Aeron hadn't been much of a pessimist before he had been sent home from the Corps with a medical discharge, but that train of thought had been changed in a split second and a flash of light. For the past four years, he had been hot-wired to adapt and overcome any situation that was thrown at him, because it had to be done no matter what; in his profession, he couldn't settle with anything less and there was no room left for pessimism or uncertainty. He'd lived by that code and followed the book to a "T," but there were certain situations that was beyond any man's control as he quickly learned. A few weeks ago, he had thought that the loss of a leg was about as bad as it could get because it kept him from living the life that he was born to lead, but no one could have been prepared for the shitstorm that had come their way. Some people may claim that their life is worse than everyone else's, but another fact that he'd learned quickly: it can always be worse. 
	Growing up, he'd always known there was some truth hidden within the fictional stories and fairy tales of his youth, but never would he have believed that, of all things, flesh-eating corpses would be the monsters that were real. It was so unreal that he sometimes believed it was just a nightmare or another one of his post-war delusions, but it was real. The horrors he'd witnessed in these short few weeks were even worse than his time in overseas because these weren't his enemies shooting at him or trying to blow him up; these were their friends and families, their coworkers, people they had grown up with. In war, death was the end once it came for you but now, death was absolutely meaningless. Death...was only the beginning, and there was nothing that anyone could do to change it.
	"Make sure to check your corners," Aeron said through half-gritted teeth as he scanned the area. "We don't need a repeat of what almost happened last time." He didn't need to say names.
	"One time...one time that happened," Miles former co-worker, Jacoby commented. 
	"One time is all that it takes to die," he snapped. "Now be quiet before you attract unwanted attention. Your voice carries like a cat in heat."
	Another retort was on the tip of Jacoby's tongue, but with every ounce of willpower he owned, he managed to hold it back. Jacoby was known for arguing with people until he was black and blue in the face even if he knew he was wrong, but he wouldn't dare do that in front of Aeron. There weren't many things that intimidated him, but he would much prefer to take on a horde of zombies rather than face Aeron's wrath.