Tomorrow

Aubrey was a cheerful person. For a long time, this had brought her friends and fun, as it should. People naturally gravitated towards her, like she was the sun, bringing a spark of joy wherever she shined her light.

They didn’t always like it when she needed someone to give her light, but that was okay.

Or at least it was, back in the Before.

Now, the reason she used to have friends was the same reason that she was now so alone. The smiles and jokes people used to love instead drove them all away.

It wasn’t their fault, of course not! Aubrey couldn't dream of blaming anyone! She knew that it was all her own fault she was alone.

It was her fault that when she approached a family of two and protected them from a crowd of the Fallen they had simply run the other direction before she could speak with them.

It wasn’t that teenage boy’s fault when, after Aubrey had carefully helped to patch his many injuries at her little home, a camper van, he had scarpered with half of her supplies as soon as she had her back turned.

It wasn’t that colony of survivor's fault when, as Aubrey knocked on their gate, begging to be let in, they ignored her.

It was all her fault. They took one look at her bubbly, happy personality and assumed what anyone would; she was on the Climb. The halfway point of becoming a real life of a zombie.

Those instances happened a lot closer to the beginning anyway, back when cars still worked, food was closer to its expiration date and you could still occasionally come across other living people.

She never saw anyone completely alive anymore.

No one was that lucky.

Well, no one but her, apparently.

Aubrey didn’t understand how or why she had survived for so long. For a start, she was too terrified to use a proper weapon against a zombie, and already felt horrible if she had to shove or hit one of them. What if, beneath all of the decay and lifeless eyes, they were still slightly human? What if they could still think? What if they weren’t reaching to bite her, but instead hoping for some kind of help?

Aubrey was rather certain that the only reason she had survived was nothing more than sheer dumb luck.

She was lucky that first day, back in the Before, that she had caught a cold and stayed home from school. She’d had no way of knowing that one of her friends had Fallen during their science lesson, infecting everyone.

Oh… wow. School. It had been a long time since she had thought of school; it simply seemed like an alien concept now. At one point her entire life had revolved around getting good grades, being on time and passing tests.

None of that mattered anymore.

She was lucky in that third week after the initial breakout when she had been scrambling to get to the supermarket (she had, at one point, been the most able-bodied and therefore best option for her family to rely on) and had chosen to take the long route to the store. It had been a few days since she’d been out, and she was sure she would be careful enough.

In the end she had only been a minute or so off of being locked in.

“Someone Fell inside.” She had been informed by a straight-faced officer. Their face had blurred in her memory after so much time and trauma had passed, but she could remember the brave look in their eyes. “They’ve already bitten half of the shoppers. We aren’t letting anyone in or out in order to contain the infection.” (In retrospect, that hadn’t worked for long) “Try the corner shop.”

She had tried the corner shop like they suggested, but found that it had been thoroughly looted. The shop owner was curled in a ball under her counter, in no condition to sell her anything.

“Are… you okay?” Aubrey had asked, bending down to her with a concerned smile on her face, shuffling closer while simultaneously trying to avoid stepping on the broken glass sprawled everywhere.

“St-stay back! I have a f-family. I’m n-not letting you infect me.” She stuttered.

Aubrey had been shocked when it happened. It was the first time that she had ever been mistaken for someone on the Climb; the hyper pre-zombie phase. It wasn’t the last, of course, but it was possibly the least painful.

“I promise I’m not infected, but I’ll leave you be... Here.” Aubrey had left a handful of money on the counter. It wasn’t much, and by that time money had already lost a lot of value (it was quickly discovered that no amount of money could save you) but she hoped it would somehow help.

She wasn’t sure if she was 'lucky' for what happened next, though.

Aubrey had trailed home at that point, thankfully picking up a tin of biscuits and avoiding zombie hordes and ‘embrace the apocalypse' celebrations along the way. They had enough food at home that that would be more than enough anyway. It was almost absurd she had been sent out at all, but Aubrey hadn’t questioned it.

If only she had.

When she had arrived at the front door of their house, her old school bag was sitting on the front step. Upon further inspection, it had cereal bars, clothes, a blanket, a lighter, her passport and a bottle of water. All vital supplies, and they were easy to steal just sitting there.

Dread settled heavily in her stomach, but Aubrey allowed herself to grin through it as she knocked on the door using the signature knock from Frozen.

“Mum? Dad? Ellie? Do you wanna build a snowman?” She joked, laughing, though it came off as slightly high pitched and desperate, even to Aubrey.

The door opened, but only by a few centimetres.

“Aubrey.” It was her father. As usual, he looked awkward but stern. Aubrey bounced nervously on her heels, grinning in an attempt to relieve the odd tension that had developed.

“Heya! I couldn’t get much, but we didn’t really need anything anyways.... Can I come in?”

“No.”

“What?” Fear shot through the young woman. “Did something happen? Are any of you infected? It’ll be okay, I could-”

“No, Aubrey! It’s…” her father sighed deeply. “It’s you. We just can’t trust you anymore! You’re too cheerful; we can’t tell if you’re on the Climb.”

Her heat plummeted.

“W-what?”

“You can’t stay here, Aubrey. It’s for your mother’s safety, and your sister’s.”

“B-but Ellie is just as cheerful as me!” She protested weakly, ignoring the guilt that welled in her at the words.

“Aubrey! This isn’t about you anymore! Look, here’s the keys to the camper.” He handed over a shiny grey key. It was unbelievably heavy in Aubrey's shaky hand. “And… we gave you a flashlight, right?”

She nodded, too stricken to speak.

“We’ll signal you every evening, okay? So you know we’re safe.”

“Okay…” Aubrey shivered. “I don’t know Morse code…”

“Of course you don’t. Here, I’ll make it so simple that even you can understand.” Aubrey tried to ignore his harsh words. They paled in comparison to what was actually happening. “Three short flashes mean we are safe. For you too. Three long means to come home. Got it?”

She got it.

Three short flashes... Was that really all the contact she’d be allowed?

“Is… this why you sent me out?” Her father didn’t respond, so she pressed on, anger adding a sharp edge to her tone. “So you would have an excuse to pack up my stuff and kick me out?”

“Aubrey, now isn’t the time.”

Apparently, it would never be the time.

“Can I grab one more thing? Or say goodbye?”

“No. I just told you it’s not safe.”

“Please!” There were tears in her eyes now. The man in front of Aubrey relented.

“Fine. What do you want?”

To stay. To have a home again. For the apocalypse to end. For the normal world to come back!

But even as lucky as she was, Aubrey knew she couldn’t get everything she wanted.

“To see Ellie.”

“Ellie!” There was a pattering of feet. Ellie was a few years younger than Aubrey, but they’d always been close.

She stared at her freckled face, her brown eyes, her dark hair scraped into it’s ponytail, heart locket hanging from her neck. She tried to commit every little detail to memory. Who knew when she would see her again...

“Bree! Please don’t go, mum doesn’t want you too either! Dad’s just being paranoid!” Her face crumpled, and she looked near tears. “Please?”

“I need to keep you safe... Be good, okay?”

She muffled a sob, and suddenly a fist shot through the crack in the door. Slowly it opened to expose Ellie’s beloved heart shaped locket, the clasp slightly open, revealing that there wasn’t even a picture inside.

Wordlessly, Aubrey clipped it around her neck, wishing she could give her sister a hug goodbye.

It was uncharacteristic for Aubrey, but she cried as she walked away, barely alert enough to watch out for any zombies.

But maybe she was lucky after all.

If she had stayed, like she so desperately wanted, she might have had to watch them Fall… to watch them die.

They only used their flashlight for a week before it stopped.

Aubrey never stopped, just in case-

Well, just in case.

Maybe they will respond tomorrow, she always told herself.

It was lonely in the camper van. They had it parked in a special park on a hill looking over the city. There were only three other campers left, each one more empty than the last. Most people who had had the means to had fled the city in a (probably fatal) attempt to find safety.

She decorated it, of course. The bed sheets were all blue and she had amassed many colourful stuffed animals that had once belonged to living people. She knew that she really only needed the one bed, but kept the other two made up, just in case. Maybe she would need them tomorrow...

She was lucky because she could easily fill the water tank; she still had running water.

She was lucky because she could keep the cupboards well stocked, guiltily pinching canned supplies from various stores. The owners were all long gone, half dead at best, but she still felt bad.

The stove didn’t work anymore of course, but she cooked on an open fire and kept a mini garden she had planted along with a few chickens she had found.

The camper van park was well protected with a big chain link fence, but sometimes she hated it. It had so many empty parking spaces…

Originally, it was only intended to store campers, not be lived in, but learnt itself well to her current situation. She was lucky to have it. Lucky, lucky, lucky.

And happy too, she was still happy! She had to be. Maybe she would find someone else tomorrow.

Aubrey sat in the window of the camper every night, fiddling with Ellie’s heart shaped locket, contemplating whether to put something in it, but inevitably agreeing she should wait.

Ellie might want it back.

She would pick up the flashlight, occasionally having to switch out the batteries, and do the signal she knew by heart now. Eventually, she had to get a new flashlight. It's glass was tinted green. It was.... more distinctive. Maybe.

Flash flash flash. Wait. Flash flash flash. Wait. Flash flash flash. Wait…

Over and over, until her eyelids dropped and she was forced to stumble up the ladder and collapse into her bed. Her dreams were filled with a flashing green light.

Every night, she would tell herself the same thing.

Maybe they would respond tomorrow.

Tomorrow. Tomorrow. Tomorrow…

Weeks, months... even years passed, but tomorrow never came.