Harem in a zombie apocalypse

[40] Endeavor

Cassidy shifted uncomfortably, clearing her throat before her question floated in the heavy air, "Andy... where's your dad?"

Andy's eyes flickered away for a moment, his body going rigid. The question seemed to echo in the silence that followed, only the quiet hum of a generator and the occasional clink of metal echoing in the background.

"He...," Andy began, his voice surprisingly steady, yet the grimace that crossed his features told of a different story. The silence returned, only to be broken once more by his quiet admission, "He turned."

The word lingered in the air like a ghost, its meaning all too clear in this new, cruel world. To turn - to become one of those shambling, mindless creatures that once were human. It was a fate many had met, and one everyone feared.

Andy's gaze was fixed somewhere far off, the haunted look in his eyes reflecting memories he'd rather forget. He swallowed hard, his throat working as he continued, "Dad... was bitten while we were out scrounging for parts. He thought he could hide it, thought he could fight it off."

His words trailed off into a bitter laugh, a hollow, empty sound that echoed through the garage. "You can't fight it off," he finally added, his voice dropping to a low whisper, an undertone of pain lacing his words.

Andy's father had been a mechanic, just like him. The shop was their livelihood, their sanctuary. But when the world went to hell, it became their fortress. Andy's father had taught him everything he knew about cars, about traps, about survival.

"He was a fighter," Andy said, a distant smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. "He fought to the very end."

His voice was thick with emotion as he remembered his father's courage, his determination, even in the face of a fate worse than death. His father had known what was coming, had known what he would become, yet he'd faced it head on, never once succumbing to fear.

"But when it was time... when he turned... I had to..." Andy's voice broke, his chest rising and falling with shaky breaths as he fought for composure.

There was a heavy silence, no one dared to break it. We all knew what had to be done when someone turned. It was a brutal necessity of this new world. A mercy, some called it. But that didn't make it any easier.

As the silence stretched on, Andy's gaze moved to a photograph on the wall - a man with a bright smile, grease smeared on his face, a young Andy standing next to him. His hero, his mentor, his dad.

The silence was eventually broken by Cassidy, her voice soft and compassionate. "I'm sorry, Andy," she said, and though the words were simple, they carried the weight of shared loss and understanding in this apocalyptic world.

Andy gave a tight nod, "Me too, Cass. Me too."

I looked at others with a nod, after they nodded back, I told Andy how the zombies ignored me.

There was a moment of silence as the room absorbed the words that had just tumbled out of my mouth. The quiet was soon broken by Andy's disbelief. "Wait, are you kidding me?" he asked, skepticism narrowing his eyes.

"No, I'm not," I replied evenly. I understood his doubt. It was a claim that defied everything we knew about the undead creatures that now roamed the earth. "They just... don't seem to see me."

"You're saying you're invisible to them?" Cassidy chimed in, her wide eyes flicking back and forth between me and Andy.

I shrugged, knowing how insane it sounded. But it was the truth. "Not exactly invisible, they just don't react to me. It's like I don't register on their radar."

Andy was still eyeing me with a suspicious gaze. He seemed to be weighing up the validity of my claim, no doubt running through every encounter he'd had with a zombie and trying to see if there was any precedent for my seeming immunity.