The street looked like a war zone, and I crouched a little lower than I would have due to the bright lights of my hotel in the distance. Every other light was off in the late night. All around us, about a hundred people were picking up debris and putting them into garbage bags. Rolls of toilet paper that were still good were being gathered and put into grocery bags for people to take home. Kazuya had told me that this clean up after Zombie Walk was also tradition, and usually most people stayed around for it. It was to show respect for the neighborhood after the fun. I found that to be the most amazing part of it. 

The stores' tables had been given back to their owners. Some people had gone into the shops, buying things. The day wasn't totally lost. They were still getting many more customers than usual, and a variety of them. However, they could have done so much more business.

As I cleaned, I was thinking about what I'd heard during the day. Someone, in the chaos, had said that Zombie Walk had a permit to be here. So, what did that mean? It meant that the hotel hadn't had permission from the city. If they'd pursued a permit for their event, they'd have been blocked due to Zombie Walk being held the same day. They would have known Zombie Walk was happening. 

It enraged me. Something else that had resonated with me were the guests saying there were children at our event. I'd played with some of those children. While I didn't agree with the message of the guests about protecting them from Zombie Walk, I did place myself in the eyes of a child in this. Would they have been scared of the zombies? Surely they'd had to walk through the chaos of our guests and the zombies fighting. If I were a child, I'd have been scared of the yelling guests much more than the zombies, who I'd seen were nothing but calm and desperate to explain their side. 

I'd learned from Kazuya and Nikki that throwing toilet paper was a tradition in Zombie Walk just like this clean up. They'd been throwing toilet paper and glitter at each other before the runners showed up. So, the zombies definitely hadn't been purposefully attacking them. When Chidori showed us footage on her phone of the start of the toilet paper war, it was concrete evidence. The runners had shown up and immediately started fighting them. You could even hear Nikki reacting to seeing the girl being pushed. The start of the video had been merriment and fun, everyone smiling and having a really good time. But, as soon as the runners showed up, the mood had turned and it was the runners' negativity that ruined it. 

As we'd watched the video, about twenty minutes of it, Kazuya and Nikki had gasped together at a particular moment. Someone had shouted a word and then others started shouting a word. I didn't know this word, and afterwards, I wished they hadn't told me.

"It's a gay slur," Kazuya explained gently to me. "If you hear it, it's the worst thing that can be said. Do you understand?"

I did. It made me know that our guests had recognized that a lot of the zombies were wearing rainbow colors. They were targeting their being LGBTQ people, the mood shifting again. I'd gotten closer to the screen, unsure what to do. The police were there, pulling a lot of our guests away. The zombies weren't putting their hands on anybody. Someone ripped a Pride flag off of someone's shoulders and ran away with it, the zombie looking around in shock and their friend pointing and they started running. 

It took the police a long time to sort out. Many of the zombies had left by the ten minute point, and many were cleared out by the twenty minute point. The ones who were left were wandering about, shock on their faces. I saw a zombie girl crying. It made me want to cry, too. By the end, I recognized the scene that my boss and I had come upon. 

It was one hundred percent our guests' fault. There was no excuse. They'd gotten angry, thinking their day was ruined. They could have just walked past all of this, ignoring it. They could have still finished the race. But, instead, they'd very much felt like these people had to be removed. That they owned the street, when quite literally the zombies were permitted by the city to be there, and the store owners were residents here. They were putting their hands on them, getting their anger out. And the most unforgiveable thing, which made absolutely no sense to me: when they'd figured out it was a LGBTQ event, they'd started targeting them. 

Kazuya and Nikki had explained to me that they'd left soon after it started, running from the cops. But, Hanako and Chidori had stayed behind. Hanako was one of the organizers, and he wouldn't abandon his post. You could hear him on the video refusing Chidori, saying he needed to help everyone. But, they'd eventually had to flee when they realized that people were being targeted for their rainbows. 

I had no idea what I could say at work to do anything about this. I was at a loss. There was no beginning to try to describe how I felt. How it had been our guests' fault. There was no way to punish them, or hold them accountable. Many of them would be leaving tomorrow anyway, and they'd have absolutely no consequence. It made me sick. It made me want to throw something. But, there'd been enough violence. So, instead, I focused on cleaning. Trying to clean like I was three or more people, trying to apologize. Trying to do something to make up for this. 

However, there was still one event left. Kazuya showed me this, smiling to me and taking my hand. I'd put my last trash bag inside French Cup, where it would stay in their storage room until a special trash pick up. It was all paper, recyclable. 

We'd walked back past my hotel, which was giving me that same sick feeling from earlier. I knew what it was now: it was disgust. Wanting those guests to leave so I wouldn't have to look at them. I couldn't predict what I'd say to them tomorrow. 

Nikki and Hanako led the way down the street, and they were somehow cheerful again. Hanako was even singing. I couldn't imagine it. Where had all of their worries and sadness gone? It was impossible. As I thought about it, I thought maybe it was still there. I know certainly that I'd had to sometimes disregard my sadness to keep going. Maybe it was the same thing. Something terrible happening to you, but you had to go on. It was the only reasoning I had.

As we got closer to the theater, we saw a large crowd of people still in their zombie gear. As we got nearer, they started chanting, and I recognized many of the same people that I'd just cleaned with, their costumes unique and identifiable. It was a party atmosphere, just like at the beginning of Chidori's video. Where did they get the courage? It was the bravest thing I'd ever seen. 

Suddenly, the marquee came on, lighting us all up, the words "Zombie Movie Marathon Finale: Train to Busan" front and center. Cheers erupted, going around the crowd. Pretty soon, Charlotte emerged into the ticket booth. She started distributing tickets and we formed an orderly line. Kazuya put his finger over his lips and snuck inside without me, making his way through the crowd. By the time I got my ticket and went inside, I saw him and Nikki behind the concessions serving popcorn and sodas. They were zipping around, doing what they did best, which was help people in this way. Of course they knew how, because it's basically what they did at French Cup all day. But, this time they were helping Charlotte. 

It made me in awe. The way this community helps and cares for one another. It was so different from where I came from. Everyone always thinks about themselves in my world. All of those so-called Karens. I was glad there was a word for it. Their entitlement and self serving. 

As I got up to the counter, Kazuya reached down under the counter quicker than a second, and he placed in my hands a box of chocolate. He did a little happy dance and I laughed, finally laughing tonight after seeing that video. He leaned over the counter and I leaned in, too.

"I'll see you in there. Sit on a couch. Tell people you're saving seats for Nikki and me. We'll come after we're done," he said to me over the chatter of the crowd. 

Still, I lingered, watching them. I shoved myself up against the wall to be out of the way. It was the most wonderful thing, watching them. A lot of the zombies recognized them due to them still being in drag. They'd take their purchases and talk to them for a few seconds, and Nikki and Kazuya were all smiles, talking with them. Some of the zombies even took out their phones and took selfies with them. Kazuya kept making funny faces, poking his tongue out, being silly. The amount of awe I felt...it was indescribable. To be that strong? I couldn't do it. 

I went inside the theater, grabbing a couch at the corner. The other couches were already taken up. I put my hands on the back of it, surveying the room. There were zombies from wall to wall, some even sitting on the back steps to the fire exit. They were chatting and grinning, eating popcorn and candy, laughing, taking pictures. Walking around, talking to friends. Squealing and dancing.

They were having fun. Enjoying Zombie Walk, this last event. I only admired them. Probably, many had been there when the chaos had started. And yet, here they were, acting like it never happened. 

In about fifteen minutes, Kazuya and Nikki plopped down on the couch. They weren't even tired. Kazuya had a giant bucket of popcorn and gestured it to me, offering to share. It was so loud in here that we couldn't hear what the other was saying. So, I smiled to him, trying to be brave myself. I had to at least try to match his. I grabbed a handful of popcorn and shoved it in my mouth, and he grinned. He took my now empty, but greasy hand and squeezed it. He didn't even care that there was grease all over it. 

Nikki stood up, standing there facing the crowd like he was standing on a stage. He was so tall that he had a commanding presence. The room immediately fell silent, not even the rustling of popcorn. 

"Hello, everyone, I'm Nikki the Mouth," he said commandingly. 

"Hey, Nikki!" A bunch of them called back. I heard Chidori in there somewhere.

"Thank you all for coming today. The clean up was really a success this year, wasn't it? I can't say that for the rest of it..." 

Nervous laughter responded to him.

"But, we had a good time before that. So many of you helped out our shops and restaurants today. I know we put this event on every year, and we have Salem's Sister to thank for that." He started clapping for them, and everyone was clapping for them. It died down, and he continued. "But, this year was special. Everyone came out and made it the best year ever. I've never seen everyone having that much fun before. I think we all did something right, and you all did, too. I was walking around, seeing everyone. I know you all came out to have a good time, to really enjoy yourselves. We're a part of a community, a family. We were all with family today. I never want you to forget that you're part of a family. We have family gatherings throughout the year, more like reunions. I see so many of the same faces year after year. I think you all feel that, too. Am I right?"

The crowd were calling out, clapping, but it was more subdued than before. Appreciating him. 

"We will do this again next year." He emphasized the "will". An assurance. But, I could see he was tip-toeing around the elephant in the room. Not mentioning the fight. Not mentioning that ugliness. Maybe we were all here, trying to forget. I was, but part of me didn't want to. That part wanted to stop such ugliness from ever happening again. "Next year will be the best year ever, too. We're going to do even more. This year will mean nothing compared to next year. Thank you so, so much."

This year will mean nothing. Was that an assurance, too? It definitely hit me that way. He'd finished speaking, but the silence in the room told me that it had hit everyone else that way, too. 

He bowed to them, and they started clapping. As he took his seat, the lights dimmed. In the darkness, Kazuya squeezed my hand, but I held his tight, not letting go.