Sanji's shoulders began to ache soon after. It might be good to climb and see where he was.

"Hmm." Sanji twitched at the groan.

"Kid."

"What?" the kid murmured sleepily, groaning again. Sanji grit his teeth.

"Be quiet."

"What do you mean? Are those things-"

"Shush!" Sanji whispered harshly, heart pounding. It'd be better if he could find a good building to climb. If he was lucky then maybe there'd be something at the top. He walked in the alley, peering for the clear and spied a drain pipe that ran down the length of the building. Hopefully the flat roof of the building meant it was terraced, which would be a good resting place.

"Wait! You're not..."

"Shush!" Sanji snapped. "Questions can wait until we're at the top. I'm someone your old man trusts. Just hold on." He took a few paces back and ran, bursting up the wall and grasped the pipe firmly.

Rule number two: don't look down.

Looking down was particularly shitty. It was better to look across and to stay away from windows. Staying away from windows was difficult though, because ledges were always helpful. Having zombies blunder through windows to try their luck at your flesh was pretty fucking terrifying.

The kid was truly up and awake now. He could feel the tense breath on his neck. It didn't matter. If Chopper was quiet then it was all that mattered right now. Sanji heaved himself up, straddling the pole and walking up the wall with both feet. He glanced up. Left to right. Right to left. Up, diagonal. Corner. Clear? Yes. He continued to climb, placing one chalky hand on top of another. It was alright. The extra weight wasn't as bad as he thought it'd be.

The sound of gunfire caught his attention. Craning his head, Sanji tried to locate the source of the sound, and estimate how far it was away. The kid stiffened. There was really nothing Sanji could do now but reach the top and take a look around.

"Hang in there," he muttered. He quickened his pace, ignoring the burning of his arms and the ache of his shoulders. The climb wasn't very long, just taking a little over a minute to clear the several storeys, but the climb felt a lot heavier. Weight. Weight in lives. He jumped over and surveyed the area. It never hurt to recheck. He breathed a sigh of relief at the absence of the undead and as an added bonus there looked to be clothes scattered about the roof. Air conditioning units weren't much help, because the liquid inside was a chemical and its physical machinery didn't serve much use either. There were a few scattered chairs and tables in a dilapidated fashion of outdoor dining. "Ok," he muttered to the kid, "you can ask questions now."

"Where's Doctor Hiluluk?"

"Who?"

"Doctor Hiluluk. He has weird white hair and a really cool pink hat with a white cross on it!" Sanji huffed, a ghost of a smile touching his lips as he listened to the childish bubbly voice. Then it faded. How would he tell Chopper about the man? The man requested to lie to Chopper but that didn't feel right. The man obviously loved the little kid. He begged the passers-by for a chance of the kid's survival. A change of fate.

"Listen. I can't answer that just yet. We need to find a nice safe place first." Chopper groaned, mumbling into Sanji's neck. The gunshots came closer. They ran to the edge of the building, and peered over, spotting two figures blasting a group of zombies. Sanji's eye twitched and his heart thudded in his chest.

Suicide.

What were they doing? The noise would attract more zombies and soon, they'd be overwhelmed. It was flat land and had little cover. He ran along the edges of the building and like he predicted, previously unseen zombies were crawling through the alleyways, attention drawn to the ridiculously flashy wipe-out. He hesitated slightly. Should he help them? The more time he spend here meant the longer he was in danger but then he took on the responsibility of a fucking kid, so he might as well roll with this nice guy act. "Chopper, hold on for a bit." He grabbed the chairs and flung them over the edge, entangling the zombies below.

"Let me down."

"No."

"I can help!" Sanji rolled his eyes.

"How are you going to get down?"

"I can... climb too."

"No you can't, kiddo." Sanji grabbed a table to push over the edge.

"But... I'm awake now."

"You can't even walk."

"I'm not as weak as you think." Sanji froze mid grab. He turned his head to look at Chopper through his peripheral vision.

"You're overestimating yourself."

"Untie my hands and feet at least!"

"What if you slip off?"

"I won't!" The blonde sighed, pulling apart the ropes and the kid landed on the floor, slightly [horse legged] but he managed to stand up.

"Why are you chucking over tables and stuff?" he called after Sanji, who immediately resumed his task.

"I'm helping them. It's stopping the zombies for a bit and buying us time. If you want to be useful, chuck stuff over the other side." Chopper dragged the furniture, making Sanji's teeth set on edge at the noise. They made relatively quick work of the furniture and as a finishing touch, the blonde drew his knife and slashed the pipes connecting to the air conditioning units before pushing them over the edge.

"Hey Zoro!" He heard a voice call faintly. "There's someone else over there!" Sanji knelt before Chopper.

"Hang on and don't let go. I won't be able to catch you if you fall." Sanji slid down the pipe quickly, ignoring the increasing heat between his hands. He gasped, feeling a sharp stab in his palm and his body swung ominously, drawing a sharp yelp from Chopper. "Fuck, fuck, fuck." He cursed under his breath. They slid down further.

"There's zombies," Chopper whimpered.

"I know. As soon as we reach the ground, run. Ready?" Sanji waited, a few metres above the ground. "Go!" He dropped to the ground, grunting as the impact jolted his legs. "Run!" He grabbed Chopper's wrist and hauled him along as zombies lunged after them. The zombies were not fast, but soon to be faster than the kid. They'd be soon taken over. He grabbed the kid, chucking him over his shoulder as he ran, ignoring the sharp cries of protest. Free from the alleyway, they were greeted with a mass of zombies piled up on the road. Two figures rushed over to them, each holding weapons.

"So you made it out," a freckled man said, grinning. He slapped his guns back in their holsters. It sounded like the same voice that shouted before so the other dude, even more muscular than the freckled one, with green hair, for heaven's sake – who even had time to dye their hair in an apocalypse – must be 'Zoro'. He fought with swords, which was even weirder because what time period were they living in right now? The twenty first century. "We need to fucking run. It's not going to hold them back much longer. Do you want to come with us? There's a camp to go back to. Would be good for the kid." He gestured to the kid slung over Sanji's shoulder. Sanji nodded once. "Sweet. Let's run. Give that kid to Zoro." The green haired man snorted.

"I'm not a fucking pack horse."

"Shut up." Sanji tapped his foot.

"Let's just go," he started, glancing behind him. The freckled man reached over and took the kid, running. The blonde and green haired man glanced each other, laughing slightly at the confused cries of Chopper as they ran.