The Zombie Runners Club

Maya's legs burned as she joined the other members of the Zombie Runners Club, their fluorescent orange jerseys blazing against the gray November sky. She'd only joined because her best friend Chloe said it would help them 'climb the social pyramid' at Northwood High, but honestly? Maya felt more like a zombie than a runner most days.

'You got this, M!' Chloe yelled from where she stood with the popular crowd—aka the top of the pyramid. Maya waved back, pretending her stomach wasn't knotting itself into something ridiculous.

Then she saw him: Tyler Evans, the linebacker who'd made her life hell seventh period. The bull of the school, everyone called him behind his back. But here, wearing that same ridiculous orange jersey and gasping for air like everyone else, he looked almost... human.

Maya picked up her pace, something igniting in her chest. Not competition, but defiance. She'd been running from Tyler's comments for months, but today she found herself running alongside him, matching him stride for stride, until they both collapsed breathless at the finish line.

'Not bad,' he managed between gasps. 'For a zombie.'

Maya laughed, realizing her social pyramid fears had been the real monsters all along. Sometimes running toward what scared you was the only way to stop feeling like the walking dead.