"Let's go upstairs," Jaxon whispered, then slowly led the way up.
Halfway up the steps, he raised his hand, telling Natasha to stop. He heard something, soft shuffling coming from one of the rooms.
Jaxon pointed at the door and then at Natasha, telling her to open it while he aimed the rifle.
She grabbed the doorknob, took a small breath, then counted with her fingers. 'One... two... three.'
The door creaked as she pushed it open.
Inside were a young man and woman, both around their early twenties.
They both froze when they saw them. The man held a small kitchen knife, his hands shaking, while the girl hid behind him, her eyes wide with fear.
Seeing Jaxon with a gun raised toward them, they stumbled back, clutching the knife.
"Who are you?" Jaxon asked quietly.
" We should be asking that," the young man said, trying to sound firm, but his trembling voice betrayed him.
Jaxon glanced at Natasha, and she gave a small nod.
"Drop your weapon. We won't hurt you," Jaxon said.
The two hesitated, then slowly lowered the knife. Jaxon followed by lowering his rifle, keeping his movements calm to show he meant it.
"There are zombies moving around outside. We just need to stay here for a little while, if that's okay," Natasha said softly.
At the word 'zombies,' both of them stiffened. Their faces paled as if they were remembering a nightmare.
"No. You two need to leave. This is our house," the young man said. His voice shook, but his eyes stayed sharp.
"We'll only stay for a bit..." Natasha tried to reason, but he cut her off.
"I said no. Leave now!" His fear spiked, and he reached down to pick up the knife he had dropped earlier.
"Calm down," Jaxon said, ready to raise his rifle again if he had to. He understood the man's reaction. If strangers with a gun suddenly entered his home, he would act the same way.
"How about this," Jaxon said, keeping his voice calm, "just let us stay here for an hour. I'll take care of the zombies outside from here, and once it's clear, we'll leave right away."
The young man didn't agree yet. His grip on the knife stayed tight.
"I promise," Jaxon said, sincerely looking into the man's eyes.
The young man's eyes shifted to the rifle in Jaxon's hands. After a few seconds, he finally gave a reluctant nod.
....Minutes later, Jaxon was already set up at the second-floor window, keeping his rifle steady as he watched the street below. Natasha stayed close behind him, a pistol in her hand.
In the corner of the room, the young man and woman sat side by side. They kept their eyes on Jaxon and Natasha, tense and unsure. They seemed to be aware that zombies were sensitive to noise, so they didn't dare make a sound.
Natasha tried to ease the heavy silence as she started a small conversation with the two.
"Are you two a couple?" she asked softly, giving them a small smile.
They hesitated before the young woman finally shook her head. "We're siblings."
"I see... we're siblings too," Natasha said, pointing lightly toward Jaxon. "We live nearby, just a few streets away. So I guess that makes us neighbors."
The young woman lowered her gaze, then whispered, "Do you..."
Natasha leaned a little forward. "Hmm? What was that?"
"Do you have some food?" the girl repeated, even softer this time.
"Hannah, quiet," the young man murmured, but she clutched her stomach.
Natasha smiled gently. "We brought some food." She reached into her backpack and took out two cans. Stepping closer, she placed them on the floor, then slowly backed away, giving them space to come forward.
The young man hesitated, his eyes still filled with suspicion. He didn't reach for the cans.
"Think of it as our payment for staying here," Natasha said, reassuring them.
The siblings finally nodded, and their hands reached for the food. They opened the cans quickly, eating with a kind of desperate hunger. As they ate, the heavy atmosphere in the room seemed to lift, just a little.
Natasha stayed nearby, chatting softly to keep them talking. Slowly, they began to open up. The young man said his name was Haris, and the girl was Hannah. Until yesterday, they had lived here with their parents and some cousins. But last night, when the horde came with the alpha zombie leading them, everyone was killed, except for Haris and Hannah.
Hannah's voice broke as she spoke, and tears streamed down her face. Haris kept looking at her, his jaw tight as he tried to stay strong for both of them.
"How did you two manage to survive?" Natasha asked softly.
"We hid up there," Haris answered, pointing toward the ceiling.
Natasha followed his finger and noticed a small square opening, almost invisible unless someone looked carefully.
"You can hide from the infected?" Jaxon said quietly from the window. "Don't zombies have a strong sense of smell?"
"Yeah, they do," Haris said. He clenched his hand into a fist. "Our parents hid in the rooms downstairs. Our cousins were in the storage area. They found them all. The zombies kept searching the whole house. They almost got to us too. We could hear them scratching at the walls near the attic."
Hannah lowered her head, shaking slightly.
"But just before they reached us," Haris continued, "we heard a loud roar from outside. And then… the zombies just suddenly left."
Just as Haris finished speaking, low growls echoed from the streets outside. Everyone froze, and the two siblings huddled back, shaking with fear.
Jaxon quickly raised his rifle, looking through the scope. Not too far away, maybe a hundred meters, the infected were clawing at the doors and windows of a house. They seemed really agitated.
Jaxon frowned. Something had caught their attention. He scanned the house carefully, moving from window to window. Then, on the second floor, his eyes went wide with surprise.
'Burgors… you're alive!'