Littered with the smartly dressed corpses of F City’s blue collar employees, the street in front of the downtown mall was crawling with even more undead than it had been earlier that morning. Now that the danger of the area had increased, the survival of anyone living became even less likely on this particular region of the city. The roaming corpses of Rein’s two earlier aggressors, both showcasing bloody limbs that had been gnawed to the bone, could be seen crawling across the pavement of this particular street. Having reanimated into the fiends that killed them, they now struggled with the most basic of movements. Zombies formed after being torn to shreds by a zombie horde, were often crippled creatures who wouldn’t survive long into their afterlife.

Just as the larger of the two vandals, who’s face had long been torn away leaving no signs of any facial features, managed to make headway in the movement department using just one arm, and no legs, a blue sports car came speeding out of the nearby parking lot. Having hit the exit ramp of the garage at an illegal speed, the car broke through the barricade, and into the air. Hearing the sudden commotion, the crippled, and faceless, corpse stopped and turned its attention to the car by instinct. Focusing it’s one remaining eye on the car, the expressionless undead watched in awe as the majestic vehicle defied gravity, unaware of the new flow of blood coming from it’s missing nasal cavity. The the sparts car was already covered in blood, the sheer power, and expensive shine, of the car remained, providing any man, or zombie, with a moment of excitement.

This excitement was short lived however, for this same car, that couldn’t defy the laws of gravity for long, came crashing down. Landing on the one armed zombie that was too lazy to move, blood and brain matter splattered out from beneath the car as it’s front end. As the car smashed into the ground, it’s bumper flew to the side, cleaving another by standing zombie in half, while one of the car’s front wheels slit away, rolling down the infested street. The brand new, two hundred thousand sports car was totaled.

“Fuck!” Groaning as he pulled his face away from the deployed airbag of the car, Rein cursed himself for the stunt he’d just pulled. He had originally planed to take the car around the block a few times before abandoning it on some street corner, or letting it roll away as a decoy for zombies. However his excitement, or nerves, from escaping the basement made him mis calculate the car’s potential. Not having driven anything as fancy as the car he was in now, not even in his previous life, he underestimated the power of the engine. “Damn it, I hope nobody saw that.”

Struggling out of the car, the teenager breathed a sigh of relief to know he hadn’t sustained any injuries. Though a little shaken up, Rein shook his head at the mess he’d made before digging into the car for his supply bags. Having managed to cause such a scene, the remaining zombies I the street had started to close in, this time more accurately that those he’d left behind in the garage. Now out in broad daylight, Rein new it’d be harder to remain undetected by the undead. Kicking away a the closest Zombie, Rein quickly started to weave his way through the condensing mob before disappearing into the ally way he left his truck in.

Rein quickly hopped into his yellow truck once again, throwing his remaining spoils in the back of the cabin. Starting the vehicle, the teen stepped on the gas, a little more gently this time, and reversed out of the cramped ally way. To his left was the zombie horde slowly closing in from in front of the mall. Hearing the engine of the truck, the undead zeroed in on their next target, but the truck sped away before they could act. Leaving the zombies in a cloud of dust, Rein relaxed in relief that he made it out of this current adventure alive. He couldn’t afford a bullet wound, or a broken bone, at this point in the game. Having taken more than one risky move over this last hour or two, Rein realized he was being unimaginable reckless. Speaking of being reckless,

“FUCK!” Swerving to the right, Rein narrowly maneuvered the Truck away from colliding with a runaway car. Having missed him, the car veered off the road and into a burning building. Seconds later a large explosion sounded, demolishing the damaged building even more. The few survivors nearby let out screams of panic before fleeing, soon replaced by more zombies who were attracted by the noise. Traveling through the streets had become much more dangerous over the last couple of hours. Now that the day was in full swing, the number of people on the streets had increased. Unfortunatly so did the number of zombies. As the living tried to escape the city, the multiplied in numbers.

Rein still didn’t feel confidant leaving the city just yet. Knowing that the real danger wasn’t the undead, but the millions of panicked people, the teenager knew it was better to hold off escaping the city for later. At least, that’s what he had convinced himself was the better option. It just so happened that, at this time, he had a few more stops to make. Thanks to his earlier confrontation with the two guys with guns, Rein was reminded that he needed a weapon to assist him in the Apocalypse. This was one of the harder tasks he had layed out in front of him. While supplies were difficult to acquire due to the competition, weapons were even more of a battle. Not only did everyone want, and need, a gun, but acquiring them at this time, also meant potentially going against the remaining law enforcement.

“Well, there’s no use brooding about it now. I should stop somewhere to replace the tools I lost first.” Talking to himself, Rein took a right down a less empty street.

Moments later, Rein found himself parked in front of a familiar car garage. He hadn’t expected to end up here, but the stress from the last couple hours must have gotten to him, because he found he’d unconsciously gotten closer and closer to this garage. It’s understandable considering he spent a better part of a year here. Sure enough the place was still locked up. Relived that the old man seemed to have heeded his advice and stayed home, Rein quietly got out of his truck. There weren’t any zombies around, so the young man quickly ran to the side of the building, where he knew a side window would be. It didn’t take long for him to break into the garage. First making sure there were no zombies, Rein quickly went to the tools, but he didn’t get far before a gruff voice called out behind him.

“WHO GOES THERE!” Jumping back instinctively, Rein was forced to shield his eyes from a bright light. “Kid? Is that you?! Boy! What are you doing here!?”

Recognition suddenly dawned on the teen’s face as the familiar voice registered. “Mister?! You’re still here!?”

Rushing forward, Rein couldn’t help but give the man an out of character hug.

“Yeah I’m still here. Those monster’s got nothing on me. The world might be ending, but I’m still kicking. What about you? I expected you to be long gone by now. From the looks of things, you already knew what was coming. How are you still in town?”

Realizing he hadn’t been a subtle as he thought when he said goodbye, Rein gave a bit of a shrug. “I… got side tracked.” He lied. “I sorta lost some tools in a fight, and didn’t know where to go to get some replacements.”

“I see, so now your here to rob me instead.” Hearing this Rein’s face turned red showing his guilt, but the old man just waved it off with an eye roll. “Ah whatever, I don’t got a use for them anymore anyway. If the world’s ending, then I’m out of business. Take what you want.”

Hearing the man’s words Rein felt a little concerned. It was a little weird for the man to be here while all of this was going on. “Mister, why are you here anyway? I thought you’d be at home trying to keep your family safe.”

“Don’t got any.” He answered curtly. “Don’t worry about it. That’s old news. No need to get sentimental about it.”

Suddenly Rein realized why the old man was so nice to him. He must have noticed he was in the same boat. The room remained quiet for a moment as Rein thought over his next response. “...you should come with me.”

Hearing the kid’s offer, the old man wasn’t the least be surprised, especially in light of how this conversation was going. “Ha! Don’t bother! You don’t need me weighing you down. You weren’t planning to taking me along in the beginning anyway, so what’s the point of taking me now? You’re young, and you seem to have things figured out. I’ll be fine staying here on my own. Besides, I’ll just be holding you back, I wouldn’t be able to keep up.”

Rein didn’t expect that answer, though he was right. He hadn’t planned on taking anyone with him. But then, why did he feel like he wanted to bring the old man with him now? Think this over, and feeling a little guilty for not offering sooner, Rein finally came up with a response. “You don’t even know where I’m going. What makes you think I don’t need help myself?”

The old man laughed while taking a seat in a random chair. “Don’t lie to me, I can spot your independence a mile away. You’ve got your life all figured out already, and I’ve got mine. So don’t argue with me.”

“Well, I can’t just take your things.” The teen pressed.

“Oh really? That wasn’t going to stop you a couple minutes ago.” He countered.

“That was when I thought you were safe. But you’re clearly not now.”

This made the old man stop for a minute as he thought this over. His original plan was wait things out here. Surly the military would have a rescue plan soon, but..that could be a while from now, and to be honest, he wasn’t exactly equipped to stay here any longer than a few days. As if on cue, a zombie started banging on the side of the garage, sensing the two inside.

“...Fine.” He sighed. “But if things get tough, don’t try to stop me when I throw myself to those monsters trying to save your ass. If I die, I either wanna die a hermit, or a hero.”

Giving out a satisfied smile, Rein quickly agreed.

The next hour, the two spent loading some tools into the truck. Having gotten rid of the stray zombie outside, Rein Quickly backed the truck up to the garage door. The two took as much as they could with them, knowing they’d be using what they could later. The old man even had a couple spare tires for the truck to take with them. It didn’t take long for the two to get this done.

“Do you have any extra gas cans? I still have a couple places I need to stop by before we leave the city.” Rein explain.

“Yeah, We got a few in back. Where else did you need to go?” Grabbing the few containers, Rein quickly tossed them into the remaining space in the back.

“Well, we still need more food, and I wanted to get a weapon, besides this crowbar, to fight off zombies with. I had a couple guys shoot at me earlier today, and I think it might be better for us if we had one too.” He explained.

“Yeah? That would be a good idea. I know a place not too far from here. It’s a Hunting and game store.” The old man buckled himself into the passenger’s seat, not even sparing a glance to his old garage as Rein, and him, drove away.

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