Dead Man Walking: Living By Day, Dead By Night

Zane slept well throughout the night. After all, he had two beautiful women by his side. One was his former teacher, and the other his childhood friend. All in all, he had to admit his life had become better, not worse, because of the apocalypse. And he was perhaps the only person in the world who felt that way.

But when the dawn arrived, Zane awoke from his slumber. The first thing he did was climb out of bed and take a shower. After doing this, he immediately proceeded to unlock Madison's door.

Due to the fact that she could not yet be trusted to not slit their throats in their sleep, Zane had reinstalled the lock on her door, so it kept her inside the room throughout the night.

Madison was still asleep when Zane unlocked her door, and thus, he did not make a move to wake her. After all, the man enjoyed the peace and quiet of an early morning when all the women by his side were still asleep.

Zane spent this time preparing breakfast, and thinking about what he planned to do for today. Though Madison had seen the destruction of the world, and had been given a crash course in firearms safety, handling, and maintenance. The fact of the matter is she had yet to truly see the horrors of the undead.

Not only that, but Zane didn't plan to just hide away in the bunker and wait out the storm. He knew the undead were evolving at a rapid rate, and because of this, sooner or later, they would be knocking down his door. When that time came, there would be no saving themselves.

No, the best means of long-term survival was a constant progression through the system and the many benefits it gave him and the girls. Because of this, Zane wanted to clear out the gated community which the former Governor of Nevada built his home upon, and establish a perimeter around the mansion and the bunker beneath it.

Carson was far less dangerous than Reno, there were no Stalkers here, nor any Juggernauts. The worst he and the girls would have to deal with were abominations, something Zane had come to understand when he initially surveyed the small city.

Abominations could be dealt by Zane and the girls, especially now that Zane had the ability to manipulate his own blood, turning it into a powerful weapon to be wielded at his own discretion.

Zane's ultimate plan was to farm the undead in the city of Carson until there were none left standing. By then he and the girls would have advanced significantly in level, perhaps even being able to take on some of the higher tier undead.

Eventually, the girls awoke from their slumber and filled their stomachs with the rations Zane had provided them from the bunker's many food stores.

Once they had finished their meal, Zane let them know exactly what today's plan was, and reiterated that he would be keeping a close personal eye on Madison to ensure she did not do anything foolish, like try to kill any of them while their backs were turned.

It was a notion that Madison found offensive, but did not object to, simply because she knew by now after spending two days with Zane that he was a deeply paranoid man, and that it would take a significant amount of time and effort for her to earn his trust, and by extension her freedom.

Thus, she tagged along with the group, always in Zane's line of sight as they began their actions. By now, Elena, Olivia, and Zane were exceptional at clearing buildings of the undead who remained within, and they spent close to an hour using their usual tactics doing exactly this.

Though their tactics had been modified, as Zane and Angelica were clearing rooms with the other two, and Madison was providing support via her force-field generation skill. If anything, they were far more efficient than normal.

But because Zane and Angelica were not providing Overwatch, in fear of a potential betrayal by Madison, they did not have eyes on their environment. Without even realizing it and Abomination had entered the neighborhood, seemingly attracted by the sounds of battle.

It was not just one Abomination, but a pack of Walkers with it, as well as a few new Tier II undead that Zane and the girls were unfamiliar with.

When Zane and the girls exited the building, they found that they had been surrounded by a small army of undead. Perhaps the size of a military company. Zane's attention was immediately dragged to the abomination, and the bizarre looking undead next to it.

These were Tier II undead, whose legs were exceptionally large, and visibly muscular. They crawled on all fours and had exceptionally large fangs protruding from their mouths. The system visibly displayed what they were to Zane and the girls.

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[Leaper - Tier II Undead]

]Level – 5]

[Health: 100/100]

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Judging by the name, these strange undead were probably skilled at jumping high and far. And would be able to instantly close the distance between Zane and the girls. This would prove to be a dangerous distraction as their focus should be on taking out the Abomination before it could get close to them.

Knowing that they were effectively surrounded by a small army of undead. Zane reached into his pocket and lit a cigarette while expressing his thoughts about the matter.

"Well…. This simplifies things…"

Unbeknownst to Zane, an undead who looked like an adolescent girl gazed upon the scene from a nearby rooftop. A sinister smile emerged on her face as she saw the targets which Bart had given her.

She spoke her thoughts aloud to nobody in particular and when she did; it was as soft and smooth as velvet, unlike her face, which appeared as if it had been mauled by a bear.

"I found you!"

The battle would immediately unfold. But who would be the victor had yet to be decided…