Matt POV

"Mellissa, he isn't here", I said in exasperation.

"Hmm", Mellissa hummed, deep in thought.

"The roof is empty", I told her.

She narrowed her eyes and caressed her chin, "Is it?", she said sagely.

"Yes", I hissed at her. She just stared at the EMPTY roof in suspicion, almost as if she expected Will to pop and laugh, "I totally fooled you guys! I was here the whole time!"

We wouldn't be able to sleep here, because of Mellissa and the broken down a door. We needed to find a place the Cannibals had no means to reach but also a place where Will would look for us. I refused to even consider he was dead. Will seemed like the kind of guy who was smart enough to keep quiet while the Cannibals poured into the building.

I clicked my fingers in front of Mellissa's face, "Mellissa, focus. Where else would Will have gone?"

She snorted at my gesture, "I'm not six-years-old. If he isn't here then he must've gone to his house."

We still had a while before the sun started rising so we traveled as far as we could by rooftop before we had to head down to the streets. We chose to travel down to the ground through a building that had Cannibals outside on the street. But that didn't mean we weren't cautious while inside. The building didn't have a single light on, but the light from the street illuminated our surroundings. We were able to make it to the stairs that lead to the ground level without making a sound. We paused at the base of the stairs.

"Okay, we're going to shuffle over to the door and then run for our lives", I told Mellissa. I expected her to be scared but she had a determined look on her face. She nodded her head and we silently shuffled over the entrance of the building. We took a deep breath and slammed out of the doors. The Cannibal's heads snapped towards us and, much to my relief, they started following us with their slow, steady, walk.

After a series of turns, because there were some Cannibals on certain streets, we made it to my neighborhood. The house that was on fire had long since burnt to the ground, leaving a lot of houses dusted in soot.
It's strange how even though I've lived here for three years it suddenly felt foreign. Remnants of a past life. There weren't any Cannibals on this street so Mellissa and I crept our way over to the ladder that leads to Will's roof. Will wasn't here. Once we were safely on the roof I dragged the ladder up - of course, the ladder scrapping against the roof made a loud noise - so that the Cannibals couldn't knock it over and trap us up here.

Cannibals from all the houses surrounding us swarmed into the street. Mellissa and I kept quiet and after a few minutes later they walked back into the houses. I couldn't imagine that the city's generators would last much longer. I sat on the roof with my legs crossed and looked up to the stars. Could Will be dead? When morning comes it will be two days since I've last seen him. That fact tugged on my heart. I like him, sure, but that's not the only reason that I miss him. Knowing that he was fine when all this started and then losing him after was a shattering experience. But I had to have faith in him, as Mellissa does.

I knew that we couldn't stay here for long, constant exposure to the sun would dehydrate us - the sunburn was also bad but we could survive that - and eventually, we'll have to get more supplies. My eyes started burning from tears that were trying to escape, if Will came back I would hold him and never let him out off my sight. I felt disappointed in myself, the last time I saw him, he was in my arms and I let him walk into danger.
I felt stupid. It's humiliating that he was able to switch a bag full of cans with his body and I couldn't tell the difference.

I clenched my fists, it doesn't matter now. Regret won't change what's happened.

I need to get my hands on a weapon, we can't keep on running for much longer, our luck is going to run out eventually. When that happens I want to be prepared. A gun would be more of a death sentence than a life saver, it's too noisy. Maybe a machete... That should work.

Before I go anywhere I want to find Will...

Either as a person or a Cannibal.

I clenched my jaw, Will is okay. He has to be okay.
I flinched at a loud noise that sounded like a sputtering tap on full blast. I looked at Mellissa and she was fast asleep, snoring as usual. My lip curled in distaste. Eventually, we'll have to find a way to shut her up. I looked to the streets and saw Cannibals filing out of the houses to find the incredibly loud noise. As they passed under the white glow of the streetlights, I noticed something strange. They all seemed to have rashes. My brows furrowed in confusion, what would cause that?

They crowded around the house, their arms reaching up toward the roof. I wasn't too worried about them crowding around. I knew that when I woke Mellissa they would lose interest after a few minutes. I rubbed my hands together, I felt unnerved without having Will close to me. I missed his sharp blue eyes, I missed the way he would blush, I missed the feeling of his body against mine, but most of all, I missed the sound of his voice.