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shoulder. “I can sleep like this, if it’s okay.”
    Nervously, he moved his arm and put it around her and said, “Yeah, it’s okay.” She leaned into him and put her head against his chest. They sat there quietly for a long time and she eventually drifted off to sleep.
    At midnight, the alarm on Mark’s watch went off and woke Lisa. She looked at it and sighed, then got up. She went into the bathroom and took the band from her hair, letting it fall. She looked in the mirror and picked at it with her fingers until she was satisfied it wasn’t tangled. Before going into the living room to take her shift, she reset the alarm and set the watch on Mark’s pillow.
    When she walked in the living room, she told Jeff to go and get some sleep. She heard a faint moan and stepped closer. Looking through the dark, she asked, “Is that Jet?”
    “Yes.”
    “How long has she been in here?”
    “I’m not sure, a couple of hours, I guess.” Jet moaned again and moved slightly, but she didn’t wake up. “If it’s alright with you, I’ll just crash here. I don’t want to disturb her sleep.”
    “No, that’s fine.”
    Jeff laid his head on the back of the couch and before long, he was asleep. Lisa stood by the window with the blanket pulled back just enough for her to see out. Occasionally, she glanced over at the couch and wondered what the future held for them. Some thoughts were pleasant while others were downright frightening. She was happy to have found Mark and Jeff, especially Mark. Before that, she was the one who had to make sure everyone was safe and fed. It was her burden and she felt like she bore it alone.
    Since they came along, some of the weight had been lifted off her shoulders. There was someone to share her burden, who could also watch her back. She felt safer now they were there and she thanked the powers that be for letting their paths cross. She glanced back at the couch. By the looks of things, Jet was just as happy about it as she was, but in a different way.
    Most of her watch was very uneventful, but at 3:00, she noticed a group of twelve zombies shuffling down the street. As they passed by, one of them stopped and stared at the house. She stepped back, her pulse raised and she looked down the hallway toward the bedrooms, wondering if she should wake Mark. When she looked back outside, she saw there were now two zombies standing out front, staring at the house. She felt goose bumps rise on her skin and she became nervous.
    She quietly woke Jeff. When she did, Jet woke up and stretched. When she saw Lisa, she froze and looked like she had been caught doing something wrong. She swallowed hard and asked, “Am I in trouble?”
    Lisa shook her head. “No, Jet, you’re okay. I’ve been here for a while. Go back to bed now.
    She got up and slowly walked down the hallway. Before she went into the room, she looked back and said, “G’night, Jeff.”
    “Good night, Jet.” He turned to Lisa and saw the worried look on her face. “What’s wrong?”
    “There are two zombies outside standing in front of the house.”
    Jeff jumped up and pulled the blanket back a little. Looking out the window he said, “Lisa, there’s nothing out there.”
    She ran over and peeked outside. He was right; there were no zombies in sight. “But there was a minute ago. I swear. I saw them out front staring at the house.”
    Still looking out the window, he said, “They must have moved on.” He checked his watch. “I’m going to bed; wake me if they come back.”
    “I will. Night, Jeff.”
    Jeff went down the hall and into the room where his brother slept. Lisa got a piece of paper and noted the time and what she saw on it. When Mark came in for his shift, she filled him in. He thought it was a good idea to keep a running log of what was observed. They might notice behavior patterns that could be used later on.
    When Lisa went back to bed, Jet was still awake and said, “Lisa, I really like Jeff.”
    She smiled.