Here is part two! I hope you enjoy it, and I hope everyone is having a wonderful holiday! I definitely got a 2,000 piece model of Sunny from my sister so I'm pretty much the happiest person in history right now. I will post pictures of me trying to assemble it in the future.

Notes: No, Zoro is not a zombie in this fic. That would be weird.

Chapter 2

Sanji turned, watching as the pursuing swarm turned the corner, a wall of decay and death heading straight for them.

This was it. He was finally going to die.

Above them, a loud metal clang rang out, echoing over the sound of shuffling bodies and clicking teeth. Sanji looked up and found the third floor fire escape ladder being lowered to the second. A man in a long, dark green trench coat and wide-rimmed hood kicked the metal bar until the latch broke, releasing the ladder and sending it sliding down.

"This way!" the man called to them.

The bottom of the ladder was still out of reach, but not if someone gave them a boost. Sanji didn't hesitate and crouched down, locking his fingers together and motioning for Usopp to set up.

"Thank you!" Usopp cried and put his boot into Sanji's hands. Law assisted and the two of them pushed their young friend up high enough to reach the bottom of the ladder. He climbed and the hooded man pulled him up the rest of the way.

Sanji crouched again, motioning for Law to go next.

"What about you?" Law's eyes were wide.

Sanji shook his head and held out his hands. The swarm was coming closer and the stragglers in front of them had started moving in as well.

"Come on!" the hooded man called from above.

Law put a hand on Sanji's shoulder and placed his boot into Sanji's palms. "I hope you know what you're doing."

Sanji took a breath and lifted. Law was taller than Usopp, but thinner, lighter. However, that made no difference as Law had a bag strapped to his back that probably weighed a few hundred pounds. Sanji's muscles ached, the tendons in his shoulders and elbows burned as he lifted. His back almost gave out, but he got Law up, high enough that his friend could reach the bottom of the ladder.

He did not wait to see if the hooded man pulled Law up and unbuckled the bag from his shoulders. It was more important that the camp got this food than if he made it back, so he pushed the straps from his shoulders and gripped the thick nylon in his hands.

"What the fuck are you doing, man!" the hooded man roared, "Leave the bag, save yourself!"

Sanji shook his head and glanced at the Deadies to his right and left.

"He's not coming 'till the food is up!" Law cried. "I got it, Sanji! Throw it up!"

Law held out his hands and Sanji threw back, swinging with all his might. The bag sailed up passed the ladder and directly into Law's arms. Usopp leaned over the railing and caught the other end and the two pulled it up onto the fire escape.

"Come on, Sanji!" Usopp called frantically, his eyes watching the Deadies closing in on both sides with wild eyes, "Get up here!"

"It's too high!" the hooded man ducked under the railing and started to climb down the ladder, "Jump up I might be able to catch you!"

"Wait! No!" Usopp pulled at the hooded man's coat, "He's got this, come back up!"

"Are you fucking kidding me?"

"Just get up here!" Law ordered.

The hooded man looked down at Sanji, his dark eyes shone like polished stone as they locked gazes for a single moment that seemed to stretch for hours. Sanji nodded his head then, smiled, and turned to the swarm that was almost upon him.

He breathed in once and let it out slowly. He cleared his mind of that terrible clicking, of the dry, rasping moans, and focused on the large Newdead coming straight for him. It's parts were still intact, it's arms were still flesh and muscle. Sanji waited until the swarm was only a few feet away. He could almost smell the coppery stench of blood and bile. He backed up a few steps, took another long breath, and bolted.

Sanji's legs moved swiftly, his strides were wide and precise as he turned toward the brick wall of the building. He jumped, set his foot on the brick and pushed off. He twisted his body, bringing in his legs and sailing straight for the large, still fleshy Newdead, and found purchase with the bottom of his shoes directly on the thing's shoulders. He had only one shot, one chance to reach the ladder.

He took it.

He pushed off, reaching for the bars. He could feel the tips of dead, rotting fingers brush against his legs, sharp bones and jagged fingernails catching on the denim of his jeans, but he was up, away from the swarm. He was far above them now, flying, soaring.

His hands found the metal of the ladder and he gripped it hard. He hung there for a few moments, breathing, letting his heartbeat catch up, his wits return, his hearing come back to him. He could make out voices shouting his name, but he didn't want to move yet. He didn't want to open his eyes.

Reality came back to him in the hard grip of a strong hand on his wrist. Sanji looked up and found the hooded man on the ladder ready to pull him up.

"Come on," he said softly.

Sanji came. He let himself be heaved up onto the fire escape and dropped onto the metal platform. Usopp practically fell into his lap, throwing his arms around Sanji's shoulders.

"Holy crap," Usopp's voice wavered, "I thought you were a gonner…"

Sanji hugged his friend tightly, relaxing into the warm embrace. Law ruffled his blond hair and picked up the second duffle bag. "No way, Sanji's fucking Spiderman."

Turning to their rescuer, Law put out his tattooed hand. The man didn't hesitate and shook it.

"Thank you," Law said, "We owe you one."

The man shrugged, "Whatever. Let's get up top. What the hell were you guys doing on the ground anyway?"

"Food storage was on the bottom floor of one of the buildings back there," Law said as he followed, "Didn't have any other choice."

Usopp pulled Sanji to his feet and the four made their way up the last few floors and pulled themselves up onto the roof. The man removed his hood, revealing rough, handsome, features and olive skin. He looked like a mixture of something, maybe Korean or Japanese, but Sanji wasn't sure. A scar decorated the left side of his face, directly over the eyelid, but his eye seemed to still be intact. He also had short, grey-green hair. Why someone would take the time to do that, with the world like it was now, Sanji couldn't guess, but it looked good. The green suited him.

"What's your name?" Law asked.

"Zoro," the man replied.

Law nodded and pointed to himself. "I'm Law, this long-nosed guy here is Usopp. Spiderman's name is Sanji."

Zoro's attention turned to Sanji. His one dark eye studied him intensely enough to make it seem like a challenge, so Sanji stared back.

"Where'd you learn to do that back there?" Zoro asked.

"He doesn't talk," Usopp said.

Zoro frowned at him. "Doesn't? Or he can't?"

Usopp shook his head, "We're not sure."

Zoro's eye turned back to Sanji, but Law's voice interrupted any more interrogation their new acquaintance had for him.

"You a drifter? Or do you have a camp somewhere?"

Zoro shook his head, "No camp. Been on my own for a while."

"We've got a place a few miles north of the city," Law offered, "We can set you up for a while if you want. It's safe. There's water, shelter, stuff to trade. Least we can do since you saved us and all."

Zoro glanced at Law, his jaw clenching and unclenching as he thought about the offer.

"Yeah," he said finally, "Okay."

Law nodded, "All right, let's get outta this shithole."

Sanji grabbed the second duffle and heaved it over his shoulders. He buckled the strap and followed the others as they made their way across the rooftop. When they came to the edge, they crossed from the building they were on to the next by a series of planks that had been nailed together and was straddling the seven to eight foot gap. Makeshift bridges like this one had been fashioned together between structures in most of the larger cities. Traveling over rooftops was infinitely safer than trying to brave the streets where hundreds, sometimes thousands, of Deadies roamed.

When they neared the rural area where Usopp had parked their truck, Sanji fell into step behind Zoro. He noticed something strapped to the man's back underneath his travel pack. A sword, white with gold trim and held in a white sheath. A sword was a good weapon against Deadies if you knew how to use it. Sanji began to wonder if this Zoro had merely found it, or if it was his and he actually had some skill. Someone like that would be valuable to their group. Maybe Law had noticed the weapon and had come to the same conclusion. Maybe that was why he had been so quick to offer shelter.

Of course, there was also the possibility that Zoro was a maniac and he planned on being led back to the camp so he could kill everyone in their sleep, but Sanji didn't think that was the most likely scenario. However, one could never be sure. Stranger, more fucked up, things had definitely happened.

TBC