Everyone took the moment to calm down. Leaning against walls or sitting on knocked over trash cans. Nobody complained about the smell. No, if anything, I was glad for it. It made it easier to forget the cloying smell of the subway, and the odd scent of the undead.

  Eventually, the sounds of the zombies attempting to climb out of the hatch faded. Leaving us in silence. It was almost deafening.

  I exchanged looks with those I had helped. Simple nods were all the thanks I got, and the most I could expect. A young man leaned against a metal dumpster, sparks of fire flickered into existence around him. Another young woman had lightning crackling along her skin. Everyone was quickly getting control over their powers.

  I glanced over and saw Diana talking with those that helped her. One of them, was a taller woman with rocks covering her arms and hands. The other was a shorter man, whose shadow seemed to be wrapping around him.

  It all seemed like too much. Instinctively, I drew further on the ice in my veins. I thought back to what had just occurred. Every moment played back like an old slide film, using an old projector. Each click played it, scene by scene.

  I thought back to me getting jumped by the zombie, how I had reacted… With a grimace I looked down to my side. At some point, I had lost the bags I was carrying with me. I had put some things in my pockets, but…

  It was stupid. Mistake after mistake. Diana was doing all the work and me? I was floundering. Flailing about.

  I could do better. I should be doing better. As those thoughts ran through my mind, another thought crashed in.

  ‘I should leave…’

  The thought was sudden.

  ‘I should leave them behind.’

  It came insistently. Pounding into my skull. My hand clutched at my chest. My iced over heart thrummed pathetically.

  ‘Being with people, especially in a situation like this, all it will result in is pain.’

  It continued. A cold whisper. Dripping with logic, as if it was venom. Like a snake, it whispered in my ear.

  ‘It’s easier to be alone.’

  The voice, it wasn’t wrong.

  ‘Without having to worry about others, you can truly spread your wings.’

  Again, it wasn’t wrong.

  ‘You could protect yourself, them. All you need to do is leave.’

  And yet…

  ‘After all, you’ve done it before. What is one more time?’

  A flicker. A normal day. The closing of a door.

  It would be easy. To just leave them. To leave Diana, Amanada. Being with them was just opening myself for more pain. More trouble. I should leave, before it gets worse, I should…

  “Excuse me?” A voice broke me out of my dark thoughts. Looking up, I saw the girl, or I suppose she was a young woman, that I had saved. She bowed.

  “Thank you for helping me. I don’t think I would have made it without you.”

  And like that, I felt something in me crack.

  “It’s no problem.” I said, all too calmly. “I was just doing what anyone else would do.”

  “That…” She hesitates. Unsure how to respond. “Then, would it be possible for me to join your group? I was separated from mine when… everything happened.” she said, hesitantly.

  “What can you do?” I asked. Though, honestly, a part of me was already willing to take her in.

  “I can do this…” She extended her hands and water appeared. A thin tendril of water flowed out, connecting her palms for a moment or two, before it splashed to the ground. She wiped sweat off her brow and looked at me expectantly.

  “That could be useful.” I admitted. Especially if it was drinkable. “I’ll have to check with the rest of the team first, though.”

  And like that, I made my decision to stick with them. Though, the voice merely clicked its tongue. After all, this was likely a mistake. This was how people get hurt. I didn’t disagree with it, but for now, the situation wasn’t dire enough to just abandon them.

  Eventually Diana rejoined us. The others in the alley slowly gathered up, forming up impromptu groups and meandered out without much fanfare. We checked over our supplies, Diana had her backpack, and Amanda managed to keep hold of her grocery bags filled with goods.

  A brief explanation of what the new member could do was enough to convince Diana that she was worthwhile.

  “My name’s Serenity.” The woman said with a bow. She was a shorter young woman, with well-trimmed hair and bangs. She held herself upright and properly. Hey eyes and ears seemed perked and at the ready, taking in everything around her.

  “Diana.” “Amanda.” “Prima.” We went through introducing ourselves, then came the next part.

  “Where exactly are we going?” Diana prompted. Amanda, kept quiet, as did Serenity.

  “Well, we’re currently on the edge of the central district and the commercial district.” I let my ice out, focusing on the wet ground. It crackled but made it easy to mark out a simple map.

  “If we go left and follow the main road up, we’ll be on the path towards the mall. If we go down the road, we’ll be heading for the residential district and suburbs beyond.”

  I point to the road to the left.

  “On the right, we’ll go back towards the central district and if we go up the road, we’ll get to the business district. If we stay inside the central district, we’ll come across the lower district, assuming this city has the same layout as ours.

  Diana frowned.

  “Central district has the library, hospital, and such, which means its likely overrun.”

  “Depending on the time of day, the business district might be overrun as well, or the residential, it’s a coin toss really.” I add in.

  “Regardless, the suburbs would be safer, if we can make it that far.” Diana adds.

  “True… the zombies would have limited ability to flow into the outer city with the bridges. The population density is lower in the suburbs and the fields as well.”

  Which made it the safer option.

  “It would be safer, if just survival were our goal.”

  She then reached into her pocket and pulls out an odd object. It almost looked like a sparkling casino coin.

  A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

  “I got this when I killed the zombie.” She showed it off and on the face of the coin was a sheep. It looked like a casino coin, black and white edges, with the black having odd sparkles in them, like they were stars.

  “A sheep coin?” I muttered. The others looked at it equally in wonder.

  “That’s what I think. If we kill zombies, we can get coins. Which means we can buy whatever from the store. Diana continues. “So, what should we do?”

  I bit my lip. Diana was looking at me for an answer. The other two, Amanda and Serenity were too. After all, of the group, besides Diana, I was the only one that could possibly fight… Even if I failed in every other aspect.

  I pivoted and looked towards Amanda and Serenity. “You both should decide.” I answered, shifting responsibility. “If it were just me and Diana, I think we could manage, but I don’t know if you two want to risk your lives for coins.”

  They both thought. Amanda was the first to speak up. “I think I’ve gotten a handle over my… whatever this is.” At her words, the vines wrapping around her squirmed and grew under her direction. Eventually a single vine extended out from her hand and a bud grew out, that swiftly bloomed.

  “See? I think I can be of help in a fight.”

  Then, it came down to Serenity. She fidgeted for a moment. “I… I don’t think I’ll be of much help in a fight, but I can make water.” She then looked over at us. “But I don’t want to hold you three back.”

  It took all I had not to click my tongue. I’d much rather them to say they didn’t want to fight… I looked over to Diana and she had a thoughtful expression on her face before nodding.

  “We’ll go forward then. Now, where will we head to? The mall or business district?” Diana asked, looking at me.

  “Mall.” I answered calmly. “The commercial district had a lot of smaller shops and buildings, along with a mess of alleys we could work along. If we went to the business district, we’d be mostly in the open.”

  “That sounds like a plan then. Take a minute to rest and eat or whatever you need, then we’ll head out.” With that, Diana concluded our meeting. I grabbed a bar I had stashed in my pocket and chewed. Amanda then handed me a bottle of water she had. I made to deny her, but she shoved it forward.

  With a sigh I took it and drank. After I drained the bottle, Serenity filled it back up with water. Corking it shut I gave it back to Amanda.

  Amanda gave Serenity some of her food and water, Diana opened her pack and organized it before grabbing something for herself.

  Once we were all good and ready, we packed up and moved. Diana was at the front, I was covering the rear. Amanda and Serenity were at the center of our formation.

  Stepping out of the alley, towards the road, we came across ruined vehicles and storefronts with their windows broken and shattered. Doors were either off their hinges or were broken through. Shattered glass decorated the street everywhere we went.

  The smell of smoke and fire carried along the wind. It was, eerily silent. Soon, that silence was disturbed as we made contact. A small band of roving zombies was our first target. We crept off the street and out of sight to discuss our options.

  “What’s the plan?” Diana asked, looking at each of us in turn. The zombie group wasn’t large. Maybe ten or so of them shambled about. With our newfound powers, I had the feeling we could beat them, but we would need a plan.

  “I think, I think I can trip them up with a vine or two.” Amanda offered first.

  “I can play bait.” I finally offered. “I’m fairly sturdy with my ice, and I think if I focus, I can make it hard enough that they won’t be able to bite through it.” Something I was sure of, having actually beat a few of the living dead. They weren’t exceptionally tough, but we still weren’t sure if they were infectious like the media usually portrayed.

  Diana nodded and looked to Serenity, who looked away. “I don’t know if I can help…” She admitted and Diana nodded as if expecting that answer.

  “Alright, Prima, get their attention.” I nod. “Amanda, trip them up and I’ll swoop in.” Amanda nods. “Once their down, help clear them out.” Diana finished, looking towards me and Serenity.

  “I understand.” Serenity says.

  We wait a moment, then I walk out and towards the shambling undead.

  “Hey! Woohoo!” I cry out, and the undead stiffen. All their heads shift towards me in unison with a loud crack. Then, they start sprinting with a scream.

  I let the ice cover me. Let it thicken and dull my emotions and senses. Then, I bolt. Behind me, I hear concrete crack followed by the sound of flesh hitting flesh. I about face, just in time to see Diana rushing forward with her pick, wind swirling around the tip. With each swing, she cleaved through skulls, killing them with ease.

  I didn’t merely stare, I shot forward myself and stomped down on a skull or two. Easily shaking off hands and avoiding their teeth. A few were entangled in writhing vines, keeping them down as they dug into their skin and skulls, eventually killing them.

  When we near finished. A volley of water balls crashed into one of the remaining zombies. Each ball punched out a chunk of flesh, and one of them smashed into the zombie’s skull. The blow had their skull splatter out. Spraying blood and brain matter everywhere. The zombie then fell to the ground, dead.

  Serenity was panting. Amanda was sweating. Diana was huffing and puffing. I… I was good. I felt good.

  I let the ice recede. Only then did I become aware of the aches and pains running through my body. The ice didn’t make me invincible, it just made me feel invincible…

  “That went well…” Diana admitted with a few stretches. I had to agree as well.

  “It did. Good work Amanda and Serenity, good job on the last one.”

  Serenity blushed at my compliment. “It was nothing. I think, next time I can do better.” She asserted.

  “I can do better as well. I wasted too much energy that time.” Amanda followed up with.

  “I know I was swinging too hard. Not just that, but I put too much juice into it.” Diana followed up with. The zombies she had hit were torn apart by the blast of wind, clearly, she had put a bit too much gas into each blow.

  “I need to better pace myself. The ice makes it too easy to push myself.” I added in.

  We took a moment to center ourselves and check our gains. Diana had another coin. I managed to get one as well. The coin, oddly enough, just kind of appeared in my pocket. Not just that, but…

  “Hey, look at this.” I showed them the coin. Everyone watched me put it into my left pocket. I showed my empty hands, reached for my right pocket and pulled it out. I then put it back and reached into my inner jacket pocket and pulled out the coin.

  “Oh, wow… you a magician or something?” Diana asks but quickly checks it out for herself. Using her pockets and the many pockets covering her bag.

  “Huh… strange.” She admits finally. “I have two coins, but they don’t feel like their taking up pocket space.”

  “Right? It’s a little weird.”

  After a bit more testing, we pushed forward.

  Next group of zombies were about the same. Same as the one after that, and after that. With each group our coordination improved as well as our magic use. We took short breaks and soon, we made it onto a larger street.

  “Oh, look at that.” I pointed out a darkened electronics shop. The monitors inside were lit up, showing the rankings. Every few seconds they would flicker, showing the rest of the participants like us. Names that were crossed out were… likely dead.

  “About a quarter of us…” Diana said with concern. We all went silent. Staring at the crossed-out names. Eventually, the ranking showed the top ten again.

  “Well, look at them go…” I spoke. The number one position had quite the kill count under their belt, and it was still rising.

  “That is shocking…” Diana agreed. Amanda and Serenity just stared at the growing numbers. The top number even jumped, and not a moment later the list flickered and a new name was crossed off.

  We stared at the monitor. None of us quite sure what to make of it, surely not, right? Then again, it might have been a coincidence.

  When the screen flickered back, we went back to it.

  “Any idea what time it is?” Amanda asks after we fought another group.

  Time? I… did I? I check my wrist, and a familiar watch was there. I glance over the group and see them checking their phones at Amanda’s question. Not a single one appeared to be working. At best, they showed the current rankings on them.

  “It’s about… noon?” I pause and take a closer look at the watch. The watch had two faces. I never gave it much thought, as it was probably something for pacing or something, but usually it worked in tandem with the bigger face. Now, it appeared to be moving much slower. The main face showed that it was a little after midnight, but the smaller face said it was noon… Strange.

  Stranger still, was how it was definitely noon. We arrived in the morning, but the train ride had felt like an instant… where had six hours gone? Why was the smaller face of my clock displaying a different time?

  Too many questions, not enough answers. For now, I had to shelve them and focus forward.

  “We should probably stop for lunch soon.” Amanda continues. “I think we’ve been at this for hours by now.”

  Have we? Have we really? We made good time, or so I thought. The zombies were in good, numbered clusters and each fight was quick, but the downtime between fights…

  “We probably should.” Diana admitted and her head swiveled about, her eyes wandering over the buildings. “There, that should be a good spot for a break.”

  It was a smaller building. It must have been a sort of curio shop before. A small set of stairs led to a second floor. We sat down and food was laid out. Diana and Amanda both emptied their packs and laid it all out so we could take a proper accounting of what we had.

  “Not nearly enough…” Diana mutters and I had to agree. Even if I had not lost my bags, I don’t think it would have made much of a difference. The constant fighting and usage of our abilities was taking its toll on us.

  Our stomachs grumbled, and we ate and ate. Nearly emptying our supplies with the meal. We took our turns using the bathroom that blessedly still flushed. Apparently, the city water and power had yet to go out. Small mercies and all. Though, for how much longer that would last, we didn’t know.

  Using my ice, I fogged up the bathroom mirror and we had another meeting. I made a poor rendition of the commercial district map from memory and roughly guessed where we were. With the help of Amanda and Serenity, we began to plot out where food could possibly be.

  Diana looked it over and we worked together to draw a route that would keep us going forward and keep us off the main roads. Soon enough, we had a plan, but first, we needed to rest a bit more and recover.