The university grounds covered quite a large area, including the forest within the University boundaries. It was mainly to give a more aesthetic feeling to the students, so they could relax or take a stroll, although, for the group of boys right now, there was nothing relaxing about walking through these woods.

“Not being able to use any car sucks, man. Maybe we should have seen if there was a bike or something. That wouldn’t have been too bad.” Buke complained as his feet were starting to get sore.

Zain was keeping up a quick pace, the sun was about to set, and soon it would be dusk, but they had yet to get out of the forest, never mind find someplace to stay for the night.

“It makes me wonder, how about finding electric cars? They don’t produce a lot of noise, and maybe we could also use one of them? And can keep the sound system off. But then, the problem would be charging such a thing once the grids are offline, although they are working right now.” Skittle mumbled, recalling the fire alarm, which was actually hard-wired throughout the campus.

It was an interesting idea, Zain thought. Sometimes in survival games, they just disregarded things for the convenience factor, but in real life, something like an electric car would be useful, but there was one more problem.

“It would be hard to drive through all the wreckage,” Zain replied. “Remember, it’s not just a Zombie attack, but many of the town’s buildings were also destroyed, and I am pretty sure the Zombies alone can’t do that. At the same time, I think many cars must have been abandoned or are now unusable.

“That was how I found the police car as well. There was more than one of those cars where I found it. Their front doors were open, and although I didn’t get a good look, it looked like there were empty shells all over the road. Luckily the key was still in the ignition, which is why I was able to save you guys.” Zain explained._.

The mood had turned a little sombre. Hearing that the police had shown up, the group could only imagine that they had attempted to control the situation but had failed even with the use of weapons.

Buke wanted to ask if Zain had seen any weapons or guns, but knowing Zain, if there was one, he might not have picked it up. They had already seen how frightening the situation turned when the fire alarm rang, and firing guns could lead to something similar. Although, Buke would have liked to have one in an emergency, at least.

Finally, the group exited the forest. They were surprised that they hadn’t seen any zombies wandering through it, but then again, there was not exactly any food for them, so why would they stray into it.

It was at that moment they got a view of the city in the distance. Most tall buildings were half-destroyed, and a cloud of smoke had covered half of the city. There were even several alarms that they could faintly hear from here.

“I guess you were right. Heading to the city or a town would be a death sentence.” Buke gulped.

If Zain remembered correctly, once they had exited the forest, not too far from where there was a little neighbourhood that consisted of around fifty or so houses. They were designed for the University teachers and their families to move into, so they could work close to home.

There was also a local supermarket, a park and more in the area. So as they continued to follow Zain, it looked like he was right.

Knowing the surrounding area and where to get resources from was key to survival. The map and layout of the area were well-plotted inside of Zain’s head. Another thing was, by now, it was already nightfall, and within minutes, it would be dark.

By the time the group of three reached the neighbourhood, it was pitch black. They didn’t even have the advantage of the moonlight because of the smoke-covered sky.

“Be cautious from this moment. We can’t see that well, and we don’t know what’s out there,” Zain whispered to the others. “There are likely to be at least some Zombies around here, don’t make any noise and take your steps carefully.”

The other two nodded, and they saw that Zain was looking through the back fences of the houses. He was trying to see if he could spot something. Fortunately, it didn’t take long for him to find what he was looking for.

Leaning up against the fence, Zain motioned the two of them to jump over the fence as Zain would push up their leg. Buke found it laughable as he couldn’t imagine Zain pushing him up.

Skittle also looked nervous, but in the end, Zain picked up Skittle, and it looked like he just pushed his legs up and almost threw him over the fence. Skittle had a rough landing on the other side, hitting his shoulder but made sure to make no noise.

“How will you get to the other side without help?” Buke asked.

“I’m going to go through the front door and see if the house is empty. If it’s all good, we can stay here for the night. In the garden, this house has a shed. Try to look for a wrench, a crowbar or anything we can use as a weapon. Longer weapons would be better, so you keep your distance while attacking and just wait for me in the garden.” Zain explained.

“Hey,” Buke replied. “Look, I know you’re into all this survival crap, and I admit you know a lot more than us, but that doesn’t mean you should be the one risking your life all the time, alright?”

It was nice to hear that Buke cared for him, but Zain was doing this because he had already turned, so there was no risk since the normal zombies would ignore his presence. Pushing Buke’s leg up, he managed to push him over the fence, though, unlike Skittle, Buke landed on his toes without getting hurt.

The two entered the shed while Zain ran around the fence towards the house’s front entrance. The shed door was open, and a treasure trove of equipment was inside.

Immediately, Buke saw a trusted bat that he could use. It was a metal one, and immediate, he tried swinging it in the air. As for Skittle, he had grabbed a tool belt, which he would wrap around his waist.

It had several different items, but one of the more noticeable ones was a Hammer. Still, knowing he needed a long weapon, he grabbed a rake from the back. There were several other tools, like shovels and things used for gardening, but most of them felt too heavy for Skittle.

Instead, Buke had picked up the large shovel and found some tools that allowed him to strap it to his back. It wouldn’t be easy to get hold of it in a tough situation, but if he lost his bat, he would at least have something to protect himself.

Just then, they heard a door sliding, and upon turning around, they saw Zain was slowly opening up the glass door that led to the back of the garden.

“So, is it empty?” Buke asked.

Zain shook his head as he walked up to the others and inspected their weapons. Maybe there was something nice inside for him too.

“There are two zombies inside, one in the kitchen and the other in the Living room. Upstairs looks clear, and from what I could see, there seemed to be some food.” Zain replied.

“Two?…you didn’t take care of them.” Skittle said nervously.

“No, because I thought about what Buke said, and now I have a job for both of you. I want you two to take them out. It’s time for you two to level up a bit.”

*****

Thank you for reading the story so far. Remember to use your stones to vote for WSA 2022