out. Rebecca felt her way to the window again and followed it until she was out into the open, while going the door creaked. Rebecca froze and nearly screamed when she felt hands on her leg.
It was Grace, she was clinging onto Rebecca. A white eye popped through the door and stayed there. Rebecca shut her eyes and prayed silently. The smallest notice would be a fatal mistake. There was a gargling roar from the door, it went on for a minute before Rebecca heard the door creak further. Rebecca wanted to scream as she clung to her Berretta as if it was the rope that kept her from falling off the edge of the world.
Creaking only happened when the door was opening and that was obviously bad. Grace let go of Rebecca and Rebecca’s leg cringed folding itself into Rebecca’s torso. The whole time Rebecca hadn’t opened her eyes. She waited for five minutes before she opened them. The white eye ball was gone and so was Grace’s silhouette.A hand clamped on Rebecca’s mouth, there was a second where Rebecca was beyond screaming her heart felt as if it was about to explode.

It was Grace.

It was always Grace but that never seemed to ease either of them. Carefully the pair made their way across the window. They made it to the second safe point on the adjacent corner of the room. There Rebecca found a large metal box that rose just above her knees, if she were to stand up anway. She felt her way around the side of the box until she got behind it. There was a switch behind the box, Rebecca flipped it off then opened the front of the box.
It was a mini fridge. It only had a few items in it but they were a welcome sight to Rebecca. She pulled out a bottle of water and an Oats chocolate health bar before closing the fridge and flipping the switch on again. Rebecca put the chocolate bar under her shirt then and slowly opened it hopefully muffling the sound of the wrapper. She passed the water to Grace and measured out the chocolate bar bending it carefully so Grace got the bigger share. Rebecca heard the gentle pop of spring water opening for it first time. Normally they recycled the water from the ice the fridge always accumulated and a few times from their own urine but that never worked out well at all for them. A plastic cup appeared out of the darkness, Grace unsurprisingly had given her extra water. She always did. Rebecca drank gratefully. The water was great and Rebecca would have killed for more but that was the weeks rations of fresh water. For the rest of week it would be recycled water only. They also wouldn’t have another bar for chocolate or health bar three days. Rebecca shuffled her way across the side of the wall past the fridge to Grace and the radio. Rebecca put her earphones on to listen and Grace winked ather. They were face to face now Rebecca grinned as she heard the sound of their favourite radio host.