Roy clipped one of the infected on our way out, spinning it like top towards the hard tarmac.

"Shit!"

Tim was hanging out the passenger window again, shooting while Karla drove. He was rather good that I had to admit.

"You think you're ready to do that?" Roy asked, sounding like he was only half joking.

"I'm going to go with, hell no." With my luck I'd fall out and break something this time.

"We can't bring the sick ones back with us," Roy gripped the wheel until his knuckles went white, his forehead crinkled.

"I could probably do some damage if you stopped near the infected," I suggested.

"But Tim is still moving," Roy argued.

"So? Do you want to help or not? We're not doing any good just following behind them, unless you plan to play a game of hit and run with the infected!" I had to control the laughter that was threatening.

His lips formed a hard line, but he stopped the truck. There were infected all over this road. We must have intercepted them on their way to the golf range. I hit the button and my window rolled down. I leaned out the window so I was sitting on the ledge, my gun and elbows resting on the top of the cabin. I let out a few bursts, taking out the closest ones. Having a surface to prop the gun on helped with my aim immensely as it took some of the weight off.

One of the infected I shot went flying back so hard, its feet lifted off the ground. This gun definitely had some power. Roy had rolled down his own window and was starting to shoot at the ones on his side. His aim wasn't horrible, but he was wasting half the bullets he shot. When everything was still around us, I crawled back into the cabin.

"Shit, Tim's gone," Roy muttered.

"Whatever, we'll catch up," I motioned for him to go.

The street was lined with dead infected from Tim's drive-by shooting. So we just followed the fallen. We took a right and saw that Karla had stopped the truck and Tim was shooting all around. The majority of the infected were grouped here, like they were travelling in packs. Roy pulled up a few car lengths away and he jumped out to help. I propped myself out the window and on the roof again, liking the stability it created.

I had to focus on not just leaving my finger on the trigger, but rather releasing it for controlled bursts like Tim had said. I stopped counting the downed infected at ten. This gun was killer, in all sense of the word. And I had just become infinitely more dangerous with it. It was kind of intoxicating.

My ears rang with the echoes of the automatic gunfire long after we had stopped shooting. Tim looked back at us.

"Alright, let's head back," he yelled across the distance.

I stuffed myself back into the cabin, removing the empty magazine. It was hot and I had to set it down, along with the muzzle of the gun I had pointed to the floor. We drove the rest of the way in silence until we were parked back in the lot behind the apartment.

"That was some good shooting," Roy praised.

"Thanks," I shrugged it off.

"Were you ever a team Capitan or anything?" Roy asked, out of the blue.

I knocked my head back, "Ah, no?" He had thrown me for a loop with his random question.

He smiled, "You just seem to be good at taking the lead, that's all."

He exited the vehicle without any more to say, leaving me to think about his words. I never saw myself as a leader, especially lately with John taking the forefront. Was I unconsciously doing it?

When I got back inside the building, I handed the gun and magazine back to Tim and he re-locked up the weapons in the guarded storage room.

"After we get something to eat, Karla and I will go back to road patrol," Tim said. "Bernice, I need you to take roof duty and José you need to keep a stern eye on the street. We ran into a bunch more sick ones while we were out."

Bernice was a lady somewhere in her forties and she was very good with the sniper rifle. She grabbed the weapon from the lockup and headed up the stairs. José nodded, "Will do."

Everyone broke apart, like football players from a team huddle. Tim stopped long enough to take me aside.

"You did pretty good out there; can I trust you to keep an eye out while I'm gone?"

"What about Roy?" I pointed out.

Tim's jaw shifted, "Roy is a nice guy, but he's not really made for leadership."

"And I am?" I asked, a shade shocked.

"You're getting there." That was all he said as he walked away, leaving me with my mouth hanging slightly open.

When he came back I would have to tell him to stop making me do stuff without asking first, it was annoying. Now I felt the chains of responsibility and wouldn't feel right about leaving today with the others gone. I felt like punching a wall. I always wondered before why people would do that; frustration was the answer. My blood was starting to boil. Tim had no right; I wanted to leave just to spite him. But the anxious faces of the other's in here stopped me and my shoulders slumped.

"What took so long?" Chloe demanded as she walked up to me, her arm's crossed.

I turned to her, reining in my anger, "Fieldtrip."

"Are we gonna stay again?" she asked.

"Looks like it. You okay with that?" I looked down at her.

She shrugged, "If we have to. I kinda like it here. But we have to find Ethan though."

I felt saddened that she was forced to struggle with something so young, but at least she understood. I placed my hand on her head.

"So did Mac say what was for supper?" I tried to change the subject.

"Dunno, me and Amanda were playin' cat's cradle. I'm not very good at it," she muttered.

"Well keep at it. I'm going to find Mac." I was glad that Chloe had someone to keep her entertained other than me. It was kind of a relief. I hadn't been very good company in the last while.

I set off down the hall, looking for Mac. I needed someone to vent to and Roy probably wouldn't appreciate what Tim had said. Plus I liked Mac; he was easy to get along with. I found him in the apartment they were using as the kitchen.

"Smells good," I sniffed the air. It was a welcome reprieve from the burning stench earlier.

"It's meatloaf surprise," he made a motion like a magicians assistant towards the oven.

"Where'd you get the meat from?" I asked suspiciously.

A grin spread across his face, "That's the surprise!"

I'd like to think he was joking. My thoughts must have been on my face because he laughed.

"I'm just kidding. It's not really meatloaf; it's more like a casserole. Karla found a deer wandering two days ago."

"Deer? In a casserole?" I couldn't help but sound skeptic.

"Just you wait," he winked. "So what brings you to my kitchen?"

"Tim volunteered me to watch the apartment building."

Mac looked serious for a second, "Never really liked him. Quiet military guys scare me. They should be loud and banging their fists on their chest." He made the motion like a gorilla and I chuckled.

"He's sneaky," I admitted.

"Ah, you see it too. He kind of has a roundabout way of making you feel like it's your duty to stay here."

"Exactly. He said Roy wasn't really made to be a leader."

I picked up a bottle with masking tape around it. The label read Secret Ingredient. I shook it and the sounded like sand rattling around.

"I made my own spice concoction," Mac said proudly. "I was a chef before this all happened. You can take the fancy kitchen from the chef but not the chef from the kitchen." He took the bottle from me; as if afraid I would drop it. "And Roy has been through a lot, I don't blame him."

My ears perked at that. Maybe Mac could finally tell me the story.

"Is it because of what happened to his wife and other daughter?" I hedged.

Mac looked shocked, "He told you about them?"

"No, but it's not hard to put together. Tell me."

Mac sighed, "I'm a terrible gossip. He told you about the attack right?"

I nodded, remembering Roy's tale.

"Well his youngest daughter was shot dead during the attack. We had to watch him carry her outside and bury her. He wouldn't let anyone else help. There's a grave in the empty lot beside he dug for her that he goes out to every morning," pain laced Mac's words.

I could only image how hard that would have been. Poor Roy. His poor little girl.

"And his wife?" I probed.

"She was taken," Mac let his words hang in the air.

"By the gang people?"

"Yeah, they took her and one other guy that night," Mac looked around, like he was checking for eavesdroppers. "I think they took her for a reason."

Dread settled in my stomach. Mac said they hadn't only taken women, but it was still suspicious. A shiver trickled down my spine, like melting ice. I was reminded of when I got locked up in the police station. The only woman, separated from the others.

"What you mean?" I leaned in.

"The guy taken had been bit numerous times by sick ones. He was immune I guess. Roy's wife, Irene, had once told me she had survived an attack."

I froze. There were others like me? My hand itched to move to my side, but I forced it to remain still. Now I would have to hide the scratches for a different reason. What would the kidnappers want with immune people? They were just thugs; they couldn't do anything about the infection. The ice in my spine returned.

"What do you think they need them for?" my voice steady.

"Who knows?" Mac shrugged. "It's just a theory anyways, trying to make sense of a senseless situation I suppose."

"Did anyone try to look for them afterwards?"

"Roy threw himself into it, but eventually put that on hold because he still had one daughter to keep it together for. Tim also canvased around, finding nothing for leads," Mac answered.

"How's dinner coming along?"

We both jumped at the sudden intrusion. It was Elaine, who narrowed her eyes at the two of us. She walked over and held out her hand.

"Roy asked me to bring this to you." In her grasp was a Tensor bandage for my elbow.

I took it from her, "Thank you."

"Let me see your elbow first," Elaine jerked her chin towards my arm.

I maneuvered so she could examine it. She gripped my wrist and forearm firmly and began to bend the sore joint. At least it hadn't swelled. I winced when she fully extended it.

"You may have a cracked bone; make sure you wear this brace and don't hyperextend it. I have some anti-inflammatories in my office to help with the pain and stiffness. Come and grab some later."

"Thanks again," I said as I slipped on the tight bandage.

The pressure already seemed to help with the pain.

"You're welcome and don't forget," she nodded. "It looks like we could use you at a hundred percent."

Whatever she meant by that. It looks like Tim wasn't the only one trying to make me stay.

"Supper should be ready in about twenty minutes," Mac stated, not to be left out.

"Good, people are getting hungry," Elaine turned on her heels and walked out.

Mac rolled his eyes at me and I grinned. I liked this guy.

Dinner had actually taken closer to forty minutes to be finished. Mac had to add just the right amount of seasonings at the right time. I tried telling him that no one really cared about how much dill he used, they were just going to inhale it anyways and he looked like I had just slapped him with his own spatula.

True to his word, it was delicious. I was a true believer now. After supper Chloe and I played charades against Roy and Amanda. We all face palmed when Roy failed at miming being a baby. He just rolled on the ground and Amanda had no idea what the hell he was doing. We eventually gained an audience as people laughed at the things we were doing and added new ideas to the hat. It was kind of fun.

Our audience chimed in taking a guess at what Roy was doing. Currently he was trying to mime Harry Potter to Amanda and was pointing to his forehead and then jerking his hand forward like he was using a fly swatter. She just sat there with this confused look on her face while people yelled in the background.

"Headache? Tylenol?"

"Teacher?"

"Psychic?"

At least the last one was closer. The timer buzzed and he threw his hands in the air.

"Harry Potter!"

"Dad, that was terrible," Amanda shook her head.

Chloe giggled from her spot on the couch beside me and even I had to laugh. He was terrible at this.

"Alright, I'm done," Roy sighed as he plopped down on one of the chairs.

At this point, everyone had returned except for Tim. Karla was clutching her walkie while she sat in the corner. Bernice had left her post on the roof. It was dark out and there was no point in staying up there. José had joined us as well, but his eyes always drifted back to the front hallway. Mac had formed his own team with one of the older ladies and was now center stage, miming a pirate but they lady didn't seem to get it.

I wondered why Tim hadn't come back. All Karla had said is that he told her to go get some rest, that he would radio her if she was needed. But she didn't seem to want to sleep. I had a feeling they were together, even though when they were beside one another they never hinted at any romantic attachment. Tim always seemed to be anywhere but here except for the briefest of moments. Not the most involved leader.

Roy got up from his spot, "Alright guys, time to turn in."

His announcement was met with a chorus of booing from the audience but everyone began to migrate to their rooms. I looked at the clock, it reading just past nine PM. It had been a tiring day; I was wiped and secretly glad for the early bedtime. I ushered Chloe upstairs after she said her goodnights. In less than twenty minutes the apartment went from lively to more quiet than a church mass.

I was about ready to sleep when the faintest of lights crossed over the semi-boarded up window in my room. I walked over and looked out. On the ground directly below my third floor window was Tim and two guys I had never seen before. They were all holding flashlights, the bright LED kind. They seemed to be angrily discussing something and one of the men handed Tim a large, overstuffed bag. Once he took it, Tim pointed straight to my window.