The two tanker trucks moved out at a slow pace. The idea was to stick to the plan and attract the nearby zombies with as much noise as possible. The more that followed them out the safer the journey of the rear following group would be. 'Peeeep' the loud sound of a horn continued ringing in succession. Soon shuffling feet were heard outside the warehouse. A woman climbed up to the ventilation hatch near the ceiling and gave a record of what was happening through her bird eye view. The trucks were attracting the zombies. At first it was just slow movements then they started running after the circling vehicle. It looked like a cat chasing a mouse except that the mouse was the one trying to be chased. It took around 4 whole circles before the number that followed behind them became too much for them to handle. If they didn't find a way out now, then all of them would die rather than them clearing a path for the others. Because they were driving at a moderate pace, the zombies soon caught up and started clawing at the metal of the truck. Sharp clinging noises filled the air as teeth and nails scraped against metal. Some of the listening crowd shuddered at the noise. No one wanted to be in a position were every direction they faced was a figure right out of a horror movie.

Soon the sound of the engine followed by growls, screams and scratching noises became fainter and fainter until it could not be heard by them anymore. "It's time. Let's move. Remember be quiet and quick." Everyone nodded their heads and readied themselves. One of them opened the door and everyone started running as if their asses where on fire. Ash had a much harder time keeping up than usual as his body was still protesting. Each sudden movement caused a shot of pain. But he still used all his willpower to just keep going. He didn't want to be a burden on the people who were already watching him like a dead person. If he dared to fall or rest, then there was no doubt that he would be left behind. As soon as they reached the two cars, they started piling into it without much hesitation. Being the last to arrive Ash had no choice but to sit at the edge of the last one. The Jeep that they were in had its back window open so as to make it easier to shoot. Ash look out his gun and readied himself in case of emergency. Their movement had already attracted the distant zombies.

The one who was driving pressed on the accelerator and the car. With a jump it started driving forward quickly. The other one followed right behind them. The start of the engine coupled with the fresh smell of human flesh soon attracted the remaining zombies. Even after the two tanker trucks pulled off a portion of the herd, there were still around half of them remaining as they weren't too interested in two insignificant humans while there was the lingering scent of a larger group in the warehouse. As the Jeep picked up its speed, the zombies behind them also started running after them with their arms outstretched. Some of them stumbled on the way but the ones behind it didn't care and stepped on the fallen on and moved forward to reach their prey.

"Shit turn around. Quick Turn around." Someone in the front shouted as their path got blocked by hundreds of rotting corpses. The gate was just several more meters in the front but there was now a river of zombies between them and their way to freedom. They couldn't even think about just running through them as they knew that they would be stuck once their tires get blocked by the fallen corpses. There were too many of them to pull off such a stunt. Without hesitation, the car made a sharp u turn and drove to the other direction. The car behind them was a bit surprised but soon noticed the anomality and followed suit. The petroleum storage field was quite large. So, they had enough space to manoeuvre around. But this also meant that the distance to their exit was longer. They now had to find another route that led to the gate and at the same time hope that the group at the door would have dispersed a bit by then. They only drove in the other direction for about one minute before that route also got swarmed. Thus, they kept changing direction continuously inorder to shake of the zombies and find a safe route out. But to their disaster, instead of getting closer to their destination, they were getting further and further. Ash clenched his fists together in worry. Even with his healing powers, there is no guarantee that he could make it out of this predicament unharmed. The chances of them dying here were very high.

The car suddenly came to a halt making the people fall forward due to the sudden inertia. "There is no more way out." The woman in the front shouted as her eyes darted to all the directions. Everyone followed her action and looked around them through the windows and their faces turned pale at the sight that met them. Hundreds of corpses surrounded them from all directions. Their mouths snapped at them from the distance giving off an eerie feeling. Even the warehouse that they were in before could no longer be seen ruling it out as an option to escape.

"What do we do now." a murmurer broke out inside the vehicle as everyone started to panic. They could try shooting with their limited amount of ammunition and take the risk of an explosion occurring which would take them out as well or just wait for their death by being torn to shreds by the zombies. Both of these options spelled death for them. "Common. Think. Come up with an idea quick..."

-------

Rhys sped up the truck. As soon as they were a distance away from the following zombies, he came to a stop at a safe distance away from the Petroleum storage field. The other truck was following close behind him and when the man, Parker, saw him stop, he also came to a halt beside Rhys.

"Now?" The man asked as he slightly rolled down the window and asked Rhys who was observing the slow movements of the approaching zombies. They were desperately running after them as they couldn't keep up once they accelerated. Rhys's eyebrows were bend into a frown. He assumed that around Half of the Zombies in the camp should have followed them out till this far. That means that the group inside would still be in great danger if they didn't have luck on their side. If Luck did favour them, then they could easily shake off the few zombies that followed them and arrive here safely. After Ash's suggestion yesterday, Rhys had slightly changed the plan so that He and Parker would wait for the others to come out before making their way to the hotel. In that way if a large crowd was following after the rear group, then they could offer their help in getting rid of them. This would ensure that both their teams do not get separated. His lips pressed into a straight line as he started feeling worried. 'Will they be alright?' Either way they had to deal with what they had in their hands at the moment, so he turned to Parker to give his instructions.

"Put some distance between the two trucks and make sure that when you aim, it doesn't fall too close to the tanks." Rhys told the man who nodded without any questions and then drove to the side to put some gap between the two. Just as the horde reached them and stretched out their bony bloodies hands towards him, Rhys effortlessly used the top of the truck to pull himself up. Soon he was standing on the cap of the truck, away from the reaches of the zombies. He looked in Parker's direction and noticed that the man had done the same. They nodded at each other and pulled out the hose that was used to fill up the tanks. Without wasting any time, the liquid inside the tanks flushed out through the hose and sprayed all over the zombies without bias. Some of the zombies fell back by the sheer might of the petroleum shot at them. The zombies screamed in anger and started picking themselves up and approached again. Both the men made sure to thoroughly drench the monsters in the liquid. They couldn't make any mistakes at this moment. Not just the rear groups, but their own lives were at risk.

"Light them up." Rhys shouted and Parker threw a lit match towards the horde. As soon as the match hit the petroleum drenched ground, the whole place lit up. An enormous fire engulfed the entire area. "Let's Put some distance between them." Rhys shouted across the roaring fire and screaming zombies and quickly slid back into the driver's seat through the open window. As soon as he was inside, he stepped on the gas and rushed the truck forward. Once they were away from the risk of the tank catching on fire and exploding, Rhys stopped the truck and looked back at the scene. Burning human silhouettes could be seem vaguely running around the flames. Black smoke rose up into the sky, the by-products of their melted flesh and bones. Although the sight was gruesome, Rhys couldn't help but think it was mesmerising. Maybe it was because of the relief that came from not having to run anymore or the satisfaction of being the predators instead of the prey for once but a bright smile lifted up his feature making his feature more radiant along with the flickering of light, from the flame, on his skin.

"Good job." Parker drove up to him and complimented. "That was a brilliant idea. Much better than driving around recklessly trying to shake them off."

"It wasn't my idea." Rhys stated with a small smile on his lips. 'Indeed, the idea was brilliant.' If the fuel was not limited in quantity and essential for their survival then Rhys wouldn't mind running around to every town, setting those monsters on fire just like now.

"Oh? If not you then who?" Parker asked curiously while grinning from ear to ear. It could be seen that he was also satisfied with what they had accomplished. The previous worry between his brows were now gone and he took on a very relaxed posture.

"Ash." Rhys simply replied and then turned to look at the distant gate to the petroleum storage field. 'Are they alright?'

Parker pondered on the name but didn't really know the person who was called thus. Then he noticed Rhys's worried gaze and asked, "Should we go back to take a look?" If nothing had gone wrong, then the team should have followed out soon after them. But there was no sign of them until now. This could only mean two things. One, they met some problem on the way or two, they were too chicken to take the risk and leave the warehouse.

"Yes." Rhys said without hesitation. He was about to get back in the truck and make another U turn to head back to the fields when two black dots were seen coming out from the gate.

"It's them. They made it out okay." Parker said enthusiastically as he also spotted the dots that were getting bigger the closer, they came.

Rhys let out the breath that he didn't realise that he was holding as relief spread through his body. But soon his eyes narrowed with suspicion. "Something is wrong." He said to Parker in a firm voice.

"Hmm? What?" The man asked looking around the approaching dots to try to spot what the issue was.

"There are very few zombies following them out." Rhys frowned and observed them closer.

"Hmm... Maybe they got lucky and didn't attract too many of the remaining ones?" Parker was doubtful as he wondered. But he wasn't as worried as Rhys after all the this just meant that they had fewer problems to deal with. 'It should be good that they weren't followed by a large horde. So, Rhys is being paranoid for no apparent reason.'

"..." Rhys was silent as he didn't know if he was overreacting or not.

"You haven't been sleeping well these days. I think the stress is getting to you. Get on the truck... We should go to Hilton as planned and get a good night's rest before we continue on our way."

".... Okay." Rhys decided not to think too much about it and climbed back into the vehicle. As soon as the rest of them reached them, they started heading out on the way back home.

They drove for around two hours before they came to a stop before a towering building with 'Hilton' written on the front. On they way here they had also stayed at this place thus there wasn't much cleaning up to do anymore. The occasional zombies that dared to cross their path were shot down and they didn't face any other problems.

Rhys jumped out of the truck, stretching his legs before looking over to the group of people piling out from the Jeep behind him. He noticed that there was a gloomy atmosphere among the people. The towering Black man, Viktor was glaring at his co-passengers with disgust in his eyes. He was emitting a much stronger pressure than usual which made the people next to him dart their eyes here and there as if in guilt. Rhys watched this strange scene for a moment and then decided to ignore them. This job as the leader did not involve solving every small issue his team members had. Whatever the problem was, they should figure it out among themselves.

Instead of those burly men and women, his eyes started searching for the familiar flash of gold and ocean blues. After running his eyes through the group twice, Rhys's brows wrinkled into a frown. 'Where is he?' Even after repeating the process two more times, he still couldn't find him. A slow feeling of dread crept up his body and squeezed his heart. Without him realising, his legs ran towards the group frantically.

"You- Where is he?" Rhys shouted while grabbing the nearest person to him and shaking him roughly. The man looked at Rhys with fear and opened his mouth to say something, but no words came out. "I asked you where he is." Rhys was so angry at the lack of response that his fist had already hit the other's face before his sentence had even finished. His joyful mood from before had completely vanished as an expression similar to a savage beast replaced his features. The commotion brought everyone's attention towards them and the others who were a distance away came over to see what was happening. But most of them already could guess at the reason for Rhys's outburst. Seeing the man on the ground with a bloodied nose, trembling in fear, he grabbed onto the other person next to him.

It was a blonde-haired woman. Her eyes widened into two large saucepans as her throat was caught by a firm hand. As his hands tightened without even asking anything. Even if she wanted to say something the pain around her neck prevented her from even saying 'I'. The woman turned her swimming eyes in a certain direction as if begging for help. Rhys followed her line of sight and stopped at a middle-aged man who had a grim expression on his face and a bruise around his eye His eyes darkened as he was singled out by everyone's gaze. As if realising that he was the one with the answers, Rhys released the woman who fell down on the ground while holding her neck and taking in deep breaths as if to make up for the deprived oxygen from before. Her eyes trembled as she had never assumed that Rhys would raise his hands against a woman. At that moment, what remained of her sense of the previous world, where the women were all pretty and the men were chivalrous, vanished completely. Even if it wasn't her fault, she hadn't expected such a strong reaction from Rhys over a missing person.

While she was still shivering from her experience, Rhys had already made his way over to the man without any hesitation in his steps. He stopped before him, pulled out his gun and placed it on the other party's head. "Tell me. Where is Ash?" The man kept silent. He just defiantly looked at Rhys as if he hadn't done anything wrong. This irked Rhys further. His patients was running out and the pounding in his head kept him from thinking straight. A dark emotion swelled up in his heart and his eyes turned red. He turned off the safety of his gun and his fingers fell onto the trigger ready to pull.

"Stop. Stop it." A loud deep voice sounded from behind him. Rhys turned his head to look at who had interrupted him

"Admiral." Rhys addressed him with a stiff voice. There was not an ounce of respect in the way he called him. His eyes were saying that he better had a good reason to interrupt him, if he didn't want his wrath directed at him. "Do you want to tell me what happened to Ash." Rhys hissed at him with a warning in his eyes.

Viktor glanced at Rhys's unstable state of mind and sighed. He had been sitting in the innermost corner of the car when Ash had been pushed out towards the zombies in order to pave the was for their escape. He couldn't react fast enough and grab onto him as he realised what had happened. Before he could jump out to assist him, the door had been closed firmly and the people around him had held onto him to prevent him from doing anything. Before he could shake them off a path had cleared in front of the car as the zombies had rushed over to boy who had been thrown out. The driver took that chance and drove out after the car that was in front of them. The only thing that accompanied their departure was a horrified, Blood curling scream.

He had punched the man right then and there. But then was it just his fault? No. Everyone in that care had silently accepted his action. It was sacrificing one or dying all together. The choice was clear. He had been an Admiral of an entire Navy fleet. Although he didn't agree to the action, he knew the meaning of sacrificing one for the good of many. Thus, right now he had to find an acceptable reason for Rhys. It was obvious that the boy and him were on close terms from the reaction that Rhys was displaying. He knew from the look in his eyes that if he knew the truth then he wouldn't hesitate to pull that trigger. And not just at that despicable man but ever since one who had silently agreed to his action. That would mean the death of more than half their men.

There was still several days' worth of journey to get back to the camp as well as a town filled with zombies, that they had to cross. The dead were dead and could not be brought back. They could not afford to lose men, each other's trust or their teamwork at such a moment. So, the best course of action was saying that Ash sacrificed himself to safe the rest of them.

"We were surrounded back then and there didn't seem to be a way out." Viktor started explaining in his deep voice. "The boy, Ash, saw that the situation was bad. He was sitting at the edge of the vehicle and...." He paused for a moment as several gazes filled with fear were directed at him. Even though he was feeling angry at the pleading looks of the crowd, he gritted his teeth and continued, promising himself that he would let the man know the truth once they get back to the camp. After all it was the lawless apocalypse and there was no affection between this group of people and him. they were just temporary teammates who had no trouble betraying their own comrades. He couldn't trust his life with this lot no matter what. "He just jumped out before any of us could do anything. The situation back then was very chaotic that we couldn't do anything. He saved us all."

Rhys watched him finish his piece with reddened eyes. "You expect me to believe that?" He gritted his teeth and asked through the suppressed anger. Rhys was not stupid. He could see the guilty looks on the faces of the people that surrounded him. He was sure that something must have happened for the boy to be missing. 'Jumped towards the zombies...' these words stabbed at his heart continuously. But someone as respected as Admiral Viktor Penel had already spoken. If he acted even after that people would be calling the man a liar. The finger on the trigger trembled. He didn't want to let this man go. He certainly played a role for Ash to act that way, i.e. if had actually jumped out on his own accord. 'Shoot him' A voice kept urging him. 'Kill him.'

Seeing that his words not very effective, Viktor frowned in thought. He really had to bring this situation under control. From the look in Rhys's eyes he knew that a massacre would follow with the first kill. Suddenly he remembered something. Although it was a bit cruel to say it, it would be effective to drench the fire in Rhys. And he would be doing a favour to the dead Ash. "Before he did what he did, Ash did say, that he has proven his worth and that you have to keep your promise to him."

His words were like a bullet to his chest. Rhys suddenly felt dizzy and had the feeling that his strength was leaving him. His face paled with sorrow and pain. Someone was squeezing his heart so hard that be felt breathless. 'He has proven his worth?' He murmured to himself in disbelief. Seeing his state, Parker rushed towards him as Rhys lowered the gun from the man. With the support of the man Rhys wobbled off like someone who lost his soul into the hotel.

Once he locked everyone out from the room that he was occupying, he plopped down onto the bed and looked up at the ceiling in a daze. 'Doesn't that mean, that Ash died because of me?' Rhys thought back to the conversations they had. Ash had asked him back then if he had already proven his worth. Back then he had too much pride to accept defeat. If he had just said yes, then Ash wouldn't have taken such a needless risk. No, even before that when the boy had tried to trap him into looking after Emma, he should have just agreed. Then Ash wouldn't even have come on this mission to lose his life. 'No, it can't be.' Rhys thought desperately.

Suddenly he remembered his visions that were supposedly from the future. So far only one of them had come to pass. If what he saw was the truth, then it meant that Ash still had a part to play in the future. That would mean that he is still alive. As soon as his thoughts reached here, Rhys jumped out of bed, slammed open his door and rushed out. Everyone else were already in different rooms or gathered around the bar. He could hear voices talking about emptying the storage and bringing back all those quality liquors. He ignored everything and got into one of the cars and drove off without looking back.

He soon reached back at the gates of the petroleum storage field. Even with his unstable emotions, Rhys didn't rush in. he carefully surveyed the surrounding before slowly inching the car forward. Even after driving for a while, he didn't spot the horde except for a few stray zombies wandering around the vicinity. The place was unusually quiet, which made his heart fall further. Suddenly he stopped the car and stepped out of the vehicle at lightning speed. He had his gun raised in case something happened. He took a few careful steps forward and looked down at the ground. There was a large pool of fresh blood on the pavement which wasn't there when they had made their escape. A few chunks of torn out flesh could be seen scattered over the place. For the first time since all this happened, Rhys felt sick at the sight of blood. He bend over and dry heaved his stomach, his body's automatic reaction to try to rid of the discomfort. There was no other sign of the boy. He clutched his hair and screamed.

After the sudden outburst, he seemed to calm down. With a lifeless look on his face he staggered to his feet and heavily leaned against the car. He had already swept once through the entire field and didn't spot Ash. 'If he is dead then how is he going to play a part in the future? Maybe it is the butterfly effect of my interference. Dreading the vision, I had been cold, distant and at times downright mean to the boy. This could be the effect of my actions.' What he was shocked the about was how badly this affected him. He had reactions that he never had before when it involved matters regarding that boy. Even with the wariness he felt towards Ash, he would always find his eyes wandering around to catch a glimpse of him. His interest in him was obvious.

As his thoughts reached this far his eyes slightly widened before he let out a sigh as if to get rid of all the pent-up emotions. 'Maybe this is for the best. Now nothing will happen to his family and friends... and he wouldn't have to be always on guard of what Ash's motives are. 'No. This is indeed for the best.' He had enough problems and responsibilities on his hands that he didn't have the strength to worry about a dead person. With that he stepped back into the car and drove back to the group he had left behind. He didn't realise that streams of tears were tickling down his cheek.

The others only noticed the next morning a worn out, sleep deprived Rhys, passed out in the bar, with several bottles of empty alcohol around him.