The room was pitch black, but I could feel the heat radiating from her. The air in the bedroom felt thick, charged with a tension that my survival manuals hadn't prepared me for.
"Aryan?" Aurora whispered.
- "Mm?"
- "You're still awake?"
- "Yeah."
- "Can't sleep?"
- "I'm trying."
- "Is it because of me?"
- "That would be true."
- "Why?"
- "It's my first time sleeping beside a woman."
"So, Saint Aryan can't keep his discipline, now?" There was a hint of a smile in her voice.
- "Of course, I can."
- "Oh really?"
- "Watch me."
- "Yeah, Sure."
I let out a slow breath. "Lady, you are way too relaxed for a woman who is lying in the bed beside a stranger, she met a few hours ago. Don't you have any survival instinct? What if I wasn't a decent person? What if a bad guy, instead of me, entered into the apartment and found out a beautiful girl like you was staying in his room?"
Aurora moved closer to me.
Something warm, soft, and heavy brushed against my arm.
I couldn't see in the dark. But God! I knew what that might be.
"What would you do," she countered, her voice dropping into a mock-serious tone, "if you returned your apartment and instead of me, you met a man who was tall, full of muscles and....perhaps gay?"
I froze.
For some reason my brain immediately imagined a shirtless muscular bodybuilder leaning over my toaster and giving me a slow, predatory wink.
The silence stretched for three agonizing seconds as I tried to delete the file from my brain.
"Okay, I got the visual," I muttered. "Thanks for your enlightenment."
Aurora laughed right into my ear. It wasn't loud. It wasn't forced. It was warm. It was beautiful.
For the first time since the apocalypse began, the apartment didn't feel completely empty.
"You're welcome," she whispered playfully.
A moment passed.
She whispered in softly, "Thanks for staying with me, Aryan."
"Glad to be your service." I replied with a smile.
Morning arrived with weak grey sunlight pushing through the curtains.
I woke up with my arm numb and my neck stiff.
I rubbed my eyes and sat up.
Aurora was already awake, standing by the window.
"Good morning," I said.
She turned.
Her cheeks were bright red.
"Good morning," she said, her smile a fragile mix of shame and awkwardness.
- "Good morning. What's wrong, Aurora?"
- "Nothing."
"You can tell me," I said, stretching my sore limbs. "After all, we already slept together last night."
She gave me a look that clearly suggested she was currently deciding which weapon she should use to hit me.
I raised both hands.
"Sorry. Bad joke. Now tell me what's on your mind."
She took a deep breath. "...Aryan."
- "Yeah?"
- "Can I ask you a favor?"
- "Of course."
- "Do you have any old clothes? Ones you don't mind throwing away?"
- "You know where my wardrobe is. Pick whatever you like."
She quickly shook her head.
"No. Not for wearing. I need them for....different reasons. If you have any abandoned clothes, that'll be just fine."
I was a bit confused. "I have to check if I have any. But why do you need abandoned clothes? If you don't mind me asking."
She stared at the floor, her voice a shy whisper. "My period started. And I....I don't have any pads. I'm going to ruin your sheets if I stay like this."
I didn't blink.
Biology doesn't stop for anything. It didn't care about the apocalypse or the Crawlers.
"Stay there," I said.
I walked to my wardrobe and searched through the shelves. I pulled out a fresh, oversized black T-shirt. Heavy cotton.
"Take this." I handed her the tshirt.
She looked surprised. "What! No! I can't ruin your clean clothes, Aryan...."
"It's a T-shirt, Aurora. Not a kidney. Use it." I interrupted her.
She looked at me.
I continued calmly. "Dirty cloth can cause infections. And we can't afford you to be sick now."
She took the shirt, guilt written all over her face.
I stepped out of the room to give her privacy.
When Aurora came out of the bedroom, I had already changed into a fresh shirt and was tying my boots.
She stopped when she saw me. "You're going somewhere?"
- "Yeah."
- "Where?"
- "I'm going to get your supplies."
- "What supplies?"
- "Pads."
Her eyes widened. "What? No! You're not risking your life just for that."
- "It's not 'just that,' Aurora."
- "It's too dangerous."
- "So is an infection."
She frowned. "I'll manage somehow."
"I know you will." I stood up and picked up my backpack.
I looked at her eyes. "I'm not letting you suffer through a hormonal cycle while we're trying to outrun monsters."
- "But...."
- "Emma was your best friend, right? She lived in 405. She'll have what you need."
- "It's too dangerous,"
- "As I told you, It'll be dangerous, if I don't get those pads for you."
- "Let me come with you, then."
- "No, Aurora. You're not in the condition to run or jump. It's best that I alone go for the errand. But you can help me, by telling where would those pads might be. That way, I won't have to search every place."
- "They are in her bathroom cabinet."
- "Perfect."
She looked toward the apartment door. "How are you planning to get there? The hallway is full of those things."
"I'm not using the hallway." I replied.
She blinked. "What?"
- "I'll use the outside ledge. It's faster."
- "You....what?"
- "It's only three apartments away."
- "Aryan, that's insane!"
- "It worked yesterday."
- "But if you fall...."
- "I won't."
- "You can't know that!"
"I don't." I smiled. "But worrying about it won't make the ledge any wider."
She let out a long, frustrated sigh. "You joke too much."
- "It keeps my blood pressure healthy."
- "It raises mine."
- "I know."
- "I still don't like this."
- "I know."
I walked into the kitchen and opened the window.
I climbed onto the windowsill.
Before I could step outside....Aurora grabbed my shirt.
I looked back.
Her fingers were trembling. "Please think again."
I replied with a smile, "I don't need to. I already made the decision which is right and necessary. Just stay away from the door and keep the knife close."
"Please," she said, her voice breaking. "Come back safely. Otherwise, I won't be able to forgive myself."
I reached out and gently squeezed her hand. "Don't worry, Aurora. I won't leave you alone."
I climbed out onto the narrow concrete ledge.
The morning wind brushed against my face.
One careful step. Then another.
I kept my body pressed against the wall as I slowly moved past Apartment 403. Then 404.
Finally....Apartment 405.
The living room window was cracked but still in place. I carefully looked inside. The apartment was a disaster. Furniture had been knocked over. Broken glass covered the floor. The pizza Aurora had mentioned was still lying there, now completely spoiled.
No movement. No Crawlers.
I slowly pushed the window open. The frame let out a quiet creak. I waited. Nothing.
I climbed inside as gently as I could. My shoes landed softly on the carpet.
Still nothing. Good.
Keeping my breathing slow, I made my way toward the bathroom. I carefully opened the cabinet door. After searching for only a few seconds, I found an unopened packet of sanitary pads.
"Mission accomplished," I whispered.
I slipped the packet into my backpack. Then I turned toward the bathroom door.
THUD. THUD. THUD.
I froze.
That wasn't the sound of an ordinary Crawler. Each step was slow. Heavy. Strong enough to make the floor vibrate beneath my feet.
Someone....or rather something had just entered the apartment.
I slowly leaned toward the bathroom door and peeked through the narrow opening.
My heart almost stopped.
The muscular bodybuilder joke from yesterday night came to greet me personally.
Standing in the middle of the living room was my neighbor from Apartment 406.
Before the apocalypse, everyone in the building knew him. He practically lived in the gym. Insane training every single day. Muscles on top of muscles. He was built like a truck.
Now....the virus had turned all of that into a nightmare.
His body was enormous. His back was bent like every bone in his spine had been forced into a permanent curve. Thick muscles bulged beneath skin stretched so tightly it looked ready to tear apart. His hands were massive, ending in broken fingernails stained dark with dried blood. His eyes....They weren't just red. They were a deep maroon, shaking with a strange vibration. He turned into an evolved or elite crawler.
And it seemed like, he was looking for a high protein breakfast.
"Shit," I whispered. "Size does matter."