Travis was someone who never had trouble sleeping. Even when the apocalypse began, he slept like a log through the night... And after continuing to consume the strange crystals from the zombies’ bodies, although he no longer needed to sleep as much as before, he still slept very well when he tried.
But recently, it had been three nights since he had been able to get a comfortable night’s sleep, no matter what he did. Getting up from bed, he saw that it was still night outside. Maggie, who was partially naked, was still sleeping soundly in the same bed as him... It seemed that not even this kind of nighttime action helped him sleep better; on the contrary, he felt that it had been worse that night.
Maggie was a senior in college and the beauty of the campus; all the freshmen had a crush on her, but as a fellow senior, Travis knew that behind her kind and pure facade, Maggie was a true gold digger. In normal times, not even he with his good looks would be able to attract this woman’s attention.
But now that the world has changed and strength is more important than money, it seems that the gold digger has shifted her focus to powerful survivors. So she was using him, and he didn’t mind using her, but he would never trust her too much...
Getting dressed, he left his room and decided to go to the cafeteria for breakfast.
When he got there, he found several other college students who were also already awake.
"Boss couldn’t sleep either?" One of them asked as he poured Travis a cup of coffee.
"Yeah, that’s never happened to me before, whenever I lie down to sleep, I get this nagging feeling that something isn’t right..."
Another survivor frowned and said, "Boss, you usually have good instincts for everything we do, it’s almost supernatural... Could something bad be about to happen?"
The other survivors were also worried about the words, and one of them spoke worriedly:
"I hardly see any more stupid zombies, they all have red eyes, and a minority have become smarter, they have started working together, ambushing, or hiding and attacking the weakest among us... That is already a bad omen in my opinion."
"Yes, that alone keeps me awake at night, you remember the locker room in the gym, right..." Replied one of them, who was fattie, remembering the poorly lit place full of intelligent zombies.
"We have everything we need here on campus, but the insulation and defenses of the place are very bad, and it has been getting colder and colder... Isn’t it time to choose a new place to move to?"
"The girl who was a journalist said that the temperature is dropping 1 degree per day, and the clouds in the sky are a problem... Before, everyone doubted her, but now, after several days, we have seen a drastic reduction in temperatures... What do you think, boss?"
Everyone looked at their leader, waiting for his suggestion.
"Sounds good, why don’t we start looking for a new place today? We can send some scouts to check out the situation in some places in the city..."
"Hehe, good one, Chief!"
"I wish I lived in the mall!" said the only woman in the group.
"What? No way! That place must have been packed at lunchtime when the outbreak started!"
"A market or an arcade is fine!" said a younger freshman.
"Nonsense, we should go to the police station, they have strong doors and walls, plus lots of cells with beds, and most importantly: An armory!"
"A good house is enough for me—"
Everyone got up from the table in fright, including Travis.
"WAS THAT A MOTORCYCLE?"
"It’s coming from outside, let’s go look!"
When they left the cafeteria building, they saw that the motorcycle had been parked near the gym, and a man dressed in a wild gray jacket was trying to break down the door silently.
"HEY, WHAT ARE YOU DOING!"
One of the college students shouted, looking similar to a gangster. He was wearing several defensive gears that he got from the gym and was holding a bat in his hand. He was also an athlete at the university, making his size quite intimidating. The man turned to look at the group. He was white with brown eyes and hair. In addition to the gray wild jacket, he wore black pants and boots that resembled Tactical Force officers.
With just one look, Travis recognized Rick. Rick, who was also watching the entire group approaching, completely ignored the big guy who was questioning him, keeping his eyes on Travis as he also recognized him. "Hey, I’m talking to you, don’t ignore me!" Feeling offended, the big guy put one of his hands on Rick’s shoulder as he yelled at him a second time. Suddenly, he saw the whole world spin before feeling his back hurt, and realized that he was now looking at the man from the ground.
A huge thud was heard as the big guy, full of defensive equipment, was thrown to the ground with extreme ease, scaring all the other students, making everyone take a step back, afraid of the newcomer. Meanwhile, Rick didn’t take his eyes off Travis, remaining silent.
Travis, noticing this, stood out in front of the group and spoke in a friendly tone:
"Rick, you’re alive, I’m glad to see you again..."
Before Rick could answer, more people came out of the cafeteria building, and one of them stood out, running towards the stranger on the motorcycle with a smiling face
"Rick, darling, it’s you!"
As Maggie hugged Rick, Travis saw a look of disgust on his face as he looked at her and realized that he hadn’t returned Maggie’s hug, which didn’t match his previous self, who, like the other freshmen, was always chasing the beauties on campus.
As Maggie spoke flattering words to Rick, Travis saw him whisper something in her ear that made the girl pull away immediately, but since her back was to him, he couldn’t see the terrible face Maggie made.
Only then did Travis finally answer.
"It’s good to see you alive, too, Travis. I’m in a bit of a hurry, could I get some items from the gym?"
"Sure, but the gym items belong to the group. I can’t give you something for free without asking everyone’s opinion, or... Without you giving us something in return..."
"What does your group need? I have radios, flashlights, batteries, and... Even zombie crystals."
Travis’s eyes widened for a second, but he quickly covered it up. It seemed his group wasn’t the only one with this kind of privileged information. But he quickly gave up on asking for items, feeling that accepting anything material would be a waste.
"How about this, the gym locker room hasn’t been cleared of all the zombies that are there yet. We even lost two men in our last attempt... If you can get rid of them, you can grab any extra equipment that’s there. Of course, you can ask other people in your group for help... You have a group, right?"
"Alright, I’ll take a look by myself first. If it’s something I can’t handle, I’ll ask for help."
"Open the gym for him!" Travis said to one of the men, who quickly opened the chains, allowing Rick to enter the room...