UNITY

Chapter 4

"I'm Unity."

"Unity? Wow. That's... a pretty name." Pfft, yeah right. What a cliche thing to say, dude.

"The zeds are migrating. They were going in our direction so it's best if we get a move on, yeah?" Edward said.

"You all should go." I explained, "I have someone to meet around the neighborhood."

They all huddled towards me, and as if given strength by their Unity, no pun intended, my spine straightened to face them head on with a resolute expression on my face.

"Whoever you're meeting in this neighborhood is probably dead." Darius spat out bitterly. I sensed jealousy in his tone, which... not gonna lie, he didn't have the right to be.

"Darius!" They all yelled at him, except Zachary, once again. That guy isn't very vocal, huh.

"What? It's true." Darius went up to me and held my shoulders, gripping them but not to the point where it hurt. "Come with us, miss. No one's alive in these parts, we know because we tried looking for other survivors too."

I also know that, Darius. But nope, gotta be alone for this one, my guy. It pains me to lie to you all, but I have to.

The guys really looked concerned, but I really can't come with them. There's too much of a risk. I don't want to be too dependent on them. I'd be more of a liability than an asset to their group. No matter how insane I may seem or how I adapt quickly, I still haven't gotten to that mentality that this is the world now.

I need to at least try to survive alone and rely on myself. So, I slowly shook my head.

It seemed Darius is the one who can't control his temper because he kicked the tire of the van before trying to persuade me again.

This is not good. The more I stand here with them, the more I could get attached.

"I need to go and you need to go as well." I looked pointedly at Edward, who didn't seem as eager as the rest of his group to tag me along with them, probably because he knows the risks too. One more mouth to feed, one more person to fight over resources, one more person as a burden.

"As you've said, the zombies are going towards this direction."

I tried not to look at their faces, but I know from the frustrated groans they let out, they didn't like my answer. Only Edward sighed in resignation. I know I could count on him.

"Wait," He went inside their van in search of something and he came back to us with a map, handing it to me.

I looked at him questioningly, and he answered. "Map of Pampanga. We are here," he pointed at one specific spot, "And we," he slid his finger across where we were, where a stopover was located. "Live here. At least one of my relatives live there. We're just using it now as a sort of HQ. That's where we are headed."

Wait... this is Lala Land. It's famous for its carnival and its connecting stopover on the freeway. It also doubles as a residency or subdivision because rich people reside there.

"Livingstone, block 8 lot 13. Black house with metal bars on the outside. Remember it, okay?"

I mentally repeated their address in my mind and stored it away for safekeeping, even though I know I'll see them sooner as their subdivision is literally behind ours. Only the expressway filled with abandoned cars stood between my house and these boys.

I nodded at him. He gave me the map and stepped away from me. Alistair was sad, knowing that this may or may not be the last time they saw me.

"You value your independence too much." The quiet one among the group, finally spoke. It was unexpected, given that I feel like he didn't like me as much as his friends do. Even Darius was at least trying to convince me to come with them. But Zachary? Not a word, until now.

A hint of concern flashed in his eyes before being swept away by a blank gaze, as if showing emotions was taking a toll on him. "Let's go." He finally said, being the first one to hop into the van. Connor and Alistair went towards me, with Connor being resolute as if he wanted to ask me something.

"Can we hug you?" To say that I was shocked was an understatement. I was covered in zombie brain matter and blood-- and I don't think a hug is ideal right now.

But since they asked nicely, I nodded.

Alistair wasted no time and scooped me up, squeezing me tight, zombie guts and all. He finally let me go as Connor stepped up and hugged me too.

He sighed. "It's nice to hug another human being."

I was trying my hardest not to breath. For what? I don't know, maybe for him, I guess? I was crossing my fingers that they don't mind the stench coming off of the zombie guts that littered around my body. That, and my body odor because I perspired so much.

At least Connor had the decency of not carrying me like Alistair did.

"Alistair! Connor!" Darius, who's on the driver's side, hit the van's roof twice to tell them how annoyed he was. "Time to go!"

He didn't look at me, and somehow, it hurt. Pfft, whatever. I can live without him, lol.

"We'll see you soon." Alistair muttered, as Connor literally dragged him towards the van. I saluted them as they got in, with Darius honking his horn once to signal their departure.

I waved them goodbye.

I faced Tootsie's judging stare which made my mood drop.

"What? Why are you looking at me like that, huh?"

Her face literally said -_-.

"They're cute!" I told her. I can't help my next train of thought that I didn't notice flew out of my mouth, not until I heard it. "And it looks like you're gonna have many daddies soon."

Wtf, wtf, wtf, why did I say that???

I cleared my throat, "Let's visit the neighborhood."

A/N:

Had to admit, I've been mulling over this chapter while editing because I noticed that you guys didn't know what they look like besides the colors of their hair. I feel like you didn't know them enough, you know what I mean? And this has been a turning point, seeing that I made Unity talk and not be assumed as mute like my day 1 readers have read. I love you all, and thank you for the patience that you so graciously poured over this book.

-Magnus