Resting

The heads were piled up near the gate while the other body parts were cut up into smaller pieces then thrown towards the inner part of the V shaped obstruction made with the cars.

The zombies stuck underneath had to climb under their own kind which had died then had to crawl through a pile of zombie parts.

They each had trouble getting through the obstruction in front of them which allowed for a lot of time for Brick to keep to his own task.

With Alice and Tristan were both on lookout duty for within and outside the walls so he did not have to worry about himself being in danger.

His body was aching from swinging the axe so much and his stamina had been depleted from his hard work so he stopped what he was doing then cleaned himself off with some wet wipes.

The overalls were removed from his body while the was dressed in less layers with a cleaner appearance than before.

The heads had been thrown into the security post and locked up while he had the key.

The gate had been closed and Brick walked back casually towards his home with a bag on his back full of the collected crystal nucleus he had collected.

Alice and Tristan followed behind as they entered his home which had been cleaned out earlier by him dragging the carpet outside that had the corpses and mess on. "Urk. The smell.."

Brick shrugged. "If there is a zombie or a fresh corpse nearby or has been recently removed then the smell will obviously linger. You just have to get used to it."

He removed some frozen foods from his freezer then started to heat them up in the oven. "If you have anything at home then hoard as much as you can. Try to only touch the frozen food right now, we do not know how long the electricity could last if there are problems happening all over.

Since I have enough.. I do not mind sharing this with you both but remember that we should start rationing our food and drink. If you cannot collect your own food then you will have to earn your own share of the food with your own contributions to the group."

Alice looked a little confused. "Wait.. then do you mean that things are only going to get harder from now on?"

Tristan was shaking a little. "We have to face those things again?"

Brick shrugged as he served up a can of lager and a plate of food each. "Eat up. Just take this place as an example, how many zombies have we encountered compared to living humans? Now think of that on a larger scale, most major cities and places which are heavily used by humanity will no longer be able to kept running. Power, food, water, gas and other kinds of things will no longer be produced for the masses while everyone will be fighting over the remaining resources while trying to survive."

Alice went pale. "It sounds like hell on earth.."

Tristan nodded in agreement but he was still trembling. "Then how are we supposed to survive?"

Brick showed a serious expression. "Fight the zombies and secure ourselves in a safe base or at least a temporary one for now. We can survive so long as our supplies can last us, otherwise we will need to step outside and fight not only zombies but also humans.

Just remember this.. without police to enforce the laws, you will meet more than one person who will do anything they can to survive. If you meet such a person and their hostility is directed towards you or your group, do not hesitate to kill them."

By the time that they had cleared the inside of the outer walls, the world had already lost many more people.

If they remained inside and did not take the risk to go outside then they were at risk of running out of food eventually and starving.

That was if they did not have any unfortunate event happen to them during that time.

There were many groups of people that attacked and looted from others outside or chose to break into the houses of others to get some more supplies for themselves.

Even a single person knocking on a door asking for help could be a potential danger.

Brick took the bottle of water then went to his room and started working out a little while drinking the remains of the water.

His body felt like it was on fire as it had heated up during his exercise, he then started to deal with the collection of crystal nucleus in his possession. "Hah.."

Following the familiar process, Brick washed them all together then put them into a small tub while a small amount had been placed inside of a salt grinder.

He listened to the noise outside as Alice and Tristan were talking to each other and deciding on their future plans while he started to collect the granules before dropping a measured amount into some water bottles.

Outside the room, Alice had just finished her meal and laid back in the seat looking up at the ceiling. "What do you think of what he says? I know most of what he says does sound unbelievable but if it is true then.l what should we do?"

Tristan remembered the moment that he almost died and the pain of the zombie biting onto him. 'Luckily they arrived, otherwise I may have died then.'

Both had their own unique experiences and perspectives which lead them to question a lot of what Brick had been telling them but there was also their need to survive which had kept them close to him and had allowed them to survive so far by following what he said so they could not dismiss everything so soon.

Tristan answered. "It does not really matter if what he has said happens or not.. I think it would be best not to underestimate those things and the damage they can do. If I have to stick by his side to survive then I will do just that. I do not want to die just yet or become one of those things."

Alice let out a sigh. "Me too.. he has adapted so quickly and learned so much about their habits so it would be safe to remain by his side. What about the family and our duty? Can we even be considered as guards for the family if the world is a mess? How can they pay us now?"

Brick stepped outside the room and answered. "If the family has a solution and plan then we will follow along with it. They own many branches of food production and packaging businesses so they have ways to keep us loyal but we will have to reclaim them first."

Alice frowned. "But.. if it is like you said and everything has become lawless then would the family still have ownership of them? How can you be so sure that others will not take it?"

Brick rolled his eyes. 'Because the author wrote it like so.. so that the first opponent of the female lead would have someone with some backing to go up against to help with her growth.'

He then coughed. "I am sure that it will not be too long before the inner walls have started to be organised and they will be working together to fight against the threat. So long as the master is still alive then there is someone to follow, many people will have hope to hold onto in order to survive this threat.

Once the residence has been cleared out then there will be more challenges ahead so I recommend that you prepare yourself. If possible.. train and gain as much experience as possible before we are reunited with everyone then are tasked to do more dangerous things. Please do remember that the young miss did not return home so we may need to go and rescue her."

Brick was unsure if going alone or as a team was the best plan for a rescue of Tanya Reed so he warned those around them to be prepared in case he takes up the task and has others accompanying him.

A search and rescue team would be gathered then sent out to rescue Tanya while Lucy had been forgotten about after she had gone missing and was presumed dead.

Tanya had already called her father sometime in the morning according to the novel once she had managed to get through to him so it would be several days before a team could be put together.

Taking advantage of that future knowledge, Brick already had an idea that he would have to go there himself which was why he had been so eager to quickly adapt to the apocalypse and his new body.

While using some tricks, it would be easier to move on his own but there would possibly be other dangers that he could not handle on his own so he could not leave others out of it.

According to the novel, there were quite a few casualties which happened within the Reed family residence and from the following events like the rescue or going to one of the food companies to gain a large amount of supplies.

Brick hoped to pull some people to his side so that he could accomplish his own goal while building up his own power and influence.

While he did have to protect Tanya Reed, he did not have to support the entire family and the others who would only cause problems or abandon the family later.

There were too many variables in the world for him to sit back and rely on the Reed family which would be destined to fall eventually.

Alice and Tristan sat in silence as they thought over what he had said until Brick reappeared after he had changed his clothing.

A bullet proof vest had been put on underneath his overalls so he felt a little more protected and he then stepped out of his room. "If you two can prove yourselves then I will look out for you both. Just remember this… if you betray me then you should expect me to come take revenge.

Our duty right now is to protect the Reed family but my sole reason for being here is the young miss. I will put her first before the family if I have to choose. Follow me.. we have to check the other buildings before we can go to the gate leading to the inner wall. This is your chance to gain a little more experience before we have more hardships pushed onto us. If you do decide to stay with me then I will not let you die so easily and you should be rewarded for your efforts so work hard."

A playful grin was on his face as he beckoned them back outside and was soon followed by Alice and Tristan who had dressed up in similar clothing.

Tristan held a baseball bat and ran out while Alice held onto the knife which had been given to her by Brick tightly before following them. "Wait.."