Chapter 4My Guardians are Three Disabled Cats

“On what grounds?” My heart hammered against my ribs, but fury quickly replaced the fear.

The landlord was arrogant, a classic slumlord who had never once fixed my leaky faucet. He casually hefted a crowbar in his hand. “On the grounds that this is my property, and I can do whatever the hell I want.”

His men pinned me to the floor. I couldn't move, couldn't do anything but watch as they carried away all the food I had risked my life to gather. I watched as they brought in a massive, custom-built aquarium and set it up in the middle of my living room.

Somehow, my landlord had gotten his hands on several small alligators. Their jaws were wired shut for now, but I could see the glint of their teeth.

He looked at his new pets with a smug, proud grin, then noticed Ghost sleeping on the floor. He snatched him up by the tail.

He swung my tiny, sleeping kitten back and forth, laughing. “Hahaha! Don’t tell me you were planning on this little furball protecting you! There’s not enough meat on its bones to get stuck in my gators’ teeth.”

Ghost, who was usually a terror, was completely limp, as if he were in a coma. Leo and Luna, who were fiercely protective, didn’t even twitch. They were all dead to the world.

The landlord laughed again and made a move to drop Ghost into the tank.

“NO!” I screamed. “I’ll go! I’ll take them and go right now. Just don’t hurt him.”

He tossed Ghost into my arms. “Good girl. Now get the hell out of here. If I see you again, I’ll feed you to them, too.”

One hour until the apocalypse, and I was on the street with my three comatose cats.

This was it. I was well and truly finished.

I held one cat in my arms and had the other two in a backpack carrier, wandering aimlessly, looking for a place to hide.

I rounded a corner and bumped right into two people. I looked up and my blood ran cold. It was my best friend, Jessica, and Mark. They were holding hands, walking three enormous, snarling Tibetan Mastiffs.

“Well, well, look what we have here,” Jess cooed, her voice dripping with venom. “It’s Anna. Still clinging to your precious little masters, I see.”

I ignored her, my eyes locked on their intertwined hands. “We broke up a few hours ago, Mark. How are you with her?”

He dropped the charade, his face twisting into a sneer. “You really think I was ever into you, Anna? You’re a broke, scrawny charity case. Jess and I have been together for months.”

“I was going to trick you into raising some strong pets with me,” he continued, his voice cruel. “Then, when the time was right, I’d have pushed you out as zombie bait. That way, Jess and I could have had nine guardians between us. But you’re just too stupid for your own good. Couldn’t let go of these useless fleabags.”

Jess giggled, squeezing Mark’s arm. “Honey, why are you wasting your breath? We’ve got mastiffs and a lion now. She’s dead meat no matter what. Why don’t we just let our babies have a little appetizer?”

The meaning behind her words hit me. My whole body started to shake. They’re going to kill me. Before the zombies even get here, I’m going to be eaten by dogs. I could see their teeth. Long, yellow canines. It would hurt so much.

As if they understood, the mastiffs surged forward, barking furiously.

Jess clapped her hands. “That’s it, boys! Go on! Rip that bitch apart!”

The dogs lunged. The smell of their hot, fetid breath washed over me. My feet felt like they were nailed to the pavement. I couldn’t run. I couldn’t even scream. I squeezed my eyes shut, bracing for the teeth.

And in that instant, my cats woke up.