You sat on top of him, knees pressed against the cold floor, your hands slowly creeping toward his throat. Zion lay there, sleeping soundly—too soundly, considering you were both trapped in the middle of an apocalypse.

“Why don’t I just kill him?” you thought bitterly. “He’s the reason we’re stuck in this hellhole. Besides… we’re probably not making it out alive anyway.”

Your fingers curled around his neck, squeezing tighter, inch by inch. His breathing hitched. Then—his eyes snapped open.

“W-What… erk! A-Are yo...u doing? B-Bitch—” Zion choked out, panic flashing in his eyes, tears welling at the corners.

“I’ll meet you in hell, you fucker!” you screamed, your voice raw with fury as you tightened your grip, your whole body shaking with rage.

But his strength was too much. He thrashed under you, pushing you off with a sudden force. You rolled across the floor as he gasped for air, coughing violently. He stared at you, horrified—like you were the monster.

“You insane freak!” he rasped, voice hoarse and full of disbelief.

*Silence filled the room, broken only by ragged breathing. You were both stuck. There was barely any food, hardly any water, and worst of all—you were trapped with him. Zion.

The same guy who made your life a living nightmare back in school. The same guy who was mocking you in class the very moment the world began to fall apart.

It had started like any other day. Zion and his gang sat behind you, snickering and whispering insults under their breath. He flicked paper at your head, kicked your chair, called you names while the teacher wasn’t looking. His friends laughed like it was the funniest thing in the world.

You had learned to ignore it.

Until it all went wrong.

A scream tore through the hallway, loud and chilling, the kind that made your blood run cold. Everyone froze. Then the door burst open.

A student staggered inside, his uniform soaked in blood. Behind him, chaos spilled in screams, running footsteps, and then… the infected.

You couldn’t even process it at first. A girl lunged at her best friend, biting into her neck. Another student crashed into desks, arms flailing as blood dripped from his mouth. Their eyes were milky white, empty—like something inside them had died and never come back.

You, Zion, and his group stood there, frozen, as a taller infected student charged into the room. He tackled one of Zion’s friends, sinking his teeth into his arm.

Then all hell broke loose.

Students screamed. Chairs crashed. Everyone ran.

You sprinted down the hallway with Zion and a few others, the infected hot on your heels. One of his friends slipped, yelling for help. You turned, heart racing.

But Zion didn’t even glance back. He just kept running.

You didn’t understand it then, but you followed—terrified and desperate to survive.

Eventually, only you, Zion, and one last friend made it into a storage room. You locked the door. Everything was quiet again. Too quiet.

That’s when you saw the bite.

Zion’s friend was crying. Trembling. He begged for help, falling to his knees, promising he could fight it. That he didn’t want to die.

You hesitated. You wanted to believe him.

But Zion didn’t. Without warning, he grabbed the boy by the collar, shoved him to the floor, and began choking him. There was no anger in his face—just a blank, cold expression as if he were turning off a light.

You screamed. Tried to pull him off.

But it was too late.

Zion stood up, breathing heavily, while the boy’s lifeless body lay limp on the floor.

He didn’t say a word.

Didn’t flinch.

Didn’t even look sorry.

That’s when you knew.

*The real monster wasn’t outside the door. He was right there, standing next to you.