I didn't want to admit that I had been so paranoid over a damn bobcat.

I had thought it was a zombie, and that they had evolved enough to garner some kind of intelligence. Being able to hunt with a purpose, and be sneaky about it, left me feeling more fearful of the future than I already was.

We never went out at night because even fighting a regular zombie in the dark was several times more dangerous than normal. So what about a zombie that went and hunted you at night? I didn't even want to think about it.

And now, I shot a bobcat, which was lucky to survive that shot. And Kevin had established a magical bond with it. It was actually a good thing. We had come out of this encounter with another trusted companion, one that could actually prove to be a valuable asset.

Now, the only problem was keeping it alive.

It seemed like my bullet had grazed its abdomen, but even that graze had torn out a chunk of flesh. If I had gotten a solid shot on that feline literally anywhere on its body, I would've either taken off a limb or gouged out a fist sized hole in its body.

I knew how nasty large calibers could be, and a 44 magnum was one of the nastiest bullets out there.

I guess I had to thank my bad aim, because even with a large injury on its abdomen, the bobcat didn't look horribly hurt. I already noticed, but this bobcat wasn't a normal animal anymore. It had evolved, not unlike myself, and it was more resilient.

It was faster, stronger, and its claws easily tore through my skin like razor blades. Getting scratched by it was no different from running a knife down my arm, and the wounds it left me weren't nice.

Thankfully, with my vastly increase Vitality, I was already healing. The slices across my body had already scabbed over, and they tingled in regeneration. I could feel my warm blood pulse by the wounds, my body's functions being supported by this new power brought by the Archive.

It would leave scars since I couldn't get my wounds properly tended to, but so long as they healed, I was fine. I didn't care about scars.

If anything, I thought they made me look cool. Little badges that displayed my fearsome struggle up to this point.

Kevin decided to hurriedly tend to the cat. With medical supplies provided by this sporting goods store, he was able to sift through Duke's long hair and patch the wound. After packing it, he then wrapped the bobcat up, giving him a white belt that made him look much less noble.

After that, everyone retreated back to our room. Although we had made a lot of noise, so long as we locked our door, nothing could get to us even if they wandered into the store.

And finally, we went to sleep for the night.

............

---Kait POV---

I couldn't see much within the dark room with only a small lamp illuminating the corner. But it was enough to glimpse the figures of everyone sleeping.

My mind pondered the recent events.

I must say, I didn't expect the thing that Jack was so worried about was a bobcat.

He told us that he saw a figure, a dark silhouette atop a building. If this bobcat had been sitting perched atop a building, then I guess it could've been noticeable. Still, to think he got so anxious.

I had seen it on his face. How he constantly monitored the surroundings, keeping his hand near his revolver at all times.

That was another thing I was surprised about. When he decided to fire a shot at that Screamer we encountered.

My feelings aside, it was a good call. The Screamer had the weird ability of not only being loud, but agitating zombies. If it had been left alone, we would've been followed and chased by hordes.

I remember seeing it, how my heart seized in my chest. Images of those survivors we spotted one night at the store came to my mind. How they had been chased down and torn apart. They had been surrounded by thousands of zombies, and the despair of not even being able to run away...

So many thoughts had gone through my head, most of them being how we needed to run away as fast as possible. But then, Jack so easily took out his revolver and shot it right in the chest.

I was so relieved when it could no longer even breathe. I felt nothing but gratitude seeing that skeleton chop it in two.

How a simple firearm could bring you so much solace.

Then again, I didn't know how to shoot a gun. I was sure only Jack was familiar with it. He had told us about how he'd gone shooting plenty of times before. Now he was using that experience, and in this apocalypse, such experience was extremely valuable.

He was a good man to have with us. Really, I couldn't think of anyone better to be fighting through this apocalypse with.

Elijah, too. Though Elijah was more... stable.

Jack was constantly pushing us. He was constantly active, constantly working toward the next goal. And that was a good thing, especially now when we needed it most. We needed to be growing, improving. We couldn't stay still, or we'd get eaten.

But Elijah... It wasn't that he didn't move as fast, just that we could actually follow him. Jack had his own little world, his own vision of how things needed to be and how fast they needed to move. It didn't really feel like I could keep up. And it didn't feel like he'd let me in if I tried. Elijah was that person who I could keep up with.

It was a weird dynamic between the two of them. It was almost like they were fighting to be the leader, but at the same time, Jack simply didn't care. He was just doing his thing, while Elijah was trying to step up into the formal leadership position.

At least they seemed to be getting along.

And then there was Kevin. I didn't really know the guy, but he was cool. Quieter, preferring to stick with Jack, but the few times I talked with him were good. I could tell he just liked to keep to himself. And with us now separated from our track teammates by both power and whatever higher status that power earned us, Jack was probably his only friend.

Even as we began preparing to go on a trailblazing expedition back to the store, Kevin was following Jack around.

Elijah and Jack had come up with the crazy idea of snatching a truck and driving it, along with a load of supplies, back to the store. And I readily agreed with their plan. As Jack had said, there was just too much value in the items here. We didn't want to leave it all behind without even trying to get it back there.

Plus, we had more people with us. 9 survivors, all of them children besides that teen and pregnant woman.

I couldn't imagine carrying a child when the apocalypse dawned. How terrified was she? When the zombies appeared and started eating people alive. When she had to run and hide with her unborn child, a mere 15 year old and his spear there to protect her.

I shook my head of dark thoughts, focusing at the task at hand.

After waking up in the morning, we had gone and searched all the bodies in the store for keys. And luckily, we found several sets of keys for all the cars parked outside the store.

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Two of those vehicles were trucks, along with one SUV and three sedans. All of the cars were able to be unlocked, and they functioned perfectly fine.

Now came our current objective. Load up the two trucks and SUV with as many supplies as we could.

Tents, thermal blankets, athletic wrap, survival kits, bows, arrows, tools, survival gear, and all kinds of useful items. Everything would make life better for us back at the store.

So although we couldn't take everything, with enough storage planning and brute forcing, we could pack a lot into the vehicles.

And that's all we did for a few hours. We weighed the value of all the items in the store and started packing based on the value and variety. I was constantly running in and out of the store.

Jack was helping me, as was Elijah. Kevin and that teen though were on guard duty. They were responsible for killing anything that decided to wander over.

Working in broad daylight caught attention, so groups of zombies liked to come over and check out what we were doing. And since Elijah and Jack were responsible for determining what got taken, they didn't have the mind to worry about fighting.

And since Kevin needed to work on his ability, he was in charge of protecting us. That teen, whose name I learned to be Greg, was with Kevin fighting.

Perhaps it was punishment, but Jack quickly ordered him to go and fight. Not only was it a way to hone his skill and earn Ectoplasm to increase his stats, but Jack said that it was a good way to "learn who the damned enemy was."

Really, I don't know why he got so worked up over that kid. Still, he was at least helping him, even if the fighting was taxing.

Until about noon, we constantly worked. It was only when the sun was high in the sky that we stopped and looked at our work.

Both trucks and that SUV had been stuffed full of items. There wasn't an inch of empty space. We had stuffed every crack, every cupholder, every pocket full of items. I was actually worried about things having been broken from shoving them together like that.

But it was worth it. We had probably emptied out over half of that store. Everything would be incredibly useful when we took it back.

The only problem was actually getting it there.

I looked out toward the street almost exactly as Jack did. We both scanned the cars that cluttered the road. When the apocalypse dawned and everyone was forced through that little torture session, I was sure that everyone in these cars wasn't able to react well. The sudden burning pain that only got worse over time had caused a great many accidents that were now blocking the roads.

But Jack was hoping that, with a bit of rough driving, we could bypass all the clutter. Taking the sidewalks or whatever open space there was is key.

He suddenly sighed, cracking his neck a bit. "Well, no use in overthinking it. I say we leave within the hour. As for who goes where, let's decide now."

He called everyone back. Kevin and Greg retreated after killing a few more zombies, all of us heading into the store.

The two guards were nice and sweaty, but as we were going into the winter season, the weather was cooling off. It gave us nice calming breezes that didn't sit right considering the apocalypse.

Jack pointed at me, Elijah, and Kevin. "Two trucks and one SUV. We're going to have one driver for each. And I want you three to drive them."

"As for myself," He continued. "I'll take a sedan and stuff all of our passengers in there. With a bit of squeezing, we can all fit. And we'll have to since we don't have other drivers. Plus, with my skeleton and Greg, we should be good enough to guard everyone in case we get stopped and attacked. Is that all right with you guys?"

Elijah nodded. "Sounds good to me. I can take the lead truck. I drive one, after all."

"I'll take the SUV!" I chimed in. "I can drive one well."

Kevin hummed. "I got the other truck then."

"Good." Jack nodded. "Now, let's discuss the plan for getting through this."

With that, we sat down and went over the details. My heart beat a bit in anticipation.

This would be a rather big move on our part, but if it succeeded, we'd be doing something great. The risk came with much reward.

...............

---Jack POV---

"Alright! We're good to go!"

After helping the pregnant miss into the passenger seat of the car, I closed the door and shouted toward the others.

Not far from me, Elijah nodded his head. And with the turn of the key, started the engine of a car for the first time in a week.

The starter cranked, and with a roar, the engine trembled to life. It was a totally normal thing to do, but after the apocalypse, starting a car meant we were actively attracting attention to ourselves.

Then, I turned my own key, the sedan I was responsible for letting out a low hum. The lights on the dashboard flickered on, and the radio connected.

"--to the nearest military installation, located at the Angel's Stadium in Southeast Anaheim near the Platinum Triangle. Please head to this location and seek aid. If you are hearing this message, then active efforts are underway in Anaheim to restore the city and provide refuge. This message shall repeat..."

I couldn't help but listen to the radio after it turned on. Only when its message finished did I turn it off.

I looked over. The others had started their vehicles as well, and I could hear the radio alerts playing for them too. They looked back at me, and I couldn't help but smile.

There was help out there!

Unfortunately, that location was over half an hour away by car, and that was with little traffic. With the freeways blocked, driving there might actually be close to impossible. Or it would take hours to maneuver like we were about to.

As for walking... well, if it were just myself and Kevin, Kait, and Elijah, then we could probably do it. But what about the others?

It wasn't right to just leave them. We were their leaders and protectors, the only ones with abilities besides Albert.

I let out a deep sigh, closing and rubbing my eyes. At this point, I could just forget about my promise to go and find my friends. I couldn't even go and find my family. I had been stranded an entire city away when the apocalypse dawned. I could only curse my luck.

I shook my head, focusing on the task at hand.

"Alright! Let's move!"

I gave a loud shout that echoed over the engines. And with my word, Elijah pulled out.

We had thought for a while on how to go about driving back to the store. The directions weren't an issue. In fact, the store was barely 10 minutes away normally. We could get there quickly if we were moving fast enough.

In the end, we decided that our leader could only carve a path for us.

Elijah would be first, driving the bigger truck and trailblazing our course. Behind him would be Kait in her SUV, a secondary buffer should any obstacles come around.

Behind Kait was myself in the sedan. I'd stick close behind her, using the two people in front of me as a spearhead to protect the sedan. As for Kevin, he was bringing up the rear.

Elijah had two rules for this drive: Maneuver where you could and ram anything you couldn't go around. With his big and heavy truck that was loaded with hundreds and thousands of pounds of supplies, he was basically driving a battering ram.

Besides, I didn't care about damage to the vehicle unless it stranded him.

With that, we began our drive.

*VRRR!!*

Elijah's engine roared as it took point. Kait was close behind him, and together, they drove over the sidewalk that separated the parking lot and the adjacent street.

I was right behind them, and upon hitting the curb, the car jolted and shook us around.

I could only look beside me with a wry smile. The pregnant woman clung to her seat, desperately trying to keep herself still.

"Sorry." I apologized.

"No, no. This is much better than hiking our way back there." She smiled with surprising happiness. Although it would be a rough ride, trying to walk all the way back under the threat of zombies would be many times more stressful and dangerous. Plus, she was receiving help. Compared to her abysmal situation before, this was leagues better.

As for the children in the back, they were thankfully quiet even with the bumps. Though, Greg didn't seem to like it, frowning in my rearview mirror.

That, or maybe it was the three children sitting on top of him. We had to make do somehow, so he got the short end of the stick.

We crossed the sidewalk, scratching and denting the bumper in the process. After that, we got on the road, Kevin right behind me in the second truck.

Ahead, I saw Elijah move up onto a sidewalk, directly flattening a sign in his way. Kait then flattened it again with her tire, and I glided over it safely.

They were already doing great.

And running over stop signs were the least crazy thing happening. There were plenty of zombies in our way, and Elijah didn't hesitate to ram into them. With his heavy truck, nothing could stop his momentum.

We all had our windows rolled down just in case we had to yell at each other, but unfortunately for the children, the gory sounds of crunching bones were spine tingling. Thankfully the younger ones were naive enough, but there were a few that were approaching their teens that couldn't be tricked so easily.

Well, they were all stuffed back there, so at least they had the comfort of their friends. I couldn't really do anything more.

Like that, Elijah weaved through all the gaps he could find. Since my sedan wasn't so tall, I couldn't see the paths like they could. But that didn't matter. I trusted them.

Then, I suddenly heard Elijah's engine roar. He seemed to slam his gas pedal with a split second decision, heading right for a car that was blocking a portion of the sidewalk.

*CRASH!*

Along with an unfortunate zombie that got sandwiched in between, Elijah used brute force in order to get the obstacle out of his way. Kait knocked into the car a bit as well, and when I passed through, the gap was more than wide enough to comfortably fit.

Was this what having an escort was like? It was pretty cool.

This reckless driving also seemed to excite the kids a bit. Watching a huge truck plow through cars was better than hearing the guts be squished out of a zombie. Some smiled and laughed, while the pregnant lady beside me smiled with a clap.

After about 10 minutes, we had driven down an entire street and turned a corner. The highest speeds we reached never went above 20 miles an hour, but hey, even before the apocalypse there were plenty of people (idiots) who decided that such a speed was more than fast enough for major roads.

Unfortunately, our reckless driving was destined to attract attention. Suddenly, I saw Kait slam on her breaks. I responded almost instantly, keeping myself from rear-ending her.

Then I heard a yell.

"Jack!"