Zombies Need Love Too!

The situation was a total disaster, and I was completely high on adrenaline—basically running on pure dopamine and bad decisions.

Even when zombies grabbed my hair and their claws and teeth tore chunks out of me, I didn’t go down.

Oh no. I stood my ground like hell.

Honestly, I was starting to feel weirdly amazing. Like a zombie warrior or something.

“Sasha!”

“Die! Die! Die!”

“Sasha! Snap out of it!”

“Dieee!”

Smack.

Right in the middle of my glorious rampage, someone slapped me.

Not hard, mind you… just a little tap on the cheek.

But the fact that it was Yoan made me freeze, all round-eyed.

“You just… hit me?”

“That’s not—”

“I was trying to save you, Yoan. Because you’d turn if you got bitten.”

“Sasha? You’re suddenly talking like…”

“Waaah!”

And then I started bawling. Loudly.

Not a single tear in sight—for all my effort—but the performance? Oscar-worthy.

“Cut the fake crying.”

Yoan gave me the flattest look imaginable and turned my face toward the ground.

The floor was absolutely littered with zombie corpses.

“Look.”

“I did… all this?”

“Yeah. You did.”

“Amazin’.”

“This isn’t the moment for that.”

Honestly, the man didn’t even let me bask for one second.

Just as I began to pout, a low rumble echoed from the distance.

Right. This wasn’t over yet.

I nodded solemnly, trying to look all valiant.

Meanwhile, Yoan stared at me oddly.

“And Sasha. I’ll admit you were a huge help, but you’re a mess right now. Your face, arms, legs, and your entire torso… You’re covered in wounds.”

“…Uhh.”

Now that he pointed it out, my clothes were basically in ribbons.

I was showing more skin than was strictly polite. A bit awkwardly drafty, honestly.

“You’ll heal fast since you’re a zombie, sure. But I still don’t like seeing you hurt.”

“Why?”

“Because it hurts.”

“I said… doesn’t hurt.”

“That’s not what I mean.”

“Ohh. Um.”

I think I got it. One of those empathy things, where people feel pain when they see someone else get hurt?

Aw. He’s got a soft side, despite the grumpiness.

I smiled at him, touched. “Cute, Yoan.”

***

Yoan blinked, stunned.

Did she just call me cute?

Had she actually processed anything they’d just discussed?

He was thrown. He’d never worried about someone like this before—especially not a zombie—and then she’d gone and dismissed all his careful concern with a single, flippant “cute.”

“Pretty sure you’re the cute one here, not me.”

“Nope. You, Yoan.”

She said it so confidently, with such cheerful finality, that Yoan decided the conversation was over.

“Fine, whatever. Let’s move.”

No telling when another horde might find them.

Yoan took Sasha’s hand, and they hurried down the tunnel.

At last, they saw the end of the emergency corridor.

A sketchy rope ladder led them up.

At the top, they found the remains of a zombie mess—clearly Rob and Derek’s handiwork.

The area was secure, and the others had made it out safely.

Yoan and Sasha followed, and he shut the trapdoor behind them.

“Sasha!”

While they were catching their breath, Derek leapt down from a tree and rushed over, eyes wide with concern.

“All these wounds… Why are you so beat up? What were you doing while she got this hurt?”

“Hey now, kid. Watch your tone. You’re talking to your lord,” Rob said, trying to play peacemaker.

Derek didn’t even blink. “I’d need to receive some actual benefits to treat him like one.”

“Haha!” Yoan laughed, entirely unbothered. “Yeah, Sasha protected me. So what?”

“It should be the other way around.”

“There’s no ‘should’ when it comes to survival. What do you think Sasha is?”

“Well…!”

A zombie. That was the answer. But Derek couldn’t bring himself to say it.

When he looked up at Sasha, her expression was unreadable. A little bitter, maybe.

That’s not what I meant…

Whatever she was, she’d been the first to reach out to him. The one who gave him a name.

Thanks to her, he was Derek—not just a hey or you.

“I don’t care what she is. She’s someone we survive with.”

That earned a small smile from Yoan.

“Exactly. Not just Sasha—all of us need to survive together. It’s not about one person protecting another. We protect each other.”

“…That’s just a pretty speech.”

“Really… Kiddo’s got no charm at all,” Rob said, ruffling Derek’s hair with a rough hand.

“Stop it!” Derek tried to squirm away, shrieking like a wet cat.

The two of them were bickering like brothers.

Bliss, who had been watching quietly, finally spoke up.

“I’m glad we’re all safe. But we shouldn’t linger here. Let’s move to the second location.”

“How far?”

“Thirty minutes on foot. Should be… okay?”

She didn’t sound confident. Darkness was settling in, draping the world in unease.

“Either way, we’re not spending the night outside,” Yoan said, gripping his machete a little tighter. He reached for Sasha’s hand with his other one.

She blinked at him.

“That’s enough rampaging for today. No more zombie berserking.”

“But… I’m strong.”

“Not when you look like a half-eaten sandwich. Seriously, look at yourself. Who looks stronger right now?”

Even a quick glance confirmed it—Sasha looked like she’d just faced off against a hundred-strong army all on her own.

“Be honest. Weren’t you scared back there?”

Sasha gave him a sheepish grin and nodded slowly.

A timid little zombie had jumped in to save him.

Just like Sasha… Maybe that’s why I keep worrying about her.

She reminded him of a dog he’d once had. Brave, loyal, and so full of love it hurt.

Without thinking, Yoan reached up and gently smoothed her tangled hair.

It’s so soft.

He’d expected zombie hair to be dry and bristly. But no—it was soft. Like silk caught between his fingers.

“Ahem!” Rob cleared his throat loudly.

Derek narrowed his eyes.

Yoan stepped back. “So this time, just behave and let someone else do the protecting.”

“Mhm. Okay.”

Sasha nodded meekly and took his hand.

***

Our destination, after abandoning the cabin, was an old monastery.

Stone walls, sturdy enough. But after a zombie attack, nothing really felt safe anymore.

“This should hold us for a while,” Bliss said, checking supplies.

“Ugh, I’m beat. I want a bath, but I guess sleep comes first.”

“Yeah. Let’s be cautious for the first night.”

Bliss quickly assigned rooms. “Lord Yoan gets this one. Rob and Derek, that one. I’ll take this one. Sasha, you’re here.”

“Why do I have to share with the kid? I want my own room too.”

“We need at least one adult with him.”

“I don’t want to be with this old guy,” Derek grumbled.

“I don’t want you either, brat.”

“Enough!” Bliss put her hands on her hips like a scolding schoolteacher. “If you keep arguing, Derek, I’ll make you sleep in Lord Yoan’s room.”

“Oh, I don’t want that either,” Yoan chimed in. “Maybe if it was Sasha…”

“Are you all planning to be this difficult?”

Sensing the incoming storm, I stepped in.

“Everyone… listen to Bliss.”

“Well, if Sasha says so,” Yoan said, shrugging agreeably.

Rob narrowed his eyes. “My lord, did Sasha find some dirt on you or something? No, wait. What could a zombie possibly have on you?”

“Rob.”

“Yes?”

“Do I look like someone with weaknesses?”

“…Can’t say.”

“Then stop talking nonsense and go to your room.”

“Aha. Well, come on then, kid.” Rob grabbed Derek by the shoulder.

Derek wriggled free and gave me the saddest puppy eyes I’d ever seen.

“Good night, Sasha.”

“Mhm. You too.”

Everyone had had enough drama for one day. We exchanged quick goodnights and shuffled off to our rooms.

I was planning to catch my breath and explain the next steps in the morning.

But just as I reached my door, Yoan called out to me. “Sasha. How are your wounds?”

“Almost healed.”

“Good.”

Right? Honestly, at times I really appreciated being a zombie.

“If anything happens, come straight to my room. Got it?”

“Mhm.”

“Good girl. You listen so well.”

Yoan gave my head a little pat before heading off.

He really was doing that a lot lately. Habit, maybe?

I smoothed down my hair, which had gone full static fluff, and stepped inside.

The stone bed was cold, and I sat there blinking for a bit before getting up again.

I didn’t need sleep, after all. Figured I might as well keep watch.

From inside the room, of course. I wasn’t that brave.

“?”

But just as I had that thought, I heard something from outside.