Rhys didn't expect to return to a crumpling camp. When he left, everything was still fine. So, what went wrong in the 6 something days that he was gone. He hit a Zombie with the baseball bat that he borrowed from Angelica's brother. Its skull sunk in and the contents inside spilled outside. The survivors in the camp noticed their arrival and cheered at the small ray of hope offered by them. The raid members were after all their main force. Although quite a few of Kyle's men stayed back, having the extra help from the raid team lessened the burden. Everyone was desperately trying to ensure that the barricade wouldn't be pierced.

Another Zombie snarled as it launched at Rhys with its claws outstretched. Rhys quickly dodged and swung the bat again at the back of its head. When he pulled out the blood-stained bat, he heard a loud crack. From the corner of his eye he saw his team members shooting and fighting as well. Anne was driving around with the car, running over many Zombies, while Noah helped cover the members who desperately needed help. Angelica and Biyu Chen also had guns in their hands although they focused on shooting in directions where none of the members were at to ensure that no stray bullets hit them. Their aim was terrible, most of their shots only hit the zombies on their arms or legs which didn't do much to kill them.

Rhys took out his gun and shot at the Zombie that was about to bite Josh and then proceeded to hit another one that was crawling towards him with its lower half missing. He looked at his other team mates to make sure that they were not in danger and then his eyes froze. Ash was standing there with an empty gun in one hand and a knife in the other. A few corpses of Zombies lay at his feet, but Rhys could see the horror in his eyes. The heavy shaking of his fingers as he lifted the knife was very obvious. He kept dodging more than stabbing. His hand was still bandaged, and a slight stain of red could be seen through the wraps. 5 Zombies made their way towards him. Ash seemed to be in some kind of shock. He stood there paralysed with his eyes wide with fear.

Rhys's heart rate sped up and without another thought rushed towards his side. En road he shot at 2 of them and when he reached there, he swung his left arm and smashed in another Zombie's face. Before he could focus on the other two, a shot rang and one of the Zombies fell with a clear bullet hole through its head. The last one had already jumped towards Ash. Time seemed to slow down as a deep fear gripped Rhys. His body moved on its own and grabbed the boy's arm and pulled him out of the way. Another shot rang and that zombie fell as well. Rhys was breathing hard, but he still took the time to nod at Noah in thanks.

Once the immediate danger was out of the way. Rhys turned to the boy and gave him a hard shake with a darkened face. He didn't realise that he had grabbed the boy on his injured arm and the pain made Ash wince.

A pair of very angry eyes met his and made him shutter. He had really thought he was going to die. The fear had paralysed him and remembering Mike wasn't helping his situation. The shouting and crying mixed in between the growls and roars, the stench of rot and the sight of blood splattering all around him made him think he had died and descended down towards hell. 'Why was it that when he finally got his freedom, the world was all messed up? It was really unfair. "Get back to your senses. This is not the time to daydream." Rhys snarled. The anger was really obvious from his voice, but another emotion was also laced in it.

Ash nodded. Rhys overwhelming presence was making his head clearer. "Here take this. It has a longer reach than your pocketknife" Rhys tossed the baseball bat to Ash who caught it clumsily. Before anymore words could be exchanged the next wave hit them. Ash noticed that Rhys was staying close to him. When the fight took him a few meters away from him, Rhys would quickly finish it off and hurry back to his side. Every time it became too overwhelming for Ash he would help out as much as possible.

Both of them were covered in Zombie grime. Although the numbers were going down, the ones that were still left were quite a hassle to deal with. The raid team had all gathered together. Ash noticed that some of them were missing but before he could dwell deeper on it all of the Zombies were making their way over, attracted by the blood, sweat and the larger number of humans standing in a defensive formation. Soon the fighting resumed.

Ash felt something big and heavy hit him on the side. He lost his balance and tumbled down. His back hit the ground heavily. A dead Zombie was laying on top of him. someone must have tried to get rid of it and accidentally sent it flying in his direction. The heavy metallic smell of blood and rot assaulted his nose and he instinctively gagged as he pushed the corpse off him as quickly as he could. He sat up from the ground and felt a dull ache on the side of his chest. the adrenaline was helping him forget all the aches for the time being, but he didn't know what state he would be in after the fight. He saw a Zombie approach before he had the chance to get back to his feet. It had half of its torso chewed on and hanging out. Ash struck the baseball bat out at the chest of the Zombie as that was the highest, he could reach from his position on the ground. In the excitement of the battle, he used a bit too much force and the bat went straight through the empty rib cage and got stuck between the ribs and remaining flesh. It wasn't coming out no matter how hard he pulled. Fear grabbed is heart and he had no choice but to abandon the bat as the zombie attached to the bat continued to try to close the distance between them regardless of the fact that its chest was pierced. But then two other Zombies jumped from behind it, trying to grab him.

Everything after that was a blur to him. he faintly thought he had rolled on the ground a few times. Then he was once again overwhelmed by a large number of Zombies and they got so close that he was sure that he would be bitten and killed. Suddenly he remembered Mike's crazed eyes as he turned into a zombie and then the strong desire to live filling him. he didn't get out of the lab just to die as Zombie food. He had lost his bat and his gun was empty. His eyes narrowed down on the threat that was fast approaching and didn't register anything else in his surroundings. In his panic he grabbed the closest thing to him and pushed it against the approaching Zombie crowd as a shield. Only after he had done that did he realise that that he had made a mistake and his heart skipped a beat in horror.

Rhys had gone over to help, but instead he felt a heavy push seeing that the situation was getting very close and dangerous. He was shocked as he registered what had just now happened. But he couldn't dwell for too long on it as he was standing face to face against several zombies. Gun shots rang around him bringing down the zombies around him, at least his team members still had his back. Knowing that he joined them, but his heart was burning with a dark and dangerous emotion. He pulled out the knife stabbed into the last Zombies mouth and then kicked it away. His breathing was heavy, and his mind was blank. His darkened eyes flicked to the boy who was still standing their shell shocked. If his eyes could kill, Ash would be 6 feet under by now.

A heavy silence hung around the other members. They didn't know how to react either. Rhys was furious. He was furious at Ash for the betrayal, the situation hadn't even been that bad enough to sacrifice someone. Everyone would have covered him just like they did for him. He was furious at himself for starting to accept and trust the boy. He shouldn't have let down his guard that soon. Well now he knew. Anger coursed through his entire body. How could he think of pushing someone? Rhys's face burned. An animal snarl clawed its way up his throat. He could have been bitten right now "How dare you." He lunged forward, swinging a punch. The force hit Ash square on the jaw, and he was slammed down to the floor. Ash looked at him with fear and pain in his eyes. He looked like he was about to cry. Blood tickled down from the corner of his lips and he quickly wiped at it.

"It was an a-accident" Ash stuttered. He was finding it hard to look at Rhys who looked like he wanted to murder him. Without waiting to hear anymore Rhys rushed at him again with his fist raised. Ash closed his eyes and flinched expecting the impact, but it didn't come.

"Rhys, let's take this inside." Josh stopped Rhys and started dragging him into the Tesco against his will. The others gave Ash some sympathetic, disappointed and some scornful gazes and followed after them. Tears slowly rolled down Ash's face. He hesitated for a moment and then followed as well.

--------

Ash was standing before the trial. He had his head bowed in shame and guilt. It was an unintentional accident. It was his instinct that probed him to survive. It was also that survival instinct that made him use the nearest object to him as a shield. But that was no excuse. Especially since the victim was Rhys. Most of the people in camp were on his side, after all he was their saviour. And Rhys was not someone to take life threatening offences lightly. His character demanded absolute trust and loyalty from both parties in any kind of relationship. Anyone who breaks that trust would be considered a lifelong enemy. And he knew how to hold that grudge. Either he likes you or he hates you, there was no in between to this day.

Everyone was still battle worn but they knew that they had to get this out of the way as soon as possible so they all gathered around Ash as Kyle stood Judge. Ash could feel a pair of hate filled eyes boring into him, but he didn't dare to look up. Ash spotted Tom instead. He was the one standing in his spot not too long ago for similar crimes. He had thought himself above Tom back then, saying he wouldn't have done that if he were in his shoes. Oh, the irony.

"Let's get this over with quickly then" Kyle signed heavily, and his eyes flickered to Rhys who was standing next to him with a thunderous expression on his face. He liked Ash to be honest and if he had pushed anyone else but his younger brother, he would have tried to let him off easily. Kyle was also sure that Rhys had a certain amount of interest in the boy as well. That was something he hardly ever showed for anything. It was good that Rhys was alive, if something had happened to him, then he would have personally sent the kid to the afterlife. But since Rhys was fine, punishment should be dealt but he hoped that it wouldn't be anything too harsh. Yet he knew Rhys best and when Rhys takes offence, it's hard to calm him down. "Ash I don't think I really need to ask your side of the story. You were scared, you acted on your instincts. And many of us have seen what happened with our own eyes so there is not really any way out of this." He couldn't drag this on for too long as the raid members needed to be quarantined, the zombies burned and the corpses of fallen comrades buried. All that work and the extra worry of the unknown method of viral spread was giving him a headache.

Ash remained silent. There wasn't anything he could add after all Kyle had already said everything. "The verdict is then the same as that of Tom's but since the victim did not perish the punishment can be lightened in case the victim agrees." Kyle looked at Rhys to seek his opinion, but he was still throwing murderous glances at Ash and hardly paying attention to anything that was being said. Not receiving any sort of confirmation Kyle rubbed at his temple and said, "since the victim didn't agree to a more lenient judgement, then I have no choice but to throw you out of the camp."

Ash's eyes widened. He was going to be thrown out into those dangerous streets again. His eyes started filling with tears. There wasn't anything he could say to change the judgement. After all it was the rules of the camp. All he could do was accept his fate but before he could nod another voice interrupted him

"What?!" Rhys's voice rang loud and clear. Every pair of eyes turned to him. "What kind of shitty judgement is that. If he gets thrown out, how is that justice for me. he will be let off way to easily." Since Rhys looked like he was about to explode from anger and hate for the boy, his words didn't make any sense. Kyle rolled his eyes. 'Such a stupid brother! If sending him off as Zombie fodder is letting him off easily, he didn't want to know what the heavier punishment would be.' Although he was secretly happy that he didn't have to fulfil his own judgement.

"Then-" Kyle started asking exasperated.

Rhys cut him off "I want a duel!" Which was saying 'I want to beat the shit out of him under the name of fair battle.'

Everyone looked at Rhys like he had lost his mind. They were obviously not an even match. So, the fight wouldn't be fair. Most of them knew Rhys's skill level and they could already guess where Ash stood at from the stories of the raid. If they had a duel it would be a one-sided pounding. Although some were against the idea, after they thought about the alternative, getting a cruel beating was better than being thrown out of the camp and into the mouths of those death corpses.

No one had asked for Ash's opinion on the matter. Soon he found himself standing inside a familiar circle surrounded by people and a dangerous man facing him. Before he could fully register what was going on, Rhys walked towards him slowly, stretching his arms and cracking his fingers. He reminded Ash of the elegant movements of a black panther, he had seen on television, as it sneaks up on its pray, getting as close as possible before lunging at its pray aiming for its vitals. Even at such a precarious moment, Ash thought Rhys's gestures and movements were very eye-catchingly beautiful.

Maybe it was because he spend his whole life being imprisoned in a lab and cruelly experimented on, Ash knew that danger was coming. Yet he felt as helpless as he was when he was restrained on the experiment table. He was no match against Rhys he was well aware of that fact. And even if he tried to fight back, the situation would only get worse. All he could do was bring up his usual defence mechanism towards pain. Rhys came to a stop right in front of him. Ash looked up at him and saw the enormous amount of anger, hate and pain? On his face. Instead of thinking too much on it, he waited for the obvious beating that could come. he was not going to beg for mercy or pity. He would endure a few blows and hopefully seeing that he wasn't retaliating, the pain would end sooner.

Rhys moved. There was no hesitation.

With his experience with the lab, he knew when someone had bad intentions towards him. it was like a sixth sense that warned him of danger. He knew he would be in pain the moment he saw the gleam in Rhys's eyes. So, he was very calm. After all pain was nothing new to him. At least this time the pain came because of his mistake. It could be accepted.

Ash tasted the metallic taste of blood again as a strong, hard and heavy left hook clashed onto his jaw. He staggered back. Pain assaulted the side of his face and his eyes widened in fear. There was no way someone could prepare for pain. No matter how much he was used to it, every time he experienced it again, it felt like the first time.

Rhys's next movements were so fast that it looked inhuman. His punches and kicks were smooth, effortless and heavy. His skill in combat was obvious from even the slightest movements. Pain burst inside him over and over with every punch and kick thrown at him. The audience had just the time to blink, a kick landed squarely on his stomach and Ash whimpered as he rolled on the ground holding his stomach. He hardly had time to come to term with his state when an arm plucked him roughly off the ground. He winced at the sudden tuck which had enough strength to make it feel like his arm was ripped off from his shoulder. It didn't help that it was his previously injured arm, the wound that had barely started to heal was opened again and blood soaked his shirt. Pulling him back to his feet was not out of pity, it seems that the monster was too lazy to come down to his level to give him the next round of punishing blows.

A right hook planted into his gut making him gasp. Without pause another blow came straight at his face once more. The fist connected with flesh and blood erupted from Ash's nose. It was broken. At the same time, he could taste another wave of fresh blood inside his mouth. The cut on his lips reopened and he spat out a mouthful of the red, salty liquid. Ash blinked as his eyes started to sting with the tears that he was holding back. So much for freedom. The outside world was crueller than the lab. At least there, they didn't show kindness and gave him hope. He knew not to expect anything from them, but this camp was a different story. Within the few days that he was part of it, he had actually started to like the people, the feeling of belonging and the kind treatment was making his start to open up and take a step forward from his dark past. But it was just all an illusion. A sweet short dream that was meant to raise his expectations inorder to bring him crashing down with much greater force.

He was once again lifted up. Rhys had a strong grasp on his collar as he lifted him high. His feet dangled helplessly above the ground and Ash started to panic due to the lack of secure foot holding beneath his feet. From that altitude Ash had a clear view of the people standing around them. Some of them had indifferent looks on their faces, while others had shock, anxiety, pity, glee and satisfaction written over theirs. James had a look between anger and fear as he stood next to Kyle whispering something to him urgently. Noah was close by too. He too had a fearful look on his face as he appeared like he wanted to say something as well. In another corner Ash spotted Beth, she had a horrified look on her face, but she didn't know what to do. Anne had a deep frown between her brows as she contemplated whether to step in or not. Even if she did, it wouldn't be of much use. Ash's eyes made another quick round around the crowd. No one looked like they were willing to step in to help. He suddenly spotted Tom. He had a smug grin on his face as their eyes locked.

Ash sighed in pain. He should give up on expectations. He closed his eyes briefly as he struggled to take another breath due to the hand blocking his windpipe. Before he could glance at his assaulter, the force that kept him in the air changed direction and he was slammed to the ground. A loud gasp escaped his lips as his body connected with the hard ground. He heard something break again. Black spots appeared in front of his eyes and made him momentarily go blind. He blinked several times to clear his vision, but more spots took the space in front of his eyes refusing to subside.

Ash gasped at the sharp pain in his shoulder. Before he could catch his breath, another kick landed on his side taking away the remaining air in his aching lungs. He felt like something was pressing against his lungs making it difficult to breath. Maybe his ribs were broken.

He was already sporting a bloody nose and a blackened eye. Ash tried to get back to his feet through his laboured breathing, but he felt like his legs had no strength in them and even the slightest movement became laborious. Ignoring the pain with all his might ash wobbled on his feet as he regained his balance and rose to his full height.

Ash gave Rhys a sharp look. The glare stopped the man in his tracks for a moment. Until then Ash had accepted all of his assault without even a cry. This had made him more pissed off. Where did the pride come from? He was the victim not the other way around. Yet a sudden pang of guilt filled his heart as he saw those sharp beautiful orbs looking at him defiantly through bruised lids. But it was only for a moment before his eyes hardened again. He could have died today. Was his life not important? Rhys treasured his life like anyone else and since childhood he had made sure to remove anything that threatened it. his goodwill once lost was lost forever.

Seeing the resolution in Rhys's eyes, Ash took up a defensive stance, steeling himself for the onslaught. The sudden urge to at least land on blow on his opponent filled his heart. He saw Rhys come at him again and quickly stepped out of range, dodging the attack. He ignored the pain cursing throughout his body. In the heat of the fight the adrenaline masked most of the pain and turned it into exhilaration. He sidestepped the fist and it surprised not only Rhys but all of the onlookers.

Until then the boy had been quietly accepting blow after blow. This duel was a chance for him to redeem his mistake if he came on top. But he has just stood there and not raised even a finger as if he was receiving some kind of punishment. Several of the onlookers had felt pity for the boy but none of them had stepped forwards to stop the fight. They would rather save their own necks than sacrifice themselves for a stranger. But now after several minutes into the fight, in a very pathetic state, with his bod covered in blood, cuts and bruises, the boy finally took his stance. Everyone could see that he was hardly managing to stand as he swayed back and forth to regain his balance.

After dodging the punch, Ash made use of the moment of surprise to dive his whole-body weight at Rhys. Loud gasps filled the air as the watching audience found the sudden twist in plot surprising. The force coupled with the element of surprise, made Rhys lose his balance as he toppled to the ground. Before he fell his battle, instinct jumped in and grabbed at the boy. The ocean blues widened as he lost his balance as well and fell along with Rhys. Ash landed on top of some firm chest muscles and the impact hurt his already broken ribs. His eyes turned black again as the pain filled his chest. Along with the difficulty to breath from the injury, made the oxygen content in his blood drop.

He forced himself to regain his strength and looked down at Rhys whom he was straddling. He had shock, surprise and something else written all over his face. Rhys didn't move. He just lay there rock still and it seemed like he was hardly breathing only his eyes were glowering up at the boy in anger and annoyance. Ash watched Rhys for a moment but then felt the pain in his body increase sharply. He gasped but pushed it down. Ash narrowed his eyes and curled his hand into a fist before striking it forward at lightning speed towards Rhys's face. 'At least one punch' Ash thought. Suddenly the pain rushed back at him again and his eyes started filling with black ones more. The fist that was thrown at Rhys slowed in momentum and when it made contact with his cheek it was merely a small, light tap. Rhys frowned in confusion, but he saw the corners of Ash's lips slightly pull up in a victorious smile. Rhys suddenly felt like he was electrocuted. The place were Ash's fist touched his skin send sparks of electricity throughout his body. It felt warm, then hot, then scorching before vanishing like it was never there. He looked at the boy in confusion but then he saw the light in the boy's gleaming eyes leave and Ash fell forward unconscious.