Rae

"Huh?"

Axel smiled at Elena's confused face and searched the parking lot for any infected that may have been drawn from Dylan's incessant screaming.

"Nothing."

The lot was clear for the moment. Typically, zombies don't roam much during the day and stay in a relatively compact space until something they see or hear attracts them. Intense heat radiating from the sun on a summer day will normally not see any infected in an open space unless they remained there from the previous night.

"Where is your coalition located?" Axel asked.

"None of yo-" Dylan began before Elena cut him off.

"Albany. We're in Albany right now. We've been able to clear around half of the city, but new infected come in every day, so we're always looking for supplies to keep fighting them."

Axel scratched his head for a second. "If you're coming from Albany, that's a few days walk to Boston or a two and a half hour drive at least without even considering detours. You might be desperate for supplies, but coming all this way is a little odd."

Elena and Angela exchanged worried glances before remaining quiet. Dylan was about to say something before Angela quieted him with a burning look. She wasn't about to upset the guy who just killed nineteen zombies and saved their lives.

"No matter. Come with me." Axel said.

"Why the hell do we need to go with you?" Dylan exploded. He finally couldn't hold it in anymore after hearing Axel spout out orders with a demanding tone.

"Do you not remember I told you there was a price for my help?"

Dylan quieted for a second. "What do we need to do?"

"Although he's a spoiled brat, at least he's not ungrateful," Axel thought. "Just follow me to my hideout."

Axel began walking away, trying hard to hide the pain he was in from his ankle. He was certain that if he looked again, the black veins would be visible all the way up to his knee by now.

"Okay." Elena said before Angela and Dylan could respond. She gave them a hard look before following Axel.

Axel led them through a dizzying path of alleyways. Every time he spotted an infected after peeking through a corner, he would change paths. Although Dylan opened his mouth a few times to complain, Angela was always there to shush him. A few times, she had to resort to covering his mouth to prevent him from exposing them.

With the numerous turns they had to make to avoid any infected lurking around, half the day passed by quickly. Through it all, although Elena and her friends were dead tired from moving and being on edge, they got to witness parts of what used to make the town so beautiful. Shattered windows and blood stains may have marred the empty streets, but certain parts, such as the luscious green park they passed, showed hints of how life was like before the apocalypse as it was left virtually untouched.

Finally, when nighttime was approaching, the group reached the street they were on the day before.

"Doesn't this place look kind of familiar?" Angela asked.

"Yeah, it's where we first saw Axel." Elena said.

"So, you're telling me that we could have spared all the running and exhaustion yesterday if you just let us in your hideout?" Dylan asked fuming.

"Tell me. Why would I ever let six strangers into my home?" Axel said.

Elena gasped for a second as she realized that they were still missing people from their group.

"Wait! We have to go back for them." She said.

"Tough luck. There's basically a zero percent chance they're alive. They went inside the complex through the front door. Although they tried to block it off, the entrance was open in the morning and a bunch of infected walked in. Even if they made it inside, there are more infected in there than there were outside yesterday." Axel said.

Elena and Angela's faces dropped a bit as Dylan sneered.

"Serves them right for not following us. I bet they were just waiting for the chance to let us die. Just cause they've been on a few missions, they think they can boss us around."

"Shut up, Dylan." Angela said. "No matter what, they were still part of our team."

Axel ignored their bickering as he kept walking up to his hideout. Elena stayed silent and listened on as she was the first to notice Axel moving away from them. She shushed them and followed him to a pretty, two-story house. It should have been owned by a rather affluent family before the apocalypse. As Axel opened the gate, he turned to look at the rather dirty group of three.

"Don't say anything."

Ignoring their confused looks, he walked forward hurriedly after telling them to close the gate. Now that he was home, he needed to know how Rae was right away. As soon as he opened the front door, he was ambushed by a small figure jumping into his arms.

The group of three behind him jumped when they saw Axel's body be pushed back by something from the inside and were about to draw their guns when they heard crying.

"Shhh. It's okay, Rae. I'm okay." Axel whispered tenderly. His voice surprised the three of them even more than a zombie would. From the moment they met him, he had maintained a steely complexion and a no-nonsense tone of voice. Hearing such a man speak so softly left them dumbfounded.

"Don't ever do that again. Don't ever leave me alone again." Rae cried.

"I won't, Rae. I'll never leave you alone again." Axel promised, hiding his own tears that threatened to spill out.