6:45 @ Safeway

She was beautiful. She might have been more beautiful if her skin had retained its original color. That and the blood stains on her chin weren’t that appealing. If only she were still alive. She banged and scratched trying to get in to the grocery that we had barricaded. Her blonde hair blew in the breeze. She could have been a model, or an actress or anything she wanted. I bet she never had to pay a speeding ticket in her life. It seems true love is always like that, so close yet so far away. If only I had met her before the reanimated corpses had invaded our city. Now here we were, eyes locked through the plexi-glass, me wanting her, her wanting me. Ten feet away, yet separated by a million miles.
We had converted Safeway into a castle of defense as soon as the undead started becoming a real threat. It started in the southwest, people in morgues had started getting up and walking around. It wasn’t until a live person got bitten by one that we realized we had a problem. The government sealed off the town where it started, but it was too late. They had already spread. Some whole towns fell prey to the disease. We had enough of a head start here to prepare for it but even still many in our town now had joined ranks with the so called “zombies.” A few of us had managed to seal off the grocery store. There is enough food in here to keep us going for a while as long as the barricaded doors hold off the hundreds of hands pounding on them.
That brings us to now. Several people in the store were in the back preparing our meal for the night. I stood in the doorway with a shot gun on my hip making sure that doors were holding. I couldn’t keep my eyes off her though. I would look into those beautiful blood stained eyes and see the rest of my life there. I could see the picnics we went on followed by long walks through the park. We had the same taste in movies, music and literature. Her favorite book was The Count of Monte Cristo, mine was The Three Musketeers. After our long walks we would sit in the shade of the trees and read Poe to each other. She loved the “Cask of Amontillado,” we had read it 4 or 5 times together and I could listen to it at least a thousand times more from her lips.
“Dinner’s ready!” Interrupted my thoughts and I walked back and joined with the others for our evening meal. We utilized the fresh food and vegetables knowing they would spoil first. I ate until full saying nothing to my companions. I was too lost in thought to speak. They laughed and carried on as if nothing in the world was wrong. I can’t blame them; it is the best way to act in this type of situation. I would have joined in but my heart was not in it. It was out there, with her.
I resumed my post after eating and watched the zombies outside pounding on the glass and trying to find a way in. They built these groceries pretty tough, way tougher than most people think. Someone suggested we climb up top and drop some homemade bombs on them to lessen the strain on the glass, but one misplaced explosive could shatter the glass and then we would have more problems than we could count.
I still couldn’t take my eyes off her. Her name had to be Elizabeth or Victoria, only the name of a queen would be good enough for her. As I day dreamed about the love we could have shared a failed to notice one corner of the glass had come loose. The zombies noticed right away and immediately focused their attention on it. When I realized what had happened it was too late. I clicked off the safety on my shotgun and waited for the first zombie through. First one came through and was neutralized, second and so on until my eight shots were gone. I reached down to reload just as the whole window popped out. She was the first one through coming right for me. She walked toward me with outstretched arms. Each step brought her closer until her arms reached around my shoulders and leaned in. I leaned in as well and kissed her on the lips. She didn’t kiss back, just bit.