As giant metal feats of architecture were cut down into a spanning landscape of fir trees, Maggy could finally breathe. It had felt like an eternity since she had last been able to. Up in the mountains, far away from the city, she felt relief. The cold air rushed up to greet her as she stepped onto the trail.

She would spend the next week hiking the wilderness. After everything that had happened back home, it felt good to be alone. No one was there to bother her. The buzzing checklist of supplies she needed for her new home renovations was out of her mind. No more mid-lunch rushes to a hardware store close to Cheltenham, where her office resided.

Her power tools had been left behind. A notebook of DIY ideas sat discarded on her desk at home. The only thing she had to worry about now was her hiking backpack. 

Nothing but the trail and her own feet, she was finally alone.

“Excuse me?” 

A voice called out from behind her. Something sharp tapped her shoulder. She spun around, annoyed and a bit frightened, to face the other hiker. 

But… there was nothing. 

She twisted her head, trying to spot the origin of the voice, but all she found was thick undergrowth and trees.

“Could you do me a favour?”

It took a moment to make sense of the situation. Her brain had become foggy, accustomed only to the lunch hour rush of phoning technicians or shopping for building supplies. Cheltenham was far behind her, but the months of renovations still lay heavy on her mind. 

“Miss?” 

The voice came again, and everything finally snapped into place. Maggy watched in horror as the tree in front of her opened its mouth to speak. A gaping mouth splintered out from the middle of the trunk. As if intent on cracking her reality completely, two wary eyes opened and blinked under heavy bark eyelids.

There was no denying it any longer. 

The tree had talked to her. No. The tree was talking to her. Strangely, it seemed impatient at her lack of a response.

Shali didn’t stop talking the entire night. It was a welcome distraction from the groaning zombies outside, but Otto slowly tired of the constant chatter. It would be the first time he had interacted with someone since the outbreak happened and he was thankful when it was finally time for bed. 

They woke up early the next morning for their team quest to gather building supplies at the local shop. It was nice to be around another human, but it brought up uncomfortable feelings that he had been avoiding. If Shali was alive, then that meant there were other survivors. It made him worry for his friends and family. He hadn’t been able to see them for a year after starting his work at the office and had always been too busy. His guilt grew.

By the time they arrived at the store, his thoughts had become so overwhelming. He was relieved when they walked through the doors and they were far enough away from danger that Shali began talking again.  

She whistled as she took in the packed shelves and picked up a drill to absentmindedly inspect it. “I haven’t been here since last year when I picked up plumbing supplies for a renovation. Cheltenham hasn’t changed at all.”

Shali had explained that she was from somewhere further north in Melbourne, some suburb that Otto had forgotten the name of but had only heard in passing. Her face faltered a bit and Otto’s own body swirled with mixed feelings.

“It’s weird,” he said, hoping to give her some solidarity.

Any discomfort he might have noticed in her passed in a flash. In seconds she was swinging from the shelves, stretching her hand out and gesturing to the store dramatically. “Ladies and gentlemen!” she shouted with a fake stereotypical accent he had heard in commercials a hundred times before. “I declare this hardware store open now! Bayside residents marvel at this lifetime opportunity – everything is 100% off.”

It was a cheap and poor attempt at a joke but Otto laughed just the same. He shook his head in disbelief at his deteriorating sense of humour before searching the shelves for the timber and building materials aisle. Shali jumped down, helping him to pack tools, screws and bolts into her backpack. It was nice to have the help.