|| Chapter 8 ||

May 4, 2020

Max and Mia slowly walked up the wooden stairs, to the Santa Monica Pier.

Mia glanced over to Max several times, clearly wanting to speak, but no words came out.

She looked straight after they reached the top of the pier. They're near the empty parking lot, which has trash everywhere.

The lights on the pier are still up, but some are out.

It seems to be vandalised, as people have spray painted lots of things on the pier.

From what they can see, the place seems totally abandoned.

As Max began walking, Mia quickly followed him. She walked close to him, as close as she could get, then she grabbed his hand out of fear.

Max glanced down to their interwined hands for a moment, then he looked at the girl beside him.

She's on gaurd, as she is looking all around.

Max stared at her face for a moment, clearly admiring her youthful, innocent beauty.

And even when she looked over at him, he continued to stare.

Mia gave him a weird look, then she got even closer to him. "What are you doing?" she whispered, looking straight again.

"I'm looking at you," Max responded, finally breaking his gaze.

"I could see that," Mia mumbled. She looked at him for a moment, an obvious blush is across her cheeks.

Max looked over at her, he rose an eyebrow. "Look who's staring now," he started to smirk.

"Only because I have to pee," she quietly responded.

Max's smirk slowly disappeared. "Oh," was all that came out.

He began to scan the pier for a restroom sign, and eventually spotted one near the Ferris wheel.

"You have to be extra extra quiet okay?" he told her. "We're only here for food, and the restroom so stay quiet."

Mia nodded in response.

The two continued over to the bathroom. Mia walked ahead of him, releasing his hand. She stepped inside, and Max tried to follow her.

Mia instantly turned to face him as soon as he stepped one foot inside.

"What do you think you are doing? This is the girl's room," Mia pointed out, speaking quietly as she possibly could.

Max looked down at her, almost shocked that she wouldn't let him inside.

"I was going to check it for you," he replied.

Mia shook her head. "N-No, that's okay," she whispered. "B-Boys aren't supposed to go in here."

If Max wasn't certain of her age, he would've have thought she was ten years younger.

"That's childish," Max muttered, looking away. "Fine, just hurry up."

Mia smiled almost instantly. She shut the door behind her, separating the two of them.

Max sighed, waiting directly outside of the restroom. He glanced around, and his eyes settled on the lit up Ferris wheel.

As he waited, he could hear low music playing, which is from a game on the pier.

He slowly walked away from the restroom, careful not to wander too far.

Max walked upon a whack-a-mole game. Stuffed toys are behind the counter, along with T-shirts and other prizes.

As he scanned the prizes, the bathroom door opened and footsteps quickly approached him.

Mia quickly ran over to him, eventually stopping right beside him.

"You want something from here?" Max asked her.

Mia looked at him, then she looked at the prizes. Her eyes lit up after seeing all of the toys, and eventually settled on a T-shirt.

"That one," Mia pointed out.

The T-shirt is black, has a cool design on it, and is just her size.

Max climbed up onto the game counter. He stepped over the whack-a-mole, and hopped down behind the counter.

Just as he reached up to grab the T-shirt, both of them heard a low growling coming from close by.

Mia began to frantically look around, and as she spotted a zombie approaching her, she started to step back.

Max instantly turned to face her. "Mia, don't-," Max started, but it was too late.

She immediately turned and ran in the opposite direction, out of his sight.

"-run," he finished.

Sighing, Max silently watched as the zombie started walking by the whack-a-mole setup.

Max slammed his hand against the counter. "Hey!" he whispered. He pulled his knife from his pocket just as the zombie took its attention towards him.

The zombie, who dosen't seem to be victim to bites, approached him. Fresh blood is surrounding it's mouth, presumably from an earlier meal.

Must as the zombie tried to grab him with its hands, but Max shoved his knife into its skull.

As soon as he pulled the knife out, Max hopped over the counter again, still holding onto the T-shirt.

Max cautiously walked in the direction Mia ran. He hadn't heard a sound from her, which caused him to worry less about how she is and more about where she ran off.

"Mia," Max called out in a whisper.

He passed an opening between two game setups. He looked down it, not seeing her.

He walked down the walkway, glancing in every corner he could look in.

And that's when he heard a quiet, soft sobs of a young girl.

The sobs he knows too well.

His head immediately turned in the direction of a food setup. He slowly approached the counter, carefully reading the sign.

Mariasol.

As he peaked over the counter, he found the small form of the girl he barely knows. She's sitting in the far corner, her face is buried into her knees.

Max took a deep breath. He slowly walked around the counter, then he approached her.

He spotted some small bags of chips sitting on the counter, and grabbed one just before he reached her.

As he sat beside her, he reached over and gently touched her soft, brown hair.

"Hey, it's okay," he whispered. "It's gone."

Mia slowly lifted her head and Max's hand stayed on the back of her head. He slowly stroked her hair, as an attempt to soothe her.

Mia looked over at him, and even though it's quite dark in the small shop, he was able to see the tears in her eyes.

"I won't let anything happen to you," he whispered. "I promise."

Mia nodded, but she slowly stopped. "You barely know me," she responded, sniffling. "I'm just some....stupid, idiot girl, who's gonna get you killed. I wasn't built for this world."

Max nodded, agreeing with her. "I understand that you're scared, I am, too," he confessed, looking straight ahead. "But you're just a kid, you know? I'm not just gonna leave you to die. I've seen so much these past few days."

"That still dosen't explain why you're helping me and only me," she mumbled. She slipped her arm around his and rested her head against him.

"Well, I don't see many humans out and about anymore, do you?" Max questioned, laying the chips and T-shirt on her lap. "Every one who's alive is hiding until they can't anymore."

"Isn't it strange we haven't seen any since that night?" Mia quietly asked.

"It was chaotic," Max responded. "Most of the residents of Los Angeles, died. The dead are roaming the streets now, it isn't safe anymore."

Mia slowly lifted her head. She looked at Max for a moment, then she started to pout.

"Wh-Where will we go?" she whispered.

"Well, you and I both heard gun shots a few hours ago," Max responded, scanning her pale face. "That was too many bullets for just an ordinary person to have, it was the millitary."

"The millitary!" Mia whispered, a bit too excited. "They can geet this u der control, right? And-And then we can safe again," she started to smile. "I wonder if they found my brother!"

Max could feel his heart begin to break after hearing the girl's excitement over seeing her brother again, which he knows is very unlikely.

Max reluctantly nodded. "Anyway, we gotta talk about this shit, alright?" he told her. "It's good that you ran from the infected person, and it's good that you hid, but you can't always do that."

"Well, what else was I supposed to do?" Mia quietly asked.

"Nothing," he said, sighing. "When one of those things come, I want you to run, okay? And hide until I come get you," he told her. "Eventually, I'll show you how to protect yourself."

Mia slowly nodded. "Okay," she simply responded. "What now?" she asked.

"You eat your chips, and in the morning, we'll go looking for more weapons, and some food, okay?" Max told her.

Mia nodded in response. She opened her chips and began eating them. She offered the bag to Max, who accepted one.

***

A/n: thanks for reading plss vote and comment on this chapter:)

24/03/2021

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