The sun was just below it's peak in the sky, bright rays of heat shining down onto Josh's back as he walked. It was around 14:00 in the afternoon, the sky was clear of clouds and boasting a beautiful colour of light blue. The breeze was just right, enough so that he wasn't sweating in the heat, but not too much so that he would become cold. The boy was walking down a backstreet of the city, the small sidewalk took up a little bit of room but the canal took the rest of it. Boats lined the side of the canal, most if not all of them had already been ransacked for supplies and fuel. Some where floating aimlessly in the middle of the water, waiting for somebody to pull them back in. Josh was kept company only by his footsteps, the rhythmic patting of his feet on the brick below him the only noise in the eerily quiet street. He was dressed in a pair of blue baggy jeans that were easy to climb in and run in, and a red and black flannel button up shirt. Over his shoulder were the straps of his backpack which he carried all his belongings except his weapons in.

After a few more minutes of walking, Josh turned a left corner and stopped in his tracks. "No... No way-" He said to himself. He didn't give himself time to finish before he started jogging towards what he had seen. He had turned into an alley between two sets of houses, and in the middle of the alley, on one side, was an ambulance. An ambulance that from what Josh could see, hadn't been broken into. He jogged up to the back off it, looking around. He put his hand on the doors, pushed gently, and it didn't budge. It wasn't open. He walked around the side, and cautiously peered into the drivers window. Nothing. He walked back around, looked over the doors again and reached for the hands to open it. He grabbed it and pulled gently and when it didn't open he pulled harder, and harder. He was at this, pulling and twisting, for a good couple of minutes. He needed this medicine. He reached to his side, pulled out his small axe and swung. It hit the lock, but didn't break it. He hit it again and this time it looked like the black handle was coming loose. Again, and with a bang it fell off and onto the floor. He reached forward, grabbing the door and pulling.

As soon as he opened the door, a low growl emitted from inside. Not being an idiot, Josh quickly closed the door and threw himself against it just as the infected inside did, the lone predator slamming himself against the doors. Again. And again. "Fuck!" He said to himself. Josh closed his eyes, and after a countdown of ten, he ran to the side and around the truck. He didn't look back to see if the infected had gotten out. He knew it would have. It had slammed its body against the door again and fell straight out. It quickly composed itself and started on its sprint after Josh. The boy ran as fast as he could down the alley until he emerged at a bigger, more full road. He turned right and ran as fast as he could until he saw a hotel a few buildings down on his left. More and more of the infected that had been just wandering were starting to go after him now and so he ran and ran until he got there, and as the infected started gaining on him, he threw himself at the door. Somehow, luckily, the door flew open and he ran inside. He pushed himself against the door, holding it shut as he looked around. To his side was a desk. He grabbed it, pulling it as fast as he could. The door was only half covered when the infected started knocking. He pushed it until the door was completely closed. He stood still for a minute, closing his eyes and catching his breath. "Jesus..."




Zoey's light brown eyes slowly fluttered open as she finally awoke from her deep sleep in the morning. She let out a quiet yawn, slowly reaching her arms up to grab the back of her chair and pull herself up. Surprisingly, sleeping on that had been comfortable and she would have to do it again, it was better than sleeping in some old bed, or on the floor with a blanket. She rubbed her eyes gently as she looked outside the windows that were all around, the sun was beating through and she guessed that it was probably just past midday. That was a lot of sunlight wasted, but she would kick herself for it. She had been up late the night before, she needed to sleep. She stood up, looking out the windows again at the beautiful blue sea that surrounded her tour boat. It was nice and safe in one of these, it had been the most peaceful and comfortable night she had in a while. Not really warm as she was certain if she set a fire in here something would go wrong, but her jacket was just enough. She smiled to herself as she looked around the canals, but the smile soon faded when her thoughts were interrupted. A muffled, helpless voice coming from the other end of the small tour boat. She gave a deep sigh, before she turned on her heels and looked down there.

There was a man, his wrists were cuffed together around the steering wheel. His wrists were also tied with rope, just for security, and the rope was also tied around the steering wheel. As she made eye contact with him, his muffled sounds became louder and it was more apparent he was trying to say something to her. She slowly started to walk over, brushing herself down as she crouched down in front of him. Her head cocked to the side slightly as she looked at him, gently laughing as he looked more and more desperate to speak. Upon further inspection, the man was wearing only trousers. His bare chest was covered in cuts and blood, as was one of his cheeks. She grinned as she looked over him, reaching up to take out the cloth that she had stuck in his mouth to quiet him. She gripped the end of it, but before she took it out she spoke. "You need to promise me that when I take this out, your not going to shout at me, okay?" She was given a quick nod. "Good". She said, tugging on the cloth and pulling it out of his mouth. The man let out a long sigh of relief, looking up at her. "I-I'm really thirsty. Can I please have some water..?" He said, his voice dry and raspy.

Zoey didn't say anything for a moment. She looked down at him, contemplating what to say in her head. After a few seconds of terrifying silence, she giggled. She laughed and smiled at him, standing up again. "You want my water? After you called me all those nasty names yesterday? No". The man shook his head quickly. "I am so, so sorry about what I said! Please!" Zoey shrugged. She walked over to her pack and took out one of her water bottles. Sitting down in front of the man, she untwisted the cap and took a sip. Then another, and then she drunk more and more until there was only half left. She was laughing the whole way as she watched the man struggle to break free. She closed the water, put it down and looked at him. "You don't like being with me?" She asked him, mocking an upset look. "That's okay, I can leave. I'll just go". She said, walking away from him and too her pack. "No, no please don't go!" He said, breaking down into sobbing now. "I don't want to die here! Please!". Zoey ignored his pleas. She picked up her water, her jacket and packed it all into a bag. She sobbed and begged more and more as she packed up, swinging her backpack over her shoulders and walking past him.

Turning around, she smirked down at him and walked over again. "Sorry, my bad. My bad. I really am very, very sorry". She said. She leant over him and started to untie the rope. She pulled it away and stuffed it back into her bag. "I didn't want to leave you like that. I told you, I am a nice girl". She smiled. "Yes, yes, very nice!" He said quickly. "The handcuffs?" He asked afterwards. Zoey looked down at him and sighed. "So very needy. You know that? 'Can I have some water? Can I eat some food? Stop hitting me, stop cutting me, it hurts too much, take my cuffs off'. You are a very, very needy man". She said, calmly but annoyed. She pulled the key for his hand cuffs out of her pocket and looked at her. "Watch. Otherwise you will never know where they are! I'm only showing you once!" She said. He nodded, and his eyes watched her hand, the key, intently. Without a second of thought, she opened the window and threw the key into the water of the canal. "Now you know where it is!" She smiled. She didn't turn to him again before she climbed out of the door and onto side of the road, pushing the boat as hard as she could to send it slowly drifting away. His shouts slowly got quieter and quieter as she smiled and walked away. "You psychotic bitch! Murderer! I'm going to fucking kill you!"

The sounds of the infected throwing themselves against the door was getting louder and louder, but thankfully the desk just in front of the door was holding them at bay for more. They seemed to be quite smart most of the time, and he knew that soon they would start to find other ways in. They would start to separate and break windows to get to him, or climb up the fire escapes on the rear side of the building. Or if he was lucky, some idiot would fire a gun or drive a car and distract them almost straight away. That was a weakness as well as a strength for them, they were attracted to sound. Josh turned, pushed the desk more firmly against the door and made sure it was still in place before he turned around to walk away from it. He was in a lobby, there was a restaurant to his right and a hallway to his left. Maybe the restaurant would have food? And surely an exit.

He turned right and went off into the restaurant, it was big and filled with tables. There was a bar on the left half of the room and behind the bar was a kitchen. The rest of the room was just circle tables and booths, all covered with blood stained white cloth. This once must have been a very nice hotel, maybe for the rich or something like that. Josh carried on walking, he reached to his side and pulled out his axe again, holding it to his side so he was ready for anything. He couldn't imagine somebody would be able to sneak up to him in here, infected or not. The room was huge, and open. The walls on the right side opposite the bar and directly in front of him were made of glass and looked out upon the streets. He looked over them, looking for some kind of exit. He saw a fire exit and muttered a yes! Under his breath.

Josh ran towards the fire exit and just as he got there, he heard a loud smash. They had gotten through the door. Before any infected could sniff him out, he quickly pushed the door open and sprinted away, along the sidewalk and down an alley on his left. He didn't stop running until he was sure he wasn't being chased, when he stopped and leant against the wall in the middle of the alley. So far, today had been very unsuccessful.




Zoey had been just walking down the side of the road when somebody came running out of the alley ahead of her. She stopped for a moment, oddly calm as she reached for her machete. She gripped the handle and then pulled it out, holding it too her side before she looked over her shoulder at the boat that was floating away in the opposite direction. If that man didn't die of starvation, he would be killed by the infected. He was making enough noise, anyway. She looked back ahead of her as the man slowed to a jog. He looked to be in an army uniform and he had a gun. This didn't put her off much, though. She had a gun, and if necessary she could use it. Although she didn't like to use it, because the infected were drawn to the sounds of gunshots like flies to shit. She tightened her grip on her machete, made sure her pack was over her shoulders properly and then she started jogging herself.

It took 30 seconds for her to get too a reasonably close distance. She was about 30 metres behind him when she shouted out too him, "Hello Army man!" She hoped that would get his attention. She stopped jogging and stood still, in hope that he would do the same and turn to her to speak. "Lovely day, isn't it?" She smiled as she looked at him, her thick British accent still strong in her speech.

Josh had just slipped down the wall when he heard an unfamiliar voice calling out to him. He panicked, jumped up and pulled out his gun. He raised it infront of him, before he realised that was not where the voice had come from. He turned to his side and pointed it straight at the guy who's face couldn't be seen. He didn't look very hostile, certainly not infected, and he didn't have a gun. His voice was more concerned than aggressive and so Josh gulped and lowered his weapon a little, but not all the way, in an attempt to seem like less of an asshole. "No, no. I'm not. Are you?" He asked, looking the guy over. His sword was sharp and he had no doubt it would cut through him if it came to that, so he hoped it wouldn't. "I really don't want to fight today, okay?" He said again, before the boy could answer him. "I really don't".




Zoey was expecting and definately wanted him too turn around and speak too her. That was why she spoke, so she could get his attention and make some new freinds, or not. Either way she would be better off in the world. She could either befreind him and gain a useful ally, an army man. Or, she could kill him and take his supplies. Either way she would have a better chance of survival in the city, and a better chance of finding her brother. When he did turn around, she wasnt expecting such an aggressive reaction. She had only been polite. The army man raised his weapon at her, a rifle, and said something in what might as well have been an alien language to her. She sometimes forgot that she wasnt at home. She stopped walking and gripped her machete a little tighter, a frown appearing on her beautiful face. Her light brown eyes scanned over him for anything else, any more weapons as she shrugged calmly. "Sorry mate, I dont speak that. English, please?" She shouted so he could hear her, but not loud enough to attract the infected. She then smiled at him almost as an act of freindliness. If she wanted to kill him she could have taken out her hunting rifle and shot him in the back, and that would have been easy enough. Just as she opened her mouth to speak, the sound of another boy came from behind her.

She quickly turned on her heels towards the new voice, looking at the boy who was half in half out from behind a corner. He looked her age, if not a year or two older. He looked cautious but not dangerous, and he hadnt got a gun out too her. Also, he was from Britain, which was always a welcome positive. "Amazing, amazing! I havent met anybody from home in a few... years". She said the last part quite oddly, sad but with a hint of sarcasm. She turned to the army man and then pointed to the other boy. "Look, this man has manners! He isnt pointing-" She stopped herself here, as she was about to say weapon. "A... gun, at me! She stood back a few paces towards the canal so that she could see both of them without having to turn. The canal boat was getting dangerously close now, and the shouting from inside becoming audible again. God, she should of just killed him. Or stuffed his mouth again, either would have worked.

Interacting with: @GingerBoi123 and @BilboTheGreat

Zoey stood just in front of the canal edge as she listened to the man who was much closer to her age. It seemed like he was trying to calm everyone down, put a more friendly tone into the atmosphere. She recognized this and in turn she gave them both a nice smile as she put her machete behind her and onto her back, the handle sticking up above her right shoulder so that she could grab it an swing if she needed to quickly She listened to him as he spoke, telling the two strangers who he was, where he worked. He was a primary school teacher before the outbreak. He must be smart, since she was sure you had to go through years of university to become a teacher, even if it was only to teach kids who were under eleven or ten. While he was talking, she noticed the army man had taken off his mask and so she could see his face now. Now she could put a face to the voice. A cautious, but freindly face. She was glad that things were getting freindlier, glad that hopefully nobody would have to end up like the man in the boat even if she did thoruougly enjoy doing it now. Sometimes she wondered why or even how she could be so happy when causing somebody so much fear and pain in an already fucked up world. Her excuse was that they deserved it, atleast in her opinion. But she knew that it was just that, an excuse. But she loved doing it and no matter how many reasons she gave, it all boiled down to that.

Ah, he was looking for somebody too. Maybe she could ask him if he had seen her brother. He would surely understand what it was like to be looking for somebody. She looked around the circle when he was finished and stepped foward a little, looking at each of the men in turn and smiling. "My turn". She said to them, thinking for a moment. "My name is Zoey. I'm from London, born and raised. I... had been out of college for about 4 months before all this happened. I was working as a waitress in a nice bar somewhere, I cant remember the name. I was out here with my little brother when it all went too shit and I'm still looking for him". As she spoke, she purposefully neglected to mention the fact that she was an amazing actor, and that was what she had been studying at college. It could come in handy later.

"Maybe we could all go to the corner shop?" She said, smiling as she looked between the two. "After Army man introduces himself, of course".




Josh had relaxed himself a little as he watched the other guy sheath his sword, his big ass, sharp as fuck sword. He lowered his gun even more before eventually putting it on his side and letting it hang from his belt like it usually did when he wasnt using it. He made sure to keep his hand close too it just in case though, as you never know how things would turn out in a world like this. Especially when you havent met a normal person in a couple of years. Just as the boy went to introduce himself, the sound of some plastic scrunching up came from around the corner. "What the..." He said, but stopped as the other guy put his finger to his lips. He nodded, and after pulling his gun and holding it too his side he went behind Darren until they popped around the corner too see a girl who looked more scared than them holding a knife. Darren told her to put the knife away, and so he didnt say anything, he just held his gun at a semi raised position. "Um... yeah. Put the knife down". He hadnt really had much experience with other people since the outbreak.

Interacting with: @GingerBoi123 and @BilboTheGreat