The Awakened by Sara Elizabeth Santana

destruction filled the screen, and the caption on the bottom read, “Riot in Los Angeles.” People were running in all directions, and you could just make out the distinct blue skin of the…zombies. A few of them were bent over bodies, and I knew exactly what they were doing.
    Ash changed the channel again. This time we were looking at Chicago, and a scene so similar to the one we had just watched. Each time Ash changed the channel, we saw a different city under disarray: Los Angeles, Chicago, New York, Houston, Philadelphia, Phoenix, Dallas, Miami, Indianapolis, Boston, and so many more.
    “Turn it off,” I said, burying my head into the couch. “Just…turn it off.”
    Ash shut the TV off, and we were plunged into darkness, the silence enveloping us, the sound of sirens and screams closer than I wished. Brown eyes met blue eyes, and we stayed together, alone, waiting.
    I curled up in the corner of the couch, staring at the blank TV until I fell asleep again.

 
     
     
     
    I WOKE UP A FEW hours later, disoriented in the dark room. A bit of light was peeking through the curtains, casting a ray of light across the coffee table and onto the couch. There was something solid and warm pressed against my back, and an arm was thrown casually against my waist. I could feel a slight warm breath on the back of my neck and for a second, I wanted to just lie there, safe and cocooned. The arm tightened around my waist, and I shifted a bit to look over my shoulder.
    And immediately rolled off the couch. “God, Ash, what the hell?”
    He rubbed his eyes, sleepily looking up at me. “What?” he said, stupidly.
    “This is a cuddle-free zone,” I said, grabbing the blanket from him and wrapping it around me tightly. “You may be in my house but stay away from me.”
    Ash yawned and sat up, stretching his arms out. “You were warm, and I was sleepy. I’m a cuddle bug, what can I say?”
    I rolled my eyes. “Did you seriously just call yourself a cuddle bug?”
    “You know it, babes,” he laughed. I just shook my head, grateful for the fact that no matter what was happening, I could count on the infuriating nature of Ash Matthews. He glanced up the stairs. “Are they still out there?”
    I followed his gaze, and I felt my fear, forgotten in the escape of sleep, come creeping back and seeping through my veins. “I don’t know.” Our eyes met, as my fingers clenched tightly around the blanket. “Should we…” I cleared my throat, “Should we go check?”
    “Yeah, yeah, we probably should,” Ash said, looking around, as if waiting for a better solution to burst out of the closet and shout, “I’m here!”
    “We should go together,” I suggested, “To be safe, I mean.”
    He looked relieved that I had been the one to suggest it. “Sure, yeah, if you think so.”
    I resisted the urge to roll my eyes again and tried hard not to throw something at him. I reached for the gun on the coffee table and tossed aside the blanket. “Let’s go.”
    The two of us crept up the stairs, listening for any sounds that were coming up the stairs. We crossed the entryway, and I could feel my heartbeat vibrating through each step on the cold wooden floors.
    Ash grabbed the fireplace poker off the ground and snuck up to the door, pressing his arm to the wood. He then lifted his eyes to the peephole and looked outside for a while.
    “Well?” I whispered.
    He stepped back, and sighed. “They’re still out there. In the streets.”
    I moved across the entryway, my socks slipping on the floors, as I crept closer to the window. I peeked out the curtain, barely allowing a small space for me to look out.
    There were at least a couple dozen…zombies out in the street. If it weren’t for the distinct blue skin, it would be like any normal day. They were just milling around, not talking, just sitting on porch steps staring at street signs. They looked more like the zombies I had always pictured, from images I had seen in movies. “What