Ash was chased around by these creatures. He has been running for a long long time. Right after he avoids one group, another pops up and he would have to change his direction yet again. He has already been outside for 3 hours now and he left right at daybreak too. Yet his destination was not getting any nearer. All the planning he did went down the drain. What is the use of having the brains if you can't act it out? Every time he catches a break, he would check his map and realise that he has drifted further and further away from his actual route.

It was no different this time again. He ran, hid and rested until the coast was clear. He just didn't have the guts to act out the things he saw in his head. While he was holding his head in despair and catching his breath after finally finding a highly secure hiding spot, a rich man's house, he heard a sound from outside.

It wasn't the usual irregular sound of footsteps that the zombies displayed. The sound was rhythmic and steady. It sounded like 4-5 people were approaching at a fast pace most probably being chased. Accompanying that was the sound of gunshots and growls of zombies in pain. Humans! Finally, some living people. Ash was overjoyed. He took a peek in the direction of the sound and from his hiding spot saw them right away in the distance. It was a group of 5 people just as he predicted. 3 men and 2 women. A horde of zombies were after them.

All of them had grim faces. The two women and one of the men were terrified at the sight. It was obvious that they didn't have much experience dealing with this kind of situations. The other two men had an aura of experienced fighters. Although they had frowns on their faces, they were not panicking like the rest of them. They had actual guns in their hands. Who knows where they looted it from? The three others had self-made weapons in the form of metal pipes, kitchen knives or frying pans.

While they were running, the two with the guns were looking around for a good hiding spot while at the same time shooting at anything that got too near for comfort. but being just two of them it was getting more and more difficult for them to hold back the horde. Seeing that the situation was getting out of hand and if he didn't do anything to help soon, the group would be swallowed up, Ash finally decided to act.

Ash started rummaging through the house to see if he could find anything useful. He saw that the house had a small, well maintained pool at the back. This gave him an idea. Within a few rounds around the house he found the three things that he needed - a few empty glass bottles, a package of fast dissolving stock treatment and super chlorination for swimming pools and lastly some high temperature synthetic brake fluid. Having lived most of his life between genius scientists it was easy for him to deduct the chemical reaction that would occur if he mixed these two chemicals together. without a doubt an explosion and that's exactly what he needed at the moment. He filled halfway the 4 glass bottles with swimming pool treatment and then since the reaction takes places quite fast, he calculated the time needed then opened the door, stepped outside and filled the rest of the bottles with the brake fluid, sealed them and then rushed out.

While this was happening inside the house, the group had found an elevated platform that gave them a little bit of protection from biting mouths and grabbing hands. But they were already surrounded by the zombies. The men with the guns were shooting at them but were getting distracted and annoyed at the women's wailing. One of the men started cursing at them to shut up, that they should have left them behind and that it's still not too late to do it and that at least it would give the rest of them a chance to escape. It was not effective at all since it triggered more hysteria and panic. By then they had already fired their last bullet. They huddled to the centre. It looked like all hope was gone. Suddenly they saw a small figure dash out of one of the nearby houses with what looked like bottles in his hands.

Without much hesitation the boy threw the bottles into the zombie horde all at once. With terrible aim to boot. But with such a large number of them, it didn't really matter much if he missed his mark. The group traced the trajectory of the bottles shocked, and right before it hit the ground, it exploded into flames. Without exception everything in a 1-meter radius around the explosion caught fire. All the zombies were screeching in pain as the flames engulfed them making them unmovable burnt corpses.

"Get moving!" Ash shouted at the frozen group. 'Are these people stupid? He bought them time and they are standing there gawking'. Hearing his reminder, the group cleared their heads, jumped down from the platform and followed him towards the house he was staying in before. Once they got inside, they bolted the door and sealed it off by shoving all kinds of furniture in front of it. The unaffected Zombies were already at the windows and doors trying to get in.

Once they made sure that they were safe, everyone collectively let out a sigh of relief and flopped onto the ground to rest. "Hey Kid, who are you?" one of the men asked. He was a bulky guy with sun tanned skin. He looked to be in his early thirties with deep brown hair. Your typical muscle builder look. Although he was big and scary looking, from observing before, he seemed to be the calmer and smarter one of the groups. 'A bear' that's the first thing that came into his mind while looking at him.

"Don't you think you should introduce yourself first?" Ash replied with his usual emotionless tone. This pissed off the other guy who seemed to be hero worshipping the bigger man.

"Who do you think you are to be so rude to Brother James?" the guy who shouted into his face while pointing an empty gun at him had a tall build as well although he looked small standing next to the 'bear'. His body was also not as bulky. They shared similar facial features although his were not as sharp.

Ash got a bit annoyed at his tone. He pushed the gun that was pointed at him away and replied in a sarcastic voice "the guy who just saved your sorry ass". If he didn't know the gun was empty, Ash would have never found the confidence to talk back to the guy.

"Y-You..."

"I am sorry. It was my mistake. I am James. And this guy here is my brother Josh" James pulled his brother back to his side and made him sit down next to him before continuing "The rest of them are survivors we encountered today when we were out for a supply run" Ash nodded as he listened.

"Ash" he introduced himself and then fell silent. He never really had a proper conversation with anyone. So, he didn't know what else to say.

"...so, Ash" James started again after waiting for a bit to see if he was gonna add anything more "where is the rest of your group?" He asked looking around at the house suspiciously. These words made Josh's head snap up fast. He also started looking for someone hiding to ambush them. He slowly took out a pocketknife from his trousers and kept it at ready for any potential attack. It was highly unheard of surviving alone these days so there was good reason to be suspicious.

"There is no one else. Only me" Ash replied in a small voice and buried his head into his arms before closing is eyes. "I am going to sleep. I haven't had a proper sleep in days. Keep watch for me. Wake me up once the numbers decrease outside" He said and fell quiet.

Josh felt like he and his brother were being disrespected. He started grumbling in annoyance at the insolence this tiny boy displayed. "Brother should I just end him?" He asked with a hint of anger. James stayed quiet because he knew that his brother was just kidding around. He opened his back bag instead and picked out some Nutri bars and passed them to the group of three.

Suddenly he heard a sound from his walki talki. "James, where are you?" A deep raspy voice sounded from the device. James picked up the two-way radio and responded "We are in a large house 5-6 blocks down the road from where we parked. The group of survivors are safe. So are we. Everything is alright on this side"

"That's good to hear. Are you able to return?"

"The house is surrounded at the moment boss and the number is high. We are also out of bullets so not anytime soon. We would have to wait until the horde clears out."

There was a long silence at the other end before replying. "You are quite a big group right now. I don't think they will clear out anytime soon..." he got interrupted right then and an annoyed voice shouted through the device "We can't bring down the car or it will risk our transportation back. Is there any way you can come down a few blocks? If so, we can swiftly pick you up while keeping the zombies at bay. Otherwise I will leave you there until our next supply run"

Hearing the conversation, the rest of the group started panicking and wailing again which didn't help with the situation. James fell into thought. He was interrupted by his brother's nudge. He was signalling with his eyes at the sleeping figure a few meters away.

James' eyes brightened instantly. He quickly spoke into the device "we might have a way after all..."

"Oh? What is it?" It was still the latter voice speaking.

"There is a kid in the house, he is the one who saved our asses back there. He knows how to make explosives..."

"...this boy sounds interesting." The 'boss said. "Have him make his bombs then. How long would you need? We will drive in when you are ready"

"Ummm... there is a slight problem...."

"What is it?"

"That stupid ass escape route is sleeping at the moment. And he looks like he has a nasty temper. We might have to force him to..." Josh input his opinion and started cracking his knuckles. James smacked him on his head which zipped his lips.

"I wouldn't provoke him boss" he added his opinion. Although the boy looked meek and tiny, he was able to survive alone for over 3 weeks. He also saved them right now which means that he is resourceful. No one could tell what other tricks he had up his sleeve.

They heard a sigh "so be it. I will give you until night fall."

Everyone was exhausted. They appointed someone as watch, then allocated an order to take turn for lookout and then got some shut eye as well while they could. Getting out of this place wasn't going to be an easy task.

By 4 o'clock Ash woke up startled. The fear of the past few weeks was catching up to him. His face and back were drenched in cold sweat and his hands were shaking. The reality of today finally sank in. Even though it was to save someone, he still killed people today. No matter what they had become right now, at the core they were just infected people. Even after all that running and hiding until now, Ash hadn't used his baseball bat even once but today he burnt down 10-15 infected humans. This made him a murderer. When he reached that thought, his stomach suddenly felt upset and he rushed to the toilet to empty the little food he had in his stomach. It's nothing like the fictional books and movies. There everything looks amazing. Ash would watch those movies and even try to come up with more successful survival tactics than what those people were using but when reality hits you, your mind goes blank and the only thought you have is to run.

The others noticed the boy wake up and rush to the toilet. At first, they thought he was bolting so James went after him but then he heard the sound him heaving his stomach. Clearly, he was throwing up. He sighed and went back to his spot and waited.

"What's that dude up to?" Josh asked from his lookout position.

"Don't worry about it. He will be back soon" James didn't elaborate and just went quiet. Seeing this Josh just shrugged his shoulders losing interest as well.

Although not perfectly rested, Ash was feeling much better than the last few days where he couldn't get any sleep due to constant fear. Although he hasn't come to terms with his killing, he knew that his priority was to survive and for that he needed to put his morality on the back seat and tighten the restraints. He went back to the group of survivors to ask some questions and get some answers.

He could still hear the banging on the door and windows. Who ever lived here put a lot of effort into making this house secure? Maybe the guy was paranoid because the door was heavy wood with strong locks and the windows were barred and thick glassed. That's the very reason why Ash holed up in this house in the first place. His plan was to stay here for a few days, scavenge for food since he is gonna need it with how things are going, come up with a better plan that works and then try again to get to that Tesco. But the scent of 6 people was attracting enough attention that rather than the zombies losing interest, they were getting more motivated and aggressive with each passing minute. This once secure house could now only last for a few more hours before it gets over run.

"Ash" James called drawing his attention away from the door to his face. "You said that you were alone" this they confirmed while the boy was sleeping by looking through the entire house to avoid any nasty surprises. "Where were you going to?"

"I don't know if I can trust you nor if you guys are good people, so why should I tell you?"

"You-"" Josh took offence at his words "We don't trust you either scumbag"

"What are you, 5?" Ash rolled his eyes at him and scoffed at his childish behaviour. This irritated the other man more and he lounged at the smaller boy. But before he could get any punches in, he felt a good hard familiar hit on his head.

"Josh shut up and back away" James said dragging him behind him. Regardless of whether the boy was nice or not, they still needed him to get out of this situation.

"If we are headed in the same direction, we can help you out. Maybe even give you a ride." James tried to tempt him. He wasn't expecting it to work but if you are gonna ask for favours you need to offer something in return as well.

"Okay" The boy replied without much persuasion which made them all shocked for a moment at the ease of getting that reply. The thing is the word 'ride' had already hooked Ash. He wouldn't have to walk all that way anymore and travelling with more people meant that his chances of survival went up. He could see that they wanted something from him, otherwise they didn't have much reason to stick around. If they could give him a ride, he would even trade half of his food with them. Or maybe half of the half.

"I am one person and you are a group, so I think it's only fair that you spill your secrets first" Ash said to the group. The three rescued looked at James for an answer as well. Ash totally ignored the rash brother who was giving him weird looks as he decided to only have any kind of interaction with sane people.

"We have set up a small temporary base with a few other survivors. We are headed there after we get out. You can stay with us if you want. Like the rest of them." He nodded at the other three members. This kid was smart and useful. He would be a good asset if he were to join them. Also, other than his weird temperament, he seemed like a nice kid. Anyone would be cautious when the whole world has gone chaotic and to be honest, he was easier to handle than his brother.

"No way I am letting him be part of us. He is too annoying, and .... he is weak and...useless. The only thing he might be of use is as bait to lure these monsters in or as a sacrifice to toss out when everyone is surrounded" Josh shouted angrily. The other three survivors flinched at his words. It just meant that they could be denied access and made to do questionable things as well.

James mentally slapped his forehead in despair. Why did he have such a stupid brother? As much as he loves him, he still causes too much trouble. Where is his brain? What is he even thinking with? All his effort is ruined now. He sighed heavily. "Josh!" He started to reprimand him but got interrupted

"Oh? And what exactly are you useful for? Running away, making too much noise and causing everyone else trouble?" Ash said mockingly "At the very least I can be useful as bait or a sacrifice. Either way I will be the one saving your sorry ass. AGAIN."

This triggered a verbal war were both of them refused to back down and threw one insult after another at each other. They were acting like kindergarten kids.

In the end Josh was dragged away by the three survivors according to James's orders and placed in the adjacent room before the door was closed on him. "Come out after you have cooled your head"

The room which was filled with verbal abuse a moment ago became awkwardly silent.

"Ash, just ignore him" James finally spoke. "He was spoiled too much as a kid, him being the youngest of us three siblings."

Finally having an 'irritation' out of the way, Ash just nodded and pulled out his map and spread it on the table. James and the rest came over to take a look. "I am headed to the Tesco here" Ash said pointing at the small circle he made with a pen.

James looked a bit shocked. "Why are you headed there. Do you know what the situation there is! Is someone waiting for you?" He tried to sound him out.

"Nah, I don't have anyone to call family or friends. I just believe that it would be a good spot for survivors to gather. Secure and stocked with food."

"Is that just a guess. You do know that there could be no one there at all. Right? And that the place could be overrun by these...infected people"

Ash explained his theory on how out of all the places, this one had the highest chance to house people. Since anyone with common sense would get the guns from the station first and then try to find large quantities of food. Especially if you are a big group.

Suddenly they heard a loud rattling and then a crash. Everyone was on alert. Tension filled the air and you could see the others' still moments due to nervousness. They quickly armed themselves and went to investigate the noise. It came from upstairs. So, they tip toed up the stairs to one of the rooms. The source of the sound. From inside came sounds of scratching and low hissing. The room was locked so they hadn't bothered to check it before.

James quickly kicked open the door with massive force, His weapon raised up ready to strike. The inside looked like a second storage room where they kept all kinds of random stuff for long term usage. In a corner they saw a cat next to a large bag of pet food that has toppled over from the table it was kept on. The cat looked startled at the arrival of the large group of unknown humans. It hissed at them and then rushed off out the cat window it came in through seeing that it was outnumbered.

They all let out a nervous laugh and relaxed again. Then they started scavenging the large packages of food that was stored there. The owner certainly was paranoid. Or maybe he knew something bad was gonna happen soon. After storing them into proper bags for easy carrying, they took them down into the room they were in before so that they can grab it and run at any moment's notice. At that time the side door opened, and Josh came back out. He seemed to have calmed down a bit.

The sight of his brother reminded James of what they were talking before "so... we will give you a ride and you can meet a few of the others in our group. Maybe it will encourage you to join us."

"That is very kind of you, I will keep that in mind, but I still want to check out Tesco first. Is your camp on the way to Tesco? Will you be able to give me a ride?" Ash asked hopefully. He didn't want to give the impression that he was desperate to cling with them. And even if he did, seeing how Josh and he were on bad terms, it would be a wonder if they accepted him with open arms also it would be really be a disastrous life living beside him. Regardless of whether they had a camp or not, Ash didn't believe that it would be secure enough with the constant fights for food and water. His gut was telling him that his deduction about Tesco was right. But then again since these are the first set of survivors he has met; he should still keep them within his sight. Just in case his theory turns out to be wrong. They were his plan B.

"Our camp is here" James pointed at the map and placed it on a spot. Ash looked down and saw that the building he was pointing at was circled by a pen. He looked up startled at the man to make sure they weren't joking.