DAY THREE OF THE OUTBREAK...

It took two days for the Deadmen to spread through Central England, with Longridge and Lancaster being the epicenters of its spread. Bloodletter and the other two monstrous creatures weren't even responsible for it. They only killed people. Aside from the fanged woman, none of them were interested in eating them or spreading the corrupted Ambrosia.

But like a spark in a forest, a fire had started. And nothing would ever be able to stop it from spreading.

As Bloodletter and his undead companion continued trekking through the English countryside causing the apocalypse, he built up a name and a reputation for himself. Now everyone knew who he was, and everyone knew that once they'd see the crimson X on his helmet, they'd never see the light of the day again. Even the fanged woman started gaining infamy alongside him, and soon she became known as the Binge Eater. The albino Deadman grew equally as infamous, now regarded as the White Scythe, still roaming the ruins of Longridge.

While a few people took advantage of the situation by turning the two undead abominations into celebrities, those who still had common sense did everything they could to get their hands on Ration Cards and not get shot by the AIS. No Ration Cards, no food. No trust from the AIS, no chance of getting around without people assuming you've been infected. Therefore, without either of those two, you're fucked.

As a result, multiple riots broke out around the checkpoints in those last few days. There were already hundreds of complaints about the distribution of Ration Cards since the rich received more food portions than poorer citizens, but the last few complaints resulted in mass vandalism and several market raids. As if that wasn't bad enough, seven of the raiders were executed at Checkpoint V for accusations of infection. So now with the blood of innocents on their hands, the AIS was starting to look as monstrous as the creatures they strived to destroy.

Only six kids remained at the children's home, including the four who made up the Cod Squad. Now that food was hard to come by, not many people were in the mood to plague themselves with more mouths to feed by adopting. Mr. and Mrs. Hecox were one of a few people left in London who were willing to care for people with no relation to them.

Ironically, they didn't mind sending Aaron down to the Distribution Center alone with all the protesting going on. The Ration Cards he held were special types for families of three known as Triplet Packs. Mr. Hecox gave him two of those and a normal one-person Ration Card to receive enough bread to make sandwiches for the entire household. Given the fact Triplet Packs guaranteed three food rations, even for one person, Aaron was a walking target now that he held two of them, especially since Ration Card theft was a common occurrence in the city.

As he walked down the street, Aaron past by the same propaganda posters he and his friends saw every time they sneaked out to Checkpoint Z. The line to the Distribution Center was already piling up, stretching across multiple storefronts from the watchtower of Checkpoint Z to a streetlight two blocks away. A few AIS soldiers guarded the entrance to the Distribution Center to keep the line organized, but they cared more about the food supply than the people given the fact they were known for executing without hesitation.

"Remember, lads," one of them announced. "The less there are of you, the more food there is for the rest of us. So if you value your life, don't try to piss us off."

Aaron stood at the back of the line and slowly moved up as the people at the front were given their rations. He noticed a girl about a year older than him passing by the line, a hood hiding her face. She was repeatedly bumping into the people in line, apologizing after making physical contact. It was happening too many times to be accidental.

Aaron finally realized he had caught a Ration Card thief in action. He was able to conclude this once he noticed the small stack of cards in the thief's hand before they disappeared into her coat pockets. The fake sigh of disappointment she let out after passing by a woman without any cards further justified his guess.

"Sorry," the girl said, walking away from the woman. "Just clumsy, is all."

"Sure you are," Aaron whispered to himself.

Right before she could "bump" into Aaron, he dodged out of the way, grabbing her hand before she could reach his pockets. He held her hand up to her face. Dirt was smudged on her cheeks and forehead, and her dark brown hair was matted underneath the hood. Her lovely hazel eyes reminded Aaron of Mrs. Hecox's eyes, except they were full of desperation rather than motherly love. She looked as if she were fighting for her life.

"Don't try anything," Aaron said, trying to sound threatening. "I don't want to be caught with a card thief, so could you run along and save us both the trouble?"

The girl yanked her hand away from Aaron. "I'm fucking starving, mate! Please help me out."

"I think you have plenty of Ration Cards already."

"Please! I haven't eaten in four days! I've been stealing cards forever, but now with the outbreak going on, it's been hard finding them."

"Card thief!" exclaimed the person behind Aaron and the girl.

Before either of them could react, the girl was shoved to the ground, crashing against the pavement. Her jacket flew off her body and plopped down beside her, and a dozen Ration Cards spilled out of her pockets. And just like that, the citizens attacked, tackling each other like wild animals to get their hands on the free vouchers, even managing to shove the girl around to get to them.

"Give me the card, lass," one man said, followed by a screech of pain. The man stumbled back, grasping onto a cut on his leg.

It took a couple of warning shots from the AIS soldiers to finally get them to scatter. The poor girl was left alone on the street, with only half a Ration Card left. She held a knife in one hand, the blade tipped with the blood of one of the bastards who tried to steal what little belongings she had.

Aaron cautiously walked over to her and helped her back up to her feet. "Put the knife away, and you can come home with me," he said. "We have plenty of food. You could ask your parents to join us for dinner."

The girl didn't say anything. She only stared into Aaron's eyes and slowly shook her head back and forth as she slid the knife back into her pocket.

"You don't have any parents, do you?" Aaron stated grimly.

"Next!" called the AIS soldiers around the Distribution Center.

Aaron took one quick glance back at the girl before making his way into the building. He traded in his cards and walked out of the building carrying three loaves of bread. He stood by the girl and waited. "You coming?" he asked.

The girl slid her hood back on and walked beside Aaron as the two of them made their way back to the children's home. A few of the citizens in line watched them walk away, but the two of them were distracted by one particular individual waiting in line. It appeared to be female, but her entire head was hidden by what looked like a hijab. Only her eyes were visible, and there wasn't a hint of color in them.

"Next!" the soldiers called again, and the line shifted forward.

Aaron and the girl turned the views away from the woman and set their sights on the road in front of them. "I'm Aaron, by the way," he said. "What's your name?"

"Kat," the girl replied.

"Kat?"

"Short for Katrina."

"That's cool." There was a brief moment of awkward silence as the children's home came into view. "How long have you been out here?"

"About two months. I ran away from home, but I've been saving up Ration Cards."

"Why?"

Kat slouched her head. "My parents ran out of cards, yet they hardly shared any food with me. They said they never tasted a human before, so they tried to..."

Aaron didn't need to hear anything else. "I'm sorry about that," he replied. "I promise Mr. and Mrs. Hecox would never do anything to hurt us."

The two of them paused in front of the children's home, and Kat stood in front of Aaron with a more hopeful look in her eyes. "You promise?" she asked.

All of a sudden, alarms blared out in all directions. WARNING: DEADMAN SPOTTED AT CHECKPOINT G, a metallic voice called out in the background of the unnerving cacophony. But then that was followed by DEADMAN SPOTTED AT CHECKPOINT L and DEADMAN SPOTTED AT CHECKPOINT T, going on until every letter in the English alphabet was recited.

"Binge Eater!" screamed the AIS soldiers back at Checkpoint Z, and the sounds of gunfire filled the air along with earsplitting shrieks as men and women were torn apart by the creature.

As the soldiers were picked off one by one by the Binge Eater alone, swarms of Deadmen raced through the streets, tackling people to the ground and ripping them apart like nothing. The AIS soldiers were doing everything they could to get a clean shot, but many of them were overpowered by their undead enemies. Blood and innards started painting the ground red, and Aaron and Kat looked away.

"Follow me!" Aaron said, and the two of them ran like hell back to the children's home, avoiding as much of the carnage as they could.

Once they reached the front of the building, Aaron pounded against the door with his fists. "Mr. Hecox, it's me!" he yelled. "Please let us in!"

"Uh, Aaron..." Kat said.

Aaron looked back to see a female Deadman just a few feet away from them. She had zero injuries and lacked the stereotypical features of a zombie like rotting flesh, but the insidiously red bite mark on her neck proved she was a monster in the making. Blood dripped down her chin, and she screeched like an animal preparing to strike.

Aaron pounded on the door even harder. "Please, sir! Let us in!"

The door opened up, and Mr. Hecox stepped out holding a handgun. He quickly aimed at the approaching Deadman and fired, easily striking the creature in the middle of its head. Aaron and Kat watched in astonishment as the Deadman's motionless body collapsed to the ground before Mr. Hecox pulled both of them into the building.

"That was awesome!" Kat exclaimed as Mr. Hecox closed the door and locked it.

"Thanks, young lady," Mr. Hecox replied. "Also, who are you? Friend of Aaron's?"

"Yeah, I guess you could say." She held her hand out. "The name is Kat."

"She was lost, and I was hoping we could have her over for dinner," Aaron added.

Mr. Hecox smiled and shook Kat's hand. "Nice to meet you, Kat. I'm Roderick, but the kids here call me Mr. Hecox."

"By the way, how did you know the Deadmen were out there?" Kat asked.

"Follow me, and I'll show you."

Aaron and Kat followed Mr. Hecox down the hallway. They past by the door leading down to the basement, which had its planks forcefully removed, made evident by the holes left behind by the nails. Pieces of a broken vase were scattered across the floor, and the three of them carefully made their way around the mess. Aaron realized they were heading for the living room, where the kids would watch TV. They heard the voice of a news anchor as they approached the room, and the three of them were greeted by Jonah, Natalya, and the other kids plopped down in front of the television in shock.

"...terrifying moment caught on camera as the infamous Deadman known as the Bloodletter broke through the AIS's walls near Checkpoint C," the news anchor said. "Swarms of Deadmen have now broken through the barriers and have started attacking innocent civilians, claiming forty-seven lives in less than five minutes. The AIS have warned to take shelter in your homes until further notice and grab whatever weapons you can find. And beware of the spreading infection..."

Kat looked around the building and noticed all the windows and doors, except for the main entrance, were boarded up rather lazily. Given how crudely positioned some of the planks were, it was obvious they were put up hastily. "You guys were quick to prepare," she said.

"Who's this?" Natalya asked.

"Kids, this is Kat, apparently," Mr. Hecox replied. "She'll be waiting through this little disaster with us."

"How long will it last?"

"I'm in no hurry to get home," Kat replied. "Seriously, I'd rather be anywhere else but home right now."

"No, I mean how long will the Deadmen be around?"

"Pretty sure not long," Mr. Hecox replied. "The AIS should have this under control."

"Isn't that what they said about Lancaster?" Jonah chimed in.

Mr. Hecox's confident grin faded away. "Oh dammit."

Everyone jumped at the sounds of the window at the end of the hall being pounded appeared out of nowhere. Aaron glanced out the living room to see a Deadman slamming its fists against the glass until they bled. A spiderweb-like crack spread across the window until it burst into a shower of glass shards, and the wooden planks plopped down to the floor, leaving the new hole in the wall vulnerable.

And the Deadmen already knew what this meant for them. One Deadman, a terrifying one with both of its cheeks ripped off its face to reveal its teeth, paused in front of the hole and gazed at the kids with the kind of sadism one would find in the sentient creatures like Bloodletter and Binge Eater. He mumbled something in their typical animalistic gibberish, but it almost appeared to mouth the words, "Time to die."

And if those words really did leave the creature's tongue, they were definitely true. But in a twist of events, it was the creature before them that died, a perfect headshot right between the eyes. The Deadman flew back out of the broken window and crashed into the dirt

"Nice shot, Mr. Hecox," Aaron said.

"That wasn't me, lad," Mr. Hecox replied.

The two of them looked behind to see Nika and Mrs. Hecox, both of them holding handguns. A small trail of smoke rose from the tip of the barrel of Nika's gun as she aimed it at the window.

"Whoa!" Aaron exclaimed in amazement. "Fantastic shooting, Nika!"

Nika shyly lowered her gun and hid it behind her back. "I was a little doubtful at first," Mrs. Hecox replied while petting Nika's hair. "But she's one of the best shooters here. Almost like if she was meant to carry a gun."

"But she's never fired a gun a day in her life!" Natalya replied.

"Well, there was that one time with that slingshot," Nika chimed in.

Jonah burst out laughing. "You decapitated a garden gnome!"

"You did what?" Mrs. Hecox asked, staring down at Nika with a concerned look.

"He didn't feel any pain," Nika replied sheepishly, a nervous smile forming across her face.

"Well that's terrifying," Mr. Hecox quipped.

Two more Deadmen jumped through the space where the window used to be, managing to get lodged in the wall. "But not as terrifying as that," Mrs. Hecox added.

Nika was able to shoot the first Deadman in the head, but the second one crawled its way into the building. Once it stood up, Mr. Hecox grabbed a floor lamp and proceeded to bash the creature's head in with it. He continued swinging until the Deadman collapsed to the floor before finishing it off with a bullet to the head.

"Everyone twelve and older, grab a gun!" Mr. Hecox ordered. "Agatha, take them down to the basement."

"Have you lost your mind?" Mrs. Hecox asked.

"Trust me, dear. I've got this under control. Just take Jonah, Natalya, and the others down to get some weapons. Radio the AIS our location. We'll join you in a moment once we've cleared most of the house."

"As you wish." Mrs. Hecox cocked her gun and started making her way to the basement, followed by Jonah, Natalya, and several other unarmed kids. "We must guard these children with our lives, Roderick."

"Always have," Mr. Hecox replied. He glanced over at Aaron and handed him his gun. "Here, lad. Keep us safe. And hand the other one to your new friend."

"But what about you, sir?" Aaron asked, nervously glaring at the firearm.

Mr. Hecox held up the broken lamp as if it were a club. "I'm more of a melee weapon user."

"You play a lot of video games, sir?" Kat asked.

"Mr. Hecox says they aren't allowed in this household," Nika replied.

"They encourage violence, dear," Mr. Hecox said. "And right now I highly encourage all of you to shoot anything running toward us."

"Ironic, innit?" Aaron chuckled.

More Deadmen burst through the planks in the wall. Mr. Hecox knocked over some furniture to provide barricades, but most of the creatures were fast to maneuver over them and continue to give chase. Fortunately, it slowed them down just enough for the armed children to kill most of them. And soon Aaron and Kat found themselves surprisingly skilled with guns.

Nika didn't miss a single shot, nailing every creature between the eyes every time. Kat was equally as precise, only missing one headshot but still capable of stunning it. Aaron missed several times, accidentally hitting the wall or other places on the Deadmen besides their head. Once he realized he wasn't gifted with the eagle eyes of his friends, he started stunning the creatures by shooting their knees and eyes so the others could finish them off.

Mr. Hecox was also more than capable than holding up on his own. He never missed a single shot with his lamp and blasted against the creatures' skulls with the power of a professional baseball player. It was scarier for him, however, since he was almost caught by them multiple times, resulting in tears on his clothing and even a few cuts on his skin. But he made sure none of the infection would reach him or his children.

"Head to the basement, lads!" he called out, splitting open a Deadman's head.

The kids slowly backed down the hallway, still firing their guns. Aaron felt like a soldier taking his last stand. If he even let one of those undead bastards go, damage would be done. Even if not to him or his friends, someone out there would be targeted by them. Even strangers had lives, Aaron believed.

"Shit!" Mr. Hecox exclaimed as one of the Deadmen charged at him. He shoved the lamp into the creature's mouth, and it ended up chomping down on the tubing of the lamp, crushing the metal surface with its teeth as if it were paper.

"Duck!" Kat yelled. And as expected Mr. Hecox dodged out of the way, giving Kat the perfect shot. The bullet tore straight through the creature's head, exiting out of the nape of its neck.

"Disgusting," Nika groaned.

"Might need to get used to that," Kat replied.

The four of them ran down the hall to the basement entrance. Mr. Hecox took another swing at two Deadmen and impaled his lamp through the skull of one of them. "Get in, lads. We should be safe down there for—"

Mr. Hecox was cut short by another surprise attack. A Deadman pulled him away from the door and bit into his wrist. Trying to hold back the pain, Mr. Hecox punched the creature in the face until it eventually loosened its grip off his wrist, and once it had let go he slammed its head into the wall with a thunderous crash. The Deadman slid to the floor, its face leaving behind a red streak on the wall as it scraped to the ground.

"MR. HECOX!" Aaron exclaimed in horror.

"Oh my God..." Nika whispered, covering her mouth with her hands.

Mr. Hecox looked down at his wrist. A dark crimson bite mark was emblazoned in his arm, blood seeping out of the cuts. The flesh around his hand and arm was already starting to pale with death, and he stumbled around to keep himself up. The veins around his new wound had darkened a deep purple as the poison began to course through his body.

"I screwed up," he croaked.

Another Deadman emerged from the shattered window at the end of the hall and bolted from behind Mr. Hecox. Aaron fired as many shots as he could, only to waste the rest of his ammo. He only managed to bring it down to the floor by shooting out its left eye and kneecap, but it didn't hold back in trying to catch up to them.

Jonah and Mrs. Hecox burst out of the basement door, and Jonah shot the Deadman as soon as he laid eyes on it. Mrs. Hecox shrieked in horror at the sight of the bite mark on her husband's wrist and ran to him. Aaron noticed she had a handgun and a kitchen knife shoved into her pocket along with two grenades strapped to her waist.

"Roderick!" she exclaimed. "What have you..."

"Trust me, dear," he whispered to keep everyone including himself calm. "I got this under control."

"But I don't know how to save you!" Mrs. Hecox continued, tears cascading down her eyes. "We need you, Roderick."

"Fortunately, I know how to save you," Mr. Hecox replied, still in his calm manner. He brushed his clean hand through his wife's hair. "Take the kids down to the basement."

"What is in that basement that could possibly save us?!"

"Like I said, radio the AIS our location. They should come by to pick you and the kids up."

"Then...what are you gonna do, Roderick?"

"Mr. Hecox?" Aaron whimpered.

Mr. Hecox quickly snatched the grenades from his wife. "I'll buy all of you some time."

"Wait!" Mrs. Hecox shrieked again. "But—"

Mr. Hecox pulled her in for one final kiss. Her crying stopped for a moment, but she had broken down on the inside. And his children soon found themselves on the verge of tears.

"I love you, Agatha," he said. "Protect the kids."

"I love you..." she managed to say before resuming the waterworks. She turned away from her husband and led the kids down into the basement, all of them screaming for Mr. Hecox to come down with them.

"Don't go, sir!" Jonah shouted.

"You don't need to die!" Nika cried.

"Please!" Aaron shouted before disappearing into the basement. And Mrs. Hecox sealed the door shut, leaving her husband alone with the undead.

Endless pounding noises pummeled the front door like heavy rainfall, and Mr. Hecox knew what to do now. He slowly approached the door, grenades in hand, making sure he was as far from the door to the basement as possible. He yanked out the pins and rose the explosives to the air.

"You'll never feel more alive," he said to himself, "than when you're more close to death."

A wave of Deadmen burst through the door, even managing to tear through the walls. Mr. Hecox closed his eyes and held the grenades out, not even moving to dodge the Deadman taking one more bite out of his shoulder. He was quickly overpowered by them and spent his last moments drowning in the horde of the undead.

Then the grenades went off. Thanks to him, his wife and his family were safe.