Hung up Love

So, here is the thing: I am an orphan in possession of a heart-shaped locket which will end up being the death of me. But I am getting ahead of myself. My name is Danyella Cogendure and I had survived a zombie apocalypse. Yes, I get it, zombies are overdone, but hear me out. This zombie apocalypse occurred once a majority of the world's population had obtained a Coronavirus vaccine a few years ago. It was sudden, and it was terrifying, even for a twenty-two-year-old who would rather spend her nights watching gruesome horror films than go outside. I only figured out what the problem was because I heard grunting in my house, only to discover my own parents feasting on my little brother's brain, and I just knew I was next. I ran back into my room, and shut the door, packed my duffel bags with whatever I could quickly get my hands on; clothes, the various weapons I kept in my room, and of course the heart-shaped locket I always wore that had the pictures of my family inside of it. After that, I grabbed my car keys and escaped from my window to get to my car, panting. I have been constantly fighting and hiding zombies ever since that day, and it has been a lonely existence. There are a few days when I want to just give in and allow them to get to me, but then my fight-or-flight instinct kicks in and I automatically want to fight for such a waste of life. I wanted to be a nurse, and was going to school for it, only for this to be my life. Killing zombies and saving myself. I suffered with my mental health even before everything crumbled around me, and I could not even get ahold of my boyfriend or best friend, and even swung by their places but they are just gone. I am entirely alone, with only the locket to remind me of some of the ones I loved.

I spent five years alone after all of that, when I finally ran into another human on a food raid at a grocery store. He seemed familiar, with his gorgeous long, curly hair and chocolate brown eyes, but it was not until after he spoke that I knew for sure.

"Hey! Who's there?"

I nearly sobbed from the relief of finding my boyfriend after years of being alone and cried out, "Dante? Is that you?" He came around the corner of the aisle and completely froze when he saw me, with his eyes shining in surprise.

"Oh my god, Danyella! Where have you been all this time? I tried so hard to find you when everything happened!" He rushed to me and crushed me to his chest as my knees finally gave out and the sobs became unbearable.

"I went to your house, but you and your family were just gone! I didn't know if you were even alive," I said. He brushed my tears off of my dirty face and smiled with such pure joy that I almost forgot about the zombies. His fingers brushed against the chain of my locket, then followed the chain until it reached to the pendant itself, and my pulse quickened. But rather than continue trailing his fingers down, he picked up the locket, and opened it up, glancing at me through his lashes with a sly smirk. Once his eyes landed onto the photos of my family inside the locket however, all amusement faded, and he said to me with a thick voice, "Did none of them make it either?"

Before I could answer though, I saw movement from behind him. I meant to say something, or scream, or even just shoot the zombie rushing for us, but no sound came out. Somehow, my mom had found us even in her zombie form and was rushing towards us. She grabbed Dante and yanked him back while he still had a hold of my necklace, and I was also pulled forward. My head hit the ground, causing an incredibly loud sounding crack to sound off in the store, and distracted my zombie-mom long enough for her to release Dante and for him to scramble to his feet. He looked horrified, but also like he was going to run and abandon me to fend for myself.

"Dante! Please help me! I think I am bleeding, and she will kill me!" I exclaimed. He looked exasperated but pulled his machete from his belt and made to swing for her. His weapon would have found her mark if it had not been for my zombie-dad barreling into him, having appeared out of nowhere, and knocking him down on his back.

I heard the screams before I heard the definitive crack indicating that Dante was now going to be zombie food and waited for my fate to be dealt to me from my mom. She stood over me, watching me, but did not touch me. Shaking, I stood up, and made to quietly walk past both zombie-mom and zombie-dad. Unfortunately, I tripped over Dante's unmoving limb, and my necklace chain caught on a small metal hook and refused to break when all my weight went into being thrust into the front of the chain. I felt my neck snap, and then darkness swept in, taking me to be with my brother, and Dante.