Apocalypse Rising: Brains After Brains

LEE RESIDENCE - 9:33 A.M

Just next door to Rafe's apartment stood the quiet streets of Argenta Residences... a once-idyllic, middle-class neighborhood that now felt like a graveyard dressed in suburban perfection. It was the kind of place that used to smell like fresh-cut grass and barbecue on weekends, where kids rode scooters in loops and neighbors waved from driveways.

Now, it was disturbingly still.

Front lawns remained unnaturally pristine, as if the apocalypse had politely skipped over landscaping duties. Cars were still parked neatly in driveways, untouched, like their owners had simply stepped inside for lunch and forgotten to come back.

But look closer, and the cracks showed. Literally.

Blood splatters marred the sides of otherwise perfect garage doors. Open windows fluttered in the breeze... not carefree, but ominous, like open mouths gasping for help.

It looked like a picture-perfect postcard… sent from the end of the world.

The Lee residence.

It was a modern two-story house, clean lines, minimalist design. Grey bricks, natural wood paneling, frosted glass windows. The small garden in front still held its shape... white gravel paths, trimmed hedges, and a couple of potted plants that hadn't died yet.

"The gate's open," Xenia noted, voice low as they approached.

Rafe frowned. "Mr. Lee was meticulous. He never left anything unlocked." He stepped forward, gently pushing the iron gate open farther. It creaked on its hinges like an old hinge from a horror film.

They moved up the short stone path, and Xenia noticed how still the air was. Not a bird. Not a breeze. Just the faint buzz of faraway sirens and the uncomfortable echo of their own footsteps.

The front door was slightly ajar.

"Looks like someone left in a hurry," she murmured.

Rafe nodded, his jaw tight. "Lee family had two kids. A nanny. Parents. Good people. Let's check inside... quietly."

He stepped through the doorway first, crowbar drawn. Xenia followed, holding her small flashlight and folding knife like they meant something.

The living room was spotless. Too spotless.

Everything looked untouched. Modern, minimalist furniture. White sectional couch, a pale oak coffee table, and an enormous TV mounted above a muted fireplace.

It was the kind of room that looked staged. Too perfect. Too peaceful.

Then it wasn't.

A low gurgling sound rasped from behind the couch.

Xenia froze.

A woman in her mid-forties, still in her pale blue uniform, staggered into view. Her hair was matted with blood, her skin gray and papery. One eye hung loosely from its socket. She clutched a feather duster, a pathetically useless weapon, in one trembling hand.

"Poor… house…" she croaked, her voice thick and wet, like her lungs were full of cement. "Soaked in… blood…"

Xenia's breath caught in her throat.

Rafe didn't hesitate.

He stepped forward and brought the crowbar down... hard. A sickening crunch echoed as it met her skull. She dropped instantly, twitching once, then going still. Blood pooled beneath her like spilled ink on the cream-colored rug.

He exhaled, steady. "Sorry, Nanny Vie."

Xenia just stared, chest heaving.

~KITCHEN~

The fridge groaned open, and the cold light spilled across their faces.

Bottled water. Cans of soup and vegetables. Tupperware full of meal-prepped rice and meat. Frozen chicken and hotdogs stacked neatly in the freezer drawers.

Xenia blinked. "They didn't even take their food?"

Rafe scanned the room, on alert. "Maybe they left in a hurry. Or didn't get the chance."

She crouched and took inventory aloud. "If we portion this right... four people, three meals a day, minimal snacking... we could stretch this for a week. Maybe longer."

Rafe pulled open the pantry. "How do you ration so fast?"

"I used to meal prep with Zoe," Xenia replied without looking up. "We split groceries and portioned everything out by price per meal. I had a spreadsheet. We even color-coded snacks. Nerdy, I know."

"No, I get it," Rafe said quietly. "Makes sense now why your planner looks like a military playbook."

She stood, grabbing a reusable grocery bag from a hook and began filling it. "One more day of food means one less time we have to risk our lives."

HALLWAY

They stepped back toward the center of the house. It was too quiet. The kind of quiet that makes you second-guess every footstep.

"We've got what we came for," Rafe said. "Let's go."

Xenia paused, eyes lifting toward the second floor. A hallway stretched above, half-lit by sunlight filtering through a skylight.

"We should check the bedrooms."

Rafe hesitated. "Why?"

"There could be someone hiding," she said. "You said the whole family lived here."

"And you said we're just here for supplies."

"I know," she said, her voice dropping, almost embarrassed. "But what if there's a survivor? A kid? Someone trapped?"

His eyes narrowed. "You're hoping for someone specific?"

Xenia didn't answer.

Her heart thundered.

Zoe.

The possibility...however irrational.. clung to her ribs like ivy. She knew Zoe's house wasn't on this street. Knew the odds. But still.

She couldn't leave a door unopened. Not today.

Rafe studied her for a moment, then gave a tight nod. "Okay. But don't go off alone."

"Wasn't planning on it."

They moved upstairs. The house creaked under their steps. Family photos lined the stairwell... pictures of birthday parties, school plays, a trip to the beach. A smiling boy with front teeth missing. A baby girl in a yellow onesie. A dog in sunglasses.

Rafe paused at the first door and opened it slowly.

Empty.

A child's room, decorated with space posters and Lego towers. Clothes strewn on the bed. Like someone left in a panic.

Second room... same. No bodies. No blood. But signs of departure. Hasty, terrified departure.

They stood in the hallway a moment longer. Xenia's shoulders slumped.

Nothing.

No Zoe.

But also… no more infected.

That counted as something.

OUTSIDE

As they exited, Xenia looked back once at the house... silent, still, and stained with memory.

"We did what we could," Rafe said gently.

She nodded, tightening her grip on the bag of food.

"Yeah," she whispered. "Let's head home."

But there were still more houses to explore. More rooms waiting to be opened. And more people to meet... maybe, just maybe, one of them would be Zoe.

Xenia tried her best not to think too much about it. But knowing where she was? That was the hard part.