10k stands beside me as we stand in the bed of the truck, our weapons aimed and ready for any trouble. We've been traveling with the group for about a day and a half, we even picked up three new vehicles. 10k and I only really interact with each other, but that's partially from being stuck in the bed of a truck by ourselves.

"She's really just gonna drive straight through them huh?" I question as the woman driving the lead truck speeds up at the sight of the Z's on the road.

"Looks like it." 10k responds as we barrel straight through the horde, the crunching sound making my nose scrunch up, a sick feeling in my stomach from the sound.

10k glances at me with a slightly concerned look and I shake my head at him gesturing from the Z's to my ears. He nods in understanding before we focus our weapons back on the creatures as we pass by them.

We finally make it off the bridge, but I can see the lead truck pulling off to the side so I nudge 10k and he nods as he grips his gun tighter. When the truck finally stops, I survey the area, my crossbow out and ready before we all hop out of our vehicles.

As usual, 10k and I stand close to each other, our eyes constantly scanning. I can feel someone looking at me and I turn to see Addy, I heard the blonde call her that, watching me. I shift uneasily under her gaze before I look away.

"Well that was fun." Addy says turning back to face the woman who lets out an airy laugh.

"Out of gas." She replies and I look away and towards the road, something in the distance catching my attention, but I can't tell what it is yet, just something moving.

"Running on fumes." 

"All right. So it looks like you got a flat." The woman says as she nears the truck and the older guy goes around to the back and pulls out some tools for the tire.

I turn my attention back to the spots in the distance to find they are much closer now. At this distance I can see two guys on motorcycles, so I nudge 10k who follows my gaze. He pulls his scope up and watches them for a second as they get closer.

"We aren't alone." I call and everyone readies themselves as all attention shifts to the bikers getting closer by the second and they are definitely slowing down to study us.

10k moves slightly in front of me yet again and instead of acknowledging it, I continue my stare down, the brunette guy locks his eyes on me for a little too long before he moves on. I can hear The woman mumbling something as they pass before they rev their engines and take off.

 "All right. Let's do this quick," The woman says after the bikers are gone, her and the older guy immediately getting to work on the truck, "All right. Doesn't look flat, but it won't... turn."

 "We ran over some fun stuff." The older guy says and I roll my eyes with a soft laugh at his comment, I don't know that Z's are really fun, but to each their own.

I move closer to the tire, my crossbow dropped into my bag as I crouch beside the pair, I can feel 10k beside me, so I don't worry too much about my safety. If things go south, he'll make sure I'm aware.

"Okay. Well help me get it off and let's see what's going on." The woman says as the older guy, the woman and I all pull the tire off.

Once it's removed the issues becomes incredibly obvious with a sickening crunch, a Z is caught up in wheel, half crushed, yet still growling and grumbling. Everyone visibly recoils at the disgusting gory sight before us. I sigh as I pull a knife from my ankle holster, preparing to mercy the poor thing.

"Well that explains the pull to the left." The older guy says and I glance up at him with a small smile, he is definitely gonna keep things light hearted.

"What are you waiting for? Kill it! Kill it!" The whiney guy exclaims as he covers his face and I roll my eyes before I pull my arm back to kill the creature.

"Don't worry, I'll set you free." I mumble before I stab straight through the forehead, the Z instantly silent as I stand up and wipe the knife on my pant leg.

I slide the knife back into my holster and move to stand beside 10k who nods without actually looking at me, just letting me know that's aware of my presence. My attention shifts back to the rest of the group as we all move a little further up the road. We stop when we can see the New York city line through the trees.

 "Even after all this, It's still beautiful." The woman states and I scrunch my nose as I look over the city, I don't think this is my idea of beautiful, but I wouldn't dare say that.

 "Take a good look. Might be not back for a while." The leader says as they all stare, but I slip back towards the truck, the city never really being my kind of place.

10k follows after me and I slow down so he falls in step with me. I've known him all of two days, but he has my full trust. He constantly reminds me why he has it when he moves to protect me without hesitation, I hope he knows I'd do the same.

~

My knife is held firmly in my hand as I look over car after car. We've been searching for gas but all these cars have are empty tanks, not to mention anything else that could be useful has been picked clean. 10k is behind me searching a car, neither of us going to far from the other, but I can see the old guy is watching 10k curiously.

"So what's your name, kid?" The old guy asks and I glance at them from the corner of my eye and to my amusement, 10k doesn't even pretend to look at him.

"Ten Thousand." He replies as I Move onto the next car putting more space between us and I can feel the old guy's eyes on me.

"That is not a name. It's a number." The older guy laughs and I ignore the slight irritation that bubbles up at the old guy for laughing at 10k.

I glance to 10k and relax as I see he's completely unbothered by the older guy, his eyes landing on mine for a second before he lets a sigh escape his lips. His attention moves back to the gas as the older guy slowly combs over the red car.

 "It's my name. Made it up myself." 

"Well I suppose you'd have to. Does it mean anything?" The older guy asks and I pull open the glove department to find a pair of sunglasses. 

I slip them on and my eyes relax as they don't have to squint so hard. Moving into the actual seat of the car I open the mirror to asses if I like them, which I definitely do.

 "How many zombies I'm going to kill." I almost snort at how short 10k's answers are, he sounds like he's rehearsed this over and over.

"Well that's a whole lot of zombies." 

"Already on 1,055." 10k says and I glance back just in time to see the older guy shoot him an astonished look and a proud smile makes it's way on my face as I continue looking through the car. 

"Damn! So what happens when you get to 10,000?"

"Change my name."

"To what? Twenty thousand?" The older guy laughs at his joke as 10K gets up from his spot. 

"Jeff. I like the name Jeff," 10k says and I can't help the small laugh that I let out at the older guys face, and 10k stops at a car window with a z that's reaching for him, "Ah, shut up."

I get out as he slices the Z and move to the next car, this one has locked doors. It seems almost strange to lock anything at this point, but it doesn't really matter as I easily smash the window and reach inside unlocking the door. I can feel two sets of eyes on me, but ignore it as I begin searching.

"What's her deal?" The older guy asks quietly so I can't hear him and since I don't react he assumes I can't, but I'm still close enough.

"Her name's Finn, we've only been traveling together for a couple days." 10k replies after a moment and I know he knows I can hear what's being said.

"Oh really? I assumed you guys had been together a long time, you seem pretty attached at the hip if you ask me." He says in a surprised tone and I ignore the urge to look at 10k, I don't really wanna give myself away.

When the silence goes on I assume the conversation died out, so I focus back on the car. I happen to glance under the seat and find a half empty jug of water. I pull it out and slide out of the car, holding it up.

"Look what I found." I call and the boys turn to face me, the older guys face lighting up at the sight.

"Good work kid!" He exclaims and I smile at the praise, something you don't hear much out here.

"Hey Whoa-whoa-whoa-whoa-whoa." I hear and I whip around, my bow and arrow pulled from my back and I rush to the group.

One of the bikers from before slides through the cars, his hands already in the air as the boys quickly rush to my sides, every weapon trained on the stranger. 10k is just close enough that I can feel his sleeve against my arm.

As the two leaders begin their questioning of the sketchy guy, I focus in on the brunette girl who's body language suggests recognition of the guy in front of us. I wish I could see his face and get a better reading on him. Something about him is off and I sure as hell don't like it.

"Turns out he had other friends of low morals. Took my ride. Horse thieves should be shot." The way he speaks makes me feel gross, like he knows something we don't, it's almost condescending.

 "You should choose better friends." The brunette speaks and even without seeing his face I can tell he recognizes her, his speech changing, caught off guard almost.

 I step away from the boy's moving to the side so I have a direct shot through his ear, the fastest way to ensure I kill him. I can tell about half the group feels uneasy, which only confirms my instincts, this guy can NOT be trusted.

He tells us about some refinery with gas, but all I can think is we should not be listening to this guy. Even as Garnett agrees to let the guy ride with us, the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. There's no way this ends well.

 "Let's get out of here. New guy's gonna ride with me and Warren. Everybody else load up in the truck." Garnett declares and we all move to our respected vehicle, my bow and arrows slipped over my shoulder, reluctantly, as I move beside 10k, his face telling me he senses it as well.

~

As we near the refinery I can't help the surprised gasp that leaves my mouth at the large number of Z's all heading towards the top of a cat walk. 10k shifts closer to me, his arm brushing against mine as we come to a stop. My crossbow aimed in front of me as the others start climbing out.

"Frackin' zombies." 10k mumbles and I shoot him an amused smile before he hops out of the back, his hand held out for me.

I take his hand and stand beside him on guard as he scans the area before he seems to find what he's looking for. He nudges me and I nod, following after him as we jog towards a large building the group chatting behind us.

"I want a higher vantage point." He mumbles as I follow after him, my crossbow raised as we jog up some stairs.

When we make it to the top we can see the whole place, including where Doc just reparked the car, Murphy visible from the back seat. 10k sets his sniper down and pulls a slingshot from his pocket and grabs a gear. He shoots a Z, the gear slicing through it's head and exploding out the back.

"You really are something huh?" I tease as I shake my head, a smile tugging at my lips.

"Are you ever gonna shoot that thing?" He says with a teasing smile as he gestures to my crossbow and I roll my eyes, holding it out to the side and shooting.

We can both hear the Z hit the ground and I smirk at him, "That good enough?"

His face lights up and he opens his mouth to say something when the thumping sound stops. We both look out over the refinery as a musical tune starts echoing through the place. We both prep ourselves to defend and kill when the thumping starts again, drowning out the music.

"That doesn't seem good, do you think they're okay out there?" I ask and 10k shrugs from beside me, my eyes scanning the area before the thumping stops again.

I suddenly notice movement from the corner of my eye, Doc stepping out of the vehicle. It dawns on me that he's trying to lure zombies from the car, which seems useless, why not just stay in the car?

"You've got an eye on him right? I'm gonna grab you a couple more gears real quick." I state, 10k nodding at me, his attention trained on Doc who just gave a Z mercy.

I turn and start picking up gears, I climb up to the next level where I find half a Z crawling towards me, two canisters of gas next to him. I shot an arrow through his skull before yanking it back out and grabbing the canisters. The gears are tucked safely in my pocket as I come back down the stairs, 10k still in the same spot, but he glances back at me.

"That was a lucky find." He states and I shrug with a smile before setting them down and pulling the gears from my pocket and placing them in his hand.

He thanks me as I slide down next to him, my cross bow aimed down to protect Murphy and Doc, right on time apparently as I shoot an arrow straight through the ear into the brain, Doc looking up at me with a relieved smile.

"That was an impressive shot." 10k tells me as he takes his own shot, "One thousand fifty nine."

He takes another shot, hitting another zombie, while I take my own shot, killing one on top of the car.

"One thousand sixty! Nice shooting you two!" Doc hollers up at us and I smile down at him right before Murphy takes off with the car.

"Shit, you cover me and I'll carry the gas." I state as I grab the canisters, my crossbow thrown over my shoulder as we hastily make our way down after them.

We make our way down and follow the path murphy and Doc already took, 10k grabbing my arrows for me as we pass and I thank him. He nods and we rush towards the group, a Z seeing me and rushing forward, but before it can reach me it hits the ground, a gear ripping through it's brains.

"One thousand sixty one." 10k mumbles as we keep moving, making it just in time to see Garnett pulling Murphy from the car.

"Get that one, it's too close." I tell the boy behind me and he leans against my back as we peer around the corner.

I ignore the flutter in my stomach as he leans against me and takes his shot, saving the pair in front of us, mumbling out his count as the pair rushes away. I push him back around the corner as the flame gets closer to the truck, an explosion inevitable at this point. The loud blast goes off and I brace myself against 10k, my face pressed against his chest as he sandwiches me between him and the wall. The force and heat makes me grip his shirt tighter.

We pull away from each other and we inspect each other for injuries. When we find none, I lean back against the wall and let out a breathe I didn't even notice I was holding. I open one eye to look at him, his hair messy and I can see the slight shakiness in his breathing.

"Well that was exciting." I mumble and he shakes his head with an airy chuckle.

"Seems like this group attracts exciting." He smiles and I laugh with a smile as I catch my breathe.

"Good thing I don't like boring," I tease before standing up and stretching, "Let's get these back."

I grab one canister and he grabs the other. We quickly jog back to the group, Doc spotting us as we round the corner. He signals the others as we stop in front of him, placing the gas down.

"Look what we found." I smile and Doc pulls me into a hug while he punches 10k's shoulder.

"You two are gods!" He exclaims and I laugh as I glance behind me at 10k, the boys grabbing them and rushing back to the truck.

I follow behind them, my crossbow aimed and ready as they load the gas. Once it's in, they both hop in as well, 10k pulling me up beside him. I smile at him as a thanks before we take off down the road.

10k and I sit across from the brunette girl who seems in her own world. That's when I realize the sleaze isn't here anymore.

"Excuse me, ma'am. You have a finger in your hair." 10k speaks up and I can't help the disgusted look on my face as she pulls the finger from her hair, a chill running up my spine.

10k nudges me with a small teasing smile and I roll my eyes, looking away from him, only to find myself locking eyes with Addy, who seems to be watching me intently. I nervously look away and focus on the passing greenary.