I would like to thank Ruby Lydia, Olowosoyo Temitope Glory, Horlahh Biblion, Jibola Coker, and Sara Piesse for beta reading and helping me improve!

Chapter 2

Rick awoke to the warm morning light streaming in through the windows of the bedroom. For a moment, he was disoriented, forgetting where he was. Then the memories of last night came back - the car crash, the zombies, and Graham saving him.

He looked out the window. It was a warm, sunny day. Had it not been for the zombie apocalypse, it would have been a perfect day to go outside on a jog, hike, or play outdoor sports.

With what was happening though, Rick knew it was not the time to do those kinds of activities.

The young man stretched out his body before making his way to a bathroom next to the bedroom.

After taking a shower and getting dressed, Rick headed downstairs where he could hear noises coming from the kitchen. Graham was cooking up omelettes, protein-packed pancakes, and a fruit bowl with bananas and assorted berries.

"Good morning, Rick! I hope you slept well. Breakfast will be ready in just a moment," Graham greeted him.

"I did, thank you. Thanks for cooking breakfast too," Rick replied as he took a seat at the table.

"No problem at all. You will need your energy for the journey back home today," said Graham. He served up the food and joined Rick at the table.

The two men dished up their plates before they began eating their breakfast.

As they ate, Rick pulled out his phone to text Sally that he was okay and would be starting his trip back soon.

"How is your wife doing?" Graham asked between bites of omelette.

"She is relieved I made it through the night safely. I told her I would be heading home today," Rick responded, gathering more assorted berries and bananas from the fruit bowl.

Graham nodded. "These woods can be treacherous to navigate alone. I would feel better if I accompanied you, just to make sure you get back to Ivriasey in one piece."

Rick hesitated. He did not want to impose on this man who had already done so much for him. Graham, however, did have a good point about the dangers of traveling solo.

"I appreciate that offer, but I would not want to be a burden," Rick replied.

"Nonsense! It is no burden at all," Graham said. "What kind of man would I be if I did not ensure your safe return? The zombies may be slow, but they can overwhelm a lone man easily."

Seeing the logic in this, Rick agreed to let Graham join him. He was thankful to have someone so experienced accompanying him. After they finished eating, the two men gathered up supplies for the journey ahead.

Equipped with backpacks loaded with food, water, and weapons, they ventured out into the woods surrounding Graham's cabin. The morning air was refreshing and cool. Rays of sunlight streamed through the canopy of trees above. It would have been quite peaceful if not for the threat of zombies lurking behind every corner.

“Before we make our way to your home, I was thinking we could try to find a better melee weapon for you. There is a small town not too far from here. Would that be okay with you, Rick?” Graham asked.

Rick looked at the damaged tire iron he possessed for a moment. He realized that Graham did have a point. With a better melee weapon, he would be able to hold his own a little better.

“Yes. While this tire iron may help me a little bit, I am sure we can find something that is not damaged there,” Rick stated.

Graham nodded before they made their way through the woods.

They walked for a while before they came upon a dirt road. Once they started along the dirt road, a group of zombies appeared before them. Graham aimed his hunting rifle at them, followed by multiple clean headshots which made the zombies fall to the ground. Rick took out the last few zombies with his pistol.

Continuing onwards after the zombies were taken out, the two men reached the entrance to a forest nature reserve.

“Do you think we could find anything useful in there?” Rick wondered.

“Yes, but we should probably get proper directions before we venture in there. It has been years since I last visited the reserve. Thus, I do not fully expect to know my way around,” Graham suggested.

“Will there be something or someone inside the town to guide us? Like a map, perhaps?” Rick asked.

“There will likely be a map in there somewhere. I am doubtful that we will see anyone there. All we will see in there are a bunch of zombies, so we should keep our guard up while we are exploring the town,” Graham explained.

Rick nodded before the men made their way forward. They soon arrived at the edge of the small town. The first building they saw was a small house.

A pack of zombies were in the front yard. They jumped at the men and were able to push them off balance.

Graham and Rick were wobbly for a moment but were able to steady themselves before falling.

One of the zombies grabbed Rick, almost biting him. He pushed it away and then hit it multiple times with his tire iron until it fell down.

Graham attacked the zombies with his machete. He continued to slash at them until all the zombies collapsed to the ground.

Upon defeating the zombies, Graham and Rick entered the house, searching for helpful items in each room.

They encountered more zombies in the kitchen. The two men quickly used the dining table for cover before taking out the zombies with their guns. Once the zombies were defeated, they left the kitchen.

After searching all of downstairs, the two men went upstairs. In the closet of a bedroom, Graham and Rick only found a bunch of junk like a deflated football, broken hockey sticks, and chewed up tennis balls.

Upon searching the desk, however, they discovered a key.

“Do you think this key might go to something important in the town? Like a locked door somewhere?” Rick asked.

“That is certainly possible. We could always come back here to retrieve it if we need to,” Graham said.

Rick nodded before he set the key back in the desk. They continued looking around the second floor.

Soon they had concluded searching the second floor. Besides some food, they did not find anything useful. Before they could reach the stairs, however, zombies suddenly burst from the ceiling and onto the floor, blocking their way.

One of them managed to knock Rick to the ground. Graham quickly helped the young man up before they began to shove and whack the zombies with their melee weapons. The older man then took out the zombies in the back with his hunting rifle before Rick finished them off with his pistol.

Once they exited the house, the town men made their way to the next building.

It was a small store with a rather rundown appearance.

They entered the store. After taking out a few more zombies, they could only find more food. There was no sign of a locked door or safe where the key would fit.

Another house sat before them at the end of the street. Unlike the first house, the second house only had one story. They searched the house and found some ammo for their weapons. Unfortunately, they still came up fruitless with finding a better melee weapon for Rick.

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“It is unfortunate that we have not been able to find any weapons better than a damaged tire iron yet,” Rick remarked.

“Yes, it is. Hopefully we can find something. There is still one more street that we have yet to explore. At least we have found some other useful items during our search,” Graham pointed out.

“That is true,” Rick responded in agreement.

The two men made their way to the next building. It was another house. They found some food and a lot of ammo.

After they exited the building, however, a large swarm of zombies was heading towards them.

“Rick, stay behind me!” Graham exclaimed as he got ready to fire his hunting rifle once again.

The young man obeyed without question, loading his pistol as the zombies continued moving closer to them.

Graham began to fire his hunting rifle, taking out a few zombies while Rick fired his pistol madly at the zombies.

The zombies nearly overwhelmed them, but thankfully the two men were able to take them out before they could harm them.

“That was close,” Rick stated.

“I will say,” Graham replied in agreement.

They next came upon a garage building.

“This looks like it might have some melee weapons in it,” Graham said.

Rick nodded before they made their way inside.

They were greeted by another horde of zombies upon entering the garage. Most of them were on the other side of a damaged black muscle car in the middle of the building.

Once the zombies were taken out, the two men searched the garage. There were two oil barrels in one corner, along with numerous boxes along metal shelves.

Rick opened a huge box to see the contents inside. “Hey Graham! Look what I found.”

Graham walked over and saw that Rick had found a box containing multiple melee weapons; a claw hammer, sledgehammer, pipe, and a tire iron. The sledgehammer was damaged, but the other weapons were in excellent condition.

“Well done, Rick. Looks like you have a few options on what melee weapon you would like to have now,” Graham said.

“Since the sledgehammer is damaged, I was thinking of taking the tire iron that is not damaged,” Rick suggested.

“That is a good idea. I would suggest holding onto the tire iron until we can possibly find an even better weapon,” Graham suggested.

Rick nodded as he wielded the new tire iron and ditched the damaged tire iron.

The two men searched the last few buildings of the town. They found more ammo in the last house that they searched. Upon entering the general store, there was a safe inside.

“I think that key might open this safe,” Rick stated.

“Yes. We should head back to get the key,” Graham suggested.

The young man nodded before they went back to the house that they found the key in.

Retrieving the key, the two men immediately headed back to the general store. Sure enough, the key unlocked the safe, which contained another key.

“We should take this key with us. It might be able to unlock the warehouse next door,” Graham said.

“There is only one way to find out,” Rick declared before they made their way to the warehouse.

The young man used the key to unlock the door to the warehouse.

There were zombies inside of the warehouse. Graham and Rick took out the zombies before they went to search the inside of the warehouse.

After spending some time searching, they made the best discovery of any building they had searched inside the town. Inside the last box was a sharpened machete, as well as a sledgehammer in great condition.

“Searching the town was definitely worth it. Thanks to you, I now have a better melee weapon than I have ever had since yesterday,” Rick said.

“Glad I could help Rick. I was just making sure that you were able to defend yourself in the best way possible. Better weapons means that you will have a much higher chance of survival in this whole thing,” Graham stated.

“Not only do I get a better weapon, but you do too. This is the shiniest machete I have ever seen,” Rick said.

“It sure is. Now that we have what we need, we should probably get out of here. More zombies are bound to come,” Graham suggested.

Rick nodded as the two men retrieved their new weapons and made their way out of the town.

Soon they found themselves passing by Graham’s cabin again.

As they hiked down an old hunting trail, Graham pointed out edible plants and animal tracks to Rick, teaching him useful survival skills. Rick soaked up this knowledge eagerly.

"I have always been into fitness and health, but I do not know much about life in the wild," admitted Rick.

"The wilderness can be a great teacher," said Graham. "Mother Nature has provided us with everything we need to survive, if we know where to look."

The two men chatted more about their shared interests in exercise, nutrition, and self-care. Despite the huge age gap between them, they bonded over their passions. Graham was impressed by Rick's entrepreneurial success in starting a fitness clothing brand at such a young age.

After a couple hours of hiking, they came upon the road where Rick had crashed his car. However, when they arrived at the site, his car was nowhere in sight.

"It's gone!" Rick exclaimed in dismay.

Graham surveyed the tire tracks marking the ground. "Looks like somebody towed it away. Probably to scavenge for parts and fuel."

"I cannot believe someone would just take it like that," said Rick, clearly frustrated that his car had been stolen.

"Desperate times call for desperate measures in people's minds," Graham replied sagely. "What's done is done. We need to focus on the next steps ahead."

He suggested they stop by a grocery store or pharmacy in the nearest town to stock up on medical supplies and food before heading the rest of the way to Ivriasey. Rick agreed, hoping they would not run into whoever had taken his car.

As they walked, they continued to keep their guard up for any zombies.

After a few more miles of walking, they came across a small-town grocery store. Rick could see through the windows that the place had clearly already been looted. Shopping carts lay overturned, shelves knocked down, remnants of supplies strewn about. Nonetheless, it was worth going in to search for anything useful left behind.

Graham loaded his hunting rifle while Rick loaded his pistol.

The automatic doors no longer worked, so Graham and Rick carefully stepped through the broken glass doors, weapons raised. The store appeared empty at first glance. Moments later, however, the distinct groans of zombies arose from the back. Graham and Rick looked at each other and nodded. They knew what had to be done.

Advancing slowly, they turned the corner to see a group of five zombies feasting on what remained of the store manager's corpse. Upon spotting fresh prey, the zombies changed course and started shambling towards Rick and Graham.

Recalling his training from Graham, Rick took aim and fired his pistol at the closest zombie while Graham shot the farthest one with his hunting rifle. The two remaining zombies reached out towards Rick. Adrenaline pumping, he swung his sledgehammer, bashing one zombie's head in. Graham took care of the other with his machete.

Panting, Rick looked around. "That all of them?"

"For now. Gunfire's bound to attract more though," said Graham urgently. "Let's grab what we can quick and get out of here."

They raced around collecting ammunition, canned goods, and medical supplies into their bags. At one point, they discovered a desert eagle in the back of the store. Rick decided to ditch the pistol and use the desert eagle instead, as it possessed more firepower.

The two men then completed gathering supplies and began to make their way out of the store. Just as they turned to leave, three more zombies emerged at the front of the store, blocking the exit.

Trapped, Rick and Graham backed up. Graham swiftly reached into his pocket and took out a lighter along with a bottle of whiskey he'd picked up.

"Rick, cover me!" he yelled as he lit the end of the whiskey bottle's rag. Rick swung his sledgehammer wildly as Graham tossed the makeshift molotov cocktail at the zombies, igniting them in flames.

Making their escape through the opening, Rick and Graham safely made it outside. Unfortunately, they could already hear more groans coming from the shadows between buildings.

"There's too many, we gotta get out fast!" said Rick.

Thinking quickly, Graham spotted an old sledgehammer nearby. Grabbing the sledgehammer, he broke the window of an old sedan parked on the street. After hotwiring the car, it sputtered to life. The two sped off down the road away from the town just as more zombies emerged onto the street behind them.

Once they felt safely away, Rick and Graham relaxed and caught their breath.

"That...was...intense," panted Rick.

"Just another day in the apocalypse," Graham chuckled. "You did good back there. Kept your cool and survived."

Rick smiled proudly at the praise from his new mentor. Together, they finished the drive to Ivriasey.

Pulling up at the gate of Rick's luxury penthouse apartment building, Graham let out an impressed whistle.

"Home sweet home," said Rick as he entered his home security code, granting them entry.

Parking the sedan, the two took the elevator up to the top floor where Rick's penthouse awaited. Upon opening the front door, they were greeted enthusiastically by Sally.

"You made it!" she cried out joyfully, hugging Rick tight. Over his shoulder, she noticed Graham and gave him a look of immense gratitude.

"Graham, this is my wife, Sally. Sally, meet Graham - the man who saved my life," Rick said with a smile.

"It's an honor to meet you," Graham said politely as they shook hands. "You've got yourself a brave man here."

Sally beamed proudly at Rick. "I always knew he could handle himself out there. Come in and make yourselves comfortable! Are you hungry at all?"

Despite just eating canned food earlier, after their long and exhausting journey the offer of a home cooked meal was too tempting to resist.

While Sally prepared dinner, Rick got cleaned up and changed into fresh clothes. Afterwards, he and Graham relaxed on the couch, both delighted to be in the comfort and security of Rick's home.

Over dinner of rice, beans, and baked chicken, the three shared stories. Rick recounted his car crash and zombie encounter. Graham told them more about his military days. Sally talked about how she and Rick first met in high school.

"Rick was so shy when I first talked to him. I thought he was cute but too intimidated to ask me out," said Sally, giggling.

"Hey now, I worked up the courage eventually!" Rick protested lightheartedly.

Graham chuckled. "It took me years to work up the nerve to talk to my wife when we first met too." A tinge of sadness entered his voice at the mention of his late wife.

Sally gave Graham's hand a gentle, comforting squeeze. "She sounds like she was a wonderful woman. I can tell where you got your kindness and strength from."

Graham nodded appreciatively. It was cathartic opening up to new friends about his family after so long alone.

After dinner, Rick and Sally gave Graham a tour of the penthouse and insisted he stay the night rather than travel back in darkness.

"The guest room is all yours. Make yourself at home," said Sally.

"You two are too gracious. Thank you again for everything," replied Graham. For the first time in forever, he would sleep peacefully without one ear open listening for zombies.

Safe, full, and resting well, the trio were ready to face the next day.