- So, what's the problem?

Lilly asked sleepily, looking at Scott, who had just opened the container.

Lee stretched and closed his eyes tightly as he felt the sunlight invade the place. This was not his most comfortable night, but he had nothing to complain about.

He looked over to see Brenda slowly getting up, and Alice mumbling something, still wanting to continue sleeping.

- Gasoline. Both the car Derek is in and the truck are on reserve. We found some gas for the car yesterday, but it wasn't enough.

Scott answered, massaging his neck and turning, walking to the other truck.

Lee stood up, feeling his body aching, both from the fight the night before and from sleeping on the hard metal. He climbed out of the container and looked around. They had stopped practically in the middle of nowhere, on a patch of dirt off the road.

Up ahead he saw Victor, Scott, and one of the women he didn't yet know the name of. They were looking at a map on the hood of the car, discussing something that Lee couldn't hear.

Lilly got down from the container next to him, and walked towards the trio soon after, putting her rifle on her back and stretching.

He looked back as he heard a low grumble, smiling amused at Brenda's slightly annoyed expression.

- Did you sleep well?

he asked, already knowing the answer to that question, since it was written all over her face.

- Well? Hah, yes, wonderfully well, I didn't even wake up sore.

She said ironically, putting her hand on her shoulder and moving her neck slightly, looking around afterwards.

Lee smiled at her answer and walked towards the others.

- The nearest town is thirty miles away, we'll run out of gas before we get there. We'll have to search abandoned cars, or those isolated places marked on the map.

Victor said, running his finger across the map.

- How far to the compound?

Lee asked, standing right next to Scott as he fixed his machete, being slightly annoyed that it was so loose, and missing a sheath.

- Two hours, it is located here, in a small abandoned village. We need two, three full gallons for the three vehicles.

Zoey answered, putting her hand on her waist as she leaned her back against the car, lifting her head up to look at the morning sky.

- Okay, how many gallons do we have to fill? There's one in the trunk of the car.

Lee said, walking to the side and also leaning on the car, bowing his head slightly.

- I'm afraid that's the only one then, there was nothing in the trucks, or in that factory. We walked a long way with the gas that already had, it was probably more than enough for those guys to get back to their community.

Victor answered, taking a few steps away from the hood of the car and putting his hands on his waist, still looking at the map.

- Let's split into two groups, one will go here, look for what it can in this area, the other will go in the opposite direction. If we can't find gas anywhere, we'll take the rest of the gas from the trucks and put it in the car, and send one group into town while the rest wait here.

Lilly said, running her fingers across the map as she explained what they would do, and then turned away looking at the others.

- Fair enough.

Scott said, nodding his head slightly to the side as he crossed his arms.

- Victor, Amanda and I will go this way. Scott, Lee and Zoey will go the other way. Derek and Nicole will stay here. Get your stuff and let's go.

Lilly said, closing the map and walking to Derek, handing him the map.

Lee turned and walked over to the container, looking at Brenda, who was leaning against the metal frame with her arms crossed as she talked to Zack, and Alice, who was sitting in the container, swinging her legs gently as she seemed to hum some music.

- Hey princess, did you sleep well?

Lee asked as he approached Alice, who looked at him and smiled in his direction, shaking her head.

- Not at all. It was uncomfortable.

She said, glancing at the people behind Lee.

- I'm going out for a while. Try to make some friends while I'm gone, will you?

He said, placing his hand gently on the girl's head, who looked at him with a strange glare for a while, but then smiled and nodded.

He stared at her for a while, slightly suspicious. Something was wrong.

Lee sighed and turned around, walking towards the others who were waiting for him, seeing Lilly already away with her group.

- Are you going to leave and not say anything?

Brenda's voice caught Lee's attention. He turned back, facing the girl walking towards him with her arms crossed, almost scolding him.

- Sorry. I didn't mean to interrupt your conversation.

He said amused, taking a quick glance at Zack, who was talking about something with Alice. Lee could see from a distance the boy's discomfort, which would be funny, since Alice was a much younger girl than he was. But Lee, better than anyone, knew that the girl could make anyone uncomfortable.

- Oh come on! It's not like that.

She said, rolling her eyes as she followed Lee's gaze.

- It's nothing like what?

He sneered, teasing the girl, who huffed slightly irritated.

- I won't be long, and you can take care of yourself. Try talking to the others, maybe you can make friends with Derek and Nicole.

Lee said, putting his hand on the girl's shoulder gently, who looked at the two people talking further ahead, leaning over the car.

She sighed and nodded, turning and walking back to the container.

Lee watched her for a while longer, until he turned and walked towards the other two.

- I hope you are ready. We have three hours to get back.

Scott said, straightening his posture and starting to walk, right beside Zoey.

It didn't take long before they reached a dirt trail, cutting through the forest.

Zoey was walking on the left side, intently observing the forest around her with her rifle in hand.

Scott walked in the middle, somewhat sloppy.

And Lee was walking on the right, somewhat thoughtful, although attentive.

- So... Lee, right? Those aren't your daughters, are they? They don't look much like you.

Scott asked after a while, turning slightly to the side and looking at Lee, staring for a moment at the scar over his closed eye.

- No, I found them, some time ago. They were running away from the people who kidnapped your group.

He answered, looking for a moment at Scott, and then looking back, just checking that no zombies were following them.

- Were they being chased? Why were they?

Zoey asked, also looking at Lee.

- They were part of the camp, not as members... more as slaves, they... well, I guess you can imagine, two girls so young in a camp full of crazy men and women.

he said. Scott and Zoey looked at each other with a heavy expression, imagining the horrors the two girls had been through.

-Oh... I'm sorry.

Zoey said after a while, feeling disgusted just at those thoughts.

- Man... I don't even know what to say. They look... normal.

Scott said hesitantly, not really knowing what to say, or do, in that situation.

- Brenda is strong, she endured a lot. A good girl. She has a certain craving for attention, a neediness that she doesn't make very transparent. The real problem is Alice.

He said with a sigh, remembering all the looks and smiles the girl had already shown him. Although they seemed like innocent, childlike smiles, Lee could see the darkness behind them. Alice was hiding something much more than just neediness behind her innocent appearance.

- The little girl? She seems to be quite lively, otherwise I don't see anything wrong.

Zoey said, looking at Lee with a confused expression.

- I don't know what she's been through, at least not everything. She hides some dangerous feelings. Sometimes, when I kill zombies, and especially when I kill people, she smiles, her eyes sparkling. It's as if she likes to see other people die, or to see me kill someone.

He looked at Zoey, who arched her eyebrows in surprise. Even Scott was slightly disturbed by this.

- Do you think she's a... you know, a psychopath?

Scott asked, being careful with his words, because he could see that Lee was close to the girl.

-I don't know, it's possible. Maybe not exactly a psychopath. I don't know what to do to change this, killing is inevitable nowadays. And she seems to get more and more lost every time it happens.

Lee said, lowering his head and sighing slightly, thinking what he would do if the girl was lost forever.

-I mean... everyone changes after they've killed for the first time, or seen someone die in front of them. You get used to it.

Scott said with his head lowered, slightly thoughtful.

- Getting used to killing is one thing, it doesn't mean that you get pleasure out of it, or enjoy doing it, plus you will feel empathy. Psychopaths, on the other hand, are different.

Zoey explained, looking forward, feeling uncomfortable at the thought of having a psychopathic child around, and at the same time, sad at the thought of that being the case.

Lee bowed his head again, it was very likely that Alice was that way, but he just hoped that wasn't the case.

Although he already suspected it was too late for positive thoughts like that.

(A few hours later...)

Alice looked at Brenda, who was talking about something with Nicole, right next to Zack. They were smiling slightly at each other.

She tilted her head to the side, curious about the smiles, not understanding if Brenda was really comfortable around them, or if it was just acting.

- Look at them, they are awful.

Francis's low voice caught her attention. The girl looked away, following the boy with her eyes as he leaned against the tree just behind him, crossing his arms.

- Why do you say that? It's strange, but why do you think they are awful?

she asked, smiling at the boy's possible answers.

She thought he was a bit boring, dull, but his answers always made her laugh.

- They are laughing... even after all they have done... they are dirty. Dirty people should die, only then the world will be clean again.

The girl laughed lightly at his answer, standing up as she wiped the dirt off her clothes, still looking at the three ahead of her.

- Nicole has certainly killed several people, several sick people, disrespected their memories, she doesn't deserve to keep that smile. Zack is just a coward who abandoned his friends in the arena, and killed several of the sick people around him while running away. Brenda is a slut who can't close her legs, fooling and deceiving all the men around with that " way of hers," bunch of idiots.

He said quietly again, looking coldly at the people in front of him.

Alice was not bothered by what he said; at most, she found it somewhat amusing. She found the hypocrisy coming from the boy, and the stupid idea that the dead were only "sick", funny.

- Really? And the others, what do you think of the others?

she asked, watching Derek walk to the truck, disappearing behind the container.

- They're all dirty, Alice, all of them. Some more than others. And some are incredibly ugly.

He answered, looking away from the trio ahead and focusing on Alice, who was looking at him curiously.

-What about me?

She asked, turning and walking through the trees slowly, entering the forest a little further.

Francis stared at her for a while, enigmatically.

-You're dirty too. But you have a chance to get clean again.

He answered after a while, following the girl into the forest.

-Why do you think the others are so "ugly"?

She asked, putting her arms behind her body and turning around, looking at Francis with "innocent" eyes.

- They are corrupted, impure souls who are the scum of humanity. Victor is an imbecile who pretends to be a Good Samaritan, thinking he did something good by saving us, when he killed countless sick, innocent people in that place.

He said, walking slowly to the side while looking at the forest, thoughtful.

- Lilly is the leader of this disgrace, she is the one who contaminates others with her corrupted ideals, she is the one who spreads ugliness to the world that just needs help. She is one of the reasons the world is dying.

He continued, turning to Alice and walking towards her, staring deep into the bright eyes of the girl, who listened quietly.

- And Lee is the worst of all killers. A demon who came into the world with the sole purpose of killing everyone who crosses his path. A brutal being, he felt no remorse in killing those people. You will become just like him if you continue to walk beside him.

Alice stared at him for a while, until a smile broke out on her lips.

Francis was slightly confused by her smile, and was even surprised to see Alice laughing.

She practically laughed, placing one hand on the barrel while placing the other over her eyes.

-What's so funny?

Francis asked as soon as the girl stopped laughing, catching her breath. She took a deep breath and looked at him, still smiling.

-You're no better than them, Francis.

she said, and the boy arched an eyebrow, confused.

- Actually, you and they are the same. Everyone is crazy, everyone is sick, in their own way. The world didn't die, it just changed, and people changed with it.

She said, turning her back to him and taking a few steps forward, picking up the knife that was in her waistband.

- I'm not sure I understand.

He said, coming up behind her, looking at her back.

- Francis... You're dirty too.

she said. In one swift movement she turned and stabbed Francis in the stomach.

The boy groaned in pain, his eyes going wide. He looked down, despairing at the blood dripping from the blade embedded in his abdomen, the crimson red that stained the girl's delicate hand.

He raised his head, looking deep into Alice's excited eyes. Blood dripped from his mouth, his legs weakened, and he fell to his knees on the floor.

Alice removed the knife from the boy's body, looking intensely at the red that stained her hand. There was something about that color that had always fascinated her.

It was a beautiful color, just as her father had told her, before he made her bleed too.

It was always satisfying to see such a bright red drain from such dead bodies.

She gave a pleased smile as she saw her trembling hand, the sensation she got from feeling Francis's flesh tearing away had been better than she had thought it would be.

Alice looked at Francis again, swinging the knife in front of the boy as she saw the way he was looking at her.

- Don't look at me like that, Francis, weren't you the one who said that dirty people should die? I'm just helping to make the world cleaner.

She said, crouching down in front of the boy and looking deep into his eyes. The boy grew weaker and weaker.

He fell to the side, and Alice just watched as the boy's eyes closed, and his breathing stopped.

She looked at the bloody knife in her hand, remembering what she had learned.

To her, killing was one of the most beautiful forms of art. There was something about the way life drained from a body that fascinated her. It was beautiful.

It was no wonder she had grown so attached to Lee.

The way he killed was not the same way as Badger, Lonnie, or any other person in that camp.

They were a bit grotesque.

Lee, on the other hand, was different. To her, the machete he used was a brush, and Lee was the artist, coloring a blank canvas with red whenever he used his brush.

Smearing a person with blood every time he used his machete.

The way he killed was inspiring, and she felt like imitating what he did, learning more from him.

She always expected more from him, curious to see in what ways he would use his artistic tools.

- What the fuck?

Her thoughts were interrupted by Derek's surprised voice.

The girl lifted her head and looked at the man in front of her, smiling innocently at him as she reached for the pistol at her waist.