When they went back into the room Phil was in, Dan could tell Norm was very wary and suspicious. It was natural for him to be, of course, but it still made Dan tense up as Norm and Phil's eyes connected. Norm's suspicion seemed to fade a little, while Phil's climbed. After all, Phil was weak, scrawny, and he looked battered, while Norm was gruff, and all muscle. He towered over them both, and had the scariest mean look Dan had ever seen. He feared Norm more than the dead, so really, he was quite surprised that Phil wasn't more suspicious of him. Maybe he really was an idiot.

"Phil, this is Norm, Norm this is Phil." Dan introduced, feeling quite nervous as he watched the two eye each other up, looking for a threat. Luckily, after a while, Norm smiled and clapped Dan on the back.

"You did good kid." Norm's gruff voice filled the room, making Dan sigh in relief. That was easier than he thought. Norm was really good at judging characters, if Phil was planning something, he'd know almost instantly. Phil would be dead in seconds, and they'd be running for their lives from the dead that would come running at the slightest smell of blood. Luckily, Phil was at least mildly trustworthy, like Dan had thought. They could probably stay a few nights before Norm got a little jumpy. They'd be out of there in a flash, if Norm said so. Dan didn't want to leave Phil, since he was the first person both he and Norm had trusted to spend a night with, but Norm was like his dad. Plus, the man would leave without Dan if it came to it. Dan had always been aware of that fact.

Norm really was a stereotypical old man, set in his ways. He rarely showed emotion, and that was where Dan got the trait from. Even though the man wasn't his real father, it certainly felt like it at times. "So... We can stay?" Dan asked both of them, his eyes flickering from Phil to Norm, then back again, his eyes lingering on the boy. There was just something about him really, something that excited Dan, made him want to be closer, get to know him. It was ridiculous, but he'd never experienced this 'love' that people had been so obsessed with before the Apocalypse. It was normal, right? Phil was attractive, and Dan had never really known any other survivors. Growing up with Norm had meant he was more inclined towards boys anyway, since he'd never known a girl. It didn't really matter though, did it? They were in an Apocalypse. Nobody had the right to judge him.

"Sure." Phil shrugged, at the same time Norm nodded his head. The man wasn't much for talk, really. He was more the type to keep quiet, and get on with things. A silent killer, just like he'd trained Dan to be. Dan was about to smile and ask where they were going to sleep, but was interrupted by a load groan, and scratching at the door. The dead. Dan instantly reached into his rucksack and grabbed a knife. He took the guard off quickly and took a low stance. He looked around him to find Norm and Phil in basically the same position.

Norm pressed a finger to his lips, then pointed to the door, signalling to Dan. The brunette instantly nodded and remained silent. It sounded like one, so it should be easy to kill, but Dan couldn't know for sure whether there was more hanging around or not. All he could do was open the door and hope it was just the one, or else they'd be screwed. So, he did just that. He quickly threw open the door and shoved his knife straight into the monster's temple. It struggled for a little bit, which was normal, but Dan quickly turned it around so the monster couldn't sink its teeth into Dan's flesh.

"You know, that's a rather slow way of killing them..." Phil said quietly, walking up to Dan and the struggling monster. "It can take a few minutes for it to die like that, and what's that gonna do in a horde? You'd be dead in seconds..." He commented, quickly taking out his knife, and moving Dan away a little. " If you shove it up here;" He said, just as he drove the knife into the back of the monsters neck, straight upwards, into the brain. "It kills them instantaneously." He was right. The monster was limp in Dan's arms,and he quickly dropped it with a soft grunt. He hated being told what to do, but he had to play sucked.

"Whatever. Like I don't know how to kill them properly..." Dan huffed, glaring at the dead monster. After this, that thing wouldn't come back. Its how it usually was. As long as the brain wasn't destroyed, the dead would rise. Though, these 'zombies' weren't like the films Dan heard about. The dead could run like a normal human, as long as their legs worked properly, and some were even faster. The dead didn't eat brains, they ate flesh, any flesh. Their eyesight was bad, but it was made up for by their advanced hearing and smell. That's how so many people ended up dead. They were fast, hard to lose, and would only die if their brain was destroyed, unlike humans, which could die in any number of ways. Dan once saw one of the dead with its head twisted around the wrong way, still walking. It shouldn't have been possible, but it was, and it was gruesome. Though it was pretty harmless, since it could only walk backwards.

Phil shrugged, and actually looked a little sheepish. It was like he hadn't realised he'd be hurting Dan by correcting his technique. And Dan wasn't really hurt. But, he was a sore loser, and he had wanted to impress Phil. Which he clearly hadn't done. "I'll go take point..." Dan mumbled sourly, glaring as Norm gave him a knowing smirk. Stupid Phil, stupid Norm, stupid Apocalypse! He just wished he could be normal.

But then again, he thought as he checked through the warehouse, what sort of normal was left?

Haha. Only like 20 minutes late this time ;D (lol jokes its not going to be up by then, is it?) Anyways. I'm sticking to my schedule through tough times, and hopefully I can put up a oneshot in the next few days, who knows?

In other news, I got a job! :D Granted, its McDonald's, but, you know, its a start :) They're gonna train me for coffee on Thursday so I should be starting soon. For those of you who don't know (which is all of you omg) I'm about to be home-schooled, so between work and home-school I might not finish writing on certain days, but I guarantee it will be updated! (hopefully)

Anyways I just wanted to share that with you guys cus my fans are like family ^-^ I feel close to you all, even if I've never talked to you before.

OH and I also wanted to thank you guys for your nice messages about my break up. It made me feel better. :) Me and my ex are talking now so hopefully we can remain friends (I actually believe with all my heart that that can happen. After all, I have an ex-boyfriend and we're really, really close friends now. Its not awkward at all, seriously)

As always,

Remember to R&R, Follow if you want more, and Favourite if you enjoyed this fic!