So... bright. It was so bright it hurt my eyes. I blinked rapidly as I tried to adjust.

Somewhere in the light, Shadow called, "Don't just stand there half-way out!" A dark paw grabbed mine and hauled me across the dry, white expanse.

My eyes adjusted. I saw a laughing black wolf, a wolf I knew. Shadow was laughing. He was laughing ahead of me, dragging me along.

I laughed too. "Was it always so bright out here?" I asked, squinting through the glare. That silly song still niggled at my consciousness.

"Of course!” Shadow stopped and turned to me, still holding my paw. “I- The dark bothers me. I only survived that dark closet because you were there." He stopped and turned to me, his grin fading. "I mean it, Tyler. I would have gone nuts in there without you. Ever since... my time in the shed, I can't stand to be in the dark or enclosed spaces. I knew you were there with me the whole time. I was in pain and so distant, but you were always there."

My smile grew into a cheeky grin as my eyes adjusted. "Well, it seems I've found my use after all. I'm a security blanket pup."

He leaned in close and gave my nose a quick lick, "Only the best there ever was. I'm always comforted by you, even just you being there. You have more uses too. Don't devalue yourself so much,” he said, gazing into my eyes and giving my paw a firm squeeze. “You have real strength.”

“My strength is an illusion,” I muttered, dropping my eyes.

“Not to me,” Shadow said, nudging his nose past my whiskers into my cheekfur.

I nodded, trying to believe. I could be useful and strong. I needed to believe in myself, like Shadow believed in me. Even I used to believe in myself more.

Sighing and blinking in the bright light, my eyes finally adjusted. I could allow myself to believe again. Believe in strength, the future, and in us together.

I patted my pockets, feeling Kaylee's cat angel and the family photo in one pocket. I smiled knowing they were safe, knowing I had kept them safe. The jar of jam was weighing down the other pocket. My past and my future. I was between, where anything could happen. Chaos pulled me from a knowable future.

I shrugged off my thoughts and helped Shadow gather our gear. I saw he had picked up the tent, bat, and a sleeping bag. "We can come get the rest after we set up the tent. Give me that," I insisted, twitching my ears and pulling the tent bag from his paw. "You're still injured, take it easy and just carry a sleeping bag."

"You're injured too," he pointed out.

"You know, I feel fine. My paws are a bit tender, but otherwise, I'm fine. You, on the other paw," I stated, glaring at him with twitching whiskers, "are ignoring whatever pain you have. You are trying to act normally, but I can tell. You need to take it easy."

He grimaced. Found out. I smiled when he shrugged and accepted taking only a sleeping bag with him. There was more hesitation with the stained bat, but he let it drop to the rooftop.

"Where do you want to set up?" Shadow asked, tearing his gaze from the bat.

I thought a moment, taking the time to feel myself soaking in the sun. "Either in the very center, or right near the storefront."

"Why the storefront?"

"It's a good place to keep an eye on the zombies," I mumbled, as my ears dipped in embarrassment.

I didn't trust that we were safe here. The middle of the white expanse was too far removed from the zombies. As much as I wanted to ignore them, I wanted much more to keep my eyes and ears on them. My wariness was increasing, especially since they kept changing.

After I gathered my thoughts, I continued, "I'd rather know how capable they are. I want to know how scary they are. From this, I can't hide."

"The storefront?" Shadow smiled and gazed at me with those bright, golden eyes. When I began shifting nervously, he said, "I could live with that. I'll have you." With a grin and a bob of his tail, he led the way towards the store front.

There were more benefits to being at the front, I decided as I followed. Being able to see out across the parking lot if any furs came could prove life-saving. We would have more time if someone - or some “thing” - came up the hatch at the store's rear. We could even use a rope to scale to the ground if we had to. Unfortunately, it also left us very far from any "safe" place from the Curtain.

Could any place at all be safe any more? Was the safety of the past an illusion waiting to be shattered? The safe past now had little meaning, as the world seemed to have flipped to favor the undead.

We'd reached the storefront while I had been lost in thought. I put down the tent. "Relax here, Shadow," I said, unfastening a sleeping bag's bindings. After unzipping and laying the bag down near the crate, I turned to him, "The sun is warm, the weather is nice. Crash here for a minute, I'll go back and grab the camp gear box."

"No, please stay for a few minutes. It's really nice out here. Don't you want to rest for a bit?"

I looked across the white expanse, broken at regular intervals by air control units and the bumps of raised skylights. I wanted to get our own camp set up quickly. But Shadow had made a request, which he rarely did.

With a smile, I went to him as he settled down. He grinned as I sat next to him on the sleeping bag. I could feel the hard roof underneath the bag, but it was a firm reminder of safety.

Sitting in the bright sunlight, I eyed the black wolf I was getting so attached to. Shadow's contours were more visible in the bright light, and I smiled warmly watching him. His form was strong and lean, with the edges of muscles slightly visible through his deep fur. His body seemed to give the impression of strong efficiency.

His previous cuts, from when I'd first met him, had healed and fur was just starting to grow back in. His newer cuts were covered with bandages, and one was starting to show a blood spot on its surface. I'd have to make sure Rusty looked at it later.

Shadow caught me watching. He leaned close, giving me a nudge with his shoulder. "What, suddenly entranced by me?" he asked with a cheeky grin and a slow wink.

"Nope. Just wondering how a patched-up wolf, who miraculously survived, still wants to be with me."

His grin widened. "It's simple. I like being with you. I feel needed and strong when I'm around you. There's a special connection I feel when I'm with you. I wouldn't trade you for any of the furs down there, even if they had welcomed us with open arms. And I'm definitely not sharing you. I'm selfish that way," he finished with a smirk.

I felt my cheeks burn in the warming sunlight; the white fur on my muzzle might not have been enough to hide it. How could he be so sure? It was embarrassing to look into those eyes as he smirked, and my eyes dropped. I used my paw to stroke his black knee... a scar was there. Scars everywhere....

"Shadow. What's your worst scar?" I asked aloud without thinking.

He stilled, then drew a long breath. "Well, the one that's given me the most problems is the one on my muzzle," he tapped the gray scar. "Most furs who see it become guarded, even if they don't mean to. The worst scar, though, is this one on my leg." He pointed along his outer thigh.

When he prodded his fur aside to show me, I could make out a long, jagged scar running more than half the length of his thigh. It had healed, but the skin still looked tight and ridged.

He continued, tracing it with a steady finger. "I've had longer wounds, but this one was the worst I've taken."

What had happened to have given him that? I leaned in, curious... and he grabbed me by my shoulders and plopped me down to the sleeping bag, nose up. I was startled but not scared at all. This was Shadow.

"Enough questions," he growled playfully, holding himself above me. "It's too nice out to focus on my past." He nudged into my cheekfur with his nose, "But we need to talk. You've been avoiding telling me things." He licked my ear, "You can tell me anything, anything that's been bothering you. I want to know it all, even if it hurts."

My blue eyes met his golden ones as he pulled away and waited for me to respond. With a long sigh, I brought my paw to his side, where the green t-shirt hung loosely on him. Could I tell him? Yes. I could tell him anything, and he would accept it. At least I believed it was so.

After a deep breath, I said, "I bit that fur, Bradley. I couldn't hit him hard enough, and I lost control when I was trying to keep him from you. I bit him and drew blood." My ears drooped and I looked away, feeling my shame burn within me. "It was in my muzzle and on my chin. I didn't want to let go. Even then, I couldn't keep hold when he bit my neck. I got lost in the anger, and it was still not enough."

"Seems it was enough to me," he said, not sounding disappointed. "I'm still here, right? Are you sorry you did it?"

"No!" I barked, turning to look up at him. "I'm not sorry at all! That's the worst of it.... Why...?"

His gaze was quiet as he looked down at me with a little smile. "I think you have an answer to your dilemma. You did what you had to do, and I'm safe because of it. Whether you succeeded in that moment doesn't matter. Whether you lost your control doesn't matter. It's fine, don't let it bother you anymore."

"But-"

"But nothing," he interrupted. "Do whatever you think you can if something happens again. Whatever you do in that moment will be the right thing in that moment. If there is another time, use your knowledge and make things better, one way or another." With a fresh smirk, he added, "Or make them the same. I would have liked to see you, all pissed off."

As he gave my nose a lick, I paused in my thoughts. "I caused Bradley pain though. My family would have been horrified."

"They would have been more horrified if you'd let a friend get hurt, right?"

I was startled by the thought. True, by far it was a worse thing. To stand by and do nothing would be... well Helaina.... I grunted. The wolf was on my mind far too much, and I didn't even like her.

"And now you're thinking something else," Shadow said, sticking his nose to mine.

"It's Helaina..."

"Something else has been on your mind. You were bothered by something since that day on the roof. What did she say?"

I had no hesitations. Helaina had lost her chance to be good to Shadow. "She asked me to back off from you, so she could get close to you. So she could claim you. She... said she wanted your pups."

Shadow's muzzle opened to speak, but before he could make a sound, I jumped back in, "She only wants your pups. She had no interest in you, only your bloodline. Each time you were even the slightest bit unwelcome, she ditched you." I took a quick breath and continued hurriedly, "Honestly. If there is a nice wolf who cares about you, I think I could stand stepping aside. But not that wolf. She can't have you," I finished my rant with a grumble.

He bit my nose.

I yipped in shock, even though it was not a hard bite. My noise must have startled the crows, because they began to caw in the distance.

"Don't hide stuff like that. It's dangerous," he said, looking serious. "I don't ever want to lose you. I've also met plenty of wolves, plenty of furs. I like you better. In all ways." He looked to the side, watching the zombies at the far end of the parking lot. “Anyway, I didn't like how she assumed that all the familiarity and touching would be okay with me.”

I rubbed my nose, knowing it would be sore later. Shadow smiled and gave it a kiss as crows continued to caw distantly.

"Anything else you've forgotten to tell me?" he asked, grin returning.

"That was the big thing. Did you also want to hear my life story?"

"Yes, but you can save that one for later," he replied, giving me a lick to my nose before sitting up. "Let's get the tent set up. Looks like it may rain later."

"How can you tell?" I asked, sitting up.

"You can't tell for sure, but sometimes the clouds,” he paused, squinting at the bright clouds, “look like rain." He shrugged and stood up.

"Hmmm," I mumbled, tapping my fingers on the white membrane in time with the familiar tune in my head. I heard crows again. "Looks like the weather is making the crows restless, too."

We laid the tent out flat about 15 pawlengths from the crate at the storefront. As we crouched and assembled the collapsible poles, I heard strange sounds. A noisy racket. A choking sound, throttled off?

I looked around the roof in alarm. Shadow also caught my wariness. What was it?

Thud. Something dropped to the roof a little ways away.

I stood up, trying to get a better look at the thing which had landed nearby. A bird... a large bird of some kind had landed not far from the flat tent. A crow? Crumpled and still....

When I looked up, I saw a dark knot of birds flying overhead. Crows mostly. They were attacking each other. Another bird dropped to the roof nearby, then another one. A trail of dead birds growing closer as the dark, writhing knot neared us.

Suddenly, the mass of birds turned its focus on us.

"Shadow..." I searched for his paw without looking aside, but couldn't find it.

Many of the birds turned on us. Some were apprehended by more birds, while others made straight for us. The black mass dove down, and my fear intensified my focus. I could see glowing eyes. Just like the zombie eyes. Bird zombies? That didn't make sense! My mind was insistent, but reality didn't listen as the first birds plunged towards us.