"He WHAT?" Chase winced and resisted the urge to cover his ears as the piercing shriek of outrage came from his wife. Skye was a short, blonde, and fiery woman who definitely filled the catering and protective mother like Everest did. Though sadly, their one child had fallen victim to the virus right at birth. Not even Chase had the heart to kill the newborn zombie.

"We had a fight, Skye, and he ran off to find Everest." Chase repeated, sighing. "Honestly, that's something I would do. Plus, he took a decent chunk of what ammo we had left and two guns."

"What's he thinking?"

Chase shrugged. Skye exhaled, annoyed. "Does Ash know yet?"

Chase sighed. "He walked in when I woke up. Told him what happened. Kinda hard to lie to him, anyway. Kid can see right through that stuff anyway."

Skye leaned on the counter of the kitchen, her knuckles turning white as she gripped the edge, seething. Suddenly, tears formed in her eyes. She began to sob.

Chase walked over, taking his wife into his arms. She turned and sobbed into his shirt while Chase slowly stroked her hair.

"Look, I know that you're worried about him, but Marshall can handle himself. Hell, I trained him how to use a rifle. He'll be fine."

Skye managed to speak after her main sobbing fit was over. "B-But what if he's not, Chase? E-Everest said that s-she'd be fine, and that was t-two weeks ago. He's your damn b-brother, Chase!"

"And he'll be just fine. I have confidence in him."

"Why's that?"

"He promised. He promised he'd come back, with Everest or not."

Skye threw her hands up in exasperation, not knowing what to say and tears starting to well up in her eyes again. Chase once again took her into his arms as she began to sob heavily. Chase slowly guided her over to the couch, sitting down and bringing her with him. Skye made no attempt to resist, still crying.

They sat there, Chase slowly stroking his wife's hair as she fell asleep. After about fifteen minutes, she was out cold. Chase slowly maneuvered himself so as to not wake her up, grabbed his rifle, and walked outside. The street in front of his house was devoid of both people and vehicles, to his surprise. Most times, Adventure Bay bustled with life, even in the middle of the end of the world.

Chase made his way over to Rocky's workshop. The gray haired mechanic never left his shop, even before the shit came. He could fix just about anything and everything that he got his hands on. And car modifications like armor or bigger engines? Easy as solving a kids word search for him.

Unusually, the shop was closed. Chase raised an eyebrow at this. What the hell was going on that was so important that Rocky left the safety of his shop?

Some ran up to Chase as he turned to find where everyone went. The kid's name was Rubble, a younger teenager who Chase was positive Rocky adopted. He was short and stocky, with a pair of big brown eyes and short blonde hair to really sell the idea of still being an innocent little child. Something Ash no longer looked like.

"Out of breath from running," he doubled over as he struggled to get words out.

"Take a breath, kid. No need to rush." Chase rubbed Rubble's back as he said this.

Rubble nodded his gratitude, but still spoke with almost no breath in his lungs.

"Town meeting *gasp* about Doc *gasp* Marshall. Need you *gasp* there immediately."

Chase managed to decipher the message after a second of confusion, then helped Rubble up. The teen tried to thank Chase, but the man in question was already running to the town hall, already seething.

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"We can't lose Marshall! He's one of our only doctors!"

"Screw him, he left! If he wants to die, let him."

"Yeah! Damn deserter leaves us without any bloody warning!"

"We need to send a party to find him!"

"So you want to die too? Well, go right ahead, no-one's stopping you!"

Yumi sighed heavily. Evidently, calling this meeting was a bad idea. Mixed feelings about Marshall came clear, and Yumi wasn't liking what she was hearing. Yes, Marshall had left, but without context the arguing was pointless.

Yumi stood up. Most noticed her and began to shut up. Others took a second to realize, then too shut up. She inhaled, then spoke. "Look, I know Marshall's departure was sudden and completely unallowable without the proper warning. He took one of our rifles and pistols, and thankfully wasn't too greedy with the ammo. He took minimal food and medical supplies, so at least be thankful for that. While we don't yet know the context as to why he left, we can be fairly certain it was to go find Everest after her disappearance."

The town hall doors burst open as Chase walked in, visibly irritated. Rubble came running up behind him, even more out of breath than he was before. Rocky walked over and guided the exhausted teen over to his seat.

Chase looked around, noting all the faces present. He held his arms up, and swept them from his front to rear. "Anyone want to explain why I wasn't invited? You know, before three minutes ago?" Silence. "Anyone? No? Is the emergency meeting just too important that you forget to tell your lead defender about it?"

"Take a seat, Chase." Yumi had no patience for interruptions. Chase was defiant, however, and stared down the city leader.

"Or what, Yumi? Gonna shoot me?"

Yumi sighed in annoyance. "We were just now made aware of Marshall's sudden departure. Unfortunately, in the confusion, we forgot to inform you right away. A mistake on my part."

"Damn right it is. You know damn well why he left. Calling a meeting to decide his fate?"

"Damn it Chase, sit down!"

Chase finally sat down next. Yumi sighed again. "Look, until we know more, just assume that Marshall, AT THE MOMENT, is AWOL. This is until I get more information."

There was a general uproar, a mixture of feelings in the yells, while Yumi motioned for Chase to follow him to her office. Chase got up and followed her.

There definitely was going to be a thorough ass chewing.