ON A PEACEFUL TOWN

Caiti looks on the flowerbed on top of his brother's grave, she sings a song for him. Her father can only listen to what she has to sing, he then sings along with her after 2 verses. Their voices synchronized beautifully that it attracted the other villagers.

"Wow"

"Thank you"

"Do you think he would have liked it?"

"Your brother? Of course he will"

"I know he will like it, I meant Zach do you think he'll like my singing?"

"Of course he will, when the whole village likes it"

"Hopefully he is okay"

"Of course he is, he's with good people, nothing will happen to him. I trust in Rodrick to keep him safe as well"

"Yeah they are closer than we expected them to be"

Zachary wakes up and is asked is his wound is fine, he replies with a small nod. He tries to walk around and the pain has gotten weaker and the swelling has gone done as well. He just lays down there in nothingness not thinking of anything but wanting to be in a safer places, he just drinks water. A whole week passed by and he has fully healed and he can walk now with no problem, the whole week he just sees trucks being filled up with people and head to Mackinaw, Marathon, or the places that they have taken complete control of. The soldiers asked him if he wants to join in but he refused joining in, he just sits there on one of the benches near their open garage.

"I want everyone to be there on Marathon before the dusk, we have over 92 people there imprisoned"

"Yes sir!"

"Tobias also needs men to Akiminski"

Kyle starts to organize the different platoon and signing them to difference tasks. One thing that Zach is curious about is to why he is here on Pierre instead of Maple grove, but its obvious that Tobias want him on a safe place. Kyle notices him and sits down beside him.

"How are ya kid?"

"Good, just got out"

"You were sick, really sick for someone who looks tough you have a pretty weak immune system"

"Do I?"

"Yeah, you got and infection and we though we had to amputate you"

"really?!"

"I'm joking, you did get infected and sick, but it went away immediately after you took a few medicine"

"Uh huh, that would be too drastic to cut it off"

"Yeah"

Their conversation ended and awkwardness just seeped in as Kyle just sat there and Zachary just looks on his palm.

"So, do you think the vaccine can be realized?"

"No, the virus has too many variants that it is its own virus"

"uh huh"

"Like, that video game, it sprouted from one virus and then different variants are created. The virus just mutated and grow to something different"

"So c-"

"Creating a vaccine does not guarantee that it will be effected towards all those different variants, plus I think there is not a single pharmaceutical that is capable or has enough resources to make it"

"Make what?"

"A much stronger version of what's in Tobias, all we know is that he is immune to the basic form of the virus but not the new ones"

"So its not all the same huh?"

"Yeah, I have no idea why some of those biters fucking mutates or has gotten smarter, I think their adapting and or evolving"

"You're being too pessimistic"

"I think I'm a realist, we have lost this against the dead, we can choose to survive and wait all of it to die out, trying to find a cure is putting us at more risk to the dead or men who wants as dead"

"Have you lost hope?"

"On finding a cure, definitely, surviving yes, we have homes and its a matter of just navigating it, we see the dead as a new type of animal"

Kyle now thinks the possibility of the vaccine being a failure or not possible. Some vaccines fade away over time, maybe Tobias' immunity is more of a immune booster than a proper cure. He then continues to organize more of the troops and tries his best to get rid of that thought, maybe they are killing themselves with this 'hope' they call a 'vaccine'. The trembling in his voice was noticed by Zach who decides to head back to his room, before he goes there on the front gates there seems to be a problem.

"HURRY WHERE'S TOBIAS?!"

Zachary pushed the people surrounding the whole gates.

"MAKE WAY!"

They sent 10 teams of horses consisting of 6 horses each. back to Ophir in order to keep their resources on check, it only takes about 3 days for the whole trip, 26 hours from there and back again, and they also need the horses to re-energized. Bogdan is on the back of one of the carts heavily wounded, but he can speak.

'Ophir' He whispered with blood coming out of his mouth, upon seeing the condition of the men they sent, and what Bogdan has said Zachary and Kyle has realized what is happening and what just happened.

"WE NEED ATLEAST 200 PEOPLE WHO CAN FIGHT TO HEAD TO OPHIR RIGHT NOW!"

People who are eligible and can fight gets onto horseback and trucks and starts to move out to Ophir.

"Kyle, I trust that Zachary stays here on Pierre, if there is an expedition do not allow him to go okay?"

Kyle sees Zachary getting onto one of the horses with a crossbow and a melee weapon, they just looked at each other dead in the eyes. As if Zach is asking him if he can go, Kyle instead got onto another horse and went with the group heading to Ophir. They also do not want to use Helicopters as using it is too expensive and if they were to lose it, it will be a big blow on them.

They ride out of Pierre and as soon as they pass fort Pierre they see a horde in front of them.

"Persistent fuckers"

"Yeah"

"Kyle?"

"Don't get your ass bit now, 10 whole days for these fuckers to walk"

The people who are staying in Fort Pierre helped and cleared the herd, but the population seems to be bigger than expected.

"CLEAR ALL OF IT!"