It was a double doored garage with windows on top to let in the sunlight. Except for that small amount of light, it was dark inside. The switches didn't work anymore. Its already been few days since both the electricity and water supply stopped. But England having longer day light hours in the evening, they could still find their way around with the limited light.

The shelves to the side was filled with all kind of odd tools for maintenance. On the floor stood a tool storage shelf cart as well along with cleaning hoses, pumps, lot of boxes and mops. The place used to house at least three cars, but the owner must have been cruising outside in one of them when whatever accident happened. This was oblivious by the way the other two cars were parked with enough space for a third one. He seemed to have been a car collector or maybe that antique was passed down from generation to generation. Either way one of the cars left there was a 1965 Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud III which would usually sell for around £380,000.

James whistled in admiration as he laid eyes on this beauty. "Now that is something you don't see every day. Can't believe it had to get to the end of the world for me to touch something so good." He said as he ran a hand across its hood, stroking it lovingly. The other one was a more recent Volkswagen, but it had a toolbox lying next to it as if someone was taking a look at it before they had to hurriedly leave.

Ash didn't have much interest in cars like other boys. He would rather tinker with them, take them apart and study rather than drive around in it. Not that he knew how to drive anyway.

"Check if the garage door can be opened." Ash instructed to Beth as she was the closest to the door and you guys see if the cars can move." He shot the brothers a look.

"What about you?" Josh huffed "are you just gonna stand there and give instructions?"

"Well I don't know much about cars. If you have something else for me to do feel free to instruct me." Ash shot back. 'And here I thought he wasn't so bad'. Josh glared at him but didn't say anything else. Instead he shot Tom who was standing silently in the corner a look and shouted at him to do it instead.

Beth was shaking. Ash observed her with worry. From the brief time he had known her, Ash knew that she and Ashley were very close. Having had to lose her like that must really hurt a lot but she was keeping it together quite well. After all each minute wasted could spell death these days.

Beth looked at the doors seriously and after observing it for a while she looked around at the others with a worried expression. She spotted James, Josh and Ash standing near one car talking about something. James had an excited grin on his face as he pointed at the car in front of them. By the other car was Tom. He looked isolated and alone. If it was before she might have felt pity for him and rushed to his side. After all they all survived together until James found them. But after what he did to Ashley, he was even more worthless than the dust under her shoes. She was actually angry that he was still with them. If she could have her way, she would have kicked him down the garage roof so that he could experience Ashley's fate. Her eyes turned cold and her hands subconsciously tightened on the spear in her hand.

She took a deep breath as she realised her intentions were turning murderous. She could only depend on this group now. So, she didn't want to be ignored as Tom was right now. As such she had to endure it for the time being. After making this decision she walked over to the group of men who were still engaged in a lively conversation about the car.

"...I can't believe you never heard of it, Ash. It's a vintage car. One in good condition to boot. How can you not know it" James exclaimed is despair? Ash shook his head in surrender but then James patted him roughly on the shoulder and grinned. "Don't worry once we get back to the hideout, I will teach you all about them. From the very first to the latest brands. I will also take you out to drive and teach you the basics" Ash rolled his eyes in his mind but nodded his head externally. Even after listening to James brag about his knowledge of cars for the past 10 mts, he was still not the slightest interested. What difference did a brand make anyway. A car is just a car.

Beth approached them at that moment. Everyone could see her serious look. "What's wrong?" Josh asked in a concerned tone.

"The garage door was remote controlled but with the electricity down I don't think it will open. Also, the tension springs on the garage doors are broken. It looked like they were broken on purpose too. Someone was in a hurry to hide and since the garage doors would be heavy without the springs, they broke it hoping it would hold out the enemies. But they must have been starving or something which forced them wanting to venture out again because there is blood near the gate and smashed remains under the door. I think that someone held up the door to go outside but must have gotten attacked by the zombies and without his force supporting the door, it came crashing down on everything below it. We are stuck here" She had her head lowered in apology as if she did something wrong. Ash had a feeling that someone took that opportunity, while the other was holding up the gate and was being bitten, to drive away with the car. Because according to Beth, there were tire marks running through the blood and flesh.

The brothers scratched their head in thought and then said they will take a look at it. Josh decided to do it himself and walked away. The other two noticed that Beth was fidgeting around still and asked what was wrong. But she just shook her head before throwing Tom a sharp look from the corner of her eye which was noticed by Ash before asking "Is there anything else I can do?"

"Why don't you keep a look out and tell us how the situation outside changes." Ash suggested as he pointed at the window through which they jumped in. Smoke could be seen from the burning house nearby obstructing their view of the sky. Beth nodded at this and walked away.

"She is holding a grudge." Ash said observing her retreating figure.

"So, it seems. What is your opinion on what he did?" James asked in a serious tone. He hadn't had a chance to ask his saviour how he felt about not doing anything. It was a decision he came to without much thought. If it was before the world went to hell, James would have distanced himself as much as possible from such a horrible person. But right now, there was no one to enforce the law and numbers helped in these types of difficult times.

"That's hard to answer. What would you have done if you were in his position?" James opened his mouth to respond but Ash just continued without waiting for an answer "no matter what you think we are all the same. As long as we have the desire to survive, we are willing to do anything. And now it's not the same world as before. Either you take matters into your hand or you perish." Ash gave out a deep sigh. "Ashley was one of the few kind souls it seems. Anyone of us could have rushed in to help him but we didn't. We valued our lives more than his. Same goes for him and he acted upon his strong desire to live."

"But it doesn't mean what he did was right. From the morals that were ingrained into us since young, what he did is considered murder" James tried to argue.

"Aren't we all already murderers?" Ash asked as his hands trembled. He grabbed one hand with the other to stop the shaking. "Yes, they are disfigured. Yes, they are infected and yes its either us or them. But what if there is a cure in the future and all of them can be turned back? Then aren't we also murderers? At least that is what I believe and it's a guilt I will live with for the rest of my life."

James was silent as he listened to Ash's words. He also understood that there was no right or wrong anymore. There was no longer 'If I was in your shoes' statements. But that didn't mean that he had to agree to it. He just sighed and put the matter to rest for the time being. Their priority was getting out safely. Judgement and punishment can be dealt by the boss later. And their boss is one hell of a character. It would be a surprise if he could enter the group without any consequences for his actions.

After a long silence Ash finally broke it "So the car can run?" He changed the topic from the serious and depressing one to their immediate problem.

"yeah. But I am not sure how long it will last. The engine is old, and it will make a lot of noise. The man preserved it the same way he got it. But as long as we can get a bit far away, the boss will pick us up." He then voiced his concern "Of course all the Zombies in the neighbourhood would be on our tail when they hear the engine. So, we can't take the car to the base or we would lead a large horde there which would be too difficult for the base to handle and would cause unnecessary trouble."

Ash nodded at this, his brain already turning to calculate the information into a reliable plan. "What about the other one?" Ash asked Tom who was sitting inside it trying to turn on the car. To the question, instead of answering Tom turned the ignition again. The car didn't budge instead smoke started coming out of the hood.

"What's wrong with it?" Ash asked again waving away the smoke.

"I don't know"

"Let me take a look" James said as he pulled up his sleeves and popped open the hood. After looking around for a few minutes he said "the engine is busted. The car won't run unless its fixed"

"Can it be fixed?"

"Not here with the tools and parts we have." James ran a hand through his hair "seems like this car is useless to us then"

At that moment Josh came back "the door can be opened but it has to be done manually." That was to be expected.

"Beth, what's the situation outside?" James asked the girl who was sitting on the roof.

"It's not as much as before. It's a good thing that we burned them in the house, or the numbers would have been too much for us to handle. But still there are around 20 left."

"That means we can't just open the door and rush out." Josh said analysing the situation. Ash looked at him mockingly seeing him use his brain for once.

Right then James's walkie talkie sounded. "James, what is the situation? I saw smoke from the direction you are in."

"Yes Boss, that was us..." he gestured to the others that he was gonna step to the side and explain things and then walked away to relay everything that happened and leaving the others to figure out their next move.

"So, Genius, what are we gonna do?" Josh's mocking voice came right after his brother left. It seems like the brother was the leash that kept him from picking a fight with others.

"Why don't you come up with a plan for a change? By brain is tired a need some rest after working for so long unlike yours" Ash mocked him right back. His head was indeed throbbing. It has been like that ever since he left the lab, but the pain kept increasing with each passing day. He was also extremely exhausted. Had he not had that short nap before, he would have passed out by now. Before Josh could retort, he walked away as well and slid down to the floor while leaning against a wall and closed his eyes. Josh was surprised to see him walk off at such a critical time, but he felt like it would be a blow to his pride if he asked Ash for help, so he decided to come up with a plan himself.

Although Ash looked like he was sleeping, he was just resting his eyes. His head felt like it was splitting in two. Maybe it was because of the long stressful day. It was a familiar feeling. He would feel like it every time he healed something beyond his limit. But even through the pain, his brain was functioning at full capacity as he analysed and sorted all the information he had at the moment. There wasn't time to be wasted after all.

'Let's think Ash' he had a habit of talking to himself when he was thinking about something complicated. 'It will take some effort and time to open the closed garage gates manually. Also, zombies could rush in while the someone was opening it. According to Beth, there were still around 20 Zombies outside the garage. And although there are two cars only one is functional, and that one is old and loud. It won't get them far before giving out on them. Another issue was the seats. Even if they decide to take the car, there were only 4 seats. Being an old model, the seats were divided perfectly and only meant for 4 passengers.' When he came to this thought Ash looked at Tom who was standing a bit further away from the other two not really joining in on the conversation. If no solution is found, one might have to be left behind.'

James was still talking on the walkie. After running a quick glance across the garage his eyes stopped at a spot and then satisfied, he closed his eyes again. This time for a quick nap. He needed the rest desperately.

15 mts later, Ash felt a shadow fall over him, and the past weeks of alertness made him snap open his eyes and pull out a knife in defence. All four of the others were standing around him. James had an exasperated expression while Josh looked like he was sulking. Beth looked a bit exhausted, but she had some worry as well in her eyes.

"Sorry I dozed off" Ash replied as an answer to all their questioning looks. "I was having a headache and I just feel very exhausted these days" the headache was still there. And it seemed to be getting worse with the days passing.

"Ash, you can sleep as much as you want once we are safe. Hang on a little longer. We need you to put that brilliant brain together and come up with a plan." Beth said as she stretched out a hand to help him up.

"Couldn't you guys come up with anything. I thought you were brainstorming earlier." Ash asked as he accepted the outstretched hand and hoisted himself up.

"Well..." all of them looked at Josh who started turning red from embarrassment.

"My idea wasn't that bad" he retorted in self-defence.

"Yeah except that you forgot that Ash can't make those bombs anymore without the chemicals" James said sighing heavily. Seeing his confused look James explained for him "his idea was to make some more of those bombs throw them out and burn the zombies while we drive away so that we don't have to engage in combat. The only thing is he forgot the most important point, that we didn't have the chemicals, so the entire plan fell out."

Ash was very surprised "It seems like we think somewhat alike for a change" He said complimenting Josh who looked bewildered.

"Didn't you hear what my brother just said, or did you lose your memory as well?" Josh asked suspiciously.

"I said 'somewhat'. I am not stupid enough to make such an amateur mistake. But all in all your thought process was in the same direction mine was"

"Does that mean you can make more bombs?" James asked holding back his brother who was starting to steam again.

"Yes, but this time it will be using petrol" he nodded at the Volkswagen standing there uselessly. "you should know how to empty a tank right?" he asked looking at James. He nodded excited finally getting something useful to do. "good. now I need a few things."

"Just tell me what to need and I will find it for you." Beth answered as well with great enthusiasm.

"Glass bottles and strong rope"

After getting the instructions, she rushed off to look through the boxes in the garage and through everyone's processions. James also went off to do his task. Ash stopped Josh as he was trying to awkwardly slip away to his brother. "you know how to open the garage manually, yes?"

"Of course, its child's play" Ash nodded at his words. "then when we are ready you would have to get it open. that means you won't be in the car when we start to roll out. You will be in danger regardless of the support we provide." Josh thought about it for a bit. "what are you trying to say?"

"I am saying, maybe you should instruct someone else how to do it before we are ready to go" Ash said throwing a glance at Tom who had moved away from everyone else again.

"You are going to leave him behind?" Josh asked with a flash in his eyes. His face stiffened as he was going to make a re-evaluation of the boy if his answer turned out to be different than what he expected.

"Not really but it depends on his luck" Ash responded honestly.

"Why are you telling me this. Shouldn't this be a good opportunity for you to get rid of me since you don't like me?"

"Don't know. Maybe I don't dislike you as much as I thought." Saying that Ash walked away ignoring the stunned man and moving towards James who was holding the tools with an excited look and waving him over. It seems their car lesson number 1 was starting already.

After ushering him over James started explaining the entire process step by step as he demonstrated (video). He lifted up the rear end seats and located the tank centre. He screwed off the screws and took off the cover. Then he disconnected the VW clip and the hoses that connect the car to the fuel tank. After that he removed the locking screw which took a bit more effort compared to the other steps in the entire process. Finally, he carelessly lifted out the pump and showed it to Ash proudly. It was still dripping fuel. He then called him over to take a look into the hole that was left. Strong scent of petrol drifted out from there which made Ash cough uncomfortably. But since the lesson in car dismantling for future survival was over, he rushed off to do his task from which got delayed due to the sudden crash course. After instructing James to fill up the glass bottles which Beth brought over to them at that moment with the fuel he finally focused on his work.

At a corner he saw Josh instructing Tom how to manually open the garage gate. The latter seemed to be paying close attention as he finally got some attention from the group and didn't want to ruin his chance to redeem his mistake. Directing is gaze back on his task, Ash pulled over the tool cart that was on the side of the garage and emptied it of all the tools except for a handsaw and a heavy hammer which he left in the second shelf of the cart. After that he started tying the cart to the bars on the back of the antique car. He made several loops to be sure that it was tied tightly and would not loosen from strong swaying. He also double checked that the wheels on the cart were durable. Once it was securely in place, he looked over to see if everyone else was done with the tasks that were given to them.

As long as everyone did everything precisely, they would have a high chance of escaping without much trouble. they have already lost someone today and it was not wise to lose another. So, Ash was determined to bring everyone remaining out alive.

Everyone finished their work and regrouped. James was holding five glass bottles of petrol. Ash quickly soaked some torn cloth in the left-over petrol and stuffed it through the bottle neck touching the liquid inside. When it was time all they had to do was light it and throw. "try to save two of them, we won't know what will happen once we are on the road. We will need it with the noise of the car. Beth had taken another final look at the situation outside and reported that they were a little scattered around now, but the number has gone up by a few.

Now all that was left was task distribution and they were ready to roll.