Time until the military arrives: 120 hours, 56 minutes and 45 seconds.

April forced her way through the square. Slashing them with the Bowie Knife, shooting them, and even putting a traffic cone on one of their heads. It wasn't long until she found a potential survivor.

On the lamp post beside a house was an old ruined poster. Some of the writing was still readable. The rest, including the face, had been scratched out. April did her best to read it.

'MISSING. ...man...-24...black hair...neck...contact...found...5 million...reward...'

"The hell's this crap?" She read it over again. "I can't do anything with this..." She sighed and rolled up the poster and threw it away. "A man with black hair though... He could still be alive, depending on when that poster was put up."

A zombie was walking towards the store in front of her. April spotted it immediately, took it's head and landed on the floor, crushing it's face in the process.

She brushed her two hands together and looked down in triumph. "It's great that dad taught me some of Mr West's moves. 'Face Crusher', sweet name!" She walked off carrying her two guns by her side.

Time until the military arrives: 119 hours, 45 minutes and 13 seconds.

The young girl was now in a deserted cafe in search of some leftover coffee or orange juice. She found a cappuccino instead and instantly parked herself to drink it.

"Mmm. This is the only good thing about an outbreak." She remarked and put the cup down. An undead waitress clawed onto the leather sofa and tried to bite her arm. April, without turning her head, took out her pistol and shot it in the forehead. It slumped onto the sofa, to which April gently pushed it off onto the floor. "In an outbreak, there's no one to charge you for whatever you take, eat or drink. It's a gift and a curse." She looked outside the thick windows. "That means there could be looters all round the city, taking whatever the hell they want." Both her and her dad shared the same views on looters. Disgraceful, vile, dishonest, backstabbing parasites. They were only out for themselves and would rather mug a survivor than help them. "Hopefully I won't run into too many of them, or psychopaths." She sipped her coffee, it calmed her in some sense, while she watched the outside world tear itself apart around her. She was surrounded by dead bodies, but she couldn't care less.

Time until the military arrives: 119 hours, 13 minutes and 25 seconds.

April walked around the town for a little longer, hoping to find some survivors. She came across an empty plaza filled with zombie corpses. Bloodied tyre tracks covered the yellow bricks.

"Someone's been here..." She whispered. "If I were to take a guess, it was a bike gang of looters."

The sound of an engine revving polluted the air. Tyres squealed round the corner and two bikers with flaming whiskey bottles appeared. They lobbed them straight at her, to which she quickly rolled away to the other side. Other bikers drove in and circled her like sharks. Each of them looked much older than her, some in their 20s and others in their 30s. They sniggered as they studied their victim.

A tall bulky man on a jet black motorcycle pulled up and stepped off the vehicle. His skin was olive and he had blonde hair with faint blue highlights. A young lady was tied up on his motorcycle.

"And what are you doing out here, missy?" He asked her, with a hint of sarcasm in his voice.

April's first approach would have been to ignore them and walk away, but since she was barricaded in by motorcycles and there was a survivor to rescue, that was not an option. She tried to act calm and lowered her gaze on them. "Just passing through."

"Just passing through, eh?" He chuckled. "Well, me and you have got some time to kill. So how about you come ride with me and the boys, huh?"

The motorists all giggled together.

"...No thank you." April answered and tried to walk past him.

But the man pushed her back into the circle. "Would you like to rephrase that? I'm not one to take no for an answer missy, so either get on my bike or I'll kick your sorry ass." He smiled to show off his golden teeth. "We all know who's the king here. And everyone has to obey the king."

"Oh yeah? What are you the king of then?"

He raised his hands in the air. "This town missy. I'm the king of this sorry little town right here. And these are my subjects. You're one of them, and that means you're under my command." He gestured to the seat on his bike. "Now get on missy, before I have to make you submit."

"No." She said slowly.

The man just simply smiled slightly and nodded at his gang. They all got off their bikes carrying bats and walked round April. "My boys here could mess up your face so badly that you'd need a plastic surgeon to put it all back together. Right boys?"

They murmured in agreement while still glaring at April. "So why don't you just obey me, sugar? We could avoid this whole messy business if you just got onto my bike."

Each bat had some bent nails attached them. The shiny metal made her sweat slightly but she still kept her cool. "No." She said again. "Your threats won't daunt me into submission."

The leader just shook his heavy head. "Didn't want to have to do this to you, you looked like such a pretty gem, but I must punish those who betray me." He looked at the others. "Go get her boys."

They closed in like dangerous hornets with their bats raised above their heads. But April knew better than to stand around and wait for them to attack. She slowly got out her pistols and quickly shot one of them in the head. This made the other members back away from her quickly. April was taking no prisoners. She shot each one down like a dog. They died instantly, feeling no pain.

"Watch out boys! The chick has some guns!" But he was silenced instantly by a bullet to his head.

Some raced at her with their bikes. But she either shot them before they could get to her or jumped out the way. A few of them run away terrified at the thought of dying. One tripped on his bike and laid at the feet of April.

She aimed her gun at his face. "Get the hell out of here now, or this will be the last place you see in your lifetime."

He did so, and ran for his life.

"Very good... Very good."

She turned round to see the leader holding the woman, now untied, hostage. He pointed a knife at her throat.

"If you shoot me, this girl will be joining me in the afterlife." He dug the knife into her skin. "Wouldn't want to harm innocent people now would we?"

"Let her go now, you've gone way too far!"

"Not until you do as I say.."

April instead picked up a spray can from the ground and sprayed it in his eyes. He yelled in pain and cursed at April, releasing the woman in the process.

"Go! Go to the church, it's safe there!" She whispered loudly.

The woman thanked her and then ran off.

"...You...you little bitch!" The leader screamed with red eyes. "I'll make you pay for that!" He lunged at her.

April shot him. But his fast movements made it difficult to hit his head. Soon enough he tackled her to the floor and started beating her up. April wasn't good with fist to fist combat, she largely relied on guns and other objects to determine her safety. She tried to punch him back but her face was so numbed by the pain that she was close to blacking out. He stopped hitting her and stood up. He said something but April couldn't quite hear what it was. He brought his foot above her face. This would have been it, her last moments in life. She tried, she tried to make it out of there, but it just didn't work. She was ready to say her final farewell.

"Hey! Leave her alone!" A distant voice shouted.

As luck would have it, another male interfered. He came into April's view and started wrestling the leader with his bare hands. She couldn't really see him but judging by his voice he was in his 20s. The two struggled against each other for sometime, till the other man got out what seemed to be a traffic light weapon, that sent out electric shocks to the victim. The leader was electrocuted and fell out of view. The man then got out an assault rifle and took one shot. Then he took another, and another. She didn't know what was going on at all, but seemed that she was saved.

"Don't you ever come back!" He shouted. The mysterious hero looked in the distance for a second and then turned to April. He kneeled closer to her and his facial features became more clear. "Holy shit... Are you okay?" He had short black hair and some blood on his face and sleeveless denim jacket.

April tried to reply, but her jaw hurt when she tried to talk.

The man looked sadly at her. "I think I'd better take you back." He picked her off the ground and started carrying her.

The last thing April saw before she blacked out was the number 12 tattooed on the man's neck.

Time until the military arrives: 116 hours, 32 minutes and 2 seconds.

"...we will be bringing you updates on this report later on in the day. But for now, here's the weather."

April fluttered her eyes open tiredly. What greeted her first was a dimly lit ceiling. She sat up slowly and looked around. The TV was on and displaying the weather for the rest of the week. She appeared to be on a fuzzy blue sofa with a small coffee table in front of her. Looking to her left she saw a man sitting next to her, a man she didn't know. It was the man who had saved her earlier, she would have thanked him, but April was always cautious of strangers. She picked up her guns and aimed them straight at him.

He heard the clicking and briefly looked at them before backing away with his hands up.

"Woah, take it easy!" He said in surprise.

"Who are you? Why have you brought me here?" She demanded, keeping the guns aimed at him.

The man gulped. His brown eyes were wide with terror. "L-Look. Why don't we just calm down man? Maybe we can talk this out."

"How about you answer my questions first?"

"Look, man, j-just put the guns down and I'll explain everything, okay?" When she didn't respond he spoke more calmly. "I'm not going to hurt you, put the guns down and I'll tell you what I know."

A long silence spread across the room, with only the sound of the TV in the background. Still keeping her eyes on him, April slowly slid one of her pistols onto the table, but still kept the other aimed at him.

"I promise you, I'm not here to hurt you. I've got nothing on me." He spun himself around with his arms in the air to prove it. "Put the other one down, and maybe we could help each other."

She stared icicles into him, but still complied and pushed the other gun onto the table with the first gun.

The man breathed as if he'd just escaped a death trap. "Oh my god dude, you had me so scared for a second there."

She sat down without saying a single word and the man sat next to her.

He cleared his throat which made her look at him. Her eyes stuck to his jacket and she read the name on it.

"I'm Nick." He said as she read it. "Nick Ramos." He extended his hand to her with a friendly smile.

A hesitant silence hung over her. "..April Freemore." She grabbed his hand and shook it. His smile made her feel like she could trust him.

"You want a drink?" He offered her, holding up a carton of orange juice and a plastic cup. "It's still in date."

"Uhh, yeah okay." She held the cup while he poured it in. "Thanks."

"That's okay."

She took a swig of the juice. Her taste buds were revived by the sweet liquid, and it felt cooly refreshing as it traveled down her throat. "Phew, I needed that."

"Can't say I blame you. I'd probably want a drink too after trying to take down a gang."

"So, Nick, why did you bring me here?"

"Well, I saw you passed out with that big guy looming over you. And because you were just a small girl faced against a full grown man, I knew I had to do something. So I scared him off and then brought you here. Just somewhere I'm hiding out, nothing special, but I got the TV working." He explained.

She studied his jacket carefully. "Are you a mechanic?"

"Yeah. I'm not a really famous one or anything, but I can still get the job done." He said. "..April. Do your parents know where you are?"

"My dad does. But he's coming to get me and other survivors with the military."

"What about your mom?"

April felt some tears prick her eyes. "My mom... My mom left with another man at the start of the outbreak. She abandoned me and my dad..." She sniffed. "I thought she cared about me. But I guess she cared for a man I don't know more."

"Oh... Sorry I asked, April..."

"No no, it's okay. It feels nice to share your feelings with someone else.." She paused to sniffle and wipe her eyes. "What about you Nick? Where are your parents?"

"I don't have any. I'm an orphan.." He replied.

"Oh. Did they abandon you at birth?"

"Must have done. I don't have any recollection of them being in my life." He patted her shoulder. "You're lucky that you've got parents you can remember. Sorry about your mom though..."

"Like I said before, it's okay." She smiled warmly towards him.

He smiled back at her. "So, uhh, are you a local here?"

"Oh yeah, I live here with my dad."

He suddenly looked very happy. "Great! Oh dude, you don't know how much this means to me!"

"...uhh...what..?"

"Okay, so here's the thing. I've come here because someone I love dearly needs some Zombrex-"

"We don't produce any here..."

"I know that, well, I know that now anyway. I came in here for supplies and then I heard a loud bang from outside. As I go out to see what it is I find myself caught in another zombie outbreak, with no way to get out of the city." He brought out a map. "Since you're a local, I thought you might know these places better than I do." Nick then brought out a walkie talkie. "If you got the right blueprints I could make something to bust down that pile of rubble. But we're going to need more survivors to help us build it. Take this, we'll be able to communicate with each other this way."

She took it and looked at the piece of tech in surprise. In truth, April had never seen a walkie talkie before. Which was pretty ironic since her father worked with the military.

"I'll let you know if I see any survivors you could save."

"But... How are you going to do that? You can't see much of town from this room."

He stood up and walked towards the stairs, beckoning her. "Come on, I'll show you."

He led her up the stairs and to the rooftop, where black smog was hovering overhead and the fires of the school weren't even close to dying out.

"This brings back memories of Los Perdidos.." He muttered.

"Los Perdidos? You mean that city where no survivors were found?"

"That's what they want you to think. But I'm one of the survivors who luckily escaped before the fire bombing."

"What? But... They said..."

"They have a natural ability to lie to you like that. I didn't believe it at first, but when I saw it with my own eyes..." His thoughts were in deep sadness as he remembered the events that occurred in that city. "...Anyway. That was then, this is now." He lifted his head up. "Come on, it's over here."

She wasn't really sure what Nick wanted to show her, until she saw the telescope perched near the edge of the building.

"This is what I'll be using to help you with finding survivors."

She looked into it and found the lens incredibly focused. She could see the zombies below right up to their facial features and bite marks.

"I found it here, and made a few adjustments to it." He explained. "You should be able to see the whole town, since behind us is just mountains."

"So you'll be able to see where I'm going with this? And also survivors?"

"Yep. If I see any humans out there or, hell, even ones being taken hostage, I'll let you know through my walkie talkie."

She nodded. "Okay, got it. Thanks Nick."

He smiled at her again. Nick had one of those smiles that really made you think he was just a kind person looking for a way out. There was no sign of hatred, greed, or psychopathy in his beaming face.

He looked over the edge at the zombies below. Suddenly, his eyes widened and his mouth dropped. His whole body took on a new feeling of terror, as if his personal worst nightmare had just been released.

"Nick? What's-"

"April, get down!" He pushed her onto the ground and laid with her as a loud boom exploded in their ears. The dust and debris hit the floor like pounding rain and covered the roads in a pale yellow dust. The building they were on were unaffected, but below was complete anarchy. Fire erupted from below them, as did more black smoke.

Nick still had his face planted in the ground. He looked up at the sky and saw the black smog rising to the heavens.

"April, are you okay?" He gently lifted her from the ground.

"Yeah I'm fine..." She groaned. "What the hell was that?"

"I don't know..." Nick answered. "Sounded like an explosion, similar to one from the school."

April clutched onto Nick, having not recovered from the shock, and limped to the side of the rooftop to look down.

"...Look! April, over there!" He pointed towards a blown up hardware store. Nails were scattered everywhere and sawdust covered the roads and pavements.

"Someone blew up Nails n' Screws!" She cried. "Oh man... I had so many memories there.. Me and my dad used to walk up to get some nails for my treehouse."

"First the school, and now a hardware store? Who are these people and why are they bombing shit!?" He paced round the roof in a huff.

She held his shoulders. "Nick, calm down. You're not going to do a thing by just being angry at them." She said softly.

"..." He shook off his anger and looked her in the eyes. "..okay... You're right, being angry at them won't change them overnight. Jeez, and I'm supposed to be the calm one..."

She turned her gaze to the zombies once more. "I think I'd better get out there. Let me know if you see anyone in need of help."

"Okay. But just two things before you go. One: try and train yourself up a bit more. That biker guy nearly killed you, and next time I might not be there to save you. Try and work on strengthening your bare fists and using whatever you can see. Two: if you come across a psychopath and feel that one isn't enough to take them down, you can ask me to come meet you somewhere and we'll face them together."

"Do you have any weapons, other than that assault rifle and that traffic light thingy you used?"

"I've made some damn good weapons in the past. Most of them helped me get through Los Perdidos with my friends. If you find any blueprints, give them to me and could make some weapons for you to use."

"Alright, I'll keep my eyes peeled." She stopped at the door. "I guess I'll see you later Nick."

"Remember to let me know if you need any help. Location, time, or even if you've forgotten what you're doing, I'll remind you."

"Thanks Nick."

"No problem." He replied happily.

As she turned to go she suddenly saw that number on his neck again. 12 was tattooed on the right side of his neck in clear black letters. She stared at it in awe. What did it mean? Why was it there? Did it signify anything?

"April? Something wrong?" Nick asked with a concerned look.

She snapped out of her daze. "Oh... Uhh... It's nothing, I'm just thinking. Anyway, I should probably go now."

"Okay. Take care of yourself."

"I will, bye Nick." She went through and shut the door behind her.

After she went Nick slowly turned round and looked in utter depression at the rubble blocking the way out.

"Annie must be worried sick about me..." He stroked the 12 on his neck. "And I think April saw the tattoo... Shit..." He whispered softly. "Please Annie... Just wait for me... I'll be out soon..." The zombies below him made him even more sad. "Here we go again, Nick.."

April eventually figured out that she was in Sains Co. A tall office building with a powerful company inside. She never found out anything about them, her dad only warned her to stay away from them, for reasons she never understood.

As she was traveling down the grey boring steps a crackling sound erupted from her walkie talkie, followed by a familiar voice. She picked it up and held it close to her face.

"Testing, 1, 2, 3... April, do you hear me?"

"Loud and clear."

"Oh phew... I thought I might have to reconnect the wires or something." He stopped talking for a minute. "..Anyway. I've found your first survivor."

"Really? Right now?" She was only on the 3rd story and already she had a task at hand.

"I just saw this little girl being dragged into a toy shop by an older man." He said. "The man looked about in his 40s, and was wielding a needle covered in blood."

"Wait... Was he wearing a white apron with a heart sewn on?"

"I-I think so, yeah."

She gasped in realisation. "That's Mr Williams! The owner of Button's On! Why would he drag a young girl into his store...? Last I saw he was doing okay."

"An outbreak can bend the minds of many sane people... I've seen it for myself." He could sense her frown from the other side. "...Hey. If you want some support, you can tell me and we'll meet up somewhere."

"I think I'll observe him first and decide from there."

"Okay, whatever you say April. Call me again if you want support or if you've saved the tyke." Some crackling cut him off.

She continued her way down. "...For first impressions, Nick is quite a nice guy... But I can't base him off just that. My dad always nagged me about that... 'Never base the whole person off their first impression. If you take time to get to know them, you might uncover something more, or maybe even a completely different side to them.' That's what he always said... Maybe there's a different side to Nick.. I mean, he has experienced an outbreak before, so he knows the gist. But that number... Why is it on his neck? I just...feel like I've seen someone with something similar tattooed on their neck..." She quickly pushed it out of her mind. "No, I have to stay focused. I need to rescue this girl first, everything else can be tossed aside for a little while." Though, for some reason, she couldn't get Nick out of her head, she carried on down the stairs. Unaware of what she was about to face.

She shot her way through the zombies and threw whatever she could find at them, even a handbag. They were even more horrifying close up. They're faces had be torn and their skin was grey and lifeless.

The walkie talkie started coming to life again.

"Another call from Nick?" She grabbed the device.

"...April? You there?"

"Yeah I'm here." She pressed the tip of the gun against the zombie's head and pulled the trigger.

"Right, uhhh, I get a strong feeling that I'm going to have to come down and help you."

"Why?"

"Well... I saw the Mr Williams guy again and... He just... Tossed some eyeballs into the trash can near his store..."

April nearly gagged. "W-What?!"

"I'm not kidding man. I saw him carrying some real eyeballs and throw them into the trash. Made me want to throw up."

She froze up completely. Had Mr Williams actually gone insane? Her lifelong friend whom she visited to buy his dolls and have nice chats with since she was young? "A-Are you sure it was him?"

"I'm sure, he had the heart sewn on his apron and everything."

She could barely talk. The shock made her heart thump and her throat dry. She couldn't kill her friend, could she?

"Hey, hey, April, calm down. Just breathe. In and out, in and out." He told her. "You can't panic in this type of situation, trust me man it never ends good."

"But Mr Williams couldn't have gone insane... I thought he was just getting by with the antidepressants."

"He's depressed?"

"Yeah. His son died about a couple of months ago from drowning, and he considers it his fault. His daughter is all he has left now. He wouldn't go insane unless..."

Nick read her mind. "You think maybe his daughter's died too?"

"It's a possibility. I think the outbreak would be responsible for her death."

"...why does stuff like this have to happen? Zombie outbreaks... People losing their loved ones and minds... It's like the whole world has gone mad."

"Don't lose hope Nick. Remember, there could be others out there, sane ones."

"Yeah, you're right..." He went quiet and April could hear him shakily breathing.

"Nick? What's up?"

"...Nothing...nothing. I'm just... I'm just experiencing some memories.." He sniffed. "Don't worry about me, I'll be okay."

"Alright..." She was nearing the toy shop. "I'm getting close to the store."

"Right okay. If you need my help, call me and I'll come straight down okay?"

"Okay. See you on the other side." She put it in her pocket and marched forward. "Mr Williams... What's up with you?" She clenched the door handle tightly but soon pushed it open and went into the darkness.

The cloudy day from the windows was her only light. Looking around gave her a sense of nostalgia. There was the doll house she always used to play with when she came here after school, there was the china brown haired dolly whom April and Jane called Sally, there was the teddy bear who Jane claimed to be alive and walking round at night, there was the tooth fairy decoration Mr Williams hung up in memory of his wife, and there, behind the counter, was an array of once alive little girls styled to be dolls. Their eyes had been replaced with buttons and their mouths were sewn forcefully into a smile. They were as pale as snow and their dead bodies were cold to the touch.

April jumped when she spotted them. "Oh my god!" She yelped. "What the hell!? Did Mr Williams do this...?"

Some scuffling came from the storage room. A man was humming away to himself while moving something. He dragged it across a stone cold floor and into the main shop. When he finally came into the light April saw both him and what he was carrying. It was indeed Mr Williams. And in his hands was a young girl dolled up like the others, except the blood was more present since she had been killed just recently.

He looked at April briefly and then walked towards the counter with the 'doll' under his arm. But he stopped halfway and looked at her again. "...April Freemore? Is that you?"

"Y-Yes, it's me." She shakily said.

"Oh April!" He tried to hug her but she moved away from his open arms. "I've missed you so much kid. How have you been? Are you getting good grades?"

"Yeah, yeah I am. Uhh..." She looked in disturbance at the dead girl. "What is that you have there, Mr Williams?"

"Oh, this? It's one of my dolls. I'm making a whole collection for when Jane comes home. You remember Jane, don't you?"

"Yeah I remember..."

"You and her were the best of friends." He perched the girl on a chair and stepped back to admire his creation. "Perfect. Just needs one more, and then it will be complete." He turned round and looked at April for a long time. "...You."

April was in a daze disturbed by the dolls everywhere. "..What?"

"You. You could be the last in the collection. The most beautiful of all the dolls!"

"H-Huh!? Me, a doll?! Mr Williams... I don't think that's such a good idea.." She remembered Nick telling her about the eyeballs as she stared helplessly at the button eyes dolls.

"Oh don't worry. I understand that becoming a doll can be a pain, having to sit around all day. But I promise you..." He picked up his blood stained needle. "...it won't hurt for you. Oh no, I'll make it as painless as possible. Now, just come into the back room with me, and we can get started." He grinned widely at her. "You'll look great with brown buttons."

April backed away slowly, hovering her hands over her pockets.

Psychopath BOSS: Ned Williams.

She pulled out her guns and aimed them at him. But this did not stop the insane doll maker from moving. He, in fact, thought that the guns were fake. April really didn't want to hurt him, but in the back of her mind she knew that it would be the only way to get through to him. She instead picked up a fine china doll and threw it at him. It shattered to pieces and some of the china scratched him, but he held the shiny needle in his hand and still walked towards her. She tried shooting at him, not aiming for the head since she didn't want to kill him. He lurched forward when the first bullet hit but carried on his merry way when the others did, slowly getting weaker. April put the guns away and grabbed a carving knife that was lying around. She slashed him with it until it broke and he pinned her up against the window of the store.

"Just hold still." He clenched the needle and aimed it at her. "It won't hurt a bit."

April tried not to scream, since zombies were on the other side and everyone knew that they responded to noise. She kneed him in the crotch and then round house kicked him to the floor.

Mr Williams grabbed her foot and tripped her over. He got on top of her. "Stop struggling. It'll all over soon, my dear."

In an act of fright, April put her pistol to his chest and quickly pulled the trigger, not realising what she was doing.

It was only until Mr Williams started moaning in pain that April realised what she had done. She looked at where she'd shot him. A bullet hole penetrated where his lung was. He limply rolled off in agony and clutched his chest.

"O-Oh...no..." She whispered in horror. "What have I done...?" She kneeled down at his side. "Mr Williams! Oh god I'm so sorry.."

Despite the pain, he still smiled. "What for, kid? You...you helped me see...what I was doing.." He looked over at the 'dolls'. "Those girls weren't like you... They had...no weapons... And couldn't fight back. I was blinded by the hope that Jane would come back... But, in truth, I knew she wouldn't... She's all I have in this lonely world... She's my everything... What I strive for..."

April looked at him in despair. "It...it can't end for you like this..."

"It has to... Death will claim me either way..." He turned his arm over and showed her a fresh zombie bite. "I haven't got much time left kid... Either I die or I turn..." He said sadly. "D-Do you remember when we first met?"

"I do... I came here with my dad to get a doll... And I got my finger stuck in one of the shelves..."

"Yeah... I remember that too..." Mr Williams gave her the gun she dropped. "One thing I don't want, is to hurt you as an undead being... I don't want you to see me as one of them... April... You're going...to have to... Kill me.."

"B-But... I can't..." Tears welled in her eyes. "You're like a brother to me Ned... You've always been there for me when my mom worked late and when Goldy pushed me to my limit..."

"Sometimes you have to let go April... People change... Wars rage on... But the world still spins..." He suddenly stiffened, as if he'd just remembered something. "...April. Go over there and get me that wrapped box."

"The one with the pink ribbon?"

"Yeah... And hurry."

She took it off the shelf and brought it down by his side. It had a label saying: 'To April'.

"It's for you, go ahead, open it."

She undid the bow and removed the hot pink coloured lid. "..Oh my god..." Inside, was a doll version of her mother. It had auburn hair tied into pig tails and a red and white patterned dress. "Ned... Did you make this for me?"

"I remember you saying how you wished your mother was there for you on those lonely nights and how you cried yourself to sleep. So, I decided to make a doll version of her for you. That way you'll know that, no matter where you are, your mom will always be there with you."

"...N-Ned... Y-You...shouldn't..." Her voice became more wobbly as the emotions got to her. A tear rolled down her cheek and dripped onto the floor.

"Don't cry, April." He caught one of her tears on his finger. "Thanks to you... I can finally move on... And die in peace..." He closed his eyes with a sense of peace in his mind. "I'm ready to go April... Pull the trigger..."

She shakily held the gun to his head, crying her eyes out. She hated to do this, but it had to be done, otherwise he would come back as a zombie. "G-Goodbye, Ned... I-I'll miss you..." She weeped.

"I'll miss you too..."

She shut her eyes tightly, looked away, and a loud gunshot echoed in the empty shop.

Her body shook even after the shot. She didn't even look at the corpse in front of her. She stared at the doll for what seemed like an eternity. All those times she was lonely were starting to break her, and soon enough she burst into tears. She huddled on the carpet next to Mr Williams' dead body and cried like there was no tomorrow. She always acted as if being lonely wasn't a big deal, but that was only a mask she wore. In truth, she hated being left alone and isolated.

The door behind her was swung open and a tall shadow towered over her.

"...April? April, are you okay?" She didn't look up and continued to cry. She heard the door slam shut and something fall to the floor. "April... Hey hey..." Some arms wrapped around her and she felt warm.

Her head was perched on a denim jacket with a flaming tyre below. She shook off the tears that were blinding her and looked up to see a familiar face. "...Nick?" She cried. "Oh, Nick!" She hugged him tightly.

He hugged her back. "It's okay, April, it's okay." He spotted the dead body of the toy shop owner. "...You had to do it yourself...huh."

"Yeah... He gave me a doll that looked like my mom... Because he knew I felt lonely. Then he told me he was bitten and that I had to..."

"...I see." He finally said. "Trust me, you did the right thing. I don't think he would have wanted to hurt you as one of those things."

"But he was one of the greatest friends I've ever had! And-And...I killed him..!"

"I know how you feel. I've lost a lot of friends over time... But I know that I have to keep pushing forward. He may be gone, but I know that he wouldn't have wanted you to think of his death as a bad thing. Don't you see how peaceful he looks? You gave him freedom from his impending doom."

"..."

"April, listen to me. You did the right thing. I don't mean to sound blunt, but you can't stay here and cry over him all day. There's an outbreak, and the last thing I want is you dead. I think that was the last thing he wanted too."

"..." She stood up. "...Y-You're right. I can't sit here and cry, not when there's zombies on the loose..." April wiped her sore eyes. "..Can I hug you just one more time please Nick?"

"Of course you can." He hugged her again and cradled her head.

They stayed like that for while until April pulled away and shed her remaining tears.

They were about to leave when they heard some muffled cries from the storage room.

"Do you hear that? That could be a survivor!" Nick ran towards it.

"Wait up!" She followed after him into the damp cramped room.

Inside was a brown haired tanned woman tied up with a cloth covering her mouth. She struggled and yelled with wide eyes.

"This must be one of his captives..." He said.

April searched the shelves and found a small knife. She cut the rope binding the woman and then removed the cloth. "Are you alright?"

"Mi marido me abandonó maldito de Dios en esta ciudad! Voy a hacer que aunque. Voy a formar un arma y patear su culo!" She ranted.

April stared at her as if she'd just asked her to crack an impossible code. "..What?"

"...I guess I'd be angry too if my husband left me."

April turned to Nick in surprise. "You can understand her!?"

"I know some Spanish. Here, let me try talking to her." He cleared his throat. "Hola. Mi nombre es Nick y este es mi amigo de Abril. Cuál es su nombre y dónde habéis venido?"

The Spanish woman folded her arms. "Estoy Denitra. Yo y mi esposo llegó aquí desde España para unas vacaciones, pero él me abandonó en el momento en que él vio a los zombies. A continuación, ese chico me vio, creo que ustedes saben lo que sucedió a continuación."

"She says that her name is Denitra and that she came from Spain for a holiday with her husband. He left her here and then she was captured by Mr Williams."

April listened and pondered. "Can you tell her that we can take her to a church in a desolate field where she'll be safe from the zombies?"

Nick nodded and then faced Denitra. "Podemos llevarle a una iglesia donde usted estará a salvo de los zombies. Es en un campo aislado de la ciudad, así que no tienes que preocuparte de que se rompan."

"No voy de todas formas hasta que mi esposo se lo que viene con él!" She spat. "Además, estamos atrapados aquí! Cómo es una iglesia para mantenernos vivos para siempre?"

"She wants her husband's ass handed to him. And she says that we're trapped here and asks what the point of waiting in a church is."

"Tell her that my dad's coming with the military in 5 days to extract all survivors from the area. And that we'll deal with her husband later."

"Okay." He turned to her again. "Usted no necesita preocuparse. Los militares está llegando en cinco días para extraer todos los supervivientes. En cuanto a tu marido, vamos a tratar con él una vez que llegue a la seguridad."

She kept her icy eyes on him. "Cómo se que puedo confiar en ustedes dos? Yo no sabrá a menos que me den un arma y me lleve con usted a Lynch el bastardo."

"She wants to lynch her husband and she won't trust us unless we give her weapon and take her to him."

"Hmm... That's going to be a hard one. We don't even know where he is..." She was deep in thought. "...Wait. Nick, can you ask her where he usually hangs out? Like in any bars or clubs?"

He nodded and turned to her. "Tu marido tiene cualquier lugares que normalmente va a? Al igual que un bar? O un club?"

Denitra thought for a moment. "...No sé, pero creo que a veces pasa en los bares con sus amigos. Él siempre viene a casa borracho los fines de semana, así que él podría estar en un bar en esta localidad ahogando sus penas."

"She says that he might be in a bar in this town drowning his sorrows."

"I think I know... He could be at The Drunken Nymph. That's the only bar in town I know."

"I'll tell her. Mi amigo podría tener alguna idea de dónde está. Ella cree que él puede estar en un lugar llamado la borracha de la ninfa."

"Si en eso es mejor, nos gustaría ir! Quiero darle un pedazo de mi mente." She almost yelled in triumph.

"Gracias, amable Madame. She's up for it."

"Great! We'll get going as soon as we know where that bar is..."

But Denitra swiped the knife April was holding and went to wait in the main store for them.

"...Pushy isn't she?"

"Well, I guess she's just a hot headed woman."

"Seriously though Nick, where did you learn to speak Spanish?"

"It was the language me and friends spoke when I was younger. It's basically a second language to me."

"I wish I could speak Spanish."

"Remind me and I'll teach you some time." He winked. "April, are you sure you're going to be okay? I mean, you did just kill a childhood friend of yours.."

"I'll be fine. It's just like someone I knew said to me..." She smiled. "It's escape, or die."

To April those were just mere words. But to Nick it was something that made his blood turn cold. He stared at her in a trance, almost unmoving.

"Nick?"

He jumped and came back to reality. "U-Uhh... I'm fine. You go and check on Denitra. I'll be out in the minute." When she was gone Nick went into a state of paranoia. He clasped his mouth with both hands. "...Holy shit... Those were Rhonda's words... She said that to me when I..." He held his head with both hands and paced around the room. "..But April couldn't possibly know Rhonda... She wasn't there with us in Los Perdidos... So, who the hell did she get those words from..?"

"Nick? You okay back there?"

"Yeah! I'm fine! I just...need some time to think. I'll be out in a sec!" He shouted. "...what the hell's going on? Who told April the same thing Rhonda said? No one got out except us..."

"Nick? We need to get going! Denitra's getting frisky!"

"Okay!" He covered his face slightly to keep the tears in. "...No, I can't think about Los Perdidos now. I need to get out of here, with April. And I need to get back to Annie so that we can get back on the road. Those two must be wondering where I am..." He picked up the weapon he dropped and headed out with them both.

They journeyed from the store, with April taking one last look at Mr Williams' body before leaving. It was the same, zombies outside ready to spread the infection, they knew the drill. April had her guns and anything she picked up from the street, and Denitra had her knife. Nick, however, carried a different weapon from the two. It was a sharp saw attached to a heavy sledge hammer. An invention Nick liked to call: The SledgeSaw. He sliced and hammered through the crowd with bloody execution. Even April was amazed by this weapon.

"Nick! That's an awesome weapon!" She yelled over the moaning of zombies.

"Thanks! I made it myself!"

"Why did you come down for me Nick? What made you abandon the telescope and come charging into the store?"

"I saw that guy pinning you against the window, with a needle aimed at your neck. And 'cause I don't like to see my friends getting hurt, I acted fast. I picked up this SledgeSaw and fled down the stairs towards the store. Then I burst down the door and..."

"Found me."

"Yes. I've never seen you cry before, so it was an upsetting sight for me." He sliced through another one and paused to wipe the blood off his face. "Some people call me too friendly, but that's just how I am."

Nick's weak point was sometimes his friendly nature. He always took the diplomatic approach with psychopaths and tried to make them come to their senses. But, well, let's just say that Nick wouldn't be able to name the number of times that it didn't work. He wasn't one to bash someone's skull in because they seemed crazy on the outside.

They arrived at the Irish green pub and looked upon the naughty nymph that was upon it, lifting her leg high in the air.

"This is it. The Drunken Nymph."

"You really think her husband could be in here?"

"It's the only bar in town that I know. My dad won't let me go near the apparent other one. Never told me why." She entered the bar with Nick and Denitra trailing behind.

In almost an instant they spotted Denitra's husband. There he was, behind the counter and downing a bottle of vodka. He was tanned like his wife and had very short black hair that curled slightly.

Denitra marched up to him and slapped him across the face. She took the bottle and smashed it on the floor.

"Qué fue eso!?" He was about to hit her back but then froze up when he saw her. "Espere...Denitra? Estás vivo?"

She slapped him again, harder this time. "Por supuesto estoy viva usted dumbass! Estoy luchando por mi vida y lo que estás haciendo? Beber vodka como un cerdo egoísta!"

From there was a full blown argument, completely in Spanish. April might as well as left them there, she couldn't understand nor speak to them. Nick could decipher every single word and, frankly, it wasn't something that should be heard by the human ear.

They squabbled on like small children. April turned to Nick. "Uhh Nick? Maybe you should calm them down. I mean we can't stand here all day listening to them."

"...I'll try. But, I can't guarantee that I'll get through to them." He cut in between the pair. "Basta! Basta! No tenemos tiempo para esto! Usted puede continuar su argumento posterior. Pero ahora tenemos que conseguir que dos de seguridad!"

"Pero él debe ser castigado por dejar detrás de mí!" She shouted back.

"Señora, hace que parezca que tenemos todo el tiempo del mundo?" Nick raised his voice slightly. "Necesitamos conseguir que dos a esa iglesia o los zombies hará oír usted y garra de su camino en."

Denitra glared at him for a moment. But she cooled down and gave her husband a slap on the wrist. "Bien, nosotros vamos contigo a esta iglesia. Liderar el camino, antes de que mi esposo me golpearon hasta la muerte con esa botella."

Nick breathed a sigh of relief and went away from the two.

"Did it work?" April asked.

"Yeah. She and her husband are coming with us."

"Thank god, I thought we'd be here for hours." April said. "Right. Let's get going."

They gave the husband a device called The Slapper and then were on their way. Zombies left and right were reaching out for them but Nick and April quickly put them out of their misery. As she kept shooting she thought about what the headmistress had said to her this morning. It made her wonder, what about April did she see as 'lady-like'? She made weapons with her dad, had posters of Chuck Greene in her bedroom, and concentrated on studies rather than boyfriends (unlike most of the girls at her school). She was a tomboy with no intention of changing her ways. What, about that, was lady-like? Perhaps she would never know, since the headmistress could be turned or dead.

After going through the never ending barricade of zombies they trudged up hill into a grassy field with a calm breeze blowing across. The pine trees and mountains in the background gave April a sense of peace. She remembered walking up this way with her parents and sometimes attending the church for some hymns. And it was also here where her father first explained who Chuck Greene was, and where they tried to create that paddlesaw. She breathed in the fresh air and felt determined to make her father proud and find her mother. Nick would have had the same determination that he had ages ago, but that was sucked out by the events he experienced.

Inside the church the woman from before was sitting in a pew with her hands together, as if praying. Alight candle sticks were spread everywhere especially near the altar, where a biblical cross was below a beautiful stained glass window. Red, green and blue glass adorned it and made pretty colours as the outside world reflected it's light through it. The silence was so thick you could hear a pin drop. It was just dead silent.

Nick broke it. "So... This is where you're hiding the survivors?"

"It's the best I can do, and the only place with no infected." She said, drinking in the old church she always knew.

Nick watched her go over to the altar and fish out something from under the carpet. "Know this place well, huh?"

"Me and my parents aren't religious, but we do like to come up here on Sundays and sing some hymns." She forced a tile up from beneath and took out a silver key with a Atlantica Casino keyring on it. "My dad got me this keyring from Fortune City. He went there for a vacation with mom. Before... Well, you know..."

Denitra pushed Nick out of the way and went straight into the church office, yelling something in Spanish. Her husband followed and pretty much did the same thing.

April groaned. "What does she want now?"

"She said something about coffee... And a boat trip to Sweden.."

"I think she can find coffee in there, let's leave her be."

"Probably best..." He could hear them arguing again, and decided it was better to leave them to it.

"Shall I go sort them out?" The woman in the pew asked.

"No, leave them. They'll sort it out." She paused to listen. "...hopefully."

"Alright." She stood up and clasped April's hands. "Thank you for saving me earlier by the way. I don't know what would have happened if he...took me back to his hideout.."

"No problem. I'm just doing what my father taught me to do in this situation."

"You should be a heroine, miss. Up there with the other famous zombie slayers."

"Well... I wouldn't exactly call myself a heroine just yet..."

"Oh don't be so humble! You saved my life! I'm Penelope. What's your name?"

"April Freemore." They exchanged smiles.

"Are you going to rescue others and bring them here too?"

"Of course. I would never leave innocents out there to die."

"You're just like Frank West himself." She grinned.

Nick gently put his hand on her shoulder. "Now that you've got that key, should we maybe try to unlock something with it?"

"It's my house key. I just need to go in there and get something important to me. You'll come with, right Nick?"

"Sure, I'll keep you company." He held his SledgeSaw behind his back. "It's hard to find friends in a situation like this, believe me."

The screaming voices of Denitra and her husband grew louder.

"We should probably get going. If they start getting physical, try to calm them down." She said to Penelope. "I'll come with more survivors. Meanwhile, make yourself at home. My dad's coming with the military in five days so you don't have to worry."

"Thank you once again."

"No problem." She walked out with Nick behind her. He prompted her to walk a bit faster as they passed the bickering couple.

April was glad that she wasn't on her own anymore. She had a new friend to help her fight back against this sudden outbreak. Sure, he was a bit older than her, but his age didn't concern her. He was a mechanic too, now that was handy. A mechanic in a zombie apocalypse was more than useful. Because of this, April was starting to get a bit cocky. She barely flinched at stabbing or shooting them anymore. It was as if she had gone from a normal school girl to a hardened zombie survivor.

"Really changes you doesn't it?" Said Nick, reading her thoughts. "I used to be a naive youth before the Los Perdidos outbreak. When it happened, it changed me forever. It made me think on my feet, rid me of the immature thoughts I once had, and swallowed up some of my cowardice. There's traces of my old self in me somewhere... But they're slowly fading as I continue to fight."

April rubbed one of her pistols between her fingers as she listened. "I think the same is starting to happen to me... These guns...they're starting to become more friendly towards me now. I'm not usually on board with killing things. But if they're zombies... You damn right I'm gonna kill them." She walked to the edge of the hill and looked upon the ruined city before her.

Nick came from behind and stood by her side. "Where did these damn things come from? There was no indication of it happening or anything."

"One of my classmates got bit. How he did, I have no clue. But all I know now is that we have to survive." She held his hand. "We're gonna get out of this, together. I swear Nick, I'll make sure both of us and the others escape this hellhole alive."

"...Didn't think you were one to trust people so easily.."

"...Yeah..." She shyed away. "...Well, I don't have many friends. And I rarely meet people like you.."

"Me neither. Most of mine died... Now all I have is my girlfriend and her dad."

April stared at Nick for a moment. "...You have a girlfriend? Is she the one who needs the Zombrex?"

"Yeah... She got bit when she was very young. Because we refuse to have her chipped we have to search for shots to inject herself with."

"So she's an illegal?"

"You could say that..."

April looked off into the distance again. "Where are they now?"

He stood in front of her and pointed. "Outside of town, behind that pile of rubble. I told them that I would be back within an hour, and then...this happened..."

"Like you said before, if we got some blueprints and help from the others, we could make something to bust it down." She smiled hopefully at him. "I'd help you too you know. And then my dad and I could go on a trip to find my mother."

"Do you love her that much?"

"Yes! She was always there for me when Goldly was bullying me and when dad was away. I got upset when she had late shifts, and I usually ended up cuddling a photo of her and crying quietly."

Nick was silent for a while. This was his girlfriend's exact relationship with her dad. They both loved each other very much and her dad would go insane if she died. He'd been through this type of situation before, the least he could do was help her achieve her goal.

"...Hey. In return... Maybe I could help you find your mom?"

"Really..? You'd help me find her?"

"Course! I'm a nice person, and I'm sure my girlfriend's dad wouldn't mind...with some convincing.."

"...Nick... We barely know each other, and yet you're helping me... But then again I have sworn to get out of here with you... So I can't really say much."

"We as survivors have to stick together, and push through. It doesn't do us any good if we battle against each other. I only wish other people felt that way.."

They felt tempted to sit down and take in more of the scenery, but April had a place to be.

"We need to take a quick stop at my house before we go back to Sains Co. There's something I need to grab."

"Alright, let's go, we need to get in before dark."

They trekked down the hill and went back into the hellish city.

End of Chapter 2