The trio drove in silence. The streets were eerily deserted, and other than a single car passing in the opposite direction, they saw no other signs of other survivors. Adam stared out the window from the passenger seat, feeling more than a little unsettled. He wasn't used to riding shotgun in his own car, and it felt off, like seeing the world from a slightly skewed angle.

  Natalie turned on the radio, but every station returned nothing but static. Not even an emergency broadcast tone played, just station after station of static. The sound made Adam's teeth ache, though he couldn't explain why. She quickly shut it off. It felt like the world was holding its breath, the chaos of the past few hours briefly receding into a heavy, unnatural stillness.

  Adam thought about the creatures, surprised they hadn't seen more of them. He'd passed so many on his way home. Were they drawn to places with more activity? Or had they been placed intentionally near population centers? The quiet was unnerving. If things were already this empty, it was a very bad sign.

  "We should talk about some things when we get there," Samantha said suddenly from the back seat. Her voice cut through the quiet, making both Adam and Natalie jump. Natalie glanced at her through the rearview mirror and nodded.

  "I think that's a good idea," she said.

  Adam's phone chirped loudly, and this time all three of them jumped.

  “Holy hell. Too many more of those and I think I’m going to have a heart attack,” he said, pulling his phone out. There was a text from Stephen: Made it home. Jess and I are safe. Shit is crazy. Hope you made it too. Gonna lay low for a while. Dropped you a pin. Should meet up if we can. Stay safe dude.

  Adam quickly opened the pin, pleasantly surprised the internet was still working. He took a screen shot of the address.

  "Of course the internet is still working," he muttered sarcastically, cursing himself for not thinking to message his parents through social media. As the car rolled to a stop, he looked up at Natalie, confused.

  She pointed ahead, and Samantha leaned forward from the back seat, her eyes locked on something in front of the car. Adam winced, bracing for the worst. His imagination ran wild with images of monstrosities rushing them, and tearing the car apart in seconds. He turned his head slowly to face what had made them stop.

  A horse stood in the center of the road.

  It was enormous, at least nine feet tall at the shoulder, and pure white. No, not just white. The creature shone, so intensely it was difficult to look at directly and starbursts flared at the edges of Adam's vision. Its mane shimmered in shifting prismatic hues, stirred by a faint breeze. Atop its head rested a single, slightly curved, golden horn.

  “There’s no way," he heard himself say as his eyes began to water. “Is that…?”

  “A unicorn,” Samantha breathed.

  The creature approached the car at a slow, deliberate pace. Its heavy hooves clicked against the pavement, the sound carrying even through the closed windows. It stopped in front of the vehicle and bent its head low, sniffing the hood.

  From this angle, its horn pointed straight at the windshield like a poised spear. After a moment, it reared back and bared its teeth. Adam tensed in his seat, heart in his throat. Beside him, Natalie's hands tightened on the steering wheel, and he could hear the faint grind of enamel as she clenched her jaw.

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  The unicorn straightened and shook its massive head. Each strand of its main sparked with shifting flashes of color. Adam wanted to look away, to shield his eyes from the visual barrage, but he couldn't. Tears spilled down his cheeks and he couldn't make them stop.

  The creature stepped back a few paces, lifted its horn, and let out a deep, melodic nicker that vibrated through the car's frame. It shook its mane again, and with a sharp pop of displaced air, it was gone.

  A moment of stunned silence followed.

  “I don’t mean to sound redundant,” Natalie began. “Actually, you know what, screw that. That was a unicorn. A real life, in-the-flesh, fucking unicorn.”

  “I’m not sure it was fucking,” Samantha replied. “But it was definitely a unicorn.”

  Adam turned to look at her and immediately realized she was teasing. It struck him just how well she seemed to be taking everything.

  “God damn it, Sam…” Natalie started laughing. “Does anything bother you?”

  “Does the threat of nuclear war count?” Samantha asked cheerfully. “But no, not really. Plus, what’s the point? The world's going to hell, but we just saw a unicorn. A unicorn. And it didn’t even try to kill us. That’s something to be amazed by, not freaked out about.”

  “You know she’s probably right. And I think it teleported?” Adam added, scanning the street for any sign of where it had gone.

  Natalie shot him a withering look and he put his hands up in surrender.

  She shook her head and rolled her eyes. Samantha leaned forward and planted a kiss on her cheek.

  “Love you!” she said mischievously.

  Natalie groaned, took her foot off the brake, and they continued on.

  The next few minutes passed uneventfully before Natalie finally pulled onto Adam’s Street. She stopped the car in the middle of the road. All three peered around nervously, scanning for any threats that could have followed them back to their supposed safe haven.

  “It looks clear,” Samantha said.

  “I think I remember someone getting eaten right after saying that in a movie,” Adam replied. “But yeah, it looks clear. Let’s do it.”

  Natalie pulled up in front of Adam’s condo, and he shook his head.

  “Let’s just park in the yard. I don’t think my HOA is going to give a shit anymore,” Adam said. “Less distance between us and the front door. In case we have to,” he grimaced, “escape.”

  “Good idea. Also, thanks for putting that in our heads,” Natalie quipped, then hopped the curb, drove forward, then backed up to the door. “I bet you wish you’d sprung for a garage. We did.”

  “Yep! And you also have a giant hole in the front of your house,” he answered.

  “Fair enough.”

  Adam grabbed the door handle but hesitated. “Do you have more bullets for that gun? It might be better if we unload while you stand guard."

  “Yeah, I can do that," she said, turning the car off and tossing him the keys. He caught them and slipped them into his jacket before they piled out.

  “On second thought, we need to make sure the place is secure again before we settle in.” He opened the door and let them inside.

  They spent the next several minutes checking every closet and under every piece of furniture. Samantha started laughing when Adam opened both the freezer and refrigerator, moving things aside as he checked.

  Convinced the condo was still creature-free, they hustled back to unload the car.

  The heavy clouds brought an early twilight, and the trio worked feverishly. Adam had a creeping suspicion that night would fall much earlier than usual, and the part of his brain that told him to fear the dark was screaming.

  “Does it seem later than it should be to either of you?” Adam asked, unable to shake the feeling as he grabbed the last bag and hefted it over his shoulder.

  “Yeah. Definitely," Samantha replied. "It feels like early evening when it should only be midafternoon. But it could just be the stress of the day.” She paused. “The air feels different too, but I’m not sure how exactly.”

  Adam caught movement out of the corner of his eye and turned to see a man approaching from across the street. For a brief moment, he exhaled in relief, overjoyed to see another human being. But the feeling vanished as the man drew closer.

  Natalie stifled a shriek as he stumbled closer. The left side of his face was a mangled ruin, cheek torn wide to reveal both rows of teeth. Deep gashes split his chest, and the front of his suit was stained with dried blood. A chunk of his thigh was missing and a ragged hole showed through his shredded pants. He raised a trembling arm, reaching toward them and grasping at the air.

  “Sure, why not. Zombies too.” Adam threw up his hands in exasperation. “That’s what he is, right? A god damned zombie?” He grabbed his bat and stepped forward.

  "Wait," Samantha said, stopping him. The corpse kept lurching forward with painful slowness.

  "I need you both to trust me. I want to try something."