The Dead in River City by S.A. McGarey

were
beginning to catch fire, and the flames were big enough now to affect the
kernels within the popcorn bag. Kendra took one of the bags and held it over
the fire. They would undoubtedly have to wait while the heat penetrated the
bag. There was a silence between them until Kendra spoke up.
    “So how are we going to get out of this?” She
queried.
    “Honestly, I’m not sure.” Alan replied. “Malcolm has
us pinned here. We’d have to get him to leave, and then find some kind of
transportation. I don’t see much of that happening.”
    Kendra frowned. “I can’t say I have any genius ideas
either. We could be stuck here a very long time.” She paused. “We could die
here.” She trembled at the thought.
    Alan hugged her. “I’ll find a way. I don’t plan on
my life ending any time soon.”
    That gave Kendra some reassurance. She knew he was
fighting for survival, but it also felt like maybe he was fighting for her too.
Alan was noble enough, and a good man. It wasn’t too far flung to assume that
he was fighting for both. Kendra gave no reply, simply taking comfort in the
fact that she was alive, and not alone.
    The kernels in the bag began to pop, one by one.
They were slow at first, and then sped up, with multiple kernels going at once.
After a while, nearly the entire bag was popped. Kendra opened the bag and the
smoke rose out of the opening. Milliseconds later, the smell of buttery
goodness reached their nosed. It was a stark contrast from the room they’d
found it in, and they loved it.
    They dined on popcorn that night, swapping stories,
and keeping each other company. At one point, they even sang, just to pass the
time. Even with the building in lockdown, Kendra didn’t feel safe from the Dead
Ones. They slept in shifts, watching over each other, each of them pondering
how, if, and when they would leave this place alive.

12
    Alan watched as dawn broke. It was a cloudy day, and
the only evidence of sunlight was the small amount that penetrated the clouds.
Kendra was still asleep, and Alan didn’t really want to wake her yet. Peeking
out the window, Alan saw that there were still some Dead Ones outside the
building. Malcolm, however, was nowhere to be seen. Alan thought that his
absence was a bit unsettling, but it did feel nice to have him away. Alan
didn’t understand what Malcolm wanted, or how he could do what he does, but he
knew it couldn’t be a good thing. Alan decided that morning that he would kill
Malcolm the next chance he got.
    Wandering over to the slightly diminished book pile,
he looked through them, finding nothing of interest. He could still smell the
burnt books from the fire the night before. The inside of the trashcan was
scorched, but it would hold if they needed to do it again.
    He sat by the book pile and became lost in thought.
He thought not of the Dead Ones or Malcolm Graves, or how the world he once
knew was gone, never to return. Instead he thought of Kendra. He thought of the
kiss the night before, and how her eyes looked right after. Those eyes kept him
going when he wanted to give up. He was happy that their connection had grown
so much. He was unsure how far the connection would go, but he hoped that their
relationship would deepen.
    While he was lost in his thoughts, Kendra awoke.
Seeing him across the room, she called out to him. “Hey you.” She said, still
waking up.
    Alan, caught off guard, turned to see her. “Good
morning, sunshine.”
    Kendra stretched and yawned as her mind adjusted to
being awake. “Any change to our situation?” She asked.
    “Not really.” He replied. “Still got some Dead Ones
outside, but Malcolm is gone. I’m not sure where he went, but I have a bad
feeling about it.”
    Kendra got up off the floor and grabbed her
flashlight. She walked towards the steps not saying much of anything. “Where
are you going?” Alan asked, very confused.
    “I’m going downstairs to find the bathroom. I doubt
it still works, but we’ll obviously