Kyle stood on top of some rubble and looked across what looked like a battlefield. The entire city was toppled over with deep scars of fighting visible in every nook and corner. The British army has already shown their firepower here. But the attempt to save one of the richest history filled locations of England, Oxford, resulted in just ruin and destruction. The good thing was that the number of zombies roaming the streets have significantly reduced due to it. The ones they could still find were the wanderers who relocated from their original spot of infection and death to find new grazing grounds.

Even with the destruction, there was no guarantee that the army was the one victorious. The number of men and women in uniform, who lay around everywhere with blank horrified gazes said that the battle was hard fought and resulted in countless casualties. Kyle was deeply grateful for these patriotic souls who made his chances of survival higher. Yet he couldn't shake this uneasy feeling in his heart that something bad was about to happen. He knew the moment he received the order for the rescue and escort mission that those scientists had something planned for him. After all he knew too much now. No sane person would let him live.

Yet rather than killing him directly, they set up whatever elaborate scheme this was in order not to rattle the hornets nest. They knew that his influence at the camp was great and that their own was reducing at an alarming rate. The apocalypse has created countless experts. Anyone with the guts and survival instinct coupled with battle experience had started to form their own opinions on several matters. It was just a matter of time before there would be hardly any difference between the fighting civilians and the army. So they could not afford to offend them directly.

Kyle had to admit that the scientists were smart. His last trip to the lab, several days ago, was the one were he almost got caught. They quickly did the math as soon as they noticed the disruption and ran out to find him. Before he could even take a deep breath from returning to his tent he was already surrounded. Then they prevented him from talking to anyone else before sending him off for another mission. Isabelle was held at guns point as they 'politely' requested him to pack up and set off. 'He had no choice.' He was certain that Isabell would be under strict supervision until the matter with him was settled.

Back then he knew that it was either obey what they say or test their patience with him. With the emotionless expressions on their faces, Kyle knew that he couldn't take the chance. They would have killed him and his wife without batting an eye if it meant keeping their secrets. Even if it meant a slight dip in their reputation. So, it was either death from inside or outside the camp. Those were the choices laid before him and Kyle figured that he had a higher shot at survival outside the camp without their poisonous eyes watching his every move. Yet Kyle wasn't really confident that he would be able to return in one piece. He was certain that the higher ups had someone planted in his team to ensure that.

He regretted not being able to inform Zuri what she had been dying to find out all this time. Kyle really wished he could have just ignored the threat to his life and screamed at the top of his lungs that the lab was the culprit behind the missing people cases. During his snooping, he had stumbled upon the room filled with cages with human occupants. They were all pale and malnourished. Some of them looked sick and on the verge of breathing their last. Counting them, they were way less than the number that was reported to be missing. What happened to the rest is a mystery. Kyle had tried to set the people free but the doors had special mechanism on it and the time he had was limited. Thus he had no choice but to go back and try to return another time. Kyle didn't really know how Zuri's brother looked like. As such he wasn't sure if he was among the captives. 'The girl is stubborn. She will keep searching for the answers no matter what happens.' A small smirk graced his face as he thought of the young bubbly strong girl. 'If Isabella and I had a girl, I am sure she would be just like her.'

His smile slowly became a bit pained. They never got the blessing of a child no matter how hard they tried. He remembered all the happy talks about a baby and all the toys they bought together when his lovely wife had a doubt that she was finally with child back then. They filled an entire room with toys just into a week of assuming. Later the doctors told them the bitter truth that it was a small tumor rather than a baby. Although they were devastated, Kyle still counts his blessings that his wife came out safely from the ordeal. 'It is good not to bring a baby into the world now anyway.' He consoled himself as he picked up a half blown up teddy bear from the ground. His fingers clenched over the stuffed material as he smelled a hint of blood on it. 'No one knows how long a baby can survive in this chaotic world. More over it will put everyone around it in danger too.'

Children have it hard. Their guardians have it harder. Ash's young face suddenly fluttered into his mind. 'The boy has guts to take in a young sick girl.' Regardless of how he tired to convince himself, Kyle couldn't help but feel a pang of jealousy. He wished he could do it too. Yet he was burdened with the safety of everyone rather than just his small circle of family. There were hundreds of situations were he had just thought of giving it all up and walking away. Kyle knows Isabell would appreciate it more than anything. Although she loves the gang just as much as he did, She was more practical and knew the dangers that came with it. Maybe he has played the role of a father figure for too long or maybe its just the pitiful depending looks on the others' faces, he just can't bring himself to abandon them as such critical moments.

As Ash popped up in his head, Kyle recalled something that he had discovered in the lab while doing his snooping there. There was a thick file of data on the boy. From his hair and eye colour to his number of toes. His preference, his dislikes his stamina and blood type and so on. They had even figured out that he had the ability to heal. This rang warning bells in Kyle's head. Moreover there was a list of previous experimental data collected and stored. It looked like it wasn't complete as several spots were blank. 'Is this what was happening in the lab when Ash was send there to work all those weeks before?' Kyle remembered his hands clenching over the paper at the torturous experiments that were mentioned to have been done on the boy. 'Then why didn't Ash tell me this?' He wondered. 'Or is this completely unrelated to that time?' Realizing that something was really wrong, Kyle had placed the documents back down and tried to rummage through the computers. But they were all locked with high security passwords. Right as he was about to give up, he finally noticed the communicator next to the computer blinking. It had a stored voice mail from earlier that day but no one had come to listen to it yet. Without hesitation, he pressed down on the button to listen to it. An unfamiliar male voice rang out through the com.

"Dr Davis, I hope you have already procured the specimen. Be careful while handling it. It has the power to devour nearby life forces. I have already send out some men to search for the whereabouts of test subject Erva. Jude has given a 'shoot at sight' order. I hope that you can convince that fool on how important the test subject is. On another note, I received confirmation on my arrival. There will be an aircraft leaving in 3 months on which I will be and hopefully I will arrive soon after. Keep me notified of any further developments that happen. See you soon."

There was no name attached to the conversation so it was obvious that the speaker was someone very close to Dr Davis, who according to Ash is the very genius scientist running the lab and the owner of that office room. The boy hasn't gotten a glimpse of the man so Kyle was in the dark on his appearance. And the other two names mentioned in the conversation.... Dr Jude Mills was a world renounced scientist who kept collecting awards left and right due to her discoveries in the past. There was hardly anyone who didn't know her or at least heard her names being mentioned at least once in the media. To think that such a woman was involved in all of this as well. Erva seemed to be another test subject just like... Ash. Kyle rubbed his temples in frustration. 'What kind of life did Ash have before?' He couldn't help but feel pity as he recalled the nature of experiments done on the boy. Kyle had wanted to warn Ash on what he discovered after he left the lab safely. But he didn't get the time or opportunity to do so. 'One thing that is obvious is that the scientists will go through any length to get their hands on Ash. The question is, how this would affect his group since they are protecting the boy.'

All this thinking was giving Kyle a headache. 'Ahhhh how I wish that blockhead would finally take this burden off my hands and let me retire in peace.' Kyle grumbled as Rhys's annoying face popped up in his mind. He punched the air as if aiming for the boy's nose and felt a bit satisfied as he imagined it break. Kyle remember the first time he saw Rhys, he was just 9 years old, bruised and battered, sitting on a bench away from the nosy eyes in the cold winter. He was hardly wearing anything to be called isolation in the snow. Yet he refused to even show the slightest trembling. That was one thing that attracted Kyle towards the boy, that and his fiery eyes that shone stubbornly. He had been through a lot at such a tender age. He had fought a rough battle with his abusive foster parents and took his in under his wing. Being an ex-army soldier, the orphanage didn't have any qualms banding the boy over to him. Kyle still remembered the surprise on Isabella face when he brought home the badly bruised boy. The memory made his chuckle. He had been both a father and a brother to Rhys. The boy had been so stubborn and withdrawn that he wouldn't even speak for several months. Even the information about his foster parents had to be dug out by Kyle himself due to that uncooperative kid.

Rhys was the first and then slowly the family started to expand with every friend Rhys made. Kyle and Isabella didn't mind the addition. They were aware that the kids were forming their own 'gang'. But rather than calling it that, it was more precise to say that it was just a group of misfit and outcast kids who developed a deep friendship. Having been in the front lines in the army, Kyle didn't mind the occasional brawl they got into. Fighting together formed deep bonds that was a fact that Kyle believed from the depth of his heart. Not to mention that all of Rhys's friends were good kids that could be molded into excellent adults. Having a non nagging adult was a first for the kids as well.

Except for Isabelle who would start fussing over them whenever they came back covered in cuts and bruises, Kyle only told them not to go too far. He even went as far as to give them intense combat training. After all you don't want your own people to lose in a fight. This treatment was indeed very effective. Once the passion of the rebelliousness passed, the children showed exceptional maturity and foresight. Several of the lot died after the infection spread. Those who survived are now on the top of the food chain. A sense of fulfillment filled him. Kyle sighed deeply as memories of the past swarmed him. Then he suddenly recalled that the very same person that he just thought of as having been brought up nicely was a drunken mess the last time he saw him all the pride he felt moments ago dissipated. Rhys had been getting into senseless fights and acting as he lost his soul right before he left on the mission. Kyle had initially wanted to bring Rhys along on this trip but who would have known that the boy would be completely useless when he went to find him. Kyle sighed helplessly, 'This is not the time to be distracted.' He thought as he made his way back on to the temporary shelter he and his team had selected for the day.

A group of people were already waiting there for him. He looked at the group of people with average fighting skills and sighed. By sending these lot, the scientists had clearly made their stand regarding Kyle. They hoped he would face an accident and die during the mission. He was just surprised at how many people they were willing to send out as cannon fodder to achieve this goal. But then Kyle's eyes landed on a few men and women who looked to be at ease unlike their counterparts and knew at once that they were highly trained and skilled members. 'So Kyle understood that the mission they were send on was indeed very important. But the scientists hoped that the mission could succeed even without him. A nerve on his temple throbbed as he felt anger rise inside him. He quickly controlled his breathing and forced himself to calm down. Their target was supposed to be close to this location. So, Kyle had ordered them to split up in teams and scout out the surroundings to see if they could find any traces of them. Even before asking them, Kyle noticed the grim atmosphere on their faces. 'Something has definitely happened.'

"What is the situation?" Kyle asked the group in general.

"Sir, we spotted the group 5 km from here up north." A burly looking man informed Kyle. "But they have led the zombies on the way here. Now they are completely surrounded and trapped in the building they are staying in."

Kyle frowned at the news, "Give me the numbers of both sides." He instructed.

"There seem to be around 10 of the survivors and around 400 zombies circling the building." The man didn't waste time and explained.

'How can they bring that many zombies till here' Kyle wondered very suspiciously. Since the army had made a swipe through the area, the only zombies that could be a threat are the ones that slowly migrated here. But without the necessary stimulation, those zombies would not gather back so quickly nor in such a huge number. The survivors who should have arrived by vehicles should not have found the slow moving zombies a threat. The likelihood of them waiting every few meters for the chasing zombies to catch up to them and gather before speeding off again, was very unlikely. 'That is unless they were crazy.'

After figuring out the general situation of the trapped group, the members of Kyle's team started talking about strategy. The discussion went on for around an hour before everyone came to a feasible solution.

On a discreet corner of Kyle's backpack an insignificantly plain looking black dot sat silently blending well with the dark color of the material. It was hard to detect unless someone looked for it specifically. Someone had planted it on Kyle without his notice. It looked like the typical technology used for spying. Yet if that was indeed its purpose was unknown.

The oblivious Kyle was lost in thought as he reevaluate their action plan to see if there was any loopholes he had missed. Once he was finally satisfied, he silently motioned to the rest of the group and they moved out quickly like battle hardened soldiers.

Soon the arrived at the vicinity of the building that the group they were supposed to rescue was hiding at. From a distance already they could make out the large swarm that was encircling the building. It seemed like from the time they scouted until now, the number of zombies had increased by several dozen. It immediately rang warning bells in Kyle's head. 'There is something wrong with this group. Even if a few of their members are heavily wounded and bleeding, it shouldn't attract the zombies this quickly.' It was like every surviving zombie of the army's barrage was gathered here along with the new comers.

"Prepare yourselves. Move out." Kyle said in a whisper shout. He was brimming with fighting intention. It had been a while since he had to personally step out to deal with something. He had been in a leadership position for so long that he had forgotten the thrill of a fight. And unlike in his youth, Kyle didn't have to hold back with the fear of killing his opponent. After all exterminating every zombie was this teams goal. As if infected by the battle desire in Kyle's eyes, his subordinates also puffed up, feeling motivated. They silently followed after the man and started acting on their plan.

Soon sounds of gunshots and explosions sounded out in the square. The several people who had acted as bait quickly led away a large portion of the zombies that encircled the building. Under the distraction, the second group surrounded the group from the rear and opened fire. The zombies were trapped and shot at from every direction. The fighters lost several people in the struggle as they were overwhelmed by the large number difference. But Kyle knew that the high fatality rate was due to the civilian like people who were send out along with him. As soon as the last one hit the floor, the group unhesitatingly moved to secure the perimeter. The remaining people were the ones with battle experience. They were already immune to the cruelty of war and death. Just like experienced scavengers, the quickly stripped the corpses of their belonging and then moved on as if nothing had happened. Survival of the fittest. The world had always been like that. Human society tried to mask it with their developed and civilized ways. But that framework had collapsed, the true savage nature of humanity was slowly being revealed again.

They carefully made their way into the eerie and desolate looking building that was on the verge of collapsing. Many buildings in the surroundings were even in a worse state than this one due to the bombing. But that didn't make this any less spooky looking. They quickly killed off all the zombies that had infiltrated the building and slowly started exploring with every step they took forward. Everyone was on high alert. Since they were no longer in an open field where they had a wider range of vision, they had to move slowly and carefully. At any moment a zombie could jump out from one of the corners and attack them.

A clutter of noises attracted the group to the back of the third floor. The survivors must have heard the ruckus and the gunshots and realized that help had arrived. Yet in every group there were the brave and the cowards. Some wouldn't even put in the slightest effort to survive until someone came and cleared out a safe path for them. This seemed to be such a group as none of them even attempted to step out of the room that they had locked themselves into. As Kyle's team neared the room they were occupying, he could hear the muffled arguments of people with different opinions.

"Excuse me!" Kyle wasn't polite and knocked on the door heavily. He heard several startled screams as he did so. Kyle really wanted to roll his eyes. Without a doubt, the people inside were greenhorns. It was already a surprise that they survived this long.

"Who is it?" Someone asked with a slight trembling voice. Kyle wanted to roll his eyes again. Did it really matter who he was? Its not like they would know him if he said his name. Kyle realized that he was being overly sarcastic over the littlest thing.

"We are from the refugee camp send over to escort you safely back." Kyle pushed down the urge to just knock down the door off its hinges and responded patiently. There was a long moment of silence which seemed to stretch on forever making Kyle wonder if they had actually heard what he said. 'They must be discussing it among themselves?' Kyle wondered as he stared blankly at the closed door, starting to lose his patience. The previous sound of the fight and the smell of the blood was already attracting new zombies over. And yet here they were on the opposite side of the door, still facing high risk, while the group they were tasked to protect was still undecided whether they could trust them or not.

Suddenly footsteps neared and then the sound of objects being dragged away could be heard. They must have barricaded the door from the other side. 'His plan to kick down the door wouldn't have worked' Kyle realized helplessly as he shot down a newly arrived zombie right through its head. The number was only going to increase and these darn people were extra slow. This coupled with the facts that his life was in constant danger, the stress of being always on guard and not being able to trust the people who are supposed to watch his back as well as not knowing the situation of his wife, made him fall into a foul mood. Kyle felt the blood rise to his head. He was extremely annoyed.

Once the door was cracked open, Kyle and his team didn't waste any time to charge in and grab the man that had pushed open the door. His subordinates pilled in after him and shut the door on a snapping zombie face. He was pissed as he swiped his eyes across the people in the room who had panicked expressions on their faces. A group of 11 entered his sight. They all looked like white collar job workers who had never exercised a day in their life. Just now due to the lot taking too long to make up their mind another one of their men had been attacked and dragged away. Yes Kyle was pissed indeed. "Do you take this for a game." He roared as he tightened his grip on the guy who was starting to turn blue due to the lack of oxygen. Non of the man's acquaintances tried to come forward and save him. Instead they were all cowering in fear as the pilled themselves into a corner. Kyle clicked his tongue in annoyance and threw down the man he was chocking. The guy immediately started panting hard as he gulped down large mouthful of air after air as he sat on the ground where he fell.

It took a moment for him to calm down. After ensuring that they were safe for the time being, Kyle started interrogating the group as he scanned the lot again. It was a group of middle aged men and women in dirty ragged cloths and equally dirty faces. except for two people in the group, the rest didn't have any projectile weapons. There were even some who didn't arm themselves at all. Kyle didn't know what these people were doing so far or how they made it until there. It could only be stated as a miracle??? Or not! From the guy he had chocked, he concluded that the group had been very large in the beginning with several capable fighters and bodyguards. But by the time they reached hear most of the able bodied people were already dead. This was also why they decided to hole up in the building and send out a distress signal rather than making their way forward. By the time the story got this far, the number of zombies outside the door had again multiplied. Kyle was now certain that the group had something in their possession that attracted all the zombies to this location.

He was not planning to take any more nonsense and had no more patience to ask them nicely. He was determined to beat them senselessly if they kept vital information from him that could put his and his teams lives at risk. But these lot who were already on the verge of collapse with fright didn't have any thoughts of resistance. This time they were carrying a few very peculiar items with them which was tucked away in a waist length box with clamps. Once it was opened the immobilized upper body of a Zombie came into everyone's sight along with the stench of death and decay. When it was presented in front of Kyle, he really felt sick to his stomach. Both its arms were chopped off cleanly and everything that was supposed to be under its diaphragm was missing. It was obvious that it was an action of its captors. Even if it was done to a zombie, Kyle could help but think that it was a bit inhumane. After all these creatures were just like him before they turned and had had family and friends at some point who would be devastated to see them in such a state.

As he was feeling sympathy for the mutilated corpse he moved closer to examine the situation. The zombie suddenly opened its tightly closed eyes as he got closer and roared, startling the people who were standing next to it. It sounded like a warning and a threat. Kyle thought that he could even perceive a hint of hate from its empty eyes at it growled in his face. He was a bit startled he he quickly stepped back. 'Is this one intelligent?' He glared at the people around him, "What is going on? Why is it like this?"

Seeing that Kyle understood that the zombie was different from the others, a woman from the group stepped out and introduced the situation. "We are not entirely sure of the situation right now. But as you can see, this zombie has a hint of intelligence in it. Of course it is not by a lot but it can show the same instincts as a wild beast." She seemed to be the one who had the highest say in this group and must have also been the one who was in collaboration with the scientists at the refugee camp.

"You... are you Jude Mills?" Kyle asked suddenly on guard. Even though the woman was famous, she was not related to his field of study in the past as such he hadn't really payed close attention to her appearance back then. Even if he had, after all the chaos and confusion of the apocalypse, who would spare their brain cells on someone whom they might never cross paths with.

"No. I am not. My name is Halo Brown. I am nobody so important as madam Jude Mills." Kyle was instantly relieved to know that this wasn't the well renowned scientist who supposedly had a close relationship with the genius from the lab in the camp. But then he furrowed his eyebrows. That means that this woman was really ruthless to have done this. He was instantly on guard.

"What are the implications of a zombie having intelligence. does that mean that all zombies are intelligent." As he thought that Kyle felt a bit nauseous. He had killed countless zombies in the name of self preservation. But if these were intelligent creatures then that meant that he had been committing homicide all these time.

"Again we are not certain yet. But so far from our observations. It is one of the exceptions. The odd one. But of course we cannot rule out completely that there aren't others like him." Halo informed. "We think that it could be the first ones to be infected. To be honest they aren't that different from the rest. but it seems like they have a riling ability. Which is why there is an increasing swarm of zombies outside. We were planning to take it back to the lab for a more intense study but were surrounded and trapped here until now with all of our capable fighters dead."

After listening to her information, Kyle realized how severe of an issue this could be. Even though he hated those scientists, he knew that they were the ones with the potential to raise humanity out of this catastrophe. He was silent for a long moment as he considered the pros and cons of the situation. "Everyone pack up. We are going back at full speed." Kyle finally announced and readied his weapons as he strode towards the door. If nothing goes wrong, they will be back at the camp within a week and then he would be able to ensure that his wife was alright. Suddenly he was in a hurry. If they waited longer the number of Zombies outside would only keep increasing due to the supposedly riling ability of this zombie.

"Let's Go home!"