Heh, it's been awhile, hasn't it? But this story is like any good zombie, it doesn't die the first time. I'll touch on things more below.

Disclaimer: Total Drama, Zombieland (even though this was barely a Zombieland story to begin with, to say nothing of what it is now) and it's associated characters are not in any way owned by me, but you probably knew that didn't you? (Is this even a thing people do these days? Put disclaimers? Or have we stopped caring?)

Friendly reminder that the first person scenes are from Duncan's perspective here. There are third person scenes without him, but any narration usage of 'I' is Duncan.

It was about a month since we had met Alfred that we got the first bit of good news in a long while. We finally were approaching Quebec. I was told that we took a little longer because going slower saves fuel or something for the house. Fine by me, as I preferred staying in Divine's house anyways.

Over the past month, we all got to know Alfred. He's actually a pretty cool dude. It's incredible that he survived as long as he did while he was alone most of the time. He's actually taken time to start training us in combat, as while we were able to hold our own, he thought we could use room for improvement. Maybe we did, maybe we didn't, either way combat training was something that I think we could all use to keep our skills sharp.

As for the rest of our ragtag group, we've been getting by. Divine and Zack were still more than willing to accommodate us, as they still held true to their mission of wanting to get whoever they could to safety. Zack has been a little more pessimistic about everything, not that I blame him. He's been on more scouting runs than anyone else so he's seen what this world has turned into.

Divine, on the other hand, has been holding onto what hope she can. She keeps thinking we'll find civilians not unlike how we found Alfred. I wish I could have that kind of optimism, but from what I've seen while scouting, odds aren't great that there's many people left. Maybe because it took us so long to get where we're going, we aren't finding any survivors. Who knows. I can barely keep track of what day it is anymore.

Then there's what remains of my group from the start. Geoff's death was still lingering for all of us, and while it still hurt, I think we were beginning to heal. Bridgette was still broken up about it, but she was no longer spending most days crying. I see that as a win. But it will take a long time before the pain will subside I'm sure. Gwen and Courtney have been doing what they can to help ease her pain, especially now that her pregnancy is starting to hit her. She isn't showing yet, as she's likely only two and a half, maybe three months along by our very uneducated guesses, but the nausea has hit her full force. Hopefully it won't take us much longer to reach the States because between us we have very little medical knowledge and the last thing we need is Bridgette to have some type of complication.

Speaking of Gwen and Courtney, they've been avoiding each other whenever necessary, which is to be expected. When Gwen told me that she and Courtney were able to work together during the battle when we met Alfred, I actually didn't believe her. But apparently the two have come to an agreement to work alongside each other if battle comes up, while leaving each other alone whenever possible. Divine insists on having group dinners every couple of days, so they can't always ignore each other, but as long as they aren't at each other's throats, that's fine by me.

On the other hand, two people that can't seem to keep themselves off each other again are Owen and Izzy. I'm not sure if they've rekindled their relationship or are simply friends with benefits, but either way since that last big battle they've spent more time together than apart. Which you know, good for them. I may not be the biggest fan of Izzy but Owen's my pal and I know she makes him happy.

Chef on the other hand, I can tell something's up with him. I know he doesn't think too kindly of me or my leadership, but the others have always looked to me since this whole thing started, not him, so he needs to deal. Besides those "family dinners" as Divine calls them, I haven't seen Chef at all outside of gearing up or returning from a supply run. I would try and talk to him but I know we'll never see eye to eye, so I don't see the point.

Regardless of everyone's personal thoughts about each other and our situation, generally speaking hopes were high when the Quebec skyline could first be seen in the distance. Everyone knew that while our long journey was not yet over, the light at the end of the tunnel could be seen, so to speak. After Quebec was first seen, Divine asked everyone to convene for a meeting to determine what to do next.

Divine glanced around the dining room where everyone was gathered and said, "Thank you all for meeting here. I wanted to discuss our next plan of action. As I'm sure you've heard by this point, the robot that stays on the roof to keep vision on our surroundings spotted Quebec in the distance. At our current rate of fuel consumption, I estimate we'll reach the outskirts by tomorrow night. The main plan is to then cross the St. Lawrence river and proceed south east toward the Maine border. Alternatively we could head slightly southwest to reach Vermont. I've been studying maps that are in the house and one would take less time but lead to a less populated area of the States. If the last reports before news contacts went silent are still correct, the US army should be keeping the border on lockdown, but it's been so long since everything started that I'm not sure if that's still true."

I shook my head and said, "We have to assume nothing's changed. I would rather be disappointed later than give into despair now."

Zack, from his position next to Divine, looked to his girlfriend and said, "I agree with him. This isn't like you anyway, you're usually the most hopeful of all of us."

Divine sighed and shook her head, "You're right, this isn't like me. Sorry, I just don't want you guys to think I've been leading you on or anything."

Alfred chuckled, "You kidding? This is the safest I've felt in a long time."

Chef had his arms crossed and asked, "So that's the long term plan. What about the short term?"

Divine put a map of the greater Quebec area on the table and said, "That's also what I wanted to talk to you about. I'm open for ideas on how we should approach Quebec. I would prefer to keep the house going as long as possible, so bonus points if ideas let us keep it with us. Lucky for us when my granddad built the place he decided to build it tall and not wide. It shouldn't pose an issue even on city streets or bridges."

I scratched my chin and said, "Well that's the question isn't it? Going through the city would be the quickest and simplest for the house. I'm sure whatever bridges are there are better equipped to handle more weight. But skirting around would be safer, though we might have to abandon the house if the bridges can't support the weight."

Courtney looked up from a notepad she was writing on and asked, "What's our supply situation looking like?"

Zack shrugged, "Solar panels should help keep us from burning through what fuel we have left, though we'll either need to keep our speed at the slower rate we've been going or cut power to any of our non essential systems at night to make it last. That's assuming we don't hit a period of more than a couple days of cloudy weather straight."

Divine nodded, "And our food reserves have been holding up alright. We might need to ration a little bit more for the rest of the trip, but we should manage, so long as you don't mind meals being a little smaller."

Owen pat his stomach and said, "Hehe, sorry guys, I know I can eat a lot."

Alfred shook his head, "The blame's not all on you my man. Taking me in put stress on your supplies I'm sure."

Gwen had her lips pursed in thought and said, "We would probably have better luck scavenging supplies from the city itself than from the outskirts."

Bridgette spoke up, "Wouldn't that be more dangerous though? If there were more people in a place, then there should be more zombies there too, right?"

Gwen nodded, "Unfortunately, yes. Which means the need for supplies compared to danger faced is another thing to keep in mind for our decision."

Izzy tilted her head to the side, "Hypothetical question here. Suppose we have to abandon the house. Would we be able to carry all of the supplies we have?"

Divine looked to the side and said, "I'm not sure to be honest. If all of my personal robots were still in operation I would say yes. But in the month and a half or so since the compound fell, a few of them have fallen into disrepair. When we left there, we left behind all of the spare parts I had to fix them, so it would be up to us and the couple of robots left. I'm almost certain we would have to leave some supplies behind."

Chef quirked an eyebrow, "Ain't this place got a garage? Couldn't we load up the vehicles and take them, convoy style?"

Zack rubbed the back of his neck, "We siphoned most of the gas for the other vehicles to use for the house. We could put some of it back, but it wouldn't be enough to get us to the States. And I don't want to rely on the chance that we might come across some other gas reserve."

Divine put her head on the table and said, "I feel like I've failed you all. I failed to properly manage what little resources we had."

Bridgette said, "Don't say that. If it weren't for you, none of us might be here right now."

I put my hands on the table and said, "If it's all the same to you Divine, Zack, I say we put it to a vote. There's what, three main options? Go through Quebec, Go around it, Or abandon the house and take vehicles."

Chef nodded, "That sounds like the only real plausible options yeah. I think going into the city is a deathtrap however."

Alfred looked contemplative and said, "It's a big risk, but in the time I was on my own, I did have better luck finding supplies in bigger urban areas. If the supplies is as big an issue as we think, then trying to scavenge might take priority over safety."

Izzy asked, "Should we do this with a show of hands?"

Gwen shrugged, "May as well."

Divine had a small smile on her face and said, "If you would like to do the honors Duncan. This may be my house, but your group has the numbers and you're its leader."

I became a bit hesitant and said, "Oh, well okay then. If you think taking the cars is the best move, raise your hand." Izzy and Bridgette raised their hands.

Courtney jotted the results down and said, "I'll keep track of votes."

I nodded, "Okay, if you think going through the city is the right plan, raise your hand." This time Gwen, Alfred, Divine and myself raised our hands.

After waiting for a nod from Courtney, I said, "Okay I think I know where the rest of you stand, but just to be sure, who thinks we should go around the city?" Zack, Courtney, Owen and Chef raised their hands.

Owen noted, "So it's a tie. Now what?"

I ran a hand through what was left of my mohawk, the green very faded, "Do a revote I guess? But get rid of the vehicles option I suppose, since most people want to stay with the house."

Divine was looking over the map on the table and noted, "Before we vote again, I just want to point out that the bridge in the middle of the city is the largest bridge in the area by a good margin. If we go around, we may have to abandon the house, which if we do I guess we take the cars."

I nodded, "Good to know. In that case, who wants to go through Quebec?" Divine, Alfred, Gwen and I raised our hands again but this time Bridgette and Owen both raised their hands as well.

Izzy cocked her head to the side and asked, "Why'd you change your mind Big O?"

Owen sheepishly scratched the back of his head and said, "Well this house is the safest place for any of us right now. If there's a chance we have to abandon it, I would rather not."

Bridgette nodded, "That's why I went with that option. If I'm to have this baby, I need to be as safe as possible."

I looked around the room, "Guess it's settled then, we'll go through the city. Maybe we'll scavenge, maybe not. We can figure that out once we get there."

Divine nodded, "Sounds like a plan. I'll update the autopilot in the meantime. Thanks again for meeting everyone. I'll be sure to keep you all updated on the situation."

With the meeting adjourned, everyone started to go their separate ways. As they did, I noticed Chef looked more pissed off than normal as he stomped away. I sighed as I watched him go. I had a feeling this would disappoint him, hopefully he doesn't do anything drastic.

Zack entered the armory, looking for something in particular, but what he found was someone instead. Alfred looked up from the notepad he had and said, "Oh hey Zack. What's going on?"

Zack blinked and said, "I feel like I could ask you the same thing. I came here to get a sniper rifle. With what we're about to do, having a scope looking out for threats in advance wouldn't be a bad move."

The survivor nodded and grabbed a nearby rifle, handing it to the engineer, "Here, take this one. I've already taken stock of it. As for what I'm doing, well I'm taking inventory. I agree that we should be prepared for threats, and knowing exactly how much we have should help."

Zack took the gun and said, "Good call. You know, I'm not exactly comfortable with us taking this course. I feel like we'd be better off avoiding the city."

Alfred nodded, "I know. I saw where your vote fell. And to be honest, it was a tough decision for me. If our supplies were in better shape I would have voted to go around too."

Zack looked contemplative for a moment before he said, "I can see the value in trying to grab more supplies. I'm just worried that trying to hit up a city isn't the best place to go looking. I can't shake this feeling that something will go wrong."

Alfred made some more notes and said, "Well unfortunately the same could be said for anywhere. Danger abounds in this world now, in more ways than one. One option may be safer, but until we reach the states, nowhere will truly be safe."

Zack shook his head and said, "Yeah I know, just after we lost so many civilians, I don't want to lose anyone else. Maybe taking the fast route is the best option, but if it results in some of us dying, is it really worth it?"

Chef had invited Izzy and Owen to a secret meeting in one of the upper rooms of the mansion, a place he ended up frequenting because it was a good place to get some peace and quiet. The cook paced back and forth for a few minutes, thinking about what he wanted to say. Izzy broke the silence by asking, "Is there a reason why you asked us up here? Was it to kill pests or something?"

Chef looked at the crazy girl in disbelief before saying, "No it wasn't to deal with no pests or nothing! Crazy girl, remember what I said about leaving on my own? I'm thinking about going through with it. And if I go, I want you two with me."

Owen blinked and said, "Wait, why me? I'm not exactly strong, or a good fighter, or quiet, I'm not really courageous, I smell."

Chef gave Owen a glare that told him to shut up and when the large teen did, Chef said, "I know the two of ya got some sorta relationship thing going on. Honestly I don't care what you call it as long as it doesn't distract ya in the heat of battle. But it wouldn't be fair of me to ask Izzy and not include Owen."

Izzy cocked her head to the side, "But why now?"

Chef turned to look outside a window at the approaching Quebec skyline and muttered, "That damn punk boy. He's gonna lead us to our deaths. Maybe not all of us, but there's not a chance in hell we get out of that city unscathed. And I don't want to be around if everything goes to hell in a handbasket."

Owen looked apprehensive, "Do we have to decide now?"

The burly cook looked outside a moment more before turning around, "Nah, I'll give things a chance for now. Much as I can't stand Duncan, safety in numbers is more important. That said, I'll do some work tonight, set things up so if things go to shit in the city we can get away. Ya got until then to decide."

Izzy raised an eyebrow and asked, "What do you plan to do?"

Chef spun a keyring around his finger, "I already lifted a set of keys for one of the cars. I'll siphon some gas for it later, see if I can sneak some supplies out of inventory too. Just enough to go unnoticed."

Owen nodded and said, "Okay, I'll definitely think about it."

Izzy also nodded, "Me too."

Chef sighed, "Suppose that's all I can ask for. I'm going to start working on my plan. Not a word of this to anyone."

The cook stumbled away and once the pair were sure he was out of earshot, Owen asked, "Do you really think this is a good idea Izzy?"

The redhead looked away, "I'm not really sure. I don't want to leave the others, but I don't want Chef to go off on his own either. I guess a back up plan isn't the worst idea."

Owen nodded, "Yeah I feel the same way." It was quiet for a moment before Owen asked, "So, uh, now that we're alone, do you want to?"

Izzy cut him off, "Not right now big guy, I'm not in the mood."

Owen sat down, "Okay, no problem, that's cool."

The next morning, Bridgette was in the kitchen with Courtney, the former CIT helping the surfer get something to deal with her current bout of nausea. Bridgette sat at a seat in the room and said, "Thank you for helping me Courtney. I remember my mom used to tell me the morning sickness was the worst part of when she was pregnant with me. I can only hope that it's the same for me, because right now I'm pretty miserable."

Courtney was busy preparing something, her back turned to Bridgette, but she replied, "I'm happy to do it Bridgette. This whole situation is stressful enough, you don't need your pregnancy stressing you out more."

Bridgette sniffed the air and said, "I may not think the same way in a little bit, but that smells good."

Courtney turned slightly and smiled, "I'm glad you think so. It's a family recipe that should help with your morning sickness. Which is good because even though it's early yet, you need to start thinking about eating for two."

Divine entered the room and said, "Morning girls. That smells really good Courtney."

The former CIT replied, "Morning Divine. I can make something for you too if you'd like. Bridgette wasn't feeling well, but this is an old family trick to help with nausea."

Divine looked to the surfer and said, "You should have told me you had an upset stomach! Remember that private drink stash I have? Even though most of it became up for grabs when we left the town, I've held on to some stuff, just in case. I'm pretty sure I've got some ginger ale or something to help calm an upset stomach."

Bridgette looked to Divine and said, "Thanks for the offer. I'm going to try Courtney's meal first and if that doesn't help, I might take you up on it. I don't know how long this will last and I don't want to use all my potential fixes so soon."

The electrical engineer smiled and said, "No problem, I understand completely. Especially since we're looking at the trip taking at least another couple of weeks, we should spread our supplies out as best we can."

Courtney placed a plate of food on the center island of the kitchen and said, "Here you go Bridgette. I hope it'll help your stomach settle. What about you Divine, can I get you something?"

Divine nodded, "If you don't mind sure. I actually wanted to ask you something Courtney. When we get to the city, can you act as a sniper again? I think you're the best suited for it and having that extra vision would be helpful."

Courtney nodded, "Oh yeah, sure I don't mind. I would rather help defend anyways, so I can stay where I'm comfortable."

Bridgette looked nervous, "Do you really think we're going to have to fight?"

Divine sighed, "I'm almost certain. I'm hoping we can keep it to a minimum but we have no idea what to expect. Ideally we'll keep everyone inside for the duration, but no matter what happens, even if we have to abandon the house, we'll do all we can to keep you safe Bridgette. You can help fight if you want, but we won't force you."

Courtney nodded, "I'll also make sure to keep you safe. But for now, don't worry about what might happen, after all it might not happen. For now, just take things in front of you one step at a time."

Bridgette nodded and took a bite of the food in front of her, "Hey, this is pretty good."

Later that afternoon, as we were approaching the old city limits of Quebec, Gwen and I were in the spare bedroom that Divine gave to us. Gwen sat on the bed while I looked out the window at the city that was now so close by, the buildings illuminated orange with the sun that was starting to set.

Gwen noticed me staring and asked, "Any reason why you keep staring at the city? Don't tell me you're getting cold feet now."

I turned to face her and replied, "Nah, I still think going is the best idea. It's just, I can't shake the feeling that something bad's gonna happen. Maybe it's nerves, maybe I'm just overthinking it."

Gwen got up and walked over to me placing a hand on my shoulder, "Relax a bit, there's a lot of us and we're well prepared. If things look dicey, we can always just get to the house and push on through."

I tilted my chin down to look at Gwen, her highlights starting to fade a bit, and asked, "What about supplies though? Wasn't a big reason we decided to go this way was for anything we could loot?"

Gwen shrugged, "I mean, extra supplies would be nice, but Divine said we could likely get by with what we've got. It just means we'd have to rough it a little more. Though you look like you've been roughing it for awhile, mountain man."

I scratched at the beard that I had started to grow and said, "It's not that bad is it? I mean I know it's kind of rough, but it could be worse."

Gwen grinned and said, "I dunno. It's scruffy. I kind of like it."

I gave Gwen my best attempt at a seductive grin and said, "Oh yeah? How well do you like it? Enough to feel like getting a bit frisky?"

Gwen shook her head, an amused smile on her face, "As tempting as that is, not tonight Duncan. We have bigger things to worry about tomorrow, last thing we need is to tire each other out tonight. Maybe tomorrow as a reward for the plan going off without a hitch."

I shook my head, "Can't blame a guy for trying. Whatever ends up happening tomorrow, you've got my back, right?"

Gwen embraced me, "Of course you dummy. Someone's gotta make sure you don't do anything stupid."

That night, true to what Divine said the day prior, we reached the threshold of where the larger urban areas of Quebec began. Not wanting to advance into the city when it was dark and we had no idea what to expect, Divine parked the house in a clear spot of land and gathered a couple of people to brief them on the situation. As opposed to the dining room, this smaller meeting was in Divine's study, where we first met her several months ago.

Seated around the study was Divine, Zack, Alfred, Chef and me. Alfred was the first to speak, "Any reason why the others aren't here?"

Divine looked around and said, "Well, this is just to discuss a battle plan for tomorrow. We don't necessarily need everyone."

Zack looked at me and said, "If we spy a potentially good source of stuff to loot, Duncan you'll be with me."

I nodded, "Sure thing, but Gwen's coming with too."

Zack nodded, "Sounds good. A team of three is probably the best."

Chef shook his head but asked, "And why am I here?"

Divine looked at the cook and said, "I want to have a group of fighters ready to help clear things out in front of the house if need be. Chef, Alfred, I'd like the two of you to be part of that group."

Alfred raised a hand, "Can we get a third person as well? Though we're probably the two best fighters, I'd like to have a little more backup."

Before Divine could respond, Chef said, "We'll also keep Izzy on standby to clear the way."

Divine nodded, "That was going to be my recommendation as well. So that would leave myself, Courtney, Owen and Bridgette in the house. I already asked Courtney to be a lookout in the sniper perch we set up upstairs and I'll be manually driving the house. That leaves Owen and Bridgette to keep an eye out from the foyer. Ideally neither will be needed, but we can't be too careful."

I nodded, "Good idea. Seems we have a pretty solid plan then."

Zack nodded, "That's right. I think we're all set here. Get some sleep everyone. We need to be ready for whatever tomorrow brings."

The next morning, it was quiet. Everyone knew what their job was and were ready to perform. Courtney, from her sniper perch, gave directions to Divine via a walkie talkie. She directed the house to one long roadway that led straight to the largest bridge in the city. Zack was currently up with Courtney, using binoculars to look around the various stores along the street. He was looking for anywhere that might prove valuable for supplies. The house continued along slowly until we began to slow down, eventually coming to a stop.

Zack walked down the central staircase to the foyer and said, "Alright Duncan, Gwen, we found a trio of stores that might have supplies, as they look somewhat untouched by looters. We'll make our way over to them as a group, then we each look through one. Far as I could tell, they're unoccupied so still keep your guard up, but we shouldn't run into any major trouble. Streets out front were mostly clear, so we should be good until we reach the stores."

I looked out the front doors and asked, "How long should we spend inside?"

Zack looked as if he had like an epiphany and said, "Oh right, I almost forgot, I have some backpacks and watches. Each of you take one. Keep an eye on the time, Divine is giving us two hours to get in, get what we can, and get out. The others know to come find us if things get hairy."

Gwen nodded, checked her pistol ammo and said, "Let's get going."

Zack opened the door and led the way, a combat knife in his hand. I followed right behind him, one of the swords from the very beginning in my hand. Gwen was right behind me, her pistol now holstered and replaced with a machete. Zack led us to the store, tossing one of the bait traps we've used in the past to attract the zombies and get them away from us. As we moved over to the stores on the left side of the street, Zack pointed at two stores that we passed first before we stopped at a third, as he began to work on opening the building, he said, "Those other two stores are our other targets. Since I'm the best at unlocking doors, I figured I would open the others for you guys first."

I nodded and said, "Makes sense. I'll take this one, once it's open."

Gwen lightly punched me in the shoulder, "Don't go dying on me in there."

I smirked back, "I could say the same to you. Stay safe. And you too Zack."

The engineer shook his head and said, "Don't you worry about me. Just remember what I said, two hours. Good luck."

Zack successfully opened the door without triggering any lingering alarm and I headed inside the building. There was enough light from the front windows to keep the entrance area still lit up a bit, but I grabbed a flashlight from my backpack, figuring I would need it sooner rather than later. I turned it on and shone it around the building.

I was in some sort of general store. I could see clothes in the immediate vicinity and what looked like toiletries also nearby. A sign stood in front of me, so I walked up to it, learning it was a map of the store. It went up three stories, with the second floor having electronics and outdoor supplies like tools and the third floor having food.

A grunt caught my attention and I looked up to see a pair of zombies shambling over toward me. I quickly and deftly stabbed the pair of undead in the head. I sighed as I looked around, seeing if any other zombies were nearby. Not noticing any, I decided to start picking through the remains of the pharmacy supplies first.

After a few minutes of searching, I found an assortment of toiletries and other first aid supplies. There was so much that I had already filled up my backpack. Looking at the watch I had and seeing that only twenty minutes have passed so far, I decided to head back to the house to empty my bag and possibly grab a second one, since I'll need it. I left the store and quickly ran over to the house, noticing our bait from before was no longer effective.

I slipped inside and Alfred, who was keeping watch, asked, "That was fast. Is the place empty or did you run into trouble?"

I shook my head as I emptied the backpack and said, "Neither. This is only the tip of the iceberg. There was more first aid stuff and a good amount of clothes left. There any backpacks left?"

Izzy ran downstairs with a pair and said, "Here you go Duncan! Courtney saw you leaving and you didn't seem panicked so she assumed good news and told me to grab more bags."

I shook my head, a slight smile on my face, "She's a smart one, that's for sure. Anyways, I gotta be getting back. A few dead heads followed me though. Think you two can cover me?"

Alfred clapped me on the shoulder and said, "Only if you get me a new hat."

I laughed, "Deal. Izzy, you in?"

The redhead nodded enthusiastically and said, "I've been itching for a fight! Let's go!"

I held a hand up, "One sec. Let me find someone to watch the front."

Chef came out from the hallway leading to the kitchen and said, "No need punk boy. Owen and I have this. Now get back out there and do your damn job."

I turned back to the entrance, "Right, let's go."

Alfred took a hand axe and held it at the ready, "After you my man."

Izzy, who had outfitted herself with numerous weapons and even had what looked like a couple of bottles on her, held a couple of knives and said, "I'll be right behind you guys."

I nodded and pushed open the doors, "Let's go!"

I ran forward, heading towards the store that I had left, cutting a couple of zombies down with my sword in the process. Alfred was by my side, chopping into some undead with his axe, trying to draw their attention away from me. They still numbered less than thirty, so it was a manageable threat for the time being. I looked toward the entrance of my destination, seeing about a dozen or so of the freaks in the way.

I swore, "Shit, that many followed me that quickly?"

Izzy grabbed one of her weapons and said, "Don't worry Duncan, I got this!"

Alfred looked over and barely had time to ask, "Wait, is that a Molotov?"

Izzy hurled the bottle at a nearby abandoned car that had its hood up and it shattered, sending flammable liquid all over the vehicle. Some of which managed to seep into the internals of the car, causing a chain reaction that made the car explode. Despite being a fair distance from it, I instinctively shielded myself from the fireball.

Izzy cackled, "That should distract them!"

I groaned, "And draw more to our position."

Alfred looked to me, "Go get supplies, I'll head back to the house with Izzy and we'll get Chef to help us defend."

I nodded, "Sound plan. I'll see you when I get back." I parted ways as I left to get more supplies.

Alfred turned to Izzy, "Let's go. I got a bad feeling about how many zombies that car will attract."

Zack was currently rummaging around a couple of shelves, looking for stuff that could be of use. The store he ended up in, a higher end department store, had been picked a little cleaner than some of the others, but that didn't mean the entire thing was a wash. He was currently in a section of the store dedicated to cooking supplies, and he was looking over the remaining utensils. Looking over some spatulas, he mused alound, "Hmm, we don't necessarily need any extra tools, but the ones Devin has are getting kind of worn. They were already in less than ideal shape before all this."

Zack caught himself and said, "Glad nobody's around to hear me call Devin by her actual name. I know she was self conscious about having a unisex name, but calling herself Divine seemed a bit excessive. Oh well, it's not my place to say. Now, I should check out what clothing they have left, especially any maternity stuff. I have no idea how much longer we're going to be on the road, best prepare for Bridgette to be safe."

Just then, Zack heard an audible explosion sound from the outside. Eyes widening, he ran through the store to the front entrance to see a car across the way engulfed in flames, numerous zombies staggering out of alleys across the street. Looking to the house, he saw Chef exit the building to help back up Alfred and Izzy, who had taken up defensive positions outside.

A groan could be heard behind Zack, and he turned quickly to see a zombie had snuck up on him. Grabbing his combat knife from his leg, he quickly slashed upwards, knocking the zombie backwards. Taking the opportunity, he quickly stabbed into the head of the undead, killing it for real.

Wiping his forehead Zack assessed, "I have to keep faith the rest will clear the road. I need to make sure no other zombies sneak up on me." As he walked back inside the store, he missed the remains of a small, personalized helicopter jetpack-like device among a pile of debris from the ceiling.

Outside at the house, Chef was barking orders, "Listen up! We keep this formation, stick to melee. Only resort to firearms if they're numbers increase too much. And Izzy, no more cocktails."

Izzy frowned, "Aw man, and after I snuck that six pack out of the pantry too."

Alfred looked over, "Counting the one you threw already, I only count three bottles."

Izzy stuck her tongue out and said, "I need something to help keep the edge off sometimes."

Chef glared, "Focus! Both of ya!" Pulling out a walkie talkie, he said, "Courtney! Situation report!"

After a moment, her voice came out, "I estimate maybe fifty right now. More keep showing up on the outskirts, but not all of them are coming this way. I'll keep you posted."

Chef nodded, "Right. Let's clear them out. Last thing we want is to have too many for the house to proceed. Remember, melee first, then guns if need be." Chef stalked forward with a large cleaver, Alfred and Izzy right behind him. They got to work, stabbing and slicing at the undead.

Alfred was clearly more adept at this than the others, spinning his axe between attacks. That didn't stop Chef from using his strength to his advantage, often killing multiple zombies with each strike, his momentum carrying each swing of the cleaver.

Izzy was taking a more hit-and-run approach, stabbing a couple of zombies then backing up to let them group up again, making it easier for her to attack. After killing almost two dozen zombies, the corpses littered around the trio, static could be heard from the radio.

Chef grabbed it and said, "Come again Courtney? That didn't come through too well."

Her voice replied, "I said I see a large number of them coming from the right side. More than we've seen so far today combined."

Chef cursed, "Shit, seriously? Alright, see if you can do something with that rifle to distract them. If there's any cars or gas tanks or something far to the right that can get their attention." After a moment, a shot ran out, followed by a small shockwave and an explosion from something to the right.

Courtney reported, "I saw a gas station, shot at the tanks. That should distract them."

Chef had the slightest smile on his face and said, "Good work soldier." A few moments passed before a loud chorus of moans could be heard from the left side. Chef frowned, "I take it back. What the hell is going on?"

Courtney replied, "I have no idea! I scanned the left before attacking and it looked clear. I don't know where they came from, but a big number of zombies are now coming this way from the left."

Alfred shook his head, "No rest for the wicked, huh?"

Izzy bounced on her heels, "I love that song!"

Chef shouted into the radio, "Alright, tell the others to prepare for battle. We'll need their help."

Gwen wandered up to the fourth floor of her building. Unlike the other two, the building she was in was a residential apartment building. The first floor was mostly a lobby, with the leasing offices also located there. The actual apartments, which is what Gwen was searching, started from the second floor. So far, the apartments had been picked clean of useful items.

When she was searching the prior apartment, she heard what sounded like an explosion in the distance. She was concerned, but knew that one of the others would get her if they needed to get the hell out of dodge. She approached the next apartment and opened the door, using the master key she got from the leasing office. This unit was darker than the others she had checked so far, so Gwen pulled her flashlight out and turned it on.

The first thing she saw was a pair of cages each with a zombie inside it. There was little that could be discerned about who these two were before death, but one had darker, though still pale, skin and the other was wearing a leather jacket and a tattoo could be seen on its neck.

Gwen shivered and continued on deeper into the apartment. Most of these apartments had a living room upon entering the unit, with a separate kitchen nearby, as well as two bedrooms and a bathroom. Looking at the kitchen, there was another cage, with another zombie inside. This one was damaged beyond recognition, as whoever it was when they died had been bitten and torn into multiple times. The fact it was still standing was a miracle in of itself.

Gwen was sufficiently creeped out by now and wanted nothing more but to leave the apartment. The only thing keeping her there was that someone had clearly been living here, and it was her best bet of anything of use. Continuing to the first bedroom, Gwen was once again greeted by a pair of cages, one holding someone who used to be female, a pigtail still present on the left side of her head.

The other cage had remains of two people, one being burned and torn up something awful, almost like they were in a crash of some sort. Their head was turned around 180 degrees, likely from the crash. Gwen thought to herself that they were lucky, they didn't have to worry about the hell they were now in. The other was nothing more than a head, its teeth gnashing every so often. Gwen squat down to examine the head, as there was something familiar about it, but she couldn't place her finger on it. It noticed her and wiggled around in an attempt to reach her, but to no avail as it more or less stayed in place.

Gwen noticed the stark white hair that remained on its head and looked at the jet-black hair of the other body. After a moment, she quietly remarked, "They look like those twins that were with Divine. But it can't really be them, can it?"

A noise was heard from the other bedroom and Gwen got to her feet, a hand quickly retrieving the pistol she had on her. She held her gun up as she approached the second bedroom. After a moment to steel herself, she pushed the door open to reveal a man sitting on a bed reading a magazine.

He lowered the magazine and remarked, "Well this is a surprise. It's been awhile since I've seen a new face."

Gwen looked the man over a minute. He had black hair that once might have been properly taken care of but now was long and appeared disheveled. The man also had rectangular glasses on, though one lens appeared cracked. He was wearing a tattered white jacket over a red undershirt and had some sweatpants on. Gwen stared skeptically at the man and asked, "Who are you? And what's with the zombies in the cages?"

The man tossed his magazine to the side and stretched, "Well, my name's Gideon. And what are you talking about? Zombies? Cages?"

Gwen nodded behind her and said, "There's like a half a dozen cages in your apartment here with a bunch of walking corpses in them. If you don't know about them, that must mean there's someone else here."

Gideon raised an eyebrow and said, "The only other people here are some of my best friends. Most of them are sick and one got into a car accident on the way over here, so I've been taking care of them."

Gwen looked at the man and asked, "Let me ask you something Gideon. How long have you been here?"

Gideon counted on his fingers, "Three and a half months. No wait, four months I think. All the days run together when you're doing the same thing over and over. But if it'll help my friends get better, it'll be worth it."

Gwen backed up slightly, "Uh huh. And if you've been here for four months, that means you saw when the zombies first started then, right?"

Gideon nodded, "Oh yeah, but my friends made their way here and helped me clean up this part of town a bit. They were working longer, so I think most of them caught the flu or something."

Gwen looked a bit sad and said, "Gideon, listen, they're gone. They're no more human than the rest of the dead that wander the countryside."

Gideon chuckled, "You're a funny girl. But hey, I'm glad you're here. You can help me care for my friends until they get better. Give me a second, I'll get some medicine." Gideon got up and wandered over to a closet and started rummaging around.

Gwen was able to get a slight view from the doorway and he saw what looked like a couple of cut up corpses. Unlike the many dead she had encountered on the journey, these bodies didn't appear to have died from the zombies, but by other means. Realizing that this man wasn't just mentally unstable, but incredibly dangerous too, Gwen quickly raised her pistol and fired a couple of shots into his back.

He hit the ground and asked, "W-what? Why?"

Gwen walked over and aimed her gun at his head, "Believe me when I say that I'm giving you mercy. From this world and yourself."

Gwen then fired a couple of rounds into Gideon's head, killing him. Gwen sighed as she put her pistol away and began to search the rest of the apartment, finding a small amount of food and medicine as well as a shotgun and some ammo. Looking over the meager haul, Gwen decided to search the nearby apartments, knowing that this man had to have more supplies somewhere.

When searching the fourth and final apartment of the floor, she heard some kind of commotion from one of the bedroom closets. Keeping her gun at the ready, she opened the closet. Gwen was expecting either more zombies or another crazy person, but what she saw truly shocked her, and she said, "No way, how are you here?"

Outside, the battle had been raging for awhile now. In the house, Divine had left the controls for the house, parking it for the time being. She was now stationed by one of the windows with a rifle, Owen nearby another window with a machine gun. Bridgette opted not to fight, acting as a supply runner from the armory. Courtney kept her perch on the upper floor, now using her sniper rifle to pick off zombies.

Luckily for the fighters, not all of the zombies that Courtney saw were attacking them, as some of the group were far enough up the street that they kept moving across the road to head toward the gas station Courtney blew up. That didn't stop a sizable number from coming toward the house. Which meant that Alfred, Chef and Izzy were the last line of defense.

Chef shoved a zombie back before taking out two to his left with his cleaver. Alfred, who was right next to him, uppercutted a zombie with his axe, intending to knock it back but really decapitating it, the head rolling to the ground. Izzy stabbed a zombie in the head with her remaining knife, the others lost over the course of the battle as they had broken off in the undead skulls they stabbed. After another two zombies fell to her knife, the blade finally broke as Izzy took down a large zombie.

Izzy threw the handle aside and she said, "I'm out of knives! I'm switching to pistols."

Chef nodded, "Alfred, let's switch to guns too. Give us a little breathing room."

The survivalist nodded, "You got it."

Chef threw his cleaver to the side, reached behind him, and grabbed the combat shotgun that rested on his back. He pulled it out, using the close range firearm to quickly deal with the nearby zombies. Alfred meanwhile took his assault rifle and was firing it in small bursts to cut down on the recoil he experienced. The trio out front used their firearms to clear a small but comfortable area around them.

In the house, Divine was firing from a window on the left side while Owen was shooting from a front-facing window. Owen was employing more of a spray-and-pray method, firing into the crowd indiscriminately. For every zombie he managed to kill, there were at least three more he would hit and either slow down or in some cases help immobilize them. Divine was taking a more methodical approach, aiming with her rifle to take out as many targets as possible. Her approach was slower, but she also scored more kills.

Courtney was scoping out the battle from the balcony and saw the number of zombies from the left side was starting to thin out. Noticing a handful of stragglers up front, she took aim and took out a few of them, before turning her attention to the left side again. This was her plan, rotating between the front and left sides, taking a few out each time, while still keeping an eye on the battle as a whole.

Alfred fired his rifle in a short burst, turning as he did so, taking out four approaching zombies that were all in a line. As he eased off the trigger for a moment, he swung his axe at a fifth zombie, cleaving its head in two. Chef meanwhile, was quickly pumping and firing his shotgun, turning a large number of undead skull into nothing more than red mist. He would fire his weapon's entire clip before using the breather he just gave himself to reload his weapon.

Izzy was also keeping busy, firing her pistols quickly but effectively, taking down on average nine zombies for every twelve bullets. She cackled madly, reloading with some spare clips she kept attached to a bandolier she was wearing, "Haha! Pew Pew bitches! I could do this all-ack!"

Chef turned to face her," Izzy? You goo-Dammit! Alfred, you got this, I'll cover the right side! They got around somehow!"

When Chef had turned to check on Izzy, he saw that the redhead had been attacked by zombies that had flanked them. He saw thrashing from the ground, but the zombies trying to bite Izzy kept him from seeing anything further. Not wanting to hit Izzy with errant buckshot, Chef grabbed a pistol he kept on him as well as his cleaver and worked on taking out the group that stumbled around the side.

Clearing the zombies immediately around Izzy, he felt despair for the first time on the journey. Izzy was still alive, albeit barely. She had a handful of bites on her, notably on her legs and one near her neck and was losing blood fast. Chef shouted out, "Attention all hands, Izzy is down. I repeat, Izzy was bitten when they snuck up on us."

Everyone in the vicinity gasped, Courtney spinning around to see the situation first hand. She took a couple shots at some stragglers that Chef had missed. Chef continued to report, "There's still a small group on the right side here. We need someone else to back us up. And we need to get the scavengers back!"

The front doors slammed open and Owen came running out, "Izzy! NOOOOOOO!"

Chef tried to warn Owen, "Dammit fat boy! Not you! You're like a buffet to these things!"

The warnings fell on deaf ears however, as Owen tried to run over to Izzy. In his sorrow, he was careless and tripped on a corpse that had been felled during the battle. His momentum carried him, bowling over Chef and knocking the cook to the ground, dazing him. Owen kept stumbling, ultimately tripping over Izzy's body and landing past her on the ground.

Alfred heard all this and fired suppressive fire into what was left before rushing over to help Chef up. He got the cook off his back and was about to get Owen but was cut off by Owen screaming in pain. Looking over, he saw another group of undead tearing into the overweight teen.

Chef was back up and had his shotgun at the ready, fury in his eyes. He fired his shotgun repeatedly, no longer caring about friendly fire, shouting, "Alfred! Help me kill all these bastards! Then I'm getting the others myself!"

Inside the house, Bridgette had been delivering ammo to Divine when she heard Owen's screams, causing the surfer to break down. She sobbed, "Oh god, we're all going to die here. There's too many of them."

Courtney ran downstairs and said somberly, "There's not many coming anymore. Far as I can tell, aside from a few stragglers, this is it."

Divine nodded and said, "Okay, I'm going to prep the house to move out immediately. Bridgette, come with me, nobody else is dying today. Courtney, take my gun and help back them up outside."

Courtney nodded, taking the weapon and going outside to work on the last few from the left. Once Chef and Alfred took care of the ones on the right, Alfred asked, "What do we do about those two?" Chef didn't answer and simply took his pistol and shot Owen and Izzy's bodies in the head. If they hadn't died to their bites by then, they were dead now.

Chef then grunted, "You stay here, keep it clear with Bossy. I'll get the rest." Alfred saluted, a gesture that Chef appreciated, and the survivor went back to the front of the house. Chef meanwhile, started to run toward the first of the three buildings the supply team went to.

Shattering the glass door of the first one with his foot, he quickly threw the door open and stomped inside. Zack came around the corner, his gun at the ready, but the engineer relaxed upon seeing it was an ally. Looking at his watch, he asked, "What's the deal? I still have like fifteen minutes left."

Chef glared at the boy, "Izzy and Owen are dead. We're getting out of here. Get back to the house."

Zack looked hurt and said, "Dammit. I thought we were gonna make it without any more losses."

Chef started to stalk away but Zack shouted, "Wait, let's save time! I'll get one person, you get the other."

Chef stopped and thought a moment, "Fine. You get Gwen, I'll get Duncan."

Zack nodded, "Sure thing. Duncan's in the third building."

Chef nodded and left the building. Zack grabbed one last thing on his way out to fill his backpack and hurried to the next building. As he did, he saw Courtney and Alfred taking care of the last of the zombies in the immediate area.

Zack entered the building Gwen went into, being careful to open the door the same way he did when he unlocked it. He looked around the first floor quickly before heading up to the second floor. As he opened the door leading out of the stairwell, he saw Gwen, her arm around the back of another woman, helping her walk.

The other person looked at the new arrival and asked, "And who's this weirdo?"

Gwen bluntly said, "This is that Zack guy I told you about. You know, one of the two people with the massive house fortress thing?"

Zack was confused and asked, "Hold on a second, is that Heather? From the show like you guys? How and why was she here?"

Gwen rolled her eyes, "It's Heather all right. She won't tell me how she got here. I still can't believe I'm helping her."

Heather, who appeared to be malnourished and injured, with one leg being held in a makeshift splint, scoffed and said, "I told you weird goth girl, I'll tell you what happened, but I hate repeating myself. Once you said there were others, I decided to wait until then."

Gwen shook her head, "Why are you here now Zack? I thought we had more time."

As he went over to help support Heather, he somberly said, "Apparently they got attacked outside the house by a lot of the dead. We lost Owen and Izzy. We're getting everyone and getting out of here."

Gwen and Heather were shocked silent at the news, and it was quiet until they got outside. The situation had improved, with all of the nearby zombies dead, the nearest ones far away. Alfred was patrolling around the house, wanting to prevent another surprise attack.

Gwen looked at the building Duncan went into and said, "Who went to get Duncan?"

Zack waved at Courtney for help and said, "Chef did."

Gwen's eyes widened and said, "Can you manage Heather? I'm worried Chef's going to attack Duncan."

Heather rolled her eyes and said, "I'm right here. I'm not a child that needs watching."

Zack raised an eyebrow, "So you want to walk back on your own?"

Heather sighed, "No, sorry. I don't think I'm in any condition to do that right now."

Gwen smirked, "Heather being nice? Now I think I've seen everything."

Heather grumbled and Zack asked, "You sure you can handle Chef on your own? If you really think he's going to do something, shouldn't you have backup?"

Gwen shook her head, "No, it's just a hunch. I just know that Duncan has told me that Chef doesn't like the way he leads."

Zack nodded, "I've heard similar things. Just be careful."

I was on the third floor of the store, looking around at the non-perishable section of the grocery section. The area was pretty well picked clean by this point, but there was still a couple of things I was able to find. Mainly canned vegetables but beggars can't be choosers. I kept scanning the shelves and finding nothing of value when I heard footsteps approaching. Shining my light in that direction, I saw Chef coming towards me.

I raised an eyebrow, "Come to update me on the situation outside or something? How's it looking?"

Chef stopped and repeated, "How's it looking? You want to know how's it looking? Alright fine, Owen and Izzy are dead! How do you think it looks?"

I almost dropped my flashlight and said, "B-both of them? How did it happen?"

Chef narrowed his eyes slightly and said, "We were fighting the dead. A number of them came upon us from the left side. We neglected to watch our right flank. Izzy was ambushed and then Owen ran out to try and get her, the big doofus. He tripped and fell and they were upon him before he knew what hit them."

I could feel bile rising in my throat but managed to keep it down and said, "Oh my god. Are they going to…?"

Chef grunted, "Turn? No, I took care of that."

I nodded, still processing everything, looking to the ground. My attention was grabbed by Chef cocking his shotgun. I looked up and saw Chef aiming his weapon at me and asked, "Uh, Chef? What are you doing?"

The cook glared at me, "I'm doing what should have been done a long time ago. You ain't fit to be leader. I should have been it. Owen and Izzy's blood is on your hands. If you weren't in charge, we wouldn't have come here."

I raised my hands and said, "Easy there Chef, we can talk about this. I didn't make the sole decision to come here, we put it to a vote, remember?"

Chef raised his weapon higher and shouted, "The time for talking is over! You led us here, the vote be damned! You could have vetoed the decision, you could have convinced the group to go somewhere less risky!"

I shot back, "Less risky? Look around you! There isn't anywhere that wasn't risky! It doesn't matter if there's one zombie or one hundred, they all pose the same threat! This path will get us away from danger as soon as possible, so as far as I'm concerned, it was the right course."

Chef kept his gun trained on me, "If you want those to be some of your last words, I won't stop ya. But there's only one way this will go. I'm gonna kill ya, and then I'll lead the others to safety. Nobody else will die on my watch."

I shook my head, "You can't guarantee that. You can do your best, but there are some things you can't control."

Chef lowered his gun slightly, but still kept it aimed at me and said, "Maybe not. But I can have them avoid trouble. But none of that's gonna matter if you're still leading. Maybe you'll get to the states, but how many more are gonna die before you get to that point?"

I didn't make a move as I said, "Okay, humor me. What if I let you be leader? We can get out of this without more bloodshed."

Chef barked out a laugh, "You really think that would work? The rest can't stand me. Goes back to the good old days of Total Drama. The only ones that could stand me, just so happened to have died. Even if I took command, they wouldn't listen. They like you too much. Don't know why. No, the only way they'll accept my lead is if you weren't there."

I began to really worry that I was going to die here, and I said, "Come on man, do you really think you'll be able to live with killing me? Won't it eat at your conscious or whatever?"

Chef raised an eyebrow, "You know I've been to war right? I've had to live with killing people all my life, more or less. What's one more body?"

I sighed, "Can't blame a guy for trying. Look, if you have to do this, can you at least try and make it painless?"

Chef took a step closer and leveled the gun at my head and said, "Oh, it'll end up being painless for ya, probably. It'll also make sure the job is done, if you catch my drift."

I closed my eyes and waited for my execution. Five seconds passed, then ten. He was really drawing this out. Maybe he was fighting it in his head or whatever.

Fifteen seconds passed, then twenty. I could hear him grip his gun firmly and he said, "I just want ya to know, I may not like you, but I am sorry that I have to do this."

Chef exhaled and after another couple of seconds of waiting, a shot went off. I felt something wet splash my abdomen but no real pain. Thinking maybe I had died instantly or something, I opened one eye to see I was still in the store, Chef still in front of me. He had one hand clutching his stomach while the other held onto his gun, though he suddenly dropped it as he fell forward.

As he fell forward, I saw Gwen standing there, the smoking barrel of her shotgun indicating she was the source of the shot I heard. Chef's back had been torn open by the shotgun blast. I had a genuine smile on my face and said, "Gwen! You saved me! How'd you know?"

Gwen smirked and said, "Of course I saved you dummy. I said I had to keep you from doing anything stupid. Did you really think I was going to let you die on me? And Zack had gotten me and told me that Chef was coming here. I had a hunch that I followed through on."

Chef groaned, not quite dead, "What the hell? Pasty? Why did you-?"

Gwen glared at the downed man, "You know damn well why I acted. Trying to kill Duncan, thinking we would just fall in line with you, you're a bigger idiot than I thought."

Chef was bleeding heavily at this point, "Don't let me-I don't wanna-Please momma, don't go."

I walked over to Chef's dropped gun and picked it up and asked, "Should we leave him here?"

Gwen took her pistol back out and said, "He's already gone into shock, there's no helping him."

I grabbed the backpacks I had filled with supplies and said, "I mean, I wasn't gonna bring him back after he tried to kill me. But are we going to leave him to die?"

Gwen shook her head and said, "No, I'll put him out of his misery. I think despite everything, he deserves that much."

I shrugged, "Suit yourself. I guess he was going to do the same to me, so fair's fair, right?" I finished collecting my things as Gwen shot Chef in the head to give him a mercy kill.

As we started to head out, Gwen said, "By the way, I'm sure Chef mentioned that Owen and Izzy are dead."

I sighed, "Yeah. It's a damn shame. And I actually mean it this time. I know I say that sarcastically a lot, but it really is a shame."

Gwen nodded, "Yeah, but that's not all the news to share." I raised an eyebrow and said, "What's that supposed to mean?"

We had returned to the house and after burying Owen and Izzy, I had explained what had happened with Chef. With most of the zombies cleared out, Divine set the house to progress out of the city as quickly as possible once we crossed the river. With it set on autopilot with one of the few remaining robots monitoring the trip, we were all gathered in one of the bigger bedrooms. It had been converted into a makeshift infirmary and Heather was propped up by pillows.

Her diagnosis was that, besides the obvious malnourishment, she had a nearly crippled leg. It had been broken and had multiple cuts, some of which got infected. Without access to proper treatment, the bone hadn't been able to heal properly. Once we got to the states, she'd be able to get it addressed, but it would be a long road to recovery.

I shook my head, "I still can't believe we ran into you here. What are the odds?"

Courtney looked to the queen bee, "How exactly did you get here? Did the rest of your group die or something?"

Heather cringed at the mention of her group dying and she sighed, "As far as I know, no. When I left my group, only Alejandro was dead."

Alfred's eyes widened in shock, "Wait, you left your group? Like willingly?"

Heather looked at the survivor and asked, "Wait, who's this guy?"

Divine answered, "Another survivor we picked up on the way, not unlike you."

The queen bee sighed, "Fair enough. Anyway, yeah I left my group. After Alejandro died, we ran into this weird reporter or something. He had a ton of supplies and a helicopter for some reason. And I couldn't bare to be around the others knowing Alejandro was dead. It hurt too much. So I took the guy's helicopter."

Bridgette gasped, "You stole his helicopter?"

Heather defended herself, "He said he had a partner in the city we were in. Figured they wouldn't just up and abandon each other."

Zack raised an eyebrow, "Do you even know how to fly a helicopter?"

Heather shook her head, "I wasn't thinking of that at the time. I thought it would have like an autopilot or something. And if I did, you really think I'd end up with a useless leg like this?"

Gwen had her arms crossed, "I'm still waiting to find out how you ended up here."

The queen bee scoffed, "I was getting to that. Geez, impatient much? Anyway, I guess I was approaching Quebec. I didn't really know where I was going, because again, I don't know how to fly a helicopter. It ran out of fuel outside the city and started to go down. I probably would have crashed headfirst and died if I hadn't collided with something as I went down. I don't know what it was, but I did see this guy nearby flying with like a jetpack, only it was a helicopter."

Divine gasped, "Wait, was he Japanese?"

Heather shrugged, "I guess so? I didn't get a great look at him, on account of me, you know, crashing."

Zack looked to his girlfriend, "What, you think it was the twins?"

Divine looked back and said, "Who else do we know with personal helicopter jetpack things?" She turned to Heather and explained, "When all this started, there were these two twins that helped with programming the robots I had. We also lived in a much bigger compound, on treads like the house. At one point it got overrun, and the twins abandoned us, taking off in those jetpack things."

Heather raised an eyebrow, "Huh. Small world. Well there's not much more I can say at this point. The crash knocked me unconscious and when I came to, I was in the apartment that Gwen found me in. That Gideon guy was a real creep, keeping me locked up, feeding me just enough to survive. He never gave me any pain meds for my leg so luckily I got numb to the pain a long time ago. I don't even know how long he had me. Maybe two months. All the days started to blend together."

Bridgette nervously asked, "Did he ever, you know, do something to you?"

The queen bee questioned, "What like rape me? No, despite all his sleaziness he never laid a finger on me. I could hear him ranting sometimes, mentioned something about losing his grip on this other girl. I think her name was Ramona or something."

I snorted, "Sounds like the creep got off on controlling girls, having them be helpless without him."

Courtney shook her head, "Some guys can be real animals at times."

Alfred looked at Gwen and said, "Call it a hunch, but if Heather ran into those twins and then this other guy had her, maybe they were in cahoots. You see anything that looked like they were working together?"

Gwen pursed her lips in thought and said, "He did have some caged zombies in his apartment, claimed they were his friends. There were two that kinda sorta resembled the twins. But there was no way to really tell."

Divine sighed, "Well if they are dead, I hope they didn't suffer too much."

Zack raised an eyebrow, "Even after they flat out abandoned us? Left us for dead?"

Divine looked at her boyfriend and said, "It's not in me to hold a grudge. I'm sure they had their reasons for leaving, and to have left after such a long time, it must have been a good one. Besides, they did a lot of good work with us at the start and even before everything happened."

Zack groaned, "Yeah, I guess. I just don't take betrayal lightly. Speaking of, had I known Chef was going to try and kill you Duncan, I wouldn't have told him where you were."

I shrugged, "Hey, no skin off my back. I'm still here, aren't I?"

Gwen playfully slugged me in the shoulder, "Only because of me, that is."

Bridgette asked, "You're not going to run off on us, are you Heather?"

The queen bee gestured to her leg and said, "Even if I wanted to, I can't. But being held captive gave me a lot of time to think and reflect. I shouldn't have left those guys. As much as it would have hurt, the pain will stay with me forever, with or without them. Although, I guess you know that better than anyone Bridgette."

The surfer sighed, "Yeah, it's just so hard sometimes. Some days I don't feel like getting out of bed, I just want to cry all day."

Divine checked a nearby console and said, "Good news, we've reached the city limits. We'll keep going for a little while and then stop for the night."

Zack looked to Heather and said, "Is there anything we can get you? After today, our supply situation is looking better."

Heather glanced at her leg and said, "I'd ask for something to fix my leg, but it's not like we have a doctor here or anything."

Alfred nodded, "Yeah, I think my random little assortment of skills is all we've got. Sorry we couldn't do more."

Heather sighed, "Like I said, I'm numb to the pain at this point. At least there's a chance I'll get to America to get it checked out with you."

Courtney got up and said, "Here guys, let's give her some space. It's the first time in awhile she's had a bed to sleep in."

We all nodded and prepared to leave the room. Before we did, Heather said, "Before you go, I know this is out of character for me, but thanks for saving me. Who knows what would have happened to me if you guys hadn't come along."

I glanced back and said, "The stuff from the show, that's all in the past. We need to stick together now more than ever. Anyways, try to get some rest."

I exited the room and stood near a window in the hallway that looked at the retreating city skyline. Owen, Izzy, even Chef, their deaths weighed heavily on me. Maybe Chef was right, maybe I wasn't a good leader. But I'll be damned if I don't do my best to get everyone left to safety. And the worst of it is past, we should hit the states in a week, maybe two tops. I just hope that all the pain and suffering to get there will be worth it.

So, seven and a half years, just about. That's how long it's been since this was updated. I wish I had an explanation, but I don't. Best I can say is I put this on hiatus until my main project was done, and as of a few weeks ago, it is, so here we are. But hey, good news is this is my top priority currently. With two chapters left, I'm hoping to be done with this by the 4th of July. If the two last chapters take as long as this one, I should hit that target.

Lots to unpack here between the deaths and the addition, so let's jump into that. I didn't want to kill off Owen and Izzy, but I needed someone to die to give Chef that push over to edge to make him attempt to take out Duncan. And those two (mainly Izzy) were the only ones that would do that for him. I contemplated killing Alfred instead of one of the others, but I figured it wouldn't be as big a punch to Chef. As for Chef, he was always destined to fail in his coup attempt. I mean come on, Duncan's one of the three protagonists of this story, it would be highly unlikely for him to die. I'm not ballsy enough to kill a protagonist, even at the end.

Adding Heather in was actually a late minute addition. I was originally going to leave her fate when she left her other group ambiguous, but having her be Gideon's captive I think works better considering what ended up happening to that plot thread.

Speaking of Gideon, it was meant to be Gideon Graves from Scott Pilgrim. That seed was planted way back in the first part with Duncan, with the twins. Originally there was going to be a big battle between this group and the Evil Exes, but I realized that with what I had planned, that wasn't going to work. That and while the strange powers in Scott Pilgrim work there, they don't work in a world like this one which is more based on reality. You know, as long as you ignore the zombies and the advanced robots and the fancy house moving like a tank. So I reworked Gideon into an unstable survivor, something that hadn't shown up in this story yet. And I made the evil exes cameo as the various zombies Gideon kept in his house.

I understand some characters were kind of in the background here, like Bridgette, Courtney and Divine, but that's how things go sometimes. Not everyone gets the same focus, especially when I had so much I wanted to cover and didn't want this chapter to become extremely long compared to the others. That's why I had the little character moments at the beginning, to try and give everyone a little scene for themselves, before focusing on the battle to come.

Anyway, that's all I've got to say. Stay tuned for the next chapter, where we check in on Chris, what remains of his group, the remains of the 6teen cast, Frank West and Chris Redfield as they rendezvous with the rest of Frank's strike team in Montreal. Who else is on it? Well, one final hint I'll give is they'll be more characters from zombie video games, with at least one more Resident Evil character. And will anyone die? Maybe, depending on whatever events come to pass. You'll just have to wait and find out. Until Next Time!