John wasn't the only one leading charge here, and it wasn't as simple as them all being hopeless people running for their lives. It gave me hope that people haven't just given up and surrendered to those freaks.

Hope, that my family will also survive just like them. To put it simply, there were three groups here: two families and the stragglers, or rather, the group that wasn't as unified nor as capable as the families.

The first family was the Bennett's, where John was from. There are nice and capable people; they have both mechanics and nurses, including firepower. I was sure they'd be fine alone.

The second family were the Johnson's; they weren't as nice as the Bennett's but definitely had the same level of capabilities as them. I'm not too sure if they'll survive alone, not because they can't but because they're a bit too loud and cocky. They definitely have the bite to support their bark, but those monsters are nothing to be messed with, but they'll definitely give one hell of a fight.

The last group consists mostly of the traumatized and the smaller families; Mike's from this one. I guess I'm too; this group has some really capable people, including ones that can support themselves and others. They may not survive; they are simply not united enough, and secondly, this group also consists of the conspiracy theorists; some of them think it's the government or aliens who're behind all this. I'm not too sure what or who to believe.

But those freaks are not normal, and the ones who are behind all this might just be even bigger monsters, but I will not give up. I survived till now, and I will survive till tomorrow together with my family... and Mike too, I guess.

I got a job to do now. A job to protect. The area the camp occupies mainly includes the anthem church serving as the heart of the camp; it was a one-story black-painted building but a very large one; it was also at the corner at the intersection of two streets, a traffic light spot for short.

To the church's left was the traffic spot, so the north, east, and south streets were closed off by makeshift barricades using the loads of vehicles that basically littered the area, and some wooden boards and other types of wooden pieces were used alongside metal fences and a bunch of other things.

The barricades looked pretty secure and also blocked off vision from outside. There were guards stationed there too; they watched from hidden points, either behind the barricades or in or outside nearby buildings. They changed shifts regularly.

Although they had formidable defenses after just one day, they'll certainly be tested soon enough. There are nearly fifty people at the camp, twelve from the Bennett's, ten from the Johnson's, and the rest were from the stragglers.

The two families took leadership in the camp, mostly the Bennett's because the Johnson's honestly could care less. Mr. Johnson and his brothers from the Johnson family took care of the guarding duty. I was honestly surprised by that because the Johnsons had the most firepower in the camp, and seeing them offer their services so 'freely' clearly meant that not all of them are complete morons. I guess it's probably the college girl.

The college girl, Tiana, seemed to be the voice of reason for the Johnson's. There were two cooking areas near the church in the street, where Uncle James Johnson did the cooking alongside a few others.

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There was a nursing area inside the church, where both experienced young and old women from the families took care of people in need.

The sun had set down and the moon was up; it had gotten a bit cold since night started. Dinner is going to be ready soon.

" Simon! James saying' that the food's easy," said Mike as he approached me. Well, that was fast.

"C'mon, let's go."

"Alright"

"Why were you sitting here all alone? Were you thinking about something?"

"Well, I was thinking about this camp."

"It's a pretty nice place, even though it has its fair share of A-holes."

"Well, not all people are going to be kind."

We walked to the western cooking area where Uncle James was; he was kinder than his family but definitely just as loud, but he was alright besides that.

"Hey! Big fella, you wanna platee?" spoke Uncle James with a hoarse voice.

"You know, I do!" Mike replied in an uppity voice.

"Haha, I know, I know," he handed him a plate of some potato soup alongside some bread.

"How about you? Do you want one?"

"Yeah, and for my family too."

"Don't worry about that; there's plenty here," he said, saying so he fixed me a plate as well.

We walked back to the areas of the makeshift sleeping tents and ate our meals. There were sleeping areas inside the church too, but because of an unconscious decision, people decided to be huddled together.

After finishing my dinner, I had made sure my family had eaten something as well. Fortunately, they did, but they need time to recover.

I went back to my tent, which was conveniently close to Mike's.

" Yeah! John told me that we'll have to patrol and loot the nearby areas first thing in the morning," Mike informed me, and I nodded in response.

My good old days are over, huh.

"We'll gotta sleep; have enough sleep for that, so goodnight," he immediately turned over and passed out.

"Mike?" no answer

*Sighing, Mike is a good idea but a bit hot-tempered. I noticed something in the distance; there was a strange faint glow coming from the southern barricade. I decided to walk there quietly.

Everyone else was asleep; after all, it was a hard day for everyone. I walked there, my feet clacking against the road. I got to the southern roadblock and looked over.

Am I dreaming? The leaves, the branches, the entire tree were glowing, and it wasn't the only one; the entire rows of trees on both sides of the street were glowing just like it. Besides the magical scene, right at the end of the street, some zombies were just standing there, silently.

Is there anyone else who was seeing this, too? I looked around, and in the building that was to my left, I found one of the Johnson cousins peeking out from one of the windows.

He was watching the zombies like a hawk. They were all close to being moderately obese, but that shouldn't be surprising. Some of them were standing; some were crouched down. They acted like they were sleepwalking.

After some more observation, I decided that it was time to go. If they decide to wander here, the man in the building would alert everyone. I need to have enough sleep to prepare for whatever nonsense that comes tomorrow.