Dead Man Walking: Living By Day, Dead By Night

It took several moments for Elena and Olivia to think through whether or not they wanted to follow Zane into a battle. After all, it was entirely possible that Ryan and his team had most likely scavenged the weapons that Zane had left behind. Meaning that if they attacked the gymnasium with just the three of them, they would be in for a hell of a fight.

But Zane was determined to kill every last one of the bastards who had dared to burn down his sanctuary in this rotten world. Luckily for the three of them, they were safely far enough away from the horde of walkers which walked through the rubble of their former camp to gain notice.

Of course, there was another pair of eyes in the background that set its sights upon them. The fire alarm had caught the notice of the Stalker, which for the last few days had been absent from the school grounds.

The Tier IV undead monstrosity watched Zane with interest. After all, Zane was walking among the living so comfortably. This confused the Stalker for reasons that only it truly understood. Either way, it did not outwardly prove hostile to Zane and his living slaves. But the same would not be said about the lower level undead who stalked the school campus grounds.

Thus, knowing that he was running low on time, Zane decided to give Elena and Olivia an ultimatum.

"With or without you I'm doing this You can stay here and wait for the Walkers to notice you, or you could go back the way we came and flee into the city, which is full of unimaginable horrors that we have yet to fully understand.

Your final option is to follow me into battle, though victory isn't certain. I suspect Ryan and his crew have no idea how to even operate the firearms they most likely stole from us. So what will it be?"

Elena gritted her teeth. She really didn't understand why they should risk their lives to just for the sake of vengeance. After all, now that their sanctuary was destroyed, and their supplies were looted, they had no reason to really stay at their former high school. Instead, they could go out and search for their families, so why? Why was Zane so focused on dying here?

But before Elena could persuade Zane, Olivia voiced her support of his decision in a shocking display of loyalty that made Elena question the woman's motives.

"I wouldn't be alive if it weren't for you Zane, my life is yours to make use of as you see fit… If you wish to stand and fight… Then I will do everything in my power to assist you!"

Even Zane was slightly surprised by the mature silver haired beauty's bold statement. But Elena was practically gawking at Olivia, which did not go unnoticed. Zane nodded his head in approval and thanked Olivia for her support, before shifting the attention entirely to the crimson haired young beauty standing next to her.

"Thank you Olivia, your loyalty means more to me than you can imagine… What about you Elena? Will you join us, or will you flee?"

As much as Elena did not want to fight Ryan and his band of thugs, she knew now that Olivia had voiced her support for Zane's crazy plan, that there would be no convincing the man otherwise.

And she also knew that without Zane and Olivia, the odds of her surviving for any meaningful period of time were virtually zero. Thus, with a deep breath and a heavy exhale to calm her nerves, Elena agreed.

"Alright… Fine… But if we die here in this shitty place before I even have a chance of regrouping with my family, I will never forgive you!"

Zane scoffed at the idea of Elena holding a grudge even after death, and was quick to ensure that his weapon was loaded, while Elena and Olivia did the same. Once they were locked and loaded, Zane spoke of the plan of attack.

"Alright, here's how this is going to go down. I'll approach the front entrance and lure the attention of Ryan and his goons. After all, he clearly wants to draw me out, and that's exactly what I will do. While they open fire on me, I want you all to approach the rear of the facility and breach its exits.

Once inside, you are going to infiltrate Ryan's group of survivors and blend in, while opening up all the exits you can. The gunfire will surely attract the walkers. And with the exits open, the undead will flood the gymnasium, killing everyone in side. Got it?"

Olivia nodded her head, understanding the plan, but Elena had questions about it, and was quick to ask them.

"What if they have guys posted on the rear doors?"

Zane, however, scoffed as he asserted this wasn't likely.

"These fucking amateurs? They don't know the first thing about securing a building. I doubt they will have sentries posted near the entrances, but if they do, you simply open fire on them. With the amount of gunshots coming my way, nobody is going to know that you took a few of them out until it's too late…"

It took several moments for Elena to adjust to the idea of killing her old friends, but they had shown their true colors after the apocalypse had begun. After all, it wasn't necessary to kill the other survivors who took shelter with her and Zane. But they did. Thus, she was able to stomach the idea after some thought.

Once Zane was sure that Elena and Olivia were in on his plan, he decided to enact it. With a deep breath, potentially to strengthen his nerves, Zane issued the attack.

"Alright… Operation Flood is a go!"

With this said, Elena and Olivia followed their orders, covertly approaching the rear of the building, while waiting for the signal to breach its entrances. Olivia took point with her pump action 12 gauge, making sure some slugs were loaded in the tube as she pointed the muzzle at the lock.

As for Zane, he approached the Front of the Gymnasium while shouting at those inside.

"Alright! You wanted me? You have me? So what now, Ryan? How do you want to fucking end this shit?"

Ryan, who was completely unaware that the rear of his sanctuary was about to be breached, wore a smug smile when he heard Zane's shouting, a shouting which had begun to stir the undead horde which was now swarming the campus. He then spoke to himself while approaching the door.

"It's show time!"