William looked at the tailor machine sewing his new clothes while drying his hair. Having machines that still work would be considered a luxury in these apocalyptic times, not to mention a shower. It was surreal how clean and comfortable he felt, especially since he had not cleaned himself in days.

“Hey Wil- WAAAH why are you still in your bath towel?!”

“Screams the one who walked in on me. My clothes aren’t done yet. And don’t be so dramatic, Masako; I’m at least eighty percent covered.”

Masako put her hands down from her eyes and placed them on her hips. “This is a shared area, you know.”

“Technically this whole place is a public area; we’re in a shopping mall,” William replied defiantly. “What do you need anyway?”

Masako tutted her lips. “Victor wants to see us; Marianne’s already there.”

She looked intently at the mini gripper arms darting around furiously inside the tailor machine. “Why’s it taking so long to make your clothes anyway? Don’t you just need to input the size and select the design you want?”

“It’s… complicated. I’ll find something else to wear for now.” William grabbed a random coat and followed Masako out of the laundry room.

He walked down the corridor, taking in his surroundings. The whole mall was as lively as it was before the wave. No, it was even more lively. Some shops were repurposed into shared resting areas while others were manned by merchants selling food and tools. The ground floor had been turned into a huge dining hall where a distribution table sat in the centre, surrounded by tables and benches. People were bustling about, carrying fish and homegrown vegetables in big baskets like a small mediaeval marketplace.

Victor’s room was surprisingly humble in contrast with the rest of the building. There was only a long meeting table and some chairs, as well as a single bed in the corner. Marianne, who was now wearing a tank top and jeans, smiled brightly at them from her seat beside Victor.

“I like what you did with the place,” William commented.

Victor smirked. “I didn’t do much; all I did was lift the biggest mall in the area and replant it near a water source. That’s nothing compared to what I’ve done in the past.”

William chuckled in response. Victor was never one to accept a compliment humbly.

“Did you not have time to change?” Victor raised an eyebrow at William’s dangerously loose bathrobes.

William rolled his eyes. “My clothes aren’t done. Let’s move on, damnit.”

“If you say so.” Victor took his feet off the table and gestured for them to sit. “Marianne has already told me everything that happened in the car park. You were lucky to survive.”

William gasped dramatically. “Marianne, how could you sell me out like that? Officer, those men stabbed themselves, I swear!”

“Your acting is terrible.” Victor rolled his eyes. “And I’m not referring to them anyway; those were probably just common bandits taking advantage of the sudden zombie attack. I’m talking about the other one. No one knows who he is; only what he has done. Most of us here in Sector 162 know him as ‘Red Clover’.”

“Let me guess, he got bitten by a radioactive plant,” William scoffed.

Victor ignored him. “He appears to work like a bounty hunter, though no one really knows how he chooses his targets. From what I have observed so far, it’s usually the small bandit groups that get targeted, especially those who commit atrocities serious enough for the death penalty. Rape, murder, cannibalism etc. He attacks them even in broad daylight, almost always leaving no survivors. Probably thinks he’s the personification of the law or something.”

“So… like Batman, but in the daytime,” Marianne commented.

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“What’s a Batman?” Masako asked curiously.

“Hey, hey, focus up. As I was saying,” Victor snapped his fingers with a slight irritation in his voice. “This vigilante always leaves behind an arrow with a red nock that looks like a four leaf clover, hence earning the nickname, ‘Red Clover’. The few that survive his encounters describe him in the same manner; demonically fast and strong, which was leading me to think-”

“That he’s one of us?” Marianne asked.

“Yes. But the question is, why target here? Not only are we not bandits, we have a pretty sizable defence. Why take such a big risk?”

“He didn’t exactly attack us though. He only seemed to be after our belongings, but he left it behind. Maybe he just couldn’t get away with it?” William suggested.

“Or maybe,” Marianne folded her arms. “He already got what he was looking for.”

Silence filled the room as everyone stared at her.

“Remember that weird cylindrical transmitter? It’s missing from my bag.”

“Weird transmitter? Hang on.” Victor opened his drawer and pulled out a similar looking item.

“That’s the one!” William gasped. “How did you get one of those? What exactly is that?”

“Now that you mention it, it’s kinda strange.” Victor’s expression darkened. “I can’t seem to remember.”

“Seriously?” William rolled his eyes.

“Never mind how this came into my possession,” Victor said hurriedly. “As to what this is, all I know is that these devices were used in some sort of experiment involving animals. I was actually hoping you’d know more about this, Doctor Toh.”

“I might, but I cannot confirm it yet. I need at least two of them to be sure.” William scratched his chin. “You wouldn’t happen to have a spare one lying around, would you?”

“Nope.” Victor shook his head. “But there are rumours of where those experiments first began. And I’m willing to bet there’ll be one of these things there too.”

“Then what are we waiting for? Let’s go get it!” Marianne piped. “It must be important if the Red Clover wants his hands on this device so much.”

“Or her hands. We haven’t seen his face yet,” Masako muttered.

“Easier said than done.” Victor let out a short laugh. “Although… you might stand a chance with your abilities,” he said, rubbing his chin thoughtfully.

“Why?” William asked suspiciously.

“Because it was last seen in Sector 162 South Asylum. No bandit group foolish enough to search for it has ever made it out alive, or even at all,” Victor said darkly. “The creepy thing is, there were no zombies outside, the last time I checked. Whatever goes in there simply vanishes off the face of earth. I’m not trying to scare you, but asylums aren’t the most holy of places.”

“Well, let’s not go there then.” William said quickly. “Anywhere else?”

“Nope. That’s the only place I know.”

“Worth a shot.” William shrugged in defeat. “Experimented animals, huh? This should be interesting.”

“You can do whatever you want, but Masako won’t be joining you,” Victor said. “I have a job for her that requires her skills. Marianne can go with you if you want.”

“W- wait! Why me? Can’t you go with him?” Marianne suddenly gripped the table, her knuckles turning white.

“I still need to interrogate the last bandit, remember? At least you had the sense not to kill all of them,” Victor muttered. “Unless you wanna abandon your friend here to go by himself…”

Marianne looked down with an extremely disturbed expression. William broke the silence. “I can go by myself. It’s fine, I-”.

“Alright I’ll go!” Marianne squeezed her eyes shut as if she was being forced at gunpoint. “You owe me, okay? Don’t forget that.” She wagged her finger in William’s face.

“Alright, alright. Thank you, Ma’am.” William lifted his hands up in mock surrender. “Shall we set out tomorrow morning then?”

“Before you go, I have a few ground rules for this place,” Victor said. “Number one, we use coins to trade for goods and services; I see no reason to change the currency.”

“Number two, you will be granted highest status, which means you can choose to live in a single room on the higher floors. That does not mean you can go around bullying everyone else. Trust me, you don’t want that kind of negative attention.”

“And lastly, you’re now part of my settlement. Which means you have a duty to protect the interests of this place. Do you accept these terms?”

The trio nodded their heads simultaneously.