Hello all! I'm curious as to whether or not I should title my chapters. I don't really like doing it, but sometimes readers prefer if the chapters are titled. Another thing I want to know is whether or not I should make this fic M or keep it T. Give me your input?

Enjoy.

Dead

Fourteen

"'Cause when it feels like a kick in the teeth, I can take it. Throw your stones and you won't see me break it. Say what you want, take your shots. You're setting me free with one more kick in the teeth."

Kick In The Teeth by Papa Roach

Megamind and Warden both walked through the woods toward the campsite. Hal was going to go but he decided at the last minute not to, though, they weren't sure why.

There wasn't too much mud under the trees, but when the two men got to the clearing where the abandoned campsite was, the mud was thick.

The two walked cautiously into the camp, further in than Megamind had been before when he grabbed the half-empty case of water bottles. There was a foul smell emitting from the campground, but it wasn't overwhelming.

"Shall we look inside the tents then? We'd find more dry kindling," Warden offered.

Megamind nodded and found a tent that was zipped completely. He grabbed the zipper and pulled it up to open the flap. As soon as the flap opened, more odor came out of the once enclosed space, signaling that something had died in there. The two men grimaced and made noises of disgust.

When Megamind peered inside though, there was no body.

"No zombie, no dead body," Megamind stated. "And nothing we can possibly use. This tent must have already been stripped by other survivors; or maybe when the zombies raided it the other day."

Megamind backed away from the tent just as he heard a click from behind him. He turned around to see Warden had lit a cigar.

"I thought Hal said we were almost out," Megamind said.

Warden smirked and blew out some smoke while speaking around the cylinder, "He must have not been looking in the right spot because we have loads of cigars left. The dumbass…" There was a hint of anger in his voice that was directed at the ginger man. Warden then handed a cigar to the blue man along with the lighter. "Here, it will help with the smell when we go inside the tents."

Megamind put the cylinder between his lips gratefully. He then tapped his temple and pointed at Warden in a way of saying "good thinking." Warden grinned and the two men went in opposite directions to cover more ground.

Upon entering his fifth tent, the smoke swirling out of the end of his cigar hardly helped at all with the stench. Megamind winced a bit as he crouched inside and saw a dead body right in the middle of the tent. Megamind managed to find some newspapers and books from that tent and put it in his backpack.

Upon entering another tent, there was a zombie whom was once a woman. She had a severe bite to the middle of her neck and on the side of her face. Megamind had managed to lure the zombie out of the tent so he could stab her in the head with a sharp stick that had been used as a fire-poker. The stick went straight through her eye and she fell to the ground.

From that tent Megamind found a few books with which he placed in his backpack.

Megamind stood in the spot where him and the Warden had began because that was where they said they would meet. As he waited, he saw in the distance two small buildings side-by-side. He squinted at it to try and figure out what it was.

When the Warden came up next to him he asked, "Did you find anything?"

Megamind removed the cigar from between his lips and stared at the building and said, "Yeah. Say, what are those buildings over there?"

The Warden looked over as well and said, "Hm, I don't know. Wash houses maybe."

Megamind and Warden then looked at each other in realization.

…

Hal scraped the arrowhead along the knife, sharpening it. No one paid much mind to him; everyone figured he was angry because of the argument that took place the day before.

Roxanne hadn't spoken to him at all. She didn't want to. What he had said was completely uncalled for. Megamind hadn't done anything wrong to him or her. He'd also been taking care of the whole group for two months straight.

"We're back!" the Warden's voice caused Hal to stop sharpening the knife and look up at the two men returning to camp. He let out an angry growl as he saw Megamind place the backpack down on the ground across the fire pit from him.

"What did you guys find?" Regina asked as she came over to them.

"Enough stuff to start fires for the next few nights, as well as a place to shower," the Warden said with a grin.

The camp went silent and looked at him.

"A place to what?" Regina asked.

"To shower," the Warden repeated, his grin still on his face.

"Are you kidding me? Please tell me you are not joking," Bridgette said happily as she walked over to them, Charlie, Billy, and Alexa following.

"There are wash houses down at the abandoned campground," Megamind said. "There's probably enough water pressure remaining for all of us."

The whole camp cheered except for Hal who began sharpening the knife again.

"Half of the group can go get their showers in first then the next half can go," Megamind said.

As the two groups were being made, Megamind walked over to the fire pit and tossed the last bit of his cigar into the fire. Hal watched him with menacing eyes as he continued to sharpen the knife.

…

After their showers, everyone felt squeaky clean. Even though they didn't have any soap or shampoo or conditioner, and even though the water was cold, they were still extremely grateful. Now, they all sat around the fire in the late evening, laughing and telling stories.

This place was starting to feel more and more like home. With hardly any zombies, the place certainly had a home-like feel. Their only mission now aside from staying alive, was to find Charlie, Billy, and Alexa's parents.

Megamind dreaded if he ever found the other little girl's parents. He didn't want to tell them that their daughter was dead. The Warden had told the three children that the little girl had found her parents and that's why she hadn't come back with them the other night. They believed it thankfully. For the time being though, they were all having a wonderful time around the fire pit.

"I'll be right back," the Warden said and then stood up.

The group acknowledged this and then continued talking in a group. Hal was quiet of course. He had been quiet all day. At times it would make the group feel uneasy, but at this moment they were relaxed.

It wasn't until rustling could be heard in the woods behind them, that they became tense and cautious.

"What was that?" Regina asked.

Megamind stood up and said, "I don't know. I'll go see."

Just as he was walking away however, Hal stood up as well and said, "I'm coming too."

Megamind looked at him a moment before saying in a monotone voice, "Okay."

As the two walked over to the woods, they stopped and looked around before cautiously walking into the trees. Looking around again, they still saw nothing. Megamind looked at Hal and said, "You go that way, I'll go this way."

Hal nodded and turned away. Megamind began walking in the other direction, knife at the ready for any zombie attack.

What he didn't realize though, was that Hal's eyes were on him like a hawk on a mouse. His focus was locked on him as he removed the gun from his pocket. He lifted it up and closed an eye to make his aim better. He was breathing heavy as he envisioned the bullet soaring through the air and going right into Megamind's head. Either that or his neck. Whichever one it went into, he would die.

The gun was loaded, all he needed to do was cock it and pull the trigger. That's it. Nothing more, nothing less.

Suddenly, the Warden came into his line of fire and he lowered his gun quickly, his hands shaking slightly. He saw the Warden say a few words to Megamind and he nodded and began walking out of the woods. The Warden stayed behind for a couple of seconds to look at Hal with a hardened expression. The two made eye contact for those two seconds before the Warden began walking out of the woods.

Hal followed suit but passed the two men and went into the Barth. The Warden watched him go inside and kept his eyes on that particular direction as Megamind made his way back over to the fire pit, explaining that the noise must have just been an animal.

"Warden!" Roxanne called and the man looked over. "Are you coming?" she asked.

"Oh, um, yeah!" he called over and walked over to the fire pit to join the group.

...

Over the days that followed, the Warden kept a close eye on Hal; especially when he was around Megamind. The Warden knew he hadn't imagined the gun being pointed. He knew what his intentions were.

The Warden hadn't spoke of it to anyone else. He didn't want anyone panicking or feeling unsafe within their group. Whenever Megamind would be alone around Hal, the Warden made sure that he found a reason to take him away, even if the reason was completely made-up.

The sun was shining in mid-afternoon, Regina and Bridgette were with Charlie, Alexa, and Billy - they were picking up seashells. Minion and Metroman were starting a fire to prepare dinner later that night. Frank had gone into the woods to see if he could catch an animal rather than fish for dinner. Roxanne was writing in her journal by the fire pit while Megamind stood at the water's edge with a cigar between his lips.

There was a small squeal from Alexa and Megamind whipped his head around. Alexa ran behind his legs though and clutched onto the denim fabric. She peaked around and Megamind followed her gaze to where Charlie was holding a crab and Billy was watching it wriggle in awe. Bridgette had backed away, for it was giving her the creeps. Regina watched them and told them to be careful with it.

The two boys noticed that Megamind was watching them and Charlie held the crab up higher by one of its legs.

"We found a crab!" he cried joyfully.

The crab then wriggling more violently and escaped his hold. It fell to the sand and began crawling away straight toward Megamind and Alexa.

Alexa squealed again but Megamind placed the cigar behind his ear and bent down and scooped it up in his hands. The crab's beady eyes looked up at him and then shifted over to Alexa when she moved from behind Megamind's shoulder.

Megamind grinned at her nervousness and he said gently, "There's nothing to be afraid of. It's just a crab."

"But-but it has pinchers!" she argued.

"It won't pinch you. Go on, touch it," Megamind urged.

Cautiously, Alexa reached out and gently ran her fingers along the crab's top behind its eyes. She giggled as its tiny black eyes moved a bit at her touch.

"If you think about it, he is kinda cute," she said as she looked at it more closely.

"Want to hold it?" Megamind asked.

The girl looked hesitant but held out her cupped hands. When Megamind tipped his hands over top hers, the crab walked sideways into the girl's hands. She giggled again, causing Megamind to grin at her.

Suddenly there was a shout of aggravation, catching his attention.

"Why don't you watch where you're going?!" Hal shouted at Bernard, who was on the ground.

His glasses were lopsided and a book lay a couple feet away. Bernard crawled over and grabbed the book he had dropped and glared up at the man.

"You have eyes, why don't you watch where you're going?" Bernard asked matter-of-factly as he stood up.

"Maybe you should keep your nose out of your book while your walking!" Hal shouted. "And wasn't that book gathered so that it could be used for fires?"

"Megamind said that I could keep it," Bernard answered calmly but with slight venom in his voice.

Hal growled and glared over at Megamind who was watching the argument take place.

"Of course he did," Hal growled out as he glared over at him.

"No need to be angry about it," Bernard said simply. "Maybe you should try reading a book. It will keep your mind off of your jealousy."

Hal whipped around then at this comment. Bernard was already walking past him, but Hal grabbed his shoulder and pulled him back. He clutched his shirt collar in his fists and got close to his face.

"What did you say to me?!" he shouted.

There wasn't a time for Bernard to say anything as Hal punched him in the face. Bernard went down and held his eye with one hand.

This was the time for someone to step in, so Metroman and Megamind started over toward the argument. Hal had Bernard pinned on the ground but the two men pulled him off with great force.

Hal turned on Megamind and went to punch him in the face. Megamind dodged the fist just as he saw the shine of a blade come toward him.

Megamind hit the inside of his elbow joint that held the knife and Hal cried out and dropped the knife. Megamind held him down on the ground and said dangerously in his ear, "Are you quite finished?"

"Ah! Yes!" Hal cried out.

Megamind got off of him and backed away in case the man swung again. He didn't, but as soon as he stood up he glared the most menacing glare yet in his direction. The camp was silent as they awaited anything that may happen next.

There was a small cry of surprise as the crab that Alexa had been holding wriggled out of her hands. Hal looked down as the crab crawled quickly over in their direction. He lifted up his foot and stomped down on it, causing the crab to get smushed with a cracking sound.

Alexa cried out as she watched the crab get killed. A tear escaped her eye and she let out a small whimper. Hal felt no remorse at the little girl he'd just hurt and he walked away.

...

Thanks to my reviewers of chapters 12-13:

Pumpkin Kuro

PreparedForZombies

Talani Silverwolf01

Birusa

GeorgieGirl999

Vast Difference

SalemAnderson

Watcher of the Hearts

PrettyKitty126

Also thanks to Nightcrawler's Shadow for allowing this story to be in her Alternate Un-ee-verse comm.

Hope you all are staying safe during this hurricane!