'Please, Chip!' She felt comfortable in his presence and she was desperate. She was right he was magical and he had at least a spark of humanity in him. 'I'm just going to leave so you don't bother me anymore,' he gave her a curt nod and a black hole opened in the air behind him.

'Yes?' he turned again with the same level of non-interest as the first two times. If she could convince him to help her in any way at all, it would increase her chances of survival. He flat-out told her he was looking for food, so she was glad she didn't fit the bill.īut, on the other hand, there was something magical to him. She had no idea who he was but, there was obviously something wicked about him if not outright sinister. Zombies roamed the Earth now so it was easy to imagine other unknown things happening. He turned his back to her again and, Alma wanted to let him leave. 'You're a Zero barely worthy of feeding the undead,' he chuckled under his breath. Alma was glad he gave her an answer this time. 'You're not what I'm looking for,' he said. '.I have first-aid training and I can cook! I'm in shape and I can keep up, and I can use a gun,' she'd never fired a gun in her life until a couple of days ago. She didn't have anything to offer and her only course was to find a way to be useful.

Why would he answer any of her questions, right? She took a step closer. Alma realized he was willing to listen she just hadn't piqued his interest at all. It was what she wanted but, she was still surprised when the stranger stopped and turned again. She had to admit it felt kind of good just to let it out. It was the most noise she'd made in a week. People had to work together if humanity was going to survive. The apocalypse meant there was no room for people like that anymore.

If it had been any other situation, Alma would have accepted him as rude and moved on. His gaze lingered on her an extra moment just to make a point that he heard her then, he turned away and started walking again. 'My name's Alma by the way,' she realized it would be more polite to give her name first. 'How'd you do that?' she gestured at the still-smoking piles. He was at least a foot taller than her but, despite the obvious height difference, Alma got the distinct impression that he was looking down on her. He stopped walking and turned to look Alma dashed to him. If she attracted any other nearby zombies, he would deal with them. 'Wait!' Alma felt comfortable attracting attention to herself after seeing what he could do. There was nothing flashy about his motions, every movement was deliberate and calculated to not waste a single ounce of effort. In seconds, the stranger walked through the crowd and left five smoldering piles of ash in his wake. Alma watched him place an open palm on one zombie's shoulder then, the zombie ignited from the point of contact. He ducked and weaved effortlessly out of their grasp but, he also made sure to touch every single one of them. Alma heard several groans of recognition as they turned to grab him but, the stranger kept walking. The zombies didn't notice him until he was in their midst. But, it was the group of five zombies ahead of him that drew Alma's attention more. And now that she was closer, she could see that the shimmer of his suit was some sort of fish-scale pattern. His dark hair was pulled back in a ponytail that reached the middle of his back. She reached the alley and could see the man from behind. She didn't want to run with heavy footsteps either and took long quick strides to catch up. As much as she wanted to call to the stranger, she knew better than to yell. It wasn't the first day of the apocalypse but, it was the first day she felt brave enough to venture out. He walked with confidence he wasn't shambling like the undead Alma had managed to avoid. He was a tall, tan man in a black suit that shimmered in the sunlight. Alma walked quicker when she spotted the stranger walking into an alleyway.

Danger zombies ahaid