NATALIA sat on the side of Cjay’s bed. Meanwhile, Cjay was half-sitting at the center of the white bed, his shoulders and upper back pressed against the black, diamond-cut, embossed leather head board. He donned a pair of loose white pajamas and was topless.

As his assistant, Natalia had the displeasure to know that he never wore those tight boxers or briefs because they scrape his flaking, rotting skin especially when he pulls them off. It was her who prepare his clothes so she had to know that.

The TV was on, showing a particular film on the screen; but she knew that her boss’ eyes weren’t watching. Instead, they focused on her.

After minutes of silence, Cjay could not help gritting his teeth. “Make sure that you’re not watching my videos!”

“I am not,” she hissed without glancing at him. “Just a minute, will you? I am still trying to get a grasp of this cell phone, zombie.”

“You think calling me the obvious, like, zombie will piss me off?” Cjay scoffed arrogantly with a mocking grin.

“Do I look like I want to bicker with you?” she answered emotionlessly. She was just mostly absorbed in checking the voice recognition system in Cjay’s cell phone.

He fell silent again, but she could feel that his eyes never left her.

Since she came back after having a feast in San Laurel Hospital, Natalia noticed that Cjay was paying extra attention to her. Far from his usual self, he started talking less at looking at her more. Maybe he noticed a change in her smell. That would surely baffle him, make him stare and observe her more than he should.

Unfortunately, Natalia had no idea about how zombies smell things or humans, so she could not make up a solid conclusion in her mind that could connect the change of her smell to her boss’ behavior.

“You’re the only assistant who managed to stay in my room for thirty minutes,” he said, breaking the silence between them. “Aren’t you scared that I might eat you?”

She did not answer. So, Cjay looked at Akira who was sitting on a chair beside the bedroom door. The chair was borrowed from Cjay’s dressing table.

“Akira, my friend, don’t take it seriously, okay? I know, you and Natalia are a love team, so don’t give any lewd meaning to what I just said about eating her, ha?”

“Ew,” she muttered under her breath. Her boss was really irritating when he talks, even when he was just simply grinning.

“I meant it in a literal sense,” Cjay clarified further, “not in a way that . . .” He waved a hand, laughing lifelessly at his green joke, “You know what I mean.”

Akira just stared at him. As usual, he was still as hard and unfeeling as a stone. It was so hard to squeeze out any strong emotion from him, and Cjay seemed to share Natalia’s same sentiments.

“Sheesh. You’re so boring, Akira. Later, I might not see you because you’re like a stone and might have already fused with the wall.” Cjay was ticked off because the soldier was so stingy with his words and reaction. He decided to go back to her. “Are you going to take long, Natalia? I’ve got no nudes there, so don’t expect—"

She glared at him. “If you don’t shut up, I’m not going to help you with this cell phone!”

“Why are you acting all tough?” he challenged, grinning at her. It seemed like Cjay enjoyed arguing than simply talking. “Remember, I’m a zombie.”

“Should that scare me?” she turned to face him.

Cjay slowly lifted his body. He leaned toward her direction and propped an arm and an elbow on the bed to firmly root him in his new position.

“Niiiice,” he gave her an underlook that she didn’t know if he was doing because of his new position or because he wanted to look at her that way. “You’ll get to keep your job if you’re not scared of me.”

“I know you’re thinking that this is all an act. But I have every reason to be unafraid of you. Remember, when you don’t have an assistant, you are not allowed to go out of Malacañang. Understood?”

His smirked wider at the same time, Natalia tapped the recorder button on the cell phone screen to record Cjay’s voice. The voice record was for the voice recognition system that she was setting up in his phone.

“Yes, ma’am. Understand. Understood!” he said, unserious, shaking his head once in every end of the sentence. He was really toying her, bickering with her.

Then, they heard a loud notification sound from the cell phone.

Cjay’s eyes widened. “Hey, what’s that?”

“I thought you’re a zombie. I never knew that you’re actually a cave man. It’s your own phone and you don’t know how a notification sounds like?” Natalia suppressed her urge to laugh mockingly as she showed him the screen of his cell phone. She grinned at him proudly. “I’m done setting up your cell phone.”

***

“PLAY ‘Dead!’ by My Chemical Romance,” Cjay declared loudly.

He was already lying at the edge of the bed, closer to the night table where his cell phone was rested. The soft yellow glow in the room came from the night light attached to the socket on the wall close to the open bedroom door.

A few seconds later, his music app opened and played the song he requested.

‘That Natalia’s good. She knows a thing or two about phones,’ Cjay stared at the ceiling. ‘I wonder what she’s up to before the epidemic? Was she into online games like me? Was she an IT specialist?’

He frowned.

‘The fuck do I care?’ Then he scolded himself. ‘What you have to find out, Cjay, is why her scent suddenly changed.’ He squinted his eyes in deep concentration. ‘She’s been only here for two days, so how? How did her smell change that fast? It’ll be weird if I ask her about it.’

He completely forgot to listen to the song that was playing on his phone. ‘She really got me fooled. At first, I thought it’s my rotting smell or her stinky apartment, but it’s her. Then, I thought she was just sick, malnourished, that’s why she smells like rotting too . . . Cjay lighly shook his head. ‘Didn’t Dad notice her smell too? He had been alone with Natalia on a few occasions. Did everyone not even question her smell? Or they didn’t notice because it smells stinky here in Citadel, like what Kuya Rick said? Or are the things I can smell are exclusive for zombies only?’ He sighed deeply, full of frustration. ‘If only I can still smell things the way humans do.’

Cjay did not stir a bit on his bed, but saw Akira at the side of his eye. The soldier stood straight beside a window. Silent. All he could hear was his breathing, the gentle rushing of his blood, and the slow pulsing if every beating muscle in his body.

The healthy drumming of his heart.

The rich flow of fresh blood through each tube and doors of his veins and arteries.

Akira was looking by the window, holding up his gun with its mouth pointed up. From where he stood, no one from outside could see his built or silhouette. It was only Cjay who could tell that he was looking by the window.

‘Poor Akira. Couldn’t catch a break and couldn’t even sleep a wink. He’s been guarding us the whole day and never seemed to close his eyes.’ Cjay closed his eyes. ‘But that’s his job, so . . .’

When Cjay opened his eyes, he was welcomed by a pale face looming over him with a big wide set of eyes. The eyes seemed to pop out because of too much curiosity. To add to his horror, long threads of black hair curtained his face, disabling him to look away from the ghastly face over him.

“Ahhhh!” he flailed.

The face immediately drew back, away from him. It was followed by a slap that landed on his face. It was so strong he was forced to face the right side of the bed. Cjay felt that his soul almost got out of his body too.

He angrily looked back and glared at Natalia. “What is that for? Why are you peering like that on my face?”

“Your chest isn’t moving. I thought you’re completely dead,” she said lifelessly, making Cjay assume thet she just woke up too.

He immediately sat up, even if it didn’t look like it because his body easily lost balance and moved slower than normal. He was clumsier in the morning too. Cjay had to prop his back against the bed’s head rest to be able to sit straight.

“Just admit it, you’re ogling at me!”

“Yes. I watched you while you’re sleeping.”

He felt a kick in his chest. For some reason, he felt kind of nervous and confused at the same time.

“And why are you watching me?” he asked grumpily.

“Because you’re a zombie. So, basically, I would want to inspect you from up-close.”

This woman was really reckless! Tactless!

“Wow! What am I to you? An experiment? A national museum zombie exhibit?” he scowled. He was alrein the middle of struggling to lift a hand so he could brush away the hair strands that poked his eyes. “Well, congratulations! You had the chance to look at a zombie up-close. Happy? Huh?”

He froze, stunned when Natalia neared him. That one swift stroke from her fingers that brushed the hair strands away from his eyes felt like a cringe-worthy slow motion of seconds. He blinked for a second, and gazed into Natalia’s lifeless eyes before she quickly stepped away from him.

Natalia threw her hands on her hips and looked at him intently again.

‘Now what is it?’ He thought before following her line of sight. Cjay immediately looked at his pants. He swallowed. “Shit! I knew it!’

“It’s just morning wood!” he blurted defensively about the outstanding bulge on his pajamas. Worse, it was more evident because he was in commando. “Don’t make a big deal about it!”

“What made you even think that I am looking at that?” Natalia bared her teeth in retort to his reaction, but she wasn’t mad at all. “Just clean up already! When I’m done getting dressed, I’ll be back to put concealer on your skin.”

Cjay’s irritation grew. He could not believe that it was going to be another work day today. He never really liked his very public career, but someone had to entertain the bored and depressed people of Citadel, right? Even if that entertainment was to his own expense.

“What’s my schedule for today?” Cjay frowned.

“Photoshoot.”

No matter how hard he tried, Cjay could not recall about agreeing to a photoshoot for this day. Maybe he would just go along with it.

“Fine. Get out,” he grunted, having a hard time getting his feet out of the bed.

“Let me help you.” Natalia bent a little and placed his arm over her shoulder while her other arm hooked beneath his legs.

Cjay glanced at Natalia and observed that she scrunched her face. It made him worry because she must be having a hard time carrying him since corpses weighed heavier than a normal human body. He was about to be pleased with her effort but was immediately vexed by the way her cheeks puffed lightly. She tried to stifle her gurk but he heard it so clearly.

She felt like vomiting. Obviously, because of him—the way he looked, the way he smelled, the way his skin felt like a various texture of rough collage.

Cjay’s feet haven’t touched the floor yet when he knocked Natalia away from him. She was surprised and accidentally stepped back. She balanced herself, avoiding to fall on her butt before she managed to stand straight.

“I can manage. Leave me alone,” he muttered without looking at her.

He only glanced at her direction when he heard her heavy footsteps. What he only caught sight of was her silhouette running out of the bedroom door, her hand covered her mouth.

His angered disgust grew.

***

THE slamming in her chest grew violent. Deranged. Natalia should have known better! She should have known!

She shouldn’t have overstayed in that zombie’s bedroom! Especially when her stomach was empty because she just woke up!

Natalia was almost clutching her mouth as she covered it with her hand. Her room was only seven doors away from Cjay and yet it felt like she was taking forever to reach it. Her panic got worse when she felt her slimy spit licking their path between each of her fingers.

She only helped Cjay get his foot down from the bed. The closeness of their proximity in that position suddenly made her a thick gush of spit run up to her throat. Her throat was starting to clog with saliva and her tremendous effort to hold it back suddenly made her gag.

Natalia carelessly flung her bedroom door open and left it to slam close on its own. She rushed to the adjacent bathroom and uncovered her mouth. Sticky spit stretched like slime connecting her mouth to her palm.

She used her other hand fo open the faucet. She ran the icy water on her slimy hand before bending down to wash and gargle her mouth. Her movements were rushed, as if someone would catch her if she dudn’t hurry up.

‘I know it’s not yet enough. I haven’t recovered from my lack of proper meal these past few months. But I ate a lot yesterday, so why am I already hungry for that zombie?!’

Her salivating seemed endless. She had been in front of the sink for minutes. ‘What a bummer!’

***

NATALIA was carrying an open canister of a mentol rub that she borrowed from Kuya Quintin, one of Cjay’s bodyguards. She was already dressed in a pair of simple jeans, the rubber shoes that the President bought for her, and a long-sleeved turtle neck shirt in a vivid shade of red. She let down her long, black hair—neat and straight.

Earlier, she put on some menthol rub under her nose, close to her nostrils. She figured that the menthol rub was the only solution to her salivating. If she couldn’t smell Cjay’s rotting smell that much, maybe she would stop drooling over him.

As long as she hadn’t had her fill yet, she should not get too dependent on her menthol rub though. But, she would think of how to satisfy her hunger later. At this moment, she must focus on resisting her hunger before she gets tempted to gobble the president’s son.

Also, menthol rubs alone wouldn’t work. Natalia thought that she should also change her mindset. So instead of thinking of food, she should think about her work.

She dressed up and returned to Cjay’s room. When she returned, he said he already had his quick breakfast and already showered. He out on his wide-legged jeans alm by himself. So, she helped him get dressed in an oversized button-down shirt with stripes that made it look like a baseball player’s uniform. She helped him put on his shoes. Then, she put concealer on parts of his body that were left exposed by his clothes.

After getting Cjay ready, she left to have breakfast. Then she checked him in his bedroom, but he was already gone. Maybe, he already went to Kuya Rick and got into the car. So, Natalia descended the stairs that led her out of the presidential palace.

Just in time, she saw Kuya Rick and Kuya Quintin. The driver wore a flowery blue shorts and white T-shirt. On the other hand, Quintin, who was in his late thirties, wore camouflage pants and a black fitting shirt. They worked hand in hand to get some bags inside a gray armored van.

“Where’s Cjay?” she asked.

They only glanced at her briefly and barely noticed that she was smearing some methol rub under her nose.

“In his room, Natalia. He’s still there when we took these bags,” Quintin answered without stopping from doing his task.

Her eyebrows furrowed in confusion because she checked on Cjay before coming out here. And she didn’t saw him in his bedroom.

“Let me check again,” she said while turning on her heels, heading back to the palace.

Her ability to smell from a distance should help her find the zombie, but it wasn’t going to work well thanks to her lack of proper meal and the cold, spicy smell from the herbal menthol rub she was using.

Cjay’s bedroom door was still left open when she got back. Natalia saw him sitting in front of the dresser table. He was in the middle of comhing his hair using his fingers. He combed slowly and carefully before she realized that he could not run his fingers through his hair. Doing so just sliced or scraped off his skin. When he made little mistakes like that, he resumed to pick up some strands of his hair after another to lift them up and rearrange them.

“Where have you been?” she asked as she approached him.

“I never left. I just used the toilet,” he answered, distant. Maybe because he was more engaged with his own reflection in the mirror.

“Is Akira joining us?”

“Haven’t you asked your lover boy about that?”

The ‘lover boy’ remark didn’t affect her anymore. Cjay obviously wanted to start another bicker but she wasn’t in the mood for it. She shook her head to say ‘no,’ then added. “This morning when I came here in your room, he’s already gone.”

“Well, the human was up all day and all night yesterday, so I bet he’s going to sleep the whole day off today.”

‘Poor Akira.’

“So who’s guarding us?”

‘Who’s guarding me?’

“My regular guards, like Quintin.”

She remembered Kuya Quintin, the guard who always sat beside Kuya Rick in the front of the car. These past three days, she never had a chance to talk that much with him because she was being careful. She didn’t want to interact a lot with anyone around Cjay—from the driver to the guards—because gettung too close with them would make it hard for her to move around or to hide her other identity.

“That’s enough,” she told Cjay about fixing his hair. “Let’s go. Your bags are already in the van.”

When they got inside the armored van, Natalia finally realized how dangerous her situation was—being trapped alone with a zombie. At the back of the van, there were two parallel seats that lined along the dark-tinted glass windows with grills. The bags were on the floor, close to the front of the van.

Cjay and Natalia sat across each other. As far as what she knew, the effect of Cjay’s immortality pill would wear off at eleven in the evening, hence the driver and guards had no worries with putting her and Cjay alone in the back of van but without anyone else to protect her.

Since the back of the van was tightly enclosed, Cjay’s scent was trapped in, filling the four corners of their area. Even her menthol rub had nothing against it. He smelled like a rotting fruit—strongly sweet, citrusy, and strangely, flavorful, like an ethylene that permeated in the air.

Natalia pulled out the menthol rub canister. She turned to face her side of the seat, almost pressing one arm against the back rest of the long seat. Her face almost touched the window in her attempt to hide that she was putting on a menthol rub below her nose, close to her nostrils.

‘Shit! I’m getting hungrier!’

“I know that I smell, but is it really necessary for you to put that every minute?” Cjay frowned.

She wore a dignified look as she returned her eyes on Cjay. “Looks like you’re losing your chill, zombie. You’re getting more hotheaded.” Then she showed her signature grin, the kind that spread so wide it was as if it would tear her face.

Cjay reciprocated with a smug grin. For some reason, he instantly looked challenged with her. He readjusted in his seat by slightly slouching and manspreading. One of his hands propped against the leather seat beside him, while his other arm hang down because his elbow rested on top of the back rest. Cjay lazily slid a foot forward, taking up the walking space that served as a gap between their facing seats.

Natalia’s reflexes were quick. As soon as Cjay lunged a sneakered foot forward, she moved her feet away. With straightened legs, her toes pointed at the closed two-doors of the armored van on her left.

“What? Planning to eat me now?” she asked, concealing her terror at the thought of fighting for her life too soon. Then she narrowed her eyes at the young man whose smirk wouldn’t go away.

“At first, I’m chill because I don’t give a damn. But from the looks of it, that didn’t make you like me.”

‘He’s expecting me to . . . like him?’

Natalia tried to hold it in. But hell! She could not stop her cruel laugh. “So, now you give a damn? That’s why you’re losing your chill? she stated when her chuckle wore off. “And what are you expecting? Fore to like you, given your attitude since we first met?

His facial expression remained static. “Sorry, not really ‘like’ in a literal sense. But I was expecting that you’ll stop hating me.” He became nonchalant all of a sudden. Natalia was starting to assume that it was his defense mechanism—pretending to be unaffected. “I mean, why hate on me? I know it’s not just because of my smell.” He slightly cocked his head to the side.

Oh, no. From the looks of it, this guy was preparing himself for a long talk all throughout the ride. She didn’t want to chat with him, but did she have a choice?

“Do you want to know the answer to that?” she sat straight. Natalia also swept away Cjay’s foot to put her feet back in place.

Cjay pulled back his foot, but the challenging look in his eyes remained. He never even backed down from their locked gazesm

“I hate you because you’re so privileged. And what are you doing with that privilege? You’re abusing it. Stress shopping at his whim while the people around him are stressed and have almost nothing to eat. You always start fights, scream at people, refuse to follow instructions, give everyone a hard time with their jobs, and yet you get to stay popular. A celebrity with work opportunities here and there. The president’s son who has a convoy of men, a militia rather, to protect him and give him special rides inside a freaking armored van just like this!” she finally snapped indignantly.

“In short, you think that I’m being difficult.”

“Yes!”

“And you’re still upset about the stress shopping? Tell me, what should I do with my hard-earned—” he emphasized to obviously contradict her claim that he was privileged, “—money then, Natalia? If not for buying the things I want, what should I do with my own, hard-earned money then?”

“I don’t know,” she shrugged. “Maybe, use it to help those who can’t get liveable wages here in Citadel?”

He burst out laughing. “You’re nuts!”

“Now look at that attitude!” she pointed at him. “See? And you have the audacity to wonder why I hate you?”

He was mocking her, ridiculing her at the back of his mind. Natalia could see it in the way Cjay dramatically shook his head, as if in disbelief, while he was trying to stop himself from laughing. His eyes contrasted his lips though. There were not rejoicing or amused. They were dimmed and disappointed, which made her feel conflicted about his reaction.

“Why work for me if you hate me, Natalia?” he smirked, facing her again.

“I think the answer is obvious. I need to survive.”

“Why not try to survive by working for someone else? If you hate me so much, then let me make it up to you. Let me do you a favor and ask my father to fire you. You will be promptly replaced with someone who doesn’t hate me.”

She snorted. “As if! How many assistants have you had? They couldn’t even last that long.”

“And you think, you can last, Natalia?” Mischief glinted in his dark eyes.

Natalia folded her arms across her stomach and nodded up her head. “I have the guts.”

Cjay just shook his head, but this time he didn’t seem in dismay. It was as if, a realization has put out the fiery irritation in his chest. He suddenly had a softer demeanor and pensive, red-rimmed eyes. Then, he slowly glanced at the window beside him.

“Just so you’ll know, this armored van is not meant to protect me, but to protect everyone in the Citadel from me. And my father won’t hire extra guards, a second driver, and an envious, little ingrateful assistant if I am not being very difficult to handle.” He was silent for a second or two before scoffing. “It’s also a good thing that you hate me. It will make it easier for you to kill me in case . . . things get out of hand.”

Natalia stared at him for a minute, trying to decide if she should respond or not. She chose to turn away from him in her seat, and look outside through the window beside her.