Dead Man Walking: Living By Day, Dead By Night

After an incredibly awkward breakfast, Zane outlined his plan for the day with the girls. They were going to drag Madison out from the bunker and teach her how to shoot. The girl needed to know that the old world was gone, and that the new world was a nightmare.

And because of this, Zane kept a close eye on the girl as he carried one of the rifles that belonged to the bunker's armor outside the bunker and to the backyard of the mansion which it was built under. The moment Madison saw the light for the first time in months, she squinted her eyes.

Perhaps because the natural light of the outside world took some time getting used to, the pink-haired girl did not immediately see the damage that had been done to the world. But as her eyes adjusted, so did her mind.

A horrified expression appeared on the young woman's face as she gazed into the terrible reality that she suddenly found herself in. Just in the gated community which this mansion lied within, the homes were in a state of disrepair. Visible damage had been done to them, whether from the undead, or the various survivors who had waged war in the ruins of the old world after its fall.

When Madison saw this, she was dismayed, stumbling over her words as she asked Zane just what was going on.

"W… Wh… What is happening right now?"

Zane's voice was cold as he tossed the spare rifle on the ground in front of the girl. He then reached into his coat pocket and pulled out his pack of cigarettes, where he grabbed hold of one such device and lit it, taking a deep drag, followed by a long exhale before revealing his thoughts on the matter.

"This is what remains…. The virus swept through the world faster than anybody ever thought it would. Those who became infected quite rapidly turned into something different. They are no longer living, their minds devoid of any thought, acting on pure instinct as they engage in mindless violence and cannibalism.

The disease spread through contact, usually in the form of a bite, but it's possible for one to get infected via a scratch. You will die quickly, depending where you get bit. It could take as little as an hour to turn, and once you do, it's over. You're just another mindless zombie in a world full of them.

That's not the worst part though, we don't know how, but the dead can evolve into stronger monsters, and at night they are more active, more violent. If you haven't found shelter by the time the sun sets, you're as good as dead.

The system you see in your eyes, the thing that appeared after you awakened, it's our best hope of survival, but it comes at a great cost. Even then, the dead are the least of your worries. It's the other living human beings you have to worry about most.

Civilization is gone. It's the law of the jungle out there. Might is right, and people are literally killing one another for supplies, some of those supplies being blood crystals. There are a few pockets of functional society here and there, but with the rapid rate that the dead are evolving, it's entirely unknown for how much longer they will last.

Angelica was taken as a slave by a group of marauders, and I saved her from that slavery. The shock collar you wear was hers originally. I meant what I said by the way, I would try my best to save your family… But…. When I saw your father volunteer you to undergo an awakening, one which, as you have witnessed, has a 4/5 chance of infecting the user.

I lost my shit… I'm not going to say I'm sorry, because sorry doesn't mean anything in a world like this.

But maybe now you will understand the lengths I went to in order to gain access to an area safe from all this madness. So pick up your rifle. It's time you learn some valuable life skills, and after that, we will discuss how to properly spend those attribute points of yours…"

Madison was dumbstruck by everything she saw, she had yet to actually see a Walker, or god forbid one of the more terrifying undead monsters that now ruled the Earth, but the damage to a city that just a month ago was well functional, was evident.

The end of the world had really happened while she was hiding in the bunker, and it was only now that she was starting to understand this. She did not pick up her rifle like Zane had told her to do. Instead, she quickly began to plead with the man to let her call her friends. Who she was now deeply concerned about.

"I need a phone! Can I please go back down and get my phone? Please, I need to check on my friends!"

Zane put out his cigarette on the ground and stomped on it before moving towards the girl with a stern look on his face, he slapped the absolute shit out of her in a single motion, before calmly, and collectedly telling her to wake the fuck up.

"Didn't you hear a word I just said? What are you, some kind of brainless bimbo? The world is gone! The overwhelming majority of humans are dead! And those who still remain are no different than feral wolves. Even if your friends did miraculously survive, their fate is likely far more cruel than your own.

Even if you went and fetched your phone right now, it wouldn't matter. The power went out about a week ago. This bunker is one of the few places remaining in what used to be the United States that still has electricity. You wouldn't be able to contact your friends even if they were still alive and free…. Now, I'm not going to say it again, pick up your rifle…"

Madison gazed at the ground where the rifle lay, after Zane had tossed it to her, and she had failed to catch it. She was currently having an existential crisis, finally understanding just how fucked the world truly was. She suddenly had every desire to blow her own brains out, rather than deal with the cruel new reality she found herself in.

But she did not…. After mustering some strength, the girl grabbed the rifle and awkwardly held onto it. For whatever reason, she had chosen the more difficult path, and that was to survive. And if she wanted to survive, then she would need to learn how to fight. Because there was no surviving in this cruel world if one was not willing to fight for what they had.

When Zane saw this newfound determination flicker in the spoiled brat's eyes, he nodded his heads in approval before beginning to teach her a crash course on how to properly wield and maintain a firearm.