Zane was out smoking on the balcony when Elena approached him. There was a rifle slung to his chest, and he was in full combat gear. After all, one could never be too careful. The man exhaled a large puff of smoke as he commented on the unusual lack of activity within the suburban neighborhood.
"It's quite... Too quiet..."
Regardless of his paranoia, there really was a lack of undead and marauders in this neighborhood. For the time being, naturally as the echoes of gunfire and artillery in the background faded away, the undead would be less concentrated in the cities, and begin to spread back into the suburbs, which they had previously done, as was evident of this neighborhood being a ghost town at the moment.
Elena ignored Zane's comments and instead approached him with an awkward expression on her pretty face. She did not really know how to apologize to the man for what she did to him the night before, and because of this, there was a slight stutter in her words.
"I.... I'm... Here... This is for your face.... I'm sorry.... I shouldn't have done that..."
Zane was indeed surprised that Elena was apologizing to him, and shifted around, looking at the young woman, who could not even look him in his swollen eyes after what she had done to him. But she was handing him an ice pack with both hands. And thus, Zane accepted her apology as he pressed it against his face without saying a word.
Elean stared at Zane's two black eyes and asked a question which she knew was foolish.
"Does it hurt?"
Zane did not say anything immediately, and instead took another drag on his cigarette before finally answering the girl in a way that spared her any excess guilt.
"I'll survive...."
"What's so funny?"
Elena wiped a tear from her eye as she shook her head, insisting that Zane would not understand why she was laughing.
"It's nothing... You wouldn't understand, but thank you, I really needed that... Though I have to ask, did you really mean what you said? Can I really rely on you?"
Zane scoffed when he heard this. Wasn't it obvious? Had she not been relying on him from the start? Still, there was not a hint of smugness, or disdain in his voice, instead of brutal honesty as he nodded his head and confirmed.
"Of course... Though I expect you to return the favor. I have neither the strength nor the care to carry you..."
Elena giggled once more, as she confirmed this was the way it should be. If Zane was actually to say something kind like "I will look after you until the day I die" Elena might believe he had suddenly been replaced by aliens. After all, if zombies were a real thing, then why not aliens as well? Or bigfoot, for that matter?
The world had suddenly been turned upside down, and at this point, Elena truly believed anything was possible. Thus Elena wore a confident smile as she returned Zane's words back to him.
"I wouldn't have it any other way... You let me know how I can help, and I'll do it!"
Upon hearing this, Zane nodded his head. Though his face was expressionless, there was a warm and fuzzy feeling in his heart. Something he did not understand. And though he didn't realize it, Zane was happy for the first time in a long time.
Why was he happy? Because Elena didn't hate him like, she said she did the night before. And because he had helped her, in some small way, overcome her grief. At least to the point where she could continue moving forward in life. And that was all that really mattered.