Chapter Three: Joining a new group

Eggsy's eyes darted between the group, his hand instinctively tightening around the hilt of his twin blades. He hadn't expected to encounter other survivors, especially not ones who seemed so well-armed and organized.

The gunman, a tall, imposing figure with a rugged jawline, stepped forward. “You're lucky we showed up when we did,” he said, eyeing Eggsy's blades. “You're pretty good with those, but you can't take on every zombie alone.”

Eggsy hesitated, unsure if he should trust these strangers. But something about their confident demeanor put him at ease. “Thanks,” he said, sheathing his blades. “I owe you one.”

The group's leader, a woman with piercing green eyes and a sword at her side, smiled. “No need to thank us. We're just glad to have found someone else who's still human.” She extended a hand. “I’m Ava. This is Marcus, Jax, Lena, Ryder, and Jane.”

Eggsy shook Ava's hand, feeling a sense of camaraderie wash over him. “I’m Eggsy.”

Ava nodded. “We've been scouting this area for supplies. What brings you here?”

Eggsy hesitated, unsure how much to reveal. But something about Ava's warm smile put him at ease. “I’m looking for someone,” he said. “A friend of mine named Maya. She was taken by my bullying classmate, Victor.”

Ava's expression turned serious. She shared looks with the others who seem to have a sour expression on their faces.

“Victor's crew is bad news. We've had run-ins with them before. We were twelve before, but they killed our members and took all our supplies. That was on Wednesday, and since then we haven’t came across them. But we might be able to help you track them down.”

“Yeah, we still have to pay him back for what he did to us.” Jane, the youngest and prettiest among them said. She had a blonde hair, with two wavy ponytails.

“Thank you.” Eggsy said, appreciating their help. Though he had an idea of where Victor might be right now.

“Do any of you know anything about Ravenfield City?” he asked, his voice laced with a hint of urgency. “I suspect Victor might have gone there.”

Ava's expression turned grim. “Ravenfield City is a Tier One city, heavily guarded by soldiers. Only the wealthy elite have access to it. Victor must have some kind of connection if he’s to enter such a place.”

“That’s it, Victor is actually the son of our city’s mayor. It’s no doubt he would have made it to such a place without much difficulty.” Eggsy replied.

“That weasel of a being, I know I should have killed him when I had the chance.” Marcus grunted, his grip tightening against his gun.

But Ava's next words offered a glimmer of hope. “There’s an underground station that might allow us to bypass the main entrance into the city. But...” she hesitated, “As of now, it's currently infested with zombies.”

Eggsy's grip on his blades tightened. “I have to try. I can't just leave Maya into Victor's hands.”

Ryder, a burly guy with iron poles in his hands. “That’s suicide! Do you know how many zombies are located down there. You will need to clear out the zombies first, and you can’t do it alone, you’ll need help!”

“Ryder is right, you’ll need help.” Ava said. “Going there alone is like offering yourself to death. Who knows how long it’ll take for you to clear the path to the train or how many zombies might be inside the train, also you’ll need to get the train moving again. Do you think you can handle it all alone?”

Jax, a lean, agile-looking man with a cutlass, grinned. “We could help, but we’ll need supplies first. If you could join us to get foods and supplies, then maybe getting to Ravenfield might be possible.”

Lena, a quiet, reserved woman with a single iron pole, spoke up. “It might be possible, but we should be careful. We can’t just trust someone we met only today. Who knows if he’s also like Victor. We can’t be risking our lives for the cause of other people."

Everyone kept mute as they reasoned Lena’s words, they sure have been putting other people’s lives over their own, but not in Eggsy’s case. They were only offering to help because they had an unsettled business with Victor.

“If anything, we all have a common enemy as Eggsy. We’re not just trying to help him, we’re also helping ourselves. There’s a possibility we might find food and shelter in Ravenfield city. At least it’s better than staying in this God forsaken city. Do you understand now, Lena?” Ava explained.

“Whatever.” She replied but murmured the last part to herself. “You never listen to me anyway.”

Ava nodded before turning to face Eggsy. “Right, so we have a few contacts in Ravenfield who might be able to confirm Victor’s presence in the city. They’ll also help us pass through checking points at the subway station. But first, we need to find a safe place to regroup and plan. We haven’t eaten any good food since we got our supplies stolen by Victor.”

As Ava spoke, Eggsy noticed the System's notifications flashing in his peripheral vision.

[A colonised restaurant is located at Bengals street, about a few miles from here. The system detects the survivors to be hostile to every other people trying to get in]

Following up, a Map had appeared, showing the location of the restaurant.

“I think I might have passed by a restaurant when I was coming. The problem is we might have to find a way inside due to the people in it.” Eggsy explained. “They don’t seem to be the charity kind of people.”

“Well, we should at least check it out.” Marcus said and everyone else had agreed to it.

In the end, Eggsy had decided to join this new group of survivors as they might aid in his attempt to rescue Maya. And maybe doing a couple of stuffs to gain their trust will lessen Lena’s suspicions of him.