The Last Kids on Earth

It’s 4:00am, and Jack sees June going up to the roof so he follows her; he startles her (she didn’t see him coming), but they begin talking. She explains a game where she throws tennis balls at the zombies below and aims for specific body parts or people she recognizes—like their gym teacher. It reminds Jack about his “Feats of Apocalyptic Success.” They play her game together and begin to show small signs of flirtation—like Jack telling her their “eyeballs shared a moment” and how she “rolls her eyes in the cutest way possible” (171). She explains how she has been trapped in the school since the disaster started. She expected the police and her parents would arrive, but no one ever did. June is the only survivor remaining. She reveals how she saw her parents from the school window leaving town on a military bus one day, and how she banged on the windows for them to hear. Her dad saw her and tried to get off the bus to get her, but the soldiers wouldn’t let him, and the bus left. She hasn’t seen them since.

June apologizes to Jack for freaking out on him and the boys earlier.