High pitching ringing spread through her eyes.

Amber opened her eyes having to blink a few times to clear her vision. Everything seemed to be going in slow motion.

A sharp pain burned into her skull. She lifted her hands and glass fell around her.

She was upside down. She could hear muffled voices around her.

Looking to her side she could see Doc on the floor talking to her through the broken car window but she couldn't understand him.

She looked to her other side where 10K was crawling out the broken window on his side.

She unclipped her belt and allowed Doc to pull her through the window.

"Hey! Hey you're ok!" Doc said holding her steady in his lap. She coughed at the smoke in the air. Something didn't feel right.

She looked down. Yep. Something wasn't right.

"Doc..." she managed to say looking at her side.

A shard of glass had lodged into her lower stomach.

"Oh lord. Warren!" Doc shouted as he started to assess her stomach.

Warren rushed over to her. "Shit. Can you take it out?"

Doc looked at the glass. "It doesn't seem too deep but if I pull it out I need to be able to close it quick or she could bleed out!"

Amber looked around outside the tunnel.

It looked like it was snowing out. The ringing in her ears stopped.

"Murphy..." she looked up at Doc who just shook his head.

"Forget about him, kid. If I ever see him again..." Doc trailed off.

Warren returned holding a knife and a lighter. "Best I can do."

"Ok. Ok." Doc breathed. "10 come hold her legs."

Amber looked up terrified "Uh what?"

"Sorry kid." Doc said looking at her and without warning he pulled the shard from her side.

Amber screamed, she had never felt such pain before. She struggled again Warren and 10K who held her down. She cried and whimpered.

But it only got worse. She felt a searing pain agaisnt her skin. She screamed out again. Doc tried his hardest to make it a clean close, but her screams were too much. He blinked away the tears as he pressed the knife onto her skin.

Luckily she passed out before the smell of burnt flesh could get to her.


The next few weeks passed by in a blur.

No one really said much. But they stuck together. It was just the four of them left.

The first few weeks Amber was dead to the world. She spent her time laid on the back seat of the car Warren had found.

It took some time for her side to heal over. It left a nasty scar but Doc did a good job.

They had discussed their options. Warren decided they were going to find Murphy. They did ask if she wanted to come. At first she said no and planned to go her own way.

He wasn't kidding when they met. She'd die because of him. If this man was going to cause a nuclear strike what else could he do.

But after a while she could stand the idea of separating from everyone. She'd bonded with 10K teaching him how to drive properly.

He was like her brother.

Some nights they laughed and shared stories pre Z. Other nights she preferred to be alone.

She was terrified of finding Murphy. IF he was even alive.

She wouldn't lie she cared for him. She had warmed up to her. She enjoyed their conversations and she enjoyed being in his presence.

This kiss wasn't totally unexpected. But him leaving was.

She thought him better than that. Boy was she wrong.

Murphy cared for no one but himself. He proved thag when he walked out the door.

And now she has a permanent reminder on her side of that.

However, with that said. She did hope for him to be alive. She wanted to see him again.


Murphy walked the street after the strikes.

He dragged his feet across the floor walking with the Z.

He stared at the floor as he moved. He walked for days. He would collapse from exhaustion then get back up and start again.

This went on for over a week. On his journey he came across a bottle of whiskey and used that as his source to replenish.

What had he done?

He had really fucked up this time.

He slumped on the floor in the street drinking from the bottle. Zs gathered around him. Keeping close.

Amber.

He left her. He left her in that base with those mutant Z's and a nuke heading right in that direction.

He kissed her then killed her.

He kissed her.

He broke down crying. He knew he was an ugly crier. He sobbed on the floor slumped against the wall.

He had someone. He had someone there who could of made him happy.

His whole life he was the odd kid. The one people avoided.

She was different. She payed attention to him.

He threw the whisky bottle down seeing it was empty watching it shatter. He wished he'd died down there with her.

He wished to just hold her. Smell her. Have her close.

He'd never felt like this for anyone.

That's how he continued for the next two weeks. Walking aimlessly through the world with Z's. Drinking whatever he could find.

He stumbled across a clothing stone. He looked st himself in the glass window. He was blue?

His clothes were torn and he looked dead.

No seriously he fitted in perfectly with the Z's around him.

He wasn't going to live like this. He was alive. He shouldn't mope around he'll get himself killed.

Murphy changed himself in a silk robe and put on some fluffy slippers as he walked around the shop.

He threw items he liked on the Z's following him. This went on for some time until Murphy came to the end of the store.

A grin spread on his face "That's more like it."