The next few days were eventful. After getting treated Tom was tossed into a small room in the name of detention. Beth was satisfied with it and didn't press much further for anything else. After the fight everyone had deep respect for Beth and the men would cringe whenever she looked at them with a frown. Seeing great potential in her, Kyle decided to train her in combat. She was left to rest for a few days and ones her wounds healed they would officially begin.

The fight that day had been loud no matter how much the people tried to suppress it. So, they were faced with an added headache in the form of uninvited Zombies. The Guards were busy taking care of them and ensuring that the barricade was intact.

On the other end, Ash spend most of his time listening to Mrs Nolan talk about the camp, how she got rescued and how her life had been before the apocalypse. When she wanted to know about Ash's past, he was faced with a predicament. He didn't want to reveal that he was in the same lab as the source of the calamity. The people here were already wary and distrustful. He didn't want to add to that. So, he just mentioned that he had been an orphan and then refused to talk much else.

Mrs. Nolan was understanding so she didn't press further. Instead she threw him into manual labour. She gave him chore after chore which kept him very busy. During the little time he had free, he would be endlessly harassed by Luke who had made it his goal to get him.

After three days, Josh stopped in front of him while he was sorting out the trash and stood there like a statue as if waiting to be acknowledged first. For the past several days Ash hadn't even glimpsed a peek at him. It was like he had vanished completely from the camp. Now that he had a good looked at him, he had heavy dark circles under his eyes to show that he hadn't had a sound sleep in days. Seems like he was appointed guard duty right after he finished his quarantine and the rumours were true that the guards were overworked.

"Hey" Ash greeted feeling slightly happy to see him. Although both of them got off the wrong foot, by the end of their escape, Josh had helped him a lot and that pushed away any resentment he held towards him.

"Hi" he responded with a nod and then continued to stay silent. This made Ash feel uncomfortable, so he stopped sorting and looked up at the man who stood there with a grim look. He had exhaustion written all over his face, but he stubbornly refused to yawn and take a rest. Instead he had his eyes very wide open as if forcing them not to close. Ash couldn't help but chuckle to himself before he asked, "did you need me for anything?"

"Just finish your work first" He grumbled and then he said in a very small voice to himself "don't think I will let you escape your trash duty just because we are about to leave." Although it wasn't meant for his ears, Ash still heard it and rolled his eyes. 'Maybe I should hold back my goodwill towards this idiot.' Seeing the other's stubborn look Ash sighed in defeat and continued to sort out the trash. Keeping to his word Josh stood there for around 10 minutes until Ash put the last piece of garbage into the right bag and then without warning grabbed his hand and started rushing outside.

'What the hell?' Ash thought to himself as he struggled to free his hand from the other's grip without any success. Soon they came to a stop in front of a group of people all geared up with weapons. It looked like they were ready to go out but had been waiting impatiently for someone to arrive. As soon as they spotted Josh one of them slapped him on the back of his head and demanded "What took you so long? We are ready to set out and boss has been waiting for a while now. Why are you so slow?" Ash watched the interaction in amusement 'His name was Mike, I believe.'

"It wasn't me; it was Ash who was slow" He meant slow in sorting out trash. It was true. Ash had purposefully made the chore longer to see if Josh would actually stick around patiently. But if it was something urgent, he should have just told him rather than wait for him to finish. So, hearing him put the blame on him, Ash glared at him in anger. The group looked at Ash and then without blaming him turned their accusation against Josh. "He is so tiny. If he was slow then you should have just thrown him over your shoulder and ran back" Although they were reprimanding Josh, hearing the second-hand ridicule Ash was speechless.

'What do you mean tiny.' He wasn't that short to be honest. His muscles were underdeveloped because of the lack of exercise in the lab but other than that he had similar height to the average male species. Before any of them could say anything more a deep voice sounded from within the jeep parked to the side "Stop wasting time, Let's go."

Ash was once again dragged and tossed into one of the jeeps before the rest followed suit and climbed in. Without wasting any more time, the vehicles started moving out the gate. Soon, most of them fell asleep to catch some last-minute sleep to get the energy to fight later. Ash thus sat with a group of sleeping people and realised that their raid had officially began.

-----------

They were inside an abandoned house. All of them gathered around the table looking serious. The raid was for guns. Being in a country where use of unregistered guns were illegal, their only option was to go through police stations. Problem was that most of the stations were empty as either someone had already broken in to take the goods or the station was located in the most Zombie infected areas. This was the problem that the group was facing at the moment.

The camp had food for the time being, but it was running low. In order to go searching for goods they needed weapons and guns would increase their safety. Yet the few that they had looted from the station closest to them was already running low on ammo. And seeing that the number of residents were increasing they also needed to be armed.

The group had thus no choice but to venture further away from camp in order to find what they were looking for. Rhys had pulled out a large map on the table and everyone was observing it seriously. He then marked several spots on the map. All of them were locations of police stations. Then he went on ahead and crossed out a few. These were the ones where they had already looked. Ash looked at the markings and realised that the rest of the spots were quite far away from where they were at the moment. There was bound to be many Zombies on route, and no one knew how the situation at the sites were. This was definitely a difficult mission. Ash was annoyed. 'Why on earth was he dragged along on something so dangerous. If it was to learn shooting then he could have done it somewhere safer' his eyebrows dipped into a frown at the man who had still his head bend over the map 'Or did he think that first hand fighting experience is the way to learn for a complete newbie?

Feeling the hostile gaze, Rhys looked up and their eyes collided. "Is there any insight you want to share? If so, you don't need to hold it in. Just speak freely" He said mockingly. The group also turned their head towards Ash. Until then they had been quiet, nodding along to whatever Rhys was saying and occasionally answering questions directed at them. Although the did give their opinions and suggestions, they mostly left the decision making to their Boss. All they cared about was following orders, they left all the complicated stuff to the people in charge. After observing then Ash realised that this was a nature that they developed long before the apocalypse. Most of the members seemed to be closely familiar with their small boss.

So, when Rhys mentioned Ash, they all looked at him suspiciously as if silently questioning his ability to come up with anything decent. This was understandable as other than Josh, everyone else were strangers to him. No one knew his capabilities and most of them were even wondering why he was there in the first place. Noah and Rhys were also there but although he had interacted with them slightly, he wasn't that familiar with them. Just because none of them knew him well didn't mean that it didn't piss him off. 'Who are you looking down upon' Ash huffed in anger.

He looked down at the map, noticed something from his memory and smirked. "Like you already said, the police stations have no guarantee for guns as most of the officers were deployed on patrol before the apocalypse, and the situations around there is unknown. For all we know we might face a horde of Zombies." After all, first human instinct when Zombies break out would be to get police protection. He pointed at a building on the map and continued "but here there is guaranteed to be weapons at the same time lesser risk." The group looked at the spot he pointed and rolled their eyes. The spot he mentioned made no sense to their mission at all. Moreover, they noticed that it was further away than the closest three spots that their boss had marked. They thus rolled their eyes and started at him as if he was stupid. Knowing that the rest of them wouldn't have much of an opinion, Ash looked at Rhys instead, He, as expected, was taking what he said a bit more seriously than the others.

He looked at it for a long time and then finally asked, "What is that building?" It was located a bit on the outskirts and looked like a large structure. It had a large piece of free ground around it as well, but it was just marked as a long abandoned industrial area on the map. Rhys looked confused as he tried to see if there was some kind of trick or strategic point to the building that was pointed at. But there was nothing that came to mind.

"It's a military academy" Ash answered smugly. Everyone looked at him as if he was bonkers. "It's true. the government trains specially selected students form each cadet school and transfers them there for intensive, life and death training. They are used as the secret force of the country and the authorities use them for top secret missions." Of course, camouflaging it as an old industrial area was an obvious move. They wouldn't want spies from other countries learning of their skills and manpower.

Rhys still looked distrustful "And how exactly do you know this?" he asked Ash questioningly.

"...." Ash was at a loss for words. The information came from his life as a lab rat at the secret laboratory. Majority of the guards stationed there were trained and deployed from this place. Which was understandable now that he knew that the lab was holding a world calamity imprisoned. Of course, he only got this knowledge by chance as some of them were responsible with transporting him and Erva to different locations. Those were the only times that Ash had heard another human voice other than the mad scientist's and his assistants. So, he would pay extra attention to their conversations. Since he was determined to hide his past, Ash didn't know how to respond to that question, so it took him some time to come up with an answer.

"I saw it in a video about conspiracy theories" Ash lied. His ears started heating up with the obvious lie. The group around him looked at him surprised and then started laughing.

"You are still a kid after all" Noah said as he pinched Ash's cheeks while chuckling. Although everyone else brushed it off as a joke, Rhys looked at Ash suspiciously. 'He is lying again. I need to keep a closer eye on him.' The boy was still under evaluation from him as he seemed very suspicious. How he survived alone in the apocalypse was still a mystery since he didn't completely believe the story about the woman.

"Hey, don't brush it off like that. Sometimes conspiracy theories can be true you know" Ash tried to argue through all the laughter. Seeing that no one was paying him anymore attention Ash threw out another lie "And also one of my friend's cousin is rumoured to study there. But I was asked to keep it a secret."

'Another lie' Rhys thought and frowned slightly. 'but the boy seems to believe strongly that the place is indeed what he said. Rhys looked down at the map and located the building that Ash pointed out. 'If it is indeed a military academy then it is beneficial to them. It would have weapons for sure which their students use. And since there are usually more students in an academy than officers in a police station, the haul would be larger.' But could they trust the boy? 'What if he is leading them into a trap?' Maybe that was the place he had stayed at before they found him.

"Let's say we believe you and want to go there, why is there less risk than looting a police station?" Rhys asked interrupting all the teasing that was going around. Seeing someone ask him about his opinion even after everyone else dismissed it, brightened Ash's mood at once. His eyes were shining brightly as he looked at Rhys with gratitude.

"It's because since the government issued a lock down most schools stopped operating and send their student back home. This coupled with the school's remote location, it is safe to say that the inside of the building would not be as Zombie infected as a police station which is located right at the heart of any major city. Also, since it is a secret academy, I have a feeling it would be well fortified, so it is a better place to settle in than the Tesco."

'If what he says is true then they really would have found a god place to settle down. Regardless of whether it is a lie or not, it is still worth investigating'. "If it is indeed the case like you mentioned then the place is indeed a good one, but It will take us 2 or 3 days just to get there and then there is the issue of Zombies. Both on the road and inside the place." Rhys said thinking out all the minute details of the idea. "So, we would have to scout out and see what the situation is first. Then depending on the risk, we need to arrange transportation for the rest at the camp." He then ran a hand through his dark locks and looked back down on the map. Everyone was silent. Surprised that their boss was even willing to ponder on that idea which was nothing, but a guess based on a conspiracy theory.

"This does not solve the issue we have right at this moment. Just to get to this place to scout you need weapon and manpower. Also, it is too far a venture for this time. No one in the camp has been notified and they will be left unprotected for as long as we are gone." Rhys took out a pen and circled the building twice. This will be our next raid mission after we get back. This time we need to find a few extra arms if we are to even attempt this mission."

He then pondered for a moment and then pointed at two markings which the closest to their location. "today we will take a look at these two stations. If we don't find anything, we will go to this one tomorrow." He pointed at the third marking a lot further away. Then he looked at all the gathered members around him. There was a total of 9 people including him. Most of them were armed with crude weapons. Only 2 of them had a gun in their hands. Which was himself and Josh. They had found a total of 6 guns at the police station that they raided in the beginning. One was always kept with Kyle to maintain order. The rest of the 3 were being used to defend the camp.

This was going to be more dangerous than he had first expected it to be. 'At least it's a relief that I took fighters with me this time around' right after this thought crossed his mind, he realised something, and his eyes snapped to the boy who was being strangled and teased by Noah. In the midst of huge men and swift women, Ash stood out like a thorn. He gave off all the vibes of inexperienced and he reeked of weakness. He looked more like a rich young spoiled second-generation master who has never stepped out of his home his entire life. Rhys slapped a hand against his head and sighed. 'which fool brought him along on such a dangerous mission!' then he suddenly remembered that the very mentioned fool was himself and massaged his throbbing temple. 'I must have been possessed to do something so stupid.'

'Well I just hope he can keep up and not be a burden.' Soon he distributed the roles. Came up with a plan of action and then ordered Ash that he should stick close to him no matter what and then they set off again.

Their first stop was a disappointment. The building had been long abandoned. Except for killing a few Zombies, they didn't gain anything out of it. The police or the residents had already fled with whatever weapon they could get a hold of, leaving the station overturned and in disarray. So, with disappointed hearts they drive towards the second station.

They stopped far away from the station and looked at the scene before them in silence. It looked like the station had been housing several of the survivors for a while. Someone in the group must have been already infected, because they ended up biting and turning the rest of the survivors including the police that were protecting them. The rest is history.

Josh fit a silencer on the handgun that he was carrying and started shooting at the Zombies wandering outside one by one. A few of them noticed the others fall and started charging at the group. Everyone had their weapons ready. So as soon as they approached hard swings and stabs surrounded Ash. He watched in surprise as these group of people charged ahead without fear as if they had done this a hundred times before. Rhys was always by his side. Before they came here someone had stuffed a baseball bat with nails hammered through it into his hands for self-defence, so Ash held it in front of him like a shield. He didn't really have a need to use it until now since the group he came with was highly efficient.

Once they cleared out the outside, Rhys led them towards the front door that seemed to be locked shut. He held the gun in one hand and walked towards a nearby glass window and peeked in. The inside had around 14 of them, both civilians and officers. These were the ones he could spot from the window. Who knows how many more there were outside his line of sight? Most of them had horrible wounds on them. One woman had her entire arm missing. Her dress was dyed in blood. Another civilian was roaming down the hall with half his face missing. He had a deep chunk missing from his neck. Rhys then noticed a Zombie dressed as a police officer. Both his legs were missing but he was still crawling slowly amidst the rest of them growling and gnawing its teeth into anything it could find.

There were a lot of them. This was going to be difficult indeed. But at least they knew that the weapons were still inside as the officers still occupied the area. He came back to the group and reported what he saw. They brainstormed to come up with ideas since charging in recklessly was both foolish and suicidal. Seeing that no one had any good ideas Rhys finally spoke up deciding on the most obvious plan of action.

"First we need to check how strong the barricade is and if it can be easily breached, if not we have to look for another entrance that doesn't attract too much attention." Hearing his opinions. The crowd split up without further instructions. Few of them started examining the barricade on the front door and the rest of them wandered around the building to see if there was any other means to enter. After making a round of the building they returned and reported the findings. "The front gate is pretty strongly blocked off. If he try to enter through there, it will make a lot of noise and we won't get far before we are attacked." Mike said tapping the weapon in his hand against his palm.

Noah stepped up and said. "There is a back entrance as well, but they also shoved a lot of things in front of the door making entry difficult."

"Anything else?" Rhys asked the group with the hand on his chin as he thought for a solution.

"There is a broken window on this side if that is any help." Josh answered with a blank expression.

"Hmm. I need to see it." Rhys stood up and walked to the space. There indeed was a broken window. The hole was big enough for one person to squeeze in at a time. If it wasn't then they could chip off at the edges and make it a bit bigger. But it was quite high. Entering would be a pain in the ass especially for someone like Ash who had underdeveloped muscles. Only the boy's head could slightly peek in through the window. Ash looked into the station and observed the situation on his tiptoes. The front door was a distance away from this window. "yes, this will work" Ash thought as he already guessed what Rhys would do next. He heard Rhys affirm the opening as well.

"Now we just need to find a way to get in quietly" Mike stood next to Ash and observed inside with a frown on his face. The slightest sound would bring the whole group after them.

Ash who was silent until then softly gave his opinion in order to help out as much as he could "The cars."

Hearing him Noah and the others widened their eyes in understanding and said out loud "See if any of the police cars have the keys still in them, if not hot wire them or bring the Jeeps that we drive in."

"Do it quietly" Rhys added just warning.

Hearing these instructions 4-5 five of them rushed off at once. Josh watched all this in amusement. He was very lazy and laid back as he watched all the quick and sudden movements of the group.

Soon one of the men drove a nearby police car over and according to Rhys's instructions parked it right under the window. After all this was done finally, they elaborated on their plan and on what to do next but most people had already guessed at the next steps as they had been in similar situations before.

"Okay we will divide into 2 groups. One will enter the building through the window. Use the car as a step and avoid making too much noise. The other group is in charge of distraction. They will go to the furthest and safest end possible and make a ruckus to lure the Zombies to their end. The others should take this time to enter" Rhys instructed quickly

"Instead of engaging directly, maybe it is best to find the cells first." Ash pitched in. Everyone looked at him and Josh nodded while everyone else gave sounds of agreement.

Rhys was feeling a smile on his lips. He had thought out the plan but not the finer details. So, he was glad that there was someone to give valuable inputs. This would ensure that most of them survived without injury. He gave Ash a satisfied look before continuing from what Ash said, "Yes! Once you are in the safety of the bars you can call them over and take care of them. When the numbers have gone down a bit the ones on the outside can enter as well and help clean off the rest."

Everyone listened to the plan surprised. If nothing goes wrong, then they wouldn't have any causalities. "What if the cells are locked" Noah asked in concern.

That was indeed a problem without a solution. Just because they had thought out a plan, didn't mean that there was a solution for every problem they might face.

"Well that's a risk we will have to take." Josh finally spoke up after having quietly watched until then.

"What's the fun in a hunt when there is no risk involved" a woman chimed in and everyone soon agreed with cheers.

Soon after everyone was divided up. There were fewer people in the group outside. They divided it 3:6. Ash was thrown into the outside group since everyone thought him useless in a fight. They left the burly guy, Mike and a woman with him for safety from any outside threat. The other six climbed on top of the car and waited for the show to begin. "Blood helps attract them" Ash threw a hint at the two beside him. Although they had fought Zombies before and they knew that zombies would rush at them if someone was injured, they had mostly been scared of getting injured during a raid due to that reason. Never had they thought about using the zombie instincts against them by utilising blood as a bait. But right now, it was a wonderful thing to do. Understanding at once Mike took a pocketknife and cut a long line across his palm before smearing the oozing blood across the door. Then they started making noise. They hammered and shouted and threw out all kinds of insults at the Zombies inside.

Hearing the loud ruckus and smelling the scent of fresh blood, the Zombies charged at the door with all their might but the barricade they themselves constructed held them in, locking them like prisoners. Seeing that the noise was working the three cheered and continued their display of foul languages.

Hearing the rich vocabulary coming from the other end, the group with Rhys, Josh and Noah, smiled in amusement. They waited a moment and then seeing that the coast was clear, jumped in through the window one after the other with their weapons at ready.