One Night

04 • Breaker

Mikayla Marks • May 2, 2019

A few hours later, Mickey found herself on a sofa in the unfamiliar apartment. Every now and then, she would hear the footsteps belonging to someone running upstairs, or out in the hallway. The screams haven't stopped. They're able to be heard from all the way up on the highest floor of the apartment building.

The sirens disappeared almost an hour ago. The fire trucks, the ambulances, the cop cars, they've all stopped. Car alarms have went off for hours on end, and helicopters have flown above the building they're in, but the sirens have stopped.

Since earlier, Mickey hasn't even dared to look outside. She's too scared. As she watched The Little Mermaid for the second time that night, the TV went blank. The lights powered off, and the refrigerator stopped running.

Mickey jumped, immediately scanning the dark apartment. She quickly pulled the blanket over her head, and she pulled her phone from her pocket. She tapped the screen, which woke it up. There is no service, and it's charged to seventy-five percent.

Suddenly, Mickey could hear faint footsteps. "Mick," Jimin whispered. He pointed a flashlight at her. She's under the blanket, formed into a ball, located on the sofa.

Mickey carefully pulled the blanket back and peaked out at him. "What?" she quietly asked.

Jimin rose his eyebrows, a playful smile played at his lips. "The lights went out, and you automatically hid under a blanket?" he questioned, staring at the small portion of her face.

"It scared me," she whispered. She stayed under the blanket, only revealing her eyes.

Jimin kept the flashlight on. He approached the window in his apartment, still limping slightly. He peaked out of the window, sighing. "It was just this building," he told her. "A breaker must have blown," he finished, turning to face her. "I know how to turn it back on, so I'll go do that," he told her, starting to walk towards the exit.

Mickey slowly sat up, staring at him. "B-But c-can't you st-stay?" she stuttered, allowing the blanket to fall off of her.

Obvious panic is in her voice, which Jimin noticed immediately, causing him to freeze in his tracks. "Would you rather sit in the dark?" he asked her, looking over at her.

Mickey quickly stood up, visibly shaking. "W-Well, sh-should I come with you?" she asked him. "I don't wanna b-be alone," she mumbled.

Jimin stared at her through the dark, clearly contemplating whether or not he wants to bring her. Obviously, he doesn't. She'll only get him killed, because she's weak.

"I can watch your back, y-you know?" she offered him a small, nervous smile, but it quickly disappeared. "Please don't leave me alone up here," she begged him, showing a more serious side of her personality.

The sadness in her voice caused his heart to break.

Jimin sighed, clearly defeated. "You can hold the flashlight," he responded, offering her the flashlight, which she gladly accepted. Jimin gave her a quick once over, although he can only see the the outline of her body through the dark. Mickey smiled as an attempt to force herself to stop worrying, to stop being so scared. "Come on," he told her. He turned and approached the door, where Mickey aimed the flashlight.

Mickey quickly, yet cautiously followed him. Jimin rested his hand over the door knob, and before he could open it, Mickey spoke. "Wait! What about weapons?" she whispered.

Jimin held up a knife for her to see. It's a pocket knife, and it has a black handle. "I got it handled," he told her.

The younger girl gave him a small nod, but is still worried. Jimin slowly turned the lock and opened the door, just in time for someone to run by, clearly in a hurry.

Mickey gasped, which caused Jimin to look back at her. He stared at her, although she's blinding him with the flashlight. "It's okay," he told her. He held his hand out for her to take, which she accepted.

The two of them stepped into the pitch black hallway. They began walking down it, doing their best to stay quiet. Mickey glanced back a few time to shine the light behind them, clearly paranoid, however there's nothing behind them.

While Mickey scanned the dark hall behind them, she started to trip over a lump. Jimin, still holding onto her hand, caught her before she fell into a pool of blood. Mickey gasped, shining the light over the dark, mesmerizing substance.

Mickey stared at the blood, and slowly looked to the source of it. There's a young girl that she started to trip over. She has a knife lodged into her skull, but that wasn't the cause of death. There are several bite wounds all over her body, and her stomach has been ripped open. The sight is horrific.

As Mickey prepared to scream, Jimin slammed her against the wall. He placed a hand over her mouth, and covered the flashlight with the other. "Shh," Jimin breathed out.

Further down the hall, an infected person roamed out of another apartment. Jimin stared at Mickey as she looked up at him with tears in her eyes. He can feel her shaking, he can feel the fear just radiating off of her small body.

And it broke him.

She's too innocent, too pure for this new world.

Jimin glanced back down the hall, no longer seeing the outline of the infected man. Jimin, then, looked at Mickey. "When I tell you to run, you run, okay?" he told her, removing his hand from over her mouth.

Mickey gently nodded. "What about you?" she asked, not wanting to get separated.

Jimin offered a soft smile. "I'll be right behind you," he whispered. "The door will be down the hall, on the left. It's the last one."

Mickey nodded, not quite understanding how he's so calm under these circumstances. Jimin, then, took her hand and led her through the very dark hallway.

Once the two neared the open apartment, where the infected person entered, Jimin glanced over to Mickey. She simply stared straight ahead, tears are streaming down her cheeks from the fear.

"Run," Jimin told her.

It was a wisp of words, barely able to be heard, but she did.Mickey immediately ran by the door, catching the attention of the infected in the apartment. Jimin stepped in the doorway, expecting one zombie, but he came to face five; one happens to be a child.

The living dead standing inside of the apartment, immediately noticed the man in the hallway. Panic stricken, Jimin abandoned his original plan, and ran after Mickey, who successfully made it to the staircase.

As Jimin stepped through the door to the stairs, he was shocked to find what was waiting for him. A frozen, terrified Mikayla, and three zombies on the stairs leading downstairs. One of the zombies, who happens to be a man, noticed them and started groaning.

As Jimin stood there, clearly in shock, he heard the zombies from the apartment, right outside of the stairwell door. Jimin, wasting no more time, grabbed Mickey's hand, and yanked her up the stairs, to the only place they could go: the roof.

Once Jimin pulled the door open, he pushed Mickey through, then he followed behind her. He slammed the door shut, locking them up there. Mickey turned to face Jimin, who's clearly regretting leaving his apartment.

She flipped the flashlight off, and took a step closer to him. She rested her hand on his arm just as a zombie slammed against the door, trying to get in. The zombies pounded on the door, growling as they know their next meal is right behind it.

Mickey jumped back, gasping after hearing the noises up close. Jimin glanced back to her, sighing as he saw her through the moonlight. Panic is all across her face, she's shaking, she's crying, and her bottom lip is trembling.

Jimin sighed, turning to face her. He walked by her without speaking, and approached the edge of the building. As he glanced over, down to an alley, a helicopter flew by off in the distance. Jimin looked up, finding it dropping water over a large fire miles away.

Mickey stopped near him, making sure not to get too close to the edge. A silent minute passed before either of the two spoke. "What now?" Mickey asked, her voice is laced with fear.

Jimin stayed silent. His hearing fully succumbed to the growling from the door behind them, but his eyes focused on the helicopter. For the first time in a long time, he didn't know what he could possibly do.

•••

A/N: Thank you for reading! Please vote, comment, and add to your reading list for future updates!

S. C. Keener

07/04/19