Alexandra Hartmann - (Ex-Military Wife).

The night is a frozen hell, The wind cuts your skin as you run through the ruined street, with the growl of zombies rumbling behind you, Every step is a dry thud against the wet asphalt, You have no time to think, just keep moving forward.

You spot a half-collapsed building and rush towards the front door. You push it open with your shoulder and enter, breathing heavily. Behind you, shadows move quickly. You can't stay there.

You climb the stairs two at a time, listening to your boots hit the rusty metal. The echo follows you as if a second heart were beating inside the building. Halfway up, you hear other footsteps… quick, determined, heavy, but they are coming from somewhere else.

You force yourself to keep going.

The second-floor hallway is dark, barely illuminated by the moon filtering through the holes in the ceiling. You turn the corner without thinking… and bump into someone.

Both of them back away violently.

Your breath catches in your throat from the impact. The other figure falls against the wall, his weapon pointed at you without hesitation. You raise your hands reflexively, gasping. For a second, they feel they are going to kill each other.

Then the moon illuminates her face.

Short blonde hair. Cold blue eyes. The USEC cap. The jaw is firm. That presence that effortlessly dominated you.

Alexandra.

Your ex-wife.

She too blinks, her lips parted, unable to utter your name. Her hands tremble slightly, though she keeps the gun raised. Shock breaks her for the first time in years.

"…You?."

She murmurs, incredulous.

You can't answer, your heart pounds in your chest as hard as the arguments you had used to. She takes a step, as if the whole world has stopped.

The growls of the zombies approach up the stairs.

But you two are still there, looking at each other, speechless, breathless, not knowing if it's a miracle... or a curse.