Josh glanced out the window from where he stood at the kitchen sink. It looked like rain, it smelled like rain, but he knew it wouldn't be actual rain, just those blobs that carried the zombie disease, because having zombies in the world just wasn't enough for them. He sighed inwardly and dried off his hands before returning to the cutting board. One of the first things Josh had done while settling into his new home was plant some vegetable seeds with some good soil he found on a raid. He kept them in his trailer, right up against the window the sat above the table, rather than risk setting them outside where they could soak up something damaging. They were easy to reach this way, too, so whenever Josh needed one, he just leaned over and grabbed it.
Of course, even with his attempts to make a more plant-friendly environment and careful tending, Josh wasn't nearly as good with plants as he was with stitches or a car engine. He still managed to produce a tomato here, some snap peas there. His mother would be ashamed of him - her garden had been something to look at - but hey, Josh couldn't be good at everything. He grew just enough to spice up his canned food with something fresh, so he figured that was better than nothing.
Just as he finished chopping some cilantro, Josh saw the first blobs coming down, right on schedule. He set that aside and started working on the green onions with his mind more focused on trying to take an inventory of the remaining food in his cabinets than on the cutting board. So when the door slammed shut, Josh jumped slightly, managed to nick his thumb in the process. "Fuck," he hissed and sucked on the cut to slow the bleeding. And then he heard a voice somewhere behind him, one that sounded familiar but couldn't place it right away.
"It's fine," he answered as best he could with his mouth currently obstructed. Company was fine. Having people that could just casually drop in on him to say hi was one of the luxuries of living in the Dog Park. He didn't realize he had left the door open, but that was fine, too. No big deal. Josh turned, thumb still in his mouth, to face his unexpected guest and then dropped it as soon as he saw who it was. He didn't answer for a minute, trying to process the fact that he knew this girl, Nora, from before the zombies. From school. From the diner. It all felt so long ago at this point, he had a hard time remembering if such a time ever really existed, and that it wasn't just a figment of his imagination. "Nora," Josh said slowly, finally finding the word, her name. Nora.
The blood started seeping into his shirt, waking Josh from his reverie. "You're alive?" He asked in amazement, still somewhat in shock but at least able to comprehend what a miracle this was.