Survivor Training

Alice stood by her open door then stepped outside which revealed her overall appearance to Brick which he seemed to recognise a little from the original owner's memories.

Alice was a slender but athletic woman who had participated in mixed martial arts competitions before she moved on to security work after seeing the limitations in her current profession.

If someone was not talented enough and able to keep up with the competition then they were destined for a lot of pain and injuries which would lead to a short career and a long line of hospital bills.

Even those at the top had their fair share of injuries that they had gained through harsh training, accidents or during fights.

The reality of the sport hit her early when she gained her first injury during a professional match which she lost and her manager was already looking out for other potential talents that would surpass her.

Rather than breaking herself for others benefit, she believed that a life in security would be a life full of escorting the rich and spoilt brats or some CEO around while occasionally subduing any suspicious or dangerous person that comes near them.

Most of her training had been very simple which she picked up on quickly so she adapted well to her work.

The current Alice was dressed in a tank top with a slightly open shirt over it, smart work pants and thick boots which were combined with her blue eyes, pale skin and medium length black hair which was cut to a length that would not obstruct her during work and so she look the part for her job.

She would look intimidating if she was not shaking in fear but it was to be expected once she was confronted with a zombie and the appearance of Brick.

Alice picked up the knife and held onto it but was unable to take the step forward as she continued to hesitate.

Brick spoke in a stern tone. "I do not know how your situation is like but the world has changed. If you have family them they may be alive or may have become one of these. You are lucky because you do not have to face that yet because most people who are confronted with their loved ones first will hesitate and be unable to cope with the world's change.

This was once a human being but now it is just a creature of instinct which will infect and try to eat you. All you can do is kill it to end its suffering and so that you can protect yourself. So stab it."

Seeing that she was failing to listen to him he ordered. "Raise the blade and thrust it now!"

Alice jumped out of her fear once she heard the shout then followed the direction as if following the instincts which had been ingrained into her upon joining the security company and being trained by the instructors in her previous profession.

All she could do was follow through with the commands given so the knife was raised and she closed the distance quickly as the knife stabbed into the head of the zombie. "Aah!"

Brick continued to order. "Again! Do not hesitate to stab again! You must be certain that it is dead!"

Alice continued to stick the knife into the head of the zombie until she found the right position to kill it as she had been shown by Brick.

Upon confirming that it was dead, she woke up from her rush of adrenaline then ran to the side and started to vomit. "Urgh."

The noise attracted a small number of zombies but Brick showed no fear as he ordered. "Keep your stance stable and keep your distance. Remember your training and avoid being grabbed or scratched by them then attack! I will go first."

He ran forward while pulling the zombie by the lead then pushed it against the approaching zombie which caused them to fall down.

He aimed stood on the arm and pinned it down while quickly aiming the axe towards the head while the rest of the body was pinned down by the other zombie.

Two strikes ended it then he looked towards the next opponent which grabbed towards his as if it was coming in for a wide huge.

Just as it was about to succeed, he ducked and manoeuvred around the side of it and a knife was removed which was stuck in the back of the head and then pulled out. "Alice! It is now or never! Fight!"

Alice looked down at the dirty blood on her knife then towards Brick who was dealing with the approaching zombies so she joined him by his side after stabbing the zombie Brick left behind after stabbing it in the back of the head.

Following his advice, she made sure that it would not rise back up again and cause problems for them later.

Alice stood by his side as three more remained. "What should we do?"

Brick answered quickly. "They are close together, have slow movements and are quite clumsy so just use that to your advantage and be inventive. Like this."

He started by waving and attracting their attention then lead them as they lined up then he kicked the one at the front which caused it to fall back into the one behind it which caused them to all become obstructed in some way. "See? But do not let your guard down, they are tenacious creatures and can catch you off guard if you underestimate them or think of them like humans. Their inability to feel pain or run out of stamina is impressive."

Alice started to clap which had drawn one towards her while the other two had started to attempt to climb back up to their feet to reach out towards Brick.

Just as the zombie was approaching Alice, Brick had circled around and appeared behind it as the axe swung towards the side of its head near the temple. "Finish it then be prepared to use the same tactic."

Since it was probably already dead from his attack, there may be no need to check it but he made sure to get himself and Alice into a familiar routine of not carelessly leaving a potential danger lying around nearby.

He ran by one zombie and swung the axe towards the leg which caused it to lose its balance and fall then he kicked the next one back which allowed him to return to finish off the one he left behind him that was crawling towards him.

The final zombie was attracted to him because of his active movements which triggered it to attack and when it was getting closer, Alice appeared behind and the knife in her hand stabbed into the temple before it could notice her. "Phew."

The axe belonging to Brick had swung towards the other side of the head which ensured that it was dead before it started to fall which showed that they were able to adapt to battle as a team very quickly.

Brick did not waste any time as he started to chop the heads off which made Alice fearful once again. "What are you doing? Stop it.."

Brick let out a sigh and explained. "Everything I do from now on will have some meaning or way to survive so just pick up what you can wile you have the opportunity to."

He took out a bottle of water then threw it over. "Here is your reward but drink it slowly and I will only give you one a day so use it sparingly. As for the effects or what it is..it is better for both of us that you will choose to remain ignorant for now. I am putting my trust in you by giving you this so I hope that you can back me up in the future since there are many dangers ahead."

Alice looked confused at the bottle of water then asked. "Why me? Surely there would be many more experienced and capable people around for you to have around you?"

Brick shrugged. "Who knows why I chose you.. I guess it is just a feeling that you will be someone I can leave my back to? You wouldn't betray me and stab me in the back now would you?"

In truth he had decided to take her into his future team because of her ability to make her a competent combatant while her personality was very loyal even if there were a couple of traits which could prove to be problematic in the apocalypse.

However it was best to learn through experience so that she could grow from the mistakes that she would make.

If worst cane to worst and she did cause any problems for the team then Brick would have to figure out a way to overcome that situation to avoid as many losses as possible.

After storing away the severed head in a big bag, Brick told Alice to go back in doors until he returned which followed with him going back to dump the head into the front security post then he returned and knocked on the door. "Come on. We need to finish clearing the area and get to other survivors. The armoury would be a good place to target too if we wish for anything to give us a better chance of survival."

Alice stepped out dressed in overalls which were over her clothes which Brick then wiped some zombies blood and guts onto.

Alice ran to vomit once again once he started to do so so when she returned she began complaining. "I hate you. I know you explained why… but this is just.. hah whatever. By the way what was in that bottle? Why does it feel like I am full on adrenaline? Oh I forgot, I should not ask."

"Quiet or our efforts to hide will only become useless." Brick rolled his eyes as he lead the way. 'Was she normally this chatty? Well.. it is an improvement from before where she was always screaming and cowering.'