The Fight to Survive

Chapter 6: 2 Months Later

PART 2: WHAT WE BECOME

2 MONTHS LATER

Nick awoke to the sound of music playing. He opened his eyes slowly and rolled over, seeing Kelsey getting dressed across the room.

"Good morning!" Kelsey said enthusiastically, smiling at him.

"Morning babe" Nick said, rubbing his eyes. It had been 2 Months since the incident with Ashby, and in those 2 months, a lot had changed within the group. They had managed to find a generator, and restore power to their main building, Ryan Hall. Things had settled down after finding a reliable base, and nobody else had died since Ashby. Outside of Noah, nobody knew what really happened that day. Not even Kelsey. Before returning with supplies for Zac, Nick and Noah had unanimously decided that they didn't want the rest of the group to bear the burden of the true story. When Zac was healed, they told the story that both Ashby and Max had died as heroes to save their friend, and though this obviously upset the group, nobody was as affected as Zac. In the past 2 months, Zac had become more withdrawn. He hadn't interacted with many people, and Nick had a theory that Zac blamed him for Max's death. Though it pained him, Nick would not argue with Zac on this. Because he knew the real story would be far more painful than the one they told.

Down the hall, Zac was alone in his dark room, which he barely ever left. As he was gathering his weapons, there was a knock on the door. With a sigh, Zac opened the door to see that Alec was standing there. Alec had really been his only friend since Max died, and he always had a way of keeping Zac going.

"Hey buddy. I hear you're going on the run today" Alec said, seeming impressed.

"Yeah, I figured I may as well get out. Besides, I don't want Nick and Noah to fuck it up. The last time they went on a run in a group, half of the group didn't come back" Zac said, referring to the Ashby incident.

"I don't think that would happen again. But I understand what you mean" Alec said, coming into the room and sitting down in a wooden chair.

"You really don't have any faith in this group anymore, do you?" Alec asked, knowing the obvious answer.

"Are you kidding? How could I? So many people have died following Nick around. Richard, Ashby, Max. That's a third of the damn group. Max and I were better off on our own." Zac said, his anger showing through.

"Look, I get what you're saying, but give them a chance. Maybe this run will change your mind" Alec said. The truth was that Alec still felt that he had Nick to thank for being alive. He had led the group since the beginning, but he also felt Zac's pain.

"I hope so. Well, I'm gonna head out. Wish me luck" Zac said as he left the room with his axe in one hand, and his rifle slung over his back.

As Piano Man by Billy Joel played, Nick got dressed into one of his many outfits which he had managed to scavenge. Today he wore a brown button up shirt with the sleeves ripped off, and jeans.

"You're going on a run today, aren't you?" Kelsey asked, as she gave him a soft kiss on the lips. She was dressed in a Siena College tank-top and black leggings, perfect for the warm weather of May.

"Brian decided yesterday that we should. It shouldn't be a big deal. We're hitting up the Hannaford a few miles away. Alec scoped it out a bit on the last run and said it looked safe, and we could use the extra supplies." Nick explained. Since settling down, Brian had decided to plan a bunch of scavenging runs. Nick had to give him credit, he definitely knew what he was doing. There hadn't been any bad runs yet, no matter who was on them.