A long drive

The two boys sitting in front of Johnathan were his childhood bullies. From elementary and middle school, those two have always picked on him. Charles, the one who greeted them, had blonde hair and blue eyes. He was wearing a blue hoodie and some black joggers. The one beside him was Zack. He has a bronze skin tone and had medium-length brown hair tied in a man bun along with dark brown eyes. Zack was wearing something easy to move in as well. A black shirt and blue joggers with white stripes. Overall, the two were fairly attractive.

Since he could remember the two sitting in front of him, had been calling him names, pushing him around, and overall just being rude since they were kids. This eventually made Johnathan despise them.

Did quietly take the bullying? No! He fought back. And because of his bigger size, he normally won. That though, didn't stop them from continuing.

Ivan and Danny had also fought with them a couple of times due to them being dicks. That was one reason they also didn't want to be in the same car as them.

Looking at the two boys, Johnathan clicked his tongue in annoyance. The past two years he hadn't seen them had been wonderful. 'Of course, I had to meet with them.'

Charles and Zack looked at each other and smiled wryly.

"Johnathan, Ivan, Danny. We're sorry for being such dicks before. We were immature and thought we were the shit. I hope you guys can forgive us."

It had been two years since they had seen each other and over that two-year period; they had matured. They recognized their faults and apologized.

The three, hearing their apologies, froze. "THE Charles and Zack apologized. Didn't imagine this day would come." Ivan said with a slight smile.

He didn't quite forgive them for being such dicks, but that was years ago. They were in high school and had matured a great deal.

"Sure it's alright, I guess. Plus, we can't hold a grudge for something like that." Ivan continued.

Danny nodded with a smile. "Yeah, plus it's the end of the world. We have more important things to worry about."

The two put out their hands, and Charles and Zack shook them. "Thanks, guys."

The four then looked at Johnathan, waiting for his answer.

The man in question sighed and put out his hand. Don't get him wrong. He didn't like them, but like the rest, he matured. And seeing how Charles and Zack apologized, he couldn't just tell them to fuck off.

"Fine. I'm not a little kid who'll hate someone forever cause of that."

The two shook his hand and sighed with relief. "Thanks, Johnathan. Also again, we really are sorry." Said Zack.

Johnathan nodded and accepted their apology.

Changing the subject, Zack looked at Ivan's Katana and complimented it. "That's a nice Katana. You guys kill any zombies yet?"

"Thanks and yeah. We killed a good amount." Ivan answered.

"So you guys know about the crystals, right?"

"Yeah. They're pretty rare though." Johnathan answered Charles.

"Tell me about it. Since the apocalypse started, we only found three." Zack said, remembering how hard it was for them to find more.

"You guys ate them, right?" Danny asked.

"Yeah, I ate two while Zack ate one. It took us a while to get another one though." Answered Charles.

"It hurts, but the payoff is good. We can basically be superhuman. The thing is though, yesterday the evolved zombies appeared and that made it hard for us to even get anymore." Zack explained.

The three understood well how hard it was to kill the newly evolved ones. Even for the three, it was difficult. They couldn't imagine how Charles and Zack survive while they only ate three in total.

"How did you guys survive" asked the shocked Danny.

"We luckily killed one with our combined efforts, though it didn't give us any crystals. After that, we just ran towards a house that seemed empty and prayed. Luckily, the owners were gone. But we had to kill a second evolution zombie mouse. Let me tell you, it was massive compared to its original size. It was, however, a lot weaker than the human one."

When Johnathan heard animals could turn into zombies as well, he started sweating.

'What if I come across a massive fucking zombie elephant?'

"Thanks for the info. Anyway, what are your plans?" Ivan asked.

Charles and Zack turned to each other, and with a sad look, Zack answered the question. "We have no one left here. We both had to k-k-" before he could finish the sentence, Zack put his hand to his mouth.

Johnathan looked at him with pity. He didn't know what happened, but he was sure the poor guy was traumatized. "You don't need to say anything if you don't want to," he said, not wanting to push Zack.

Putting his hand up, Zack said, "It's alright. As I was saying, both me and Charles had to k-k-kill our transformed parents. So, with no family left, we decided to survive as long as we can. Not only for us, but our family as well."

"But even that's getting hard. With these fucking evolved shits, I doubt our strength will be enough. So you guys better watch out. Those fucks are way too strong." Charles warned.

The three teens across from the two nodded and continued to wait for them to calm down. They understood how hard it must have been for them. No family left, no one to vent to. It was hard. Especially since they were all boys and were always taught that crying in front of people was a sign of weakness. [1]

After they calmed down, they apologized for the scene they caused.

"Don't worry about it. Happens to everyone. Especially nowadays." said Danny with a small smile.

The four continued the rest of the ride, talking about their experiences. In the end, the four had all gotten things off their chests. Whether it being worry, anger towards the zombies, depression, hope for the future.

The car finally stopped and the back door opened up, revealing the man that 'saved' them. "Come on boys, let's get you guys in the base."

Stepping out of the car, the boys felt relieved and brand new.

'They were better than I thought.' Johnathan said in his head, looking at the two boys behind him talking to Danny.

With no grudges left, and new allies made, Johnathan took a step forward, thus finally beginning his grand adventure and climb to greatness.

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[1]- Men are normally taught from a young age that crying is for girls. That showing emotions and crying in front of people is weak. It isn't said sometimes, but it can be seen in movies, shows, etc. With how men are always supposed to be strong and girls are supposed to be weak.

Update: In the second chapter, when Johnathan ate the crystal, I added something to make it more believable that he would have the thought of eating it. I wrote that there was some force making him want to eat it. It's nothing big, but it makes things make more sense.

AN: THE FIRST VOLUME IS DONE!