《The End Of Life》


 Chapter 1 - The Beginning Of The End

    "I want to die."


    The only sentence that came out of Mark Blaze. The idea of him dying was always haunting him for the past years. Having tried it a lot of times by then, he finally decided to take the final step towards it.


    He looked in front and saw himself in the mirror. His shiny and smooth black hair which could make girls envious about. His six feet tall frame with a very athletic body. The strikingly handsome face of his with cold and dead-looking eyes.


    His slightly tanned skin gave a distant aura around him. The tight muscles and abs which showed due to the well-fit shirt he was wearing and the most attention gaining part of his body, his eyes. With one blue and the other green, he was strikingly handsome to look at.


    He looked around himself and saw the small room he shared with his friend. He saw the two beds and the small kitchen they shared. The sink was filled with disposable cups and boxes from what he had the past few days.


    All the clothes scattered around the room which were a sacrifice for the frustration he had bottled up inside him. He looked up and saw the rope he tied to the fan to hang himself. He slowly dragged the chair beside him under the rope, getting ready to die.


    As he stepped on the chair, he slowly had doubts about what he was doing. He slowly got a fear of death installed in him as he continued to have doubts about this. He shook his head and threw away all these thoughts as he finally decided on this.


    "Wait for me mother, sister, I will be coming there soon," and got on the chair.


    He held the rope with both his hands as he gulped his saliva. He slowly brought it near his face, but his phone rang. He tried to ignore it and continued to keep his head inside the rope. His phone rang again and he couldn''t help but look at its direction.


    He noticed the caller was his roommate, who had gone out on a field trip with his college. He couldn''t help but wonder why he was calling him over and over again.


    "Oh well, this is probably the last time I will ever hear his voice." and got down.


    His roommate was one of two only friends he ever had in that life. It was precisely due to him that Mark stopped suiciding a lot of times in the past. He slowly picked up his phone and saw his friend''s name, Kevin. Kevin Forst, one of the two only friends Mark had in his entire life. Kevin was the only person who stuck with him throughout his life when it was hell. The other person came later in his life when he started out college.


    He slowly answered the phone and heard the voice on the other side, "Hey Mark, I need some help."


    Mark couldn''t help but shed a tear hearing his friend''s voice for one last time.


    "Tell me, What''s up?"


    "I need you to go to my internship office and get some papers for me. They really are important and I can''t take them when I get back."


    Hearing a request from him Mark couldn''t say no and said, "Ok, I will do it."


    "Thanks, man, Don''t worry when I am back let''s buy the new game you wanted."


    Hearing him, Mark couldn''t help but chuckle as his voice choked with tears filling his eyes. He wiped the tears off his face. He couldn''t help but ask, "How is the trip?"


    "Oh, are you regretting not coming now? It''s fine, I''m enjoying it. I''ll be back in two days, so please try to keep the room clean. I don''t want to see it dirty. Ok fine, I gotta go, the teacher is calling us. I will call you when I''m back at the hotel." and cut the call.


    Mark wiped the tears off seeing his friend''s hurry and kept the phone back in his pocket. He looked at the rope and thought, "Looks like you gotta wait for some more time."


    He grabbed his jacket off the hook and wore it. He took Kevin''s office ID and walked out of the room. He carefully locked the door. He kept the keys back in his pockets and slowly went to the end of the corridor. He looked at the wall on the side and noticed its bad condition and shook his head.


    "I asked the landlord to repair it. It might collapse even if a minor earthquake occurs." he sighed, shaking his head.


    Going down the stairs, he went out of the building. He looked back at the sorry state of the building and walked away. He slowly looked up, squinting his eyes at the bright sun. He tried to enjoy the last moments he would ever have to the fullest.


    After 30 minutes, he slowly reached a big office building. He noticed many people coming in and out, wearing costly suits, talking on their phones. He made his way inside and went to the reception.


    "Hello there. I am here on behalf of my friend to take some documents for him. Here is his ID." showing Kevin''s ID to the receptionist.


    The receptionist took the ID and made a call. After taking over the phone she cut the call and asked Mark, "Yes, you can go inside to the 10th floor, please. The receptionist there would have the files you need."


    Mark nodded and went into the elevator by the side. He pressed on the 10th floor and felt relieved as no one came in with him. The elevator stopped once it reached the 10th floor, and the doors opened. He saw the outer view through the building''s windows and felt amazed.


    He slowly walked out and made his way towards the receptionist. He showed her the ID, and the receptionist asked him to sit on the chairs to the side while she goes in and searches for the file.


    Mark nodded and sat on the comfy sofa while looking out of the window. He looked at the passing clouds as he noticed how much he will miss this world after a while. Even if he tried to suicide so many times, there were still some moments he spent happily before everything went downhill in his life.


    As he continued to see the clouds he suddenly saw black smoke outside. Feeling confused, he stood up and went towards the glass and looked down.


    What he saw made him frozen in his spot. It was one of the most terrifying things he had ever seen in his whole life.

 Chapter 2 - Zombies

    The scene in front of him was completely horrific. The cars beneath were burning in flames and people were running everywhere. He saw some of the people looking completely weird and were trying to bite off others.


    The people who were attacking did not look normal at all. They walked even though others hit them as if they did not receive any pain. They continued to walk even if they had to drag their feet around. They went after people and bit them wherever they could and people who bit laid down motionless only to wake up after some time. Their faces were deformed and black blood was oozing out of them.


    He knew what they looked like; they were like the zombies from the various games Mark played. He could hear the screams of the people who were being bitten even when he was 10 floors above them.


    Seeing the havoc down there, Mark only had one thought, ''The End Is Here.''


    He woke up from his thoughts as he heard the elevator noise. He looked back and saw people near the elevator waiting anxiously for the doors to open. But when they did, contrary to their expectations, inside were two zombies waiting.


    They lunged at the nearest person to the elevator, trying to bite him completely. Seeing this, all the others backed away in horror. Mark could finally see 2 zombies biting a people on the ground.


    Mark''s pupils shrunk as he saw two zombies in front of him. His body shook from the fear and excitement he was feeling. One of the zombies who was a male completely bit the person and looked at a woman near it.


    The woman could only shriek and fall back on her butt. The others surrounding her instantaneously ran away, trying to save their own lives. The zombie sprung at the woman, who tried to back away further. Unable to catch her, the zombie stretched out its hand and caught her leg.


    Trying to free herself from it, the woman looked around and spotted Mark. She stretched her hand and begged, "Please help me."


    But before Mark could react, the other Zombie also sprung at her, biting off her neck while the other biting her leg. Mark continued to stare into the woman''s eyes as she was being eaten. The woman lost her strength and her hand dropped on the floor.


    Mark couldn''t move from the place he stood. He could only look at the zombie''s feast on the woman''s dead body. After a few seconds both the zombies stopped biting the body and started to look around.


    As they looked around one of the zombies caught Mark standing by the window looking at them. Mark could hear the people screaming all around him on the floor and by that time there was no one in the lobby.


    The zombie slowly got up as the blood from the woman slowly dripped down from its mouth and their clothes were dyed in red and black. As the zombie slowly walked over the second one also stood up making its way towards Mark.


    Mark only stood there frozen, seeing everything happening. He looked at the zombies coming at him. He couldn''t move and he started to panic, seeing them gain more speed. As the first zombie came nearer, it lunged at him, trying to catch him and pin him down.


    As he saw it coming nearer, he could only try to escape by keeping all his strength on one side of his body, trying to fall down. His panic only increased as it came nearer. He kept his entire strength on his side and fell down.


    He hurriedly turned back and noticed the zombie going right to the window, breaking it and falling down through it. The other zombie stopped in its tracks as it couldn''t find Mark and looked around. Seeing this, Mark quickly hit its legs as hard as he could, making it fall down.


    Mark slowly crawled towards the edge of the floor and looked down through the broken window. He saw the 2 zombies mushed together on the ground and had an urge to throw up. He slowly stood up and made his way towards the door which led to the stairs.


    As he slowly made his way, the first man who was attacked slowly moved his fingers. He slowly stood up and looked around and spotted Mark moving towards the doors by the side. He slowly growled at Mark and walked towards him.


    Hearing something behind him, Mark turned around and noticed the first man turned into a zombie and growling at him. He quickened his steps and went to the door. He opened it and closed it behind him. He sensed some force from the other side and felt the Zombie trying to push its way towards him.


    He looked around for something to stop this door with and found some metal rods by the side. He slowly bent and took one while still trying to stop the zombie. He grabbed the rod and tried to turn around but using this chance the zombie pushed more creating space for its leg.


    Mark pushed the door harder and hit the leg, trying to force it out. As he hit the leg, he remembered they could not feel any pain. He then thought about an idea and slowly left the door. The zombie pushed the door open and tried to jump on Mark.


    But before it could, Mark swung the rod at its stomach, pushing it back into the lobby. Noticing the zombie far away, Mark quickly closed the door and put the rod in the handles to block it. The zombie tried to force its way inside again, but the rod was strong enough to hold the doors shut.


    Mark quickly took another rod as a weapon and looked down the stairs, deciding whether he should make his way up or down. As he slowly made his way down after deciding to go to his house he suddenly heard growls from below and looked down.


    He noticed several zombies slowly trying to make their way up, growling at each other. Mark quickly turned around and slowly made his way up, trying to not make any sound which might attract the zombies below.

 Chapter 3 - On The Way Up

    Mark slowly made his way up, not making any loud noises with the rod in his hand ready to swing it at anything which jumps on him. His grip increased as he heard the noises from below get louder.


    He remembered the maximum floors in the building were 15 and he was now between 10 and 11. He made the last floor his goal and wanted to ultimately make his way onto the rooftop of the building. It would be the safest place in the present situation. Forming a goal in his brain, he reached the 11th floor.


    He looked down through the railing and noticed the zombies were on the 6th floor, slowly making their way up. He turned towards the door and slowly opened it to check the situation inside. He slowly peeked inside and noticed a zombie down and no one else in the lobby.


    He looked closer at the zombie and noticed its head completely crushed with black blood coming out of it like an endless river. The change in the blood color caught his attention. He slowly closed the door behind him, hoping to not grab any attention of any possible zombies inside the room.


    He checked on the zombies and noticed them halting on the 8th floor for some reason. But multiple screams for help he heard from below his confusion was answered. He felt chills running up his spine as he heard them. He ignored them and continued up.


    He reached the 12th floor and noticed the zombies already resuming their way up from the 8th floor. He then slowly peeked inside the 12th floor and noticed no one inside. He looked around and a snack bar caught his attention. His stomach grumbled as he remembered not having any lunch.


    He once again checked for any zombies and slowly made his way in. He closed the door behind him and made his way towards the snack bar. As he almost reached the snack bar, he looked at the lobby and found a woman''s body. His eyes shot wide when the body started twitching.


    Pausing momentarily, he observed the body as it continued to twitch. Only after it stopped, he slowly went inside the snack bar and saw all the food. He slowly opened the shelf filled with snacks. Looking around for anything to carry some, he found a medium-sized backpack. He quickly grabbed it and noticed it was spacious.


    Emptying the bag, he slowly kept some of the snack bars and chips he found. He opened some more shelves and found a complete loaf of bread. Stuffing it inside, he searched the other shelves.


    As he reached out for the refrigerator full of water and drinks he heard something growling behind him, making his heart skip a beat. He retracted his hand and peeked over the counter. He noticed the female body standing at its place, growling aimlessly.


    His breathing quickened as he felt scared. He quickly closed his mouth with both his hands, trying to not make any sound. He continued to observe the zombie as it looked around. It suddenly stopped as its gaze fell on the snack bar Mark was in.


    He quickly turned around and curled himself up, trying to not make any sound and not be seen. He heard the zombie walking towards him and slowly gripped the metal rod he had with him tighter.


    As the sound of the zombie''s legs became louder, Mark''s heart beat faster. Sweat accumulated on his forehead and his back was drenched in sweat and he slowly started to panic. The footsteps suddenly stopped, and he heard the zombie growling right above him.


    Mark tried to stay as calm as he possibly could. The growling stopped when he heard a noise from the other side of the room. The zombie turned around and made its way towards the source of the noise. Mark slowly peeked out with his hand still over his mouth to see what caused the sound and what happened to the zombie.


    The zombie slowly moved inside a hallway to the end, out of Mark''s vision. Slowly removing his hand, he exhaled in relief and used his sleeve to wipe the sweat off his face. Not willing to stay there anymore, Mark quickly opened the refrigerator and stored 10 water bottles inside the bag.


    He slowly stood up and made his way towards the door he came from while looking at the hallway the zombie went into. He wore the bag and gripped the rod tighter as he opened the door. He quickly closed it and exhaled in relief.


    He silently checked the situation of the zombies below him and became alert as he saw them on the 10th floor. He silently made his way towards the 13th floor, not making any sound. As he made it to the 13th floor, he tried to open the door and noticed it was locked


    He wondered if it was humans who locked it or they locked it even before all this happened. Deciding to leave it, he made his way towards the 14th floor. He noticed the zombies were already on the 12th floor and quickened his steps.


    He reached the 14th floor but noticed it was locked from the outside by a mop. Not taking the risk to open it, he continued onto the last floor. As he finally reached, he looked down and saw the zombies were on the 13th floor.


    He made his way towards the door and tried to open it. He noticed it was locked and tried to knocking, hoping that there people inside. He had no other way as the way to the terrace was closed and this was the only way. out of the staircase.


    He could suddenly hear people whispering from the other side and confirmed that there were human. He once again knocked and whispered, "Please open the door."


    Once he asked, there was complete silence on the other side. He brought his hand near the door to knock again, but stopped as he heard, "Are you alone?"


    "Yes, I''m alone."


    "Are those things near you?"


    "No, they are 2 floors beneath."


    There came no response after this, and the door slowly opened. Mark noticed it was a man standing by the door, slowly peeking outside. He had white hair and looked like he was in his early 40s. He waved his hands, asking Mark to get in, and closed the door once he did.


    Mark looked around and noticed around 20 people in the lobby, most of which were middle-aged women and some men holding things like wood handles and metal rods looking at him with hostility, ready to attack.

 Chapter 4 - Observations

    Mark got anxious as he noticed the hostility from the people in the room not decrease, but rather increase. All of them had their weapons pointed at him, keeping their guard up. Before he could ask the reason, the man who opened the door anxiously grabbed his shoulders and asked, "Are you bitten anywhere?"


    "No, I''m all clean. No zombie came near enough to scratch me."


    The man exhaled in relief and waved his hand indicating everything was alright, making the rest of the people exhale and retract their hostility towards him. Mark looked around and noticed a zombie to the corner of the room with its brain completely pulverized and the blood oozing out around it..


    Noticing Mark''s attention on the zombie, the man beside him said, "We killed that one earlier. Anyway, make yourself comfortable. My name is Denton Cox, and I am the owner of this company." stretching out his hand.


    Mark shook his hand and replied, "Nice to meet you. My name is Mark," not willing to tell the hideous last name of his.


    Denton caught this but did not pursue it as many people have their own problems and he wasn''t the kind to pry on others. Ne nodded and walked towards the others while saying, "Come to me if you have any problems."


    Mark went and sat near the windows alone. He looked down and saw the roads were now filled with zombies, Cars on fire, and blood everywhere. He couldn''t believe how quickly everything happened. From almost ending his life, Mark was now seeing the beginning of the end of the world.


    He turned to the other side and noticed the lobby was the same as the 11th floor. He took out his phone from his pocket, as he tried to call Kevin to find out his situation, but the phone was destroyed.


    Feeling down and worried at the same time, he kept his phone back inside. He looked around to ask someone for a phone. He noticed a girl around his age beside him sitting on a chair and asked her, "Do you have a phone?"


    Feeling startled at the sudden question, the girl answered hurriedly, "No, everyone here is an employee and we generally keep out phones on the 12th-floor lockers."


    Seeing her startle, Mark got confused but let slide it as panic. He exhaled, feeling hopeless about the situation and the dumb rules of the company to have their phones kept aside. He looked out and noticed the sun almost setting.


    He started to think about the escape route out of the building. Looking at the number of people on the floor, panicking and shaking with fear, Mark understood getting out of the building is nearly impossible.


    He wondered if the company owner had any plans and stood up. He walked over to Denton, who was talking to a group of people.


    "Excuse me, Mr. Denton. Do you guys have any plans on how to get out of here?"


    Hearing Mark, Denton and the group of people near him turned towards him. Looking around him Denton slowly whispered into Mark''s ears, "I have contacted the army but they informed us that they would be able to rescue up only tomorrow and not today. If this gets out, the people might panic and we do not want that now. So please do not tell anyone else."


    Denton only said this to Mark as he was the outsider in their group and was able to make his way up. He was the owner of the company, and he naturally followed different rules and brought his phone along with him.


    Mark nodded and went back to his seat. He started thinking about the way out. But before this, he collected the information on the zombies he has so far. He looked around to find a book and noticed one on the receptionist''s desk.


    He slowly took the book and the pen on the coffee table beside him. He tore the filled up pages and slowly wrote his observations. He noticed that it would take at the very least of 5 minutes before a human becomes a zombie when bitten.


    He also noticed how the zombies are highly sensitive to sound and it''s a way for distraction. They were highly sensitive to the smell of blood and humans. He wondered if the zombie''s actions were more violent in the night compared to now.


    Looking at the fading sun and he started thinking of some plans. His first thought was the rooftop. He could simply stay on it till the military arrives. He looked at all the people around him and thought about how he was the only one who could survive. It would take too much time to transfer all these people if he ever found a way up.


    He slowly stood up to check the distance between the two side buildings. He first went to the right and noticed the gap was too big for him to do. It would be a suicide mission if he tries it. He then walked to the complete left and noticed the distance was lower, but the building was higher.


    If he jumped, he would have to break into a window of the building to get in. He squinted his eyes as he tried to get a view on the situation inside the building and noticed it was full of zombies just waiting for people to feast on.


    Exhaling, he went back to his place and sat once again. He knew it would only take an hour or less for the zombies to come up to the last floor. He started to roam around the entire floor to check for a way to get to the top.


    He slowly entered a hallway and made his way across, searching for a route up. He noticed many cubicles and offices to the left in the middle for the employees. He reached the end but couldn''t find an exit. He came back to the lobby and went into the hallway across the lobby. A similar scene greeted him and but there was a window at the end of this hallway.


    Opening the window, he looked down and to the side to notice a ladder hanging to the top. He faintly smiled seeing this and caught the ladder. He tried to shake it but noticed it was tight. He decided to come back here once the zombies arrived on this floor and went back into the lobby.


    But what he failed to notice was a woman noticing him as he checked the ladder and hid inside a cubicle when he walked back into the lobby.

 Chapter 5 - Change In Plan

    Mona Ray was the typical university genius who landed a big-time job at a top company after finishing her university life. But never would she have imagined that the day she would join would turn out such a way.


    She was one of the lucky few who were at the last floor during this time. She could not believe what was happening around her. She wondered about the cheerful faces of her parents when she exited her house that day.


    She could not come out of the panic and shock she was in for a very long time when she saw a zombie on the floor from the top. She stayed rooted in her place as she noticed all the people running around on the floor trying to seal all paths leading to the floor.


    She woke up from her stupor when the noise of a door being knocked came from the doors leading towards the stairs. She got scared as she thought about the zombies behind the door and curled herself.


    But what she saw blew her mind. Once the door opened, she saw one of the most handsome men she had seen come in. She got even more surprised as she heard his calm explanation of how he came up.


    She continued to observe him and followed him into the hallway near her and hid inside a cubicle as she saw him search outside the window. She waited inside the cubicles for him to go by her and leave the place.


    As Mark made his way out, she slowly stood up from one cubicle in the office. She slowly went towards the hallway and peeked out to confirm Mark was gone. Once she saw it was empty, she made her way to the window and peeked outside. She saw the zombies wandering around underneath and almost screamed in horror.


    Covering her mouth with her arm, she could slowly calm down. She turned her head to the side and noticed the ladder to the top. Her eyes shot wide, and she became excited. She quickly made her way out of the hallway.


    Mark slowly sat back in his place, sighing in relief. He then noticed something which made his eyes shot wide. A woman was coming out of the hallway he found the ladder in. His eyes slowly followed her as she made her way to Denton. He saw her whispering something to him and knew she exposed the ladder he found.


    He could only curse his luck and carelessness and continue to observe them in silence. He saw her talking with Denton in private and his surprised expression as he turned towards him. Both of them slowly made their way towards him..


    "Mr. Mark, I never thought you will be able to find a path up towards the rooftop," said Denton, while sitting beside Mark on the ground.


    "I was just lucky."


    "But it came at the right time for us. If you hadn''t found the way up, we all would have been in a huge problem at night. The zombies outside would have easily barged their way inside the door and we wouldn''t even survive till the military comes to rescue us in the early morning."


    Mark nodded and asked, "So, when are you planning to tell this to everyone?"


    "In a short period of time."


    "Please make it quick cause I think the zombies might make their way into the floor anytime soon." and walked away to the side of the lobby and leaned towards the mirror, looking outside.


    He noticed the sun already completely out and the daylight becoming dimmer and dimmer. He wanted to make his way up before the light went out. He still didn''t know what would happen at night and wanted to stay alert.


    He felt his stomach grumble. He kept the metal rod to the side and opened the bag. He took out an energy bar and slowly opened the cover to eat it. But as he kept it in his mouth, he felt someone sitting next to him.


    He turned around and noticed it was the same woman who informed his findings of the ladder to Denton.


    "May I help you, Ms.." trailed off Mark not knowing her name.


    "Oh! It''s Mona Ray, I just came by to check on you." looking at the bar in his hand.


    Mark noticed her gaze and asked while sighing, "Do you want some."


    As Mona almost rejected her stomach grumbled, and she nodded with shame. Mark could only pity the poor woman and give it to her while he took out another bar from the bag to eat. Noticing another bar from his bag, Mona wondered how many more he had in it.


    Noticing her gaze towards the bag he knew her thoughts, so he told, "There are not many, I found them while climbing from the 11th floor."


    Nodding her head, she slowly ate the bar. She was hungry for quite a while but couldn''t ask anyone in the situation. She ate in a hurry and coughed. Mark exhaled as he noticed her and gave her a water bottle.


    Drinking some water, she calmed down and continued to nibble on the bar like a squirrel. Looking at her, Mark realized how beautiful she was and her outstanding figure. He could not help but ask, "Did they not give you guys anything to eat from the afternoon?"


    "They gave us some fruits that were on this floor. But those were not enough."


    Mark nodded as he saw the no of people here and the probability of some not getting them. He then noticed Denton telling everyone his plan and the excited faces of the people. He couldn''t help but sigh at how everyone got into his perfect plan and knew it was going to get tougher. He had to start making some changes in his plans to survive the night.


    Seeing him sigh, Mona couldn''t help but feel a bit guilty and say, "I know you didn''t want to tell anyone about this and I understand that in this situation everyone has to look out for themselves. But I couldn''t keep quiet, so I''m sorry." as her volume decreased as she apologized.


    Knowing that nothing can be done now that it''s out, Mark waved his hand while saying, "It''s ok you did what you thought was best. I won''t be that angry with you."

 Chapter 6 - Making Their Way Up

    Seeing Mark not minding too much about it, Mona could finally relax. She knew it was completely normal for any person to think selfishly like how Mark did after finding out about the ladder, but she couldn''t help but think about all the possible deaths of the people if she did not open it up.


    She saw Mark in a new light, and it was not in a bad way. Even though he was reluctant about Denton opening up to everyone, he still agreed. She knew this was how everyone needs to be in the present situation, both selfish but also kind at times.


    She looked ahead, and she noticed Denton''s speech about the rooftop was ending with everyone getting ready to make a move. Denton first segregated the old people who were a couple and let the adults after them.


    Before he started allowing people to move he came towards Mark and asked, "Do you want to go first?"


    "No, I think it''s better if I go last. Make the elderly move up quickly and meanwhile, I try to hold here until everyone reaches up in case of the zombies reaching the floor."


    Denton nodded and made his way back slowly, leading the elderly into the hallway towards the ladder. Mark noticed Mona not moving and said, "You should also get moving."


    "No, I will help you by staying behind and stopping the zombies in case they break-in."


    "I think you should just go. If you become luggage, then things would be even tough for me," said Mark without holding back. He didn''t want anyone to cause his death. He wanted to stay back only because he wanted to fight the zombies.


    Instead of accepting, Mona just smiled and said, "Oh! You need not worry about that. I learned some sword arts since childhood. So I should be able to take care of myself"


    Mona learned sword arts from her childhood. It was her grandfather being very persistent to teach her a form of self-defense. She never thought it would come in help like this.


    "But you don''t have a sword with you."


    Despite her saying all that, Mark still wanted to refuse and the main reason was her not having a weapon. He could not give away the only metal rod he had with him.


    "Oh! You don''t have to think about that." and walked towards one of the hallways.


    Looking at her departing figure, Mark couldn''t understand why she didn''t get it. Even though Mark did not have much problem with leaving people alone and trying to survive. He couldn''t help but persuade Mona, who wanted to stay with him to help. He couldn''t allow a life taken right in front of his eyes. He sighed at his own narcissism and tried to shake it out of his head.


    He continued to look at the few elderly taken towards the ladder with the help of some people. As he continued to observe, Mona came back with an object in her hand. Mark turned his head and was amazed at what she had. It was a sword in a sheath.


    Completely confused why she had it, Mark looked up. Noticing his gaze, her face formed a tinge of red while explaining, "My grandfather gave it to me before I came today as it was my first day."


    Hearing her, Mark was surprised at the coincidence of the zombie apocalypse happening today. He could only nod his head and try not to persuade her anymore. But what surprised him the most was that a company which wouldn''t allow mobiles allowed a dangerous object like a sword in.


    "How did you get the sword inside the company? I don''t think the company would allow people to openly get swords inside the building?"


    Mona hesitated to hear his question but sighed and said, "Denton actually knows my grandfather. A few years back, my grandfather saved Denton when he was in a problem. So my grandfather made a call this morning and asked him to allow this one day. So Denton allowed bringing the sword today."


    Hearing her, Mark thought it was very strange. This was very coincidental. Did her grandfather know something about what was happening today? Did he give her a sword knowing this would happen so she could be out of danger? But he couldn''t do anything about all the questions in his mind. Mona simply smiled and sat next to him as they observed the situation.


    They noticed the elderly were done and the normal people went into the hallway one by one. As time passed by the number dropped down to 5 excluding Mark and Mona who remained to guard the place.


    But as the last 5th person stood up to go into the hallway, the doors leading to the staircase made loud noises with zombie groans coming from the other side. Mark and Mona immediately stood up and went towards the door.


    Noticing only some people left, Mark moved the couch nearby to form a blockade for some extra time. He motioned the other four to go into the hallway and Mona to follow them. Accepting his order, they slowly made their way inside the hallway in a hurry.


    Mark slowly left the couch and moved towards the hallway while tightly gripping his rod. He noticed the couch slowly pushed back as one of the zombie''s hand burst open inside from the door.


    Mark retreated into the hallway entrenched and noticed 3 people still left to move up. He continued to observe the door and the zombies outside applied more force as one of the zombie''s upper body came inside.


    Seeing half a former male''s body in a completely incomprehensible state, Mark was surprised at the speed of the change. He noticed his hair on the head was dry and falling off, while the skin color changed to palish brown with veins popped out on the head.


    He noticed the completely blood-drenched shirt it had and knew some people were victims of it. The zombie looked around and noticed Mark near the corner of the hallway and started to groan louder and try harder to get in.


    Mark was completely surprised as he got found out and looked back to see how many people left. He noticed it was only Mona, and another person left to go and looked back to see the zombie rushing towards him.


    He rushed back into the hallway as he noticed some more zombies making their way in the hallway. He noticed the zombie coming quicker and reached the end of the hallway near the window.


    He noticed Mona getting outside through the window, and the zombie jumped on him. Before he could react to it the zombie''s head flew to the opposite direction of the room towards the rest of the zombies making their way.


    He turned his head and noticed Mona holding her blood-drenched sword in one hand while being on the ladder outside.


    "Come on," said Mona as she swung her sword to the side to get rid of the blood and made her way up.

 Chapter 7 - Rooftop

    After snapping out of the shock, he went into after seeing her skills. He stepped on the window frame and got out of the window. He slowly reached for the ladder. Once he gripped the ladder with one hand, he left the window frame and hanged on to the ladder with one hand. He held on tighter as he saw a zombie fall through the window. Looking down, he couldn''t see the road below due to the height.


    Gulping at the height of the building, he looked above. He couldn''t catch the ladder with both his hands with the rod in his hand. He threw the rod over and gripped the ladder with both his hands. He pulled himself up and finally reached the rooftop. As he got on the top, he quickly sat down as exhaustion took over.


    As he slowly collected his breath, he noticed Mona standing in front of him with his rod in her hand. He reached out for the rod and Mona handed it to him. Setting it aside, he noticed that the light was completely out. Mona sat down beside him and he got a view of the people there.


    The people were eating biscuits and fruits handed out. Even though he had rations with him, he had no reason to hand them over to him. He wasn''t going to give them up for them, who knew who long it would be before he would find found again. He observed a few of the people were also slowly falling asleep.


    Mark could only hope that the night goes quietly. He slowly stood up and noticed the vast roof. It was easily half the size of a football field, and there were various wires and some blocking everywhere.


    He slowly made his way to one side of the roof, far from the group. He noticed Mona following him and frowned. Turning around he asked, "You need not follow me around, you know."


    Mona simply shook her head and said, "I feel it''s better if I stay with you."


    "You might want to rethink that. I can protect myself and in case anyone from the group faces any unexpected danger, it would be better if you stay with them."


    Even though he said that cause he wanted to be alone, there was some truth to Mark''s words. Even if the possibility of something happening on the roof is low, it would never be bad to be cautious at the current time.


    Mona nodded and returned to the group. Finally getting some alone time, Mark scouted the roof. He first looked at the edges for something which might help him. He slowly peeked down and could roughly see that the number of zombies on the street were more than before.


    He continued to scout the place, and he finally found some wood and a toolbox on one of the steel shelves inside a small room. He checked the rest of the shelves and found some more metal items and various bolts.


    He took out some of the wood and the tool kit along with some petrol he found inside. He continued to search for more items and found a can of deodorant and a cigarette lighter, which was already half empty.


    As he completely searched the entire room and bought out some more things from inside like a saw, he found and a couple more stuff. He looked around for a place to keep them and saw a ladder leading to the roof of the room.


    Keeping all the things on the roof of the room, he continued to search for more things in other places. After some time he could only return with a big knife in his hand and get on top of the roof. Feeling the rough ground, he decided to lean against the wall with his bag behind him.


    He took some more energy bars and snacks out with a water bottle and devoured them in an instant. Feeling satisfied, he finally looked at the materials he bought with him. He noticed the big knife he found on the pile of things and took it. He slowly took out the blade part of the knife and threw away the plastic.


    He noticed the blade itself was almost at his elbow length. He wondered what work the company planned on the roof for all these things to be found. Shaking his head, he checked the sharpness of the blade and brought it down on some wood he had.


    He noticed the blade going past the halfway point of the thick wood and found it sharp enough. All he needed now was a handle for the blade to make a machete. He immediately grabbed some lighter wood that he had and shaped a simple handle.


    Feeling a burden on his hands and the grip a bit rough to get a hold on. He wrapped rubber he found inside the room. Tightly wrapping the wood, he bought out the lighter and deodorant to molt the rubber down to make it stick.


    Spraying the deodorant on the lighter flame, he slowly molded the rubber into sticking with the wood. After cooling it down for a few minutes, he lifted the machete and found it was a bit heavy but still manageable. He found his mobility getting restricted and kept the machete back.


    He wanted to use this when he had to kill the zombie quicker as a blunt weapon like the metal pole he had with him took 2 to 3 strikes before the zombie died.


    Feeling a bit tired, he did not continue to make more weapons and kept his bag on the ground and slept on it as a pillow. He looked at the starry sky and couldn''t help but think how this all happened.


    He wanted to die and thought that the one hour was his only time left. But the crazy things which happened extended his time. He clutched his hand as he thought about how he wanted to die and the reasons which led to it. Several faces flashed through his brain but shook them out.


    Looking at the current situation, he felt the world was more suitable for him. He could do what he wanted to, not feel restricted by anything. He thought of the life and death situation he is constantly in, more thrilling compared to the life he had till now.


    "This is probably better. I shall see how far I make it in this world from now one." and slowly closed his eyes for a peaceful nap.

 Chapter 8 - Life Doesnt Give A Break

    Feeling his long-needed, peaceful sleep getting disturbed, Mark slowly opened his eyes. He saw a person on top of him shaking and saying his name.


    "Mark, wake up. Mark."


    He fluttering his eyes and slowly got up, waving his hand indicating the person to stop shaking him. Rubbing his eyes, Mark finally got a better look at the person and noticed it was Mona who was in a hurry to wake him up.


    "What is it, Mona? Is the military already here yet." Asked Mark slowly, still not completely out of his sleep, and but he then noticed the still dark sky and Denton standing at the back.


    "No, there''s a problem and we might have to go back down."


    Mark felt he heard something wrong, and it was just his brain playing with him and said, " I think I heard you wrong, were you suggesting to go down again."


    Mona simply nodded and said, "Yes, we may need to go to the 14th floor."


    Frowning at her statement, Mark asked, "why?"


    "I''ll tell you as we go towards the group, come with us." and went towards the end of the small roof he slept on.


    Mark noticed it was ready past midnight and could only exhale hopelessly at the situation he was in. Getting up, Mark patted the dust off his clothes and got his bag. He took the metal rod and the machete he created before he slept.


    He slowly kept the machete inside the bag with only the handle sticking out of it and wore the bag. He gripped the metal bar tighter and got down off the roof. Looking at both of them, Mark made his way towards the group while Mona explained what happened.


    "As everyone was taking rest, one of the elderly suddenly got an asthma attack and she forgot her pills in her office. She works on the 14th floor and has her inhaler in her office drawer. As she has had a serious case of asthma for a long time, she might find it hard to breathe as time goes on and it would be better if we bring it."


    Hearing her, Mark stopped and looked at Mona and asked, "So, why to wake me up?"


    Hearing his question, Mona and Denton were shocked and rooted in their places. Mona looked at him and asked, "What do you mean?"


    "Why wake me up, if an elderly in your group has a problem? Can''t you guys solve it without my help." his intention was apparent. Why should he help an unknown person?


    Denton looked at him and said, "Won''t you help? I mean, it is a person''s life we are talking about here. We can''t send people down, it would be a death trap if we do. I was hoping both you and Mona could go down. Both of you are strong, and that is obvious."


    Mark shook his head and said, "Denton, I think you are getting something wrong here. Just because I found the way to this place and accepted that everyone can come up. Does not mean I will help you guys. And you guys finding out the way was purely coincidental."


    Hearing his answer, both of them were taken back. Denton looked at him and said while gritting his teeth, "What do you want to save the person?"


    Mark smiled hearing him and said, "What can you offer?"


    Denton clenched his fists and said, "My father is the General of the military camp in the city. I can ask him for anything you want."


    This time it was Mark''s turn to be taken back. He didn''t expect the general of the camp in the city to be his dad. It did not seem like that at al. Denton was a coward. He smiled and said, "Anything?"


    "Only if it is within reasons. This is me owing you a favour. You need to discuss with my father, if you want anything."


    Hearing him Mark nodded and started to think about a plan to go down. He possibly could not take the stairs he used to get up to the 15th floor.


    He turned towards Denton and asked, "Is there another way to get down to the 14th floor without using the stairs I used." Continued to walk towards the group.


    Hearing his question, Denton knew he accepted their request and thought about a way as they reached the group. Mark noticed an old woman trying to breathe with some difficulty while some other people tried to ease her.


    "AH! Yes, there is a way to go down."


    Both Mona and Mark turned towards Denton who hit sudden realization. Denton turned towards them and continued, "There is an extra staircase which was closed on all floors for a month as it needed maintenance. You can take those stairs as there would be almost no chance for zombies to be there."


    "Oh! That''s great, we can take that staircase then," exclaimed Mona.


    "Yes, but there might be a small problem. You might have to go to my office for the keys to open the staircase and the lock of the 14th floor."


    Hearing him, Mark fell into deep thought. When he stayed on the 15th floor, he noticed Denton''s office to the complete opposite of the lobby from the hallway of the ladder. The difficulty just rose to another level for the keys.


    "Ok then I will go alone," said Mark, surprising Mona and Denton.


    "No, it''s too dangerous for you to go alone. I will come with you," said Mona with a serious expression on her face.


    "Yes, Mark. Take her with you. We don''t need security here, anyway." supported Denton.


    But despite their protest Mark simply shook his head and said, "No, If two people make their way inside it would get tougher. The possibility of the zombies finding out is more if there are 2 people than one."


    "Then I''ll go," said Mona, gripping her sword tightly.


    "No, it''s ok. I''ll go and end the decision. Now Denton, tell me the route to the stairs and the old woman''s cabin." Not willing to change his decision, Mark told in a firm tone.


    Noticing how fixed he was, Mona and Denton did not try to persuade him to change his decision. Denton told Mark the route to his room and the keys, then the stairs, and finally the old woman''s cabin.


    Mark had a reason to go alone. He needed an opportunity to fight against zombies more and this was the perfect reason for it. Mark knew he had to strengthen his resolve and will while facing the zombies and was only possible if he had more encounters with them. This was like a cheery on top for him with the favor from Denton.


    He decided to go alone after observing the skill of Mona before. He knew it would be easier if he went with her, even if there is the risk of attracting more attention, but he needed this. He was ok to keep his life on the line, he already lost hope in it and this all was just like an extension.


    After getting the complete route in his head, Mark slowly tried to relax the anxiety he was feeling. Taking some big breaths, Mark was able to calm down a bit. He started to stretch his body a bit as he did not want to get some muscle cramps due to the high intensity he is going to be in a few minutes.


    After he felt he was ready he slowly went towards the ladder and slowly got on the other side. He strapped the pole inside the bag so it didn''t fall down and held the ladder as tightly as he could.


    He looked up and noticed Mona together with Denton staring at him with full of worry evident in their eyes. He could only nod and Denton and smile at Mona. He slowly made his way down until he reached the window level and peeked inside to see the condition of the hallway.

 Chapter 9 - Hallway

    As he peeked inside slowly trying to not make a single sound, Mark noticed the hallway only lit with flickering tube lights, and not all the tube lights were lit up. Some were hanging from the ceiling, broken.


    He noticed some black blood near the window by the side and saw the body of the zombie, which almost reached him while he was trying to get to the window before. Its head was a bit ahead of it, looking towards the window into his eyes.


    Feeling his hair stand up, Mark couldn''t help but close his eyes and take a deep breath. He then slowly opened them and noticed the zombies inside the hallway. He noticed only 2 zombies in the whole halfway and then felt better.


    Observing the situation, he noticed a zombie slowly come out of the cubicles section. He pondered about the zombies inside.


    After noticing the 3 zombies which stood some distance to each other within the hallway, Mark slowly kept a leg on the window frame and made his way inside. He kept his second foot on the ground and looked up to notice the zombies in the same place.


    He took out the machete he made and wanted to one-hit all the zombies as silently as possible. All three zombies were near the wall. Deciding that the best course of action was to chop their head''s against the wall so that the zombies would slide and fall down, making less noise.


    He crouched down and made his way towards the first zombie on the right side, a few inches from him. Slowly making his way towards it, not making a single sound, Mark gripped the machete tighter.


    As he got closer, he noticed the zombie was a female and looked like a worker in the office with the dress it was wearing. He could see one of its hands almost cut off and only hanging by the skin. He could smell the nasty smell off of it. It was like a rotten fish and other gross stuff combined.


    As he reached enough distance for his swing. He lifted his body and pulled the machete back for a good swing. Gripping the handle as hard as he could and taking a deep breath, Mark swung the machete sideways right at the side of the neck.


    The machete struck the side of the neck and went through it like it was butter for more than half of the length of the neck. As the machete went through the zombie''s neck, Mark felt completely disgusted and almost lost the grip of the machete.


    He dragged it back and the zombie slowly fell on the wall without making a sound and slid down to the ground. He saw the black blood gushing out of the zombie''s neck as it slowly fell on the floor and on his clothes.


    He felt the energy bars he consumed coming right back through his throat and forcefully sent it back in. He looked up and checked the other zombies in the hall. He exhaled in relief when both the zombies were still in their position, not disturbed.


    He slowly took some deep breaths to calm his nerves and violently shaky hands. Seeing the zombie he cut down, he confirmed it was not alive after observing it for a few seconds. He slowly took a step forward as his legs were shivering. He couldn''t stop them and could only continue to go on.


    He slowly reached the cubicle''s entrance and noticed the zombie was to the left of the hallway while the cubicles were to the right. Noticing the zombie not moving, he kept inside the cubicle room for any zombies.


    As he scanned his eyes over, he noticed one zombie to the extreme right corner. As he carefully observed it he noticed the zombie was on the ground with its legs spread out and his head lowered. It looked like a dead body.


    Slowly exhaling, he turned his attention to the zombie to the left. He noticed it slowly groaning and Mark only crunched down and quietly went towards it. He gripped the handle and slowly brought the handle back to get a good swing at the neck.


    The Machete similar to the previous zombie went inside the neck like a knife into a block of butter and stopped almost at the end this time. Taking a deep breath, he looked at the last zombie in the hallway and found it undisturbed staring into the lobby.


    He exhaled in relief and took out the machete that at this point was black covered in the zombie''s blood. Mark looked down at his own clothes and noticed bloodstains on them. He could only sigh and decided to wash up when he had time.


    He looked at the nearly completely cut detached head of the zombie, and this time he felt a bit accomplished instead of the previous disgust. He understood he had enough strength and grit in him to survive at least a bit in this world.


    His legs stopped shaking like before, and he had a bit of extra confidence than before. He made his way towards the last zombie. This one was almost at the end of the hallway near the lobby.


    Mark was almost skeptical of this last one. He did not know how many zombies were in the lobby, and the probability of a zombie noticing him is high if he kills it.


    As he made his way to the end, he got a better view of the lobby. He counted the zombies in the lobby and by the small portion of the lobby he could see there were over 5 zombies. He reached for the zombie and it was a male of his height.


    He slowly gripped the machete and swung it at it, right at the neck. As it reached the zombie, the zombie suddenly turned back.

 Chapter 10 - Lobby

    Seeing the Zombie suddenly turn around, Mark was shocked but did not slow his hand down. Instead, he took out one hand from the grip and tried to reach out to the metal bar in his bag.


    As the Zombie noticed Mark behind it opened its mouth to growl loudly but the machete was quicker and instead of the neck, it struck the check and went into the mouth cutting open the head almost in half. Mark quickly took out the metal rod and swung the rod on the other side of the head, forcing the head to get cut deeper due to the sharpness of the machete already inside its face.


    The blood erupted from the Zombie as its upper face from its mouth slid down to the ground. The blood sprayed all over the place and right on Mark''s face. Using his shirt''s sleeve, he cleaned his face and let the body slid on the wall.


    He looked at the lobby and felt as the zombies were not disturbed because of this and kept the rod back inside his bag. His heart was calm as he observed the half face of the Zombie lying down.


    Mark slowly peeked out of the hallway to observe the whole condition of the lobby and the zombies inside The zombies were moving around in the brightly lit lobby. He counted all the zombies and found there were 7 on his way towards Denton''s room.


    He decided to not disturb the zombies as much as he can. If there would be even a slight disturbance in his movements, he would instantly be swarmed with zombies all over him. He can only quietly make his way towards the room.


    After checking all the zombies and their movements, Mark decided on a route towards the room. The Zombie nearest to had its back faced towards him and went straight where there was a couch.


    Mark could not even afford to breathe normally seeing the back of the Zombie. He silently made his way towards the couch. As he was at the back of the Zombie, he could hear its groans and the awful smell from it.


    Controlling himself, he continued towards the couch slowly while keeping a look at the Zombie for any sudden reaction like the previous one. As he reached the couch, he immediately sat behind the couch and looked at the Zombie. It was undisturbed, and it made him exhale in relief.


    The condition of all the zombies were still the same and looked like he wasn''t found yet. He planned the next route and noticed the range of couches expanding more than half of the lobby and exhaled.


    After calming his nerves down a bit, he slowly went to the side of the couch and noticed the straight way to the other side without any zombies lying down. He exhaled and looked outside the large mirrors by his other side. The view mesmerized him.


    The dark night was filled with stars and a calm environment. There was only the sound of the wind blowing at the height he was in. He noticed a fire in an area as black smoke filled that part. He wondered if there were some people fighting for their lives down there.


    Seeing the view, he remembered the only 2 people who were the reasons he did not die until the moment. He wondered about Kevin and if he was alright with the whole situation. He remembered that when he last called Kevin was headed towards the museum on the tour.


    He then remembered the only other person he cared about and the one who supported him since the last few years together with Kevin, when he had nothing. He remembered her face and wondered if she was alright.


    His thoughts got disturbed as a noise came from behind him. He slowly turned around and peeked from the top of the couch and saw a zombie throwing a glass bottle on the reception down while mindlessly roaming around.


    He went back down and decided to meet his friends after he got out of this building tomorrow morning. He slowly turned back towards the way he had to go and crawled his way across the lobby behind the couches.


    He tried to make as little sound as possible with his machete in his hand for an emergency. As he crawled, he heard a groan coming near him and stopped. He could hear the Zombie groan somewhere around and turned back to see if it was there.


    He saw no one there and then slowly looked up. He noticed a female on standing right on the other side of the couch staring outside the window. His heartbeat quickened as he tried to not make a single noise and forgot to even breathe until the Zombie slowly turned around and went back.


    He could only exhale in relief and wonder what would happen if he wasn''t lucky enough. Taking another deep breath, Mark continued forward towards the end of the couches.


    As he reached the end, he peeked to observe his position and the distance he had to cover to get to the office. He noticed there were 3 zombies outside the room and he squinted his eyes to get a view inside the room. He observed slowly and saw a zombie inside the room as well.


    He could only curse his luck in the worst situations. He continued to rack his brain on a possible solution and thought about a diversion possibility. He looked around to find something helpful and noticed a water jug nearby him on the table in front.


    Mark crawled towards the table and stood on his knees to reach the jug. He continued to observe if any of the zombies caught him taking it, but this time his luck did not betray him. He crawled back to his previous place behind the couch and got ready to create the diversion.

 Chapter 11 - Reaching The Stairs

    Clutching the jar tightly, Mark looked around him for a clean spot to create a distraction for the zombies near the office room. He spotted a window to some distance from the office to the very edge.


    He decided to throw it through the window enough to break it so the zombies can fall off the building if possible. He kneeled down, gripping the jar in his right hand, and after finding a nice angle for a direct hit, he launched it towards the window.


    The jar flew towards the window passing the zombies near the office and broke the glass shattering in the process. The noise created attracted all the zombies on the floor. The 3 zombies were the first to react as they madly rushed towards the window and started punching it.


    The already shattered and weak glass could not hold on to the 3 zombie''s weight and force, shattered. The three of them fell down due to no support as 2 more zombies quietly made their way there.


    He waited for the 2 zombies to reach there and observed them as they stood there. He then peeked into the other zombies and found them not disturbed. Noticing the office open and no zombies in it, Mark took a huge breath and made his way across the lobby towards the room.


    His heart was beating too quickly and sweat accumulated from the pressure he was feeling. He continuously observed the zombies around the lobby for any reactions to his movement. He slowly made it to the door of the office and went inside.


    As he slowly closed the door not making any noise, Mark made his way towards the first drawer by his seat and according to Denton, the keys were in this place. He opened the drawer and noticed some files. He slowly checked the drawer and found the key with the tag ''Extra Stairs'' and grabbed it.


    Before making his way back to the door, he opened a water bottle and drank some water, replenishing some strength. He slowly kept the bottle back in his bag before clenching the machete again. He went to one of the curtains and slightly opened it to get the view of the zombies outside.


    He slowly observed one side he came from and then turned to the other side to check the 2 zombies. As he opened the curtain, his heart skipped a beat. There was a zombie staring right at him, or so he felt. He tried to wave his hand and found out it was only a one-way glass.


    The 2nd zombie making his way back to the lobby while this zombie was continuing to stare at him, not moving an inch. To confirm it was only a one-way glass again, Mark moved away from its sight and its eyes did not follow him.


    He exhaled in relief and then thought about this zombie and how to kill it making no noise to attract the other zombie''s attention towards him. He then decided to just pray to God that it doesn''t attract attention.


    The hallway for the stairs he needed to take was only past the zombie, and he can only make it if he crosses it. Taking a deep breath, he slouched towards the door of the room. He could feel his heart racing again and tried to calm it down.


    Taking a few deep breaths, he could finally calm his nerves and felt ready. He opened the door and peeked outside. He noticed the zombie just some distance from him, staring at the window. He looked at the other zombies on the floor and noticed all of them walking around aimlessly, not looking at his direction.


    Taking another deep breath, he slowly went out. He did not or could not make any noise or that would be the end of him. Slowly making his way towards the zombie as he went like an arc towards it and reached its back. He was worried that the zombie could notice him if he went straight to it and did not risk it.


    As he reached directly behind it, he raised the machete and brought it down at its neck to one-shot it. This time without any sudden moments the machete struck the nape and went into it. The zombie died as the machete reached almost the end of the neck and the zombie fell onto the glass.


    Mark exhaled in relief and looked at the other zombies and noticed them undisturbed. He took a step ahead but then heard a noise behind him which stopped him in his tracks. He then immediately looked back and noticed the zombie was making a noise against the glass as it slid down.


    He heard the groans of the zombies on the floor and looked ahead instantly. He felt his back drench in sweat as all the zombies slowly made their way towards him. Not thinking about anything, he ran towards them. He would be dead if they come to him.


    He took a sharp left and went into the hallway to the stairs. He noticed a zombie in the hallway coming towards him and without thinking he swung the machete from a high point and bought it down right at its face slashing the face in half.


    Not minding the blood which sprayed all over his body, he ran towards the end of the hallway and saw the big doors leading to the stairs. He reached there and hurriedly took out the key from his pocket and looked back to the zombies.


    He noticed 8 zombies coming his way faster than he expected and quickly tried to fit the key in the hole. He missed a few times with his hand shaking violently but got it in after a couple more times. As he tried the noises became louder and louder.


    He then heard the noise of the door opening and felt like a voice from heaven and immediately opened the door and looked back after he went to the other side. The zombies crashed one after another to the door. Mark slid on the other side of the door, falling on his butt with exhaustion.

 Chapter 12 - Staircase

    Sitting down using the door as support, Mark tried to relax and catch his breath for a while. He looked around and observed the stairs. He noticed various equipment on the stairs and it looked like there were some renovations in progress.


    He could feel the zombies ramming into the door on the other side, trying to get through. After a few minutes of rest, Mark stood up once again ready to go to the 14th floor. He could feel the zombies on the other side give up as the noises became less. He peeked from below to notice only a few zombies left in the hallway.


    He prayed that the zombies would scatter away when he would be on his way back after getting the inhaler.


    Mark slowly made his way down, carefully. Even if there was almost no chance that there would be any zombies in the stairway, he could not let his guard down.


    Mark did not know what was on the 14th floor. On his way up, the door was locked and he could not make his way inside. He hoped the survivors were still alive and kicking, so he need not face zombies.


    But the chance that these people are still alive is as low as it could get. The zombies would just busy their way in and once they do, the people inside can not stop the horde without proper weapons.


    After slowly walking down, Mark reached the door for the 14th floor. He noticed they locked the door from his side and remembered that Denton told him to use the same key he used to get into the staircase on the 15th floor.


    Slowly inserting the key and opening the lock, Mark opened the door as slowly as possible, not making a single sound. He peeked inside the hallway and noticed 4 zombies in the hallway leading to the lobby.


    He observed each of the zombies and noticed the one nearest to him can easily notice Mark if he enters the hallway. After a few more minutes of observing the zombies, Mark closed the door back and sat on the stairs thinking of a way to kill the first zombie. All the other ones were not facing towards the door, making it easy to kill them.


    As Mark thought, he came up with a simple plan to draw out the one zombie into the staircase to kill it quickly. He had to do this in such a way where only one zombie came while the other in the hallway remained undisturbed.


    Mark slowly stood up and went behind the door. He took a deep breath and quietly opened one of the double doors. He remained behind the door and opened it till his back touched the door. He took out a nail from his pocket and threw it towards the wall opposite the entrance.


    The zombie near the door noticed the small sound from the opened door and made its way towards the staircase, following the sound is heard. Mark concentrated on the footsteps he could hear and noticed the zombie was out of the hallway.


    Not rushing towards it, Mark closed the door and stood behind the zombie, as it continued towards the source of the sound. Noticing its attention on the nail, Mark sliced its head off without any hesitation.


    The body and the head fell onto the ground. He did not want any more noise, so he hurriedly caught the head with his free hand while stretching a leg to support the body. He noticed the metal rods below and knew a lot of sounds would be made when it fell.


    Mark was not up to the risk and so he set the body and head down, creating no noise. As he killed the first one, Mark opened the door again and observed if there were any reactions from them.


    After deciding they weren''t disturbed by him killing it, Mark slowly made his way inside the hallway, leaving the door open to escape in case anything happens. He quietly crouched down and made his way inside the hall and the first zombie.


    The other two of the zombies were only a little distance from him, and he hoped to not gain their attention when he killed this one. He slowly reached its back and struck it down cleanly in one swing.


    But as he looked up, he noticed the zombies making their way towards him. Not waiting any longer, Mark took out the rod from the bag and slowly dropped the machete down. He knew his actions would only be restricted with a machete, and it was better if he took the rod for two zombies at a time.


    The zombies slowly growled and as the first zombie reached for Mark, he brought his rod to the head, not waiting anymore. He estimated the distance the rod could reach and struck the head once it was within the limit.


    Not waiting any longer, he swung it again while backing away a bit when the next one already reached too close for comfort. The rod struck the head once again and the zombie slowly fell down. Mark checked his shirt and noticed a small rip in it when the zombie came too near him.

 Chapter 13 - 14th Floor

    Noticing the tear in his shirt, Mark couldn''t help but drop the bar on his hand and immediately check the spot. He lifted the shirt and checked his skin.


    His tan skin not even grazed and exhaled in relief. If he had even a minor scratch from one of the zombies it would be enough for him to become one. The zombies are deadly to come in contact with.


    After checking it multiple times, he rolled his shirt back down and took the rod back into his hand. Keeping the rod back in the bag and taking out the machete, he swung it directly at the head of the two zombies on the floor. He could not take the risk. So he went for the sure way to know they are dead.


    "That one was too close for comfort. I need to get some better protection for the body or it would be tough when I go out and search for Kevin."


    He made his way till the end of the hall and noticed the huge number of zombies in the lobby. The last few of the offices had big lobbies and hence more space. This led to more zombies in them. He carefully observed the zombies and there were around 15 zombies.


    He looked closer at some zombies and found something surprising. He found out that some clothes the zombies wore weren''t as bloody and tattered as the others. This could only mean one thing and that people were hiding on the floor but were raided by a horde of zombies.


    He felt a bit of sorry for the poor people, but could only shake the thought away. The world was plunged into chaos where only the strong could survive from now on. He needed to steel his heart further and not get shaken up for small things like this.


    After observing the pattern of the zombies further, he locked onto his target location. The old woman''s office was far from his position, but he could reach it if the zombies were fewer. After thinking for a while, he kept the rod instead of the machete as the possibility of the zombies finding him was way higher than the previous floor.


    After changing for the rod, he thought of an action plan. He noticed most of them were moving and not in a stationary position and planned to distract them to another place far from where he had to go. The old woman''s room had the windows for walls and hence was transparent.


    He cursed his luck for the nth time and formulated the plan. He went with the distraction plan instead of luring them out and looked back into the hallway. As the floor had large glass windows of the view outside, he decided on the same plan.


    He searched the whole hallway for something big and strong enough to reach the windows and break it. After some searching, he found a mop in a closet to the side. He broke the handle part of the mop and was left with only the metal and wool used to clean the floor.


    He came back to his position and rolled the wool tight and threw it to the furthest glass window. The metal went towards the glass and broke right through it. All the zombies snapped their heads towards the sound created and rushed towards it.


    Noticing he was successful, as the zombies were busy making their way towards the broken window, Mark made his way towards the room. The room was right beside the hallway, such that the person inside can also bet the view of the cubicles on the other side of the hallway.


    He observed the zombies as they slowly reached the window, and some even fell down. Mark already reached the door and went inside the room. As the windows were transparent Mark needed to make it quick before he got found out.


    He quickly checked the drawers by the side of the office desk and found an inhaler. He quickly took it but found something horribly abnormal about it. He tried shaking it and found out it was empty. Not wanting to waste any more time, Mark started checking the other drawers in the desk.


    As he went through the rest of the desks, Mark could not find any inhalers. He then changed his view towards the enormous wardrobe in the office and went towards it. He noticed the zombies still looking out the window and quickly opened the door.


    He noticed all the variety of suits and checked through everything. He then found a small box on the below shelf and opened it. He finally found medications and inhalers. He checked the quantity inside and found it was new. As he was about to close the door back, he heard growling outside.


    He slowly peeked from the door of the wardrobe and found a zombie already making its way back while growling in his direction. By its view, Mark knew he wasn''t found yet but was in a dire pinch.


    He noticed the zombie making its way towards him and quickly went inside the wardrobe, slowly closing the door. He found a small peephole in the door and peeked out of it. He observed as the zombie made its way inside the room and towards the wardrobe.


    The zombie slowly came towards the wardrobe and with its height, it could look right through the peephole. Noticing its actions, Mark hurriedly took his head out of the way to not get caught. His heart rate increased and his back slowly became wet from the sweat.

 Chapter 14 - Busting Out

    Mark could feel his heart race, he could only think about his doom noticing the zombie not moving from the place. His back was completely wet with sweat as he panicked more. He could only shake out the panic welling up inside and take a deep breath to relax his heart.


    Not moving an inch, Mark slowly stood in the same position, hoping the zombie would move away from the place eventually. As he continued to stay in the same place, he felt as if he was there for eternity.


    Time moved slowly making him lose hope. After 15 minutes he decided to just busy his way out of the wardrobe and knock the zombie away to the side and make a run for it.


    After forming the plan, he took a deep breath and slowly clutched the rod in his hand tighter. He slowly kept the inhaler into his bag not making any noise. After making sure he was ready Mark slowly got into a comfortable poster to bust his way out.


    After feeling ready, He stretched his hands out as fast as he could opening the doors and jumping outside the wardrobe. The zombie outside felt a force on it and fell on the glass table by the side completely, shattering it.


    Mark looked around and noticed the zombies outside already making their way towards the entrance of the room. He immediately knew he couldn''t take the entrance and if he does, it''s the end for him.


    He looked ahead and noticed the glass wall in Infront of him leading to the hallway right beside the room. Before he could complete his plan of action, he noticed the zombie that crashed down start moving.


    Not giving it another chance, he swung his machete from the bag onto its head, cutting it off. He noticed the zombies already closer to the room and grit his teeth. He looked ahead and ran full speed towards the glass wall l, crossing his arms in front of his face and crushing the glass.


    The wall shattered and pieces of glasses stuck on his skin and mainly his hand. He felt pain all over the body, but could only grit his teeth tighter and clutch his hands. Not stopping for another second, Mark changed direction and made his way towards the lobby.


    As he almost reached the end of the hallway, a zombie sprung from the side, catching him completely by surprise. His hands moved on instincts hit the rod directly to the side of the zombie''s head. His hand moved like a whip throwing the zombie to the side.


    Taking a sharp turn right, he continued on his way towards the hallway he needed to go to. He looked back and noticed the zombies making their way towards him and there were more of them. He looked back to front and noticed 2 zombies making their way towards him.


    Mark immediately gripped the rod tighter in his right hand as he immediately went for the head when the first zombie was within his reach. The rod struck hard as the zombie was completely forced to the side and he took out the machete from his bag with the left hand swinging it at the 2nd zombie.


    The head of the zombie flew in the air, detached from the rest of the body. The black blood sprayed everywhere, but Mark could care less at his situation, pushing the body to the side he took a right turn into the hallway.


    The zombies continued to chase him. He ran into the hallway towards the door leading into the stairs. As he was about to cross the cubicle''s room, a zombie sprung at him. He quickly was able to react as he kept the rod in his side blocking the zombie''s hand. He kicked the zombie as hard as he could, making the zombie arch back and fall into the cubicles once again.


    He noticed the zombie was the one he noticed that was sleeping and woke up due to the sound created at that moment. Turning his head back into the hallway, he ran towards the doors quicker. He lightly looked over his shoulders and noticed the zombies are picking up speed as they are nearer than before.


    He quickly ran towards the door and as he reached the handle, he closed it immediately when he reached the other side. As soon as he closed the door a large amount of force came from the other side as the zombies slammed into the door.


    Not able to push the door, Mark looked around to find something which might help. He noticed a metal bar to the side and slowly crouched down while he continued to keep more force.


    After reaching it, Mark immediately locked the door by keeping the bar inside the handles of the door completely sealing the door for the time being. He finally relaxed as he noticed the door holding up and slumped down on the stairs, short of breath.


    He slowly closed his eyes as he continued to take in more air inside and calm his heart. His adrenaline slowed down as he continued to sit down and felt a bit of pain from within his body.


    Even though he panicked and sweat accumulated on his forehead due to the slight fear he felt when he was stuck inside the wardrobe, he also felt complete excitement too. He felt himself integrating into the current situation as he managed to block and kill the zombies in his way

 Chapter 15 - Injuries

    Sitting on the steps, Mark took deep breaths trying to calm his nerves. He looked down on both his hands and body and saw various glass pieces embedded into his flesh.


    Gritting his teeth, he slowly moved his shaky right hand and gripped onto a glass piece in his left hand''s backside. Slowly removing the piece, blood oozed out of the flesh. His right hand was too shaky as it slipped, leaving the glass once again.


    He tried to calm the right hand through gripping once and relaxing it again, After twice, the hand became calmer although it shook a bit.


    He bought it back slowly onto the same piece and gripped it once again. He grits his teeth, trying to not shout in pain. Slowly pulling it out, he set it aside.


    Mark immediately took out cotton from the bag he had and some alcohol he stored in it before. He found these on the 13th floor while searching for food and never thought he would use it this quickly.


    Dabbing some alcohol onto the cotton, he slowly bought it over to the spot and kept on it. He could feel his fleshing burning as pain struck once more. He could hear a slight hiss from it as the alcohol worked.


    Keeping it in that place, he continued to pick out another glass piece on the arm. Slowly taking all the pieces out of both his arms, he noticed there were 8 places he got stabbed. Both his arms were covered with cotton and could not help but feel some good on how his smooth skin will now have some manly touch to it.


    He then checked over the rest of his body and found some more glass pieces on his feet and abdomen. He felt lucky none were on his face. After slowly treating the rest of the wounds, he stood up and made his way up. He noticed how much it hurt when he tried to desert more pressure on his hands.


    He slowly reached the door to the 15th floor. He bent down and peeked through space under the door to get a view of the zombies inside. He could 4 pairs of legs and understood there were only 4 zombies in the hallway.


    He slowly stood up once more and tried to feel his hands better and get accumulated with the pain he receives. After getting used to the pain, he stretched his already sore muscles to get some flexibility. He never thought he would regret not taking all the gym classes throughout his schooling period.


    When he was done, he slowly opened the door and peeked inside to find out the exact location of the zombies. The closest zombie to him was only a few inches away from him with its back faced towards him.


    The rest were small, but he understood that if he would kill the first zombie, this would easily attract the rest of the zombies in the hallway. Deciding to go straight for the kill, Mark took out the machete and slowly crouched down, making his way towards it.


    As he reached it, he immediately slashed its head off and as the body of the zombie slowly fell on the ground with its head flying in the air. The rest of the zombies noticed Mark and ran towards him. Mark immediately changed his weapon back to a rod and slowly walked towards them.


    The first zombie lunged at him going for his head and Mark could successfully side-step, dodging it. He noticed the other two zombies coming at a time with their arms wide and some distance between them. He immediately ducked, trying to dodge them in time.


    He immediately stood up and turned around, swinging the rod sideways. He smacked the head of the zombie to the right before it could even turn around. As it received a heavy blow from the rod, the zombie fell down.


    The one on the left turned around but was struck again by another shot from the rod right at its nape. The zombie fell down and Mark looked up to notice the first zombie already back on its feet. He gripped the rod tighter and ran towards it. The zombie did not stay idle either and also ran swaying its arms at Mark.


    As they both almost made contact, Mark ducked once again and swung the rod at its head, using the moment as he got back up immediately. The zombie fell down after the heavy blow to its head. Mark slowly took out the machete and sliced off all three heads just to be sure.


    After finishing the work, he slowly reached the end of the hallway. He peeked a bit and noticed there were 8 zombies in the lobby. The number was way more than the time he went down and the reason was the stairs on the other side of the lobby. The stairs were filled with zombies and some of them came into the lobby.


    The only thing that came to his mind was another distraction. It should be enough to grab the attention of at least five to six of the zombies there. At his present state, there was no way he could fight against 8 of them. The fatigue and pain were already too much for him to handle.

 Chapter 16 - Safe

    Deciding to go with distraction was his best option. Mark took out some nails he stored in his bag and started slowly throwing them up before catching them back into his hands. Continuing to observe the zombies quietly while rhythmically playing with the nails in his hand, he was waiting for the correct time to throw them.


    He went for where the zombies are most concentrated at and it was near the 2nd receptionist desk the floor had, right near the entrance of the stairs. It looked more like a safe room than a receptionist''s desk.


    He continued to wait, and then he noticed the point when the zombies were closest to that place and threw them as hard as he could to reach the place. His hands pained, as he used too much force, especially because of the cramps and glasses shards he previously had.


    As the nails flew towards the desk and bounced on top of the desk before hitting the metal locker behind it, creating some major distraction for him. He slowly made his way towards the hallway he needed to take and was as quiet as possible.


    The hallway was too close to the desk for comfort, and Mark tried to keep the noise minimal. He did not want the zombies to run towards him full speed before he even reached the hallway.


    Keeping an eye out, he slowly made his way towards the hallway across the main reception desk in the center of the whole lobby. He was able to attract the attention of all the zombies in the lobby and as their attention was still on the sound; he needed to cross it.


    As he was in the middle of the lobby, he noticed one zombie turning around already and growling at him. Not able to hide anywhere in the open place of the lobby, he ran towards the zombie full speed and met it halfway.


    He jumped towards the zombie and swung the rod at its head, trying to land one solid hit. The zombie flew at the impact directly at the wall beside them. He looked up and noticed all the zombies making their way towards him.


    He could only click his tongue, annoyed at how things were going for him in the situation where he needed it to be right. He rushed towards the hallway, trying to reach it before the zombies could block him out.


    As he almost reached the entrance, one zombie at the front sprung on him and Mark successfully dodged it by pivoting around. While he moved, Mark used the force behind it and bought the rod down right at its nape as it was still in the air.


    Not waiting any longer, Mark ran into the hallway as the zombies continued to make their way towards him. His body was screaming with pain from cramps all over his body and the cuts from the glass opening with blood oozing out.


    His speed became slower as the zombies came closer in the narrow hallway. As he noticed the zombies were already too close for comfort, Mark could only swing his rod at their heads while still running, trying to create some time.


    He could successfully hit some zombies and finally reach the end of the hallway and near the window. He used the moment as he ran and jumped on the frame of the window. He quickly turned around and hit the zombie nearest to him.


    Mark grabbed onto the ladder and quickly left the window frame. The zombie fell out of the window. Mark tightened his grip as the pain was already too much for him to handle. He slowly made his way up, taking deep breaths each time.


    As he made it to the top Denton arrived noticing a hand and helped Mark up. Taking his support, Mark could finally get on the roof and sit down, leaning on the wall. He closed his eyes as he tried to collect some air and ease the pain.


    All the eyes in the roof were on him and they could only grimace at the site of his body. His shirt was dyed black and red because of the blood he encountered and the torn shirt.


    Mark slowly lifted his hand and took out the inhaler from his bag and handed it over to Denton, "Here."


    Denton nodded and passed it to the person beside him, and he hurried towards the old grandma. Mark slowly took out the left out cotton and alcohol he had. He slowly opened the cap with his shaky hands. As he tried, he felt a hand on his and looked up.


    He noticed it was Mona looking at him with concern in her eyes.


    "Let me help you." and continued to open the bottle of alcohol before he could respond. Mark could only leave her be and close his eyes while Mina continued to treat his body. Denton stood by the side looking at his body, surprised at his state while also wondering what happened.

 Chapter 17 - Survive

    Mark remained silent with his eyes closed, getting treated by Mona by his side. He could feel his body slowly easing up. The pain was still present, but compared to before it was manageable. He slowly opened his eyes and looked at the full moon and the empty sky.


    There were still some more hours left before sunrise and the military to make its way here. He looked at Mona who was treating his injuries slowly and turned once again towards Denton by his side.


    "How is the old woman?"


    "She is fine now. Even though I do not know what happened to you down there, it is still good to see you in one piece." Said Denton while smiling at him.


    Mark only nodded back and said, "So when can we expect the military to come?"


    "It is still 3 at midnight. When can expect them in 4 to 5 more hours at most."


    Mark understood and wanted to sleep for the 3 hours he had left. He looked over at Mona who was almost done with his injuries and said, "Thanks a lot for the help, Mona. I will get some sleep now."


    "It is all right, Mark. You kept your life at risk for the old lady. This is the minimum we could do." said Mona while smiling.


    Even though Mark had his own reasons to go down there risking his life, he did not stop her. He slowly stood up and walked towards the previous place he slept. He climbed the stairs to the small roof and slowly rested his head on his bag.


    He was satisfied with the small adventure he had just now. The purpose of going was fulfilled, and he could gather some more valuable knowledge on zombies. He measured his fighting power and understood where he stood. He came to realize the need to get better.


    He thought of the various online clips and his practice back in the day and decided to continue his swordsmanship and his proficiency in guns. Mark could practice formless swordsmanship which he came up by himself when he practiced together with his friend Kevin a few years back. Because of his interest in swords, Kevin took him to his grandfather, who practiced the way of a sword like Mona''s grandfather.


    Tagging along for fun, Mark could find talent in it and was better at formless swordsmanship than a particular stance. But later Mark slowly lost all interest he previously had and never touched a sword again. Mark was also a genius in guns. He had an excellent aim, which was easily passable for a soldier in the army.


    Mark never thought the things he liked and tried as a hobby and interest due to the games he played can help him out like this. He continued to think about the various things he can take from the army as a compensation for what he did.


    Remembering something, Mark lifted his body and took out the journal he had with him. Sitting down against the wall, he slowly took out the pen and opened the book. He noticed all the previous notes he made and started a fresh one.


    He slowly noted down how sensitive the zombies can get and some measures he used and also thought up in process. After completing writing everything neatly, he slowly stood up and gazed over the city. He could notice some buildings darken while some others have lights lit up in them.


    After some time, he sat back down and slowly drifted off to sleep trying to get some snooze before another probable eventful day.


    Mark woke up the next day as he felt the sun rise. Slowly sitting, he noticed the sun slowly rising and stood up to get a better view. He could get a better view of the city and noticed it was silent. This was something he never expected to happen in the city.


    Slowly doing some stretches as he felt the cramps he had yesterday already cooled down. He also checked all the bruises he got yesterday and noticed a few of them were yet to heal, while most of them were all right.


    He took out a water bottle from his bag and sipped some water, feeling refreshed. Taking some energy bars out, he tried to replenish some energy. He sat back down and started planning for the day.


    The first and most important thing he needed to do was go to his room after getting some weapons from the military. He needed some guns and ammo to be safe and if possible some armor too. He needed a change of phone and thought he could get it for free if he went into a shop. It''s not like anyone would still guard the shops in the situation.


    If anyone heard his thoughts some might think he is selfish and a thief. For those people, Mark only had one answer, "I will do anything to survive in this world. This is where my fresh life starts. This is where I belong."

 Chapter 18 - Problem

    After checking his bag and finding everything was in place, Mark kept the machete in his hand while the rod in the bag. He slowly got down from the small roof he was on and made his way towards Mona and the group.


    As he reached, he noticed most of the people awake and Denton discussing something with Mona and other important people. Mark could feel some tension around them as they continued to talk and made his way towards them.


    "Is there a problem, Denton?"


    "Oh! Mark, it''s you," said Denton noticing Mark making his way towards them.


    "Yes, I just woke up and came here. Is there a problem with the military or anything else." standing beside him.


    Denton sighed and said, "Yes, there seems to be a minor problem. The military just came a few minutes ago and there seems to be a problem with them entering from the front side."


    "The company should have a back entrance right," suggested Mark.


    Denton nodded and said, "Yes there is, but the problem is that the door to the underground parking lot needs to be opened manually from the inside."


    Understanding the predicament they were facing, Mark said, "So you need someone to go down into the underground parking lot and open the door."


    "Yes, we should open it."


    "Ok then. Just like last night, I will go down and open it. Tell me the instructions and route." said Mark, folding his hands.


    "No, this time I and Denton will come with you," said Mona, gripping her sword tightly and determination clear in her face.


    As Mark was about to reject her, Denton said, "Yes, this time it''s better if we three go. There would be too many zombies in the way down there and you need me to open the door."


    Noticing both of their expressions showing they would not take a no as an option, Mark agreed and said, "Ok, but you 2 listen and act in my way. If anyone of you both is stuck in a tough situation, don''t expect me to save you." even if Mark agrees and takes both of them, he also made it clear they both are on their own if it is in a tough situation.


    Both of them nodded at his words and Mark took out the rod he had and gave it over to Denton.


    "Here take this as your weapon. Now the weakest and easiest way to kill a zombie is by chopping off its head, So you need to go for the neck or the nape." explaining zombies'' weak points.


    Mark continued as he noticed them nodding, "Now the zombies aren''t that dangerous individually or a small group of 3 or 4, but if they come at you with a sizable group, it will be hell for you. The numbers will completely overwhelm you.


    The zombies are sensitive to noises. Even the smallest of noises will attract their attention, but on the other hand the rest of their senses are almost non-existent. So be very careful when you walk around the place.


    The most important thing is to not let a zombie come anywhere near you. Even if you get a slight scratch from it, it is the end for you."


    Denton and Mona remained quiet as he continued to explain some more things about zombies. After he was done, Mark clapped his hands and said, "Ok, that''s it. Now, do you both still plan one coming? We might die even before reaching our destination."


    They still nodded and Mark sighed, seeing them not accepting his request.


    "Ok then, get ready and we will be on our way."


    Both of them separated as Denton went to talk to some people while Mona sat down, closing her eyes, meditating. Mark turned back to look at the view with his hands behind his back. As he continued to look, he felt a hand on his back and noticed Mona with Denton ready.


    "Ok now, what is the route." turning towards Denton.


    "We should first make our way towards the stairs you used and make our way down to the 1st floor."


    "Ok, then we will first reach the stairs and then plan the next steps. Let''s go." and went towards the ladder.


    Denton and Mona looked at Mark''s back as he went towards the ladder and turned towards each other while nodding. Mark slowly made his way down, keeping the machete in his bag. Mona followed him down and Denton after her.


    Mark slowly stepped on the window frame as he jumped into the hallway. Mona followed him and helped Denton, who wasn''t as athletic as them.


    "Ok, Denton stay behind us, cover our backs," said Mark, in a barely audible voice.


    Both of them nodded as they slowly made their way outside into the lobby. There was not even one zombie this time in the hallway, which made Mark more alert waiting for any special movements.

 Chapter 19 - Problem (II)

    Slowly walking towards the lobby, all three of them tried to make no noise at any cost. As they reached the end, all three of them stuck to the wall, while Mark slowly peeked into the lobby. He found 6 zombies in the lobby.


    "There are six zombies there right now. Denton, you stay here while I and Mona will go take care of them." while nodding towards Mona. Denton stood there nodding, understanding the gravity of the situation.


    "Mona, you take the ones on the left, I will go for the right." planning a simple plan.


    Mona nodded, and both of them slowly made their way out of the lobby. Mark checked the direction of the main stairs to the right and noticed no zombie coming soon. The 2 of them continued to their nearest zombie and Mark slowly counted up to three before slacking the head off with Mona.


    The remaining 4 zombies turned around as they heard the zombie body fall down. Noticing Mark and Mona they ran towards them furiously trying to get their meat. Mark dodged the first zombie, which lunged at him to the side and slashed the 2nd zombie at the same time.


    Mona slowly stood there, moving from her place while holding the sword with both her hands, concentrating on the zombies ahead. As the first zombie was with the reach for her sword, she did not hesitate to draw a smooth arc right at the neck, separating the head from the body.


    The sword went right through the neck and without stopping she slashed the head off the 2nd zombie in one motion. It was beautiful to see her graceful sword art in play. The two bodies fell on the floor and she looked at Mark who was slashing at the zombie which was turning back.


    Mark also noticed Mona done with her share and both of them made their way towards Denton and bought him over. Denton almost puked at the severed heads lying on the floor with black blood oozing out from under them. He could only keep his hand on his mouth and forcibly swallow it back in.


    Following Mark and Mona across the lobby, the three of them reached the entrance for the hallway, they needed to go. Mark slowly peeked into the hallway while Denton and Mona remained as a lookout if any zombies came into the lobby.


    Mark slowly peeked inside and noticed something which made him curse out loud. Mona and Denton whipped their heads at him with confused faces. Mark only shook his head and said, "I forgot to lock the door to the stairway case while coming back up. Now zombies would also be in the staircase."


    Denton and Mona were shocked and Mona asked, "How many would there be inside the staircase?"


    "It''s hard to guess, seeing that there are 5 zombies within this hallway itself. I expect a minimum of 20 zombies within the entire staircase," said Mark, shaking his head.


    "Is there another way down?" said Mona, turning towards Denton.


    Denton could only shake his head and say, "In this situation, the elevators would not work and the other staircase is already filled with zombies."


    "Both of you go back up. I will continue alone. Denton, tell me the route." said Mark. He wanted to go alone, not cause he was scared they would be killed, but because they might drag him down.


    "No, we are going together. It is too dangerous alone this time. We should just bust through the zombies in the staircase." said Mona.


    Noticing Denton also supporting her, Mark could only click his tongue and say, "Don''t drag me down." and went into the hallway.


    Mona and Denton followed him into the hallway, and Mona was very excited. She had a wide grin plastered on her face as she noticed the zombies ahead. Denton was behind her as he was only a lookout for them if there would be unexpected zombies from behind.


    Mark ran towards the first zombie and slashed the head off before it could react properly. This made the other zombies in the hallway frenzy as two zombies came at a time onto Mark. Mark swiftly dodged the first zombie and struck the one behind it.


    He looked back and noticed the zombie''s head fling as Mona killed it. He could only grin at the sight and continue onto the next one. He quickly slashed the zombie nearest to him, while Mona went for the one after him.


    Denton could only look at them going on a killing spree at the back. Killing the one nearest to him, Mark noticed Mona struggling a bit with the last zombie in the hallway. He was bulkier than normal and was probably a security guard while he was still alive, judging by the dress on him.


    Mona never thought The zombie would luckily dodge her attack because of its massive body and was stuck because of it already swinging its big hand at her. Mark swiftly ran to her and cut off the head before the arm reached Mona.


    "Be careful next time," said Mark, looking at her, and Mona nodded.

 Chapter 20 - Problem (III)

    Reaching the end of the hallway, Mark looked at the half-opened door leading to the staircase. He looked back and kept a finger on his lips, motioning them to stay quiet. Mona and Denton remained in their places, silent as Mark made his way towards the door.


    Slowly opening the door, Mark stuck his head out to get a look at the situation. He noticed 3 zombies on the stairs from the brief view he had. Closing the door slowly, he turned towards them and said, "There are only 3 in this very staircase near the entrance."


    Both of them nodded and Mark slowly took out a nail to attract the zombies near them to a corner so they can be killed off quickly without the other zombies getting distracted.


    "I will throw this nail to a corner and the zombies will guaranteedly go towards the noise made. That time we should strike and kill them off." Both of them nodded, and Mark slowly opened the door once again.


    He looked at the corner to the opposite of them and slowly threw it against the wall. The nail fell on the ground, bouncing off the wall. The three zombies near them instantly went towards the sound and Mark waved his hand while going out.


    The three of them slowly went back to the three zombies and this time even Denton was there to kill them. His hands shook as he thought he would kill. Mark slowly counted down from 3 with his fingers and when he closed his hands all three of them swung their weapons.


    Two of the 3 heads flew in the air while the last zombie was not killed as Denton missed his target and only hit the head. The zombie quickly turned back and was almost lunging at him while groaning, but got cut by Mark immediately when he noticed this. The head slowly separated from its body and because of the force it fell on Denton, who was in front of it.


    Noticing the head bounce off his body and fall down, he almost shouted but Mona was quicker to react by keeping her hand on his mouth showing him to be quiet. Denton noticed this and quickly nodded.


    Noticing him calmer. Mona slowly took out her hand while Mark said, "You can''t freak out like that in a situation we are in. If you did, we would be in a horrible situation right now." while going towards the railing and looking down.


    He noticed the zombies all the floors down and tried to count their numbers. While Mark did that, Denton looked at both of them wondering how they are so calm. He was definitely freaking out and missed the shot cause he was too scared. But the two in front did not even flatter a bit.


    Mark came back after a few seconds and quietly said, "From what I could see, there are over 20 zombies easily. If we want to go down, we should go through them. And are you calm now?" lastly turning towards Denton. He clearly felt Denton as a complete burden but still gave him a chance to redeem himself.


    Denton nodded and Mark sighed.


    "Ok, now we should slowly make our way down, not making any noises at all. The place here is completely closed, so even a brief sound would echo through the entire place. So be extra careful."


    Both of them nodded and Mark continued, "Ok are you both tired if you are we will take a small break now. After we descend, we can''t stop."


    Mona and Denton looked at each other and turned back towards Mark, shaking their heads. Mark could only shrug seeing them and if they complained while they descended, he was not responsible if he didn''t stop for them.


    "Ok then let''s continue on." and Mark slowly went down the first staircase leading to the 14th floor. The stairs were normal, so Mark carefully peeked onto the other side of the staircase below for any zombie before the 14th floor.


    He noticed one zombie on the staircase while another one near the door leading to inside of the floor. Mark quietly turned back and gave out a simple signal to them about the zombie below. Both of them understood and continued down.


    After the last step they turned around to descend further to the 14th floor and noticed the zombie standing to the side facing the wall. They also noticed the other zombie near the door that was closed shut.


    Mark turned towards Mona and slowly told her to go for the zombie on the stairs while Mark went for the other one below. Mona nodded before going to the zombie as he made his way down. Denton remained in the same place, not willing to take a risk.


    Mark slowly peeked to the stairs for the 13th floor and noticed 2 zombies. He remained extremely quiet, not willing to take the risk, and went to the zombie. He looked at Mona who killed her zombie and extended his hand towards the 2 zombies.


    Mona understood, and Mark quickly finished the zombie near him. All three of them made their way down slowly, and Mona and Mark killed the 2 zombies as well. As they turned around to continue their way down, they noticed a zombie looking at them already ready to growl.


    But Mona was quicker, and she jumped directly at the zombie and slashed its head.

 Chapter 21 - Problem (IV)

    Mark nodded at her fast reaction and was also shocked to some extent. If the zombie growls all the zombies in the staircase would instantly turn towards them and they would have to retreat up. Mona caught the head before it could fall down and slowly placed it down, not taking any risk.


    Mark couldn''t react as quickly as Mona, and he understood this as they killed the zombies. His physical condition wasn''t at its peak and needed much more work to put into. All three of them continued their way down slowly and silently.


    As they continued to go down the number of zombies increased in numbers. Mark and Mona continued to kill all the zombies either stealthily not to make it more problematic. Denton continued to stay behind them and lend a hand when he could.


    At the 5th floor, Mark killed the last zombie off and looked around for any other zombie left. He also noticed the zombies on the stairs leading to the 4th floor were not disturbed. He slowly turned around and whispered to both of them, "Ok! Let''s take a slight break here. I think the zombies would only be much more from now on."


    Mona and Denton agreed as they slowly made their way up to the 6th floor and sat down. Mark felt exhausted as his body has still not adapted to the intense energy consumption he was going through. He slowly took out the water bottle in his bag and drank some water.


    He handed the water bottle to Mona and sat there looking at the zombies they killed on the 5th floor. There were 7 bodies lying around at different places on the floor and stairs around them. It quite surprised Mark at the good teamwork he got with Mona.


    Mona was able to cover him every time, and her agility and fast reflexes helped at various places. Her swordsmanship was opposite to how Mark practiced his back in the day, it was more refined and neat.


    After a couple more minutes of resting, Mark stood up and said, "Ok, let''s get going. The military must be waiting for us to open the door for them outside."


    Mona and Denton could only nod and get up. Gripping his machete once again, Mark led the group to the 5th floor and then peeked over to the stairs leading below. He noticed there were only 2 zombies there. Turning around, he motioned Mona about this and both of them slowly made their way down.


    Slowly descending, both of them quickly finished off the zombies and Denton followed them. Turning around towards the 4th floor, Mark noticed there were 5 zombies in the stairs and the floor.


    Mona and Mark slowly went to the first zombie on the stairs and after killing it off, they turned towards the next one. They noticed the next one was already looking at them and before Mark could kill it; it let out a slight growl.


    This caught the attention of the other 3 zombies on the floor and made their way towards them. Mark sliced the zombie off and looked at Mona. Mona gave a nod and both of them rushed towards the 3 zombies.


    Mona was up against only 1 zombie while Mark took on 2. He kicked the first zombie away before using the same strength to slice the other head. He looked at the zombie on the floor and rushed towards it. He quickly slashed its head before it could get up.


    He noticed Mona was already done with her zombie and Mark motioned Denton to come down. They continued their way down again and after killing the zombies on the 2nd floor, Mak noticed the stairs leading to the first floor had 3 zombies. He killed off 2 of the zombies while Mona killed one without a hitch.


    As they turned around to the last couple of steps to the 1st floor, they noticed 8 zombies there. Mark could only exhale at the number of zombies. There were only 3 zombies on the stairs while the rest were on the floor.


    Mark and Mona quickly went to the 3 zombies and quickly finished them. As Mona was done with her zombie, the body fell backward towards the floor and before Mona could stop it, it already rolled down making noises. As the body reached the last step all the zombies left already turned their attention towards them.


    The five zombies ran towards them, Mona and Mark could only hold their weapons tighter and wait for them. Mark and Mona could successfully intercept 2 zombies each while the last one jumped on Denton who was at the back.


    Mark quickly dodged the first zombie by ducking down and went for the one behind it first. He quickly tried to slash the zombie''s head off. As the machete went right through the neck, separating the head from the rest of the body, he turned around and noticed the 2nd zombie already jumping at him.


    Mark ducked again as the zombie went over his head and fell down. He acted quickly and slashed off its head and turned around. He noticed Mona was already almost done, but as he saw Denton, he rushed up to him.


    Denton was completely struggling on the floor with the zombie on top of him, almost biting his head, only getting pushed back by the rod in his hand. As his arms almost lost strength, Mark quickly sliced off the head and kicked the body away.

 Chapter 22 - Problem (V)

    As the body smashed into the wall and the head rolled to the side. Mark slowly turned towards Denton, still on the ground with the rod in his hands. Stretching his hand out, Mark pulled Denton up and looked over at Mona.


    Standing up, Denton exhaled in relief at the very close call. He didn''t expect the zombie to jump on him and couldn''t evade in time. He could only try his best to keep it away using the rod he had and hope one of the 2 notices his predicament.


    "Ok! Now that we are done here. What''s the next route to the underground parking lot?" said Mark, turning towards Denton as he noticed no more zombies.


    "Oh! Yes, there are 2 ways for us to go to the parking plot beneath. One is to use the elevator, and the other is to use the stairs on the other side, the one you used to come up to the 15th floor." replied Denton.


    Mark went into deep thought after this. He took a seat on a stair and kept the machete beside him. The best plan was to take the elevator. But it is also perilous. It makes too much sound and could attract every zombie below before they even get out.


    The stairs were a longer route. They had to stealthily make their way across through the large lobby on the floor and get onto the stairs. They also had no data on the zombies inside the stairs on the other side.


    After thinking for quite some time, he got up and said, "Ok! Let''s take the stairs on the other side of the lobby. The elevator can make too much noise and attract attention."


    Both of them nodded and Mark slowly went towards the door out of the stairway into the hallway. He slowly opened it and stuck his head inside. He slowly observed the number of zombies in the hallway and found it to be only 5.


    Mark was pleased and surprised at the number of zombies. He expected at least 8 zombies within the hallway as the 1st floor is expected to have a huge number. He slowly closed the door and turned towards both of them and nodded.


    "There are 5 zombies outside in the hallway. We can take them out with relative ease, so don''t panic." Lastly turning towards Denton, who nodded.


    Taking a deep breath, Mark slowly opened the door once again and quietly came into the hallway followed by Mona and Denton. Denton slowly closed the door behind him and nodded his head at both of them.


    Mark looked at Mona and Denton and signaled Mona to come with him while asking Denton to remain behind. Leaving Denton behind Mona and Mark made their way to the nearest 2 zombies.


    Arriving behind their backs, at the count of three both of them sliced the heads off in one go with no noise. Not to attract any attention from the zombies left, they caught both the head and body of the zombie they killed and slowly placed them down.


    Mark looked at Mona and continued on forward after noticing she was all right. The next 2 zombies were to the side leaning on the walls. Making it quick both of them sliced their heads off like the previous ones.


    The last zombie was near the entrance of the hallway. It looked like a former security guard looking at the hallway and big structure which was almost double the size of Mark''s lean body. Mark quietly made his way towards it with Mona behind him just in case.


    As he reached he slowly brought the machete down for the instant kill but to his surprise the sword did not even cut through half of the neck. He tried to pull the machete back, but the zombie turned back making his hand leave the handle.


    The zombie raised both its arms going for a loud growl before Mona sliced its head off from the other side of his. Mark quickly reacted and turned backwards to support the huge body on his back before it could fall down. He slowly placed it down and took the machete which came out as the head sliced away.


    He turned towards Mona and nodded acknowledging the nice assist at the correct time. They turned back towards Denton and Mark waved his hands indicating him to get closer now that the zombies were dead. Denton quickly made his way over reaching both of them and all three of them went near the edge.


    Mark was first and peeked out towards the lobby. He had a loss of words noticing the number of zombies in the hallway. There were clearly more than 40 zombies in the hallway alone. He slowly observed the positions of the zombies trying to formulate a plan to get across the lobby without facing many of them.


    After observing for a few minutes, Mark turned back towards Mona and Denton behind him and said with a grave face, "This is going to be tougher than I expected it to be."

 Chapter 23 - Problem (VI)

    Hearing him, Mona and Denton knew it''s going to be a tough one this time and paid completely concentrated on him.


    "There are over 40 zombies in the lobby right now." Hearing this both of them sucked in a mouthful of cold air, 40 zombies were too much to handle for them.


    "So, now I found a route we can take with the least number of zombies in the way. But even this way will be a very close call to cross. If we make even a single mistake, the zombies will be all over us."


    Noticing them listening, Mark continued, "So in the whole lobby the way which has fewest zombies is through the reception desk. If we cross the enormous reception desk in the lobby, we would almost be there. There are only 6 zombies in this entire route, 2 before we reach the desk, 3 behind the desk, and 1 after we cross it."


    Mona and Denton continued to listen, "And now this is the plan, we will slowly go one behind another. First Mona, then Denton, last me. I will look at the rear for any of the zombies that might notice us, and Mona will take care of the ones in the way. Denton, you need to look out to the other zombies, if we attract any attention." Said, Mark.


    "Is this doable? I mean is this a solid plan." Asked a concerned Denton.


    Mark could only shake his head and say, "It is not solid, but it is the only way we have. If it''s not this, I am not able to think of any other plan at the moment."


    "Let''s go with this only." Said Mona.


    "Are you sure?" Asked Denton, turning towards her.


    "Yes"


    "Ok then let''s go with this. Mona Be careful at the front and do not make any noise when you kill the zombies." Said, Mark.


    Mona nodded with determination and Mark said, " Ok, let''s go."


    Mona immediately went before Mark near the corner and looked out. She slowly found the desk she needed to head towards and went towards it. Noticing her gone, Mark looked at Denton and motioned him to go. Gulping down his saliva, Denton continued after Mona behind her. Mark followed him after and the three of them slowly made their way.


    Mona reached the first zombie in their way and killed it immediately. She was able to catch the body and after setting it down she continued towards the next one right after which was behind it.


    Making it a quick kill like the previous one, Mona continued followed by the other 2. Denton gulped once again noticing the 2 dead bodies. Even after observing the bodies throughout the entire stairway, he couldn''t get over the fact that it was still a dead body.


    Mark continued to look out for the other zombies behind them, noticing for any reactions in the zombies. He could only slowly follow them while still looking out behind them. Mona eventually reached the beginning of the desk. She noticed the three zombies right in front of her and gripped her sword tighter.


    She quickly leaped a bit higher and cut the first zombie. As she was getting back to her position, she noticed the body falling in front instead of back. She quickly reached out to the shirt on the zombie and pulled it back, forcing the zombie to move back.


    The body moved towards her, and she couldn''t bring her arms up to stop it. Denton who was behind her noticed it and quickly stretched out his free hand stopping the zombie. Mona noticed this, supported him, and quietly kept it beside them. She looked up and exhaled in relief as the zombies in front did not seem to catch a whiff of this.


    She quietly looked back and thanked Denton. Denton only nodded with a smile and Mona looked back to front. She gripped her sword tighter and slashed at the zombie. As the zombie''s body fell on her, she noticed the next zombie was facing her. As the zombie almost growled, Mona could not care about the falling zombie and slashed her sword once again.


    The zombie died before it growled, and Mona caught its body. She looked back and noticed the zombie''s body falling down. The only sentence which went through her brain, ''OH SHIT''. Denton could not react and the body slowly fell on the floor making noise.


    Mona immediately leaped inside the reception desk and caught the zombie nearby on the other side turning towards them. Denton quickly pulled Mark in as he noticed Mona''s reaction and all three of them hid below the reception desk.


    Mark looked confused at them, but as he noticed the body on the floor and the sorry expression on Mona''s face, he understood immediately. He could only shake his head and get inside further. All three of them prayed as the zombie got closer to the reception desk.


    After a few seconds, they could hear the growling right above them. Mark cursed his luck for this happening the second time in 2 days for him.

 Chapter 24 - Problems (VII)

    Holding their hearts in their hands, all three of them quietly sat down below the desk as the zombie was right above them, growling. They could feel the sense of dread and their mind shouting them to flee.


    Time slowly passed as the zombie above continued to stand on the other side for over 5 minutes, which felt like hours for all three of them. As the zombie continued to growl, it suddenly stopped. This made all three of them become alert. They could hear the zombie slowly moving away from the desk.


    Releasing the air they held up, Denton slowly crawled out and peeked over the desk to notice the zombie on its way back to its previous position. Once again exhaling in relief he got back down and nodded and both of them. Mark turned towards Mona who nodded and got out of the desk.


    She crawled her way out of the long desk, followed by Denton right behind her. Before, Mark followed, he once again peeked out to notice all the zombies and their positions for any possibilities of distraction. Noticing everything was all right he continued behind Denton.


    Mona went at a slower pace than before and the distance was also small for the hallway from the desk. There was only a single zombie in their path, and Mona took care of it quickly. This time she was able to react and catch the body before it fell.


    She slowly continued after placing the headless body down and reached the hallway. She slowly peeked inside the hallway while Denton and Mark were on the lookout for any zombie which might catch them. She slowly counted the zombies in the hallway and held out her hands indicating 6 to both behind.


    Mark nodded from behind and slowly touched Denton and whispered, "Tell her to go ahead and try to kill the zombies if they are near."


    Denton nodded and slowly relayed the information to Mona, who accepted and slowly made her way into the hallway. She continued going to the nearest zombie while still crouching down and stood up only after it was within her blade''s reach and instantly killed it.


    Denton who observed this made his way inside the hallway, followed by Mark. As Mark entered the hallway, he noticed the zombies inside. There were still 5 more zombies and were pretty much grouped together at the middle of the hallway. He slowly turned towards Denton and Mona, who by now set the body down and nodded.


    He slowly made his way towards the small group with only 2 zombies at front with their backs turned towards them. Mona and Mark were able to quickly finish the 2 zombies and noticed the 3 zombies in front of them facing them.


    Without waiting, Mark and Mona jumped on the 2 zombies at the side as the middle one went for Denton. Denton held the pipe as tight as he could, noticing the zombie coming right at him. The zombie came right at him with its arms stretched, trying to get a hold of him.


    Denton tried to dodge it and immediately ducked down, evading the attack. He felt a bit ashamed to be dodging the zombie and noticed it turning back and making its way towards him. He immediately swung the rod to its head, eyes closed in hope to get a hit.


    He was able to land a solid hit right at the head and push the zombie to the side. Crashing to the wall, the zombie fell down. Denton slowly opened his eyes after a few seconds and noticed a hand coming closer to his legs. He noticed the zombie was yet to die and immediately bought the bar down on its head, closing his eyes and continued to hit until he felt a hand on his shoulder.


    He stopped and immediately turned back, opening his eyes. He noticed Mona stopping him and heard her say, "You can stop now, it''s already dead." pointing behind him.


    He slowly turned back and noticed a complete pool of black blood with a mush of black flesh inside a cracked head. He could notice that the black flesh was brain matter once he thought about it and had an urge to vomit. Closing his mouth, he forced it in once again.


    Mark only shook his head and said, "You have to get used to this, Denton. You will feel like this at the beginning, but you will get used to this." Mark told this with a bit of experience he had. He felt the same when he first killed a zombie and is slowly getting over it.


    Denton only nodded and turned back, feeling a bit better. The three of them slowly made their way towards the door to the stairway and noticed it was open. Mark looked back to have a look at both of them before opening the door to peek inside.

 Chapter 25 - Parking Lot

    Mark slowly peeked inside the stairway through the cracked door. He caught a glimpse of several zombies that were situated near him. After slowly observing all of them, he closed the door slowly and turned towards the other 2 who were already focused on him.


    "There are 7 zombies within the area of us getting caught easily. 2 of them are at the stairs leading above while 3 are there on the floor and 3 others on the stairs leading down. So we should first kill the zombies on the floor swiftly and then the ones on the stairs above."


    "Denton, you need to make it count this time. Try to go for its head and swing the rod with all the strength you can muster. After we both are done with the ones on this floor, we need to go for the ones above, Mona. We should try to be as quiet and quick as we can be so we don''t have to disturb any zombies on the floor above." Turning towards Mona at the end.


    Mona nodded and Mark continued, " While killing these zombies we should also be careful of the ones below. This is the toughest we did till now, so do your best."


    Both of them nodded and Mark turned back. Taking a deep breath he slowly opened the door and slowly went inside with Mona and Denton following behind. The three quickly made their way towards the first 3 zombies near them on the floor. Standing behind them, Mark peeked at the zombies on the stairs and noticed they weren''t disturbed.


    He looked at both of them and nodded, and all three of them bought their weapons on the heads. Mark and Mona were able to cleanly slice off the zombie and without waiting they jumped at the zombies on the stairs above, who already realised them.


    Before the 2 zombies could do anything, their heads were sliced by the two of them and they caught their bodies to not create any sound. Mark noticed a zombie above to the 2nd floor not noticing this and slightly exhaled in relief. They kept the bodies down and turned back to notice Denton already done with his zombie. He bashed its head till it stopped moving.


    Mark and Mona came down and turned towards the 2 zombies on the stairs leading down. Slowly going down to the 2 of them, Mark quickly finished them with Mona and continued down. He turned around to continue and noticed a door at the end of the stairway to the underground parking lot.


    Slowly reaching the door, Mark noticed it was let open. He immediately knew there would be some zombies inside the parking lot. He turned back and noticed both of them already noticed this and nodded.


    He slowly opened the door and the dim parking lot came into view. Few of the lights were not on and the other were only blinking. The lack of electricity seemed the reason for this. There was a very eerie feeling that was given out in the air. They felt chills run down their spines.


    Taking a deep breath once again, all three of them entered the parking lot. Mark turned towards Denton and asked, "Which way is the control room to open the gates for the military."


    Denton slowly pointed north-west and said, "It should be this way, it is near the gate itself."


    Mark nodded and slowly made his way towards the direction pointed at with Mona and Denton sticking close by. He turned back towards them and said, "Be on alert. For some reason, this place gives out some wrong vibes." Mona and Denton only nodded as they continued.


    Mark continued to look around as he walked, trying to search for any zombies that might suddenly jump at them. The small room was finally visible to them and Mark slowly went towards it. He noticed the words ''STAFF ONLY'' on the window on the door and looked inside for any zombie and found one inside.


    He turned towards Mona and gestured to her to kill it while he stayed outside for any zombies that they might have grabbed attention of. Mona nodded and slowly went inside the room and found one zombie slowly walking with its back faced towards her.


    Mona quickly sliced its head and waved her hand outside for them to come in. Mark and Denton made their way in and Mark turned towards Denton and said, "Ok, now try to open the gate quickly." making Denton quickly sit down on one chair.


    Mark looked outside the vast glass window and noticed the gate a few feet from the room. He turned towards Denton who was frowning and asked, " What happened?"


    "The system seems to be a bit low on electricity. Someone needs to go to the main on the other side of the parking lot and restart the entire thing."

 Chapter 26 - Parking Lot (II)

    After hearing Denton, silence took over the room. All of them were thinking the same thing ''Who needs to go?''. The silence broke as Mark said, "Ok, then I will go. Mona, stay here and kill any zombies which make their way here. Now tell me where this place that I need to go." turning towards Denton at the end.


    Mark had 2 reasons he had, First was the eerie feeling he was feeling since he entered. He felt he could die any moment and for a person who wanted to end his life; he was excited to find out the reason. The other was that the gate needed to be opened as quickly as possible for the military to come in, along with some benefits for him.


    Mona and Denton did not respond till Mona simply nodded and said. "Okay, be careful out there."


    Mark nodded and both of them turned towards Denton. noticing they took a decision he could only sigh and say, "The place you need to go is the exact opposite from here. There would be a compact room like this one there and you need to just go towards the biggest handle and restart it."


    Mark nodded and held his machete tighter and turned around. As he made his way towards the door, he heard Denton again, "Mark, take this." and he turned around to notice a black object coming towards him.


    Catching it by reflex, he noticed it was a walkie-talkie used by the security. He noticed there was another in Denton''s hand, stripped it to his bag and slowly made his way outside. Closing the door behind his back, Mark slowly walked towards the opposite side, meaning deeper into the parking lot.


    The blinking lights could only give him a minimal amount of light to see. As he went deeper, the lights kept on decreasing making it harder to see. The air also became thicker as he went in, and he could also feel the temperature dropping. He kept looking around and suddenly felt danger behind him and side-stepped.


    As he side-stepped, he noticed a zombie run by him. Seeing it, Mark was astonished at its speed. It was running at a speed similar to humans and this was pressurizing. If the zombies were quicker than the danger for them would increase by server folds. He gripped the machete tighter as the zombie stopped and looked around like it was finding prey and noticed Mark; it started running towards him again.


    Mark tried to concentrate and looked at the zombie which was running at an average human speed. As he continued to stay in his position, trying to concentrate and slash the machete in his hand at the correct time.


    As the zombie came in front of him, Mark quickly brought the machete down and slashed its head. He still had to dodge the body as its momentum did not stop with the head filling in the air. As the body crossed him, it fell down sliding on the hard cement floor.


    He exhaled in relief, noticing no other zombies around him and took out the walkie-talkie he had with him. He slowly turned it on and bought it near his mouth and said, "Hell! Denton, you there?"


    "Yes Mark, what is it?"


    "You guys be careful. I think the zombies somehow got faster, at least some of them like they are developing. They ran at the speed of an average human."


    There was complete silence on the other side and so he asked again, "Denton! You there. Denton!."


    "AH! Yes, I am here. So are these for all the zombies."


    "I can''t confirm that yet, I only faced one zombie since I started and it seemed like a fast one."


    "Ok then be careful Mark. Inform us if you face a problem."


    "Sure all right." and kept it back in the bag.


    He slowly went towards the body and flipped it up for any changes in appearance. He noticed this one looked like the others and there wasn''t any change. He could only sigh and continue on forward. He started to wonder if the feeling he felt was due to these zombies.


    As he continued several more zombies attacked him and only 2 were fast ones which came at him solo. He slowly got accustomed to the fast ones as he faced more of them. The feeling of death only became thicker as he continued on forwards towards his destination.


    As he continued, he could finally see the room. Looking around for any zombies, he slowly went near it. As he reached, he noticed the door already open and peeked inside for any zombie. He noticed only one zombie on the chair and so entered inside.


    He quietly made his way towards the chair and killed it in one swing when he was near. He looked around the room and noticed many computers and other technology-related stuff in the room.

 Chapter 27 - Parking Lot (III)

    He took out the walkie-talkie he had and asked the other two, "So yes, I reached the room you told me about. Now, where is this switch you asked me to restart?"


    "Oh! Ok, the switch should be in yellow colors with black stripes over it and the tag ''emergency only" attached over it."


    "Denton, as the owner of the company, why do you seem to know all these minor things." This was in Mark''s head for the longest time. Denton seemed to know all the routes and solutions in the building.


    "I do monthly inspections on all the electronic equipment in the building and so I know all the problems and functions too."


    "Ok, then I will restart it and inform me if it will work." and kept it aside.


    Looking around, he found the switch by the side on the wall with a cover over it. Flipping the cover off, Mark slowly turned off and turned it back on. As he turned it back on, he heard Denton''s voice over the walkie-talkie.


    "Yeah Mark, it''s working now. Come back."


    Walking out of the room, Mark replied, "Alright, open the gate for the military to make its way in. I will be th--"


    Before he could finish his sentence, a powerful force hit him from the side, flinging him towards a parked car. Crashing his backside on the car, Mark could feel some bones crack because of the impact. The car was completely dented inside with his outline.


    He slowly slid down and started coughing up blood. He kept his hand on his mouth trying to stop the blood and felt a sharp pain in multiple areas on his back because of some glass shards embedded in it.


    While still holding his mouth with his hand he looked up and noticed a zombie. As his eyes lied on it, his eyes shrunk in terror. It was easily over 8 feet and weighed over 400 pounds. Its massive size figured out the reason for his crash.


    As he continued to look at it, the zombie took a step forward towards him. He looked around for his machete and found it under a car on the other car lane. He felt pain from every part of his body. He slowly got up while trembling. His mind was completely numb, not able to interpret his situation properly.


    As he got up as his legs continued to shiver. His thoughts were interpreted as the zombie came even closer to him. He heard Denton''s voice over the walkie-talkie, which was also far from him.


    "MARK, MARK WHAT HAPPENED? WHAT IS THAT SOUND? ARE YOU OK?"


    He slowly walked towards the walkie-talkie noticing this zombie be very slow but his current pace was also slow due to pain. He slowly picked it up and as he did, he noticed the zombie while lifting his head, once again right behind him to kill him. With all the strength he had, he jumped to the side, ignoring the pain.


    "DENTON, THERE IS A HUGE ZOMBIE IN FRONT OF ME. ITS TRYING TO KILL ME." while slowly getting up once again.


    "WHAT HANG ON TILL WE COME THERE WITH THE MILITARY."


    "I WILL TRY MY BEST BUT CAN''T GUARANTEE FOR LONG."


    He slowly got up once again and dragged himself away from the zombie which already was on its way towards him. As he slowly made his way, he entered into a different lane and tried to pick up.his speed.


    He understood the eerie feeling he was getting and the chill in the air. It was all due to this zombie on the floor. Even the lack of zombies was due to this one. He looked back and noticed the zombie still following him and tried to move quicker.


    This zombie looked like it killed many people based on its ugly appearance alone. Its strength was on a different level compared to the zombies he faced until now. He slowly went behind a car and tried to hide behind it when he noticed the zombie was a bit far away.


    He could feel the car he leaned on tremble due to the zombie moving. He slowly peeked towards it and found it walking towards him. The zombie was trying to find him, even by flipping some cars in its way.


    Mark slowly continued forwards trying to create more time for the military to make its way here. As he dragged his body, the pain also increased a lot. He coughed up another handful amount of blood and clutched his side.


    He looked back and found the zombie making its way towards him, and he continued looking at it. As he continued to move forwards looking back, he smashed into a wall and came to a halt. He looked ahead and noticed a dead end.


    He turned back and noticed the zombie too clear for comfort. He was completely trapped.

 Chapter 28 - Military

    Cornered, Mark looked at the huge zombie in front of him, slowly getting closer. He looked beside him and slowly went to the side, trying to not grab much attention from it. But the zombie''s eyes followed him and it continued to make its way towards him.


    Knowing, getting out of the place is hard at his present state. He continued to hold the side of his waist. He tried to ease the pain but couldn''t. He could only stand up only because of the wall beside him taking its support.


    As the zombie came closer, his brain worked faster trying to think of some ways to escape his current situation. As he continued to think, he thought how ironic it seemed for him at the moment. Only a day back was he trying to take his life, but now that it is already at his doorstep, he is thinking of ways to escape and remain alive.


    But an answer struck his head at the moment. He needed to live and survive in this unknown world, where laws are mostly not valid anymore and finally decided to take revenge on all the people which lead him to the brink of death. He needed to at least live and revenge the people who he lost and torture them.


    The only regrets he always had to the very moment he ever had until that moment was him being unable to get revenge on the bastards which ruined his life. He snapped out of his thought as the zombie raised its huge hand, bringing it down on him.


    He used the last inch of energy left in his body, forcing the pain away, and jumped to the side. Missing its target, the zombie looked to the side, trying to search for him. Mark used this small span of time he got and backed away towards the cars by the side. Unable to get up, he could only crawl using only one hand.


    As he slowly tried to take cover behind a car, the zombie already identified him and came towards him. Only after taking a single step, it was within an arm''s length from Mark. Trying for him once again, it swung its arm at him and he kept all his weight to his side and successfully evaded the attack by rolling over to the side.


    Missing Mark, its arm went straight into the car and left a big dent on it. Mark was lying straight on his back, not having any strength to at least try to get up. The zombie turned around towards him and lifted its hand up.


    As it was about to bring it down on its prey, they heard a gunfire in the silent area. Mark was too weak to even turn towards that direction and remained motionless. But his heart was able to calm down a bit as he hoped that it would be the military.


    A bullet shot from the gun went right through the zombie''s head, coming out of the other side. The zombie stopped and its hands dropped and a few seconds later its body plopped on the ground. As it fell, Mark could hear footsteps coming towards him and turned his head even when it was screaming with pain to get a view.


    As he continued to see the narrow passageway through the cars to him, he noticed 2 figures running towards him with a few men behind them. He could easily identify the 2 as it was Denton and Mona with worried expressions.


    Feeling relieved, Mark exhaled and passed out on the spot. Mona, who noticed this, increased her speed and ran towards him as quickly as she could and kneeled down beside him and slowly took him into her hands. Denton who reached a bit slower than her also kneeled down and observed the red-stained clothes and bruises Mark had and frowned.


    He turned back and noticed the military members already near them and asked, "Steve, come and look at him. He is injured."


    The man who stood in the front, named Steve, nodded and looked beside him and motioned a female officer to check up on him. She nodded and went forward towards Mark and kneeled down. She slowly checked his condition and turned towards Steve and said, "He is alive, but he probably has multiple broken bones and many scars." getting up and making her way towards Steve.


    "Ok take this man into the vehicle and get him treated." Steve turned around and ordered his men. Without waiting for another minute, 2 of the soldiers went up to Mark and slowly lifted him. They slowly carried Mark out and Steve turned towards the remaining 2 on the ground and said, "Don''t sit now. We still have people to save."


    Mona nodded along with Denton and followed behind him. Hey got back to the same place as before and Steve turned towards Mona and said, "Nice to meet you. I am Colonel Cox. My name is Steve cox and I am his brother." pointing at Denton.


    "Oh! Nice to meet you too. My name is Mona Ray, and I am an employee in the company. Will Mark be okay?" she looked towards Mark, who was getting treated inside one van.


    "Yes, they are mostly broken bones and bruises. It didn''t seem like he got scratched by any zombies, so he will be okay within 2 weeks or so." answered Denton.

 Chapter 29 - Rescue

    "So, Denton, I need all the details to save the people on the roof of this building. How many people are there? How efficient is the route you guys took to come down from above and mainly how many zombies?" asking for a full report from Denton.


    "Yes, I will tell you. The route we took is mainly all right except the fact that you need to pass through the lobby of the first floor to get to the safe stairs we took to come down. The regular stairs are swarmed by the zombies so it''s not safe. There are almost 40 zombies on the first floor."


    Steve nodded and motioned him to continue.


    "So after crossing the lobby and into a hallway, you reach the stairs. There are no zombies in the stairway. We killed them all on our way down slowly. That is one of the major reasons for our delay. The top floor was clean when we killed the few that were there, but we can not say the situation now.


    There are about 20 people on the roof. Most are elderly who work in the company. They are tired as we had no food for them last night. We could only give them some fruits and biscuits, which were on the floor."


    Listening to Denton, Steve was shocked at some moments like how Denton told him they killed zombies on their own but did not pry as he noticed the sword in Mona''s hand. After Denton was done he got an overview of the complete situation and nodded.


    He turned back towards the soldiers waiting for orders behind him, all equipped with guns, ready to go for war.


    "All right Soldiers, The people we need to save are on the top of this building. From the information, I heard Most of the journey up is safe but only if we get across the lobby on the first floor. Get ready, we move out in 5 minutes." and turned back towards both of them and nodded, making his way towards the soldiers to get ready.


    Mona and Denton stood in their spot before Mona slowly turned towards Denton and asked, "Is he your brother?"


    "Yes, my family is of military background. My father is in the military and also my grandfather was in it. He is my elder brother, and he followed their footsteps into the military, while I studied and started my business in the city." Nodding explained Denton.


    Mona nodded understanding and asked Denton once again looking at the vehicle Mark was in, "Will he be okay?"


    She felt bad knowing she couldn''t save him in time and now he is in such a situation. She knew his personality was selfish from the beginning but did not hold it against him. It was only due to Mark they could get down and would have been impossible otherwise.


    "He will be fine. But we should make this quick so we can take him to some treatment in the military base." feeling the same as her.


    Mona nodded and both of them remained still, observing all the members of the military running around. There were about 50 soldiers in this batch and they bought 4 vehicles each with enough to hold 25 people.


    After a few minutes of waiting, Steve approached them fully suited. He nodded at both of them and they nodded back. Steven asked 30 of the soldiers to remain here, cook, and take care of the vehicles from any zombies. He also asked them to cook some food for the people after hearing they did not eat.


    Taking the rest of the 50 soldiers with him, they followed Mona and Denton towards the stairs. Before opening the door, Denton reminded his brother, "You guys should be as quiet as you guys can. There are zombies on this staircase and the number is not small. We should only get to the 1st floor to enter the hallway."


    Steve nodded and lifted his hand, making some signals for the soldiers to understand. Slowly opening the door, Mona was the first to enter after noticing no zombies near the door. She slowly made her way up, followed by Denton and the army behind her.


    As she slowly climbed, she noticed a zombie on the stairs to the 2nd floor and paused. She turned around and gestured to Steve. Steve understood and lifted his hand making some signals and 2 soldiers came out of the line behind


    The two soldiers crossed Mona and went in front of her before one of them took aim and shot the zombie, while the other caught the body quickly. The guns had silencers equipped, not giving any sound when they shot. Their good coordination surprised Mona, she was impressed by the military way of doing things; they were quicker than how she and Mark did..


    After they looked around and found no more zombies, they stood near the door and waited for the others to get inside while they guard the door. Mona slowly followed them up, and they went into the hallway slowly. There was only a single zombie in the path, which she took quick care of before making the soldiers come in.


    Steve turned back as they got in, including the soldiers near the door, and said, "4 of you stay here and guard the door. If it gets harder, you can go back."


    Hearing him, 4 soldiers separated from the rest and stayed behind, while the remaining slowly made their way following Mona through the hallway. Mona stopped at the end, near the lobby, and turned towards Steve and asked him to come to the front.

 Chapter 30 - Rescue (II)

    Steve slowly made his way to the front of the line and looked towards the lobby. He saw the zombies and was a bit shocked, but could still keep a calm face. He slowly counted the number of zombies in the room and the possibilities of their group taking them out with no noise.


    He thought, ''If what Denton says is true and many elderly are up there, we should go for a frontal attack and kill the zombies as quickly as we can here. We can not face them on our way back here.'' and nodded to himself.


    He slowly returned to his place and said in an audible voice, "We should probably kill the zombies out there in the lobby. It will be tough to have the elderly cross secretly. There are around 35 zombies out there are 19 including Mona here. So let''s make this quick. Don''t waste your bullets and aim for the heads."


    All the soldiers nodded including Mona and Steve said, "Ok then let''s move out. Mona, as you use a sword you have to go close, but do not worry I will have your back covered the entire time and shoot down the ones near you." making Mona nod again.


    Slowly one by one the soldiers went out of the hallway and positioned themselves behind some furniture closer to them, taking cover. Mona slowly followed them out and went to the nearest zombie while Steve stayed a bit far from her with a gun in his hands.


    Mona slowly killed off the first zombie starting the attack. The soldiers who took aim before shot out bullets rapidly evading Mona and taking down zombies. Mona immediately ran to the next zombie that was already near her and stabbed her sword right into its throat, killing it.


    Another zombie jumped on her from behind and got shot by Steve, who was looking after her. She glanced back and gave him a nod before resuming her attack. All the zombies had their complete attention on Mona, who was the closest to them, while the soldiers behind were shooting them down slowly.


    The empty gun shells slowly fell down from each gun and the already blood-stained shirt of Mona became darker. Mona was moving like a dancer, elegantly killing off the zombies near to her. They were successful in not attracting much attention to themselves due to the silencers used by the soldiers.


    Denton continued to watch this while staying in the hallway, observing each and every person. He was useless in the big fights like this and would only create more problems if he tried to kill zombies, hence opted out. He promised himself to learn how to use a gun after he got back to the base.


    The soldiers continued to fire and Mona continued to kill until each zombie in the lobby was killed, taking 20 minutes in total. Many bodies were near Mona standing in the middle of them, while bullet shells fallen on the ground were also not a negligible amount.


    Steve slowly walked towards Mona with Denton behind him and the soldiers also coming out of their positions. Slowly observing that all the zombies are dead and there are no more, Steve turned back towards the soldiers and said, "Ok now, five of you stay here and guard this area till we come back."


    Steve looked at Mona, surprised by her killing, and complimented her, "You were better than I give you credit for."


    Mona only smiled and Steve then said, "Ok, let''s get going." and made their way up, leaving 5 men to guard the lobby. There were now 7 people on the first floor and 13 soldiers with them. Steve felt 7 were enough and they could retreat if they faced problems.


    So, Mona led the rest towards the hallway to the next stairs and opened the door. All the soldiers made their way in and she closed it back once again.


    "Ok, let''s make our way up," said Mona, leading them.


    As the soldiers climbed, the bodies surprised them on the stairs. They felt amazed and their respect towards Mona and Mark grew. It was a big feat for normal citizens like both of them to kill and get through these zombies.


    Since the outbreak occurred not a single soldier was free, they had to go out on several missions at a time, trying to save people and secure a headquarters for themselves in the city. It has been very tough for them lately, and they knew it might get tougher as time passes by.


    They slowly went up, crossing each floor, making no sound. As they finally reached the 15th floor, Mona turned and looked at Steve, who gave a confirmation nod. She slowly unlocked the door and went inside. After observing no zombies in the hallway, she gestured to the rest to come in.


    Closing the door, all of them made their way across the hallway, Mona peeked out into the lobby and found there were only 5 zombies probably from the staircase which was filled with zombies across them.

 Chapter 31 - Rescue (III)

    She motioned Steve to come upfront. Steve slowly checked out the situation of the zombies and the staircase from the other side. He nodded to himself after coming up with a plan and went back.


    "Ok now, listen up, there are 5 zombies in the lobby out there, which is not our target, but the stairs are. We need to close the door to prevent any more zombies coming into the floor, while we transfer the people above. We can not have the zombies breach the door after we close it."


    All the soldiers nodded in unison and Steve proceeded, telling the plan to the soldiers. Mona, stood by the side as she can not get involved in this situation to stop the door, would be a death trap for her, who fights at close range.


    After a few more minutes of discussion, Steve conveyed the plan and all the soldiers got ready. A few of them came to the front with guns in their hands, ready to go out when Steve gave out the signal.


    "You both should follow behind the soldiers and make your way towards the hallway you need to take," said Steve, turning towards Mona and Denton.


    Both of them nodded and Steve gave out a signal for the soldiers ahead and all of them went out into the lobby. They slowly shot down the 5 zombies in the hallway, which attracted a few zombies from the stairs, which got shot down as they entered.


    The soldiers made their way towards the door with Mona and Denton behind them taking cover. As a few more zombies continued to come inside, the soldiers quickly shot them and finally reached the doors.


    Mona and Denton took a turn when they reached the hallway as the soldiers continued forwards. They both peeked outside to observe the soldiers as they did their work. After getting near the door, they closed the door and held it.


    "Create a barricade to stop the door," said Steve, giving out orders to them.


    A few of them remained to hold the door, the others hurriedly moved things near the door. They bought the whole furniture available near them and kept it against the door. As they continued to hold the door, the force from the other side stopped.


    Feeling the force stop, they backed away from the door slowly. The furniture kept against the door was enough to calm the zombies on the other side. Steve continued to observe the door and after he felt they were safe here turned towards the soldiers and said, "OK good work. Now 5 of you come with us to help the elderly." and walked towards Mona and Denton, who were already in the hallway.


    "Let''s continue forwards," said Steve as he reached them with 5 soldiers behind him.


    Mona nodded and went towards the end of the hall with the others behind them. She slowly stepped on the window frame and caught the ladder before getting on it. Denton followed behind her, gesturing Steve to do the same.


    As the soldiers one by one came up, Steve looked at all the people on the roof. Some of them were crying in relief seeing the military come for them while others were brimming with happiness. Steve looked at the soldiers behind him and said, "Check all of them and if they have received any attacks from the zombies." making all of them nod and scatter.


    Denton and Mona stood beside him and looked at the soldiers, checking for any wounds on the people. Steve said, without turning his head, "You guys did a splendid job rescuing at least these many people."


    Denton simply shook his head and replied, "It was because of Mark finding the ladder and helped us as we got up." making Mona nod.


    Steve said nothing back and continued to observe. After 15 minutes, the soldiers came back and reported everything was fine and Denton said, "Ok! Let''s start moving. Help the elderly first, and then the others can continue right behind them."


    The soldiers slowly helped some elders to get up and get down from the ladder. It was hard as they were already very weak from no proper nutrition for the past day but completed the task with no problems. After all the people got down, the last to leave was Mona, Denton, and Steve.


    Mona made her way down and noticed the people in the lobby and went towards them. Steve came by after her and said, "Ok! Let''s continue. Let''s go slowly and carefully." leading the soldiers to the other hallway. This time Mona and Denton were the last in the group to follow as the people guarding in the lobby also came out of their spots and followed.


    They slowly continued on their way down as a group, taking more time than they got up. After everyone reached the first floor, Steve slowly checked the situation and found it was peaceful as the people guarding the floor were still paying attention.

 Chapter 32 - Rescue (IV)

    Steve went back and slowly brought everyone out into the lobby and the soldiers saluted, noticing him, who responded with a simple nod. Denton stood in between the lobby as he overlooked the people coming one by one into the hallway.


    He cleared his throat once everyone entered and said, "Ok! Now here comes the tricky part. We have to go down another staircase and there would probably be zombies above us in this staircase. So I need each and every one of you to stay as quiet as possible and only one at a time." making everyone nod.


    Steve went ahead into the hallway before anyone to set up a formation in the staircase so the people can safely go down without the zombies coming for them. Reaching the end, he motioned the guards who were stationed there to open and went inside slowly.


    After looking around and not finding a zombie, he came back out and called for some more soldiers and explained to them the plan to guard the stairs till all the people go down. The soldiers, who listened closely, immediately understood the formation, and they went outside.


    2 of the soldiers stood near the stairways going up to look out for any zombies from the 2nd floor and 2 went below to stand at the door leading to the parking lot. Steve made his way back to the lobby and went near Denton and Mona.


    "I need you both to go into the parking lot to guide small batches of 5 people at a time to the place where the vehicles are one at a time," explaining their roles in the plan.


    They just nodded and made their way into the hallway and the parking lot, waiting for people. Steve already informed the people that the situation is under control and now the people can move one by one. He remained in the lobby watching over the people getting taken individually into the hallways and the next taken only after the one before they went through the door leading to the parking lot.


    Even if this is a slow process, it was safe, and that was enough for Steve to take it up. People slowly passed through the door and Denton was the first to take the group of 5 who arrived towards the vehicles, leaving Mona standing by the door, waiting for him.


    For the next 30 minutes, this continued, until all the people shifted into the lot and it relieved the soldiers of their posts. As all the soldiers got into the parking lot, Steve made the soldiers close up the door and made his way towards the vehicles where they set up a small camp.


    He noticed people already eating some stew prepared by the people stationed here to guard the vehicles. Some people were so happy to finally get food that they had tears, which seemed weird for Steve, but shrugged it off.


    He also took a bowl and got some stew and sat down near the medic of their team. They had to move out early in the morning to reach in time and could not have any breakfast.


    Steve turned towards the medic and asked, "What is Mark''s situation?" taking a spoon of stew.


    Gulping down his food, the medic answered, "He is stable now, but we should run some tests when we get to the base camp." Steve nodded and continued to eat.


    The military was quick to react and sent out soldiers to save the citizens when the virus broke out. They were able to secure a sizable township area within the city, to build their base of operations.


    The current city they lived in, was called Stargaze city. It was a medium-size city, far from the capital of the country. Even if it was only a medium-sized city, it had some big townships. It has been a life-death battle the past days trying to save people from the zombies and there were some casualties they faced while doing that.


    Steve looked ahead as he continued to eat his stew and smiled. After everyone was done eating, he clapped his hands and said, "Ok! Now that everyone has some food in their stomach, get on the vehicles and we will roll out towards the base camp in the city."


    Hearing his orders, the people lined up and were sorted out by the soldiers into the vehicles. After everyone was seated, Steve got into a vehicle and ordered the soldier to open the gate. The soldier in the room opened the gates and got into a vehicle before all of them got on the streets.

 Chapter 33 - Rescue Complete

    Mona continued to look out the window as they rode on the streets. She was in the main vehicle with Denton, Steve and some other soldiers from the military. Looking at the deserted streets and zombies roaming around brought a weird feeling to her which she couldn''t put a finger on properly.


    The streets were silent with only the sound from the cars and occasional zombie groans outside. Even if the Stargaze city wasn''t a hub for many people to come and stay, it wasn''t anything like the present situation. There were always various cars and people on the roads making noise, compared to the dead silence they were in.


    She noticed the zombies outside a few which came in their way and got overrun by the vehicle. Some of them tried to follow behind only to get run over by the vehicles behind. She observed the few burning cars or already burnt ones which were some of the many collateral damage which were created because of the sudden fabric which fell upon them.


    The entire journey was quiet with no one talking and mainly observing the surroundings for any unexpected zombie horde which they may face. Eventually the vehicles made their way into one of the better places within the city, with enormous companies and buildings are primarily located at.


    Mona observed fewer zombies in their way as they went deeper into the area. She noticed several soldiers patrolling the area killing any zombies which came upon their sight. The vehicle finally came to a halt Infront of a huge reinforced gate with many soldiers guarding it.


    Steve got down as he showed his identity badge and explained to them about their rescue till they got the green light to enter. As Mona looked outside she noticed the base was a former housing society with several enormous buildings. They came to a halt finally, and Steve prompted everyone to get out of the vehicles.


    He stood in the front as every person got out and formed a group and then said, "Alright everyone listen up. This is the primary base of the military and as you can see, we have housing for a few. Many of you might not be comfortable with the situation here, but will be safe compared to the outside world."


    Pausing for a second, he continued, "Now I need all of you to go through a thorough checkup at our medical division and get some tests run. Do not worry, this is only a safe protocol. We opted to not let any unknown person who was bitten enter the premises. Now, please follow Lieutenant Sophia here to the medical division. She will answer any questions some of you might have." Gesturing towards the lady beside him.


    After giving a quick nod to Denton, he made his way inside the building in front of them. As he disappeared, it was Sophia''s turn to guide the people, "Please follow behind me." And went towards the building beside them.


    All of them slowly followed behind her and Mona noticed the soldiers taking Mark on a stretcher attached to a saline bottle into the building they were headed towards. As they entered inside, she noticed there was electricity running in the building. She slowly made her way following Sophia Infront of them into one of the hallways.


    Coming to the far end of the hallway, Sophia opened the doors and led the people inside. As they came in, they noticed the various medical equipment and doctors already working on a few of the survivors were before them.


    One of the doctors came near Sophia, who explained the situation, and the Doctor looked at them.


    "Please, for a straight line, we will call one person at a time and take some samples from you." And went to the side and ordered one of the few nurses for some materials.


    The doctor slowly called each person out and took some blood samples from them. After everyone was done, Sophia gathered everyone and said, "Ok now that all of you have given out your samples, I will take you where you will stay until your results come out. After you pass the tests and are healthy, we will shift you to your temporary housing space within the border."


    She then went outside the room and walked through the hallway and onto the staircase. Mona observed they turned the elevators off to save more energy, which was already scarce at the moment. As they climbed the stairs and passed a few floors, she noticed a couple of people walking in hospital robes probably waiting for their tests to come out. She also observed the soldiers stationed on each floor for safety needs.


    Sophia finally stopped once they reached the 5th floor and led them through the corridors of the building, which now looked like a hotel. There were rows and rows of doors leading to their rooms. Sophia stopped in the middle and turned around.


    "Please split into pairs of 2 and go into a room each."

 Chapter 34 - Dark Room

    As Sophia said that, all the people started discussing among themselves. Mona suddenly thought of something and as she was about to go towards Sophia and a hand fell on her shoulder stopping her. She turned back to see a college she befriended named Addie.


    "Can we both be partners?" asked Addie with a smile plastered on her face.


    Not knowing anyone else, Mona agreed and turned back to see all the other people already done pairing up. Sophia nodded and said, "Ok, now that everyone is set. You can take a room, you can take a bath, we keep the hospital robes on the shelves and you will receive food when it''s time. We will distribute identity cards for the people hereafter they pass the test." and turned back.


    "I need to talk to her for a bit. You go on ahead and choose a room for both of us." not waiting for a response from Addie, Mona made her way towards Sophia who almost reached the stairs. Noticing her going towards Sophia, a few of the soldiers blocked her, and she shouted her name once, gaining her attention.


    Sophia turned back as she noticed Mona waving her hand. She raised her hand showing to let her through and the soldiers did not block Mona''s path anymore.


    "Is there a problem, Ms.Ray?"


    "Oh! Just call me Mona. I needed to ask you about something important."


    "Go ahead. What is it that you wanted to ask about?"


    "I want to ask about my parents and grandfather, if possible, Can you check if they are in this settlement."


    Not finding any problem with her request, Sophia accepted and Mona gave her the details.


    "OK! I will check and tell you tomorrow first thing in the morning."


    Getting some assurance from her, Mona felt relieved and went back to her group. She noticed Addie waving her hand before a room and went towards her. Looking inside the room, it was a simple room with 2 beds and a closet with a clean washroom.


    Feeling satisfied, it was Mona who got into the bath first, cleaning herself off all the sweat and blood she got on herself while killing the zombies. After a long hot bath, she wore the robe given for patents in a hospital and decided to get some better clothes after the results are out.


    After Addie took her bath, both of them started to have a pleasant chat, trying to relax their nerves. The doorbell suddenly rang and Addie opened the door. She received 2 plates of simple curry rice with a water bottle and closed the door after thanking the soldier.


    Having some food go down their body, they plopped on the beds to have a pleasant sleep after a disastrous day.


    As this was happening, Mark who fell unconscious suddenly woke up. He slowly looked around and found himself in a dark place. He looked down to notice no clothes on him and all his wounds non-existent.


    He tried to get up but couldn''t move his body. He suddenly felt a cool breeze behind him, slowly turning his head. He noticed 3 silhouettes floating in the air in the dark place, radiating a dim light. He couldn''t catch their faces, only the outline of their body. By the looks of it, they seemed to be 2 men and a woman.


    He could hear 2 of them talking, specifically the female on the right and the male on the left talking, but couldn''t understand a single word coming out of their mouths. They continued to talk as it seemed like the middle one was closely looking at him, while the 2 made some comments. He could not understand what comments they made on him, though.


    It was a completely foreign language to him. Mark knew a variety of languages and the number piled up to 30 languages. Even if it was few, they were all the root languages, making him understand under languages which were made after them.


    As the 2 on the sides continued to talk between themselves, the middle one suddenly raised his hand, making the 2 of them stop. He slowly opened his mouth and a pleasant voice came out in the language they spoke before.


    Hearing him, the 2 of them looked more closely at Mark before nodding to themselves. As he continued to talk, Mark felt himself drown in his voice. After he was done talking, silence took over.


    The middle one raised his hand as a silver orb enclosed in chains came out of his palm and it slowly made its way towards Mark. He could feel some danger to him from the orb and tried to shake his body, to evade it.


    The orb continued to follow its path and slowly enter into his chest as he slowly felt his consciousness fading. The last thing he heard before he fell down was the middle one''s voice, "Hope you are the one."

 Chapter 35 - Waking Up

    Gasping for air, Mark woke up inside on a hospital bed. Looking around, he noticed curtains surrounded, and they attached his hand to a pipe leading to a blood bag. He tried to lift his upper body, but the pain was too much to handle. He noticed the wounds on his hands were already recovered to their original state.


    He started wondering about the strange dream which he experienced before. He slowly lifted his right arm and touched his chest to feel anything in particular due to the silver orb which went into him. He noticed they changed his others and now he was in hospital attire.


    "I heard the mechanics were able to make changes to the hotel refrigerators such that they were in the right Temperature to keep the medical needs."


    Hearing a female voice outside the curtain, Mark looked towards the direction. He could hear 2 footsteps and it seemed like people who worked here.


    " Oh! That''s a very good thing. The blood bags in which the military needed to be kept at the right temperature for storage. Now the burden has decreased by a lot by them doing this."


    "Yes, and the patient here also needed many blood bags to cover for his loss of blood when the military brought him back. His survival itself was no less than a miracle, according to the doctor." Opening the curtain in front of Mark''s bed, said a lady who had a tray of medical necessities in her hand.


    The other woman looked over and noticed Mark was awake and quickly shook the other pointing at him and said, "He is awake."


    Not believing her, she turned around saying, "What the doctor said..." stopping her sentence when she noticed Mark''s eyes were open and rushed to his side.


    "Are you alright Sir? Call the doctor." Concerned about him and asked the other woman.


    Barely nodding his head, Mark conveyed he was alright, and the nurse exhaled in relief. She slowly supported Mark to sit up by leaning his back against the wall. Mark grit his teeth in pain.


    After a while, a female wearing a white coat rushed near him. She had excitement written all over her face as she checked out his body, testing his condition. Mark grimaced at the pressure she was keeping on his body and the pain which came with it. Noticing his expression, the doctor immediately stopped and introduced herself, "Hello, my name is Susan bank. I was treating you for the past three days here in the settlement."


    Mark was a bit caught off guard by her surname bank, which seemed funny but pushed away from the thought and asked, which really surprised him, "Three days?" Barely audible.


    "Ah yes Mr. Mark, you were out cold for three days when you were brought here by the military rescue team and we have been treating you since then." Explained to him carefully.


    Mark nodded and Susan slowly continued checking the monitors around him or any changes and if he was fine. As she continued to examine another 3 people came through the curtain and into the small area which was now filled with people.


    He noticed it was an old man with a white beard and hair; He peeked over him and found Denton and Steve behind him. Denton waved his hand while Steve gave a nod to him. He focused his attention back to the man in front as he heard him speak. "Seems like you are awake, Mark. My name is Donald Cox and am one of the generals in this camp. I heard from my son Denton here that you helped a lot and saved them many times."


    Mark simply shook his head and wanted to say he had his reasons but held back and said, "It''s ok, General."


    "I thought you would stay unconscious a while longer after noticing your previous condition when you were bought here. But it seems like you had a good recovery." noticing his previous wounds closed up without a scar.


    Mark nodded his head as it also surprised him when he found his wounds already close and by the looks of it his body is now healing a bit faster than an average human body. The general then took his leave and went out of the room along with the doctor and Steve behind him, leaving only Denton behind.


    "So how is your body now?" starting the conversation.


    "Barely able to sit. It aches all over. How is the camp?"


    "It is good. The military took over a housing society as its primary base right now and is building around it. As you can see, we are short on staff for various things like medical and people who can fight. So they started a temporary exercise for the people."


    "They are encouraging the people to choose one thing or the other to help the camp around. Based on how helpful and achievements they rank up, they are various things they can ask for."


    Mark nodded as he heard the military''s decision on how to manage things. This way the people can do some work to contribute to the lack of human resources they would face about now.


    As Mark continued to converse with Denton, he noticed something strange and asked, "Why isn''t Mona here? Is she sick?" he expected both of them to meet him, but only noticing Denton, it spiked his curiosity

 Chapter 36 - Mona Message

    Hearing his question, Denton fell silent. Mark was confused at the sudden change in his expression and silence. So he asked once again, "What happened? Is she here or somewhere else?"


    "She left the camp," mumbled Denton in his breath. Mark couldn''t catch him, so he asked, "What?"


    "She left the camp." in an audible voice this time, Denton answered. Her decision surprised mark. He couldn''t understand why she left a safe place such as this military camp but went out to the dangerous world once again. He knew people had a reason to do something and once he got cured, he would also go out to save his 2 friends.


    "I see. Do you have any idea where she might go?" Mark asked this question only for a single reason, ally. After fighting together with Mona, he found out she could be a perfect ally he needed. He understood this as he made plans, there might be times he faces many zombies and humans he might not take on by himself.


    He needed powerful allies who will stay with him during the tough times and could give out a helping hand when needed. So, when he heard she left the place, he decided to meet her once he is out and has a talk with her, by proposing his plan to her.


    "Ah yes, she told me to give you a slip when you ask about her whereabouts. Here you go." Said Denton, reaching out for his back pockets and taking out a piece of paper and handing it to him. Deciding to keep it aside, and read later when he was alone, Mark continued to ask about the base and the current situation.


    According to Denton, this base was taken over by the military, not any government official. The military is slowly trying to put up the satellite connection once again, which stopped working. Their primary aim was now to communicate with other camps like this one.


    Hearing him, Mark cursed his luck. He couldn''t call his friend anymore, and the only way to find out his situation was to make his way to him. He started calculating the time he needed to make his way there.


    He woke up from his thoughts as Denton explained about their next problem was food. With the military saving more and more people in the city, the food supplies were running short and by what Denton heard from his brother and father, the soil isn''t good enough for cultivating crops anymore.


    The scientists with the camp were trying to come up with a solution, and luckily they have a famous scientist on this topic here in the camp. They continued to talk and Denton told him how he decided to become a strategist instead of a fighter.


    Mark was all in for his discussion because Denton was very far from being a fighter. Even he who was fitter than the average human suffered against the various zombies out there. After some time, Mark was still tired and Denton excused himself.


    But before he can you, Mark asked, "Can you send my bag with someone." Denton nodded and continued his way out.


    After noticing no one was around him, he slowly opened the paper that was given by Denton as a message from Mona to him. He noticed the message was only a few lines and started to read it.


    Dear Mark,


    I decided to leave the camp for some personal reasons that I can not tell you right now. By the time you are reading this, I must have already left. If you want to meet me, come to the address on the backside of the paper. I might be there and If I am not, then it means you would have to wait till my problem is done. Tear this message once you read it.


    Mark turned it back and noticed an address written and it was within the city. Mark knew this place as it was closer to the shop he regularly buys his games and other items.


    Mark quickly tore the paper into the smallest pieces he could manage and threw it inside the dustbin beside him. What seemed strange for him was that, when he was reading the letter, it seemed like Mona knew exactly that he wanted to talk with her and what he wanted to ask.


    This was true. Mona had a hunch that Mark would ask her if he wanted to travel with her. She couldn''t find a reason why he would want to leave the settlement but was sure that he would, So she left this message for him and handed it over to Denton in hope it gets to him


    He did not mind this and understood there might be some problems everyone faces. He decided to go to the address after he was back to normal strength. As he continued to think about some other things he needed to do, a soldier opened the curtain and his bag was in his hands,


    Giving the bag to him, the soldier simply turned away and walked back. Mark quickly opened his bag up and took out the notebook he had with him. He decided to record the observations he made on the two new zombies he faced.

 Chapter 37 - Discovery

    He slowly wrote about the first zombie he faced beside the regular zombie naming it the ''Bitter''. This was the zombie which he faced when he was moving towards the electricity room to turn the electricity on. This was quicker than the common zombies he faced till now but was still equally dumb like the regular one.


    The only difference this one had was its speed. It ran like an average human which was a feat for a body without a properly functioning brain. He also noticed these zombies would be a big problem if they come in hordes at him. He would not be able to overcome it.


    The next zombie was the fat one, which he almost died to when he exited the room. This was extremely strong and had enough power to put a dent into a car. But for the enormous power it had, it''s speed was very slow. It was slower than a normal zombie and equally dumb too. Mark named these kind, ''Bloater''


    It had a very thick skin, which didn''t properly cut a normal sword. He could have faced this one if it wasn''t for the surprise damage he got in the start. He could still feel the pain in his ribs, even if the external wounds got cured.


    But the main doubt he had in his brain at the moment was what made these zombies evolve or diverse into different ones. Were these like that since the humans got bitten or did a particular catalyst act upon the body to bring different changes and he wanted to understand this.


    If he found this answer, a lot of problems can either be created or solved. If they were like that since the beginning, that means they were rarer and less compared to the normal ones. But if they evolved to that state, it means that as long as the zombies survive then they can become stronger.


    Thinking about all of this bought a headache for him. He slowly closed the book after filling the information on the new zombies. He kept the bag down and went back to sleep. He could think about this after he goes out again.


    As Mark slept once again, meanwhile in General Cox''s room, there was a closed-door discussion on him between the general and doctor Susan. They were precisely talking about Mark.


    "Do not tell this to anyone else, Susan. This might potentially create problems for us. We do not want to have more enemies than what we are already facing right now." closing a folder on his desk.


    "But General¡­" said Susan, trying to persuade him.


    "I said NO, Susan. Even though what you discovered is fantastic. We can''t create more problems. Take this as my gut feeling from my experience in the army, but only more disaster would come if we make that kid our enemy than an ally."


    "Alright General. I understand." finally, reluctantly nodded.


    "Thanks for understanding, Susan. Now tell me according to your experience in how many more hours will he be back to full health." with a smile.


    "By the current progression, I suspect another 3 days at max." making Donald nod.


    "Alright, then Susan is this all?"


    "Yes General. I will take my leave now." and turned back. But before she reached the doorknob, she heard the General again, "Remember Susan, No one should get to know about this."


    Susan nodded without turning back and went out of the room. Donald exhaled in exhaustion as he looked at the folder again.


    "Recovering within 3 days for an injury which normally takes a month to recover, this is really some problem creating news." sighed Donald while massaging his head.


    These were Mark''s reports of the past 3 days, and how unusually the wounds recovered over these days. Susan initially wanted to ask the General to at least take some blood of his if not run tests on him. But the General rejected her proposal immediately.


    He had the feeling that it was better to make Mark an ally since the moment he met him on the bed. Listening to his gut, which helped him over the course of his military life, he rejected it.


    What Donald did not know was that his decision to enclose the information saved the whole settlement from Mark''s future wrath. Mark would be a complete enemy of the camp if he gets to know that the military was considering making experiments on his body and blood.

 Chapter 38 - Talk With Donald

    Just like how Susan predicted, Mark got completely healthy in 3 more days. His progress was just too shocking for Susan. Now she was before him, checking his health to give a permit to leave the hospital wing. As she flipped through the pages on her clipboard, she kept nodding to herself making Mark a bit confused.


    "All right, Mark. You can now leave. A soldier will bring you some fresh clothes in a while and you can change out of the hospital robe you are wearing." and walked away.


    Mark simply sat on his bed and stretched a bit to see if there was any pain left. He figured out that his body could somehow cure faster. He felt weird about this and knew this might bring some unwanted problems for him and decided to talk with General Cox about this.


    After a while, a soldier came up with a pair of new fresh clothes for him and Mark slowly changed out of the hospital robe which he was already tired of. He got a plain white shirt with some cameo jeans. He placed the hospital robe on the bed as he took out the bag and slung it over his shoulder.


    He got out of the ward he was present in and noticed the soldier standing there waiting for him. Mark raised an eyebrow at him and the soldier said that the general wanted to talk to him once he was ready. He accepted as he also needed to have a chat with the general.


    The soldier led Mark through the hallway before both of them made their way down and exited the building they were in. Mark continues to observe through the hallway. He noticed a few people wearing hospital robes like him in the building, and the soldier explained that these people who were rescued recently are getting tested for any virus.


    As he followed him out, Mark also noticed the surroundings and got blinded by the sunlight outside and squinted his eyes, trying to adjust his sight. After feeling ok, he slowly opened his eyes once again and observed.


    He noticed a vast wall a bit far from him, within 10 meters from him. Noticing some people still reinforcing the wall, he couldn''t help but praise the army for taking a swift decision. He then noticed the soldiers patrolling the areas with various guns in their hands, going around in groups.


    He continued following the person in front of him and entered the building next to the one he was in. This building had a much better space compared to the one before it was a former office building and now the military took over and started to make changes to it according to their convenience.


    He slowly followed the soldier and climbed to the 5th floor. He observed throughout the building there were various officers of the military in the building. He saw a couple of lieutenants and even colonels on the way up.


    They reached the end of the corridor and Mark noticed a card with General Cox written on it pasted on the door. The soldier simply knocked on the door and they heard, General''s voice on the other side, "Come in."


    Both of them entered and Mark looked at the ordinary office room, which was not too big or small but enough to have a couch and a coffee table to the side. He also noticed Steve by Donald''s side and nodded as a greeting.


    "Sir, As per your request, I bought Mark here." reported the soldier standing in an upright position.


    "At ease, you have done a good job and now you may take your leave." and the soldier did not say a single word more and left the office leaving Donald, Mark, and Steve.


    "Sit down, Mark." indicating the chair opposite to him.


    Mark simply nodded and quietly sat down in a relaxed manner, not thinking much about the person in front of him. But he still managed to not look disrespectful towards him.


    Donald smiled and said, "It''s good to see you back to health once again."


    "Yes, it is good to be back to top shape after that brutal encounter a week back."


    "So, Mark, do you have anything you might want to ask before I can tell why I asked you to come here."


    "Yes, The first thing I want is my medical reports. I do not want anyone to see them and want you to destroy them," said Mark, starting with the most important thing on his mind. He decided to take those reports and destroy them before he goes out of the room.


    Donald simply nodded and opened his drawer and took out Mark''s medical reports and placed them on the table. Mark slowly took the file, not breaking eye contact with him, and slowly opened it before checking its contents.

 Chapter 39 - Talk With Donald (II)

    As Mark went through the report, he noticed a full descriptive medical condition of himself in it. It pleasantly surprised him that they made such a report. He slowly said while continuing to examine it, "I wonder how curious the person is to make a report like this one." with a tinge of amusement in it.


    Understand the underlying meaning of his remark, Donald said with a serious tone, "You do not have to worry about that. I already told the doctor who made this to not spread it."


    "Hmm, and you believe this doctor?" Mark replied.


    "I trust my subordinates very well and I implore you to have trust in me," said Donald, making Mark raise an eyebrow but did not comment on it. He continued to slowly read the report, and the office remained silent only with the sound of pages turning.


    Finally completing the report, Mark slowly kept it back on the table and asked, "How can I believe that this is the only report you have General. Not to be rude, but we both know that the military likes to have its stuff backed up." showing a wide smile.


    "You can''t but you have to. That is the only thing you can do at this moment," said Donald, not backing down. In truth, he really erased all the data they had on this issue, but he could not back down from a boy who was a generation after him. His pride was in his way.


    Chuckling at his statement, Mark backed down and said, "Ok then I trust you, General. Just don''t betray it." and slowly took out a lighter from his bag and lit the report, holding it on the edge. He threw it inside the trash tin, which was by the side.


    "Ok now that this is done. My next request is weapons." keeping his hands on the table.


    General expected this and gestured to him to continue, but this startled Steve who was sitting on the couch. He looked at his father with a questioning gaze, trying to find out his goal.


    "You probably figured this out General, but I won''t be staying in this safe camp. I still have some unfinished business to complete. So, for going through all the hard work to save a couple of citizens, I hope you give me some benefits and rewards."


    "And what kind of weapon do you have in mind at the moment?"


    "I would be happy if you would give me 3 handguns and 2 rifles with 300 rounds for the handgun and 200 rounds for the rifle. If possible, I need some grenades too."


    It completely took Steve back with the amount of ammunition and weaponry he was asking. This was daylight robbery. Donald replied with a calm voice, "1 handgun, 1 rifle, 150 rounds, and 100 rounds respectively for them." This took Steve back once again. His father was considering giving some to him.


    "2 handguns, 1 rifle, 250 rounds, and 200 rounds, respectively."


    "2 handguns, 1 rifle, 200 rounds, and 100 rounds, respectively. I will throw in some grenades like you asked." not backing down.


    Noticing that he can''t make the old man budge anymore, Mark nodded and stood up for a handshake that Donald reciprocated. Both of them once again sat down and the temperature eased down.


    "So where is your next goal?"


    "I need to find a friend in the city. Then I will make my way to Evergreen City from there to find one more." Mark already asked Steve to check out if by any chance they rescued his friend and got a no in response. He decided to check out her house for any clues.


    "How do you plan to go to Evergreen City?"


    "Not decided yet. If you have a vehicle for me to use, that will be great."


    Donald looked over him towards Steve for an answer. Steve understood this and said, "There might be a reinforced vehicle that you can use. It fits in 4 people and is durable."


    "Oh! I will owe you a favor if you can give it to me." Mark couldn''t let this chance go.


    Listening to Mark, Donald smiled as he got what he wanted. His primary aim was Mark to owe him a favor, which he can ask anytime. It would always be better to make people owe you, especially on hard days like these.


    "Give that vehicle to him, Steve. Hope you do not go back on your word when the time comes, Mark. So, do you have anything else to talk about, Mark?"


    Noticing the grin on his face, Mark knew he got what he wanted and could only stay silent. A reinforced vehicle would solve a lot of problems for him.


    Mark shook his head saying he was done and got up from his seat. He gave him a handshake and Donald said, "Wait outside, Mark. I need to talk with Steve, he will show you the way to get your goods."


    Mark nodded and made his way out.

 Chapter 40 - Weaponry

    Mark continued to wait outside, looking out of the window in the hallway as the father and son were having a discussion on him. As Mark made his way outside, Steve looked at his father who was donning a smile on his face and asked, "Why?"


    "Why, what?"


    "You do not have to give him so many favors just because he saved civilians. I am sure even without him, we could have saved the people." Steve knew it was an impressive feat from Mark, but it was not worth giving so much weaponry and favors because of that.


    The military was already at a low place at the moment, and giving off so much ammunition could only decrease it further. Hearing his son''s confused question, Donald smiled and answered, "You do not get it yet, Steve. Once you have as much experience I gained over my 40 years in the military, you will understand what I did would be a plus point for us in the future."


    Hearing him, Steve still grasped nothing and Donald simply said, "Just believe me on this one and try to be calm about this with him. Give this sheet to the people near the armory and you can give him some weapons." Steve nodded, took the paper from him and made his way out of the office.


    "Come with me Mark, I need you to follow me and we can get you your weapons," said Steve as he noticed Mark looking out the window Mark turned back and nodded. Following him out of the building, they made their way to the end of the camp where there were enormous tents and vehicles lined up, with soldiers going in and out.


    Mark followed Steve inside one of the biggest tents and made their way towards the person at the front drinking some coffee. Mark noticed the number of emblems the person had, and his rank was higher than Steve''s. Steve slowly talked with the guy meanwhile, Mark looked around.


    There were enormous crates having guns, and ammunition loaded in them. As Mark looked around the person Steve was having a conversation, saw the slip, and was shocked. He looked up at Steve and Steve said, "I know, but dad says it is his gut feeling and this would do us a lot better in the future."


    He just nodded and handed the paper to the person beside him and asked for him to bring the contents. They continued talking with each other on other matters as all the guns asked for were collected.


    After a while, 2 soldiers came with two boxes and several guns in their hands. Steve turned back and tapped on Mark, who was still looking around. Mark turned towards Steve and noticed the boxes in the soldier''s hands.


    "Mark, here are the things my father promised you. Have a look at them." motioning them to open both of them.


    Mark slowly went toward the boxes and peeked inside. He saw 2 Beretta 92 guns and an Ak47 with their respective ammunition. He also noticed 5 grenades by the side and a smile formed on his face. He slowly stretched out his hand and took the Beretta into his hands.


    Getting a good hold of it, Mark checked it out before placing it in. He turned towards Steve and nodded, Steve, gestured to the soldiers to close them and said, "Come, Mark, I will show you the vehicle too." and walked out of the tent followed by Mark and the two soldiers.


    They walked across various military vehicles and it amazed Mark at the size of the tanks lined up. This showed that the Military near Stargaze city wasn''t a small one, it had its fair amount of suitable vehicles at disposal.


    They continued on till the end of the vehicle till they reached a small reinforced jeep. It had all sides of it covered in metal which looked very resistant and the wheels were almost double the regular size. It had an open-top to look out for any directions.


    "This is the new Titanium reinforced jeep out engineers made. It is made of an alloy and hence bulletproofed to a degree and tightly closed so zombies can make their way inside," explained Steve.


    Mark was surprised at the description, Titanium was the 2nd strongest metal after tungsten. Except for tungsten, which had very weak impact strength, titanium was the best choice to reinforce the vehicle with. The open roof can enable them to shoot from the top.


    He wondered how they got enough Titanium to completely reinforce this thing and remembered there was a Titanium factory nearby which made the alloy used. Mark nodded with satisfaction and Steve told the soldiers to keep the boxes inside.


    "So when will you leave?" turning towards Mark after the soldiers left.


    "I was thinking now."

 Chapter 41 - Streets

    Mark shocked Steve. He knew he would leave early but expected him to leave tomorrow morning by the latest. It was already noon and if Mark leaves, then he only has half a day before nightfall and the zombie''s activities become more problematic.


    "Can''t you wait till tomorrow morning before you move out atleast eat your lunch here before you leave?"


    "No, I need to get something done in the city quickly. So moving out today would be better and ok, I will have lunch before I leave."


    "Ok then let''s go to the cafeteria, they must be giving out lunch already." and Steve walked towards another building to the right. Mark quietly followed him once again.


    They entered another building that looked more like a hotel and went inside the door which had a cafeteria on it. Mark noticed the vast room with people serving soldiers and civilians alike. He grabbed a plate and noticed the food was a vegetable soup with bread. It was very stale but enough to get by. Both of them made their way to a corner and ate.


    "What is the military planning about the food shortage?" asked Mark while sipping some soup.


    "I don''t know. The scientists said that the earth''s soil isn''t suitable for cultivation anymore because of it getting polluted because of the virus and now our only solution is to make fertilizer to neutralize the soil or a crop that can grow on the soil," replied Steve while shrugging.


    Mark simply nodded as he continued to eat. He decided to go to some supermarkets and get some canned goods to eat. They can preserve food in the canned ones for a longer time, so he need not worry much. After eating, both of them made their way out and as they went towards his jeep, a soldier came running towards Steve.


    "Colonel Cox, General Cox wanted to give you this." handing out a card.


    Steve took the card, and the soldier excused himself. Steve looked at the card for a second before handing it over to Mark.


    "Take this, it will allow you to come and go to this camp. The guards won''t stop you if you show this." Mark simply glanced at it for a second before pocketing it.


    They continued towards the jeep and once they reached, Mark climbed into his seat and Steve kept his arms on the window.


    "Stay safe out there. You can come to the camp if you need anything." and backed away. Mark nodded before closing his window. He noticed the key already attached to it and started it up.


    The vehicle shook a bit before it started. He noticed the gas was half-filled and changed the gear. He waved his hand towards Steve and drove out of the parking lot. He slowly drove the vehicle towards the exit, maintaining a steady pace. He took out the card Steve gave him and showed it to the guards near the gate.


    "Stay safe out there," said the guard while handing back the card. Mark nodded and rolled out of the camp. His first goal was to get out of the area and make his way towards his house. He needed some stuff which he had and decided to just go there.


    He slowly drove, not much in a hurry. It would take him 3 hours to get to his place and with the present situation, it might take longer. So his goal was to make it home before the sunsets. He reached out to the back seats and took out a gun and kept it beside him. He noticed a silencer attached to it and knew this was Steve''s work and felt grateful.


    He still needed to practice his aim once again and decided to do it at a place where there were fewer zombies. As he continued to think, he bumped into a zombie and ran over it. He could feel the bones crack below his tires and looked back to find it minced with black blood.


    Deciding to keep his thoughts aside, he grabbed the wheel with both his hands as he almost exited the area. He noticed the burning cars and destroyed buildings and felt similar to how Mona felt. Taking a left turn out of the area, he slowly proceeded forward. There were more zombies than before and made it harder to drive.


    A few zombies tried to get in his way only to get run over once again. A few tried to smash the sides, but their efforts were in wail against the powerful titanium used. He slowly made his way towards his house. He checked the time and noticed it was already 2 hours since he left and there was another half of the journey left.

 Chapter 42 - Streets (II)

    Mark looked at the roadblock in front of him with his arms on the steering wheel while having a tired expression on his face. He was in the same position thinking of ways to cross this blockade for the last 10 minutes. He couldn''t just ram his jeep into the cars, which would create too much noise for him.


    He still had a long way to go, and if he took a detour, his journey would only become longer. He found no other ways as this was on a bridge with a deep river below him.


    "Now I have to take a whole 1-hour detour for this. By the time I reach home, I would not be able to do anything." mumbling to himself, Mark let out a tired sigh.


    After a few more minutes of consideration, Mark slowly reversed the jeep and went in a new direction. He had to go 10 kilometers far to take another road to his home, due to the long river he had to cross. He cursed the once ruling city committee for such awful design and continued to drive..


    He looked at the river as he drove and found it cleaner than before. Probably due to no industrial activity happening upstream. But even this clean water would eventually become dirty because of the present situation. Continuing on the road, Mark felt a strange feeling coming from the small patch of trees on the other side of the road.


    He eventually ignored it and continued. After another hour of slow driving, he reached the next bridge and noticed it had only a few zombies in it. He got down with the gun in his hand as he wanted to get the feel of wielding a gun once more.


    Previously, just like his swordsmanship, his gun yielding was also very good. He could hit 7 out of 10 bullseyes. But never tried on moving targets. He had a great amount of interest I''m weaponry like he did in swords. He was allowed to use a gun since very young and was good with it. He eventually lost interest cause of the things around him.


    Slowly taking a deep breath, he looked at the zombie near to him, after taking a good aim he shot. He aimed the bullet for the head, but it hit the shoulder and the zombie turned towards him and screeched, gaining the attention of the other 5 zombies near it.


    Getting ready once again, he shot one more at the zombie, this time right at the end. He turned towards the next zombie and shot, missing it once again. He quickly shot once again and hit the head, his time making it fall down.


    The other 4 zombies got nearer as he went back to gain some more distance and shot the zombie nearest. This time he could one-shot it and looked at the other three zombies quickly shooting them too. He wasted one more bullet in the process, but he felt satisfied enough.


    After observing, all of them are dead. He got back into the jeep before slowly crossing the bridge. He tried to shoot zombies while he drove but missed a lot and hence stopped for a time when he had more bullets to spare. After crossing the bridge, he continued towards his house and this time there were no more blockades.


    He could finally enter his street and slowly drove to the rundown building he lived in. He parked the car in an alleyway opposite to the building and slowly got off. He was worried about the guns and other stuff with in the car so he carefully hid the car. Taking 3 magazines with him making 60 rounds, he kept them inside his pockets and went across the street checking out for any zombies.


    Reaching the entrance, he opened the door slowly and noticed only one zombie. It was the lazy cleaner who used to work in the building. Noticing her turned into a zombie, Mark did not feel any different. She slowly aimed and took the shot right at her head. Her body fell down as the bullet went across her brain and embedded into a wall.


    He closed the door and went towards the stairs. There wasn''t any electricity in the building and could only take the stairs. His house was on the 3rd floor, so he quickly made his way. He did not encounter any zombie on his way and finally could reach the 3rd floor.


    He turned towards the corridor and noticed a zombie. It was his loud and irritating neighbor. He felt good seeing a bastard like him turned into a zombie. He used to supply drugs to the local students and get them to work for him too. Always felt disgusted towards him and killed him in one shot. Kicking his body once, he continued towards his apartment.


    Taking out the key, he slowly opened the door and closed it behind. He looked at his ever messy room and first wanted some air. He opened his curtains and the windows to get some nice air. The time was still 5 and only an hour until the sun went down.

 Chapter 43 - Home

    Opening his windows, Mark went inside the washroom. Taking a bath with cool water after traveling in the scorching sun for over 4 hours was refreshing. After 15 minutes he slowly came out only wrapped in a towel with his tight muscles having a few drops of water slowly sliding down.


    He opened the closet and took out a fresh pair of clothes. Finally refreshed once again, he made his way into the kitchen to get something to eat. Opening the shelves, he found a few instant noodles which did not expire and some eggs. Making himself a simple and tasty dinner, Mark sat on his bed.


    He observed the sun was almost down and kept his bowl aside and closed the windows and curtains. He took out a petrol lamp he had and lit it. Placing it back on the table, he continued to slowly eat. After finishing his food, Mark left the bowl in the sink and came back.


    He decided to get what he wanted and quickly go to sleep. He needed to move out early in the morning. Walking up to the shelf on the other side of the room near another bed which was comparatively cleaner than his. Slowly opening the shelf, he crouched down. Keeping the lamp aside, he took out the clothes in it.


    After placing all the clothes aside, he could a long object wrapped in a white cloth. Slowly bringing it out with both his hands, Mark stood up and placed it on the bed. He picked up the lamp once again and bought it near him.


    He slowly took the object wrapped in cloth into his hands before slowly removing the cloth. Dust fell as the cloth slowly became undone. A neatly shaped scabbard appeared. Placing the cloth back onto the bed, he slowly touched the scabbard.


    Mesmerized by the red-colored scabbard having green dragon drawing on both sides. It looked simple but also gave out an eerie feeling. It was almost like it wanted to slash some people down. He slowly caressed the scabbard, thinking about it.


    This was Kevin''s gift from his grandfather. Much like Mona, Kevin''s grandfather also intended to give Kevin a sword, and this was their family inheritance. It was said that their ancestors used this sword to fight in wars in olden ages and was passed down. Similarly, as Kevin practiced a bit of swordsmanship with Mark with his grandfather, he received the sword.


    But Kevin never paid attention to it. He never had an interest in swordsmanship like how Mark had at that time and simply gave it to Mark. His grandfather was not against this as he felt it would be in better use if it was with Mark.


    But later, Mark''s life tumbled down, and he returned it to Kevin for safekeeping, and to this day it was with him. He always felt a connection, like in the Chinese games and novels he played and read with the sword. He felt the same eerie feeling every time and as if it was unsatisfied due to some reason.


    Taking a deep breath, he clutched the handle with one hand and the scabbard with another before pulling the sword out. A clean and shiny sword slowly came out of scabbard almost like having its own glow.


    He slowly kept the scabbard aside before touching the sword with his finger. Blood oozed out as soon as he touched it, showing its excellent sharpness to this date. No one would believe they used centuries back. Quickly keeping his finger in his mouth, he continued to observe the sword in front of him.


    He turned the sword to the other side and was as simple as it could be. Removing his finger from his mouth now that the pain reduced, he clutched it with both his hands and swung it sometimes. There was a nice noise coming from it as it sliced through the air, which Mark liked.


    This sword was the major reason he came back to his house taking an enormous risk. Slowly swinging the sword a couple of times, he felt satisfied as he got the feeling he missed all these years and placed it inside the scabbard once again. He placed it on the bed as he went to the other side of the room once again.


    The house was too small and only had one room and a kitchen. It did not even have a living room. But both Mark and Kevin were ok with it as they do not need more space. As he reached his desk near his bed, he took out a city map which they had from his drawer and opened it up, spreading across the table.


    He remembered the place Mona told that it was his house and another place he needed to go to tomorrow. He also wanted to go to a wholesale store to get some things like food and water.

 Chapter 44 - On The Road

    Staring at the Map in front of him, he slowly took out a pen and circled a few places. He named two of them as Mona''s house and destination. His plan was to go through Mona''s place before making it to his last destination in the city. He continued to make smaller circles around his house and the two places for the stores he needed to go to restock his supplies.


    After circling all the places he needed, he slowly drew lines starting from his house to Mona''s house, then to the last place. He did not forget to make the path go through the stores needed. After writing up the first path. He started making more paths; he wanted to point out as many possible routes as he can take in case of road blocks along the way.


    After constantly thinking about alternative routes for an entire hour and tracing them, Mark finally kept the pen down again. He looked at it once again and found all kinds of lines and circles throughout the entire map. After checking it out once again, he slowly closed it and placed it inside a bag by his side.


    He picked up the bag as he went to his shelf and opened it. He slowly shuffled through his clothes while taking some out and placing them in his bags. Even if he can just take some clothes from a random store. He did not want to stop his jeep for that single reason.


    After storing some of his clothes, he kept the bag aside as he fell on his bed. He looked at the same fan, which he almost gave up his life to a week ago. Now, seeing the fan and the changes which came this past week, he can''t help but clutch his fists. Just like how he was willing to give up his life a week back, even now that second he is still on a tightrope.


    Any second from now might be his end, and he liked the excitement which he got with it. Him fighting with his life on the line not knowing when he might die was more interesting than losing it within a minute in the most normal way possible. He did not remove the hanging rope and blew off the candle before sleeping.


    *NEXT DAY*


    Mark woke up as the sunlight fell on his face. Slowly opening his eyes, he turned towards the window and noticed a ray of sunlight passing through the curtains falling on him. Checking the watch on the table, he noticed it was still half-past six in the morning and woke up. He slid the curtains open and noticed the sun rising up and decided to move out quickly.


    Taking a quick bath and getting refreshed, he grabbed his bag and went into the kitchen once again. Bending down, he opened a small shelf and saw energy bars which he would hide from Kevin still there and quickly took them. Keeping one of them in his mouth, he grabbed his sword and kept the gun on his back.


    Slowly opening the door, he peeked out to find one zombie near the elevator and came out. He closed the door and kept the key back in his pockets and gripped the sword tighter. Slowly taking out of its scabbard, he made his way towards the zombie. Reaching it, he sliced its head in one quick motion as the knife went through the body with almost no resistance.


    Holding the sword with one hand and keeping the scabbard in one of the bag zips, he continued on out. Slowly going down the stairs, he came across another zombie but quickly killed it before it screamed. He reached the ground floor and went out of the building.


    Slowly opening the door, he noticed only one zombie on the street and quickly took out his gun and shot it. He kept the gun back and jogged across the street while looking out for any more zombies. Reaching the small alleyway, he finally relaxed a bit, but as he got closer to the jeep, he noticed a zombie and shot it.


    The zombie, which was leaning on the door, got its head drilled with the bullet as black blood fell on the windshield making Mark groan in disgust. Slowly removing the things he kept covering the car, he got in. Turning it on, he quickly turned on the wipers and made it do its work.


    Meanwhile, he turned back to the 2 boxes behind and leaned in closer to check if everything was all right. After noticing the contents were safe and the windshield was clean, he slowly drove the car out of the alleyway. Taking out the map once more, he went on the road which had the biggest wholesale store in its route and made his way towards it.

 Chapter 45 - Store

    Going at a higher speed than he came, Mark quickly reached the same bridge he did his shooting practice yesterday. This time he had to go straight up ahead, across the patch of trees and into the downtown. Noticing only 2 zombies on the bridge, he simply continued without stopping. The zombies couldn''t do anything as he passed the bridge and got on the other side.


    Rolling down the window as he drove across the woods, he looked outside towards it and felt the strange feeling get stronger this time compared to yesterday. Stopping his vehicle, he kept both his hands on the steering wheel as he continued to look into the woods, trying to figure out what was happening.


    "Should I check it out? Why is it giving me such unease?" mumbling to himself.


    "I should probably complete my work first and come back here before going to Evergreen city for Kevin."


    Taking a deep breath, he started the vehicle again and silently drove. His work came first as he can''t guess what will happen if he delays further. Ignoring the feeling, he drove past it and took a right to downtown. His first stop was a wholesale store that came in this route and try to find some necessary things needed.


    He continued to observe the roads and the few zombies on the road. He figured there were fewer zombies in daylight, comparatively, so it was safer. He killed a few zombies which came in a horde with the sword he had made it easier than a gun. Shooting while moving took a lot of bullets and he had a small stock with him.


    After a complete 1 and a half-hour of driving, he finally saw the wholesale shop in the distance. Speeding up the car a bit, he rolled near the parking lot in front of the shop only to notice they locked it.


    Exhaling, he got down from the jeep and made his way to the gate and tried to pull it. The gate did not budge, and Mark noticed the guard post on the other side of the gate. Looking at the gate which was only his height, he climbed over it quickly and jumped to the other side.


    He immediately looked around and noticed a few zombies to the distance, which didn''t seem to get attracted by what he did. Slowly making his way into the guard post, he felt lucky that there was no zombie inside.


    He found the lever used to open the gates and quickly pulled it. The gates slowly opened, but what accommodated it was a loud noise as the metal under the gate continued to scratch the hard ground beneath. This made Mark really worried as he quickly got out and noticed the zombies inside the vast parking lot were making their way towards him. There were almost 30 zombies coming.


    Taking out his gun, he shot them down while making his way back towards the car. The gate was completely open by the time he reached the car and he shot down 15 zombies and wasted 5 bullets, using a total of 20 bullets. Noticing the magazine was done, he quickly reached out for his sword from the driver''s seat and took it out of its sheath.


    Keeping the gun back inside, he ran towards the nearest zombie and sliced its head in one clean swoop. Noticing the next zombie near, he turned around and used the force to bring the sword down on its head as it made its way half through it.


    The black blood along with blue brain matter splashed on his dress, making him groan.


    "Damn it, now I have to bathe once again." murmuring to himself as a disgusting smell came out, he went towards the next zombie.


    He quickly evaded a zombie jumping on him and sliced the one behind him. Turning back, he sliced the head of the one who was getting back. Turning back, he noticed something was running towards him between the remaining 1 zombies and found it to be bitter. Already killing one of it, Mark was used to its speed a bit and evaded it as it jumped before reaching him.


    As it was still within the air, Mark sliced its abdomen nearly in half as the sword went half through it. Kicking its body away, he bought the sword out. He continued to kill the zombies coming towards him and faced another bitter in the group.


    Slicing the head of the last zombie and exhaled in relief. He sheathed the sword and walked back to the jeep. His shirt had blood all over it but he didn''t mind it for now as he got into the jeep and started the car. Making his way into the parking plot, he parked the jeep near the entrance of the store and got out.


    He made his way inside, holding the sword towards the entrance. He did not notice a small silhouette looking at him from the 2nd floor of the shop through the window while he fought with the zombies.

 Chapter 46 - Store (II)

    Going inside the shop, Mark was greeted with rows and rows of different kinds of appliances, foods, clothes, and many more. He noticed a couple of zombies between the rows and decided to finish them first before he gets to work. Slowly taking out his gun, he counted all the zombies and found there were nearly 40 zombies here for 13 rows. Most were former employees who worked in this massive store.


    Going towards the last row too, he slowly started shooting the zombies one by one. There were only 4 zombies in the first row. As he killed all the zombies on that row, he went on to the next and continued killing the zombies. As he continued on forward, he did not forget to observe the things he needed in those rows.


    As he reached the 8th row, he slowly peeked and killed the first zombie. But instead of falling to the side like the previous zombies, it tumbled forwards and fell right on the electric appliances in front of it. The shelf broke as all the appliances tumbled down, creating huge noise that only echoed all over the silent shop.


    The zombies snapped their head at the source from the rest of 5 zombies, and one of the zombies in the row found Mark still peeking at them and screeched running towards him. Noticing it was a bitter, Mark quickly kept the gun back and took out the sword while backing away. Stopping when he was ready he waited for the zombie to come closer and as it was in range he sliced off its head.


    He looked ahead as 4 more bitters ran towards him, and he ran facing his back at them. Running at his maximum speed, after he noticed there was some distance, he quickly kept the sword back in its sheath and took out the gun once more. He took aim and shot at the first zombie running towards him.


    After it had a bullet in the head, he switched to the next one while once again backing away and shot. Getting another headshot, he switched to the third one. As he backed away, he suddenly felt the wall against him and he shot, missing the head, the bullet only embedded in the shoulder. He didn''t take long before shooting another one into its head.


    As he noticed the last bitter running straight at him, Mark smirked and shot. But the gunshot no bullets at all. He tried pulling the trigger once again, but no bullets. The magazine was empty. As he reached for his pocket to pull out a mag, the zombie jumped at him and he could only roll to the side and try to dodge it.


    The magazine fell on the floor and slid across. Mark couldn''t reach for it and kept the gun on the floor before taking the sword out. Noticing the bitter already up, he quickly jumped towards it and sliced its head off. Finally exhaling in relief, he looked at the other normal zombies coming for him and counted there were only 10 left.


    Not wanting to waste any more bullets, Mark continued on with his sword and slaughtered all of them. His dress gave a stink which was almost unbearable for himself at that point. It was now black because of the blood from the zombies he killed. He made his way over to the gun which fell down and onto the magazine. Switching the magazines. He sheathed the sword and kept the gun back.


    There were finally no more zombies and now he can finally start looting the entire place up. His jeep did not have a big trunk space, so he could only get essentials needed. Grabbing one of the bags from the shelves, he first made his way over to the corner of the shop where they had all kinds of drinks. Taking out a water bottle, he quickly finished it and stored 20 liters into the bag he had.


    He then continued towards the food and took out some canned food. He went to the counter and found an opener. Using it to open the can, he gobbled down all the food in it and burped in satisfaction. Finally, having some food in his stomach, he quickly got to work.


    He remembered that he saw something he needed very much in one of the rows and found it. It was a portable stove which used petrol to work. He needed one of these to cook some food, can''t always depend on canned goods. Finding the stove, he placed it on the counter to take it to the jeep and went back inside.


    The next place was the medical section, and he found all types of bandages and medicine for emergency situations he might encounter. After getting some suitable amount of that, he went over to the food section and checked if all of them were still fresh. Surprisingly, he could see the refrigerator still working, keeping the meat fresh.


    Taking some vegetables which were still fresh and other items he needed from the store such as clothes and wood, he made his way out. Keeping all the things back in the truck, he exhaled and took out the map to Mona''s house. Finding the quickest way, he started the vehicle and was about to hit the pedal as he heard glass shatter and a stool fall down.

 Chapter 47 - Store (III)

    Hearing the sudden noise, Mark rolled the window down and stuck his head out. By the right of the entrance he just came out of, he noticed a broken stool and shattered pieces of glass. He looked right above it to see what caused the noise and saw 2 people, a man and a girl waving his hand at him, crying for help on a floor above.


    Both of them looked malnourished and haven''t eaten for days. The man looked like he was in his late 30s while the girl looked like early teens. They had similar features, making him think something related to them somehow, maybe a parent and child relation.


    "Help, Help us." shouted both of them. Their voice was almost inaudible and seemed like the thoughts were dry. Mark sighed and shouted back, "Why should I help you both?" he was not ready to go out of his way and save someone once again like how he did a few days back. That moment at least served its purpose as a practice for killing, but there was no point now.


    Both of them were vividly taken back at his statement, so Mark asked differently, "What can I get if I save you both. I am not a samaritan to go around saving people? So what can you offer?"


    The girl had tears forming in my eyes as the man asked, "What do you want then?"


    "Depends on you." shrugging his shoulders.


    Silence took over as the girl looked at the man, and Mark was waiting for an answer. After a minute he opened his mouth and answered, "I am an Orthopaedic surgeon. I can be a doctor for you. So I am worth your time and effort."


    Mark couldn''t remember what type of a surgeon that was. After thinking it over, he remembered that an orthopaedic surgeon deals with bones, muscles, ligaments, etc parts of the body. This could be helpful. There would be instances bound to be where his body gets hurt and he could come in hand.


    He nodded and said, "Ok! Hold on tight, I am coming or you doctor." and turned back to the boxes of ammunition behind and took out 2 magazines from behind. Gripping his sword, he got down, closed the door.


    Both of them were ecstatic hearing his words. After more than a week, they could finally see someone and had a chance to be saved. If he left them out, they would have already died in a few more days. Meanwhile, Mark praised his ever so terrible luck for being good this time, he never expected a doctor to come his way. So saving him was worth it.


    As he made his way towards the entrance he turned and asked, "So, How do I get up there?"


    "The door leading upstairs is at the right corner of the store inside the medical segment. But it is blocked, so try to bust in using something." with a pleading expression he mentioned.


    Hearing him, Mark cursed the luck he just praised a few seconds back and got inside. He made his way to the left corner near the medical segment. Hopping over the counter, he passed through the rows of medicine and looked at the door to the left corner of the room.


    Going up to it, he tried to open it but as the man informed him; it was blocked and by the looks of it probably with a wooden crutch Going back to the entrance he bent down and took out a fire extinguisher. Keeping the sword down, he carried it with both his arms; he rammed it into the door.


    He heard the crutch crack and got back once more. Applying more force this time, he rammed it into the door, breaking the crutch and opening the door. Going inside, he kept the extinguisher down and picked his sword up. He noticed the hallway to the end with rooms on either side of the hallway,


    But he couldn''t care less about it as he heard zombie noises from above. He looked at the staircase right opposite to the door he just came through and slowly walked up while clutching the hilt of his sword. Reaching the next floor, he peeked into the hallway and noticed 2 zombies.


    The room the man and girl were in was in the left corner. Keeping the sword down, he took out the gun. Before going for the zombies behind with the sword, he decided to kill the more near ones.


    He shot two zombies down, and this attracted the rest of 8 zombies. keeping the gun back, he unsheathed the sword and ran towards the zombies. Immediately killing the first 3 of them in one swoop, he jumped on the next. He sliced off the hand by accident instead of the head and had to back away cause it was too near. The zombie with now only one hand continued to come towards him and he sliced its head.


    After killing the rest 4 of the zombies, he made his way across the hallway and opened the door of the people he needed to save.

 Chapter 48 - Store (IV)

    Opening the door, he noticed the bodies on the floor first. All of them were either zombies or partial zombies. There was a dense stench of blood in the room. He looked ahead and saw the 2 people who pleaded him to save them.


    First was the man, having brown curly hair and spectacles, giving a bit of an educated look. His thin frame and dried out face was too troublesome to see. He turned over and saw a pretty girl in her teens, hiding behind him. Like him, she had brown hair. She had big round black eyes giving a feel of the abyss to him.


    Shaking his head, he asked, "So you guys, ok?" looking around the room. Along with the bodies he found a couple of waste, probably from some food they ate, and the books on the bookshelf completely toppled down. The former room, which was probably an office, was now nothing but a catastrophe.


    "We are ok, thank you for coming and saving us." said the man with his completely dried up voice while coughing a few times in the middle. Mark nodded and waved his hand, showing them to come out.


    The man nodded and slowly stood up from the corner with the girl right behind him, still clutching his shirt and being completely wary of him. Both of them slowly crossed the room, going over the shelf and books all over. As he reached near the door, Mark lent his hand and helped him over.


    "Well, as I told you, I didn''t save you for free. So is what you said true? About being a doctor." asking him one more time.


    "Yes, I am a doctor. I specialize in Orthopaedic. But I also have some knowledge in other departments of medicine. Here is my ID from the hospital I work in." Taking out his wallet, he took out a card and handed it over to Mark. Taking it from him, Mark checked the ID, and it was from a famous hospital known all over the country located in the town.


    Nodding, he gave it back and said, "Well, as I said, I didn''t do it for free. So for the cost of your life, you will now follow me." shrugging.


    The man let a tight smile, and they walked towards the stairs. They then heard a rumbling noise and both of them looked towards the source and saw the girl hiding behind the man clutching her stomach. She looked at the man and he nodded.


    "Do you have some food? We both haven''t drunk or eaten in the past 3 days." with the same dried up voice. Mark nodded and said, "Let''s go downstairs. There are still many things in the shop you guys can eat." making the man nod.


    As they walked through the hallway, the man and the girl looked at the corpses of zombies which were in it. They couldn''t believe the number of zombies he killed and were amazed by it. The man nodded to himself, thinking he made the right choice. Getting downstairs, they went through the medical section and into the store.


    "Ok! Now go and eat some food. There is still a lot more. The water bottles should be somewhere around there." pointing at the places where he found them, he instructed both of them.


    "Eat more, it will be awhile till we will eat again." reminding them as they made their way towards the places. The man nodded as he led the way, holding the girl''s hand. Mark simply went near the entrance and stood by the corner.


    He looked at both of them as they ripped open a bag of chips and can food and can of food. He was a bit amused at how an educated person could come to such a stage when they are in crisis. He continued to look at them as they ravaged the food on the shelves and drank bottles of water.


    He checked the time and noticed 15 minutes passed by and said, "Ok! If both of you are done, we have places to be before the moon comes out." tapping the watch. The man nodded and after a few minutes, both of them came towards him with bags, probably with some clothing for them.


    Mark nodded, and all three of them made their way outside. He remembered there was ammunition in the back seat and opened the door. Turning towards the man he asked, "Help me move these boxes."


    Both of them moved them to the trunk, which had almost no space anymore, and got inside. The girl got in the back while the man sat beside him. Mark started the car and slowly drove out of the parking lot. He took out the map and handed it to him and said, "Ok, tell me the route to the place circled with number 2 on the top."


    The man nodded, and picked one route he was more familiar with and told the directions. As Mark drove he asked, "This would be the right time to tell about yourself."

 Chapter 49 - David And Daisy

    Hearing Mark''s question, the man went silent and said after a while, "My name is David Warner. I am a doctor. And This is my daughter Daisy Warner." looking at the youthful girl who fell asleep in the back seat.


    "So, How did you end up in that state?"


    "I am a single parent. My wife died a few years ago when Daisy was still in her early teens from a car accident. So we both live alone together and on the day of the outbreak, we went to the store to get some groceries. It all happened suddenly that many weren''t able to react and got turned into the things outside..."


    "Zombies, those things are zombies." cutting him in the middle, Mark corrected him.


    "Right zombies, all of us were completely caught off guard by this. People panicked and did not know what to do. I and Daisy were near the medicine section getting out meds. As the zombies came inside and spread to everyone. I panicked and looked around. I noticed the people going inside the back door and I also made my way inside." he said patting her head.


    Turning around he continued, "But luck didn''t stop there, it bit one of the people who came in and we didn''t know this. By the time we found out it was already too late, The people on the lower floor got turned into zombies and we fled to that room. As we got in one of the people was scratched while closing that door and it spread to the remaining 4 members of the group. I killed them as soon as I got to know this."


    Mark chuckled, gaining David''s attention. Noticing his gaze, Mark shook his hand showing it was nothing and said, "I just thought how funny it should have been for a person responsible to save the lives of the people, was forced to kill instead." chuckling once again.


    David grimaced at his remark but said, "I will take that step if it comes to my daughter''s safety." with a determined expression. Mark nodded and told him to continue.


    "After I killed those zombies, only me and my daughter remained in the room. We were able to find some insignificant amount of food and water in a refrigerator in the room. We ate once a day and could survive an entire week until it was complete. We started waiting for someone to save us until you came."


    Mark nodded and introduced himself, "My name is Mark. I got trapped inside an office building but was saved by the military the next morning. Right now I am going to another city to save a friend of mine in this situation."


    "So from now on I am going to be with you traveling?" asked David.


    Mark nodded, and David turned back to Daisy. He then asked, "What is the situation outside? Is the government doing any good? Did they take action?"


    Mark shook his head and said, "I do not know about the government, but the military took action. They were able to create a camp in the city. People started taking refuge under them. As you can see outside, the entire city is like this filled with zombies." as he showed the road while driving. A few zombies got run over by then.


    David nodded and still felt worried about his daughter. He did not want to risk her life. Mark noticed his thoughts and said, "We can drop your daughter in the military camp. I know some people inside and I can ask them to look after her."


    David immediately nodded and felt relieved. He then looked at the map in his hand and continued to give out instructions to Mark. As he gave out he asked, "So where are we going now?"


    "Right now we are going to a potential member on our team. We need to go to her house and check if she is there. After that, we will go to our last destination in the city to look for one of my 2 friends before heading to Evergreen city." explaining to him the current plan. David just nodded, not speaking another word.


    As Mark drove he asked, "Do you need to go anywhere?"


    David shook his head as he continued to look out the window. The rest of the journey was quite with no one speaking. Daisy continued to sleep behind peacefully with no one to disturb her. They did not face any unpredictable situations throughout the journey to Mona''s house.


    After 3 hours of driving, they finally reached Mona''s housing community. The gates were open and Mark drove in without stopping. They passed by many individual houses until they stopped in front of one house.

 Chapter 50 - Monas House

    As the car stopped in front of its destination, Mark rolled the windows as he kept a hand on the window frame and looked towards the house. It was a very simple house with 2 floors not covering much area. It had a small patch of grass in the front on both sides of the walkway towards the main door. It looked like a typical medium-class house.


    He turned towards David who was also leaning over and observing the house and said, "This is our destination. So let''s get down and go inside." opening the door and hopping out. David looked back at Daisy and slowly shook her body.


    Daisy simply shrugged the hands-off and turned to the other side. Wryly smiling, David shook her harder and said, "Daisy, let''s get down of the car. We need to stop for a while." she groaned as her body shook harder and slowly got up.


    Rubbing her eyes, she looked around and then at her dad''s face. She nodded and slowly got off the jeep along with David. Mark was at the back, finishing something, and closed the trunk. He looked at David and said, "David, here take this." and threw a gun onto him.


    Looking at the gun coming towards him, David was startled and barely caught it. He looked at the gun and then at Mark.


    "Take it. We can''t have you fighting with hands now, can we? Use fewer bullets and fire only when you are sure it will hit." Mark''s words startled David once again and nodded gratefully. Mark slowly made his way towards the entrance where Daisy and David were waiting for him. There were no zombies on the road, which made it safer for them.


    Mark was the first to move as he clutched his sword''s handle being alert. He slowly pushed the gate as it made a screeching sound because of the rust formed. He got into the walkway with David and Daisy right behind him closely. David was on complete alert with the gun in his hand, holding like how he saw in the movies.


    Making his way towards the door, Mark slowly reached out for the knob. He turned back towards David and Daisy and gave them a nod before turning the knob. The door opened as sound accompanied it. He first noticed the stairs. It was only a few steps away from where he was.


    Slowly going inside, he motioned the 2 behind him to come in. David, who was behind Daisy, closed the door and finally relaxed. He looked ahead and noticed Mark peeking to the right into a room and Daisy to another room on the left.


    Mark turned back and said, "Seems like there are no zombies in the house. But it is better to be careful." and David nodded. Mark was looking at the living room. It was quite spacious for a family of 4 people. He turned back and saw the Dining room and Kitchen on the opposite side. The living room had 4 cozy chairs with a big coach around the television and the fireplace. Rei noticed some bloodstains and knew something happened here.


    As he looked around, he heard a noise from the kitchen and made his way towards the Dining room. As he reached, he noticed Daisy having a piece of paper in her hand while David was looking at him.


    David took the paper from Daisy and stretched his hand towards Mark saying, "I think a person left this for you. It has your name on it." Mark slowly took the piece of paper and noticed the handwriting. Mona wrote it.


    Slowly opening the paper, Mark carefully read the contents inside. As he went through the information written inside, he closed it and tore it. He threw the pieces of paper in the dustbin.


    He looked at the pair of father and daughter and said, "The person I came here for left. I suggest you both go take a bath. The water might be still running." making David and Daisy blush. David just nodded as he had his bag with him and went upstairs to find a bathroom along with Daisy behind him.


    Mark checked the time and found it was already afternoon and decided to cook some food. He checked the refrigerator and found some instant food and heated it up. He kept two other instant noodles on the table before sitting down to eat his own.


    While slowly blowing air to cool down the food, he thought about the contents of the letter. According to what she wrote, it seems like she was already too late when she arrived and her parents were already zombies and killed. Her grandfather was not in the house and she got a small clue where he might be at and took off towards the direction.


    She said he had to wait until then, ending the letter. Now that she was gone, he couldn''t do anything about it and only wait. shrugging he gobbled down the food and go up to see around the house.

 Chapter 51 - Coincedence

    Getting up from his seat, Mark threw the cup into the dustbin and went out of the dining room. He wanted to check out the house as David and Daisy would take some time. They needed to be at the last destination by night and the time was almost 3. It would take them 2 hours to reach there, by the looks of it, they would reach at night. Night travel would be very difficult, but they can''t delay it anymore.


    As he walked out of the dining room, he looked out of the door which had a small window beside the staircase which showed the backyard. Deciding to check the backyard once, he slouched towards the door. He opened it and went outside. The first thing which came into his view was a tree about a few feet away from him.


    It had a treehouse and a ladder into it from the ground. It was a simple treehouse and from the looks of it; it was an old one, probably 10 years back. He looked around and found it was a medium-sized backyard.


    But what caught the most attention was the two patches of dirt in the middle. He went closer and found out it was likely to be dug. He immediately understood it was a human''s grave depending on the size of it. He was able to connect all the dots and looks like it was Mona''s parents who were probably turned zombies.


    He felt pity for Mona. Unlike him, she seemed like a person who loved her family very deeply and couldn''t imagine how she felt, if she killed them with her own hands. He simply stood there in silence, giving some respect to the 2 dead people. He then moved around the backyard. Going towards the fence diving it from the other house beside, he noticed a zombie in the neighbour''s backyard, mostly the neighbour himself


    He then went back towards the tree and slowly claimed into the treehouse to have a look. It was rather small and Mark did not go inside, only looked from the outside. It had a small bookshelf filled with various grades of books, ranging from fictional novels to university study materials. It looked like Mona studied in that place.


    He slowly got down and went back inside. He made his way upstairs and noticed it looked similar except for the fact that there were 3 bedrooms. Two of them were closed, probably because the father and daughter pair were still taking a bath. He went into the last room and washed his face with some water near the sink.


    Washing his face, he felt refreshed and went outside. As he came near the stairs two of the doors opened and David and Daisy finally came out. Both of them were in new clothes and looked refreshed.


    "Eat some noodles down below and we can get moving to the final destination." Looking at David. David nodded in response and all three of them made their way down.


    Mark made his way into the living room and noticed a door to the corner of the room. He made his way to it and slowly opened it. It was another bedroom, but it was different from the other ones. It had a look of old people to it. Many things inside were from a decade or two ago.


    He slowly moved around the room and understood. There were two swords hung up on the walls of the rooms. Other than the 2 swords which are on the wall, there were framed pitchers. What caught Mark''s attention was a picture of a middle-aged man and a small girl. Both of them had a wooden sword in their hands.


    Mark took the picture into his hands and looked closer at Mona and her grandfather. He suddenly remembered something about what Mona said, ''My grandfather gave it to me before I came today as it was my first day.'' These were the same words which she told when he asked about the sword she had.


    Now various thoughts struck him, '' Was it a poor coincidence that her grandfather gave her the sword that day? If it wasn''t a coincidence, how did he get to know there would be such an incident which would happen on that date.'' even if he took that it wasn''t a coincidence, it was outrageous to think that he knew about it. Mark immediately scratched that possibility, but there was still somewhere deep in him that he considered it.


    He was snapped out of his thoughts as he heard David call for him from the door. He looked at him and David said, "Let''s go, we both are done." and Mark nodded before making his way out of the room with the picture in his hand.

 Chapter 52 - Trap

    As he walked towards the main door with Steve in front of him, Mark quickly took out the photo from the frame and tossed the frame on the couch when they passed by. He folded the picture and kept it inside his pocket. Reaching the main door, he noticed Daisy ready with her bag. He looked at both of them and nodded.


    He slowly unsheathed the sword while David held the gun. Slowly opening the door, Mark observed if there were any zombies outside and once he found the coast was clear, he moved out waving his hands for them to follow. As there were no zombies in the way, he quickly jogged towards the car and stood by the entrance as he proved Daisy and David to get on.


    After they did, Mark quickly got in and started the engine. David, who had the map with him, opened it and started telling the directions to the last destination. He rolled out of the community and was back on the main road. A normal drive would only take about an hour to reach, but given the present situations, he estimated it to be around 3.


    He checked the time and noticed it was 3:30 and only hoped to reach there by the time the sun went down. Going slowly through the roads, Mark maintained a steady speed. After one hour of driving, they were suddenly faced with an entire street of zombies. There would roughly be over 50 zombies and he obviously couldn''t bulldoze his way through or do something absurd like kill all of them.


    Even if Mark had grenades, he did not want to waste them this soon in the journey, so they went back for some time and took another direction. After another 30 minutes of driving, they came to another dead end. Various cars blocked the road and the Jeep couldn''t maneuver through it.


    Mark could only sigh and backtrack a bit and take another direction. As they traveled farther, they were once again halted due to various cars. This continued for the next few attempts they tried and kept on backtracking. After the 6th time, Mark stopped the Jeep and took the map from David''s hand.


    He was completely frustrated by the number of times the roads were blocked. He even considered killing through the zombies in one street, but held himself back because of David and Daisy. He wasn''t alone, and as he invited David to his team, Mark felt a bit responsible for their lives.


    He checked all the possible routes to his destination and found only one after crossing the routes they traveled. The rest of them were too long and took too much time. Strangely, this one route went through a school. Mark felt his senses telling something wasn''t right. Ignoring how he felt, Mark decided to gamble and take the risk. He gave it back to David as he started the engine once again and slowly made his way towards the school.


    As they made their way towards the school''s direction the lesser the zombies became. Mark was now sure something was amok. The more he got closer, the more he felt it was a trap. After 30 more minutes into the route, Mark noticed several people on top of one of the buildings observing them.


    He became alert and instantly told David, "David, this is a trap. Get your gun out. Daisy, hide under the back seat. Don''t get up at any cost." Making them wary. Daisy slowly got under the seat while David held the gun tighter. The car came closer to the school premise and Mark was able to see it.


    The walls were reinforced, and people were standing on top of a few of them. As Mark was about to cross the school, a few masked people holding weapons, none of them were guns, which made Mark exhale a little. The masked men waved their hands, showing them to go inside the school premise. Having no choice, he turned the Jeep and drove it in.


    As they entered the around 10 men surrounded their jeep with pistols in their hands pointed right at them. Mark exhaled and held his sword tight and continued to sit into the car.


    3 people slowly walked out of the entrance of the car and the one right waved his hands indicating them to step out. As Mark slowly gripped his seat belt he slowly whispered, "Daisy, don''t come out at any cost. Stay inside." And took out the belt before nodding to David.


    Slowly opening the doors, both of them got out and the one on the right came towards them and said, "Give us the car and from now on you will stay here under us."

 Chapter 53 - Hostage

    With all the people surrounding them, Mark was on the edge, standing beside David. As he noticed the person on the right coming towards them, he inwardly smiled for the god-sent opportunity to get out of the trap. He understood looking at the three people who came out seemed to be in an influential position in the area by observing how the others reacted.


    Mark continued to observe as he came right in front of him and stretched his hand, asking for the jeep''s keys and the weapons we have. As soon as he was in proximity, Mark moved as quickly as he could and made him turn around, hit his knees, making him kneel and keep the sword on his neck.


    This happened so quickly that none of the people could react to him moving. David immediately kept the gun on the guy''s forehead to keep more pressure for them. David''s quick reaction impressed mark.


    The first one to snap out of their stupor was the guy in the middle. He quickly shouted, "What are you doing, Brat? If you want to live, then leave him. I might consider sparing your life." making the surrounding others grip their guns tighter.


    Mark smirked at his remark and said," Do you really want to do this? You know I can kill him right even before these people fire their guns. So I will say the same thing, leave this matter here and let us leave. This guy right here might just make it out alive if you do." gripping the man''s hair tighter. He held the sword tighter to his neck, cutting some skin as the blood flood down


    "BRO SAVE ME, I DON''T WANT TO DIE." whined the guy, scared of Mark. As he noticed blood slowly trickling downward, his fear increased. Mark smirked when he heard that he was the brother of the guy in the middle and by the looks of it, they seem close.


    The man in the middle went into silence. He only thought of robbing the people who came to this side of town by a perfect set up they made. He was the one who covered the streets with cars for people unable to travel through.


    When the people told there was a new pray and that they had a very wonderful jeep, he was esthetic about it. When he came down to have a look, he wanted it more. He made the few people he gave guns to surround the jeep and as they spotted only 2 people; he felt the odds were nice. But now the situation was completely reversed, and the opposite part had his brother as a bargaining chip.


    Noticing the one with the sword moved so quickly and the other kept his gun on the forehead before he couldn''t do anything. As the blood trickled down his brother''s neck he suddenly thought of sacrificing the idiot for the car but held back on the idea. He was short on members and couldn''t lose more.


    Noticing no response from the other side, Mark asked rather sounding impatient, "Decide quick. Do you want your brother or a jeep." Pressing the knife deeper against the neck. The blood was now coming out quicker as the person shouted.


    "BROTHER HE IS KILLING ME. SAVE ME, BROTHER. I DON''T WANT TO DIE." while crying and snot mixing in with tears. He had an ugly appearance. The pain and fear increased several folds as the blood was coming quicker.


    This made the middle man decide and raised his hands indicating others to keep their guns down and said while looking at Mark, "Let him go."


    Seeing that he won the battle, Mark smirked and said, "I will leave this guy only after we leave this school." and turned towards David, indicating him to start the jeep. David nodded and made his way towards the driver seat and Mark grabbed the man''s hair tighter and lifted him up. The man could only scream louder as the hair was getting ripped from Mark''s strength.


    David quickly got into the jeep and started the engine. Mark simply walked backward, still gripping the guy''s hair and dragging him. The guy could only scream in agony while Mark drags him by his hair. David slowly backed the jeep and all the eyes of the people inside the school were on him.


    Mark slowly observed the whole situation and found some particular things, which made it interesting. As the jeep finally made it out of the school and was back on the road, he slowly made his way towards the passenger''s seat on the other side. As he reached there, he slowly got into the jeep and when he settled in, he left his hair and kicked him.


    The guy fell and David quickly drove the jeep. Mark looked out of the window and noticed something on the man but couldn''t have a nice look at it as the men from inside were already outside shooting at the jeep.

 Chapter 54 - Last Destination

    David got tense as the people behind were shooting at the jeep. Mark noticed this and said, "Keep your eyes on the road, don''t worry about the bullets." He was sure that the bullets will only give a small dent at most, hence didn''t worry much. David only nodded at his words as he continued to drive. Daisy stayed under the seat, closing her ears with her hands and visibly shivering.


    David kept driving, not caring what was on their way. He did not lower the speed even when 2 zombies came in front of the car and just ran over them. Mark checked the map and noticed they had to take a right and immediately turned the steering wheel to the right, taking a sharp turn.


    As they drove ahead, the bullet''s noise decreased and once they went over 500 meters, they finally relaxed a bit and Mark asked David to pull over. David complied and stopped the Jeep in an alleyway to stay clear, just in case. Mark finally exhaled in relief together with David and turned back to look at Daisy.


    She was still shivering while holding her head and not knowing what to do. He looked at David and motioned him to see to it. David nodded and slowly turned around and tapped Daisy slowly saying, "It''s alright Daisy. You can come out now."


    Daisy slowly opened her eyes and noticed her dad looking at her. She slowly came out and looked around. After figuring out that they were now safe, she sat on the seat and her eyes were filled with tears. She was scared, so scared of what will happen to her if her father dies leaving her all alone in this world. She could only close her eyes and ears, hoping that they would be alright.


    Seeing her watery eyes, David hugged her and tried to console her. Mark remained silent, looking at the map for the quickest route to his destination. Deciding to go on the smallest and quickest route, which will still take quite some time. His final goal was to reach there before sunset and by the looks of it, it will be a close call.


    After deciding the route, he looked at the father-daughter pair and noticed Daisy calmed down. Noticing Mark''s gaze, David turned around and Mark tapped on his wrist indicating the time was running out. He nodded and said to Daisy, "Ok now Daisy, try sleeping for a while again." And broke the hug. He turned back at and gripped the week tighter.


    Mark showed him the map and explained to him the route. He told David to continue driving as he was about tired out already. David agreed to drive the rest of the day and once everyone was ready, he started the car and slowly came out of the alley. He continued the journey with Mark, looking out for any possibilities of traps.


    As they continued to drive through the city, they eventually reached their destination. David exhaled in relief when Mark told the jeep to stop, as this time it went smoothly. Daisy woke up halfway there and sat quietly looking out. Mark had to get down and kill a few zombies in the way.


    He encouraged David occasionally to get down and kill zombies using the gun he gave him. David could only man up and get down after listening to Mark. He was able to kill a few zombies, but not without wasting a few bullets, which Mark understood. Not everyone was like him. After gaining some experience from gun handling, David was more confident in shooting than before.


    Now that they reached, Mark looked out of the window and noticed the sun was slowly going down. He checked the time and saw it was 6 in the evening. He turned towards David and said, "Ok, then let''s get down." And opened the door. David motioned Daisy to the same before getting down.


    Now that all of them got down, Mark looked at his destination, a flower shop with an apartment on top. Yes, he needed to be here to try to find the second most important person in his life at present after Kevin. It was another friend he held dearly to his heart, who stayed with him in his darkest times, Suzie Summer.


    She was a kind and cute junior he met during the time he was still in school. The very persistent but kind junior helped him a lot. He came here because this was her family shop and lives here. If he wanted to find her, this would be the place. He looked around and found a few zombies in the street which was alright taking the fact that this area had a sparse population in the city.


    He only hoped that she would be still alive. He looked at David and made his way into the shop.


    As Mark was making his way into the shop, a man from the opposite building was looking at them with a pair of binoculars and an astounded face.

 Chapter 55 - Flower Shop

    "Shall we go and find out what they are doing here?" A hoarse voice resounded beside the person with the binoculars in his hand. Both of them noticed from the opposite building how Mark drove up to the shop before stopping.


    The man with the binoculars shook his head and said, "No, not now. We will go and try to meet with him at night." And kept the binoculars to the side. He continued to observe the shop for a while before turning his back and exiting the room.


    Not knowing that they were already spotted, Mark and the others got inside the shop. Once he entered, a frown donned Mark''s face. The beautiful and colorful shop was now empty and gloomy. All the flowers and plants have withered away, leaving only branches. The virus affected the surrounding flora, too.


    The shop was very simple and small. Small rows of pots filled with soil, which used to have small plants having beautiful flowers in them. The store was very famous in the neighborhood for its flowers. His friend Suzie was a nature lover due to this. He continued to roam around the shop.


    David and Daisy did not remain in one place but rather roamed around a bit. David noticed something strange as he looked at the cash counter and went towards it. When he reached it, he bent over to look and noticed something horrible and called for Mark.


    Hearing David cling for him, Mark made his way towards the cash counter. And noticed David on the other side, looking down and bent over. He noticed a body with its head blown. He went to the other side to get a closer look, and David moved to the side.


    By then Daisy already made her way towards the counter and looked at the body. She immediately rushed to the side and vomited the food she ate in the car. Mark kneeled near the body and noticed that it had the shop uniform on it. He immediately understood who this person was. It was the high school kid who worked here in the shop for some extra pay.


    He looked at the head and observed the wound. He analyzed the wound came from a gun and at a very close range. Probably a shotgun was the cause. The right side of the brain was the only thing which was blown away, meaning the person who shot had no good aim. The brain matter already dried up, meaning this happened some time ago, probably a week.


    Mark exhaled as he stood up and looked at Daisy''s pale face and David''s questioning expression. He just shook his head and said, "He is a kid who used to work here. Looks like he turned into a zombie and got shot. This probably happened a week ago." David gave a nod.


    Mark looked around and noticed there was nothing left to do inside the store and decided to go up to the apartment. The door leading up was right behind the counter, and so he found it when he turned around.


    Turning the knob, he found it locked. He looked at David and said, "Go back, I need to bust the door open." He took some steps back and ran to the door. After a couple of times, the door finally fell. Rubbing the side of his arm, he turned around and waved the two of them to come.


    The door led straight to a pair of stairs. Mark slowly climbed. As he reached the end of the stairs, he was now facing another door leading to the apartment. He exhaled as his hope almost died down. He noticed a hand on his shoulder and noticed it was David''s.


    He turned back and saw David''s reassuring smile. He just nodded and turned back. Opening the knob, he went inside. He was welcomed into a trashed living room. He came to this home many times to know what the house looks like. He slowly made his way inside and noticed the whole house was trashed with blood in some places.


    He knew that his friend wasn''t here. His mind became blank, hoping only for her wellbeing. David and Daisy made their way in, and we''re also shocked by the scene. Both of them looked at Mark with concern. His reason to come here was only to find his friend. Seeing the trashed house they knew something happened here and when they noticed the bloodstains on the walls, they were sure that it was a zombie, why? Cause the stains were black, In color.


    Mark made his way towards the kitchen where the stains were more and went inside. Once he looked at the source of the stains, it shocked him. It was the body of a female zombie.

 Chapter 56 - Burying The Dead

    Looking at the body, Mark''s pupils dilated. He knew this person. The zombie''s face was also blown off like the kid he saw below. He bent down as his heart shook from the mere possibility that it might be his friend, Suzie. He slowly turned the right hand of the body and found a tattoo on it. He finally exhaled in relief. Suzie was never a big fan of tattoos, she always thought they were unnecessary. But it was the opposite for her mother, who had a tattoo.


    Now noticing this mark on the body, he was able to tell it was her mother''s body and not her''s. He looked back and noticed David and Daisy covering their nose and mouth and tilted his head in confusion until he felt the wave of awful stink from the rotten body beside him. He wasn''t able to register the smell due to the anxiety he felt and now that it was gone, he could smell it strongly from the side.


    The body was probably left like this for a week, similar to the young kid below. He stood up as he felt his stomach turn green from the smell and backed away. All three of them made their way into the living room. Feeling the stink lessen, Mark went to the windows and opened one of them. He looked at the small flower bed the family had with rows of withered away plants. He decided to bury the woman. Looking out the window, he noticed the light was still up and looked at David.


    Mark shook his head as he told David, "No, that is not the person I am looking for. It is her mother. Can you help me bury the body in the backyard?" Making David exhale in relief and nod.


    Mark then went to the balcony by the end of the living room, followed by David and Daisy right behind him. Opening the sliding door, he went outside onto the balcony. He looked at the side and noticed the stairs and went down to the backyard. He looked at the once very vibrant and colorful flower bed, now only with small wood sticking out of the ground.


    He looked at the shed in the corner and waved his hand, telling David to follow him. He opened the shed and found various supplies to raise flowers. Picking up 3 shovels, he handed Daisy and David one before making his way towards the center of the yard. He stood at the center and said, "Let''s dig a hole here ". And started to dig.


    David and Daisy looked at each other before they also helped Mark to dig up a whole. After half an hour of continuous digging, they stopped and Mark felt the whole was ok. He looked at David and said, "Let''s bring the body and place it." Daisy remained there as both of them went up.


    Going into the kitchen, both of them covered their noses. It was a very messy situation for them to pick it up with only hands. He looked around and found a blanket in the living room. Taking it he covered the body with it and turned it around so the other side also gets covered. Now either the blanket, it looked better and both of them lifted it.


    Slowly taking the body, both of them made their way down. Reaching the hole they dug up, they dropped the body into it. Both of them exhaled in relief and took the shovels into their hands once again. After covering it up nicely, they dropped the shovels and Daisy said, "That was tiring." Making David nod.


    "Alright let''s get back inside before the light goes down", noticing there was almost no light. Leaving the shovels there, all three of them went back up. Mark closed the door and went into the kitchen to search up some candles to lit up. After finding them, he kept it aside to use them later.


    He noticed Daisy and David cleaning a bit of the living room for some space to sit on. He checked the stove if it was still working and once it lit up; he turned towards the shelves and opened each one of them. After finding some non-expired ingredients, he set them on the kitchen counter before slowly cooking a simple meal. The water was also still working, making it easier for him to cook.


    He looked at David and Daisy, who were almost done cleaning some space, and said, "You guys should go and take a bath." David nodded before motioning Daisy to head inside first.


    After Daisy headed inside one of the rooms, he looked at David and said, " It seems like my friend isn''t here. We might have to leave the city. You might want to have a talk with your daughter today and decide. We will drop her in the camp before leaving." Making David silently nod. Even if he didn''t want to leave his daughter, he wasn''t dumb to let her out in the world.

 Chapter 57 - Daisys Worry

    As Daisy left the living room, into one bedroom to take a shower, David sat on the floor in the living room. The couches were ruined, so they had to settle with this. As Daisy left, David turned towards Mark and asked, "What is your next plan? Do we directly leave the city or is there another place you need to go?"


    "No, I am done... No wait, there is another place I need to check out. It''s near the military camp. So, we can probably drop your daughter on the way and then go there." as he was about to say to another city. He remembered the small patch of trees he came through when he went to his house. He had a route on the map plan, which goes through the camp and then to his house.


    It was a long ride, but he knew it would be a beneficial one. David nodded and remained silent. Mark looked at him and asked, "Do you have no other place to go to?" as his member, he at least had to ask him.


    David shook his head and said, "As I said once before. Daisy is the only family I have left after her mother died." not going into too many details as to why. Mark appreciated the space he wanted and did not pry further.


    Both of them continued to talk for a while and as Mark continued to cook for them. After a while Daisy came out of the bath and David went in. Silence took over as it was now only Mark and Daisy. Mark continued to cook, but then he heard Daisy''s voice and looked up.


    He saw Daisy looking towards him and asked, "Yes?"


    "I asked what do you plan to do with my father?" with clear hostility. This girl amused Mark. The only impression he had was the scary kid. He simply shrugged her hostility off and said, "Nothing in particular. I want some trustworthy members and your dad seems to fit into the role. He is also a doctor, so it might be helpful for me in the future." not hiding his intentions, he told it to her face.


    She was shocked at how direct he was and asked with more hostility, "So you will only use him. Don''t you have any shame to use an old man like him." baring her teeth at her. Rei''s amusement increased further as he heard her more.


    He had a sly smile on his face as he said, "The world is ending. I am the type of person who will do anything for survival, holding on to something like shame will only worsen my chances of survival in the world. And I am not using you or your father, I saved you both. Your lives are in my hands. If I did not stop my jeep, you both would have been dead by now." not even looking at her. He continued to cook.


    Daisy stared at him intensely as she couldn''t retort to his statements. She could only snort and turn her head away. All he said was true. The little she saw after they let the store was enough to tell her people were not the same and times are changing.


    She was scared out of her wits when they were trapped near the school, and the gunshots, while they escaped, made it worse. But even with all this inside her, she couldn''t help but spit on him. She felt Mark was the most shameless man she ever saw and was worried now that her father is going to be with him. If Mark heard her thoughts he would laugh his it off.


    After a while, David came out and Mark completed cooking the food. He bought it all out to the living room, and they sat down. They ate in silence and once they were done, it was Mark''s turn to take a bath and went inside the room.


    As Daisy noticed Mark go out and finally gain some privacy with her dad, she turned towards David and said, "Dad I need.." before she was cut off by David.


    "Before you say anything, you are going to the military camp tomorrow morning. We will drop you off there." with a stern voice not giving her a chance to retort.


    "What about you dad? If you stay with him, you will die."


    David shook his head and said, "It doesn''t matter. It''s decided that I will go with him and you will go to the military camp. This is for your own good." with absolute authority he had. Daisy reluctantly nodded and remained silent.


    Mark came out and received a secret nod telling she was ready to go to the camp. All three of them retired for the night, Mark took one room while the father-daughter duo took another.


    As Mark was asleep, he heard a noise waking him up. He quickly stood up, clutching his sword which was by the side tighter, and closed his ears to hear more. He could hear footsteps below and they were mostly human. He checked the time and found it was almost midnight.


    A deadly smile emerged on his face as he thought who it might be. He made his way towards the living room and sat right in front of the door with the gun in his hand and the sword in his lap, waiting for them to come up.

 Chapter 58 - Ray Summer

    He spun his gun faster as the footsteps were nearer. His excitement grew thinking about who this might be. The temperature fell down by several degrees. The silence occupied with the footsteps on the stairs. They came to a stop, making Mark look more serious as he stopped spinning the gun.


    The door was locked, so they had to break through if they wanted to enter. He looked at the small gap below the door and noticed only 2 pairs of feet, making him smile more. Dealing with 2 people might be hard, but wasn''t impossible for him.


    Unexpectedly, the people behind the door did not break the door down. But instead, he heard the lock open from the other side. He raised an eyebrow when he heard the door open and gripped the gun tighter. The door opened and as he expected there were 2 men on the other side of the door.


    One of them had a kitchen knife in his hand while the other had a baseball bat with nails embedded in it. He looked at one nearest to him. He was shorter than him but had more muscles. He had the baseball bat with him. He noticed Mark sitting against the broken couch looking at him and his jaw hit the floor. He was rooted at his place especially when he noticed the gun in his hand and the sword on his lap.


    The one behind him had the kitchen knife in his hand. He was taller than Mark and had light yellow hair. He was rather on the thin side and looked weak. As the person he came with opened the door, he noticed Mark and became rooted in his place. But it was not the same reason as the other. He slowly opened his mouth and barely said, "Mark."


    The same reaction was with Mark. After seeing the person behind with the knife, he immediately stood up. As he heard him say his name, he kept the gun on the couch and slowly made his way towards him. The development surprised the first person. He never knew his companion and kid knew each other.


    "Mr. Summer, You''re alive¡­" and before he could finish his sentence, the man pulled him into a tight hug. This was the father of his friend Suzie, Ray Summer. He came looking for her and only found his wife''s dead body. He secretly hoped both of them escaped and now looking at the man he was happy and had hoped to find Suzie.


    "Mark, I thought, I won''t see you ever again. It''s good to see you once again." patting Mark''s back. He always thought of Mark as a son he never had and once the zombie attack started he was worried about him.


    Breaking the hug, Mark said, "Yes, Uncle, I am lucky to be alive. I came here hoping to meet you and Suzie. But when I came here, I saw aunt''s rotten body and felt scared that something might happen to you both."


    "Ok, Let''s sit inside and continue talking." taking Mark''s hand, he made his way towards the house, while motioning his partner to come with him. All three of them went inside and sat down near the couch. Mark took the gun and kept it to the side.


    Ray closed the door once again and Mark noticed David''s room door open and David came out of it. As he tried to sleep he heard the door open and some noise from outside. He looked at the two new people in puzzlement and turned towards Mark. Mark just shook his head and said, "Come and sit, David. I know this person. Uncle, this is my companion, David." introduced David to Ray.


    "David, this is my friend''s father," he said to David as he sat down beside Mark. David relaxed at the situation as he noticed it wasn''t tense. He wanted Daisy to have some good sleep before they move out again.


    Ray nodded towards David and then introduced his friend, "This is Jacob, he lives down the street and runs a barbershop around here." and this Mark gave a nod to him.


    He turned towards Ray to ask about Suzie, before Ray asked, "So, Mark, tell me how you survived and where did that big vehicle and gun come from?" looking at the gun near him, at the end


    Unable to ask, Mark nodded and explained everything which happened until then. He started from how he was able to survive in the company building, to how he had gone to the military camp, and then came here after going to his house.


    Ray and Jacob were thoroughly astonished beyond belief as they heard him tell his journey till then. Ray felt happy as he heard Mark risked his life to come to her just to save his daughter.


    This time it was Mark''s turn to ask, and he said, "Uncle, Where is Suzie? Is she with you guys?"

 Chapter 59 - Captured Suzie

    Hearing Mark, Ray and Jacob tensed up as they looked at each other. Silence took over as both of them hung their heads low. Seeing both of them go silent, Mark''s heart felt some unease. Taking a deep breath and getting ready to hear the worst, he asked, "Is she dead?"


    Ray slowly raised his head and shook. He slowly said with a barely audible voice, "No she isn''t dead.." making Mark exhale in relief until he heard the next, Ray continued, " She was captured by those criminals and is now with them. We do not even know how she is now." Making Mark''s face expressionless.


    "Criminals?"


    This time it was Jacob who answered, "Yes, criminals. They are the local underground gang around this part of town. After the virus outbreak, they took over the school nearby."


    Hearing this, Mark shot his eyes wide. If it was the same school that he just escaped from, then he passed by Suzie earlier. He asked if it was the same school he visited and Jacob nodded, making him feel helpless. He looked at Jacob and asked, "If they took over the school, which is a bit far from here, how did Suzie get captured by them."


    "They came around this area 2 days ago for supplies. We were hiding here with some other people, barely surviving with some supplies we could gather from the nearby shops and houses. These people were able to find our hideout and tried to snatch away our meager amount. Suzie tried to stop them.


    As she tried talking it out with them, One of the big shots in the underground scene, the underground scene''s Don''s brother laid her eyes on her and wanted her. He promised to leave immediately from here if she went with him. Suzie accepted for the others who were with us and was forced to go with them."


    Silence took over once again as Mark remained silent. Ray felt more anxious as the silence progressed. Mark was thinking about his friends and how she must be in that place. He took a deep breath as he thought about her. He had an impulse to rush towards that place at that moment and try to bust her out of that place, but knew he wasn''t strong enough.


    Exhaling, he said, "Ok then let''s think about this later on. Uncle tell me how did Aunt become like that." Turning towards Ray.


    Ray suddenly remembered the body and looked around, Mark understood this and said, "Don''t worry Uncle. I buried the body in the backyard." Making him nod.


    "It all happened so quickly we couldn''t even react. Suzie was in her room studying for some exams while me and her mother we''re below helping out with the shop. Then people started running in the streets and I went to check out what happened outside. I noticed the havoc and the zombies on the streets and ran back in."


    "I closed the shop and there was only one customer inside the shop with our employee. But bad luck stuck with us when the customer inside turned out to be a zombie. We tried to escape above, but as we were about to close the door, he bit the teenager and scratched your aunt."


    "We quickly made our way up, and I tried to treat her. We covered it up with see bandages to stop it from spreading. But it couldn''t hold on long when on that night she tried to jump on Suzie to eat her. I immediately knew we lost her and killed her to save my remaining family member."


    Ray felt a surge as emotions which he kept inside him leak out as he cried thinking about that day. Mark could only pat his shoulder and try to calm him down. He had to save Suzie, and that was important to him. If it was another person, he would deny the request without even batting an eye.


    He started to think about a way to save her and then turned towards Jacob and asked, "Does anyone know the school''s outlay. If they do them I need it."


    "I think there is an old janitor who worked at that school for over 15 years, he should know most of the school." Thinking for a second.


    Mark nodded and said, "Ok then ask him to draw a detailed map over the night. I might need it tomorrow." Instructing him. Jacob frowned a bit inwardly as he heard Mark''s tone but nodded, nonetheless.


    Ray looked at Mark and asked, "What are you planning? If it''s dangerous, don''t even try." Mark shook his head and said, "Don''t worry, both of you should make your way back to your people. They might be getting anxious. Come back tomorrow morning and we will discuss the rest."


    Hearing his words, Ray looked at Mark in a new light and stood up. He turned towards his friends and nodded. Both of them made their way out and Mark closed the door. David stood up as he retired for the night with Mark doing the same.

 Chapter 60 - Rescue Suzie

    Standing on the balcony, Mark looked at the rising sun. He couldn''t sleep properly with the thought of something happening to Suzie as he slept. He looked at the sun and the peaceful surroundings. There wasn''t a single sound around him, and it felt like he was the only person left in the world.


    He snapped out of his thoughts as he heard the door knock. He looked back and noticed David opening the main door. Mark already knew who, based on the footsteps he heard. It surprised him, how he could hear them, and felt like his senses got heightened. Deciding to test this strange phenomenon later, he looked at Ray and Jacob who entered the house.


    "Ah! Uncle, you are here already. So early." Going into the living room once again. He noticed the chart in his hands.


    "Yes, I figured you would want this quickly. So I had the person work the whole night and prepare this map for you." Spreading the map on the floor. The details on the map amazed Mark. Everything was pinpoint. It had everything included from the classes to the restroom and also the storage room. They divided the entire map into 2 parts, with each part representing a floor.


    "He did an outstanding job with the map," said David from the side. Ray smiled and replied, "Well, the man worked there for over a decade. So he knows everything about the school that one needs to know."


    Mark continued to observe the map, thinking of ways to get inside. He then looked at Ray and said, "Alright, I will think of a plan. Meanwhile, I need you to go back to your base and round up everyone. Search for vehicles to travel in before noon. That is when we move out."


    "Why cars?" asked Jacob.


    "We will go to the military camp after this. So if you want to tag along you can."


    Ray nodded and stood up. He looked at Jacob before making his way towards the door with him. As they exited the house, Mark said, "Oh! And I need a fast bike." Hearing him, David was confused, but Ray nodded and closed the door.


    As the guests exited the room, David turned towards Mark and asked, "Why the bike?" Mark replied as he continued to look at the map, "Cause I need a vehicle to go there."


    Hearing his reply David got confused and said, "Don''t we have the jeep." but as soon as he said that, he realized a part of Mark''s plans and shouted, "Mark are you planning to go there alone? You must be crazy."


    "That''s right, I am doing this alone. I need you to drive the jeep and lead these people to a place. After I am done saving Suzie, I will meet up with you and we can continue forward."


    "No, Mark. That''s too dangerous for even you. You can''t just go against an entire camp of underground goons." shaking his head. He knew about Mark''s excellent gun marksmanship. But he still felt it would only invite trouble if he goes alone.


    "No. it''s better only if I go. I can make my way in quietly and get her out. I am not dumb enough to face an entire camp. I know my abilities. And it would be risky to bring the group with us there. You need to be with them and go on a safer path, I am going to draw on the city map. I will meet you at that point and we can go to the military camp from there."


    Listening to Mark, David knew this was the right decision. He looked at Mark''s serious gaze; he knew nothing would change his decision and simply gave up. He went into his room and saw his daughter still sleeping peacefully and let her be.


    After dropping her in the camp, he didn''t know for how long it will be to meet her again or if he will ever meet her again. But his heart remained calm as the decision he took was the right one. He didn''t want her to risk her life and hoped to stay inside the camp, protected. He slowly caressed her hair with a smile.


    Mark was sitting on the floor looking at the map before him. It wrinkled his eyebrows as he was thinking of a way to get in. He looked at all the possibilities and couldn''t come up with one solid plan. As he continued to think of ways, he noticed something particular on the 2 sides of the wall and smiled.


    "This would be perfect."

 Chapter 61 - Rescue Suzie (II)

    Sitting on the floor in the living room, Mark was waiting for Ray to come together with Daisy and David by the side. Checking the time, he noticed it was almost 12. The door opened and Ray came in with Jacob by his side.


    "Mark, everyone agreed to come with you guys to the military camp. We were able to find enough cars for everyone and we are ready," said Ray.


    Standing up with David and Daisy, Mark asked, "The bike?"


    "One of the people is a retired biker gang member. So we were able to go to his house and get the fastest bike he has."


    Mark nodded and said, "Ok, now where is the plan. David will drive the jeep and will lead you guys through the safe routes. I will go alone on a bike to the school and rescue Suzie out of there." telling the jest of the plan.


    Hearing him both were shocked and Ray was the first to react, "No Mark. You can not do this alone. Take me with you, you can''t risk going into that den alone." shaking his head.


    Mark also shook his head and denied it by saying, "No, It''s better if I go alone. I have confidence in myself and can get out if anything goes south. Taking another person would keep that in jeopardy." Noticing Mark''s resolute expression, Ray knew he won''t listen no matter what.


    Seeing Ray stay silent, Mark turned towards Jacob and said, "Well, if everything is ready, then let''s go. We need to get this done as quickly as possible. We can''t stay outside at night." Jacob nodded and everyone made their way outside. Mark clutched his sword, feeling ready to go into the den for his friend.


    Going outside the shop, Mark noticed a few people standing having various weapons like rods. He noticed the cars filled with people ready to go to the camp. They made their way towards the Jeep as David and Daisy got inside.


    "Be careful out there, David. Don''t take any risks. If the way you are taking is blocked then take another route I mapped out. No routes go near the school area, so you should be clear. I will meet you at the area I circled on the map." Said Mark handing over the map to David who sat behind the wheel from outside.


    Taking the map from Mark, David opened it and saw ways to go to the camp. He slowly closed it and said, "You should also take care of yourself, Mark."


    Mark nodded and said, "We should get this done as quickly as possible. We need to get there before sunsets. With these many people behind us, stopping is not an option. So I will save Suzie as quickly as possible. If we follow the route which I mapped out, it will take us at least 4 hours to reach the camp. So I will try to save Suzie by 2, If by any chance I don''t come before 2, you guys continue forward. You should show this ID card to the military guards around there and it will give you access inside." Handing over the military ID, they gave him.


    The amount of trust Mark was having on David was surprising to himself too. Mark instinctively knew David''s thoughts about him and knew he was trustworthy enough. This was similar to the old general back at camp. He knew he was scheming to make Mark be dented by him so he can ask for things afterward but overall wasn''t an evil man.


    David looked at Mark. Even though he never had malicious intent towards him and was rather grateful for saving him and his daughter. Mark''s trust surprised him. Mark looked at him and said, "Don''t look at me like that. If you had any ill intent, I would have killed you long back." and walked away.


    David looked at Mark''s back and felt uneasy. He silently thought to not go against Mark at any cost and help him. Mark made his way towards Jacob and Ray who stood by the first car behind the jeep.


    "As I said before, follow that jeep and David should take you in a safe route with fewer zombies. Even when you face the zombies at places, tell your people to not panic and try to kill them with David." making Ray and Jacob nod.


    He turned towards Jacob and asked, "Now, where is the bike?" Jacob simply looked back and Mark followed his line of sight and saw a sports bike by the side of the row to some distance from them. Mark knew this was one fast bike noticing the company name. Mark nodded and said, "Alright then, stay safe." and moved towards the bike.


    "Stay safe, Mark. Don''t push yourself." sounded Ray from the back. Mark waved his hand and Ray and Jacob got inside their cars.


    Reaching the bike, Mark slowly caressed at the slick bike and got on it. He noticed the helmet and wore it. He kept the sword he had tightly wrapped to his back with some tread. Turning the engine on, he raised the accelerator and said, "It seems, I made the right decision to live the life of trill instead of dying." with a crazy smile behind the helmet.

 Chapter 62 - Rescue Suzie (III)

    He slowly drove it to the front and as he passed the car which Jacob and Ray were in, he just gave a nod. He drove beside the jeep, looked at David, and said, "Alright then, I will be on my way now." And increased his speed after David gave a nod, zooming through the streets.


    David looked at Mark''s back as he drove and started his own engine. He kept the hand outside the window and gave a signal to the ones behind to start their own engines and slowly drove.


    Mark, who was zooming through the streets, felt very satisfied. He never drove a race bike before, and driving it now was a fresh experience. He remembered the route and took a sudden sharp turn to the right and noticed there were a few zombies on the road. He increased the speed and tried to drive past them.


    As he was going through the zombies, a sudden hand came right in front of him and he instinctively ducked. He felt the hand hit the helmet on top as he passed by it. He looked back and noticed the zombie moving towards him and looked back ahead.


    He decided to stay more attentive and kept his eyes on the road. After going through the streets filled with zombies, he eventually reached the school area once again. There was still 15 minutes to the school, and he slowed down. He slowly drove through the street while keeping an eye for any scouts searching for people.


    As he drove, he suddenly noticed a shadow by the top of a building and quickly drove ahead and when he passed the person, he hit the brakes and took out his gun. Noticing Mark taking out a gun, the guy on top of the building picked up speed and tried to jump over to the next building.


    Mark smirked as he shot when the guy was on air and couldn''t dodge the bullet. The bullet hit the guy''s thigh as he instantly grabbed his leg and lost his balance on air. The person slammed right into the wall of the building and slowly fell down. Mark stopped his bike and got down. He made his way into the alleyway for the guy and noticed him dead.


    Mark exhaled as he thought it was a terrible decision to shoot while he was in the air. He kneeled down beside the dead body. He searched the body to find anything helpful. If some people might see this they would tell it was ''immoral'' but Mark would say it is ''survival''.


    He searched the whole pockets and found nothing helpful for him. The guy didn''t even have a weapon on him. Mark stood up and thought about the scouts. It seemed like the scouts were not given any weapon and people who were highly agile and flexible.


    He walked out of the hallway and got on the bike once again. Wearing the helmet, he continued towards the school at a very slow pace. He didn''t want to draw the attention of others. His senses were at max, searching for any more people in the buildings.


    He eventually reached nearer to the school and was visible to him. He took a sharp turn to the right instead of going front and then took a left, making his way to the backside of the school. He parked the bike in an alleyway before making his way out. He stood and peeked out and searched for any guards.


    He could find only one person who stood on a car leaning on the brick wall looking outside. After a while, the guy slowly dozed off and Mark took out his gun as he made his way towards him. After reaching a proper distance, he shot him in the head, killing the person in his sleep.


    The body swayed back and came front again. It fell over the wall and Mark quickly caught it. He set it aside and took the gun the body had along with the few bullets. It was a standard gun available for people to buy in the market if one had a license to, and this guy didn''t look like he had one.


    Mark looked at the wall and it was enough for him to climb over, but he couldn''t risk getting caught by anyone while jumping. He had another discreet way to make his way in and looked around. He was able to find it and made his way towards it.


    He looked down at the manhole, his way inside. He noticed the manhole led directly to another one right across the wall. This was a sure way to get inside. He slowly opened the lid and jumped inside. He was too tall for it and bent down before closing it back.

 Chapter 63 - Rescue Suzie (IV)

    As he got into the sewer line, he immediately closed his nose and mouth blocking the heavy stink attacking him. His face got a bit green and his stomach was turning. He felt the dead zombie body was better than this. He looked around and noticed the small stream of black murky water in the middle and the garbage on the edges. He spread his feet to the edges and tried not to step into the water at any cost.


    Shaking his head and trying to remove these thoughts, he slowly moved forward. The man-hole to the inside was the very next one and was only a few feet away from him. But this felt like a few kilometers for him. Slowly moving across the garbage and covering his mouth as hard as he could, he reached the man-hole which was supposed to take him inside.


    Grabbing on the ladder, he slowly opened the lid, not too much but enough for him to peek. He found himself staring at the wall and noticed it was on the other side. He slowly turned his head to look around for any people and found there was only on his right to the distance. He waited for the man to move out and slowly kept the sword out before making his way out.


    He didn''t close the man-hole this time. He needed to be quick to go out this time with Suzie. He looked at the window to a hallway inside and found a person''s back towards him. He smirked when he noticed there was no one in front of him and made his way to the window.


    The window was already open as the guy was taking his leisure time to smoke a cigarette. He stood up and quickly choked the guy with both his hands, bringing him to a headlock. He suffocated the guy and slowly took out his gun before pointing it to his face.


    The guy who wanted to chill for a bit was scared out of his wits when he got attacked. He wanted to scream but wasn''t able to because of the tight grip on his neck. When he felt the hot muzzle of the gun on the side of his head, he closed his eyes and prayed.


    Mark loosened the grip a bit and slowly said, "Now, I need some information. If you are willing to cooperate, I will leave you alive. If not, you can kiss your life goodbye." keeping more pressure on the gun and making each word he said as clear and low as he could.


    The man had no other choice but to nod, silently noticing a chance to live. Mark smiled and continued, "Good. Now tell me where is the girl your boss''s brother brought back a few days ago. And I dare you to lie, I will kill you if you do." in an icy voice.


    The guy nodded and said, "They threw the girl into a room and the boss''s brother wanted to enjoy her today. I saw her being taken into his room just now." This made Mark release his murderous aura, making the guy wet his pants.


    "Where is the room?"


    "It is on the first floor, right above the room beside us." pointing his shaky hands to a door to the right not far from them.


    Mark nodded and slowly released the guy, but before the person could realize that he released him. Mark struck the gun to his navel, completely knocking him out cold. Mark took a step back as he noticed the window of the room above.


    He couldn''t barge in and take the stairs, so he looked around to find something useful for him. He stripped the gun and his sword back to his waist and found a pipe big enough to help him climb up. He slowly rubbed his fingers and tried to get a better grip on the pipe, checking if it was strong enough.


    Once he was ready, he slowly kept a leg on the window panel of the ground floor taking some help to get up. After getting both his legs on the window panel, he slowly removed the left leg and kept it on a big nail on the other side of the pipe, trying to go higher. He kept a bit of his weight and found the nail sturdy enough to get on to.


    After finding some good balance on the left leg, he lifted the right one and kept it on a similar nail. He held the pipe tight with both his hands, in case the nails fell off. He looked to his side and found the window to the room they took Suzie into.


    The window was open, and Mark smirked at the convenience. He slowly moved his hand to the window frame, trying to find some support, and looked in. He saw something which made his blood boil to the very core of his being.

 Chapter 64 - Rescue Suzie (V)

    Looking into the open window, Mark''s eyes shot wide. He was 2 figures. One was on the floor tied up to the surrounding benches, naked, with some kind of towel stuffed into her mouth acting like a gag making her unable to scream. She was violently protesting and shaking, trying to free herself from the ropes which tie her.


    Mark could see the tears forming in her eyes as she lost all hope in life. Her eyes were growing more lifeless as seconds went by. Mark''s eyes were now completely red with the anger boiling inside him.


    He turned towards the other person inside the room. He noticed the other was a male. He had a scar on his face and was full of lust as he looked at the lady in front of him. He was removing the last article on his body.


    As the man was fully naked Mark heard him, " Ah! I can finally enjoy you bitch. I have been waiting for so long. If it wasn''t for the incident which happened yesterday, you would have already been tasted by every man in this camp. But no worries, I will enjoy you to the full extent before I pass you over to my underlings for a taste." While slowly licking her face, making her lose all hope.


    He positioned himself to complete what he was waiting for. A bullet went through his head. The man fell to his side, lying motionless as blood slowly oozed out of the hole. Mark had the gun in his hand as he was supporting himself with the leg on the frame and the other on the nail and hand in the pipe.


    He jumped inside the room with the energy left and stumbled inside. His body moved on its own when he noticed what the man was about to do. His hand went to his back, taking out the gun, and shot him right in the head.


    He could not bear to see one of the two people important in his life in such a position. Suzie was always there for him and seeing the cheerful girl like this was hard for him to take in. He slowly made his way towards Suzie and took out the ropes which were binding her. He removed the ropes tying both her hands.


    He slowly took her into his hands. He felt her body shake in fear when he touched her. He could only take a deep breath and try to calm the rage inside him. He slowly said, "I am here Suzie. it''s ok it is only me." Trying to cool her down. Suzie, who heard this, was still completely scared and squirmed in his hands. Her eyes were shut tight, not daring to open and see the monster ravaging her.


    Mark didn''t feel bad about this and only said once again, "Suzie, it is me, Mark. I am here to save you. Open your eyes and see me." With the same kind voice, he had.


    This time Suzie''s body which was trembling in fear decreased hearing his name. Her eyelids which were shut tight slowly fluttered as she opened her lifeless eyes. He noticed the shadow of the man holding her. Her body shook once again as she heard him once again, " It''s ok Suzie. I am here for you."


    She tried to see him clearer and noticed it was Mark. She quickly hugged Mark and started wailing on his chest.


    "Mark it''s you. I thought I-I thought you were¡­" crying her eyes out. She couldn''t even complete her sentences. She hugged him tightly and continued to wail. Mark could feel her body shudder continuously and didn''t touch her.


    He remained there as she continued to cry. Suzie collected herself and separated away from him. Mark looked at her eyes. They were still dead, but he could see a bit of life in them. He knew this would be a huge trauma for her. She would have been raped and if he wasn''t there, this would have really happened. He understood this might be a lifelong trauma for her.


    As she separated herself from her, he finally got a good look at her. Her face swollen, and she clearly had hand marks on her white skin, probably from mistreatment she must have faced after they took her. Suzie was a very beautiful woman. One of the most beautiful women Mark had ever seen. She had short brown hair coupled with a slim, tall body. She didn''t have huge assets but was still very beautiful.


    He slowly smiled and said, "It''s ok Suzie. As you see I am alive and I came here for you. It''s all good now. Come get up." Taking her hand, which shook upon contact, he slowly helped her up. He took out his shirt and gave it to her to cover herself. Suzie slowly took it from him and wore his shirt, leaving Mark bare-chested.

 Chapter 65 - Rescue Suzie (END)

    Making her wear his shirt, Mark went near the window to look around and see if there were any people below them. He found a single person and wanted to wait instead of shoot. The guy was looking around and it looked like they were going on rounds, if anyone noticed this person didn''t come, it would raise the alarm.


    As Mark was looking below, Suzie stood directly behind him and was looking around the room. She found the guy''s dead body and almost shouted if it wasn''t for the vomit which came before her voice. She started to vomit, making Mark turn around and pat her back.


    Her body was shaking in fear when she looked at the guy. Her thoughts wandered off to that moment of her helplessness, her struggle, and how she begged him to leave her be. She then thought about the possibility of Mark not being there at that moment to save her and how she would have been used as an outlet for the men like the other females she saw.


    As her thoughts wandered, she heard Mark beside her, "Suzie, stay calm. I am here for you. Don''t worry." While patting her, trying to ease her nerves. Mark knew she was having dark thoughts once again and tried to ease her to the best of his capability.


    She looked at Mark and said with a trembling voice, "Mark, what would have happened if you didn''t come on time. I would have become like the other females in this place." Holding on to his shirt for some support.


    " Don''t think about it, Suzie. What matters is that you are safe now and I am here for you so that you remain safe." Even if Mark had no confidence in going against the camp, he was confident saving only a single person. He didn''t have anything extraordinary except his marksmanship and the way he handles the sword.


    "Mark we have to save these women. We can''t leave them here. They are facing hell here." Looking at him with a tinge of hope in her lifeless eyes. But contrary to her expectations, Mark shook his head and said, "We can''t do that. There is no way we can go against the entire camp for a couple of women who we do not know. I know you will feel sad but use some logic, it will only be a suicide mission if we tried to do it."


    Hearing him, her body shook thinking about the women. Even though her mind was a complete mess at the moment, she knew Mark was right. They were only human, and it was only Mark who could fight.


    Mark looked at the guy''s body and noticed the same mark on his back to the one he used as a hostage the day before. They were both the same person. It was the same ugly bastard he used to get out of this place yesterday. Mark smirked at the guy''s bad luck and went back near the window.


    He noticed that everything was clear and turned towards Suzie, who had her head hung low. He shook her body and whispered, "Ok Suzie, snap out of it. We need to get going. Your dad and the others are probably waiting for us. Let''s get going." Pulling her a bit towards the window.


    He pointed below and said, "We need to go down. You go ahead first, I will be right behind you. Keep your leg on this frame and reach out for the pipe right outside. Using that slowly go down." He explained slowly for her to understand. Suzie nodded as she slowly went before him.


    He slowly helped her up onto the frame from behind, giving her enough support. Suzie looked down and took a deep breath. She looked to the side and noticed the pipe. Stretching her hand, she slowly caught the pipe. Mark helped her from behind so she wouldn''t lose balance and fall down.


    She continued to keep a leg on the nail and pushed herself for the other. She slightly lost her grip on the pipe but forced herself to remain stable using her hands and legs. Some skin peeled off due to the rough wall. Mark also slowly got on the frame to look at Suzie, who slowly made her way down.


    After she reached the ground, he also made his way below the same way. Once standing on the ground, he looked at Suzie''s hand and legs which were scrapped and found they were ok.


    He kneeled as he took out the cover for the sewer and looked at her, motioning her to go ahead. Suzie thought of nothing and simply went inside. Mark looked around once again and followed. He closed the lid once again and stood in the sewer with Suzie behind him. He led her and got out of the sewer at the next one. Once they were out, he led her to the bike in the alleyway.

 Chapter 66 - Meeting Point

    Getting into the alleyway, Mark turned around and looked at Suzie. He was concerned about her. He noticed the blank yet depressing face she had. His shirt could cover her small body until the middle of her thighs. Her short brown hair was completely rough, unlike the previous smoothness. They bruised both her wrists and ankles.


    It was tough for Mark to see her in such a way, and the most heartbreaking thing was her eyes. Even though she was able to converse with him properly, it was like talking to a dead person. The only emotion she was feeling is fear and despair at that moment.


    He clutched his hands. The only thought in his mind was ''If I was sooner, she wouldn''t be like this'' the self-blame he was taking in was enormous. In the end, he could only bring her into a hug and pat her on the back. After a while, he got on the bike and motioned her to do the same. She nodded and slowly got on. She wrapped her arms around him and rested her head on his back.


    Turning the engine on, he checked the time and noticed it was already half-past one. He slowly went out of the alleyway and on to their destination. He promised David to meet him at 2 and it would take him at least 45 minutes to reach there from the school. He could not be late and started to zoom through the streets.


    He suddenly realized Suzie''s appearance and thought to stop by near any clothing shop and also a small general store. After 15 minutes of driving on roads with zombies with Suzie on his back, he noticed a clothing store. He slowly stopped and as he did; he took out his sword and sliced the zombie, reaching for Suzie from behind. The face was cut horizontally in half with blood gushing out.


    He motioned her to get down and made their way inside once she did. He gripped the sword tightly and made Suzie walk behind him just to be sure. Entering the store, he noticed it was a tiny store and was mainly for women. He noticed there were only 3 zombies inside, one by the counter while the other 2 mindlessly roaming around.


    The nearest zombie was the one near the cash counter. He looked back at Suzie and motioned her to stay quiet and remain there. He crouched down and went towards the zombie. The zombie couldn''t notice Mark as it was looking towards another place. Once he reached the counter he made quick work of it and went for the other two in the store. The other two were easier as they were constantly moving.


    After finishing both of them, he looked at Suzie and found her still staying at the place he asked her to be at. He went to her and said, "You can come now. I killed them. Choose something better to wear." Suzie nodded as she slowly walked inside.


    Mark stood near the entrance, leaning on the wall, looking at her. She slowly picked a simple shirt and comfortable pants to wear. He saw her removing the shirt right where she stood and quickly said, "Go inside the changing room." pointing at the rooms in the corner.


    Suzie, who heard him, shuddered and nodded. She held the pair of clothes and went into the dressing room. Mark exhaled as he noticed her shudder when he pointed at the changing room. He couldn''t think of any way to make her normal again. Her present state of mind was like how he was before the zombies occurred. She doesn''t know what to do and is almost at her limit.


    After a while, she came back with his shirt in her hand. She looked really cute if not for her lifeless eyes and no emotions on her face. It looked like she could still do things on her own without any help.


    He took the shirt from her and wore it before making his way out of the store. He noticed a zombie near the bike and cut it down immediately. Getting back on the bike, both of them continued to the meeting point. There were still 20 minutes'' worth of the journey ahead of them.


    Mark increased the speed of the vehicle to make up for the lost time. He ignored most of the zombies in the path and if it became tough; he cut them down with his sword, which was tough to wield a bike with one hand.


    They could finally reach the meeting point, and Mark noticed his jeep at the end of the street. David was standing outside while leaning on the door talking to Ray and Jacob, waiting for them. Mark exhaled in relief, noticing they were still here.

 Chapter 67 - Reunion

    They heard the bike from the end of the street and noticed the bike. They already cleaned the whole street when they arrived. There were only a few zombies, and it was easy for them to finish them quickly. The time was already 2:15, but they decided to wait until 2:30 for Mark. Even though Mark ordered David to move out, he still believed Mark was fine and was just running a few minutes late.


    As he looked at the bike, he felt relieved. He took the risk of staying there and it paid off. Mark drove and stopped right in front of them. They all noticed the girl behind Mark hugging him. Tears started to roll down Ray''s cheeks. He noticed his daughter sitting behind Mark and couldn''t stop himself from moving towards her.


    As he tried to bring her into a hug, he saw her body shaking and she tightened her grip around Mark. Mark felt this and looked to see her shaking. She was shuddering as Ray bought his hand near her. He quickly understood what she was feeling.


    He turned towards Ray and said, "Uncle, I think that''s a bad idea." Startling Ray. He looked at Mark with a questioning gaze, asking what he meant. Mark shook his head once again asking him not now and turned towards David.


    "David, can you get a water bottle? Suzie, get down, we came." And patted on Suzie''s hands, asking her to get down. Suzie nodded as she slowly retracted her arms around him and got down from the bike. Ray, who was near her, backed away to give her some space. Mark also got down and noticed David had a water bottle in his hand. He took the bottle from his hand and handed it to Suzie.


    "Suzie drinks some water." hearing him, Suzie simply nodded and took the bottle while her head was still hung low. Mark knew she cannot look at people, especially males. He decided to deal with this slowly as there wasn''t any hurry. After she sipped half of the bottle, she gave the bottle back to him and he asked, "Do you feel hungry?"


    There was no response from her making him exhale. He wasn''t getting annoyed at this, unlike he would have if it was another person in her place. He felt more burden in his heart thinking about her emotional state. He once again asked, "Do you feel hungry Suzie? I need you to tell me."


    This made Suzie flinch, but she slowly muttered, "I am." while nodding. Rei sighed in relief and turned towards David once again. After thinking about something he said, "David, can you give her some food we have. And make Daisy hand them over and help her to eat." David nodded at the request. He roughly guessed what happened and so said nothing.


    "Suzie, follow him into a jeep. There is another girl who can help you. Don''t be scared, just call for me and I will be there for you." he slowly said but hurried at the end when she saw her shivering. Suzie nodded as she slowly made her way towards the jeep.


    David slowly opened the door for the back seat where Daisy sits. Suzie looked inside with her emotionless eyes and noticed Daisy looking at her. She slowly got in and David let the door open just in case she might get scared if he abruptly closed it.


    He went to the other side and whispered to Daisy what she needed to do. Suzie nodded as she slowly took out the food from one of the bags and handed it to her. Suzie slowly took the food from her and ate it.


    David nodded and went back to Mark. Mark noticed David come back and knew Suzie was eating and was relieved. He turned towards Ray and was bombarded with questions from him, "Mark, what happened to her? Why is she like that? Did those bastards do something to her?" while shaking him.


    Mark held Ray''s hands which were on his shoulders and said, "Uncle calm down. I will tell you what happened. Don''t panic." trying his best to calm the panicked father. Ray calmed down when he heard him making Mark slightly relieved.


    Mark slowly told them the whole story of what happened. He told how he got inside the school using the sewers and climbed the wall to find the room. How he found the bastard trying to get his way with Suzie, completely restrained and her struggling. How he shot him dead and saved Suzie before anything happened to her and got out of it.


    "... This is what happened. Suzie now has some trauma against males after experiencing that helplessness and struggle she went through before I saved her. Her body unconsciously backs away from all men except me cause I saved her. She probably feels more secure when she is around me." exhaling in relief. He looked at Ray, who had tears on her face.


    He tried to console the old man, "It''s ok Uncle. She will recover slowly. You don''t need to feel sad about it. Nothing happened to her. I will be there for her all the way." patting on his shoulders.


    "Mark, if you didn''t save her. I can''t even imagine what those animals would have done with her. Please be there for her, Mark. She only trusts you, please." begging him and even went for his legs.


    Mark quickly stopped him and said, "Uncle, my life is indebted to both Suzie and Kevin. If not for these two, I would have taken my life long ago. I am willing to lay my life for both of them. You do not have to worry about Suzie, I will stay with her all the time, till she becomes normal again." with a complete, resolute expression. Ray knew Mark was completely serious.


    Ray was aware of Mark''s situation and how his daughter along with his friend helped him. It relieved him when he heard Mark''s words. Mark was never a person to go back on his words.

 Chapter 68 - Reaching The Camp

    As their discussion ended, Mark checked the time and found it was already 2:45. He clapped his hands, gaining their attention, and said, "Alright, we are running out of time. Let''s get moving. We need to go to the military camp before the sun sets." Clapping once again. Everyone nodded as they went to their vehicles. Mark did not want to drive and just took the map from David to guide him easier.


    David started the jeep, and they hit the road. Mark turned around and saw Suzie sleeping in the back seat, leaning against the window. There wasn''t any expression on her face, but Mark was glad she was taking some rest. She probably didn''t have any sleep the whole time she was trapped in that place.


    "She slept as soon as she got some food inside her. She must have been hungry and tried for too long." Heard Daisy. He nodded and continued to look at his traumatized friend. He could only shake his head.


    They slowly drove through the streets, only making a few stops when they had to kill zombies to get through the roads more freely now that they had many cars following them. The sun slowly set as they reached the camp area and were only a few minutes away from the first gate. David turned the headlights on and continued to drive.


    When they reached the camp, the soldiers situated there stopped them. Mark took out the ID he was given by Donald and passed it for inspection. The soldier checked the ID and found it genuine and let them pass by.


    David slowly drove through the streets into the main campsite. As they reached the main campsite, Mark got down from his vehicle and went to the checkpoint this time. As he reached the small booth, he noticed the man in charge and passed the ID once again and said, "Can you please inform Colonel Steve that I''m looking for him." he wanted to ask for Donald but knowing he was a General rank officer, he would be busy so he went with Steve.


    The man checked the ID and noticed it was issued by the General himself and accepted Mark''s request. He then looked at the cars following the jeep and the people in it and said, "All the people who are new should take a check-up." Mark nodded as he knew the standard procedure the military set up for accepting the refugees.


    He took the ID back, and the guy motioned for the gate to be opened. After the jeep entered the cars followed it and the gate was once again closed. He stood against the Jeep waiting for Steve as the soldier made his way to call him. After a few minutes, Steve came with his lieutenant Sophia in tow.


    Steve had a smile across his face when he saw Mark and said, "Mark, I thought you wouldn''t be coming back here anytime soon." extending his hand for a handshake. Mark responded back with a smile of his own and gave Steve a handshake as he said, "Even I didn''t think I will be here anytime soon but circumstances I faced said otherwise." looking at the cars behind his jeep.


    Steve followed his eyesight and noticed the various cars behind the jeep he lent Mark the other day. He understood they were refugees but couldn''t understand why Mark saved them. He looked at Mark with a questioning gaze and asked, "You saved them?" he knew Mark was the type to care about himself and the people he cared for and thought anyone else he wouldn''t care if they even died.


    Mark immediately shook his head and said, "Of Course not. I went to find my friend, and they already had a small refugee camp with them. I had no other choice to bring them with me. It was good that they weren''t that much of a burden." shrugging at the end.


    Steve said nothing and turned towards Sophie and said, "Have them all checked and sorted out." Sophie nodded. He turned towards Mark and said, "Alright then Mark, Sophie will be with them. Ask them to form a line and follow Sophie."


    Mark nodded and went towards Ray and Jacob. Noticing Mark coming, they got out of the car and asked, "Is anything the matter, Mark?"


    Mark shook his head and said, "No, Everyone who is new should get themselves checked before they are settled in the camp. That''s the standard procedure. So you and your people follow this soldier here and he will take you to the testing area." Ray and Jacob nodded as they got to work.


    He went towards the jeep and got it. He said to David, "I need you and Daisy to also get checked with the military. Daisy, can you take care of Suzie." turning towards Daisy at the end. Daisy nodded and Mark looked at the still sleeping Suzie and decided it was time to wake her up.


    He slightly shook her body, which startled Suzie. She woke up as her body shuddered. She looked around in panic as she covered her face with her arms. Mark patted her back and slowly said, "It''s me, Suzie. No one will hurt you here. It''s ok to relax." trying to calm her down.


    His words worked as her body relaxed when he heard his voice and slowly uncovered her face. She looked at Mark and then at Daisy and David. Mark relaxed when he noticed she was calmer and said, "Suzie, I need you to follow Daisy here to get some tests done. Don''t worry, I will be here at the camp. If you ever need me, you can ask the officer who will be with you and I will get to know. I will come to you immediately."


    He quickly explained when he noticed her panic increase at the moment he implied they will be separating. The current Suzie was completely dependent on him. Suzie calmed down when she heard he would come for immediately if she asked and nodded.


    "Good, Suzie. Once you are done with the tests, I will come and meet you. Stay with Daisy all the time." with a smile once he noticed she could still properly understand his explanation.

 Chapter 69 - Advice

    Noticing Suzie calm down and accept his proposal, they got out of the jeep. Mark went to Steve and told him about Suzie''s condition, and Steve nodded, asking nothing major. It seemed like they already faced several similar cases these past days. Mark understood this. The world became the survival of the fittest. If you can''t survive, rely on others.


    After everyone followed Sophia inside the medical building, Mark stood watching Suzie who was attached to Daisy as they walked into the building with wary eyes. When they exited his line of sight, he turned towards Steve.


    "Do you want to meet the General?" Noticing Mark''s gaze on him, Steve asked. Mark nodded and Steve led the way to Donald''s office. Mark slowly followed him and asked, "How is your brother doing?" He remembered Denton was in the camp.


    As they walked up the stairs, Steve replied, "He is doing well. Father started to teach him how to use the gun for self-defense, and he also helps around in the camp''s administration." Mark nodded as he felt Denton was doing something useful. If he wasn''t, then they would throw him away like the garbage he was before when he saved him.


    They reached Donald''s office, and Steve knocked on the door twice. They heard Donald from the other side, "Who is it?" there was tiredness evident in his voice.


    "Colonel Steve, Sir. Mark came to meet and have a talk with you." Steve was very respectful as he answered, even if it was his own father on the other side. Steve''s sincerity amused Mark.


    "Oh, come in." and Steve opened the door and motioned Mark to go inside. As he entered, he noticed the same room he visited a few days back only with more files on Donald''s desk. The man was really tired and had black circles from not taking a rest.


    "Mark, I didn''t think you would be back here so quickly." with a smile. He was expecting Mark to ask for more favors. He was a cunning general, after all. Mark knew his intention and just shook his head before sitting on the chair across from Donald.


    Donald looked at Steve and said, "You may wait outside." with the same authoritative tone he used for others. Steve nodded and exited the room. Donald relaxed a little as his son exited the room.


    "Seems like work is piling up for you, General." with a slight smirk on his face.


    "Yes, Everything is slowly falling into place in the camp. Work piled up because of it." as he fell on his chair.


    "Now back to business, you still didn''t tell me why you are back so early, Mark." as he gathered himself.


    This time it was Mark who laid back into his chair with hands on his back and answered, "Oh some events happened as I was trying to save my friend and circumstances led me to bring people who want to survive here. I will leave soon. Probably tomorrow morning." he wanted no detours on his way to Kevin.


    "So, you came to ask, I should take care of them. Seems like your favors are piling up." with a victory smirk on his face.


    Mark looked at him with a deadpan expression and said, "You got to be kidding me. I couldn''t care less about what happens to the people I brought with me. For all I care, you can even throw them back out after I leave tomorrow morning. Did you think just cause I saved the people before, I will save some again. Stop dreaming." with a slight smirk on his face.


    Hearing his words, Donald frowned. He didn''t think he would not care about the lives he brought to the camp. Even if Donald throws them out, it wouldn''t be much of an impact on Mark. He wanted to get a favor out of him, but it seemed like he couldn''t this time and his intention was clearly seen by the young man before him.


    "So what is it that you want, Mark, Weapons?" trying to find his intention.


    Mark shook his head and said, "Not any type of weaponry, General. The amount you gave last time is enough for quite some time and I wouldn''t be needing more." hearing him, the General frowned and looked at Mark trying to see through him.


    Shrugging his shoulder, Mark said, "Don''t think so much, General. It''s bad for your old age. If you want to know I can just say it." with the everlasting, irritating smirk on his face. His comments didn''t tick the general off, but he laughed and asked, "What is it, boy?" He found Mark amusing. Not many in their nation would talk to him in such a way.


    "It''s like this general. I saw another small settlement in the city as I drove by it. It is founded by some underworld members. I do not want anyone going anywhere near it." as the room dropped several degrees. Mark kept both his hands on the table and spoke looking into the general''s eyes.


    "And why is that?" he heard some rumors about this from scouts, but hearing it from Mark, he knew it was probably true. Mark had no reason to lie to him. It also confused him about why Mark is trying to support them.


    "Oh, don''t get me, wrong General. They will go down the hardest way possible. I will bring that place to the ground. I want nothing happening to my prey before then. So I am not requesting, but rather advising you and your men to stay out of that area. They are my prey." Mark spoke with a crazy smile and a cold tone. It was completely in contrast to his previous tone.


    The General was now completely amused by hearing Mark''s ''advice'' to him. He was curious about what Mark was planning to do. He shrugged off Mark''s overbearing presence and said, "Ok, I will tell my men to stay out of the way. But don''t expect much. If you are late and I find something off, I will take action. Just so you know."

 Chapter 70 - Favor

    Mark laughed as he heard Donald. Donald looked at him, confused if he told something funny. After collecting himself, Mark looked at him and said with a completely crazy smile, "You need not worry about that. They won''t live for long. I will take care of that filthy group when I get back from my trip to Evergreen city."


    Donald gave a nod and asked, "Evergreen city?"


    Mark nodded and said, "Yes, Evergreen city. My friend is probably stuck in the national museum or his hotel. I need to go for him. I can''t leave him out." He had an impulse to move out this second, but it would be too risky and he knew David would need to rest and spend some time with his daughter.


    Donald remembered Mark already mentioned going to the Evergreen city, but forgot. He remained silent for a few seconds and said, "Then do some work for me." looking into Mark''s eyes. Donald was taking a decision to use the favor Mark owed him. Mark smiled as he heard this.


    "What is it, General? Before you tell, decide once again. I only owe you one favor for the jeep. Are you sure you want to use it here?" with the same smile. He didn''t like to owe favors and wanted to get this done.


    Donald already thought this through. He can''t have any soldiers to go out on a mission before they fully set up the base. He couldn''t take that risk. Sending Mark who owed him a favor was the best thing he could do at that moment. He looked at him and nodded.


    Noticing that the general nodded, Mark motioned him to continue.


    "The military base at Evergreen city has probably set up communications once again using the military satellites. I need you to go and transport some equipment from there to here, so we can have our own communications up." Mark raised an eyebrow hearing this.


    He knew that the Evergreen city had a military base because all the 12 major cities in the nation had one. Evergreen city was bigger than Stargaze city, even though both of them were classified as major cities. It was more advanced than Stargaze city. But knowing the military could set up communications again only in the span of 2 weeks was still shocking.


    But Mark had one more doubt, "You say ''probably'', so you yourself aren''t sure about it?"


    Donald nodded and said, "Yes, this is only an assumption. Evergreen city has the famous engineer of our nation right now. He was supposed to give a lecture, but then this happened. Knowing my friend, the general stationed there, I guessed they might already have them up."


    Mark nodded as he had no problem. They only asked him to transport the machine. If the machine itself wasn''t ready, he wouldn''t be able to do anything about it and Donald would lose his favor. In the end, it worked out for him pretty well.


    "Just so that we are on the same page, general. If this machine you ask me to transport is not ready and would take some time, I will be returning immediately. I don''t want to stay there for long." Donald nodded as he knew the gamble he was taking. He could only pray that his friend would have acted quickly and asked for the communications to be ready.


    "Alright then General. If you do not have anything else to say. I would like to go and rest." standing up from his seat. Donald nodded and shook Mark''s hands, before calling for Steve who was waiting outside.


    Steve entered the room and noticed the discussion came to an end. Donald asked him to show Mark the way to a living quarter to take a rest. Steve nodded and went out with Mark following him behind.


    Steve looked over his shoulder and asked Mark, "Do you want to eat first?"


    Mark nodded as he was pretty hungry and didn''t eat anything after breakfast in Suzie''s house. Steve led the way to the cafeteria and both of them took a plate and got some food served by the workers.


    "What did my father and you talk about?" while eating.


    Mark shrugged his shoulders and said as he swallowed, "Nothing special. I asked him to stay away from a place, I want to take care of it personally. He then used his favor." nonchalantly.


    Steve was shocked hearing the first sentence. He thought Mark was asking for territory and wondered how his father agreed to such a request. Mark noticed the slight variation in Steve''s emotions and knew he misunderstood but didn''t bother to correct it.


    But before Steve could ask about what place, he heard the 2nd sentence, making him shocked more. He wondered what the important thing was about his father asking Mark to use the favor so quickly. It has only been 2 days since he got the favor.


    He knew he couldn''t get into the details as it meant for him to not listen to them. If he was, then why would his father ask him to remain outside, while he had his talk with Mark. After having the meal, they both exited the building and went into another one, which was to the other side.


    Mark noticed normal people going in and out of the buildings and knew it was the living quarters set up for the people who passed the blood test. Both of them entered and Steve led the way and both of them climbed the tall building.


    But as they reached the 6th floor, they were stopped by a soldier and were asked for the reason. Steve explained the situation and once they knew it was from General Donald, they let them pass through. I confused Mark, what is so different about this floor compared to the rest.


    Steve noticed Mark''s confusion and said, "This floor is mainly used by the upper people in the camp, like my dad and others. So we need permission to come here."

 Chapter 71 - Mystery

    Mark continued to follow Steve through the hallway of the 6th floor. As he did, one of the doors opened and Denton came out with a little kid. Denton noticed his brother and Mark behind him and said, "Steve, Mark. What are you guys doing here? Mark, I thought you were going to another city."


    Steve was the first to speak, "Oh! Denton. Mark came by just now. So dad asked me to show him a room for the night. Why are you out?"


    "Oh! I was taking Alex for a walk in the hallway cause he was bored inside. Since I am free, I will also come with you." tagging along with the two. Mark didn''t mind Denton tagging along, and so Steve nodded and led the way again.


    "So, Mark, how are you? It''s good to see you are alive."


    Mark nodded at his comment and replied, "Yes, I am fine. It''s tough outside. It''s good that you are in the camp. If you were outside, you would have died within a day." and this was true. Mark truly felt Denton was lucky to reach the base.


    Denton nodded and said, "Yes, I was lucky. If it wasn''t because of you and Mona. I would have already died there, wouldn''t come back to my family." with a sad smile while patting the boy''s head. Mark looked at the boy, wondering who it was.


    Denton noticed Mark''s gaze and said with a proud smile on his face, "It''s my son, Alex. He is 6 years old now. If both you and Mona didn''t help us in that building, I probably wouldn''t have ever met them again." Even though saving them was never his intention, Mark didn''t stop him.


    They reached the room, and Steve opened it. It was a simple single bed hotel room. They got in and Mark kept his bag down. Steve took his leave after Mark settled down and Denton remained.


    "I heard you''re helping out here?" as he sat on the chair. Denton nodded and said, "Yeah, my dad is making me learn how to use a gun properly. He says it is needed to learn one, especially now. I can''t refute him, so I am learning as best as I can. I am also helping out with the management of a portion of the camp. This is easier compared to learning a gun for me as I have some experience with my own company."


    Mark nodded and said, "Well, that''s good. The General is right. You need to learn at least a gun. If not, how can you protect your family in case anything might happen in the future." Denton nodded and after talking for a while, he left the room with his son.


    Closing the door, Denton sat on his bed thinking about the next day''s plan. He was thinking about whether he needs to take Suzie with him. Her mind is in utter chaos at the moment, and if anything small happens in the camp, she might not be able to take it.


    He was worried for her and didn''t want to take a risk leaving her alone in the camp. He noticed how close and open she was when she was with him and remained far away from even her own father. This was a huge point for him to consider.


    He exhaled and decided to decide tomorrow, depending on how she is after a good sleep. His next problem was reaching Evergreen city. Evergreen city was pretty far away from Stargaze city. Normally it would take a person a complete day for him/her to reach the city by car.


    But in the current situation, he considered even 2 days lucky. They had to go through an entire small town on the way to Evergreen city. Thinking about it made Mark exhale. It would be a very long journey and Mark was tired just by thinking about it.


    Mark tried to plan out his locations in Evergreen city. The places where Kevin could be were only at either the hotel they stayed at or the museum they were visiting on that day. If it wasn''t these two, then Mark had no idea where he should start searching for his friend. He hoped it would be in either of the two.


    He then decided to lay down and sleep, but as he closed his eyes, he remembered about something he saw. It was that strange feeling he felt when he was driving from his home. He immediately wanted to check it out. He felt very strange when he got near that place. He couldn''t go inside last time because of the lack of time, but now it was different.


    He felt something in him resonate when he felt the strange vibes around that small patch of woods. He decided to check it out tomorrow early morning before moving out. He felt something very nice or something very bad would be found and was excited at the mystery.


    As Mark was sleeping, something strange was happening in the small patch of trees he was just thinking about. There was a blue light blinking from within the forest and it attracted a few surrounding zombies.


    All the zombies which made their way towards the blue light were either Bitters or Bloaters. The small light was coming from the middle of the woods. It was constantly blinking as if it was a signal of sorts.


    If looked closer, it was a small cube. So small that even a human hand could completely cover it whole. What was most weird, was that the box was black in colour, but blue light shone from the inside? All the zombies it attracted were circling around it, not moving a muscle but staring deeply into it.


    It was as if they were all waiting for something. But after a few more minutes, the blue light stopped and didn''t come again. As it stopped, all the zombies which circled it went away as they came. It looked like it controlled them.

 Chapter 72 - Morning

    As Mark woke up the next day, he took a quick shower. He got ready and sat on his chair, waiting for Steve to pick him up for lunch. He heard the bell ring and got up to open the door. Once he did, he noticed that Donald was there along with Steve. He welcomed both of them inside.


    "Ah! Mark, I also live on the same floor. So I came along with Steve to get some breakfast." Coming inside.


    Mark nodded as he didn''t have any problems with that. He packed his bag and kept the gun on his back. He held his sword and was ready to leave. Donald noticed the sword and asked, "Mark, is this your Katana?" Pointing at it.


    Mark was confused when he noticed Donald calling it a Katana. He was never told by Kevin''s old man that the sword was called like this. He looked at Donald and asked, "Katana?"


    Donald nodded and said, "Yes, these types of swords are called Katana. We used them in the past before we invented guns as a primary weapon during wars. Many families were proficient in using it. I never thought you could also use one."


    In fact, Donald noticed it yesterday when they were discussing Mark''s plan. But didn''t want to ask, as it was already getting late. Now that he saw it again in his hands, he assumed that Mark would have an old background with people still practicing swordsmanship.


    Mark shook his head and said, "Now I don''t have any such background relating to swords. I learned how to use one from my friend''s grandfather when I was younger. So I am able to use it now." Donald nodded.


    He extended his hand and asked, "Can I see your Katana." Mark didn''t mind it and handed the sword to his hand. Donald slowly caressed the dragon patterns on the scabbard and faintly said, "It looks like it is thirsty for blood."


    He held the handle and slowly took out the sharp sword. He slightly held the sword and once again sheathed it before giving it back to Mark. Donald smiled and said, "That''s a very good Katana you got there. It also looks very old, but it still remains very sharp. Whoever had used it must have been a very fierce person. It is like the blade wants blood and death." Mark didn''t say anything as he listened.


    After that everyone left the room and made their way towards the cafeteria to have breakfast. As they reached Mark turned to Steve and asked, "Are the people who were in my jeep, results out?" He didn''t want to wait and hoped they were done.


    Steve nodded and said, "Yes, they were done yesterday. I asked the doctors to test those three first as you would leave early. They should be here having breakfast. Ah! There they are." Pointing at a group of three at the end.


    Mark turned towards them and noticed them standing in a corner having breakfast. He noticed Suzie was still the same, her complexion was better, but she still had the same dead expression as the day before. She was slowly having her breakfast, taking only small bites each time only because Daisy was urging her from the side.


    Mark understood her situation and knew now there is another person he needs to travel with. But he was not completely against it, because even though she was a huge burden he needed to take care of, he would not mind it and do anything to keep her safe.


    Steve and Donald separated from him as they had to go to their own group, and Steve asked him to come and meet him near the weapons armory of the camp before they left to send him off. Mark nodded and after he kept enough food on his plate, he went towards his small group.


    David noticed Mark and said, "Mark. You are here. We didn''t know where you were, so we started having breakfast." Both Daisy and Suzie turned towards him and Suzie immediately came near him.


    She felt the safest with him by her side. She kept her complete trust in him. Mark looked at Suzie and sighed before nodding towards David. They continued to have breakfast and David asked him, "So, do we hit the road to Evergreen city like you said, or is there any other stop in between?"


    Mark gulped down the food and said, "We do have one more place to go to. It would only be a small stop. After I do my work, we can go to Evergreen city." David nodded and didn''t say anything.


    All of them completed eating breakfast and went towards the weaponry tent Mark went to the last time to collect his guns. The soldier at the entrance stopped him and so he asked, "Can you call colonel Steve. He asked me to meet him here." The soldier nodded and went inside. He came out with Steve and Sophie behind him.


    "Mark, are you leaving?" asked Steve.


    Mark nodded and said, "Yes, I have another place to be before I move to Evergreen city in search of a friend there. So I will probably not see you for a while." Steve nodded and gave him a handshake.


    "Your vehicle should be at the same place I showed you before. I noticed the fuel was empty, so you better fill it up before you move out of town." Steve handed him the keys and Mark took them.


    He nodded and made his way towards the vehicle area. As Steve said, their jeep was at the very end. He turned towards David and said, "You talk with Daisy, I will help Suzie out." and slowly made Suzie get in the jeep. He decided to give some space for the father and daughter to say their goodbyes.


    He was very careful in doing so. He still didn''t know what might agitate her, so he was as gentle as he could be. After settling her down, he closed the door and noticed David was giving a hug to his daughter.


    Daisy turned around, but Mark remembered something to ask her and so he said, "Daisy, wait a minute. I want to talk to you about something."

 Chapter 73 - Woods

    Hearing Mark, Daisy stopped and looked back and asked, "What is it, Mark?"


    "I want to ask about Suzie''s condition. How was she yesterday after I separated from you guys? Did she do something different or were there any signs of her recovering?" he whispered. There were too many people around them and he wanted nothing about them to get out.


    "She panicked when you were out of sight. I had to calm her down quite a bit and she followed me everywhere. She shivered when any male came near her and was ok with the females. She doesn''t need help in most of the things and can respond properly. But later, after we slept.." she became hesitant.


    Mark didn''t have enough time, so he urged her, "Speak up, Daisy."


    Daisy nodded and said, "But later that night after we slept. Her body started twitching, and she probably had a frightful dream. She looked like she was struggling with something and was shouting for help. I had to calm her down and she couldn''t sleep for the rest of the night."


    Mark noticed the slight dark circles she had and nodded. He then said, "After that did anything happen?"


    Daisy shook her head and said, "No, nothing major. She would shiver sometimes and couldn''t go back to sleep even after I said I was there for her."


    Mark nodded and said, "Alright Daisy, thanks for taking care of her for me." a bit grateful for her work.


    Daisy waved her hand and said, "It''s alright. Just take care of my dad. I don''t know why he insists on following you but take care of him."


    Mark nodded and said as he turned back, "That goes without saying." and walked towards the jeep. Daisy left, saying nothing, praying for her father''s safety. Mark came back and iced David''s worry gaze as he stood out of the jeep looking towards his daughter''s back.


    He patted his shoulders and said, "She, we will be safer here. You do not have to worry that much. You rest for a while, I will drive." and went to the other side and got inside. David got in next to him at the front and closed his eyes.


    Mark looked behind and saw Suzie blankly looking out of the window. He reached out and patted her. Her body shivered, and she calmed when she saw Mark. He softly said, "Get some sleep, Suzie. You do not have to worry about anything. I am here." he wanted her to get some sleep after he heard what happened the previous night.


    She nodded and closed her eyes. Like a child, she leaned on the glass and slept. Mark wished her to get some sleep, at least for now. Starting the car, Mark drove out of the camp. As soon as he exited the gates, Mark increased the speed.


    The quicker he would be done with the checkup, the better it would be for them. There was silence in the car as no one spoke. Suzie was asleep and looked like she could finally sleep. David was looking out the window, probably worried sick about his daughter, and Mark was driving.


    "Mark, are you sure she would be safe?" with some concern. After losing his better half in an accident all that he had was his daughter, now during these tough times leaving her was quite an emotional burden on him. He wanted to follow Mark because of his life debt. He couldn''t just forget the man who saved their lives.


    Mark looked at David and nodded. He said, "You do not have to worry so much. I have friends in that camp. I am sure she will do fine and will be safe." David nodded and relaxed after getting to know Mark has friends in the camp.


    "Do you know the specific place your friend might be in Evergreen city?" he finally turned towards Mark.


    Mark shook his head and said, "No, my guesses are his hotel, the museum, and the military base. If not in these three, we might stay in that city for a pretty long time."


    David nodded and said, "Are there any other works except saving your friend."


    Hearing him, Mark hesitated a bit. The General did not tell him to keep it a secret, but he wanted to trust the man a little. So he said, "We have another job. We might have to go to the military camp in the city and get something."


    David nodded and remained silent. As they continued to go, David noticed Suze shaking from the corner of his eyes and shook Mark. he said, "Mark, look at Suzie."


    Mark immediately hit the brakes and turned back. He noticed Suzie-''s body shaking and immediately tried to calm her down, "Suzie, don''t worry. It''s me. Don''t be scared. I am here for you." while patting her back. He shook his head and thought, ''Seems like recovering from this is going to take quite some time for her.''


    Suzie''s body was calmer, and he slowly turned back when it was ok and started the jeep. They continued and nothing else happened except killing a few zombies, blocking their way. Mark let David do it and looked from behind to help in case anything might happen.


    Mark finally reached the vicinity of the small patch of woods. He looked at them and slowly drove on the same road. He got the same strange feeling as he did a few days back. He stopped the vehicle where the feeling was the strongest and looked towards the woods.


    David followed his eyesight and looked at the woods, wondering if this was the place. Mark felt the feeling was somehow different from last time and was now more eager. He took out his seatbelt and held the katana.


    David noticed this and asked, "Is this the place?" Mark nodded, and David also stretched his hands to take out his seatbelt, but Mark stopped him.


    Mark shook his head and said, "Stay with Suzie. We can''t take her in or leave her alone. If anything is dangerous, I will run back." He wasn''t an idiot. I didn''t want to risk his life for a strange feeling he got. But someone needed to be with Suzie, who is extremely vulnerable at the moment, so he decided to go alone.

 Chapter 74 - Woods (II)

    David naturally noticed how serious Mark was and nodded. Even if he was concerned for him, he knew there was nothing that could change Mark''s mind once he decided. Mark looked at Suzie one last time before he got down. Closing the door, he held the katana and crossed the street.


    He went into the woods, disappearing from David''s eyesight. Mark looked around as he slowly walked. He went forward step by step, cautious. He didn''t want a sudden attack on him. He noticed a few of the leaves and the trunk of some trees had purple dots on them.


    He went near the nearest tree and slowly observed it. He didn''t want to risk anything by touching it. Observing it, he slowly murmured, "These are normal pine trees. But why does this trunk have purple dots like this? Is this perhaps a mutation? The trees are finally mutating and adapting to the virus."


    After observing the surrounding trees, he noticed all of them had these dots. Some had more while others had less, but most of them had them on their trunk and leaves. He left the trees and continued deeper into the woods as he couldn''t find anything else important about them.


    As he continued to go further deep inside the woods, he suddenly found something strange. It was a footprint. Easily 5 times his. He immediately knew what it was based on how it was shaped. This was a bloater zombie''s footprint. He looked around it and found smaller footprints.


    "There were zombies here recently. Based on the texture, it looks more recent. But how are there so many zombies moving towards the inside of these woods? It looks like they left too." as he noticed the reverse footprints indicating the person walked back.


    Mark was now in a dilemma. He didn''t know what to do. Based on the footprints, it looked like a huge number of zombies went into the woods. Even if there were footprints indicating they went back, he couldn''t help but be careful.


    He can''t face those many zombies in battle. Taking a deep breath, he went deeper. This unease he felt as he went inside was a major point for him. He wanted to clarify what was causing this unease in him and based on how he felt so far; the answer wasn''t far away.


    He felt pressured, and it increased as he went deeper. This made him sure there was something here that caused all of this. He suddenly saw a patch of grass not far from him, showing he reached the innermost part of the woods. He quickened his stats and got out of the woods.


    But what he saw made his eyes shoot open. He looked at the huge crater in the middle of the grass. There were a few cracks in the ground surrounding the crater. He looked around and found there were no zombies. Clutching the hilt of the Katana, he went forward towards the crate.


    As he reached the edge of the crate, he looked inside and saw a small blue cube only at the size of his hand lying in the middle. He felt confused and looked around to see if this was a scene of sorts and someone came before he did.


    But when he noticed there was no trace of human interference, he looked back at the small cube. The pressure he was feeling was the highest till now. He took a deep breath and jumped inside the crater. As his feet landed on the crater, the pressure he felt vanished like it was never there.


    He slowly walked towards the cube and once he was in front of it, he was contemplating if he could take the cube. It looked completely harmless. He then ripped some part of his shirt off and covered his right hand. He slowly bent and took the cube into his hand.


    But as he took it, sudden heat came off the cube which burned through the cloth and into his hand. He dropped the cube, feeling the skin of his palm burning. He looked at it and found his palm had strange markings burned into it. He tried to rub it off, but it burned the markings into his skin and was in red color.


    He blew some air onto his palm, trying to ease the pain off it. After a few more minutes, the pain was now more bearable. He looked at the cube and cursed. He was now more vigilant to take the cube. He crouched and looked at it. He slowly took it into his left hand once again, and this time there was no heat off the cube. It was now rather cold.


    He exhaled and held the cube in his right hand. There was a bit of ease when he did. The cold cube was cooling the pain of the hand and was comfortable. He walked out of the carter and made his way back to the jeep. He looked at the cube, which didn''t give off any pressure. He guessed the eerie feeling he had was also from the cube.


    His right palm now had red markings on it, which looked strange. Mark didn''t see these anywhere. He got out of the woods and saw David looking towards him and exhaling in relief. He crossed the road and got into the jeep.


    David looked at him as he got on and asked, "So did you find out anything?"


    Mark didn''t reply and handed over the cube but as David touched the cube, he shouted, "Damn what is this. It almost burned my skin." Dropping it. Mark forgot about this. He bent and took the cube. He looked at David, who was clutching his hand with a red face.


    He then doubted something and immediately caught David''s hand and opened it. There was no marking. It looked like it got burned, but there were no markings like how Mark had them. He felt nothing from the cube at his hands.


    "What is that?"


    Mark shrugged as he started the jeep and said, "I don''t know. I found it inside those woods."


    As Mark drove off, in another place in the city, an angry man slammed the table in front of him and shouted at the people before him, "Why were you not able to find the bastard who killed my brother."

 Chapter 75 - Angered Brother

    Kane was going insane seeing all the helpless people in front of him. It''s already been an entire day since they found his brother dead in one of the rooms in their own camp. His world shook when he heard his brother was dead last night.


    He asked everyone who talked to him that day, if anything suspicious happened. His initial guess was if there was someone within the camp who was planning a rebellion against him. He was the dictator, and it''s common for some people to feel like this.


    But after interrogating the people in the camp, he heard the girl his brother brought back went missing. Now this was highly suspicious. He passed orders to search the entire camp for her. But even after a whole day, there were no results. It was as if she vanished from the camp.


    "How did she come to this camp?" he asked his underlings. All of them were shivering in fear as they heard his angry voice. All of them slowly looked at each other until everyone''s gaze fell on one lean man in the middle.


    Noticing everyone''s gaze on him, the lean man took a step ahead and said with fear in his voice, "Boss, the woman came from the downtown area. Young master took us there to find some supplies, and we encountered the small group of people who made a temporary base there."


    "When we found them, the young master''s eyes fell on this 20-year-old girl and he wanted her for himself. He tried to bring her in but was refused. Then he threatened this girl by saying he will kill all the people there if she doesn''t come with us."


    "The girl accepted and came with us when she heard this. The young master wanted to enjoy her the day she came, but you gave him another task to do. The next day he got captured by those people who came in the jeep and you gave him another punishment."


    "Yesterday after lunch, he finally couldn''t hold himself anymore and dragged her into a room on the first floor. He closed the doors and told us not to come inside no matter what. We naturally agreed to this and remained outside."


    "Even after a few hours we didn''t hear any sort of noise from the other side, so we went inside to see what happened. By then, the young master had a bullet in his head and was found dead. The girl he took in was nowhere to be found. We then came and informed you immediately."


    As the man spoke his body was shaking the maximum. His back was drenched with cold sweat as the room was silent. No one spoke and Kane remained on his seat with both his hands on the desk, looking at the man before him.


    "Then what about this woman? You say you couldn''t find her anywhere in the whole camp. Did you try to go to the place we found her group and see if she was there?"


    The man nodded and said, "We did boss, but there is no one there. They emptied the whole place with not a single soul living there. By the looks of it, they also left in quite a hurry." he hurriedly explained.


    Silence took over once again. Everyone could hear their hearts beating loudly, filled with anxiousness. Everyone knew the amount of love the man had for his younger brother. Both of them lost their parents at a young age, and the man before him came into the underground scene when he was in his teens.


    He overthrew the old boss and started his own business of smuggling. He smuggled everything from woman to high technology machinery the country has banned. But even with all this, his love for his only family member never decreased.


    "Did you search the surrounding areas?"


    The man nodded and said, "Yes, Boss. We searched every building around us. We didn''t find that girl. We could cover only 3 to 4 streets around us. If we went further, our people''s lives would be in danger"


    "Then keep searching more. Search for a longer distance. I don''t care what happens, but I need that girl in front of me. Do I need to tell you guys how to do even this? Now get all your asses out there and search for the girl." he shouted as he banged the table in front of him.


    Everyone shivered once again under Kane''s rage. They all nodded and slowly went out one by one. As everyone left, Kane sat back down in his seat and exhaled. He was feeling uncontrollable rage inside him, but he didn''t act it out.


    He couldn''t show his weakness in front of these ugly bastards during these crucial times. The moment he does so, would be his end as the leader of the camp. He looked at the picture on his desk. It was him and his brother a few years before.


    Taking the photo into his hand he clutched his hands, crumbling the paper and said with anger in his voice, "Don''t worry brother. I will find this girl and the person who killed you for sure. I will kill them with my own hands and bring justice for your death."


    Kane released the piece of crumbled photo and kept it aside. He looked at the ceiling, waiting for any news on the woman.


    As Kane was feeling uncontrollable rage in him, the one responsible for his brother''s death was already on the highway towards Evergreen city. Mark did not stop anywhere after coming out of the woods. He directly exited the city and got on the highway to evergreen city.


    He looked at his watch and noticed it was already past lunch. He looked around and found everywhere around them there were only grassy plains. There wasn''t a single building to stop by and eat. He looked back and noticed Suzie was already awake.


    *_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*


    A small notice. I am writing it here because many would read it. I am going to post a notice in the auxiliary chapter later and I hope everyone can read it. I will post it in another hour or so. It is pretty important.

 Chapter 76 - Lunch

    He noticed she was looking out of the window. After they cooled her down, she didn''t have any other nightmares and slept peacefully. Mark was worried if she would have another nightmare and wouldn''t get sleep, but seeing she slept well he exhaled in relief. She and Kevin were his number one priority.


    He looked at her through the mirror and asked, "Are you feeling hungry, Suzie?" Suzie nodded and held her stomach, which grumbled.


    He looked at David and received a nod from him. He looked around once again and couldn''t find a proper place to stop the jeep and eat. As he looked around, he saw a tree in the distance right next to the road.


    He slowly drove towards the tree and stopped the car under the tree''s shade once they arrived. He looked out of the window and found it was a nice spot to have lunch and got down. David noticed this and got down. Both went to the back and opened the trunk.


    David took out the mini-solar oven he brought in the supermarket Mark saved him from. Mark took out the bag of food he had and closed the trunk. They went near the tree and set the solar oven up and after a while; it started working.


    David took out some frozen food from the bag and cooked up some easy food to eat. Mark went to Suzie as David cooked and said, "Wait for a few minutes." Suzie nodded from inside.


    "Did you sleep well?" making Suzie nod once again. Rei exhaled and looked at David as he already finished heating up food for one person. Mark took the plastic cup from him and brought it near Suzie so she could eat.


    "Here take this and eat. You need to get some food inside you." keeping it in front of her. Suzie didn''t move. She looked at the small disposable plate and food on it and then stared at Mark. Mark understood and slowly took a piece and brought it near her mouth.


    "Here. Eat like this." and Suzie opened her mouth and ate it. "Good, now you try." handing over the plate to her. Suzie took the plate and slowly ate her food. Mark exhaled in relief as he saw this.


    He felt a tap on his shoulder and turned around. He saw David with two more plates in his hands and took one from him. Both of them leaned on the jeep and slowly ate their portion of lunch.


    "How long till Evergreen city if we go at this speed?" asked David as he swallowed his food.


    "Probably two days. The roads have too many cars on them. We can only slowly make our way through the cars." There were too many cars on the highway. Some zombies were roaming around between the cars.


    These people must have tried to escape the city but failed in the end as the virus caught up. He took another piece into his mouth and closed his eyes. But as he swallowed it, he heard groaning from the distance.


    His eyes shot open, and he looked around. He knows it is zombies and that they are near. But he found no zombies. He closed and tried to hear it once again. This time it was louder, and he panicked more. He couldn''t see them. There was a bad feeling in his heart and he quickly turned towards David and said, "Let''s go from here. Zombies are coming."


    He quickly stuffed the food inside him and went for the oven and the food bag. He noticed David still staring at him and urged him, "Quickly there are zombies coming." and went to keep them in the trunk.


    David increased his speed and Mark kept the bag and the oven in the trunk before closing it and making his way to the driver''s seat. David already sat in his seat and was looking at Mark. Mark ignored his gaze and started the jeep.


    He slowly drove ahead and David asked again, "Where are the zombies, Mark?"


    Mark looked out of the window and saw a few zombies under the tree they were just eating. He got back in and motioned backward for David. David looked back and saw the zombies, and his eyes went wide.


    "How do you know there were zombies?" he sat back in his seat.


    Mark shrugged and said, "I heard them coming. That''s why I said zombies." he looked at Suzie. Suzie was already done with her food and her plate was beside her.


    He rolled down her window and said, "Throw your plate out." and she picked up her plate and dropped it out of the window. He closed the window once again and sat back correctly.


    "But how come I didn''t hear anything?" asked David from his side. Mark didn''t reply and only shrugged in response. He just heard it when he was eating. What more could he say. David didn''t ask again and simply looked out of the window.


    Mark continued to drive, and slowly the sun was going down. He looked around for a place to stay for the night. Even though he had tents, he preferred home or any sort of housing structure to stay for the night. Sleeping out was too risky, especially when he knew zombies were more active at night.


    After going further they spotted a small petrol bunk which also had a house attached to it behind. He drove up to it and pulled out his gun. There were 2 zombies outside, probably workers based on their clothes. He quickly took care of them and got down from his jeep. David also got down with his gun in his hand.


    The sky was already orange as the sun was going down. He looked at Suzie and opened the door. Suzie got down, and he said, "Stay behind me." and made their way inside the shop in the petrol bunk. The house was behind the small shop.

 Chapter 77 - Petrol Bunk

    All three of them slowly entered the shop. There was no one inside. Mark looked around, holding the gun in his hand. As he looked around he found spare tires, different types of engine oils, and repair kits for fixing things up. He thought to keep some spare tires when he would leave this place tomorrow.


    David and Suzie were right behind as he slowly searched for the door for the house behind. Suzie suddenly tugged Mark''s shirt and whispered, "There." pointing towards one of the corners of the room behind the cash counter.


    Mark looked and found it was a door. He nodded and slowly went towards the counter. There were no zombies behind it. He quickly went to the door and found it was locked. He then smashed the lock with the gun and opened the door.


    On the other side was a very small hallway, and in the end, it took a right. He slowly went inside and after David passed through the door, he closed it. When he came to the end, Mark stopped as he heard groaning from the other side.


    He looked back and mouthed to David. David nodded and Mark peeked inside. He saw the living room of the house. The living room had the television, a couch on one side, and a dining table on the other. He could also see the kitchen which was next to the dining table.


    He saw two zombies, and they were probably the couple living in the house. The male one was inside the kitchen while the female zombie was near the couch. He could only shoot the female one from his position and had to move further into the living room to comfortably shoot the male one.


    He took aim and headshot the female zombie. Before that zombie fell he ran into the living room and took aim for the male one. The male zombie noticed Mark and started running towards him. It was a bitter. Mark hurriedly shot, but the magazine was empty. The zombie was already near him and pounced on him.


    Mark instinctively ducked, and he heard a gunshot. The zombie''s head was hit, and it fell to the side. He looked up and saw David holding his gun, pointing it at him. He sighed in relief and said, "You really came in clutch there. I didn''t notice the number of bullets I used."


    David also exhaled in relief when he noticed his shot hit the zombie. He was scared it would hit Mark instead. He went up to Mark and gave his hand and said, "Well, that''s why it''s good to have someone watching your back." and pulled him up.


    Mark didn''t reply and looked around. He saw a room and went towards it. He saw two beds inside. The room was very simple. He found the bathroom at the corner and checked the water. The water was still running, so he came out and said, "Well, the water is still running. We can have a bath before we eat."


    David nodded and said, "Let Suzie go first. I will go back to the jeep and get our bags." and went out.


    Mark looked at Suzie and said, "Suzie, go take a bath. David will bring your clothes." Suzie nodded and went inside the room. Once she got in, she started removing her clothes.


    Mark exhaled and quickly said, "You can remove them once you go inside the bathroom. Wait a minute, I will see if there are any towels." and started searching the drawers in the room. Suzie stopped removing her clothes and waited as he asked her to.


    After finding 3 towels, he handed her one and said, "Now, go inside the bathroom. Once David comes with your bag, I will keep the clothes on the bed. Come out of the room once you''re done with changing." while exiting the room.


    Once he closed the door he exhaled and looked at the two dead zombie bodies. He looked at the small yard they had. He opened the door and threw out the bodies into the yard before closing it back in. He saw David come in with three bags in his hand. Mark took one bag and went inside the room.


    He heard Suzie bathing and took a deep breath as he felt the urge to peek in. Even though he wanted to die and was a bit cold, he was still a young adult. He quickly kept the clothes on the bed and came out of the room.


    David noticed Mark come out and said, "The jeep has no fuel. We should fill it before we head off tomorrow." Mark nodded and went into the kitchen.


    He searched the refrigerator and found some vegetables and other useful stuff to cook up something healthy. Using the available ingredients and the small knowledge he had on cooking, he cooked curry and rice.


    While he was cooking, Suzie completed her bath and came out of the room. David went in and Suzie sat on the dining table looking at him with dead eyes. By the time David came out, he was already done and kept the plates on the table. He then went for a bath and they ate after he came out.


    By the time they were done, the sun had already set, and they had to take out the torchlight they found in the shop. Mark decided they should rest early and David slept on the couch outside while Mark and Suzie took a bed each. Mark couldn''t sleep. He looked at Suzie and found her sleeping. She didn''t look comfortable and had her eyebrows knitted and was clutching her bedsheet.


    He sat on the edge of his bed and patted her. After she calmed down, he looked out of the window and saw the mood. As he was seeing the moon he suddenly remembered what happened during lunch.


    He could hear the growling of the zombies from afar and the others couldn''t hear them. It was clearly beyond the human hearing range.

 Chapter 78 - Changes And Adaptation

    As Mark thought about it, he started remembering some bizarre moments when he was fighting the past few days. He remembered how his body reactions were quicker than how they previously were. His body was now reacting and also more flexible than before.


    When he fought the zombies from a close range, he sometimes felt the sense of danger become more evident than normal and his body would react abnormally to defend against that danger. This never happened before. It would feel like his body was not in his control at that moment, making it more bizarre for him.


    He then closed his eyes and opened them as he looked out of the window. It flabbergasted him when he did. Even though it was night, he could see everything clearer than before. It was like his eyes had a pair of binocular on them. His eyesight range also increased a lot. He could see a tree which was approximately 50 meters away from him.


    He remembered that an average human can only see objects 20 feet away from them as clear as he did just now. His mouth went open as he thought about it. He then thought of something and closed his eyes. He tried to hear sounds.


    He could hear the bugs in the surrounding grass as clear as they were right beside his ears. He opened his eyes once again and dragged a chair in the room to the window side to sit down. He started to think about the changes he felt just now.


    ''This is abnormal. How can I see, hear, and feel better? I developed a keen sixth sense of sorts for danger and my body now is enhanced compared to before. It is almost like I upgraded myself from before.''


    ''I could now practically see things almost 10x the distance an average person can see. That is a very big leap. Are these changes happening only within me or is this happening to everyone in general.'' as his eyes landed on Suzie''s sleeping figure.


    But he shook his head and thought, ''No, that can''t be right. If it happens to everyone, then why was David not able to listen earlier today? It makes no sense.'' as he started to think deeper.


    Something suddenly clicked, and he thought, ''It must be different for each person. The time taken for one person to become as I did just now must be different from each one. This is probably the adaptability of humans.''


    ''Our bodies are slowly getting adapted to the virus which caused all this. They say humans to be one of the creatures which have the most adaptability. We can adapt to any given situation as long as we give the body enough time to do so.''


    He remembered something he read online about animals and human evolution and adaptability once before on the internet.


    ''Like the evolution of man from apes. It happened over the course of time. The external environment This is also the reason why giraffes have long necks. Giraffes were originally said to have short necks like any other creature.''


    ''But due to natural selection and the need for survivability, it''s body started changing so it could live off eating leaves from tall trees that normal animals can''t eat. Humans are also the same. People who live in extreme temperatures are more adapted to the place than normal people or people who haven''t been exposed to that kind of environment.''


    ''Now this is happening with the virus. Our bodies are now slowly adapting to the virus and are slowly changing. It is naturally different from each person. The speed probably depends on the need of each individual.''


    ''So now that our bodies are adapting to the surrounding environment, the next question is how far are they going to grow or to properly say evolve. Is this going to be like one of the games where everyone gets superpowers because of this.'' Mark chuckled and shook his head at the nonsensical thought he had.


    ''Now I wonder how much time it will take for David and Suzie to have changes in their bodies. Would it be similar or would the changes be different for each person? It would be nice if their body is quicker to adapt than normal.''


    He then remembered the small cube he found earlier. Taking it out of his pocket, he held it in the moonlight to get a better view of it. He slowly started to examine the cube. It had patterns similar to the ones on his right hand. He tried to see if there was any kind of opening to it and found none.


    The cube was tightly encased and couldn''t be opened. He then remembered the place he found it and thought, ''How did it get there. It was inside the enormous crater-like it fell from some height. But a crater that big would only be formed if it was a meteorite, and it fell from space. Did this come from space?'' playing with it.


    ''And also the eerie feeling the cube gave off before. It stopped coming once I took it into my hands. David also said he felt nothing when I was going inside. So was this cube giving out some sort of signals and I happen to feel them?''


    ''Also based on the size and number of footprints around it is very suspicious. It looked like there were a huge number of zombies in those woods, but they suddenly vanished when I went there. The footprints were especially more around the crater.''


    But all these observations he made boiled down to one question, ''Are all these matched or coincidental?''


    He shook all these thoughts from his head and stood up from the chair. He noticed it was almost midnight, and they had to move early tomorrow. He kept the cube back in his pockets and went to his bed. Laying on the bed, he thought, ''All the answers would probably come to light in the future.'' and closed his eyes to get some sleep.

 Chapter 79 - Looting The House

    Waking up the next day, Mark looked at the window and noticed the dewdrops on it from the chilly wind at night. He then turned towards Suzie, who looked like she slept peacefully enough last night. But when he squinted his eyes, he noticed she clutched the bed sheet so hard that there were holes in them. Her palms had red markings on them.


    He shook his head, but still sighed in relief. This was progress. Unlike last time, even though she struggled, she was still able to sleep without shaking or waking up in the middle of the night. He checked the time and found out it was 6. So he stood up and gently shook her body.


    "Suzie, wake up. We got to go." But as he did, her body jerked, and she woke up. She looked around as if she was searching for something. Mark immediately patted her back and said, "It''s alright. It''s no one, only me." And only then did she cool down a bit.


    She looked at Mark. Mark smiled and asked, "Did you get some good sleep this time." Suzie nodded in response. Mark felt she could be responsive by voicing out more. But this was still progress compared to before.


    Mark then nodded and went towards the living room to wake up David. But he noticed David was already up and was looking out the balcony into the grassy plains. David turned around when he noticed the door open and saw Mark coming out.


    "Did you get some good sleep?" Asked David. Mark nodded and asked him the same question. David smiled in response and said, "Yes, I had a good sleep. There is still a big day ahead of us. We needed to reach Loshin before sun sets."


    Loshin is the name of the town which is between Evergreen city and Stargaze city. A medium populated town with no importance to its name except the fact that they have one of the best fast food streets in the entire country. They fill their streets with vendors selling fast food from throughout the whole country, which makes it a fun place to visit.


    Mark was forced to come out to this city a couple of times because of Suzie and Kevin''s interest in food. They love the food here and they always rented a car and drove it. They stay the night in the town before driving back the next day. It was a nice change of pace sometimes. At night times it was always crowded, and it looked like the whole town was in these streets.


    "Yes, we should be able to reach it by lunchtime if our pace remains the same." Said Mark while nodding to himself.


    "Alright then. Let''s pack up quickly and move out. I will drive today. You can have some rest." While moving towards Mark.


    Mark nodded and looked at the kitchen and said, "Let''s search the whole house for things like food, water, batteries and other useful stuff."


    David nodded and went for the kitchen, while Mark started searching all the drawers for any kind of useful items. As he searched, he found a few working torchlights and batteries for them. He found a sharp pocket knife, which he took. David on the other hand found canned goods and big bottles of mineral water. Now they have enough food and water for a month if they don''t overeat.


    After searching for some more time, they placed all the food items into a big woolen cover they found and tied it up. Mark placed the batteries in a small box with the torchlights he found. Mark then cooled some breakfast for them as David went out to keep the new food cover into the jeep trunk and get the jeep fueled up for the long ride ahead.


    After having breakfast, all three of them exited the house and went into the shop. Mark asked Suzie to sit in the trunk as they search for useful tools in the shop. David already killed the nearby zombies which wandered around at night making it safe. Mark looked at the tires hanged on one side of the wall and found the matching tire for the jeep and took it out. With David''s help, he tied the wheel to the top of the jeep.


    He then searched for repair tools in case of any emergency for the jeep. After getting a suitable kit, he kept it inside the trunk. Now the last thing they needed to do was search for a big container to store some fuel. They could not search for petrol bunks like this all the time, so having a big enough container full of fuel would come in hand when things get rough.


    Luckily, they found 2 medium-sized containers and filled them up to the brim. They opened the trunk and found it full. Exhaling, they started to swift the food items to the back seat of the jeep meaning next to Suzie and kept the containers of fuel instead. After setting up everything, David sat before the wheel and Mark sat beside him.


    With one last check, David started the vehicle, and they hit the road once again. David was a much slower driver compared to Mark. He didn''t take much risk with some vehicles and zombies on the road. They had to stop several times when the number of zombies were more. Mark took them out mostly with his sword instead of using the gun. Mark closed his eyes to take a small nap after some time and asked David to wake him up when they reached the town.


    Eventually the sun was above them by the time they saw the Loshin town board by the road showing the town was only a few more kilometres ahead. They entered the town and just like the Stargaze city, there were zombies everywhere. David sighed as he drove through the streets and thought, ''Hope at least some people survived in the town.''

 Chapter 80 - Reaching Loshin

    Driving through the streets of Loshin, David heard something which made him smash the brakes and wake up Mark beside him.


    "Stop. Please Stop. Save us."


    David looked out of his window and into the streets to see 2 young teenagers running towards them with a small horde of 15 zombies behind them. One of them was a male and had a huge hammer in his hands, so huge enough to smash a head. The other was a female with a small bag behind her and a kitchen knife in her hand.


    Both of them noticed their jeep and shouted for help, stretching their hands out hoping they could see them. David looked at both of them and didn''t know what to do. He knew Mark''s way of thinking and how he would react if he saw them. He wouldn''t care much. They weren''t related to him in any way and probably would also not benefit him in any way.


    But David was different. He couldn''t think like Mark. He was a trained doctor. A person who couldn''t look away when people come to him with a cry of help. As he was thinking about what to do, both those teenagers came nearer with the horde behind them.


    "What is it, David? Why did the car stop?" Asked Mark as he rubbed his eyes. The sudden brake woke him up as his head almost hit the dashboard in front of him. He looked at David, who was looking out and was puzzled.


    David heard him and mustered up some courage and asked, "Can we save them?" Pointing out of the car towards the two running teenagers.


    Mark was confused and said as he leaned over, "Save whom? You can''t be serious." And looked at David when he noticed them shouting towards him.


    David nodded and asked once again, "Yes, those two. Please just listen, I can''t be like you and ignore them. My life up till now was to save people and seeing that their life is in danger. I can''t turn the other way." Almost pleading him.


    Mark shook his head and said, "We don''t have time." As he sat back in his seat.


    "It won''t take any time. Listen to me, we can''t just leave those people out there like that." Trying to convince Mark.


    Mark didn''t reply. He had one thought. If he says no right now to David''s wish, he would not have a good ally to rely on the future. But he also couldn''t go against his thoughts.


    After thinking it through, he looked at David and said, "Ok, then it''s all on you. I won''t get involved if you want to save them. Don''t even look at me when you find yourself in trouble facing them. Also, don''t take much time. We are already behind our schedule." As he made his points across.


    He couldn''t deny David''s request. Especially when their partnership is only based on him saving David''s life. If he wouldn''t listen to his requests, it would only be a matter of time before David would leave him when the time comes. It is human nature and he couldn''t stop it. So he agreed with those conditions.


    David, who heard this, was shocked. He knew that Mark was a bit too selfish compared to normal people and wouldn''t want to save others just for the sake of it. But he listened to his request and agreed. Even though the conditions were tight, they were still durable. He nodded and took out his gun. He checked the bullets and got down from the jeep.


    Waving his hand and two teenagers running, he said, "Come quickly and keep your heads low. Quick." And aimed at a zombie behind them.


    David''s aim was not the best. He would only hit 4 out of every 10 shots he took. The first bullet hit the shoulder of the zombie he aimed for blowing it away, but it didn''t stop it one bit. David quickly continued to shoot more bullets out as the two teenagers covered their heads and ran while bending down.


    By the time David went through the whole magazine, there were still 4 zombies left and they were very near to the jeep. Both the teenagers reached the jeep and immediately went behind David as he changed the magazine and quickly shot down the rest.


    After he confirmed they were dead, he turned around and saw the two teenagers looking at him. The girl already had tears in her eyes while the boy was terrified by what just happened. He dropped the hammer in his hand and hugged the girl as he tried to calm her down.


    "What are you both trying to do out here when zombies are everywhere? Don''t you have a safe camp here in the town." Asked David as both of them cooled down and stopped crying.


    The boy looked at David and replied, "We ran away from the camp. We couldn''t stay there and snuck out trying to search for food and try to survive on our own. While we were trying, we attracted the zombies, and they were after us."


    Before David could reply Mark laughed out loud hearing them. This startled all three of them, and David looked inside. Mark controlled his laugh and said, "Get in David. We can''t deal with these brainless idiots who can''t even grasp the severity of the situation the country is in right now. Leave them now that they are safe. We need to move."


    Hearing him, the boy was shocked and turned towards David and immediately caught his leg and begged, "Please don''t leave us. Please, at least return us back to our camp. If you leave us we have absolutely no hope of surviving. Just taking us to our camp would be enough." The girl also begged with him.


    It startled David when he saw both of them beg. Both looked like they were the same age as his daughter Daisy, and he couldn''t reject looking at their pleading face. So he turned to Mark, trying to ask him if they could send them to their camp.

 Chapter 81 - Town Camp

    Mark noticed the look David was giving and sighed. Helpless, he said, "David, we need to go. This wasn''t part of the deal. We need to get to Evergreen city and there is still a long way to go there. So let''s go. These kids were able to get out of the camp. I am sure they will find a way back to it." With a tinge of seriousness. He didn''t want to order him, just because he saved his life.


    David heard him and knew he was right. But both the teenagers grew anxious at the thought of them leaving and forced to go through what they just did. But they cried as they were too scared to face the zombies again. They realized their mistake and wanted to go back. But the way back was too hard of an option for them.


    David looked back to Mark and said slowly, trying to convince him, "Mark, Evergreen city is still a very long way from here. We won''t be able to reach today and it will probably take another whole day. Why don''t we stay here today? We will drop these kids at their camp and stay there for the night. It''s already 2 right now and the sun will go down in another 3 to 4 hours. We probably won''t be lucky enough to find a place to stay overnight like yesterday."


    David thought this was the best possible reason he could come up with at that moment. Hearing him, Mark went silent. He looked at David and said, "Alright, we will go and drop them at their camp. But we need food and a room to stay for the night from them." Mark didn''t want to negotiate with them.


    Hearing him, the girl instantly became happy and said, "Sure that is ok. My mom is the mayor of the town. I am sure she will accept your condition for a single night if you drop us there. I promise you this. Just please drop us there."


    "Can I hold your words accountable?" Asked Mark, raising an eyebrow at her. He couldn''t blindly believe what the girl said. When they go there and the mayor says to go away, he might want to kill her off.


    The girl eagerly nodded when she heard Mark and said, "Yes, don''t worry. My mom loves me. I am sure she will accept it if I asked her."


    Mark nodded and said, "Alright, then hop in. But remember, if you can''t do what you promised. I will make sure I get it. This is a two-way deal, not a free service." Being completely serious about it. Both of them nodded. David exhaled in relief when he saw Mark finally accept.


    Mark turned to the back and opened the door to his side. He looked at Suzie, who was observing the whole situation from the inside and sighed. Both of them got in along with David, also got in, and started the jeep. The girl sat in the middle beside Suzie while the boy sat next to the window.


    He looked at the back and asked, "So where is this camp of yours?"


    "It''s the town hospital. They made our temporary camp there for now. I will show you the way. First, go straight from here." And the boy started showing the way to their camp. David followed the instructions and drove. Whenever any zombies were in the way, it was only David who got down.


    Mark did not even try to help. David was ok with this. Asking to drop these kids at their camp was too much to ask, so he sealed with the zombies himself. They finally reached the vicinity of the town hospital and they noticed only a very few people with guns. Fewer than the school camp organized by the underground back in Stargaze city.


    Most of the guns were basically pistols, like the Glock 17 used by the police. Mark understood this camp wasn''t only ruled by the mayor, but the police force also helped in maintaining the place. This was nice as the citizens wouldn''t have any speck of hope to survive on their own with no weapons. And getting weapons was very hard in the country. Normal countrymen wouldn''t have guns without a permit from the central government.


    They slowly went up to the entrance and the guards. The boy instantly went down the car and went before the man. Seeing the boy, the man reacted and exclaimed, "Ah, it''s Dereck. We were searching for you the whole day. Is Gwen with you? Where were you guys and why are you in a jeep?"


    "Uncle Ross I will explain everything later. Can you let the jeep in? They are good people." Asked the boy named Dereck.


    Ross looked at Dereck and then at David and nodded at the people behind him to let the jeep in. He looked at Dereck and said, "Ok then. All of you wait at the main entrance of the hospital inside. I will tell the mayor about this." And took out his walkie-talkie and said, "Mayor, this is Ross from the main gate. Your daughter Gwen and Dereck are back. They are no where with a group of people and a jeep."


    The voice on the other side came quickly, "Alright let them in. I am coming down to the main entrance right now." Ross nodded and nodded at David. David slowly drove the jeep in and stopped right before the main entrance of the hospital.


    Gwen was the first to jump out and Mark got out next. After a few more minutes a group of people came out of the hospital, led by a woman in her 40s. Mark could see some similarities between Gwen and her. This was the mayor of the town. Gwen ran up to her mother and hugged her while sobbing out loud how sorry she was about leaving the camp.


    The woman immediately consoled her daughter. After she did, she looked at Mark and said, "Did you save my daughter?"


    Mark nodded and said, "Yes, my partner saved her and her boyfriend as they were being chased down by a horde of zombies in a street crying for help. But it isn''t for free."

 Chapter 82 - Town Camp (II)

    The woman had two expressions on her face, anger towards her daughter, and wariness towards Mark. She was angry at her daughter''s recklessness, and she was cautious after hearing Mark''s last sentence. He decided to act on Mark''s last sentence first.


    So she asked, "What do you mean by ''It isn''t for free.''?" Looking at Mark.


    "It means exactly as it sounds. I didn''t save these two suicidal teenagers who escaped a safe place for fun for free. I need something in return. And you can ask your daughter about it." Looking at Gwen at the end.


    Gwen noticed his gaze and immediately turned towards her mother and said, "Mom, they saved us. They aren''t asking for much. Only some dinner and a place to stay for the night. They will leave tomorrow morning." Trying to be as convincing as she could.


    The woman frowned as she heard her daughter and said impatiently, "How can you promise that to some unknown person. Even if he saved you, you can''t make a promise like that. You should know about our problems right now. We already have a shortage of food." Almost shouting at her.


    "But mom, they saved me and Dereck from a zombie horde. We can at least give some food for one night. It won''t be that much of a difference. Please understand." Begging her.


    "No, we can''t sacrifice our limited capacity-"


    "Oh, stop it. Don''t start a drama right now. When we saved these two idiots, they promised me that our dinner tonight would be on you people. This isn''t negotiable. So you better arrange a place for us and food tonight." Interrupting her in the middle. Mark grew more impatient as he heard her arguing with her daughter.


    Hearing Mark''s remark, the mayor glared at him and said, "Please don''t talk like this. Everyone right now is in a tough situation and we are also in one. Our storage is very low and we are barely able to keep up. Do you think we can give you some just because of my daughter''s promise?"


    Hearing her, Mark laughed out loud, clutching his stomach. The sudden reaction surprised everyone, including David. It irritated the mayor, and she asked, "What do you find so funny?"


    Mark suddenly stopped laughing and took out his gun. He kept it on Gwen''s head and looked at her mother. He slowly said, "Well, I don''t really care who kept the promise. But they made it. I kept my end of the deal. That is bringing these two idiots back to their camp, here. For only dinner and a place to stay for the night. Now that you are saying you can''t keep one of the conditions at your end, it looks like you only need one of the two people. I look at this as a fair trade."


    His words shocked everyone there. Before the Mayor could respond to his words. The man who came with her responded first, "Sir, we understand. It''s a meal for 3 people. We will arrange it. Leave the girl."


    Mark heard him and before he could respond the mayor shouted, "What do you think you are doing?"


    The man slowly said ignoring her outburst, "Mayor you need to understand. These people made a deal with the kids. And they did their end of the deal. Just because we weren''t there doesn''t mean we can break it. And look at him, he would kill your daughter. We should just give them a meal."


    Hearing him, the Mayor calmed down and nodded. Mark also nodded seeing this and retracted the gun. The man exhaled in relief and said, "We will show you the way to your temporary place to stay. If you follow."


    Mark looked at David and said, "David please park the vehicle." And went towards Suzie and said, "Suzie, get down. We will stay here for the night."


    Suzie nodded and slowly got down and went to Mark. David drove the jeep and parked it right next to the entrance. He took out their bags and came beside Mark. Mark looked at the man and nodded. The man looked at the Mayor and said, "I will take them." The mayor nodded and went inside with Gwen behind her.


    The man turned around and went inside, followed by Mark, David, and Suzie. They entered the hospital and were greeted by a vast lobby. It was bigger than Denton''s company lobby. The hospital was only 4 floors but was wide and big. They followed him into one of the hallways opposite to the one the mayor took.


    As they walked through the hallway David asked the man, "How are the things here in the town?"


    The man turned around and noticed it was David who asked and replied, "They are pretty worse. The zombies are everywhere. If it wasn''t for the Mayor''s quick action together with the police helping us. Many people would have died. We were able to make this hospital our base."


    "How many people are here?"


    "When the things turned upside down, and we told all the people of the town through radio emergency about the camp. Only a little over 300 people were able to make it here."


    "What isn''t that number too low? Are there any other camps in this town?"


    The man smiled bitterly and shook his head, "We scouted most of the town and weren''t able to find any other settlements like this. This is why you see the Mayor very stressed earlier. Please don''t mind her, she has not gotten a proper sleep since all of this started."


    David nodded and asked slowly, "What problems was the Mayor talking about?"


    "Our food supplies are very low at the moment. If we stretch it, we will probably have enough food to feed the 300 people here only for a few more days. This is a huge crisis for us right now."


    David kept silent, hearing him. He had a crazy thought after hearing him and decided to discuss it with Mark when they reached their room. The man led them to the 2nd floor and into the corridor.


    They noticed the people as they walked through the corridors, and most of them lost their hope of life. The man stopped in front of a room and said, "This room has 3 beds. So it should be enough."

 Chapter 83 - Town Camp (III)

    David nodded and asked, "Ugh, I forgot to ask you this, but what is your name?" Feeling a bit awkward.


    The man smiled and said, "It''s ok. My name is Baren. I am Dereck''s father. I ran a small business in town before this happened." Extending his hand.


    David shook hands and said, "Myself David and this is Mark." Also introducing Mark.


    Baren nodded and said, "Now if you would excuse me. If you want anything you can find me on the 3rs floor." And exited the scene.


    Mark opened the door, and they went into a room with three hospital beds arranged neatly on one side with a small coffee table and 3 chairs. Mark kept his bag on the bed and sat on the chair. He looked at David and asked, "What are you thinking about now?"


    It startled David as he heard this from Mark. He started to sweat slowly. He turned towards Mark and asked, "What do you mean?" As he slowly sat on one of the beds.


    Mark smiled and asked, "Oh, you know what I mean. Why were you asking those questions to that guy? Don''t tell me it was just because you wanted to know. We both know that isn''t true. So tell me what is the reason."


    David coughed as he felt he was caught red-handed. He wryly smiled and said, "Can we help these people?"


    Mark looked at him and said with a flat voice, "You have to be serious. Because you asked, I agreed with you saving those two people and delaying our journey a whole day. Now, do you want to ask me to give our food away to them so they could eat? Because if you do, then I am ok in leaving you here with them." Mocking him at the end.


    David heard him and shook his head. He looked at Mark and asked, "I know you can think of ways to save these people here from this crisis. Just give an idea. I will try on my own." He didn''t want to include Mark in this. It was his own intention to help these people.


    Mark looked at David''s serious face and sighed. He shook his head and said, "Even though you are a doctor and seeing this hurts you to the core. You need to start getting over it. You will see this a lot in the future. Many people will beg you to save them. Now you can''t be hypocritical enough to save every single one of them." This damped David''s mood completely. Mark was right, he can''t save everyone he looks at.


    "Mark, just give an idea. As I said I will only try to help them. I won''t keep my life at risk." But it didn''t stop David asking him one more time.


    Looking at his desperate face, Mark sighed and said, "Suggest them to go to Stargaze city''s military camp. With the number of guns and police, they have if they are careful enough they might make it there. But it won''t be easy at all, it all depends on their luck. Stargaze city is also closer than Evergreen city. So it won''t be much of a problem for them. Because honestly, trying to survive here would only extend their death no matter what they try. But a military camp would have a better chance." Shrugging his shoulder, he leaned back.


    Hearing him, David nodded in understanding. He stood up and clapped. He looked at Mark and said, "Alright then. I will go and tell this to Baren." And exited the room.


    Seeing David exit the room, Mark sighed and shook his head. He didn''t think there was even a chance of more than 50 percent in his plan succeeding. But it was the most optimal choice in the situation. He stood up and went towards the wall. He looked below and saw their jeep.


    He then came back and sat near Suzie and asked, "Do you want to eat anything?"


    Suzie nodded, and he went to his bag and took out some canned beans and a bottle of water. He opened the can and kept a plastic spoon in it and gave it to her. Suzie took it and started slowly eating on her own. Seeing her, he sighed and slowly said, "Suzie, if you ever feel hungry in the future. Just tell me ok? Don''t keep it inside yourself." Suzie stopped eating for a second before she nodded and continued to eat.


    Mark took out another can before eating it himself. As they did this David was before Baren''s room and knocked. He asked around after coming to the 3rd floor and a person showed him the way.


    "Who is it?"


    "Baren it is me, David. I need to talk to you about something."


    "Oh, David, come in." And David went in. He came inside a neat office room.


    "Is there any problem, David? Please sit down." Pointing at the seat opposite to him, he asked.


    David shook his head and said, "No, after hearing your problem. I have a suggestion for you." As he sat before him.


    Baren nodded, and he continued, "ai think it is better if you go to the Stargaze city. There is a military camp there. And you surviving there is better than your chances here. So if you move there, you can avoid this. It is only a day''s journey away in the current situation. We arrived here from Stargaze city so you can trust me."


    Baren heard him and asked suspiciously, "If it is safe there. Then why did you guys leave?" He found it strange that these people left that place when it should be safe.


    Hearing him David wryly smiled and said, "We have some personal reasons to go to Evergreen city. We will go back to Stargaze after our work there is done."


    Baren nodded and asked, "How do you propose to move 300 people to another city. And you say it is a day''s journey."


    David went silent and after a while, he remembered what happened near Suzie''s house and said, "If we act quickly and search for vehicles out there in the town which still work. Then we would be able to find enough large vehicles like trucks to move the people."


    Baren nodded and said, "Alright then. Let''s talk with the mayor about this." And stood up immediately.

 Chapter 84 - David Mission

    David stood up together with Baren and went out of the room. The Mayor''s room was right next to theirs, so it didn''t take much time. Baren looked at David and gave a nod before turning towards the door and giving it a knock.


    "Come in."


    Barren slowly opened the door, stuck his head in and asked, "Mayor, do you have some time?" looking at the overly tired woman. She had bundles of papers before her, and her dark circles were more evident than last time.


    She lifted her head and noticed David. She gave a confused look at him before turning towards Baren and asked, "What is it, Baren?"


    Baren noticed her confused look and said, "This man here is David. You must have seen him earlier with the group of people who saved our children. He has an idea for us, for the current problems we are facing."


    Hearing him, she raised an eyebrow and asked, "And what is this idea, you thought was great that you needed to ask me about it."


    Baren looked at David once and took a deep breath before saying, "Mayor, I think it would be best if we shift our location from here to the military camp in Stargaze city. These people came from there and suggested we move there. They say it would be safer than here. I think it is also true because our situation right now is really tight and we might not support the people in our camp for any longer."


    The room went silent after he was done talking. The mayor was thinking about the suggestion and if they should follow it. For her, the suggestion was food to hear, but her doubts were rather on the execution of the suggestion.


    "And how do we travel to Stargaze city with all these people in our camp? You don''t suggest we abandon these people, do you?"


    Baren had a helpless smile as he heard her. He shook his head and said, "Not at all. I think it would be better if we act quickly and go out now so that we can gather around all the cars available and use them to drive to Stargaze city. If we take the police help, we can get this done quicker."


    The mayor nodded and asked the next question in her mind, "Ok, now how do you propose we go about this?"


    Hearing her, David said, "If you don''t mind me talking, I suggest you guys form small groups of people with the police and send them throughout the city to get huge vehicles like trucks. Trucks would be more helpful to carry more people than cars. This would be more efficient."


    The mayor nodded and said, "Alright, I will talk with the police chief about this right now. Thank you for your help, Mr. David. We appreciate it." Standing up and reaching for a handshake.


    David nodded and shook her hands. After thinking for a second he said, "Can you involve me in one of your groups. I would like to help."


    "Oh, it is ok. You already gave this suggestion to us. So it is more than enough. You don''t need to participate even on the mission."


    "No, it''s ok. I would like to help you guys." With some resolution.


    The mayor nodded and said, "Alright then. I will send someone to your room to inform you about this in a few minutes. Would your other friend also take part in it?" David smiled as he understood she was talking about Mark and shook his head.


    "No, it would only be me." The mayor nodded and all of them exited the room. David made his way back to his room and knocked once.


    Mark, who was done with his lunch, walked up to the door and once he noticed it was David through the peephole, he opened the door.


    "So how did it go?" Closing the door after David entered.


    David sat on one of the chairs and said, "It went well. They accepted the suggestion and would form teams to search out for vehicles right now. I also asked if they could include me in their groups." While nodding.


    Mark heard him and immediately frowned while he asked, "Why would you request that yourself? Have you lost the rational part of your after seeing a few suffering people? You get nothing out of you helping them. Giving the suggestion itself is enough. You don''t need to risk your life for it."


    Mark now thought David was idiotic. Why would he want to risk his life? The last time he did this was back in Denton''s company. He had to go down for the inhaler, but even then he only wanted that as a reason to gain some experience in fighting zombies. But now David clearly had no ulterior objectives as he did.


    "It is something I want to do. I can''t be like you, staying in here while those people go out there. If I can do something to help, then I will try. Don''t worry, I will come back safe."


    Mark sighed, hearing him. He could only shrug his comment about him. He didn''t have to risk his life if there wasn''t anything for him. It is natural for humans to be selfish. He looked at him and only reminded him, "You should start changing. Because surviving would become harder if you do this. I have said this many times, but I am reminding you once again."


    David nodded and remained silent. He wanted to ask one more thing, so he looked at him and said, "Mark one more help. Can you at least try to protect these people if there would be a sudden zombie horde attacking this camp? When we take away the police to get the vehicles, there would be very few people to protect here. Don''t worry, help only if you find the people here could not protect."


    "Is this a request from you or the people here?" Raising an eyebrow.

 Chapter 85 - David Mission (II)

    Hearing his question, David looked at him and said with a straight face, "Why would it be their request after what you did before? It is from me. I know you are a human and won''t be able to save everyone here. All I ask is to try to aid these people who are trying to protect the place. Only aid."


    Mark nodded and said, "Alright, when you guys are out. I will aid these people if the situation asks for it. But don''t depend on me to save these people if they are in trouble." David only nodded h


    earing him. He knew this is the best he could get out of him.


    "We''ll eat something for now, before they come to pick you up. You don''t want to go on an empty stomach, do you?" Sitting on his bed.


    David nodded and reached out for the food in his bag. He took out a can of beans and a water bottle. He slowly ate the food before throwing it in the trash. As he was drinking some water, the door got knocked, and he stood up.


    Keeping the bottle on the table, he looked out of the peephole and noticed it was Baren on the other side. He quickly opened it and Baren said, "Come, let''s go. We arranged the teams of 4 each. There would be a total of 10 teams to search out for big vehicles like trucks."


    It surprised David a little when he heard him. So he asked, "You guys already arranged everything?"


    Baren nodded and replied, "Yes, the police chief took care of everything when we said this. We will only leave a few to guard the base and take the rest on the mission. The quicker we get it done, the better it will be."


    David nodded and said, "Alright one minute." And went inside. He quickly reached for his bag and took out 3 magazines he had with him. And kept it in his pocket. He took out the gun and checked the bullets. When everything was fine, he looked at Mark who was observing everything and gave a nod before moving out of the room.


    "Let''s go." Closing the door behind him as he got out, he looked at Baren. Baren nodded and led him down the building. Both of them reached the entrance of the hospital, where Mark pointed his gun at Gwen.


    There were already groups of police and citizens arranged neatly in 4. An old person and the mayor stood before them as the mayor was giving out some instructions to all of them. Seeing them arrive, the mayor turned towards them and asked David, "Are you ready?"


    David nodded and the police chief asked, "Do you have a weapon?"


    David nodded and showed his gun before keeping it back inside. The police chief gave a nod and said, "Alright, then you are in that group there. I already told your group leader your destination. So please be ready. You will move out in five minutes." Pointing at a group of 3.


    David nodded. Baren looked at him and said, "Be careful, David." David smiled and went towards his group. The three people looked like 3 brothers. All of them had the same bowl haircut, and one of them wore a police uniform.


    "Hello you must be the 4th member. I am the captain of this group. Nice to meet you, I am Birch." Said the one with the police uniform while reaching out for a handshake.


    David smiled and shook his hand while introducing himself. The rest two also introduced themselves as Basil and Briar. And like he thought, all three of them were brothers, with Birch being the eldest and Briar being the youngest.


    "Once again nice to meet you. So where is our destination?" He turned towards Birch.


    Birch nodded and said, "We would be going to one of the moving company''s warehouses where all the moving trucks are parked. This is the easiest place for us as the population around that area is pretty low, so the zombies are also low."


    David nodded. He inquired about the weapons in hand, and it seemed like only he and Birch had guns in hand while the other two got a metal rod and a hammer.


    "Alright now, everyone remember to be safe out there. I don''t want to lose any of you. Now go and get us some vehicles." Clapped the police chief and all the teams dispersed.


    David looked at Birch and asked, "Where is our vehicle to go there?"


    "Follow me." And all three of them walked towards the area as David parked their jeep. Passing their jeep, they reached the parking lot of the hospital. The parking space was already filled with some vehicles.


    They went near another normal SUV car and stopped. Birch pointed at it and said, this is our vehicle. David was dumbfounded but understood not everyone was lucky enough to get a modified jeep for the military. They all got in and drove out of the hospital.


    David sat beside Birch, looking out for zombies. They slowly drove through the roads of the town. As Birch said it seemed like the zombies became fewer and fewer as they went to their destination. They had to stop sometimes to kill some zombies in the way, but it was mostly only Basil and Briar.


    They eventually reached the large warehouse and saw a row full of moving trucks. They parked the car in front of the entrance and all of them got down.


    "We need to get inside the office and get the Keys for these trucks. We can only take 4 trucks with us, if we abandon the car we came in. Let''s try to go as quietly as we can. We don''t want to attract some unnecessary attention." Said Birch as they gathered around the entrance door.


    The rest three nodded and Birch slowly opened the door. All of them got inside and Briar closed the door behind. They looked and found there were only a few zombies in the lobby.

 Chapter 86 - David Mission (III)

    They found 4 zombies in the lobby. Briar and Basil slowly approached the nearest zombie and killed them. After killing the fourth zombie, everyone looked at Birch for further instructions. Birch looked at them and nodded. He looked around and said, "We need to go to the staff room. According to the information I got, the keys should be there. The staff room should be next to the security room."


    The rest nodded, and Birch led the way to a corridor. There were a few zombies in the hallway. They could quickly take care of them. They saw a sign showing the way to different places in the building and they followed the sign showing towards the staff room. The staff room was at the end of the hallway.


    They slowly crossed the rooms and arrived at the end of the hallway. They saw the two doors opposite to each other. One had the plate staff room, and the other had security on it. They ignored the one with security on it and slowly opened the one with Staffroom. Birch slowly opened it and as he did he was scared beyond belief.


    There was a female Bloater on the other side. When he opened the door, the Bloater heard the noise and turned towards him, looking hungry. In the small room, only that single zombie was there. Birch closed the door and his head was now sweating a lot.


    David noticed his sudden reaction and asked anxiously, "What happened? Is it a zombie?"


    Birch looked at him and nodded. He slowly whispered, "It is a huge zombie. Easily double of human size and was very big. It saw me-" and as he was about to continue, the door behind him received a strong push from behind.


    Birch couldn''t stop it and stumbled ahead, leaving the door. The door opened, and the rest saw the Bloater. They tried to back away, Briar who was at the end looked back towards the security room and saw another Bloater wearing a security uniform.


    The Bloater noticed him and swept his hand towards him. Briar could only hold his big hammer to block the swing. He was thrown away into the corridor by the swipe. The rest three heard this and looked back to see the other Bloated and immediately ran farther away from the two doors. As they backed away, they looked at the two Bloater zombies slowly coming out of the two rooms at the end of the hallway.


    Basil ran to his younger brother Briar and helped him up. Thankfully, he didn''t get any injuries from the harsh throw. Only a couple of scratches which could be negligible. As they looked at the two Bloaters ahead, they became more cautious.


    Birch turned towards David and asked, "Do you know these kinds of zombies exist?"


    David shook his head. He only noticed the bitters, but not the Bloater until now. He gripped the gun in his hand tighter and aimed at the right one first. He slowly pulled the trigger, and it hit the right shoulder. But it didn''t look like they did much damage to it. The usual zombies had weak body frames that a bullet was enough to blow a hand away. But it wasn''t the same for this fat zombie in front of them.


    Both the Bloaters looked at them and slowly started to walk towards them. Seeing them walk, all four of them retreated immediately. They went to the other side of the corridor into the main hallway. David took aim once again and shot 3 bullets continuously at the right one''s head. Birch was also trying to do the same.


    With 3 bullets in its head, the right one stopped moving and fell down. Birch on the other hand wasn''t able to shoot the left one''s head. All the bullets hit the other body parts instead of the head. With the right one''s fall, the left one had more space and hence moved quickly towards them.


    Noticing it coming nearer, David grabbed Birch''s hand and went towards the main lobby down the main hallway with the other 2 behind them. Once they reached the lobby, they noticed the Bloater was already in the main hallway and was looking at them.


    David immediately took aim and rained down the rest of the magazine on the Bloater. A couple of the bullets hit the head, killing it. As the Bloater''s body fell down, David and the rest exhaled in relief. Birch looked at David and said, "Your aim isn''t bad. If it weren''t for you, we all would probably be dead by then."


    David just smiled, waved his hands, and said, "No, it''s just that I have been taught how to use a gun by a good teacher, you can say." Remembering all the times Mark threw him into a street with zombies with no intention to save him if he was in danger. Mark forced him to learn it quickly.


    Birch nodded and looked at the Bloater in the hallway. He sighed and said, "But still these zombies are way different from the normal ones. If we don''t shoot the head more than 2 times and shooting it anywhere else has no effect at all."


    David nodded and said, "Alright, let''s get going to the staff room now. We need to get out of here quickly before any more zombie like this one arrives."


    The rest nodded, and all of them went towards the staff room, crossing the two big zombies. As they entered the room, they noticed the board on which all the keys were neatly hanged.


    Birch reached out for the keys from the hanger and they exited the building. Coming outside they made their way towards the place all the trucks were locked away. David looked at the trucks and found them big enough for 10 to 15 people to stay comfortable enough on their journey.


    Checking the tags on the keys, they chose 4 trucks to drive back to the camp. As David completed his mission, Mark on the other hand was very irritated by the scene in front of him and wanted to curse David once he returned to the camp.

 Chapter 87 - Marks Help

    As David went off with his team, Mark sat on a chair as he looked at Suzie. He asked Suzie to take a rest, and he followed his words and lay down on the bed and slept. Looking at her he had only one thought, ''I need to make her normal again.''


    In these few days he travelled with her beside him, he understood things would only get tougher from here on out and with her always beside him, it would be harder. He won''t be able to have her beside him. But with him not being beside her would be harder for her, which he doesn''t want.


    He needed to do something quick, and it had to be effective. He decided to have a talk with her later when she wakes up again from her sleep. But as he continued to think about it, he looked outside and saw the sun slowly going down. The time was already 4 and it would only be a few hours before the sun goes down.


    But he suddenly heard people shouting from the outside. He stood up feeling confused and went up to the window. He looked down and saw a horde of zombies in front of the main gate of the hospital premise. There were nearly 50 zombies, probably more than that. The people who were fighting against these zombies mainly had melee weapons like hammers and rods.


    It would be hard for them to survive if it continued like that, and the camp would be swarmed with zombies once they die. He sighed as he remembered the promise he gave to David before he left. Cursing his luck, he thought over whether he really has to go down and save them. By how things are going he might have to, but by that time it would be too late for any saving.


    Feeling defeated by the promise he gave, he took out his gun and checked the magazine. It was nearly full but won''t be enough. He had to aid them and by looking at the numbers it would probably be more than that. He went to his bag and took out two more magazines. Keeping them in his pocket, he wrote a small note for Suzie and kept it beside her bed. He slowly exited the room and made his way down.


    As he reached the lobby of the hospital he already noticed the Mayor, Baren, and another old man wearing a police officer dress. He went towards them and they turned towards him after hearing footsteps.


    Baren was the first to react, "Are you going to help?" With some anticipation. He was worried about the present situation. They sent most of their personnel on the mission to find vehicles and only had a very few to guard the camp. They needed any aid they could get.


    Mark nodded and said as he passed them, "Well, I made a promise to help, to the idiot member of mine. So I am here to aid your people." And went towards the steel gate.


    As he arrived, he noticed how there were only 2 people with guns and the rest only had some melee weapons. He went to the side of the steel gate and immediately climbed it. He noticed the situation from above the wall. The people with melee were able to form a very weak barricade in front of the main gate. But it looked like it might fall over any second. It allowed the people to hit the zombies with their weapons from over the barricade.


    He continued to look at all the members fighting against the zombies. But suddenly one zombie started to climb the barricade to attack the person on top. The guy wasn''t able to react, and the zombie tried to jump at him. Mark took out his gun when he noticed it and shot a bullet right through the zombie''s head, killing it immediately. The zombie''s body fell back down into the horde.


    The man turned his head towards Mark and nodded before turning back and continuing to kill the zombies. Mark continued to look over the situation and continued to kill the zombies which came too close to the people in front. He only helped them if they were about to get attacked and nothing more. But unexpectedly his killing became more. The people started to become slower and hence the zombies climbed up faster.


    Mark continued to kill the zombies and by the time everything was done, he already went through another magazine he brought. Everyone exhaled in relief as the last zombie was killed by one of the people. Mark kept his gun back and jumped off the wall and walked towards the hospital.


    He sighed at what happened. He helped more than he thought he would. As he came up to the entrance of the hospital, the mayor immediately came up to him and said, "Thank you for your support just now. If it wasn''t for you, this camp would have already been overrun by the zombies." With a sincere smile along with the other two.


    Mark nodded and nonchalantly said as he continued to go inside, "As I said before, I only helped because a member of my party asked. If it wasn''t for him, I would have cared less what would have happened to this camp." And went into a hallway.


    As he climbed the stairs he thought, ''David, I did as I promised you. I swear if you continue doing these in the future I would not hesitate to leave you.'' it was too problematic for him. David was too kind for their own good and if this continues to happen either he would die, or because of him even they would face tough consequences.


    He reached the room and found Suzie was still sleeping. It had been only an hour since he helped. He closed the door. Kept the empty magazine in his bag. He laid on the bed, kept his gun under the pillow, and closed his eyes for a small nap.

 Chapter 88 - Help Suzie

    *BANG* *BANG* *BANG*


    Someone from the outside was having to door hard, waking up Mark from his sleep. He looked around and found Suzie was already awake. She had her back against the wall and was looking towards the door. He noticed the sun had already gone down by the dark sky outside.


    *BANG* *BANG* *BANG*


    Hearing it again, Mark got irritated. He whipped his head towards the door and shouted as he got up, "Wait for a second. I am coming." And opened the door. He noticed it was only David outside.


    Mark sighed and asked as he let him in, "Why to bang the door so loud?" And closed the door once David entered.


    David sat on his bed and said, "I was knocking on the door from the past 10 minutes. You didn''t respond, so I started banging it."


    Mark sat on the chair and asked, "How did your mission go? Were you able to find any vehicles enough for the people here?"


    David nodded and said, "We went to a moving company. We brought 4 trucks, enough for 10 to 15 people. The other teams were also able to bring some trucks and other large vehicles. The number of vehicles we brought and the already existing vehicles should be enough for the people here."


    Mark nodded and continued to ask, "Did you face any problems?"


    "Ah yes, I forgot. We faced two large zombies. They were huge, easily twice the normal size with a huge stomach. No matter what we did, they didn''t stop moving. Only by shooting several bullets into their brains were we able to survive. It was scary."


    Hearing him, Mark said, "Those are called Bloater, at least that is what I named them. You already know the fast zombies called bitter, these are Bloaters. I faced one back when this all started. From what I understood after facing it is that it has a high defense.


    The only part which you could use to kill it is the head, any other body part would have absolutely no effect. It walks slower than a normal zombie, but its strength is huge. So, killing it is a big pain. We need to be precise when we face it."


    David was surprised to know Mark already faced such a zombie before. He nodded and asked, "You were able to kill it?"


    Mark wryly smiled and shook his head. He said, "No, at that time I only had a metal rod with me. No matter what I tried, I couldn''t win against it. It was able to land several hits on me and I fainted after crashing into a car. I was saved by the military, which came to rescue us at that time." shrugging his shoulders at the end.


    David nodded. It would be very hard to win against that zombie only with a metal rod in hand. He then looked at him, smiled, and said, "I heard there was a zombie horde that attacked the camp while we were gone. I also heard you went and saved them when they were in trouble. Thank you for doing that."


    Mark shrugged and said, "Well, I did promise you. That was the only reason. I aided them when they were in trouble, nothing more. So you don''t need to be thankful. This is the last time I will promise anything like this."


    David nodded and stood up when he heard the knock on the door. He went to the door, peeped through the hole, and found an unknown man on the other side. He opened the door and asked, "Yes, do you need anything?"


    The man nodded and replied, "Yes, I brought your dinner. The mayor asked me to bring it to you. So here you go." As he dragged a cart from the side. David looked at the 3 bowls of soup and 3 plates of simple rice and curry, he nodded.


    "Thank you. You can go back now, I will take it from here." The man nodded and went away. David brought the cart inside the room. Closed the door and pushed it near the coffee table.


    Mark noticed this and sat up. He nodded seeing the food and said to Suzie, "Suzie, come let''s eat."


    Suzie nodded and Mark stood up from the bed and went to the cart. David already took his plate and bowl and already started digging in. He was hungry for the mission earlier and so didn''t wait. Mark took a plate and a bowl of soup. He went near Suzie and placed the bowl of soup on the lamp table. He passed the plate to Suzie before going back to the cart and picking up his own share of the food.


    He sat on a chair and slowly ate the food. It was alright, Mark felt he had worse and so it wasn''t a problem for him. After finishing the food, they kept it back on the cart.


    David stood up and said, "Alright then. I will return this cart and go see if they need any help in preparing for tomorrow. You both can sleep."


    Mark noticed and slowly said, "Be careful, David. Don''t be too trusting towards people. Especially during such times. It would be really nice if this will be the last time this happens." Looking into his eyes.


    David started back but sighed and nodded back. He felt it was true too, and so he couldn''t retort. He quickly pushed the cart out of the room and passed it to one of the people before making his way towards Baren''s office.


    After he went out Mark looked at Suzie. She wasn''t getting any sleep and was looking outside the window into the darkness. Mark felt this was the right time to do this and so slowly called her, "Suzie."


    Suzie heard him and turned around. She looked at him but didn''t say anything in return. Mark sighed and slowly said, "You can not continue to be like this Suzie. You need to fight the fear for yourself. You need to face the ugly truth head-on." slowly trying to make her understand his words.

 Chapter 89 - Exiting Loshin

    Suzie continued to stare at him but Mark noticed her body flinch a bit hearing him. She slowly hugged herself tightly and brought her knees closer to herself. So he continued, "Remember what you always used to say to me. ''We need to fight the deepest fears inside ourselves to truly be free in this world.'' these are the same words you said to me. And I am saying it back to you right now."


    "Please try to face the harsh reality and break away from the things that are binding you. If you will not face it now, you will probably not be able to face it ever again. Remember the things which happened to you and crush it with your hands. Defeat the fear that is installed in you."


    "Don''t be afraid that it will fail, as long as you believe that you will win, I am sure you will. Even if you do not win, remember I am always there for you and will save you no matter what." Trying to ease her.


    After hearing him out, Suzie''s body shook a lot. Her arms were now tighter and her nails were digging into her flesh. Mark stood up and went to her. Seeing him come slower, she shook more. It looked like she was scared of him. He slowly sat beside her and he could see the seat slowly forming.


    Mark exhaled and hugged her with a smile on his face. He was trying to be as comfortable as possible to her. He slowly patted her back when her body wouldn''t stop shaking. He felt incredibly sad seeing her shaking because of him, but it was important. Her body slowly calmed down when he continued to pay her back and remain the same.


    "Don''t be scared, Suzie. Remember what I said. You have it in yourself and I trust you completely that you will be able to get over the hurdle on your own." Slowly whispering to her.


    Suzie slowly lost strength in her body and slept in his arms. He slowly placed her on the bed and covered her with the blanket before sitting on the chair once again. He continued to look at Suzie and could only sigh as he remembered the Suzie he knew.


    The Suzie he knew was someone who helped him when he was the weakest and most lost ever. She was the most cheerful girl he ever saw after his sister. Remembering about her sister brought sadness and a cold feeling into him.


    The first time he met Suzie was during the national examination for university. She was his bench mate during the exams. After that, consequently, both of them joined the same university. They quickly became friends and when life went downhill, many people left him. But she was always there trying to cheer him up with her mentality together with Kevin.


    He wanted to see Suzie back. The Suzie which always had a smile on her face, even when things got tough. He noticed Suzie stopped shaking and so he once again slowly said, "Think about it, Suzie. Think about what we just talked about now. This is the only way you can become normal again. Now go back to sleep, we will have to travel longer tomorrow." And stood up.


    Suzie slowly went inside the blanket like he asked and closed her eyes to sleep. Mark looked at her for a few seconds before going back and sitting on his chair. He didn''t feel sleepy, so he took out his gun and started doing some maintenance for it.


    As Mark was doing his own stiff, David was helping out with the preparations for tomorrow. They started by assigning the places to people. They brought out all the people who parked their cars in the hospital and arranged the old people into them. The young and adults were arranged into the trucks.


    David was mainly helping with the food. He noticed the amount of food they had and it would only come for a single day if they eat meagerly. That should be enough for them to reach the military camp by then.


    They set all the food into the truck, neatly arranging it. Like this, David continued to help the people and came back to his room at 3 in the morning. He would only have 3 hours of sleep. Mark already went to sleep by then. He entered his bed and closed his eyes.


    The next day, Mark was the first to wake up. He looked out the window and noticed the sun was rising up. The clock showed it was 6:30. He stood up and woke up Suzie first. After waking her up, he slowly woke up David.


    David had dark circles and looked exhausted. Mark sighed as he knew he did not sleep at all the previous night and probably stayed up to help them. The three took a quick shower and got ready. They ate some simple breakfast and took their bags. Exiting their room, they made their way down.


    Once they reached the lobby, they noticed people going outside in lines. The police and volunteers were maintaining order and showing them into the trucks. As they went out of the lobby, they noticed the mayor and Baren looking at everyone. Both of them were visibly tired.


    The mayor noticed them coming and forced a smile out of her tired face. She said, "Good to see you are awake. I was thinking of sending someone."


    David smiled and said, "It''s alright. Are all your preparations done?" looking at the long queue of people getting into the trucks.


    Baren nodded and said, "Yes, we will move out in another 30 minutes."


    David nodded and before he replied, they heard Mark, "David, let''s go. It is already 7." showing his clocks. He already made Suzie sit inside and was waiting for David to finish his work. David nodded and said goodbye to the group and went towards the jeep.


    Mark got behind the wheel as David sat beside him. Mark looked at David and said, "Take a nap. There probably won''t be many zombies on the highway." David nodded and slowly leaned on the window and closed his eyes.


    Mark backed the jeep and drove out of the hospital premise. He slowly drove through the streets looking out for any unexpected zombie hordes on the streets.

 Chapter 90 - To Evergreen City

    Slowly, they exited the town safely, without having to face any zombies. The highway from Loshin was much quieter compared to the road from Stargaze city to Loshin. There weren''t zombies on the road and the halted cars were less. He looked through the mirror and found Suzie looking out of the window into the grassy plains.


    He wondered if she had thought about what they talked about the night before. He wanted her to be more like her old self. He wasn''t asking her to forget everything that happened, because that is impossible and he knows that the best. After going through something like that, their memory would be etched forever or a very long time in her brain.


    And getting rid of it in such a short time is near to impossible. But what he wanted her to be was more independent. To think for herself and act for herself. Have her own thoughts and ideas. Suzie right now has no goal to live, she is like an empty shell. Because in the present state of the world, that is what is more important.


    He could only exhale and hope that there would be a situation in the near future for her to gain some rationality and be more normal. He looked ahead and noticed a zombie. He did not slow down, but instead opened the window and took out his gun. He shot it and continued ahead.


    The journey for Evergreen from Loshin city was a long one. It would be afternoon by the time they reached tomorrow. As he drove, he took out the blue cube from his pocket. He held it in his hand and observed it. His palm was not as red as before, but the mysterious symbols showed no signs of disappearing.


    He could feel a strange sense of connection to the cube. He could only look and fiddle with it. The cube was shut tight with no means of opening it. Of Course, he could take some extreme measures but he still didn''t know if the thing inside it was delicate or not. He doesn''t want to break it by trying to open it.


    He felt this cube, and the symbols in his hand meant something more than he thought. He hoped that something he felt was not bad for him. He kept the cube back in the pockets and looked out of the window.


    He looked at the road ahead and concentrated on his eyes. He was able to look far ahead, around the same as the time he checked 2 days back. He still wondered if his theory on what happened to him was true or not. He looked at David and wondered when he would get something like this.


    He slowly continued to drive and the sun slowly moved on top of him and the hottest part of the day arrived. He was sweating buckets. Even with an AC, the jeep has, his shirt was still soaked wet from all the sweat he had until them. He noticed the time was 12 and decided to stop for lunch at 1.


    When the time hit one, he started looking for something to sit under and eat, like a tree. He found a large tree to the right, ahead. He stopped the vehicle and looked at David. Shaking his body, he woke David and noticed Suzie was also asleep. He gently woke up Suzie.


    Looking at David who was rubbing his eyes and Suzie who looked at him with confusion, he said, "It''s lunchtime. Let''s eat and we can continue our journey." David looked at him with some sleepiness and nodded. They all got out of the car, took out the stuff from the trunk, and went towards the tree Mark noticed.


    As they walked towards the tree, Mark noticed the few zombies around the tree and took out his sword. He didn''t use the sword much, so he decided to use it. He slowly walked towards the group of zombies with the sword in his hand. There were only six zombies surrounding the tree.


    One of the zombies noticed Mark and rushed towards him. Judging by its speed, it was a bitter. The other zombies looked at Mark when they saw one of their own running away and also started running. All of them were bitter and were faster.


    The first zombie to run already lunged at him, and Mark only dodged it to the side and looked at the next zombie. He moved quickly to the 2nd zombie and cut its head off in one clean slash. He felt his senses scream from behind and immediately stepped to the side like he was dodging. He looked to the side and noticed the first zombie was actually jumping at him from behind.


    He suddenly felt irritated and cut its head in a second. His body reactions were way quicker than he imagined. After killing two of the zombies, the rest 4 were also already within. He went for the next one and quickly took care of it and also the one beside it. He felt something on his side and moved away. He saw the zombie''s stretched hand.


    He quickly cut the handoff, and then its head. Now there was only one more zombie left, and he took care of it before it reacted. As its head fell on the ground he looked towards David and Suzie. David already had his gun out, ready to assist him. He simply waved his hand and motioned them to come quickly.


    His shirt was now dyed in black blood, so he took it off. He opened the bag he was wearing and kept it inside while taking another shirt to wear. They continued to the tree and once they reached, David set the solar oven and quickly cooked something for them.


    While they were waiting for David to complete cooking, Mark noticed something unusual. He felt something from the giant tree before them. He wondered why there were zombies around it. He touched the trunk and felt a similar feeling like the one he felt from the cube from his hand. But it was way less. It was not even 2 percent compared to the cube. He wondered if the huge tree had something different.


    He could only wonder but do nothing about it. He moved away from the tree only when he heard the lunch was ready from David. After having dinner, they continued to drive towards Evergreen city. David took the wheel from Mark as he felt energetic from the much-needed sleep he had the whole morning.


    They slowly drove, and the sun eventually started setting. They started searching for any temporary shelter for the night. But unfortunately, they weren''t as lucky as before and Mark asked David to stop searching. The sky was already dark and Mark got out to take care of the nearby zombies.


    With his heightened vision, he was able to see in the dark to some extent, so he shot all the nearby zombies quickly. He turned towards David and said, "So, are we sleeping in the jeep?"


    "We have those tents we took from the store you saved me from. We have two, one should be big enough for two people. Suzie can sleep in the single tent." Mark nodded, and they took out the tent.


    They brought the solar oven once again. They could use the solar oven even at night, as it has the function to store energy in the morning. It came in handy. They quickly cooked some food and ate it slowly. After eating, they set the tents up beside each other.


    Mark turned towards Suzie and said, "Suzie, this is your tent. Don''t be scared when you sleep. I will be in this tent, so I am here." pointing at the single tent first and the double tent.


    Suzie''s body trembled but she nodded and got inside her tent. Mark noticed her trembling but didn''t say or do anything. He looked at David and said, "I will keep a lookout until midnight. You can do the rest." David nodded and got inside his tent.


    Mark took out the lamp they had and sat beside it. He looked at the stars and sometimes the surroundings. He planned for tomorrow. He decided to go to the hotel first and look for Kevin. He hoped his friend was back from the museum in time and was safe in the hotel instead of surviving in the museum or even worse outside.


    Eventually, the date on his watch changed, and he went to the tent. After waking up David and handing him the lamp, he slept. He fell asleep quickly. But as he slept, the cube in his bag shined a little like it was some kind of signal. But after once it did not do it again.


    But after that, the giant tree where they had their lunch also blinked in blue. But no one was around to notice, both of them blinking.

 Chapter 91 - Pearl Hotel

    Mark felt someone shake his body and slowly opened his eyes. He noticed it was David who was shaking his leg from outside of the tent. He could see the sunlight outside the tent, it was already morning. He looked at his watch and noticed it was half-past 6. He got out of the tent and asked David, "Did you face any trouble?"


    David signaled behind him, and Mark found a dead zombie. It seemed like it was the only one, and David killed it. He nodded and said, "Alright then. I will wake up Suzie and cook breakfast. Can you please take care of the tent?" David nodded and Mark went to Suzie''s tent.


    He peeked inside and noticed Suzie was hugging herself and her nails were digging into her skin, making it red. Mark exhaled, seeing this. She probably had a nightmare again. He slowly touched her leg, and she immediately woke up and retracted her leg.


    Mark was shocked at seeing this. Suzie covered herself with a blanket, trying to hide. He slowly said, "Suzie, it''s me, Mark. I came to wake you up. Come out." hearing his voice seemed to calm her down as she looked out of the blanket. She noticed him and gave a slight nod.


    She slowly came out of her tent and Mark said, "Close your tent. I will go and get breakfast ready." Suzie gave a slight nod and slowly got to work.


    Mark cooked breakfast for them. Seeing the solar oven, he decided to get a solar stove. He remembered there was a wide release of them by a huge cooperation a few months back and should be available on all electronic stores. With a stove, it would be easier for them to cook. He decided to check the stores of Evergreen city once he was done with his work.


    After cooking breakfast, he looked back and noticed both of them were done with closing their tents and keeping them inside the trunk of the jeep. He said, "Alright then, good job. Come and have breakfast. We will leave once we are done."


    All three of them slowly ate breakfast and then after keeping the oven back inside the trunk, Mark sat behind the wheel and told David to rest. He started the engine and continued to drive through the highway. Once again it was silent in the car with David asleep and Suzie looking out of the window like always.


    After a few hours, he saw the board indicating the city was only 2 kilometers ahead. He stepped on the gas and drove faster. Eventually, he could see the city entrance. He noticed there was a toll gate only a few meters out of the entrance and that it was closed. He shook David awake and pointed at the closed toll gate in front.


    David got down and went inside the small cubicle on the side and checked. He found the machine was done with no electricity and came back out. He went near the barrier and noticed he couldn''t budge it.


    They needed to remove the bolts and take it out. David came back to the jeep and said, "We need to remove those bolts and the end of the barrier as the electricity is down. Do you have tools in the jeep"


    Getting out of the jeep, Mark said, "There should be a toolbox." and opened the trunk. Luckily, there was a toolbox inside. David took it towards the barrier and Mark got in the jeep.


    David got to work as he loosened the bolts connecting the barrier and made it drop on the ground. He rolled it to the side and got in the car. He kept the toolbox in the back and Mark drove past the toll gate. Passing through the gate, they saw the huge welcome sign.


    Mark drove into the city. Unlike Stargaze city, Evergreen city was more modernized and famous. So numerous hotels were on the streets. He could see hotels everywhere. But the hotel he was searching for was the most famous one called ''Pearl Hotels'' he only knew the general location and not the exact location.


    He stopped the jeep to the side and asked David, "Do you know where the Pearl Hotel is?"


    David nodded, and Mark asked him to change places. David sat behind the wheel and continued to drive through the city. Mark turned towards him and asked, "You went to the hotel before?"


    David nodded and said, "Yes, the hospital I work in has its yearly celebration in this hotel. So I come here every year to attend it." Mark nodded and looked out.


    The Evergreen city had way more zombies compared to Stargaze city or Loshin town. It had to do with the number of companies situated in the city. It attracted a huge number of workers and hence its population is more. Mark noticed a small horde of zombies coming their way and told David to stop.


    David stopped the car and both of them got down. Mark gave a nod to him and both of them took out their guns before aiming at the nearest zombies. They continued to shoot bullets as zombies slowly fell one by one. David would miss some shots, making the zombies come too close for comfort. But Mark''s reaction was quicker and he would shoot them down for him.


    Finishing the horse, they got back into the jeep and continued to drive through. Eventually, David stopped the jeep to the side and looked ahead. Mark looked at him and asked, " What happened?"


    "The hotel is in the next lane. But I suspect going through the front door would be an option for us. So I am thinking of a way."


    Mark nodded and said, "Then let''s take the back route and go through the employees'' entrance. I am sure it would be behind the building. So let''s go there."


    David nodded and took a right instead of going straight and went to the backside of the hotel. They got out of the jeep and looked at the huge wall in front of them. They had to cross the wall to get in and that was not at all easy. Mark looked down the wall and noticed a small steel door to go inside.


    David looked at Mark and suddenly asked, "Do you know on which floor your friends might be in?" Looking at the 10 floors tall hotel.


    Mark didn''t know it. He never checked the details of their stay here as he wasn''t going to visit. After some time he looked at David and said, "Let''s check the registers they would have in the main lobby. I am sure they would write the details of their customers and the room they are staying in their books."


    David nodded and Mark continued, "Park the car in an alleyway. There seems to be a door in that direction, we can you that to get in." David nodded. Mark took out some magazines from the trunk and his sword from his seat. He asked Suzie to get out and David drove it into an alleyway a bit far from where they were standing.


    Mark and Suzie walked towards The steel door at one of the ends. As they reached, they noticed it was well kept and there weren''t any signs of rusting. Mark grabbed the knob and tried to open it. But it didn''t budge. He kept trying until he felt Suzie tug at his shirt.


    He looked at her and noticed she was pointing at something behind him. He turned around and noticed it was a card scanning machine. Probably used for employee entry. He looked around for something hard so he could smash the machine. He found a rod lying on the other side of the street and ran to grab it.


    Taking it back, he returned and swung it at the machine. The machine broke in one swing and it fell down. The door made a sound signaling it opened, and he pushed it in. He noticed David was coming towards them from parking the jeep. David nodded and Mark opened the door.


    They found a few zombies and the building a couple of feet away from them. They quickly shot the zombies down and went towards another door. This time there was no special lock, and they easily opened it.


    They went into the hotel''s kitchen. Mark looked around the huge kitchen. Everything was a mess and looked like there was a fight against zombies in there. There were a few zombies wearing chief clothes. Mark took out his gun and shot them before making his way across the kitchen. Suzie and David continued to follow him through the kitchen. Reaching the other end, Mark exited the kitchen into a hallway.


    Looking into the hallway, he noticed there were a few zombies inside. He took out his sword instead of the gun. The gun would make more noise and they couldn''t risk it. He looked back and pointed at the corridor, saying there were zombies. David nodded and Mark went out while both of them stayed inside.

 Chapter 92 - Pearl Hotel (II)

    There were only 3 zombies in the hallway. Mark stood outside in the hallway. All the zombies were facing the other way. He slowly went to the first one and took quick care of it. He didn''t stop there and went for the next one immediately. As the 2nd one fell on the ground there was only one left in the whole hallway.


    The last zombie heard the sound and turned around. It charged towards him, with its hands stretched out. Mark side-stepped, escaping its charge, and slashed while turning around. It fell down as the head detached from its body.


    He looked at his clothes and exhaled in relief when there was no blood on it. He looked at the kitchen entrance and noticed David and Suzie peeking out. He waved his hand, motioning them to come out. They followed along the hallway, crossing many rooms. They reached the end and now could go either left or right. Mark looked at the board showing directions and saw the lobby was to the right.


    Suspiciously, there weren''t any zombies in the hallway leading towards the lobby. Mark was on complete alert as he continued towards. As they reached the end of the hallway, they had their backs on the wall. With Mark in the front, he slowly peeked into the hallway and the scene sent shivers down his spine as cold sweat formed on his forehead.


    The lobby was a complete disaster. There were zombies everywhere. Everyone was a zombie, from normal people to the hotel manager. He noticed the former hotel manager was now a huge bloater along with three other normal people. Going head straight into the lobby was maniacal. There was no chance for survival, even if they ran away from them. He looked around and noticed the reception counter was near them.


    The number of zombies between him and the counter was only 2. But he was scared of attracting the other zombies in the room. It would be a pure disaster if that happens. He looked back at David and Suzie.


    "The situation in the lobby is really dangerous. If we attract even a single zombie, it would lead to our doom. But thankfully the reception where the books are mostly kept is very near to us and there are only 2 zombies in the way."


    "So, I will go and slowly check the book and come back. David, I need you to stay here and watch the zombies with Suzie. I won''t be able to get the view of the whole lobby when I am going. So cover me. If you see any of the bloaters in the lobby moving towards me, then move back to the jeep. We can''t risk it here."


    David nodded and Mark turned around towards the lobby. Closing his eyes and taking a deep breath, he slowly bent down and made his way towards the reception. He looked around to see if there were any zombies looking at him.


    The zombies did not notice him, and Mark continued towards the counter. The first zombie was between him and the counter while the other was on the counter. He slowly took out his sword and got back. Quickly finishing it with one strike, he did not forget to catch the falling body. He slowly kept it on the ground and looked around.


    The zombies had no reaction, and he exhaled in relief. Continuing towards the counter slowly, he noticed the receptionist turned zombie behind the counter. There was only a distance of 3 steps left till he reached the zombie. As he took a step forward, the zombie turned around.


    As it was opening its mouth to let out a shrill, Mark felt his boy move on its own, when he threw the sword directly at its head. The power he used was surprising as the sword was quicker than the zombie. It went through its head, killing it instantly. But the body slowly started to fall behind.


    Mark''s eyes went wide when he noticed the chairs behind the zombie. If it falls, then the biggest thing he was scared of would happen. Once again, his body reacted, and he only took a step forward towards the zombie and caught its body before it fell. His back was drenched in sweat and he was out of breath.


    He slowly looked around and felt relieved when no zombie noticed what just happened. He slowly kept the body down and took out the sword from its head. After making sure that the zombies were not looking at him once again, he took a deep breath and sat against the wall.


    He felt his heart almost pop out when the zombie turned around and got ready to scream. His body moved on its own once again. The reaction speed was way beyond his capacity. As his thoughts started to slowly wander, he shook his head and concentrated on the situation before him. He went near the reception and saw the three shelves.


    Slowly opening the first shelf, he noticed there were no books inside. Closing it, he moved on to the next one and found the registers. There were 5 in total. Taking the latest register out, he flipped through the pages and opened the date, Kevin left for the trip. Slowly looking through the book, he found his university''s name. Checking the room numbers, he found out they rented 2 entire floors.


    They were on the 4th and 5th floor of the hotel. Keeping it back inside, he looked around once again before slowly making his way back to the hallway again. Reaching the end, he stood up, feeling relieved. His heart was beating too rapidly and only by taking a couple of deep breaths was he able to calm down a little.


    He looked at David and Suzie''s anxiety. Nodding, he said, "I got the details. The university took both the 4th and 5th floors. So let''s check both of them quickly and get this done." David nodded and all of them noticed the stairs were near and started to slowly climb them. Mark was at the front with David at the end, watching for any zombies that might suddenly come their way from behind.


    Mark didn''t have any suitable weapons to give to Suzie. She was carrying a bag for them. Reaching the first-floor hallway, he looked at both sides and found zombies roaming around. The hallway had the rooms opposite to them. He waited till there wasn''t any zombie in the hallway and quickly went to the next floor.


    He wanted to get this as quickly as possible. Fighting against the zombies on the floors would only slow them down and make it tough for them. The 2nd floor had more zombies than the first. He couldn''t avoid them like before and took out his sword once again.


    He observed as the zombie slowly walked towards them. Once it reached near the stairs, he took action and killed it immediately. After killing it, he took out the gun and shot the rest in the hallway in one swoop. All the 5 zombies in the hallway fell down before they could groan.


    They continued up and reached the 3rd floor. There were no zombies in the hallway this time. Mark felt it was a bit strange but shrugged it off and continued to the 4th. The university had rented the entire floor. Each floor had 20 rooms in it. The hotel prioritized mainly on the comfortability of each room and so made them big and less in number.


    But as they reached the 4th floor, Mark was shocked. The number of zombies increased by a huge margin. In the hallway alone there were 10 zombies. He kept the sword in the sheath once again and reloaded the gun. He needed to be quick and accurate. He looked back towards David and mouths the condition of the floor.


    David''s eyes widen hearing the zombies on the floor. He nodded and came to the front. Mark turned towards Suzie and whispered, "Stay here. We both will kill them quickly." She nodded and remained there.


    He looked at David beside him and pointed at him and then towards the lobby. David understood his intentions. He needed to take care of the ones towards the lobby and Mark would go for the other side.


    Mark held out three fingers and slowly counted down to zero. As he closed all fingers both of them went into the hallway and opened fire. Even with the silencer on both the guns, the sound was still audible. There were 6 zombies on Mark''s way.


    He quickly shot down the three near him and then went for the ones in the back. His accuracy was to the bullseye. All the bullets went through the heads of the zombies. He was shocked seeing this. His accuracy was not this good. He looked back and saw David shooting the last zombie.


    Based on the bullet shells on the ground, he shot 7 bullets for 3 zombies. It was good enough for an amateur. But before they could feel relieved, they noticed 2 bloaters coming into the hallway from the lobby.

 Chapter 93 - Pearl Hotel (III)

    Looking at the 2 huge bloaters, Mark had a crazy smile on his face. Pointing his gun at the first one, he rapidly shot directly into its head. The bullets went through its enormous head, killing it instantly. Its giant body fell, and he heard David shooting the other zombie.


    David almost went through an entire magazine before killing the zombie. Seeing the two bloater bodies, Mark felt satisfied. He looked at the whole hallway and saw there were only 10 rooms. The hallway on the other side would have 10 more.


    " Let''s check the hallway before going to the one on the other side."


    David nodded and started to search. Most of the rooms were open and ignoring them, the ones which were closed were either empty or had a zombie inside. Completing the search, he waved his hand towards Suzie. Suzie stepped into the hallway and went behind him.


    They made their way into the lobby. The lobby had a few zombies and David quickly took care of them. Walking into the next hallway and killing the zombies in it, they wiped the entire 4th floor clean of zombies. But to their avail, there weren''t any survivors in any of the rooms.


    They got back to the stairs and made their way up again. Reaching the 5th floor, he peeked into the hallway and noticed there were only a few zombies on the floor. Compared to the crowded 4th floor, it was much better. He didn''t wait for long after seeing this and shot the zombies quickly.


    Finishing up the zombies in the hallway, he called David and Suzie over. They slowly checked all the rooms in the hallway. They made their way to the other side, killing the zombies in their path. After the other hallway was also clean of zombies, they started checking once more.


    Going through all the rooms, they arrived at the final room. If they weren''t here. Then they should try to check the whole building, hoping that they are hiding somewhere. Mark sighed and reached out for the knob of the closed door. The door did not budge when he tried to force himself in.


    Thinking it might be another closed door with a zombie inside, he raised the gun and pointed at the knob. But stopped before he pulled the trigger as he heard sounds from the other side. They were footsteps and whispers, meaning humans. He exhaled in relief and knocked on the door twice.


    "Open up. We are searching for our friend. Don''t worry there are no zombies on the floor." making their stance and situation clear. After a few seconds, the door slowly opened.


    It was a man with a stick on the other side. He looked at Mark and his group and asked, "What do you want?" He noticed the gun and sword on Mark and also the dead zombie behind their group.


    Mark looked at him and said, "As I just said. We are searching for a friend. Can you let us in?"


    The man looked at both of them once again and nodded before opening the door. The main reason was, he was scared after seeing the gun. Mark could use it to kill him easily. So he showed no resistance.


    Mark stepped into a deluxe room. Each floor had 2 deluxe rooms on both the hallways. The hotel separated the deluxe room into two compartments, inner and outer, separated by a door. Getting in, Mark noticed that helplessness and anxiety filled the room. He looked at the 6 people in the outer room and noticed how weak each person was.


    Each person was frail and weak. It did not look like they had enough food in the past few days. But as he continued to look around he heard the man once again, "So, Can you tell what you want?"


    Turning towards him, Mark replied, "I am searching for a friend. He is one of the university students who came to the hotel. So I was hoping he might be in the hotel. His name is Kevin Frost."


    The man realized upon hearing Mark''s words. He was a waiter in the hotel. When the disaster hit, he was on the 5th-floor giving room service instead of a friend. Luckily, he was able to save himself by staying in a room with a few others. He knew both the 4th and 5th floors were booked up by a university.


    Looking at him, he nodded and said, "I am a worker in the hotel. I heard that the university students you say about went to the museum the day this happened. But some remained. The stay in the inner room. I will ask them to meet you." pointing at the door leading to another room.


    Mark nodded, and the man knocked on the door. After a while, the door slowly opened. A man peeked out of the room and asked, "Is there something we can do for you?" with a haughty expression. Mark raised an eyebrow seeing his attitude but remained calm. It was none of his business.


    "That man came and asked for a person from your university." pointing at Mark.


    The boy looked towards Mark and came outside. Standing in front of him, he asked with the same attitude, "What do you want?" folding his arms.


    A vein popped on his forehead as he heard the guy. The man explained to him why Mark was here, just now. But he came again and asked once again. Mark found something strange. Unlike the people in the room, this guy looked pretty healthy. He could figure out why, too.


    Taking a deep breath and calming his nerves. He said, "I came to ask about a friend of mine who is on the trip. His name is Kevin Frost, do you know of him?"


    The guy looked at Mark and said, "I do know of him. What do you want to know?"


    "Is he here or did he go to the museum on that day?"


    But before he replied, he noticed the gun and sword on Mark and grinned. Looking at Mark he said, "Why should I tell you? But if you want to know, take me and some people with you. You look like you are loaded."


    Mark felt his blood boil. He did not resort to violence and asked, "Don''t play jokes with me. Just give me my answer and we will be on our way." visibly irritated. He didn''t want to make a scene in front of all these people.


    Seeing Mark''s irritated gaze, the guy got haughtier and said provokingly, "Ah! Seems like you don''t value your friend that much in the end. Well, serves right for a douchebag like Kevin. I always thought he was a prick. But oh well, he might be dead or even better turned into--"


    He couldn''t finish his sentence as Mark whipped the gun out and shoved it inside his throat. He grabbed his hair and pushed him to the couch in front of the door. His words went too far for Mark. He didn''t have the patience to keep up with any more bullshit.


    The guy''s face lost all its attitude and color. His face was now as white as a paper. His eyes bulged out, looking at the gun. He whimpered under Mark, begging for help. Tears slowly rolled down his cheeks.


    "So tell me now. Where is Kevin the last time you saw him?" pushing the gun deeper into his throat. The guy could only whimper underneath the gun.


    "Sir, please stop. I will tell you. Kevin went to the university that day. We stayed behind." a voice came from inside the inner room.


    Mark turned his head and looked at the girl standing by the door. She had a heavy amount of make-up on her. Her hair was strangely dyed blonde, and she looked like a hipster. She was clutching her right elbow tightly and was taking the door''s support.


    Mark''s gaze fell on one part of her body before he smirked and removed the gun from the guy''s mouth. As the gun left his mouth, he fell on the ground and started coughing, clutching his throat tight.


    Mark couldn''t care less about him and asked the girl once more, "Are you sure?"


    "Yes, I saw him go with the class." nodding.


    Mark nodded and made his way towards David, intending to go out. But he stopped when he heard the girl''s voice again, "Sir, please take me with you. I am willing to do anything in return. Please take me into your group." she staggered forward trying to act cute and sexy.


    Mark turned towards her and grinned. Before he could answer the guy shouted, "What are you doing?" clutching his throat.


    "Shut up. I don''t want to die like you. So sir, please consider my offer. I am willing to do anything." trying to push herself towards him.


    Mark took a step back and with the same grin, he said, "Why should I? I don''t know what you mean by anything here."

 Chapter 94 - Unfortunate

    The girl grits her teeth and tried to persuade him harder, "Take me with you and my whole body and soul is yours."


    Seeing all this, David looked at Mark, confused. Mark was not the type to accept anything without benefit. In this situation, he knew Mark was clearly playing with her. The girl was trying to sell her body to him and Mark appeared to be interested. But that is not who he is. He was never interested in that kind of thing from his observations.


    He also knew that the girl could not offer him any more than her body. She has nothing. So why is Mark toying with her? Mark smirked and turned towards him and asked, "What do you think, David?"


    He could only shrug and say, "Depends on you. I don''t see any benefit." Mark turned back towards her and said, "Well, off we go now. Try your best and survive." his tone became cold at the end as he went towards the door, not intending to stop. David and Suzie followed him from behind.


    But Mark stopped once again and asked the man who opened the door, "When was the last time you guys had to go outside? And who went?"


    Confused, he replied, "It was this morning. It was me and these two kids." Mark grinned hearing him and went outside without saying another word.


    The girl became desperate as she watched them go, but his last words rooted her, and couldn''t move. She turned around quietly and went back to her room. Mark and the gang were already in the lobby, going towards the stairs in the other hallway.


    David looked at Mark, not understanding why he did that. Personally, he wanted to save them after seeing their malnourished states. It was highly possible that each one of them did not have a proper amount of food for the past couple of days. He could only sigh and continue walking.


    He couldn''t ask Mark to save them once again. It was precisely because of this feeling inside him that they delayed their journey to the city by a day. David was not strong enough yet, he had already decided to follow Mark, but if he is strong, he could expect Mark to hear him out more than present. There would be some value in his words.


    They made their way down the stairs the same way they came up, slowly and quietly. They reached the ground floor easily and made their way back outside through the kitchen once again. David went for the car as Mark stood with Suzie near the steel door.


    "Are you fine?"


    Suzie nodded and said, "I am feeling fine."


    Mark nodded and said nothing further. He wanted to know how she was feeling after seeing the zombies and them killing. She did not have such a close look till now. He didn''t want her mental state to deteriorate further than it already is.


    David drove the jeep out of the alleyway he parked and stopped right in front of them. Mark and Suzie got inside the car. David did not step on the accelerator but instead turned towards Mark. He had to ask him why he did that. Mark turned towards him when the car did not go further with a questioning gaze.


    "What is it, David? Let''s get going."


    "Mark, I need to ask you something." Mark looked at him more confused and nodded.


    "Why did you react like that, when you were talking with the girl back then? You never care about others and only ask something in return when you know you can get it from them. But back there, the girl had nothing to give you. But you still asked. Why?"


    Hearing David''s question amused Mark. He did not think David would not notice what was wrong with the people there and why Mark played with the girl like that. He smiled and said, "Did you not notice anything back there."


    Mark''s reply shook David. He thought about what he meant, ''Did I miss anything? They all were normal and except for the university student''s attitude, nothing was out of place. The girl seemed too pushy.'' But nothing came to mind.


    She shook his head and answered, "No, I didn''t. So what was it?"


    Mark smiled once more and replied slowly, "The girl is bitten." David''s eyes shot wide when he heard that.


    He looked into Mark''s eyes to see if he was lying, but Mark only had a huge smile on his face. He asked, "How? How did you know that? Nothing seemed out of place at all. The girl looked perfectly normal."


    "She only looked normal. She tried her very best to hide it and not make it spread throughout her entire body. But the virus didn''t stop spreading; she only slowed the process down. You would have noticed if you saw her left hand."


    ''Her right arm? But-'' and as he thought, his eyes showed his surprise. The girl was clutching her right arm and covered it with a long sleeve. She had a pained expression and was pale.


    "Her right arm should be in a lot of pain. She must have tied her right arm tightly, trying to stop the process. Of course, the other people clearly did not know about her condition, including her friend. She was really careful about hiding it."


    "But the black veins on her hand gave it away. The zombies also have black veins near the area they are bitten. So it was easy to find out. Now, do you expect me to bring in a zombie into our group?" smirking at David.


    David ignored the last statement and asked, "Then, was she not a zombie yet?"


    "That is what I am trying to say. She slowed the process down. According to the hotel waiter, they went out this morning, probably for supplies. So she must have been bitten then. The girl was smart enough as she quickly tied her right arm and slowed the process. She will probably be turning into one at this any moment." and looked out of the window towards the hotel.


    "Then why did you not try to tell them?" even though he knew the answer.


    Mark raised an eyebrow, expecting this question. He smiled and answered, "Do you think they will believe me? Don''t be too silly. We are outsiders and they have no reason to believe when I suddenly say one of their members is a zombie. So, I didn''t bother wasting our time any longer." shrugging.


    David nodded and drove the car. ''Mark is right. Why would they believe what we have to say?" thinking about Mark''s words. He could only hope that the people in the room would notice it quicker and kill her before she kills them.


    Just like Mark expected, the girl had turned into a zombie not long after they left. She first bit her friend, who followed her into the inner room. He turned into a zombie and both of them went outside. Before the people in the outer room could notice, three of them were already bitten.


    The sudden zombie plunged the group into instant chaos. The rest tried to kill them but could not kill and instead only got bitten. The waiter swung the chair towards the girl and as she fell down from the hit; the guy came towards him. He blocked him with the chair and pushed him back.


    He looked at the others who were normal and noticed they were also bitten. Their group was now no more because they were careless about things. A member was bitten, and they could not find it.


    He quickly tried to run for the door and as he opened it, he ran down the hallway. But as he did, he saw zombies in the lobby coming from the other side. The zombies on the 6th floor came onto the 5th. He was now trapped and couldn''t go anywhere. There were zombies in the front and back.


    He found a lampstand on a coffee table and grabbed it as a weapon. The zombies were now nearer than before and did not stop. The first zombie came, and he swung the lamp towards it. It hit the zombie hard and stumbled to the side. Before he could look at the next one he saw the zombies from the hallway were near and jumped back.


    But he felt a hand on his shoulders as he did. His body shivered and looked to the side and saw a zombie lunging for his neck. The zombie bit his neck and he swung the lamp, throwing it away. He could not feel his arm anymore. He was clutching the shoulder and blood was gushing out.


    He felt his body go weak and stumbled down. With a hand on his shoulder, he looked up and saw the zombies were nearer than before. He crawled back, trying to getaway. But it was only a futile attempt as a zombie jumped on him and bit his chest.


    He had no energy after this. He stopped resisting as all the zombies swarmed around him. After a few minutes, the zombies dispersed and the dead body twitched as the waiter stood up as a zombie.

 Chapter 95 - Museum

    David knew the way to the museum, so he took the shortest route to reach there. As they reached the outer entrance of the museum, David took a right turn into the museum and hit the brakes. Mark, who had his eyes closed, shot open. He looked ahead and saw a massive horde of zombies on the front lawn of the museum.


    The front lawn was very big. It had a huge fountain in the middle, with the museum entrance on the other side. The parking space for big establishments like this would generally in another place to the side of the museum. Mark was the first to snap out of the shock. It looked like the zombies did not notice their car by the entrance yet as they were aimlessly roaming around.


    Mark tapped on David''s shoulder, trying to snap him out from the shock. Snapping out, David opened his mouth, "Ah-" before being closed by Mark''s other hand.


    Mark shook his head and whispered, "Slowly go back. Try not to attract their attention."


    David nodded and backed away from the entrance. Going back on the street, he stopped the car once they were completely out of sight for the zombies inside. Mark''s back was drenched wet as his forehead was covered in sweat. He quickly wiped the sweat using his shirt and took a deep breath.


    Trying to relax at the sheer number of zombies there was back there. It was a sea of zombies back there and looked like they surrounded the whole museum inside. David was also not in a better position. He was scared out of his wits. His brain stopped working, thinking about the zombies inside.


    " Let''s take a look around the wall and see if there are any zombies on the other side. I will stand on the jeep and you continue to drive around. I will tap on the rough twice if I want you to stop." And got out.


    Standing on the roof, he signaled David to drive. Mark was able to look over the huge wall. But the situation was similar on all sides. The horde of zombies remained the same way. As they reached the outdoor parking lot, he noticed the numerous cars and knew where these zombies came from.


    Getting back in the car, he said, "Alright, the situation is the same everywhere. There is absolutely no way for us to get inside now." Shaking his head, helpless.


    "What do we suggest doing now?"


    "Let''s park the jeep outside for now. Let''s go by the end of the road. I saw an underground parking lot for one shop. We can use that and catch a breather." David nodded and drove to the end of the street.


    They got into the parking lot and killed the ones inside. Getting out of the car, he said, "We can use the cars beside the museum to our favor. We just need to make a little sound for them to be distracted. So after the zombies make their way out towards it, we can sneak inside."


    "But how are we going to make a sound?"


    "We can use our guns. We can shoot from the building opposite to the entrance. So once we shoot them and the cars start beeping, all the zombies will be around them. So we can then go inside."


    David could only nod at Mark''s plan. Mark''s plans were never wrong until now. So he could trust him, but there was also an eerie feeling inside him. He could only shake it off. Mark slowly opened the door of Suzie and they walked out of the parking lot after getting some extra ammo.


    Making their way towards the museum, Mark noticed something very weird. There were no zombies on the entire road except inside the museum. Thinking it was a pure coincidence, they continued towards the entrance.


    As they reached the entrance, Mark bent and waved his hand, asking them to bend. They slowly made their way into the building opposite to the entrance and went up to the 1st floor. Making their way into the house facing the museum they got on the balcony, they were facing the museum and had a better view of the zombies in front of the museum''s main entrance. Mark could also see a few figures on the other side of the museum''s doors. Even with his enhanced eyesight, he couldn''t get a good look at the figures.


    He turned to the side, not keeping that image inside him, and looked at the parking lot right next to the museum''s entrance. The zombies will make their way through the entrance, while they can jump over the wall to the side using the trash cans outside. This was his plan, he was confident.


    Looking at the cars, he took aim and shot a single bullet towards one car. It hit the glass, and it shattered successfully. He looked back towards David who was standing by the door acting as a lookout and said, "David come here. Let''s start with the plan."


    David stood beside Mark and both of them took aim. As Mark gave the signal, both of them began shooting towards the cars. As the bullets hit the car, they gave out the beeping sounds attracting the zombies. Mark noticed from the corner of the eye that the zombies all turned towards the car''s direction and smiled.


    The zombies slowly moved out of the museum and made their way towards the parking lot. After half of the zombies inside went out, Mark stopped shooting and said, "That''s enough. Let''s get going. The cars would continue to go for another few minutes and we need to make the best out of the situation. Let''s jump over the wall using the trash bin over there." Pointing to the wall.


    David nodded, and Suzie followed behind Mark. Mark got out of the building using its back door instead of the front, not taking the risk of running into the zombies. He went through the alleyway and came out opposite of the trash cans. He nodded towards David and David ran towards the cans and jumped onto it.


    He was able to reach for the edge of the wall and quickly pulled himself up. He was not as strong as Mark and used a lot of his energy to climb over. Next was Suzie and Mark helped her over the wall. She was better than David and quickly got over the wall. Mark threw his sword to the other side and got onto the wall and jumped over.


    As he landed on the other side, he looked around and saw there were only a few zombies left and ran towards the entrance. David was at the back as he followed Suzie with Mark in the front. They looked ahead, forgetting to look around. As Mark was halfway through the front lawn near the fountain, he was able to get a good look at the people behind the glass doors of the museum.


    As he was about to pick up his speed, he noticed the people behind waving their hands. He thought they were waving with happiness, but as he got near and faintly heard their voice, "Go away. Don''t come here." And saw their desperate faces. He wouldn''t have heard them if it was not for his enhanced senses.


    He was shocked and then heard David behind him, "Mark, we are trapped." And looked behind to see them surrounded by zombies from the left and behind. It shocked him to the core.


    He immediately came to a stop and turned around to get a better view. Suzie also came to a stop upon seeing him. He got a nice look and saw the zombies running towards them. His pupils shrunk as his mind went blank.


    He couldn''t think about anything as the zombies came nearer. David did not hear a reply and turned to look at him and saw he was rooted, not moving an inch as he saw the zombies.


    He shook his and shouted, "Mark. What should we do?" Trying to get something out of him.


    "Ah." Snapping out. He looked at David''s grave face and said, "Let''s run." And noticed the only side open for them was the right. They could only jump over the wall and getaway.


    He took off towards the right wall, Suzie and David followed behind him. It didn''t take long for Mark to reach the wall. He turned around and saw Suzie and David running towards him with the huge horde following right behind them. He kept his back against the wall and got into a horse stance.


    He cupped his hands together and kept them on his thigh and shouted, "Jump on my hands. I will push you both up." He knew both his teammates wouldn''t be able to jump over the wall fast enough and could only think of this.


    Suzie was first. She followed his orders and jumped on his hand and he pushed her up. She could catch the edge and quickly pull herself up. David did the same right behind her. With both of them, Mark did not have time to see the zombies and quickly turned around to jump.


    But as he jumped and caught the edge, he felt a tight grip on his ankle pulling him down and turned around to see a zombie clutching.

 Chapter 96 - Museum (II)

    Mark''s eyes shrunk, seeing the zombie clutching his feet. The zombie was going for his feet with its mouth wide open. He immediately took out his gun and shot it in its head, killing it. He looked back and saw the rest of them are very near and shot at the elbow.


    The body detached itself from the elbow and he pulled himself up. Jumping over the wall, he immediately kneeled down, catching his breath. He looked at his leg and could hear his heart beating. David''s face was full of shock when he saw the zombie hand attached to his leg.


    He slowly reached out for the hand and pried it open. He threw away the hand and closely examined the ankle. He had a bruise because of its tight grip, but his skin was not cut. He exhaled in relief and slowly stood up. It relieved David when he saw nothing happened.


    "Mark, what just happened in there? Didn''t we see the zombies making their way towards the parking lot? How were they back so quick?"


    Mark had the same thoughts as David. His plan was perfect based on the data he had on the zombies. But the incident just now woke him up. His data was either not complete or was wrong. He needed more information on the zombie''s characteristics.


    "Let''s go back to the jeep and think about what to do next. We can''t stay here any further."


    They made their way towards the underground parking lot as quietly as they could. Mark was limping because of the bruise on the ankle. Reaching the parking lot, he looked at his watch and found it was already 3.


    He needed another plan. If Mark did not see the people behind the museum or David did not notice the zombies in time, they would have died. Taking another breath, he decided to have some lunch first. They had nothing after breakfast and he was hungry.


    "David, let''s have lunch and think of a plan."


    David nodded and brought out the things and cooked breakfast. Suzie was already inside the jeep waiting for food while Mark was still deep in his thoughts. After having lunch, Suzie fell asleep, tired. Even if her body was fit, she wasn''t mentally stable.


    David and Mark sat on the ground, leaning against the jeep. Mark had a frown on his face, thinking how he failed. The zombies were too unusual.


    ''Noise attracts these things and they swarm towards the source. But what happened today? They came back. I was still able to hear the noise from the parking lot. So what made them return. It''s almost like a trap laid out for us.'' Frowning at his last statement. The zombies can not have intelligence. The virus directly attacks the brain, so they should not have any.


    But what he saw on the lawn told otherwise. As he was thinking he heard David, "Don''t think about it much Mark. It''s general to fail-" but before he could finish his sentence '' once or twice.''


    Mark burst on him with a very dark and cold voice, "Are you saying I am failure David? I do not want to hear that sentence ever again in my entire life. I am not a F A I L U R E." as it dropped more in the end.


    David was taken back at his sudden outburst. He only wanted to cheer him up as it''s common for humans to make mistakes. But Mark did not even give him a chance to complete his statement. His voice was strange compared to his normal cold voice. This time it had a tinge of blood-thirst in it and he felt goosebumps.


    As a doctor, he was interested in the situation. He knew nothing about Mark, which sparked him to give out such a reaction. Mark on the other hand was raging inside.


    ''How dare people call me a failure? I will show it to everyone who says so. I will prove it to those three that I am not one and they will die in my hands.'' as three figures flashed in her mind.


    "Mark, cool down. I don''t mean like that at all. You know that I won''t say such a thing about you. So tell me, what do you plan on doing next?" trying to appease him. David did not want a raging Mark to make rash decisions.


    Mark clearly heard him and cooled down. He knew David was right. The situation was dire. His friend Kevin might be inside that museum, and he did not have a way to cross the gigantic swarm of zombies in the way.


    As he continued to think, he felt a tap on his shoulder and looked at David. David had a cigarette in his mouth while passing one to Mark. Mark took the lighter and the cigarette from him. Keeping the cigarette in his mouth, he lit it up. This was a great relief for him.


    He started smoking after his mother''s death, same with David, but after his wife''s death. Taking a huge puff in, he played with the lighter in his hands. Seeing the fire, he thought of a crazy idea. Anyone who knew it might run away immediately.


    He looked at David and said, "I have an idea. It might probably work." with a nasty grin. Seeing it, David felt something wrong but still probed him to continue.


    "How about we create an explosion and kill all the zombies inside? That might work."


    David felt his spine shiver hearing the idea. But as he thought about it, he felt it might be a success. But where could they get an explosion from?


    "Do you have a bomb to create an explosion?"


    "I do. But we won''t be wasting a bomb for this. Let''s go and search for a nearby petrol stop. If we are lucky, we might find a tank of petrol and we could use that instead."


    David nodded and got up. They got inside the jeep and drove to find a nearby petrol bunk. After searching for a few minutes, they finally found the petrol bunk. But there was also a problem. There were quite some zombies surrounding it. They could see three bloaters too.


    But Mark wasn''t scared of them. There were only 20 regular zombies aside from the bloaters. Getting down from the jeep, he took out the gun and began shooting. He treated them as an outlet for the previous frustration he felt.


    After four of them fell, the few biters in that group were already halfway towards him. He kept the gun back and took out his sword instead. He ran towards them, not worrying about any damage. David was covering him from the back, shooting towards the group.


    Mark quickly went for the nearest zombies. Slicing its head off, he jumped back, feeling danger and noticed the zombie after it jumping towards him. He didn''t waste anymore time killing it and the rest behind it.


    After the biters were done, he killed the normal zombies, and then the bloaters were only left. Keeping the sword back in its sheath, he took out his gun. Changing the empty magazine for a new one, he aimed at the closet one and shot. After one fell he moved on to the others.


    As the last bloater fell, he exhaled in relief. They made their way towards the petrol station. He looked around and found the oil tank trucks parked on the side. He quickly checked if any one of them is full. When all of them were empty, he could only sigh and go inside the management room and take the keys from a hanger.


    Starting the vehicle, he drove it up to one of the nearest booths and filled the huge tank. He was happy that the petrol was still available for them. David drove the jeep and also filled its tank. After the long journey from Loshin, their petrol was almost done.


    Filling the tank took a lot of time, then expected, and the sun was slowly going down. Mark decided to go with the plan early tomorrow morning. They slowly drove back the two vehicles to the same underground parking lot. Mark parked the truck outside in an alleyway.


    The parking lot was completely dark, so they went upstairs to one of the houses to rest. Mark cooked up a simple dinner and everyone had their share. As they retired to separate rooms, he made Suzie sleep on her own. He could hear David''s snore from the other room.


    He couldn''t fall asleep because of two things. One was the bizarre behaviour of the zombies he experienced, and the next one was his sudden outburst after lunch. Hearing the word ''failure'' made him think about the one guy he wanted to torture and kill the most. One of the major reasons his mother died early. He clenched his fists thinking about him and slept with a mind full of resentment.

 Chapter 97 - Museum (III)

    Waking up the next day, they made their way down once again after having a light breakfast. But as Mark was about to exit the house, his eyes fell on the wooden dining table in the house. He broke one of its legs and walked down to the parking lot. He dug out one of the waste shirts from his bag.


    He tightly wrapped the shirt onto one end of the wood. He had plans with this. He turned towards David and said, "Alright then, let''s go to the oil tank and then to the museum in it. We need to get inside the museum this time."


    The three went out of the underground parking lot and got inside the truck. Mark drove it towards the museum and stopped it right before the museum gate once again. They got down as the zombies looked towards the huge vehicle. Mark connected the hose and went behind the wall. His plan was to spray the petrol from behind the wall. He kept the hose on top of the wall.


    He nodded towards David, who was next to the tap. David turned it on and the petrol came out of the hose. The petrol spread throughout the entire don''t lawn and the zombies in it. The zombies reacted strangely. They became more active as if they were trying to escape the petrol sprayed at them.


    After a few more minutes Mark took the wooden stick with one end wrapped in cloth and got it wet with petrol. He waved his hand towards David and he turned the tap off once again. He took out the lighter and lit the cloth part. As it caught fire, he threw it towards the place with the highest concentration of zombies. As the stick fell on top of the zombie fire erupted in that place. The whole thing caught fire. The fire spread throughout the entire lawn, making every zombie set ablaze.


    Mark did not stop there as they went to the next phase of his plan. They ran towards the end of the wall and went to the other side. They could naturally not take the front side to get into the museum, so the left entrance would have to do.


    The museum was big enough to have an entrance on each side. Each side also had a lawn in front of it, albeit not as big as the main entrance. Jumping on the wall, they were able to safely make it. The zombies were very less compared to the front. Mark and David took out their guns and began to shoot them down.


    But Mark suddenly heard something which made him stop in his tracks. He slowly turned his head to the right and saw a horde of zombies making their way towards them. They were from the front lawn. Some zombies survived. He felt fear once again seeing the numbers.


    "You are seeing it, right? Tell that I am hallucinating right now. How are there zombies that did not catch the fire? Should we retreat once again?" Asked David, turning towards it.


    He woke up hearing him and shot towards the near zombies and reached for his bag. He took out a grenade. And threw it towards the horde as he pulled its plug. As the grenade flew towards the zombies, he caught Suzie''s hand and shouted, "Let''s keep moving and take cover."


    He moved towards the building''s nearest wall and took cover behind it. All the three crouched down and covered their ears tightly. As his watch ticked, he felt hours passed by as they were waiting for the grenade to blow.


    *BOOM*


    They felt the building shake as the bomb blew. Mark stood up and peaked towards the explosion. The wall near it was now in shambles and black blood splattered everywhere. Near them were body parts of the zombies. He could not see any more zombies and they ran towards the entrance.


    The entrance was locked, and they couldn''t see anyone on the other side. Mark started banging on the doors, trying to catch anyone''s attention. He was feeling scared as he thought of more zombies making their way again. As all three of them continued to bang on the doors.


    Someone finally ran towards the door. It was a teenage boy. Mark felt relieved as the boy opened the doors for them. Making their way in, the boy immediately closed it. He was out of breath, probably from running towards the door.


    "Thank you for opening the door." Thanks, David.


    "Phew, it''s alright. Follow me." And walked ahead.


    The three followed him through the hallway. The museum was enormous. Mark looked around at the various paintings and displayed items around them. Each one was different compared to the other and had its own value.


    "Where are taking us?" He turned towards the boy.


    "To the central area." Not even turning towards him.


    They continued to follow him through the hallways and finally reached the central area of the whole museum. It connected all the four entrances and was a common area. He looked ahead and saw the people in the area. They made a path for them to the centre.


    Mark noticed each person here was incredibly weak. They looked as if they had no food for quite some time already. But his eyes kept wandering around searching for the person he travelled so long for, Kevin. He lifted his head to see the museum dome as light passed through the glass panels. They reached the centre of the huge group and the boy went away.


    There was a single man standing there with his hands in his pockets. He was easily in his mid-twenties with a rough beard that did not match his ugly face. He was easily over 100 kgs and it only made worse because of his short height. He had a gun on his back, looked like a normal police rifle.


    "I assume you are the boss here?" Spoke Mark before he could.


    The man''s mouth widened hearing him as they could see his missing teeth making them creeped out. His eyes fell on Suzie and licked his lips full of lust. Suzie went nearer to Mark as she felt his lustful gaze on her. Her body was shaking as she remembered what happened to her only a few days back.


    Mark could only pat her and asked in a colder tone, "Are you deaf, fatty? I asked you if you were the leader of this place?"


    The fatty''s eyes finally moved away from Suzie as he heard Mark''s words. He was checking out a prey and Mark''s words disturbed him. This got him irritated. He looked at Mark and said, "Oh, pretty boy. Watch your tone. This isn''t your home. And no, I am not this place''s boss. The boss is currently busy and by the looks of it he will be busy tonight too." With his eyes on Suzie again. Suzie''s body was now trembling in fear.


    "Now I don''t think you want to die fatty. Mind your words. Or your head might just blow up." Pointing his gun right at the fatty''s forehead.


    The fatty smirked hearing him and said, "Oh, you want to shoot. Go ahead. But do you think you will survive once you do? Why don''t you take a look around." Prompting Mark to look around.


    Mark turned his gaze and noticed a few people having guns in their hands. But they were clearly amateurs. David took out his gun and looked around vigilantly. Mark looked back at the fatty''s confident expression and said, "Do you think giving a gun to puppies would be enough to scare me?" Pressing the gun harder into his forehead.


    Seeing Mark not scared, the fatty was now scared a little. He was the type to only have a strong front because of the support he had. He was enjoying the museum after working under the person who took over the museum.


    But before the fatty could say anything a voice from the second floor behind them sounded in Mark''s ears, "Now, now, brother. Don''t go around prompting to shoot people when you arrive. If anyone in our family sees you right now. I am sure father would be the one who will be the most disappointed in you. Like always." Laughing in the end. The voice was full of mockery.


    Hearing the voice, Mark''s mind stopped. His eyes shot wide as he remembered the source of it vividly. It was not something he could forget in his entire lifetime. He looked back and saw the person. Standing on the 2nd floor, he had two girls on each arm as he looked down on them.


    He looked similar to Mark with his face except for the eyes. He had short blonde hair and was only 178 centimetres tall. Clearly younger than Mark. His face was full of disgust and mockery, looking at him from above.


    Mark''s eyes were now red with anger as he was barely able to hold back from using the gun in his hand to shoot at the person.

 Chapter 98 - Little Brother Oliver

    Mark''s brain was a complete mess, filled with rage. The person in front of him was one primary reason out of many for the death of his loved ones and the sadness which led him to think and try suicide. Seeing the same cocky expression on his face was tough for him to hold back.


    "I was waiting for you, brother. After noticing that bastard for your friend in this museum,in the beginning, I could guess your next actions and that you will be here soon. So I was waiting. And now you are finally here." spreading his hands.


    "What do you want Oliver? As you already know the reason I came here, stay out of my way. I will leave once I take him with me." as the surrounding temperature dropped several degrees.


    Mark was in no place to waste time, especially after he saw his bastard half-brother Oliver. He knew how Oliver worked. He would take his sweet time now that he had him in his hands. By the looks of it, Kevin seemed to be in his hands too.


    "Come on, brother. Why so cold? We met after so long. When was the last time we met? Ah! It was your sister''s death. Tch, tch. That was tragic brother, I never thought she will die like-"


    "Shut up, bastard. Don''t speak a word about her. I will make you wish you were not born. Now tell me. Where is Kevin?" holding the gun tighter.


    Oliver staggered backward as he released his grip on both the girls and said, "Bro-brother, plea-please don''t ki-kill me." acting scared. Mark''s eyebrows twitched as he saw him acting.


    "Did you think I would fear you, Mark? You know what, let''s play a game. I will give you time until tonight. Try searching for your friend in this whole museum. If you find him, that is good. But if you can''t, I will go and cut a body part of him as a gift for you." dropping the act.


    Mark''s eyes went wide hearing his challenge. The museum was enormous. Even if he searches the whole place from that moment, he would not finish by night. No matter what he thought, he couldn''t do anything, at least not now. Mark believed that everything will have its time and place. Even his revenge will have its time and place. Until then, he should just grit his teeth and wait.


    He took a deep breath and card his nerves down. Looking into Oliver''s eyes he said, "Alright then. I''ll play along, my little brother." With a smirk on his face. His tone was sarcastic and had confidence in it. Even though searching the whole museum would take a very long time and effort, it isn''t impossible.


    Oliver raised an eyebrow at Mark''s sudden change. He chuckled as he did not think Mark could the whole place. He always felt good when he toyed around with the people around him, but his most favorite was Mark. He couldn''t help but shiver in excitement when he remembered his expression the last time he played with him.


    Oliver smiled and replied, "Alright brother. I will be waiting for the result. Remember, by the time the sun goes down, you need to find him. Or else your friend''s body parts will be missing later on. And as you came here, I will give you a family member hint. Your friend is on the ground floor." Turning around.


    "And oh, brother. Please try harder than the last time. Last time was very boring, and you were too predictable. So do better this time. Oh! Everyone else, don''t even care to tell this man anything. Or you might face some consequences." He said turning back for a minute before continuing ahead.


    Mark''s eyes were red with rage as he looked at Oliver''s back. He wanted to pounce and torture him in every way possible. The hatred inside him, which he was trying to.control the past few years, erupted again when he saw him. As he was raging inside, he felt a hand on his shoulder. It was David.


    David noticed the amount of tension between the two brothers and the bloodlust Mark was releasing. He did not know the whole story, but he knew they could not make a move and wanted to stop him from doing so. Their number one priority was now searching for Kevin.


    But David was also surprised when he saw the amount of restraint Mark was having on himself. He stayed away until the end because of this reason. He was also curious about the relation between them. They seemed like brothers and called each other the same, but the tension said otherwise.


    The usually calm and collected Mark gave off such a reaction. He wonders what Oliver did to him. So he caught Mark''s shoulder as he noticed his reaction when Oliver was leaving. He shook his head and said, "We need to search for your friend. That is more important right now. By the looks of it, it also seems like that guy, your brother, would really do things he says."


    Mark nodded as David reasoned with him. He closed his eyes and calmed himself by taking a few big breaths. After his emotions were more stable, he opened them once again.


    "Thanks, David."


    "It''s alright, we need to look out for each other, right?" With a smile as he patted Mark''s shoulder. Mark was almost half his age, so he treated him more like a brother right now after going through so many problems.


    "So what do you suggest we do?" Looking at the surrounding people. The people already started to go their separate ways with their heads hung low all the way, all the time in the hallway. The museum was divided into four segments based on the entrance.


    Each segment was huge, and the time taken to search would not be small. Mark checked the time and noticed it was already 10. They had about 8 hours left to search for Kevin. They couldn''t waste any more time.


    He looked at David and said, "We have an approximate of 8 hours left till the sun goes down. The amount of area we need to cover is not at all small. So we better split up here and meet here again at 2 for lunch. You take the north and east section while I and Suzie will go to the south and west side. Stay alert all the time and be very careful around here. That bastard will do anything to stop us. If you think something is wrong, come back here and wait for me."


    He did not want David to be caught in the crossfire between him and Oliver. Oliver was always very cunning and dirty. Each step he makes is a trap for his opponent, and this was no different. David nodded as he made his way to the east side.


    Mark turned towards Suzie, who left her shirt and quietly stood beside him the whole time. He looked at her, trying to decide whether or not he should take her with him. He sighed and said, "Suzie, do you want to take a rest? Maybe we can search for an empty room and you can stay there until I find Kevin."


    Suzie immediately shook her head and said, "No, I will also search for Kevin." meekly. Mark observed her and said, "Alright then. Remember to stick close to me. If you find anything suspicious, then tell me immediately."


    Suzie gave a nod, and they went towards the south hallway. The south had more of an artistic look compared to the previous one. There were many paintings and statues. Each painting told a different story and were mesmerizing. But he did not have time to appreciate them.


    At the end of the hallway was the huge doors leading outside. There were only two options, left and right, for him to take before the door. Mark went left first. Going down the barrier hallway, Mark noticed a sign showing into a smaller one before they reached the end where the museum had bigger attractions.


    He did not miss taking a left and went inside. He reached a small dark room. The lights of the museum were very dim. They probably shut the power of unwanted places in the museum down quickly to save enough electricity for later.


    The latest lights were on in the painting in the room. There were only 5 paintings in a pentagon shape. Mark went to the middle and said, "Kevin, Kevin, are you here? It''s me, Mark. I came searching for you. Make some sound if you are here." Closing his eyes.


    But as he did, he suddenly felt something bad from behind him and moved aside as he pulled Suzie with him. He noticed it was a thug. He had a huge broomstick in his hand. He looked at Mark and clicked his tongue.


    "Hey, kid. Surrender before you get hurt. Make things easy for me. And the others should also come out." Looking around. Two more people walked out from the dark and stood beside the first thug.

 Chapter 99 - Little Game (I)

    Mark had no expression on his face as he looked at the three thugs in front of him. He felt irritated and said, "Don''t waste my time. I need to search for my friend."


    The one in the middle smirked and said looking at the other two, "Did you hear him? He says he is in a hurry. Wasn''t our mission is to stop him in his tracks. The reward should be a gun. So shall we get on with it?" Looking at Mark in the end.


    The one I''m the left was to move first as he ran with a rod in his hand. He went for his head. Mark ducked in time and took out his sword from its sheath and sliced his stomach. The knife went deep as he staggered back in pain and knocked down a painting. He clutched his stomach in pain, looking at Mark with venomous eyes.


    Before Mark stood back up properly, he felt a strike from the right this time and rolled away. Dodging the strike perfectly, he moved the knife on top of him, stopping a strike from the middle thug. As he noticed the left one timing towards him, he jumped and kicked him in the stomach. The guy slammed into the wall and fell down, clutching his sides.


    Mark pushed the man above him and stood up. He looked at the remaining man and quickly cut his knees. He fell down, clutching his knee tightly. But as Mark looked around, the one on the right rammed into him. They both hit the opposite wall, and the sword fell to the side. Mark groaned with pain and slammed his elbow into the guy''s back. He was persistent, but after Mark slammed his elbow a few more times; he fainted due to the pain.


    Pushing the guy aside, he stood up, rubbing his back. He finally got a good look at the three people. He exhaled, picking up the sword he kept it back inside and walked out of the room with Suzie behind him.


    But he remembered something and came back inside. He looked at the main thug and asked pointing the gun at his head, "Do you know where the person I am searching for is kept? Don''t lie."


    The man could only shake his head and say, "No, I don''t know anything about this person you are searching about. They only asked us to stop you and promised a reward if we did. We are the lowest thugs around here. So spare us." With genuine fear as the gun pressed harder.


    Mark could feel his fear and so walked away, leaving him. Walking down the hallway again, he stopped at the end. The doors to the outside were only a few steps away from him. He could see the zombies outside. They were not many compared to what they faced in the morning, but they would face a lot of difficulties while fending them. He then looked at the two long, broad hallways to both of his sides.


    Both of them lead to a bigger part of the western museum. He decided to go left and walked into the hallway. There were no lights in the hallway, almost completely dark. At the end, they stepped into another mini dome like the one I''m the center. It was almost one by fourth compared to that one.


    He looked at the different paintings and all of them were huge. The biggest covered the whole wall right Infront of its entrance. The painting showed humans, angels, and demons on three sides. Intersecting in the middle to become one. Mark felt the painting was conveying a greater meaning.


    He snapped out of it when he heard the footsteps coming from above. Only then he noticed that there was a second floor to this section. There were books on the second floor, all enclosed in glass. He looked towards the sound and noticed there were two men with two guns. The guns were the standard Glock 17. Judging by the looks, both seemed like brothers. The one on the left looked younger based on his facial hair and looks as a whole, the one on the right looked rougher.


    Mark sighed and asked, "Is it this again. Don''t you both have guns? What did he promise you guys?"


    "A better life in a camp. So please surrender for us." The one on the left asked.


    Mark spat saliva to the side and said, "Yah, yah. I don''t know why you believe that idiot, but let''s get on with it." Taking out his gun. He pushed Suzie back into the hallway and whispered, "Go into the hallway. I will deal with both of these morons."


    Suzie quietly backed away into the hallway and looked at Mark. Noticing she was far enough he looked at both of them and noticed they already had their hands on the trigger pointing the gun at him. He leaped to the side, hiding behind a couch. The bullets hit right on the spot he stood and he noticed these both knew how to use the gun.


    The bullets rained on the couch he was using to hide. The couch became tattered as the bullets hit the cushion and went through the other side. Suddenly the bullets stopped as they tried to reload. Mark did not miss the opportunity and turned around. He first aimed for both their knees. The elder brother noticed this and pushed his brother away. The bullet pierced his calf.


    "Ahhhhhh-" he screamed in pain as the bullet went through the calf and came out the other way. The gun in his hand dropped as he clutched his leg. He slowly crawled to a corner and took the support of a wall as he tried to tie the wound.


    His brother was startled by seeing the wound on him. He ran up to him, trying to talk to him. Mark did not miss this chance and continued to shoot both of them. But most of them missed as they took cover behind a bookshelf in the corner. The younger brother could take it anymore and turned around. He looked at Mark with bloodshot eyes filled with rage and began shooting.


    But this time he did not have the same accuracy as his bullets missed a lot. He was clouded by rage and continued to shoot. Mark couldn''t take it anymore and shot at his hand. The bullet went into his hand as he dropped the gun. With both of them down, Mark made his way up using the stairs to the side.


    He bent down to pick up the guns when the right brother took out a knife and tried to slash Mark''s legs. Mark was caught surprised as the knife struck him slightly on his leg while dodging it. The wound was not big enough to make him stop, but it pained a lot as it was right on his calf too.


    Mark grit his teeth as blood oozed out faster and kicked away the knife in the man''s hand and searched for magazines on both their bodies. After searching, he found only two extra magazines with them. He kept the guns and magazines inside his bag and looked at his wound. The blood was still oozing out, and he ripped off his jeans. He slowly wrapped the cloth around the wound to stop the blood. He can''t lose more blood.


    He turned towards the unconscious bodies. He dragged them to the wall. He squatted below the elder brother and splashed water in his face. Slapping it a couple of times, the man woke up and looked at Mark, surprised. Before he could shout, Mark kept the gun on his neck and asked, "Do you know where the person I am searching for is kept at? Do not lie." Using the same method once again to interrogate them.


    But unluckily they did not know where they kept Kevin. But they also said that the only person who knew was Oliver and his bodyguards. Oliver was always with his trusted and equally twisted bodyguards. Mark sighed and stood up.


    He got back down and searched the entire room with Suzie. Finding nothing, they went to the other side. The other side was also the same, but there was no one inside waiting to strike them.


    They went back into the main hallway and exhaled. They searched the whole west side part of the museum but could not even find a clue about where Kevin might be kept. He felt frustrated as he noticed the time was already 12. They spent an entire two hours on only one side of the museum.


    They made their way back towards the center once again. Unlike last time, there was no one there. Standing at the center, Mark could only hear faint noises from the first floor where most of the people were situated. It looked like they allowed no one to stay on the ground floor.

 Chapter 100 - Little Game (II)

    Looking around the area once again, Mark turned towards the south hallway and asked Suzie, "Do you want to rest, Suzie? I can search for a room for you to stay; meanwhile I search the other hallway."


    Suzie shook her head and said, "No, It''s ok. I will help." moving closer to him. Mark exhaled and nodded. He could not change her decision. They slowly made their way to the south hallway. Unlike the displayed paintings in the previous one, this had models and scenarios instead.


    They could see various wax figures and models through the glass as they made their way across the hallway. Each scenery behind the glass depicted the major revolution in human history. He paid close attention towards each model.


    Kevin could be inside one of the scenarios. They reached the end of the hall, and similarly, like the previous hallway, he could only go either right or left. Going towards the right, they reached a similar room. He looked upon the first floor and noticed there were more sceneries above. He looked towards the two on the ground floor.


    One showed the current development of humans, while the other showed the world before humans. The one on the left was the present one. It had various models of cars and people wearing modern clothing. But on the other side were complete dinosaurs. There was a model of a volcano with a T-Rex and triceratops around it. It was beautiful scenery.


    "Kevin, are you here? It''s me, Mark. Make some noise so I could know if you are here. Kevin." Shouting so he could get some clues as to where he was.


    Mark became alert as he heard a few steps behind him. He looked around but couldn''t find anyone then looked above, but it was also empty. He motioned Suzie to stay to the side. He went closer towards the scenery behind him and observed the humans in them. He looked at the car but could not find anything. But he didn''t back down and instead swung a nearby chair in the mirror.


    The mirror did not break, and so he continued to slam it with the chair. After a couple of more tries, a wide crack emerged, and he smiled. Bringing it back further, he swung it using all his strength on the crack. The glass finally shattered and crumbled. Clearing the class with the chair, he went into the scenery. He touched the models of the regular people first and noticed the museum made them with wax.


    He made his way towards the car and stood on the other side, looking at the wax figures inside. He did not notice anything different and so turned around, exhaling. He doubted him hearing anything, but as he turned, he saw a shadow on the other side of the car, facing the wall. He took out his gun instead and slowly went to the other side.


    Mark was cautious as he searched for Kevin. He already faced a few surprise attacks and was lucky enough to get out only with a cut on his leg. As he tip-toed to the other side, the man suddenly turned around and shot towards him. Mark immediately ducked and hid. He could hear the man''s steps on the other side and so clutched the gun tighter.


    As they came nearer, Mark jumped ahead and turned back. He shot towards the noise and hit the man''s shoulder. He dropped the gun and clutched his shoulders. Mark stood up and made his way towards the guy. He picked the dropped gun and kept it inside the bag.


    "So do you want to talk? Tell me where my friend is held captive and be quick. I got no time." Squatting before the man. The guy only grit his teeth and clutched his shoulder tighter. He has no intention of talking with him.


    Sighing, Mark said under his breath, "Why do you guys make it so hard for me. Just answer the damned question." He looked at the man once again and smiled. He was already irritated with the people in the previous hall and couldn''t take their nonsense anymore.


    The man felt like the devil was in front of him, looking at Mark. Mark slowly went for the hand which he was covering his wound with and removed it. He looked at the bullet hole in the shoulder and smiled at the man once again. He turned the gun and pressed it over the wound, making the guy cry with pain as he struggled.


    The cries made Mark annoyed as he stuffed a cloth inside his mouth, holding back the noise and continued to press harder on the sound with the gun. The blood oozing out was not faster, and the man''s face became pale because of the blood loss. The man had tears in his eyes as he was pleading Mark to stop.


    Mark finally stopped pressing and retreated the gun. The gun was covered in blood, and he slowly cleaned it. The man clutched the injury once and looked at Mark in horror. Looking at the clean weapon, he asked once again, "So, do you know anything about where he is held?"


    He was looking at the man in the end. Looking into Mark''s eyes and the smile which was still plastered on his face, the guy almost pissed himself. He quickly shook his head and said, "No, No. I don''t know where he is held. But I heard he is kept in the southern hallway itself. But I don''t know the exact location. Now please leave me alone. I told you everything I know about." begging Mark.


    Looking at the fear inside the person''s eyes. Mark knew he wasn''t lying and so nodded.


    "Alright, I will believe you. But remember, if I can not find him after searching the entire southern area, I will come back here, and when I do, you are dead." turning back, he went out of the place into the normal area again. The man felt shivers as he heard Mark''s remark.


    He waved towards Suzie and then took her up. He held her hand, being cautious. Reaching the first floor, he looked around towards the models and sceneries it was offering. They were the same compared to the ones below but were smaller.


    He walked towards the nearest one and looked through the whole thing carefully. He was searching for any people hiding inside like the person below. After inspecting each scenery and model, he couldn''t find any persons inside the showcase.


    They walked back down, and he noticed the man already fainted due to excessive blood loss. But as he was exiting the place, he stopped and looked to the right. It was towards the scenery with volcanoes and dinosaurs. He did not search this one and went near it. Touching the glass, he keenly observed each model. But as his eyes passed by one of the triceratopses, he stopped and looked back.


    Squinting his eyes, he got a better look. It was a shadow, but not of the triceratops. It looked more like a human. He smiled, seeing the effort of someone hiding. But he couldn''t cancel the chance of it being Kevin.


    He did not want to alert him, so he took out his gin and aimed it for his feet. He pulled the trigger, and the bullet pierced through the mirror and also the person''s leg. Cries of agony came out from behind the model. The one on the left, who fainted unconscious, woke up and noticed Mark shot his partner.


    He could only curse his luck. He informed nothing about him, but he had the bad luck to be caught. He quickly closed his eyes, scared that Mark would notice him. The man behind the dinosaur limped outside and shot towards Mark, but the bullet missed its target completely.


    Noticing it was not Kevin, Mark exhaled and shot the guy''s hand, making the gun fly out of his hand. He once again smashed the glass and went inside. He went near the T-Rex''s feet and picked up the gun. Keeping it in his bag, he questioned the guy once again.


    Surprisingly, he was more Cooperative than the one before. Probably after hearing the earlier cries of pain. But this one was more useless. He knew nothing and was only doing this for better living conditions promised by his brother.


    Mark exhaled, hearing him, and got out of the place. He exited the room and went towards the main hallway. The only place left the room to search in the western part of this side. He reached the main hallway and stopped.


    "If what he said was true, then the only place left to search for Kevin would be down this corridor. If Kevin isn''t there, he will experience hell." looking at the left corridor.


    Taking a deep breath and concentrating on the corridor in front of him, he made his way in with Suzie.

 Chapter 101 - Little Game (III)

    They slowly made their way deeper into the hallway. Mark was feeling tensed about the situation. He felt the man from earlier did not lie. How does he know? The fear in his eyes was enough for him to know if it was the truth or not. If Kevin wasn''t in the next room, then it only means Oliver is playing dirty.


    Reaching the room, Mark was once again astonished by the displays. There was only one enormous display in the room. There were a couple of small ones above, but the grand and most attractive one was easily the one before him.


    The display had small huts and cavemen in a jungle. It looked like a small village during the time of the caveman. He walked closer and saw there were a total of only 4 huts and 8 cavemen models in the display.


    "Kevin are you here. Kevin, it''s me, Mark. I am here for you." shouting as he looked around. He closed his eyes, searching for any sound he could pick up, but there was none. He exhaled in disappointment.


    ''Did, Oliver play dirty this time. I will kill that midget when it is the right time.'' thinking about Oliver''s gimmicks. His eyes were red with anger thinking about it. Clenching his fist, he decided to look up even though there was almost no hope. Walking up the stairs to the first floor, Mark searched each of the displays, but there was no trace of Kevin.


    Walking down the stairs, Mark shouted once again, "Kevin, I am here. Just give me a sound so I could find you." but once again, there was only silence in the whole room. But as he made his way towards the hallway, feeling both sad and angry, he heard a noise.


    It was very faint, and even Mark would not have picked it up. It isn''t for his upgraded hearing power. He stopped and turned around with an expectant gaze. The sound came from behind him. He looked at the village display and went near it, taking a chair once again.


    He smashed the glass a couple of times before it crumbled against his strength. He threw it aside and went inside the display. He made his way towards the nearest hut and checked inside. There was no one except a small child wax figure.


    Exiting the hut, he looked around for the other huts. They scattered the other three across the display. One was only a few steps away from him, while the other two were in the opposite corners. He went towards the nearest and checked inside. But this time it was an empty hut.


    He looked at the last remaining two huts and went to the nearest one. This one was also empty. He looked at the last hut, feeling tense. He could feel his heart rapidly beating as he made his way towards the hut. Suzie was right behind him.


    Suzie had a similar feeling inside her. She was also close with Kevin through Mark and could be considered as good friends. So, even if she was pretty much expressionless outside, she was anxious inside.


    Reaching the last hut, Mark finally bent down and peeked inside. His eyes shot wide as he saw a wounded man tied up, lying inside. It was Kevin Frost.


    "Kevin." as he went inside. He couldn''t stand and was on his knees as he caught Kevin''s body. Kevin''s eyelids were wavering as he saw a figure taking him into his hands. He used the last ounce of remaining strength he had to bump into the hut when he woke up, hearing Mark''s shout.


    "Kevin, wake up Kevin. I am here now, don''t worry. You will be alright." she spoke anxiously and worriedly. He was tapping on Kevin''s face, trying to keep awake. Scared that he might die once he slept.


    Kevin felt someone tap his cheeks as he was losing consciousness, begging him to stay awake. He slowly moved his lips and said, "Wa-water." with a completely dry throat. He didn''t have water for the past 2 days and his throat was practically as dry as the desert.


    Mark turned towards Suzie and asked, "Get me the water bottle in my bag. Hurry up." Suzie opened his bag and quickly gave it to him. Mark chewed the cap away and poured water into Kevin''s mouth slowly. Kevin felt water going into his dry throat and took it all in without waiting. He felt his soul returning to him as the water slowly slid through his throat.


    Mark felt relieved as he saw this. He was shaken to the core when he saw him tied up and on his last breath. By the looks of it, it seemed like they didn''t give him even water for days. He looked at him and his torn bloody shirt. His hair was unkempt, and he looked like a beggar. His skin was swollen, probably from repeated physical harassment, he had to go through. Mark felt responsible for his current situation.


    Seeing his friend in such a dire situation, his eyes couldn''t help but water. Never did he want to see someone close to him in such a situation once again. This was also a reason for him becoming an introvert and subsequently thinking of suicide. His eyes were now red with rage thinking about Oliver.


    ''Oliver, you took this way too far once again. Your end will be very soon. And once it arrives, I will show you hell and make you beg me to kill you. This is a promise I made and a promise I will fulfil, even if it costs me my life.'' looking at Kevin.


    Kevin felt some strength return to his near-death body as he slowly opened his eyes. His vision was clouded, but he could identify the silky black hair and the devilishly handsome face. His lips curved up and said, "I-I was wai-waiting for you."


    Mark nodded and said with a resolution, "Don''t worry. I am here now. Drink some more water." Pushing the bottle further. Kevin nodded at his friend''s worry and continued to drink some more water. After drinking water, Mark untied him and slowly made him sit against the wall.


    "Are you fine now?"


    Kevin nodded and said, "Yes, I can speak now. But I''m really hungry." Rubbing his empty stomach. Oliver stopped giving him food for over four days and water for the last two days. He was really hungry at the moment. Mark nodded and opened his bag. He took out an energy bar and gave it to Kevin.


    "Here eat this for now. Once we go somewhere better, We can have some proper food " Kevin only nodded and took the bar with his shaky hands. But he did not have enough strength to open it. Mark took it from him and opened it.


    Kevin slowly munched on the energy bar. Mark looked at him as his face slowly regained some colour. After he completed the energy bar, he felt some strength come back to him.


    "Can you walk?"


    Kevin nodded and tried to slowly stand up but could only stagger because of the small hut. Mark supported him with Suzie and they walked out of the hut. But as Mark walked out, a bullet Peirce''s his shoulder, pushing him to the ground.


    Mark''s eyes went wide as he fell down with Kevin and Suzie. He clutched his shoulder and noticed there was blood. Before he could turn around more bullets came his way. He immediately pulled Kevin with one hand and went behind the hut.


    His shoulder was throbbing in pain at the bullet wound. The blood did not stop oozing out as more bullets were fired their way. He took out his gun and held it with one hand. He peeked outside and saw two people standing on the first floor with guns in their hands. Before he could shoot another bullet came his way and he backed away again.


    "Both of you stay here." And ran towards another hut to the side. He held his head with an arm and tried shooting the ones above. As he reached for the other hut, he looked carefully and shot one of their legs. He took cover as the person screamed with the bullet in his legs. But this did not stop the other as he continued to shoot Mark.


    Mark could only take a deep breath and come out once again and fire at the remaining person. The bullet pierced the remaining person''s gut, and he fell down beside his partner. Mark exhaled when he saw them down but did not forget to fire once again at the first one right at his hand, which was reaching for the gun beside him.


    With both of them down, Mark''s adrenaline ran out as the pain took over once again. He dropped the gun and clutched his shoulder again. Suzie and Kevin ran up to him with worried expressions.


    "Mark are you fine?"

 Chapter 102 - Bullet

    Hearing Kevin''s worried voice, Mark looked up to both his friend''s anxious faces. Suzie held his hand, looking at him in the eye. He smiled and said, "I''m ok. Did you guys get hurt anywhere?" Mark was worried more about them than about himself.


    "No, we are fine. But you have a bullet in your body right now. We should remove it." Said Kevin as Suzie also shook her head and looked more concerned about him.


    Mark grunted as he tried to stand up but slipped and fell again, making his shoulder pain more. He grits his teeth, but as he tried to stand once more, Kevin caught him and supported him. Even if Kevin himself was very weak, he was able to help him.


    Mark looked at him, and Kevin said, "It''s ok. After that cracker, I have some energy to support you, at least. Now tell me, how are we going to remove the bullet." looking at the wound. The blood was not gushing out as before, and Mark''s face became paler by the second.


    Mark couldn''t move his hand, so he turned towards Suzie and asked, "Can you check what''s the time?" Suzie nodded and said, "It''s almost 2."


    "Alright then, Let''s go to the central area. We have a doctor in our team, so he should be able to patch me up." turning towards Kevin. Kevin nodded and grabbed him tighter; Suzie also quickly helped the weak Kevin in supporting Mark.


    They slowly made their way out of the display, but as they made their way towards the hallway, Mark stopped and said to Suzie, "Can you go upstairs and get the guns on those two. They should not be able to move but take this gun just in case." giving his gun to her.


    Suzie looked at the gun in his hand for a second before reaching out for it. She nodded and made her way up as Kevin supported Mark. She went towards the two squirming bodies and pointed her gun at both of them, making them stop moving.


    She quickly took the guns and magazine they had and came back down. Mark handed his nag to her, and she kept it inside before slinging it on her shoulder. She continued to support him as they made their way out of the room and walked through the hallway.


    Limping with both their support, Mark reached the main hallway. He felt excruciating pain from his shoulder. He could feel the blood loss getting to him as his vision was slowly becoming cloudy, and he was losing energy. He suddenly felt his hand over Kevin''s shoulder slip, and his body falls.


    Kevin reacted quickly and stretched his hand out. Catching him, Kevin slowly pulled him up and said, "Mark, don''t lose consciousness, you hear me? I said, don''t lose consciousness; we are near the central area." tapping Mark''s face. Mark opened his eyes a little and nodded before walking ahead with them.


    They reached the end of the hallway and saw David sitting in the central area waiting for them. As he saw three figures, he exhaled in relief but panicked when he saw the limping Mark and rushed over.


    "Mark, what happened. Oh god, what is this wound on your shoulder." noticing the bullet wound on his shoulder when he got near.


    "Are you the doctor he told about?" asked Kevin.


    David nodded and said, "Yes, it''s me. Please settle him down, and I will treat the wound. Thankfully, it looks like the bullet is not deep." showing the wall. Kevin nodded, and with the help of Suzie, he slowly made Mark sit down, leaning against the wall.


    David opened his bag and quickly took out the needed equipment for pulling a bullet out. He cut the shirt using scissors and looked at the wound closer. Taking out some cotton and water, dabbing some water on the cotton, he slowly cleaned the area around the wound.


    After cleaning the wound came the hard part, it was removing the bullet itself. He could attempt to remove the bullet because it did not go deep enough to cause any internal injury. It was only a skin injury; if it went deeper than he would have to use medical equipment, which he did not have to take it out.


    He took out a plucker and slowly pulled the bullet out, forcing more blood to ooze out. Throwing the bullet away, he used gauze and cotton with some antibiotic ointment he had to cover it and stop it from bleeding further. He closed the wound with some medical tape to keep it there.


    There was no need for any stitches for the wound, so it was done quickly. He exhaled in relief when he completed everything and sat using the wall''s support. He felt relieved about taking the medical supplies like these back in the wholesale market; Mark saved him and Daisy from.


    He kept all the tools in his bag and said, "I think we better search a room for him. It would be better for him to rest." looking at Suzie and Kevin.


    Kevin nodded and said, "Alright, I think there should be some security rooms done in the north hallway." pointing at the north hallway. David nodded as he knew this; he went to search for him in that hallway.


    "Alright, then. I know the way, so let''s take him there." supporting Mark up. He noticed the pale look on Kevin''s face and decided to ask later. With Kevin''s help, David let them through the north hallway and stopped in the middle of the hallway. It was a small corridor.


    Reaching the end of the small corridor, they made their way in and saw bunk beds on either side of the room. David looked at Kevin and said, "It looks like the museum provides this facility for the securities here. There has to be 24 hours security, after all."


    Kevin nodded and slowly, with the help of David, laid Mark on a bed. Mark''s expression grimaced as he felt something touch the wound, but it eased after a while. David wiped the sweat off his forehead, and He looked at Kevin.


    "Sorry for the late introduction, but you must be Kevin, right?" stretching out his hand.


    Kevin shook his hand and replied, "Ah, yes, that is me. Nice to meet you too, Doctor¡­"


    "David, David Warner. You can call me David, like Mark. So, how did he get a bullet in his body? Isn''t he cautious?" looking at Mark. They sat on the bed opposite to Mark''s looking at the body. Suzie seated herself on top of them.


    "It was because of me. He found me, and that bastard Oliver set up a trap right when we came out of the place I was kept. He placed two people on the first floor with guns to shoot us when we came out. Mark came out first, supporting me, got shot. We did not notice those bastards, or else this would not have happened."


    David nodded and noticed Kevin''s pale and weak body. He opened his bag and said, "Do you want something to eat? You do not look well. I am sure there might be a water boiler in this room used by the security." looking around.


    Kevin nodded as his stomach grumbled. David smiled and stood up. He looked at Suzie and asked if she wanted to eat, making her slightly nod. He went near the closet next to the bunk beds and opened it. He found two water boilers and also other utensils like plates, cups, and glasses. He took out a boiler and bowls for all three of them.


    Using the electricity that was still running, he boiled water and took out instant noodle packets and made a simple meal. Handing them their portions in the cups he found, they slowly ate their share.


    After eating their food, they placed the bowls aside. Kevin patted his full stomachs as he ate the most out of all three of them, showing how hungry he was. His face gained some color after the food went down his throat.


    "So, David. How did you meet Mark?"


    "He saved my daughter and me when we were trapped in a wholesale market store. He asked me to travel and work for him. So I agreed. My daughter is in the Stargaze city camp."


    Listening to him, Kevin felt weird. He looked at Mark and thought, ''You kept some trust in this person? After that incident, you did not keep trust in anyone this quickly. It looks like you''re taking a step ahead.'' as a smile formed on his face.


    He stood up and turned towards Suzie, who was leaning against the wall. He smiled, seeing the old friend, and said while stretching his hand out towards her, "How are you, Suzie? It looks like Mark managed to find you."


    But as his hand was about to reach her, she squirmed to the corner, trying to evade his hand. Her body was shaking, looking at the hand. Kevin felt confused, seeing her severe reaction.

 Chapter 103 - Personalities

    "She isn''t the Suzie you used to know. Things happened when the apocalypse started and so now she has a fear of men except Mark. So don''t take it to your heart. She is slowly opening up to me only after traveling a whole week." said David, leaning on the wall.


    Kevin''s expression remained shocked as he heard this. He looked at David and then at the frightened Suzie. He was shocked to hear things happened to her only a few days after he met her last time. The last time he met her was when he was about to leave for the trip, as he asked her to take care of Mark.


    He slowly backed away from her and sat beside David, leaning against the wall. He looked at the unconscious Mark and felt troubled. He turned towards David and asked, "What happened? One thing I can say for sure is that Mark would let nothing happen to her and would have rushed to her as soon as possible, like how he came here for me."


    David also looked at the unconscious mark and said, "Things happened when we went to her house searching for her. Mark was clear that we had to get there as quickly as possible and we did. But we were too late. She got taken by an underworld mafia and because it was already evening and the sun was going down, we had to stay in her house for a while."


    "So the next day, Mark alone made his way towards the mafia base, while I took the people who were with her father and waited for him at our agreed meeting point. But it seemed like Mark was late. Even though nothing happened to her physically as Mark saved her before she got assaulted by a beast, the trauma of being pushed down and a man forcing himself on her left a slight trauma on her."


    Kevin frowned, he treated Suzie as one of his close friends. She was not like others and was kind to both him and Mark when they entered university. She was their classmate. While still looking at Mark he asked, "What did Mark decide to do about it? He didn''t just leave those people after what happened to her, did he?"


    Shaking his head, David replied, "He had to. He was alone and was lacking the power to go against a whole settlement. So he only concentrated on rescuing Suzie. He killed the person who was pushing her down and forcing himself on her. But I think after we go back to Stargaze city. But now, he was planning on curing the trauma in her, I don''t know how he is planning to do it in such a short time."


    "I am sure he will do something. It''s been very long since I saw him being normal again. I never thought I would see him again like this after all the things which happened to him." sighing as he remembered things of the past.


    Hearing him, David thought of something and hesitated to ask it. Kevin noticed this and said, "What happened, David? Do you have anything to ask about?"


    David nodded and asked, "Kevin, how long have you known Mark for?"


    "As long as I can remember. We have been close since we were young, as our families are friends."


    David nodded hearing him and asked, "Kevin, does Mark have a personality disorder of any sort in the past?"


    His question came as a shock for Kevin. He looked at David and then at Mark; he thought it was a joke and laughed. He patted David''s shoulder and said, "Don''t joke, David. How can he have a disorder of any sort, especially a personality disorder? I think you are mistaken somehow."


    But contrary to his expectations, David shook his head and said, "I am not joking, Kevin. I am a doctor and I can say for a fact even if I don''t specialize in that read of health that Mark seems to have two personalities in him. I observed him throughout our time together while fighting and traveling and so decided to ask you about it. But it looks like even you had no idea about it."


    Kevin''s eyes shot wide as he heard the serious doctor. He started thinking about the past and any changes in Mark which he could catch, but there were none. After the death of his sister and mother, Mark went from a happy person to a very cold person. He started detaching himself from everyone around him, and it took even Kevin a lot of effort and persistence to be with him.


    They moved to Stargaze city, far from their previous home which was the capital of the nation to stay away from the memories that the city bought for them. They lived alone and joined a university in which Mark only attended the first semester of their first year. Now they were in their third year. He then later became a shut-in and played games all day long inside their small apartment. It was the memories of his mother and sister which drove him like that.


    He looked towards David and asked, "How and when did you observe these changes?"


    David looked towards him and responded, "It was almost since the very beginning. He looked stable on the outside but was the exact opposite inside. Like the first time he saved us, he had a very cold attitude and would have left me if I was not a doctor, but something also told me that he wouldn''t leave me even if I was not a doctor."


    "I did not take this much into consideration, but then we went to another person''s house before going to Suzie''s house. It was a girl named Mona and according to Mark, it was someone he fought with when they were trapped in your internship office on the day the disaster occurred."


    "We went to her house as he wanted to recruit her into his team. But to what I noticed, Mark would not take his risk for a person who did not give him any value. Except for the fact she could fight there wasn''t anything else in her to attract his attention."


    "So, I understood he did it out of concern. He was concerned about her safety for some reason. It wasn''t any infatuation people of your age generally feel. This was when I understood he was also a kind person. He cared about people a lot and did not want them to die needlessly."


    "This was the first persona I noticed in him. But then I noticed a second persona inside him. It was his ruthless side. Completely contrasting to the kind of persona he has sometimes, there was a complete cold-blooded side in him. A side which never cared about people he thought were useless."


    "This I confirmed when we came to this city."


    "This city?" asked Kevin. The more he heard, the more he was surprised. He understood he only knew the kind side of Mark. Mark was always a kind and gentle person in the past. This was a feature he got from his mother. She was like an angel, both kind and caring towards both of them.


    David nodded and said, "Yes, the museum was not the first place we came to in this city. We went to the hotel you stayed at. We went to the floors your university booked for you. After searching both the floors we found a small survival group in one of the rooms."


    "So, he asked about your information and if they knew where you were. But one of the university students acted cocky and said it would be better if you died."


    Taking a deep breath, he continued, "This was when I noticed the abrupt change more clearly than before. His eyes became colder as he excluded a very scary aura. He looked like a beast as he moved and kept a gun inside the guy''s mouth. If it was not for one more student who was in that group who knew where you were, he would have killed that person."


    Kevin heard this and was shocked. Mark was never this violent before.


    "Of course you might think he did it because he was in a hurry and was worried about you. But something happened after that. The people there asked him to take them with us and even if it would be tough, I know we could have pulled it off. But he denied and walked away."


    "When we got back into our jeep, I asked him the reason." gulping his saliva, he continued, "He said there was a bitten in that group. A person who was attacked by a zombie and got scratched. It shocked me. The normal Mark would have at least warned those people about the possibility of that person being a future zombie, but he didn''t."


    "It looked like he did it knowing that a disaster would strike them, just to play with them. The craziness in his eyes was clear."

 Chapter 104 - Oliver Schemes

    David''s words. The information and proofs he received were enough for him to believe his words. The slight fear and uncomfortableness David showed at the end could not be faked easily.


    ''What happened to Mark? David''s eyes showed fear for a second as he told about the craziness Mark displayed. It''s too much to take in. The few days I was away from Mark, something happened to him.'' He looked at Mark, sleeping opposite them.


    He could only exhale, thinking about the things happening. He looked towards David once again and asked, "Does he know this?"


    "No. I don''t think he knows that he has another personality in him. The conditions to trigger the personalities are not known yet. But when he changes into his secondary personality and by your words, which seem like his more offensive side, it takes time for him to turn back normal."


    Kevin nodded and said, "No one knows this, right?"


    "No, you are the first one to know about this, and I also don''t plan on telling about this to anyone else. I didn''t have any plans to tell you, too, and only wanted to continue observing him. But after seeing his reaction when he saw his younger brother Oliver, his anger shot through the roof. He almost could not control himself. So, I decided to talk to you about it and know more about Mark."


    Kevin hummed, hearing him, and said, "I hope you don''t tell anyone about this doctor. Mark is a compassionate man. I do accept that sometimes he might go overboard. As I will also be with you guys from now on, I will also observe him."


    David nodded, and Kevin asked, "When will he wake up?"


    "His wound is not that serious. He only lost consciousness because of the blood he lost. He should wake up in another hour or two. We should get some rest till then; I will go sleep on the bed above Mark, you sleep here." Getting out of the bunk bed. He noticed Suzie was already asleep and went on the top of Mark''s.


    Kevin, who had his stomach full after a long time, slept instantly after David left the bed. It did not take him long for them to snore.


    As everyone in the room fell asleep, on the top floor, things were thrown around in the room as a group of people stood before the angry man. Oliver was furious when he heard Mark was still alive. He decided to end his brother. His plan was almost perfect, but the people he gave the task to were not able to finish the job and, in return, got shot by Mark.


    "Young master, please try to control yourself. He was lucky this time, but I am sure he won''t be lucky every time. We will get a chance to take him out before he leaves this place. From what they said, he should have a bullet inside him right now, and so he won''t move quickly and escape another time." Said a man who looked like a bodyguard.


    Hearing his aid''s words, Oliver slowly toned his anger down. The bodyguard was not ordinary at all. Oliver''s mother hired a bodyguard to monitor him and would only report directly to her. In a way, Oliver was forced to listen to him.


    He turned towards him and said, "Wasn''t it you who came up with this plan. Why did it fail? Don''t act like you have authority over me. You are only a pawn used by mother, remember that." Scoffing.


    He slowly sat on a nearby chair and looked at the bodyguard. The bodyguard did not mind his words as they were the truth. He turned towards the people standing; Mark would notice them quickly. They were the people he fought against while searching for Kevin through the hallways.


    "So, you said he is wounded? Are you sure about this?"


    One of the men from the room Kevin was found limped forward. He had a bullet in his leg, and the pain was too much for him to handle, but he still nodded and said, "Yes, I kept a bullet inside his shoulder, his hand shouldn''t be functional for a while."


    "We need to use this for our advantage and inflict damage on that bastard. I want him to fall into a deeper despair than the last time I played with him. He ran away so far away from home and came to this city. I would never have guessed I would meet him here under such circumstances. Do you have any ideas?" turning towards his bodyguard.


    The bodyguard nodded and said while pushing his glasses up, "I think we should go after his friend Kevin. It would be the best and most painful damage to him."


    "NO." standing up from his seat. He looked at the bodyguard in fear and said, "No, we will not go after Kevin. Even though we could mildly starve him, we can not kill him at any cost. His background is not something even my father would dare take casually. If anything happens to him, that woman would be enraged, and I am sure even during these times, my days would only be counted on a single hand." as his body shivered, remembering a specific person.


    The power that person had was immeasurable. She had everyone in her hands and played with them like pieces of chess she was always interested in. Her husband himself was a chess piece for her, and the only thing she cared about was Kevin. Last time because he requested her, she took action against their family, and it almost lost all its footing in the city.


    He could still remember the face of his emotionless father when that happened. It happened because he troubled Kevin without knowing about her. He took it too far that even the calm and conserved Kevin went to her mother. Her move seemed simple, but it took a whole year to return to their previous glory.


    But he was also lucky on one point. The fact that she only cared about her son Kevin. No matter how he played with Mark, that woman did not intervene in any manner. Even when Kevin asked her to do something, she remained indifferent about it.


    Seeing Oliver''s shivering body and hearing the genuine fear in his voice, the bodyguard was taken back. The cocky young master was scared to the point he almost peed himself. He started thinking about another plan and immediately remembered another person in the group.


    "Young master, I think we can do another thing which might have a similar effect on that man."


    Oliver took a deep breath and calmed himself from the previous fear. He looked at him and asked, "What did you think of?" but the bodyguard looked at the other people standing in the room. Understanding his intention, they quickly scrambled out of the room.


    Turning back toward Oliver, he said, "We can do this¡­." and explained the whole plan.


    Oliver''s eyes shined as he heard the plan. He slowly had a cruel smile on his face and said, "Why did I not think of this. I played with him using the same plan in the past, and the result was awesome. Those were good times. Let''s do it again anyway and see if his performance is any better."


    "I will leave it to you then. When are you planning on executing it?"


    "I think it would be if we do it tonight. There is a high possibility that he might wake up tomorrow and leave. So tonight, when he is unconscious, it is the right time to do it. Imagine how devastated he would be when he wakes up, young master."


    Oliver nodded and said, "Alright then, go ahead and take care of the execution. I want to see good results this time." the bodyguard nodded and went out of the room. Oliver left all alone in the room, sat back on the chair as he thought about the plan.


    ''I hope this would be the last nail for your coffin, brother. But I still want you to live so I can play with you more. All the best brothers, I hope you make it as entertaining as the previous one.'' with a crazy grin on his face.


    As the younger brother was plotting against him, Mark was lying on his bed, recuperating. His face looked peaceful, but his mind was far from it. He was back inside the darkroom once again. He looked around, trying to find the three people he saw when he was asleep in the military camp.


    After a few seconds passed by, which felt like a few years for him, he saw two figures this time. But unlike the previous three figures, which gave out a warm feeling, these two were the complete opposite. He felt his survival instincts scream, warning about the two people in front of him. But his body refused to move.

 Chapter 105 - Power

    His back was drenched in sweat because of the pressure he felt from the two beings in front of him. His body was shaking in fear. He tried to get a good look at both of them as they floated in the distance.


    By one glance he understood they weren''t human. They had horns on their forehead. The one on the right had two while the left one had only one. Both of their bodies were purple with lines on them which seemed like cracks, giving out an eerie feeling. The black miasma oozing out of them was the reason for the uneasiness Mark felt.


    Both of them continued to get near as the pressure he felt grew. They stopped a foot away from him and the pressure was too much for him to handle. If he was not forcing himself, then he would have fainted. He was on a very thin thread, hoping that they wouldn''t increase the pressure he was already facing.


    The two beings stared right into his eyes, not speaking a word. Their eyes gave off a similar feeling, like the last time he felt it when facing against the three beings. It was like they completely stripped him naked and he could hide nothing from them.


    The one on the left spoke, but Mark could.''t understand one word. It sounded very similar to the previous being''s language, making him confused and agitated. They continued to converse peacefully and suddenly turned towards him. Silence took over as they stared at him as if they waited for an answer from him.


    Their gaze intensified as the silence prolonged. The right one suddenly got enraged and stepped forward, trying to grab him. Mark felt blood slowly drip from the corners of his lips as he tried to hold back the blood in his mouth. Noticing the blood, the left one immediately stopped his companion and pointed towards Mark.


    His companion nodded and went back to his place. When he did the left one stretched his hands out and Mark felt the surrounding pressure magically disappear. He fell on his knees and coughed out blood. He held his mouth and calmed down a bit.


    He wiped his mouth and stood back normally. He looked at the two beings and before he could say anything the one on the right immediately started talking and waving his hand at him. Mark could not understand what he was blabbering about. After he talked both of them started to stare at him once again, looking for an answer from him.


    Mark slowly pointed at his mouth and shook his head. Trying to show he did not understand their words. Both of them looked at Mark like an idiot, making him frustrated. He once again pointed at them and his mouth, trying to make his point across. As he tried the left one finally understood what he meant and clasped his hand.


    He turned to the side and spoke pointing at Mark making his companion also realize the problem. They both suddenly clapped their hands and the left one spoke, "Do you understand now, lowly human?"


    Mark''s eyes twitched hearing the last two words. He wanted to refute their way of communicating but he held it back in remembering the pressure he faced only a few minutes before. He could only keep it in and nod.


    The right one started to laugh and he once again shouted, "Now that you understand, mongrel. Give us an answer."


    "About what?"


    Before the right one raged on him, the left one said, "Don''t mind my younger brother. We asked about the power inside you? How did you get it?" Pointing at him. The elder brother seemed more civilized compared to the younger.


    "Power? What power? I have no such power?" Feeling confused. He didn''t have any powers. He was utterly confused hearing them.


    Scoffing at him, the younger brother shouted, "Don''t play games with me, boy. You have the orb inside you. There is no way you don''t have any powers. Spit them out. Tell us what they are." As he applied pressure on Mark.


    "What orb? What are you guys talking about? I have no powers in me. You must have mistaken it." He gritted as he fell on his knees. The pressure was too much for his weak body. It was crushing his soul as blood once again made its way to his mouth.


    "Stop." And the pressure vanished, making him puke blood once again. He looked at the elder brother and said, "I really do not know what you people are talking about. You got the wrong person." Taking deep breaths.


    The elder brother said nothing as he continued to observe Mark. He suddenly stretched his hand and said, "Well, looks like you need to feel the thing inside you to accept it." And dark miasma came out of his hand.


    It slowly made his way into his abdomen and went inside. Once it did, Mark felt his body pulled apart in two opposite directions as he clutched his stomach and shouted in pain. He felt his stomach being ripped apart as if two forces were fighting inside.


    Seeing his reaction, the elder brother quickly retracted the miasma back. A cloud of darkness slowly exited his stomach and went back to him. Mark felt relief when he removed it. The pain was still there, but it was quickly decreasing. He looked at him and asked, "What was that? My body was getting ripped apart. Were you trying to kill me?"


    Before he could answer the younger brother scoffed at him and said, "If my brother wanted to kill you, a flick of the finger would be more than enough for you. But brother, it seems like he really has it inside him." Looking at his brother once again.


    He only nodded hearing his brother and said, "This is very troublesome."


    "Brother, shall we just forcefully take it out?"


    He shook his head and said, "No, if we do that then he would die. Those bastards were very careful this time. They linked it with his soul. So forcefully taking it out would damage his soul. This is a problem."


    "Shall we go for another person? There are plenty in this world. I am sure there will be another person."


    Despite his younger brother''s suggestion, he shook his head and said, "No, father asked us to grant it only for the most compatible human. So we can''t change."


    "Then what do you want to do? We were too late this time. I am sure father will not scold us if we tell him about this."


    The elder brother remained silent despite his brother giving out more ideas and suggestions. After a few more minutes, a smile formed on his face, and said, "I have an idea." The younger brother quickly closed his mouth and looked at him with expectation.


    "Let''s keep both of them inside him at the same time." As his smile became colder. The younger brother''s eyes shot wide hearing the cruel suggestion.


    "Brother, we just saw what happened when both the forces came into contact. The body would not handle it. It would be a waste of an opportunity for us. And also, if a person they gave power to dies, then the consequences are huge. You know the rules."


    "Who says both the powers need to come into contact. We can just keep ours separately within the same body."


    "But what if they come into contact? This human would die immediately."


    "No, they won''t. This is why father always says, you need to observe more, instead of jumping to conclusions. If you look closer, even if they found him sooner, they sealed the orb, and it doesn''t look like it would open soon. So we can use this and give ours also to him."


    Before his brother could reply to his statement, he continued, "And, if anything unfortunate does happen and both the forces come into contact. Then it is his incompetence to keep them separated. Not our problem." shrugging his shoulders.


    His younger brother could not say anything after that. The elder simply extended his hand and a pitch-black orb formed on top of it. It excluded the same aura as them but in a much-diluted state. He gently pushed the orb, and it flew towards the tired Mark.


    It slowly entered inside him, and Mark braced himself for pain. But it never came. He did not feel any pain like before and he looked at the elder brother in confusion.


    "Don''t look confused. This is only a temporary gamble. Eventually, the lock on the other power will loosen or worse break than you have to rely on yourself. The pain would be a hundred times what you experienced just now." with a cold smile as he looked at Mark like he looks at toys.


    Mark''s entire body shuddered seeing his smile. He was shocked and also scared as he heard him. Even when the concept of death was interesting and captivating for him, he felt scared when the situation was not in his control. He did not have the power to take out what is inside him. Even if he could, he would feel the pain again.

 Chapter 106 - Angels And Devils

    "Alright now that it is inside you, unlike those nasty bastards, I didn''t lock the power. So you might experience them very soon after your body adapts to the changes brought by the powers inside you. The power I gave you will depend on you. Even I don''t know what it is. It''s like a lucky draw, so just hope it is something helpful for you." Said the elder brother.


    "Can I know who you are? And what these powers are?"


    "Ha! Do you want to die? We are someone you have to worship. You are all slaves." Said the younger with scorn. Mark''s eyes twitched as he heard the words come out of his mouth.


    The elder brother could only smile and say while tapping his brother''s shoulders, "Now, don''t be like that. We are called many things but you people refer to us as the devil, demons, etc. As for your powers, you will know the meaning behind our intention if you survive. Survive and grow stronger. That is the only way you can get to know more about yourself."


    Mark''s pupils shrunk when he heard the word devils. He heard about various mythologies from his mother and so was not new to the concept.


    "If you are devils then are the before people angels?"


    "Ha, you can call those weaklings that." Grumbled the younger brother.


    "Can I know if everyone in this world gains powers?"


    "That depends. We came here with a task and we accomplished it. Just like us, there might be others who came here. So if you see anyone with powers, don''t get surprised."


    "Is there anything you want me to do with these powers?"


    "There are, but it''s not the time for you to know yet. You will automatically understand or the desire to do it will grow inside you. But now that I think about it, you might be different compared to others, as you have two opposing forces inside yourself." with a smug on his face.


    Hearing his answer, Mark''s face darkened. He looked ahead and noticed the two devils were already vanishing.


    "Well, we should go now. If we have a chance in the future let''s meet again. Try to survive until then. Best of luck."


    As they vanished, Mark woke up in the real world. He looked around and noticed the small room he was in. Looking at the bed opposite to him, he saw Kevin and exhaled in relief. The reason he came to the museum was complete, and they needed to go to the military camp in the city.


    He looked around and noticed the empty cups and felt hungry. Standing up, he tried to use his injured shoulder, but it was still in pain. But compared to the pain he had before, it was now better. When he stood up, he noticed Suzie looking at him with her eyes wide open while still sleeping.


    He shivered under her gaze and whispered, "Did you not get sleep?"


    She shook her head and said, "No, I woke up now." Barely audible.


    "Can you give me an energy bar? They should be in my bag. Wait, where is my bag?" He looked around, searching for it.


    Suzie simply kept her hand behind her and reached out for a bag. He looked at her and noticed she had his bag and felt relieved. She opened the bag and handed the energy bar to him. He opened it and ate it whole. He was also very hungry. He checked his way h after eating at a bar and saw it was already 5:30. They couldn''t move out now.


    He sat back on his bed and looked at Suzie. Suzie was also staring at him. She suddenly got down and said, "I need to use the washroom." with no emotion.


    Mark felt awkward hearing her request. He remembered the promise he made to himself. He will cure her and the first step is to make her a little independent.


    "Try going there yourself. The washroom should only be around the corner at the end of the hallway. Don''t worry, nothing will happen. Believe in yourself and face your fear. I won''t be there every time, so defeat the thing you fear using your own strength." Trying to increase her confidence.


    Suzie''s body shuddered hearing him. It scared her to be alone and always stuck with him. She unconsciously depended on him too much to the point she can''t do things on her own. But hearing his harsh words, she could only nod and turn around. She quietly left the room, taking small steps.


    Mark looked at her back as she left the room and sighed. He was overprotective when it came to his friends, and this would only make them more useless. Especially at the state, she was in. He had to take harsh steps to make her normal again.


    He leaned against the wall and looked at Kevin once again. He saw his skinny friend and blamed himself again. His thoughts then drifted towards the strange dream he had. He also remembered the last time he fainted like earlier today. It was in the underground parking lot facing the huge bloater for the first time.


    That time he had the dream about the so-called angels and similar to the dream he had today, he received a white orb from them. When he woke up, the injuries which generally take at least one week were already healed with 3 days of rest.


    His hand slowly went for his wrapped shoulder. He carefully removed the bandage David used to seal the wound. Removing the cotton on top of it, he kept it aside and touched the wounded area. But to his surprise, there was no wound. The bullet hole was no more, but instead, there was a scar.


    He felt pain as he touched the wound and so moved his hand away. It looked like his wound once again got closed quickly, but it could not remove the internal pain. His shoulder did not have the same mobility as before.


    ''Is this because of the ''power'' I received from the angels?"


    He felt ecstatic thinking about it. It was like he gained a regeneration skill in the games he used to play. This skill was very helpful in the current situation for him. The number of injuries he would gain during his survival would be many. It would be tough for them to stop every time he gets injured, but now with the strange power he has, this could be almost neglected.


    ''But, by the looks of it, this would only give a superficial regeneration. If I get any serious internal injuries, it would be the same old. I should be careful to not get injured just because of the power I gained.''


    He noticed the time was already 5:50 and looked at the door. Suzie wasn''t back yet. He felt tense thinking about it. He felt a bad ominous feeling.


    ''Why is she not back yet? The washrooms should only be at the end of the hallways. Did something happen?'' and stood up like a spring. He started blaming himself for sending her alone. He wore his shirt and made his way out. Exiting the room, he found himself in a small corridor and walked towards the hallway at the end.


    Reaching the hallway, he looked at the end and noticed the washroom sign. He walked towards the washroom sign hoping nothing happened to her and it was only his overprotectiveness acting up again. Reaching the end, he looked at the two small boards showing the ways to male and female washrooms.


    Without hesitation, he made his way to the female washroom. As he entered he heard loud banging from the inside. He sped up towards the end and took a right. He saw two men with lecherous gazes banging against a washroom cubicle.


    Both looked like regular thugs. He could see saliva dripping down from their mouth. The two of them were very lean. One was bald and short while the other was tall and wore spectacles. They were continuously banging the third cubicle.


    "Come out, b*tch. Let''s have a fun time. If you come out now, it would only be two of us. If you force us to break in then after us it would be the entire camp. OPEN THE DOOR." shouted the short one. He was nearer to the door compared to his companion.


    Mark could hear crying from the inside and figured it was Suzie herself by the voice. He got enraged hearing her cry once again and looked around for something to use. He did not bring both his gun or sword to use, and one of his hands was not in optimal condition.


    He grabbed a nearby wooden mop with the normal hand and charged toward the two bastards. The two looked to the side and noticed Mark holding the mop with one hand charging towards them.

 Chapter 107 - Suzies First Step

    Both of them couldn''t react to his sudden charge. Before the tall guy shouted, Mark was already in front of him with the mop in his hand swinging at him with full force. The mop went straight for the head, without holding back. The wood broke due to the force, and the man staggered backward. He clutched the now bloody head and kneeled down.


    Mark did not stop there as he turned around and kicked the short guy right in front of the cubicle. The force behind the leg was enough to send him towards the wall and drop on the ground clutching his stomach in pain.


    Seeing both of their reactions, he felt he underestimated his strength after adapting to the environment. His strength was easily 2 times when he was normal. Still clutching the half-broken mop in his hand, he turned towards the cubicle. Suzie long before stopped crying when she heard the loud noises outside.


    He gently tapped on the door and whispered, "Suzie, It''s me. Come out. Don''t be scared." as he said that, there was no response from the other side. There was only silence in the washroom. The two men were scared out of their wits seeing Mark''s strength. They never thought someone would find them.


    20 minutes ago, the bodyguard of the most powerful man in the camp called them. They were asked to do a task and were also promised rewards in return. They felt ecstatic hearing him. When they inquired about the task, it was to rape a girl. They felt more ecstatic hearing that. It was a simple job.


    They accepted the task and went to the ground floor. Asking around, they found which halfway they stayed in and waited in the hallway. After a few minutes, their target walked out alone and both of them exhaled in relief. It scared the two cowards that someone would be with her. After she entered the washroom, both of them followed right behind her.


    But as they entered, the girl noticed them and immediately went into a cubicle and locked it. They rushed towards the cubicle but were too late. They started banging on the door and threatened her to come out. But it was useless as she remained inside, crying. As they got irritated and wanted to bust the door open, they were attacked.


    The attack was too quick and once both of them fell; they did not raise their voice once again. They noticed the anger in his eyes as he charged at them and were scared of what he would do to them.


    After a while, the door slowly opened, and a very weak Suzie came out. She had tear stains all over her face as her body continuously trembled in fear. Her mind went black when he saw the two lecherous faces entering the washroom behind her. It reminded her about her time in the school. She remembered how helpless she felt at that moment.


    The fear she tried to suppress for so long slowly came out. She immediately rushed into the nearest cubicle and locked the door. She sat on the toilet seat and looked towards the door. She then heard footsteps towards the cubicle accompanied by the door beginning knocked. Her body shuddered as she heard their threats.


    As the door shook more, she pushed her body against it to stop them. Tears rolled out of her eyes and she cried thinking about her current situation. But then the people stopped banging on the door and a groan followed it. She heard sounds of fighting from the other side and felt more scared.


    Things got quite quickly. She suddenly heard the door knock and got tense. But after hearing Mark''s voice outside, she felt relieved once again. Even after hearing his voice, her body did not stop shaking as she slowly opened the door. She saw Mark''s warm smile on the other side.


    "It''s ok Suzie."


    Suzie stood there, not moving as she looked into his eyes. Seeing her body shivering with fear, Mark did not take her into a hug. But instead thought of something else. He looked to the side and saw the thugs he hit, crouched down holding the parts he hit, looking at him in fear.


    He suddenly got an idea. He turned back towards Suzie and took a step back. Seeing him go back, Suzie got scared. She thought he was abandoning her. Tears started filling her eyes. Mark felt sad seeing her condition when he took a step back, but he held on.


    Taking a deep breath, he looked at Suzie. The temperature in the room dropped by several degrees as he slowly said in a cold tone, "Hit them." pointing his finger at them. Suzie showed no response. She looked at the two people on the ground for the first time and seeing their gaze on her, she felt scared.


    She stepped towards Mark, trying to hide behind him. But Mark took a step back once again and said, "Don''t come near. Why are you scared? Is it because they might do anything for you? If you continue to be like this, things won''t change."


    "I told you this before and I am saying this once again. You will be a burden if it continues like this, Suzie. I won''t allow you to travel with me. I will leave you here and won???t see you ever again. So change. Face the fear against these kinds of bastards."


    "You should not feel scared. Instead of fear, you should feel anger and disgust against them. You should feel anger on yourself for being powerless. You can not depend on people every time you see a man like this. Now face them. Show the rage inside you. The rage you are scared to show. Take this and show me." handing her the half-broken mop.


    He had to make things clear. If Suzie continued to stay like that, it would only be harmful to her. Going forward, he won''t have the chance to stay by her side every single moment. If she can not get over the fear she was in, things can not move on.


    This was the best way he could think of. Seeing the wounded thugs, he knew they won''t put up much of a fight anymore. Mark was sure of this because of two things. One was the damage he already dealt with, and the second was the fear their eyes could not hide. Both of them could only put on a strong front but were actually cowards.


    He looked at Suzie and saw her looking at the mop in his hand. He pushed the mop further towards her and said in a louder tone, "Take it. Show me, you are not a person who fears thugs like them. Take it." pushing it into her hands.


    Suzie looked down at the half-broken mop in her hand. She could see some bloodstains on one end of the mop. She looked back towards Mark and saw the same icy cold stare. His hand was pointing at the two people on the ground. She could not stop her body from shivering. She looked at the two men on the ground. Both their eyes looked at her with fear.


    But seeing their eyes, she could not see the fear. But only the lustful gaze she saw before when they came towards her. She could only remember how they were trying to break through the cubicle door, despite her crying. She thought about Mark''s words.


    His words resonated with something deep inside her. The anger she felt against them. The anger she felt against the man who almost abused her a few days ago. The anger she was feeling at the moment as she saw the two bastards who were ready to rape her if not for Mark''s interference.


    Mark noticed her wavering emotions and knew she was considering his words. He only needed to give her a little push. He slowly said, "Do it, Suzie. I know you can do it. Show me your anger and the hate you have inside you. Power it all out on them. Face your fear."


    As she heard him once again, her thoughts became clearer. She gripped the mop with both her hands. Even though her body was still shivering under their gazes, the anger, and hate she had slowly made her take a step forward. The fear she had was being suppressed by the anger.


    Mark smiled seeing her take a step towards them. The step signified her willingness to face her fear. The step showed the anger she had deep inside her.


    "Go, Suzie. I am here if anything goes wrong. Show these bastards the anger you have in you." taking a step back. He gave her the last push she needed as she took another step with greater confidence.


    Gripping the mop tighter, she slowly took steps forward towards them and stared at them. Both of the thugs had a pleading expression as they looked at her. They wanted to revolt, but they saw Mark''s gaze and couldn''t move.

 Chapter 108 - Suzies Rage

    Standing before them, Suzie looked down into their eyes. Her eyes showed both her commitment and the fear which instinctively kicked in when she was near them. Her hands were still shivering. She had thoughts of backing out but held on when she remembered Mark''s words only a few seconds back.


    He was right. She also felt the need to express the other emotion she felt when she met people like this. She needed to get rid of the fear, so she could continue to travel with them and not be a burden which might cause huge trouble for them. She didn''t like the feeling of dragging others down.


    Mark remained calm and gave her space. He looked at both of them and knew who sent them. It was mostly his idiotic brother. Mark''s anger rose as he thought about him. If anything would have happened to Suzie, Mark would have lost his temper completely. Mark held his head as the past memories he buried resurfaced.


    After Suzie was done with them, he wanted to confirm if it was truly his brother. If it was, it seemed like he needed to have a talk with him once before they left for the military base in the city. Mark had no idea where it was. Massaging his head, he looked at Suzie once again and saw her slowly lifting the mop in her hand.


    Slowly lifting the mop in her shivering hand, Suzie had various thoughts and memories running in her mind. The memories of the darkroom and the ropes she was tied to. The sick figure of a man trying to take advantage of her. The amount of struggle and begging she tried, all of them were now in her brain remembering her about the dark times.


    But she also had thoughts about Mark''s words and the amount of trust he was willing to keep in her. Her friend who risked his life to rescue her. Her friend who stood by her side and gave courage to her. She did not want to let him down at the moment.


    She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She blocked out all the thoughts rampaging her mind and tried to calm her nerves down. She collected the anger once again and assured herself continuously that it would be fine. She opened her eyes with a resolution in them. The shivering hands were now not shivering as much.


    Taking another deep breath she shouted, "AHHH You bastards." And brought the mop down right on the short guy''s head. The steal and round part of the mop struck hard on his head as he howled in pain.


    Suzie did not stop there as she pulled the mop once again. The tall man cowered as he held his head with both his hands trying to defend himself but Suzie now blinded with the rage she hid did not stop and brought the mop down once again. The mop struck his hand and he once again shouted in pain.


    Suzie continued to hammer both of them with the mop in her hand, shouting out curses. The rage did not seem to dissipate. All the pent up rage and emotions seem to burst out as both the thugs took all of it at once. Her eyes were wet as tears slowly rolled down her cheek while she continued to hammer them.


    Mark had a smile on his face as he saw his friend finally letting out everything in her heart. All the fear she experienced she is finally showing it. This was effecting as she was finally showing rationality. The previously scared Suzie was nowhere to be seen, and it was a good sign. This was the first step for her complete recovery.


    Blood was now everywhere as both the thug''s hands were battered. They were crying in pain as her heavy swings almost broke their bones. The mop also broke and was now only a stick.


    "Plea-please stop. We are sorry. We will never touch or see a girl once again in our entire life. Just sto... Ah," begged the short man before he got hit by Suzie on the chest once again.


    "Shut up scum. You deserve to die." and she swung at him again, finally knocking him out. The thin man was also in the same situation. Mark noticed this and went forward.


    As Suzie was once again swinging the stick in her hand towards him, Mark caught her hand. Seeing someone stop her, Suzie turned around harshly ready to attack the person but stopped when she saw it was Mark. The stick in her hand dropped as tears rolled down her eyes.


    She didn''t know the reason for the tears, but she couldn''t stop them. Her emotions and the prick in her heart were now removed, and she got the sense of freedom again. Mark took her into a light hug and patted her back.


    "It''s ok Suzie. You did well against your fear. You were very brave and I am very proud of you. Throwing the fear away, you can now be free and normal again. Cry all the pain you held in out, I am here for you." trying to soothe her.


    Hearing his words removed the dam in her eyes as tears rolled down continuously as she cried her eyes out. She leaned her head towards his chest and cried the fear, anger, and every other thing out. Mark only stood there, giving her support and patting her back.


    The remaining thug who was barely conscious noticed this and couldn''t help but feel confused. They were the ones who got beaten without any mercy and should be the ones crying. But seeing the girl who caused all the damage to him and knocked out his partner cold crying, his lips twitched.


    He noticed Mark slowly turning towards him and immediately shut his eyes and did not move at all. He was scared that now Mark would take his turn to get some revenge on them. Mark looked at the thug''s acting and smirked. He looked down at Suzie and noticed she was finally calming down.


    "Do you feel ok, Suzie?" with a calm yet reassuring tone he asked.


    Suzie nodded and turned her head to see the bloody mess she created. Her body shivered. With the anger in her gone and was rational again, seeing the damage she caused for the two people, she felt both pity and slightly scared of herself.


    "It''s ok Suzie. Don''t look at them and have pity. They deserved it. You did the right thing." reassuring her when he noticed her body shiver and her gaze on both the thugs.


    Hearing him reassure, she nodded and felt more confident. She separated from him with a slight blush on her face. Mark noticed this but shrugged it off, thinking it was because she cried.


    "Suzie, go and stand outside. I will have a talk with these thugs and we can go back to our room." Suzie nodded and made her way out of the restroom after giving the two thugs one last look.


    The tall thug shivered as tears formed in his eyes when he heard Mark''s statement. He did not dare to move and even breathe. Scared that they will catch him. He started praying god to save him from another devil coming his way.


    He felt that his partner was lucky to be knocked out cold at that moment. Mark noticed Suzie was gone and faced the two thugs once again. He had a maniacal grin on his face as he licked up the stick Suzie dropped.


    Hearing Mark''s steps, the thug''s body shivered. He couldn''t control himself and the fear overtook him as he opened his eyes and leaped towards Mark''s legs with his damaged body.


    Ignoring his body screaming in pain, he begged, "Please. Please, just leave us. He is already knocked out by your friend, I do not want to be tortured again. Please leave me." bawling his eyes out. Mark felt amused as his inner sadist slowly awakened, seeing him beg.


    He grinned and kicked the guy back towards the wall. The guy got slammed to the wall and coughed out blood. He felt his vision go hazy and was about to lose consciousness until he felt water splash on his face. He looked up and saw Mark with a sprinkler in his hand, shooting water from inside a cubicle.


    Mark would not let him go until he asked his questions.


    "Don''t be too scared. I won''t do anything to you. Only some simple questions which you need to answer. So tell the truth if you want to go out of here alive." with a smile which looked like the smile of the devil for the poor thug.


    He could only nod and Mark crouched down in front of him.


    "Good, So my question is. Listen carefully, you only get one chance. Who was it who told you to do this?" with the same smile on his face.

 Chapter 109 - Suzie Recovery

    After a few more minutes, Mark slowly walked out of the washroom cleaning his hands using his shirt. He noticed Suzie was standing next to the door waiting for him. She had her head hung low, like a child who got caught doing a mistake. She looked deep in thought, not even noticing Mark who stood right before her.


    Seeing her thinking deeply about something, Mark could only shake her shoulders, snapping her out of her thoughts. Suzie finally noticed him and looked ahead. She had a small smile on her previously emotionless face, making Mark secretly relieved. He was scared the plan might have backfired and she could have gotten worse compared to before.


    Seeing her smile, a small smile formed on his face too as he said, "Let''s go back to the room first. You must be really tired. Take some rest."


    Suzie nodded, and they slowly made their way back towards the security room. Walking through the hallway, Mark asked, "How do you feel?"


    Suzie did not reply immediately but after a few seconds, she answered, "I am fine now. It is like a huge burden in my heart and mind is lifted and I feel a sense of freedom. All the anger and fear I previously had decreased a lot. So, I am fine right now." nodding to herself as she explained how she felt.


    Seeing her normally talk and respond to his words was a huge relief for Mark. Her previous condition was so severe that she could not even speak and reply normally. He also nodded, and they made their way into the corridor and reached the room. Mark slowly opened the door and noticed Kevin and David were already awake.


    Kevin noticed the door open and saw Mark come in with Suzie behind him. If it were normal times, his dirty brain would have already made a million assumptions seeing them disappear, but after knowing both their conditions, he could only worry and wait.


    He quickly went for a bear hug. Mark could only smile at his worried best friend and receive his wholehearted hug. Mark patted his back and said, ''It''s good to see you again, Kevin. Sorry, I was late, and you had to go through that stuff because of me."


    Kevin shook his head as they separated and he said with a wide smile, "Nah, man. It''s alright. I knew my position here when I noticed that bastard in the museum. And I knew you would come for me as quickly as you can, so I waited and remained calm. But if you didn''t and were too late, I would have haunted you for the rest of your life." and laughed out loud.


    Mark could only laugh at his friend''s proclamation. Kevin then looked behind him and noticed Suzie standing right behind Mark with a small smile on her face.


    "Suzie, it''s nice to see you again. How are you?" cautiously, he asked. He did not want to make her scared and so maintained some distance.


    Seeing him being cautious, Suzie''s smile widened, and she stretched her hands out for a hug and said, "I am fine, Kevin. Come here." Kevin also smiled seeing her and gave her a friendly hug like they always did.


    It would be an understatement if they said Suzie was only their friend. She was more like their goddess. The goal did all the work for them in their small rental room. Both could not cook proper food and it was mostly Suzie who brought them food to university and also took care of Mark. She used to clean their room and do other stuff. She was more like a nanny for these two grown-up men.


    She was their guardian angel. Separating from the hug, Kevin felt relieved. Seeing her back to normal was shocking to him. From what he heard from David she would not even talk about leaving going for a hug with a man. But now she was normal.


    "It''s good that both of you are back. We were worried when both of you were not in the room by the time we woke up. Let''s sit down and continue talking." said David. He recovered from the surprise by seeing Suzie normal again. He looked at Mark and wondered what miracle he performed to her for the sudden change.


    She looked very normal and did not show any sign of fear when she saw Kevin, but went further for a hug. As a doctor, he could not think of any ways to change her like this suddenly. All of them sat down as Mark sat beside David and Suzie next to Kevin. Suzie and Kevin were talking while Mark observed them with a smile. David looked at Mark and wondered, ''What did you do?''


    Mark noticed his gaze and touched his face. He asked, "Is there something on my face, David?"


    David shook his head and said while turning towards Suzie, "What did you do Mark? The sudden change. It is like she never had a fear of men in the first place. It is truly shocking to see this."


    Mark smiled seeing him curious and said, "Well, I planned nothing at first. When I woke up, she was also already awake. She asked to go to the washroom, and I sent her alone. I wanted her to do things on her own without relying on me for everything So she went after I persuaded her."


    "But then after a while, she didn''t return. I got worried and went to the washroom. But as I entered, I saw Suzie locked inside a cubicle, crying. While two thugs were on the outside breaking, the door asking her to come out. They attempted to rape her and if I did not go, they might have." taking a deep breath. He continued to look at her.


    The abrupt change of events surprised David. The only time she had the courage to do something on her own after the event, another rape attempt almost hit her like before. He could only pity her at this point of the story.


    "After pushing them both down, I asked her to come out and she was already scared out of her wits and crying. The two thugs were only keeping up a front. They were actually scaredy cats. After seeing me subdue them in one move, they did not dare to stand up to me again. So seeing this I got an idea then." he had a smile at this moment.


    "I told her to beat them. I told her to release all the emotions she kept bottled up inside her. She was very hesitant and scared at first. But after I gave her a half-broken mop I used to subdue the thugs, she listened to me and went towards them. With another small push, she took action and beat the crap out of the two thugs."


    "She screamed and cursed at the two. Truthfully, I never saw anything like that before from her. She crushed and hit them until one of the thugs went unconscious and the other wasn''t much different. After I stopped her, she cried out the emotions, and I told her she did the right thing. And what you see now is the result of all this."


    David was now shocked. The change of events actually worked in their favor. He felt relieved to see the smiling Suzie.


    "So, do you think she is normal now?" he asked Mark.


    Mark could only shake his head and say, "I don''t know about that. You should tell me, I am not the doctor here. But looking at her smile, it is a huge improvement from before and this is what matters to me right now." looking at Suzie interacting with Kevin.


    David could only nod while scratching the back of his head. He said, "You can''t ask about psychology and mental states. I am not a psychologist to give you a detailed answer. But as you said, from the looks of it, she is better than the former self."


    Suzie noticed both of them staring at her with a smile and asked them, "Why are both of you staring at me like that?" her smile remained unchanged.


    Mark shook his head and the same with David, making her shrug. Kevin suddenly stood up and said, "Let''s have an early dinner. I am very hungry." rubbing his stomach and showing a pitiful expression.


    Suzie also stood up along with him and said, "Leave it to me."


    But as she made her way towards the bag. Mark stood up and said, "You three continue with the dinner. I have some work to do before that." walking towards the door.


    "Wait what work? Where are you going to go?" asked Kevin. All three of them looked at him for an answer.


    Mark shook his head and said, "Nothing to worry about. Something I need to take care of Yu three continue, don''t wait for me." with a reassuring smile. Kevin felt skeptical but could only nod.


    Mark turned around and exited the room. But as he closed the door, a crazy smile formed on his face, like he was going for a hunt.

 Chapter 110 - Oliver And Butler

    Kevin, Suzie, and even David would be shocked to the core if they saw the crazy, cold-blooded smile which formed on Mark''s face when he exited the room. There was no trace of the previous warmth he showed in front of the group. He looked like a beast getting ready to hunt.


    Walking down the corridor, he muttered, "The butler ha. I don''t know this new guy, but it seems like he is taking things more seriously compared to my brother. Let''s have a nice chat with him." And made his way towards the main hallway.


    Entering the hallway, he looked around for the stairs leading to the first floor and saw the board showing the stairs. He made his way up and when he did; two men guarding the floor stopped him from entering near the entrance of the first floor.


    "Who are you?" Showing hostility towards him. They noticed the previous exchange between him and their boss. Both had the same idea, ''Beat him up and get some rewards.'' they planned to use the hostility between their leader and this unknown man to their advantage.


    Mark who was not in the best mood only glanced at the two idiots before ignoring them and going ahead towards the hallway. One of the guards got infuriated seeing he ignored them. He reached out for Mark and stopped him. His hand was on his shoulder as he said, "Can''t you understand what we just asked? I asked, who are you?"


    Mark looked over his shoulder and saw the guard''s darkened face. He didn''t have time for them and caught his wrist. He applied pressure and removed the hand from his shoulder. Picking the hand up, he squeezed it.


    The guard''s face instantly went ghastly. He was about to shout out when Mark punched him on the face, knocking him out. He turned towards the other guard to see him already peeing his pants.


    "Where is this settlement''s leader?" He didn''t know where his brother stayed and could not waste time.


    "It shou-should be on the northern side of the museum. I-I heard he stayed in the museum director''s room." Pointing down the hallway. Mark only nodded and patted his shoulder as he passed by.


    The scared guard dropped to the ground when Mark tapped him on his shoulder. He looked at his unconscious partner and his stained pants. He felt relieved when Mark went away from him and slowly stood up. He went near his partner''s body. He gently kicked it to wake him up.


    "Bastard, why did you have to go around provoking people. Just die here." And walked away.


    Mark made his way out of the hallway. He needed to go to another section of the floor. As he walked by the hallway, he noticed there were so many rooms. Unlike the ground floor, which was mainly for the exhibition, the first floor was for the management of the museum. It had many rooms and people stayed in them.


    Mark looked at the malnourished people in the rooms and couldn''t help but shake his head at his brother''s decision. Even if he was cruel and selfish, he wouldn''t drive people to this degree. All of them looked only a little better than how Kevin looked when he was found. If it continued like this, they weren''t far from their death because of starvation.


    He finally reached the central area on the first floor. But unlike the ground floor, it was only a circle and they could look down on the ground floor. He walked along the railing and looked up towards the transparent dome. He saw the moon and stars.


    When he reached the northern hallway, he sensed the increased security. Most of them were guards assigned for Oliver by his father as he noticed a few of the bastards holding guns in their hands.


    As he walked into the hallway, no one stopped him. Most of them knew him and saw him in the family. The butler also instructed them to let him in. Reaching the end of the hallway, he looked at the sign to the side and took a deep breath. He calmed down but couldn''t stop the scary aura around him from raging.


    He opened the unlocked door and made his way in. As he entered, he noticed Oliver sitting behind a huge desk and an old man standing right behind him.


    "Brother, did you miss me already? I am quite touched to see you here. Did you find your good friend Kevin? I hope he is fine if you did." Spreading his arms.


    Mark scoffed at his sarcastic statement and said, "I am well Oliver. It''s just that this morning, I didn''t have much time to talk to you, so I came here." As he sat down opposite to him. He crossed his legs in an arrogant manner and looked into Oliver''s eyes.


    Oliver did not mind this, but the butler did not take it well. He was new and did not know everything. He pointed his finger at Mark and said angrily, "Impudent. How dare you sit before young master like this? Know your place, you are not part of the family anymore."


    Mark looked at him before turning back towards Oliver once again and said, "You should train your dogs well, Oliver."


    The butler''s eyes shot wide upon hearing him and was about to shout once again before Oliver raised his hand. Even though the butler was employed by his mother, he still had to respect Oliver''s commands and listen. He closed his mouth and glared at Mark enough to almost put a hole through him.


    Mark only smirked and shrugged off the ''intense'' glare he was receiving. Oliver looked at him and asked, "What is it that you want to talk about, brother."


    Mark stretched his body and said, "Well, I wanted to talk about Kevin. Your hospitality to my friend was not well Oliver. You should know what would happen if a certain someone gets to know how he was treated by you." Smirking.


    Oliver''s face went pale as he heard Mark''s comment. He certainly knew who the certain someone was. He could only cough and say, "Now, now, brother. I gave him the best hospitality. Don''t take things too far." Trying to threaten Mark at the end.


    Mark simply shrugged it off and said, "Oh well. As you are begging me, I will leave it this time. But who knows when my tongue might slip. But it''s ok, we can talk about this some other time. Let''s get on to the main reason I came here." and the room went instant cold as the anger he tried to control before was now showing.


    Oliver got serious when he heard him. He had a hunch as to why he came. Seeing Mark in front of him and not attacking them already only meant their plan failed. He cursed the butler for his incompetence as the butler cursed the two thugs and thought to teach them a lesson later. However, Oliver was not scared and in fact, he was a from it. He knew Mark would not dare to do anything to him.


    "Well, two thugs assaulted my friend Suzie when she went to the washroom. If I was not there, they would have been successful. So I wanted to ask you, as it seems like you control this area, do you know who they were?" not revealing the fact that both of them were battered already.


    He looked at Oliver and the butler, analyzing the change in their expressions. The only reason he didn''t tell them that he knew it was them was as he wanted to know their response.


    "What? How could this be? All the people in this shelter are civilized citizens of our country. How can you go around accusing people like this, brother?" spouted out Oliver. He smirked inside when he heard Mark did not know who the thugs were. The butler also felt good when he heard Mark''s words. It was he who hired the thugs to do the work.


    "Yes, brother, it really happened. But luckily I was able to stop them before they exited. So, I asked them nicely, who it was who sent them to do this work. At first, they took the blame on themselves, telling them they lusted after her when they saw her in the morning." making up a small story.


    Mark slowly stood up from his seat and spoke in a very cold tone, making his way towards the butler standing to the side and continued, "But, after some more ''detailed'' interrogation, they spit out the truth. It seemed like a butler hired them to rape my friend. I was shocked and so I came to you. You are the only person who has a butler in the settlement."


    He stood before the butler and as Oliver wanted to raise his voice, Mark continued, "So, Mr.Butler. Do you have anything to say about the incident?" as a crazy smile formed in his face at the end. He was looking into the butler''s eyes like a beast.

 Chapter 111 - Teaching Manners

    Standing in front of the butler, Mark had an expression that screamed bloodlust. His smile was beyond crazy. The butler couldn''t help but flinch seeing him. Sweat slowly poured down his forehead and his back was drenched wet.


    But the butler was able to gather himself and said with a blank face, "What would I know, Mr. Mark. If you suggest that I was the one who ordered them, then you could only be disappointed." not giving in.


    Mark''s eyes went wide hearing him and started laughing while clutching his stomach. He couldn''t help but laugh at their act. Both Oliver and the butler frowned, seeing him laugh maniacally.


    Oliver stood up and said with the frown, expressing his displeasure, "Don''t act like a fool brother. Coming here and acting as you wish, do you think you can do anything you want here? Go out if you have nothing else to talk about."


    Mark took a deep breath as he tried to control himself from laughing once again. As he controlled himself, he ignored his brother once again and looked into the butler''s eyes. Oliver was very angry once again, seeing Mark ignoring him once again. But before he could say, Mark lifted his hand and gave a quick slap to the butler.


    The butler could not even react to the quick but strong attack as his head whipped to the other side. He held his cheek and coughed out two teeth. His face was pale and became red with anger very quickly.


    "This is because of your attitude before. I didn''t like it at all. So have a slap and learn your position. And this is.." giving another slap, but with greater force on the other side, "for lying. I don''t like people who lie."


    The butler was not in shock. He was never humiliated in such a way. He coughed blood from the anger inside him as he looked at Mark with his blood-red eyes. His anger was beyond control.


    "Brother, what do you think you are doing. How dare you attack one of my people? I will tell fa-" as Oliver shouted, he was also slapped like his butler. Mark did not want to listen to his nonsense anymore. Oliver stumbled back as he fell on the chair with a hand on his cheek, which had a clear print of Mark''s hand.


    "Who, do you think you are, bastard? You want to go after my friends? You would rather wish you were dead." said Mark as he looked at the butler and kicked him right on his knees. The butler groaned as he felt the bones break. His face was now ghostly white.


    Before he could shout in pain, Mark caught his throat. Gripping his throat, he didn''t allow him to even breathe properly, much less talk. The butler tried to escape his grip as he tried to pull Mark''s hand away. But it was no use against Mark''s enhanced strength.


    "For a newcomer, you really do have guts don''t you." sending a hard punch right at his face. The butler''s nose went crooked as he received a hard jab. More of his teeth were breaking. But Mark did not stop there. He continued to rain down the punches.


    As he was raining down more punches, Oliver recovered from the hard slap. His cheek was completely swollen. He looked at Mark in horror. But when he saw him raining down punches on his man, he immediately shouted, "Stop it you bastard. He works under my mother. You should know the consequences of what will happen if she knows." he stuttered.


    Mark''s punches momentarily stopped as a woman''s face flashed in his mind. His anger grew when it did as he clenched his fist tighter and delivered a punch with all his strength. The butler who was in a miserable state could not speak and was barely breathing. When he felt relieved by the sudden pause, he wanted to retaliate. But came another stronger and faster pitcher.


    His face was now bloody red. Almost all of his teeth fell out due to Mark''s continuous assaults, and the last punch knocked him off entirely. Mark smirked seeing the butler''s state and released his grip on the neck. The unconscious body fell down and Mark did not end it there.


    He stomped his foot right on his leg, breaking the bones entirely. This woke up the butler once again as he wailed in pain before passing out again. This caught the attention of the bodyguards outside. They rushed in with the guns in their hand and saw the butler''s bloody figure and Oliver''s swollen cheek.


    "Raise your hands. Don''t move an inch, or there will be a bullet in your body.:" said the guy who looked like the captain of the bodyguards, pointing the gun towards Mark. Mark only smirked seeing this and took out the gun with him and aimed it at Oliver''s head. He did this in one swift motion that caught everyone off guard.


    With a gun pointed right at his forehead, Oliver''s face went pale as he panicked. He waved his hands frantically, ordering them to keep the guns down. The leader of the guards could only frown and make a signal for everyone to keep the weapons down.


    "Not bad brother. Seems like you have some brain. Now get up." pulling him by his arm. Mark continued to point the gun at his forehead, prompting the rest of the people to back away and give space for them as they walked out of the room. The guards followed right behind them looking at Mark with caution.


    They slowly walked out of the hallway and came to the central place once again. Mark looked down towards the ground floor and smirked as he got an idea.


    "Now that things are over, brother, don''t try any nasty things anymore. But if you are missing me greatly, just sit down and wait. Cause your turn would also come. Including the wicked woman you call a mother." and pulled him back.


    Caught off guard by Mark''s sudden pull, Oliver stumbled as he hit the railing and fell off the first floor. He went straight down to the ground floor and wailed in pain. It looked like his legs were in pain as he clutched them. The bodyguards ran towards them seeing it.


    Mark walked away from the crowd. As they were looking for him, they heard Oliver''s shout from below, "Useless bastards, come and pick me up. Leave that psycho alone for now." barking at his bodyguards. But his eyes contained uncontrollable resentment towards Mark. He grit his teeth and remained quiet for now. He coughed out blood thinking about what happened.


    ''You bastard. How dare you slap me and throw me off the railing? Just you wait, I will make you experience more pain than before. You will beg me to kill you when I torture you. Just you wait.'' his eyes burning with hate. The bodyguards immediately ran down for Oliver and left Mark.


    Mark went down the stairs and reached the first-floor hallway once again. He looked at his bloody hand and went towards the washroom. Cleaning his hands neatly and checking his clothes, he looked at himself in the mirror. His face still had traces of his crazy smile and aura, which he emitted a few seconds ago.


    He closed his eyes and took a deep breath in, suppressing his emotions. He did not want Kevin, Suzie, or even David to know what happened just now. Returning to his normal composure, he walked out of the hallway and made his way towards their room. Once he reached the room, he took another deep breath and opened the door.


    Once he entered he noticed all three of them were done eating. They seemed to like having a chat among themselves and turned towards him when they saw the door open.


    "Ah, you are back. We thought it was taking you forever to complete whatever work you went for." Grinned Kevin. He already had a rough idea of what the ''work'' was about. He noticed it when Mark was going out and did not stop him.


    He also noticed the personality change like David told him before. Just like David told him, Mark seemed a bit cold and distant all of a sudden when he was exiting the room.


    "Yes, I was lost and found my way back after a long time. Anyway Suzie, some dinner please, I am starving." Rubbing his stomach, he asked Suzie. He told a simple lie to Kevin.


    Suzie nodded and gave him his dinner. He gulped down the dinner and quickly sat down for a chat with the rest. After talking for a long time, Mark told everyone to sleep as it was getting late. He wanted to move towards the military camp early in the morning.


    They turned the lights off, closed the door, and got to their respective beds. David was above Mark like before and Suzie above Kevin''s. Mark looked at the bottom of the bed on top, thinking about things that happened. He closed his eyes, feeling exhausted.

 Chapter 112 - Thoughts

    Mark slowly opened his eyes, rubbing them. He looked at his watch and noticed it was already 6 in the morning. He sat and looked at his friend''s sleeping faces. He could only sigh. He knocked the bed of David''s above him and then shook both Suzie and Kevin, waking all of them up.


    The three slowly woke up and Mark said, "Alright, enough sleep. We need to get going quickly. So come on." clapping his hands, he ordered them.


    They brushed their teeth, and Suzie cooked food once again. Mark looked at the instant noodles in his bowl and decided to raid a supermarket once again, and if possible find some vegetables. Eating noodles most of the time was not the best diet for them to have, especially while traveling around a lot.


    They quickly gobbled down the food and took their bags. Mark and David loaded their guns, and they walked out of the room. Walking into the hallway, they reached the center of the museum once again. Mark decided to take the same route as he came, climbing over the wall. He hoped there won''t be many zombies like last time.


    They walked into the eastern hallway. As they entered the eastern hallway, Oliver looked at them from the first floor. He was sitting on a chair with his legs broken. He couldn''t walk properly and probably needed rest for at least an entire month. His gaze was filled with hatred when he looked at Mark''s back.


    ''Just you wait, bastard. Just because you have some power, you think you are a big shot now. I will show you your place once again and make you a slave.'' as a slight red glow flashed in his eyes, which went unnoticed by everyone around him. He could only clench his hands and grit his teeth.


    They reached the end of the hallway and looked out of the doors. Mark noticed there were only a few zombies outside and felt relieved. Mark looked at David and said, "Cover the back. There aren''t any. I will help all of you jump over the wall." making him nod.


    Mark slowly opened the door, and all four of them sneaked out in a line. David closed the door and gave a nod to Mark with the gun in his hand. Mark looked around and found the blown away part of the field to the side, because of the grenade he threw the day before. There were burnt zombies and many -parts spread across the field.


    There was an awful smell from the burnt zombie bodies, which made all of them instinctively close their nose. They slowly jogged across the field as Mark shot a few zombies which were getting too near to them. When they reached the wall, Mark leaned back and made a steady wall chair. David continued to shoot the zombies as Suzie was the first to jump.


    Suzie was much more active compared to before making it easy for her to jump over the wall. Kevin went right after her and last was David. Mark stood up after David jumped and shot a nearby zombie before jumping himself. He crossed the wall and jumped down next to them.


    "Alright, where next?" asked Kevin. There weren''t many zombies on the road, so it was safe for them to stop for a minute.


    "We need to get to our vehicle. We parked it in an underground parking lot down the road. So let''s get going." and jogged towards the apartment they parked it in.


    They reached the apartment and made their way down. Mark and David exhaled in relief when they saw the Jeep parked in the same spot. Mark first checked the trunk and found nothing stolen.


    He took out the Glock 17''s he collected from the people who tried to kill him and placed them inside. The Glock used 9mm bullets similar to the Beretta 07 he uses, so the ammo is in stock. He decided to give the Glock to Suzie and the AK47 to Kevin.


    David looked at Mark and asked, "So where next? Stargaze city?" He missed Daisy very dearly and was concerned about her safety. He wanted to return right away.


    But contrary to his expectation, Mark shook his head and said, "No, we need to find the location of the military base located in this city. The General back at camp Stargaze asked me to bring for him something. I couldn''t deny as I owe him a favor for the jeep and guns." with a wry smile.


    David''s mood went downcast hearing him, but he collected his thoughts and asked, "Do you know where the camp is at?"


    Mark could only shake his head. He didn''t know where it was. The camp could be anywhere in the entire city, and Evergreen city was not a small city to search. David frowned and asked, "So, how are you planning to go to the camp if you don''t know where it was at?"


    Mark could only shrug and say, "I know we can''t search the whole place. Especially when the city is nothing to scoff at. So for now, let''s go to a nearby supermarket and stock up once again. Our supplies are running low."


    David gave a nod and got behind the wheel. Mark turned to Kevin and asked, "Did you hear anything about the military camp?"


    Kevin shook his head and said, "No, from what I heard when the thugs talked, it seemed like a military patrol jeep actually came around the area but retreated because of the enormous number of zombies surrounding the museum." shrugging.


    Mark gave a nod before he got in the front seat. Kevin and Suzie sat behind and David started the car. He slowly drove it out of the underground parking lot and asked, "Do you know where a supermarket is?"


    Before Mark could answer, Kevin did, "There should be a huge supermarket in the area. I remember because, on the day the zombies came, our class stopped there so we could buy things we want."


    He pointed out the way, and David drove through the streets. Mark shot occasionally when the zombies were too much. But as he looked at the zombies, he suddenly remembered something which happened the day before when they were trying to get into the museum.


    He remembered the strange behavior of the zombies. Large number of the zombies did not get attracted to noise but came towards them instead. This was something which made him get a headache as he thought about it.


    The incident made him doubt his own past observations. The zombies concentrated only on them. ''Did they get a sense of smell too?" but he quickly shook the idea out of his brain. Why? Because earlier today, not all the zombies focused on them like before. The zombies far from them did not have even a slight reaction when they jogged across the field.


    ''No, that is not it. Then what is it? Does that mean some zombies mutated further and gained the ability? If so, how can we identify which zombie has the sense of smell and which do not.'' all the questions were only a mystery for him. He needed more answers and data on the sudden change.


    ''We were lucky this time and were able to escape from the horde. But if we get trapped in a closed space, we would die easily.'' with a frown. This sudden problem was too much.


    He then looked at his hands and then thought, ''Now that I saved Kevin, what''s next? We can''t stay in the military base. Those people would leech off us, and that is the last thing I want to happen. Should I make my own base?'' he thought, looking outside. He took out his gun and shot a zombie which was too near and exhaled thinking about the problems.


    "What happened, Mark? Anything on your mind?" asked David as he noticed Mark''s change in expressions.


    Mark shook his head and replied, "No nothing much." and looked out again. He didn''t want to share his thoughts with the group yet. He needed more data on things, so he could convey his thoughts to them. If he conveys them now, it would only cause some more caution among them.


    "Right here. There is no parking on the outside, so you need to park the jeep underground." pointing at the corner.


    "Alright, let''s both go down and see if there are any zombies first. Before the car can come down," said Mark to Kevin.


    He grabbed his sword and got down. His gun was on his back. He remembered Kevin did not have a weapon and said, "Kevin, come I will give you a gun." walking to the trunk. Kevin had a smile on his face when he heard Mark.


    Mark looked at the eager expression on his friend''s face and smiled. He opened the trunk and took out the AK47. Kevin''s eyes were practically sparkling at this point as he immediately snatched the gun from Mark.

 Chapter 113 - Suzie Adaptability

    Kevin immediately checked the gun out as he held it in his hand and played with it like it''s a toy. He was overenthusiastic about it, and Mark could only smile. Kevin was also a gun lover like him, if not more than him. Seeing him play with it also made him remember about his grandfather who thought them swordsmanship.


    As a swordsman, his grandfather never liked modern weapons like guns and believed the sword was the strongest. But Kevin who liked guns was always spanked because of it. Mark grinned and said, "Now, don''t play with it like a kid. Use it properly. We don''t have much ammo for it."


    Kevin knew how to use a gun. He was almost at his level and they always went to the gun range together whenever they had time in the past. Kevin grinned and nodded, his eyes then fell on Mark''s sword.


    "Oh, you took it." Looking at it. Mark nodded and removed the sword from its sheath and said, "Yeah, I went back to the room for this sword. I like it."


    Kevin nodded and said, "Yah keep it. It is better if you use it than me. I have this gun you gave me, after all." Stroking the gun as if it were his baby. Mark could only shake his head seeing him and close the trunk after taking out a couple of magazines for the AK 47.


    "Remember, use the bullets wisely." Handing him the magazines. Kevin nodded, not minding Mark''s words, and kept them in a bag he had. Mark sighed, seeing him like this.


    "Alright, let''s not waste any more time. Let''s go and check the parking lot first." Waving his hands. Kevin followed Mark as they went near David. David rolled down the windows and Mark said, "Stay here. We won''t be gone for long." David nodded and Mark took Kevin near the entrance of the gate.


    They slowly opened the gate and entered inside. There were a few zombies on the slope leading down to the parking lot. Taking out the sword, Mark ran towards the nearest zombie and cut its head off. Before the head fell down, he was already near the second zombie.


    Kevin looked at Mark and was genuinely shocked. Mark was quick and precise. Even he who knew only very little about swordsmanship could say that he was using minimal time. He snapped out of his thoughts and aimed at a zombie near Mark. He pulled the trigger, and the bullet pierced the zombie''s shoulder.


    Before he shot another bullet, Mark turned around and slashed its head off. Kevin went for another zombie and after a few more mistakes, he got into his groove as he nailed the headshots. Mark smiled at his friend''s accuracy and thought, ''He is a better aid compared to David.'' and continued killing.


    After finishing up the zombies on the slope, they made their way down. The parking lot was completely dark. Taking out the torchlight, he looked around and noticed there were quite a few zombies inside. But they didn''t feel scared as they grinned and continued to kill.


    Mark noticed there were 3 bloaters too and took out his gun. He couldn''t use the sword to kill the huge Bloaters, so the gun was a better choice. He quickly shot the first bloater and went for the next. He quickly finished the Bloaters and then noticed a few bitters running towards him.


    He looked back and saw Kevin busy shooting zombies on his side and so took out his sword. He ran towards the nearest bitter and slashed through them. He didn''t stop his massacre until the last butter''s head flew in the air. He noticed David was also done with the zombies on his side.


    "Well done, Kevin. Seems like you are getting used to it." Patting his shoulder. Kevin only grinned and flexed his muscles to show off in front of him.


    Mark shook his head, and they made their way out. Opening the gate Mark waved his hand signaling David that everything was clear. The jeep entered the underground lot, and they followed it. David finally parked the jeep and got down with Suzie.


    "Seems like you had to go through a lot here." Said David, looking around at the mess they created.


    "Yah, unexpectedly there were quite a lot of them," replied Mark.


    "Well, let''s continue towards the store. I noticed a door on that side with stairs leading directly into the store." Said Kevin pointing at one end of the parking lot. Before moving towards the place Kevin told them, Mark went towards the trunk. He took out a few magazines for them and handed them over to David and Kevin. Mark nodded as they took them and led the way toward where he pointed at.


    All of them were on alert as they reached the door. Mark slowly opened it and checked the inside. After noticing there were only stairs and no zombies, he signaled the others that the coast was clear, Mark and the team made their way up. They only had to climb one floor as they reached the door leading inside the supermarket.


    Mark peeked through the glass on the door and found there were quite a lot of zombies inside. The store was huge, which would make it easier for them to kill them.


    Mark turned around and said, "Well, there are quite a lot of zombies inside. But there should be enough space for us to move around easily and kill them too. Suzie, you stay behind us." Suzie could only nod hearing him. She did not have the perfect weapon.


    Mark didn''t give her a Glock because she does not have any knowledge of how to use one. It would only be a waste of bullets if she uses it. Mark turned around and opened the door.


    But the door made sound enough to attract the attention of the zombies as it echoed through the empty and quiet market. Mark frowned as he began shooting the nearest zombie. The rest came inside and started assisting him. The guns made more sound as the suppressors were not effective in a closed space like that.


    As they continued to shoot, more zombies made their way toward the group. Mark frowned and said, "Guys, let''s move from here. We would be trapped in a corner like this if we don''t."


    Everyone nodded, and Mark changed his diaper towards his left. He shot the nearest zombie and with the help of David, they continued to push left while Kevin held the zombies in the front back. But as the zombies got nearer in the front Suzie did something unexpected which surprised everyone.


    She grabbed the steel shelf in the side and threw it towards the zombies ahead. The shelf was easily over 150kgs, but Suzie threw it with one hand. Mark''s eyes went wide seeing that. Only one sentence came to his mind, ''She is adapting.''


    Similar to him, it looked like Suzie got a boost. What shocked Mark further was the fact that she could lift heavier than him. Her slender, thin arm was stronger than him. Suzie was also taken back by it.


    When she noticed the huge zombie pushing back Kevin, she panicked and thought to throw the shelf down so it could slow down the horde. But when she kept her hand on it and pulled, she lifted it with one hand. Kevin and David were also shocked at seeing her enormous strength.


    Suzie smiled seeing this and continued to throw the other shelves towards the horde as Kevin continued to kill them. Only after another 10 minutes did they stop their guns. Suzie was completely covered in sweat as her arms were sore. She sat down and leaned against the wall as she looked at the sucked she created with her new strength.


    So much heavy stuff, such as refrigerators and washing machines. The rest were also really tired as the floor was filled with empty bullet shells. Mark inhaled and exhaled as he calmed down. He looked around at the large number of bodies that were loitered around. He sighed and turned towards his exhausted teammates.


    "Well, let''s take some rest for now and search for food and other necessaries." And sat on a nearby chair. He looked at Suzie and knew it was because of her they were able to safely move around.


    She threw stuff from the back towards the horde, which helped in stopping them for a few seconds. Her strength was on another level compared to normal humans and also slightly more than his. But this surprise was rather a blessing for the group. Now he could depend on Suzie a lot more.


    But this also proved something. This told that adaptability was different from person to person. He had an all-rounded change, whereas Suzie only had increased strength. He turned towards David and wondered when his body would adapt to the dangerous environment.

 Chapter 114 - Food

    Mark shook his head and threw those thoughts aside for the future. He noticed Suzie''s proud look and smiled as he said, "Good for you Suzie. It looks like you were able to get an upgrade for your body. From now on you can also fight with us." Standing up.


    "Yes, I feel so powerful." She nodded excitedly.


    "That''s good, but don''t exert yourself too much, alright. You are still not used to it so take it slow for now." Walking towards her.


    Suzie nodded and David asked, "Mark, do you have any idea why she gained so much strength in such a little time." Also standing up and walking towards them. It surprised him when he saw the monstrous display of strength from Suzie.


    "Yes, I have a guess. It seems like our bodies are slowly adapting to the changes happening in the world right now. So what my guess is that along with these changes and adaptations our bodies are going through, I think we are gaining enhancements like how Suzie and I gained."


    "Oh. So that''s it. Wait. Did you even say that you also gained some upgrades?" nodded David before turning towards him in shock.


    Mak nodded and said, "Yes, even me. I noticed it on the night when we stayed in the Petrol station. My enhancements are different from Suzie''s. She has extreme physical power enhancement. While I have more of an all-rounded enhancement. My senses are sharper and I got a bit stronger than before."


    David''s and Kevin''s mouth were wide hearing him. Suzie also had a tinge of surprise written all over her face. Mark could only cough and bring them back from the shock. He clapped his hands and said, "Alright guys. Let''s loot this place up. David and Kevin, you two go around the whole thing and search for useful things. Like more tents and other utensils. I and Suzie will go and search for food."


    David and Kevin nodded before taking a cart each and strolling through the lanes, taking things like solar cookers, batteries, and stuff. But Mark suddenly remembered something and turned towards Kevin before saying, "Kevin, you also search for tools to repair and take care of our jeep. You are the main mechanic in the group. So only you can do it."


    Kevin had a wide grin on his face as he heard him and said while patting his chest in a boastful manner, "Leave the jeep maintenance to me. I will handle it." and continued searching through the items on the shelf.


    Kevin was an engineer who specialized in building and repairing stuff. He would always break a machine apart only to learn how it functioned. One time he was curious about a sports car and broke it apart without even thinking about it for a second. So for Mark, he was the only one who could take care of the jeep.


    As Kevin and David started their search, Mark turned towards Suzie and said, "Well, I have to depend on you to search for edible food. Try to make things more balanced so our body won''t go to waste by eating all the junk."


    Suzie nodded and made her way towards the food section. As both of them had a cart, they strolled through the vegetables and fruit area in the section. Most of the vegetables and food were already gone to waste, while only a very few were still edible. Suzie skillfully took out the ones which were edible, showing her proficiency when it came to food.


    Suzie loved to cook and was an expert in it. She always brought them food from her house. Her love for food did not stop at only cooking, as she even had her own farm in her backyard. She learned how to farm and take care of vegetables. So finding the vegetables which were fresh was an easy task for her.


    After going through the whole vegetable area, they only found enough to fill half a cart. Mark frowned, seeing the content. This was nowhere near enough and if possible they needed more. He turned towards Suzie and noticed she was also having the same thoughts.


    "What should we do? Should we raid another market?" asked Mark.


    Suzie did not reply immediately as she continued to think. She suddenly smiled and clapped her hand as she remembered something. She turned towards Mark and said, "We can search the cold storages of these kinds of stores frequently have. Those storages are often closed, and so they would keep the vegetables and fruits fresh by weeks."


    Mark smiled hearing her idea and nodded. They looked around for the storage room and Suze identified it at the end of the lane. The door had the ''only staff'' board on it and signs that it''s a cold area on the other side. Mark smiled and opened the door.


    The door opened, and an icy breeze hit them, enough to make them slightly shiver. It looked like the room served its purpose. Mark entered and immediately noticed three dead bodies in the corner. He frowned seeing them and noticed Suzie also had the same expression.


    "Looks like people hid here when the zombies started rising to save themselves. But could not last long because of the cold here," said Suzie. Mark nodded and said, "Well, let''s see if the food is alright."


    Suzie nodded and turned away from the dead bodies. She looked around and noticed the small room was half-filled with food and there was even meat in the cold containers along with vegetables which were fresh. Suzie slowly checked the shelves and the meat too. After finding everything was good, she turned back towards Mark and gave him a nod of approval.


    Mark went out and brought in the cart. They started filling the vegetables up. They filled the carts full of vegetables and meat, which were fresh, making him satisfied. But he suddenly frowned, thinking of a new problem.


    Even though the food was fresh and the amount was large, their jeep would not be able to hold them fresh for long. They will become spoiled after a few days in the sun. Suzie noticed his frown and asked him what happened.


    After he explained the situation to him, she smiled and responded, "Don''t worry about that. There should be freezer trucks in the supermarket parked underground. If we find one, we can keep the food fresh from a longer period of time. The trucks these days use Solar energy to run the freezers inside so the fuel consumption would be normal too."


    Mark nodded hearing him and couldn''t help but pat her a bit and say, "If it wasn''t for you, we would never have thought about the idea. Thanks." Suzie only smiled and removed his hand before replying, "It''s ok. We are a group now, aren''t we?" Mark could only give a nod to her statement.


    They made their way out with three full crates of vegetables and two crates of meat. They found all kinds of meat, from chicken to fish to even eel. Mark was naturally delighted as a meat lover when he saw the meat they collected.


    After moving all the five carts with food towards the door they used to get in the store, they noticed there were also two carts filled with essentials. One cart was filled with things like tools and spare parts commonly used for repairing machines. This was naturally Kevin''s cart. The other cart was filled with things like extra tents, clothes, and solar equipment.


    Mark and Suzie continued to loot things in the food section. Suzie continued to take things like spices used for cooking so the food they eat won''t be bland to taste. No one likes bland food. Mark on the other hand was filling food with snacks and other instant foods. After they looted the whole place, they met near the door once again. Mark looked around and saw most of the shelves were missing a lot of things.


    He looked at the 11 crates in front of him, filled with various things. Kevin exclaimed when he saw the fresh food. He went straight for the meat and hugged it like it was his long-lost lover. Mark could only smack his back and say, "Stop it. We need to get moving."


    Kevin could only reluctantly put the meat box down and nod. They slowly carried each cart down the stairs one by one. After transporting all the carts down to the underground parking lot, Mark looked around for the trucks. His eyes were not normal and were easily able to see into the darkness and find the trucks parked in one of the extreme corners of the space.


    They slowly took all the food carts towards the trucks. Mark noticed the 5 trucks and there were only 2 freezer trucks in them. He looked at Kevin and said, "Can you check if the freezer truckers are working?"


    Kevin nodded and made his way towards the small room at the end to take the keys. After finding the keys, he made his way towards the trucks.

 Chapter 115 - Trucks

    After taking the keys off what looked like the security room, Kevin got to work. Going towards the nearest truck, he got into the driver''s seat and tried to start the engine. But it was no use. The engine did not start no matter how many times he tried. Kevin exhaled seeing this and got down.


    He turned towards his confused friends and said, "I''ll take a look as to what is the problem. Give me a minute." Mark gave a nod, and he took out a few of the materials he brought from the shop and slid right under the bus. After checking everything below, he opened up the hood for the engine.


    Tinkering with the engine and other parts a bit, he exhaled and turned towards them. He shook his head and said, "This one is no use. I am no expert, but there seems to be some problem with the engine of this truck." showing his hands as he resigned.


    Mark sighed hearing him and said, "Well, we can''t do anything if it''s above your level of expertise. Try checking the other one, and let''s hope it works." giving him a slight nod. Kevin replied the same and went over to check the second truck.


    Like the last time, Kevin got in the truck and tried to start the engine. This time the engine responded, but not completely. It failed to go forward. Kevin nodded to himself, getting a vague idea about its condition. He got out of the truck and took his tools once again and got under the bus.


    The three on the outside could hear noise from below, unlike before, and it looked like he was fixing it. Mark had a small smile on his face. Kevin got out, and this time opened up the hood and checked the engine. After seeing everything was alright, he closed it and turned towards them with a smile.


    Showing them a thumbs up, he said, "It should work now." Mark gave a nod and Kevin got in the vehicle once again. He turned the engine on, but after it roared a bit, it quieted down again. It was the same result even after Kevin tried a couple of times.


    He looked out of the window and said, "Well, come and give the truck a little push. It should work after we do that." pointing towards the back.


    Mark nodded and turned towards Suzie and said, "Well, let''s go and give it a push, Suzie. You are the strongest out of all of us." as he saw a cheeky smile formed on her face and she said with her chin up high, "Well, looks like I can''t help it. I will give you guys a hand."


    Mark seeing the cheeky side of her, which she showed when she was praised by them. Suzie made her way to the back-side of the truck and got a good grip before giving it a push. The truck slowly moved a bit before she got tired.


    "It is very heavy." taking in deep breaths, she complained.


    Mark turned towards David and said, "Let''s go and help her." David nodded, and they left the carts to the side and went next to her. Mark showed her a cheeky smile before putting his hands on the truck.


    Suzie noticed Mark''s smile and could only pout. All three of them kept their hands and as Mark gave the signal, all three of them gave the truck a hard push. Mark grit his teeth and pushed harder as the truck slowly moved ahead.


    "Guys try harder. Come on," shouted Kevin from the driver''s seat as he continued to start the engine.


    Mark''s eyes twitched when he heard him complain and scolded Kevin inside himself, ''Bastard, we are already trying our best here.'' before he tried to push harder.


    All three of them gave their hardest and the truck slowly picked up speed and after a couple more tries the engine finally responded properly and turned on. Huge smoke came from the exhaustion pipe in the back as it hit Suzie right in the face.


    Suzie left the truck as she coughed from the sudden black smoke. Kevin noticed this as he drove the truck further from the mirror and said, "Oh, I forgot to warn you, Suzie. My bad." waving his hands.


    Suzie could only shout, "Bastard." and continue coughing. Mark had a smile on his face when he saw her cough. David exhaled in relief as he saw the truck finally move.


    He turned towards Mark and said, "Should we move now with the truck and search for the military base for the rest of the day?"


    Hearing him, Mark went into silence as he kept his hands on his hip and thought about the next course of action. He nodded and said, "Yes, we should start searching for the bas- Wait a minute." as he thought of something.


    David did not disturb him as Kevin came back, and Suzie looked at him.


    "We should probably keep the truck here itself with the food supplies we collected. We should park it outside under the sun."


    "What, Why?" as Kevin was the first to respond out of the three. He was the one who was looking forward to eating the food and especially the meat the most out of all four of them.


    "We are going to a military base after this. Think about what their response would be when we take almost a truck full of food supplies. Do you think that is something the military would agree to?" he glanced at him as he explained.


    "Ah, yes. Now that I think about it. Mark is right. We should park it somewhere safe around here. We can turn the freezer on and keep it under the sun for the power." said David as he caught up to what Mark was onto.


    But Kevin and Suzie still did not understand their thoughts as Suzie asked, "David, why?"


    "Think about it as Mark just said. The camp probably has a lot of members and with the current situation the world is in, they probably lack things. Especially food items. So when a group of four normal people just come into their base with a truck full of food, do you think they would leave it untouched?" explained David. Mark was nodding as he did.


    "And honestly, it is a surprise that the military did not check this supermarket yet. Looks like we are lucky to find it and get the goods before they did," said Mark.


    As they heard David''s explanation, they finally caught up to them and were slightly embarrassed. Kevin coughed and said, "Well, looks like you guys are right. Let''s find a place to park the truck. We should probably also fill the tank with fuel, it''s already very low." trying to change the topic.


    Mark nodded and said, "Let''s first collect the fuel in the rest of the trucks and the vehicles here. There should be at least enough fuel in them so that the truck would last until we reach a nearby fuel station."


    David nodded before he took out an empty plastic bottle from the cart and made his way towards the other trucks. Suzie followed him as both of them started collecting the fuel.


    Mark turned towards David and said, "Let''s arrange the items inside. I suppose we can also keep some of our ammo in the truck. We can''t take out ammo with us there." David also nodded, and they made their way towards their jeep.


    They opened up the trunk and took out the box of ammo they received from the military. Mark looked at it and noticed their 9mm ammo was already halfway through. He made a note of the situation and decided that he should find a solution to this.


    They took out a few magazines of both 7.65mm and 9mm for themselves, before closing the box and carrying it towards the truck. They noticed Suzie and Kevin already filled 2 bottles each of fuel from the surrounding vehicles. They filled the tank with the 4 bottles of fuel and started arranging all the food in the carts. They also neatly arranged the clothes and other stuff to a corner as they only left a few essentials with themselves.


    After they neatly arranged the stuff, Mark turned towards Kevin and Suzie and said, "Kevin, drive the truck and follow the jeep. Suzie you go with him. I and David will be in front of you guys and search for a place, so we can park this bad boy." patting the truck.


    Kevin and Suzie nodded as they got in the truck. David sat behind the wheel of the jeep and Mark looked back and gave a nod to Kevin. Kevin replied with a nod too, and David started the jeep. They slowly rolled out of the underground parking lot.


    Mark got down and opened up both the gates and they successfully exited the supermarket with their goal achieved.

 Chapter 116 - New Variation

    Turning around the corner, David searched for the nearest fuel station as he drove. Mark looked out for any zombies on the road. Kevin and Suzie sat in the truck behind them, following their lead.


    "Ugh, there is no fuel station in the area at all. Should we just go back to the one near the museum?" Asked Mark, feeling irritated. After finishing the fuel problem, they still had to search for a place to hide the truck and then find the military base in the city. Mark could only sigh seeing all the problems.


    "Now don''t get irritated, Mark. If I remember correctly, there should be one right around this area." Consoled David, looking out for fuel stations.


    Mark turned towards David and asked suspiciously, "Don''t you live in Stargaze city? How do you know Evergreen City so well?" Looking into his eyes.


    David chuckled hearing him and said nonchalantly, "Well yes, as I told you before I work in a rather famous hospital and it has many branches in the nation. I mainly work in Stargaze City''s hospital branch. But I also had to travel to Evergreen city''s branch to treat patients a lot of times. So because of this, I know the city well in a way." Waving his hand.


    "Hmm, it seems like you are relatively a big shot in your hospital." Keeping his hands behind his head and leaning on the seat more comfortable.


    David let out another chuckle and said, "Well, let''s just say I am better than most people in the hospital. I won''t say I am the best, there is so much to learn even for me."


    Mark only sighed hearing him and looked out as they crossed a block. He suddenly became happy and said pointing out of the window, "David, there. A fuel station, it''s after 3 blocks. Come, let''s go."


    David looked to the side and couldn''t see that far. But he turned the jeep around and made his way towards where Mark pointed. He trusted Mark''s powers and didn''t question them. Mark finally exhaled in relief when he luckily noticed the fuel station with his enhanced eyesight a few blocks away.


    Kevin and Suzie followed them quietly, and they finally reached the fuel station. Mark smiled as David stopped the jeep inside the station and got out of the car. But as he stepped out, he suddenly felt chills run down his spine. He looked around and found nothing.


    He frowned at the sudden sensation. He found something wrong when he stepped out of the jeep. Something which made his instincts tingling. This happened after he ''adapted'' to the present situation. It only happens when he encounters dangers and only happened during fights till now.


    "What happened, Mark? Is there a problem?" Asked David when he noticed Mark standing like a statue.


    Mark did not reply immediately and shook his head after a few seconds. The truck also stopped by the side and Kevin got down with Suzie. Kevin went straight for the pump and turned on the machine. But no petrol came out of the pipe. He went back to the machine and noticed the indicator on it showed there was still some petrol left.


    "There seems to be a problem. We should probably go and check the control room for these machines inside the store." He turned towards Mark. Mark nodded and looked at David and Suzie before saying, "Both of you stay here. We will go inside and check the problem." Kevin went and took his AK 47 from the truck.


    David and Suzie gave a nod and Mark made his way inside the small store in the station with Kevin. Mark took out his sword and looked around as they entered the small store. He looked for the door leading to the staff room. Kevin tugged his shirt and pointed at the door on the far behind.


    Mark gave a nod, and they slowly made their way towards the end. Mark continued to look around and found something really strange. There were no zombies in the store. This made him frown. He did not relax and instead became more conscious of the situation.


    As they reached the door, Mark stopped Kevin from opening the door and whispered, "Let''s be careful. I get the wrong vibes from this place. So let''s go slowly." Kevin looked at him and gave a nod. Mark slowly reached out for the door and slowly turned the knob.


    He slowly opened the door and peeped in. He found only one zombie in the small hallway with 3 rooms. He could see the control room was to the far right while the manager and staff room were to the left. He gave Kevin a signal to wait and slowly got into the hallway. The zombie faced the other side, making it easier for him to approach it.


    As he crossed the staffroom which was closed, he reached the zombie and quickly sliced its head off in one sweep. As the zombie''s body fell down, Mark suddenly felt something was not right and jumped back. As he did, he noticed a purple liquid from the manager''s room to the left. He looked at the wall and noticed it corroded.


    Mark''s eyes went wide seeing this as he saw a purple zombie make its way out of the manager''s room. His face was pale as he looked at the bald purple zombie. It was like any other regular zombie but in purple and cracks on its skin. He regained his composure when he noticed its cheeks bloat as it seemed to be ready to spit something out.


    He immediately crawled back while facing the zombie and watched it spit on the place he previously was in. The floor became black in that area and the carpet corroded with some cement beneath it.


    He did not think more when he saw the zombie getting ready to spit once again and threw the sword right at its chest. The sword easily pierced it as it fell back. Unlike the normal black blood, purple blood spilled out from it as it slowly tried to stand back up. The blood corroded the carpet.


    Mark hesitantly stood up when he noticed the zombie slowly standing up and took out his gun. He aimed at the zombie and rained down bullets. He stopped after shooting a couple of times and noticed the zombie was dead. He sighed in relief and went near the body. The blood was oozing out from it as it stained the carpet and corroded it.


    But his attention was not on the body, but rather on his sword, which was embedded into its body. ''I hope it does not corrode the sword. It most likely is.'' sighing to himself. He did not touch the handle as there were a few stains of blood on it. But even with some blood, it did not corrode, which made Mark have some hope.


    He looked back first and said, "Come in, Kevin. It''s safe now." And the door opened as Kevin came in tightly, grabbing his gun. He flinched when he saw the purple blood and the corroded hallway. He then noticed the purple body in front of Mark.


    Pointing his finger at it, he asked, "What is that thing? What happened here?"


    March could only shrug and say, "It looks like it is a new variation of the zombies, like the biter and bloater. This one spits something similar to acid and could corrode even cement by the looks of it." Showing the damages made.


    Kevin could only nod, and he noticed the sword in the zombie''s chest. Mark turned towards the body and said, "Yeah, the blood is also corrosive and there is some on the handle. I need to get the blood cleaned before I pull out the sword."


    "Wait before we do that, are you sure the sword is still good? I mean, you said, even the blood is corrosive just now."


    Mark shrugged once again and said, "Let''s hope it is good cause I won''t be able to find another fine sword like this one ever again."


    He looked around and then made his way back to the store. He found a new pair of rubber gloves that stated ''acid proof'' on a rack and took them. Taking them out of the cover, he went back inside the hallway and wore them.


    He slowly reached out for the handle and slowly grabbed it. He could feel the blood slowly corroding the glove and quickly took it out and threw it aside in one swoop without any extra blood splashing out. He looked at his hand and noticed a small hole on the glove and his skin rapidly healing.


    He took out the glove and heard Kevin''s concerned voice, "Are you alright? Did you get some on your skin too?" As he went near him.


    Mark shook his head and said, "Don''t worry too much. See, my hand is fine. Only the gloves got corroded." Showing his now healed hand and the hole in the glove.


    IMPORTANT NOTICE PLEASE READ BELOW.

 Chapter 117 - Factory

    Kevin gave a slight nod, seeing Mark show his hand. Mark turned towards his sword and noticed it on the ground a bit far from them. The blood was still on the blade, but luckily not on the handle like before. Mark went near it and was shocked when the blood did not corrode the design on the hilt.


    As he reached out for it, Kevin caught his hand and shook his head. He was too concerned about Mark. Mark could only gently shake his head and remove Kevin''s hand. He grabbed the hilt and could only grit his teeth at the slight burn his palms were feeling. He could feel the skin peeled off, but he did not show it on his face.


    "See, it''s fine." As he whipped the sword to the other side to remove all the blood on the blade. The drops of blood simmered on the carpet and walls as it corroded both of them a bit.


    "Alright, let''s go and get the petrol pump working again." Pointing at the control room in the corner. Kevin gave a nod as both of them slowly made their way to the end. Mark took a deep breath and slowly opened the door. He was feeling tense at the possibility of another zombie-like the one before inside the room.


    But luckily there were no zombies inside. Kevin got to quick work and fixed started to check the problem as Mark stood near the door to give him space to do his work properly. He looked outside towards the dead zombie body and the corroded surrounding. He sighed, seeing the new variation.


    ''A new problem. This one is too much to handle. It spits acid, and it looks highly corrosive in nature. We can''t fight this one with a melee weapon like my sword. Only a gun.'' looking at the sword in his hand.


    ''Looks like my healing power is more active after the last meeting with those devils. But does this also fight against the zombie virus? It healed the injury from the acid blood just now. The blood of a zombie should be enough to turn a person into a zombie if it gets into the body. So there are probably only two conclusions, one the acid blood does not have the same properties as the normal ones or my healing powers can negate the zombie virus. Which one is true?''


    He continued to get his observations in order and started making some basic conclusions from them. This only created more questions on top of the existing ones, which is a headache for him.


    "Mark, let''s go. It''s done. The pump should be working right now." said Kevin as he made his way towards the door after fixing the problem. Mark gave a nod, and they slowly crossed the hallway, without stepping on the acid blood. They got into the store and Mark said, "Check if you need anything from the store." Kevin gave a nod and went around the store and Mark went out.


    Walking out of the store, he saw Suzie and David''s anxious faces. Suzie was the first to react when he saw Mark come out of the store, "Mark, what happened inside? We heard gun sounds. Did something dangerous happen? Where is Kevin?" she bombarded him with questions.


    Seeing her worried face, Mark could only shake his head and say, "No, Everything is alright. We encountered a new type of zombie, so we had to use the gun for it. Kevin is inside the store, checking for some equipment in the store."


    Suzie finally took a breath of relief hearing him. But David asked, "New type?" and Mark only nodded. This made Suzie also pay attention to Mark''s reply.


    "Yes, a new type of zombie. This one spits acid and its blood is also acidic in nature. It was enough for the concrete to melt to some extent. We need to be careful of this kind. It is purple and the rest is similar to a regular zombie. At least this is what I noticed till now." he explained the zombie''s features.


    David was shocked by hearing him. ''A new variation already? It looks like the zombies are also adapting similar to us.'' he thought. David was concerned about the quick changes even the zombies are going through. Hearing the new variation which could spit acid took the difficulty up a notch. He looked at his hands and thought, ''When would I gain some advantages? Is my body slow in adapting to the virus?''


    "Alright, let''s quickly fill the truck and the jeep. We need to get going and find a place to hide the truck." clapping his hands, he asked David and Suzie. David snapped out of his thoughts and nodded. He went towards the pump nearest to the jeep and started filling it up while Suzie filled the truck.


    After filling the vehicles to the brim, they noticed Kevin making his way with some tools in his hand. Like before, Kevin opened up the truck and kept his tools inside before closing it back and getting behind the wheel with Suzie next to him.


    David once again started the jeep and the two vehicles rolled out of the fuel station. David looked at Mark and asked, "Where should we go to hide the truck? We should find a big enough place for it." looking at him.


    Mark gave a nod and said, "I think we should search for moving companies or empty warehouses. They tend to have closed spaces with an open roof." as he remembered David''s little adventure back in Loshin town.


    David also understood what Mark was up to and gave a nod. He slowly drove through the streets and could finally find a moving company. But it was useless as they did not have a closed place to hide the truck safely. Mark shook his head, seeing this, and David drove off.


    After searching for another entire hour, David stopped the jeep in front of the railway station. Mark looked at him and asked, "Why a railway station?"


    "Well, you see Evergreen railway station is a bit different from the other stations. It has a train repair and manufacturing factory right behind it. So there should be enough space for us to park the truck in the open under the sun. And the other reason is, I don''t think people would come and search for the railway station for anything. So, we do not need to worry about it."


    Mark couldn''t help but pat David''s shoulder and say, "Looks like you really know a lot of things." David gave a nod and said, "Well, some perks from traveling a lot."


    "Well, let''s drive towards the place they keep trains." and David nodded.


    David slowly went around the station and stopped the jeep once again in front of a steel gate. Mark looked out of the window and noticed the ''No Entry'' sign on the jeep. He got down and climbed the gate. He opened it from the other side security room and David drove inside with the truck right behind them.


    Mark looked at the parking space the factory had and noticed a few bloaters and bitters already making their way towards the vehicles after hearing the gate open. He inhaled and exhaled as he took out his gun and started shooting. David and Kevin did not wait long to stop the vehicles and also get down with their guns to shoot the zombies down.


    Suzie also got down, and she had her way towards a nearby light pole. She grabbed it with both her hands and pulled it out. Mark stopped for a few seconds when he saw this and thought, "Looks like her body is now stronger than before.''


    She did not wait long to swing the electric pole towards the small horde of bitters making their way towards them at full speed. Her swing was enough to pop out a few of the heads of the zombies and throw the rest back.


    David and Kevin looked towards her and shivered for a second before they continued to shoot the zombies. Suzie took another wide stride and ran towards the nearest bloater. She once again swung the pole and surprisingly it was enough to throw it back a few steps too. She did not wait for it to stand up and brought it down right on its head.


    ''Looks like all the times we went to the cages are slowly paying off now.'' thought boh Kevin and Mark as they shared a look. After they continued to shoot and take out the zombies for the next 15 minutes, they stopped. Mark wiped the sweat off his forehead and looked at the zombies in the parking lot.


    He made his way towards them and said, "Well, looks like this place is done. Let''s get going towards the warehouse in this place and we can finally get some rest after that." getting a nod from everyone else.

 Chapter 118 - Parking The Truck

    The jeep stopped in front of a huge warehouse. Mark looked at the closed warehouse and sighed. It was locked from the outside. All of them got out of the car and looked at the huge shutter in front of them.


    "So, what should we do now? Should we search for another one?" asked Kevin, looking at David and Mark.


    David shook his head and said, "No, it would be a waste. This is the repair workshop for the trains. So there would be a place for us to park the truck. The other warehouses are for storing the trains themselves. So we won''t have many places to keep the truck." pointing at the signboard to the side.


    "So, should we go and search inside the main block now?" asked Suzie.


    All of them went silent hearing her question, and they turned towards Mark for an answer. Mark looked at them and said pointing to the distance, "Why to go to the main block when we can easily find the keys there."


    They turned towards the direction he pointed and found a small horde of zombies making their way towards them. David sighed but nodded as he took out the beretta 97. Kevin held his AK 47 tighter while Suzie just took another pole from the side.


    "The bloater in the middle of that horde is a security guard. He should be having the keys to the warehouses." explaining the objective. They noticed the huge bloater wearing a security uniform. Everyone nodded and ran towards the horde.


    Mark took out his sword instead of the gun and swiftly went through the bitters in front as the rest continued to shoot. Suzie used the huge pole to mainly push back the zombies while taking out a few of them in the process. It did not take Mark long to reach the huge bloater, and he quickly jumped high enough and sliced its head off.


    But he did not stop and continued to slice through the surrounding zombies in a quick fashion. He felt relieved that there were no acid zombies. If they were in the mix, it would just be a horrible idea to jump right into a zombie horde.


    Suzie continued to support him using the large electric pipe in her hand while Kevin and David used the guns to shoot the zombies from afar. It took them another 10 minutes to finally stop their bodies and look at the dead zombie bodies on the ground.


    Mark looked at the huge bloater wearing the security uniform in the middle of the bodies and made his way towards it. He looked at the headless body and checked the pockets to find the key card with the owner''s name and the warehouse number. He exhaled in relief when he saw the title ''Chief of Security''. It meant the card had access to all the warehouses.


    He made his way towards the group with the card in his hands. David sighed when he noticed the card in Mark''s hand. As Mark got closer he said, "Looks like we found the right card."


    Mark nodded, and they made their way towards the warehouse. He handed the card over to David and David went to the machine on the side and swiped the card. The shutter slowly opened with a noise at the start, probably due to it being tight after being closed for 2 to 3 weeks.


    As the shutter slowly opened, Mark saw the empty warehouse only with various tools on the ground. Mark looked at Kevin and gave a signal. Kevin went to the back and got inside the truck as he drove it inside. Kevin stopped the truck right in the middle where there was sunlight.


    Mark drove the jeep to the side and entered the warehouse with the rest. He noticed Kevin already removing his tools and other non-food items from the inside to turn the freezer of the truck on. They slowly arranged all those stuff to the side on a shelf. Kevin then turned the freezer on using the sunlight, which takes time.


    "Well, as it would take time for the solar to get working, why don''t we have lunch by then?" turning towards Suzie. Suzie gave a nod and took out a few vegetables and meat for them. Kevin started salivating when he saw the meat in Suzie''s hand.


    Mark could only lightly smack on the back of his head and shake his head. Suzie got to cooking using the solar appliances she got from the store. The rest sat on the chairs and started cleaning their weapons. Mark slowly cleaned the beretta while teaching David how to and Kevin cleaned the AK 47.


    "Come, let''s eat." sounded Suzie. They left the cleaned guns to the side and went towards Suzie. They noticed a pot of vegetable soup and some freshly fried meat. They took their own portions and got to eating.


    Kevin was in tears as he ate the meat and gave thumbs up to Suzie. Suzie could only smile at her friend''s tears and continue eating. Mark had his thoughts on the military base camp. ''With this out of the way, we need to find the military camp quickly. But we have no clue about its whereabouts right now.'' he sighed and continued to eat.


    After getting lunch out of the way, Kevin noticed the freezer was running and gave a nod to Mark. Mark responded the same and Kevin closed the truck while keeping the freezer running.


    "Alright then. Let''s get going. We need to find the base camp in the town quickly." clapped Mark.


    Everyone gave a nod as Kevin closed the warehouse and gave back the key to Mark. Mark sat behind the wheel while David sat in the front seat. Looking at everyone, Mark started the jeep and drove out of the railway station.


    He slowly drove through the streets thinking about a suitable place the military would settle in that city. He turned towards David, who had the most knowledge of the city, and asked, "Where are the major buildings and communities in the city?"


    David could only shake his head and respond, "I don''t know. I always stayed in my own place or a hotel. I don''t have much idea about the city in general." Mark gave a nod and continued to drive through the city. Mark could only curse the old general for not giving the right coordination for them to work with.


    *IN STARGAZE CITY MILITARY BASE*


    "*sneeze* ugh," grunted Donald as he rubbed his nose with a tissue.


    "Are you alright, Dad?" asked Steve, holding a report in his hands.


    Donald nodded and signaled him to continue his report on the work inside the base.


    *BACK TO EVERGREEN CITY*


    Mark continued to drive through the city, completely clueless. He looked at the empty streets, void of any humans and only a few zombies which got shot down by David when they got near to them.


    As they crossed a section, Mark suddenly looked to the side and noticed a huge horde of zombies running towards them. Mark''s eyes went wide when he saw this, and as he turned the wheel, something else caught his attention.


    It was a running person. A human was waving his hands at them while running away from the zombies. Mark looked closer and noticed the khaki military uniform on him and hit the brakes.


    "Mark, let''s go. We can''t get away from that horde." said an anxious Kevin. The rest were also looking at him with confused and pale faces.


    "No, our ticket to finding the military base is running away from that horde. We need that person to find out where the base is at." pointing at the soldier running away from the horde. The rest looked out of the window and finally noticed the heavily wounded soldier running away from the horde.


    "But he is wounded. He might be affected already." voiced out, David.


    Mark shook his head and said, "No, those wounds are not from a zombie. Look at him. If those wounds were from a zombie, he would not be able to run that quick and the area around that wound would be black. So he isn''t affected yet." making them realize what he said was true.


    Mark did not wait for another sentence from them as he turned the jeep around and went head-on towards the horde. As he was only several meters away from the horde, he turned the jeep to the side and stopped it. Suzie opened the door, and the soldier understood their intentions.


    He continued to run and leaped towards the jeep as a zombie almost caught onto him. Mark shot it with a gun and Suzie pulled him in. Mark did not wait for another second to hit the gas and drive off from that street.


    The soldier was in pain. Suzie closed the door and David as a doctor looked at him. Mark stopped the car inside an empty alleyway. He turned around towards the soldier and asked, "So, soldier. How are you?" with a smile.


    IMP NOTICE IN THE AUTHORS NOTE BELOW. PLEASE READ IT.

 Chapter 119 - Soldier

    *JASON POV*


    "Will we come back alive from this clean-up mission?" Is the only question I could ask as the Jeep moved towards our location. There were only 8 people in the Jeep excluding the driver.


    I could only look out of the window as my question went unanswered. The rundown buildings and zombies on the street were by now a common sight for us soldiers who go out for clean-up or scout missions after the disaster hit us unexpectedly.


    My name is Jason, a normal soldier in the base camp near Evergreen city. My passion for ''fighting for the nation'' brought me to become a soldier. I was hoping to retire in a few years as I was already in my mid-thirties. But not everything went according to plan.


    The apocalypse hit as I was doing my regular rounds around our military base like always. The moment I could hear our general giving out orders, I knew something went wrong. But I never imagined the things I saw in fictional movies come true.


    By the time we moved into the city to ''rescue'' citizens, most of them were already zombies roaming around the streets, attacking survivors who didn''t turn into those monsters yet. The next few days went by without any proper rest for us as we continued to look for survivors as well as build our own base in the city.


    We continued to do the same work over the next few days until we found some peace. A temporary base was successfully built in the city. It was near the place where the privileged lived in the city. It was a nice place with mansions and a large amount of free land we used to build shelters for the people.


    Today was another run. Even after doing a few clean-up missions with the squad during the past few days, I still felt something was wrong with this particular one. I couldn''t place a finger on the problem and brushed it off as the Jeep came to a stop.


    Taking a deep breath, I clutched my gun and took a deep breath, trying to calm my nerves. Being nervous was never a good sign for life and death missions like these.


    "Alright, boys let''s go. As explained earlier, our mission is to search the mall. According to the scouts, yesterday there were survivors hiding inside. The camp sent us to confirm this and if possible save them. Let''s go." Whispered our captain into the silent jeep.


    All of us nodded as the door opened and all of us started to get down and moved according to the plan. I and my partner quickly held our guns up as we shot the zombies nearby while the others made their way towards the alleyway. We had to take the emergency exit to get inside instead of going to the front.


    I watched as my shot went right through the zombie''s head and gave a nod to my partner after seeing the empty street. We quickly followed the team inside. We slowly went into the alleyway and into the open door.


    Closing it behind us, we gave a nod to the captain, and we continued inside the corridor. The mall was small, as it was only two floors. According to the information we received, there was a high probability that the people were in a kid''s toy shop above.


    There was only a movie theatre and a good court with toy shops to the side on the first floor, making this search relatively easy. We made it across the hallway and stopped at the captain''s signal as they checked the situation outside. I kept the rear looking out for any unexpected counters.


    Signaling to us that there were only 15 in the central area of the mall, all of us nodded. The captain gave out a signal as we ran out into the hallway, clutching our guns tight and positioning them to shoot on sight. 15 was a relatively low number for a fully trained 8 member squad.


    Shooting down one of them, I turned towards the other and started firing. I looked to the side and saw most of the zombies were down and finished it.


    "Alright, it seems like the numbers are few. Let''s push towards that hallway where the staircase closet to the shop is at. Be on your toes, we don''t know from where or when these things might spring right at us." Whispered the captain as pointed towards the few zombies making their way out due to the noise from the stores and then towards a hallway.


    Nodding towards him, we made our way towards the hallway while slowly shooting a few zombies which were too close for comfort. We successfully made it into the hallway and continued towards the staircase.


    Checking if the staircase was clear, we continued up. The captain sent out a signal to stop and gave another towards the soldier nearest to the door leading into the hallway on the first floor. The soldier gave a nod and slowly opened the door to check for zombies.


    He signaled us about the zombie situation and after getting a confirmation from the captain, we slowly made our way in. I was still at the back checking for zombies. Slowly backing towards the hallway, I turned around as the rest started shooting.


    I didn''t wait and followed them, shooting the few zombies which were behind us as we made our way towards the toy store which was right around the corner.


    Reaching the end of the hallway we noticed there were many zombies roaming around unlike below. We could not go head to head against those numbers and the captain signaled us back inside.


    "Listen up, we can''t fight those numbers. So should we continue or not? I can''t guarantee we will come back alive if we do. I do not want to risk your lives because of the decision I am making. Our camp is also not in a situation to lose soldiers. So let''s vote and decide."

 Chapter 120 - Soldier (II)

    *JASON POV*


    We couldn''t do anything except seeing each other''s faces when we heard the captain''s honest reaction to the situation. Even though I had a calm front, I could feel the reluctance to continue surging inside me.


    Being a soldier in my mid-thirties, I couldn''t still enjoy my life as much as regular people would have. Being forever single, without a partner for almost my entire life was a reason. My idea of retiring and enjoying the rest of my life in peace with a loved one was holding me back.


    But, remembering the gruesome training I had to go through to join the army and serve the country was holding me back from saying what I was really feeling. Being attacked by two opposite views, I remained silent.


    "Captain, let''s continue. I have confidence in our squad''s efficiency and believe that we can complete the mission." said a friend. I looked at his face, filled with confidence. The captain looked around to see the others'' reaction, which made them all slowly nod.


    I could only sigh inwardly while going along with them and nod. This gave me a very bad feeling but I now can''t deny and leave now that everyone gave a nod to it. The captain''s expression changed to pride when he saw our reaction.


    Giving us an appreciative nod, he slightly smiled and said, "I am honestly relieved to see you guys agreeing to continue this mission. Now I am confident that we will all live to see another day." Making all of us nod.


    "Alright, now that we decided, let''s plan. There are quite some zombies outside this hallway that might actually catch us if we make even a small sound. So we need to be extra careful. The door of the store is only 3 feet away from where we are to the left. So only a few of us should go. Only me and the lieutenant will make a quick work of it. The rest stay here."


    All of us gave a nod to his plan, and I honestly felt a little relieved that it wasn''t me that was going to go out there. The captain gave a last nod to us and the lieutenant before making their way out of the hallway and to the left.


    We all stood at the edge of the hallway, peeking out and looking out for the zombie''s reaction and movements. The duo could safely reach the door, and they looked inside. But I noticed as their faces suddenly lost color and they turned towards us to wave their hands when we heard a loud thud from the door.


    "It''s a zombie. The information was wrong. Retreat." Ordered the captain as by then all the surrounding zombies noticed out and the fast ones ran towards us. We could see the large horde of zombies making their way towards us as we turned towards the staircase.


    The soldier near to it was first able to go down and as we were about to follow him below we heard his unfortunate scream. Our eyes went wide as my partner caught the situation below and quickly closed the door before shaking his head. I could feel the color drain off my face as I saw him shaking his head. I look over to see the others, including the captain in the same situation as me.


    "Let''s go. We can''t continue this way. We need to find another way out." The captain shouted as he ran out of the hallway. The zombies were now closer than ever to the entrance of the hallway as we quickly took out our guns and started shooting.


    As I shot, I suddenly remembered something I saw before entering the building after we cleared out the zombies in the street. It was a ladder a bit far from the door right under a window.


    "Captain, there should be a ladder from one of the windows near a window on this floor around the door we entered." This caught his attention as the captain immediately gave out orders while he still continued to shoot.


    "Alright, you guys heard him. If Jason is right, this may be our only way out. The hallway below which we used to enter should be around there. 3 of us will go there while the rest enter the food court to search for the specific window. Be Careful and don''t let these freaks come anywhere near you." As he pointed at the hallway right above the one we took below and the food court beside it.


    All of us nodded as the captain and lieutenant took another one of us and went towards it while shooting continuously. The rest 5 of us regrouped as we quickly formed a circle and slowly pushed through towards the food court.


    As we made our way through, I noticed the few shops in the food court and pointed towards them. The rest understood as we slowly separated to go to the different shops in two groups.


    AUTHOR NOTE-


    Hey guys, it''s me, the author back again. First of all Happy new year guys. Wish you a nice year, unlike the one that just passed. And as I said in my note, I came back on Jan 1st. And will receive a chap a day this whole week. But starting from next week, I might have to change things up a bit and only release one chapter every 2 days.


    Alright, don''t go angry with me cause I have a reason. And it is that I simply can''t keep up and I don''t want to keep empty promises and break them, eventually. I am still a student and have to study. With two books (The other one is ''The Diamond field'' for those who still don''t know. A sports novel.) It''s tough to maintain the pace.


    One more important news: I am going to release a third book, and that would be daily updates. I still don''t know when I will be releasing it but it will be soon. It will be a showbiz and business novel. Something I wanted to write for a long time along with these two kinds of books. So keep an eye out for my announcement.

 Chapter 121 - Soldier (III)

    It was only me and my partner as we went towards the nearest. Quickly jumping over the platform, we made our way inside while shooting the zombies inside. The zombies outside couldn''t come in cause the platform was too tall for them to simply jump over it.


    Going to the back, we noticed there were only two windows as we made our way towards them while still being on guard. Slowly walking towards the farthest window, I opened it not making much noise, and looked down to see the same small alleyway I walked in. I turned to the sides and finally caught the ladder.


    It was within an arm''s reach from me to the left side. I looked to the right and saw my partner''s joyous expression. Giving him a nod, I took out the walkie-talkie they gave us before.


    *Bzzt*


    "We found it. Once again, we found it. It''s in the food court section in the sound shop."


    *Bzzt*


    "Good job, Jason. We will meet. Hold them back No shoot them down. Dave, watch out. Guys, you head on it seems we won''t make it out of here, we are surrounded." As he shouted towards the end and cut off his line.


    My eyes went wide hearing him scream at the end. I could only close my eyes and pray that they would survive, even though it was as clear as day that they wouldn''t.


    With 3 members gone, including the captain and the lieutenant, I quickly sent out another signal for the others asking them to hurry. Strapping it back on my waist after receiving the confirmation from the rest three remaining members aside from both of us, we shared a look.


    Both of us are feeling down. My thoughts weirdly went towards this mission as a whole. This wasn''t any normal mission we went on the past few days. This was on a whole another level for a group of 8 militants.


    The scout''s report was way off compared to the real situation, and the number of zombies was no way near what they predicted. The hostage situation was also different. There were no hostages at all and were in fact zombies inside the predicted location.


    This made me thinking some crazy thoughts about the whole ordeal. He shook his head, denting the thoughts he was having.


    "Do you think this was all a set-up too? I think it is Jason. You know how the situation is at the camp. It''s either the military or the local government which can exist in the camp as the lead position. The report was also strangely given by the scouts, which were part of the local government too as this area is under their jurisdiction. It was already strange for them to come towards us for this mission."


    Suddenly hearing my partner speak out my thoughts made me shook. I could only sigh and reply, "let''s not think about this now. We need to survive this situation to think about this."


    He could only nod hearing this too. The door suddenly burst open as one of our friends burst in with a broken arm and shouted, "Guys let''s go they are here and coming." Coming towards us.


    I readily stood beside the window, making it easy for me to reach out for the ladder. And out the window.


    "What happened? Where are the others?" Asked my partner anxiously, looking back at the one who came in.


    "No one there. They got run over by them immediately when we came out of our store. We didn''t even have a proper chance to retaliate against them." He grunted.


    I quickly got out of the window and went onto the ladder while strapping my gun behind. I slowly looked below and in the distance, I had to jump down. I cursed the builders seeing the half ladder. The only way to reach the ground was now to jump as the ladder was only halfway.


    If I don''t jump properly, I am bound to break a few bones. Noticing my friends'' anxious expressions, I could only grit my teeth and hope for a nice landing. Leaving the ladder and jumping down, I landed on my shoulder and probably broke it because of the intense pain which hit me.


    I hissed as the pain was growing and slowly stood while looking towards my hand broken friend, attempting to get on the ladder. My partner on the other hand was helping him to get on. I looked around for any zombies and sighed in relief when there were none around us.


    Looking up again, I saw something which made my eyes go wide. The zombie already reached my partner and lashed onto him. Before he could react, the zombie already bit his neck down while he retaliated by shooting it down.


    But this didn''t stop from his neck veins on his neck slowly turning black as he stumbled near the window. He looked down towards me and then our friend on the ladder who was hanging by one hand before going inside without making a single sound.


    I could only grit my teeth seeing this and looked towards the guy on the ladder before waving my hand to hurry up. He nodded before jumping down and landing on his back. I couldn''t give him much support as one of my shoulders was probably dislocated too.


    Grabbing him up with the proper hand and making him stand. We both made our way out of the alleyway, limping while taking the support of the wall. Reaching the end, we expected to see our jeep but instead saw another crowd of zombies in the distance slowly making their way out of the mall.


    With our current situation, we could not fight back and only hope those zombies wouldn''t notice us while we try to escape and survive. Giving a nod to my friend, we slowly made our way towards the end of the street.


    While I was walking in the back and looking at the zombie horde behind, I suddenly heard a car alarm go off.

 Chapter 122 - Soldier (IV)

    I turned around with my eyes wide as I unconsciously muttered, "You gotta be kidding me. Fu*k." Looking at the fallen man clutching his arm as it turned dark. I looked back as the groaning of the zombies got nearer and nearer.


    I ran to the front and looked at his arm rapidly turning into a zombie''s while also extending to the remaining parts of his body.


    "You were also attacked."


    He looked up while reaching out his arm, which I kicked and decided to leave him there. I couldn''t do anything to make him live. I saw this same scene many times over the past few days. Once the person gets attacked, there is no turning back. Seeing him like that, I felt hate when I remembered my partner''s death.


    If only this guy didn''t come, then he would have lived. I should have asked him where he got the injury before jumping out of the window. I kept cursing myself as I continued to run down the street. Looking back at the fast zombies running towards me, I took the gun and shot them down.


    Reaching the end of the street, I turned and went ahead without looking back, occasionally shooting the few zombies on the street which were making their way towards me. I followed the same road we came here with the Jeep so that I can go back.


    But the reality was different as my shoulder continued to pain a lot. The hot sun was burning as I continuously ran across streets without even rehydration. Deciding it was enough after crossing a few more blocks, I quickly went into a nearby medical store. Going inside, I shot the few zombies roaming around inside.


    Going to the shelves, I took a few energy bars and a bottle of water. I felt happy that this store wasn''t already looted. I also took a small box of painkillers and a shoulder sling to support my broken part. Sitting in the corner, I quickly drank some water to hydrate myself.


    I never felt so relieved to drink some water in my entire life. Feeling some of my energy come back to me, I slowly opened the energy bars with one hand and ate them like a beast. Feeling stuffed after a few more energy bars, I took the painkillers and used the shoulder sling. I took a deep breath, calming myself as my pain slowly subdued. The sling also helped keep my hand in a relatively comfortable place.


    I noticed the time was past noon and slowly stood up. If there was any hope to go back, it should be before night. The zombie activity is crazy at night and with a broken arm, it would be too hard for me to survive.


    Picking up my gun and a few more energy bars and a water bottle, I exited the store after keeping them in a small waist bag. Exiting, I quickly made my way. I continued to run when I suddenly got pushed back. I turned around and quickly reacted as I crashed into a car. Turning towards the cause, I saw the huge new kind of zombie noticed the past few days coming out of an alleyway towards me. I didn''t notice it in time and now have too many injuries.


    The car glass got impounded into my body in a few areas, but that could wait as the fat monster zombie in Infront of me couldn''t. It was the horrible zombie that sprouted up in parts of the city in recent days. It had a strong body, but also a slow one. Only bullets to the head can successfully kill it. As it continued to come towards me, I quickly took my gun and started to shoot right at its head. The bullets rained on it as it stopped and eventually fell.


    Exhaling in relief, I noticed another huge horde of zombies noticing me. I quickly stood up and continued to run, with blood oozing out of multiple parts of my body. I limped down the street as I slowly lost hope in living. Parts of my life flashed in front of my eyes like how many books and movies described it as. I contemplated on my single and hard life as a soldier. How I would miss having a happy family I always wanted.


    Slowly losing consciousness, I could feel my body get heavier until I heard something which made my exhausted body get rejuvenated.


    Looking ahead, I saw a jeep down the road with a few people inside. I slowly waved my hands and pushed my body to pick up the pace to reach them. I noticed the peculiar look on their faces and knew they feared me being infectious.


    I continued to wave my hands at them, and the jeep turned towards me. As the jeep came closer and closer, I continued to struggle with the pain increasing every second. I could hear the zombies coming nearer and nearer to me. The only aim and thought inside me was to reach that jeep. It was my only hope to live.


    The jeep suddenly stopped and turned to the side and a young woman waving her hand opened the door for me. Taking the risk as soon as I was near, I leaped inside the jeep with a zombie right behind me. One of them shot it as they quickly closed the doors and rode off the street.


    I felt my eyes become heavy as I couldn''t even count the number of people inside the jeep. The jeep suddenly came to a stop as the driver turned towards me and asked a question which I couldn''t hear as I finally lost consciousness.


    The only thought in my head was that I hoped I didn''t lose too much blood, that it would be a problem for me to die. After all the struggle I went through the entire day, dying like this was not something I wanted to happen to me.

 Chapter 123 - Situation

    *THIRD PERSON POV*


    Mark sighed, looking at the soldier''s unconscious body. He turned towards David and knocked his head, motioning him to treat him. As he also observed the state of the soldier, he noticed the shoulder sling and several cuts on his body.


    "So, how is he?"


    David, while still doing some examinations, answered, "Well, one thing is that he will live. But there are multiple glass shards in him which should be robed and also a case of a dislocated shoulder. I need a few things from the pharmacy. Overall, he will be ok after a day or two rest." Turning towards Mark at the end.


    Mark grunted, hearing the diagnosis of his situation. His original plan was to find the camp as soon as today and get the device quickly so that they can go back. But now their only way to the camp isn''t in the best state to take them there.


    "Well, it seems like we need to find a place for the night to stay so this guy can wake up to take us there. So first let''s go to a medical store and stock up for whatever you need to patch him up." Turning towards the wheel. The rest also get seated and Mark drives out of the alleyway.


    Slowly making his way, the car reaches a pharmacy where only Kevin and David get down to get some supplies. Mark looked out of the window, into the street, and noticed a sign at the end of the street showing the direction to a county.


    Mark smiled seeing the board and decided to stay in the county at night. After Kevin and David got into the jeep, Mark started the jeep once again and drove towards the county according to the directions and reached the county.


    Going through the open gate, they start to notice the open two-story houses and the zombies on the road. As Mark continued to look around and drive, they finally decided on a proper villa before stopping in Infront of it. Getting their guns and exiting the jeep, Mark and Kevin carry the soldier inside, while Suzie kills any zombies near them with her newly found superhuman strength.


    Entering and sweeping the zombies inside, they place the guy inside a room with David taking care of him. As David was doing that, Mark and the others started closing the whole house. After closing all the doors and windows, they started to search the two-story house for anything they could use.


    Mark entered the master bedroom on the first floor, looking around. He noticed a family picture of three people, a man, a woman, and also a little girl. Closing the picture, he continued to search the room.


    As he did, he stumbled on the various clothes thrown in the room and caught the wall for support. But as he did, he noticed something strange. The sound from the wall was different. It was hollow. Knocking a few times, he noticed it was really hollow with something inside it.


    Moving back, he gathered his strength and punched the wall, forming a nice fist-sized hole into it. Looking inside, he noticed it was a medium-sized safe. The others in the house also ran up noticing the commotion and saw the hole in the wall with the safe.


    Mark noticed them and grinned. He looked at Suzie and beckoned her over, pointing at the wall. Suzie understood and punched right at the wall, destroying the rest part of the wall which covered the safe. Taking out his gun, he shoots it at the lock, forming a nice hole into it.


    Opening the safe, he noticed the stacks of money, which were completely useless for their current predicament. Cleaning out the money, he finally noticed a suitcase and dragged it out. Opening the case, he noticed two neatly placed premium handguns, the Desert Eagle Mark XIX with four magazines. The Desert Eagle Mark XIX was very powerful compared to his present Beretta, which he is using.


    Mark slowly took one gun into his hands as he ran over it, feeling the nice gun which he tried before. Placing the gun down, he took out one of the magazines and noticed the bullets for the gun were actually 357 Magnum, which only holds nine rounds in a single magazine.


    He sighed, seeing very few bullets for a nice gun. He took out both the guns and their magazines before keeping them with him and throwing the suitcase away. Turning towards the rest, he gave a nod and said, "We can''t use these because the bullets aren''t many. We can only hold on to them for now."


    The rest nodded as they continued to search around the house for more. Mark searched closer for any hidden safes like this throughout the house. Although they found one in a guest bedroom, it was only full of cash and no guns. They noticed the sun was going down and covered the windows.


    They didn''t want any unwanted attention because of the few lights they might use at night, which would cause a huge attractive factor for the zombies roaming around at night. They closed up the rooms they might use, which was the room with the soldier resting in and another room big enough for the rest of them. They also closed the kitchen as they would cook.


    Completing all the preparations for the night, Mark looked at David who was coming out of the room the soldier was in and asked, "How is he?"


    David gave a nod before answering, "He is fine and resting. I removed the glass shards and stopped the blood from seeping out for now. He should wake up tomorrow morning at the earliest."


    Mark could only give a nod to it and cooked with the help of Suzie. Finding a few instant noodles and other items such as eggs and spices, they decided to simply cook up some egg noodles for all of them.

 Chapter 124 - Waking Up

    After eating a nice filling dinner, Mark looked at the rest as they sat on the couch in the living room and said, "Alright, we will go over our plan of action once again. Tonight David will remain in the soldier''s room to look after him while the rest of us will take the other room we covered up."


    "After he gets up, he will take us to their base camp where we will give the letter General Donald gave us and take the communications from them. We will then go back to Evergreen city the way we came. After giving the device to the General there, we need to finish an important work in the city before we do anything else."


    The rest simply nodded, hearing him speak. Even though his words became vague by the end, no one asked out loud what the important task was.


    "Alright then, let''s talk about night guarding. Kevin will stay awake till midnight to watch out for any abnormal behaviour in the zombies outside. After that I will take over and watch till dawn." once again receiving a nod from the group.


    After getting the brief plan on how things will go the next few days, they all went separately. While Suzie and Mark went into the room they made, David went to the soldier''s room and Kevin turned off the extra lights.


    Mark slept on the couch while Suzie took the bed to rest. Mark simply closed his eyes, falling into deep sleep after another hectic day. He hasn''t had a pleasant sleep since all this started and was always on alert, only having a mild sleep which he was going to have again.


    Just like that midnight rolled by and he got woken up by Kevin. Waking up, he gave a nod at the sleepy Kevin who immediately fell asleep as his face touched the bed. Closing the door to the room, Mark took out a flashlight and walked towards the soldier''s room.


    Opening the room''s door, he noticed David sleeping on the couch and the soldier wrapped up while testing. Closing the door, he went near the windows and slowly observed the outside streets filled with zombies. The activity was obviously higher than daytime as they moved around for every small sound.


    The zombies mainly get attracted to sounds and the smell of blood. But this also doesn''t mean that they can walk Infront of them and not expect them to jump. This is what he noticed till now. He continued to observe them for the entire night in silence, occasionally changing places.


    Time passed by as he yawned, noticing the slowly rising sun in the distance as the zombies also became lesser on the street. He turned back as Suzie slowly walked out of the room and David walked out of the other room.


    Greeting both of them, they sat on the couch as they focused on David''s words, "He is fine. The wounds are healing better than expected. He should wake up in a clue of hours, probably before lunch, but he can''t do intense exercise and strain the body."


    Mark nodded while relaxing on the couch. He only needed him to show them directions to the military base so they can complete their task as quickly as they can and return home. Suzie stood up and made her way towards the kitchen. Making a quick 3 cups of coffee, she handed both David and Mark a cup before she herself sipped some.


    Mark relaxed as coffee entered his body. Guarding the house exhausted him a bit, even though it was only for half a day. Completing the cup, he denied Suzie''s offer for another cup and said, "Alright then, as we wait for the soldier to wake up, we can search the houses in the county, if there are any items we could use. What do you guys say?"


    Suzie and David gave a nod and Mark continued, "Suzie, you stay here with David while he takes care of our patient, while I and Kevin will search the other houses."


    After he decided, he woke up Kevin and both of them had a light breakfast made their way out of the house, with guns in their hands. Mark looked around as they walked out of the porch and went onto the streets.


    There were only a few zombies on the street and they slowly made their way to one house after another. There were only 20 or so houses in the whole county, so it didn''t take them long to search.


    Some houses were already emptied out but Mark fussed that it wasn''t by a survival group but rather the people who tried to escape the zombies. As in most of those houses the vehicles were absent and if it was a survival group it doesn''t make sense of them only cleaning out a few of the houses.


    They found various items but didn''t take all of them. They mainly took medicine and food, which didn''t have a short expiry date. They were able to stumble upon many similar safes like the house they were in, but only one of them had a gun and it was only Glock 17 with one magazine.


    But he felt it was ok, cause guns were now a rare commodity. With no more supply of guns in the present situation, they won''t be able to expect any of them for free and find them often in the future.


    As Mark thought about this, he noticed problems with having a gun, limited ammo. As he continued to think about it, the more he felt they would need a proper and constant supply of them in the future if their survival has to be peaceful.


    He could only rub his forehead in pain as he thought about it and decided to put the matter aside for now and think about it when they finish their work in hand. After successfully searching all the houses, they made their way back to the house by noon and heard the soldier was awake.

 Chapter 125 - Reaching The Camp

    Going inside, Mark and Kevin noticed David sitting with a bandaged man on the couch. As they walked towards them, Suzie came out of the kitchen with a bottle of water in her hand.


    "Oh, both of you are back. Here, have this Jason. Guys, this is Jason." She introduced them. Mark gave a nod while Kevin introduced both of them.


    Sitting down on the couch, Mark looked at the thirty-year-old man, wrapped up in bandages. After Jason finished drinking the water Suzan gave him, Mark finally asked, "How are you feeling Mr.Jason?"


    Jason looked up towards Mark''s eyes, which gave him an eerie feeling because of the two different colors. He coughed when he realized that he was staring too long and replied, "I am doing well thanks to your group. If you guys were not there at that time, I would have been dead or even worse a zombie by now."


    He felt grateful for this unknown group. They arrived at the correct time when he lost all hope. When he woke up a few minutes back, he panicked a little. But calmed down when he saw his bandaged body. Thinking back at the whole mission, he couldn''t help but feel bad and also angry towards the people who caused this.


    Mark waved his hands and said, "It''s alright. We did it cause we want some information from you." Making Jason tense up instantly as he started looking at him warily.


    David noticed his muscles tensing up and said, "Don''t tense your muscles too much like that. The wounds will open once again and it''s a headache to patch you up again." Jason heard him and gave a nod, but he kept looking around.


    The first thought he had when he heard this was, ''Are they going to attack the camp?'' making him go even more frenzy than before.


    Mark couldn''t care less about what the man was thinking as he proceeded to ask, "We want to know where the camp is at. If possible, tell us now so we can get going immediately." In a tone which Jason knew he couldn''t be silent.


    "I won''t tell you. Just kill me." He screamed in their face.


    Mark looked at David astonished and asked, "Did he also lose his brain because of the large number of injuries he got." Mocking Jason. David could only wryly smile while Jason didn''t know what they were talking about.


    Kevin who was silently listening spoke up after this, "Look, just tell us the location of the camp. We are on a mission to deliver something to your camp general from Stargaze city military camp." Making their intentions clear.


    Hearing their reason, Jason felt incredibly embarrassed about his sudden outburst of patriotism and loyalty to the camp. Being in his mid-thirties and losing his cool after already being as a soldier for several years wasn''t a good look for him.


    Mark nodded at Kevin''s words and looked at Jason, waiting for an answer. Jason noticed his gaze and gave a small nod before telling them the location of the camp.


    "Alright then, you heard the man. Let''s get moving so we can be there before lunch." He said, clapping his hands.


    All of them got to work and left the house within 15 minutes. David got back on the Jeep with Jason and Suzie while Kevin took the wheel. Driving out of the county, they slowly followed Jason''s directions, and it didn''t take them long to reach the camp with killing zombies and taking detours due to cramped roads.


    The camp was very similar to the one in Stargaze city. With the only exception of a hospital being conveniently nearby to the base. As they drove up to the gate, a soldier came and knocked on Kevin''s door.


    "Who are you? What''s your purpose being here?" He asked Kevin as he rolled down the window. Mark looked at the skinny soldier wearing a gun and pointing at them while there was another one on the other side of the gate doing the same.


    "Dave, I''m with them. They saved me. They are from the military camp in Stargaze city." Explained Jason before Kevin could reply.


    Hearing Jason''s voice, the man, Dave finally looked inside and noticed Jason''s patched-up body before saying, "Jason, it''s really you. Oh, my god, what happened out there. We never received a word after you guys went out there and I heard the higher-ups were planning on sending people if you guys didn''t come today."


    Jason could only wryly smile and say, "It''s a long story, Dave. Could you open the gates for us? Trust me, these guys should be from the Stargaze city and are on a mission." Dave nodded before waving his hands, making the gates finally open.


    Kevin slowly drove inside, and Mark looked at the apartment complex. He could see there were 5 blocks and then in the distance right behind the apartments was a hospital. Mark sighed once again, seeing their luck in finding a nice position. The Stargaze city camp had to scavenge nearby hospitals to get equipment.


    The Jeep stopped at the place the soldier asked them to and they got out safely. Dave came along with another person behind him. Mark noticed the emblems on his uniform and noticed it was actually a colonel ranked army officer like Steve.


    "This is Colonel Dan. He is here to ask you a couple of questions." Introduced the man as he looked at the group.


    "As he said, My name is Dan. Dave, take Jason to the infirmary and have them take a look at his condition." Giving out a command.


    Dave simply left with Jason as Dan looked at the group once more and asked in a more serious tone, "Please show proof that you are from the Stargaze city military camp."


    Mark nodded and took out a letter he received from the old general before he came and handed it over to Dan.


    "General Donald hired us to bring back some equipment you guys might have. This is a letter he gave us to show to your general."

 Chapter 126 - Time

    Taking the letter into his hands, Dan flipped it over and noticed the military stamp in the right-hand corner. Nodding, he gave back the letter to Mark and said, "Alright, the letter seems authentic. I will inform this to the General, please send this group to the medical faculty to have them checked." He turned to the side and gave orders to another soldier.


    Mark didn''t think about it much and gave a nod to his teammates before they all followed the soldier to the back of the buildings. They crossed the compound and walked into the hospital. Entering, they noticed many people walking around and checking injured patients.


    They slowly followed the soldier to the end of the corridor and stopped in front of a door which had a sign to the side saying ''Testing''. The soldier asked them to wait outside while he went inside and came out with a doctor beside him.


    "Please follow me inside. The check-up is very simple." and turned around. They followed them inside and the doctor led each one of them into separate cubicles. Their check-up was rather simple, unlike the one which they had in Stargaze city.


    The doctors asked them to take off their clothes and conducted a thorough search on them for any signs of zombie attacks like a scratch which is usually accompanied by the rotting of flesh and dark bulging veins.


    Mark also felt this was a better and more efficient way of doing things instead of studying their blood. They also had to explain the reason behind the more bloody marks on the body they received the past few days. After thorough examination and questioning, the four of them were sent away by the doctors.


    "This is a much better way of doing things. Even though examination of the blood is a relatively safer method, for times like this where there are an abundance of patients and limited time and doctors," said David while they followed the soldier out of the hospital and entered the apartments once again.


    Mark gave a nod, and they followed the soldier in silence. The soldier took them to the same place they were when they talked with the colonel and asked them to wait as he went to call his superior once again.


    "Do you think we will be able to leave tomorrow?" asked Kevin.


    Suzie shrugged at his question and said, "Probably."


    The soldier took little time but came back with the colonel by his side. Dan looked at all of them and said, "It''s good that you guys aren''t infected. I showed your letter to the general, and he agreed to the request. But it would take some time for it to be handover, as there are still some preparations going on."


    "By when can we expect it to be in our hands. We already wasted some time on the way here and are kinda behind on the original schedule we panned out," said Mark.


    Dan nodded and replied, "I understand. We will try to get it done by tomorrow morning at the latest. So please try to rest till then. Show them the guest rooms in block three." he turned towards the soldier and gave out orders.


    Mark and the rest could only nod to the colonel''s arrangement and follow the same soldier once again to their rooms for the day. Their guns were still with them to the side as they slowly crossed the 2 blocks and finally reached the third.


    It was a six-story apartment block smaller than the rest, which was eight-story blocks. Going inside, they followed the soldier on the stairs.


    As they followed him, Kevin asked, "How are your electricity and food supplies keeping up?" while looking around.


    The soldier didn''t turn around and said, "It''s mainly solar power, which we heavily depend on right now. Most of it goes to the hospital and only some of it comes to these blocks, enough for the lights to run at least. We can give out food two times a day." he continued to climb the stairs as they passed the 3rd floor


    It was the same situation in Stargaze city. The other sources couldn''t be operated normally right now, and the people could only make use of what they could find without much effort, which was from the sun. But it also seemed like the food supplies in Evergreen were considerably lower compared to Stargaze city.


    The soldier stopped on the fourth floor and took a right as they walked down the hallway and reached the dead end with two rooms on both sides.


    "This will be your accommodation for the night. We will serve dinner at 7. The canteen is in this building, you can come down when it''s time." he pointed to the door on the right and opened it for them.


    It was a simple room with two bedrooms, a small kitchen, and a living room. They entered and the soldier who stood at the door said, "Alright, I will leave you guys to be then. I highly advise you guys to stay within this house until it''s time for dinner. Not everyone is nice in this camp." and walked out of their sight immediately.


    They looked at each other''s faces when they heard the last sentence. Kevin looked around and said, "Well, it seems like there are some serious problems in this camp. Well, they are at least able to give us a place to stay for the night."


    "Every place has its own problems," replied David while turning towards the rooms.


    While the team was looking around the rooms they gave them, in Block 1 there was an intense debate session going on about the letter they gave to the general.


    In a round table office, 10 people were seated as they continued to scold one another with a letter in the middle of the table.


    "General, Don''t you dare tell us you are really planning to give them the communications technology we were able to painstakingly recover in the past few days based on a letter?" roared a man, slamming the desk in front of him, showing how displeased he was.

 Chapter 127 - Discussions

    "Do you know who you are talking to? How dare you raise your voice against the General? Know your place in this establishment? It was the General who saved your pitiful life when you sacrificed your own family for yourself," Fired back an army officer who sat beside the General. His face was red with anger when he saw all the people trying to go on the General.


    The person who shouted at the General was a forty-year-old man with a beer belly too round to fit even in the shirt he was wearing. When the disaster struck, he was at home watching movies and scolding his assistants over the phone for not doing his own work properly when he saw his business profits become losses. His name was Marcus and had a business that was well known in the city.


    Keeping the phone aside, he noticed the weird human on the outside walking on their porch. He stood up to vent his frustrations on the guy, but his words were stuck in his throat when he saw the zombie. After noticing there were others in the back, he closed all windows and doors before calling for a family meeting. They sheltered in for the next four days, and then things got worse.


    Their food was low, and the man was dying with hunger. For the last four days, he only gave a meager amount of food to both the son and mother to keep them alive. But now that everything was over, he turned mad.


    "Bit*h if it wasn''t for you and him, I would have had food now." He screamed and hit her with the belt in his hands.


    But his scream attracted the huge number of zombies that were around them as they swarmed his house. They tried to break the windows to get in and taste fresh human meat. The man panicked as he looked down from the first-floor balcony to see the zombies trying to smash their windows and doors to get in.


    He looked around and saw his ten-year-old son. He didn''t hesitate for a single minute to grab him and throw him out to divert the zombies'' attention from them. The mother who cared for her son tried to stop this, to only follow her son and be thrown out of the window.


    His plan was a success as the zombies got diverted by the two humans who ran for their lives, chased by a horde of zombies. But not all of them went away as a few of them continued to try to break the windows.


    As he noticed this, he started to curse and panic. But this vanished when he saw a military vehicle in the distance and shouted for help. The military noticed this and saved the man, pitying him. When they asked about his family, he twisted the truth and told them that they sacrificed themselves to save him while crying a few crocodile tears to add more effect.


    The officer who saved him was the same officer who shouted at him in the office. He pitied the man after hearing his story, but to know the truth right after they reached the establishment. He turned against the army, who were trying to protect the establishment, and smeared dirt on them whenever he had the chance to.


    Marcus wanted to fire back when he heard the words which came out from the officer but shut his mouth when he noticed the mayor raising his hand.


    "General Korc, give us an answer. Are you going to give this equipment which can bring us many benefits if used properly during these tough times for free?" Looking in the eyes of the General who sat across the table from him.


    Kroc didn''t give an immediate answer and instead looked at the Mayor in the eye. The whole table was silent. After a few seconds, he slowly said, "Yes."


    Hearing his answer, the mayor raised his eyebrow, and Marus, who noticed this, thought he was irritated and wanted to shout on his behalf. But before he could, the General continued, "The workers mainly restored this equipment in the military, and you guys have no say in this."


    "After a week or less, we might even be able to use the satellites and contact the capital city. If more military camps have this equipment, then the capital can use more information about the current situation and come up with a plan to fight the problem at hand." completing his piece he stood up and turned around to walk out of the office with his four subordinates.


    "And Daniel, don''t think I won''t forget what happened yesterday. We all know how that happened," he said to the mayor, Daniel, before walking out.


    Marcus, who saw the General walk away, stood up and wanted to curse him. But Daniel lifted his hand once again to stop him. The room was silent and Marcus broke the silence, "Mayor, we need to teach them a lesson. Shall we spread more rumors among the citizens and throw those barbaric monkeys out of the settlement and claim this for ourselves?"


    The rest three people in the room had the same thoughts as they looked at the Mayor for an answer. But the Mayor shook his head and said, "No. Now is not the time for this. Do you think the people are dumb and won''t be able to see what the military is doing for them?"


    "Our main goal right now is to not let the equipment go out of this city. I heard they are going to give it to the group tomorrow and they will leave immediately. Form a group and send them to intercept them. Snatch the equipment before it crosses the city borders." He gave out orders and stood up.


    The people in the room nodded and as Daniel exited the rooms they heard his voice, Remember once again, if the plan is leaked or any of you betray me¡­" and he didn''t have to finish the sentence as the people inside could guess the consequences.

 Chapter 128 - Korcs Thoughts

    The General walked into his own office with the officer who shouted back at Marcus behind him. The officer closed the door as Kroc sat on his chair behind the large desk filled with various documents and looked at the officer in front of him.


    "Tell me what is on your mind, Bark."


    The officer, Bark, looked at Kroc and said while lowering his head, "General, I think it''s unfair. The military is doing most of the work like supply runs and defending the camp. Without us, this camp would not survive until now. Those people out there are who we saved in the past few days." Peeking at Kroc''s expression, which remained the same.


    "I just think, we deserve more respect than what we receive here. Especially from those dogs which were in the government."


    Kroc could only sigh hearing the frustrated officer. He looked out the window towards the other buildings and workers constantly moving.


    "The world is at its lowest point right now, Bark. The thing we need the most right now isn''t anything other than to survive. We need to survive and try to go back to the old days when everything is back to normal. When we formed this camp, the people did not trust us, the outsiders. But rather the Mayor, who they voted for and represented them. This is their power. Without enough people, we can not survive for long."


    "But still Mayor, we can''t take all this disrespect to our face. Can''t we just leave this camp and instead build our own. Leave this place to the Mayor and his people to rule. It would be better for us."


    Kroc turned back towards the young man and said, "If we leave then who will protect the people, Bark? The people might hate us, but we can''t abandon them to their deaths at a time like this. When we all join the army, the one thing we all did in common was to swear in front of our national flag to protect the country and its people. Now the people need our protection the most, we can''t leave them. Tell me, will you be able to shoulder the death of the people in this camp after we move out?"


    Bark didn''t reply as he remained calm after listening to Korc''s words. He couldn''t even imagine the burden of the deaths of hundreds of people who would die without their support.


    "But don''t worry, there will be a time when the ones who don''t respect us will eventually touch our legs and beg us to save them. We just need to stay calm and wait for now." Korc assured the officer.


    "General, I have something to ask you."


    Korc nodded as he sat back in his seat and Bark continued, "Even though those people are the worst, they had a point, General. Why give the camp in Evergreen City the equipment?"


    Korc smiled hearing this and replied, "The camp in Evergreen city must be under Donald Cox. I know that man since the time we both were just normal soldiers. We fought a war together and I trust the man. He isn''t someone who won''t forget a favor once he takes it or gives it. Now he asked for a favor and would return it whenever we asked him one free of charge. He is a man of his word. So think of this exchange as a small investment which could give us high returns during our crucial times."


    Bark nodded hearing the man''s answer and asked, "General, before I leave for my duties one more question."


    Korc chuckled hearing his officer and nodded.


    "General, I am sure those people would not let the equipment get transported in peace and would do anything in their power so that they could get it. Should we provide the people who came with some support for the transport?"


    Korc shook his head and replied, "No, we don''t. Our only task was to provide them with the equipment, that is all. Whether they can take it out of this place or not is something they have to think about. Not us. But something tells me that the man Donald sent isn''t as simple as he seems. Donald rarely takes decisions like these, and we can also see that the man doesn''t work under Donald.


    "Do you think a General ranked military officer would give such an important mission to an outsider when he didn''t have confidence in him?"


    Bark shook his head and Korc waved his hand before saying, "Alright, you can leave now. Just get them the equipment tomorrow morning."


    Bark saluted before exiting the room, leaving Korc all alone inside.


    ''That man isn''t as simple as he seems. The feeling he gives off is like a tiger ready to hunt. I wonder when Donald met such a feisty boy. He always had the luck when it came to finding people.'' thinking about Mark.


    He noticed Mark when they were being taken towards the hospital. We were on rounds checking the work in the camp when colonel Dan reported to him. He knew the man wasn''t simple at all.


    ''If that small group of four people could cross borders of one state to another and even cross a town in the middle, in this kind of situation, unscathed. They are by no means simple. They shouldn''t have a problem dealing with a few underlings sent by those bastards. I wonder how their faces would be when their plan would be spoiled. Ah, Daniel, you''re still too young to deal with these things.'' chuckling to himself, he contemplated.


    As the two sides were making their own plans, the group was taking a long-needed rest inside the house they were given. They took a bath when a soldier informed them that water would be available in the room they were staying in for a specific amount of time only because of the scarcity.


    After a nice bath, they all went to take a nap until they heard their house door being knocked.

 Chapter 129 - Guesses

    Mark was the first to wake up when he heard the knocking sound from the door. Getting up, he slowly made his way out of the room and towards the door. Everyone else was still asleep, taking a rest. He took out his gun and was alert.


    He peeked through the hole and noticed it was the same soldier who escorted them to the room earlier that day. Slightly relaxing, he kept the gun back and opened the door.


    "Hope you guys had a good rest. They will serve dinner in an hour. Be sure to be there on time." And left before Mark could even reply.


    Closing the door, Mark noticed the time was already 6 in the evening. The flat only had 4 working lights. One in each room and two in the living room. Turning on the lights, he went back into the room he slept and said while turning on the light, "David, Kevin, wake up."


    All three of them slept in a single room, which was enough. David woke up as he heard Mark''s voice, but Kevin groaned and turned around before replying, "Let me sleep. Wake me up when it''s time for dinner."


    Mark didn''t reply but instead, calmly walked towards him and kicked him right on his butt, throwing him off the bed. Kevin groaned louder as he looked up and said, "Come on." Before standing up.


    Mark left the room before knocking on the other room and woke up Suzie. All four of them sat in the living room.


    "Now, I want to talk about the strange things which happened with Suzie here. Not only her, but there are also changes in my body too. I noticed mine when we were on our way to Loshin."


    All three of them nodded hearing him but we''re also shocked when they heard that Mark also had changed in his body.


    "Will there be any problems for both of you?" Asked Kevin.


    Mark could only shake his head. He also didn''t know the complete story about the changes in their body. He could only hope that there are no negative effects with this extra power he received. As he thought about powers, he remembered the two very real like dreams he had in the past. One was with a being that looked like an angel, while the other was with a devil.


    Both of the dreams were very similar as both the parties sent something very strange into his body. He couldn''t feel any of those changes. He thought he would get superpowers like in the books and games he read and played, but nothing really changed except his heightened senses.


    "Then, will these changes occur to everyone?"


    He looked at David and replied while shrugging, "I don''t know honestly. We can only wait and see if there would be any future changes in your bodies or not." making both Kevin and David nod.


    "Suzie, I didn''t get to ask you properly last time. So, how is your body right now." turning towards Suzie.


    "It was never better. I feel really powerful right now. I could probably break that wall if I wanted to." looking at the wall to the side.


    Looking at Suzie, he nodded and thought, ''She desperately needs a weapon. She doesn''t know how to use guns like us, and it would be a waste of this new power she gained if she does use them. She needs something like a hammer or axe to go with her strength. If she fights with her hands, things can get ugly.'' and made a mental note of the situation.


    Mark rubbed his forehead thinking about all these problems which continue to sprout, one after another. He sighed, thinking about how far things came from that fated day. He was about to take his own life in a couple of minutes. The call he received from Kevin stopped him and thought he was only delaying it.


    But things took a turn for the worse when the monsters he saw in movies and played in books were right in front of his eyes. The thrill and fear he felt at that moment changed his suicidal thought to survival. For a man who wanted to die, this was something like a vacation. He could be himself as society drastically changed around him.


    Thinking all this, he leaned back on the chair and looked up. The rest were also in their own thoughts. Every one of them had reasons to survive. For David it was his daughter, for Suzie it was her dad and Kevin it was the promise he made to his grandfather on his deathbed, the only person he respects and cares for in the entire world.


    Remembering something, Mark looked at Kevin, making eye contact with him and beckoning him over to the side. Kevin simply nodded as they both went inside a room. The rest just watched them go, remaining silent. Kevin closed the door after Mark entered and turned towards him.


    "What happened?"


    Kevin quietly took out a photo he kept in his pocket and showed it to him before saying, "Do you recognize the man? Like in any pictures in your old man''s house? I feel like they both should be knowing each other."


    Showing him the picture he found in Mona''s house, he asked if he noticed the middle-aged man in his grandfather''s house. He only had a hunch, as both of them were swordsmen. The thought of her grandfather suddenly forcing Mona to take the sword on the day is too much of a coincidence to believe.


    After looking at the photo for a few more seconds, he shook his head and said, "No man. I don''t think this man is in any of the pictures the old man has. But we could be wrong. But what is this about?"


    Mark took back the picture and shared everything he noticed about Mona and her strangely having a sword on that particular day.


    "Now that is indeed a very strange coincidence. But your guess might not be wrong, as the old man often said many stories about fighting with others in his younger generation. So if this man is good with his sword, the old man might know something about him."

 Chapter 130 - Getting The Machine

    Mark nodded hearing his words and Kevin continued, "We should probably go and check up on the old man once we have the chance. The past few years, he was living in the mountains, if I remember."


    "Yes, we should. I''m not particularly worried about the old man, knowing his strength he won''t die even though he is quite old, he is one tough guy."


    Kevin nodded, and they went back out. The living room remained in silence, everyone in their own thoughts until they finally heard another knock on the door. Kevin, who was nearest to the door, stood up and made his way. Looking through the hole, he opened the door after noticing it was the same soldier.


    "Dinner is being served. Please come down if you are hungry," and once again left as soon as he said his piece.


    The rest stood up hearing him and made their way out. Reaching the ground floor, they noticed the various civilians and soldiers eating dinner but there was also a clear distinction between the two. No group consisted of both parties.


    Mark raised an eyebrow seeing this and understood the words of the soldier earlier that day.


    ''So, the military isn''t the only ruling party in this camp unlike back at Stargaze city. It also seems like us getting the communication technology is not liked by others. This is going to bring us problems. Damn, this is more than what I signed up for.'' Thinking all this, he could only sigh.


    They silently stood in line, waiting for their chance. Mark was observing both sides and the rest of the team were simply talking about random stuff. Observing the civilian group, he noticed a few gazes filled with vicious intentions, especially a fat man, looking at them as if they were prey.


    Mark could only smirk seeing his intentions as clear as day. Moving up the line, it was finally their turn. Taking the plate with a bowl of soup and some rice with fried veggies to the side, they went to the side.


    The group quietly completed their dinner as they were about to return to their room, the group was stopped by Colonel Dan.


    "They would hand over the machine early morning. A soldier would come to inform you guys when it''s ready. I have a suggestion for you guys. Try to move out of the city as soon as possible. You might have noticed it already, not everyone is willing to give you the machine. So you might face some problems."


    Looking around he continued, "So, be careful. We can not give you guys any protection because of a shortage of men on our side."


    Moving back, he smiled and wished, "Hope you guys have a good sleep." Walking away.


    All of them looked among themselves, looking grim.


    "Mark-" as Kevin was about to break the silence, Mark said, "No need to think too much about what would happen tomorrow. Let''s go up and rest for now." Moving up the stairs. The rest followed behind him, but all of them had their own thoughts about what they could expect.


    The night passed in complete silence as they took turns to guard once again. After hearing the warning from Dan. All of their thoughts on the journey tomorrow.


    The sun eventually rose as they all got ready, and sat in the living room, waiting for a soldier to come and inform them. And the knock they all were waiting for was heard as they stood up.


    Mark opened the door and a different soldier appeared Infront of him.


    "The General is calling for you guys."


    Mark turned towards the rest, and all of them made their way out. Silently following the soldier, they went to the first block. Mark looked at their jeep and paused.


    Turning to the side he said, "Kevin, go and have a look at the vehicle. See if they tampered with anything. We can never be too careful."


    Kevin gave a simple nod before moving away from the group. The rest followed the soldier upstairs and eventually stopped Infront of a door.


    The soldier knocked, announcing their arrival to the general. The soldier made his way in, asking the rest to wait outside.


    After a few seconds, he came back outside and said, "The General is calling you guys." Moving aside.


    They finally entered the room and noticed two people inside. One was an old man, and the other was young. The General is sitting behind the desk, looking at them with his head in his hands while the other was standing right behind him.


    "Welcome, I read the letter Donald gave you guys. My name is General Kroc. We did finish the revival of communication technology as he expected, but it''s not complete. Because of this present situation around us, we could not bring back all the facilities like we had a few weeks back. Tell him that we can only connect this to the capital city''s military facilities."


    Mark nodded, and the General waved his hand as the young man beside him went to the cabinet and retrieved a box. He kept it in front of the general and went back to his place.


    The General tapped the box and said, "This right here is very valuable in the present day and age. Donald properly knows this too. So, as you are giving this to him, give this letter to him too. Tell him that Kroc said, ''You owe me a lot for this.'' Go ahead and take it." Taking out an envelope from his drawer in the side and pushing it towards them at the end.


    Mark didn''t reply to his remarks and took the box from before passing it on to Suzie. Kroc looked at Bark behind him and said, "Tell them the quickest way out of the city. After all, we can at least do this. Whether you can take this out and bring it to the hands of Donald depends on you." Looking at Mark.

 Chapter 131 - Ambush

    Mark nodded and Bark saluted before they made their way out of the office. Bark introduced himself to the group and led them to another room. Entering inside, they noticed a few soldiers discussing, looking at a map. Noticing Bark, they saluted and made their way out to give them some privacy.


    Bark led them towards the map on the table. But before he could start telling them a detailed way of getting out of the city, Mark stopped him and said, "We need to go somewhere else before we exit the city. We need to go to the railway station. We have some work there which we can''t just leave." Remembering the truck full of stuff they stashed in one of the warehouses.


    Bark nodded while still looking at the map, thinking about ways they could escape from an unexpected ambush. After a few more minutes of silence, he took out a marker and started to map out the way for them.


    "You guys can take this route. It goes through the railway station too. The ambushes you might face could also be low compared to other routes." Moving away from the desk. Mark leaned closer before carefully looking at the map and memorizing the way. He gave a nod and thanked him.


    "It''s alright. I just did what the general ordered me to do. Hope you guys could safely leave the city." Giving him one final handshake, they left the room. The group made their way down and went towards the jeep.


    Kevin was ready, leaning on the jeep, waiting for them. Mark gave a nod as they safely kept the package inside the trunk and asked, "Problems?"


    Kevin shook his head and replied, "None. They aren''t as dumb as we thought of them to be."


    They got inside the jeep and slowly drove out of the block, making their way towards the main gate. As they did, few people lingering around the jeep looked at them closely like eagles watching their prey.


    The soldiers opened the gates for them and they slowly drove out of the neighborhood. After a few minutes, a car with five armed civilians also drove out, slowly following them from the distance. Driving the car, Kevin noticed the mice following them and turned towards Mark. Mark simply nodded and continued to drive.


    As he took a turn at a junction and continued to drive, he suddenly hit a break as four people in masks walked out of an alleyway and started firing at them. All of them took out their guns and Mark was the first to shoot.


    Hitting him right in the knee, he screamed and fell clutching it. Mark continued to focus on the other three as Kevin also shot down one of the guys. Finishing them quickly, they didn''t continue forwards but instead got down and noticed the car driving around the corner.


    He smiled and shot the vehicle headed right towards them. The people inside couldn''t react quick enough as they thought the screams were of Mark''s group instead of their own. The driver was shot, and they lost control of the car. Shooting the tires, the car came to a stop and turned upside down.


    Kevin made his way towards the four people they shot and killed them before taking their guns while Mark went towards the car to check if there was anyone still alive. Shooting the few people who were still struggling and taking their guns, they continued to drive through the streets, this time undisturbed.


    No one commented on the ''unexpected'' ambush they just faced. Kevin simply checked the guns they collected and said, "These guys are really poor. They couldn''t even carry some grenades. All their guns are the common AK-47 too, with each person having 2 magazines." Sneering at the civilian counsel''s poverty.


    Mark hummed and said, "That''s expected. The civilian council probably doesn''t have any actual strength except the people''s support. Even these guns must have probably been stolen."


    As they continued to drive through the streets on their way towards the station, back inside a room in the camp, an overly weighted man was sweating as he snatched a walkie-talkie from the man next to him and screamed into it, "Carlson, come in. Did you manage to retrieve the device? Carlson, you.." and continued to curse into it with no reply.


    The surrounding men were also sweating, seeing how he was shouting into it. They all knew the people they sent to tail the group were probably dead. Given how they didn''t get a reply from them for the last few minutes.


    "Argh, useless bastards. Couldn''t do one thing properly right. Go send a few more cars to search for that group. They shouldn''t get away from us. Stop them from leaving the city. Go." He threw the walkie-talkie in his hand and screamed at the people next to him. Spitting at them while he was at it.


    "Yes, boss." And they turned around, gritting their own teeth. But as they reached out for the door, they stopped when it opened and noticed the Mayor standing in front of them with a small smile which made them shudder.


    Marcus who was screaming also shut his mouth when he noticed Daniel behind the door and said, "B-boss.."


    But before he could continue, Daniel raised his hand and said, "It looks like you failed the task I have you, Marcus."


    Marcus started to sweat more as his clothes stuck to his body, outlining his round figure. He shook his head and said, "N-No, Don''t worry, boss. I''ll see to it that they won''t leave the city. No matter what." Trying to appease the man before him.


    Daniel simply shook his head and said, "It''s enough. You couldn''t catch them when they were so near to the camp, even with a car tailing them. Now that you lost them in the massive city, there is so guarantee that you will find them with zombies out there."

 Chapter 132 - Out Of The City

    Marcus couldn''t retaliate against Daniel''s remarks. The apologies and excuses he was preparing were l stuck in his throat and could only look at the calm man in front of him, terrified.


    Daniel looked behind him and said to an underling, "Take Marcus to a stroll and show him what happens when he doesn''t get things done when promised."


    Marcus''s face paled when he heard him and knew things weren''t looking good for him. He heard the same words a few times since he came to the camp and knew the people who received it weren''t looking good, to say the least.


    As the bulky man behind Daniel came in front of him and grabbed him towards the door, he could only try to shake his fat body, trying to escape while shouting out excuses and apologies towards Daniel. But Daniel couldn''t care less about him and walked out. The underling didn''t let Marcus go as he went opposite, dragging the huge body with him.


    As things didn''t go as planned on the council side, Kroc was smiling when he heard Bark''s report on the issue. Bark already heard the incident as quickly as Marcus got to know on the other side. They sent a small team of three people to follow the jeep sent by the council. So that they could take back the machine in case it was really stolen.


    But after Mark and the gang shot the people from the council, they informed him about it and he reported it to the general.


    "Looks like the kid really isn''t as simple as he looks like. No wonder Donald only sent a small group of people to retrieve something really important. That sly bastard." He chuckled.


    He looked at Bark and said, "You can leave for now. The council is probably smashing their heads about the situation." Making Bark salute and leave the room.


    .As people in the camp were in their own thoughts, the group continued to drive through the streets. Compared to before, they were a bit relaxed and only were taking streets that looked safer, only shooting zombies occasionally.


    Finally reaching the railway station, Mark looked at his watch and noticed it was already 10. Making their way to the back, they stopped once again in front of the warehouse. Looking at the zombies they attracted, Kevin and Suzie got to work. Suzie noticed the same pole she used the last time she used and grabbed it from the side.


    As the two were taking care of those zombies, Mark didn''t look too worried and took out the key before opening the warehouse. Looking at their parked truck, Mark turned around and shouted, "Kevin, Suzie come on in." Waving his hand.


    The two nodded before quickly finishing the small number left and walking inside. Kevin went right up to the truck and opened it, before checking whether the items inside and the truck.


    "Well, everything is good. But the truck is low on gas. We should probably fill it up before leaving the city." Turning around he said to the rest.


    "Alright then, let''s move out now if everything is alright. A gas station should be around the corner, we can fill up the vehicle there. Kevin and David, both of you take the truck while I and Suzie will drive in front of you, scouting and killing zombies as we exit the city."


    Nodding, everyone got to work. David opened the door before sitting on the driver''s seat and Kevin right beside him as they drove the truck out of the warehouse. Mark and Suzie both were already in the Jeep as they drove it out of the railway station.


    It didn''t take them long to quickly find a gas station in the area. Suzie, Mark, and Kevin stood guard while David filled up the truck and a few extra containers'' worths just in case of emergencies. As the three killed the zombies, which heard the vehicle sound coming for them, David finished filling up the truck and all of them continued to slowly drive through the city.


    The Jeep was always a few meters ahead of them, looking out for safe routes and killing some unexpected zombies so they could safely escort the truck out. After taking a few detours due to zombie hordes, they finally reached the same arch they saw when they entered the city. Mark sighed in relief when he saw it.


    The most difficult part was over. Inside the truck were things they needed for survival such as clothes, food, and other equipment they could use. Finding the empty store and a truck which had a solar cooler was a blessing.


    After exiting the city and driving for an hour, they finally stopped for lunch. Taking out the solar equipment and the fresh vegetables they had inside the truck, Suzie got to cooking while the rest did their own stuff. David helping her cook, Kevin checking the truck once again and Mark taking out a book.


    Sitting inside the Jeep, with a book and a pen in his hand, he closed his eyes, started collecting his thoughts. This was one of his oldest habits, writing stuff he wanted to do. All the plans were always inside his mind, now that there was some free time, he opened a book he found in the store.


    Slowly writing down the various ideas and thoughts he had about things he wanted to do the next few days, like visiting Kevin''s grandfather and also some ''clean up'' he was thinking about back in Stargaze city.


    After writing down the things he planned to do, he got off the Jeep and went towards Suzie for some lunch as he heard her call for him.


    Completing a nice cooked lunch, they once again rode towards Loshin. As Suzie looked out of the window for any unexpected Zombies which might pop out any time, with the windows rolled down and as she did, a zombie jumped out of the nearby bush onto her side.

 Chapter 133 - Powers

    Looking at the zombie pouncing on Suzie and her helpless face made his heart skip a beat in fright and could not help but shout mentally ''Stop'' while reaching out for the gun on the side and stomping the brake. As he shouted in his mind, he felt something really strange happen in his mind as it started to pain.


    But something even stranger was noticing the zombie pause for a fraction of a second, which he wouldn''t be able to catch on to before. As he aimed the gun and was about to pull the trigger, the zombie already snatched onto Suzie''s arm with its nails into her.


    Pulling the trigger up close to its head and blowing it off and immediately turns towards the pale-faced Suzie. Suzie woke up by the sudden shock when the zombie jumped at her from nowhere. She woke up only when the gun was shot beside her and noticed her scratched arm.


    David slammed the brake when they noticed the situation and got down of the truck as they heard the gunshot. They ran towards Suzie''s side to see her clutching her bleeding arm as the surrounding area slowly started to show signs of turning blackish purple.


    Mark was losing his head as it screamed in pain suddenly. He could only grit his teeth as the zombie attacked Suzie and got scratched. He leaned towards her and slowly said while taking deep breaths to calm down, "It''s ok. Don''t worry. I am sure there will be a cure for it somewhere in the world." Trying to calm her and in the process himself too.


    Even though his words were practically impossible to believe in, David and Kevin couldn''t help but say the same thing to her. Suzie, who was slowly losing strength, smiled wryly and patted Mark, who leaned into her.


    "It''s ok, Mark. Time doesn''t stop for anyone, and it seems like my time has come. Now, now don''t cry, this isn''t like you at all." Trying to cheer him up, weakly, as she noticed the few drops falling down his cheek. She started choking as she talked.


    Mark gripped her harder and said, "No, no. I''m not losing you. God, no. Don''t worry. Come on, let''s cover it up for now. I know we can do something about it." Clutching her arm and tearing his shirt to cover the wound.


    The surrounding area was already turning black as her nerves popped out. Suzie simply held his hand, trying to stop his futile attempts, and said, "It''s ok. Seeing you like this, I still remember the first time I saw you back at University. The hollow man you were at that time." Chuckling, she thought about the past.


    Mark''s eyes were full of tears as he continued to wrap her arm with it. He ignored her words, trying to find himself hope in the current situation. The only thought he had in his mind was now to cure her as he continued to think, ''It''s going to be alright. I know it will. Come on.''


    And as he did, the pain slowly kicked back up, making him grit his teeth harder and slowly lose consciousness from it. As his eye became heavier, he leaned into her harder, and with his blurry vision, he noticed his palm heat up and have a slight yellow glow to it before fainting completely.


    The rest of the gang was completely startled when they noticed him faint. David quickly opened the door, and they laid him down on the grass to the side. Kevin started to look around for any zombies around them while Suzie simply stood away from them. She started to rub the area where she got scratched because of the constant itch but ignored it and focused on David, who was checking Mark.


    After a few more minutes of doing a quick check-up, he swiped the sweat off his forehead and said, "Well, he just fainted from exhaustion. He should be alright and wake up soon."


    But as he did, he looked at Suzie, who was keeping a distance from them, and was shocked beyond belief. Pointing at her, he staggered backward and said, "Your wound."


    Kevin turned his head towards her arm as she looked down and was shocked. Her arm was perfectly fine. The visible nerves were now normal and the blackish skin was nowhere to be seen. The biggest difference was the scratch, there was none.


    She slowly touched her arm and rubbed it, thinking she was dreaming. Clutching her arm, tears slowly rolled down from her eyes.


    "I''m fine. I''m really fine. I can continue living." She murmured.


    Even though she had a nice front, she was scared deep inside. The concept of death was really scary, and she thought about how she would turn into a zombie. Seeing those creatures in the streets and everywhere around them, she knew how disgusting they were. She was thinking about asking Kevin to shoot her after hearing from David, so the death would be quick.


    But seeing the changes, she had the hope to live. David and Kevin were shocked as their eyes and mouths were wide open. They slowly went towards her and David continued to look at her arm, mesmerized.


    "How did it happen? I''m sure it scratched you. This is a miracle." Muttered David as he slowly held her arm, examining it.


    Kevin couldn''t hold the excitement any longer as he pulled Suzie into a tight hug and said, "I''m happy. I''m thrilled that Mark and I won''t have to lose you too, Suzie. I''m sure he will be really happy for you too."


    Suzie continued to nod her head as tears flowed down her cheeks. This was the happiest moment of her life. She could continue to live normally.


    "We should probably have a medical check-up done. You know the standard medical check-up and other stuff. We can stop by the same hospital we stopped by last time in Loshin town and use the equipment there." Said, David.

 Chapter 134 - Powers (II)

    As the three people outside received the shock beyond their imagination, Mark opened his eyes. Rubbing his eyes, he looked around and noticed the surrounding darkness. He clutched his head as the pain kicked in again, gritting his teeth once again, forcing down the pain. He took deep breaths and closed his eyes.


    Slowly collecting himself again, he remembered Suzie and looked around only to see darkness once again. Rubbing his eyes, he noticed something strange. A small ball of light in the distance. Curious, he slowly stood up and made his way towards the ball of light.


    As he walked closer, the small ball became larger and larger. Not only did the ball of light become larger, but he also noticed two other things. One was that there was another similar ball a few meters from it. This ball was the exact opposite, it was completely black with purple in the mix.


    Unlike the warm and fuzzy feeling he got from the ball of light, this ball gave him a grave sense of danger, making him stand on his edge, looking at it warily.


    The other thing he noticed was the weird chains across the ball of light. It was like the chains were holding the ball captive. Walking closer, he even noticed a huge lock right in its middle. He turned towards the ball of darkness as he named it because of how opposite it felt, did not have any restriction like the chains.


    He finally stopped moving and looked at the two balls in front of him. He didn''t move forward to the center because of another small ball. This one was grey. This ball was only the size of his fist, very small. But the oppression he felt from it was unbelievable. He noticed different colored waves coming from both the huge balls, converging into the small one.


    The wave from the darkness ball was purple and from the light, one was something he felt familiar with, a yellow wave. Seeing the yellow wave, he remembered them coming out from his hand before he fainted. He looked at the small ball in front of him and felt his headache as he stared at it longer.


    Removing his eyes from it, he remembered the strange dreams he had in the past, whenever he fainted. The first one was when he saw three people, all of them looked holy, like the angles he read in mythologies. The other one was when he saw people who looked the exact opposite, devils.


    These two distinct people gave him these two distinct balls. Now that he was once again in Infront of the two balls, this time without the strange people, he felt that the dream was real. Because of the changes. The changes he noticed from how they looked like in the dreams before and now.


    After gathering all his thoughts, he had only one word in his mind, ''Superpowers''. Something he only saw in games and like any other gamer, he liked the concept. He started to feel like his whole life from the moment of the eruption of the zombies changed. The life he wanted to take became more exciting, making him forget about death.


    As he felt that, he remembered something his mother told him in the past, ''Remember Mark. Everyone would hit rock bottom in their life, at one time or another. But pushing yourself through and walking out of those times is what makes the people either losers or winners. When you hit that bottom, I want you to forget everything around you and do what you want to do. Just forget everything. Remember Mark, don''t make the same mistake as I did and remain silent."


    Remembering his mother''s weak body when she held his hand and said those words, he felt angry and weak. He hit the rock bottom when he was about to commit suicide. But he is now pushing through all this stuff and doing stuff he always wanted to do. The thrill of constantly being on the edge of life and death is very satisfying.


    Opening his eyes, he never felt clearer in his head. He looked at the three balls and remembered Suzie. He looked around for a way of exit, but couldn''t find any. As he started to slowly panic about his friend, he felt pain kick in once again.


    ''Let''s leave.'' he thought as he slowly fell with his eyes closed.


    As he opened his eyes once again, he noticed the moon in the sky with numerous stars and felt relieved. Slowly pushing himself up, he looked around to see his friends in the distance cooking food. He patted the airbag he slept on and pushed himself up.


    He felt a bit of the previous headache slowly easing in and felt energetic. Hearing sounds, Kevin looked around and noticed Mark slowly walking towards them and stood up. This caught the attention of the rest as they stood up and made their way towards him.


    "Mark, you should rest more man. You are too stressed out, that you are fainting too much." Kevin held him.


    Mark shook his head and David said, "He is right. You should rest more."


    "I''m fine. I know my body. It''s ok. Suzie, your normal." Assuring them and looked at Suzie in front of him with a smile. He already guessed what happened to the wound.


    ''The yellow waves actually had that power.'' glancing at her arm. He felt surprised that his ridiculous guess was actually true. This was huge. A power like this could save the world, but he knew it wasn''t possible. The cost of that power was mostly the headaches he was hit by when he used it. If he does continue using it then things would probably go wrong for him.


    Suzie nodded happily and recounted the incident. Mark smiled at her happiness and didn''t reply. He didn''t want to leak that he has powers to them yet. His powers were too much in the current situation.

 Chapter 135 - Secret

    "Alright, dinner should be ready. Come, let''s go." Suzie clapped her hands and walked towards the pot. The three guys followed her and David went to help out as Kevin and Mark sat down, waiting for their portion.


    Kevin looked at Mark and said, "Are you hiding something from me?" Staring right into his eyes. He knew Mark ever since he could remember and knew what kind of guy he was.


    Mark knew Kevin caught onto something and vaguely replied, "Nothing important right now. Just some speculations. Don''t worry, it''s not something which could affect me in any way." He didn''t know much about his current situation. Telling his friend would only make him worry.


    Looking at Mark for a few more seconds, he simply nodded and said, "You know I got your back all the time right. If you want to talk about it just tell me. I''m sure it''s not something I can''t handle."


    Mark simply nodded and noticed the two bowls in Suzie''s hands as she brought them over. Handing each of them a bowl, she took one from David as they sat beside them. Mark looked at the vegetable soup in his hands and slowly ate.


    Meanwhile, Kevin looked at Suzie and asked, "Where is the meat? I thought we had some." Evidently, he isn''t a fan of the veggies.


    Suzie smiled and replied, "Once in a while something like this is good for us. Even though we have some meat, we need to use it slowly and not rush through our limited supply. Let''s take it slow." And continued to eat, ignoring Kevin''s pitiful look.


    After having dinner, they brought out the tent and set them up quickly. Having their tents ready, they sat and looked at each other. All of them knew it was about today''s incident. The most shocking incident ever happened in front of their own eyes. The friend they thought they would lose ended up during herself from something which was thought to be incurable.


    "First things first. The incident which happened today, shouldn''t go out of our group at any cost. Even if it''s your daughter or your father. Nobody should know about it. Just think, if anyone does know about it. Suzie would probably be in danger. So lips sealed tight." As he looked at both David and Suzie.


    Given the current situation, if any military personnel or a scientist gets to know about Suzie healing herself, she would be experimented on. People continue to grow crazier and more desperate for a solution and wouldn''t stop at anything to reach their goal. Everyone knew about this and nodded with a heavy look.


    "Alright, with that out of the way, I don''t think Suzie really has the power to cure the zombie virus." Making his stand clear.


    The rest stared at him, waiting for him to give out a reason, why not? All of them thought Suzie had the power to cure the virus after seeing the miracle. They felt it was the most logical solution they could think of. But now they heard Mark''s opinion, which was the exact opposite of theirs, and were intrigued.


    "Yes, you heard me right. I don''t think she has that power. My logic is simple. She doesn''t have the power to cure injuries and viruses because of how it has been till now. If you want proof, look at the scars on her hands and legs. Those didn''t get cured and the skin there doesn''t look new, like at the place she got scratched. If she had that power, the injuries she has been receiving the past few days when we are fighting shouldn''t end up as scars and look clean." Pointing at Suzie''s arms and legs.


    All of them turned towards her arms and legs and noticed a few light scars in them. Most of them were still red because they were still rather new. But it was evident that they left a mark unlike what happened to the place she got scratched. Realising Mark had a point, they slowly nodded.


    "What if her power is to only cure the zombie virus?" Muttered David.


    Mark looked at him and shrugged before replying, "We will never know. It''s not like we will willfully ask Suzie to get scratched so that we can get a conclusion, right? So it''s better to leave this incident here for now." Reading his tone in the end. He didn''t want to go deeper into the discussion. He knew the reason was the strange yellow waves he let out before fainting.


    David nodded while still thinking about it, Mark ignored the man and continued to discuss some other stuff. David informed him about his plan to get Suzie tested, just in case. Mark was all for it as he was also interested in the results.


    After they discussed plans for another 20 minutes, they stood up to go inside the tents. Suzie got her own tent while the rest slept in a bigger tent they found in the store. But as Kevin entered the tent, Mark paused and stopped David from entering.


    "David, Can I get a few pills for a headache?"


    Hearing him, David got worried and asked, "Do you still feel pain?" Mark shook his head and just said that he would take a few when he does feel any pain so that he wouldn''t at least suddenly faint.


    David was still a bit skeptical about it but still nodded and went to the jeep. Taking out the medical supply bag, he pulled out a strip of tablets and came back before handing them to him.


    "I suggest you do not take them regularly. These things can create addiction, so don''t try to rely on them too much. Be careful." And entered the tent.


    Mark looked at the tablets and kept them inside his pockets. He went back and sat in the same place, keeping watch until Kevin would take over his place so he could rest. David was never on night duty because his use of the gun wasn''t the best, and so it was only Kevin and Mark.

 Chapter 136 - Tests

    Waking up the next day, they continued on their journey the same way as before. Mark didn''t have any more headaches after that, but also never got the chance to use the powers again.


    After 2 days of traveling, they finally reached Loshin. Entering the city, they made their way towards the hospital, which was the camp in the town. Slowly driving through the roads, they stayed vigilant at all times. Parking the jeep in front of the building Mark and Suzie got done followed by David and Kevin who parked the van next to them.


    "Kevin, can you keep a lookout here?" Asked Mark. There was no one to stay on guard, and they parked the vehicle in the open.


    Kevin nodded and said, patting his chest, "Leave it to me." Grabbed his AK and moved towards the vehicles once again.


    The rest slowly made their way inside. Looking around, they couldn''t find a lot of zombies in the building. It was only a few days ago that the camp here was bustling with people and was now empty with a few zombies roaming occasionally. They moved inside, killing zombies, and finally reached the testing lab.


    The hospital had a solar electricity supply to some major rooms inside, and the lab was one of them. David got to work immediately when he noticed the machines were still working properly. He started by taking her blood and conducted tests while Mark and Suzie simply sat and kept quiet.


    After 2 hours of waiting, David finally turned around and said, "I don''t have much knowledge when it comes to these kinds of tests and topics, but I have general knowledge enough to tell there isn''t anything strange in your blood. Let''s take an X-ray of the arm once."


    Suzie sighed in relief, knowing there wasn''t any change in her body. Mark felt good to know that there wasn''t any change in her body when he used the strange power a few days back. They continued with the X-ray and once again waited. After another hour, David came back and nodded with a smile, making all the doubts he had clear.


    "For now, everything is clear. If we had time, I would like to even get a DNA test done, but those would need a specialist and also at least a week, which we don''t have right now."


    "That''s good for now, David. Now that our doubts are mostly cleared, let''s have lunch before we continue towards Stargaze city again." Mark nodded and walked out.


    Suzie didn''t forget to thank David for checking her condition, and both of them followed him out of the hospital. As they walked out, they noticed a few zombie bodies around the car and an energy bar in Kevin''s hand as he slept on the jeep''s front glass. Noticing them come out, he completed the bar and jumped down.


    "Man, you guys took forever with those tests. I was getting bored and hungry. So how were the results?" Kevin grumbled and turned towards Suzie and David.


    Suzie nodded while David said, "Everything''s well." with an affirmative nod. Kevin sighed in relief and looked over towards Mark who was already in the car, looking at them.


    They drove out of the city in no time before stopping for lunch and continuing on the journey. Slowly driving on the hallway, they didn''t stop the vehicles anywhere in between except for rest until they reached Stargaze city.


    As they entered the city, Mark stopped the jeep in an alleyway and got down. The truck, following them right behind, also stopped as they looked at him with confused faces.


    "You guys don''t expect to drive the jeep full of stuff right into the military camp, right? Now we need a place to park this big old truck," he smirked, making them realize.


    "We can hide it near my house. My house is big enough." sounded David immediately.


    The rest looked at him in confusion and David continued, "I live in Reymond Street." making them realize.


    Everyone who lives in Stargaze city knows the place. It was where all the wealthy people live with enormous houses. Three of them turned towards him in surprise when he said he had a house in such a nice place.


    "Doc, you sure are rich," exclaimed Kevin.


    David shook his head but didn''t reply. He was a successful doctor, he never spent much money on anything and except his big house he brought back when his wife was still alive, he lived a minimalist life.


    "Anyway, we can park the truck in the backyard after scouting the whole place once. I don''t think the General would mind us being a day late." David shrugged and looked at Mark.


    Mark nodded and replied, "Alright then, let''s go to David''s house for today and move towards the camp tomorrow." climbing back into the jeep. This time it was David who drove in front as the jeep slowly followed him from behind.


    They followed him as they slowly entered the high-end of the city. In contrast to this place, the apartment in which Mark and Kevin lived was a lower-middle-class area while Suzie was a middle-class place. The before the vibrant place filled with rich cars was now empty with zombies on the street.


    Kevin was the main shooter, as he sat beside David in the front and shot down the zombies in front while Mark took care of the ones in the back. They slowly entered the gated community and stopped in front of a house.


    David got down and gave the wheel to Kevin as he went to the side and opened the gates to the lawn behind the house. The jeep followed the truck inside, and they finally saw a medium-sized swimming pool.


    "I never thought the simple-looking David was this rich," murmured Suzie as the jeep came to a stop. They got down and looked at David, who came back after closing the gates.


    "Come, let''s go in." waving his hand, he led them to the huge transparent backdoor.

 Chapter 137 - Davids House

    Walking up to the sliding door, David went to the side and placed his palm on a scanner, opening the door. Looking at the simple dining room, David couldn''t help but think about the past few days and the struggles he went through. Waving his hands, he invited them inside once more and made his way toward the kitchen. The rest entered after him and looked around, observing the house.


    "Go down the hallway and you''ll reach the living room. Have a seat, I''ll get you guys something to eat, and then we can move out and search the neighborhood." pointing towards the hallway to the right. He wanted to prepare some snacks he noticed were still there in the drawers.


    "Oh, let me help then." Suzie went to help with the snacks. David didn''t deny her help and simply nodded. Mark and Kevin looked at each other before going down the hallway, David showed.


    As they did, they noticed various photos on the wall and also a woman in many photos they concluded was his dead wife. Reaching the simple yet costly looking living room, they took a seat, waiting for them. Mark noticed the time was already 2 and didn''t mind the lateness because the neighborhood had fewer houses for them to check.


    "Do you want to go back to our own house or are you fine?" Mark looked over towards Kevin, who was comfortably resting on the massage chair to the side. They already noticed David was the smartest person in the whole neighborhood because of the overly extensive use of solar panels on the house''s roof.


    Kevin shrugged and said with a shaky tone, "I''m fine, man. That was only a temporary place we stayed when we came here a few years back and there is nothing important there. I even got clothes off of stores we raided the past few days."


    "Hmm, true." he simply nodded.


    "Oh, yeah, I was meaning to ask you. Where are we going to go? I mean, I know you would not stay here in the city under the military at all. So, where?" Kevin directly asked what he had on his mind for a long time. He knew Mark''s personality and the freedom he was enjoying recently.


    Mark shrugged and replied, "I mean we can go to the hills your grandfather is currently living. It is a pretty small and nice place with a large lake and windmills around the area which can give us constant electricity."


    "The Tambo Hills? I mean, yeah, it''s a nice place when you think of it like that and there is also a village too. Knowing the old man, most of the people living there would still be living. Last I remember, he trained a few people in simple swordsmanship too. But the question is, Even if we go there, it might not be our place. It would be the old man''s. Are you okay with that?"


    Mark remained silent, hearing Kevin''s remark. He laid back on the couch with his hands behind his head. He didn''t think about this part when he thought about bases. Tambo Hills was a nice place with many facilities. There was also only one single road up to the village which was near the top of the hill and so a safe point for them.


    "I don''t know yet. I mean, it would most likely be the Old man himself, the leader over there. Let''s just decide if we can stay there or not, depending on the situation when we go. For now, that''s our destination."


    Kevin nodded and asked, "Oh, yeah, before I forget. What is the work you keep on saying you need to finish here in the city after giving back the equipment to the general?"


    "Oh, that. Yeah, we do have some major work still left for us to complete here in the city. You remember what I said when we found you. You know about how Suzie was when I found her." making Kevin nod.


    "Yeah, I was thinking of going there and striking that camp before we move out from here."


    Kevin''s eyes went wide hearing his words and looked around if Suzie and David were back before whispering, "Bro If I remember correctly you said there are many people there and are also armed. We are only four people in this group. How do you expect us to take on an entire camp?" worried by Mark''s rashness. He felt a bit scared thinking about going against an entire camp with only a few people who were also not professionals.


    Mark shrugged and replied, "I mean I was thinking of asking the General to assist in the clean-up because there can not be two tigers in one hill and the military would obviously be very coordinative in wiping them out with us."


    Kevin relaxed a bit hearing him and said, "What you said makes sense. But are you sure the Old fox there would readily agree to assist us?"


    "Yeah, I think he would." and both remained quiet after that.


    After a few more minutes, Suzie and David entered the room with a variety of snacks in their hands. Kevin rubbed his hands noticing them but before he could snatch one, Suzie said, "Go and wash those hands of yours." making both of them go to the nearest washroom and clean their hands.


    "I have to say, David. Solar power is really abundant. You did a good job keeping those panels." Kevin remarked as he took a cookie from the tray.


    David nodded and replied, "Yes, it was mainly my wife''s idea. She loved nature and supported alternative resources like these. So we had to set up the panels enough for the entire house." making them all nod.


    They quickly finished the snacks, and all of them got up from their seats. David decided to stay back as Suzie and Kevin went together while Mark went alone to search the remaining houses in the place.

 Chapter 138 - Checking

    As they went their separate ways, Mark slowly made his way towards the house right of David''s. The house was similar in fashion. He walked up towards the door and noticed it was also a handprint scanner. Rubbing his forehead, noticing the extra security measures the rich people keep, he went to the side.


    As he stepped aside and walked towards the nearest window, he paused and smiled, before moving towards the window with the gun in his hand clenched. Slowly peeping into the window of the living room, he noticed it was a zombie roaming around. Closing his eyes, he tried to hear the number of zombies inside the house and heard 2 pairs of footsteps only.


    One from right in front of him and the other on the top floor. Slowly aiming the gun straight for the one near him, he pulled the trigger as the bullet went right through the window, breaking it and into the zombie''s head. But as it killed the zombie, it made an even sound when the window broke, attracting a few zombies around.


    He didn''t waste time and quickly shoot them before jumping into the building and making his way up towards the zombie. He didn''t waste too much time to find it and shoot it. Slowly he checked all the items in the building before taking a normal bag and loading things like batteries and other essentials. He also found a few instant foods which went into the bag quickly.


    He felt bad for not finding another gun back in Evergreen city. Not staying for long, he continued into the next building. The main reason they wanted to search the buildings was for any possible survivors which might steal the truck and the goods with it, the food and other essentials they found were like a bonus.


    Mark continued his search along the line and as he came out of the last house he felt satisfied with the two bags of stuff in his bag and also surprisingly an AK, he found in one of the house''s basement with a few bullets. He had the AK strapped on him and looked at his watch to notice it was almost 6 as the sun was slowly going down and zombies were becoming crazier.


    He slowly made his way towards David''s house and already noticed the closed curtains. Walking up to the front door, he knocked and whispered that it was him. The door opened and David welcomed him in and informed Kevin and Suzie already came. He nodded before going towards the backyard and opened the jeep trunk to place the gun and then placed the bags inside the truck.


    He went back and noticed Suzie already making dinner. Not disturbing her, he went back to the living room and sat beside David and Kevin. Kevin shook his head when Mark looked at him and said they found only a few goods, not even guns.


    They continued to rest until they finally heard Suzie calling them for dinner. As they completed a nice dinner, all of them went back to the living room to sit down and have a casual talk as it was still too early for them to sleep.


    As they talked Kevin suddenly turned towards David and asked, "David, if you don''t mind me asking. Can you tell us about your wife? I mean, you told us she died in a car accident, but when?"


    Mark sighed when he heard Kevin''s question. It was too personal to ask a question about someone''s dead wife. He knew Kevin was just too curious about unnecessary stuff.


    David sighed, hearing the young man''s question. He knew Kevin''s curiosity as he had a teenage daughter of his own and was the oldest out of all the people in the room; he knew where he was coming from.


    Noticing his silence Kevin quickly added, "It''s ok if you don''t want to share. I mean, it''s ok."


    "No, it''s nothing, actually. My wife passed away a few years ago. My daughter Daisy was still a very young girl at that time. My wife was an independent woman. She had her own job as a crime news reporter and was always running around in the city following wherever the police went.


    "Just like every time she got a call about a murder in the city in the middle of the night and woke up to cover it. Because most of the other crime reporters were busy, she was called in by her boss and went out. After she covered the news as she was on her way back home, a truck rammed her car. The car got crushed as it toppled over many times and before the hospital reached the location, she died because of blood loss."


    As he told his story, he covered his eyes to stop the tears in his eyes. Kevin patted his back to console him and Suzie asked, "What about the truck driver? Was he in the spot of an accident or ran away?"


    "He ran away, but the police were eventually able to chase him down when he tried to escape to another city. He was drunk and ran over the car. The court gave him the right judgment and sent him to jail for a lifetime."


    The room plunged into silence after hearing his story. All of them felt for the man who continued to live for his daughter.


    "Hahaha, it''s alright don''t feel so done. I accepted the fact and am now fine with it. I know she went to a better place and is now looking after us from wherever she is right now. Come on, let''s go to bed. Let''s use the rooms on the upper floor, there are 4 rooms and I covered all the windows already. You guys can also have a bath, the water should be running. I already checked that too." She stood up and led them upstairs.


    They followed him up and separated before taking a nice bath and sleeping.

 Chapter 139 - Delivery

    Waking up the next day, they hit the road after having a nice breakfast and closing up the truck firmly. Mark didn''t think someone would steal it, but taking precautions is still better than feeling down after something happens. So they kept minimal stuff and the guns they had in a huge bag in the jeep''s trunk and hopped into the jeep. Kevin sat behind the wheel as he followed Mark''s route and stopped quicker than they expected.


    Looking at the outpost and the soldier walking up to them, Mark couldn''t help but look around. As the soldier came near him, he took out a card given by Colonel Steve to them and said, "We went on a mission requested by General Donald and came back. We have to give it to him." The soldier nodded before looking back and signaling the other person to open the gate.


    As the gate lifted Mark asked, "Did the area of control under the military grow again?" making Kevin stop driving ahead.


    The soldier looked at him, nodded, and said, "Yeah, we successfully covered 10 percent of the city now. It''s now clean of the zombies." making him surprised.


    10 percent is a sizable chunk of the city, and clearing out every zombie within that area to open it up for the normal people isn''t an easy feat. He could only imagine the huge number of runs the military took to actively clean up the place to say it''s free of zombies and people can live in it.


    Thanking the soldier, they continued to drive and went through another checkpoint. After the same process, they continued on driving towards the base. But were surprised when they crossed the 2nd checkpoint. There were people, normal people, roaming around and doing work. It looked more like a normal residential area.


    It pleasantly surprised Mark at the General''s capacity to be able to accomplish this only after a few days since the whole thing started. The jeep eventually was stopped by the gate right outside the main base. Following the same process, the gate was opened, and they let them inside.


    "Damn bro. It''s really shocking to see this much development. Compared to Evergreen city where the base is only inside one general compound without enough space for everyone, this is really good that now people can not be in one single location." Exclaimed Kevin as it was his first time coming to the base. David and Suzie at the back also nodded.


    "Yes, that sly fox really did a good job this time." Mark nodded as they got off the jeep. Kevin took out the bags from inside and handed one to each person to carry while Suzie carried the biggest one with the guns in it.


    "You guys are finally back. It''s nice to see you guys alive. Dad was expecting you guys any time soon. Please follow me, I''m sure he is free right now." they heard a voice from behind, making them turn around. It was Steve with his lieutenant right behind him.


    "Nice to see you too, Steve. The thing the General asked us to get is in the bag." Mark greeted him back and Steve gave a nod before turning around and leading them into the building. They followed him close behind.


    Mark noticed how the electricity was running well compared to the last time they were here. It seemed like the general environment within the camp improved by several degrees compared to the last time when it was too depressing because of the sudden hit and loss everyone received.


    Walking up the stairs and they finally reached the room. Steve kind on the door and went in after they heard the same old voice giving permission, leaving them alone in the hallway. After a few seconds, he came back and gave Mark a nod allowing him to enter leaving the others outside.


    "You are finally back, Mark. It''s really good to see you still alive and well." Donald exclaimed as soon as saw him. Mark felt awkward hearing him and looked at Steve, then back at him and thought. ''This is Old fox and his son prep the same dialogue or what?'' but simply nodded in return.


    "It''s really good to see you too, Donald." he simply sat on the chair opposite to Donald.


    Donald didn''t mind the disrespect and simply smiled before saying, "So, did you get it done?" early like a child waiting for his Christmas toy.


    Mark felt funny how an old man could make a face like that for which was a simple technology a few weeks ago. He opened up the bag and took out the box and then also the letter Korc gave him to deliver.


    Handing them both to Donald, he simply leaned back in his seat as Donald slowly opened the box and nodded before handing it over to Steve and giving him an order to take it to the team responsible for their communications.


    As Donald did his own stuff, Mark kept the at the back of his head and looked around the room at the various maps and diagrams in it. But one specific map of the entire country caught Mark''s attention, and he immediately tried to print the map contents into his mind.


    Donald then opened the letter and slowly read its contents before placing it back into his drawer and finally looking at Mark again. He noticed Mark looking at one of the maps in the room and turned around to notice it was actually something important.


    "So, that actually got your attention. It''s a military secret and even though you saw it, there isn''t anything I can do about it now that''s done. Just be sure to not leak the contents on it to anyone outside." He sternly asked Mark, making him simply nod and turn towards him.


    "Sure, no problems. The information in it is too important and useful, even I wouldn''t like people knowing about it." hearing his words Donald got a headache and scolded himself for the carelessness.

 Chapter 140 - Delivery And Talk

    Donald coughed and tried to stir the discussion away from the topic, " Well, anyway, thanks for the hard work, Mark. With this we can make our own communication station, which could connect to a camp in the capital if there is one." he smiled.


    "It''s alright, I owed you a favor and so I did my end of the deal which settles it. But you have to know, Donald, this journey to another City wasn''t that easy at all. It was very tough." Mark exclaimed. He wanted to get something from the old man.


    "I understand. I''ll allow you to take out some ammo from our inventory. But it won''t be much, only a few magazines. You should understand that the ammunition stock is now at a constant state." he suggested to Mark.


    "As you might have already noticed from that map over there, the factories are not running. So, our supply is only decreasing every day. We are actually planning to scout the nearest factory and see if we can get it running again or if we can find supplies." Donald shrugged and leaned back.


    Mark nodded, hearing the General''s problems. With the factories not running there wouldn''t be any supply, and even if they run, there is also the major problem of raw materials. There would be almost no supplier of raw materials in the current state of the world.


    "Alright General, I get you. I won''t ask for much." sighed Mark. Even though they weren''t low on ammo, getting a few more is always good.


    "Alright, I also need to talk about something." Mark finally leaned forward, looking into Donald''s eyes. Donald also turned serious hearing him and nodded.


    "Did you guys run into that underground gang''s base the past few days we were out of town? I want to know their situation in the town and their power." Mark slowly smiled.


    Donald remained silent for a few minutes before he stood up and said while moving towards the cabinet to the side and taking out a bottle of rum and two glasses. He slowly poured a glass for himself and said, "We ran into those bastards a few times in these past days. Do you want some?" he offered Mark.


    Mark shook his head and Donald continued, "So, yes, we ran into them while we were trying to find more supplies for the people here. You know the usual stuff." sipping his drink slowly.


    "There were a couple of shots fired from both sides a few times already. They are really getting on my nerves and I want to just rush over to their base and take them down in one swoop. But you asked for me to not take care of them, So, I didn''t proceed and waited."


    "Now tell me, what are you planning for that group?" He drank the rum and poured some more.


    Mark remained silent for a few minutes and said, "I intend to blow those bastards up."


    Donald cracked up hearing this and replied, "Yeah, I figured you were aiming for that. So, do you have any plan to do that?"


    Mark shook his head and so Donald continued, "Well if you want I can send a small squad of five to six people with you for some help. Even I find those bastards a thorn on my side and would like to get rid of them. What do you say for a joint operation?"


    Mark smiled hearing the proposal and replied, "Sure. I have no problem with that at all. When do you plan to send the people?"


    Standing up, Donald kept the bottle of rum back inside the cabinet and said, "A few days, mostly by day after tomorrow. I need to think about the people I can send with you after all."


    Mark''s eyebrows slightly frowned upon hearing the man. Donald laughed, seeing how impatient the young man before him was, and said, "Don''t be impatient. Your group has been traveling a lot for the past few days. Let them get some rest. I remember two of your members even have families here, so think about them also for a minute."


    Mark was silent, hearing the man making sense. They have been constantly traveling and could sense the fatigue it has been piling up on the gang. He nodded and said, "Sure. 2 days later send a team and we can get to planning before taking out that trash."


    Donald smiled and replied, "Sure, no problem at all. So tell me, How is the Kroc on the other side?" sitting in his seat.


    "Didn''t he mention anything about it in the letter he gave you?"


    Donald laughed hearing him and replied, "No, he mentioned nothing at all. If I have to guess based on our friendship, things must not be under his control. He is too ashamed to admit it." leaning back.


    Mark nodded and said, "That is exactly true. Their base isn''t under military control like here. The local government there wants control and has the people''s support. So they are constantly on their edges."


    "Looks like he has quite a lot of troubles over there. Well, we are lucky because most of the government personnel like the mayor and his staff couldn''t make it to the camp in time. They clearly didn''t check people before inviting them inside their hiding spot because before we could save them, they were all zombies with the doors closed."


    "You are indeed lucky," Mark commented.


    Donald nodded and then the door got knocked. Steve came inside and went to Donald''s side before bending towards his ears and whispered something to him. Hearing his words, Donald clearly felt happy and said, "That is good. Send a team out so we can get things running."


    Steve nodded and went outside. Mark turned towards the old man. Donald noticed his gaze and said, "The machine you brought back is indeed working. Now, all we need to set up is an antenna from the base so we can send signals from here via military satellites."

 Chapter 141 - Meet

    "That''s good for you." Mark simply nodded and stood up to leave, "Alright then, I''m wasting too much time here. I''ll be leaving then. Remember General, only two days. I want to get this done quick and easy."


    "Sure, you don''t need to worry too much about it. I''ll get the team ready in two days for you." nodding.


    Mark exited the room and noticed no one was there waiting for him. He looked around but didn''t find them. He then heard Steve from behind, "They aren''t here. Two of your members asked about their family and wanted to meet them. So I asked a person to send them there. I saw them leaving in your jeep."


    Mark nodded and asked, "So, who''s going to take me?" Steve laughed hearing the man and said pointing at himself, "I will if you got no problem with that. I have some work that way, anyway."


    Mark nodded and stretched his hand down the hallway, asking him to lead the way. Steve nodded and walked in front of him, but as they got down the stairs, Mark asked, "Can I get a map. The country map." He wanted to note down all the places on the map he saw inside Donald''s room before he forgets.


    Steve paused and nodded before he asked him to wait and went into a room. He came back within a few seconds with a rectangular folded paper and handed it to him before continuing down the stairs. Mark took a peek into the map and simply kept it back when it was within his expectations.


    After reaching the ground floor, they exited the building and Mark said, "Your father said he would provide some ammo for the job." He remembered Donald''s small promise.


    "Yes, come this way." And led him to a similar tent. It was the same one as the last time. But as they entered, Mark noticed the decrease in the number of boxes of bullets in the tent.


    ''Seems like the camp is really low.'' he thought. Steve was already having a chat with the officer behind the desk and then waved him over. Mark walked up to the desk, and the man asked, "So what kind?"


    "If possible, I need 357 Magnum and 7.62MM bullets." He quickly said his requirement. He wanted the Magnum for the Desert eagle guns he found back in the villa. He didn''t use those guns and kept using the Beretta because of low ammo. Now he could stock some ammo and use the better gun.


    The man nodded and told the soldier behind him to bring a few magazines worth of each. It didn''t take long for the soldier to come back with a small bag in his hand full of clips and gave them to the man.


    The man pushed the bag towards Mark and said, "Here you go. We can only give you 10 magazines of Magnum and 25 of 7.62. We are already on a shortage of bullets."


    Mark nodded and took the bag before checking the contents and nodded again. Steve led him out once again and stopped before turning around and saying, "Alright, just wait here. I''ll go get a car for us to use." And went away.


    Mark waited for a few minutes until he saw a normal SUV car stop in front of him. Steve rolled down the windows and asked him to hop inside. He slowly drove the vehicle out of the main camp area, while sometimes stopping the car to talk to some soldiers on duty and get updates.


    "I need to constantly check on these idiots or else, they won''t properly do their job." He sighed while driving. Mark hummed while nodding. He also noticed a few of the soldier''s slacking off and couldn''t help but shake his head.


    The car eventually came to a stop in front of a small two-floor apartment. Steve got down and waved his hand telling him to get down as well. He walked towards Mark and said, "Your people should be in this apartment." And went inside the corridor.


    Mark already noticed the people inside various flats in the building in front of him. The small building only had two flats on each floor so 6 flats in the entire building. They walked up to the first floor and Steve turned to the right.


    He stopped in front of the flat and knocked on the door. After a few seconds, the door opened and Suzie looked at both of them and said, "Ah! You are finally here. The Colonel sent a soldier with us to the apartment after we asked. Come on in." She stepped aside.


    Steve didn''t move but turned towards Mark and said, "Well I can''t stay any longer actually. I still have some work to do. I''ll leave you guys to it." And walked away.


    Mark shrugged and went inside while Suzie closed the door. Mark scanned the living room he just entered and noticed the people seated, looking at him. He also noticed Suzie''s dad, Ray, and David''s daughter, Daisy.


    "Ah! Mark. You are finally here. How are you?" Ray stood up and gave him a light hug while patting his back.


    "I just had some stuff to talk with the General, so it took me some time. It''s good to see you again as well. I hope you and the guys with you are well here." Separating from the hug.


    "It''s all good. At Least we don''t need to constantly look out for zombies within the camp and are relatively safe. Come have a seat." He pointed at a seat on the couch.


    "Good to hear man." He sat while turning towards Daisy and asked her the same question.


    "I''m fine. I live in a girls-only place just like this. By the way, thank you for looking after my Dad." She thanked him and Ray said the same.


    "It''s ok. They look after themselves pretty well too. You guys don''t need to worry too much about it."

 Chapter 142 - Conditions

    "So, what kind of work is the military asking you guys to do?" Mark asked both Daisy and Ray. He knew the old man wouldn''t let them sit idle and still eat properly. So it is natural for him to ask them to work their food and stay in the camp.


    Ray leaned back and said, "Nothing much actually. I and the other people mostly do miscellaneous stuff. You know, like patrolling the place a few times and helping them fight against the zombies in the border of the sizable area, the military controls now."


    "They ask you guys to fight?" Mark raised his eyebrow.


    Ray nodded and said, "Yeah, naturally. They give a few people who have experience with guns a few bullets to fight, while the others get weapons like bats and sharp objects to fight back. Overall, it''s not a dangerous situation to stay. I and my gang are always together so we have each other''s backs and could survive." he hurriedly explained at the end when Suzie glared at her father. She was obviously worried about him.


    "Dad, you aren''t young anymore. Don''t go out there and fight. Your body won''t be able to keep up." Suzie sighed. The man was already nearing 50 and wasn''t as athletic compared to when he was young.


    Ray laughed hearing her worry and simply reached out and patted her head before saying, "It''s ok. I know my body the best. It can keep up for a bit. And they don''t send me often, either. Only when the situation gets critical, I am there to fight. So, don''t worry too much about it." while flexing his muscles a bit.


    Looking at him, acting young, made everyone laugh. Ray was always a stubborn man. He always had a thirst for adventure and would go on hiking trips to the mountains every once in a while.


    "So, how are you keeping up? Did you find someone else?" Mark asked, making everyone go silent. Ray looked at him as the smile he had disappeared. He knew Mark meant nothing when he said that and only asked if he had moved on after his wife''s death. Suzie, next to him, gripped his hand. He slowly shook his head before giving her a reassuring smile.


    "I''m fine. She was the only one for us. I''m sure she is looking after us from above. For now, keeping Suzie safe is the most important for me."


    Kevin giggled hearing that and said, "You don''t need to worry about her safety at all. She isn''t the small and helpless little girl anymore. She is probably the strongest in our group right now." making everyone confused.


    Suzie looked at Mark, asking for permission. He looked at the people in the room and nodded. She stood up and said, "Alright, what you guys are now going to see, is completely confidential. So please do not let anyone know." she particularly asked her father and Daisy.


    Both of them nodded, and she made her way towards the television before simply ripping it off the wall with a single hand. Ray''s and Daisy''s mouths went wide open. Suzie giggled seeing them and said, "I have super strength right now. I can lift a car if I properly tried. So you guys do not need to worry about me at all. Now, do you guys understand why we shouldn''t spread the information?"


    Both of them nodded again before Ray finally gained his senses. He exclaimed and said, "Wow, my weak baby is now very strong. She doesn''t even need her father to look after her anymore." while he flicked fake tears off his eye.


    Suzie smiled and sat beside him once again. Daisy was now very curious after seeing that and turned towards her father with an expectation in her eyes. As a father, David understood the meaning behind her look but he shook his head and said, "I don''t have any superpowers like that."


    Daisy nodded and Mark asked her, "So, how are you in the past few days?" He was slightly concerned because she was a female and even though he knew Donald would look after them, he still decided to ask.


    "I am fine. I am living in the female dormitories they made, which is only 4 apartments over. It''s mainly for single or weak women. Who lost their family and such. They placed me there so I wouldn''t feel lonely and so it was nice."


    "As, Ray said. There isn''t a free meal and So, I help out with the food-related department in the base." she shrugged.


    "How do they supply food to these parts of the camp, now that it is so big?" they possibly couldn''t go around and supply cooked food every day.


    "They give us portions for two days. It''s sufficient for 3 meals a day.."


    Mark nodded and felt it was alright. He looked at Kevin, David, and Suzie and said, "We have two days of rest before we finish business in the town. So take some rest."


    All three felt elated hearing his words. They were just too fatigued to even continue after the journey and wanted rest very badly. Daisy and Ray were happy to hear him as they could spend time with their family.


    Ray clapped his hands and said, "Alright, there are three rooms in this house. The girls will take one, you young boys one, and while I and David one." Making them all nod.


    Daisy''s and Kevin''s stomach made noises and both of them looked down. Suzie checked the time and noticed it was already lunchtime. She stood up and said, "Alright then, I''ll make a quick lunch. You guys go and freshen up." she pointed towards her teammates.


    Mark and Kevin stood up and walked down the hallway from the living room and came to stop as it was a dead end. They looked to the right and saw the kitchen and dining table. To the left were three rooms down the hallway.

 Chapter 143 - Rest

    "You both take the one on the left while the girls will take the one on the right." Both of them heard Ray from the living room as he noticed them stop. Both of them nodded and made their way inside the room. It was a plain room. Mark noticed there weren''t any stuff of the old owners inside.


    Keeping their bags on the side, Kevin jumped on the bed while Mark went into the washroom and splashed some water on his face. He exhaled in relief and looked at his face in the mirror. He looked roughed up and wasn''t as delicate and pale as before.


    Wiping his face with a towel he found, he came back into the bedroom and noticed Kevin looking at the bullets inside their bag. There were 2 Desert eagles, 2 Beretta 97s, 3 Glock 17s, and then 2 Ak 47s. Mark opened his bag and passed over the bullets he got from the cam to Kevin.


    He then took out the two Berettas he used and switched them with the Desert Eagles. There were only 4 people in the group in which only 3 people used guns. David still uses the Glock, Mark first gave him while Kevin has an Ak 47. Now they had an extra of 2 Berettas, 2 Glocks, and an AK.


    Kevin laid all of them out and both of them looked at each other before taking out a smaller bag from inside. Kevin walked outside while Mark opened the bag and saw all the tools they needed for maintenance, like cleaning rods, brushes, chemicals, etc. Kevin came back with David''s Glock in his hand and both of them got to work.


    They learned all the important stuff like gun maintenance when they learned how to use a gun itself. Without regular maintenance, they wouldn''t work properly because of the gunpowder residue in them and could misfire. Now that they have time, they could slowly get their work done and it could be done within a few hours. The guns they frequently use needed a deeper cleaning because of how much they fire.


    As they continued to clean, they heard a knock on the door and Kevin asked them to come in without lifting his head. Suzie looked inside and saw them doing maintenance and aid, "Lunch is ready."


    Mark nodded and said while getting up, "Alright, let''s leave this here and have some lunch." and went into the washroom to clean his hands. Both of them made their way towards the dining room and noticed all of them already seated. Lunch was a simple lasagna with the limited ingredients they had.


    They sat down and happily ate lunch. After lunch, all of them returned to their rooms to have a nap. Kevin and Mark continued to clean the guns they laid out on the bed. After an hour, they finally completed cleaning all the guns. They placed all of them back in the bags and then went to the washroom.


    Coming back, they finally had a good look at the disaster they made. The bedsheets changed color because of the cleaning session. Looking at each other, they wryly smiled before removing the sheet and looking inside the cupboards in the room for another. After finding one, they laid it out neatly before Kevin jumped on the bed and exhaled in relief.


    "Phew, that took us longer than expected. Cleaning those guns is really tiring." Making Mark nod.


    But like Kevin he didn''t jump on the bed to sleep, instead, he went to his bag and took out the map Steve gave him. He took out a pen along with it and made his way out of the room, into the living room once again.


    Sitting on the couch and spreading the map on the coffee table, he closed his eyes to remember the map inside Donald''s office. He opened his eyes and circled a few locations before closing them again.


    He continued like that till he pointed out all the spots. Looking at the circled locations he smiled. Most of these locations were very secretive. The government didn''t want the people to know about the places where they produce weaponry.


    He then moved a particular map in front of him. It was the Tambo hills, the place they wanted to go next after wiping out the base. The nearest factory to the mountain was only a few kilometers away, which wouldn''t take them even 6 hours to reach.


    ''After setting up a base on Tambo hills, we need to check this out quickly. This would make our lives a lot easier and can also act as a bargaining chip in dire situations. So getting there before anyone is important.''


    He then pointed at a water body on the hills and thought, ''The dam. It provides most of the electricity to the surrounding villages. If we need electricity there, we would need to get this thing working again. The power it generates should be enough for our base and also the factory. If we monopolize this, things will go even smoother.''


    Mark wanted a comfortable life. His last wasn''t something he wanted to remember. This situation is perfect for him. With zombies everywhere, he wouldn''t need to think about the past and could only bother to continue living like how he promised to his deceased mother.


    Folding the map and keeping it back into his pockets, he stood up and made his way back to his room. Looking at his snoring friend, he sighed and slept beside him. Even though his body was fine, his mental state wasn''t the best it could be.


    He woke up after 3 hours and noticed it was already 6 in the evening. He looked to the side and saw Kevin still sleeping. Not disturbing him, he slowly stood up and went to the living room. He saw David and Suzie talking and made his way.


    "Did you have a nice sleep?" Asked David when he noticed Mark. Mark nodded and sat beside him.

 Chapter 144 - Rest (II)

    "So what are our next plans?" Asked Suzie. David also looked at Mark for an answer. Both of them knew Mark was constantly planning their journey and safety. So they wanted to be prepared for what''s to come.


    "Hmm, we are going to destroy the underground gang in the city after two days. Even though I would like to fight them now, unexpectedly the General agreed to lend some troops to us. That is why we are waiting two days for them." He said looking into their eyes, waiting for their reaction.


    It shocked David while Suzie started shivering. She slowly remembered the thing she was trying to forget for the last week. Mark immediately caught her reaction and slowly moved towards her. He touched her hand, trying to calm her down, but as he did, her body jerked a bit.


    "Don''t worry. It''s me, don''t be scared. Let''s destroy the camp for good. So that no one else would feel helpless again. Trust me. I know you can get through this." Trying to calm her. With this, she would be free from those suppressed thoughts forever, and he wanted her to do this.


    Her body relaxed a bit, even though she was still shivering. David also tried talking to her and said they all had her back to which Mark actively nodded. After a few more minutes, she finally calmed down.


    Looking down, she silently mumbled, "I know what you mean. I know you are going this far and keeping yourself in danger only because of me. Don''t worry, I won''t let you down. With my new power, I am sure I can fight against them." clenching her hands. Mark smiled and nodded. Suzie lacked confidence, and the slight trauma she received because of the incident made her hesitate to face them.


    But all she needed was to try, and Mark knew she could do it with his help. David looked at him and asked, "So, you made a plan?" He knows Mark always made detailed plans for missions like these so that they could go unhindered and they could be safe.


    "Not yet. As I said before, the General is going to probably give us around 5 people to work with. After we meet them and know how they could contribute to the mission, I will form a plan. So for the next two days, all we do is rest. Spend some time with your daughter until then."


    David smiled and suddenly remembered something. He looked at Mark, feeling hesitant whether or not he should ask the man. Mark noticed this and raised an eyebrow towards him. David coughed and said slowly, " Ahem, Mark, do you remember the people we saved back in Loshin?" and Mark nodded.


    "Can I meet Gwen and Dereck? You know the teenage boy and girl we saved. I just want to go and have a chat with them." Mark was confused when he heard the first sentence as he completely forgot about the boy and girl they saved.


    David noticed his confusion and quickly explained who they were. Mark finally remembered and nodded. He was hesitant because he still remembers Mark being against him for saving them. But he wanted to check up on them and see how they were doing in the camp.


    "Sure, go ahead. Take the jeep and go to the campsite. I am sure you''ll be able to find Steve running around like a chicken constantly there." he shrugged. He did not restrict him too much. As long as he and his two friends are not in danger, he cared little about what he would do.


    "Alright, thanks." making him shrug again.


    "I need to tell you both something too." As Mark''s voice turned completely serious. Both of them sat straight and looked at him attentively. They knew they couldn''t afford to miss even a single word about what is about to come next in that tone.


    "You both have a member of your family alive and well in this camp. Your daughter and your father are living quite well from what I heard earlier this morning. As you both must have already guessed, after the next mission, I plan to move out of this town for who knows how long and try to make my own living quarters somewhere." He didn''t plan to tell them the location yet.


    "As I plan on moving away from here, of course, Kevin would also be coming with me to travel. Now we have been together for the past few days and the understanding we have of each other is also well-formed."


    "So, now that I have said all this, you know what I am about to say. "


    "Do you both still want to continue traveling with us or continue living in this camp with the only living family member left in your life, safely? Don''t be too hasty to give me an answer. Think about this carefully, as I said you still have people who care about you." He slowly 3explained. He also noticed Suzie wanting to answer immediately when he asked and so asked them to think about it.


    "You can give me an answer after our mission is over. So think about it, talk with your family member. I want you guys to consider both aspects, living here and roaming outside. You probably won''t meet your family member awhile if you wish to continue traveling with us."


    Hearing what he had to say, the living room was in silence. Mark ruined towards the hallway and noticed Kevin standing. He beckoned him over and Kevin sat in one of the chairs.


    As he did, Kevin said, "I suggest you guys stay here, safely. We both lived alone in this city for only the past 2 to 3 years for university. So the attachment we feel is different. With your special power and with your skills as a doctor, I am sure you can live here comfortably. So don''t do something stupid as following us. This is just my advice to both of you."

 Chapter 145 - Rest(III)

    Mark heard his friend''s advice and slowly nodded. He supported Kevin''s thought process of advising them to stay, instead of following them to the unknown, with constant danger. He looked at Suzie, who was quietly thinking and wanted her to stay with both of them. He cared for her but knew staying in the camp was better. He could only sigh, thinking about his conflicting opinions.


    "Well, you heard what he said. Think about it hard these next two days. After that, we can talk about it once again. The mission is very important right now." Mark leaned back on the couch. The living room was completely silent as Mark closed his eyes.


    Daisy, who came into the living room, rubbing her eyes and yawning, broke the silence. She sat beside David and asked, "What are you guys up to?" Looking at the rest in the room. Suzie shook her head and said nothing before quickly changing the topic.


    They continued to talk, and it didn''t take them long until Ray also joined them. But they stopped when someone knocked on the door. Ray, who was the closest to it, opened it and noticed it was his friend.


    "Ray, come on, man. I thought we were going to spend some time playing games today. You didn''t even show up for lunch. Come on, we can join a game or two if we go now." Said Jacob.


    Before Ray could appease his friend, Suzie walked up and said from behind, "Uncle Jacob. What games are you guys playing?"


    Seeing her, Jacob exclaimed and said, "Suzie, you are finally back. Your dad would constantly talk about you every day, worried about you. When did you guys come back? How was your journey?" As he noticed Mark and David too. They were the people who told and sent them to the camp, so he didn''t forget them.


    "Yeah, we came back today, and it was tough but was ok." Jacob felt happy for his friend seeing her smile again. He saw how broken she was when she left with her friends and how depressed his friend was. Now that she was back, he also noticed how normal Ray looked.


    "So uncle, what games were you guys talking about?" She asked again, curious about the games.


    Jacob laughed and replied, "Oh, the games. We found an old roulette table recently and brought it back here into one of the flats. So we started playing it for some fun and stress relief. I and your dad planned to play some more today because we were free. But I never expected you guys to come back."


    Suzie looked at her father, who looked like a kid who got caught doing wrong. He silently tried to explain, "It''s nothing. Only a few times for stress relief." He was anxious because he knew her daughter didn''t approve of his gambling. Ray was a bit of an addiction when it came to gambling. He would go out once in a while to play a few games. But both his daughter and wife were against it and he eventually stopped.


    Suzie, contrary to his expectations, simply nodded with an understanding smile and said, "It''s ok dad. You don''t need to explain it too much. I just hope you don''t get too into it. You can go play now, we have two days more to spend. People must be waiting for you."


    Ray immediately smiled and reassured her daughter''s worries while also hugging her. He turned around and went out the door. But he turned back and asked David, "David, do you also want to come. It will be fun. You guys too." And looked towards Mark and Kevin.


    David felt it was an okay way to relieve some stress and so nodded. He stood up and Kevin also stood up along with him to go and spend some time relaxing. Mark remained seated, not opting to go out. He was never an out-door person and always kept to himself before this. The three of them followed Jacob, leaving Suzie, Daisy, and Mark in the house.


    Suzie and Daisy quickly separated themselves as they went back into their room. Mark remained seated alone in the living room, with his own thoughts. He closed his eyes as he thought about what he should do the next two days. After feeling the excitement he had been long waiting for, staying in the room like his old self was boring.


    As he continued to think, he suddenly remembered the strange powers he discovered a few days ago. Because they were in a hurry to get back to the city, he didn''t have any alone time to conduct the experiments he wanted to.


    The power he was the clearest about was the yellow fog he let out from his hand as it burned on Suzie''s injury. The yellow fog was able to cure the zombie scratch but he paid the price for it, pain. He had shivers sent down his spine when he thought about the splitting headache he got after he unconsciously used the powers. This was obvious from the sealed yellow ball he saw.


    The other power he guessed was something similar to pausing time, or at least that''s how he noticed it. When he screamed on top of his lungs at the zombie which jumped on Suzie, the time stopped. He noticed the Zombie pause and then continued to scratch Suzie. If the phenomenon didn''t happen, they might have lost Suzie. This power was most likely from the darker purplish-black ball.


    "I should probably go out and test these two powers in the next two days, while I am free. I already said David to take the Jeep tomorrow, so if he arrives early then it''s tomorrow, if not the next day." He sighed and stood up.


    He walked into his room and slowly laid down on the bed once again. Closing his eyes, he exhaled in relief and went back to sleep.

 Chapter 146 - Davids Unrest

    Mark woke up when it was time for dinner, as he went into the living room he already noticed Kevin and the rest were back from playing a few games. Sitting next to him, he asked Kevin about the experience.


    "It was alright, everyone was playing for fun. So it was all good " Kevin simply shrugged and replied. After eating a nice dinner, they all went back into their rooms and slept. Mark liked the feeling of resting after a long time. Even though he slept two times already, he still had a place for more sleep.


    They all woke up the next day and ate a nice breakfast before David took the Jeep keys from Kevin and made his way out. He was looking forward to meeting the two kids they saved. He had this kind of mentality even before the disaster. He would always call back the patients he treated to ask how they were.


    Turning the Jeep on, he quickly rode out of the building and turned towards the main campsite. He looked to the side and saw the two Berettas Mark gave him earlier in the morning to use if he faced any unexpected zombies. The Jeep eventually came to a stop, and he showed the pass he got from Mark to enter the camp.


    After the guards verified the card, they let him in and he stopped the car at the same place as the day before and got down. He looked around to find the Colonel or his assistant. Mark told him that the man would roam around taking care of things. He searched around for ten minutes before finally making his way to the nearest soldier to ask.


    "Em, excuse me. Do you know where Colonel Steve is?"


    The soldier who was on rounds looked back and saw David. Sizing David, he asked, "And who might be asking?"


    "I am with the group who came yesterday to the camp with the communication device. I would like to talk with Colonel Steve about something."


    The Soldier immediately identified the man before him. Everyone knew the biggest news they received since the camp started and the people who handled it too. After knowing Steve was one of the people responsible to bring it to them, he relaxed a bit and answered, "I saw the Colonel go outside on some matters. If it is important, I can take you to his brother."


    Hearing Steve wasn''t in the camp at the moment made him feel dejected. But hearing his brother Denton might be in the vicinity made him feel hopeful and asked, "Please lead the way." The soldier nodded before leading him into another building and stopped before the familiar-looking Denton.


    Denton was also doing rounds. After struggling and fighting with the zombies for the last few weeks, he finally rose through the ranks and became a lieutenant from an ordinary soldier. He got nothing free and had to go through the regular program as his father didn''t show any leniency.


    The soldier saluted to his superior and said in a respectful tone, "Sir Denton, this man is from the same group who brought us the communication device yesterday and said he wanted to meet Colonel Steve. But the Colonel went out on some work and so I brought him to you."


    Denton nodded and looked at David. He recognized the man who was next to Mark when they came here the last time. He dismissed the soldier before stretching his hand and saying, "Nice to meet you again. Last time you guys were in a hurry and we couldn''t introduce ourselves. I''m Denton Cox, a lieutenant here."


    "Nice to meet you, lieutenant Cox, I''m David Warner."


    "Please tell me what I can do for you, David."


    David then asked him to meet the people they sent all the way from Loshin town to the camp as they were seeking refuge. After asking, he remained silent as Denton was thinking about it.


    "Yes, now that you say about it, I remember people coming all the way from Loshin town and said it was Mark who sent them. But there are slight differences from what you said. There wasn''t a vast group like you said, it was only two people, a boy and a girl in their teenage."


    David''s eyes went wide hearing this. He was shocked beyond belief. His thoughts became muddled after hearing that it was only two people who came to the camp.


    ''What happened to the others? It was the whole Loshin camo that we sent. Why are they only two people who came to the camp? What happened to the others?''


    Denton noticed the unstable David and shook him before he asked, "David, David, get yourself together. Come, I''ll take you to the place they are staying at now. I''m sure it''s nearby." And David slowly nodded.


    "Alright wait here, I''ll ask where they are staying." And Denton walked off, leaving David alone.


    David''s mind was a complete mess. He saved the kids there and provided support for them. He was the one who suggested they come to this camp all the way from Loshin. He wanted them to live better after seeing their horrible situation in that city. As a genuine doctor, his heart always wanted everyone to live a wonderful life. His heart became heavier as he thought.


    Denton didn''t take long as he came back and noticed Downton standing like a statue. He patted him and said, "Alright, I learned where they are right now. Come with me. I will take you there. Did you come in your Jeep?"


    Denton woke up from his thoughts when he heard him and lifelessly nodded.


    "Alright, let me drive then. You aren''t in the best place to do so." David handed him to keys and followed him to his Jeep. Both of them got in as David looked like a lifeless shell. Seeing the man like that, Denton didn''t know what to say. In the past few weeks, he saw many people like this.

 Chapter 147 - Davids Unrest(II)

    The Jeep slowly moved through the streets in silence. Denton peeked towards the depressed and silent David. He remembered David was the doctor and seeing only him come for the group instead of the entire gang, only meant that someone important to him was within the camp. But Denton couldn''t comment on anything because this was all just his speculation.


    He was one of the few lucky people who had his family all well and safe. His family was one of the first people who were saved because of his brother''s and father''s orders. They brought them to a temporary place they set up before the vast camp. Everyone wasn''t as lucky as he was to have powerful helpers.


    The Jeep eventually came to a stop, and Denton looked at David, who was still in a daze. He gently shook him and said they arrived, pointing at the building next to him. David looked at Denton for a second before tilting his head and looking past him, towards a small apartment, similar to the one they were resting in right now.


    "Both the people, I told you are living here. We arranged them in a separate house, unlike others who lived in groups because they came with Mark''s recommendation." and got down.


    David nodded while getting down and moving next to Denton. He looked hesitant as he saw the door leading inside the apartment. Denton slowly led the way forward as Denton followed behind, thinking about his time in Loshin.


    His face became paler the more he thought about it. He criticized himself more and more as they walked through the corridor. Denton stopped in front of the house, which was the furthest in the ground floor itself. He looked at David, whose face was pale before keeping a hand on him and asking him to take a deep breath.


    David nodded and took a deep breath. Denton gave him a slight nod before knocking on the door. They heard several footsteps before the door was slightly opened and a girl peeked out. David flinched when she saw the girl. It was Gwen, one of the two teenagers they saved and was also the daughter of the mayor.


    Gwen did not notice David yet as she saw Denton before her and asked while still staying behind the door, "What can I do for you, officer?"


    "There is someone here to meet you." He stretched his hand towards David, making the girl turn.


    Seeing her turn her head, David''s body became stiff as she finally saw her lifeless eyes. Those were the eyes he saw too many times in different places. Those eyes depicted a person who lost everything. Gwen opened her mouth to say something but stopped and slowly opened the door for them to come in.


    Denton stepped in while David continued to stare at Gwen. Denton immediately noticed him and held his hand before slowly pulling him inside. David looked down as Denton guided him into the living room and sat on the couch. David didn''t dare look up. His heart was full of guilt. His gentle nature couldn''t take this burden.


    He also knew what Mark would say in this situation if he was present. ''It was not our fault. We only suggested the city after seeing how they were. They would have died eventually because of the shortage of supplies. They also knew how weak they were and how hard the travel will be, yet they still traveled. So, we don''t need to feel any guilt at all.''


    But he wasn''t like that. Every word Mark would say made sense. But if he had never suggested they would probably have at least found another way to live longer within the city


    Gwen continued to look at David. She gripped her hands as her body shook. She was in anguish and anger. Even though her eyes showed nothing, her body was clearly showing all the emotions she was feeling.


    "Gwen, who is it? I am going to make some tasty lunch today. I already cut the-" they heard a lively voice from inside the house coming towards them. Another teenager came into the room. This time it was a boy. David knew this boy too. It was Dereck, the son of the small businessman. They saved him too.


    Dereck walked into the room with a smile on his face, but he stopped when he saw the people sitting on the couch. He noticed the man in the military uniform and as he was about to change his words to a question; he noticed the man sitting next to him, looking towards him. His eyes grew red as he remembered things and gripped the knife he used to cut vegetables tighter.


    "Why did you come here? You bastard. I will kill you. It was all because of you." He lunged towards David with the knife in his hand, trying to stab him. He went into a frenzy seeing the man.


    Denton noticed it immediately reacted and went to hold the teenage boy down. He stabbed both his hands and tried to stop him from doing something crazy.


    "What are you doing? Are you crazy? Put that knife down." He shouted.


    But Dereck wasn''t paying any attention to him as he continued to struggle under Denton''s sturdy arms.


    "Leave me alone. I will kill that bastard. It''s all his fault this is happening to us. Leave me." He struggled harder.


    Denton grabbed onto him tighter. David was shaking under Dereck''s rage and statements. He couldn''t look into the man''s eyes and only looked down. Gwen remained seated, looking at David with the same look.


    Denton couldn''t bear Dereck''s anger anymore and quickly knocked him out with a chop on the back of his head. Dereck lost consciousness as the knife finally dropped on the ground. He sighed in relief before turning towards Gwen.


    "Sorry, I just had to knock him out a bit. He will wake up in an hour. Where can I lay him down?"

 Chapter 148 - Gwens Rage

    Hearing Denton, Gwen finally turned around and saw Denton supporting the unconscious Dereck with one hand while holding the knife with another. He pointed towards the hallway and said, "The bedroom to the left is his. I would also like if you could give us some space to talk." As emotionless and cold-hearted as it could be.


    Denton heard her request and turned towards David, who looked like his life was sucked out of his body. He couldn''t understand how a person like him could even live in this cruel world. He was just too nice. He already guessed most of the story from their interactions and knew it wasn''t David''s mistakes.


    The kids were muddle-headed because of their loss and wanted to blame it on someone. David, who was soft and also the person who suggested they move to Stargaze, was the right target. He shook his head lightly and turned around towards the hallway. It was not his problem and could only be solved by David himself.


    After the earlier incident, the room was once again deadly silent. Gwen continued to look at David. Both of them were shaking. One with grief and one with rage.


    "Why did you come?" Gwen slowly asked the man. She couldn''t ignore the silence and so broke it. She knew it would go on forever if she was not the one who breaks it.


    David''s body shook harder after hearing what she said. He shook his head and said, "I didn''t know. I didn''t understand. I just wanted to know." Mumbling.


    "What did you want to know? How everyone died because of the single most critical mistake of their life, which was listening to your dumb suggestion. Did you want to see our sorrow? Tell me. Don''t look down. Look at me?" She blew off in a rage.


    "No, I just don''t know. I wanted to talk to you guys and see how you were doing in the camp. I never thought this kind of thing would happen. I came yesterday and then came here early morning so I could meet you guys. When I asked Denton, he said it was only two people who came¡­." He couldn''t continue beyond that point. He had no words to say to her. He held his head with his elbows on his knees, clutching his hair hard enough to rip it.


    Gwen gritted her teeth. She became angrier when she heard his useless words. She stood up, slapped his hands away from his face with her left hand before slapping his face with the other.


    "It was because of you. We believed you because you saved us and helped us. If we continued to live in the town, something might have happened, even if it didn''t at least it won''t be only both of us anymore."


    David looked blankly at the girl''s rage. He was slapped, for the first time in a long time. A girl who was near his daughter''s age slapped him. But all she said was true. It was what he had thought too. Even though it was Mark who suggested to him about Stargaze camp, it was still him who asked to help them and agreed to Mark''s suggestion with no thoughts. He also remembered Mark telling there would not be much of a probability for them to reach the city. It was all his fault. Only if he would have listened to Mark''s words and ended everything with saving the two kids.


    "Gwen, please tell me what I can do? I don''t know what to do? Just tell me." His voice choked as he asked. The middle-aged man couldn''t take the guilt anymore.


    "I don''t know, I don''t know, I don''t know. Just shut the fuck up. And what can you do? Kill even us both?" She dropped back into her seat, exhausted.


    The room became silent after her outburst. David''s thoughts were a complete disaster at the moment. He mechanically took out the gun from his bad and kept it on the tabletop, pushing towards the girl. He didn''t know what he was doing in his guilt. He didn''t even remember his daughter as he gave the gun, only the dead people.


    "If it makes you feel better, please use it. If not, please tell me what happened. Give me a chance. I know I can''t bring back the dead, but I would try to do anything possible within the scope of my capabilities." Looking into her eyes and pushing it further.


    Gwen saw the Beretta on the tabletop and took the gun. David readily removed the safety lock for her as she aimed it at him. David closed his eyes and thought, ''I am sorry, Daisy. This is the only thing your father can think of. Please stay alive and happy wherever you are. I am going ahead and meeting mom.'' remembering his baby girl.


    Looking at David closing his eyes and clenching his fists, while awaiting death, Gwen felt disgusted in him and threw the gun away.


    "Fuck you bastard."


    The man''s uselessness frustrated her. She never wanted pity. Even though she blamed the man before them, she knew it wasn''t completely his mistake. He was only trying to help them at that time after seeing their pitiable state. She felt her soul leave her body after all the things which happened. Seeing the man in front of her, she thought she could feel normal by venting all her emotions on him.


    But even after she did, she didn''t feel satisfied at all. She knew she wouldn''t even if he died. Because it wasn''t completely his fault. Looking at him surrendering, and then grabbing the gun, she remembered him telling about his own daughter who was around her age. She didn''t want to carry the guilt of killing the father of a girl who also didn''t have a mother.


    She took a deep breath, trying to calm herself down. She looked at him and said, "We traveled well for two complete days."

 Chapter 149 - Gwens Grief

    "The two days were good. We could happily travel without many encounters with zombies, which we couldn''t handle. We traveled slowly, as there were too many people. Everyone was glad when we were going to sleep on the 2nd day because Stargaze city was only a few kilometers away and we will reach it by lunch the next day. A few people stood guard outside when everyone slept." She paused. She looked at David, who was looking at her.


    It surprised David when he heard her tell what happened and was keenly listening to her. Not willing to miss out on any details.


    "Then it all started that night. I was sleeping and woke up when I heard gunshots outside my tent. Going out, I already saw the police and other men who have guns fighting against zombies. But this was different, it was unlike anything we saw before. It was like an endless sea of zombies rushing towards us. A zombie horde too big we couldn''t fight back."


    "The zombies continued to push through and our bullets were depleting at an enormous rate. It was a disaster. As people continued to shoot, my mom, the mayor, reacted quickly and urged the people into the trucks and cars once again to escape."


    "But as I said, the night was a complete disaster. The zombies which run quickly were able to catch the gunman and quickly take them down before going to the people getting into the trucks. My mom saw them attack a few of the trucks and moving front, she abandoned them and continue forward. She couldn''t decide to wait for the rest of the people to get in and danger the survival of the rest. I saw her heart pain as she looked back when we drove off. She couldn''t hear the cries and curses from the people behind."


    Gwen''s eyes got wet as she remembered her mom''s pale face when she was making critical decisions. Her heartfelt pain when she couldn''t do anything but simply follow her orders. As a Mayor, she vowed to protect them all when the disaster struck. But she couldn''t and it pained her.


    "We continued forward and did not stop until we came into the city. We felt a bit safe compared to the outside wilderness. We stopped by a shop to eat and then continue our journey. My mom did not want to stop, but people lost their loved ones last night and they wanted to rest. So she reluctantly agreed."


    "I and Dereck were in the same car as mom and Dereck''s father. They told us to stay inside as they went to check on the people. There were only 4 trucks then compared to the massive number we had before."


    "But something strange happened once again when mom said everyone to get down for some rest. Only people from two of the trucks came down. The other two trucks did not open. My mom went closer towards the truck with Dereck''s dad to see what happened."


    "She asked someone to open it but as they did, they finally heard groans from the inside of both of them. Groans we were very familiar with after the night before. Before my mom could tell them to stop, the zombies jumped out and everything was the same as last night."


    "My mom acted faster and asked people to get back in and continued the journey. But the damage was made. Now it was only our car and a truck with around 20 people."


    "As we made our way closer towards the camp address you guys gave, we were struck again. But this time it was humans and not zombies. Those bastards, they attacked our truck. My mom and Dereck''s dad had to go out and fight because there weren''t enough people. I and Dereck were too scared to move after all that happened from the night before."


    "We could only see the people attack everyone like animals they were. I saw mom being shot multiple times along with Dereck''s father. I saw her fall down on the road and those people looking at us like prey. Those Savages." Her eyes became completely red and hard to look at. Tears were flowing out and her nails dug deep into her palms. But she didn''t care and continued.


    "It was Dereck''s father who came back into the truck with mom''s body and drive to escape from them as they continued to shoot. I saw blood flow out of him from multiple places in the body. He didn''t say a word and stepped on the pedal to escape. I looked at my mom''s body in the passenger seat, lying motionless. Every time I close my eyes, I can see her dead body looking at me. I couldn''t do anything."


    "After a long time, we finally escaped from their clutches. Dereck''s father was closing conscious as he drove. The old man''s body couldn''t hold long and fell on the steering wheel as we finally reached the camp gates. I can still hear him asking us to stay alive."


    "The entire car was silent as the soldiers who noticed us came running to us. Both of us were completely shocked and fainted after he did."


    "We woke up after two days inside the extensive care ward of the hospital these people set up. They told us they found the letter you guys gave inside my mom''s pocket and the General allowed us to come in. But for what? We already lost everyone. It was only both of us. One after another, things were like god was preventing us from reaching this place."


    "What did we do to deserve this punishment? We only wanted to survive in a better place. We just wanted to continue living." and she finally unleashed all the tears she was holding up. David could hear her screams and was rooted in his place. He couldn''t say anything to this girl who lost everything one after another.

 Chapter 150 - Deal

    Hearing his story, he felt his heart stopped beating for a second. The girl was crying her grief out. Of all the things he heard from her mouth, the only thing which kept resounding in his mind was, ''What did we do to deserve this punishment?'' These aren''t words meant for a young girl in her teenage. The only mistake they ever made was listening to his awful advice.


    His head pained more when he thought about it. Compared to what they faced over the last few weeks, this girl faced it in the last few days. Even their struggle against the horde near the museum in Evergreen city was relatively easy because of Mark''s quick thinking and skills. But these two didn''t have that, and the people who were with them became sacrifices for them to live.


    His eyes became watery when he thought about both their lives. He clutched his hair with the guilt in his heart. His only aim was to save people. That was what he did before the apocalypse, what he is doing now, and what he aims to do in the future. But those unnecessary thoughts were the reason others died.


    "I was at least able to show the grief by the way I acted. But Dereck, he forced himself for me the past few days. If it wasn''t for him, I would have already taken my own life. But it seems like Dereck can also not hold it in when he sees you."


    "In the end, we also became orphans because of one way or another, like many people in the camp right now. We can only survive by relying on each other." She sighed with an empty look back on her face. She poured all her rage out and didn''t have it in her to continue the conversation. In the end, whatever she says from there would only be self-pity and that was the worst.


    David remained silent after hearing her words. His heart bleeds every time he hears her sorrow. As she said, orphan, he remembered his own daughter. A daughter who already lost her mother and was his only remaining family. The sweet girl wouldn''t take it like Gwen in front of her if she sees him die with her own eyes. She ain''t strong like him and would do things she shouldn''t.


    "I just want to ask you something. Only one thing. Please, if you do not want to answer, it''s ok." He took all the courage he had left only to lift his head to look at her and ask a question. Gwen looked back at him and nodded, waiting for what this man wanted.


    "Do you know who those people who sabotaged you guys in the city are? Please tell me." The only way he was at least able to express his sincerity was by destroying them. Those people strike when their group is at its weakest. He couldn''t do anything about the zombies but that group. He decided to beg Mark and destroy them. He had confidence in Mark. Mark created miracles, he had power. He trusted that power.


    Gwen looked into the man''s eyes, trying to figure out why he asked the absurd question. He could see the rage in them, something which she didn''t think she would from a guy as soft as him.


    "And why would you want to know? Tell me one reason why?" She dryly laughed and looked him in the eye.


    David didn''t reply. He just continued staring at her. He didn''t want to talk anymore and just wanted to do things. He realized things weren''t the same as before. Mark told him many times but deep inside he still thought the people were still the same even though the world was different. But now he realized it the hard way. People changed and were crueler. He was na?ve and needed to change.


    Gwen looked at the silent David before leaning back on the seat. After a few more minutes of silence, she finally said, "The military people said it was some underground gang which made its base in the city. Their base was supposed to be near the city highschool. They also said these people were doing these kinds of things a lot. Now tell me, why?" She still wanted an answer.


    David''s eyes went wide at hearing her. It was the same group. The same group took Suzie. The same group Mark was about to attack with the soldiers and them. David started to smile after thinking it through. Thus was great. This made it easier to explain it to Mark. He knows Mark would not say no because it wouldn''t waste much time.


    "This is great." He slowly murmured unconsciously.


    "What did you say? Great?" Gwen almost blew up again after hearing him.


    David shook his head and said, "This is the same group we are going to attack the day after tomorrow. This is great. I''ll destroy them. Wait." And looked at her.


    "Do you want to destroy them with us?" Looking at her. He didn''t know what was going through his mind when he said these words to a teenager. But it seemed right. These two teenagers needed a proper outlet for their emotions, and attacking the people responsible for their situation was a good idea.


    Gwen''s expression got twisted when she heard his words. She thought, ''What did he just say? They are going to attack them in two days? He wants to take us with them?'' and slowly smiled at the thought of destroying their base. She unconsciously wanted it.


    ''Those bastards are part of the reason we are like this now. I''ll destroy them with my own two hands.''


    "How can you be sure the military would allow us to take part in this exercise? Can you guarantee it?"


    "I can''t speak for the military, but I know a person who can. You guys also met him. He might be able to do something if I ask him."

 Chapter 151 - Promise

    Gwen remembered the other man in their team when they rescued her. He defended their base when they went out for supplies and was also very strong. David also listened to him and was clearly their leader. But he also was very strange, he didn''t want to help them, and they knew it was only because of David''s request that he agreed.


    Gwen nodded, hoping David would make Mark agree. She wanted revenge. She had the same thoughts as David. Zombies aren''t something they could predict and do anything but survive against, but humans were different. Attacking an already broken group was very low, and they played with them. She also knew it wasn''t completely David''s fault, he only suggested because he felt for them.


    Silence took over after her nod. Both didn''t want to talk about anything. But it broke when Denton came back into the living room.


    "Alright then, let''s go. I need to go back to the camp." And David nodded, getting up from his seat.


    Denton wished the girl a goodbye while David just nodded. His thoughts were on the promise he just gave. After giving out the promise and the initial rage settled down, he thought about it and knew it would be a bit hard to get Mark to agree on it. Even though it was the same target, Mark wouldn''t purposefully agree to bring in unknown people who would drag the team and during raids like this, a minor mistake would cost a life.


    They walk towards the door and as David exited, Denton followed him before saying, "The kid should wake up anytime now." to Gwen and came out.


    Gwen walked up to the door and said in a plain tone, "Remember your promise." to David before closing the door.


    Denton looked at David before walking towards the end of the hallway with him. He heard the voices from the living room and finally understood the whole problem. He couldn''t help but sigh in pity at how unlucky the two kids are to lose everyone while they were traveling to a safer place.


    ''They were at the wrong place at the wrong time with those zombies, but those bastards. They must have been camping on the routes to our camp, so they could ambush and steal." Denton gritted his teeth when he remembered her speaking about the goons in the city because if it wasn''t for that reason how could they not know about the goon activity near them. They were silently attacking the weaker groups.


    They reached the end of the hallway and got into the Jeep. Denton started the car, looked at David who wasn''t like when they came. He had a more serious face, unlike the face full of sadness when they came.


    He knew what the man was thinking about. A promise. He couldn''t hear what the promise was about from the rooms he was in because after the rage from the girl, things quoted down a lot and he couldn''t pick up on things. But the girl said to remember the promise when she closed the door. Now David was thinking deeply about something, which most likely was that promise.


    "Do you need any help?" He offered as he slowly drove through the streets.


    David shook his head and replied, "It''s ok." And continued thinking about what he should say to Mark so that he could convince him to involve two teenagers who probably never used a gun for all they know.


    The car was silent as Denton didn''t continue their quickly ended conversation. The car stopped right in front of the camp''s gate and he said, "Do you need me to ask someone to drive you home?"


    David shook his head and got down to switch seats. Denton gave him a handshake as they met in front of the car and said, "I don''t know what you''re thinking about, but if you need some help, I would try to help if possible."


    David gave a nod and got in the Jeep. He reversed the car and told goodbye to Denton before driving off. He stopped the Jeep in front of the building and got down. He walked up the stairs and stopped in front of his house. He took a deep breath before stretching his mouth a few times and clamping his face.


    He didn''t want to show his guilt and worries to everyone. After taking in a few more deep breaths, he knocked on the door. He could hear footsteps and the door opened. It was his daughter, Daisy. She hugged him and said, "You''re finally back, dad. Right in time for lunch. Come in."


    David put on a smile and walked in and could hear voices from the dining room. Daisy walked ahead of him and he asked, "What did you guys do the entire morning?"


    "Oh, nothing. After you went, we played a few games of cards we found in the house. We would probably continue playing even after lunch. It was so much fun." She turned around and smiled.


    Seeing her smile, he could see the rage and sadness on Gwen''s face suddenly overlap. He paused and closed his eyes. Daisy also noticed and was about to ask what happened before he opened his eyes and smiled. But she could notice the change in his look. Something was different.


    They reached the dining table and he could see all of them looking at him, waiting.


    "Ah, you are finally here."


    "We were waiting for you for so long."


    "How did the work you went on go?"


    "Come on and sit down. I''m hungry."


    Everyone talked and greeted him. He smiled at everyone, gave them a reply, and sat down beside Daisy. During lunch, he felt a strange gaze on him and looked up to see Mark continuously looking at him. He looked like he was feeling suspicious of him, but he simply smiled back at him and Mark continued eating. He knew Mark caught onto something right there.

 Chapter 152 - Talk With Mark

    Soon after everyone completed their lunch, they went back to the living room to continue the game except Mark who was sitting on the table while staring at David who was washing dishes. David asked his daughter to play while he would do dishes as he wanted to talk with Mark alone after he saw Mark not leaving the room.


    David washed the utensils before sitting in front of Mark with his head down. The aura Mark was giving out didn''t allow him to speak. He just looked down like a kid about to ask something inappropriate. Mark continued to look at him, trying to figure out what is wrong with the dude. He sensed something was wrong immediately when he saw the forced smile on David''s face when he walked in.


    "Tell me? What are you hiding and what happened earlier today?" he finally asked. The gentle-looking man simply had another feel to him after coming back. Seeing him made him remember a certain past.


    David finally looked up after hearing him. Mark''s eyes were very intense, trying to look into him and figure out what was the deal. David took a deep breath and started telling the whole story from finding out only two people arriving in the city to getting attacked by Dereck and finally his promise to Gwen. As he finished telling about his promise, he looked at Mark and noticed how his expression changed.


    There weren''t many changes when he mentioned the horrible things which happened to both the teenagers, but when he mentioned the promise, Mark''s expression visibly turned grim. He knew Mark didn''t like the promise. He kept silent, waiting for a response.


    "Why did you even go? That was just dumb. You should have just asked the people there if you wanted to know how they were. Going there even after you figured out how things went." He sighed and asked the middle-aged man before him. He thought even though David was an intelligent man, he didn''t have the best emotional control.


    "I already told you these guys making it to the city camp with no problems is very tough and almost impossible. Why do you think I only maintain a few people when traveling around? It is precisely because I would have to worry less about escaping or running away when things get out of hand."


    "I don''t want to think about people when things get tough, it''s about survival and a small group is the best. These guys traveled in trucks with many people in them. Of Course, it would be bad. I only told you about the camp because you were so eager to help them that I didn''t want to push your thoughts down. They were just unlucky that they had to face the huge horde when they traveled. I mean, we didn''t face any horde the two times we went on the same road."


    "As for them getting attacked by the gang. We can''t do anything about that either. Now it''s a dog eat dog world. You take everything you can get. As I said a lot of times. Survival comes first. Of Course, hitting them when they were low is still pretty bad. We can not do anything either. I know for a fact that the parents of both teenagers would have thought through before they started the journey. It''s just bad luck."


    David felt terrible when he heard Mark''s words. It was as he expected, Mark really did not have any hope for these people to reach the city unaffected. Mark was ruthless with his words and hit him hard. Hearing everything he thought was still painful.


    "To simply put it your way of thinking is na?ve. The life you lived before was fine, I wouldn''t say it was the best but compared to now. We both know it''s a major change. People aren''t as nice as before. You take what you get, if you want more, we fight. This is why I want to build my own base. I don''t want to constantly fight."


    This was the last nail, as David stayed motionless in his seat. He didn''t move, simply looked down in his own thoughts. Mark gave him time as he leaned back on the seat in his own thoughts. He felt bad for telling someone older than him that he was na?ve. No one would like that, but David was different, and he knew that.


    As David was in his own thoughts about Mark''s words, he remembered the promise and looked up. He hesitated a few seconds and then said, "Mark, the promise. Is it possible?" He really wanted the two people to take their own revenge.


    Mark looked down and heard David''s question. He looked back up and said while sighing, "David, you know how hard it is out there. Those two kids might die. We aren''t fighting against zombies, which move slowly and are only dangerous when we are near. These are humans and have guns like us. Two kids with barely any knowledge of fighting before this, it''s hard. They would only drag us down and we would have to constantly look over their safety. I''m sure you want nothing to happen to them too."


    David could only bite his teeth as he heard Mark spew out facts. It was true. He did not want anything to happen to those both kids. He was already a partial reason their parents and everyone with them died. Their death would be too much for him. But he didn''t give up, he gave the girl a bit of hope and was going to stick to it.


    "I''ll take care of them. They will constantly be on my side. I''ll keep my life on the line for them. So please, this one time. Those kids want revenge, and I saw it in that girl when I asked her. This could help them come back on the right track and their recovery. Please." He was trying his best.

 Chapter 153 - Agreement And Crazy Idea

    Looking at David''s desperate face, Mark knew he gave the teenagers a hefty promise which he would have said he would get it done. Mark could only sigh seeing how David wants to redeem himself. He knew he was going to make another bad decision. But after seeing the cool and calm man like this, he couldn''t handle it.


    He slowly nodded and said, "Alright. I''ll somehow talk to the General about this and see what I can do. But I am reminding you, David. You keep them by your side all the time. I don''t want to hear another death story from your mouth anytime soon." Making David happy.


    David knew how much Mark hated doing this, and he felt gratitude towards the man. He nodded and said, "Don''t worry. I will try to keep them safe. Even though my skills aren''t the best, they should be able to keep them safe." He patted his chest at the end. His expression turned 180 after Mark''s ok.


    Mark sighed, seeing him happy with it. He felt he was too easygoing with his teammates. He didn''t want to be like that, but for now, he decided to keep it like this. He also trusted the man''s skills with the fun a little. After fighting for weeks out on the street, he got better and was now better than the rookie he was before.


    Standing up from the seat, he looked down at David and said, "David, you better change fast. Your way of thinking is too good for this dog eat dog world. The quicker you change, the better would be your and Daisy''s life. If it continues like this, I am sure because if you even Daisy would be in trouble. I am sure that is the last thing you want to happen. So you better change." He said the same things they talked about a lot of times once again. He is trying to make it as clear as possible for the dude.


    David''s face turned pale on the last sentence. Daisy was his sun in the world. Her smile was like a cure for all the mental pressure he faced the last few weeks. She was important to him and would do anything for her. But if it''s because of him that something would really happen to her, he didn''t find a need to survive and would kill himself to reunite with his wife and daughter.


    Mark walked out of the dining room and went directly into his room. He was in no mood to play games with the others anymore after the talk with David. He closed the door and laid on the bed, looking at the ceiling in his own thoughts.


    ''Damn it. I shouldn''t have even allowed David to do and get close to the people in Loshin town. Now it became an enormous mess for him. I should have just kept my mouth shut when David asked for ideas, even when I thought it was too risky.'' and sighed.


    He already had a rough idea of how he wanted to attack the base. He knows how the rough structure of the school was and had a rough plan. It was a simple diversion. The people from the military would be a distraction with Suzie and David, now the two kids, while only he and Kevin would sneak in quietly.


    With Suzie''s strength, it would not be too hard for her to make a nice distraction long enough to take down the camp smoothly. After taking out those people on the base, they can strike from the back. He planned to make changes if necessary after learning the abilities and specialties of the soldiers provided. He could only hope Donald doesn''t provide any lackey people.


    After getting these thoughts out of his head, he started thinking about the next day. It would be the riskiest day of his life, depending on how things could go. He planned to test out his abilities, which he kept as a secret from the rest. He didn''t want the military to lose their sanity and run tests on his body to find the truth behind something magical.


    No person with a logical mind would believe if told he got the abilities from two beings which were generally only mentioned in religious books, no one would. So he would keep it to himself until there is another case of such powers erupting throughout the area. He planned to test the power from the dark circle inside him.


    The power which seemed like it either paused time for him or something even crazier, control the zombies. Both of them were really helpful depending on how he used them. But it was obvious that both had a major drawback, the headaches after using it only for a single second.


    He looked at the bag on the side and saw the box of pills David gave him 2 days back inside the bottle holder. He wanted to avoid them as much as possible. He knew the addiction which comes with using such pills based on the past. He used them before when things were all dark for him.


    His plan of testing was fighting the zombie hand to hand and try to push his mental capacity to the limits such that it would trigger. The last time was when his emotions went haywire and the sense of urgency. Fighting the zombies without weapons filled the criteria because a slight scratch from a zombie would be his doom. So being on his toes could probably bring it out.


    This was all his theory, and he planned to improvise based on how things were going to go. This was a mental idea, but this was all he got for now. He could only pray that things would be as easy as he predicts.


    He closed his eyes for a nap and woke up for dinner before going back to sleep once again. He wanted a nice rest before the crazy next day.

 Chapter 154 - Experiment

    Mark woke up the next day and had his breakfast. He went back into the room and took out both his guns and sword. Strapping the sword to his back and the guns in their holders, he took the Jeep keys and walked out of the apartment. He told them not to wait for him during lunch and would have it outside. Kevin asked him if he could accompany him, but he didn''t allow anyone. He only said he was going for a ride and everyone knew it was something personal, so no one asked.


    Getting into the car, Mark took a deep breath. He started the engine and drove away from the building. He kept both the guns to the side and looked around for any places he could use. He didn''t know the city well. He was an introvert, apart from the university, which he rarely went to, only to show that he was alive. He didn''t attend any social activities like going to clubs or parks, which was more of a Kevin type of thing.


    He looked around for any small places he could use. His ideal place was a small closed out basketball court so that he would have his alone time with his helper, the zombie, to know more of the abilities. But he didn''t find any, so he searched for the next best thing, alleyways. The alleyways were small and cramped, so it was easier to isolate them. Feeling pumped up, he started looking for alleyways and after an hour of searching through many streets, he finally found the one.


    It was a small alleyway with an iron grid about his height in the middle. He also noticed the few zombies on the perfect street. The final deciding factor was the garbage bin, which was big enough to block the alleyway if kept correctly.


    "How convenient." He smiled and parked the Jeep inside the opposite alleyway before getting down. He had a gun in his hand and slowly walked to the other side. Before attracting any zombies, he went to check the alleyway. It was simple, a few Ac outlets and windows he could use to climb the wall if things go out of hand. The iron blockade was also good enough for him to jump. He moved the huge garbage relatively easily and noticed it was enough to block any other zombies from trying to get in, at least for a few seconds.


    After getting everything ready, he moved the garbage bin a bit, enough to squeeze in one human at a time. Slowly moving outside, he lightly hit the scabbard of the sword to the wall to make as little sound as possible. He aimed to only attract a single zombie, not a horde. It would be a disaster if it was a horde. So he continued to move forward down the street, near an isolated zombie. He then slowly hit with a quicker pace and finally made the zombie turn around. It looked at Mark before it groaned and moved towards him.


    Mark slowly moved back after noticing it was only a normal zombie. Luckily he didn''t attract too many zombies and backed up, with the zombie till he reached the alleyway. Moving the bin a bit more, he allowed the zombie to come inside. Moving the zombie forwards inside, he reached the iron blockade and then jumped over the zombie using it as support.


    ''Damn, I can do some parkour now.'' He felt amused and moved quickly towards the garbage bin and closed it. Now it was only one human and a zombie in a small alleyway, blocking both sides undisturbed by the creatures outside. He noticed the zombie making back towards him and slowly stretched his hands. He kept the gun and sword back in their places.


    With nothing in his hand, he moved forward until he was almost within its reach. The zombie sprung at him as he sidestepped and dodged it. He could feel his heart beat faster as the zombie rose again. Even though dodging was easier, the stress he was under didn''t make it easier.


    The zombie continued to grab him as he continued to dodge. Instead of sidestepping the slow zombie, he made it harder by cutting that off. No sidestepping. He could only dodge when the zombie was dangerously close. This worked as he continued to dodge in close proximity.


    He could feel an unsightly aura coming from the zombie, which made him feel disgusted. He continued to back away and dodge the zombie and finally stopped when he felt the cold iron of the blockade touch his sweaty back. He felt a cold shiver run down his spine when he saw the zombie trying to jump on him. He rolled away without waiting.


    Standing up immediately, he kept his palm on his chest and felt the hard beats of his heart. He looked up and saw a bird circling them. He then looked down and saw the zombie jumping on him again. This made him freeze. He didn''t have time to dodge it properly and would only get scratched.


    ''Shit, stop.'' he cursed and tried to reach out for the sword behind him. As he did, he saw the zombie slow down and knew it was the same phenomenon. He looked up, saw the bird still flying around, and immediately knew what ability he had. He felt a strange connection with the zombie in front of him.


    ''I can control zombies? Damn, that''s good.'' feeling esthetic about the situation. But before he could continue to enjoy the situation, he felt the brain splitting pain attack him once again. He could feel the strange connection he had with the zombie being cut off and become weak.


    Without minding the pain for a few seconds, he slashed the sword right on the neck of the zombie, severing its head from the body perfectly. He finally exhaled when the body and the head fell at his feet.

 Chapter 155 - More Questions

    Sitting down with his hands on his head, Mark took deep breaths continuously to ease the pain he was feeling. Sweat kept rolling down his face and drenching his back, and he could only keep gritting through it. But eventually, he took out the box of tablets from his pockets and swallowed a pill to ease it without water.


    The pill started doing its work immediately, and he sat there on the ground, not moving, only waiting for the pain to ease a little so that he could continue his work. He originally planned to do at least 3 experiments but is now scared from the pain. If he faints on the alleyway, there is no telling how things will go.


    After 15 more minutes of resting, he finally found himself standing by taking the wall support. He dragged his body towards one of the Ac outlets and sat on it. He looked down towards the zombie near his feet and simply kicked it a little.


    ''Shit, this pain is too much. The disadvantages are way more than what it gives me. I am not going to use this anytime soon. Damn it, the only powers I got have heavy drawbacks. How do I solve this now.'' he thought while frowning and rubbing his forehead. He got more frustrated as he thought about it.


    Eventually, after another 30 minutes of resting, he finally stood up and checked the time. Noticing it was already time for lunch, Mark made his way towards the Jeep parked across the road. Getting into the safe environment in the Jeep, he let out a relaxing sigh and took out a bottle of water from the bag before downing almost half of it in one go.


    He felt very satisfied when he drank water and then felt his stomach ache in hunger. He immediately took out the snacks he packed and started gobbling them down at an insane rate. Before he knew it, 5 bags of chips, 4 energy bars, and 2 water bottles were completely done. Looking at the amount he ate, he felt astonished. He brought extra just in case he would be late to go home and wouldn''t be able to find any food.


    As he was thinking, he felt his stomach growl in hunger a bit once again. His eyes went wide open and was thinking about himself as a monster. He could never eat this much in his whole life and just after he properly tested the powers, his hunger spiked up a lot. He couldn''t help but curse as he realized another burden this power brought for him, and this one is bigger than the last one.


    Food was now probably the most important commodity humans have. For now, everything is good for their group and they are happy. But he knew how things would go down after a few more weeks or even a month. There isn''t any supply, and the stock they have now would eventually become nil. Then there would be a huge fight for food all around the country. That is the reason Mark is trying to get all he could right now.


    Now with the new emerging problem, his decision of not using the power more often solidified. He sighed and then drove the Jeep to an isolated place before he slowly fell asleep. He was too tired by the hunger and headache he got when he used the power.


    As he opened his eyes, he saw a similar scene of three balls. Noticing that the balls were similar with slight changes. The grey ball in the middle was a little bigger, not by much, but Mark''s keen observation of things caught it. He didn''t think much about it and then turned around to look at the place he was in. He called this his ''mind space'' and was going to keep calling it that. Then he noticed his surroundings and something caught his eyes.


    There was a border. A transparent border around the balls. He walked up closer and extended his hand. It stopped before it reached the ball. He felt something hard like a wall when he pressed further.


    ''Another restriction or something?'' he thought, comparing the chains on the light ball to the transparent case. He walked around the balls touching the transparent wall and found it was really restricting the three balls. He thought about something and tried to use his powers. The dark ball slowly expanded and let out a strange fog, but as the fog touched the transparent wall, he felt immense pain once again.


    He closed his eyes and opened them to see his car''s roof. Drinking some water, he massaged his forehead.


    ''It''s all the transparent wall''s fault. When that strange wave touched the wall, the pain came back. It''s all the damn wall''s fault. There was no wall the last time I went inside the mind-space. Why is it there now? Damn it.'' trying to figure out how the wall came into being.


    He tried to remember the moment he used the powers on the zombie earlier that day but couldn''t remember anything. It was strange, he could only remember the zombie stopping for a second and him taking out the sword to finish it. He couldn''t remember things like seeing the bird or any other situation, only the zombie and the sword.


    ''Damn, this is messing with my head. I can''t remember anything other than those two things. I saw something other than the zombie before I swung the sword. Something which determined that I was controlling the zombie but not stopping time. What the hell was that.'' he felt scared as he thought about it more deeply.


    Too many questions started piling on one and another as he thought deeper and deeper about the powers, the transparent wall, and the memory loss. He couldn''t help but throw the bottle out of the car window. Only when he thought he finally got something that would give him an edge over the other in survival, enormous problems came with it. Given the current circumstances, he can''t use the power at any cost.

 Chapter 156 - The Night Before

    After a lot of ranting, Mark took deep breaths and moved to the front seat. Slapping himself on the cheeks, he drove the sleepiness away and turned the engine on. Looking around for a moment, he drove out of the area. He had no more energy or mental strength to try the crazy idea he had planned for the light ball, which cured Suzie''s bite.


    He drove home and stopped the car in front of the building. Getting down, he went to the first floor and knocked on the door. He was exhausted and wanted to sleep some more. Tomorrow was a big day, and even though he had a simple plan set up, he still wanted to think about any other variables possible.


    The door opened, and it was Kevin. Kevin immediately noticed the mood around Mark and knew something was wrong. He knew Mark since they were in their diapers and treated each other as brothers. So he knew Mark was facing problems.


    He didn''t say much as there others in the living room and decided to speak when they are alone, before sleep.


    "You''re finally here. We were wondering how long you are going to take and whether we should go out and inform the military tomorrow morning if you don''t arrive." Said David when Mark got in.


    "Yeah, things took a little longer than expected, so it''s late. Nothing to worry about, though. You guys continue talking. I''ll get refreshed." And walked into the hallway to get to the room. Kevin didn''t follow him and simply went back to his place.


    Mark went into the room and immediately took off his shirt. He walked in front of the huge mirror by the wardrobe. He didn''t check his physical changes to the body ever since he got the power or the primary power up like a slight increase in strength and senses during their trip to Loshin about 2 weeks back.


    Now, standing in front of the mirror, he could notice a few changes. The first thing was his height. He increased by at least 2 inches. His muscles became a bit more refined. There weren''t any scars on his skin, and the rest was similar.


    Turning around, he walked into the washroom and took a nice bath. As the water fell on his head from the showerhead, he exhaled in relief before getting into the bathtub. Looking at the ceiling, he replayed all the things which occurred earlier that day. He didn''t have a headache anymore after that nice sleep in the Jeep. He sighed and relaxed a little longer before getting up and moving out.


    Getting into some comfortable clothes, he sat on the bed, spreading his feet and hands on the back of his head. Staying calm for a few more minutes, he moved towards his wallet and took out a picture. A picture of three. Two women and one man. It was him and the two people he loved the most, his mom and sister.


    His mom was sitting on a chair in front while his sister sat on the chair''s armrest and he was behind both of them with a wide smile on his face. He couldn''t remember the last time he smiled like that. Caressing the photo, he remembered the times he spent with both of them and smiled a bit.


    He planned to leave this dark world and meet them in the afterlife, but things changed too drastically that he forgot about it. Things took a very drastic turn. Things he did for fun like shooting guns or was forced to do like learn swordsmanship by the old man became things he heavily relied on.


    He finally got a simple reason to continue living. It was the thrill of life. The thrill he never experienced until then was very intoxicating for him. The first time he saw the zombies and fought against them in the building using a simple rod was amazing. He decided to live for that thrill on that day itself.


    Keeping the photo back into the wallet and keeping that into his pocket, he resumed his relaxing position. He felt nice being in silence with his own thoughts until a knock on the door disturbed him. He groaned and answered.


    "Come in."


    The door opened, and two people came in, David and Suzie. Mark looked confused when he saw both of them come in at the same time. If it were only David, then it would be about the two teenagers he promised, but both of them came and David would not like to talk about those stuffed in front of others.


    "So?" He asked as Suzie closed the door.


    "It''s about Suzie''s check-up. Didn''t we decide on doing that once we came into the town? So yeah, as we will not use the military support, it''s better to find a functioning hospital. When do you want to do it?" David asked.


    Mark finally remembered what this was about. He nodded and said, "let''s do it the day after tomorrow. You said you would need at least about a week to do all the tests needed right. We can do it after we leave the military neighborhood. Tomorrow we will attack those underground gangsters and take them down. So most of the places should be safe after we do that. Do you have any suggestions on which hospital?"


    "If you ask me, then I say we go to the hospital I worked at. It''s small but has all the latest equipment and is very near to my house too. So we can stay there if we would like to. That would be the best place for now."


    Mark nodded after bearing him and replied, "Alright since you said that let''s do it like that. We will go the day after tomorrow, probably only three of us. We will leave Kevin here with your daughter and her father, while we finish that up." Making a rough plan to go with.

 Chapter 157 - The Day

    Hearing his simple plan, both of them nodded. Mark leaned back on the bed and reminded them, "Try to decide what I asked you guys the day before yesterday. We will be here in the city for an extra week and immediately after your tests, I will take my leave with Kevin from here. The only reason I am staying here is for both of your safety and her results."


    Both of them once again gave a nod. Mark''s main reason for staying was their safety, but he was also curious about any possible changes which his powers brought to her body. He needed as much as information he could get, even though it might be almost irrelevant how he could use his power more.


    And as the two were about to leave, Mark asked, "David, stay. I need to ask you about something."Suzie left quietly while David stayed.


    "Did you ask those two kids to come to the camp early in the morning?"


    David nodded and said, "Yeah, I asked Denton to inform them today to come to the camp as early as possible if they wanted to get involved."


    "And how did you ask Denton?"


    David chuckled before scratching the back of his head and said, "Well, let''s just say I was looking at the streets outside for a very long time today while you were outside. I was lucky enough to notice Denton on his rounds and asked him." Mark just shook his head when he heard the middle-aged man tell this stuff.


    After the brief exchange between the two, they made their way out into the living room. Daisy and Suzie went to cook up some dinner for them while the four men sat in the living room. Both the old men had beers in their hands. Beers, they won in the match of cards they played earlier that morning when Mark was out. Mark never liked alcohol and Kevin didn''t have any mood to drink.


    Mark leaned into Kevin''s ears and whispered, "We might have to go on a scavenger hunt around the city for food supplies before we leave for the mountains. We should try to find food as much as possible. We don''t know the exact situation in the mountains and how many people from that village are still alive."


    Kevin looked at his friend for a second before nodding. He felt the reason was true, and they had to search for more food, but something about Mark''s tone told him that there was something more to it than just that. Mark was clearly hiding something from him. This was surprising for him because they share everything. So he was not going to poke it out of him but still hoped there is a very good reason why he was hiding something.


    Mark sat back on the seat and knew Kevin was onto him. He could feel the slight suspicion in his gaze but felt happy Kevin didn''t ask him. He didn''t want to just tell the dude he had superpowers. That is insane. The four continued to talk until they heard Suzie''s voice from the dining hall for dinner.


    All of them finished their dinner and went into their rooms. Mark sat on the bed as Kevin was washing his face. Kevin looked at him and asked, "So?" He couldn''t just keep quiet anymore as curiosity took over him. He wanted to know what Mark was keeping a secret.


    Mark sighed and replied, "I can''t say everything. Just trust me when I say it''s not something dangerous. Something too serious to share with anyone right now. When I have solid answers and proofs, you will be the first one who will know about it."


    Kevin looked at his friend right in the eye trying to get anything more out of him, but could only sigh in exhaustion at the end. He nodded and got into the bed.


    "Man, I really hoped I will get a nice girlfriend this year. Things just had to go this way." Kevin sighed and changed the topic.


    Mark laughed hearing Kevin''s ranting and replied, "Well who knows man. You might meet the special girl who can save you every time you get into trouble anytime soon."


    Kevin nodded and went to sleep. Mark turned the lights off before doing the same.


    The next day everyone woke up early in the morning, getting ready for a big fight. They quickly had their breakfast. As they were having breakfast, which was far from silent because of Ray and Daisy.


    "I''ll come too. I''m a grown man who can use a gun now. Let me help you guys out a little." Ray asked, looking pitifully at his daughter. He was worried and wanted to be there for her.


    "Dad, me too. Let me also come." Daisy asked.


    Suzie shook her head and responded, "No way at all. Even I am going because of my special power or else there is no way I would be allowed and Dad, you started using a gun literally when this all started. Before that, you couldn''t even throw a rat out of the balcony. So don''t ask anymore." Staying very firm on her decision.


    "You too. There is no way you are allowed. Just stay here in the house and wait for us. We might even come for lunch if things go quickly." David said to his daughter.


    Ray and Daisy didn''t respond to them. They simply held their head down and continued to eat.


    Suzie sighed and said, "Don''t worry, dad. I will be fine. It''s ok." She tried to relieve her father a little of the tension he was feeling for her.


    They completed their breakfast and got into the living room, already. Kevin had his Ak in the hand, Mark with his standard swords and dual guns. David with the guns and a backpack with some emergency things they might need. Suzie had nothing with her. Her body was the weapon for her.

 Chapter 158 - Gathering

    The doorbell rang and as the door opened Steve walked in with his lieutenant Sophia. He looked around the living room and noticed they were ready to go. Nodding towards Mark he said, "Alright come, let''s go now. The General is waiting to introduce you guys to the people who you will fight with today."


    Mark and the other stood up. David and Suzie gave a hug to Daisy and Ray. Ray just gave a nod to Kevin and Mark. As they exited the house and walked down the hallway, Steve looked at Mark and asked, "Oh yeah. Two teenagers came early in the morning waiting for you guys. When we asked what was going on, they said you guys asked them to be there. Care to explain."


    Mark didn''t respond but instead looked over his shoulder at David. David immediately responded, "Ah yes, those both are under my care for today''s mission. I hope you guys don''t mind the trouble." He didn''t use Mark''s name and just said he was looking after them.


    "Both of them are teenagers. They might be a problem in the mission. You do know how important this mission is right now, right?" Steve frowned a bit and asked David.


    "You don''t need to worry too much. I will see to it that both those teenagers stay out of trouble during the mission."


    "I hope I can count on your word." and finally reached the entrance of the apartment. Steve along with Sophie got into their military vehicle while the rest into theirs.


    Reaching the camp main site, they parked the vehicles and got down. As they walked towards the building, David finally noticed the two teenagers in the distance looking at him. He paused and said, "One second. I''ll bring both of them with me." Pointing at the kids and ran towards them.


    As he reached closer, he looked at Gwen and nodded before peeking at Dereck. Dereck was silent, looking at him with obvious anger in his eyes. But David didn''t know how to appease the broken man, so he turned around and led them to the group.


    Reaching the group, Gwen looked up at Mark and said in a flat tone, "Thank you for accepting our request."


    Mark looked over his shoulder towards her and said, "I did nothing, it was him who asked. Let me just remind both of you. I don''t care what you are going to do, but if you get in the way and are the reason to mess things up. I will personally send you both to your loved ones. Just remember that." Giving a harsh warning and threat.


    Facing his warning, Dereck flinched a little, but Gwen had the same look on her face as she nodded. Mark turned towards Steve. Steve nodded before they continued inside the building and climbed the stairs.


    They finally reached the floor and stopped in front of Donald''s office. Steve knocked and went in before coming out again shortly and asking Mark to enter. Mark looked at the rest and asked them to wait before entering in. Donald sat behind the same old table with many papers spread across the area. Mark also noticed there weren''t anymore maps out for display like the last time.


    ''Seems like the old man learned from the last time, he hid all the maps so I won''t get any more information.'' He clicked his tongue thinking about it. Without waiting for permission, he simply sat in front of the old man.


    Donald looked up after a few more minutes and saw Mark already seated. He didn''t say anything about it as he already somewhat expected it.


    "How was your rest? I hope you had plenty of that in the past two days." Donald initiated the conversation, breaking the silence.


    Mark nodded and said, "It was fine. Now let''s get to the point, old man. Show me your team."


    Donald chuckled, hearing Mark''s straightforward way of talking. He leaned back in his seat and said, "Don''t worry. They are already assembled and are now waiting. But before you could meet them, I want to talk to you about something."


    Mark remained silent, wondering what the old man had to say.


    "Do you know that not only the zombies outside on the road but even humans are also evolving?" Donald spoke clearly into the silent room. It was only Steve, Mark and Donald in the room.


    Mark raised an eyebrow hearing this. Of Course, he knew that humans were adapting and evolving with the zombies around them after all he and Suzie also adapted and evolved. But hearing this from the old man only meant one thing.


    ''The old man has someone in his cadre who adapted and evolved, gaining some power-ups like Suzie and me. But why is he revealing stuff like this, which is generally kept top-level secret to me? What does he want?''


    "Yes, you heard me right. People are also evolving. After getting our communication system ready and running after the day you gave us, we immediately contacted the central base in the capital. We shared some critical information between our two bases and we got to know quite a few stuff."


    "Like these evolving humans. I don''t know if it is god''s blessing, but we already knew this. Why? Because we had one of our own. We got to know about the changes happening to a few of the people in this camp over the last week. It amazes me to see humans getting a change in their bodies."


    "Now why am I sharing all this with you? It''s actually nothing. You might be already thinking of several things I might ask you for this information. But I know that this information isn''t of much value to you. Why? Because you might already know it."


    "Of course you might actually not know what I am speaking and this is all new. Then I am at a serious loss. After all, this is all me betting on my instincts and my instincts tell me you know far more than I do about this stuff. This is all a bet, and I never make bets in which I lose."

 Chapter 159 - Gathering (II)

    Donald sounded very confident as he finished his sentences. He looked straight into Mark''s eyes, trying to find anything to confirm his win. He knows the problems which might come because of this, but he felt there might be more profits if he does this. But contrary to what he thought, Mark showed no emotion, no excitement, frown, or even a smirk. He had a blank expression.


    That was because Mark was thinking about his response. He did not want them to know about Suzie yet. It wasn''t safe. There are still too few people who have advanced and so it is still dangerous. But completely denying it is also not as simple as it seems because the General was spot on and Mark hated faking things. Because he couldn''t share information on Suzie, he did the next best thing.


    So he just nodded and replied, "Yes, I know about this type of change. It is because I experienced it too. I won''t tell what they are, but they are pretty useful." he was obviously talking about his heightened senses. Those were something beneficial for him, and so he was not completely lying.


    Donald was a bit shaken by how calm Mark''s response was. He knew Mark a bit by their previous exchanges and that he is a man who likes to have equal exchanges. So, he expected a response, but what he thought was only a nod from him that he knew of this phenomenon. But Mark outright told him that he was one of the people who gained powers.


    Mark was never a person to share something so personnel, and this was what surprised him in the end. Donald went quiet after hearing the response.


    ''No wonder this man is so capable. He has powers. I wonder what it is. No matter what it is, it shouldn''t be something too simple and something beneficial.''


    "Alright general, do you have anything else to say?" Mark asked once again, this time sounding impatient. He wanted to go on from this topic.


    "Yes, So anyway, back to the matter at hand, the team. The team I made should be very helpful because I am sending the only person in this camp who has that mutation with you so that the gang can be done once and for all. I hope you guys get things done quickly."


    Mark raised an eyebrow, hearing Donald.


    ''So he is sending the man who has received the mutation or adapted to the situation. Let''s just call this mutation from now on. It''s better because my powers are more like a blessing. Anyway, I wonder what the guy got from getting mutated.'' it amused him as he thought. He decided to use the proper term mutation instead of adaptation, which honestly sounded a little lame to him. He was also very curious about this said person''s abilities.


    "And what abilities did this person get?"


    Donald had an amusing smile hearing Mark and said, "Don''t be too hasty now, Mark. You will soon find out. It''s also a man who has volunteered himself to take part in the mission. You might even find him pleasing." Mark was confused but still nodded. He could wait.


    "Alright then, Mark. If possible, I want you guys to get done with that gang by today. Because those monsters are unpredictable by night and they move in large groups. If you get surrounded by them and with darkness surrounding you, it might be one hell of a ride. So my suggestion is 6 in the evening at max. Which means you guys have 10 more hours." Checking his watch.


    Mark sighed hearing Donald. What Donald said was true. Zombies are crazier by the night and they would be in danger. But only ten hours are left and they are yet to meet the team. By how things were going they should get done with all preparations by twelve so they could have at least six hours to wipe out the base.


    He stood up and said, "Alright then. I''ll get going. Who is going to show me the group?" Donald pointed at his son, who was standing near the door in silence since the moment he came in. Mark forgot about him completely.


    Mark simply nodded and got up from his seat. He wasn''t in the mood to talk any nonsense with the old man in front of him. He had work to do. As he walked towards the door, he heard Donald again.


    "Mark, I will give you a small gift if you get the mission done by today. Something which can be of much use for you." with a smile.


    Mark looked over his shoulder and shrugged, not paying much attention to this so-called gift he would get. Steve followed him outside after giving a salute to his dad.


    Mark clapped his hands as soon as he got out and said, "Alright, let''s get this done as quickly as possible. Come on, let''s go meet our temporary teammates." Looking at Steve.


    Steve started walking down the corridor and stopped before the last room. He didn''t bother knocking and simply barged inside. Mark followed him and saw five other men sitting around the table talking leisurely. But as Steve barged in, they stood up and saluted him.


    Mark looked at the people inside and raised an eyebrow when he saw one particular person. It was Denton. The man he saved when the entire world took a deep dive into hell. Now he had only one thought, ''How did that scared little business owner become a soldier capable of coming with us on such a dangerous mission. Did the old man joke when he said he is giving him the best people to work with.'' with a frown.


    "Mark, come right in. Including me, it''s a total of six people who will take part in the mission today. All of them are hand-picked by the General and you could trust their skills." Steve said, turning around.

 Chapter 160 - Gathering (III)

    Mark raised an eye when he heard they also included Steve in the team. It seemed like the General wasn''t scared to put both his sons on the line to get the mission done. He nodded and walked deeper into the room and saw various boards and also a town map on the table.


    He sat on a chair and said, "Alright, it''s best if you guys start telling what you can bring to the table. I already have a rough plan, which is very simple. Depending on your capabilities, I will change it." While scanning each and everyone apart from Denton and Steve.


    There were a pair of lanky twins, a macho man, and a woman. The twins were in contrast to each other. One had red hair who was very energetic and the other grey hair who looked like it bore him. The macho man was brimming with fighting spirit as he looked at Mark. The woman was the only person who looked normal as she stood silently at the back.


    Steve looked at his teammates and gave a nod. Everyone stepped ahead and introduced themselves properly and their strength. First was the overly energetic twin. His name was Max and was basically a scout and look out for the team. He could run quickly and be very handy in finding the location of the people. He almost went on to tell his whole autobiography until Steve stopped him.


    The next was his twin. He was a normal soldier who was fairly well at using guns compared to the average soldier. His name was John. He didn''t go further from the topic at hand.


    After that was the Bulky man. His name was Don. He focused mainly on using heavy guns like machine guns. He could also use weapons like axes and pack a powerful punch. He immediately tried to challenge Mark to a fight after his introduction but was kept quiet by Steve. He was the basic muscle head in the group.


    Last but not the least was the woman. She was the strategist person in the group, but not only that she was also the sniper in their group. Her name was Emma. She was also a senior to everyone else except Steve in the group. She remained calm after that while looking at Mark. Mark ignored her and turned to Steve.


    "What about the special person? Is he or she not here yet?"


    Steve scratched his head and said, "Well, it''s Denton. He is the mutant in our camp. That is why he is here." pointing towards his brother.


    Mark looked at him, then at Denton before nodding. Now it explained why the weak man was in this group. He was the lucky bastard who mutated.


    "And what is Denton''s special mutant power?"


    Steve looked at Denton and nodded. Denton went to the wall and punched it. It formed a dent. He turned back and looked at Mark with a grin, trying to show off his new powers. But Mark didn''t think much of it, why? Because he had a member in his group with the same power.


    "Like you just saw, he has gotten a physical power-up. We ran some tests on its limit and we can say he can lift a car easily. So he could cause some considerable amount of damage in the upcoming battle."


    Mark nodded, hearing him. He found out Suzie was actually a bit stronger than Denton. Suzie could probably lift an army tank easily. A car was only worth one of her hands. But he didn''t voice them out at all.


    "Alright, I got the general idea of everyone in here. Now tell me about the situation of our opposition. What are we going up against and how much area do they cover? I heard they expanded quite a lot from the last time I went into their base."


    Steve nodded and looked at Emma. Emma simply stood up and went in front of the desk where the map was laid out with a few red dots and circles everywhere.


    She pointed at the red dot in the middle and said, "This is their main camp. They are using a school for it. Now they started to branch out and try to kill zombies in the surrounding area so they could expand. The intel we got from the scouts was that they have outposts in these areas. So if we want to take their primary base out, we need to sneak in without getting noticed and then strike them quickly." Pointing at a few smaller circles which surrounded the red dot and then gave her own small plan. The plan was straightforward.


    Mark hummed as he saw the map and heard her plan. He didn''t give much thought to her plan. It was dumb and risky. He wondered how she became the strategist of the group. First of all, it would be hella tough for them to sneak in with a large group. Even if they were successful in sneaking in, it is impossible to take the primary base out without getting noticed. There would be people making rounds in the streets. The gangsters weren''t dumb.


    After they strike the base, the people guarding the outposts and who were outside can easily attack them from the backside. A pincer attack was something they should avoid at all costs. So the plan was thrown out the window.


    "Hmm, yeah, the plan is dumb." So, he flat out refused it. There was no nicer way to say it.


    Emma frowned a little but didn''t reply. She was just giving a suggestion. She didn''t put much thought into this plan because Steve already told her the team they were working with already had one and they just need to follow. But getting shot down like that wasn''t much nice either.


    "So now with that out of the way, let''s get to the plan I put together the last two days. It''s rather simple, a distraction game."

 Chapter 161 - Gathering (IV)

    "Distraction game?" asked Steve, sounding doubtful. In fact, not only him but everyone else from their team also looked doubtful. They knew this tactic, and it was very common.


    "Yeah, distraction. Given our low numbers, this is the best possible way to go at it. Most of our group will go headfirst into one of their border outposts and try to push through. But the main purpose is to grab the attention of the camp. While two of us can sneak into the camp and take the major players there quickly." Pointing at him and Kevin.


    Steve frowned a little. This method was a bit risky and could cause destruction. The team which would cause the distraction had to fight really hard and hold the attention of the opponent long enough that the people sneaking in could get things done. It was a lot of work compared to going right for it as Emma suggested. At Least that way they don''t need to worry about the other team as they would stick together.


    "How do you plan to go unnoticed by the outpost and even sneak into their base camp, even if we are attracting most of their attention? They aren''t dumb enough to send all their forces in one direction while leaving their backs wide open," asked Emma as she tapped the table.


    Mark leaned back on the seat and replied calmly, "The sewers."


    "Sewers?" Steve asked


    "You heard me correctly. I plan to use the sewers to get into their camp. They won''t be checking and patrolling the sewers. So, it''s a nice way to get in unnoticed while you guys are creating a bigger distraction on the other end. We will finish the job quickly and quietly." it was the same way he got in when he went in alone to save Suzie.


    "We will get into the sewers outside the outpost and try to navigate our way inside. So do you have any maps with the sewer system correctly drawn?" looking at Steve.


    Steve thought for a second before nodding and going out of the room. The room was silent as everyone was in their own thoughts. Suzie sighed as she looked at David. She thought she was the only one with some special powers and now seeing someone else with almost the exact copy as her; it didn''t feel right. But she assured herself by telling her she was stronger than the man.


    David was rather thinking about how he should look after the two teenagers who were his responsibility. He clutched the gun on his waist and shook his head. He didn''t want any negative thoughts at a time like that.


    Kevin was thinking about the plan Mark just told. He didn''t want to mess things up for Mark.


    The military team thought little about all of this. Their only plan was to follow Steve''s orders like they were told to. Only Emma was thinking about the plan. Hoping to find any loopholes she could fix. It was an important mission, and all the people involved were very important resources for the camp''s survival. The General was betting everything on this.


    After a while, Steve came back inside with a map in his hand and threw it towards Mark. Mark caught it, stood up, and placed it widespread on the table. They filled the whale map with lines in all types of colors. It was not only the sewer system that mapped out other stuff like water and electricity lines were also there.


    Mark looked at the two maps and started thinking about the right place for them to create a distraction and then a place to sneak into the sewer system unnoticed. He pointed out at a high rise building and said, "Alright, here is where you guys will create the distraction."


    "You can use the various buildings to your advantage, and this post is also one of the closest to one of the military camp posts. So if you need support or have to fall back, it can be done quickly."


    "Meanwhile, I and Kevin will get inside the sewer right around here. It has the shortest route to the school, but also a straightforward one. It also looks like this is one of the weaker outposts they have, seeing how the nearest outpost is quite far."


    "That is a dangerous zone. There is more zombie activity there. That is why it is sparse. So I think it is better if you guys chose another one." Steve interrupted and gave a suggestion.


    Mark smiled hearing him and replied, "Then that is even better. If we play our cards right, then we can properly enter the sewer meanwhile the people guarding the place are on high alert for zombies." and everyone thought he was crazy.


    "You don''t need to worry, I and Kevin will take care of it. So except for me and Kevin, everyone else is creating the distraction. If you guys want to plan things out, I think you should. I plan to start the attack by 1. Only an hour left." he leaned back.


    Steve looked at Emma and both of them started planning out how they can effectively use the place to their advantage. Both of them discussed with everyone except Kevin and Mark, who simply sat in a corner. Mark closed his eyes and leaned back while Kevin was looking at the group discussing.


    "Do you think we will succeed?" Kevin suddenly asked.


    Mark opened one of his eyes lightly, taking a peek at his dumb friend before closing it and replying, "Don''t worry too much. If we don''t succeed, let''s just run and try another time. Everything will be ok either way."


    Kevin nodded, hearing Mark''s words. He also believed that being alive is the most important aspect. They could always come back when they are strong enough to face them. Remembering something, Mark took out his bag. Taking out a Glock 17 and a few magazines of bullets, he kept the gun back down. He wanted to give it to Suzie. He forgot to give them before.

 Chapter 162 - The Attack

    The strategy meeting didn''t take them too long and by 11 they all got out of the room. Mark turned to Steve and asked them to meet them near the entrance by 12. The military group left to get ready, and they made their way down to a temporary room in the same building. It was a simple room with a table and chairs like the one before.


    All of them sat on a chair and kept quiet. Until Mark took out the Glock and bullets for Suzie. Pushing them towards her across the table, he said, "Use it for today. Denton also got a power-up, and it is awfully similar to yours. I think we should stick to our original plan of not showing it to anyone else. At Least until more people have mutated. So don''t use them until you are in danger or you feel it is necessary."


    Suzie nodded before taking the gun into her hand. Mark taught her the basics before and so she knew how to shoot but was far from being good at it.


    As the clock was 10 minutes away from 12, all of them stood up and made their way down. Mark and Kevin got into the Jeep while the rest were waiting for the military Jeep. Kevin knew the city streets better than Mark and so took the wheel.


    The military Jeep didn''t keep them waiting for long as it rolled by with Steve behind the wheel. David, Suzie, and the teenagers got inside the Jeep and after Steve and Mark shared a nod they drove off.


    Both of them slowly drove in the streets as their destination was near. They stopped and parked the Jeep inside a building that was a few apartments away from the outpost. They could see the barricades in the distance, which had many zombie bodies. There was black blood everywhere, as it seemed like they just held off a zombie attack. There were only 7 gunmen near the barricade and all of them looked exhausted.


    "Man, it''s only noon, and we already faced 2 zombie attacks. It seems like it''s more hectic today." Said one man. Mark could hear it clearly, even if they were a block away from them.


    ''We came a bit late. The correct time would have been when they were being attacked, but now it''s already over. Well, it''s better than them being completely alert. All of them seem exhausted. The sewer hole we need to enter is a bit further up. We need to go through the buildings.''


    "Alright, it seems like they were just attacked and all of them seem exhausted. It isn''t the idlest situation for us, but also not the worst. Let''s try to move up through the building until the sewer hole. It should be in the next alleyway. Two apartments away from here." He whispered to Kevin.


    Kevin nodded, and they slowly climbed up from the underground parking plot into the hallway of the ground floor. Going to the nearest window, Mark noticed the next building was relatively close and jumped out of the window. He climbed over the wall and waited for Kevin. They slowly opened the window and got inside.


    They continued similarly across another building until they stopped in the alleyway they needed. Mark walked to the end and peeked outside. He saw the armed men were still lazing around, exhausted. Walking back inside, they went to the sewer hole.


    "From this sewer hole, it is straight into the school street. Then we need to switch into another sewer hole to get in." And took out the lid.


    They were hit with a stink they couldn''t bear and so took out the masks Steve gave both of them. Feeling a bit better, both of them got inside. Keeping the lid back inside, they lit the torchlight and slowly made their way. Mark could see a lot of dead animals as they walked.


    ''Seems like not all animals could sustain their life.''


    The only drawback of their plan was they didn''t have a way to communicate. Mark could not know if the other party started their attack or not. If they did, how was their situation? These all things would remain a question until they reach the enemy base. Based on the amount of panic the people have, they can guess the amount of damage the other team dealt.


    They slowly made their way across and finally reached the sewer hole they needed to exit. Mark did not open the hole and instead asked Kevin to be quiet. The whole sewer was completely silent. Mark was trying to figure out if there were people above.


    After a minute of silence, he slowly lifted the lid and peeked outside. He could see vehicles in the far end of the streets going away in the opposite direction in a hurry. Opening the lid completely, both of them quickly got out and closed the lid. Mark knew this street. It was the same street he used to enter when he came for Suzie.


    They walked towards the next sewer hole near the wall and jumped right in. Walking the short distance, they were now inside the compound wall of the school. Mark once again slowly opened the lid. This time he suddenly heard footsteps and turned around. He could see a gangster with a gun looking at them.


    The gangster was about to raise the gun and shout, but go shot instead. Mark didn''t give him a chance. Looking around once again, Mark got out and closed the lid once Kevin did too. Both of them had the guns in their hands, looking around for more men.


    "Get in the vehicles and go idiots. The post near the high raises is being attacked. Go and give back up. The military dogs dare to attack us in broad daylight. Go and kill." Both of them could hear orders from inside the vehicle and people running around.


    "Seems like they are doing a wonderful job." Said Kevin.

 Chapter 163 - The Attack (II)

    Mark nodded with a smile. ''It seems like Steve is doing a good job on the other end. Now let''s get to work.'' looking at the window.


    Slowly opening the window, they peeked through the curtain and saw two people in the corridor. One was on the other side of the hallway while the other was walking away from them. Mark noticed the slightly opened door to a room on the right side. It was a classroom with benches attached and chairs to the side.


    He remained silent, observing the corridor and the two people in it while Kevin was looking out for people. As soon as the person on the other side walked away and the one walking almost in the middle, Mark jumped inside. He squeezed into the room on the right and turned around to see a person sleeping. Smiling at how convenient things are, he slit the man''s throat.


    He looked back and saw Kevin already closing the door. Both of them waited as they heard the footsteps from the corridor. As soon as they came near, they suddenly stopped in front of the door.


    The door got knocked and Mark put a finger on his lip while walking towards the door. Kevin hid behind a cabinet in the room while Mark got behind the door and slowly opened it. They already shoved the body under the tables, and now the room was empty.


    "Man, how long do you take to open the door. We got an order, so wake up. We need to get to the-" said the person as he came in, but paused when the room was empty.


    Mark didn''t give the man any time as he kicked the gun in his hand and placed the sword on his throat. Everything happened too quickly for the man, and he couldn''t react even a bit.


    "Now don''t make any noise. Just stay quiet and sit down on the chair to the side." He whispered and Kevin came out from his space. Mark knocked his head back and signaled him to close the door.


    Closing the door, both of them sat opposite to the gangster. With Mark''s sword on his neck, he could only stay quiet while observing the two people in front of him.


    "Now, let''s start with the basic question. How many people are currently in this place?" pressing the sword harder. A small line of blood trailed down the man''s neck, making him shiver.


    "Around 30 people. Almost everyone went over to the outpost near the high rises. They suddenly attacked us. The boss lost his cool and ordered everyone to move there." his voice trembled.


    Mark simply nodded and continued, "Now, where is your boss''s room?"


    "The floor above. His office is in the principal''s room. But many people are guarding that place. You-" he stopped when Mark pressed it hard enough for him to feel pain. He started sweating harder.


    "Exactly, how many people are on this floor and the above? How to get there?"


    "There are probably five more on the main corridor, which is to the last right from here. The stairs up are right around the corner, so it''s easy to reach. There are another four people on the corridor above "


    Mark nodded and sliced off the head without giving the person a chance to retort. He looked down at the head and then at the body falling. Covering his mouth, he swallowed the vomit back in and drank some water. He never killed humans, the last time was when he had too much adrenaline and forgot. Zombies were different as they were already dead, but now he killed a man knowing fully what he was committed to and it made him feel a bit sick.


    Exhaling some air, he turned back and gave Kevin an assuring nod.


    "We need to get this done quick. I''ll move in the front, and you cover the back while looking out for people. Let''s burn this place down." Extending his fist.


    Kevin smiled and did the same. Standing in the front, Mark opened the door and peeked outside. He noticed a gangster standing at the far end with a gun, looking around. He couldn''t afford to kill him in that position.


    As soon as the member turned around and walked into the main corridor, Mark quickly went out and slowly made his way with Kevin covering his back. They paused as they almost reached the middle. Right in front of them to the left was the entrance to the building. Many people were outside patrolling and they could get caught if they don''t cross the doors quickly.


    Taking a deep breath, Mark peeked outside and saw people looking around with guns. Everyone was on high alert. Normally this distance could take Mark three jumps to get across. But it should only take him one jump if he did it now.


    Taking a few steps back, Mark slowly ran and leaped across while looking to the side. Luckily, no one caught his leaping figure as he safely landed on his two feet. Turning back, he urged Kevin to do the same. Kevin was normally more athletic than him, so he would only take an extra jump.


    Taking a deep breath, Kevin ran and jumped with all he got. Surprisingly, he could reach farther than he thought. Seeing him come near the end, Mark stretched his hand out and pulled him in. Kevin fell on Mark and they both tripped.


    As their bodies fell on the floor, Mark tried to stretch his hand out and stop their momentum, but it was too late. It created a small sound, making a person outside look into the corridor. As the gangster wanted to check what made the sound, he heard his friend.


    "Hey, don''t wander off. The boss is raging today. If we mess up, we will die." making him stop and get back to his position.


    Mark sighed in relief as the man turned around and both of them got up.

 Chapter 164 - The Attack (III)

    Mark stopped once they reached the end and looked into the corridor. It was simple, and as the man said before, the stairs were literally right next to them. But there were also 4 people surveying the place, always on alert and looking around. Taking his head out, Mark couldn''t help but sigh. It was almost impossible to use the stairs with no noise and people not noticing.


    Leaning against the wall, both of them calmly waited for someone to reach the end of the hallway. Finally, after a few more seconds, they could hear footsteps getting nearer. As soon as the person''s head became visible, Mark immediately pulled him into a headlock and dragged him to the side.


    Tightening his arm around the person''s neck, Mark looked as the face went from red to blue before snapping the head completely. Placing the body down, Kevin continued to look around for any people who caught them. Giving the nod to Mark, both of them dragged the body into an open room near them and closed the door.


    Looking back into the corridor, they noticed only one man looking out of the window. Mark did not like the pace they were going at. The more they take time, the higher chance of getting caught. Taking a deep breath, he slowly inched inside while his back was firmly against the wall.


    The stairs were only a few steps away and alert the man in the corridor. Kevin was right behind him. As Mark finally reached the stairs, they heard someone shout.


    "Hey, you there. Why are you sneaking around? Tell me your position."


    Time seemed to stop as Mark noticed the man looking out the window turning around, and looked up for the source, to see someone holding a gun aimed at them. He didn''t take the possibility of someone above noticing them from above into account.


    ''Oh man, I was all too optimistic about this situation. Let''s do this the old and straightforward way, bulldozing through this.'' And shot the man above on the head even before giving him a chance to react.


    Kevin saw this and immediately acted. He aimed the gun at the one in the corridor who was now holding the gun while looking at them and shot. His shot wasn''t as precise as Mark''s, and it hit the shoulder. He didn''t stop there and shot another before leaping into the stairs as bullets came from the man. This time the bullet hit right on the cheek, blowing off the head.


    This attracted all the attention they tried desperately to avoid till now. Mark looked at Kevin and said, "I''ll take up the rear. You continue up." And pushed him ahead.


    They could hear footsteps everywhere, and it didn''t take long for the guards above to notice them. Kevin held the AK tightly and started to shoot while Mark was waiting for the people below to appear. The ones above would only be a handful, but there would be numerous below.


    Kevin continued to take cover while shooting the people above. One was already dead. Mark finally saw a group of people coming into the corridor below and took both the guns to shoot.


    With both of them fighting, the entire camp was in turmoil as everyone rushed towards the stairs both of them were at. Both of them had blood all over. Even though no bullet hit them directly, few grazed them, causing blood and pain to ooze out.


    Kevin was finally able to shoot the last person down and slowly make his way up the stairs. As he did, he saw 4 bodies littered. Mark stuck to him and slowly backed away while he continued to shoot. The corridor below was filled with bodies everywhere, showing Mark''s fierceness to the fullest.


    "Move up, I''ll continue to hold on. Be careful; there should be people hiding. Now move." Urging Kevin as he quickly changed clips for both the guns.


    Kevin slowly went up to the door and peeked outside. As he did, bullets rained towards him, not giving him a chance to even catch a breath. Mark quickly pulled him back before continuing to shoot. Taking a deep breath, Kevin took out one of the grenades from his bag. Both of them had three grenades each as they wanted to drag the whole camp into dust.


    He quickly threw it towards the group of people on the right and closed his ears before squatting down. Faced against the sudden bomb coming towards them, they couldn''t even respond to it fast enough to jump out of the building. And were blasted away. The glasses and doors around them shattered as blood splattered all over the wall.


    Peeking out once again, Kevin saw the horrifying scene and sighed in relief. After having a proper check, he stepped into the hallway and looked at the left corridor. Mark noticed the situation and stepped into the hallway along with him as he continued to shoot.


    "Good job. The leader should be in the principal office at the end of the corridor to the left. He should be very confident in himself to not come out until now, even after all the noise we both are creating. So let''s be careful." He reminded Kevin.


    Mark already had a few guesses as to why the leader made no appearance until then. The one he was most confident about was the other party''s strength. He believed that the leader was at least an evolver and gained a few powers like himself and Suzie.


    Author Note- PRETTY IMPORTANT


    A simple note for you all. Wanted to check in on the thoughts you guys might have towards the progress of the story. First of all let me thank you for reading this far too. So do drop a comment on how the story is.


    I started releasing chapters again from Jan, once in two days. I originally thought I could return back to daily releases but with my current situation it is impossible for the next 8 months. I need to write another exam in 8 months and have left home for another city to study for this exam, so it''s some serious business. I don''t have time to even write a single chapter daily, that''s how tight my schedule has been. This chapter is the one I wrote after coming here so the quality might be a little less. The chapters over the last month were all my stockpile.


    After careful consideration I decided to leave my Instagram ID here- @Cruchymonster.


    Drop a follow if you would like to. I might not post anything now but might in the future (that is if I have any time).


    Also guys drop a few reviews now that you made it this far and have a grasp of my writing and the story. Constructive feedback is always welcomed. And if you want to drop a few stones once in a while cheers me up a lot.


    About the new story I promised a while back, I am working on it and it will be a transmigration showbiz. I think it''s cool so look forward for it. I plan to release after I have a stockpile. See you guys later.

 Chapter 165 - Kane Transformation

    As both of them were on the second floor, they heard a loud voice, taking both of them by surprise.


    "Trash. You couldn''t stop these two tiny people from reaching here. Move away and don''t come up. Anybody who steps up dies."


    The voice sounded more like an animal than a human. There was a moment of silence around them as people who were climbing the stairs with guns in their hands were shaking in fear. Mark could only turn around towards the corridor at the end. The sound came from there and he slowly took steps towards it and saw the principal''s room door.


    The men coming after them immediately stopped and scrambled down. Everyone ran out of the building and stood in front while looking at them. Mark noticed a range of expressions on their faces. Some had fear, some had anxiety, while others had happiness. But one thing common among all of them was excitement, even those who were scared. They looked at both of them like they were looking at the dead.


    Mark turned towards the big door as Kevin had sweat rolling down his forehead while clutching the gun as tight as he could do. Hearing the shout Mark knew what they were going to face, he held both the guns tighter and kept the sword stripped tighter.


    "How dare two ants think they can go against a mountain? Prepare to be crushed." They heard the animal scream once again as the doors burst open with dust everywhere covering their faces.


    Mark could finally see two faint shadows coming out. One was double his size with muscles bursting out. The other looked more like a human compared to his teammate except his unexpectedly long and lean legs. Kevin couldn''t help but take a few steps back, guns, seeing the massive body.


    Mark frowned a little but still stayed at the same place with his guns waiting for the opponent to make their moves.


    The dust finally settled as they got a clean look at the two people in front of them. The big one had hair all over his body and looked like an ape. He only had his pants on, showing everyone his hairy torso. This was the leader of the camp, Kane.


    The other one looked more human if the people wouldn''t look at his legs. His legs were more like a cheetah''s than a human''s. Seeing both of them, Mark felt a bit surprised but also relieved as he didn''t need to guess what the other party''s strengths were.


    "Hahahaha. Little ants. You dare to try to take on and destroy my base head-on? Seems like you do not know how vast the world really is. I will take my time slowly torturing both of you."


    Mark had a deadpan look on his face as the leader, Kane, finished his monologue as a villain. He relaxed a little after that, making his mind clearer, and said, "You speak a lot. Just like your brother before I killed him. So let''s quickly get down to business."


    Everyone in the camp heard his words loud and clear. They looked towards him in silence, taking in what he just said. Kane''s eyes went red as he finally found out who killed his younger brother and as he couldn''t take it anymore and was about to shout and pounce at Mark, the man beside him finally opened his mouth.


    "Calm down, The boss. You can''t act rashly and kill him right here. If you do, then the young master''s soul won''t rest in peace. We can''t give him a swift death, we should capture him and slowly torture him. So let me get him for you." With a creepy smile as he vanished.


    Seeing him disappear, Mark pushed his senses to the limit, trying to find him. But before he could, he only felt a small breeze beside him. As he turned around, he could only see Kevin flying out of the building, breaking the windows towards the front of the building where all the goons gathered to watch the fight.


    Mark couldn''t react as he only heard Kevin grunting while falling and rolling in the middle of the goons. He looked back to see the man keeping down his stretched leg while grinning like a beast at him.


    "Now that the pest is out of the way, I can play with you all I want." And burst towards him.


    This time Mark pushed his senses past their limits and could see the man lifting his right hand in front of him. His body moved as quickly as possible as he strapped both the guns and reached out for the sword. As the hand went for his gut, he took out the sword and slashed the arm as it scratched his skin.


    The man still had a creepy grin on his face, unable to react to his sliced right hand before he got kicked in the gut instead. Just like how he kicked Kevin, the man went straight for the wall on the other end of the corridor with his eyes wide open as blood sprayed across the hallway.


    Kane''s eyes went wide seeing his right-hand man sent flying with his right arm detached from his body. He could not understand how Mark reacted to the speed he was facing.


    Mark had a grin on his face as he slowly picked up the severed hand and threw it in front of Kane. He was also not confident enough to react, but his body moved automatically and found his senses further enhanced than the last time.


    "Now let''s get done with this as quickly as we can, people are waiting for me and if any of you touch him, a bullet will come for your head." While looking at the people below as Kevin slowly stood up with his own blood on his clothes.


    Kevin wasn''t like him or Suzie and only had a normal body. He knew that his friend would have broken quite a lot of bones with the kick just now and was not in the spot to save him.


    ********************


    Hey guys, it''s me, your lovely author, Cruchymonster. Now it''s been quite a while since the last update (*Cough* 28 days, to be exact). Now there are two reasons for this, one bad and one good.


    Let''s start with the bad one, I got the virus and had to be quarantined(home) for two weeks. Was too weak to write any chapters at that time and unluckily my stockpile ran out at that exact moment. So I couldn''t write and update. Now I''m all better and feeling well, though. So it''s ok.


    Now with that news out of the way, let''s go to the good news, I finally released the new book I was working on. Its a transmigration showbiz called ''Rebirth: King to Superstar'' and yes, it''s for spirity just like this one was.  It''s mainly about a King who didn''t fulfill is wishes and gets a chance to become an actor like he always wanted. If you want to know more, you gotta read it.


    I hope you guys support the new book. It''s in the new rankings now and I would be very happy if you can read it and if you like it, drop a few stones for it.


    As a sorry, I will release daily this whole week before going back to the old schedule.


    Stay safe out there, guys.

 Chapter 166 - Two Mutants

    Kevin smiled hearing him and only gave him a nod as he took the help of the AK to stand up and look around him. Everyone who had his eyes on him was now taking a few steps back. He looked ahead and only hoped Mark would be fine facing off two monsters.


    Giving a clear warning to the mob who was aiming for his friend downstairs, Mark turned towards the ape who was about a few feet away from him. Kane no longer had an astonished face but instead a deadpan one. His subordinate who he had confidence in, was crushed and the proof was right at his feet.


    "Ugh, my hand, you fuck. I''m going to kill you." A shrill voice came from Mark''s back and he didn''t even need to turn to know who it was. The man''s eyes were already red as he stared at the severed arm. The sword was too unexpected and he couldn''t even react to it.


    Pushing himself forward with all he got, he lounged at Mark aiming for his head. Mark didn''t even look back as he side-stepped before giving him another kick in the same direction once again. But this time the man was way more alert than before and could cross his arms, waiting for the impact. He took a few steps back and looked at him again.


    "Boy, you really are daring. Let me show you what real strength is." Howled the ape-man, Kane as he rushed towards him. His subordinate didn''t wait for any signal as he rushed from behind making it a pincer attack. The building shook as Kane ran towards him but Mark couldn''t help but have a sharp grin on his face.


    "I''m glad I didn''t die that day. This is what I was missing." He couldn''t help but exclaim.


    Mark reacted quickly as the danger behind was quicker than Kane and turned around as quickly as he could, giving out the smoothest sword slice he ever made. Before the man could even react, the sword was already at his neck going through it and slicing off the head, clean. Blood sprayed over Mark''s face as the man still had a surprised expression as his head rolled.


    Mark couldn''t stop there as Kane was already behind him. Turning around as he had his arms crossed with his sword in front of him, a powerful force hit and blasted him to the end of the corridor. Bones cracked as Mark hit the already cracked wall and slid down with blood dripping down his lips. Forcefully pushing the blood in his mouth down the throat, he looked up at Kane.


    "You actually dare to kill my subordinate. I''ll break every bone in your body." The ape-man said in fury as he rushed towards him once again. Mark noticed there was not even a single cut on Kane''s fur after how he charged at his sword.


    Not willing to take another hit from him, Mark rolled away with all he got making Kane blast through the wall and jump below. Wiping the blood on his lips, Mark stood up and noticed the broken wall and Kane looking at him from below.


    Clutching the sword tighter, Mark jumped right at the large ape aiming to get a clean strike. Kane reacted by sending another strong punch at him, trying to finish it off. But contrary to his expectations, Mark kept the sword back and took out the gun instead before aiming for the eye.


    ''No matter how strong your skin might be, your eye would still be one of the most vulnerable parts. Die idiot.'' before shooting right at the left eye.


    As he thought, the bullet was indeed effective and pierced right through the eyeball making Kane clutch his head in pain. Mark simply landed safely and stood in front of him, as Kane dropped on his knees, clutching his head as blood died the brown fur.


    He didn''t wait for long before shooting the right eye too, making Kane fall completely while his body was still twitching like crazy. Seeing the massive body fall, Mark finally exhaled in relief.


    ''This mission was way harder than expected. The mutations are too different depending on person to person.'' clutching his arms in pain.


    ''Bones are guaranteed to be broken by that monstrous hit. I hope the energy inside me can heal this too.'' he thought and looked at the entrance of the building.


    His warning was completely discarded and the mob had started attacking Kevin. He could see Kevin taking cover behind a jeep while 15 people were shooting at him from various directions, not giving him a chance to retaliate. There were also a few bullet holes but none in major areas making him relieved once again.


    Mark immediately took action after seeing Kevin'' miserable state. Taking out the other gun, he ran towards the mob and started firing like a crazy person from behind. The mob immediately noticed this and turned around to see a bloodied Mark running at them and their boss''s twitching body behind him.


    Mark''s accuracy decreased by a very huge margin after a long fight and broken hands but it was still enough to relieve a bit of the stress on Kevin. Both attacked from opposite sides, confusing the mob. The mob was shocked to see the boss they feared so much the past month, fallen with blood everywhere and now they were like chickens waiting to get slaughtered.


    Facing the bullets from both sides, it didn''t take them long to start running for their lives. Mark didn''t go after them but simply took down the few who remained and went to his friend. Kevin who was already on thw ground, leaning on the jeep for support with he AK beside him. He already had a few broken bones and now coupled with the bullet holes, his condition was not at its best to say the least.


    "Man, you''re finally here. Looks like the ape took a lot out of you. It''s been a while since I saw you so miserable, ugh." Chuckled Kevin seeing Mark''s appearance before grunting in pain.

 Chapter 167 - Getting Away

    Mark didn''t bother Kevin''s sarcastic remark and simply leaned against the vehicle. Both of them were completely exhausted, especially Kevin with blood loss. Mark slowly bent down before taking out a few emergency medical supplies they had and applying them to Kevin.


    "This was one tough case. That guy was literally a gorilla. Man, death is better at this point." Sighing like an old man, Kevin commented.


    "I''ll give you a swift death if you don''t stop nagging like that. Try to recover at least a bit, we need to go to the other site too. So let''s not try to waste time here." Sending a glare towards his idiotic friend.


    Kevin quickly shut his mouth after hearing Mark''s remark and started to recover a bit of his energy. After getting some first aid done, the blood was not gushing out, and they could stop it from becoming more serious.


    Mark was a bit better than Kevin, as his mutated body had a faster regeneration speed even without using his strange powers. His blood loss decreased and after 15 minutes he could finally stand up properly even though it pained a bit.


    As Kevin was still recovering, Mark looked inside the jeeps as if any one of them had its keys. After going through a few, he finally found the one and got inside. Turning the jeep on, he drove it towards where Kevin was and got down to help him get in.


    "I never thought, there will be a day where you help me like this. It was always me helping your sorry *ss." Kevin chuckled as Mark got him into the back seat.


    Mark only shook his head and got inside once again. As he was about to drive away, Kevin shouted, "Stop." Slamming the breaks, he turned back and saw Kevin taking out stuff from his bag while stretching out his hands.


    "Give me the grenades you got."


    Understanding what he wanted to do, Mark took out most of the grenades, leaving some for an emergency, and gave it to him. Kevin shoved all of them inside his bag and looked out the window.


    Removing one pin off a grenade in the bag, he quickly threw all of them with all he had into the building. Mark didn''t wait for the bombs to blow up and slammed the accelerator to get out of that area. As they got out of the compound, an ear-shattering sound came from behind and they could feel rocks and other stuff thrown all around them.


    The school building completely collapsed to the ground right on all the gang members that occupied it. One of the strongest camps in Stargaze City fell to the attack of only two people. As the jeep drove away, the huge pile of rocks moved and a hairy arm reached out.


    It was Kane. Just like Mark, His mutation gave him a better recovery speed, allowing him to live even though Mark drove a sword through his head. Slowly climbing out of the pile of rocks, Kane had bloodshot eyes portraying the deep hatred.


    "I swear I will come after both of you. You destroyed the empire I built, killed the only family member I had left. I, Kane, won''t die or give up until you are dead." Swearing on his life, his hatred further solidified. He slowly stood up and limped away as most of the fur he had was now burnt and charred black, making him look hideous.


    Mark continued to dive towards the downtown, where most of the high-rise buildings are located and the location of the battle was happening. He still needed to provide support as most of the enemy camp''s men were in the front line due to the successful distraction making their work easier.


    He didn''t know that his negligence of not taking care of the enemy in a clean manner would come back to bite him in a big manner in the future.


    After a few more minutes, he could finally hear loud gun noises in the distance with various people shouting constantly. As they drove closer, they could see flames fuming everywhere around the main area of the battle. Stopping the car just a few blocks away, both of them got down. Kevin had enough rest to push himself a bit more and could now walk a bit.


    With the guns in their hands, both slowly made their way towards the central area of the battle. It didn''t take them long until they saw a few enemies and Mark shot them before they could even react properly.


    As they got closer; they finally got a good look at how things were going on. Most of the cars around were overthrown, and they could see by whom. It was Denton, fighting against another man who had enlarged arms. He could see the rest of the military behind a barricade made by cars and were clearly getting pushed back heavily.


    He sighed in relief when he saw his team members were alright and looked at Kevin.


    "Go around the back and regroup with our team on the other side."


    "What about you?"


    "I''ll wreak havoc on this side. So go now." With a slight smile on his face. Kevin nodded and slowly walked away with the AK in his hand.


    "Now let''s get this done and go home quickly to have a nice rest." Clutching the two guns in his hand.


    ****************


    Hey guys, it''s me, your lovely author, Cruchymonster. Now it''s been quite a while since the last update (*Cough* 28 days, to be exact). Now there are two reasons for this, one bad and one good.


    Let''s start with the bad one, I got the virus and had to be quarantined(home) for two weeks. Was too weak to write any chapters at that time and unluckily my stockpile ran out at that exact moment. So I couldn''t write and update. Now I''m all better and feeling well, though. So it''s ok.


    Now with that news out of the way, let''s go to the good news, I finally released the new book I was working on. Its a transmigration showbiz called ''Rebirth: King to Superstar'' and yes, it''s for spirity just like this one was.  It''s mainly about a King who didn''t fulfill is wishes and gets a chance to become an actor like he always wanted. If you want to know more, you gotta read it.


    I hope you guys support the new book. It''s in the new rankings now and I would be very happy if you can read it and if you like it, drop a few stones for it.


    As a sorry, I will release daily this whole week before going back to the old schedule.


    Stay safe out there, guys.

 Chapter 168 - Mini-war

    *A few hours before Mark and Kevin got to the area*


    "This should be the farthest and also the best area for a confrontation. Did you guys already contact the military outpost here and told them to get ready? We can not let things get too messy on our side of things and have to hold on till Mark and Kevin get here." Steve looked out of the jeep, through the window as he saw all the high-rise buildings around.


    "Yes, Colonel. We informed the outpost nearest to this area, which is only a few blocks away to get ready for the fight. If needed, the backup is also ready in our base to help us if things get out of hand. We are prepared for this fight." said Emma, the leading strategist of their group.


    "Alright then, let''s continue going up the road, we are still too far away from the enemy''s outpost. Keep an eye out for any scouts around us," he ordered and the jeep slowly continued down the road. Emma looked out the window and signaled the jeep behind them to move forward.


    "Looks like we are moving forward. I hope this mission goes smoothly, especially for Mark and Kevin," said David, sitting in the passenger''s seat in the car behind. It was Don from the military who was handling the driving while Suzie, and the two teenagers, Gwen and Dereck behind. The jeep in the front had the rest of the members, the twins Max and John, a soldier who was acting as the driver, Emma, and Steve. Denton, a part of the group was not there and would join with them later as there was an unexpected problem of zombies at another outpost.


    "We are still a few blocks away from the enemy outpost. It''s better to move a bit further up before stopping and moving on foot." Don quickly understood why. David nodded and looked out his window for any scouts.


    It would be a lie if David said he was not afraid of what they were going to do. As a former civilian and a doctor, war was not something he wanted to see. Now they were going to make a mini-war zone as a distraction for the other team.


    He turned back and saw the two teenagers he brought along having a grim look on their faces. He wanted to tell something but didn''t find any words that could soothe them. It was their decision to come here, and he had one job that was to take care of them. Suzie on the other hand was simply looking out the window in silence.


    "Well, alright, this distance should be good enough. Let''s park our vehicles in that coming alley. We should get down and get to work quickly. The other group must already be close to the enemy''s main base." ordered Steve after crossing a few blocks.


    The soldier followed his orders and took a turn into an alley. Both the vehicles came to a stop and everyone got down.


    "Alright, let''s start or course of action. We will not take our jeeps from here and instead will take the specialized vehicles from the outpost nearby. Their squads will be here any moment and before that, we have some work to do."


    He looked at Max and Emma and ordered, "Alright Max, it''s your turn. I need you to do your job. Take out all the scouts and see their outpost''s manpower. Emma make your way ahead while we get ready for the battle. Find a good spot that overlooks their outpost and the battlefield. I need you to be our eyes from above. Also, start shipping away from the snipers if you find any."


    Both nodded, and Max was the first to run off. Even though Max was not a mutant yet, he was close to it. His legs were especially fast and his body was very flexible, which made him an excellent scout at places like these where he can use anything to climb buildings and scout.


    Emma took out a suitcase from the trunk of their jeep and walked out of the alleyway on her own. She knew her role and until the other snipers got there from the outpost, she should not make any mistakes in her task. It didn''t take her long to find a good building near the enemy''s outpost with Max''s help of taking out the enemy''s scouts and got ready at a comfortable position.


    Steve looked at the rest of the members and said, "Alright, while those two get their work done, we need to get ready quickly. The outpost radioed me and they already started to make their way here. So get ready." Clapping his hands.


    Everyone immediately started to get ready. They grabbed their guns, wore vests and helmets. As everyone was getting ready, the jeeps from the outpost arrived in the alleyway after a few minutes.


    A man got down from the first jeep and stood in front of Steve while stretching out his hand. Steve responded and said, "I''m happy you guys could make it here quicker than expected. Are all the preparations ready?"


    "Don''t worry, Steve, this outpost is going down today. I hope your other group can vet their work done so that this camp itself can go down."


    Steve nodded and replied, "Let''s hope that they get their work done and finish this torn for good. Well, guys, this is Colonel Barns. He is in charge of the outpost here and will help us get the work done." He turned around and introduced the man to everyone.


    As soon as he said that, John and Don saluted the man, making him nod. Steve turned towards him once again and said, "Let''s get going, Barns. Did you send your sniper team ahead already?"


    "Yes, they are all in place, waiting for us to make the move. Let''s go and blow up that outpost and make a big enough distraction." With a smile.


    "Alright guys, get into their vehicles we are going," Steve ordered his men. Everyone got into an empty vehicle and drove towards the outpost. With everything ready, the mini-war of Stargaze city was about to start.

 Chapter 169 - Outpost Battle

    Getting into the vans, everyone slowly made their way towards the enemy outpost. All of them had tense expressions in the vans, especially the two kids. They had the same expression since the morning, making David regret his decision to bring them both to this attack. Suzie on the other hand simply closed her eyes and was relaxed.


    As they drove Steve heard Emma''s voice over the radio, "In position, Sir."


    Steve took the radio into his hands and replied, "Good, are you together with Max?"


    "No, Sir. Max left after helping me silently clear out the place I took over. He decided to look over their base and scout further up."


    Steve remained silent for a few seconds. He hoped they both were together so that Max could defend Emma when she shouts. But Max went off and he couldn''t help but sigh.


    "Well, it''s ok. If Max was the person who took the decision, then I''m sure he will do ok and not get himself caught. I need you to stay alert until we reach there. Now your next task should be taking out the enemy snipers. We wouldn''t want our men shot down immediately after we reach there. So take out the men who are outermost from the post and then aim for the ones inside." Relaying her next mission.


    "Got it, Sir." And the other end became silent. Steve kept back the radio to the side.


    He looked at Barns and asked, "What is the estimated number of people in that camp?" They had a rough estimate when planning but it would be more accurate at Barns outpost as they were the closest and can keep a close eye.


    "Right now? There should be around 20-30 people in that camp. It''s heavily guarded because of how close we are to it. If they call for backup, the numbers can reach around 60-70. For us, including the backup, we can get our numbers to 40 at most 50. So let''s hope your other team can destroy their base quickly and come help us." Barns responded.


    "Yes, this is going to be a tough fight, and let''s hope they do get their part of the deal done quick enough before we are wiped out. The General is betting completely on this plan to take control of this city and build a better base." Steve responded. His father was dead serious about this mission, and he knows this battle is very important for their survival.


    Barns looked at the driver and gave a nod. He gave a signal by stretching his hand outside the window and all the vehicles started to speed up towards the outpost. Only after 2 minutes the people inside could see the outpost and saw a few of their members who were in the vans in front of them engaging. One of the three vans which were in front of them crashed directly into the enemy''s barricade, destroying it.


    Their two vans were on their barricade as the people stood behind them and fought. Their car came to a stop as all of them got down in full gear and ran to take their position. Suzie, David, and the two teenagers were in their gear as they followed Steve into their positions. Then they got separated. David and the two teenagers were to continue fighting in the front line, which was where they were, with Emma helping them from a high point while Suzie was to follow Steve and John as they sneak


    Steve, Suzie, and John left the others, and they went into an alleyway. The main reason for them to send Max was to scout out the shortest route when they were fighting, and Max did just that. As they reached the area, Max found Emma and radioed Steve the route before continuing to take out snipers on the surrounding buildings.


    As the three made their way, the rest were already fighting against the enemies. Both sides were raining bullets and Don took out his heavy machine gun, set it up, and started to fire heavily, taking out several people continuously, making the opponents wary. Having gained the slight advantage, they continued to shoot until they noticed a huge car coming their way from the sky.


    Everyone tried to escape as it landed right between the barricade they made with the vans. The vans were set ablaze, destroying their only cover. They went into the alleyways as few more vans came and formed a new barrier. They looked outside and saw a man with two huge arms standing at the entrance with a grin on his face. It was a mutant.


    Suzie wanted to immediately stand up and go fight with the huge dude as Denton was still not there. She had a bit of confidence in her super-strength. But David pulled her hand, shaking his head. Mark told them and especially Suzie to not use her power.


    She just nodded as they continued to peek out to see what the man would do next. The soldiers were already raining bullets on him, but he shielded himself with two large car doors on both sides. David noticed the original flipped-over van they used to break their barricade right behind him.


    Having a nice idea, he took out the radio Steve gave him and told Emma, "Miss Emma, I think there might be a way to cause damage to that person. See our van, shoot it and it would blast. It might cause some damage for the dude."


    Emma made a slight sound acknowledging the idea and took aim for the van and shot right at its gas tank. This was perfect as the car exploded and the mutant who was near it took the largest impact, flinging him back inside the outpost. They could see he was wounded and got back into position to fight once again.


    David noticed that the mutant was slowly healing itself and got worried. But then a few others van reached the outpost and Denton got out of one of them along with another squad of soldiers.

 Chapter 170 - Outpost Battle (2)

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    Denton got out of the van as various soldiers ran around helping their teammates get into a better situation. Squinting his eyes, he looked into the outpost and saw the mutant with huge arms slowly healing himself. With a little grin on his face, he looked around and saw a normal car at the side of the road and walked towards it.


    "Such a nasty-looking guy. Let''s see if he can handle this." Murmuring to himself, he squatted down and held the car with both his hands and lift it up over his head. He walked back slowly and moved forward towards the outpost.


    Few of the enemies recovered from the blast and saw him coming over with a car and started shooting. Seeing that, he tilted the car a little, using it as a shield, and stood still. As he stopped, the enemies also stopped thinking he was dead. But the car slowly got lifted again and this time he threw it right at the mutant who almost healed.


    The guy looked up to see a car flying towards him and lifted his arm. The car smashed against the arm as it continued towards his face, and then he used the other arm to successfully push it away. He slowly got up from the debris and walked out of the outpost.


    He finally saw Denton looking at him with a grin on his face. As soon as he saw the grin he ran towards Denton and Denton did the same. Both met right at the middle, but the man dodged Denton''s punch coming straight to his face and punched at his chest. Denton could only use one hand to block as he received the attack and got blown away. He crashed into one of their vans.


    "Ugh, this guy really packs a punch. Almost broke my hand. Looks like I got too cocky." He got up and saw the man running towards him. He got ready and quickly dodged the man. The man''s hands packed more punch than Denton estimated.


    As the two mutants were fighting, Barns sent out a signal to all its men, to rush inside the outpost while Denton took care of his outside. They can''t fight with two mutants going at it with full power. Accordingly, everyone slowly made their way inside the outpost. The outpost was basically 2 buildings on the other side with camps on the road.


    David and the others who were hiding also made their move and moved inside slowly. As soon as they entered the outpost, they faced an onslaught of sniper and people inside the building.


    Luckily, most of the soldiers were able to take cover and fight back. It was the same for David and the others as they hid behind a jeep and continued to fight back. David noticed Steve and his team in one of the buildings quietly taking down teams from within the inside and can''t imagine how tough they are facing in that confined place.


    As he guessed it was tough for them as they couldn''t get found out and had to take the advantage of all of them focusing on the people outside to take them down. John was the main person to shoot down the members inside without making much sound, using his precision in shooting. Suzie was mainly acting as a lookout for both of them as they cleared one floor after another.


    As Suzie looked outside, she noticed David and her group fighting against the people on the ground and sighed in relief when no one was shot yet. Things could have gone differently if she used her powers, but it was their group''s trump card and she listened to Mark''s advice.


    As she was about to turn around she saw Dereck, the young boy who was with them, shot in the shoulder by someone from the opposite building. She immediately took out the gun, carefully aimed for the man, and shot him down before hiding. She didn''t want their mission to fail cause of her shot.


    She sneakily checked on her group down below and saw David doing his work by stopping Dareck''s blood outflow using the medical kit they all had. Taking one last look at them, she followed Steve and John as they almost cleared the floor.


    David got the first aid down and all three of them made their way into a nearby alley amidst bullets raining everywhere. Setting Dereck to the side he quickly checked the situation outside and turned around to see Gwen crying as if he was already dead.


    He then realized that accepting their request was a huge mistake. He sighed and said in a loud voice, "Don''t start crying in amidst of a battle. I already told you both my die before coming here and he is still alive don''t cry like he is dead."


    Gwen immediately shut her mouth. David checked Dereck''s wound one last time as the boy passed out, before going out into the field. He can''t sit there babysitting them.


    "Do not come out anymore. Both of you stay in this alleyway. If you come out, I won''t treat you even if your life is on the line." He warned the girl and walked out. Gwen quietly stayed beside Dereck, hoping he won''t die and realizing how much of a mistake they made by asking to come there.


    This place was a nightmare for her. She doesn''t even remember how many times she shot bullets and how many people might have died under it.


    "Fight? We don''t know anything. What will we fight? We are two dumb teenagers who thought we were adults to make our own decision. I hope this all ends and we can go back." As she slowly sobbed midst of the noise outside.


    As the inside was tough, the battle on the outside was reaching a conclusion as both the men were bleeding from being thrown around by each other. Denton knew his situation and wanted to end it quickly.

 Chapter 171 - End Of First Round

    Denton looked at the man a few feet away from him. Both of them were bleeding profusely, but Denton still had a lead because of the bomb the opponent faced before he came. His power was lacking to the opponent, and it didn''t take him long to receive a few hits, which made him bleed.


    "Kekekeke, you are strong, kid. I didn''t rhino I can be in this position after receiving the powers. But you still wet under your ears if you think you can face in head-on and win. I''ll rip you and your base to shreds after this." the opponent laughed maniacally as he looked like a beast.


    Denton responded with a confident smile, "Don''t mention anything after this. Because you''re not going to live after this. Old man, your bones are getting weaker even if you have power. Let''s get this done." and ran towards him.


    The opponent also ran towards him with his two arms stretched out, ready to smash Denton before he came closer to him. He swung the left hand as Denton was in his reach, but all the military drills he went through the past month helped him safely dodge the punch.


    Escaping the punch, he continued, and it didn''t take long for the right arm to come swing towards his waist. Looking at the huge arm coming at him and no chance to dodge, he just grits his teeth and jumped towards the man with all his strength. If he gets hit by that it would be fatal and the only way to counter it was by moving closer to the man and taking him by surprise.


    That was exactly what happened, as the opponent did not expect Denton to jump closer, and before he knew it a hand was coming straight for his gut. He couldn''t stop the right one or pull back the left one in time. Gritting his teeth, he took it and got blasted off before smashing into a building and falling off.


    Denton looked around to find something sharp or inflict more damage as the opponent could heal. He noticed a gun and picked it. Walking towards the man, he pointed the gun right at his face and shot a whole magazine, just to be sure.


    Throwing the gun away, he continued to stare at the person as he remained unmoved, and the bullet holes were not getting cured. He simply kicked the body away and made his way towards one of the vans they parked in an alleyway. He wanted to rest for a few seconds before he got going.


    He patched himself up, covering the main injuries. After resting for a few seconds and getting some energy back, he grabbed a street light pole and walked towards the outpost.


    As he went inside, he saw the complete mess both sides created. He noticed most of their members were situated in the left building while the right was the enemies. He threw the pole into the enemies on the road, killing them.


    The enemies noticed Denton''s presence immediately and were shocked. If Denton was there, it only meant that their man lost and died. Most of the people got scared while the braver bunch shifted targets to Denton and shot.


    Taking Denton as the perfect distraction, the people inside the opposite building shot most of the enemies down and were able to successfully corner them in a few minutes.


    After a few minutes, there was only a handful of enemies left fighting back on the road as they killed the rest. As the soldiers felt happy about the outpost going down, they heard jeep engines from the other side of the road and saw the enemy''s backup arrived.


    As most of the soldier''s shoulders caved in and the morale was going down, they heard Barns shout, "Alright guys, stage one complete. Don''t go down, we need to defend this place until the main mission is over. Trust our people and this city will be ours. Let''s go and clean up the rats the city has been having so long." Raising the gun in his hands. His speech worked as all the soldiers responded and shot down the enemies on the street before aiming the jeeps.


    As round one was done, David and Suzie looked at the teenager, who was still unconscious and wasn''t going to wake up anytime soon. David couldn''t take the bullet out for now without proper equipment and they can only wait till the mission was over and are back at the camp to continue.


    "This was a complete mistake. Now if Mark sees this, ugh." David murmured, sitting down. He didn''t have the energy to continue anymore. Suzie just shook her head and sighed.


    "Don''t blame yourself, David. You just got too emotional and made a stupid mistake. I know for one that Mark wouldn''t make much fuss about it and would have probably figured out that something like this might happen. It''s not completely their mistake too. This both were simply too dumb." And looked at Gwen, who was also asleep after fainting in the alleyway from crying.


    Suzie didn''t know all this till they met up and David showed her the two teenagers sleeping. They were inside one of the two buildings they fought with other injured soldiers around them in a make-shift recovery room. She was obviously shocked at the blood all over Dereck and got to know about everything from him.


    She was also exhausted after the mission she did with Steve and taking over an entire building. She had to credit most of the work to John, who was quick and accurate. She understood why she was in a special team despite not having a particular specialty. Looks could be deceiving, was the conclusion she accepted.


    She turned her head and saw Denton sitting and going through various snacks. He played a major role in facing the mutant from the opposite side and was also a major distraction for the enemies. He had to go out there again, and it looked like he would get hungry after fighting for a while. A drawback she didn''t have.

 Chapter 172 - End Of The Mini-war

    The fight between the two sides continued rigorously as the army was slowly getting suppressed, with the soldiers fatigued from the last battle and the enemy reinforcement being almost double of them. They continued to struggle and as they did, Barns looked over his shoulder and shouted towards his fellow colonel.


    "Where is that other team you guys planned? How much longer do we have to hold on to this. We will be wiped out if this continues."


    Shooting another thug down, Steve shouts back, "They should be on their way here. Let''s wait for some more time before we make a decision." And saw his brother going against another mutant. This mutant was different. This one spits poison out, making it hard for Denton to move in closer for a kill.


    The guy didn''t let Denton shift targets and would spit whenever he tried. So Denton could only pick up things and throw them at him, hoping he could get knocked down, but until then it didn''t work and was very concerning to everyone. The guy was also quick with his feet and escaped everything thrown at him.


    As they continued to fight, they heard a loud thud and turned to see the enemy mutant down with a bullet through his throat. Turning around, they searched for the shooter and got an answer when they see Kevin walk out through the alleyway, limping.


    Denton walked near him and saw his bloody appearance. He quickly supported Kevin who almost fainted and asked, "Was it you who shot that guy down?" Looking at the dead enemy mutant. They tried to shoot the enemy down the same way but the guy was intelligent and used Denton as a cover, making people hesitate to shoot.


    Kevin almost spit out blood when he heard Denton''s stupid question and before he could answer it, Denton got what he deserved and it was a smack on the back of his head by Steve.


    "How can you ask such a dumb question? Can''t you see the guy can barely walk? Kevin, did everything go as expected? The situation here is depended on the results you guys produced." Hoping for a positive answer. He had doubts in his mind as he saw Kevin''s patched-up body but hoped for the best.


    "It was very tough, and we almost didn''t make it. But we got the job done. Their main base is down. The only thing left us for you guys to clean up the people in the other outposts." He answered weakly.


    "Alright, go to the temporary medic room we set up here. You look horrible. Oh, and where is Mark?" And called for a soldier to take him there and asked about Mark as they were about to go back into hell.


    "Who do you think shot the mutant down?" And walked away with the soldier''s help. He was too weak and just wanted to rest.


    Hearing his answer, Steve looked out to find Mark but couldn''t so he went back into the battlefield and told Barns the result of the mission.


    "Hahaba, Finally they are done with their mission. So it seems like we need to get this done quickly and go back as victors." As he enthusiasm sprung back up and shot fiercely.


    Kevin reached the medic room and saw David sitting beside the two teenagers, both on beds. He didn''t have any energy to call them out but the soldier noticed and did it for him. David turned around and noticed the soldier but just as he was about to ask, he noticed Kevin''s state and rushed over.


    "Oh, god. You lost so much blood. How are you even able to be awake right now? Just come and sleep, I''ll get you patched up better and remove the bullets." He urged the soldier as both of them supported him onto an empty bed.


    "Ugh, it''s been tough. I was barely hanging in there. Take care of me, can''t push the body anymore." He mutters as his back touches the bed and passes out. Steve quickly starts his work and takes out all the bullets he got in the body while patching up the wounds. Luckily all the bullets weren''t deep like Derreck''s and he could get the work done there.


    After a while he safely changed the cotton and patched him up properly, stopping the blood loss. They didn''t have any blood bags to use, so they had to hold on. He sat down on the chair beside him and wondered where Mark was.


    "If Kevin himself is this bad with Mark beside him. How bad is Mark himself? If he didn''t come here, it only means he could continue. Let''s hope his powers work and can heal himself properly." He looked out the window and noticed the fight was slowly shifting their direction with the soldiers more enthusiastic. Suzie was also down there.


    As Kevin finally got some treatment, Mark was like a reaper, going through the enemies from their back. He was the one who shot the mutant down as he was climbing a building full of enemies, using his sword and gun to get things done. His body was in a better state after the short rest he had in the car when driving as his powers kicked in while hurting his head and draining his energy.


    His work in the enemy lines was the reason the pressure decreased on the soldier. He was now on the top of the building, with a sniper he took from the enemy and was shooting down the enemies from behind. He felt his accuracy increase as he continued to shoot as the healing powers decreased and most of his broken bones and bullet holes were closed.


    The fight continued for another complete hour until they successfully wiped out the enemy''s massive reinforcement and Mark got down from the building. He was dead tired and felt like he would fall over anytime. Just as he was walking towards the soldiers, he noticed Steve waving at him with a smile and as he was about to respond he passed out and fell into someone''s hands.

 Chapter 173 - Recovery

    Suzie looked at Mark''s rugged face and sighed in relief. She was the most helpless in the attack as she couldn''t use her power and guns weren''t her thing. She was also only a lookout during the earlier mission with Steve and Max. She carried Mark in her two arms and walked towards the Jeeps.


    The military sent back all the injured personnel first and Mark was in the first Jeep, along with Kevin and Dereck. Gwen woke up as the war ended and remained silent after seeing the looks she got from David. David, Suzie, and Gwen didn''t go with them and had to stay back until all the injured people were rushed to the base.


    Steve and Barns stationed a few people in the area until their replacement came. On the way back to base, everyone was completely exhausted, but all of them had a smile on their faces. The enemy''s main base and force were down, all that was left was for them to take care of the scraps left.


    Reaching the base, all three rushed to the medical base in the camp and the doctors were already performing on them. They took out the bullet on Dereck''s shoulder and the ones David couldn''t take out of Kevin. Mark was kept aside as most of his injuries already healed from his own power, and he was just mentally exhausted.


    Time passed by as Suzie, David and Gwen continued to stay with the base, with Daisy by their side waiting for the three to recover. The first to wake up was Dereck after a complete day. Gwen bawled her eyes out as soon as he did after being silent since he went down.


    After he woke up, it was Kevin and Mark. Both were battered and beaten, especially Kevin who didn''t even have powers to heal himself like Mark. After another 3 days did Mark wake up and on the same evening, Kevin did too. Both continued to lay on the bed still exhausted. Mark had headaches from using his power while Kevin was still recovering.


    Mark got discharged after another 3 days of observation while Kevin was still resting. A complete week has passed by since the mission was over and the military was quick in its actions and took out the rest of the rats they could find of the gang. Now the full city was successfully under their control and the only other major obstacles were the zombies themselves in the city which they can''t take down anytime soon.


    Mark didn''t go to the General after the mission, he was feeling tired and continued to rest. They still needed to do a check-up on Suzie''s body, and Suzie and David had to make decisions of their lifetime. They continued to stay in the main base where Kevin was. Mark cleaned his guns and the sword which he used quite a lot during the fight.


    ''The mutation doesn''t only give certain physical power-ups but also can change the human structure. That guy looked like an ape while his subordinate had cheetah legs. Looks like I''m at least lucky enough to maintain my human form, unlike them.'' he made more deductions on the mutation.


    He could feel his power also growing slightly, both the dark and the light one seemed to grow as the locks around the light ball loosened when he went to that space. The grey ball in the middle was also the same as it continued to grow at a slow rate.


    "This one was really tough, the toughest till now. If I wasn''t careful, I could have lost my life under that ape bastard. This skid was so tough and I could only shoot at his eye to win the battle. If I am going to face more mutants like this, I''ll have a tough life." He mumbled.


    Kevin got discharged after a few days, and they finally went back to the apartment instead of continuing to stay there. Gwen and Dereck separated from them the moment Dereck woke up and got discharged and no one minded them leaving.


    After two more days, they drove back to David''s house, leaving the camp. Daisy and Suzie''s dad, Ray, also followed them there as both families were still discussing Mark''s plan and whether they wanted to stay in the city under the military or follow him. Mark didn''t urge them and just asked to be ready by the end of the week, as it was still only Sunday when they went to David''s house.


    All of them exhaled in relief when they saw the truck still running and was still full of their supplies. Those were some important essentials, and losing them would have been a huge loss to them.


    In the meantime, Mark took both David and Suzie to David''s former working place. After noticing the solar panels were working, there was still electricity for the machines needed. David started tests on Suzie. They spent three whole days in the hospital until David was satisfied with the results and knew there weren''t any major changes to Suzie''s body except the strength.


    The next day, Mark and Kevin got into the car and moved towards the military base once again to meet the General. Steve told them that the General wanted to meet them when they were leaving the base, but Mark simply told him he would come back later.


    Mark stopped in the parking spot and walked into the building. They climbed up the stairs and stopped before the General''s office door. Mark gave a knock and heard Donald''s tired voice from the other side and got in.


    Donald had black circles under his eyes and looked terribly tired. He noticed the visitors were Mark and Kevin and his dead eyes gained a bit of color as he asked both to sit and took out some alcohol.


    "You both did such a wonderful job pulling off your mission. If you both failed, we could have lost everyone on that battlefield. I have to give both of you a toast." Pouring drinks into the three glasses.

 Chapter 174 - Kanes Missing Body

    Mark and Kevin decided to give some face to the old general, who looked very tired. They took a glass and clicked it on each other. Mark, who didn''t like alcohol too much, took a sip and kept the glass back on the table. Kevin, who was an occasional drinker, took a big gulp and placed it on the table. The old general didn''t hold back and downed the whole thing.


    "Ah, nothing better than a glass of alcohol on a stressful day. So how are you both doing? I see that both of you recovered well." He exhaled in relief and looked at the young men before him.


    Both nodded and Mark replied, "Yes, both of us are now well, on the other hand, it looks like you are not." Mentioning how tired the old man looked. It looked like life was sucked out of him and he was only a shell.


    Donald nodded hearing Mark''s remark and slowly said, "Yeah, even though you guys completed your part of the mission perfectly and a threat to our survivability is now gone, there was still some aftermath left to be taken care of. So the military was busy with those tasks. We now need to secure the whole city but by the looks of it, it''s not going to be easy."


    "We are too short-handed and short in weaponry, too. Our ammo is dwindling down too quickly and we need to find alternative sources before we get into a difficult position."


    Mark nodded and Donald continued, "Well, even though it''s rare, the mutation in humans is something which now gives us hope. If more people become mutants and gain power, then the use of this kind of weaponry can be reduced. We can continue until we find another source at least."


    "Mutation is too rare and unreliable right now. We can''t control it and don''t know who can get it. Right now it''s a complete mystery, relying on it would be too unstable."


    Donald nodded hearing Mark''s comment but had a helpless smile on his face. "It''s not like I can do anything about it. Most of the people in this camp are living out of the hope that things would go back to normal one day. But as days go by, it''s looking more and more unrealistic." Sighing at the end while looking out his window towards the people working below.


    Mark remained silent at that comment. He thought it''s almost impossible for them to go back to normal unless they can find something which would kill the zombies in one go all around the world at the same time, which is only a fantasy. He knew even the general knew it was impossible.


    "Well, let''s not talk about that anymore. Back to the topic at hand. We found something extremely strange when our men to clean up the part of the area our enemies took over. When they reached there, the school building which they used as headquarters was on the ground."


    Mark nodded and replied, "Yes, that was our work." Donald, who guessed it nodded and continued, "Yes, that was what I also thought. But something else was also strange. There was only one mutant body underneath the huge pile of stones and dust. We didn''t find the body of the gang leader, Kane. Did you guys kill that person somewhere else?"


    Kevin who was silent until then stood up hearing Donald''s words and stuttered, "How is that possible?" Mark caught his arm and lightly tapped it. He knew he was frustrated because of the amount of work they put into bringing that base down and if the main culprit''s body was missing, it was something to be frustrated about.


    Donald turned towards Mark and asked, "Looking at your friend''s reaction. It seems like you guys killed Kane before you left at their base."


    Mark nodded, "Yes, it was me who killed him. I rammed my sword right through his eyeball and through his brain, killing him. Then as we were driving out, it was Kane who threw a bag full of grenades towards the building, collapsing it right on the two mutants. So both of them should remain there." As soon as he said that, the whole room was silent. Donald closed his eyes, thinking about what could have happened.


    "Well looks like things can get messy depending on what might have happened. First, is his body getting taken away from the huge pile of rocks before we reached there. Which is highly unlikely. I don''t think there is any other group big enough to roam in the city and know that Kane was dead before you guys informed us." making both Kane and Mark nod.


    "The other one is if that bastard Kane somehow survived, even when a sword was plunged right through his eye into the brain and then woke up on his own to walk away from that site. Even though this is also a long shot this is more possible, given that he was a mutant." This time Mark and Kevin nodded, hearing his analysis.


    "I feel like it''s mostly the second one. Mutants have stronger recovery power and so''s possible he might have recovered the injury I gave to recover if given enough time." Marl told his thoughts. Kevin continued to nod his head like a chicken before the two. He was feeling a little helpless when he heard Mark.


    "Yes, that might be it. If that guy somehow survived that whole ordeal, then we need to be alert at all times, especially both of you. He might come after both of you, who destroyed the empire he built. Let''s just hope he is dead, and the body is missing for now."


    Mark and Kevin nodded, hearing the old man. They could only hope that the hairy monster they fought with their life on the life was dead. Both of them didn''t want to face him ever again. It was only through luck and precision was Mark able to kill him. So if he came again the same trick won''t work twice.

 Chapter 175 - Gift

    "Now with this in mind, I need both of you to write that monster Kane''s abilities in a detailed format so we know what we are working on." he took out a white paper from the drawer and slid it across the desk. Mark took a pen from the cup holder before he wrote down Kane''s strong points and only weak points in detail. Kane was almost bulletproof as bullets made almost no damage and the only weak point he found were his eyes.


    After writing about Kane''s abilities, he slid the paper right back at the old man. Donald took a look at it and raised an eyebrow. He looked at Mark and said, "Looks like you are tougher than I imagined to fight a monster like this."


    Mark shrugged and replied, "I was just lucky or else we both would have been dead by now." and that was true, it was only luck and he hoped he wouldn''t need to fight another mutant like that for a while.


    Donald knew Mark was very secretive and so he simply placed the paper back into the drawer and stood up. He walked towards the shelves to the side and said, "Well, now that all the important stuff is over, I have a small gift for you guys." and took out a small briefcase.


    He put the briefcase in front of them and sat back in his seat. He waved his hands, asking them to open it. Mark opened the suitcase and saw a miniature version of the radio system they brought from Evergreen city a few weeks back.


    Kevin noticed it and said, "Wow, you guys made a miniature version of the ones we transported. Are you guys giving it to us?" he turned towards Donald and asked. He was surprised. This was now the only form of communication they could use, it also helps them to use handheld radio devices if connected. It could make their missions easier.


    Donald nodded and replied, "Yes, I know you guys would probably move out of the city once again, and if I need to stay connected with your people for any help, then this is needed. You guys would probably set up your own base somewhere and so you can just use it to communicate with us too."


    Kevin nodded, as he knew how he could set it up properly. He was a geek when it came to machines and learned all odd stuff. This was one of them. Mark closed the box and thanked the old man. This could be very helpful for them.


    "It''s alright. Anyway, where are you guys going to keep going from here on out?"


    "We will continue to stay in the city for the rest of the week. Our next destination is Tambo Hills."


    Donald nodded hearing their next destination and said, "That is a nice place to go but it might also be dangerous. There are a lot of animals in Tambo hills but the plus side should be the windmills and lake over there." Mark nodded, hearing him.


    "Yes, it''s also not that far from this city. So it should be easier for us to get there."


    They continued to talk for a while and split up. Donald still had work to do, and both of them wanted to rest a little. As both of them exited the room, Donald looked at his map on the board and noticed a circle near Tambo hills.


    "He must have seen it the last time they came here. Well, let''s hope they can take over it, cause it would be a huge help even for us if they do." Realizing why Mark chose Tambo hills as his next direction and he wasn''t completely wrong.


    Mark and Kevin already made their way to their Jeep, and Kevin went behind the wheel. Mark placed the suitcase in the seat behind and got in. As they drove through the city, Kevin asked, "Tambo Hills, ha?"


    Mark nodded and said, "Yeah, Tambo Hills. Isn''t your old man there right now? It''s better if we set up our base near the old man. I told you earlier that we will get a chance to meet him and it looks like all stars aligned to make it happen."


    It really was a complete coincidence that came together perfectly. The windmills and the dam on the lake were the primary sources of electricity to the whole mountain, but also the surrounding factories. One such factory was the government-owned weapons factory. He hoped no one stumbled upon that factory till now.


    "The Old man should be bossing around the whole village now." Kevin laughed, thinking about how demanding his grandfather was. His grandfather participated in war during his youth and was very tough. He couldn''t live in cities due to post-war mental health issues and had to live in the mountains near Stargaze city. Where he had his own house in the village and was living a peaceful life.


    With the zombie apocalypse striking the whole world, he should in his own comfortable niche. So both of them were confident in his skills with the sword and survivability.


    "Yes, he must be. So building our base there is better even with the wildlife around there." making Kevin nod.


    "Do you think David and Suzie would follow us there?" Kevin turned his and asked.


    Mark shrugged and replied, "Weren''t you the one who told them the camp was better for them when I asked them to make a choice, and honestly it is. It doesn''t make much of a difference for us. Our firepower might decrease significantly, but I don''t see how it will affect our journey to the mountains too much."


    Kevin nodded. It was their choice. Both of them were close friends, especially Suzie they knew for quite some time, but this wasn''t that new. It was always only two of them and wasn''t like they won''t meet them once again. Every person has to do what they got to do for their family''s survival.

 Chapter 176 - Decision

    They finally reached David''s home and got out. They knocked on the door and heard footsteps on the other side. Daisy peeked through the peephole and saw it was Mark and Kevin and opened the door. Both of them got in and made their way into the living room.


    Mark placed the suitcase in his room for safety and went to the living room. Everyone was present except Suzie, who was cooking their lunch. He found himself a place and David asked him, "How did the talk with the General go?"


    "It went well. He just had to give us some information and wanted to know how we felt and what our next plan was. Nothing too important." Making everyone nod. He didn''t tell about Kane or about the gift he got. Those were secrets only he and Kevin needed to know.


    "So, when are you guys planning to go out of the city?" This time it was Ray. Ray didn''t go to work the past few days and just stayed with Suzie.


    Both of them were going back and forth about the decision Suzie had to make. Ray wanted her to follow Mark and Kevin while Suzie wanted to stay with her only parent as she lost her mother the past month itself. Ray couldn''t follow them because he had friends who lost families like him in the military camp and couldn''t just leave them for a better life. He wanted to stick with them.


    Mark and Kevin didn''t get involved in their discussion; it was a family thing and not something outsiders like them needed to get themselves involved in.


    "Probably by the end of this week. There is nothing left to do here, as the medical check-up on Suzie was also completed yesterday. I and Kevin need to get going to our next area where we might settle." Giving the two families a fixed timeline. They only had a day or two left to decide, as the Jeep and truck would move early Sunday morning.


    Ray and David nodded. Both of their eyes went in the direction of their daughters. David was still hesitating to follow them as he thought about his daughter Daisy. He couldn''t leave her alone in the big military base, but going out with them was also very dangerous and the little girl might get in the way instead of helping during stressful times.


    The tense mood settled a little as Suzie called all of them for lunch. They made their way to the dining room and saw the dishes on the table. After having lunch, Mark checked on the supplies and noticed there might not be enough. So they decided to go out for more supplies in the neighborhood stores.


    Mark and Kevin got on the Jeep alone and rolled out once again. They were also aiming for fuel. The mountains won''t have fuel, so getting as much fuel was important for them. They hit multiple supermarkets and had to get another smaller truck for the supplies they found. They went through multiple fuel stops and took all the fuel they could.


    After a full 5 hours of gaining supplies and a truck full of stuff, they went back home. Luckily the truck they had was already bigger and had enough space for the stuff in the new vehicle. Everyone helped in transferring the stuff and got the big truck full.


    After having their dinner, the group dispersed into their own rooms. Kevin and Mark were sharing a single room and as both got into the bed, Kevin looked at Mark and asked, "Do you think we need to go down the mountain every time our food supplies run low? Because we can''t rely on the supermarkets for long."


    Mark nodded and replied, "Yes, we can''t. I can see that the food in the supermarkets, especially the vegetables and fruits are slowly going out of date and becoming inedible. Let''s hope your old man has a solution because they were living up in the mountains for a month already now." he hoped the old man had one because he didn''t


    Kevin nodded, and the discussion didn''t go further. Time passed by as they continued to acquire more supplies and before they knew it, it was already Saturday night and all of them were in the Living room after having lunch. Both the families didn''t give a clear answer to him yet and Mark decided to just leave it be.


    David was the first person to break the silence as he looked at Mark and said, "Mark, I decided. I am going to keep both our lives in your hands from now on. The military camp might be good but I don''t feel that well being there and I can''t leave Daisy alone. So I can only hope you are strong enough to protect both of us." as held his daughter''s hands.


    It was a heavy decision, and it changed the course of their life completely. He knew being with Mark was safer than being in the military because of his mentality and strength. Mark nodded and turned towards Suzie and Ray.


    Ray was the one to open his mouth as he said, "Suzie will follow you guys. I can''t keep her contained. She has strength now and can protect herself. With her in your group it can assure me she would live." and Mark noticed Suzie tightly gripping her fists, obviously not completely willing.


    "You guys should think it through. If she follows us and her mind is always where you are, then it can only be problematic." Mark said immediately. He didn''t want half-hearted people in the group, it would only increase the risk of the entire group.


    Suzie was about to say something, but Ray cut her off. "No, it''s alright. She was always like this, getting worried about us, instead of taking care of herself. She will be back to normal after some time. So you guys don''t need to worry. I trust her."


    Suzie looked at her father before nodding. Mark sighed and said, "Alright, let''s move in early morning 6. We will drop Ray at the military camp before going towards our destination. Tambo Hills."


    *********************


    Hey Guys, it''s me the author and yes, I am still alive and have not forgotten about the book for the past 2 months. I have been very busy with my studies and my new book. If you still don''t know, it''s called ''Rebirth: King to Superstar'' I am updating daily there and just didn''t have the time for this one. I wrote the latest chapter [chapter 178] to just end volume 2 and hopefully get started with Volume 3 which, let''s say, would be better than the previous two. I am not promising any chapters at all. I only have a rough idea for volume 3 and some ideas for it. So it might take a while, But I just want to say one thing, I HAVE NO INTENTION IN DROPPING THIS NOVEL AT ALL. So rest assured. Bye for now guys.