Relief flooded Roan when they finally reached the safety of their hideaway, albeit temporary but it's better than outside where literally anything can jump at them anytime. He went to the area of the floor where Myrrh's things were, the woman's black comforter is still unrolled messily and he carefully placed her down there.

"Myrrh?" He was washed away with ease when the woman finally showed signs of stirring and slight movement.

Face contorting to a wince, Myrrh felt a wave of ache all over her body as she tried moving a joint. "Ugh...did I l-lose my legs?" Her tone sounded breathless, raspy. "I-I'm thirsty..."

Roan took a bottle of water from the box nearby and opened it. "Here drink this and you did not lose your legs" He helped hoisting her a bit so she can drink and put a hand behind her head. "You must feel really disoriented, get some rest and we'll do the talking later"

"I am sorry for making you two worried" Alcel spoke, she was curled in a swivel chair, her blanket thrown around her. "We didn't go out just to cause trouble I swear," Her hand absentmindedly went to the pendant of the necklace which she wore after arriving in the hideaway.

Mikaela came out of the pantry, massaging her temples. "Thank whatever my migraine is finally dying down, the medicine is already taking effect" She stood in the middle of the production floor, a hand on her waist. "If we didn't look for you two, who knows how you'll end up" Exhales, "How long have you two been there?"

The sunset-haired woman shrugged, "Probably almost half a day..." She trailed off.

Myrrh coughed a bit while drinking, "H-How did you find us?" Her question came out like a whisper.

"It's a long story" Roan replied, though not really, it just involved Mikaela losing her cool and freaked out like crazy. He didn't actually know where they were going after the two went missing but their feet led them to the direction of the broken chapel.

"Hey everyone"

Arisha and Paul came inside all dirty, rugged and bruised but what caught their attention is the other man who accompanied the two. The subject of Alcel and Myrrh's whereabouts was quickly forgotten. Mikaela observed the newcomer—he appeared nice and friendly, his eyes twinkling with enthusiasm.

Roan didn't budge from his position near Myrrh but he also stared at them, "Welcome back Arisha-neechan and Paulo..." His brown eyes slid to the newcomer.

"Hello guys, sorry for appearing out of the blue here" Clarence chuckled, grinning sheepishly and scratched the back of his head. "This must be awkward to you" He scooted to the side.

Alcel shook her head, "No not really, it's just been long since we found any fellow survivors in Evergreen" She said softly, "We scout almost everyday but either they already left or dead"

"Yeah," Mikaela nodded, crossing her arms. "We believed we are the only ones left in here but you know, we are always welcome to anyone who wants to stay alive." She turned to Paul then quickly noticed the deep wound in his leg. "Shit! That looks ugly!" Throwing no hesitation, Mikaela went by his side to help in tending the wound.

Paulo let himself dropped on the floor, allowed her to look at the wound. "Yes but it's far from the heart so I am still fine, just one of those days..."

While Mikaela started helping the bald man with his wound, Arisha decided to do the introduction and provide Clarence a short information about them. "This building used to be the office where we worked in but we decided to turn it into our base or sanctuary, we're all colleagues here—that's Alcel, Mikaela" Then in the corner, "That's Roan and Myrrh" The brunette furrowed her brows, "What happened to her?"

Roan looks at the now-sleeping Myrrh then back to their leader, "We'll tell you about it later after dinner?"

"Hmmm" Arisha sensed that they did something today while they were in patrol.

"It's nice to see more people here, I am really glad to know I am not alone" Clarence told them, "My name is Clarence and I'll do whatever I can to assist you here in exchange of staying"

While tending to the man's wounds, Mikaela noticed the look her colleague is throwing at the newcomer's direction while he conversed with Arisha.

She could only shake her head and chuckle a little, "Is this a good time to be jelly, Paul?"

Paulo tore his eyes away from the brunette and to Mikaela, "What do you mean? Stop saying nonsense, Mikaela"

"I don't know about the others but it's obvious to me" After cleaning and disinfecting the wound, the sunset-haired woman took a roll of gauze bandage which she began wrapping around his leg.

Dinner is nothing extravagant, the table in the office pantry is filled with chips, canned goods, candies and bottled water. They settled down around the table—Alcel and Myrrh next to Roan and Mikaela while Arisha sat between Paulo and Clarence.

"Luckily we still have enough food and water to keep us alive" Arisha said, "I hope you don't mind"

A large cheerful smile plastered on Clarence's face, "It is better than nothing, miss Arisha, I am sure it's never easy for everyone to look for food outside the building"

"No, it's not" Myrrh spoke, she took one granola and chocolate bar, "We emptied almost all the convenience stores nearby and we'd be lucky to find real food like chicken, rice, burger, fries, fish or anything that can be cooked" After the couple hours rest, she finally looks better.

Mikaela squinted her fingers, making a small shape. "I was this close in considering the leaves of the trees I swear, I even told Arisha that we'll just wash and turn it to salad"

Laughter erupted in their table after the sunset-haired woman shared that particular memory, she became fond of; deep inside Mikaela knew they'd be deep in shit for how long but she was glad they could still find a means to smile, laugh or have fun.

"Where are you from, Clarence?" Alcel asked while eating potato chips.

Clarence glanced at the curious long-haired female, momentarily he gazed at the necklace she has before answering, "I lived in the residential area of Evergreen, I am the only one left in my family and never got the courage to go out until today" His face saddened, "I didn't want to leave our home, it was filled with memories of mom, dad and siblings but if I won't come out, I thought I might just rot there slowly without any food or water"

Arisha's heart felt heavy again, she suddenly wanted to reach out and give comfort to the new member of their circle. "I am sorry to hear about what happened" She patted his shoulder.

Tears welled in Clarence's eyes, it rolled down his cheeks before he can will it not to. "Sorry, I can't help but be emotional" He wiped it with the back of his hand, "I just missed my siblings and their death is still fresh in my head, I want them back if I only could I will sell whatever I have even my soul to turn back the time or wake up from this awful nightmare"

The pantry turned silent, only the sound of Clarence's sobs is heard; sorrow and stack of unwanted memories gleamed mutually in each of their eyes and even without looking at one another, it was palpable in the air that the newcomer's sudden burst affected them.

"I am sorry for being dramatic all of a sudden" Clarence continued after his sobbing, "We are already in a bad situation and I am making you feel worse"

Paulo shook his head, his expression sincere. "Do not feel sorry, Clarence, it is alright for you to share and do not ever think that what you feel is invalid" He may had felt a slight—unadmitted—jealousy earlier but it doesn't mean he'd act mean towards him. "The past months has not been kind to us, all of these are taking a toll in our minds"

"Each day is like a test of our sanity" Arisha added, "We missed a lot of things, scenario and people; heck we don't even have an idea how it all started but we need to carry on, this is not going to be the last time we'll experience meltdown but we cannot give up"

Mikaela feigned a serious look, "Jeez why did we suddenly turn into a drama show? We're supposed to be an action-themed movie you know" She cracked a smile before munching on plain crackers.

"You are right!" Clarence also joined in the laugh, the negative feeling brewing in him and around them finally disappeared.

-*-

Evergreen City was a lot lifeless and dull in the blanket of darkness, from afar it'd appear like a void because of the lack of any lights; there's only the strange howling voices that can either be a scream of agony or from the undead. Night grew colder without any sign of mundane life but despite all the shitty thing that occurred, the stars are still sparkling against its dark backdrop.

Roan had his head tilted up, observing its formation and taking comfort in the sparkles.

"What are you doing here? Are you not going to rest?" Myrrh stepped onto the rooftop from the door leading back inside the building below them, wearing a black office coat over her floral knee-length dress. It was the coat she wore at work couple of hours before normal became abnormal.

The man being asked shook his head, "...Just thinking but I'll go back soon, no need to come out here" He turned away from her and moved closer at the edge of the building, overlooking the view below but it only looks like strange shapes in the dark.

Myrrh stood beside him, "What's wrong, Roan?"

A heavy sigh escaped his lips, Roan massed his forehead with one hand before answering. "I am remembering stuff I shouldn't be thinking anymore" When Clarence became emotional during dinner about missing his family, Roan was taken back in the afternoon of the 'attack'.

...

The unexpected tide of chaos caused by the gruesome death of the security guard caused major panic and alert inside the production floor; the loss of focus turned each employee frenzy, uncertain of what they'd do. But this was only enjoyed further by the tall, hideous stranger who stepped foot inside bloodied up after what he did to his first blood.

"Let's go to the fire exit! Don't lose each other come on!" Arisha had yelled firmly; her eyes are lit with fire and fear but she tried maintaining composure amidst the wave of panic.

Roan complied and followed the others who also chose the same route, the shock almost rendered his limbs weak which made him trip but Jay hoisted him up.

"Come on, man, we need to get away from that psychopath quick!" Their teammate told him in an erratic tone.

The fire exit was crowded, everyone tried descending the staircase quickly as they could and some hit one another due to haste. Their panic-stricken voices became mixed with frustration, pleading cries for escape and also anger. It was understandable for they all wanted to live and not be the unfortunate one to get such torturous death but their desires to flee at the same time made it worse.

"Stop pushing around this is not going to make us move fast! We will end up killing each other in these freaking staircases if you will not stop!" Arisha exclaimed; her statement directed to their colleagues upfront who were yelling at each other, close to a fist fight.

"Jesus Christ they just had to do this now!" Mikaela commented, she too is struggling to descend the stairs without hurting anyone but it was difficult.

Some of their colleagues also began joining in the frustration.

"CUT IT OUT!"

"Just stop and keep moving you bastards or we will all die!"

"I can't breathe!"

A screeching yell from below interrupted them—the angry voices turned to scream of fear upon the appearance of a two headed girl—its left head contorted a deep scowl and has green skin in contrast to its normal brown color.

An axe flew out of its grip in the air, thrown at the crowd of employees huddled in the mid-part of the staircase; Roan saw the axe coming at his direction, his mind gears rotated so quick and began imagining how the thick, sharp blade would sink deep in his skull, how the blood would drip from the crack it'd make and the worse part is he will still be alive to feel the excruciating pain before meeting death.

He raised his arms to shield himself and ducked down—he knew it was pointless but out of instinct he still did and waited for the pain to come.

But Roan felt none.

...

"I blamed myself for what happened" Roan muttered, gaze casted down at his crossbow and fingers absentmindedly tracing its features. "When I sleep my mind would conjure him repetitively..." Jay would be in his head at the last state he was in—the axe embedded deeply in the middle of his forehead, of all the good times they had at work it was that part his brain refused to let go no matter how creepy it was. "If I didn't dodge, he wouldn't have—"

Myrrh's brow furrowed, jerking her head back a bit in surprise. "What do you mean? So, you were saying you should have not dodge and take the hit?"

And the wavy brown-haired male finally let out the thought he formed for a long time, one that he knew would get him yelled or scold at. "I was fated to die that day, alright?!" His voice cracked, "Because of what I did Jay ended in my stead, it's so obvious the axe was going my way! I shouldn't have dodged!" The emotion he suppressed at the very bottom dam in him opened and Roan dropped on his knees sobbing loudly.

Myrrh was stunned as she watched her teammate/colleague cry—this was probably the first time she saw Roan expressed such vulnerability for he was usually a calm stream at work.

Kneeling down next to him, the woman wrapped her arms around him. "I know this is not a situation we are supposed to laugh or make fun of but really Ro, I didn't know you have it in you to think like a weirdo"

Roan leaned onto her and let himself be comforted. "This zombie apocalypse took a huge toll in my head; I can't help it" He added a chuckle.

"We'll do what we can to prevent each other's sanity meter from going down, okay? You won't be able to promise me this but try not to blame yourself for what happened." Myrrh said in an almost whisper, "You saving yourself out of instinct or dodging the bullet doesn't make you a bad person, you were put in a situation that required tough decision-making"

The ugly heavy feeling never left Roan's chest, it would really take a while before he accepts that it wasn't his fault Jay died. He wasn't the only teammate of theirs whose life were ended in a miserable way but because they became the closest in the team, his bond with him is far different.

"Also, I'm supposed to be the drama mama here remember? Leave all the paranoid stuff in my brain" Myrrh joked.

Roan stood up and pulled away from the embrace, he gave her a small smile. "I am feeling better now thank you"

"Anytime," The platinum-haired woman returned the smile, she wrapped her coat tighter when a blow of wind came from their left—the scent of rubbles, leaves, soil and smoke floated.

Roan went back to watching the dark streets below, "Why did you and Alcel leave the hideaway today? You were given specific order not to go anywhere yet you did"

"Uhhh..." Myrrh trailed off, the girl who spoke to them flooded her head but when they woke up there's no sign of her anywhere. "Honestly, I am not sure how I'll tell you without it making me look crazier"

"MYRRH..."

The loud familiar voice stopped their train of conversation and also served to increase the icy fear that quickly crept in their veins. The voice is so loud it echoed in the night and reached where they are.

Gulping, the woman being called slowly turned her gaze below, blue eyes lit with terror for recognizing the figures despite the darkness and distance clouding them.

"No!" Myrrh gasped, tears sprung up her eyes and fell backwards.

There on the wall of the building clung four figures—three of them aren't familiar but the other one is. No wonder the voice sounded so close, they were on fours and scaling the wall like a goddamn spider! Their eyes are glowing like flashlight, a wide devilish grin on their faces.

"S-Shane?" Roan asked in disbelief, the woman recently joined the company and their team; just like Jay is to him, Shane is to Myrrh. The former would always ask help or cling onto the latter at work.

"What are they doing here?! This is impossible! It can't be!" Myrrh started rocking back and forth in the ground, hands pulling at her hair. "They're dead can't be here! God no!"

Roan was torn between shooting an arrow or not but with his hands now shaky as hell, he might miss and waste his arrows so he turned away and tried pulling Myrrh up, "Let's go back inside now!"