"Pfft, what scum." I muttered with strained breaths. My gaze remained locked on the corpse in front of me, a tall male figure with warm tan skin lay there leaking from his neck and mouth. I take in a deep breath as the shaking that surged through my body fades with the adrenaline rush that had just enveloped me. Pushing the blade back into its handle, I slide my knife back into my pocket before wiping the fresh blood from my hands onto the corpses clothing, the clean parts anyway. After a quick pat down I find a key chain with only a single small security box key on it and a dead mobile phone. Grasping at the mobile phone I stare at it in contemplation, 'such a device was made obsolete in this world weeks ago. Clinging to your old humanity is futile, such devices have no value in this world.' I shove the mobile phone and key chain into my pockets before turning my back to the grizzly mess I had made, they will be coming soon and when they spot his blood, they'll be in a frenzy. Taking quick and quiet steps I dart from afternoon shadow to afternoon shadow, passing several corpses on the way, including some that still moved, however, timing my strolls from block to block with the echoes of thrown stones to my back is enough to make any zombie completely blind to my presence. It's not long before I find myself in front of what used to be a gun shop. Abandoned and ransacked, this place only offers shelter and meagre security from the out-side world, it wasn't a location I had envied or desired but it was enough in my time of need. After loosening the chain on the steel screen door I allow myself inside, then securing the entrance behind me. As I did everyday, I wondered into the makeshift storage room Valerie and I had arranged to store any resources we could get our hands on. A deep sigh escapes my lips as I notice that severed fingers had been left on one of the shelves next to a sealed package of water bottles I had found only a few days prior. Grasping one of the fingers in my hand I was surprised as to how soft and malleable the skin still was, these were fresh, that's for sure. I started to wonder if Valerie maybe had an accident, but the thought didn't possess me for long. Putting the finger back I strolled back into the front room, gun racks littered the walls but not a single gun or bullet would be found anywhere in this room. Moving to the bordered up display window at the front of the store, a small anxiety built inside of me as I turned my thoughts to the recent matters involving a group of survivors. 'That den of scum is getting larger, if I do not act soon I will find myself once again getting kicked from my abode. Relocation wont be as smooth this time either now that I have Valerie and her... eccentric activities to provide for and house. I'd already be rid of her if it were not for the vaccine she had produced, there is value in keeping it from the other groups for now.' I thought to myself as a lone legless zombie crawled in and out of my scope of vision from the bordered up window. "Such simple, dumb creatures." I state in a nonchalant tone.

"Slice! Slice! Slice! Cut! Cut! Cut! Let's see how the experiment ended UUUP!" I sing aloud as I put my rusty utensils to work. Excitement envelops me as I grasp for the metal syringe I had been forced to re-use for quite sometime now. Exacting a little bit of purple serum from a corked bottle I had requested Leigh to obtain for me, I inject the serum into a fresh severed zombie arm, then taking samples from three equally spaced sections of the arm I leap to my feet and secure the samples in three different vials. As I reach for my lab-coat I can hear the rustle of chain link sliding on chain link and then the front door sliding open and back closed. 'Good timing Leigh.' I thought to myself as I slid my lab-coat on. As I look back at my work station, a mere table with a corpse resting on its surface, I cannot help but to feel over-whelming freedom when I compare it to my earlier labs. Although this place is sorely lacking, Leigh is the first survivor to not discourage my work or place labor pressures on me like those other groups tried. Even more, he is the first person to see the value of my Z-Nectar, all the others were too afraid to even have it stored anywhere near their precious run down shelters. Walking from my 'lab' at the back of the building, I enter the store front in time to catch Leigh's nonchalant comment. "Oh, I concur! If I had made those creatures, they would have never been so useless. Honestly, even as a weapon, those simple creatures are sorely lacking. How they managed to over-throw humanity I will continue to fail to understand." I respond before rushing into the storage room. Grasping a finger I had left in the storage room I approach Leigh with a twinkle in my eyes. "I am going to need you to eat this." I state trying to hide my excitement while holding out the finger.

-

I turn my gaze to meet Valerie as she words off her two cents in regards to my comment, I start to feel uncomfortable at the notion of Valerie constructing zombies of her own. Recently I have started to formulate ideas as to how to use the zombies as a means to get rid of some of the annoying survivor groups nearby, but actually having the ability to create your own strain of the zombie virus and manipulate it at your own will, I am sure that is the ambition and skill that destroyed humanity in the first place. Although we rely on one another, should she gain the ability to design and manipulate zombies, the scales would slam in her favour. My train of thought is broken when Valerie shoves a severed finger into my face and makes an absurd demand of me. "I think I'll pass, that thing could still have active zombie pathogens inside of it." I respond calmly.

Disappointed, but not surprised, I point the finger at Leigh angrily. "Of course it still has the zombie pathogens inside of it! What use would a normal human finger have to me?!" My reply is swift and carries an impatient tone. "However, I believe I may have un-pathogened the pathogens! If this is true, then that means I have developed a cure to this accursed plague. So I need you to eat this, then give me some of your blood to play with and we'll see what happens!" I reply, back to my preppy excited tone.

"A cure? I thought you preferred society in shambles. Your experiments would be banned again, you may even be punished for forming the research that eventually led this plague, as you call it." I reply shocked. Was it always Valerie's intent to cure the world of zombies? She spoke so often of how the new changes to the world have set her free. There has to be something more to this, I absolutely refuse to go back to how things were. "What of furthering your research? Surely anything related to your research would not only be banned but also suppressed and destroyed!" I offered in protest.

"Leigh, Leigh, Leigh! Calm your wandering mind. I've got a much better use for the cure than helping to re-build the shackles that once bound my intellect! This cure is only a tiny step towards the rest of my research. With this, I'll be able to purge corpses of the zombie pathogen and play around with clean bodies just as nature intended! But, I need to know if it works, so eat up." I respond. 'Dammit Leigh, you over-think too much! I wish I could move my research a long a bit faster, then I'll be able to MAKE things that do what I want when I tell them.' I think to myself.

A flow of relief breezed over me as I came to understand Valerie's intentions. However, this all still leaves us with one problem. "Should I eat that finger, how can you be sure that I haven't just contracted a neutralized form of the virus rather than having it not infect me at all?" I respond after some time of absorbing her last message. Despite Valerie's inclination to tell the truth, there is still something fishy about her request.

"Well you're no fun, I've grabbed some samples of dead zombie tissue injected with the serum that I want to check out with some better lab equipment. If you'll just eat this finger, I'll be able to find out if the serum has, at the very least, fully disabled the virus, but if you're going to keep throwing those spoil sport questions at me, I guess I'll just have to wait." I reply with crossed arms after throwing the finger away. "I would have eaten the thing myself, however, I've already taken the vaccine which means the virus wont show signs of infection in me regardless of the serums validity." "Incidentally, I am reaching the limits of what I can do with the rusty utensils I've got. We need to go hunting for some more equipment and a power source if I ever hope to move forward with my work." I state boldly. Despite Leigh's open mindedness about my work, I cannot be held back once again. I finally have a chance to unleash my ultimate creation, it just needs more work, a lot more work!

Slightly unsettled by her conduct, I begin to think about her worlds. Firstly I cannot fault her for her recklessness in regards to her experiments, at least she was up front about it, eventually. My mind starts to wonder back to my previous train of thought involving the nearby survivor group, I agree with Valerie in one regard, we certainly need to move location, with the nearby survivor group expanding their scouting territory it wont be long until they start drawing more zombies to the area. Not to mention the body I left behind, they'll be looking for suspects. "I know of a location that is ideal for us, but if we plan to take hold of it... there may be some trouble." I announce to Valerie. Walking into the storage room I kneel down by a box in the corner, it houses some basic office supplies we had found in here. Grasping a piece of paper I roughly sketch the surrounding area from our location to the survivor groups location and then the location in question. Showing the crude hand-drawn map to Valerie I point to the square labelled '1' at the top of the sheet. "This is where the nearest survivor group is currently set up." Sliding my finger over to the block with an exclamation mark on it. "And this where a college campus that appears to have power is located. I've seen outside path lights on from afar several nights now. Currently the survivors haven't gotten their hands on the campus because it is swarming with zombies as is the shaded block to the left of the area marked 1. If we could clear out the zombies from the campus and wipe out the survivor group, we'd have access to better equipment as well as any resources left over by the survivor group. But pulling this off would require some planning."

'Quite the ambitious one aren't you Leigh?' I think to myself. With my gaze locked onto the poorly drawn map, several thoughts flow through my head. The campus would be the most obvious choice but I hardly think it'd be worth the risk of fighting with an entire group of survivors over. "It's not exactly subtle, are you sure you want to start picking fights with the local brutes?" I reply casually. Without my requests I am sure Leigh would settle for a easier, quieter location. 'Could it be because I am close to a proper cure for the zombie virus? Maybe he intends to use me to gain power by trading the cure off.' My inner-monologue triggers an unhappy look to form on my face.

"You ask that as if it is avoidable." I state as I slowly stroll towards the bordered front window once more. My thoughts darken as I recall the memories of my dealings with survivors, "I was late today. You probably didn't notice, since we don't have any working clocks but everyday when I do my rounds I look to the sky from a particular building and I count how many fingers I can place between the horizon and the sun in the afternoon." I say as I close one eye and stare at my fingers with my arm stretched before me, mimicking what I do during my rounds. "It helps me put structure in this chaotic world, and so I planned, I said to myself this morning, "When the gate to night is only three fingers from open, I'll sneak back and enjoy the scenery", because you see, there is this street a few blocks down, it's a beautiful street. A street untouched by the chaos outside, there are no corpses, no blood, the cars are parked perfectly and so unscathed that they've built dust on them. It is an untouched relic of the old world, but with the eerie peacefulness of the new world, there are no people marching the side walks, no one exchanging hallow words of little meaning, no one shouting or laughing. It is completely silent." My voice almost seems emphasised by the light echo of the large front room. I furrow my brows as I continue, "But when I reached that street I found it in ruins. Windows smashed, cars looted and even a motionless zombie corpse now filled my street. But worst of all, the subject of all this carnage stood there, smoking of all things, on my street. He looked relaxed as he leant against a street lamp. A rush of anger surged through me but I was in control, 'It was inevitable' I had thought. But that's when he spotted me, at first he was alarmed but once he noticed I was alive, he casually called me over, and so I went. I'm not sure why, I think I was still shocked by the scene I had just arrived at, but regardless, I marched towards him just as he had called me." I pause to breath a deep sigh as the image of the street flashes in my mind. "Smiling he asked "Hey stranger, did the sweet scent of tobacco draw you out?" just as he pushed an open packet of cigarettes my way, beckoning me to take one. Can you believe that? a Cigarette! He destroys my street then dares to offer me a fucking cigarette, as if we're acquaintances or pals or something. That's when it happened, it felt so natural as it happened, like it was one quick smooth motion. I had grabbed my knife from my pocket and popped the spring sending the blade arcing out, moments later it opened a hole in his throat as I punched him in the chest as hard as I could to force his last toxic breath from his lungs. As I watched the crimson flow out of his gurgling and shaking body I felt powerful, and in that moment of power I decided that I wasn't going to give into the demands of the survivors any more. But more importantly, I had set myself a goal, my first ambition of the new world; crush the remnants of the old world." I spoke with emphasis. My heart was racing as I recalled every detail.

Taken back by Leigh's sudden personality shift and psychotic ramblings, an odd sense of excitement rushes through me. Leigh isn't stupid, but he is actually serious about taking on entire groups of survivors. "I don't mean to dampen your ambitions. But how exactly do you plan to take on survivors by yourself? They'll eventually catch on and come for you. Not to mention, that group nearby is an ant compared to the liberation groups that have been appearing and growing since the government fell." A small bubble of anxiety flows through me as I think of how Leigh's actions may affect me. After all, my work takes priority over everything.

Taking a moment to ponder Valerie's question a grin begins to spreads across my face as I point to the bordered window. "Dragging their feet outside that window is a prime example of the type of weapon I hope to wield against my enemies." I state boldly. Taking several steps towards Valerie I stop just in front of her with my gaze locked onto hers. "I need you Valerie, to help me in this endeavour." I continue nonchalantly.

My heart starts to pound as my cheeks become flushed. "A-are you asking me to help you weaponize the dead?" I ask with my voice soft but clear. Taking a step back from Leigh's figure I move towards the front window and peek outside, a single shambling figure limps and drags its legs down the road as it looks for a meal. 'So inefficient, so primitive. Does he really think that these zombies would be an affective tool? I have my doubts and making a commitment like the one he is requesting will mean side projects.' "What do I possibly stand to gain if I follow you and your ambitions? My experiments are still number one priority to me." I reply in a serious tone.

"I am asking you to refine a resource for me and as for what you have to gain..." I turn to face Valerie as she gazes out the front window through a gap in the boarding. "I've decided to no longer be a bystander, with no government or organisation, those seeking power have already started making their move. I want to join them and prevent the re-creation of a world where following orders like a dog is considered noble and respectable, I want to prevent the re-creation of a world that deludes it's inhabitants into happiness and discourages the harsh truths of realities. I want to prevent the re-creation of a world, where you'd be submitted to a mental hospital for merely trying to push our species forward like no one has ever done so before." "If you work with me, I promise to provide you with everything you need to complete your life's work."