Song: G-Eazy & Bebe Rexha - Me, Myself, & I

The tower was all quiet. It was still in the early morning hours inside the hospital. Only the doctors and volunteer staff were softly stepping through the halls to begin another day of surviving.

Over the past month, the number of lost and found human beings that were brought in from the ruins of the city had decreased significantly. For a week straight, Jonathan brought back supplies and stragglers that needed a place to stay. The population increased within the tower and the thirty floors accommodated them all comfortably. But after that week, they stopped seeing people come in, maybe one or two, but natural selection seemed to be running it's course until there was no one else left to find.

They didn't really know what to call the creatures of the night, but somehow 'screamers' started to stick and it was sort of common sense. Because when the sun went down, the screams echoed through the small, winding, desolate streets. The screamers came out and any chance they had of sleeping soundly went out the window. The defenders, as they liked to call themselves, stayed on the bottom floors once they had moved all the sick and wounded up a few floors as not to draw in the screamers from the smell of blood.

The defenders consisted of the most willing women and men, a few in their late teens. There were only about ten of them all together but they kept patrols going on the bottom floor and outside the building along the wall they'd built over the past few weeks. The second floor housed their bunks and all the excess weapons they'd accumulated thanks to Jonathan bringing them back with him whenever his bags were full. Rations were handed out daily and medicine was still in stock, but running low.

They had created a system of sorts, or better yet, Jonathan had. He was the mastermind behind it all and they followed him without questions. It just fell into place that he was leading them even though he refused to be called the man in charge. Either way, he was respected even though they didn't even know his name or what he looked like behind that mask he always wore.

He rarely spoke, but when he did he was very hush hush and alone in a corner with Marcel or Lui, sometimes David. Even then, no one knew his name, but they trusted his judgement and did as he asked. They moved the wounded up a few floors when he said to, they set up rations, built a perimeter, distributed clothes. All because he was the lone runner keeping them alive.

And as much work as he did, as much running as he did, he never stopped. He had set up drop zones just outside the hospital on top of buildings and the defenders inside would collect the supplies that he dropped off.

He came inside the tower very seldom, only to shower the dirt and blood from his skin and clean his clothes, or to communicate with one of the guys. He left just as quick, leaving everyone wondering even more who he really was. They revered him because he was a mystery.

------

The wounded were recovering, slowly getting back on their feet and joining society on the upper floors. Except for one and he came crashing out of his room, swinging his arms, yelling, heaving like he'd just run a marathon.

David came around the corner to find his assistant Brock tangled up with the man who'd been in a medically induced coma for the past month. Cat, as they liked to refer to him as since no one knew his name, they went off the shirt he'd been wearing when they brought him in. He'd broken his legs and in order to avoid confusion and disorder that they didn't have time for, David made the decision to keep him under until he healed properly. His legs healed a week and a half ago, but the fractured ribs were still healing, the bruises were still visible on his tan physique. The gash on his head had been well tended to before he'd been brought in, all that was left now was a pretty scar on his right temple.

David sighed and made his way down the hall where Brock's shoes were squeaking on the floor as he tried to calm the guy down.

"Get off me!"

"I'm not trying to hurt you!" Brock countered and David watched the man's energy drain while he tried to push Brock away. He practically wilted against the wall and sucked in air as David approached.

"Help him to his bed, Brock."

His assistant nodded and guided the drowsy man back into the room and got him to the bed where he collapsed. "Where am I?"

David took a seat next to him and checked his vitals, then put his flashlight to his eyes. "You are in the hospital, do you remember what happened to you?"

He blinked for a moment trying to recall a sliver of anything that had happened that would explain why he felt like complete shit or why he was in a hospital.

"What about your name? Do you know who you are?" David questioned.

"Evan." He ran a hand through his dark hair and fell back onto the pillows. "My name's Evan. I was . . . . running from something."

The memory was blurry, but it was there.

------  

His ears couldn't really process what he was hearing but he was counting on his legs to get him away from the noise as fast as possible. It was working, but not well enough. It was right behind him and he chanced a glance back. It was the wrong decision. Two glowing yellow eyes were burning holes straight through him when he did. It's hands were reaching out for him as it screeched, the echoes bouncing around the empty streets. Evan turned and he ran harder than he ever had. He was fucked. He had no sense of direction, no companion because he'd lost her when the bombs fell. She ran, getting lost in the crowds. She was probably dead, but he brushed that thought aside. If he ever wanted to find her, he had to live first.

It was so dark, that's all he could remember. Sucking in air and running blindly with nothing but the dimming flashlight in his hand that was barely lighting the way. He couldn't move fast enough, it was getting closer. He found his voice and screamed for help. It was his last resort and just when he was about to let his feet falter he heard a response.

"STOP!" It came from just ahead of him and that was enough to keep him going. There was a light coming from somewhere and he saw the figure of a man in the stirring dust, in the light that kept getting brighter the closer he got. He felt fingers on his back as he ran into the intersection, he felt pain, heard the screeching of something. Either tires on pavement or the creature at his neck, maybe both.

Everything after that was too dark and hazy to make out. He remembered the feeling of being dragged. A knife. Someone pressing a hand over his mouth, hushing him. A mask? That was it.

------  

"After that, it's nothing. It's black." Evan rubbed at his eyes and the doctor nodded, readjusted his glasses and wrote something down on his clipboard.

"Do you know what country you're in?"

Evan nodded. "Yeah, Brazil. Rio. I travel a lot."

"Good." The man held his hand out. "I'm David. That's Brock. You should relax, let your strength build back up. Then I'll get someone to show you around the tower."

"The tower?" Evan raised a brow.

"The tower, the hospital. It's the same thing. People here don't like to say they live a hospital so they call it the tower." David shrugged. "It makes them feel better about being confined to a building for god knows how long, I suppose."

Evan sat up. "How long have I been here?"

David glanced up at his assistant who chewed at his lip. "It's been a month since the bombs fell."

"Jesus Christ." Evan groaned and ran his hands through his hair. An entire month he'd been laid up in this bed while he could have been out there looking for her. He swallowed past the fact that there was no way she was alive. Not after a whole month of being out there alone with those things.

"Try to get some rest." David gave him a reassuring pat on his arm and left, his assistant right behind him closing the door with a gentle click. He was left alone in the silence and it was the last thing he wanted; quiet. Because when it was quiet, he couldn't stop thinking about everything he'd ever done wrong. Like bringing her with him. But how was he supposed to know that there would be bombs falling from the sky? How was he supposed to know that he would be fighting for his life the next day, running, getting mowed over by cars, waking up in a makeshift refuge?

How was he so amazing at being in the wrong place at the wrong time?

------  

"Lui."

He turned upon hearing his name while he was writing up a list of supplies they would be needing soon. "Sup, Nogla?"

"Cat's awake, he's kind of confused. I was wondering if you or one of the boys wouldn't mind giving him a rundown of the place." The Irishman twiddled his fingers while the shorter man grinned up at him.

"Sure thing." He winked and David rolled his eyes. "I'm making a list. Is there anything you need before I give it to our marathon man?"

David looked around, "Is he coming in today?"

Lui shrugged, "It's about that time. Every four days. So, probably. Again, do you need anything, Doc?"

"I need anything he can find. Anything could happen. Supplies aren't in the red yet, but we're cutting it close." He cleared his throat and shifted on his feet. He never liked coming down to the bottom floors. It was too close to the outside, to the reality of what was out there. He liked his cold sterile confines in his office upstairs. "Still don't know his name yet?"

Marcel emerged from his weapon room behind them and crossed his arms. He had holes in his long sleeve shirt that looked like you could blow on it and it would disperse like cotton candy on water, it was so thin and worn. "No, he doesn't have to have one. But we'll just keep referring to him as Anjo, like the locals do up top."

"They call him an angel?"

Marcel turned back to his room to resharpen the machetes that had dulled. "Yeah, they look up to him and so do I. He's kept us alive and no one even asked him to. Everyone here owes him their lives."

"I know." David nodded. "Give him a pat on the back for me will ya? Cat's up on the fifth floor whenever you want to show him around."

Marcel and Lui watched him leave then gave each other a look. Marcel smirked, "Well, you're the designated tour guide. So . . . go ahead."

He gestured with his arm to the stairwell and laughed when Lui flipped him off and headed in that direction. "I'll be sure to let him know the dirty deets about our weapon handler."

"Yeah, like what?" Marcel called after him.

"Like how you trade off sharp objects for blow jobs." Lui snickered and ran up the stairs out of sight.

"Always a little bitch." Marcel smiled to himself while his best friend ran off to do his self proclaimed duties of helping everyone get comfortable with their new lives. Lui was always a good guy, always helping where he could and in a situation like the one they had found themselves in, he was essential to keeping the peace. He kept people in good spirits with his humor and his smile that ran through you when it graced his face. If he wasn't on the bottom floors roaming around taking orders, gathering up another list for Anjo, he was up on the top floors getting to know people, speaking to them in their local tongue of Portuguese and putting them at ease with updates.

But much hadn't changed. They were still sitting in the same tower, with the same people, with the same amount of information that they'd started out with, which was very little. They still hadn't made contact with anyone on the outside nor had anyone tried to contact them. Marcel feared that it was only a matter of time before something else was going to happen. He feared it would be worse that what had already transpired and in his mind, nothing could be worse than dropping experimental viruses in the form of bombs on top of thousands of innocent people. What could be worse?

The government trying to cover it up. Leaving them all to die, maybe. But until they found a way out, this was all they could do.

------  

"Well, Cat, it's nice to see you awake." Lui said cheerfully as he entered the room.

The Asian looked at him like he was stupid, "Cat?"

Lui shrugged, "Yeah, you had on that dumb cat shirt when we brought you in. Nobody knew your name, so we made you one."

"It's Evan."

"Nice to meet you, Evan. I'm Lui."

He slid his legs off the bed and looked down at the clean white shirt on his chest. "Where is my cat shirt, by the way?"

"Probably trashed."

"Thanks, that was my favorite."

"No problem." Lui chuckled. "Nah, for real. It was covered in your blood. Screamer blood, too. So it's either been cleaned and cycled back around into the civies clothes up top or it was chucked."

Evan opened his mouth trying to form a question, but he wasn't sure what the hell to ask first. Lui seemed to understand because he nodded and waved for him to follow him out of the room. "You've got questions. I'm here to answer."

Evan crossed his arms and he didn't realize he was barefoot until they stepped into an elevator and the cold metal crept into his feet. "What happened?"

The shorter of the two crammed his hands into his pockets as the elevator took them to the upper floors. "We've only come up with theories. Government obviously, but we don't know who's government or why, but someone dropped bombs for a reason and those screamers didn't appear until after everything settled down. We're thinking it's a virus that was dispersed from the first bomb that hit the stadium up the hill. People got infected, changed, started hunting people. We call them screamers."

"Screamers." Evan huffed. "Fitting."

It sent a shiver down his spine just thinking about that sound, like nails on a chalkboard. He could practically feel the fingers clawing at his back, the breath leaving his lungs. The elevator came to a stop on the twenty-fifth floor and he followed the guy out into the hallway that was bustling with people, natives, and the occasional child. Music was quietly drifting through the white halls and he dodged a kickball when it came rolling by followed by a few young teens. Lui led him down to a room full of tables that had been organized in rows. On top of those table were stacks of clothes and shoes, separated by size and color. It was a very clean system and he approved. Washers and dryers were pushed into a line beside each other on one wall of the room, quietly whirring while a few guys were folding clothes in a corner.

Lui helped him pick through the black shirts, but they never spotted a cat. Lui gave him a pat on the shoulder, "Sorry, dude. I'll keep an eye out for it. In the meantime, let's get you suited up. Grab you a shirt, some pants, shoes. Whatever you need. I'll be outside."

Evan dressed quickly, pulling slim deep grey jeans up his legs, lacing up black running shoes, and pulling a fresh blue shirt over his head. He met up with Lui who was speaking a language he didn't understand to a few people before he noticed him. They made their way back to the elevator and got out two floors up, mingling with more people until they came upon a cafeteria. Lui pulled him over to the food.

"So, you hungry?"

"I am."

"Well, you've been on a liquid diet for a straight month so you need to slowly incorporate solids back into your body or you'll be sorry. If you know what I mean." Lui educated him and gave him a heads up on what he could and shouldn't eat until he got back to normal. "So, start with tomato soup, work your way up to soup with potatoes, then solid vegetables, then pasta. So on. Got it?"

Evan nodded, "Got it."

Lui scrounged through the organized stacks of canned food on the shelves and found him some tomato soup and showed him where all the dinnerware and utensils were and where to wash them when he was done. He microwaved his soup and took a seat with the smaller man at a table and they ate in relative silence until Evan spoke up again with more questions.

His spoon clinked against his bowl, "So, how does this place have power?"

"There's a lot of useful people here. Electricians, plumbers, construction workers, translators. Kind of anything you need really. It's here. We worked with flashlights and backup generators the first few nights until we got ourselves together and went out on a small mission to the local power station. The electricians did their work and had whatever power there was rerouted to this building. If they didn't, we wouldn't have been able to save as many people as we did. So we keep that maintained, keep the toilets running, keep the water hot." Lui sat back and rubbed his stomach. "It works."

Evan looked around. There was one thing he still didn't understand. "Where do you get all the supplies?"

Lui opened his mouth to answer but he caught sight of a person that had just walked in. Evan turned in his seat to catch a glimpse of what he was looking at and he furrowed his brows when he saw a man walking their way. He was tall, lean. Very lean, he looked like a good runner. Probably didn't have an ounce of body fat on him. His black hat was turned backwards and a handkerchief was covering the lower half of his face. It looked like a skull. He unstrapped two heavy looking bags from his back and handed them off to a few people that were stocking food. They gave them their quiet thanks and rushed off without another word.

Evan couldn't help but notice how hushed it seemed to be in the open room. Like a silence fell over wherever this guy went. Evan turned back around and motioned behind him, "Who's that guy?"

Because he was very familiar. Something about him clawed at his memory, but he couldn't quite recall. He just saw flashes of the mask dance across his mind.

"That's where we get all the supplies." Lui said in a hushed voice as the man got closer.

Evan eyed him as he walked past the table and motioned with his head for Lui to follow. He watched him get up and walk into a quiet corner with the guy and talk. What about, he didn't know, and he had enough sense not to ask. He quickly diverted his eyes when the guy glanced back at him, but couldn't help looking again when he turned back to his business. Evan noticed how fit he really was, from the way his shirt pulled around the muscles of his arms, to the loose fit of the running pants he was wearing. His shoes were worn thin.

He gave Lui a small pat on the arm and when he turned, heading back out the way he'd come, he caught Evan's stare and didn't let it go until he passed. His eyes were piercing and crystal clear; intimidating.

That left him wondering even more. How did he know that guy? Because he knew he'd seen him before, or at least the mask. Perhaps he'd seen him or someone wearing it in the streets before all the commotion happened. He shrugged to himself and brushed it off. There was no point thinking about it if he couldn't remember.

Lui slid back into his seat across from him and gave him a grin, waiting for the questions to start again and they did.

"So, he supplies this place?"

Lui nodded. "Yep."

"Just him? No one else?"

Lui nodded again. "Yep."

"That's a lot to do for one guy." Evan commented, just a little uncertain that he was telling the whole truth.

"It is, but he never stops running. Some say he doesn't sleep, but we all know you have to sleep eventually. Some call him a ghost because you never see him. He rarely comes in here when it's early like this, when everyone can see him. So you're lucky you saw him at all. Some call him an angel, their savior; Anjo." Lui sipped at his water.

"Anjo?"

He swallowed down the liquid, tapping his fingers on the table. "It means 'angel' in Portuguese, their native tongue."

Evan nodded and looked back around to see the back of the guy's head before he disappeared out of the door and into the hall.

"Okay, so he's a mysterious loner who keeps this place running and hardly speaks, but he talks to you?" Evan eyed him carefully. "What makes you special?"

Lui giggled, "Well, you see, I found him the morning after. Me and my buddy Marcel went out looking for people after the madness went down. Found him holed up in a convenient store. Even then, he had his face covered. So when he comes in he either talks to me or Marcel because he knows us. Or he talks to David."

Evan smirked, "Dr. Bean Pole?"

"The one and only."

Lui neglected to mention that Evan had been in that convenient store as well because he had a feeling that if he told him, Evan would go running after him. He wouldn't do that to Anjo, not when he knew he didn't like company when he ran. Lui also got the hint that Evan recognized him but couldn't place him.

The Asian mulled over his thoughts for a few minutes before he sat forward with his elbows on the table. "So no one else gathers supplies?"

"No."

"Why not?"

"Anjo has a system and it works. He doesn't want people to interfere. It's dangerous out there." Lui stood and Evan followed suit. "Besides, no one's volunteered to run anyway. No one wants to."

Evan cleaned his dish and asked inconspicuously, "So what exactly does he do out there?"

Lui didn't mind his prying. "Well, he runs the rooftops, maps out the city, searches the buildings for anything we can use to survive; food, medicine, clothes, weapons. I go around and see what we need and give him a list when he comes in."

"Is that what you two were talking about?"

"Sure was." Lui took his dish from him and stacked it back with the others before leading him out into the hallway again and into the elevator. "Another thing. We don't use the elevator much unless I'm showing someone around or whatever. The civies stay up here on their respective floors, we stay down bottom, the doc's right above us, and we have plenty extra floors for whatever we might need them for."

Evan just nodded and tried to follow along with what he was saying but his mind kept wandering, a half masked man taking up space in his thoughts. Was he really that good that he ran alone and kept this entire establishment on it's feet? There were a good number of people here that needed protecting and for just one man to be carrying the weight of them all was astounding.

"I want to run." Evan blurted out and he was the first ever to do so given the look on Lui's face. They stepped out into an empty hallway where the air was moist and warm. They were on the third floor.

"You want to run?" He raised a brow at him. "Are you insane?"

Evan held back a laugh, "Just a little."

Insane didn't even begin to describe himself. Over the past few years he'd gotten into more shit than he could remember properly, from base-jumping off the side of a building in Kuala Lumpur to downing a shot of home brewed tequila with a scorpion on his hand on the coast of Indonesia. He'd done many things, some of which he couldn't remember but that was the life of a man with too much money and too many people after it. He'd left his home in southern California three years ago on his twenty-first birthday because his so-called friends and family and the occasional woman were breathing down his neck trying to get their claws on his small fortune. Only a few million and it drove people mad. Except for himself. He was smart and he invested, then he packed a change of clothes and his camera and got on a random flight. He went back every few months to make sure no one was dead in his immediate family, but then he ran before they caught wind of him being there. Travelling was something he loved to do and he didn't find peace any other way than finding something new to see and capturing it with a lens and a shutter to trap that memory forever.

He did it alone until he stumbled upon Lucah . . . . now she was gone.

"Why do you want to run?" Lui asked him and opened a door into a big room of showers separated by chest high tile walls, closed in with shower curtains that had been cut in half and draped across with a hook for more privacy.

"Why wouldn't I?" Evan gestured around. "I can't just sit still and wait for help that's probably not coming. I have to do something. I know how to run."

Lui put up his hands in defense, "Hey, I'm not stopping you. No one is, but I'm not saying that he won't."

"Who? Angel Boy?"

"Yeah, Angel Boy. He knows what he's doing. So just stay out of his way unless he approaches you."

Evan nodded in complete understanding. "Don't mess with the quiet guy. Got it."

"Like, he could probably snap your neck of he wanted to and you wouldn't know it until you were dead. Don't fuck with him."

"Is he a dick? Or just sensitive?" Evan snorted. "A sensitive dick?"

"Not really. Just lethal and precise. Smart. Watch your back." Lui smirked up at him.

"Will do, Short Stop." Evan grinned down at the guy when he shook his head.

"Okay, so this is where us dudes and ladies on the bottom floors shower and since I already knew you weren't gonna be comfortable up top with the civies, you can chill with us." Lui showed him to a large wall of lockers. "This is where we keep everything. Pick a locker. Towels, hang it up to dry, use it when you shower again. We limit showers to once every three days per person. Shampoo and soap is down here. Use as little as you can. But you can shower as long as you want. No big deal."

"Got it." Evan gave him the okay sign with his fingers.

Lui clapped him on the shoulder, "Good. You can grab a hot shower if you want. Meet me back on the ground floor when you're done. Take the stairs."

"Thanks, man." Evan shook his firm hand and stripped out of his new clothes when he was gone.

He fetched a towel and the necessities to wash off with and he let the water get hot before he stepped in. When he did, he finally felt the soreness, the ache on his sides and in his legs. He sagged against the tile and let the heat take his mind off of it before be drenched his head and let the water run in rivers down his back. The steam rising up around him cleared his head and he let it soothe his lungs. Evan still couldn't really process that this was happening, but he'd take it one day at a time like he'd been doing his entire life. Going from one extreme to the next. But this was the most extreme situation he'd ever found himself in, not that it would stop him. Even if he was more terrified than he'd like to admit.

He lathered the shampoo into his hair, feeling the dirt that had taken residence over the past month of his immobility. His muscles were weak and he knew that he wouldn't be able to just run out there and get started today. He had to work himself up to it and regain his strength first. There were plenty of stairs for him to run up and down. It was about the only option other than basic push ups and crunches. It wouldn't take him long.

He could do this.

------  

"Hey." Scotty nosed his way into Marcel's area and quirked an eyebrow. "So, you have any shiny hand-crafted weapons you want to maybe let me have because I'm super awesome and you totally love me?"

Marcel stopped sharpening a dulled machete and spun in his chair. "That depends."

"Ooh." Scotty wiggled his brows. "On what?"

Marcel spun a sharp blade in his hand, "On how good you are with that smart mouth of yours. Convince me to give you this pretty little knife that I spent all night working on for you, because you're super awesome and I totally love you."

The dirty blonde let his lips curl up into a smile and he moved forward only to freeze when he heard a throat clearing behind him. He looked down at Marcel who was trying his best not to break into a laugh. Scotty squinted, "You dirty bastard. You set me up."

Lui giggled behind him and said, "And here is a demonstration of Marcel, our weapons dealer, about to trade off sharp objects for blow jobs."

"I wasn't going to suck him off, you bitch!" Scotty flipped them both off and pulled the honing steel he had in his pocket and handed it to Marcel. "I found these in one of the drop off bags just outside. Figured you could use them. Now give me the knife!"

Marcel laughed deep from his lungs and traded the man for the materials and watched him storm out like he usually did when he threw a temper tantrum. But he always bounced back soon after like it never happened. He was a cheerful guy most days and they bickered back and forth constantly to keep themselves entertained when things got too quiet. Lui stepped into the room with the man he'd helped carry all the way here a month ago; Cat.

"Marcel." Lui grinned and ushered the Asian in by his shoulder. "This is Evan. Evan, this is Marcel, our weapons guy. You need anything sharpened or repaired, you come to him. He'll take care of you. Also, he's the one that found you and carried you back here."

Marcel furrowed his brows for a moment, but caught Lui's wink and he understood. They weren't telling the guy that Anjo had actually taken care of him. It was a good idea since the Asian seemed ambitious and telling him that their mysterious savior had saved his life would probably send him running after him. Their supplier liked to run alone so they would divert any attention they could away from him while he worked, purely out of respect for what he did for them.

"I sure did." Marcel grinned. "You're one heavy mother fucker, by the way."

Evan gave a short laugh, "Sorry. I appreciate you hauling my ass back here or else I'd be dead."

"Don't mention it." He stood and shook his firm hand. He was a tad smaller than the first time he saw him, but it was because he'd been laying in a hospital bed for an entire month. So his slight muscle loss wasn't a shock.

Lui chewed at his lip and rocked on his feet. He had something on the tip of his tongue so Marcel cocked his head to the side and gave him a look until he let it spill out. Lui cleared his throat. "So. Evan here wants to run."

Marcel looked between the two of them until his stare settled on the taller of the two. The Asian's resolve never faltered as he stood there with broad shoulders and crossed arms. "You're serious."

"I am." Evan gave a single nod.

It was silent for a moment before Marcel gave in. "I mean . . . I can't stop you if that's what you want to do. But just a word of advice; don't get inhis way."

"I understand. Lui already educated me on your Angel Boy."

"Angel Boy . . ." Marcel smirked and shook his head. "Anyway, like I said we can't stop you, but we can make sure you're not running blind out there. First thing, though, is that you should try to get some of your strength back. Exercise a bit for like a week or two and then we'll talk weapons and supplies. How's that sound?"

Evan agreed. "Sounds fair enough."

Lui perked up, "Well, now that all that's settled let me show you around outside."

Evan followed him out through the front doors and the mild breeze hit him in the face. He sucked in a long lungful of fresh air and sighed. It was warm but not too bad, it was spring weather still after all. He'd arrived in Rio in April, so it was May by now and he stopped when he didn't hear anything. Back then there was always a soft chatter that he could hear, or soft beats to local music, echoes of children's laughter bouncing through the streets. But there was nothing anymore. Only the stray call of a bird high above or the buzzing of an insect as it flew by, the rustling of the wind in his ears, the flap of clothes on a line. It was so . . . . peaceful.

"Weird, isn't it?" Lui glanced back at him when he realized he wasn't following.

"So quiet." Evan commented. His voice seemed to carry even when he spoke softly.

"It won't be so quiet when the sun goes down later. You'll see." Lui waved for him. "Come on."

His legs carried him along until they were standing at a big metal wall that seemed makeshift, which it was after Lui told him how they built it in three days. They had picked up large pieces of metal or pallets wherever they could find them in the city and hauled them to the tower. They braced it with whatever they could find and were always on the lookout for things to reinforce it with; more sheets of metal, or a simple stick, anything helped. He followed the guy outside of the fold-down gate and onto the streets where the silence was eerie, the wind like a ghost carrying the sounds of nothing, nowhere.

Evan felt his energy draining quicker then he expected it to when he followed Lui up a ladder that was attached to the side of a building. The guy grabbed his hand and helped him up when they reached the top. His shoes settled on the concrete rooftop and he looked out over the city; the dead city. The ocean was shining against the sun in the distance and if he listened carefully enough he could hear the waves crashing against the shore. He could see the stadium behind them, what was left of it, sitting in shambles, blowing dust into the air with each gust of wind. As he took in the sight before him, serene yet devastatingly sad at the same time, something caught his eye. There was a figure off in the distance moving at an impressive speed across the rooftops.

Angel Boy.

"Anjo." He said out loud and Lui nodded as he looked out across the horizon.

"This is one of the drop zones."

Evan looked over and watched him open up a big black cargo box that already had a few things stashed inside of it. There were a few empty duffle bags inside as well. "Whoever is on duty will come up here or head further out to the other two drop zones and fill a duffle then bring it back in. We sort the things out, take them where they need to go, restock. Rinse and repeat."

"Every day?" Evan wondered and Lui gave him a small salute.

"Every day."

"Sounds fun." Evan stated and the guy burst into a high pitched laugh that surprised him.

"I'm sure you'll retract that statement once your ass is out here doing what he does." He giggled and loaded up a bag and threw it over his shoulder. "Come on, tough guy, let's head back. Not much else to see."

The wind pulled at his shirt and Evan turned his gaze back out to the lonely figure in the distance and witnessed him scale a building like it was nothing. He clenched his fists and let his resolve harden even more. He was going to run, it didn't matter what it was going to take or how long he'd have to work at building his strength back up to where it had been before the bombs. He was going to do it. He had to or else he was going to cave in on himself, drown in his thoughts and the reality of the situation they were swimming in.

Evan tore his eyes away and followed his new friend back into the tower gates, securing it behind them and heading back inside the where he was taught what supplies went where and who to give it to. He figured out where to go and where not to go, what was accessible and what was off limits.

But most importantly, he learned that the night had no rest in store for anyone. The screams were other worldly and they followed him into his dreams where he was running, gripping that flashlight in his hand so hard his fingers were probably bleeding. They followed him until there was that flash of light, that squeal of tires, until he felt arms dragging him somewhere safe. He tossed and turned in his sleep, the sound of footsteps echoing in his head and a voice he couldn't quite place was in his ear.

"Shhh." It was soft. He felt a hand over his mouth. His pain faded and then it was silent. Black. He woke with a start, flinching slightly at the scream that traveled past his ears.

Evan was sweating under the thin sheet on the bottom bunk where he could hear the rest of the crew snoring quietly. Lui was above him, mumbling in his sleep. He slipped out of the bed and let his feet touch the cold tile floor and he pulled his shirt on over his head. He stepped silently across the room, out into the hall, and made his way to the stairwell where he followed it down one floor to the ground lobby.

"Couldn't sleep?" Marcel inquired when he saw Evan walking by.

He stopped and looked his way, making out his figure in the dim light coming through the front doors. "Not really."

"It's difficult the first few nights." He said and came from around his desk that was set up outside of the weapons room. "I'll get you some earplugs. Maybe that'll help."

"Thanks." Evan said and looked back at the doors. A dark figure was coming through the gate just as the sun was breaking the skyline and he knew it was Anjo by the mask across his face. Marcel brushed past him and unlatched the heavy locks on the doors to let him in.

"You're back early." He commented when he came through the door and dropped four bags of miscellaneous items on the floor. The man stretched his shoulders and cracked his neck.

"Yeah, well I found all this shit and didn't want it sitting out until you guys picked it up." The guy rubbed at his eyes. "Somehow there was a shop down by the docks that still had power. Probably a back-up generator. The freezer was still working so I got all the meat I could find."

Marcel stared at him wide eyed, "Are you fucking kidding me, dude?! Real meat? We haven't had real meat in a over a month. Everyone is going to flip their shit."

"Chill out, this stuff need to be put on ice, like right now. Before it thaws out and something smells it out there." Anjo remarked and he let his eyes drift over to the Asian that was off to the side minding his own business.

Marcel waved him over, "Think you can carry some of these bags, Evan, or are you still pretty weak?"

Evan shook his head, "I think I'm okay. Just don't make me take the stairs or you'll have to carry the bags as well as me."

Marcel chuckled. "Don't worry, we're taking the elevator."

Evan grinned and risked a glance at Anjo who looked away when he caught his eye. Marcel looked between them and cleared his throat. "Right, so we'll let you get back to doing your thing and we'll get these up to the food court. Thank you, man. You're a fucking hero."

Anjo didn't say anything, but he gave them a small wave with two of his fingers and left through the front doors again. Marcel locked it behind him and turned back to Evan. "Alright, let's go."

He hauled two bags over his shoulders and followed Marcel into the elevator. "So, you're not gonna tell him?"

"What?" Marcel glanced sideways at him. "That you want to run? Hell no. He'd shut you down so fast it wouldn't even be funny. I think you'd make a great runner and we need all the help we can get. If he doesn't approve, oh well. He'll just have to suck it up."

Evan grinned at that. At least he had people behind him on his decision. They made it to the twenty-seventh floor and stepped out into the hall. Hardly anyone was awake on the floor so they made their way to the food court without any hold-ups. When they entered they found Lui and few others from the crew of defenders on the bottom floor sitting together at a table eating their daily breakfast ration, talking among themselves. Lui waved when they came in.

"What's that?"

Marcel smirked, "Meat."

He was right. Everyone flipped their shit. Evan found himself laughing as they swarmed them to pick through the bags and help them get it in the freezers before it thawed and spoiled. He didn't expect to feel so at home with these people, but they made it so easy as they clapped him on the shoulder and fixed him a plate of breakfast, leading them to their table to join them in their stories. It was like he was one of them and he'd only been up and moving for a day.

"So, Cat. Tell us your story." One of the women diverted the attention to him. She had kind eyes, but they were also cunning, always watching everything around her. She was observant and he found himself slightly nervous under her gaze, like he was going to say something wrong. She went by the name of Langley. Her long brown hair was pulled back in a ponytail that wrapped around her shoulder. She was a tank-top, skinny jeans, and boots kind of woman and he respected her strong willed attitude.

"My story isn't interesting. I just flew here to Rio and the next day the apocalypse happened. I got hit by a car, someone dragged me to safety, and then Marcel found me the next morning, brought me here. Bean Pole put me in a coma, but you already knew that. Then I woke up, end of story." Evan shrugged and Langley grinned at him.

"Gotta say though, that's the most interesting story out of everyone here."

Scotty cleared his throat, "Yeah, she's right. We all just kind of found our way here. Most of us were here on vacation and happened to be near the hospital when it went down."

"But you." Murphy, the only other woman there; Asian, bold, and honest, pointed at him. "You said you don't remember who dragged you to safety and that is very interesting. What if he's in the tower right now?"

Lui caught Marcel's eye and tried not to let a laugh escape because he'd told everyone there what had really happened that day and they were all in on the lie now. They all knew who really saved Evan's life, who really dragged him all the way back to the tower, who really stitched his head up and kept him alive. It was as close to gossip and entertainment as they could get so they ate it up.

Evan eyed them and was about to speak again but Marcel broke them all up, "Alright guys. Let's leave him alone."

They all grumbled and went back to eating, waving him off when he got up and followed Marcel back out into the hall after he'd cleaned up what he'd dirtied. They went back down to their bunks on the second floor and dressed properly before Marcel took a jog with him around the building outside. They checked for any damage on the fence line as they went, watching out for anything unnatural.

Evan's lungs were stinging by the time they got around to where they had begun. His ribs were sore still and he hated feeling like this; so weak. But he kept going, he kept pushing himself and Marcel made it a routine to wake up and run with him so he wouldn't stop. Evan never did. He ran, each day getting faster, more agile like he used to be. He ran longer every time, his breathing evening out and soon he was running up ten flights of stairs without a hitch. A week later he was doing pull-ups on a bar in the weapon room while Marcel listened to music and sharpened blades. His ribs stopped hurting, he worked out the stiffness in his back and his knees and he felt like a new man by the time the two week marker of him being awake again rolled around.

Lui even let him run out and grab the drop off bags for a few days and each time he would climb up to the rooftops, he'd take his time and look around him, taking in the sight of the quiet city around him. It was so empty and just laid out for the taking. He didn't know why he romanticized such things but this was something he'd always wanted to experience; a place that was dead, filled with secrets, whispers, monsters. But who didn't want to know what it was like to live in a zombie universe? It was a terrifying situation but it peaked his interest more than any destination or any thing he'd ever gotten himself into had. This was going to be the adventure of a lifetime and he couldn't wait to get out there and roam through the remains of the city himself. He wanted to help and explore and discover. This was his opportunity.

He made his way back to the tower and it was like they all knew, because they were waiting for him with items in their hands. Lui smiled, "I think you're ready. Am I right?"

Evan gave a small laugh as he set the bags down on the floor. Langley and Murphy picked them up and clapped him on the shoulder as they passed on their way to the elevator. "Good luck out there, Cat."

"Thanks, ladies." He gave them a wave before the doors closed.

Lui stepped forward with a runner's backpack in his hands. "Here, this is for your essentials. It's light, won't weigh you down. I've got a map in there for you, a flashlight, water, and some energy bars. On the map I've marked all the safe houses and any important landmarks."

Evan raised a brow, "Safe houses?"

Scotty stepped forward, "Yeah, Anjo has safe houses set up all over the city. It's where he sleeps. They're all up high out of reach of the screamers, so they shouldn't be hard for you to find. He's got them marked with bright blue cloths hanging from their rooftops. Hard to miss. So when the sun goes down, find one and don't come out until the sun does."

Marcel nodded, "Also, here's your weapons."

He handed him a small knife and a holster that wrapped around his waist, another smaller one to go around his thigh that was accompanied by another blade. He strapped them on him tight and stood back to look him up and down. Marcel nodded his approval. "Oh, here's some ear plugs."

"Thank you. I appreciate all of this, guys." Evan shook their hands. "Is there anything you guys want me to look for in particular other than the obvious?"

Scotty snorted, "Lotion."

They all shared a long laugh and Evan promised him he'd keep an eye out for it, or lube, much to Marcel's amusement. They waved him off and locked the doors behind him. Then it was just him, alone in an unfamiliar place with endless possibilities, with nothing to keep his thoughts from wandering to that dark place. But if he kept his feet moving and his attention focused on what was ahead of him, he'd be fine. So that's what he did. He hoisted himself up onto the rooftops, scanning the skyline for any sight of the lone runner, but found nothing so he pulled out his map and made himself a destination; the place he'd been when the bombs fell. The place he'd encountered the screamer.

------  

Jonathan had to admit it. He was glad to see the stranger up and on his feet again in the tower. That was one more person that was alive and not dead because of him. He obviously didn't remember him and he was grateful for that. He didn't need anyone thanking him for something else. He didn't want nor did he deserve praise for simply doing what he had to do to survive and keep all these people alive.

It was dark out and he was sitting on the ledge of a bell tower safe house on the east end of the city breathing in the salty air as it rolled in from the ocean. This would have been his dream place; not a person in sight, the moon reflecting off the water in the distance, a nice warm breeze constantly blowing. But it was ruined by the echoing screams far below. Each night he could see their eyes in the streets like little flecks of yellow dancing about. Like lightning bugs flying away with the wind.

Really fucking loud lightning bugs.

The wind gave a gust and he saw a flicker of light a mile to his left, up high and very brief. He almost didn't catch it. He pulled his binoculars from his pack and took a hard look in that direction, not seeing anything until he caught that light again. It was the flick of a lighter in someone's hand. Someone inside one of his safe houses. He waited and finally saw the shape of a man against the moonlight before the light disappeared.

It was the first time he'd ever seen someone else up so high and . . . fully alive. The last thing he needed was some kid running around on the rooftops getting into things they knew nothing about. He didn't need someone getting themselves killed. Jonathan stashed the binoculars and climbed down into the bell tower to shut his eyes for a few hours, then when the sun came up he'd go check it out. He'd drag them back himself if he had to.

He always had the same dream. It always held the same face, the same tears, the same heartbreaking smile that his best friend gave him before he died. He always woke up right as the building fell.

The sun was shining through a crack in the wood beside him and he squinted before checking his watch. He sat up with a jerk and rubbed his face before getting his things together and climbing out into the open. He'd over slept by two hours and he was already wasting time going to check on the person he'd seen the night before but he couldn't just let it be. So he ran across the rooftops, sliding down a few of the ramps he'd made across town to make his running more fluid, to save time. He quieted his steps when he neared the safe house and scaled it all the way up to the open window.

There wasn't a soul to be found, not even ruffled blankets on the cot in the corner where the man had presumably slept. Jonathan made his way outside again and looked around, trying to see any sign of movement, coming up empty so he resumed his daily routine and started scavenging. He picked through buildings on a certain block until he was sure there was nothing left to find and made his way back to the drop zones just outside of the tower. What he found when he opened the boxes that were supposed to be empty, sent a feeling through him that he hadn't felt in a long time.

Worry.

Someone was out here running around, collecting things unsupervised. They didn't know what they were getting themselves into and they needed to be stopped. He felt anger swell along side the worry and he grabbed everything in the box along with the items that were placed there by someone else and he took off for the tower. All eyes were on him when he trudged through the door and dropped everything on the floor, heaving in breaths. He looked around the room at everyone and he knew that they knew by the looks on their faces.

Langley snorted but quickly coughed to cover up her laugh. Lui avoided his stare, Scotty skittered off to his own area with the others, Murphy grabbed Langley by the arm and pulled her away. All that was left was Marcel who stood tall and met his eyes, unmoved.

"Who did you send out there?" Jonathan asked, trying his best not to sound so frustrated about it. Marcel hesitated for a moment and that was all Jonathan needed, because he looked around and realized who was missing. "The Asian? You let him go after he just got on his feet again?"

"He's athletic and built like a fucking tank, man. I think he can handle himself." Marcel defended him and Lui stood beside him.

"Yeah, dude. He's totally cool. We personally made sure that he had his full strength back before we let him go and we gave him what he'd need to survive." Lui gave him a charming smile and a cheesy thumbs up. Jonathan sighed and rubbed his eyes hard.

Marcel stepped closer, "Listen, he'll be fine on his own. You don't have to worry about it and he won't get in your way. He won't bother you."

Lui was right there beside him, "Come on, give him a chance. He doesn't want to be confined to this tower anymore than you do. He just wants to help."

Jonathan glanced up at them, the two that had found him in the first place, the two he actually considered his friends. How could he argue with any of that? He huffed, "Fine. But if he does something stupid, I'm dragging his ass back here and I'm blaming the both of you."

Lui giggled, "Whatever you say, man."

So there Jonathan was standing high on a rooftop, scanning the city below with his eye for any sign of the guy, until he caught a glimpse of him in his binoculars. He couldn't miss that dark head of hair. The Asian was jogging across the roofs with a full bag already and that was his first mistake. When it got full, you didn't keep going, you headed back to the drop zone and stored it. Then you kept going.

Jonathan kept his eye on him but continued to search for things per his routine and self given duty, stopping every so often to catch sight of him again. Each time he did, his bag was bigger. He was going to weigh himself down, tire himself out too quick, and not have enough strength to run away if he had to. He watched him a few hours later when he finally did drop his bags off, which the amount of items he had to admit was impressive for a rookie. Still, he wasn't doing it the way he did, therefore it was inefficient and amateur.

Days passed and he didn't realize how obsessed with it he'd become. He got closer to him each day, watching his every move, his every mistake. Jonathan bit his tongue each time he broke something unnecessary, or looked through things that were irrelevant. He got so caught up in following him that he didn't realize where they were until the dead corpse in the road looked alarmingly familiar.

The Asian . . . . Evan . . . . had gone back to the place where it all happened. Jonathan looked down on him from high above as he tried to piece together what went down.

------  

Evan felt like this was the place. It felt familiar and he could see long tire marks from where someone had hit the brakes. There a small dark dried up puddle of blood near the curb and on the corner was a convenient store. Just a few feet away was a corpse, a dead zombified looking corpse and he figured it could've been the one that had chased him that night. He made his way into the convenient store and crept around the aisles with caution until he found one with stuff all over the floor. There were open boxes of gauze, bandages, a bottle of pain reliever.

"Open up." He heard in his head. This had to be it. This had to be the place he was dragged to and kept alive overnight.

Evan didn't know what he planned to get out of figuring it out, but it made him feel a little better knowing where he was that night even if he couldn't remember half of it. He walked back out into the street and he was certain of one thing; someone was watching him and they had been for a few days now. It was like he would catch movement in the corner of his eye every so often, or hear the creak of wood or metal beneath someone's feet. It was kind of aggravating, like they didn't think he would notice. But he noticed and he tried his best to ignore it.

Until night fell and the sun was about to drop beneath the horizon and the screams rang free. Evan climbed up the nearest building and it never crossed his mind that someone could have been infected and been in a second story building because as he passed a window, a hand shot through it, breaking the glass and grabbing hold of his shirt. He didn't really have time to react and he felt something whip past his face and heard it stick in the screamer's eye. Evan pulled his flashlight out and looked only to find a blade sticking out of it's face as it lay there dead as a door nail in the window. He pulled it out and knew that it was one Marcel had sharpened.

It had to be him; Angel Boy. No one else was out here, just the two of them.

The frustration swelled and he walked to the edge of the roof, about to do something he'd never do otherwise. He was going to draw him out. He held out his arms and turned his back to the street below. He closed his eyes and let himself start leaning back until he was about to fall. That's when he heard heavy footsteps hitting hard on a tin roof behind him and just as he really started to fall he was hit by something heavy and the next thing he knew he was laid out on the roof with that skull mask staring down at him from above.

Anjo held a hand out and Evan took it, letting him pull him to his feet. He couldn't help but smirk, knowing he had been right about who it was. "So, is there a reason you're following me?"

The man didn't miss a beat. "Is there a reason you're so fucking reckless?"

The smile that spread across Evan's face was completely unintentional and he was about to say something smart but a scream cut him off and Anjo was pulling him away to a safe house before he could get the remark out.

"Keep your mouth shut until morning." He said roughly as they climbed the building to the open window at the top.

Evan rolled his eyes, but kept his amused grin. "Yes, sir."