Another Group

The group had gathered together once again and had started to visit the remaining houses as they slowly cleared the remaining zombies and rescued everyone that was inside.

Most of the homes were checked and those that had no living people within had their belongings taken by Brick, Alice, Tristan and Cherie so that they could store up some extra supplies for later.

More than half of the outer area had been cleared and the group had become larger but there were still many which followed along as if they had been forced to and did not wish to participate in the fighting or other difficult tasks.

Brick made quick mental notes of those that contributed the most and who did nothing while he kept a watchful eye on others that may pose a threat to the group.

It was easy for factions to start within as the groups grew bigger and there were those that would hold grudges for the smallest of reasons which would affect the cooperation and survival of the group.

It was difficult to keep up the morale when everyone had just been exposed to the dangers of the new world and when they had suffered losses which left them feeling hopelessness.

Brick took a drink of the water he brought with him as he rationed it then put it away. "Sigh… I keep telling them that they should ration their supplies."

It was not his place to tell them how to use their own things but he still tried to offer his advice only to have some ignore his warnings.

They were not his own supplies so he could not control them and he did not plan on sharing his own with those that did not work or trade for it.

There were a couple more children which had joined which were living off the supplies from their own homes which had been combined so it helped in trying to form a small group which could be raised by Brick while there were some elderly left alive who had tried to provide some assistance.

The small foundation was being built from those that he had rescued but it still required more time to determine who was worth raising and who could be trusted.

A little girl ran towards Brick which was Cherie who had her hair tied into pigtails. "People."

She pointed towards the distance as a group had appeared which Brick recognised from the memories he had gained from the original owner. 'It really is a small world.'

The two groups met each other quickly and faced off against each other.

Brick faced off against a burly man who had a knife scar on his chin and a hint of rage started to build within him. 'This damned body..'

It was clear that the original owner recognised the person opposite him and held a large amount of resentment towards them.

The group behind him was slightly smaller than the group behind Brick but there seemed to be many strong looking people among them.

Brick stared towards the burly man and spoke up first. "Greetings, it seems that there was another group of survivors."

The burly man was fresh in his memories due to him being the person that beat up the original several days ago during a training session and had played a role in betraying Tanya and Brick later in the story which resulted in their deaths.

It was natural for Brick to feel resentment towards him but he did his best to not show it so openly.

The burly man showed surprise for a moment as he saw Brick who was well armed with his group but his gaze quickly became arrogant as he looked down on Brick as if he was still superior. "It is lucky that someone with your abilities has been able to survive and form a group but you should know your limits and respect your betters. I hope you are not lying to others to make them respect you and taking others achievements for yourself?"

Alice stepped forward and glared towards him. "What are you babbling on about now?"

Brick raised his arm to block her and calmly asked. "Please enlighten me. What do you mean Shawn?"

Although Shawn was older than him and was an official member of the security team of the Reed residence with a higher rank than Brick, Brick did not treat him as a superior which had caused Shawn to be angry.

It only helped to increase his desire to win over the others and to put Brick in his place. "Brick, Brick, Brick.. you are still too young and should not tell lies to get people to follow you. I bet you made up a lie to get them to respect you but I have to tell you all the truth!"

"The truth?"

"What?"

"Is Brick lying to us? What about?"

A cold smile appeared on the face of Shawn as he continued. "Me and my group had played a key role in clearing out the area for you all. That kid must have hidden in the security post and only come out when it was safe. Did you not hear his use of the security post the other day? This proves I am right and while he was hiding, we were the ones taking on the dangers and saving many people."

In truth, he had formed a small group and had only come outside once it was safe and the zombies had left the area to swarm where Brick had directed them.

Shawn had acted as a saviour to everyone in the area and quickly formed his own group.

Although his killing of some lone zombies had been clumsy, it was enough to show others that he could fight against them and those around him had went along with it to gain more support.

Shawn greatly underestimated the present Brick due to his past experiences in the training sessions so he assumed that Brick was just taking advantage of the situation like him.

He planned to shame Brick and have his people come under him then Shawn could quickly take control of everyone.

"Is it true?"

"Well.. he is only a trainee."

"It is not something someone still in their teens could accomplish."

"But he has already saved us and shown he is reliable yes?"

Tristan was shocked and stared at Shawn in disbelief. "Are you joking?"

Alice looked as if she was looking at an idiot. 'Just let him dig his own grave.'

Cherie tilted her head to the side cutely then said. "Big brother is strong."

Brick showed a look of amusement then said to the crowd behind him. "Whether I killed lots of zombies or not does not really matter all that much to me whether you believe it or not. If you do not believe in the strength I have shown you so far then take a gamble by joining Shawn's group. If you trust in what you have seen then follow me and help retake this place."

He looked down towards the waist of Shawn then saw a gun there which made him realise something. 'This guy sure is an opportunist. First he tries to use my own work to boost his own power then he raids the place I have opened. Now he is trying to steal my people?'

Shawn closed the distance and said in a standoffish way. "So you will not deny that you have fooled them huh? Everyone, please stop supporting someone so incapable as it will only cause you harm later."

Brick showed a small smile as he was interested in the result, he looked behind him and spoke. "Make your decision and do not waste time. I wish to get to the inner walls soon so I cannot have those around me that will hesitate and cause further delays."

It was beneficial for Shawn to come forward so Brick could test the loyalty of the others.

Not everyone had seen him slaughtering many zombies and there would be some who were using him or held grudges against him so when the opportunity presented itself, it was the best way to pass those people onto others.

He had no time to waste being delayed by Shawn who was trying to build up his own power and was arming himself and his men with the guns from the armoury.

Brick had bigger goals in mind and he needed to leave the Reed residence so he needed to build up his personal power in a short time and have some reliable people to leave behind to watch over his belongings.

"We are sorry kid, we just want to survive."

"I believed in you kid, it is a shame that you have been deceiving us."

The crowd grew smaller as more joined the group belonging to Shawn.

Brick observed calmly as they switched sides while Alice and Tristan had their fists clenched.

Instead of being upset, Brick had thought to himself. 'Not bad! Less people to feed and babysit!'

There was a bigger smile appearing on his face which Shawn did not expect. 'Huh? Why is he?'

Shawn was not yet aware of the future problems and how food would run out much faster with a larger group.

He was only interested in building up his power and was ignorant to how he could maintain that power in the current situation.

Shawn was expecting Brick to become angry or ashamed after people left him and did not expect him to be so calm. 'What is he thinking?'

He expected Brick to be like him and wanting to hold onto the power that had been gained but instead, Brick had given up willingly and did not put up a fight.

Brick counted the smaller group behind him then turned towards those that joined the other group. "It seems that my 'group' has made their decision and we should all respect that. As for those that have left… I hold no grudge. Do not expect to be allowed back in later."

In the apocalypse, everyone had to find their own way to survive whether it meant fighting the zombies or allying with certain people.

Split second decisions could determine a person's life and death, betrayal of a person or a group could cause many problems which could not be taken back.

They failed to realise who was more beneficial to follow and had turned their backs on Brick so they had to stick to their decision and could not turn back.

Among the crowd, Brick locked eyes with one woman who had joined the other group.

He did not notice it before but he did once the woman had found another support, the woman looked towards him with vengeful eyes. 'Hahahaha how interesting!'

He looked back towards Shawn. "I will be taking my group away now so let us part ways for now."

Shawn grit his teeth and thought to himself. 'Damn cheeky brat. He has no respect!'

He was satisfied with his gains and would ask the new recruits about Brick and his group so he was not worried about teaching Brick a lesson later.

Brick showed a cheeky grin as he was leading his group away. "Shawn, I entrust you with the task of saving the rest of the survivors."

"Hahaha."

"Nice one boss."

"Hehehe."

Shawn was left behind and looked a little angry but quickly took control of his group as he saw some promise in what Brick had said. 'He is just handing me the supplies and the survivors. Ahaha.'