~
To Zack’s surprise, it really didn’t take them too much time to get to his hideout. In fact, by the time that the two of them made it to the front doors of the apartment complex, there was still a bit of sunlight to help them guide their way through the halls. Before entering however, Zack had to pull out a flashlight from his backpack, opening the door that contained complete darkness.
“I thought you said that there was still some electricity left in this place,” Anna asked him, walking carefully behind him.
“There is,” he quickly told her. He paused as they passed a light switch in the middle of the hallway. With his free hand, he played with the switch, quickly turning the light on and off. After he had his little fun, he turned off the light completely and started walking once again. “I just don’t want to use it all up lighting the hallways when I have plenty of batteries for this thing.” He then shook the flashlight in his hand.
Anna felt a bit foolish; now that he had explained it, the solution was kind of obvious now.
Another thing was crossing her mind though: how much could she really trust Zack. She believed herself to be an attractive enough girl, and there was a clear lack of women in what remained of Los Angeles. She felt than any man, desperate or not, would try to take advantage of her because she appeared weak, which was why she felt she had to compensate with her battle skills. The thought quickly faded though; it was odd, but she felt that Zack wasn’t interested at all in not only her, but people in general.
Zack led her to the stairwell, the two of them still walking in silence. They climbed slowly, careful not to make too much noise. Oddly, Zack had experienced a bit of luck with this place, not having to deal with zombies. His only guess was that their motor skills were very limited, and they weren’t able to properly climb up stairs. Weak reasoning aside, he liked the fact that he was able to go to one place in this world where he wasn’t required to fight for his life.
They stopped at the seventh floor, the stairwell door widely open for them. Zack moved to the third door towards his right. On the bright red door was a white circle with a large “X” in the middle of it, which he had drawn in with chalk. This was his safe zone; his home. He left it slightly open on purpose. If there were any survivors still left in this area, it was possible that they were dangerous and would possibly kill him. They most likely wouldn’t notice the small detail that the door was slightly open, and would most likely close it. Even with him feeling sure that no one was inside, he carefully pulled out his katana and opened the door. When he turned on the light, there was nothing; just as he had expected.
“Wow,” Anna awed as she made her way through the doorway.
“Home sweet home,” Zack said, putting his sword back within its own home.
Zack, moving with purpose, first made his way to the bathroom. He unloaded the medication he held in the bag and placed them inside the medicine cabinet, alongside his other pills. He then made his way towards the small kitchen area. He began the process of making jerky, first preparing the spice bath and then thinly slicing the meat. He then soaked the slices he cut of the meat into the bath while putting the rest of it inside the freezer for later.
While this was happening, Anna was exploring the tiny apartment. The only rooms that had a light bulb within its socket was in the living room and the hallway restroom. The rest seemed to be missing their bulbs; she guessed it was probably a conscious action made by Zack. Another thing that she felt was purposely done by the boy was that many of the electronics were unplugged from the walls. Besides the dehydrators (with which Zack was already placing the soaked meat onto) the only things in the house that was plugged in was a television and a DVD player.
“I don’t suppose you have a blow dryer,” Anna said, jokingly.
“Don’t need one,” Zack said, allowing himself a light chuckle.
Comically, he pointed to the top of his head, which had no trace of the hair that Zack once had. Although it was very weak, Anna could tell that his hair was shaven; although he looked the same age as she was, she knew that it was possible for some guys to lose their hair at a young age, for one reason or another.
“So, is it alright for me to ask why you style your hair like that,” Anna asked, sitting on the counter across from him. “I mean, I get that it’s for practical reasons, but you could have just trimmed your hair back, like I’ll do mine. Shaving your head, it has to stand for something, right?”
“You could say that,” Zack said, sounding as if he was only half listening to her.
“I mean, it’s not like you have cancer or anything,” Anna said, her voice filled with light humor.
“Well, it’s not exactly cancer.” Zack’s tone was still half-interested in the conversation as he was finishing up with putting the meat into the dehydrator.
Still, that comment didn’t go over Anna’s head. To her, it obviously meant that there was something that he was keeping from her. She wasn’t upset; there are always certain things that you don’t tell people upon meeting them, even if it took place during the final days of humanity.
“Well, what is it exactly,” Anna asked, her voice now serious.
“You sure you really want to know,” Zack responded. He didn’t sound so distant this time. As he waited for the girl’s answer, he placed the spice bath inside the fridge in case he planned to make more jerky some time later on.
Anna pondered this for a few seconds. He obviously didn’t appear to care whether she knew this information one way or another. With that, all the mystery and the intrigue seemed to just disappear. Still, it would be nice for there to be one less barrier between the two of them.
“Sure, if you’re okay with telling me.” Anna answered.
“Okay.” Zack now looked at Anna in the eye, placing his hands on the counter that was a barrier between the two of them. “You have to promise me that you’re not going to scream or freak out or anything like that, understand?”
Anna hesitated after hearing that, now having second thoughts. “Um, sure, but why would I scream?”
Zack didn’t feel like explaining any further, but the answer to Anna’s question was about to be answered. Taking a second, Zack inhaled as he grabbed the lower part of his sweat drenched t-shirt. In a smooth motion, he took off his shirt, bundling it up in his right hand. Anna’s eyes widened, unsure how to react to what she was seeing. It took her mind a few seconds to process exactly what she was looking at.
Placed nearly in the middle of his chest was a pink, vertical scar. It seemed a bit aged and faded, but it was very obvious that he was cut down his chest, one way or another. It didn’t look grotesque, much like in horror movies, but thin and almost elegant. For Anna, this opened up a whole new avenue of questions, each one fighting to be verbalized first.
“Could you put your shirt back on now,” Anna finally vocalized. She had gotten a good look at his scar, but didn’t care much for his other physical features. Zack wasn’t that muscular, and there wasn’t any fat in his stomach that was all that noticeable. She didn’t find him unattractive; she was simply not interested at viewing the men around her in this way. Back when the world was still relatively normal, she detested men who thought they could impress her by simply taking off their shirts so they can be admired by all. Zack complied with Anna’s request, quickly putting the shirt back onto his body. His seemed to almost be relieved having his shirt back on.
“So, how exactly did you get that scar,” Anna asked.
“I got this scar about two years ago…” Zack told Anna as he began to explain the process of receiving a heart transplant.