It was rare for Zain to feel anything, but at the moment, his hands were a bit shaky, and he could only imagine it was due to nerves. If it were people or zombies he was up against, he wouldn't mind, but there was something about meeting others similar to him that created a strange feeling within him.
Kun walked forward while Zain and Skittle followed with Jelly at the very back. Although his size was large, his footsteps weren't heavy like the Titan they had gone up against.
Then, three people walked around the corner and looked up to see Kun. Although three 'people' wouldn't be the right term to describe them because they were, without a doubt, Zombies.
Just like Kun, all of them had wounds somewhere on their bodies. It now made sense why Kun was so surprised when he saw Zain and why he also remarked that the latter was one of the lucky ones.
The second they saw the newcomers, though, they had frozen in place. Until a female with bright pink hair and a dirty pink shirt and skirt pressed both of her hands together and stood on her tiptoes. Upon carefully observing, Zain noticed bite marks all over her legs leading up to her thigh.
"Kun, you really found another Reborn. Oh wait, you found two!" the female zombie exclaimed.
"Yeah," Kun seemed nervous as he scratched the back of his head. "Because of it, I was only able to bring back flesh, I thought this was more important and sorry to burst your bubble, but it's only one. The other one is just a regular zombie, and it's his friend. He follows the Reborn around."
"You mean like a pet?" The female replied instantly, and immediately Kun could feel the change in mood behind him.
"A friend, he's a friend," Kun replied.
Listening to the conversation, Zain had taken note of the word Reborn. He could only assume that was referring to themselves, the zombies that had come back to life.
"Alright, so since I brought a guest here for the first time in a very long time, why don't I introduce you all," Kun then looked at the others and said.
"You've already met Jelly, and he is the type of guard to this place. He doesn't go out on missions and always looks after everything. I know a lot of this is a bit confusing, but it will all make sense to you later." Kun explained to Zain.
"The beautiful young lady here is Pink. Since it's a new life for everyone, everyone also decided to dub new names for themselves that suit them, which is why we call Pink, Pink. She recently graduated and moved to the city to follow her dream of becoming an actress."
"Next, we have Fingers!"
The zombie Fingers waved to Zain when Kun called out his name. He looked the most friendly out of the lot but had a few bite marks on his arms. Zain also noticed that he had extremely long fingers, which now made sense why they had given him such a name. Other than that, he had a nice soft smile, and the short hair on his head added to his amicable vibe.
"Fingers was an accountant, if you would believe it or not. So he is in charge of our stock, who contributed what and the distribution between us, basically, the brain of the Group. Then finally, we have Shark."
After hearing his name, Shark was the only one that put his hand out for a shake, which Zain willingly accepted.
The man was well built, similar to Zain. He also wore what looked like a swat uniform. A bulletproof vest, boots, and gloves, among other things. Although his white hair made him stand out, he didn't look too old, at most around his late thirties, which made Zain think it had to be dyed
As for his nickname Shark, that bit was obvious as well. They were two large marks on either side of his mouth. They looked like giant holes, and through them, one could see his teeth that looked unusually sharp.
"Shark here says he worked in a normal office, but none of us believes him. We think he has to be a special agent of some sort. Anyway, he is the leader of the Group, and because of him, we have been able to survive for so long."
Just from looking, Zain knew that Shark was the leader of the Group. He had this air of confidence around him. What he was interested to know was what exactly Shark had told the others or done in order for them to survive till now.
"And finally, it's time for our new companion and new Reborn member," Kun introduced him to everyone, "This is Zain. We haven't been together long, but I still know a few things. Zain was a university student, and guess what, he's a kickass fighter as well!
"On our way here, there was an Evolved Zombie chasing after us, one of the large ones with the black armour, and Zain here took him out all on his own!"
The expression on all of their faces had changed then.
"No way!" Pink was first to show her scepticism, "Are you sure it just wasn't a large Zombie that looked like an evolved one?"
"Does that mean you brought the crystal back?" Fingers inquired, although he didn't outright show his disbelief.
Hearing this, an awkward expression formed over Kun as he scratched the back of his head and explained the situation,
"Well, we were in such a rush, and I couldn't find it in time, so we had to leave it behind."
From the looks on their faces, it looked like Fingers and Pink thought it was an excuse.
"I believe you." Just then, Shark opened his mouth. He had been silent all along, and his voice came out a bit gruff.
"I don't think Kun would make that sort of mistake, and besides, we shouldn't discredit what anyone has been through. Why don't I show you around, Zain? And we can talk more about how things work around here. I will also tell you the rules of what we do, and you can decide if you want to stay with us or not."
"That sounds good." Zain nodded.
Soon Kun and the others went off to do their own thing. Both Fingers and Pink seemed interested to know more about Zain, but Shark said they could do that later. Just as they were heading behind the stage from where they had come out before, Zain spotted something strange.
There was a notice board out, and drawings and red pen marks were everywhere on it. Some were descriptions of the various Evolved Zombies he had come across, like the Spitter and Titan, but then he saw something else that caught his eye.
[Don't go out at night. Otherwise, the Demons will get you.]
*****
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