Chapter 1: The Day the World Died

The Mercenary in the Dying World

Present

The night was still, the wind was absence and the moon was the only light that illuminated the darken streets, but what made this night so terrifying was the familiar hissing and moaning sounds that followed a set of milky yellow eyes that lost their living spark and could be seen like the sun in the sky.

"A sun that must forever be set." thought a figure who sat on the upstairs windowsill of one of the many abandoned homes that one could find these days.

The figure scanned his brown eyes over the ruined streets showing hundreds of those that were once alive but are now forced to wander without a care in the world with the only urge to feed a never ending hunger. The man was then revealed himself from the shadows by the illumination of the night skies revealing his short black hair and dark caramel skin that showed off his Samoan Heritage and brown eyes that stayed glued to the streets.

Almost feeling the presence of another meal one of them looked up at the windowsill but was met with a black room as man ducked underneath the window with held breath and cold sweat as the survival instinct to use stealth ran through his mind as being his only savior from the Biters. He stayed in that position for what felt like a minutes before the sounds of heavy footsteps could be heard on the front porch of the house as he drew his Bowie Knife from the sheath on his right hip before slowly making his way downstairs where the shadows of the undead came in through the crack under the door before moving away.

The young man didn't dare to take a sigh of relief as he pressed his back against the back of a blood soaked couch before simply waiting for a few more minutes as the Biters stumbled and knocked over things that only attracted more to the house.

"Damn, I gotta leave." he thought as the sound of gunshots went off without warning as he watched the shadows of the away from the windows as he slowly crept his way back upstairs in order to look at the window.

"Where!" thought the man as he looked out the window he couldn't see the shooter but could hear the loud distant yells of a man as he continued to shoot before looking around for an escape route as a smile formed across his face at the sight of a clear backyard behind the house across the street and a small depression in the number of Biters in the area as he watched many of the slowly make their way down the streets.

"Finally!" thought the man as he slowly made his way back downstairs before pulling his black mask over his mouth and nose and pulling the hood of his black jacket over his head and slowly making his way outside of the house where the Biters were completely oblivious of presence as he moved through the streets with silent footsteps, low breaths, but the constant beating of his heart almost like a war drum as he finally stepped into the front yard of the house next door before climbing over the wooden fence and landing safely in the bushes of the backyard where he took a peak behind the green foliage and noticed the still empty backyard before making his way out of the bushes and moving to the end of the backyard and hopping the fence again but this time instead of landing in bushes he landed on top of a picnic table.

"Son of a Bitch!" said the man not worrying about the sound as he noticed three Biters staring at him with blank looks on their faces as they shuffled towards him just as he reached into the back of his pants to draw a Handgun before eyeing the group.

"No, I got this." thought the man as he let go of his gun and grabbed his knife just as the first Biter got towards him he jumped off the table and slammed into the creatures head knee first as it collapsed onto the ground he slammed his knife into the forehead of the beast before looking at the next Biter as it approached him he took a slice at the creatures foot ripping it's pants and revealing a long slash as the creature fell forward and slammed head first onto the table where the man grabbed a hold of the back of the creatures head before slamming the creatures head into the table with enough force to shatter it's face.

"Last one!" said the man as the last Biter went to grab a hold of him he kicked the creature in the gut sending it spending before taking his knife and driving it into the back of the creatures head as he fell to one knee before taking deep breaths.

"I gotta keep moving." thought the man as he took a few deep breaths before leaving out of the backyard and noticing the clear streets in front of the house as a smile spread across his face before he began his track down the street.

"It's been two months since this shit started and everyday I still wonder bow could my life go from so high to so low." thought the man as the memories of the day when everything changed for the worse.

Flashback

The sun was shining bright over the city of Philadelphia as the cool March air swept through the city as an alarm clock went off on the dresser next to a bed as the man laying down slammed the top of the clock before taking a seat on the edge of the bed before making his way across his room and turning his plasma screen television to the news.

"This is Susan Sampson coming to you live from South Philly where two more men were fatally shot to death early this morning, both with known gang ties." said the reporter as the man made his way to the bathroom he didn't notice the images that came to the screen.

"This marks the twentieth gang shooting in Philadelphia this year as upstarting street gangs and organized crime groups battle one another for control of the drug trade across the East Coast." said the woman as more images of men being loaded into ambulances filled the screen.

"Among the gangs fighting in this war is who reporters are calling the next Murder Inc the violent and infamous Dark Circle Gang or known otherwise as the DCG Death Squad." said the reporter as the man grabbed a few clothes from his dresser before starting up the shower.

"What started out as a multicultural group of contract killers with silent ties to American Mafia families across the Northeast United States, the Dark Circle Gang has morphed itself into a violent powerhouse that has a vise grip like chokehold on the street level drug trade in North Philly and control of numerous gambling, prostitution, and gun trafficking rackets across the Northeast." said the reporter as the man exited the room and eyed the television.

"The gang has been linked to violent assassinations against its long time rivals and new mafia enforcer the Red Cobras and are believed to be trafficking weapons into-!" started the woman as the man turned off the television.

"Enough of this crap." said the man as he dropped the remote for his TV before making his way to his bathroom where he removed his shirt revealing a Grim Reaper tattooed across his back, tribal design on his upper left arm, dragon tattoo on his upper right arm, a skull tattoo over his heart with the letters DCG under it and Death Squad tattooed on his stomach as he stepped into the shower.

"Same old shit all day." said the man as he stepped out of the shower before putting on a pair of baggy dark blue jeans, black and white shoes, and a white T-shirt under a black leather jacket as he walked out of the bathroom before grabbing his phone and dialing a number that didn't ring long before the familiar voice of one of the man's close friends answered.

"Marcus, brother what's going on?" came a familiar voice as a smile spread across the man's face.

"Nothing much, how are things going on your end?" asked Mark as he heard a loud chuckle.

"So far so good brother, the deal went off without a hitch and we're making our way to Waynesburg." said the man as Mark nodded his head.

"What are you looking at?" asked Mark.

"Mostly M4 Carbines and G36 Assault Rifles and once we get to Waynesburg we'll start modifying." said the man on the other end as Mark nodded his head.

"Alright I'll meet you all there later today, I gotta take care of something." said Mark.

"Alright but be careful brother police are still keeping eye on us." said the man as Mark nodded his head before hanging his phone up and dialing another number.

"Come on Sam pick up your damn phone." thought Mark as he the person on the other end answered causing Mark to give a sigh of relief as he heard the familiar female voice on the other end.

"Sam just calling to check up on you." said Mark as he heard the woman on the other end give a low chuckle.

"Don't worry I'm not in prison this week." said Sam as Mark gave a low chuckle.

"Everything alright with you?" asked Sam.

"Yeah just about to go to work." said Mark as Sam's voice became real low as she answered.

"Something wrong?" asked Mark.

"I'm just worried about you is all." said Sam as a confused look spread across Mark's face.

"Why I'm fine." said Mark.

"I mean your well being Marcus. I know what you do and I fear for your safety." said Sam as Mark nodded his head.

"Don't worry about my safety I'll be fine I promise." said Mark.

"Can I see you later?" asked Sam as a mental battle ensued between Marcus before a smile spread across his face.

"Yeah, I'm supposed to meet Lee and the others in Waynesburg later today, I think I can stop by Uniontown on the way back maybe spend the night with you." said Mark earning a cheerful response from the woman on the other end.

"I'd like that see you then." said Sam as she hung up her phone just as Mark grabbed his remote to turn the television back on.

"Police are also looking into another mysterious death this morning as another man was found in alley way with bite wounds covering his body from head to toe." said the reporter as Mark eyed the television with a curious look on his face.

"Interesting this makes the eleventh attack this week." thought Mark as he rubbed his chin hair his thinking about the attacks before breaking his concentration and making his way back to his room where he pulled a trunk from out of his closet before opening it and revealing a LWRC PSD Assault Rifle, an MP7 Submachine Gun, and a bulletproof vest as he took off his shirt and jacket before putting the vest on under them and reaching into his dresser to grab a Glock 19 Handgun and a Bowie Knife in a brown sheath before putting them on his person and closing the other guns up in the crate before making his way out of his home and into his garage where he noticed two sports cars and a motorcycle resting in place as he climbed into the car closet to him and driving away from his suburban home before stopping his car just a few blocks away from his home before parking his car in front of blue home where an African American man approaching his car.

"Jones." said Mark as he eyed the man.

"Everything's going good today boss we ain't hearing nothing from anyone." said the man as he slid Mark a white envelope earning a nod from the man.

"This feels light you holding out on me?" asked Mark.

"No, we haven't been getting a lot of our usual buyers, word on the street is they gone missing along with a few others people." said Jones as Mark nodded his head.

"Missing!" replied Mark as Jones nodded his head.

"Yeah, people talking about a lot of people being attacked at night by some drugged out bums that been biting people." said Jones as Mark nodded his head.

"So more people have been attacked then the news is saying?" asked Mark earning a nod from the man.

"The news is only talking about a few of the deaths but a lot of people have been attacked, a couple of our guys were attacked last night including my little brother." said Jones earning a confused look from Mark.

"He okay?" asked Mark.

"He breathing, my old lady looking after him, but he really sick think the fucker that bit um must have had rabies or something." said Jones earning a nod from Mark.

"Alright then, that's all I needed to know and take your brother to the hospital we don't need more dead guys on the street." said Mark earning a nod from Jones as he drove away from the man Jones made his way back inside of his home he was greeted with silence as he entered the kitchen where he noticed his brother biting down on the neck of his girlfriend before turning to him with blood stains covering his clothes and mouth.

"Oh shit!" yelled Jones but just as he went to move his brother leapt at him and took a bite out of neck as blood sprayed the walls almost like mist.

"Odd!" thought Mark as he heard the familiar sound of the sirens of police cars as he watched a convoy of about five drove past him at almost breakneck speed as Mark stopped his car in front of a familiar house where a Caucasian man with short brown hair approached the car before sliding inside.

"Morning Marcus." said the man as Mark nodded his head.

"Duke." said Mark as he turned his radio to the news where reports were going on from across the state.

"You been listening in on this shit to?" asked Duke as Mark nodded his head.

"Yeah, this seems like a rather interesting story." said Mark as Duke nodded his head.

"There have been talks about leaving Philly, apparently everyone afraid of catching these rabies that going around." said Duke as Mark drove the car away from the house.

"We'll leave town after we finish this job." said Mark as Duke nodded his head.

"So who's next on the list?" asked Duke as Mark continued to drive.

"Guy by the name of Nelson Riley." said Mark earning a chuckle from Duke.

"Meth head Nelson what did he do now?" asked Duke.

"Salty says he ripped off one of our dealer of his drugs and money and apparently he's been trying to hide from collections by squatting in an abandoned house in South Philly." said Mark earning a nod from Duke.

"Alright then let's go do this before something else happens." said Duke just as the duo drove past a redlight they failed to notice a man being dragged into an alleyway by five people.

Thirty Minutes Later

The drive to South Philly wasn't long for the duo as Mark parked the car across the street from the abandoned home before stepping out and noticing the eerily quiet street.

"This place is giving me the creeps." said Duke.

"Don't tell me you're getting cold feet?" asked Mark.

"Of course not!" said Duke as Mark nodded his head.

"Good then stay here and let me know if the cops show up." said Mark as Duke nodded his head while Mark made his way into the home with his gun drawn.

"Weird usually places like this are filled with squatters." thought Mark as he heard the loud scream of a woman come from one of the backrooms as he rushed into the back of the house before kicking in the front door and coming up to a horrible sight.

"Oh God!" thought Mark as he watched his target bite into the neck of helpless woman as her blood stained the floor.

"Riley!" said Mark as he watched the lifeless body of the woman fall to the ground with a loud thud as the man turned to Mark he noticed the lifeless creamy yellow eyes of the man and the pale skin that made him think of a corpse as he watched the man give a loud groan as the blood from his mouth dripped across the floor before he charged with his mouth wide open as Mark fired his gun and shot the man twice in the chest as Mark watched him fall backwards before hitting the ground with a loud thud.

"What the fuck." thought Mark as he stood over the body of the man he was taken by surprise as the man grabbed a hold of his feet before knocking the man backwards as Mark's gun slid away from him as he watched the man crawl towards him.

"Son of a bitch!" said Mark as he crawled away from the man before his back connected with the wall as the hissing creature was inches away from Mark he drew his Bowie Knife before kicking the man in the center of his head knocking him backwards before stabbing him in the neck but not killing the man as he continued to squirm.

"Damn it!" said Mark as he brought his knife down on the man's head finally killing the man as Mark pulled his knife from out of the man's head before backing away from him and standing up on his feet.

"What the fuck was that?" asked Mark as he pulled a towel from his back pocket to wipe the blood from his hands and clothing.

"I don't care what drugs he was taking nothing could make someone do that." thought Mark as he looked over at the dead woman just as the sounds of gunshots came from outside the building as Mark rushed outside the house he noticed Duke standing beside the car shooting more people with eyes and skin like Nelson.

"Get the fuck away from me." yelled Duke as he continued to shoot at the creatures but he failed to notice one of them coming up behind him until the creature bit the man's shoulder earning a loud scream from him.

"Duke!" yelled Mark as he started shooting at the creatures catching their attention as he aimed for the head's of the creatures killing a few as he made his way towards the injured Duke.

"Come on Duke." said Mark as he got to the man he lifted him on his shoulder before putting him into the back seat of the car as the blood from his neck stained the seats as Mark climbed into the driver seat before driving away.

"Try and hold on Duke I'm getting you to a hospital." said Mark as he continued to drive down the street he noticed more and more of the people like Nelson roaming the street biting and eating people who tried to run from them as he went to stop at a redlight he was taken by surprise at the sight of cars slamming into one another causing a bright fire as people were quickly taken apart by these creatures.

"Damn we gotta go the other way." said Mark as he continued to drive just as a gas tanker crashed into a building creating a violent explosion.

"Father of Christ!" thought Mark as he turned his car onto a different street just as Duke finally went silent as Mark continued to drive.

"Come on brother stay with me." said Mark as he put his eyes back to the road he failed to notice the car coming his way as it slammed into the side of his car causing his car to flip a few times before sliding on its hood and crashing into a building as felt the urge to lose consciousness he heard the loud screams of men and woman on the street and the familiar smell of gasoline as he looked through blood covered eyes at the sight of gasoline leaking from the car before turning to look at the silent Duke.

"Duke!" said Mark with shallowed words as the man moved his head and looked at Mark with the same milky yellow eyes of the \creatures before starting to growl at Mark and trying to grab at him as Mark crawled out the broken window of his car onto the streets just as Duke got out from the backseat before trying to follow Mark out of the broken window as Mark rose to his feet with his gun in his hand as he eyed the now lifeless Duke before turning his head and noticing more people running away from a group of those creatures just as Mark turned his attention back to Duke who continued to try and crawl from out of the window.

"Sorry about this brother." said Mark as he lifted took a few steps away from the car just as the gasoline continued to pour Mark turned his attention back to the fleeing people just as they moved past him almost like he wasn't there before a brown haired woman noticed him standing in the middle of the road.

"What are you waiting for run." screamed the woman as the crowd of the undead approached Mark with hungry looks on their faces the young gang leader pointed his gun at the gasoline before firing one shot causing a violent explosion that enveloped the creatures along with Duke as he watched his car fly upward before crashing down in the middle of the street in a flaming wreckage as the people behind him looked at Mark with wide eyes as he turned to them with an angry almost calm look on his face before moving past them without the knowledge that some of them were staring at him just as his cell phone started to ring.

"What!" asked Mark as he heard the familiar voice of his friend on the other end.

"Mark, thank god you're alive we're coming to get you." said the man as Mark quickly respond.

"Alert all our brothers across the state and tell them to meet you in Waynesburg." said Mark earning a quick response that was stopped by Mark.

"Lee listen to me. I want you Mercy, and Trip to stay where you are and use those guns to defend yourselves it won't be long before this hits you." said Mark.

"What was that...I can't-!" started Lee as the signal on Mark's phone disappeared along with Lee's voice as Mark threw his phone to the ground.

"Dammit!" said Mark as he kept walking onward through the ruined streets of Philadelphia as the screams, gunshots, and smell of blood filled the air of the city as people ran from their lives.

Present

"And that's how I got here." thought Mark as he continued his long walk as minutes turned to hours as his mind thought of the story.

"So far I've been spent majority of my time walking to Waynesburg. I know Lee and the others lost the signal but I'm hoping that they got enough of the information." thought Mark as he entered another town that almost seemed void of life with cars littered across the street as Mark made sure his gun was loaded before drawing his knife as he made his way deeper into the town before passing up a small restaurant just in the middle of town where he noticed a window less bar in between two rundown buildings but his thoughts were quickly interrupted by the familiar sound of gunshots that seemed to close for comfort as Mark turned his attention towards the bar before hearing the loud scream of a woman not to far.

"Son of a Bitch!" thought Mark as he mentally kicked himself before going to investigate the sound while drawing his knife and his gun in the progress

2: Chapter 2

Chapter 2: Trapped Between a Rock, A Bar,

And a Hundred Dead Guys

~Elsewhere

The sound of gunshots filled the air as a group of nine survivors found themselves outnumbered and surrounded by a group Biters that picked them off almost one at a time as a woman with short brown hair fired a pistol into the crowd of Biters along with a bald man while and elderly woman and young boy stood behind them.

"We're trapped." said an elderly woman as a Biter went to take a bite out of her it was stopped by the redheaded woman who shot the creature in the side of the head before returning to shooting while another woman with long black hair tied into a ponytail scanned the area for place to hide.

"Heather did you find anything?" asked the woman as she continued to shoot.

"No now shut up Rachel and keep shooting." said the black haired woman as she continued to find a location just as the brown haired woman went to reload her gun but failed to notice a Biter that was inches away from taking a chunk of flesh from her neck as she froze in terror before watching the creature fall to the ground with a knife sticking out of its forehead.

"What the-!" started the woman as she turned her head along with the others to watch as a hooded figure moved past her.

"Who the fuck is that?" asked a skinny elderly man with a short graying hair as he watched Mark reach into his back pocket before pulling out a tear gas canister and throwing it into the herd of Biters as the group watched as smoke started to surround the creatures as a smile spread across Mark's masked face as he turned around and pulled his knife from the Biters head as the group looked at him with wide eyes.

"Follow me if you want to live." said Mark as he re-sheathed his knife before beginning to run down the street with the group of survivors following them just as the tear gas started to fade from the view of the Biters as they looked around for the disappearing meals before going back to lumbering around as Mark took a seat on the counter of the bar while watching the men from the group move a pool table in front of the door while the brown haired woman looked out of one of the grated window.

"That was too close." said a teenage boy as he took a deep breath before pressing his back against the wall.

"We wouldn't have been in that mess if it wasn't for you running your damn mouth." said the well muscled bald man as Mark eyed the group with interesting eyes while his mouth and nose remained hidden behind his mask.

"Calm down Hank." said the brown haired woman as she eyed man with anger in her eyes.

"You're just at fault little miss trigger finger." said the man as Mark rolled his eyes before looking into his backpack and giving a low groan just as the group got into a chorus of yells that was bound to earn the attention of the dead as Mark noticed the brown haired woman on the side with the skinny teenager and the elderly man while the muscled man and the black haired woman argued with them and the elderly woman stood along the side with the child as Mark noticed he was only a young boy no older than nine before rolling his eyes.

"Damn that was my last tear gas canister!" he thought while trying to ignore the shouts coming from the people to no avail as he stepped off the counter.

"Hey we should be thanking that guy for saving us not arguing." said the teenager as he turned his head to look at the counter he noticed the empty space.

"Where did he go?" asked the brown haired woman as she looked around the bar before hearing a noise as they watched Mark emerge from the men's restroom with an anger in his eyes.

"Damn gated windows." said Mark as he turned his head and noticed the group of people staring at him.

"The fuck y'all looking at?" asked Mark as he eyed the group.

"Were you trying to leave us here?" asked the brown haired woman.

"Oh no I wasn't trying to sneak out the men's bathroom window while you guys were busy screaming your heads off." replied a sarcastic Mark as the woman rolled her eyes.

"No need to be a dick about it." replied the brown haired woman with venom in her voice as the group eyed Mark.

"Being a dick is the understatement the yelling drew a few of them into the back alley so we aren't going anywhere for a while." said Mark as he took a seat on the table just as the group watched him.

"Who are you?" asked the well muscled bald man as he pointed his Shotgun at Mark's masked face earning an angry look from Mark as he eyed the man.

"I save your life and this is the thanks I get?" asked Mark.

"Don't feel bad we need to know if you're a threat." said the brown haired woman as Mark rolled his eyes.

"Fair enough!" said Mark as he pulled his hood from off of his head revealing his black hair and pulled his mask from over his mouth revealing a small amount of chin hair as the brown haired woman looked at Mark in udder disbelief.

"I know who you are." said the woman as Mark eyed her with confused eyes.

"You're the guy that saved our lives in Philadelphia." said the woman as the skinny teem nodded his head in agreement.

"Yeah you're the guy that blowup that car." said the teen as Mark lowered his head at the thoughts of killing his friend in the process before he heard the familiar cocking of a Shotgun as he looked up at the well muscled man who had his gun pointed at him with anger in his eyes.

"Hank what are you doing?" asked the skinny teen as Mark eyed the man with anger in his eyes.

"Doing what you all are afraid to do, now hand over your weapons and that bag." said the man as he kept his gun to Mark's head.

"What are you doing, we can't rob this man he saved all our lives twice." said the brown haired woman.

"Doesn't matter we can't trust him, we barely know him." said Hank.

"We know he isn't a threat Hank. If he was he wouldn't have saved our lives back there." said the elderly man as Hank continued to eye Mark with anger in his eyes as Mark took a deep breath before rising off the table.

"Don't move!" said Hank as Mark looked at him with anger in his eyes.

"Don't do this Hank, there's a child in here." said the elderly woman as Mark reached into his back pocket before tossing his gun and his knife to the floor of the bar as a smile spread across the man face.

"Now hand over the bag." said the man as Mark grabbed a hold of his bag he quickly tossed it over towards Hank's feet before rushing him and grabbing a hold of his gun and kneeing him below the belt causing him to lurch forward as Mark grabbed a hold of the back of the man's head before slamming it against the edge of the table with enough force to cause the man's head to bleed as he picked up the man's Shotgun before pointing it at his head as the group of people tried to talk him out of pulling the trigger as he eyed them with an angry look on his face.

"I don't like being threatened." said Mark as he unload the shells from the Shotgun before setting it on the counter top as he picked up his knife and gun before eyeing the group.

"Jesus!" said the brown haired woman as she rushed to the side of Hank.

"Little word of advice we're gonna be stuck here for a while and the more noise you make the more you attract. Now if you don't mind I'll be spending that time in the back...alone." said Mark as he jumped over the counter of the bar before making his way into the back.

"Just what I need a dysfunctional band of arguing assholes and to make it worse one of them is a Cobra." thought Mark as he remembered the angry look on the face of Hank while the thought of his current situation worked its way into his mind as he pressed his back up against the wall of the room while a million thoughts ran through his head almost like a locomotive as minutes turned to hours before Mark felt the urge to sleep wash over him as he quickly dosed off.

"Hey buddy wake up buddy." came a somewhat familiar voice as Mark opened his eyes and noticed the elderly man, woman, and the young boy looking at him with mixed expressions as Mark stretched himself out.

"How long have I been out?" asked Mark.

"About a few hours you looked almost peaceful." said the man as Mark rubbed the sleep from his eyes.

"Three days of no sleep will do that to you." said Mark as he eyed the man.

"Yeah, mister on behalf of our family we came in here to thank you. If it wasn't for your help in Philly I doubt any of us would have gotten out of there alive." said the man as Mark nodded his head.

"Don't worry yourselves about that it was the right thing to do." said Mark earning a nod from the group.

"Can we have your name?" asked the elderly man as Mark nodded his head.

"Marcus my friend call me Mark though." said Mark earning a nod from the man.

"It's nice to meet you Mark the names Dave this is my wife Gretchen and our boy Theodore." said the man as Mark nodded his head as the boy waved at him.

"Nice to meet you." said Mark earning a nod from Dave.

"Those were some pretty good moves you showed back there." said Dave as Mark nodded his head.

"Something I picked up on in this new world." lied Mark earning a nod from Dave as he knew the personal questions were about to start.

"So how did all of you get here?" asked Mark.

"Well the military and the police were escorting people over the bridge out of Philly while we were there the bridge was overrun but thankfully we were on the other side and a group of us decided to stick together and make our way up north into Canada heard Montreal was safe." said Dave as Mark nodded his head.

"We started out with over thirty people and this is what we've dwindled down to." said Gretchen as Mark nodded his head.

"So where were you headed Mark?" asked Dave.

"Waynesburg, I got friends waiting on me there." said Mark earning a nod from Dave.

"That's good." said Dave as Mark nodded his head before the group was interrupted by the sound of the skinny teen entering the room.

"Oh you're awake." said the teen as Mark noticed an angry expression spread across Dave's face as he rose to his feet.

"Yeah let's get back in there before everyone starts piling up in here." said Mark earning a nod from Dave as he Mark led the group back into the bar.

"Thanks again for saving us back there man, I'm Tyler." said the teen as he extended his hand for Mark to shake earning a shake from Mark as he eyed the remainder of the group from the brown haired woman then to the black haired woman crouching next to Hank as Mark rolled his eyes before approaching the brown haired one.

"You seem to handle yourself pretty well." said Mark as he eyed the woman who looked at him with a smile on her face.

"I can thank the training at the police academy for that." said the woman as a mental car crash went off in the contract killers head.

"You were a cop?" asked Mark earning a nod from the woman.

"More like a private detective." said the woman as Mark nodded his head before looking at the ground.

"Where are my manners my names Rachel." said the woman as Mark nodded his head.

"Mark." he said as the woman nodded her head before giving him a good once over.

"Thanks for saving my life again." said Rachel as Mark nodded his head.

"Kinda hard not to without all the gunshots." said Mark as he and Rachel started to chuckle.

"She seems like she doesn't know who I am aside from what I did in Philly, so that must count for something I guess." thought Mark as he looked back at Rachel.

"Alright, let me know if you need anything. I'm gonna go repair damaged fences." said Mark as Rachel gave a low chuckle as he approached Hank and the black haired woman sitting beside him.

"He gonna be okay?" asked Mark as the woman eyed him with venom in her heart.

"He would be if you didn't ram his head into a table." said the woman as Mark rolled his eyes.

"Well he shouldn't have raised a gun to the man who saved his life." said Mark as he folded his arms over his chest.

"I didn't get your name." said the woman as Mark unfolded his arms.

"It's Marcus." said Mark as the woman rose to her feet and eyed him with an angry look on her face.

"Heather, this is my older brother Hank." said the woman as Mark nodded his head before turning to an angry looking Hank.

"I know he's not going to say it but thanks for saving us back there." said Heather surprising Mark as he eyed the woman.

"It was nothing, thank me when I get us out of here." said Mark as he looked past the duo at the front door of the bar.

"You have any ideas?" asked Heather as Mark nodded his head.

"A few, all suicidal." said Mark as he walked away from the girl and her brother towards the front window where he noticed a few Biters lumbering around.

"That brain of yours working?" asked Dave as Mark nodded his head.

"Yeah but I need to get an aerial view." said Mark as he moved past Dave before heading into the backroom where the group heard the sound of glass breaking as they rushed inside they noticed that Mark had broken the door to the back alley and was now climbing up the fire escape on the next building.

"That guy has a few screws loose." said Dave.

"Tyler give me a hand." said Rachel as the young man gave the woman a boost up onto the ladder as she followed Mark who was now standing on top of the building next door looking down on the street below while rubbing his chin hair.

"What do you see?" came the voice of Rachel as Mark turned to look at her.

"The street in front of the bar is completely blocked so that's out of the question." said Mark as Rachel looked around.

"Think we can use the fire escape?" asked Rachel as Mark nodded his head.

"Yeah but we won't survive on the streets forever especially if we're moving as a group." said Mark as Rachel looked down at the street.

"How did you get in this town on foot or by vehicle?" asked Mark as Rachel shook her head.

"We had that moving van at first but it ran out of gas and while we were refueling those things surrounded us." said Rachel as Mark looked up the street and noticed a small moving truck down the road.

"So you have some gas in the tank?" asked Mark earning a nod from Rachel.

"Not enough for a full tank." said Rachel as Mark nodded his head.

"I have a plan, but we'll have to wait until the sun sets for it to work." said Mark earning a confused look from Rachel.

"Why can't you do it now?" asked Rachel as Mark eyed her.

"Because the darkness is our greatest ally in this game of survival." said Mark as Rachel nodded her head.

"I'm gonna hang up here until then if you need me." said Mark as Rachel nodded her head but just as she went to leave she was stopped as she looked at the distant Mark before saying something that brought him great shock.

"In Life and Death we are together, we are Brothers forever, we are the Dark Circle Brotherhood and we are the bringers of Death, Fear, and Sorrow." said Rachel earning Mark's full attention as he looked at her with wide eyes.

"That's right I know exactly who you are." said Rachel as Mark rose from his chair.

"You're Marcus Smith, you were formally a Captain in the United States Marine, now you're the leader and founder of the Dark Circle Gang and a freelanced contract killer for the American Mafia." said Rachel as Mark gave her an angry look.

"How?" asked Mark.

"I wasn't just a private detective I was also apart of the federal task force looking to bring your gang down. You did a pretty good job of distancing yourself from them but thanks to a raid on one of your friends home we found pictures of you and all the senior members and I recognized you again in Philadelphia." said Rachel as Mark gave an angry growl.

"So now what you gonna rat me out to your group downstairs?" asked Mark as he folded his arms across his chest.

"No!" said Rachel shocking Mark as he eyed her.

"You saved our lives more than enough times and we don't need anymore drama out there." said Rachel as Mark rolled his eyes.

"Right now I think you might be the only hope for us surviving in this new world and we can't lose that right now, so I'll keep this between the two of us." said Rachel as Mark rolled his eyes.

"How can I trust you won't say anything?" asked Mark.

"You can't just remember that." said Rachel as she walked away from Mark the gang leader found more questions thoughts running through his head like stampeding horses but one answered seemed to resolved.

"Now I have no choice but to leave, after this plan works." thought Mark as he turned back to stare below the building he kept watching the zombies scramble around the streets for hours as the sun started to set in the distance Mark quickly made his way back into the backroom of the bar before looking around for something that could help him.

"All of this alcohol might come in handy." said Mark as he walked into the bar he noticed the group split up into threes as Dave sat with his family, while Rachel sat with Tyler, and Heather sat with Hank as the three groups eyed Mark as he looked around the bar.

"Gotcha!" said Mark as he found what he was looking for, a set of old speakers connected to a stereo system.

"What are you doing?" asked Heather earning silence from Mark as he continued to work on the radio.

"There!" said Mark as he finished before moving past the group and pushing the pool table away from the door to the dismay of the group before returning to the stereo and turning to the group of people.

"I suggest you all get to the roof." said Mark as he connected two cords together the group watched as the stereo lit as the sound of static came from the speakers surrounding it.

"Oh shit!" said Dave as he led the group out of the into back and up the stairs as Mark turned the volume up on the radio before turning to the only CD in the radio as Mark rushed from out of the room just as the sound of loud rock music exploded from the stereo that almost shook the room as every Biter outside of the bar looked in it's direction before making there way towards it as Mark knocked down every bottle of alcohol before pulling out a match and setting fire to the liquid as he pulled the hood of his jacket over his head along with his mask before rushing through the maze of back alleys.

"What the fuck is wrong with that guy?" asked Heather as the group finally made it up to the roof of the next building they looked down and noticed Mark rushing through the back alley with his knife in hand before finally disappearing onto the street.

"Look!" said Tyler as the group watched Mark use his small size to maneuver his way through the crowd of undead while those that got in his way were easily sliced down by Mark's knife as he made his way towards the truck before hurrying inside and closing the door.

"This is your chance to leave Marcus." thought Mark as the thoughts of leaving the group crossed his mind before he looked up and noticed them looking at him before pulling the keys from his pocket and starting the truck and backing up.

"He's leaving us." said Rachel as Mark drove away from the street before returning and backing the truck into the alley next to the building as the group of people rushed down the fire escape as Mark opened the cargo door for them.

"Come on!" yelled Mark as he helped the group climb into the back of the truck as Tyler and Dave closed the door while Mark hopped back in the driver seat before driving away with the group as small smiles formed across the groups face.

"Make that three times you saved our lives." said Dave as he looked over at Mark with a smile on his face as Mark continued to drive the truck until the low fuel light came on.

"Looks like we got to stop." said Mark as he stopped the truck in front of an abandoned looking trailer park to the dismay of Rachel as she watched him exit the truck before opening the cargo door for everyone as they stepped out and eyed their surrounding.

"Do we really have to stay here?" asked Gretchen as Mark nodded his head.

"Until we get some gas I guess we will." said Mark as he eyed the abandoned looking trailers.

"This place looks easy to defend especially with the gates so it might be wise to stay here." said Dave earning nods from the group.

"I can actually agree with that plan." said Heather as Mark nodded his head.

"We should find somewhere to sleep for the night and we'll begin working on this place in the morning." said Dave as the group nodded their heads before going there separate ways as Mark picked the lock and opened the doors to one of the trailers and walked inside only to noticed the well furnished living room before he started to look at the pictures on the wall with curious eyes before checking the house for unwanted guess.

"You gonna keep following me around?" asked Mark as he turned his head and noticed Rachel standing behind him.

"I'm just making sure you aren't going to pull another disappearing act on us." said Rachel as Mark rolled his eyes.

"And what you're going to stop me?" asked Mark as Rachel took a deep breath before answering.

"Mark if you leave us we won't survive for long without you before you came along we were at each others throat so much that the dead were the least of our worries." said Rachel as Mark eyed the woman.

"What I'm saying is we need you here Marcus, I don't care about what you were and what you did before this." said Rachel.

"And you think they'll feel the same way?" asked Mark.

"It doesn't matter what they think of you right now we still need you here." said Rachel.

"If you think sweet talking will get me to stay you're wrong." said Mark as Rachel gave him an angry glare.

"I'm not sweet talking but I am begging." said Rachel as she walked out of the trailer as Mark lowered his head as his thoughts wrapped around her words.

"Son of a Bitch!" thought Mark as he stomped his foot against the wooden floor of his trailer.

3: Chapter 3

Chapter 3: Friends in Other Places

Three Days Later

The sun was starting to rise over the trailer park as Mark sat atop the moving van with a Hunting Rifle in his hand on watch as his mind started to wander away from the trailer park as the thoughts of his friends in Waynesburg crossed his mind yet again as he took a deep breath before looking up at the sky.

"My heart tells me they should have survived but my mind is telling me otherwise." thought Mark as he opened his eyes and noticed the birds flying over him.

"My friends, my comrades, my brothers, where are you?" Mark mentally asked himself as his mind continued to think on his friends all the while just a few towns away from the trailer park a group of five men, all wearing black zip up jackets and mask covering their mouth and nose, were making their way through a crowd of the Biters.

"Piece of shit!" yelled one of the men an Asian American man with short black hair and black eyes as he brought his Machete down on top of a Biters head before kicking the motionless creature away from him.

"Watch your back." yelled another man with short auburn hair hidden underneath a backwards black baseball cap as he fired an arrow from Crossbow before quickly reloading and firing another arrow that pierced a Biter in the head causing it to fall backwards and knock another Biter down.

"DIE!" yelled a large Hispanic man with long black hair that touch the back of his neck and a black bandanna wrapped over his forehead as he lifted a Fire Axe over the head of the fallen Biter before bringing it down and decapitating the creature with a sick smile on his face.

"Hey we really need help you guys." said a man with long blonde hair tied to into a ponytail as he slammed a metal baseball bat over the head of a Biter while another man with short red hair hit the knee of a Biter with a sledgehammer causing it to topple over as he brought the hammer down again on the creatures head as the two men stood against the Biters as they protected a fallen deer.

"Gotcha Kozik!" said the auburn haired man as he fired an arrow at Biter that got to close that pierced the creature in the back of the head instantly killing it.

"Mercy on me." said the Asian American man as he swung his Machete sideways slicing the face of a Biter while the large Hispanic man came up behind him to cleave another Biters head in half.

"They're thinning out brother." said the Hispanic man as slicing the head off another Biter.

"Exactly I told fighting them like this would be better than using guns." said the Asian American man as a Biter got to close to him he managed to kick the creature away while the auburn haired man continued to fire arrows.

"Trip on your six." said the Asian American man as he watched a Biter approach the auburn haired from behind as the man whipped his body around and swung his Crossbow hitting the Biter in the head before bringing the butt of the ranged weapon down on the creatures head completely shattering the Biters head.

"Thanks brother." said the auburn haired man as he turned his attention back to the blonde and redheaded man.

"Kozik Bobby forget grab the deer we're leaving." said the Asian American Man as the blonde and redhead men each nodded their heads before grabbing their next meal while the Asian American man, Mercy, and Trip continued to deal with the remaining Biters until none were left.

"Finally a damn break." said Mercy as he wiped the blood from his Axe.

"Just when I was starting to have a little fun." said Trip as he pulled his arrows out of a few Biters before putting them into a small quiver on his left hip.

"You're getting better at this commanding thing Lee." said Mercy as the Asian American man nodded his head.

"Yeah, but I'm still no Marcus." said the Asian American man as the group picked up their other pieces of food before making their way through the woods.

Trailer Park

"MARK!" yelled Heather breaking the man concentration as he lowered his head and noticed the angry look on the black haired girl.

"We didn't put you on watch so you could rest your eyes." said Heather as Mark rolled his eyes at the woman.

"Then why the hell did you put me on watch when you know I hate this job?" yelled Mark as Heather looked at him.

"Because we still don't think it's safe for you to be going out on your own." said Heather as Mark rolled his eyes.

"Still think I'm gonna abandon ya huh?" asked Mark as he gave a little chuckle.

"Think what you want as long as it involves me and drenches your panties sweetheart." said Mark earning an angry growl from Heather as she walked away from the man.

"What did I get myself into?" thought Mark as he thought about the group he's now apart of.

"Aside from the constant arguing, the mixed ideas, and the fact that these guys can't do shit without having someone disagree. This camp is by far one of the reasons why I chose to be alone for the apocalypse." thought Mark as he watched Dave and Tyler walk into the gate carrying a backpack hopefully filled with supplies as Mark watched the duo approach Heather and Hank where a loud argument about not having enough supplies ensued.

"They really need to chill the fuck out." came the familiar voice of Rachel as Mark eyed the brown haired woman.

"You here for the shift change?" asked Mark as Rachel nodded her head.

"Grand!" said Mark as he jumped off the moving van before handing the Hunting Rifle to Rachel.

"Yoy really wanted to get off watch didn't you?" asked Rachel as she took the rifle.

"No I really want to get the fuck away from this trailer park." said Mark as Rachel nodded her head.

"I know what you mean being here with everyone's negativity is kinda a pain in the ass." said Rachel as Mark nodded his head.

"Trust me I know." said Mark as he started to walk away from the brown haired girl towards his trailer before taking a look back at the arguing group.

"Yeah screw this." said Mark as he walked past his trailer to the other side of the trailer park where he climbed on top of one of the dumpsters before jumping off and making his way away from the trailer park.

"Goodbye and good fucking riddens." thought Mark as he made his way into the fields past the trailer park

Elsewhere

The sun was already past the center of the sky as the group of five continued to walk until they were past the trees and entered an urban area as buildings came into their gaze.

"We're almost there." said Lee as smiles formed on the faces of the other men.

"Grand I can't wait to get a shower." said Mercy as Trip gave a low chuckle as the group cleared they cleared through much of the empty streets until they came across a barricade of cars blocking off the parking lot to an outlet mall as Lee reaching into his backpack to grab a walkie talkie.

"Link it's us we're coming through from the front." said Lee earning chuckle from the man on the other end.

"Gotcha brother." replied the voice on the end as the group of five watched as the wooden gate in front of the barricade opened to reveal six men on the other side carrying Assault Rifles as a man with short blonde hair and blue eyes approached the group with a smile on his face.

"Glad to see you guys are back whole." said the man as he started walking with the group.

"The other teams make it back?" asked Lee as Link shook his head.

"A few made it back but with some casualties and very little food." said Link as Lee lowered his head.

"I still don't see why we have to keep doing these scavenging missions when we know they're storing a lot of food." said Mercy.

"As always the fortunate get the good shit while guys like us, who do the hard work get the scraps." said Trip as he gritted his teeth.

"We're just lucky they took all of us in." said Kozik.

"Yeah but at the cost of all those Assault Rifles we had that we can rarely ever use." said Bobby.

"The price you pay when you make deals with the Pigs." said Mercy.

"Guns would have been useless if we didn't have enough bodies to use them." said Link as he lowered his head.

"It's still unbelievable how a group with over a hundred and fifty guys could be dwindled to less than twenty." said Lee as the group walked through the parking lot where they noticed a number of tents and RV's outside.

"You forget it was only us six and twelve other brothers from the start." said Link as the group passed through the tented area they noticed men, women, and children staring not at them but the food they brought into the camp.

"Yeah but of those twelve we lost three to the dead and one to those fucking bandits." said Lee as the group approached the outlet mall where they noticed two men wearing Jackets that read police in white writing.

"And the others are either still out there or dead." said Mercy as they approached the two guards.

"Speak your business." said one of the guards as Lee gave a loud scoffing sound.

"Dumbass you act like you don't see the fucking slab of meat behind us." said Trip earning an angry scowl from the men as they moved out of the way allowing the group to enter the mall where they noticed people moving around the dimly light building as the group passed by one of the many generators keeping the lights and the air in the building on as they noticed men carrying the weapons they brought around inside the building as they took their deer and made their way deeper into the mall earning disgusted looks from the people living inside the mall as they carried the dead animal towards an old fast food stand where a man and a woman eyed the group with a smile.

"Ah Lee and the Dark Circle Brothers what you got for me today?" asked the man with a smile on his face as Lee pointed to the deer behind the group.

"This should be a lot of meat." said Lee as the man nodded his head before grabbing the deer and pulling it into the back room while the Dark Circle members followed after him.

"Hey Gus you mind explaining to us why everyone outside is starving themselves when five groups go out every morning scavenging for food and there is a stash of food here?" asked Kozik as the man nodded his head.

"Well you have to remember guys on the outside like you all are the guys bringing in the food and some of the guys outside have a habit of hording what they find, meaning we have to share the food in here with everyone causing supplies to go down." said Gus as he grabbed a butchers knife and began sizing up the deer.

"Hard to believe since the guys on the outside are only allowed to eat twice a day and most days once." said Bobby as Gus nodded his head.

"Yeah while the pigs in here get three meals a day." added Mercy.

"Yeah but that's mostly because they're doing mostly interior guard duty or have families and are allowed to live in here." said Gus.

"Yeah while the guys with no family, police or military training, and a rap sheet like us are forced to live outside." said Trip as Gus nodded his head.

"Speaking of rap sheets you guys should go check on that girl you brought here with you I heard she was arrested again this morning." said Gus earning not so surprised looks from the group.

"Really what did she do now?" asked Lee.

"She beat the living hell out of some guy apparently he said something to her and she broke his nose for it." said Gus as Lee nodded his head.

"Alright thanks for that Gus." said Lee.

"No worries I'll be sure to bring you guys your food personally." said Gus as Lee led the group outside of the room and back into the mall.

"Kozik Bobby why don't you two go assist on the wall while we go pick up our convict?" asked Lee earning a nod from the duo.

"You got it don't break anybodies jaw this time." said Kozik as he and Bobby made their way out of the mall while Lee, Mercy, Trip, and Link went to get their imprisoned comrade.

Mark

After leaving the trailer park Mark found himself traveling through the woodland area past the fields around the trailer park with a smile on his face that seemed to grow wider with every step he took.

"Finally some peace and fucking quiet." thought Mark as he walked through the woods without a care in his mind until he heard the rustling of leaves and turned around to come face to face with a rabbit not to far away from him.

"Dinner!" thought Mark as he slowly drew his knife and eyed the creature tossing his knife and hitting the rabbit in the side as he approached it and noticed that the life had faded from the creatures eyes as he grabbed it by the ears and began to carry it with him as he continued to make his way through the woods until he thought about the group back at the trailer park.

"Fuck um they'll never accept you." thought Mark as he continued to walk through the woods before hearing a loud slicing sound before a loud thud as he quickly made his way towards the sound he noticed a bloody woman with bright blue eyes and long black hair that went down passed her neck and brandishing a sword with her right arm while her left had a huge wound as Mark noticed blood staining her once white shirt as she prepared to use the sword to cut down any Biter that got close to her as Mark noticed a Biter ready to lunge at her from behind.

"Watch out!" yelled Mark surprising the woman as he stabbed the Biter in the top of the head before tossing it aside as the woman watched Mark switched hands with his knife before stabbing another Biter in the mouth causing his blade to come out the back of the creatures head as Mark quickly pulled the weapon from Biter he stood in front of the injured woman with his knife in his hand as he noticed a group of Biters surrounding the duo.

Outlet Mall

The walk through the outlet mall but it was annoying for the Dark Circle members as they noticed people giving them weird looks and angry scowls as they made their way towards the back of the mall where they noticed an empty store that had a grate closed around it as the group approached the officer watching over the room.

"We're here to get someone." said Lee as the man gave the group an angry look.

"You better put that friend of yours on a leash next time." said the man as Lee rolled his eyes as the man opened the door to the room allowing the guys to walk inside and noticed a brown haired woman with auburn stripes going through her hair lying on one of makeshift beds in the room.

"Even when the world ends you can't keep yourself out of jail can you Sam?" asked Lee as the girl lifted her head and looked at the group.

"You boys know that prison has some of the softest beds." said the girl with a smile on her face as she rose to her feet.

"How did you get in here this time?" asked Mercy as the girl gave a low chuckle.

"Some asshole thought I was an easy lay and I made his think otherwise." said Sam as the group nodded their heads before following the group as they led her out of the store.

"Well look who safely came back." came a familiar voice as the group of four turned their heads and noticed three familiar men wearing military clothing approaching them.

"Glad to see you boys are here to keep that dog of yours on a leash." said the man on the left a young looking man with long black hair that touched the back of his neck as Sam gave the man an angry look.

"Glad to see you three took Logan's dick out of your mouths." said Trip.

"Childish jokes get you nowhere." said the muscular man on the right with long blond hair.

"Got him your mom." replied Sam earning a chuckle from Trip as the trio eyed the group with anger in eyes.

"Let's not fight today boys, Logan told us to remind you that was her second offense one more and she's gone." said the man in the middle.

"Alright then, do us a favor now. Remind him that if he throws even one of out he's throwing all of us Dark Circles out and we'll be taking our weapons with us." said Lee earning a low chuckle from the black haired man.

"You're bluffing." said the muscular man.

"Try us." said Link as the trio started to chuckle.

"We'll be sure to let him know." said the middle man as he led the other two away.

"Even when the world ends the Cobras are still being complete dicks." said Trip as he folded his arms over his chest.

"Thanks for that guys, but did you mean what you said?" asked Sam as the group of four turned to her.

"Of course Mark may not be here but he wouldn't want us to split up let alone lose you." said Lee as he put his hand on Sam's shoulder earning a smile from the girl.

"Come on let's go." said Link as he started to lead the group out of the outlet mall.

Trailer Park

The sun was starting to lower on the trailer park as the shouting match from earlier quickly died down as Rachel stood atop the moving van and watched for any sign of intruders until she noticed rustling in the field across from the trailer park as she raised her gun and waited for the source of the noise to show itself.

"Got something!" said Rachel as the group readied themselves for anything until the source of the noise revealed itself to be Mark as he walked out of the bushes carrying an injured woman on his back and two rabbits in one hand as he approached the trailer park to the surprise of the group.

"When the fuck did he leave?" asked Heather.

"Real question is who said he could leave and bring people back?" asked Hank as Mark moved one of the dumpsters from out of his way before entering the trailer park with the rabbits in his hand.

"Who the fuck told you that you could leave?" yelled Hank.

"Is she bit?" asked Dave as the group watched as Mark moved pass them without saying a word before walking over to a picnic table and setting his captured haul down before carrying the woman towards his trailer park.

"Did he just blow them off?" asked Tyler as Rachel looked at Mark enter his trailer with a smile on her face.

"Guess he won't engage them in the childish arguing they do." said Rachel as Mark set the woman down on his bed before inspecting her wound as the man took a sigh of relief.

Outlet Mall

The sun was beginning to set over the outlet mall as the members of the Dark Circle Gang after eating their food readied themselves for bed as Lee entered a small tent that belonged to Sam where he saw the girl lying on top of her sleeping bag with her back to him.

"Hey snuck you some food." said Lee as he approached the unmoving girl.

"Sam you okay?" asked Lee as the olive skinned girl turned towards him and looked at him with sad eyes.

"Yeah, it's just that whole incident today made me think of Mark you know. Whenever some hurt my or made fun of my he was always there for me." said Sam as Lee nodded his head.

"But he isn't here anymore." said Sam as she lowered her head Lee put his arm around the girl allowing her cry in his chest.

"He isn't here now but we'll be reunited with him soon." said Lee as Sam looked up at the Asian man.

"You really think he's still alive?" asked Sam as Lee chuckled and nodded his head.

"I know he is, if anyone could survive this shit I know it's him." said Lee bringing a smile to Sam's face as she put her head back onto his shoulder.

"You think he'll still love me?" asked Sam as Lee nodded his head.

"Of course he will." said Lee as Sam nodded her head with a smile on her face as her mind thought of the contract killer she called her love.

Trailer Park

The night was almost silent with the only noise being that of the campfire in the middle of the trailer park as the survivors surrounded it for warmth as they ate their dinner with the exception of Mark as he stepped out of the bathroom of his trailer with a towel wrapped around his waist after he took a makeshift bath using a bottle of water. As he entered his bedroom where he noticed a familiar woman lying up in his bed.

"You shouldn't move around too much with that injury." said Mark as the woman looked down at her bandaged arm.

"Thank you but how did you know I wasn't bitten?" asked the woman as a smile spread across Mark's face.

"A knife wound and a bite wound are two different types of injuries." said Mark as the woman looked at him with a smile on her face before looking down at herself.

"If you're wondering if I touched you while you were sleeping you can put those thoughts to rest." said Mark as gave a light blush before breathing a sigh of relief.

"You gonna tell me who you are?" asked Mark as the woman nodded her head.

"My name's Brie." said the woman as Mark nodded his head.

"Nice to meet you the names Marcus." replied Mark as Brie nodded her head.

"Well then thank you for everything Marcus." said Brie as Mark gave the woman a good once over.

"When was the last time you ate something?" asked Mark as the woman felt her empty stomach.

"It has been a while." said Brie as Mark nodded his head.

"I'll see if I can fix that." said Mark as he started to make his way out of the room before turning back at the woman with a smile on his face.

"Also you have a great set of girls, what are they little D's or big C's?" asked Mark with a smile on his face as the woman gave a bright blush but before she could respond Marcus walked out and into the living room where he noticed a familiar redhead sitting on his couch as she looked up at him she turned her head at the sight of Mark only wearing a towel.

"After you get dressed the group would like to talk to you." said Rachel as Mark nodded his head.

"And put a long sleeved shirt on to cover up those tattoos." added Rachel as Mark looked at the tattoos that showed off his affiliation to the Dark Circle Gang covering his upper body before nodding at the woman and making his way to his hall closet before returning fully dressed and stepping out of his trailer where he approached the group around the camp fire before taking a seat.

"What this about?" asked Mark as the entire group eyed him.

"We decided that you can be trusted to leave the camp at your leisure as long as you get supplies for he group." said Dave as Mark nodded his head.

"But you have to tell us when you are going to leave so we know." said Heather as Mark nodded his head with a calm look on his face as Gretchen handed him a plate of food with a smile on her face as Mark accepted the meal with a nod.

"Thanks, but can I get another plate for our newest guest?" asked Mark as the group eyed Mark with mixed looks.

"So she wasn't bitten?" asked Dave as Mark nodded his head.

"No that was knife wound, she just woke up I'm hoping to fish for some information." said Mark as Dave nodded his head.

"Why should we waste food on her?" asked Hank as Mark rose to his feet to eye the man.

"Because she's here now and no matter what you say I don't give a shit what you or your sister or anyone else has to say. You think you can control everyone here but you're not controlling me." said Mark as he grabbed another plate of food before walking away from the wide eyed group as Hank gritted his teeth.

"I really really should have walked away from these assholes when I had the chance." thought Mark as he entered his trailer before closing his door behind him as the group eyed his trailer with mixed looks on their faces.

4: Chapter 4

Chapter 4: Return to Philly

The Sword and The Knife

Two Weeks Later

The sun was beginning to set over the newly walled trailer park as the survivors inside sat around a campfire in the middle of camp silently eating their limited amount of food rations until they heard a familiar knock coming from the front gate as the group watched as Mark climbed over the makeshift wall before landing into camp carrying a small sack with him.

"I wish you'd just walk in like a normal person dude." said Tyler earning a chuckle from Mark as he patted the teen on his shoulder before making his way towards the campfire.

"Did you find anything?" asked Heather as Mark shook his head in defeat.

"A couple of mushrooms." replied Mark as he opened the bag revealing his somewhat small hall.

"That's all you brought?" asked an angry Hank as Mark rolled his eyes at the man.

"Yeah, if you would have ever been outside these walls you would know how hard it is to catch animal without a gun." said Mark earning an angry scowl from Hank.

"Easy Hank give him a little breathing room." said Heather as Hank walked away from the man while Dave and Rachel approached Mark.

"This areas taped out so tomorrow I'm gonna take a car and head and into the next town and search for supplies." said Mark earning concerned looks from the group.

"You going by yourself?" asked Dave as Mark rolled his eyes already knowing where this conversation is going.

"I was planning on it, there a problem with that?" asked Mark as he eyed Dave with an angry look on his face.

"Sort of, we kinda think it'd be best that you'd take someone with you. You know for your own safety." replied Dave as Mark rolled his eyes.

"You guys still don't trust me. Figures I bust my ass to put food on the table and you still don't trust me." said Mark.

"It's not that we don't trust you Marcus, you just seem-!" started Rachel before Mark interrupted the girl.

"Like the kind of guy who'll stab you in the back the moment you turn around." said Mark.

"I wonder who's been putting that idea in your heads?" asked Mark as he turned his eyes towards Hank who gave him a middle finger.

"You know what I'll take someone with me just to get rid of all this tension before things get bloody." said Mark as he made his way towards his trailer while the others watched him leave.

"Well that was a great way to talk to the pissed off guy." said Rachel as she Heather, Tyler, and Dave watched him enter is trailer.

"So who's going with him?" asked Tyler.

"I'll go!" volunteered Rachel as Dave shook her head.

"No you and him are already close so its got to be someone that can give us an unbiased opinion." said Dave as Rachel rolled her eyes.

"So you then." said Rachel as Dave shook his head.

"I would but I got to stay close to my family especially since Mark said he's could be gone a few days." said Dave as Rachel turned her attention to Tyler.

"I would leave but um I'm kinda-!" started Tyler before he was interrupted by Heather.

"The kid can't go either for all he'll follow Mark and run off so its got to be someone that has someone that absolutely won't leave us behind." said Heather earning a confused look from Dave.

"So what you volunteering princess?" asked Dave as Heather nodded her head.

"No frankly I don't like him." said Heather as Dave rolled his eyes.

"I'll go with him." came a still unfamiliar voice as the group turned their heads and noticed Brie standing just a little away from the group with her sword in a sheathed strapped to her back.

"It's about time I started pulling my own weight here." said Brie as Heather and Dave each nodded their heads.

"Why should we trust you?" asked Hank as Brie gave a low chuckle.

"Because this way you won't have to worry about him killing one of you and blaming it on the Biters." said Brie earning confused nods from the group.

"Alright but you're telling him." said Heather as Brie nodded her head before walking away from the group and heading towards Mark's trailer.

"Marcus where are you?" asked Brie as she looked around Mark's trailer.

"In here wait up." replied Mark as he walked out of the bathroom in his trailer wiping the dirt from his face as he noticed the raven haired woman standing in his living room.

"What's on your mind?" asked Mark as Brie quickly responded.

"I'm gonna accompany you on your run tomorrow." replied Brie as Mark mentally cursed himself.

"Alright we'll be leaving tomorrow at first light." said Mark earning a nod from Brie..

"I see you then." said Brie as she walked out of Mark's trailer and towards her own as Mark mentally cursed himself.

"I could handle Rachel coming with me on this mission even Tyler but her I don't know." thought Mark as he took a seat on the couch.

The Next Day

The sun was starting to rise over the trailer park as Mark exited his trailer and started loading up an old pickup truck with supplies as Brie approached the man with her sword still in her waistband.

"You all set?" asked Brie as Mark turned towards her.

"Yeah we should get going-!" started Mark before he was interrupted by the sound of a familiar angry voice.

"Mark come here a second." said Heather as Mark eyed Brie before approaching Heather as he noticed the angry glare in her eyes.

"What?" asked Mark as Heather eyed the gang member with anger in his eyes.

"How long will you be gone?" asked Heather.

"Don't know probably a day or two." said Mark.

"You've got two days any longer and I will come after you." said Heather as Mark rolled his eyes.

"Why you gonna miss me?" asked Mark as Heather felt her blood boil at Mark's words.

"You better come back." said Heather as Mark gave another chuckle.

"Alright you want a kiss goodbye." said Mark as Heather gave a loud scoff before stomping away from the man as Mark turned his head and noticed Hank eyeing him angrily.

"Let's not add another page in this bloody war between us Hank. We both already know what the end result will be. Dark Circle members stands over the dead Cobras as always." said Mark earning an angry growl from Hank as he walked away from the man.

"Let's go!" said Mark as he moved past the woman to slide into the front seat of the truck while Brie climbed into the passenger seat as Mark started up the truck as Tyler opened the front gate allowing the vehicle to drive away from the trailer park as those inside watched them disappear down the road.

"So where are we going?' asked Brie as Mark remained silent for a few seconds before answering.

"Don't know you being here kinda throws a monkey wrench in my plans." said Mark as Brie eyed him with a confused look.

"So you were planning on abandoning the group?" asked Brie as Mark shook his head.

"No, well not yet, but the place I planned on going is somewhere I wouldn't want anyone else to go." said Mark.

"Wherever you were going, we're still going." said Brie as Mark eyed the woman.

"So start driving." said Brie as Mark nodded his head.

"Alright then if you say so, Philadelphia here we come." said Mark earning a confused look from Brie as she watched him drive.

Seven Hours Later

The drive was very long and quiet as the duo made their towards the City of Brotherly Love as Brie went to realize the tension and started to talk.

"So what's in Philly that can be so useful to group that it's worth the risk?" asked Brie as Mark started to speak.

"Something that can help our food situation and help defend the trailer park should a herd blow by." said Mark as Brie nodded her head.

"And where is this tool?" asked Brie.

"My place a small house in South Philly." said Mark earning a nod from Brie.

"Oh, so you grew up in South Philly. Did you know anybody in our group before this started?" asked Brie as Mark nodded his head as a thought came to mind.

"Me and Heather went to high school together I don't think she remembers though and me and her brother met a few times but other than that I don't know anybody else." replied Mark earning a shocked look from Brie as she eyed him.

"High School and she really can't remember you?" asked Brie as Mark gave a low chuckle.

"Yeah and we went to the same school, we took Geometry together, and we even graduated together." said Mark earning a low chuckle from Brie.

"Wow I guess you just wasn't a memorable person." said Brie as Mark rolled his eyes.

"Or that bitches head hit the headboard so many times in High School she forgot the last six years." thought Mark.

"Yeah I was outside of her little circle of friendship." replied Mark earning a nod from Brie.

"Know what you mean in High School I mostly liked to be alone and it's one of the places I try hard to forget." said Brie as Mark nodded his head.

"So where you from?" asked Mark as Brie nodded her head.

"I grew up in New York, when I got older I thought I needed a change of scenery so I came to Philly and tried to change my life around the same times as dead people started eating each other." said Brie as Mark gave a low chuckle.

"Some times things like that happen." said Mark as both he and Brie continued to laugh before stopping in an uneasy silence.

"Can you answer me this question?" asked Brie as Mark eyed the woman.

"From what I understand you saved this entire group twice but yet everyone treats you like a damn outcast even though you bust your ass the most, can you tell me why?" asked Brie as Mark kept his eyes on the road as he narrowly avoided a few Biters walking the streets.

"Well the first time I saved them it wasn't really me saving them just them being in the right place at the right time. The second time I actually saved them but after that I was going to leave them." said Mark earning a surprised look from Brie.

"Don't look at me like that. When I first got there they were always at each others throat. Nobody could or still can for that matter agree on anything and to make it worse each plan they make are some of the stupidest shit I've ever heard of and this group is too small for it to be divided like it is." replied Mark earning a confused look from Brie as she eyed him.

"What do you mean?" asked Brie.

"For starters Dave thinks it's best to go into Canada on a rumor he heard that Montreal is disease free and on his side is his family. Hank and Heather want to stay put which in my opinions isn't to bad except they want to stay in the rundown trailer park we already live in." said Mark.

"Both plans have potential but need more resources than we have." said Mark earning a surprised nod from Brie.

"Also this group despite its small numbers is split in two and the guys in the middle seem to make the most sense. Dave and Hank both fighting for power and I'm the strongest guy in the group so whoever side I choose is basically taking things over, but I hate all their decisions." said Mark.

"So your Waynesburg plan is best of all?" asked Brie.

"It seems stupid but there's a place in Waynesburg that can offer us better sanctuary than anywhere else." said Mark.

"If you say so Marcus." replied Brie as she decided to change the subject.

"So what was your life like before all of this?" asked Brie as Mark's life and the deadly acts he committed flashes through his mind.

"I had a law degree." said Mark earning a chuckle from Brie.

"You fight good for a lawyer." said Brie.

"Yeah I also served overseas in the military but I was discharged after I got injured kinda one of the reason why I couldn't find work!" said Mark as Brie nodded her head.

"Wow sorry to hear that." said Brie as Mark remained silent for a few minutes before stopping the truck.

"We're out of gas." said Mark as he turned to Brie.

"Guess we have to travel on foot from this point." said Mark earning a nod from Brie as she climbed out of the truck with Mark as the man drew his knife from its sheath while she drew her sword.

"Stay down and stay quiet." said Mark earning a nod from Brie as the two made their way into the city where they noticed streets littered with bodies, abandoned cars, and trash as the two made through the streets as quietly as possible.

"And I thought Philly looked bad before." said Brie as the duo continued to walk the streets where they noticed a few Biters shuffling the streets.

"Something ain't right these streets are to quiet to say this is was one of the most populated cities in the U.S." said Mark earning a nod from Brie.

"Maybe a lot of people got out." said Brie as Mark shook his head.

"Doesn't matter my apartment is just up that hill." said Mark earning a confused look from Brie.

"Wait a minute this part of town is where most of the wealthy people live, so why do you have an apartment here?" asked Brie as she noticed some of the big house in the area.

"We'll talk about it later." said Mark as Brie rolled her eyes the duo made their way to the top of the hill where they noticed a large two story building connected to a garage and surrounded by a high wall made of brick with a metal gate being the only entrance to the house.

"And here we are." said Mark as Brie looked at him with wide eyes.

"You call this place an apartment. Mark this is a god damn Condo." said Brie as Mark rolled his eyes.

"Explains the high price." said Mark with a chuckle.

"And you laugh about this?" asked Brie as Mark started to chuckle he failed to notice a glass bottle on the ground that had fallen from an overturned trash can as Mark stepped down on the glass breaking it and creating a loud noise.

"Oh shit!" said Mark as the sound of hisses and moans filled the air as the duo watched as numerous Biters crawled from under cars and out of nearby homes as the duo quickly found themselves surrounded by the undead.

"I hope you have a key." said Brie as Mark remembered the keys to the gate being blown up with his car as he looked at the wall.

"I'll give you boost so you can go over the wall and unlock the gate from the other side." said Mark as he drew his gun and started shooting into the crowd of Biters while Brie gave him confused eyes before turning back to the approaching Biters as Mark continued to shoot.

"Alright!" said Brie as Mark bent down allowing the raven haired woman to climb onto his shoulders before standing straight up and allowing her arms over to go over the wall and help her climb over before making her way to the gate and opening it for Mark as he continued to fire off a few shots before entering and closing the gate behind them as the two ran towards the house.

"Please tell me you have a key to the front door?" asked Brie as Mark grabbed a fake rock on the side of his door and grabbing the key from inside and using it to unlock the door allowing the duo inside as Mark closed the door.

"Few that was close." said Mark as he and Brie took in a few breaths the duo noticed something that felt almost foreign to the both of them...Air Conditioning.

"The airs on?" asked Brie as Mark nodded his head.

"Yeah most of this place runs on gas generators and when I'm gone they automatically shut off with the exception of the fridge and the security system." said Mark earning wide eyes from Brie as she flipped the light switch and watched in utter shock as the lights in the living room turned on and illuminated the white well furnished living room as the duo made their way through the house.

"I'll check upstairs while you check the kitchen." said Mark earning a nod from Brie as he made his way up the stairs while Brie entered the nicely clean kitchen. As she moved past the counter and opened the refrigerator she noticed that mostly everything inside was either expired or freezer burned before moving to the pantries where she noticed tons of canned food and bags of rice as she grabbed two cans and made her way upstairs and noticed a dim light coming from one of the rooms as she entered the room she noticed Mark sitting on his bed next to a trunk.

"You've got a lot of food downstairs that could last us a few days." said Brie as Mark nodded his head before breaking open the trunk and revealing an LWRC PSD Assault Rifle, an MP7 Submachine Gun, and a Sawn Off Pump Shotgun with a number of attachments and ammunition for each weapon such as Suppressors, Fore Grips, Scopes, and even flashlight attachments as Brie gave Mark a confused look.

"We can do some real hunting with these and we can defend the trailer park better." said Mark earning a nod from Brie.

"Oh and the plumbing and hot water works." said Mark earning wide eyes from Brie.

"So that means you have hot showers?" asked Brie as Mark nodded his eyes.

"Yeah, you can have at it by the way it looks we aren't going anywhere for a while." said Mark as he looked out his window at the streets below where duo noticed the Biters swarming around the walls and gate.

"Are you sure they won't get in?" asked Brie as Mark nodded his head.

"Definitely and even if they get passed the gate the windows are bulletproof, so trust me they aren't getting in." said Mark as Brie nodded her head before looking down at Mark as he closed up his trunk.

"Looks like we have enough supplies here and I've got a truck in the garage that we can use to transport it." said Mark earning a nod from Brie.

"So make yourself at home." said Mark as Brie nodded her head.

"I'm gonna make myself at home in your shower I hope you have shampoo." said Brie as she made her way towards Mark's bathroom earning a chuckle from Mark as he made his way back downstairs and stepped into his backyard where the sound of moans and groans continued to fill the air as he made his way towards the wooden shed in the middle of the backyard before opening the door and noticing the untouched generators and the five canisters full of gasoline sitting next to it.

"This much gas could be useful back at the trailer park, but as long as we're here." thought Mark as he picked up one of the canisters and added more gas to the generator.

"Might as well have the TV's workings." thought Mark before grabbing a small toolbox from one of the shelves and making his way back into the house where he began to work on his weapons

Minutes soon quickly passed as Mark continued to load things into the black van in garage as he wiped the beads of sweat from his face before making his way back inside the house where he noticed the smell of food in the air.

"Marcus is that you?" came the familiar voice of Brie as Mark nodded his head.

"Yeah, where are you?" asked Mark as he walked inside the house before dropping his knife on the living room table where he saw a fresh green apple waiting for him.

"I'm in the kitchen." replied Brie as Mark picked up the apple before taking a bite out of it as he made his way into the kitchen.

"What smells so-!" started Mark before he caught site of the half dressed raven haired woman standing over his stove as Mark felt the apple he swallowed go down wrong as he started to choke.

"Canned beans the smells probably from all those condiments you have in your pantry." said Brie as Mark pounded his chest causing the piece of apple to dislodge itself from his throat as Brie looked at him with confusion on her face.

"Wasn't expecting that." said Mark as he noticed the woman wearing pair of his silver shorts that hung loosely from her hips exposing her black underwear while she was wearing one of his white wife beaters that pressed tightly against her torso and went just a little below her belly button as Mark felt a light blush creep up his face.

"Sorry but I had to borrow one of your shirts and I noticed you like to wear extra tight shirts and baggy pants." replied Brie as Mark composed himself.

"Sure that's fine." said Mark as Brie gave him a wide smile.

"Damnit Marcus control yourself. Remember your rules don't fall in love, don't grow attached, and more importantly remember what's important." thought Mark as he took a deep breath just as the calm look returned to his face as he eyed Brie.

"Have the Biters cleared up enough to leave?" asked Brie as Mark nodded his head as he watched the woman stir the pot.

"Yeah, but the suns gonna be setting soon best we leave tomorrow morning just to be on the safe side." said Mark earning a nod from Brie.

"Alright, I'll have dinner ready in an hour." said Brie earning a nod from Mark as the Dark Circle leader started to walk away he was interrupted as Brie grabbed his hand causing him to look back at the woman who eyed him with a smile on her face.

"And thank you Marcus for everything. I know the only reason I'm alive today is because of you and I want you to know I appreciate that." said Brie as Mark nodded his head while the gears in his head made him pull away from Brie before making his way back into the living room where he began to work on his guns.

As minutes turned to hours the sun was beginning to set over the city as the dead continued to shuffle in front of Mark's house just as Mark sat down in his living room with Brie as the two finished eating dinner and sat on the couch flipping through the channels on the television in silence only to find that everything was off air as Brie walked back into the room carrying an old book.

"What do you have there?" asked Mark as a smile spread across Brie's face.

"You tell me." replied Brie as she handed Mark the book causing a smile to spread across his face as she noticed it was their senior year book.

"Kinda forgot I still had this." said Mark as he flipped through the pages.

"I found Heather but I don't see any pictures of you." said Brie as Mark nodded his head.

"Of course if you want to find a picture of me you gotta look for the one I couldn't avoid." said Mark he flipped through the pages to the senior class pictures where he showed her a picture of himself back when he was overweight.

"Wow you've lost a lot of weight since then." said Brie as Mark nodded his head.

"Going to the military and not knowing how to cook will do that to you." said Mark earning a chuckle from Brie as she turned the page and looked through the pictures of everyone she found two more picture of Mark that made Mark's heart skip a beat.

"Who are these guys?" asked Brie as she pointed her finger to the first picture which was of Mark and a group of six other kids sitting on a bench with smiles on their faces.

"That my little circle of friends. We were together throughout high school and even after I got back from the military." said Mark earning a nod from Brie as he pointed to another picture which showed Mark and an olive skin Gothic looking girl with short brown hair with dark red highlights and dark red eyeliner and lipstick as Mark gave a silent growl as he remembered his last conversation he had with the girl who was once his former flame.

"Sam!" thought Mark as he eyed Brie.

"She was a close friend of mine." replied Mark earning a chuckle from Brie.

"You mean your girlfriend?" asked Brie as Mark rolled his eyes.

"Was, things didn't work out." said Mark as Brie nodded her head.

"Sorry to hear that." said Brie as she noticed the look of sorrow in Mark's eyes as she flipped through the pages.

"Ew parent night." said Brie earning a roll of the eyes from Mark as the raven haired woman flipped through the pages for a picture of Mark.

"Weird I don't see you here." said Brie.

"I used to always skip parent night mainly because my mom was never really around." said Mark earning a nod from Brie.

"For once we can relate. Truth is my parents were never truly around when I was young, so it was always me on my own from middle school to high school." said Brie as Mark gave a slow nod as Brie found a picture of Heather, Hank, and their parents.

"Can only imagine what that house was like." said Mark earning a chuckle from Brie.

"Speaking of which what is your deal with him. You two seem to have a lot of hate for each other." said Brie as Mark nodded his head.

"Let's just say the two of us have been against each other for a while now." said Mark as he thought back to the gang war that put him and his Dark Circles Gang against Hank and the Red Cobras.

"He's been pushing my buttons but the only reason I'm refraining from hurting him is because of his sister." said Mark as Brie nodded her head in agreement.

"I see your point. They should feel lucky they each have one thing a lot of us didn't have before this started." said Brie earning Mark's attention.

"Each other, I've been on my own since this started and even before that so it makes things a lot easier for me." said Brie as she lowered her head Mark turned away from her.

"Your wrong you have someone that cares about you." said Mark earning wide eyes from Brie as she looked at Mark with a blush on her face as Mark looked away from the girl.

"Stop yourself right here Marcus." thought Mark as he bit down on his tongue to prevent himself from talking.

"Its getting late you should get to bed I'm gonna sleep down here." said Mark earning a surprised look from Brie as silence passed for a few minutes before the raven haired woman responded.

"Alright I'll see you in the morning." said Brie as she rose from the couch noticing that Mark didn't even look at her she made her way up the stairs while Mark sat back on the couch with his eyes looking up at the ceiling.

"Fuck is wrong with you Marcus? You knew before this shit storm hit not to fall for a woman especially with the life you live." thought Mark as he closed his eyes and quickly fell asleep as the face of the men he killed flashed before his eyes like a movie on the big screen as the shootings, stabbings, and torture ran through his mind almost without an end and ended with a loud scream as Sam's smiling face ran through is mind as Mark felt the urge to scream before he felt something lay on his leg that caused his eyes to open as he looked down and noticed the familiar raven haired girl laying her head on his left leg as she slept soundly.

"This is a setup if there ever has been one." thought Mark as he looked down at the woman as he felt a stiffness go throughout his body that prevented him from moving as the Dark Circle leader ran his hand through the girls long raven hair.

"Damn now I won't be able to sleep-!" started Mark before he felt Brie nestle her head more comfortably on his lap.

"Just fuck it all sideways." thought Mark as he threw his head back to the ceiling before resting his hand on Brie's back as he forced himself to sleep.

5: Chapter 5

Chapter 5: Brotherly Rescue

No More Playing House

The Next Day

The sun was starting to rise over the undead infected streets of Philadelphia as Mark stepped out of the shower and slipped into a pair of black jeans, a white wife beater, and a pair of black and red shoes before cutting his hair while his mind mentally yelled at him for his actions the night before.

"Lee and the others would kill me for being this weak." he thought before a smile spread across his face.

"Who am I kidding they'd probably throw me party or be disappointed that I didn't fuck her." he rethought as a mental images of his night with Brie flashed through his mind.

"I need to remember I can't break my rules. No love, no attachments, and no bringing someone into the shit storm that is my life. Those were the reason I had to let go of the other women I loved." he thought before he let out a deep sigh.

"I should be happy one thing didn't lead to another." he finished before stepping out of the bathroom and he making his way downstairs where he noticed his empty couch and another good smell coming from the kitchen. As he made his way inside he noticed Brie standing over his stove making breakfast.

"And I spoke to soon." he thought as Brie caught site of him eyeing her and gave him a smile.

"Goodmorning I made you breakfast." said Brie as she handed Mark a plate of food earning a nod from the gang leader.

"Thanks!" he said as Brie took a seat at the counter before patting the seat next to her as Mark rolled his eyes before taking the seat. The duo soon began to eat in silence before Mark decided to break the tension.

"The streets are clearing up." started Mark earning a nod from Brie.

"After breakfast I'll start loading more supplies in the truck and we can be on our way." said Mark as he eyed the silent Brie.

"Something wrong?" asked Mark.

"Yesterday and this morning, I took a shower and I sat down and ate almost like this world isn't filled with people eating each other. It's almost like the world outside doesn't exist and we're finally safe here." said Brie a she eyed Mark who nodded his head before speaking.

"And you don't want to leave this place?" asked Mark as Brie shook her head.

"It's not that it's mostly because I think this place would be a better fit for us. Four walls, a gate, electricity, food, clean water-!" started Brie before Mark interrupted.

"One bed, one couch, one way in one way out, gas operated generators, and in a city filled to its breaking point with Biters." said Mark.

"We don't need to bring everyone more than likely Dave and his family are going to be leaving. Hank and Heather can keep the trailer park and depending on where sides are so will Rachel and Tyler." said Brie as she eyed Mark with a smile.

"Grand I know exactly where this is going." thought Mark.

"I like the idea, but staying here isn't exactly on my list. Besides should the group split up I'm still going to Waynesburg." said Mark to the dismay of Brie.

"Marcus how do you even know your friends are even alive? What did you friends have that could make them surviving in this new world better than us." asked Brie as Mark looked away from her.

"Enough guns, ammo, and explosives to start supply a small army." said Mark to the surprise of Brie as she eyed the man.

"I never answered you when you asked me about my tattoos, or my guns, or this house so allow me to explain." said Mark earning a confused look from Brie.

"Before this new world came about I was in a bad place. I am the founder and a current leader of the Dark Circle Gang. My and my friends lived a life devoted to violence and money. Murder, Kidnapping, Arson, Home Invasion, Loan Sharking, Extortion, Drug Trafficking, Arms Trafficking, you name it we did...I've done it. Before the dead started to rise my brothers were transporting a shipment of stolen Assault Rifles from down south to Waynesburg and before the phones died I told them to stay put there and I trust that they did." said Mark earning wide eyes from Brie.

"This world is dark and bloody but so are my brothers in the Dark Circle and we can overcome this world because our world was somewhat no different." said Mark as he lowered his head to the ground before turning his head and looking at Brie.

"I see your point Marcus but look at yourself now and look at yourself then and tell me...Do you think any of you are those same people?" asked Brie as Mark felt all the air drain from his body as the thoughts of his former self presented themselves and compared with his old self as Brie rose from the couch before walking away from the silent Mark.

"She's right!" thought Mark as he could remember killing people to the point where it wasn't for money but for fun and when he could walk away from a suffering person without a second thought as the thoughts of him saving the people in his group filled his head as Mark rose from his chair before making his way upstairs to his bedroom before taking a seat on the balcony as the thoughts continued to creep through his mind.

BANG

Time seemed to return to Marcus with a loud gunshot as the Dark Circle leader finally noticed the sun had long since passed the middle of the sky as he rose from his seat on the balcony only to hear the sound of more gunshots not far of in the distance. As he made his way back to his room he returned with a pair of binoculars and looked down the road where he noticed a group of four making their way down the street with a group of Biters approaching behind them.

"What do you see?" asked Brie as she made her towards Mark.

"Group of four down the streets looks like they're trying to make their way down here." said Mark as he noticed two men firing guns at the Biters.

"This way!" yelled one of the men as he continued to make his way down the street with another man in tow while a woman and a child lagged behind.

"They're gonna get cut off." said Mark as he noticed a group of Biters coming from another street the Dark Circle leader grabbed his Assault Rifle and started firing shots at the approaching Biters earning the attention of the group of four as they noticed him and Brie standing on the balcony of their home.

"Keep firing I'm gonna open the gate for them." said Brie not earning a response from Mark as he continued to shoot before reloading and noticing the two men getting split up from the woman and the child.

"Dammit!" yelled one of the men as he continued to fire his gun while the woman grabbed the child by her hand before escorting her to another gated home as she struggled to close the gate Mark gave her covering fire picking off any Biter that got to close.

"Shit!" said one of the men as he noticed the woman finally close the gate on the Biters.

"Follow me!" yelled Brie as the two men turned their heads and noticed her standing behind them with her sword in her hands as each gave her a confused look.

"Don't worry they'll be fine but we have to get off the streets." said Brie earning a nod from the two men as they followed her back to Mark's house as the Dark Circle Leader continued to fire on the Biters he noticed the woman and the child trying to open the door to the home that seemed to be locked.

"Son of a bitch!" said Mark as the last bullet fired from his gun before he noticed Brie entering the yard with the two men before he made his way downstairs.

"That was too damn close." said Brie as she pressed her forehead against the wooden door before taking a few deep breaths.

"Thanks for the save back there. I don't know if we would have made it back there without you." said one of the men as a wide smile spread across Mark's face as he heard the familiar voice of a man he once called his friend as he made his way down stairs.

"What are brothers for Reid?" asked Mark as the red headed man turned his head as a wide smile spread across his face along with the brown haired man as they noticed Mark.

"Marcus, brother you're alive." said the brown haired man as Mark nodded his head.

"Didn't think you'd doubt me Michael." replied Mark as the brought both men in for a hug.

"Jesus man if we'd known you were hold up at your place we would have been here a long time ago." said Reid as Mark nodded.

"Guys I hate to break up the reunion but we still have two people outside." said Brie interrupting the group as the two men remembered the woman.

"Shit!" said Mark as he made his way back upstairs with Reid and Michael in tow as they made their way over to his balcony where they noticed a swarm of Biters gathering on the other side of the gate.

"That gate won't hold forever." said Brie as Mark nodded his head.

"We need to save them they were apart of our group back when we still had one and have been with us ever since." said Michael as Mark nodded his head.

"Group?" repeated Mark.

"Yeah we were apart of a group of about fifty people who couldn't get out of the city on time, so we held up inside of an old Elementary School in North Philly until those things came in force." said Reid as Mark nodded his head.

"A lot of people died that day." said Michael as Mark nodded his head.

"Were there any of brothers there?" asked Mark earning a nod from Reid.

"Aside from the two of us there were about three other Dark Circle Brothers and couple of guys from Terrell's crew on Arcadia Street but as far as we know none of them made it out alive." said Reid as Mark looked at the ground.

"We can talk about this later, now we need to get them out." said Brie as she eyed the group of three.

"Alright give me a few minutes I need to think of a plan." said Mark earning a nod from the two new faces as they made their way back downstairs as Brie eyed the man.

"Marcus who are these people?" asked Brie as Mark eyed the woman noticing that she had changed into a pair of his pants and was wearing her own leather jacket over his shirt as Mark rubbed the back of his neck.

"Reid and Michael they are friends of mine." said Mark as he rubbed his chin.

"As well as two members of the Dark Circle, Reid was apart of the Death Squad like me while Michael ran a Chop Shop in North Philly, and if they're still alive then Lee and the others might be as well." thought Mark as he turned to Brie

"You know there's going to be another heated discussion about letting them stay with us." said Brie as Mark gave a low growl.

"I know but I'm not turning my back on my brothers." said Mark as he grabbed his trunk of weapons.

"I see!" said Brie as the raven haired woman eyed Mark with a smile on her face while he grabbed his Kevlar Vest before handing it to Brie.

"Put this on." said Mark as Brie took the body armor Mark helped strap it on before reaching into his closet and grabbing a black zipup jacket with a dragon on the back and putting it.

"Come on I got an idea." said Mark as Reid and Michael rushed into the room.

"Sorry to interrupt boss but we need to leave more of those things are coming down the street." said Reid as Mark nodded his head.

"Alright I got an idea." said Mark as he threw the redheaded man his PSD Assault Rifle as Reid looked at him with confused look.

"You got any ammo for that Hunting Rifle?" asked Mark as Michael nodded his head.

"Hears the plan. I'm gonna take my motorcycle and make my way through the dead while you guys lay down cover fire." said Mark earning confused looks from the group.

"But you won't be able to get pass the dead that way." said Brie as Mark nodded his head.

"I'm not going through the dead. I'm gonna use the sound of the engine to lure the them away from the gate once I get enough following me. I want you guys to the use truck and plow your way through the dead and get to them." said Mark earning confused looks from the trio.

"I know this plan is kinda half cocked but it's all we got." said Mark earning nods from Reid and Michael.

"Half cocked always got us out alive." said Reid as Mark nodded his head with a smile on his face before turning to Brie.

"Once you get them out begin making your way back to the trailer park and I'll meet up with you." said Mark earning a confused look from Brie.

"What no I'm going to get you-!" started Brie before Mark put his hands to the side of the girls head.

"No you're gonna go to the trailer park and I'm gonna meet you there ." said Mark as he walked away from the woman before grabbing his MP7 Submachine Gun and made his way to the garage with Brie in tow.

"You were right." said Mark earning a confused look from Brie as she watched him climb onto his motorcycle.

"When you said, I wasn't the same person I was before you were right. I'm not that same person because I'm a better person" said Mark as Brie looked at him with a smile on her face.

"I'm glad you see it that way, because I know how you feel." said Brie as Mark clutched the accelerator on his motorcycle as Brie opened the front gate Mark pressed down on the accelerator sending his motorcycle rocketing forward as Reid and Michael caught site of Mark making his way down the street they started firing their guns as Mark noticed Biters falling to the ground with bullet holes in their heads of their torso's as Mark gave a sharp kick to a Biter that got to close to him.

"Here we go!" said Mark as he noticed a few Biters from the swarm turning to his as he stopped his motorcycle just a few feet from the group before drawing his MP7 and firing the entire magazine into the herd without aiming as he watched a few Biters fall to the ground causing a few more to trip over their bodies as they began to approach Mark who was reloading his gun before firing again and reloading before riding off with the Biters in tow.

"Come on." said Brie as both Reid and Michael made their way down into the garage where they noticed Brie climbing into Mark's truck.

"Alright let's go!" said Reid as Brie slammed on the gas petal sending the truck flying out of the garage as it rocketed towards the remaining Biters.

"Hey don't you think you wanna slow down?" asked Michael as Brie kept her foot to the floor as the truck slammed through the group of Biters before stopping in front of the gate as Michael made his way out of the truck.

"Brenda Laura come on." said Michael as Reid climbed out of the sunroof with Mark's Sawn Off Shotgun in hand and began to fire on the Biters as the woman and child opened the gate before climbing into the truck.

"Thank you!" said the woman as Brie put the truck in reverse before pressing her foot back down on the gas petal sending the truck backwards where it ran down any Biters before she switched it back to drive and sent it rocketing forward.

"Trust me he's gonna be fine." said Reid as Brie nodded her head and kept her eyes on the road.

As the words left her mouth Mark found himself maneuvering through the streets of Philly until he found himself on a one way street coming face to face with a group of Biters that snarled and moaned at him as he stopped his bike and reloaded his MP7 before charging into the group with a loud battle cry.

Twenty Minutes Later

The drive out of Philly was somewhat silent as Michael comforted both Brenda and her daughter Laura while Brie's mind couldn't help but think about Mark's safety as she drove down a one way road where she noticed the truck her and Mark arrived in.

"Told you." said Reid as a smile spread across his face as Brie and the others heard the loud hum of a motorcycle approaching them as Mark came flying past them on his bike covered in blood with a smile on his face as he waved to the group.

"Thank goodness." said Brie as she breathed a sigh of relief.

"What I tell you never bet against the Marcus Smith." said Reid as Michael nodded his head as the group followed after Mark as he continued to lead the group.

Seven Hours Later

The sun was beginning to set over the much of Philly as the red afternoon skies overtook the horizon as the trailer park group continued their daily chores with the exception of Rachel and Heather as the two sat on watch waiting for the return of their groups other two members with droopy eyes until the group heard the loud engine of a motorcycle coming towards the trailer park as Rachel looked out a pair of binoculars at the source of the noise.

"Is it them?" asked Dave as he and Tyler stood next to the makeshift gate as Heather caught site of Mark on the motorcycle as a smile spread across her face.

"Yeah it's them open the gates." yelled Heather as the Dave and Tyler moved the dumpsters that made up the gate of their wall as Mark came speeding through the gate with pulling the truck up behind him as Mark hopped off his motorcycle and watched with a smile on his face as Brie and the others stepped out of the truck with smiles on their faces as Mark approached Brie with a smile on his face.

"Told you I'd make it back." said Mark as Brie gave the man a wide smile.

"Glad to see you two made it and you brought guest." said Dave as Mark nodded his head.

"Yeah we also brought a lot of supplies including clean water and a lot of food." said Mark as Dave eyed the four new arrivals.

"How well do you know those men?" asked Dave as Heather approached the duo.

"I knew them before this shit started so they're very well trusted as for the woman and her daughter. They're just another family trying to survive like yours." said Mark as he eyed both Heather and Dave before walking away towards his friends.

"I'll take those back." said Mark as Reid and Michael both handed Mark back his weapons.

"There are a lot of empty trailers in this lot. They're very well furnished so you guys don't have to worry about finding beds." said Mark as Reid nodded his head.

"Alright we'll bunk with Brenda tonight she hasn't been able to sleep alone since this shit started." said Michael.

"Hey Mark, that bald guy over there isn't he the Cobras Lead Enforcer?" asked Reid as Mark nodded his head.

"Yeah guys kinda a dick but he won't do anything with his sister here." said Mark as he watched Hank talk with Heather.

"I see but what about you and the girl?" asked Michael with a smile on his face as Mark looked at Brie.

"She's alright but let's keep the thing about me and her in Philly a secret." said Mark earning a nod from the duo.

"Secret safe in the circle of darkness brother." said Reid as Mark nodded his head.

"Alright, I'll see you guys in the morning." said Mark as he made his way towards his trailer he failed to notice Brie watching him as he entered his trailer and set his guns down on the coffee table before making his way to his room and laying down on his bed and taking a deep breath.

"Son of a bitch please don't tell me I've grown accustomed to having someone fall asleep beside me?" thought Mark as he gave a loud growl before pressing his pillow over his face as sleep slowly took over his being but as hours passed the sleeping was soon interrupted by the sound knocking at the front door as Mark rose from his bed before making his way towards the door and opening it to see a not so surprising face.

"Trouble sleeping?" asked Mark earning a chuckle from Brie as he invited the woman inside his home.

"How about we sleep on the bed tonight." said Mark earning a nod from Brie as the two made their way to Mark's bed and quickly fell asleep in each others arm without the knowledge that he was being watched from inside and outside the trailer park.

6: Chapter 6

Chapter 6: There's No Escaping

Your Past Evils

One Week Later

The sun was just beginning to rise over the newly fortified trailer park as Hank and Dave worked on the newly constructed wall around the trailer park while Heather and Gretchen sorted through the food and the kids played behind them as Rachel sat atop the moving van with a rifle in her lap as she looked out at the road with a solemn look on her face.

"You know their coming back." came the familiar voice of Tyler as Rachel looked down and at the smiling teen.

"They've only been gone for two days, and those guys survived months alone out there." said Tyler as Rachel gave a low blush.

"I'm not worried about their safety." said Rachel before Tyler quickly interrupted.

"Of course you're not worried about all of them just him." said Tyler earning another blush from the redhead woman as she looked down at him.

"Tyler-." started Rachel before she was interrupted.

"No I get it, believe me I get it" said Tyler as Rachel rolled her eyes.

"It's not like that." said Rachel as Tyler started to walk away from the truck before taking one last glance back at Rachel.

"Don't worry about me but you might have some competition from two different directions." said Tyler as he walked away from the girl earning a roll of the eyes from Rachel as she gave a low groan just as the group heard the sound of car engine as the group watched as Mark black truck came the road before parking in front of the gate as Tyler and Dave opened the gate for the vehicle to pull inside as Mark, Brie, Reid, and Michael each stepped out of the vehicle while an angry Heather approached them.

"Where the fuck have you all been?" asked Heather as Hank took a side next to his younger sister as Mark rolled his eyes.

"Out!" said Mark as he moved to the back of the truck in order to open the lid where the group saw the body of a dead deer, seven fishes, and about twelve packages of MRE's.

"What the hell where did you get all this stuff?" asked Dave as Mark rubbed the back of his head.

"We went out to catch a few fish from the lake, saw deer, followed it as best we could until we came across a store where we found these." said Mark as the group nodded their heads.

"This food is just what we've been needing." said Dave as Mark nodded his head.

"Reid and Michael both know how to cut up a deer so let them handle that." said Mark as Dave nodded his head.

"You guys got any tools we could use?" asked Michael as Dave nodded his head.

"Yeah I think I can find you boys something." replied Dave as Mark took quick look at Heather who shifted her gaze away from him while he turned to Brie.

"I'm gonna get cleaned up you should do the same." said Mark earning a chuckle from Brie.

"You saying I stink?" asked Brie as Mark remained silent.

"I'll talk to you when I get out." said Brie as she walked away from Mark as the Dark Circle leader began making his way towards the residence..

"Need me I'm gonna get some gloves before I get to those fish." said Mark as he gave a backwards wave towards the group while making his way towards his trailer as Rachel watched him leave before turning her eyes to Heather who was sneaking away from the group while she slowly made her way back to the moving van.

While the group continued to work Mark sat on his bed until he heard the sound of his backdoor opening as Heather walked into his room with an angry expression on her face.

"Hey-!" started Mark before the girl slapped him across the face as hard as she could just as Mark looked at her with anger in his eyes.

"The fuck was that for?" asked Mark as he rubbed his cheek.

"For leaving us and not telling us you were leaving." said Heather as Mark looked into the eyes of the girl and seeing the anger behind the exhaustion from lack of sleep.

"Ahh you lose sleep waiting up for me Queen Bee?" asked Mark with a chuckle.

"I told you not call me that Marcus." replied Heather as Mark rolled his eyes.

"Alright tell me what's on your mind?" asked Mark.

"You, you left and you took three of our best fighters with you." said Heather as Mark rolled his eyes.

"Yeah, they wanted to tag along with me because you know they don't like staying with people who don't make them feel welcome." said Mark earning a roll of the eyes from Heather.

"Doesn't matter we had a Biter attack yesterday, thank God nobody was hurt but with you guys not being here we were practically fighting for hours and we almost ran out of ammo." said Heather.

"Of course you kept shooting that only draws more and I've noticed they've been migrating out of the city so firing off shots isn't the best idea right now." said Mark.

"That doesn't make me feel better Marcus." said Heather.

"Well you would have known it sooner if any of you would go outside of the walls and quit leaving that shit just on me." said Mark.

"Look all I'm saying is that instead of taking off without telling anyone and taking a group with you, think first." she said as Mark rolled his eyes.

"Alright, I'll consult my wannabe wife before I do something like that again." replied Mark earning an angry growl from Heather as she stormed out of his trailer.

"Some people might call this leading someone on but I just love getting under that bitches skin. Mainly because I want Hank to say something about it."  thought Mark as he made his way to his bedroom where he picked up his gloves before making his way outside his trailer and heard Rachel give off a loud yell and the the group gathering around the front gate.

"Don't fucking move." yelled Rachel as Mark, Reid, and Michael watched as the group of Rachel, Hank, Heather, Dave, and Tyler point their guns outside the walls towards a male voice that was pleaded for his life.

"What's going on?" asked Mark as Reid shook his head.

"Guess we got a new arrival." said Michael as the trio began making their way towards the wall.

"Look I don't want no trouble." said the man as he lifted his hands over his head.

"I said back the fuck up." yelled Rachel as the Dark Circle members approached the group to get a better look of the new arrival who they noticed was a short man with short black hair and bright blue eyes.

"Who are you and where did you come from?" asked Heather earning a quick response from the man.

"My names is Garrett Henry, I'm looking for my friends." said the man as Mark, Reid, and Michael heard the familiar voice of the man before they pushed their way through the group to open the front gate where they looked at the man's familiar face.'

"I knew that voice sounded familiar." said Mark as he, Reid, and Micheal eyed the man who looked at them with confused wide eyes.

"Marcus, Reid, Michael." said Garrett as Mark gave the man a confused look.

"Good to see you brother." said Mark but before Garrett could finish the group of four could start talking they were interrupted by Hank.

"Hey stop flirting down there assholes and search him for weapons." yelled Hank.

"Put a dick in it." yelled Reid earning a low chuckle from Tyler as Hank angrily gritted his teeth.

"Are you carrying any weapons?" asked Mark earning a shake of the head from Garrett as he patted him down but only finding a walkie talkie.

"Don't get your hopes up that thing don't work." said Garrett as Mark handed the man back his device.

"Alright!" said Mark.

"He's clean!" yelled Mark as he watched Heather, Dave, and Rachel walk from behind the gate with curious looks on their faces.

"Who is this guy Mark?" asked Heather.

"This is Garrett he's a friend of ours." said Mark as Heather eyed the man with a serious look.

"Where did you come from and how did you find this place?" asked Heather as Mark rolled his eyes.

"We're in a fucking trailer park next to fucking highway, how could you not find us?" thought Mark as he rolled his eyes.

"I'm coming from Bristol." said Garrett earning Mark's full attention as the man eyed Heather.

"And you guys are next to a highway I had no choice but to find you." said Garrett as Heather rolled her eyes.

"Well what are you doing all the way here?" asked Dave.

"I'm on my way to a ranch not far from here. I got a couple of my friends coming from their safe zone in Waynesburg." said Garrett earning the attention of the trio of Dark Circle members as they each eyed the man.

"I was able to contact them through that radio and they told me they would meet at that ranch and they'll escort me to a safe zone." said Garrett as he turned to Mark.

"Well then I think you were right about that safe zone Marcus." said Dave.

"And Mark I know for a fact that Lee and the others are coming to get me." said Garrett earning a nod from Mark.

"Well then I know what I'm about to do today." said Mark earning the attention of Heather and the others as they eyed the man.

"Hey you can't just leave with this guy, we don't know him." said Hank.

"No you don't know him. I know him better than I know any of you and I trust him." said Mark earning an angry look from Hank.

"I don't believe this shit." said Hank as Heather eyed her older brother with a grim look.

"Are you sure about this Marcus?" asked Heather as she tried to hide her concern earning a nod from Mark.

"Very, I'll go with him and then I'll come back and let you know what happened." said Mark as Heather nodded her head.

"Alright but take Rachel and Tyler with you. Reid and Michael are staying here just in case." said Heather to the dismay of Reid and Michael.

"On who's authorities?" asked Reid.

"Brothers she's right stay here and we'll return." said Mark earning a slow nod from the duo as they walked away from the group.

"Let's go brother." said Mark as he walked out the gate with Garrett, Tyler, and Rachel in tow as they ran after duo while Heather and Dave watched the group leave with mixed look on both their faces.

Thirty Minutes Later

The sun was still high in the sky as Garrett lead the group of four with Tyler following close to the man, while Mark lagged behind with Rachel by his side as the two talked.

"Feels good to get out of that trailer park. I kinda see why you like to spend your time away." said Rachel as Mark gave a low chuckle.

"That and mainly because of the constant arguing." said Mark.

"Yeah this whole Dave Heather thing is starting to get annoying personally I'd feel better with you leading." said Rachel as Mark eyed the brown haired woman.

"Being a crime boss is different than being the leader of the dysfunctional band we have." said Mark.

"Yeah, but you were also a leader in the military so you had men looking up to you." said Rachel as Mark gave a loud grunt.

"Mainly because we had trust with one another and common ground while this group despite its small size is split between three factions with different agendas." said Mark as Rachel nodded her head.

"Well it looks like your idea may be the best now." said Rachel as Mark nodded his head.

"Also do you mind telling me about what's going on with you and Heather?" asked Rachel as Mark rolled his eyes.

"Nothing I just like fucking with her head mainly because I want Hank to do something about it." said Mark with a chuckle.

"Gives you a reason to kill him?" asked Rachel as Mark stopped chuckling at the thought.

"You still don't want to talk about your gang?" asked Rachel as Mark gave her a look.

"When we get to the ranch I'll tell you...something's you probably didn't know." said Mark as a smile spread across the face of brown haired woman as she nodded her head.

"Deal!" said Rachel as Mark started a conversation with Garrett about the other members of his group.

"So Mark why have you been hiding out from us?" asked Garrett as Mark eyed the man.

"I wasn't hiding just got sidetracked." said Mark as Garrett nodded his head as the two brothers continued to talk.

Trailer Park

Things were surprisingly quiet at the trailer park with the absence of majority of the third faction as Hank continued to work on the wall while Dave sat on top of the moving van just as Heather approached him.

"Can we talk for a second?" asked Dave as Heather eyed the elderly man with anger in her eyes before nodding her head.

"Is this about Mark and the new guy?" asked Heather as Dave quickly nodded her head.

"I don't know why but today only proves that Mark's loyalty belong somewhere else and he could betray us along with his friends." said Dave as Heather shook her head.

"He may have loyalties somewhere else but he won't betray us." said Heather.

"Oh really than answer me this question. Where is that girl or Michael or Reid for that matter?" asked Dave as Heather looked around the trailer park in search of the trio.

"Probably in Mark's trailer they like to gather there when he isn't around." said Heather as Dave rolled his eyes.

"Yeah plotting all I'm saying is that we should be ready for a fight just in case they come back in force." said Dave as Heather went to nod his head he was stopped just as the sound of a car engine grew louder as it neared the trailer park as the group turned their heads and noticed three cars and a truck approaching.

The Others

"We're here!" said Garrett as the group cleared the treeline and came face to face with a large plot of land with a large barn in the middle next to house and a number of sheds as Rachel drew her gun.

"Don't worry the dead can't really get past the fences let alone support themselves enough to climb the hills, that's why they chose this location." said Garrett earning a nod from Mark as the group made their way around the ranch they checked every location for any sign of the group only to come up empty handed as the group met back up in front of the house.

"Looks like they haven't arrived here yet." said Tyler as he took deep breaths as beads of sweat ran down his forehead.

"Looks like it." said Mark as he looked away from the group.

"Why don't you two head back to the trailer park and tell Heather and Dave we're here. I'm gonna hang here with Garrett and wait for the others." said Mark.

"I'm not going anywhere." replied Rachel as Tyler nodded his head in agreement.

"Thanks." said Mark as he took a seat on the steps of front porch.

"There's some food that was stored in the barn if you guys are hungry." said Garrett earning a smile from Tyler.

"No need to tell me twice." said Tyler as he made his way to the barn with Garrett in tow as Rachel took a seat next to Mark.

"Ready for that talk?" asked Rachel as a smile spread across Mark's face.

"Alright what do you want to know?" asked Mark.

"Everything." replied Rachel as Mark gave a low chuckle.

"Prepare for a long story then." said Mark as he took a deep breath,

"I grew up in a rough housing project in South Philly. My dad walked out on me when I was young and my mom worked three jobs to keep a roof over our heads and support her drug habit." said Mark earning Rachel's full attention.

"In order to keep myself dressed and fed I started selling weed at an early age. My mom knew I was selling and she didn't like it so senior year I stopped and she died shortly afterwards of an overdose." said Mark as Rachel nodded her head.

"I enrolled in college and signed up for the military to pay for it. Four years later I graduated College with a law degree but a month later I was shipped overseas to the Middle East. I wasn't there long but I saw a lot of combat, then one day I became another statistic when an IED next to the road sent me flying out of my Humvee." said Mark as he lifted up his shirt and the bottom of his Kevlar Vest to show Rachel a nasty looking scar.

"I was cut up pretty bad, but my worse injury was done to my head I had severe head, neck, and brain damage that made me spend months in the hospital and double that time in psychical therapy." said Mark as Rachel watched him lower his shirt.

"They sent me back home but my dream of being a lawyer was over because of the brain damage I couldn't read, write, and barely speak so it was for me to find a job so I went back to my old ways." said Mark earning a low nod from Rachel as she stared at the ground.

"At first I was just a foot soldier for the neighborhood street gang, then as my head started to get better I started working my way up the ladder until I became a leader of my own crew and brought our income up by twenty percent in less than four months." said Mark as Rachel noticed a smile form on his face.

"Then one day our group was approached by one of the biggest names in Philly's underworld Tony Tarrolli or known by some as Tombstone Tony." said Mark earning a surprised look Rachel.

"You met Tony Tarrolli?" asked Rachel as Mark nodded his head.

"I did a lot more than meet him. Tony had a lot of connections with the Italian Mob up and down the East Coast and he had very lucrative drug, prostitution, loan sharking, and extortion operations that got him a lot of money and he wanted to extended that money to us by having the guys from my crew buy his drugs to sell." said Mark as Rachel nodded his head.

"The guys took it and soon found themselves fighting these bloody turf wars with other gangs who also bought drugs from Tony, but thanks to my military training they managed to hold their own and I quickly earned the attention of Tony." said Mark.

"I didn't have a drop of Italian blood in me so I couldn't become a made man in his organization but he saw a lot of use in me. At first he was using me to train his men in military combat, or give advice to help anyone that was looking at jail, and he was paying me about three thousand dollars a week which in my opinion was good at first." said Mark Rachel nodded her head.

"Then one day he told me he'd pay me twenty five thousand just to kill a guy for him. At first I was hesitant you know but then he told me about the guy I was ordered to kill and I decided to jump at it. So one night the guy was drinking at a bar and when he came out I shot him twice in the back of the head." said Mark earning wide eyes from Rachel as she watched him speak.

"It wasn't all that hard, then a couple of weeks later Tony calls me and gives me the name of a rat he wanted dead. Unlike the first time he didn't want me to make it quick but I still jumped at it immediately and instead of shooting him I used a knife and tortured the man. Then he called me again and again to the point where I think I killed at least ten people before the season changed." said Mark earning more attention from Rachel as she watched him take a deep breath.

"I was making good money then one day the feds arrested Tony and all of his men and I thought I was out of business, but that was a mistake. Tony called me that same night and told me to rock and roll." said Mark as Rachel watched another smile spread across Mark's face.

"He was in jail but he wanted me to continue his operations on the streets. He wanted me to put together my own crew and continue things before other groups tried to capitalize on what was his." said Mark earning a nod from Rachel.

"That's when you started the Dark Circle?" asked Rachel as Mark shook his head.

"We were taking over the mobs business and our hierarchy is similar to theirs but we weren't the mob, so I made the rules different. Instead of being racially exclusive I decided to make us multicultural. Instead of being one group of killers I divided us up into Hitmen, Drug Dealers, White-Collared Crooks, Business Owners, so on and I gave everyone a role on the street. I went after smart business men with connections to and in less than a month we were over two hundred strong and we supplied drugs to a number of street gangs in not only Philly but across the Northeast." said Mark with as a confused look spread across Rachel's face.

"Wait I thought the Dark Circle were the enforcers for the mob and nothing but a bunch of hitmen?" asked Rachel.

"Wrong in truth there were only about thirty guys you could call contract killers. The rest were guys with itchy fingers and either did the grunt work like pickups or loan sharking. And you'd know if the Death Squad performed a murder, but all that changed the day Tony passed away and his sons took over." said Mark as Rachel gave him a confused look.

"What happened after his sons took over?" asked Rachel just as Mark went to answer the group heard the familiar roar of car engines as a smile spread across Mark's face that quickly turned to frown as he watched three cars and large truck pull up in front of the house.

"Are these your friends?" asked Rachel as Mark rose from his seat as he watched a group of men step out from the car each dressed in either military or hunter gear as Mark watched a man open the backdoor to one of the cars and let out a heavy set man with short brown hair with a wide smile on his face as he eyed Mark.

"Marcus Smith, the Bloody Midget, and my fathers personal Hitman." said the man with a strong Italian accent as an angry smile spread across Mark's face as he watched a group of ten men point their guns at both Marcus and Rachel.

"Little Vincent Tarrolli, its been a while." replied Mark as the man rubbed the back of his head with a smile on his face.

"It's has, I wasn't expecting to see you again until Garrett told me you were alive." said Vincent as Mark rolled his eyes before looking over to the barn where he noticed Garrett walking out of the barn with his head to the ground as Mark watched him approach Vincent and take a stand beside him.

"Sorry brother." said Garrett as an angry look spread across Mark's face.

"Where's Tyler?" asked Rachel as Garrett looked over towards the barn.

"He's alive." said Garrett as Rachel gave the man an angry look.

"What's this about Vincent?" asked Mark.

"You know what this is about Marcus." replied Vincent as Mark rolled his eyes.

"Whatever it's about we can settle it without bringing anyone into it." said Mark as Vincent started to chuckle.

"No because I know you Mark, you're going to put up a fight. This way you are a little more cooperative." said Vincent as Mark watched the man open the back door to the truck revealing Dave, Hank, Heather, and the other people of the trailer park with their arms and legs tied up along with tape on mouths as Mark gave the man an angry look.

"Calm down Marcus their lives depend on your actions." said Vincent as Mark started to calm himself down.

"Good, now drop your weapons and get down on your knees." said Vincent as Mark gave a low grunt before tossing his weapons to the ground as one man approached Mark with his weapon raised before slamming the butt of his gun over Mark's head with enough force to knock him out.

"Put um in separate rooms." said Vincent as he stood over the unconscious body of Marcus as Rachel looked at Mark with wide eyes.

"And what about them?" asked a man next to Vincent as he pointed at Rachel and the others.

"I want them to know who's in charge of them of them now and what we say goes." said Vincent as he looked at Rachel before licking his lips.

"Put them in a room next to Mark, I want them to hear him scream, before we turn him into hamburger meat." aid Vincent as he walked away a group of men approached Rachel who cooperated with the man as he pointed his gun at her head while another man grabbed Mark by his legs before dragging him into the barn.

7: Chapter 7

Chapter 7: The Screams in the Night

Filled with Rage and Blood

Just a few miles from the trailer park the trio of Brie, Reid, and Michael were following the trail left behind from the convoy of vehicles after watching armed gunman put everyone into the back of a truck and driving off as they dashed down the road with mixed expressions written on their faces.

One Hour Later

"My fucking head." thought Mark as he finally opened his eyes and noticed the cold air that danced along his body while noticing he was tied to a chair and missing his Kevlar Vest, his jacket, and shoes before eyeing Vincent who standing over him with two more men.

"It's about time you woke up Marcus." he said as Mark looked around the room he noticed a variety of blood covered farming tools.

"What the fuck is this?" asked Mark as he gritted his teeth at Vincent.

"You should know this is the same thing you and your fucked up friends did to my older brother." said Vincent as Mark gave the man a growl before Vincent grabbed his chin and forced him to look up at him.

"You think I didn't know... did you really believe you could get away with killing my brother?" he asked as Mark gave the man angry look.

"My father took you off the streets and this is how you thank him by killing his son and taking over his business." yelled Vincent.

"Your brother was a weak leader and fucking snitch that was gonna get us all locked up or either killed." he replied earning a punch in the gut from Vincent.

"You're lying and you're going to feel his pain." said Vincent as he walked over towards a table in the corner of the room.

"You know the last member of the Dark Circle I had in this chair survived more than forty eight hours." said Vincent as Mark watched him draw a switch blade from his pocket before slicing Mark's chest earning pained shout from the five foot two Samoan that echoed through the walls

"Care to break his record?" asked Vincent as he took another slice at Mark as the bound Trailer Park Survivors heard the screams and grunts of Marcus along with a loud thumping noise that sent a wave of fear rising in their hearts.

"Jesus!" said Rachel as the screams continued to echo while the sound of power tools started to whir.

"Stop it." yelled Heather as she pounded her foot against the wall to room holding Mark with tears in her eyes.

"I don't get it who are these guys and why did they take Mark?" asked Dave as Mark's screams grew louder along with Hank's.

"Apparently Mark did something to piss these guys off." said Hank as the group heard Mark give another loud scream.

"What are they doing with him?" asked Heather with tears in her eyes.

"Giving him the slow painful death of a traitor." said Hank earning Heathers attention as she eyed her brother.

"It's hard to listen to this." said Tyler.

"It's okay baby just ignore the noise." said Brenda as the group noticed tears falling from the eyes of Laura as she listened to Mark's screams.

"The real question is what are they going to do with us." stated Rachel as the sound of loud screams continued to be heard for minutes before finally stopping as each person in the group finally took a deep breath.

"Let me know when he wakes up, there's no need to rush." said Vincent as he walked out of the room just as Mark finally passed out after minutes of being sliced, having both of his feet smashed by a hammer, and having nailed drilled into his arms and legs until the sound of footsteps awoke him as he lifted his head and noticed two men staring at him and laughing before one man punched him in the face with enough force to knock his chair to the ground.

"Let's go tell the boss he's awake." said one man as Mark watched the man leave while the other followed suit just while the Dark Circle leader started to crawl his way towards the table of power tools where he noticed a handheld circular saw on the table before he painfully lifted his bloody body up to use the saw to cut the rope around his hands before untying his legs.

"The fuck is this?" asked one of the returning men as he watched Mark undo the rope around his leg but just as he went to say another word he was silenced as Mark grabbed the circular saw and swung it sideways with enough force to cut the man's throat as he hit the ground with a thud.

"Piece of shit!" said Mark as he rose to his feet and watched the blood leak from the man's neck wound before making his way across the room with his blood dripping to the floor and showing each step he took as bloody footprints followed him where he went just as the other man walked into the room and noticed his down comrade.

"Oh fuck-!" started the man before wrapped a piece of wire around his neck and squeezed it tightly as the man struggled to breath before Mark heard the familiar cracking sound of his neck breaking did he stop chocking until the man breathed his last breath.

"The fuck was that?" came an unknown voice as Mark pulled the lifeless body of the man away before watching as another man carrying a Shotgun entered the room and noticed Mark's bloody footsteps.

"Little-!"started the man before Mark jumped from the corner behind him and biting down on the man's neck with enough force to draw blood as he pulled his mouth away from the man he ripped chunk of flesh from the man's body before watching as he hit the ground with a loud thud and slowly bled to death while Mark grabbed his Shotgun and made his way out of the room.

Silence filled the air as the group of trailer survivors sat and awaited their fate before watching as the door to their room opened and in walk two men, one of whom was carrying Mark's knife on his hip while the other had a rifle in his hands.

"Sorry to disturb you but our boss would like to have a little company with one of you ladies while we give Marcus time to cool off." said the man with Mark's knife as he looked over the group of women.

"Fuck you!" yelled both Rachel and Heather as the man eyed them while another continued to stand outside the door.

"You better not touch my fucking wife." yelled Dave as the man continued to look.'

"Take her she looks a little like she likes to party." said the man from the door with a chuckle as the man with Mark's knife made his way towards Heather.

"Don't fight it sweetheart." said the man just as he was inches away from Heather just as Hank moved in front of his sister earning a strike from the man who stood over him laughing.

"Damn Cobra about time we took care of him." said the man as he drew Mark's knife as tears started to fall from Heathers as she watched the man lift Mark's knife over Hank's head but before he could stab him the silence was broken by the loud sounds of a gunshot coming from outside their room.

"What the hell was that?" asked the man as he heard more gunshots fill the air before the two walked out of the room and noticed one man running away from the gunshots.

"What the hell is going on?" asked the man with Mark's knife.

"Marcus he's escaped and he's killing every-!" started the man before a gunshot to the side of the head silenced him as the duo watched the Mark approaching them with the Shotgun in his hand as the man with his Rifle went to aim at Mark he was stopped as Mark shot him once in the chest and sent him flying into the room with the survivors earning a loud scream from Theodore and Laura as they looked at the body.

"You're mine!" said Mark as Heather and the others looked at him and noticed the blood covering the right side of his face, and bloody scars and small holes on his tattooed covered torso and arms and blood coming from his mouth as he approached the man with his knife with eyes almost red with anger and a wide smile on his face like that of a demon as the man tried to back away he was taken off guard as Mark leapt at him and bit down on his neck with enough force to draw blood as the group watched in horror as Mark ripped flesh from the man's neck as blood spurted on the floor and covered his mouth as he looked at his group with anger in his eyes before grabbing his knife from the lifeless body of the man and using it to cut the ropes off Rachel's arms freeing the brunette as she eyed Mark with curiosity in her eyes as he started freeing Heather and the others.

"Leave now!" said Mark as he finished cutting the group free before sheathing his knife and grabbing the Rifle and walking out of the room.

"No need to tell us twice." said Dave as he helped Gretchen and Theodore to their feet.

"Wait we have to help him." said Rachel.

"Screw him and everyone here." said Dave as he ran out of the room with his wife and son in tow along with Brenda and Laura while Heather, Rachel, and Tyler began to check on Hank as Mark walked out of the barn guns blazing and shooting anyone that got into his way as he made his way around the house to clear out more men.

"Damn Mark's escaped and he's coming for us." said Garrett as he sat in the living room of the house with Vincent and three other men as the loaded their guns for the fight.

"I'm okay." said Hank as he rose off the ground earning a smile from Heather as she hugged her brother just as a loud scream came from the outside the barn.

"Gretchen." said Rachel as she moved away from the group with Tyler in tow as they made their way to the entrance of the barn where they noticed Dave lying on the ground with a gunshot wound to his side while and his family, Brenda, and Laura were being forced on their knees by a group of gunmen.

"We gotta help them." said Heather as the group turned to him and noticed that Rachel and Hank were both carrying Pistol's as Heather looked down and noticed a Handgun on one of the dead men before picking it up and aiming at the men.

"Where are the-!" started the man before a shot rang out as the trio opened fire on the group hitting the man in the head just as the others started to shoot at the group causing them to duck for cover.

"Damn!" said Rachel as a bullet whizzed by her head she hit the ground and noticed blood leaking from her arm as a bullet scrapped the side of Heather's cheek causing her to put her hand to the wound and notice blood covering it while Hank continued to shoot.

"There is no escape for you-." started one of the gunmen as they went back to shoot they were stopped by gunfire from the tree line as Reid and Michael fired on the group while Brie came through the treeline and with help of their gun fire shredding the men to pieces in a hail of bullets and slices from her blade as Dave looked at the approaching trio who then helped him to his feet.

"Sorry for the late arrival." said Michael as the group approached them while Laura ran up and hugged him and Reid.

"Where's Mark?" asked Reid as the group looked around for the absent Samoan just as the sound of gunshots came from inside the house before going silent as a few seconds passed before a loud crashing sound replaced the sound of gunfire as the group noticed Mark flying out the front window of the house with Vincent in his arms as the two rolled down a hill and crash through a fence before Vincent rose to his feet with his gun in his hand.

"You're dead Marcus." said Vincent as he went to lift his gun at Mark he was quickly stopped as Rachel shot him in the hand knocking the gun away and putting a large hole in his hand while Mark tackled the man to the ground before continuing to punch the man in the face.

"You killed my friends." said Mark as he continued to punch Vincent in the face easily knocking teeth from the man's mouth as trailer park group watched the beating with wide eyes with the exception of Brie, Reid, and Michael just as Mark looked down at the man with an angry growl before rising to his feet.

"That the best you got Marcus." said Vincent as he slowly rose to his feet before eyeing the angry Mark.

"You're pathetic." said Mark as Vincent started to chuckle.

"This pathetic man put twelve of your men in the ground." said Vincent as Mark gritted his teeth along with Reid and Michael as Mark picked up Vincent's gun and aiming at the man's head.

"Come on hitman kill me you don't have long anyway." said Vincent as Mark gritted his teeth.

"If you think I'm the only person who wants you and your men dead Marcus your mistaken." said Vincent as Mark took a glance back at his group before turning his eyes back to Vincent who looked at him with a smile on his face before Mark lowered the gun, drew his knife, and quickly stabbed Vincent in the chest earning a loud scream from the man earning a wide smile and a laugh from the Dark Circle leader.

"You were going to turn me into hamburgers correct, I wonder will you taste the same to them." said Mark as he looked past the fields as the group noticed numerous Biters making their way towards the farm while Mark made his way back up the hill and into the house where he noticed three lifeless body laying on the ground in a pool of their own blood before he approached his former friend who was crawling on the floor trying to get away as Mark sheathed his knife before approaching the fallen man.

"Mark, brother wait." said Garrett with shallow breaths as he noticed the wide smile on Mark's face.

"Please brother don't do this I never wanted any of you to get hurt." said Garrett as Mark grabbed him by the throat before tossing him to the wall.

"Well we did, and your gonna tell me everything you know if you want to live." said Mark earning silence from Garrett as Reid and Michael entered the home.

"Brothers I need you to lead the others back to the trailer park, while I... talk to this traitor" said Mark earning confused looks from the duo before they each nodded their heads and gave Garrett angry looks before walking out of the house and approaching the group of trailer park survivors.

"Let's go!" said Reid as the group looked him and Michael with confused eyes.

"But what about Mark?" asked Rachel.

"Mark's is handling something now let's go before they block off our escape route." said Michael as the group watched as more Biters started to approach the house while Reid led the group Heather turned towards the house where she noticed Mark closing the front door of the house and locking it before following after the group herself as they made their way into the woodland area around the ranch.

A Few Hours Later

The sun had yet to rise and security was tight at the trailer park as storm clouds started to block out the moon letting the group know of approaching rainfall as Reid, Michael, Rachel, and Hank each stood on guard around the trailer park in case of anymore new arrivals. As the group thought on their newest threat their minds always came back to the five foot two Samoan.

"I got something." said Michael as he looked out a pair of binoculars at the treeline where he noticed rustling in the bushes as each group member aimed their guns in the direction of the rustling just as the group watched Mark step from the bushes with dried blood covering his torso, face, and hands while he approached the trailer park with bare feet, his head to the ground, and his blood covered knife remained still in his right hand as smiles spread across the faces of Reid and Michael while fear traveled up the spine of everyone else as the two Dark Circle Members opened the gate for their leader to the surprise of Brie as she watched him standing on the other side of the wall before walking inside where Heather, Dave, Gretchen, Theodore, Brenda, and Laura watched him with wide eyes.

"Mark!" said Brie as she ran towards the man and wrapped him into her arms without earning the gesture from Mark as he kept his eyes to the ground. As she let him go Brie noticed the blood covering her shirt.

"Don't worry it ain't mine." said Mark as Heather looked at him with wide eyes just as he lifted his head from the ground to look at her.

"Group meeting now everyone." yelled Mark as Brie nodded her head before walking away and Mark leaned his back against the moving van while waiting for the group to approach him. As minutes passed Mark opened his eyes and noticed the entire group sitting around him while Reid and Michael stood beside him as he took his back from off the moving van and eyeing the group.

"You wanted a meeting?" asked Hank as Mark nodded his head.

"You already know and it'd be wise of you to come up here with us?" asked Mark as Hank shook his head in disagreement earning a chuckle from Mark.

"Alright then let's get this out and open." said Mark as he looked at the group.

"The reason I don't like talking about who I am or my past is because last night we all learned my past is very violent and bloody." said Mark as the group looked at him with confused eyes.

"The three of us are members of the Dark Circle Gang." said Mark earning shocked and wide eyed expressions from the group with the exception of Rachel, Hank, and Brie as the trio watched the group of three.

"We were the enforcement arm for the mafia. Murder for Hire, Extortion, Kidnapping, Lone Sharking, Home Invasions, Arm Trafficking, Drug Trafficking, Smuggling, Torture we've done it all." said Mark with a smile on his face as the group each looked at him, Reid, and Michael each with wide eyes.

"When this world went to shit I tried to let that part of myself die and be a contributing member of this group. Yet all you still treated me and my brothers like damn outsiders when you've had someone just like us in your group before I even arrived. Ain't that right Hank?" asked Mark as the group then turned their attention to Hank who looked at Mark with anger in his eyes as Heather looked at her brother with confusion in her heart.

"Hank was an Enforcer for the Red Cobras, our hated rivals, that's why me and him never got along because we fought bloody battles against each other where I killed his friends and he killed mine." said Mark as Hank gritted his teeth Heather eyed her brother with eyes as wide as saucers.

"To help deal with that I decided to try and leave who I was in the past right there in the past, but now I see that I can't run away from my past. That man that kidnapped you was Vincent Tarolli, crime boss Tony Tarrolli youngest sons." said Mark earning a nod from the group.

"I used to be Tony's personal enforcer outside of the mob. Whenever he needed something done I took care of it. When he died his sons wanted control but we wouldn't give it so as a message to them we Captured, Tortured, and Killed the eldest son to send the other two brothers a message. And last night the youngest decided he wanted revenge but that thought is now in the belly of a Biter." said Mark earning looks of shock from the group.

"I also interrogated Garrett who gave me very unfortunate news. Tony's middle born son is coming here not just for me but for you all as well and he wants blood." said Mark shocking the group as they looked at him.

"So here what I have to say right now you all are going to take the information I gave you and decide on what you want to do with us." said Mark as he pointed at himself, Reid, and Michael.

"Leave or Stay. It's your choice if we leave hopefully the guys won't attack you but if we stay we'll help you fight them off the choice is yours you have until sunrise to decide." said Mark as he patted Reid on the chest before walking away while Reid and Michael followed after him as the group started to converse amongst themselves with the exception of Brie as the group watched the woman join sides with the Dark Circle Members

Two Hours Later

The sun was beginning to rise over the trailer park as Mark sat inside his trailer with Brie, Reid, and Michael who each had their bags packed just in case as a now cleaned up Mark sat on his couch with his black sack on the other side of them as a knock on their door alerted the group.

"Well let's get this over with." said Mark as he opened his front door and noticed Heather standing on the other side.

"We've made our decision." said Heather as Mark looked past the girl at the group.

"And what's your decision?" asked Mark as Heather took a deep breath but before answering.

"We decided you all should stay, If this threat is as bad as you say...we'll need all of you here." said Heather as Mark nodded his head.

"Alright thank you." said Mark as Heather eyed Brie before turning her attention back to Mark.

"Mark!" yelled Dave earning the attention of Mark and the others.

"What exactly is coming our way?" asked Dave as Mark turned his head.

"From what Garrett told me we should be expecting fifty or more well armed guys who aren't afraid to kill. Oh and killing is only for the men the women are gonna wish they were dead." said Mark earning terrified looks from Gretchen and Brenda as she clutched Laura closer to her.

"If this problem is that bad why are we staying here?" asked Dave as Mark rolled his eyes.

"Where do you plan on going Dave...besides even if we leave they'll still follow us." replied Mark.

"What about your friends in Waynesburg was he lying about that?" asked Dave as Mark shook his head.

"I don't know, he said he knew that my friends were in Waynesburg because he talked to them before this shit started but since then nothing. And to make that worse they are also being targeted by these guys. So if we go there we'll still have to deal with them but if we can take them down now or at least weaken there numbers we'll have the advantage." said Mark as everyone eyed him.

"That seems pretty stupid, when we can just go there and have more-!" started Dave before he was interrupted by Hank.

"No he's right." said Hank to the surprise of everyone including Mark.

"We have the advantage here and with the firepower we have we can really do some damage." said Hank as Mark nodded his head.

"Fine then we'll follow the greedy murderer." said Dave as he walked away from the group with his family in tow.

"If it makes you fell any better none of us were ever convicted.' said Reid with a low chuckle as Mark eyed Hank who gave him an angry look before walking away as Rachel approached the gang leader.

"Well you're just full of surprises aren't you?" asked Rachel as Mark nodded his head.

"Truth was gonna come out sooner or later." said Mark.

"Only wish it would have came out under better stipulations." said Rachel as Mark nodded his head.

"Yeah!" said Mark as Heather approached the duo.

"Mind giving us a minute?" asked Heather as Rachel nodded her head before walking away as Heather eyed Mark.

"A gang member, I never would have guessed." said Heather as Mark eyed the man.

"Disappointed in me?" asked Mark with a low chuckle.

"I wasn't talking about you I was talking about Hank." replied Heather as Mark nodded his head.

"Sorry you had to find out this way." said Mark as the raven haired woman looked away at him.

"He's been lying to me all this time." said Heather.

"Well now you know." he said before moving past Heather before making his way back inside his trailer where he noticed Brie waiting for him as the raven haired woman looked down at him and tried to touch him Mark quickly backed away to her surprise.

"Like I said I have to become the person I was before this. That means I can't grow attached and this is a situation where both of us could die and I have to become the person I was before we ended up in this world and that's a side I don't want you to see." said Mark as Brie gave him a confused look before watching as Mark moved past her.

Elsewhere

As the trailer park group took in the news of Mark's past and awaited the storm coming their way just a few miles up the road five familiar faces approached a somewhat desolate cattle ranch where they noticed bodies that were shot to death or somewhat eaten by the dead.

"Jesus what could have done this?" asked Kozik as he stood over the body of a man that had his throat cut.

"Let's find out split up." said Lee as the group each nodded their heads before going their separate ways and checking every inch of the ranch for survivors.

"Guys I found something you all need to see." said Bobby as the group rushed towards him they noticed the body of familiar man lying on he ground with a gaping hole in his chest from where Biters dug into his body.

"Isn't that Tony's kid?" asked Trip as Lee nodded his head.

"Yeah looks like the dead gutted the poor fucker." said Lee as looked down at the body.

"Hey I say good riddens to the piece of shit he belong with his snitch of a brother in a shallow grave." said Trip as he folded his arms across his chest.

"GUYS IN HERE NOW!" yelled Kozik from inside of the house on the hill as the group rushed inside they went wide eyed at the sight of the lifeless body of Garrett hanging from the ceiling as a belt was tied around his hands and hooked to a pipe as the group noticed a stab wound in the man's neck while bruises covering his torso, face, and arm but what made their jaws drop was that the sight that every Dark Circle tattoo that once covered his torso was gone almost like someone had cut them off and white substance was over some of the wounds.

"Jesus!" said Trip as he walked towards his friend and went to untie him before Mercy interrupted him.

"No, there is a reason why he was killed like that. This is what we do to our own should they betray us." said Mercy as Trip looked at Garrett.

"So one of our brothers did this?" asked Kozik earning a nod from Mercy as he looked over the chest wounds.

"And someone really good with a knife. They managed to cut off his skin without hitting any major organs and they rubbed salt on his wounds to keep him from passing out, then they cut his throat and let gravity and blood loss do the rest." said Mercy as Lee eyed the body.

"How long you think he's been up there?" asked Bobby.

"I say a few hours at the most he's still got some blood left in him and his wounds are somewhat fresh." said Mercy as he eyed Lee.

"Only a handful of our brothers I know that are really skilled with a knife." said Lee as Mercy nodded his head.

"You think Mark did this?" asked Kozik as Lee nodded his head in agreement.

"I'm positive." said Lee until the group was interrupted by Trip.

"I am too now." said Trip earning the attention of everyone as they watched him walk down the stairs carrying a black jacket with a white skull and dragon on the back and a pair of black and white shoes that made the group gasp at the sight of the items.

"Size nine and a half shoe this is Mark's stuff alright." said Trip as Lee grabbed a hold of the jacket.

"So it's possible he's still in this area?" asked Bobby as Lee nodded his head in agreement.

"I'm pretty sure." said Lee as the group turned to him.

"We need to get back to the outlet mall, grab some supplies, and search the area for him. He couldn't have gotten to far." said Lee as the group nodded their heads.

"What if he comes back?" asked Kozik.

"We'll leave a note telling him to stay put until we come back." said Lee earning more nods from the group.

"We should get moving now then." said Mercy as Lee nodded his head before smiling at the man before scrambling about with the others as they readied themselves.

8: Chapter 8

Chapter 8: Friends Are Always Closer

Than You Think

Two Days Earlier

The trip all the way back to the outlet mall wasn't as long for the five members of the Dark Circle Death Squad as they made it to the front gates of the outlet mall where Link and more members of the Dark Circle Gang standing guard around the front gate as Link noticed the serious looks on all their faces as they walked through the gates.

"What's going on you find anything?" asked Link as Lee nodded his head.

"Yeah, tell all our brothers to meet us in my tent in five minutes." said Lee as Link nodded his head with a confused look on his face.

"Okay but is something wrong?" asked Link as he watched the group continue to walk to Lee's tent.

"Five minutes Link." said Mercy as the blonde haired man nodded his head before making his way around the city of tents outside the outlet mall as Sam stood by watching Link gather all the remaining members of the Dark Circle and corral them into Lee's tent with confused eyes as she watched them go before zipping it up as her curiosity got the best of her she failed to notice herself approaching the tent until she was directly in front of it.

"Thank god he's alive." said Link as he noticed Lee holding Mark's jacket and shoes.

"He killed Tony's youngest son and Garrett on a ranch not far from a small town outside of Uniontown. We believe he's somewhere in the area and we're gonna go look for him." said Lee earning a nod from Link and the other DC members.

"Outside of Uniontown that's at least a two day trip, what if he moves on from then?" asked Link.

"That's why we're planning on taking a vehicle and some supplies we want to spend a few days searching the area for any sign of him." said Mercy as Link gave a shocked look.

"I like the idea but Logan's never gonna give you a vehicle to go on a mission like this." said Link.

"Whoever said we were gonna ask for a vehicle?" asked Bobby as a sinister smile spread across his face.

"You guys do know that any form of stealing is punishable by being thrown out of here." said Link as Trip started to chuckle.

"As if we care since we've been here these assholes have been treating is like useless grunts but they forget they need us, we don't need them." said Trip as Link looked at the auburn haired man with wide eyes.

"Don't tell us you're going soft on us Link?" asked Mercy with a chuckle.

"Of course not brother, I'll help any way I can." said Link as the other members of the Dark Circle Gang gave small cheers of agreement to Lee's delight.

"Good we mostly need you all to divert their attention away from us while we're away." said Lee as Link nodded his head.

"Consider it done." said Link.

"I got something for you guys to." said another member as the group turned their heads and noticed a man with long black hair tied into a ponytail and long black beard.

"Bulk?" asked Mercy as the man nodded his head.

"Before we handed over our Rifles to get in this place, I kept a few hidden in my tent. All are have been modified and come with special attachments courtesy of myself." said Bulk with a smile on his face as Lee nodded his head.

"Appreciate that." said Lee.

"I think I got something to make getting that car a little easier." came another familiar voice as the group turned their attention to a man with short brown hair chewing on a tooth pick.

"What you got planned for us Billy?" asked Trip with a smile across his face as the man reached into his backpocket before pulling out a large bag of a green substance before tossing it to Kozik.

"Is this weed?" asked Kozik as he looked at the bag.

"Sure is and it's very powerful." said Billy as the group eyed him.

"And where did you get weed?" asked Link as Billy started to chuckle.

"Smuggled it in from my last supply run, along with some meth, some alcohol, and a lot of pills." said Billy.

"You know we can't have any of that shit here right?" asked Lee as Billy nodded his head.

"Hey what I'm doing is getting back at those assholes in the mall. I smuggle in drugs and sell it to some of the soldiers and the civies and they owe me a favor and I know for a fact the guys guarding the vehicles tonight have a sweet tooth for good weed, Viagra, and porn mags and lucky for us I've got all three and then some." said Billy earning chuckles from the group.

"So we have weapons and an easy way to get a vehicle but we still need food and supplies." said Kozik as he watched Link, Lee, Mercy, Trip, and every other Dark Circle member turned to a heavy set African American man with short black hair.

"Why you guys looking at me like that?" asked the man.

"Because we know when it comes down to food you have enough for everybody Salty." said Mercy as Lee nodded his head.

"So what you holding out on?" asked Lee as Salty took a deep breath before nodding his head.

"Mostly canned shit and a few bottles waters unless you want that powdered juice." said Salty as the group nodded their heads.

"We'll take it!" said Lee as Salty nodded his head.

"Well than I think we're all set." said Mercy as Link nodded his head.

"All set for what?" came a familiar voice as the group turned their heads and noticed Sam sticking her head in the opening of the tent.

"Damn I was hoping to keep you away from this." said Lee as Sam entered the tent.

"Keep me away from what-!: started Sam as she caught site of a familiar jacket and a pair of sneakers in the middle of the group that made her eyes widen.

"Give us a minutes guys." said Mercy as Link nodded his head before leading Bulk, Billy, Salty, and the other Dark Circle members out of the tent as Sam took a seat in front of the group.

"Is that-?" started Sam before she was interrupted by Lee.

"Yeah this is Mark's." said Lee as the Sam entered the tent took the jacket up into her arms before pressing it to her chest.

"Don't worry he's alive and we think we know where he is." said Lee as Sam looked up at them.

"Right now we're coming up with a plan to get to him, and we'll be leaving out tonight." said Mercy as a wide smile spread across Sam's face.

"That's great, but what are you gonna do when you find him do you really think Logan's gonna let him in?" asked Sam as Lee nodded his head.

"Mark may be a member of the Dark Circle but he's got military experience and guys like Logan eat that shit up." said Trip as Sam nodded her head before smiling.

"Thank you guys." said Sam as she went to hand the jacket back to Lee who held up his hand to stop her.

"You keep it, you want it more than any of us." said Lee as Sam gave a wide smile before smelling the jacket and catching the familiar scent that followed her old flame.

"Now do us a favor and stay out of trouble while we're away and we promise we'll bring him back." said Lee as the two colored haired girl nodded her head with a smile on her face as she walked out of the tent carrying Mark's jacket close to her.

"What if we can't find him?" asked Bobby.

"Then we keep looking and if he's one of them than we do what he would want us to do.' said Lee earning a nod from the group as they rose from their seats and went about gathering their supplies as they made their way around parking lot and inside of the mall trading and making deals with people to give them supplies until the sun finally began to lower over the mall as the those living inside the mall made their way into their makeshift rooms while those outside in the tents made their way inside.

"Lights out heads down." yelled Drew as he stood atop the mall with Sean and Duncan as the trio of Cobra's watched the people slowly make their way towards their tents but what they mainly keep their eyes on were the Dark Circle members as they made their way towards their separate tents.

"Come on they aren't going anywhere." said Duncan as he led the group off the roof and back into the mall just as Dark Circle members grabbed their sacks filled with supplies before slowly making their way outside of their tents as Lee caught site of Mercy, Trip, Kozik, Bobby, and Link while the group took a look at the top of the mall before looking at the vacant wall and stepping out of their tents and making their way towards Bulk's tent.

"Over here." said Bulk as he opened his tent allowing the group inside as the group noticed Bulk move his sleeping bag over revealing a large black duffel bag.

"And here you go brothers." said Bulk as he opened the duffel bag revealing ten Glock 19's Pistols, and seven M4A1 Assault Rifles to the pleasure of the group as they each grabbed a Rifle and Pistol.

"Thanks brother." said Mercy as Bulk nodded his head.

"Just be sure to bring them back." said Bulk as the they each nodded their heads before exiting the ten with the Rifles on their backs as they made quickly made their way to the back of the mall without being seen by any guards. As the group made it to the back entrance they noticed it was completely unguarded and was a sight that brought smiles to each of their faces.

"Glad you guys could make it." said Billy as he walked out from the entrance while the group approached them.

"Don't worry about the guards they're in la la land right now." said Billy with a chuckle as he handed Lee a key for a car.

"I got you the windowless van, they know it's gonna be missing but I was able to buy off a few guards for you." said Billy as Lee nodded his head.

"Thanks brother." said Lee as Billy moved away from the entrance allowing the group to go through the maze of cars until they found their van before piling inside as Link stood beside the driver side door.

"Be careful out there guys and be quick I'll stall as long as I can." said Link earning nods from the group before Lee drove the vehicle out of the back parking lot until they got to gate where Salty and a few other members opened for them allowing them to drive out and away from the mall.

"Don't you love it when a plan comes together." said Trip with a chuckle.

Present

The sun was already past the center of the sky letting the residents know that it was past noon as the lights from the sky shined down on the desolate trailer park that now featured bullet holes and arrows in some of the trailers along with the walls and vehicles as those living behind the walls either stayed inside their trailers or walked around at their own risk as Tyler sat on watch atop the moving van while Hank and Dave sat behind the wall with their guns at the ready just in case as Brie moved through the trailer park towards the now distant Mark's trailer as she gave a few knocks on the door.

"Marcus are you in there?" she asked as the man in question was in the kitchen as the sound of blows being landed sounded off as Reid and Michael stood by and watched as Mark straddled a captured man and repeatedly punch him in the face with his duct tape covered hands as blood leaked from a wound to the man's cheek and nose and Mark

"Hold him!" said Mark as Reid and Michael grabbed both of the men arms before pinning them to the floor as he gave a sharp scream before Michael stuffed a sock in his mouth while Reid handed Mark a small switchblade before the Dark Circle leader took the weapon and used it to carve into the man's chest.

"Mark!" repeated Brie as she grabbed the handle for the door and found that it was unlocked as she entered the house and heard muffled screams of pain before making her way to the kitchen where she noticed Mark carving something into an unknown man while Michael and Reid held him down.

"Piece of shit." said Mark as he rubbed his forehead and finished his carving of skull inside of a circle on the man's chest and stomach as blood flowed freely from the wound as Mark threw down the pocket knife before drawing his Bowie Knife and beginning to cut off the ears of the man.

"Uh-Oh!" said Michael as he finally noticed Brie watching the trio with her mouth wide open as Reid and Mark turned their heads and noticed the raven haired woman looking down at them in shock as Mark looked away from her and continued to cut off the ears of the man before rising up off him and looking down at his work.

"Dump this prick in the woods so those fuckers to get the message." said Mark as Reid and Michael each nodded their heads before grabbing the man by his arms and legs and carrying him out the back of the trailer as Brie looked over at the blood covered Mark.

"Was that the kind of things you had to do before this?" asked Brie.

"Yeah it sends a message and that was our message for last nights attack, found that guy trying to sneak in from the back." said Mark earning a nod from Brie as she watched him pull his black leather jacket over his black muscle shirt.

"So torturing him and throwing his body out for them to find is gonna make them not want to attack us more?" asked Brie as Mark shook his head.

"No its suppose to let them know that they'll suffer the same fate. You forget these guys we're facing were just everyday guys before this shit started so they haven't seen something like that in there lifetime and it serves a psychological impact on them." said Mark earning a half nod from Brie.

"If you say so." said Brie as she watched Mark pick up the mans severed ears before tossing them in his sink along with a few teeth he managed to knock out.

"Do you like doing that?" asked the raven haired woman as Mark unwrapped the duct tape from around his knuckles.

"Somewhat." said Mark as Brie eyed the man with calm look on her face as she eyed the blood on his floor and the severed ears in his sink as the girl felt a small smile tug at her lips but before she could say something the sound of yelling broke the duo from their thoughts as they rushed to look out the window they noticed Dave, Gretchen, Theodore, Heather, Rachel, Tyler, Brenda, and Laura being forced down on their knees as a group of five held guns over their heads.

"Damn it!" said Mark as he noticed Reid, Michael, and Hank ducking for cover behind the moving van with their guns in their hands as Mark grabbed his PSD Assault Rifle and made his way towards the backdoor.

"Stay here I got this." said Mark as rushed out the backdoor while Brie walked out the front door and started to approach the group with her hands in the air.

"Hold it right there bitch!" yelled one man as he pointed his gun at her.

"Don't worry I'm unarmed." replied Brie as the man kept his gun on her.

"Well you're about to be dead in a few seconds." said the man as Mark started to crawl under his trailer until he was right under the table in front of his home as he noticed Brie approaching the group with her hands in the air.

"Shit!" said Mark as he pointed his gun at the man aiming at as Reid and the others finally noticed him as Mark gave the group a few hand signs to which they responded with a nod.

"Where's the rest of your group?" asked the man as Brie continued to approach the group.

"Out!" replied Brie as the man eyed her quizzically but before he could respond he was silenced by the sound of a gunshot as Mark shot the man in the head Reid, Michael, and Hank broke from cover and shotdown the other men as they began to flee while Mark broke from cover.

"Keep your head down and make your way to us now!" yelled Hank as the group as rose off the ground before making their way towards the moving van as Mark noticed a group of masked men coming from the fields and approaching the group.

"Damn!" said Mark as his crouched down and fired on the men as they started shooting back causing the group to scatter while Brie made it back beside the trailer with Dave, Brenda, and Laura as Mark, Reid, Michael, and Hank continued to shoot at the men.

"Keep your heads down." yelled Mark as he noticed Tyler and Rachel hiding behind Mark's truck as the bullets shattered the glass of the vehicle Mark opened fire on the approaching men shooting one in the head before reloading and hitting the other two as one man fell with two bullets to the chest.

"Run now!" yelled Mark as the duo made their way over to the moving van.

"Help us!" said Gretchen as the group turned their heads and noticed the woman standing behind a trailer with Theodore and Heather.

"Gretchen!" said Dave as he ran from cover to the dismay of Mark and the others as they watched the man get to his wife and kid.

"Go now!" yelled Dave as he tried to direct traffic as Mark watched painfully almost in slow motion as a bullet hit the family man in the back before exploding out of his chest sending blood all over the ground as he hit the ground with a thud.

"Dad!" said Theodore as he looked down at his father.

"NO!" screamed Gretchen as Heather grabbed both her and Theodore before bringing them over to the moving van.

"We can't just leave him." said Gretchen as the group watched as Mark broke from cover before almost zig zagging his way over towards Dave.

"Cover him!" yelled Reid as the group fired into the group of masked men Mark grabbed the back of Dave's shirt with his left hand before dragging him over to the moving van while he fired his gun with his right.

"We need to go now." said Mark he watched Hank open the front door of the moving van before starting it up as Mark reloaded his gun before opening up the back and climbing inside along with the others.

"Punch it!" yelled Heather as Hank put the vehicle in reverse before stepping down on the gas petal causing the vehicle to forcibly move forward as Mark lost his footing and fell to the floor while Michael finally pulled down the cargo door of the van causing Mark's back to collide against the metal as he gave a violent growl.

"Everybody accounted for?" asked Heather as Brie helped Mark to his feet where the Dark Circle Leader noticed Rachel and Heather clamoring over the fallen Dave.

"The bullet went through his back and came out his chest that means we can treat it." said Michael.

"Where is the medical supplies?" asked Heather.

"Tyler I told you move the supplies here." yelled Heather as the teenager cowered.

"It kinda slipped my mind." said Tyler as the group each rolled their eyes.

"Put pressure on the wound." said Michael as he and Reid worked on the unconscious Dave while Gretchen kept Theodore's eyes away from the scene.

"How the fuck could you forget the damn medical supplies?" yelled Hank.

"There's no sense in arguing about it now." said Rachel as she stood over the body of Dave.

"So where exactly are we going?" asked Heather as the group went silent.

"North into Canada aren't we?" asked Gretchen.

"Hell no that's stupid!" said Hank as the group started to get into a big argument about their destination as Mark slammed his fist against cargo door earning everyone's attention as they eyed the Dark Circle leader.

"It doesn't fucking matter where we go right now. We have no food, no supplies, and this tin can is running on fumes. So right now it's probably best if everyone just shut the fuck up and drive." yelled Mark earning silence from the group as they closed their mouths.

"Priority one right now is getting some medical supplies for Dave. So we should head into the next town and find a pharmacy." said Mark as he looked at the body of Dave as Michael and Reid continued to apply pressure to the man's wound while Mark took seat back against the cargo door Brie took a seat beside him.

"Damn it!" thought Mark as he gave a low growl.

"I knew I couldn't run from my past even in this new world. I just wish I didn't have to drag them in it as well." thought Mark as he watched Michael and Reid continue to work.

One Hour Later

The sun still had yet to set over the skies of Pennsylvania giving the skies a bright red appearance as the moving van entered the city of Uniontown as Hank noticed the uneasily quiet streets of the large city.

"Anybody know where we can find a pharmacy or a hospital?" asked Hank.

"I think there's one two blocks from here." said Michael as Hank turned the corner and continued to drive.

"Shit!" said Hank as he noticed a herd of Biters blocking the road.

"Holy shit." said Tyler as the other members of the trailer park group noticed the herd that numbers ranged well past the hundreds as the Dark Circle members reloaded their guns Hank threw the moving van in reverse and drove backwards at full speed away from the Biters as they lumbered for the truck.

"CAR!" yelled Tyler as he looked out the side view window of the moving van and noticed a beatup car just behind them as Hank tried to avoid the vehicle he failed as the back of the moving van collided with car causing the vehicle to spin before hitting a curve and forcing it on it's side where it started to slide as the group in the back of the moving van found themselves thrown about.

"Damn!" said Mark through injured breaths as he felt a sharp pain in his neck and back before he noticed Hank as he crawled into the cargo bed of the truck before scooping up the fallen Heather, open the cargo door, before running away and leaving the group.

"That son of a bitch left us to die." thought Mark as noticed the fallen bodies of Reid and Michael.

"Reid Michael brothers on your feet now." yelled Mark as the sound of moans and hisses grew louder as the Biters approached the group Mark rose himself to his feet just while Michael opened his eyes and rose up before tending to Reid.

"He's down and out." came a familiar voice as Mark turned his head and watched as Brie rose to her feet with her sword in her hand while Rachel and Tyler did the same.

"Fuck did Hank abandon us?" asked Rachel as Mark nodded his head.

"Looks like it." said Mark as he picked up his PSD Assault Rifle before looking over at the fallen Dave as Gretchen tended to her son while Brenda did the same.

"Come on Theodore baby wake up." said Gretchen as she continued to pat on the face of the boy while Laura shook Brenda awake.

"My leg I think it's broken." said Brenda as the group looked at the woman's bleeding leg.

"We need to move now." said Rachel as the Biters drew ever closer as Mark gritted his teeth before stepping out the back of the cargo van.

"I'll draw a few of them get everyone out of here now." yelled Mark as he loaded his gun.

"You can't do that it's suicide." said Rachel.

"Don't worry about me and just get everyone out. We'll meet back up at the East Uniontown Fire Station tomorrow morning. " said Mark as he ran from behind the moving van firing their guns into the crowd of Biters easily picking off a few of them.

"This way!" said Brie as Mark noticed the girl with a pistol in her hand firing beside him.

"Dammit Brie!" said Mark as both he and Brie began to make their way across the street earning the attention of a few Biters as Tyler and Rachel both helped Reid to his feet and climbing out of the vehicle.

"Michael take Laura and get out of here." said Brenda to Michael's dismay.

"I'm not leaving you here." said Michael as he went to left Brenda he earned a loud shout of pain in response as he set the woman back down.

"Forget about me and just get her out of her now." yelled Brenda as Michael gritted his teeth before grabbing the crying Laura and jumping from the back of the moving van.

"Gretchen come on now!" yelled Rachel as the woman sat in the back of the moving van with the fallen bodies of her husband and son as the Biters started to crawl inside of the moving van.

"Shit!" yelled Michael.

"NO!" yelled Laura as the group heard the loud screams of Gretchen and Brenda as the Biters torn into their bodies as Mark and Brie continued to fire on the Biters that approached the group while a group approached them.

"Marcus we have to go now." said Brie as Mark continued to shoot until he heard the click of his gun as he ran down the street while Michael and the others continued to run away from the approaching biters.

"At this rate we won't get away." said Tyler as the group continued to run away from the approaching Biters but before the group of Biters to them the group watched as a pair of headlights came from up the streets that blinded the group as a vehicle approached them.

"What the hell?" asked Tyler as the vehicle made a sharp turn that brought the vehicle on its side as five masked men each wearing black zip up jackets and carrying Assault Rifles jumped from out of the van before lining up and opening fire on the Biters and killing many of them in barrage of bullets.

"Who the fuck are these guys?" asked Tyler as the group continued to fire their guns.

"Come on now!" yelled one of the men as he pointed to the confused group.

"We don't have much of a choice." said Michael as the group approached the van and climbed inside followed by the gunman as they closed the doors and drove away.

"Thanks for the save." said Michael as one of the men looked at him and the unconscious Reid with wide eyes before removing their masks.

"Good to see you brothers." said Lee as he smiled at the Michael.

"Brothers!" said Michael as Rachel, Tyler, and Laura looked at the group with wide eyes at the smiling group.

"Bobby Kozik we need a medical kit for these guys." said Lee as the blonde and redheaded men pulled out a medical bag from the front seat before going to work on the group.

"How did you find us?" asked Michael.

"We're looking for Marcus we think he's somewhere in an area. Have you see him?" asked Lee as Michael gave a sharp look to Rachel and Tyler before speaking.

"That's kinda a long story." replied Michael earning confused looks from the group.

9: Chapter 9

Chapter 9: The Reunion

Dying with a Name

Hours Later

The sun was beginning to set over the city of Uniontown as the trailer park survivors and Dark Circle members set up shop at their rallying point or to be more exact the old fire station just on the cities north side as Lee stood outside watching for the arrival of his friends while Mercy and the others tended to the wounded.

"Sorry for your losses." said Kozik as he finished wrapping up Rachel's injured arm.

"Thanks!" replied Rachel as she watched Reid finally waking up with a bandage on his head with a smile on his face at the sight of his brothers.

"It's good to see you guys again." said Reid as Mercy nodded his head.

"You two brother, just wish the circumstances were better." said Mercy as he eyed Lee standing outside of the building waiting for the return of his brother.

Elsewhere

Just a couple of miles away from the fire station were Mark and Brie running for dear life as the duo made their way down a desolate street with the hopes of avoiding any Biters and taking deep breaths as they stopped on the street.

"How long before we reach this spot?" asked Brie as Mark took a look down another empty street.

"About three miles." replied Mark as the group began to make their way down the street but before they could go any further the duo noticed eight Biters blocking their path.

"Damn it!" said Mark as he went to draw his gun before being stopped by Brie.

"We don't want to draw more to our location." she said as Mark rolled his eyes at the woman who pointed to a back alley before running down it with the Dark Circle leader following after her with his Bowie Knife at the ready.

"Wish I had a damn bike right now." he said as he and Brie came out of the alley where they noticed they managed slip past the Biters before making their way through a few other streets as the sun had finally set clouding the streets in a shade of darkness.

"We're almost there." said Mark as he duo made it towards the end of the alley but were stopped as they caught the site of a child looking away from them at the end of the alley.

"Jesus!" said Mark as Brie approached the girl.

"Hey sweetheart are you okay?" asked Brie as the child turned around showing the duo that she was missing one of her eyes and had a vicious bite wounds on the side of her face.

"Oh shit!" said Mark as the child approached the duo Brie froze in place while Mark pushed past the frozen woman with his Pistol drawn and aiming it at the child Biters head and firing creating a loud gunshot that alerted all the Biters.

"Come on!" said Mark as he grabbed Brie's hand before leading her out of the alley as the duo continued to run down the street.

"We should really think about finding a spot to hold up for the night." said Mark as he looked around for a spot for them to hold up in.

"There!" said Mark as he pointed to a small convenient store with a pharmacy department as the duo made their way inside of the building.

"I'm gonna search the area." said Mark as both he and Brie split up to check the dark store with their weapons drawn. As they both checked each aisle closely for any signs of movement they quickly came up to the pharmacy department that was blocked off by a metal grate as Mark pressed his ear to the cold metal of the grate hoping to hear a sound on the other side that seemed to be absent.

"Don't worry about that, we don't have the key to get back there and it locks from the other side." said Brie as Mark took his ear off the grate.

"Besides we won't need those supplies as of now." said Brie as she lowered her head earning a loud growl of anger from Mark as the the images of Rachel, Michael, Reid, Laura, and Tyler getting out of the cargo bed of the moving van while Brenda, Dave, Gretchen, and Theodore remained inside burned in his head as he slammed his fist against the metal grate.

"Dammit!" yelled Mark as he continued to pound the grate until he felt a hand on his shoulder as he looked back at Brie who had a look of sorrow in her eyes.

"They didn't belong in this new world." said Brie earning a loud grunt from Mark as the Dark Circle leader made his way through the aisles of the store hoping to find any loose candles until he found one meant for a birthday cakes and lit it with a lighter he got from behind the counter before setting it in the middle of the store for the duo who both sat in the back of the store with their backs against the wall.

"Mind telling me why you froze up back there?" asked Mark as Brie remained silent for a few minutes.

"If it's hard to talk about you don't have to." said Mark.

"No, you asked besides I think it's about time I got this off my chest." said Brie as Mark looked over at her.

"If you have a hard time putting down the kids I'll understand most people have a hard time putting down any of them." said Mark.

"I don't because I've put them down before this started." replied Brie earning Mark's full attention as he eyed the woman.

"Like you I two have a bloody past, a couple of nights before the world fell to pieces I got into an argument with a close friend who tried to get a little... closer to me." said Brie as Mark looked down at the floor.

"We were in the garage at the time, so I grabbed a hammer and... let's just say I didn't stop until there was blood everywhere I loved the sight of it." said Brie as Mark nodded his head.

"The sight of his blood exited me the-!" started Brie before Mark interrupted.

"The feeling of having someones life in your hands gives you sick pleasure. It's a feeling that nobody else can give you and it gives you great pride in what you did." said Mark earning Brie's attention.

"I know how you feel, because that's the same feeling I went through when I killed someone for the first time outside the military. At first I thought I was killing for the money then I learned I liked killing...it's fun to have someones life in your hand to hear them scream and beg for you not to kill them." said Mark earning a wide eyes from Brie.

"I understand how you felt back there with that kid, because I felt the same way when I killed a kid." said Mark earning Brie's full attention.

"The kid couldn't have been older than fourteen but he was hardcore gang member that killed two of my guys and in my book that earns a slow death. When I got to him I couldn't kill him but after I let him go he killed another one of my guys with no remorse. After that I knew he had to go so I killed him like I do most people who kill my brothers slowly, painfully, and bloody." said Mark as he kept his eyes from Brie.

"It felt wrong at first but that's how it always starts." said Mark as he looked over at Brie.

"So you're not alone in that department." finished Mark as Brie gave a slight smile.

"It seem I'm not alone anywhere in this new world in that department." replied Brie earning a confused look from Mark as he eyed the woman.

"Mind explaining?" asked Mark as Brie took a deep breath before responding.

"Have you ever noticed that majority of the people who are surviving the best in this new world are the people who let greed, lust, pride, or their own personal desires control their lives in the old world." said Brie as Mark looked at the ground.

"Somewhat it's kinda a half and half." said Mark earning a nod from Brie.

"Think about you, Reid, and Michael were murderers who killed for pleasure and money. Hank was a murderer, Heather was a stuck up bitch most of her life, and look at myself." said Brie earning a nod from Mark.

"But what about Dave, Gretchen, Theodore, Brenda, Laura, Tyler, or Rachel none of them were like us." said Mark as Brie nodded her head.

"True, but ask yourself this question are they truly surviving in this world the best and if you weren't with them do you think they would be alive this very day?" asked Brie as Mark looked away from the woman her words cut into him like knives as his mind wrapped around the thought.

"So this is our own personal hell, waking up everyday more afraid then the day before of being eaten by the very people who couldn't live outside the law like us." said Mark.

"A world filled with people more evil than us." said Brie as Mark turned to the woman with confused eyes.

"There are people worse than us?" asked Mark as Brie looked away from the man.

"You know I was lying when I told you what happened to me the day I met you." replied Brie earning confused eyes from Mark.

"Kinda figured just couldn't piece much of your story together." said Mark as Brie took a deep breath before looking down at the floor.

"The truth is before I met you I was surviving much of this shit storm alone mostly moving around from place to place." said Brie earning a nod from Mark.

"Then one day I came across this group of seven guys living in a cabin. They invited me to stay the night for dinner. I wasn't really too suspicious of them at first until I woke up tied to a bed with a dirty sock in my mouth." said Brie as she kept her eyes away from Mark as the Dark Circle leader eyed her.

"I don't know how long they kept me there, just who's turn it was or when it was about time for bed because then there were no turns." said Brie as Mark looked down at the floor of the store.

"This went on for a while to the point where I knew screaming, yelling, and fighting back was useless." said Brie.

"How did you get out?" asked Mark as Brie gritted her teeth.

"They found another girl and they decided to throw away the damaged goods. So one day they took me out to kill me and I got them before they got me took a pretty good hit in the arm though." said Brie as Mark noticed the look of hurt on the girls face.

"When you found me I was walking for a few days or should I say barely walking. I couldn't trust you at first but after you saved me and I saw your group I know you weren't like those men but it was still difficult at first especially since you were the only one that seemed to trust me." said Brie as Mark kept his eyes on the girl.

"You know I'd never hurt you." said Mark as he gently grabbed Bries hand as the woman turned her head and noticed Mark staring at her with a look of uncertainty in hid eyes as both her and Mark closed the gap between them just as the light went out on the candle.

Fire Station

The sun had long since set over the large town as Rachel opened her eyes from her nap and noticed the sleeping forms of Reid, Michael, Laura, Kozik, Bobby and Tyler laying about before noticing Lee, Mercy, and Trip each sitting by the windows of the fire station wide awake.

"You should go back to sleep." said Mercy as Rachel's eyes widened as Mercy turn his head and look towards her.

"You all should be doing the same." replied Rachel.

"We'll sleep when our leader returns to us." said Lee as Rachel nodded her head.

"I know why you're so confident that Marcus will come back... he's a tough one." said Rachel as the three boys each chuckled.

"You think he's tough now you should have seen him when we were kids." replied Lee earning a smile from Rachel.

"You knew him when you were kids?" asked Rachel as Lee nodded his head.

"Yeah we each grew up in the same apartment complex when we were kids." said Mercy as Rachel eyed the trio.

"We assume you all know who we are?" asked Lee as Rachel nodded her head.

"I know who you are, I was the cop investigating your organization." said Rachel as she eyed the group.

"Lee Shen, Louis 'Mercy' Ramirez, and Anthony 'Trip' Tripplet. The three of you are high ranking members in the Dark Circle Gang, members of the Dark Circles Death Squad, and the closest to Marcus." said Rachel earning nods of agreement from the three men.

"Looks like someone did their homework." said Trip with a chuckle as he folded his arms over his chest.

"If you know who we are you mind telling us why Mark strung up our old friend Garrett?" asked Mercy as Rachel rubbed the back of her head before explaining to the group of the incident at the farm.

Mark & Brie

The sun had yet to rise over the city as Mark sat on the floor of the store with his back up against the wall while a sleeping Brie layed her head on his lap as he felt himself dosing off but before his eyes could close they snapped back open at a sound coming from the front door of the store.

"Damn!" thought Mark as he gently pushed himself away from Brie before gently resting the girls head down on the floor as he drew his knife and crept to the front of the store using the shelves as cover as he heard to different voices whispering about.

"Biters don't whisper." thought Mark as he noticed the two figures without getting a look at their faces from the darkness of the store before creeping up on the duo and charging the biggest before tackling him to the ground and creating a loud crashing sound as the duo collided against a shelf knocking it down and awaking Brie as she heard the noise.

"Piece of shit!" said the figure as he tried to throw a punch at Mark that the Dark Circle Leader easily avoided but only to be forced off the figure by someone else as Brie approached the duo with the lit candle and shined a light on the two figures.

"Hank Heather." said Brie as both she and Mark caught site of the two blood covered siblings as they both took deep breaths.

"YOU!" yelled Mark as he slammed his fist against the face of Hank before bending down and ramming his shoulder into the gut of the man and forcing him to collide back first against the counter of the pharmacy.

"Marcus please stop?" asked a sorrow filled Heather as she watched Mark grab the top of Hank's head before delivering a hard punch to the center of the man's forehead before being stopped by Brie.

"You abandoned us back there you son of a bitch." yelled Mark as Brie pulled him away from Hank as the man struggled to get up while spitting blood from his mouth.

"I didn't have a choice." replied Hank.

"We always have a choice you backstabbing fuck." yelled Mark as Hank rose to feet only to be pushed back down by Marcus.

"Stop it Marcus!" yelled Heather.

"No this fucker deserve it worse because he ran off Dave, Gretchen, Theodore, and Brenda are all dead." yelled Mark to the shock of both Hank and Heather as they eyed the man.

"Dave and his whole family are dead?" asked Heather as Brie nodded her head.

"If you would have stayed we would have had more help and maybe we could have saved them." said Mark as he stood over the fallen Hank.

"Well where are Rachel and the others now?" asked Hank.

"Probably at the rally point. We distracted the dead in order for them to escape but we don't know if they got away." replied Brie.

"But we'll learn who else died because of your cowardice when we get to the rallying point won't we, depending if I don't decide to kill you." said Mark.

"Alright enough, Hank made a bad call but we can't just sit around here and fight amongst ourselves." said Heather as Mark gritted his teeth.

"Why me and Hank were waging war against each other since before the dead started to walk this would just be another chapter in that war that has an expected ending." said Mark as Hank gritted his teeth at the man's threat.

"Look I know what I did was wrong but you can't say you wouldn't have done the same if you were in my position." yelled Hank as Mark started to chuckle.

"Really because I can honestly say I've never turned my back on my friends or anyone for that matter. See that's the difference between me and you Hank. Unlike you I don't see people as just chess pieces I see them as a living person with a heart and soul and I would do whatever it takes to keep them safe." said Mark as he eyed Hank with anger in his eyes as the Red Cobra Enforcer looked down at the ground.

"Roll in the agony of their deaths you pathetic bastard." said Mark as he walked away from Hank, Brie, and Heather before disappearing in the darkness of the store.

Fire Station

As the sun started to rise in the distance Rachel found herself sitting beside the windows with Lee, Mercy, and Trip as the three Dark Circle members told her about themselves, stories from their childhood, and more importantly how they managed to survive for so long.

"So you guys have been surviving in an outlet mall for a while now?" asked Rachel as Lee nodded his head.

"At first we were holding up in a church until it got overrun then we came across these guys that were running a safe zone at an outlet mall and we decided to join them." said Lee.

"Yeah at a heavy fucking price." said Trip as he folded his arms over his chest.

"Price?" asked Rachel.

"If we were to be joining them we had to surrender all of our food and more importantly all of our guns." said Mercy.

"Might not sound like a big deal at first but we had a two dozen high powered Assault Rifles with a lot of modifications and they took all of that." said Trip as Rachel nodded her head.

"Seeing that Rifle Mark uses only has me imagining the weapons you guys were bringing." said Rachel as Mercy nodded his head before looking out the window at the rising sun as Rachel turned her head and watched the sun rise with the trio as a look of almost bliss spread across her face.

Store

The sun could almost be seen at the store as Mark sat at the front with his back pressed against a shelve as he watched the sunrise while trying not to the think about the newest people to die in his life as he heard the familiar sound of footsteps approaching him but was a little surprised when he noticed that it was Heather who took a seat beside him.

"Something on your mind princess?" asked Mark as Heather noticed he spoke without even looking her way.

"Look I know what my brother did was wrong and it's eating both of us up inside believe me, but this isn't the reason for you two restart your damn gang war." said Heather as Mark gave a low chuckle.

"Yeah it's a reason to end it no law, no government, no consequences." said Mark as Heather rolled her eyes.

"That's not what I'm saying Mark." replied Heather as Mark turned to her.

"I know what you're saying you don't know what I'm saying." said Mark as Heather eyed the Dark Circle leader with confused eyes.

"I'm not gonna kill your brother I'm gonna watch him destroy himself from the inside like his gang did." said Mark as Heather eyed him with confused eyes.

"You seem to know more about Hank than I do as of late." said Heather as she looked away from Mark.

"I still can't believe he was in a gang and he never told me but it's starting to make since. Him coming home with thousands of dollars in cash almost every week." said Heather as Mark rolled his eyes.

"I still don't get it why do the two of you hate each other so much and be honest with me Mark?" asked Heather as Mark took a deep breath.

"We don't hate each other personally we just what each other represents and that hatred runs deep." said Mark earning a confused look from Heather.

"The war between the Dark Circle and the Red Cobras started a few months after the Dark Circle was formed. At first we were the enforcement arm for the mob with the help of Tony Tarrolli we controlled a number street gangs. After Tony died we broke away from the mafia and took over their business. They didn't like that and ordered us to disband and we disagreed. So Tony's three sons formed their own gang to fight us the Red Cobras and once they were formed the war was on." said Mark as Heather looked at him with wide eyes.

"A lot of people died in that war, there was never a week without someone being killed somewhere. Then one day I decided to end the Red Cobras and in a show of force I killed Tony's eldest son to shut down the Cobras, but it only made them more vicious." said Mark as the memories of attending the funerals of this fallen Dark Circle Members.

"They went after our members while we went after theirs and everyday was another day seeing as how we could get one over on the other." said Mark earning a nod from Heather.

"Was there ever a chance to end the war?" asked Heather as Mark started to chuckle.

"Hell no because there is too much hate and no respect what so ever. I couldn't respect the Cobras because they formed solely to fight us to the point where their members were just pawns...soldiers fighting in a war they didn't belong on." said Mark.

"My guys knew what they were signing up for and knew I'd drop dead before I allowed them to be hurt and even if they did die they would die with names that would be remembered and families that would be taken care of even after their deaths. The Cobras weren't like that the ones that died if they weren't scooped up by the police or left in an unmarked grave by us, they wouldn't be remembered unless they were close to someone." said Mark as he turned to face Heather.

"Yesterday only proved that, Hank saved you because you're his family while he left everyone else to die because it's in his nature." said Mark a Heather looked away from the Dark Circle leader with a saddened look just as Mark rose to his feet.

"We should move now." said Mark as Heather looked up at the man as he picked up his Rifle while Brie and Hank approached the duo.

"Keep it tight and soundless." said Mark as he opened the front door to the store revealing the desolate streets as the group made their way out of the store and noticed that the street were clear of Biters.

"Looks like we got a clear path." said Heather with a smile on her face as she turned her head and noticed Mark shouldering his Rifle and drawing his knife while Brie drew her sword as the duo noticed a group of Biters approaching them from their intended direction.

"They're blocking our path seems like we have to go through them." said Mark both he and Brie readied themselves.

"You guys can't take on that many." said Heather as Mark gave a low growl.'

"Watch me!" replied Mark with another angry growl as the thoughts of the now deceased members of the trailer park filled his mind to the point where the Dark Circle leader was nothing but a time bomb of rage and anger as he rushed into the horde of Biters with Brie at his side while Hank and Heather watched the two slice their way through their way through the herd of Biters as Mark brought his knife down on top of a Biters head before kicking the creature away elbowing another in the back of its head causing it fall forward.

"DIE!" yelled Mark as he jumped up and brought both of his feet down on top of the Biters head smashing it to pieces as a Biter came up on his left side Mark extended his left hand catching the creatures neck and keeping its powerful jaws away from him as the creatures blood smelling breath caught Mark's senses and angered the man as he gripped the creatures neck tighter before forcing his arm downward and causing the creature to hit the ground face first as Mark lifted his knife over his head before embedding it deep in the back of the creatures head.

"Vicious!" said Brie as he took glance over at Mark before slicing the head off a Biter and slashing the neck of another as the raven haired woman sliced her way through the Biters almost with ease as she gave a sharp kick to one knocking it into another before turning around and stabbing another through the head as both Hank and Heather watched the two with wide eyes.

"Father of Christ." said Hank as he watched Mark grab the back of the head of Biter before headbutting the back of the Biters head with enough force to form a crack on its head before Mark tossed the creature into another one knocking them both down before stabbing the last Biter in the head as he tried to force the knife out of the Biters head before wiping the blood off.

"Path's clear now." said Mark as he and Brie made their way down the streets while both Heather and Hank took a minute to take in what the duo had just done.

"What did we just see?" asked Heather.

"The sheer brutality of the Dark Circles Death Squad." said Hank as he followed after the duo with Heather in tow as they made their way up the street.

Fire Station

After the sun had risen most of the trailer park group had finally awaken as Lee, Mercy, Trip, Kozik, and Bobby sat in the next room readying themselves for what they are dubbing a search and rescue mission as Rachel sat outside the fire station with Tyler and Michael watching the streets for the arrival of their lost friends.

"He's on his way." said Michael as Rachel looked over at the man.

"You say something?" asked Rachel as she watched a smile spread across the face of Michael as he rose from his spot and looked off in the distance with a smile spread across his face as Rachel looked in the same direction she noticed four figures making their way towards the fire station.

"They're here!" said Rachel as a smile spread across her face as both she and Tyler watched the four approaching figures as they finally arrived at the fire station.

"You missed us?" asked Mark with a smile on his face as he noticed his remaining group.

"Some of you." said Michael as he noticed Hank and Heather standing behind the duo with mixed looks on their faces.

"We can deal with them later for now we need to-!" started Mark before he was interrupted by Rachel.

"Mark before we go into our next plans some people would like to see you." said Rachel with a smile on her face as Mark gave the girl a confused look.

"Brothers come on out." said Reid as Mark watched as Lee, Mercy, Trip, Kozik, and Bobby made their way out of the fire station with smiles on their faces as they eyed their shocked leader.

"You just gonna stand their with your mouth wide open brother?" asked Mercy as Mark gave a low chuckle before approaching the group with a smile on their faces as they started to hug their leader as Rachel, Tyler, Reid, and Michael watched as the group shared laughs and smiles.

"Who are those guys?" whispered Heather to Hank.

"I don't know the redhead and the blonde but the other three are all members of the Dark Circles Death Squad and are very close to Mark." replied Hank as Heather nodded her head as the group watched the reunited brothers.

10: Chapter 10

Chapter 10: When Family Finally Reunites

That Awkward Moment at the End Of the World

Hours Later

The sun almost in the center of the skies over the zombie infested streets as Mark sat with the other members of the Dark Circle Gang catching up before their departure.

"So how did you guys find us?" asked Mark between laughter.

"We found your shoes and jacket along with Garret at a ranch not far from here and we decided to check the area when we came across your friends trying to escape the dead." said Mercy.

"Reid and Michael here filled us in on your current situation and we're glad we did find you." said Kozik as Mark nodded his head before turning to Reid and Michael.

"It would have been worse if you guys hadn't shown up." said Mark as Lee nodded his head.

"We form the Dark Circle brother we don't leave one of our own behind." said Bobby as Mark nodded his head with a smile on his face just before the group heard the sound of footsteps and noticed Brie standing in the doorway.

"Guys could you give us a minute?" asked Mark earning a nod from Lee as he led the group outside the room while Brie closed the door on the group as they walked to the front of the first station with everyone else.

"Are you just going to stand there and say nothing?" asked Mark as Brie approached him with a smile on her face.

"It's good to see that you've reunited with your friends." said Brie as Mark nodded his head.

"Told you they'd be alive." said Mark as Brie nodded her head.

"So what happens now?" asked Brie.

"From what they tell me they are apart of a larger group holding up in an outlet mall not far from here and want to bring us back with them." said Mark as Brie nodded her head.

"Oh!" said Brie as Mark eyed the woman sensing her sadness.

"Don't be like that, should things there go bad or we don't like it we'll gather some supplies and head back to my apartment." said Mark as Brie looked at the contract killer with a surprised look on her face.

"No it's not that, it's just that when we get there what if we run across more men-!" started Brie before interrupted.

"I won't let anything happen to you just let me know if you feel uncomfortable." said Mark as Brie looked into his eyes with a smile on her face.

"And what about your men?" asked Brie.

"They'll more than likely follow us out so we will still be in a group and nine out of ten Rachel and Tyler will follow us out also." said Mark as Brie nodded her head with a smile on her face.

"Now come on." said Mark as he went to push past the Brie he was stopped as the woman wrapped her arms around the Dark Circle leader before pressing her lips against his own taking Mark by surprise as he lost his fight and decided to kiss back without the knowledge that they were being watched from a crack in the door.

"I think Mark's gonna be in a tough spot when we get back to the mall." said Kozik as Trip gave a low chuckle.

"And he told me not to go playing with hearts." said Trip.

"So do we tell him?" asked Bobby.

"Tell me what?" came a familiar voice as the group turned around and noticed Mark and Brie standing in the doorway.

"That you've got a lot of people waiting to see you back at our camp like Link, Bulk, Skull, Billy, Salty, and a couple of others." said Trip with a chuckle as Mark slowly nodded his head in confusion.

"Okay!" said Mark as Rachel and Tyler approached the group.

"How you holding up?" asked Mark as the girl shook her head.

"I'm okay still a little reeling you know with everyone gone." said Rachel as she looked past Mark towards Reid and Michael.

"Michael you think you can go talk to Laura she's still sad?" asked Rachel as Michael nodded before standing up.

"Don't blame her the kid just lost her mother." said Michael as he walked away from the group.

"We did all we could." said Mark as Rachel lowered her head.

"Just wish we could have done more." she replied earning a nod from the Dark Circle leader.

"Probably could have if someone didn't run off on us." said Tyler as the group turned their heads to Hank and Heather who were sitting away from the group.

"Isn't that guy a Cobra?" asked Mercy as Mark nodded his head.

"Are we going to leave him here?" asked Kozik as Mark eyed the blonde haired man.

"I think we should." replied Reid.

"Well we aren't, they're coming with us rather we like it or not." said Mark earning dissatified look from a few members of the group.

"How long before we leave boss?" asked Lee.

"We can go now best to travel while the suns up." said Mark as the Dark Circle members nodded their heads.

"You got room in that van for all of us?" asked Rachel as Lee turned his attention to her.

"Not really we're gonna start looking for something we can use." said Lee as Trip started to chuckle

"Yeah or the women could lap up." said Trip as Rachel rolled her eyes while Mark walked over to both Hank and Heather.

"Grab what you can we're leaving in a few." said Mark as both Hank and Heather looked at him with confused looks.

"You're taking us with you?" asked Heather as Mark nodded his head.

"Yeah, we can't just leave you here to die." said Mark as Hank eyed the Dark Circle Leader with anger in his eyes.

"Besides my guys tell me there's a handful of Cobras in their settlement who are giving problems for everyone and hopefully with you there things will change." said Mark as he walked away from a wide eyes Hank.

Outlet Mall

The sun was still hovering over the skies of the small outlet mall as Link stood guard at the wall with Bulk and another Dark Circle member named Skull, as the group awaited for the return of their friends until they each heard a familiar voice coming from behind them as they turned their heads and noticed Drew, Sean, and Duncan standing behind them.

"It's been two days and your friends still haven't come back yet?" asked Duncan as Link rolled his eyes at the man.

"I told you they were traveling out of town." said Link.

"Yeah, Logan's getting tired of hearing that crap, and starting to think they stole our van and left and you guys are covering for them." said Drew.

"We told you where they are and more guards are willing to vouch for us." said Skull.

"Yeah but seeing as two of those same guys were found yesterday high as a kite, that's giving us reason to doubt their credibility." said Sean.

"Believe us or not we don't give a damn and that's the end of this discussion." said Link with enough venom in his voice to kill a man as the trio of Cobras each gritted their teeth before walking away from the group who turned back to face outside of the gate.

"Sooner or later we won't be able to cover for them." said Bulk as Link nodded his head in agreement.

"I'm aware of that but we just need to stall a little longer and if we don't hear back from them we plead ignorance for as long as we can." said Link earning a nod from the two as the group noticed Salty and Billy moving around the tents in order to hide their supply of contraband from the guards.

Fire Station

The evening sun now almost enveloped the skies over the fire station as Mark took a can of spray paint and spray painted rest in peace and the names of the fallen members of the trailer park survivors while Heather, Tyler, Rachel, Reid, Michael, and Laura stood over their makeshift tribute to the fallen Dave, Theodore, Gretchen, and Brenda with their heads bowed as each gave a silent prayer before walking away as Mark, Reid, and Michael approached Lee and the others.

"You should really say goodbye." said Heather as she noticed a sad looking Hank in the distance.

"I can't find the right words to say." said Hank as Heather grabbed her brothers arm before leading him over to the grave.

"You ready brother?" asked Lee as Mark nodded his head in agreement.

"Yeah let's go!" said Mark earning a nod from Lee.

"We managed to find a school bus and gassed it up so we'll all be traveling in that." said Mercy earning a shake of the head from Trip.

"I still have a problem with the bus." said Trip as he folded his arms over his chest.

"What's wrong with it?" asked Bobby.

"It's the school bus for the-!" started Trip before he was cut off.

"Mentally disable." said Kozik.

"What's wrong with that?" asked Mark.

"They're seat belts and helmets on the bus." said Trip as Mark started to chuckle.

"Brother when you look at our lives I think we belonged on the that bus a long time ago." said Mark as the group started to chuckle.

"Which reminds me, for in case we run into trouble." said Mercy as he handed Mark his LWRC PSD Assault Rifle.

"You had a bullet jammed inside but I managed to get it out and I even reloaded your magazines." said Mercy as Mark nodded his head.

"Reid and Michael are still holding onto your MP7 and that Shotgun of yours, but when we get to our destination those guns gotta disappear unless you want someone to take them." said Kozik as Mark nodded his head.

"Alright, but speaking of our destination what should we expect there?" asked Mark as Lee nodded his head.

"Not what any of you are hoping for but it's safe and with you there brother guys like us will be better treated." said Lee as Mark gave the group a confused look but before he could ask another question he was stopped by Brie as she approached the man carrying his black backpack.

"I think you're gonna need this." said Brie as she reached behind her back to grab Mark's sheathed Bowie Knife before handing it to the man.

"Thanks!" said Mark as he strapped the weapon to his right hip before noticing Brie staring at him with a smile on her face.

"So are we going to let this blow up in his face?" whispered Trip as Lee shook his head.

"Like a blender with no lid." said Lee earning a nod and chuckle from both Mercy and Bobby while Kozik shook his head.

"Cut the chatter brothers let's go." said Mark earning nods from the group as they began their walk towards the bus before piling into the back while Mark took a seat behind Lee who slid into the drivers seat.

"Everybody ready?" asked Mark as he looked back at the group and seeing everyone as Mark noticed the divide in the back between Hank, Heather, and the Dark Circle members as each took a side with the only exception being Laura who sat cuddled up next to Michael.

"Guess so let's go brother." said Mark as Lee nodded his head before driving away from the fire station without the knowledge that the group was being watched a pair of unfamiliar eyes in the distance.

Hours Later

The sun started to lower over the outlet mall as the third day without a sign of Lee and the others started to take place as Link sat outside of his tent with Bulk, Skull, Billy, and Salty as the group devised a plan of action that was soon stopped as Drew, Duncan, and Sean approached the group.

"Hey pretty boy Logan would like to see you." said Sean as the group turned their attention to Link who nodded his head before walking away from the group as the trio led him inside of the mall until the group reached an old rent a security office. As they entered Link noticed the change in lighting that seemed to have vanished from the room as the trip of Cobras led the Dark Circle member to a back room where they noticed a ton of officer supplies.

"Sir, we brought him." said Drew as Link noticed the stale scent of cigarette smoke that almost contaminated the air like a poisonous cloud as Link noticed a man sitting in a chair turned away from them.

"Good!" said the man as Link watched him put out the cigarette in a nearby ashtray.

"I'm growing impatient Lincoln." said the man as Link rolled is eyes.

"Like I said already Logan. Lee and the others went a few towns away to look for supplies-." responded Link before he was interrupted as the man turned around in his chair revealing himself to man as a middle age man with short black hair but what separated him from any of the other survivors was the fact he was wearing a fancy long sleeved button up color shirt and jean paints with an expensive watch on his wrist and the calm demeanor look on his face that appeared to be too apart of a facade.

"They went out looking for supplies three days ago, you're putting me in a real awkward position here Lincoln." said Logan as the man rose from his chair and almost towered over the six foot three Link.

"I could care less about your friends Link. I just want that van they took back and don't tell me they didn't take it Lincoln, because I don't like liars and I don't like thieves and I especially don't like guys that lie to cover up thieves." said Logan as Link gritted his teeth.

"Like I said they didn't take the van." said Link as Logan opened the draw of his table before pulling out a six shot Revolver.

"That so." said Logan as he opened the revolver before pulling out a pack of bullets and beginning to load the gun.

"Like I said I don't like liars Lincoln and I'm learning to not like any of you from that Dark Circle gang of yours. I took a chance letting you in here because of that beautiful supply of weapons all of you had, but since you've been here all you've been doing is abusing my kindness and generosity and trying to make me look like a fool." said Logan as Link watched him load five bullets into the five of the six chambers of the cylinder before spinning it and setting the gun on the table.

"Now then I'm gonna ask you again Lincoln and if you don't tell me the truth. I'm gonna pick up that gun aim it at your head and pull the trigger. If it doesn't fire I'll give you and your friends another day but if it does you better hope your friends don't come back." said Logan as Link felt beads of sweat roll off his face from panic.

"Now then Lincoln where are your friends with my van?" asked Logan as Link gave the man an angry glare as he fought his tears of fear.

"They left town they didn't take your fucking van." said Link as Logan nodded his head with as smile on his face before picking up the revolver and lifting it to the head of Link who looked all to prepared to meet his death.

"Goodbye Link." said Logan as he pulled the trigger of the revolver but instead of hearing the ear shattering roar of gunshot they were met with nothing as Link breathed a sigh of relief.

"Well then it looks like you got another day Lincoln. You are free to go." said Logan as he lowered his gun while a smile spread across the face of Link as he quickly made his way out the door.

"Wow I thought he was gonna piss his pants." said Drew with a chuckle.

"Not from him, Link was a member of their Death Squad along with Lee and his little group. All of them have seen death up close and person and have learned not to fear him along with many of their other guys." said Duncan as Logan took a seat back down in his chair.

"They've seen death up close and personal but that doesn't mean those around them have." said Logan as Drew, Duncan, and Sean turned to look at the man.

"If their friends aren't back by sunset I want you to pay that feisty friend of theirs a visit during lights out and if they try anything I want you to kill them all." said Logan as the trio each nodded their heads.

"But what will the people say?" asked Duncan as Logan nodded his head.

"If they know what's best for them nothing." said Logan as the trio each nodded their heads before making their way out of the room just as Link made it back to his tent where the members of the Dark Circle were waiting.

"Thank god you're alive dude what happened?" asked Salty as Link looked towards the ground.

"He loaded that revolver of his and put it at my head and fired but it was on the empty chamber." said Link.

"Well that's a first for anyone." said Billy as Link nodded his head.

"Many have people have died playing that game with him." said Bulk.

"Which is why I want all of us to move our tents closer to one another tonight and move around in pairs of three and stay in contact with one another." said Link earning a nod from the group a he turned around and started to walk away from the group.

"Where are you going?" asked Skull.

"To check on our favorite convict." said Link as he made his way through the city of tents until his eyes fell on a familiar one as he opened the slit and noticed the familiar sight of Sam still wearing Mark's jacket laying on top of her sleeping bag.

"Mark!" she asked as she whipped her head around only to come face to face with Link.

"Nope just me." replied Link as Sam layed her head back down on her sleeping bag.

"Are they back yet?" asked Sam as Link took a deep breath.

"No not yet, I just came to check on you Logan's been asking a lot of questions and he's starting to become unstable." said Link as Sam nodded her head.

"I still don't get it why are we bringing Mark here when it's probably best if we just leave?" asked Sam as Link rubbed the back of his head.

"Trust me I don't plan on staying here we just need him to come here to help us regroup at least this way we'll all be back together." said Link as Sam nodded her head in agreement.

"Good because more of those guards are still trying to make advances." said Sam as Link nodded his head.

"Don't worry about them I'm gonna stay with you tonight and hopefully Lee will be back by morning." said Link earning a nod from Sam.

"Thanks!" said Sam as Link nodded his head before walking out of the girls tent and making his way way back to the wall as the group continued to wait for the return of their brothers.

The sun had finally set over the outlet mall as Link and the others continued to wait for the arrival of Lee and the others as the group failed to notice Sean, Drew, and Duncan making their way through the city of tents as they approached a familiar tent but just as they went to open the tent the trio turned their heads at the sound of a horn honking.

"What the fuck?" asked Sean as he turned his head towards the makeshift wall while Link, Bulk, Skull, and Billy rushed towards the front gate where they noticed an unfamiliar school bus making its way towards the gate.

"Is it them?" asked Bulk as he tried to get a look at the driver of the vehicle.

"Open the gate." said Link as Bulk, Skull, Billy, and Salty started to open the front gate as the school bus drove into the camp before stopping the soldiers standing on the roof of the building couldn't help but to notice the vehicle along with the residents of tent city as Sean, Duncan, and Drew each approached the vehicle with their weapons drawn.

"Step out of the vehicle." yelled Duncan as he pointed his gun at the drivers seat.

"Or you'll what?" came a familiar voice as the group watched as Lee stepped out of the drivers seat while Mercy, Trip, Kozik, and Bobby came from the back.

"You're back." said Link as he noticed Lee.

"Yeah and we brought a few guest." said Lee as the group watched as Heather, Hank, Laura and Rachel made their way from the back of the vehicle.

"Hank!" said Sean with a smile on his face as he and the trio noticed one of their fellow Red Cobra members step out with the group.

"Surprised to see you guys here." said Hank as a smile spread across his face Heather gave a smile of her own at the familiar trio as they approached the brother and sister.

"Did you find our guest of honor?" asked Link as a smile spread across the face of Lee and the others.

"Yeah him and more." said Trip as he and the others each turned their heads and watched Mark, Reid, and Michael each step out from behind the bus as Link, Bulk, Skull, Billy, Salty, and the other Dark Circle members felt smiles form on their faces at the sight of their newest arrivals.

"Guys weren't kidding when they said we had a lot of friends here." said Reid as a smile spread across Mark's face as he was approached by Link and the other Dark Circle members.

"Brother." said Mark as the group gave each man a brotherly hug as the residents inside and outside the outlet mall looked on with smiles on their faces as they ruffled each members hair with smiles and laughs.

"Marcus!" came a somewhat familiar voice to the contract killer as he turned his head away from the members of the Dark Circle Gang before noticing a pasty skinned woman with short hair approaching the group as Mark felt all of his emotions fade away at the sight of the woman as he noticed tears starting to fall from her eyes as she rushed towards him before wrapping him into hers and bringing him in for a tight hug.

"How you doing pasty?" asked Mark as he wrapped his arms around Sam to the surprise of Brie, Heather and Rachel as they watched the girl take her head from off Mark before pressing her lips against his own to the shock of many as Rachel watched Brie lower her head to the ground while Mark closed his eyes and kissed back.

"Alright keep it PG you two." said Mercy as Mark broke away from Sam with a smile on his face before he took a glance at the angry looking Brie.

"Enough!" came a loud booming voice as the Dark Circle and Red Cobra members turned their heads and watched as Logan approached the group with a sinister welcoming smile written on his face as he approached the new comers.

"Where's my guns?" whispered Bulk as he got close to Lee.

"Stashed them outside the wall before we came in we'll go back for them tonight." said Lee earning a nod from Bulk as Logan approached the group.

"Lee it's good to see that you and your friends are back and you've brought other survivors that's even better." said Logan as Lee rolled his eyes at the man's empty words.

"Yeah, they were surviving in an old trailer park past Uniontown." said Lee as Logan nodded his head.

"Well it's good to have you here, before we give you anything I'd like to ask you all a few questions." said Logan as he walked away from the group as Mark took a look over at Lee.

"Don't worry we got your back." said Lee as he pointed to Link and the others earning a nod from Mark as he went to follow after Logan he was quickly stopped as he noticed Sam still holding onto his hand with a look of grief on her face as Mark gave her a quick smile.

"I'll be right back I promise." said Mark as he planted a quick kiss on Sam's hand before the girl let go and watched the Dark Circle leader follow after his group with Reid, Michael, Lee, and Link in tow as the group made their way inside of the mall.

Hours Later

The sun had finally set over the outlet mall as after a series of prolonged questions riddled the group did Mark find himself in the back room with Logan who sat in silence deciding his fate.

"Marcus Smith, The bloody Midget, formerly known as Captain Marcus Smith of the United States Marine Corp, now the founder and leader of the Dark Circle Gang. A former gang enforcer, turned contract killer, turned crime boss. I gotta say there's a lot of reason why I shouldn't let you in." said Logan as Mark remained silent but watched the man.

"From what your friends inside and outside this group tell me you could be a major contribution how things are run here, but what I want to know is why should I keep you?" asked Logan as Mark gave a low grunt.

"Do me a favor and cut the crap." replied Mark as he looked up at Logan.

"You stand there acting all high and mighty expecting me to beg you to let me in your group, but I beg for nothing. Let's get one thing straight I'm not afraid to leave and I want you to know why, because when I entered here I noticed a number of my Brothers operating inside of this wall and if I leave they'll leave and we take what's ours with us and you'll have nothing, just like you were before all of this." said Mark earning an angry scowl from Logan that soon turned to a chuckle.

"I like how you act most men including your brothers begged to be let in but you. You have something none of them have...defiance and the knowledge that you have enough loyalty from your friends that they will follow you to your own grave." said Logan as Mark gave the man an angry look as Logan rose from his chair.

"You can stay, just know something Marcus your friends are also defiant and if any of you try anything...I don't like the dead will be the least of your worries." said Logan as Mark nodded his head before rising from the chair and making his way out in the halls where he noticed Rachel, Tyler, Brie, Reid, and Michael, waiting on him.

"Well?" asked Rachel.

"I've been allowed to stay but I can already tell he doesn't like me." said Mark as Reid nodded his head.

"Did he tell you where you will be staying?" asked Rachel as Mark shook his head.

"Nah but I know someone that'll take me in, what about you?" asked Mark.

"Outside with the others said they'd supply a sleeping bag but we have to find our own tent." said Reid.

"Me two." said Tyler as Mark turned to Brie and Rachel.

"They want us to stay inside and be apart of the guard but we decided to stay with you guys...at least we know you." said Rachel as Mark nodded his head.

"Appreciate that I'll make sure my guys keep you well situated." said Mark earning a nod from the brown haired woman before taking a quick glance at the silent Brie while he took a quick glance at the group.

"Where's Laura?" asked Mark as Michael lowered his head.

"Apparently they have this daycare like place for kids who've lost their parents here, I thought it'd be best to let her stay with them at least there she'd be fed three times a day and be able to live in the mall." said Michael as Mark nodded his head.

"See your point and the princess and her brother?" asked Mark as Reid gave a loud scoff.

"Apparently the Cobras are acting as these guys bitches are allowed to live in the outlet mall with their families." said Reid.

"Don't worry about them brother we should just worry about ourselves right now." said Reid but before Mark could answer the group was startled as the front door was opened revealing Drew, Sean, and Duncan.

"I don't like saying it but welcome to your new home assholes." said Drew as Reid gritted his teeth at the man's comment the trio led the group outside of the mall.

"Have fun out in the cold with all your other freaks." said Sean as he and Duncan tossed the group sleeping bags before closing the door on the group as they noticed that the sun had finally set and many people were already in their tents.

"Let's go!" said Mark as he led the group into the city of tents they quickly noticed Lee, Mercy, Trip, Kozik, and Link standing outside their tents.

"Your leader always such a dick?" asked Mark as the group of five each nodded their heads.

"Yeah but with you here things are about to get different." said Kozik as Mark gave a low smile.

"Got a place for us to crash tonight?" asked Mark as Link nodded his head.

"Yeah we got an extra tent for the ladies if they doesn't mind bunking together." said Mercy as Rachel took a glance at Brie before nodding her head.

"One can always bunk with me I don't have a problem." said Trip with a hearty chuckle that made Rachel give him an angry glare.

"As for you brother you kinda have a spot reserved for you already over there." said Lee as he pointed to a tent off in the distance as Mark took a glance at the tent before taking a glance at the silent Brie.

"You guys could have given me a heads up." said Mark earning a chuckle from Bobby.

"Where would the fun have been in that?" asked Bobby with a chuckle as Mark rolled his eyes.

"Alright then goodnight." said Mark as the group gave their goodnight before taking a glance at Brie who left without even saying a word as Mark rubbed the back of his head before going his separate way and heading towards the tent in question before whispering inside as the flap of the tent opened revealing a familiar face as Sam gave Mark a deep kiss while pulling him into the tent.

"So are you allowed to stay?" asked Sam with a wide smile on her face as Mark nodded his head the girl quickly pressed her head to his chest.

"Almost didn't recognize you at first without your hair dye and makeup." said Mark earning a chuckle from the woman.

"Couldn't keep it that way for long without my bag." said Sam as Mark shrugged his shoulders.

"Damn and I liked that look along with those fishnet stockings." said Mark earning a chuckle from the woman as he felt her tears stain his chest.

"What's wrong?" asked Mark as he looked down at the girl.

"I thought you were dead." said Sam through deep breaths as Mark wrapped his arms around the woman to bring her in for a tight hug.

"Well I'm here now." said Mark as Sam wiped her eyes.

"And even though I thought you were dead I always knew that one day you'd come back to me." said Sam as Mark pressed his head on the woman's shoulder.

"Are those rules still instated?" asked Sam as a look of confusion spread across Mark's face.

"What rules?" asked Mark.

"The same rules that made it so we couldn't be together before this world?" asked Sam as Mark remembered his last conversation with the woman and how it ended in the phrase "Love Someone Else."

"Rules are dead." said Mark as he gave Sam another kiss as the memories of the night played through his head like a broken record while Sam pulled him down to her sleeping bag but as the duo locked lips Mark's mind kept returning to a particular raven haired girl.

11: Chapter 11

Chapter 11: The Seeds of Doubt, Despair, and Betrayal

Not Particularity in that Order

Two Weeks Later

The sun had already risen over the state of Pennsylvania as the early morning moans and hisses of the Biters filled the air three pairs of eyes looked past a set of bushes and noticed a Biter chomping down on an unfortunate person before one of the figures approached the creatures from behind before drawing a Tactical Tomahawk and driving it into the back of the creatures head instantly killing it as the creature fell to the ground face first.

"Nice one Mark." said Lee as Mark pulled his black mask from over nose and mouth and gave a quick smile to the Dark Circle member and Rachel who were carrying sticks with either dead birds or squirrels as Mark took the stick from Rachel before folding his Tomahawk back up and strapping it to his back along with the other.

"See you like those new weapons." said Lee as Mark gave a low chuckle.

"I like my knife too, but I need to put some distance between myself and these things." said Mark earning a chuckle from Lee as Rachel moved past the duo.

"What they get this time?" asked Rachel as she tried to get a look at the dead corpse.

"Looks like a woman." said Mark as he looked down at the remains of the corpse as Rachel shook her head.

"She must have been out here a while, poor dear." said Rachel as Lee nodded his head in agreement before drawing his Machete and dropping it down on the deceased woman's head.

"Still haven't gotten used to that." said Rachel as Lee looked up at the girl.

"You were a cop before this you and ain't used to seeing dead bodies?" asked Lee as Rachel folded her arms over her chest.

"No I'm not used to stabbing a dead body in the head after I find it." replied Rachel as Lee rolled his eyes.

"Let's finish this up so we can get back to the mall, I don't want to be out here for long with these pricks out here." said Mark as Rachel nodded her head.

"Did you hear two more of the guards were found dead last night, They were both wrapped in tires and burned to death." said Rachel as Mark nodded his head.

"A Tarrolli Bar-Be-Que." replied Lee to the surprise of Rachel.

"Wait you guys know who did this?" asked Rachel as Mark nodded his head.

"Yeah, the same guys that attacked us at the farm, seems like they followed us here." said Mark as Rachel gave a shocked look.

"Does Logan know?" asked Rachel as Lee gave a loud scoff.

"Fuck no, the Tarrolli's want us dead and Logan's the kind of guy that would give us up if it meant saving his own skin." said Lee as Rachel eyed the two Dark Circle Members.

"Seems kinda selfish if you ask me." said Rachel.

"It's not selfish the Tarrolli's are gonna kill these guys with us here or not, this is just us ensuring our survival and theirs by staying here and not disappearing in the night." said Lee as Rachel shook her head.

"Besides he won't have anything to worry about for long with us." said Mark as Rachel gave the man a surprised look.

"What do you mean?" asked Rachel as Mark and Lee both went silent before the brown haired girl grabbed the Dark Circle Leader by his arm and forced him to look at her.

"What are you talking about?" asked Rachel as Mark took a deep breath.

"We're leaving the outlet mall Rachel." said Mark as Rachel gave the man a confused look.

"What?" asked Rachel as Mark rubbed his forehead.

"Both of us and the remaining members of Dark Circle are planning on leaving." said Mark as Rachel gave the two confused looks.

"Why, since we got here things have changed greatly for the people living in those tents and all of them love you for it." said Rachel as Mark nodded his head in agreement.

"Which is why we're sticking around until we solve this Tarrolli problem or Logan throws us out." said Mark as Rachel gave the man a confused look as the group started to walk away.

"We're a group of contract killers, drug dealers, traffickers, and smugglers. These people should fear us but instead they love us because the people running that mall are worse then we are." said Lee as Rachel continued to give the man a confused look.

"Logan and the Cobras have been killing guys in tent city to send the message that they are in charge and I don't know yet but I think the only reason all those women living in the mall are so better off is because the guards are using them for physical entertainment." said Lee as Rachel gave the group a surprised look.

"Does Hank know?" asked Rachel as Mark gave a loud scoff.

"I haven't talked to him or Heather since we got here and Brie's also been avoiding me." said Mark as Rachel folded her arms over her chest.

"You did kinda kiss another woman in front of her." said Lee with a chuckle.

"Speaking of which did you tell Sam about you and Brie?" asked Rachel.

"Of course not all she knows is that I've been distant to the point where I'm hardly even around her, which is basically what we were before this shit started" replied Mark earning a confused look from Rachel.

"How did Sam and you meet and stay together with your gang ties?" asked Rachel as Mark rubbed his chin hair.

"We were in school together she wasn't hard to miss, she had this short black hair dyed to a light auburn with long red banes, and unlike everyone else she didn't dress to impress so it wasn't hard to see her. One night I was coming from under the bridge from a drug deal and I was passing through the park and I noticed her laying on one of the benches. I couldn't leave her there alone so I brought her back to my place to stay for the night and we kinda became close since then." said Mark as Rachel gave a low smile.

"At first nothing serious was going on between us just few hugs some kisses on the cheeks until around Junior year was started seeing each other. After high school against her wishes I joined the military to get into college and while I was overseas she wrote me everyday sometimes I got three letters in one day." said Mark as Rachel noticed a small small on his face that soon turned to a frown.

"After I got injured and was forced to come back stateside, she was there waiting for me and her along with Lee and the others helped me get back on my feet." said Mark as Lee gave a nod of his head.

"Sam, she tried to take care of me but with my medical bills and living conditions, she couldn't do it alone and that's made me go back to the streets." said Mark as Rachel nodded her head.

"So she knew you were a contract killer?" asked Rachel.

"She knew I killed but she didn't know I did it for money but she kinda knew." said Mark as Rachel nodded her head.

"As the war heated up with families and loved ones being targeted, I couldn't live with myself if something happened to her. So I moved her out of Philly and got her an apartment outside of Uniontown and ended our relationship completely...I tried to make it like we had never known each other, but that didn't work out." said Mark earning a surprised look from Rachel.

"Overtime she started calling me and showing up at my house and that made things hard so we met each other in secret from time to time never in Philly, never in public, never during the day, and I had to wear some form of disguise and drive a different car." said Mark as Rachel eyed him with confused eyes.

"My life was filled with violence and blood and I didn't want to bring her anywhere near it but she kept dragging herself into it." said Mark as Rachel eyed the man.

"Then the dead decided to rise and my better judgment assumed she was most likely dead without even putting up an argument." said Mark.

"And now he's in this situation." said Lee.

"You could have warned him." said Rachel a she eyed Lee.

"Wouldn't have mattered me and Brie were already close to each other before they even arrived it just really heated up the day we left the trailer park." said Mark earning a nod from Rachel.

"Well what are you gonna do?" asked Rachel as Mark remained silent as the group cleared the treeline before approaching the outer gate of the mall and entered the parking lot as Link opened the gate for the trio.

"Nice haul!" said Link as Mark nodded his head.

"Mercy and the others back yet?" asked Mark earning a shake of the head from Link.

"No but they radioed a few minutes ago and said they were turning around." said Link as Mark nodded his head as Salty and Skull approached the group before taking their captured food away while Mark looked around and noticed the numerous tents set up in the parking lot and the people moving about them with smiles on their faces.

"Where's Billy?" asked Lee as Link turned to the group.

"On the roof working on that rooftop garden." said Link earning a surprised look from Rachel.

"Billy can grow food?" asked Rachel as Mark nodded his head.

"Yeah Billy's got a regular green thumb the guy can grow flowers, fruit, and veggies, he went to school for that shit." said Mark.

"Yeah but his specialty is the stuff that leaves your mind blank if you know what I mean." said Lee with a chuckle as Rachel rolled her eyes before following the duo as they made their way towards Lee's tent.

"Went to school, I gotta say Marcus, you have a pretty interesting band of guys here." said Rachel as the group entered Lee's tent where the Asian American handed the duo each an apple.

"Yeah, we aren't just contract killing drug dealers we can do other things. Like in my free time I used to did a lot of reading, I did community work, I used to provide security for these various clubs, and I worked at a shelter." said Mark surprising Rachel as she watched him take a bite from his apple.

"I used to volunteer at a hospital in my free time and I had a degree in Social Working." said Lee to the shock of Rachel.

"Mercy liked to cook and has a degree in Culinary Arts, Trip is a joker but he has a degree in Business and Marketing, Kozik was going to school to be a doctor, Reid was a tattoo artist, and Michael has a degree in Computer Networking." said Mark earning even wider eyes from Rachel as she eyed the group.

"And the others?" asked Rachel as Mark rubbed his chin.

"Bobby didn't go to college but he owned a car shop, Link has a degree in Criminal Justice that's why he was our lawyer, Bulk didn't go to college but his family owned a gun store and he worked there, Skull owned his own motorcycle repair shop, Salty owned five restaurants in Philly and a few night clubs." said Mark as Rachel looked more surprised.

"But there's one thing we all have in common." said Mark earning confused eyes from Rachel.

"We either went to same high school together or we grew up in the Valley Gardens Projects." said Rachel earning wide eyes from Rachel.

"I didn't know any of that, All I knew was that you guys were involved in organized crime." said Rachel as Lee nodded his head.

"Of course you did that's all cops do, you look at the wrongs people do and exploit them instead of looking at the good." said Lee as he took a bite of his apple.

"So killing people, dealing drugs, selling guns, and forced prostitution would be classified as minor crimes to you?" asked Rachel.

"We never killed anyone innocent whenever we killed someone we were sure they were gang members, it's kinda easy to bride and intimidate a witness." said Lee.

"As for the drug dealing we see it like this, we'd rather be the guys doing it than have someone worse than us doing it. We didn't sell to kids or woman who weren't to far gone and we enforced that rule." said Mark surprising Rachel.

"As for Prostitution we never forced anyone to sell their bodies, girls just wanted us to protect them because we didn't tax them." said Lee to Rachel's shock as she watched the two finish their apples as Mark rose to his feet.

"If you need me I'm gonna go pay a visit to Sam before Mercy and the others get's back." said Mark earning a confused look from Rachel as she watched Mark give a nod to Lee before leaving the tent while the woman nodded her head and watched as Mark made his way to the tent he shared with a familiar brunette.

"You're back." said Sam as she approached Mark before wrapping him in her arms for a hug that Mark didn't return.

"Did you find anything?" asked Sam as she let Mark go the Dark Circle leader nodded his head before taking off his leather jacket revealing his black wife beater as Sam watched Mark pop his neck before reaching into his stack of clothes and finding his familiar black zipup jacket with the white dragon on the back.

"Aren't you gonna talk to me?" asked Sam as Mark turned to the woman.

"Yeah sorry I'm just tired is all." said Mark as he gave Sam a quick kiss on the cheek before taking a seat on his sleeping bag.

"Something on your mind?" asked Sam as she sat on her knees across from Mark.

"Yeah our living arrangements." replied Mark earning a surprised look from Sam as she eyed the man.

"What's wrong with them?" asked Sam as Mark looked away from the girl.

"Well for one thing this tent isn't big enough for the both of us and living in here is sort of difficult with the clutter." said Mark.

"So wait you want to move out of my tent?" asked Sam with sadness in her voice.

"Yeah!" replied Mark sternly as Sam looked at him with a confused look.

"Why I thought you said our rules were over." said Sam as Mark slowly nodded his head.

"They are but please understand this right now Sam." said Mark as he took the girls hands in his own before looking her in the eye with a lying smile.

"Right now me and the guys are planning something very very major and if we're caught we could be thrown out or worse and I don't want you anywhere near that." said Mark earning confused eyes from Sam.

"What are you planning?" asked Sam as Mark took his eyes away from the girl and remained silent.

"I see and judging by your silence I guess there is no way of stopping this plan of yours?" asked Sam as Mark shook his head.

"Will we be seeing each other at night?" asked Sam.

"I'll let you know we are mostly doing the meetings at night when everyone's sleeping so I'll let you know ahead of times." said Mark as Sam slowly nodded her head.

"Where will you sleep tonight?" asked Sam.

"I'll crash with Lee for a little while after everything is over." said Mark as Sam lowered her head earning Mark's attention.

"Hey you'll still see me around." said Mark.

"Yeah, but only certain times a day and I already don't see you a lot." replied Sam as Mark wrapped the brunette in his arms as the taller woman layed her head on his shoulder.

"Well I don't feel as bad as I thought I would. I mean some of what I told her is true but the main thing reason I want to get away from her is-!" thought Mark as continued to hold Sam in his arms but found his mind thinking of another as the two sat that way for what felt like hours.

"I love you Marcus." said Sam breaking the silence and causing Mark to lose his concentration as he took his head off the woman's shoulder and looked into her eyes which seemed to sparkle in the dark tent.

"I love you Samantha." said Mark as a wide smile formed on Sam's face as she pressed her lips to Mark for a few minutes before the group heard the unzipping of their tent as Lee poked his head inside.

"They're back!" said Lee as Mark nodded his head before tapping Sam on her leg as she let go the Dark Circle Leader who rose to his feet and quickly made his way out of the tent to the dismay of Sam.

"Any loses?" asked Mark as Lee shook his head.

"Don't look like it." replied Lee as the duo made it to the front gate and watched as Mercy, Trip, Brie, Kozik, Bobby, Reid, and Michael each returned.

"You guys meet up along the way?" asked Mark earning a nod from Mercy.

"Yeah we noticed that we were all coming back from the same route we didn't find much in area so we spread out further and Trip caught some squirrels." said Mercy as Mark nodded his head before taking a glance at Brie who was walking away from the group.

"Thanks to this new baby." said Trip as he showed the group his Crossbow.

"Better keep that thing hidden before the guards see it." said Lee earning a nod from the auburn haired Dark Circle member.

"Meeting still on for tonight?" asked Link.

"Depends is Seal still in route here?" asked Mark as Lee nodded his head.

"He radioed a few minutes ago said he should be inside before nightfall." said Lee.

"Good we gotta keep him hidden until the time is right though." said Mark.

"Brother are we really gonna-!" started Link before Mark interrupted.

"We'll talk about this later tonight until then leave it silent." said Mark as Link nodded his head.

"I need to go check on something right quick I'll see you before the meeting starts." said Mark earning nods from the group as they already guessed his destination as they watched him make his way toward a tent a few yards away from the other tents.

"Hope she likes guest." thought Mark as he watched the flap of Brie's tent open before the raven haired woman stuck her head out and looked at Mark.

"Can I come in?" asked Mark with a calm look on his face as Brie nodded her head and stepped aside allowing Mark to enter the tent before zipping it up behind him.

"What's do wanna talk about?" she asked while taking a seat on her sleeping bag while Mark sat on the soft bottom of the tent.

"I just wanted to see how you were doing, haven't talked to you since we got here." said Mark as Brie nodded her head with little to no emotion.

"I've been fine." said Brie as she looked at Mark with a forced smile.

"Fuck this!" thought Mark as he moved forward and wrapped his arms around the shocked Brie as she felt Mark tightly wrap his arms around her.

"I thought you moved on from me." replied Brie.

"Never everything I told you was and still is true." said Mark as Brie looked into the eyes of Mark as the Dark Circle leader pressed his lips against Brie as the raven haired woman wrapped both of her arms around the back of Mark's neck before quickly breaking the kiss and looking away from Mark with a bright blush on her face.

"We shouldn't be doing this." said Brie.

"Why what's stopping us?" asked Mark.

"You're with Sam for one thing did you ever think of that?" asked Brie as Mark rolled his eyes.

"Yeah." said Mark as Brie looked into his eyes.

"Since we got here all I've thinking about is you though." said Mark as Brie looked at him with teary eyes before resuming the kiss as Mark ran his fingers through the girls long black hair as the sun started to set the duo found themselves lying on Brie's sleeping bag with Brie resting her head on Mark's chest.

"Can I see you again?" asked Brie as a smile spread across the face of Mark.

"I was planning on coming back later tonight." said Mark as Brie looked at him with a confused look.

"But what about Sam?" asked Brie as Mark ran his fingers through her hair.

"I moved out of her tent." replied Mark earning a surprised look from Brie.

"You can't leave her tent for mine Marcus." said Brie as Mark nodded his head.

"I know I'm getting my own tent, mainly because me and my brothers are planning something, and if Logan or any of the guards found out it could get bloody." said Mark as Brie only nodded her head while Mark rose from under her before standing up.

"I gotta go meet them but I'll be back later." said Mark as Brie nodded her head as Mark bent down and planted a kiss on her forehead before walking out of her tent while the raven haired woman felt a calm feeling wash over her while Mark made his way to the gate where Link, Lee, Mercy, and Trip were waiting.

"He here yet?" asked Mark earning a nod from as Mark noticed a red light from a laser pen showing on his chest as he noticed a man with short blonde hair, olive skin, and dark brown eyes crouching in the bushes on the other side of the gate.

"How we gonna sneak him in, if we open the gate everyone's gonna see?" asked Mark.

"Salty and Skull are on the other side they're gonna let him in from the back entrance once the guards call for lights out." said Link earning a nod from Mark as the man watched Lee give him hand signs before the man nodded his head.

"Alright tell the others to gather in your tent we don't need a lot of movement after the sun goes down." said Mark earning nods from the group as they went their separate ways just as the guards rung a bell signaling lights out as Mark gave few hand signs to Seal who nodded his head before making his way to the other side of the wall where he noticed Skull and Salty standing next to an underground garage before approaching them.

"It's good to see you guys again." said Seal as both men each nodded their heads.

"Just keep your head down and act natural so the guards don't think nothing." replied Skull earning a nod from Seal as the trio made their way towards the front of the mall uninterrupted before making their way to Link's tent where the group noticed Mark, Lee, Mercy, Trip, Kozik, Link, Bulk, Billy, Reid, and Michael already waiting for them.

"It's good to see you again brother." said Mark as he gave a smile to Seal.

"You two boss." said Seal as he gave Mark a quick hug before taking a seat.

"Fill him in." said Lee earning a nod from Link who turned to Mark.

"As you know brother we've been apart of this group for a while now and before you got here things were different. We were constantly fighting with the Cobras as well as the guards and the talks of leaving this place have been circulating for a while." said Link as Mark nodded his head.

"We had the plan of leaving all figured out but we didn't have a place to go and that's what really hurt us, because we needed to put some distance between ourselves and the mall." said Link.

"So we decided to send Seal out to find a location for us miles away from this place that would be suitable for us to stay." said Link as Mark turned to a smiling Seal.

"Yeah and with that I have good news and bad news." said Seal earning a confused look from the group.

"What's the good news?" asked Mark.

"Good news is I found the perfect location and a location I think all of us would like." said Seal with a smile on his face.

"Where?" asked Mark.

"A country club and brother when I tell you that thing is beautiful I mean that bitch is beautiful. It gotta have like seven or eight acres of land all surrounded by a brick wall and a metal gate." said Seal earning nods from the group.

"Where you able to get inside?" asked Link.

"That's one half of the bad news, not only was I not able to get inside but the club itself is located on the West Virginia-Kentucky border." said Seal earning loud groans from the group.

"But from what I can tell the inside looked clear." said Seal.

"Still to travel all the way down there on foot would be suicide." said Bulk as Salty nodded his head.

"It would also take weeks if not months." said Mercy as Mark turned to Seal.

"How'd you get there and back so fast?" asked Mark.

"Motorcycle." replied Seal earning nods from the group as the watched him reach into his jacket pocket before pulling out a map.

"I was able to map out how we can get there and marked off places we could stay in the meantime." said Seal as the group nodded their heads as Mark took the map.

"Looks like we're gonna have to postpone leaving at least until we can gather up some more supplies." said Mark earning nods from the group.

"I'll see if I can talk to the Gus about giving us more canned food." said Salty.

"Or we can trade it for meat and other things." said Billy with a smile on his face as Mark nodded his head.

"We also need to find ways of taking our guns back from these guys, when we leave I want to know everyone has at least one gun and some ammo for it, we can worry about getting vehicles later" said Mark earning nods from the group.

"Sounds like a plan." said Lee.

"But what are we gonna do about Logan in the mean time, it's no secret he doesn't like any of us?" asked Link earning a nod and a chuckle from Mark.

"What are you saying Link you feel we should kill him?" asked Mark through chuckles.

"Not necessarily kill him-." started Link with the rolling of his hands.

"Fuck that I wanted to kill that asshole since the day we got here." said Bulk earning low cheers from the group.

"I don't know Logan like you know him but I can an agree on wanting to see him dead as well, but if we kill him more than likely one of the guys under him will take charge primarily a Cobra and that won't be good for us or anyone here." said Mark earning nods from the group.

"So we're postpone his assassination, but we can deal with that." said Mercy earning chuckles from the group as Mark slowly shook his head with a chuckle before the group started to talk about other things that should be done before their departure before they exited Link's tents and slowly made their way to their tents while trying to not be seen as Mark slowly crept towards Brie's tent as the raven haired woman opened the flap allowing him to enter.

"So when are we leaving?" asked Brie as she watched Mark have a seat on the floor of her tent not surprised about the woman's questions as he noticed that the woman had changed out of her usual jeans and was now wearing a black t-shirt and baggy shorts.

"Don't know yet we've found a suitable location we just don't have everything we need for the journey as of now." said Mark as Brie nodded her head.

"I see...anyway I could help?" asked Brie as Mark shook his head.

"Nah we'll figure this out sooner or later." said Mark as be looked at Brie with a smile on his face as Brie looked away from the man.

"Someone brought your stuff to Lee's tent and I got it for you." said Brie as she tried to hide her blush as Mark noticed his black bag before smiling and nodding his head.

"Oh and the guys wanted me to give you this." said Brie as she reached behind her back and showed Mark a black Kevlar vest with a red skull and dragon painted on the front of the vest while the letters DCDS painted on the back as Brie watched a smile spread across Mark's face as he watched the woman show him a black mouth and nose mask like his previous one but with white fangs painted on them along with the Kevlar Vest.

"About time its been a while since I've seen this." said Mark as he grabbed the vest and mask.

"What is it?" asked Brie.

"This is the uniform we used to wear whenever we used to go out and kill people." said Mark as he eyed the mask.

"I've taken a lot of lives while wearing these." said Mark as he set the vest and mask down in the corner of the tent.

"I can only imagine." said Brie as Mark turned to the woman before grabbing her hand in a move that shocked the raven haired woman as she eyed the Dark Circle Leader who was slowly closing the distance between them until they were mere inches away from each other as Mark took his other hand and ran it through Brie's long black hair while the girl rested her head on his palm before Mark brought her in for a deep kiss before the two collapsed on Brie's bed.

BANG, BANG, BANG

As minutes passed the loud sound of gunshots is what interrupted the duo as Brie climbed from off top the now shirtless Dark Circle leader who quickly rose to his feet as more gunshots rang out followed by loud grunts and screams.

"Stay here!" said Mark as he grabbed his Tomahawks before rushing out of the tent while Brie was calling his name.

"What the hell?" asked Link as both he and Lee ran from their tents as the group heard gunshots coming from the other side of the wall while the bodies of five lay on the ground behind it with blood leaking from the bodies as the Dark Circle members approached the downed men.

"Dammit he's gone." said Kozik as the pressed his fingers to the man as Mark grabbed lifeless man's gun while Lee, Mercy, Trip, and Skull did the same before approaching the wall and firing shots at the unknown attackers while keeping their heads down.

"Sir we've got a problem." said Drew as he opened the door to the back room where he noticed Logan lying on top of a naked blonde woman before looking at the Cobra member with an angry smile on his face.

"I can't see shit." said Bulk as the lifted his head and fired two more shots before ducking down while Mark and the others did the same.

"Guys!" came the familiar voice of Bulk as the group watched him and Bobby approach them with Assault Rifles in their hands before passing them to the group.

"Now this is what I'm talking about." said Mercy as the Death Squad Members opened fire on the attackers hearing the loud scream of one as a bullet pierced his leg.

"What the hell is going on here?" asked a now robbed Logan and he walked past the guards standing on the roof before looking over the edge and noticing Marcus and the Dark Circle members opening fire outside the walls.

"Cease fire brothers, cease fire." said Mark as the group lowered their guns and their heads behind the wall hearing the eerie silence as neither side moved and held their breaths before the silence was broken by the screams of someone on the outside as he yelled for his friends to come back and save him as the group noticed several armed guards approaching them.

"Dammit one of them still breathing." said Trip.

"We can't allow him to be captured and interrogated." said Mercy as Mark gritted his teeth before lifting from behind the wall and firing three more shots at the source of the nose silencing the man as the guards approached the Dark Circle members before pointing their guns at them.

"Lower your weapons." yelled one of the guards as Mark and the Dark Circle members chuckled before turning their guns on the guards.

"You better think about who you're trying to order around." said Mark as he pointed his gun at the head of the speaking guard.

"Listen up asshole. We're the Dark Circle and we don't follow orders from anyone not Logan and especially not you." said Mark as he lowered his gun with a smile on his face as other Dark Circle members followed his motion before each throwing their guns to the ground and smiling at the fearful guards as Mark looked up at the roof of the outlet mall and noticed an onlooking Logan before turning his attention back to the guard and leading his group away from the wall.

"Since you're here you guys better get on that wall." said Mark as he pushed past the guards before giving a backwards wave as the Dark Circle members pushed past the guards with smiles on their faces as they made their way back to their tents while earning hand claps from the people watching them leave including Sam as she watched Mark who made his way to Lee's tent instead of Brie's to the raven haired woman's dismay.

"That guy really pisses me off." said Duncan as Logan kept his eyes on Marcus with an angry look written on his face.

"Then we'll have to do something about him." said Logan as a smile spread across his face before he turned his head and noticed a large muscular bald man who eyed the group with mixed looks.

12: Chapter 12

Chapter 12: The Betrayal in the Mall

Two Days Later

It was around noon as storm clouds almost shrouded the outlet mall as a warmly dressed Rachel approached the wall where Link, Kozik, Michael, Salty, and Billy stood awaiting the return of their friends as Rachel stood beside Link with a worried look on her face.

"Any word from them?" asked Rachel as Link shook his head.

"No, we think we heard gunshots a few minutes ago but we're not certain." said Link as Rachel nodded her head before turning her gaze back outside the wall.

"You sure are worrying about them a lot doll." said Billy as Rachel looked at the men a slight blush.

"That's because they're out there with God knows how many men armed men waiting to kill them." said Rachel as the group started to chuckle.

"Whatever!" replied Salty.

"I gotta ask did all the women at your camp want Mark?" asked Billy earning chuckles from the group and a wild blush from Rachel.

"I wouldn't know." replied Rachel as she folded her arms over her chest.

"I can answer that question brother, she wanted him and the other girl wanted him but they all got jumped over by the raven haired chick." said Michael earning chuckles from the boys.

"Wait I thought you were with that kid that's always following you around?" asked Kozik as Rachel instantly knew the blonde was talking about Tyler.

"I'm not with any of them, but speaking of being with someone how come you guys never go out with Mark, Lee, and the others?" asked Rachel.

"Because aside from Michael none of us were apart of the Death Squad and don't have military skills." replied Salty earning confused looks from the brown haired woman.

"So you were all drug dealers?" asked Rachel.

"Salty and Billy were, I was the groups lawyer and Kozik was the groups doctor." said Link earning confused looks from Rachel.

"Lawyer and doctor no wonder most of your members flew under the radar for so long." replied Rachel earning chuckles from the group.

"We learn from the best sweetheart." said Michael as the group started to chuckle before they noticed Sam approaching them.

"Are they back yet Link?" she asked earning a roll of the eyes from Link.

"No they're not back yet sweetheart." replied Link earning a nod from Sam.

"Geez next time Billy you go and Mark stays here and tends with his women." said Salty earning chuckles from the Dark Circle members as Rachel gave a bright blush before walking away from the group while Sam watched her leave.

"What'd she want?" asked Sam.

"Same as you." replied Link as Sam eyed the group.

"Hey you guys would be completely honest with me right?" asked Sam as the group nodded their heads.

"What's on your mind?" asked Michael.

"Does Marcus have any interest in any of those girls he came here with?" asked Sam.

"Not that we've seen why?" asked a lying Kozik.

"Well he moved out of the tent with me and gave me some half assed excuse about space." replied Sam earning nods from the Dark Circle members.

"Well Mark does like to keep to himself." said Salty as Sam rolled her eyes.

"Don't worry Sam, Marcus isn't fooling around with anyone and if he was we all know where his heart lies." replied Kozik earning a nod from Sam before the group heard the rustling of bushes and turned their heads and watched as Mark, Lee, Mercy, Trip, Reid, Bulk, and Skull made their way towards the gate while the group opened the gate for them Sam rushed out and instantly wrapped Mark into her arms.

"You're back-!" started Sam before she noticed a sticky red substance covering Marcus as she pulled away from the man she noticed blood covering her shirt and looked down at the Death Squad leader who hid his face behind his mask.

"Go clean yourself up Marcus." she said as Mark pushed past her and entered the gates with Lee and the others in tow as the people living in the city of tents watched the blood covered men with fearful looks on their faces.

"What happened?" asked Rachel as she stood beside Kozik and the others.

"Looks like they found someone in the wrong place." replied Kozik as the group noticed a piece of string carrying human ears around Reid's neck.

"And they had a field day with them." said Salty as he watched his Dark Circle brothers each make their way to the respective tents.

"You guys are complete overkill." said Rachel as Link nodded his head.

"That's the Death Squads M.O. they go in hard, make your death slow, and take no prisoners." said Link as Rachel watched Mark enter his tent before quickly zipping it up.

"Didn't expect to see you here." said Mark as he looked down at the familiar raven haired woman sitting on the floor of his new tent while he set his tomahawks on the floor of his tent.

"I came to see you before you left but you were already gone." said Brie as Mark took a seat on his sleeping bag before taking off his Kevlar vest revealing his now bloody white muscle shirt as Brie watched him remove the shirt revealing his blood covered tattooed torso.

"Sorry about that but I had a feeling you'd follow me out and as of right now that's not a place I want you to be." said Mark earning a nod from Brie as picked up a bottle of water and a towel before setting them next to himself as he reached for another shirt he was surprised as a soft wet fabric glided across his back as he turned his head and noticed Brie rubbing the towel over his shoulder.

"You know I can do this myself." said Mark as Brie continued to wipe his back.

"Really because the last time you wiped yourself down you still had blood covering your body." said Brie as Mark rolled his eyes.

"In my defense I'm mostly shirtless when I killed that day." said Mark.

"Shut up and turn around." replied Brie as Mark turned around to face the raven haired woman while she moved the towel over his blood covered torso.

"Is it weird that I'm not complaining about this crap." thought Mark as he gave a low groan as he Brie wiped his shoulders and felt her breath against his bare torso.

"Screw it all to hell." thought Mark as he grabbed Brie's hand earning the girls full attention as she looked him in the eye just as Mark made he first move and brought his lips to Brie's earning a surprised look from Brie before the woman closed her eyes and kissed back causing Mark to fall backwards on his back and allowing her to straddle him before breaking the kiss and looking down at the man.

"You sure you want to do this?" asked Mark as Brie responded with another kiss just as Mark's hand traveled to her belt buckle but as he went to undo the buckle he was interrupted by the sound of a familiar voice coming from outside of his tent.

"Figures she always did have great timing when I was doing things like this." said Mark as he pushed himself from under the raven haired woman who didn't look to surprised as Mark exited his tent and came face to face with Sam as he quickly zipped up his tent.

"Are you okay?" asked Sam as Mark quickly nodded his head.

"Yeah just getting cleaned up." said Mark as Sam nodded her head.

"Then maybe we can test out the new tent?" asked Sam as a smile spread across her face.

"Maybe some other time I'm having a little head problems." replied Mark.

"Well can I come inside and sit down?" asked Sam as she went to open Mark's tent before being stopped by Mark.

"Sorry but I want to be alone." said Mark earning a surprised look from Sam.

"What's in your tent Mark?" asked Sam.

"Something you don't need to see." said Mark earning a confused look being written on Sam's face.

"Are you torturing someone in there?" asked Sam as a confused look soon formed on Mark's face before his mind flashed with memories of the day Sam came to his home as screams of pain and terror filled the house as Mark remained silent.

"I understand but can you come see me later?" asked Sam earning a nod from Mark as Sam gave him a quick kiss on the cheek before walking away as Mark breathed a sigh of relief before reentering his tent and seeing Brie looking down at the floor.

"I understand if you want to leave." said Mark breaking the silent tension as Brie looked up at him.

"When are you going to talk to her about us or is there an us?" asked Brie earning a low sigh from Mark as he rubbed the back of his head in silence.

"Answer me Marcus." said Brie as Mark looked up at the girl with a blank stare.

"There is an us but right now-!" started Mark before Brie interrupted.

"We can't have people knowing about us." said Brie as she rose from off Mark's sleeping bag before walking out of his tent while the Dark Circle leader remained seated in silence.

"Why is this shit so complicated?" thought Mark as he rubbed his forehead before hearing the sound of his tent opening.

"Is this a bad time?" came the familiar voice as Mark turned his head and noticed a familiar black haired girl standing outside his tent.

"Not really is something on your mind princess?" asked Mark as Heather entered his tent.

"Yeah Hank sent me out here to get you." said Heather earning a confused look from Mark.

"Okay how come Hank didn't come get me himself?" asked Mark as Heather folded her arms across her chest.

"A lot of your men have it out for Hank and have been making threatening remarks." stated Heather as Mark rolled his eyes.

"Yeah, sorry about that but there's still a lot of hate going around out here." said Mark as Heather nodded her head before taking a deep breath.

"Have you forgiven him for what happened in Uniontown?" asked Heather as Mark looked up at her.

"No, I can't forgive him he left us to die in the back of a truck and he looked me in the eyes while leaving us to die. I may be a murder loving gun for hire but I do care about others enough to give my life for theirs... even yours." said Mark as Heather eyed the man with a surprised look as Mark rose to his feet before putting on another shirt.

"Let's get this over with." said Mark as both he and Heather made their way out of his tent before entering in the mall as Lee and the others watched the duo.

"Fresh air!" thought Mark as he took in the cool air of the mall as he watched people moving across the floor of the outlet mall.

"To say a lot of the people living outside are murderers, broken families, and people outcasted from society but being in here is where the real evil lies. A place where prey have sold their bodies and souls to predators for the sake of a false sense of security when it's really those outside these walls on the frontline of everything." thought Mark as he noticed a few woman walking around that seemed better suited working on corners than surviving the end of the world.

"But like they say people will do things they never dreamed of when their life is on the line." thought Mark as Heather led him towards Hank who was standing in the middle of the mall with Drew, Duncan, and Sean flanking him.

"Marcus!" stated Hank as Mark looked the Cobra member up and down before responding.

"Hank." answered Mark.

"Ugly Midget." said Drew with a chuckle as Mark eyed the man.

"Nameless character who will die first." stated Mark with a smile earning an angry look from Drew as he stepped to a fearless Mark before being stopped by Hank.

"Logan wishes to speak with you." said Hank as Mark rolled his eyes.

"I kinda figured so come on lead me to your master." said Mark earning angry looks from the Cobra's as Heather placed a hand on his shoulder with hopes that it would make him play nice.

"Follow us." said Hank as the group led Mark to the back of the mall before leading him into a familiar room where he came face to face with a familiar man.

"Marcus it's good to see you." stated Logan as Mark kept an angry expression painted on his face.

"What's this about?" asked Mark as Logan.

"Well I've wanted to address the rumors I've been hearing stating that you and your friends are the cause for this new enemy constantly attacking us." said Logan as Mark rolled his eyes before turning his gaze to a silent Hank.

"What of it?" asked Mark.

"Well Mark if you and your friends are marked for death you are kind of a detriment to our community." said Logan as Mark began to chuckle.

"Right the only guys supplying everyone here with food and supplies is a detriment while the guards and guy who runs this places runs around forcing the women to sleep with them instead of living outside these walls." stated Mark as an angry look spread across the face of Logan.

"What me and my men do is none of your business Marcus. You should be more worried about those men outside." answered Logan.

"Whatever if you're going to throw us out throw us out, we don't care, but I can guarantee everyone outside and a third of everyone inside will follow us out." said Mark with a smug smile on his face.

"I'm aware of how many people support you here but I wonder how many will support you when they wake up one morning and you and every Dark Circle members isn't here to protect them?" asked Logan with a sinister smile on his face.

"That's right I'm aware of your plan to leave this mall and I'm aware that you've found a location better than this mall to claim as your own." stated Logan as Mark gritted his teeth.

"Unfortunately I don't know the location neither do many of my men so I'm hoping you would be so kind to give us this information?" asked Logan as Mark started to chuckle.

"You must be joking I ain't telling you shit." answered Mark as Logan rose from his chair.

"I was kinda hoping you'd say that." said Logan as he eyed Mark with a sadistic smile.

Outside

Things were silent outside of the outlet mall as the members of the Dark Circle sat beside each other talking amongst themselves or polishing their weapons with Rachel, Tyler, and Sam before they were interrupted by Heather as she approached the group.

"Mind if I joined you?" asked Heather as the group eyed her with mixed looks.

"The Princess wants to hang with the throwaways what a surprise." said Trip with a chuckle as Link pulled up a chair for the girl.

"Why is that so surprising?" asked Heather as she took a seat.

"You didn't hang out with people like us in high school." answered Lee to Heather's shock as she eyed the group.

"I remember Mark saying we attended high school together but I didn't figure none of you went as well." stated Heather as Lee nodded his head.

"We all took algebra together you, him, the three of us, and Sam." said Mercy as Heather turned to look at the girl easily recognizing the familiar face as the woman kept her angry gaze away from her.

"That's kind of a shocker." said Heather as Rachel noticed the way she was eyeing Sam who seemed to be trying to mask her anger, but before the group could say a word they were interrupted by the sound of a car horn blaring through air causing them to turn their attention to the front gate.

"Hey what are you doing?" yelled one of the guards as the members of the Dark Circle rose from their chairs before hearing the loud roar of a car engine as it sped towards the gate.

"Shit!" yelled one of the guards as the car slammed into the front gate causing the guards to fall from their positions as the everyone living outside the mall eyed the gate.

"Kozik, Link, Salty, Bobby get everyone to their tents." said Lee earning a nod from the blonde brother as he ran away from the group as they picked up their weapons and started to approach the gate.

"Damn-!" started one of the guards as he tried to stand up the Dark Circle members kept a close eye on him before hearing a loud explosion come from the other side of the gate as the vehicle on the other side went up in flames earning the attention of everyone in the mall as Mark took his gaze away from Logan and the Cobra members before pushing his way out the door and running through the outlet mall.

"Hold your positions." said Lee as he, Mercy, Trip, Bulk, Skull, Reid, Michael, and Billy each lifted their Assault Rifles and aimed towards the front gate just as the sound of hisses and moans started to fill the air as the Biters started to pour inside of the parking lot of the outlet mall.

"OPEN FIRE!" yelled Lee as the group of Dark Circle members began to fire on the horde of Biters not worrying about headshots as so much about stopping them as the people living in the tents started to run around in panic just the guards inside the mall locked the front door leaving those outside to be trapped with the Biters as people inside the mall rushed to hide in the stores while a few watched the events taking place outside as Mark approached the front.

"You can't go out there." yelled one guard earning a swift punch from Mark as the Dark Circle leader quickly grabbed the man's Rifle along with the attention of a few others as they watched him fire three shots into the glass door of the mall breaking and allowing him to rush out while those on the outside rushed inside.

"Plug that hole now." yelled Logan as the guards nodded their heads while Mark noticed Lee and the others either shooting their guns or clubbing their way through the Biters as they approached them as Mark raised his gun and started to pick off any Biter that got to close.

"RAHH!" screeched a Biter as it appeared on Mark's right side but just as the creature went to take a bite out of Mark the creature fell with the blade of a sword embedded in the side of its head as Mark noticed Brie wearing his Dark Circle Kevlar Vest taking a stand beside him.

"Thanks for the save." said Mark as Brie handed the man both of Tomahawks before picking up her sword.

"Cover me!" said Brie as she rushed into the horde of Biters cutting as many down as she could as Mark watched the blood of the Biters stain the ground like juice on a carpet as Brie slammed her foot into the stomach of one Biter before embedding her blade into its head.

"Shit!" said Mercy as he throw down his ammo less gun and began to cut down any Biter that got to close with his Axe while Trip covered him with his Crossbow.

"There are to damn many." said Lee as Mark crouched down and fired his Rifle as Kozik, Link, Salty, Rachel, Tyler, Heather, Sam, Michael, Bobby and Billy rushed past him.

"Thanks for the save brother." said Link as he patted Mark on the shoulder.

"Whatever get everyone inside and make sure they don't seal us out." said Mark as Link nodded his head before gesturing for everyone to enter the outlet mall as each Dark Circle member patted Mark's shoulder as he continued to fire.

"Mark." whispered Sam as he watched Mark start to reload his gun as a Biter came at him before being instantly cut down by a familiar raven haired woman wearing his leather vest as Mark threw the gun to the ground before drawing his Tomahawks and joining the sword wielding woman in the close range battle.

"Brothers regroup!" yelled Mark as Lee, Mercy, Trip, Bulk, Skull, and Reid ran to him and Brie just as the Biters started to swarm around them.

"Fall back to the mall before they lock us out." yelled Mark as the Dark Circle members huddled around each other in a semicircle fashion and began to slowly make their way towards the door of the outlet mall while cutting down any Biter that got to close to them.

"Come on!" yelled Kozik from the door of the outlet mall as the group of Dark Circle members made their way inside mall just as Kozik and Salty pulled down a metal grate over the broke glass door as Biters pounded on the metal door trying to force their way in.

"Few we made it." said Trip with a smile on his face before he heard the loud cocking of guns as the Dark Circle members lifted their heads and noticed about twenty of the guards standing on the second floor with their guns aimed at them while another group on the first floor did the same.

"The fuck is this?" yelled Mark with a growl as the Dark Circle members crowded around Rachel, Tyler, Heather, Sam, and Brie.

"Marcus Smith it has come to my attention that the reason we are being attacked is because you made some enemies outside these walls." yelled the booming voice of Logan as the Dark Circle members lifted their heads and eyed the man with anger in their eyes.

"And to make it worse all of you were going to run out and abandon us to save your own skin." said Logan as the group of people in the outlet mall eyed the group in anger.

"Who snitched?" yelled Billy as Logan started to chuckle.

"Why the friend you tried to keep a secret." said Logan as he dropped a familiar jacket on the group.

"Seal." said Kozik.

"Where is he?" yelled Mark with words filled with enough venom to kill a snake as Logan started to chuckle.

"That doesn't matter Marcus, but what does matter is what we are going to do about traitors like you?" asked Logan as Mark gritted his teeth in anger.

13: Chapter 13

Chapter 13: Firefight in the Mall

No Escaping the Dark Circle

The Next Day

The sun was rising over the now Biter infested area once known as Pennsylvania but the light was shining over many of the Dark Circle members as they sat handcuffed to chairs in separate rooms of the mall as Mark opened his eyes and noticed that he was sitting in an old video store that was now cleared out.

"Well they were smart enough to keep me isolated from the other Dark Circle members." thought Mark as he looked around the dark store while looking down at his cuffed hands and feet just as the sound of a door opened and in walked a smiling Logan.

"It's good to see that you're finally awake." said Logan as Mark gave the man an angry look.

"Don't be made Marcus we're doing this for the good of the group, you and your friends are detriments that must be fixed." said Logan.

"And you're a cancer that must be forcibly removed." replied Mark as Logan started to chuckle.

"You gonna kill me Marcus not from where I can see." said Logan as Mark gritted his teeth.

"I would kill you now but I don't think your friends outside the wall would like me handing you over beaten within an inch of your life." stated Logan as he smiled at Mark.

"I suggest you sit tight because they'll be here tomorrow to take you and your or should I say what remains of your friends." said Logan as he dropped four sets of dog tags before Mark allowing the Dark Circle leader to read the names of Salty, Michael, Bobby, and Billy

"YOU SON OF A BITCH!" yelled Mark as he tried to leap from his position but only managed to land face first on the ground as Logan walked away from the screaming Mark chuckling as Dark Circle leader yelled threats at the top of his lungs.

Elsewhere

Inside of a familiar store locked up by a metal grate Sam sat in silence with Brie, Rachel, and Tyler as their minds pondered the fates of the Dark Circle members just as they heard a noise at the front of the store and noticed Heather on the otherside of it.

"The hell are you doing here?" asked Rachel as Heather lowered her head.

"I came here to talk." replied Heather.

"There's nothing to talk about." answered Brie as she continued to look around the store in order to find a weapon.

"Look this wasn't my decision and if I could help I would." answered Heather to Sam's Dismay as she slammed her fist against the gate.

"You want to help get us out of here or better yet get Marcus and the others out if your brother and his bitch ass friends haven't killed them already." replied Sam as Heather eyed the woman before him with fear in her eyes.

"I'm pretty sure they're all alive." said Heather.

"You really believe that. You weren't here as long as me I know Logan he's someone that gets off killing right now I bet he's more than likely torturing them until they die then moving down the line." said Sam as Heather eyed the woman.

"I hope you like having that on your conscious princess." replied Brie as Heather eyed the raven haired woman.

"Ever since he's been with you Marcus has been saving you and your fucking brother at every turn while the both of you stab him in the back at every turn." said Brie.

"Well what do you want me to do?" asked Heather as tears started to form in her eyes.

"Do the right thing for once." replied Brie as Heather walked away from the cell leaving the group of four as they continued to formulate a plan of escape.

Hank

While everyone else was inside by choice or by force Hank found himself with the other Cobra members Drew, Sean, and Duncan throwing out the bodies of the now lifeless Dark Circle Members as he eyed each body he noticed various slice wounds on each body along with bruises and burns covering them from almost head to toe.

"I guess he's Salty no more." said Drew with a chuckle as the group dropped the body of the lifeless Dark Circle members off the roof and into the crowd of overgrowing Biters who quickly jumped at the lifeless body and started chewing at it.

"Alright let's get the next one." said Duncan as he watched Sean and Drew drag the lifeless body of Michael as Hank noticed that the man was missing his left foot and his body had lost all of it colors but as he eyed the body just as Sean and Drew were about to toss it over just as the door leading to the roof opened causing everyone to turn their heads and eye Heather who now had a shocked look on her face as she eyed the body of Hank along with Bobby and Billy.

"Oh my god." said Heather as a feeling of being punched in the gut washed over her body.

"Heather-!" started Hank as the girl made her way off the roof with Hank running after her.

"You shouldn't have been up there." said Hank as he went to grab his younger sisters hand he was stopped by a slap to the face as Heather looked at him with tears in her eyes.

"What are you doing Hank look at what you're turning into." said Heather as Hank eyed the girl.

"I'm doing this for us." replied Hank as Heather shook her head.

"No you're doing this for you because you enjoy this sick shit." said Heather as she walked away from Hank who looked at her with a sad expression plastered on his face as Heather found herself sneaking into the back of the outlet mall where the remaining Dark Circle members were being held separately.

"Which room!" started Heather before she heard someone making their way towards her.

"Shit!" said Heather as she opened the first door and made her way inside of the room before quickly closing the door behind her and taking a breath of relief.

"Well if it ain't the princess." came a familiar voice as Heather turned her head and noticed a handcuffed Reid sitting beside a Bulk and Skull.

"Jesus!" said Heather as she eyed the men noticing bruises and dried blood covering their bodies.

"What I ain't pretty no more?" asked a Reid as Heather eyed the men before moving closer to them.

"Where are Mark and the others?" asked Heather.

"They put us all in separate rooms so I'm guessing he's in the next room probably alone like Lee, Mercy, and Link." said Skull to Heather's dismay.

"Reid I am so sorry about Michael." said Heather as she noticed the angry expression on the man's face as he looked away from the woman.

"I bet you are princess." said Reid as he tried to hold in his tears.

"We've got a worse fate then what they got once the Tarrolli's arrive here tomorrow." stated Skull as Heather eyed the men.

"Especially Mark since he was the one that killed the man's brother." said Bulk as Heather eyed the trio.

"Is there anything I do to help you?" asked Heather as Reid started to chuckle.

"Yeah wrap your lips around my dick and set us free with a side a fries princess." said Reid.

"You really want to help us?" asked Bulk as Heather nodded her head.

"Alright then to prove that you're willing to help us there's something we need you to get for us and we don't care how you get it just get it." said Bulk.

"What do you want me to get?" asked Heather.

"A handcuff key, it doesn't matter who you get it from just get one along with a knife." said Bulk as Heather nodded her head.

"Then go and get it." said Skull as Heather made her way towards the door making sure to put her ear to the door before walking out as she noticed four other rooms that probably housed each Dark Circle member but before she could check another room she was caught off guard.

"What the hell are you doing down here?" came a booming voice as Heather turned around and noticed Drew eyeing her.

"Sorry I was looking for my brother, have you seen him?" asked Heather as Drew shook his head.

"No he's probably with Logan and he can't be disturbed right now." said Drew as Heather nodded her head just as she noticed a pair of handcuffs in a holster around the man's waist along with a knife as Bulk's words ran through her mind like a broken record.

"Any means necessary." whispered Heather as she batted her eye lashes at Drew.

"Well can I disturb you." said Heather with a giggle as she slowly approached Drew before pressing her hand to his chest.

"Maybe but I don't think your brother would like this." said Drew as Heather pushed the man causing his back to hit the wall as she closed the distance between them.

"Are you sure about that." said Heather with a seductive look as her hands made their way towards Drew's waist where she grabbed his handcuffs and held it up to his face.

"I kinda have this thing I wanted to try want to help me out?" asked Heather with a seductive look as planted a kiss on Drew's neck before the man pushed her away from him.

"You've got my attention meet me in the bathroom in five minutes." said Drew as Heather nodded her head.

"I'll be there you should go find some protection." said Heather as Drew nodded his head before walking away as Heather noticed the handcuff keys still in the handcuffs as a smile spread across her fast as she made her way back into the room containing the three Dark Circle members.

"You get the key?" asked Skull as Heather held up the prize with a smile on her face.

"Outstanding now this is what I want you to do for me now and you have to follow these instructions carefully." said Bulk as Heather kneeled down in front of the men taking in their words carefully before leaving out of the room and gathering different supplies from around the outlet mall.

Hours Later

"Lights out!" yelled a guard at the top of his lungs as the lights that once flooded the inside of the outlet mall shut off almost at once as Hank found himself making his way inside of the store he shared as a living space with his sister he noticed Heather laying on her sleeping bag with her back to him.

"You may hate me now little sister but someday you'll understand." said Hank as he took a seat on his sleeping bag and as minutes passed he soon found himself drifting off to sleep as the sounds of his snoring caused Heather to open her eyes and turn her head to her sleeping brother.

"Good!" said Heather as she rose from off her makeshift bed before throwing on a black jacket to cover her head and grab a backpack that was in the corner of the store before making her way out and sneaking towards the back of the outlet mall where she noticed a man standing guard outside of the rooms as the brown haired girl tried to think up a plan of action.

"Shit!" said Heather as she reached into the backpack before pulling out an empty food can and throwing it as hard as she could to the top floor of the mall earning a loud clanging noise as the metal can hit the floor alerting the guard as he looked back at the doors before leaving them unattended as Heather quickly made her way to each room before coming up on the last room and opening the door where she noticed Mark still to escape his binds just as he heard the door to the room open but was surprised to see Heather walk into the room instead of Logan or another guard.

"Christ!" said Heather as she eyed the bruises covering the body of Marcus.

"What do you want princess?" asked Mark as Heather made her way towards him Mark noticed the girl carrying a backpack with her as she set it down beside Mark.

"To make sure you have a fighting chance." said Heather as she slid a knife into Mark's back pocket along with a small knife.

"Bulk said you'll know the best time to free yourself and when you do this is waiting." said Heather as she opened the backpack revealing to the Dark Circle leader his MP7 Submachine Gun and three magazines of ammunition before closing it up and setting it behind the door.

"Why are you doing this?" asked Mark.

"Returning the favor." said Heather as she tossed the bag behind the door before quickly making her way out of the room where she came face to face with an unknown figure who dragged her away.

The Next Morning

The sun was rising high on this new day that is predicted to be one of the bloodiest days at the outlet mall as Logan made his way into the back of the mall before entering the room that contained the Dark Circle leader as he opened the door he came to the familiar sight of Marcus lying on the floor in handcuffs.

"Good morning Marcus." said Logan with a sinister smile as Marcus looked up into the face of the man.

"Today's the big day the day you and your friends are finally wiped from existence." stated Logan as he started to chuckle before kneeling down and looking Marcus in the eye.

"You and your friends brought this on yourselves, and today people like you are gonna get exactly what you deserve." said Logan as he noticed Mark starting to chuckle.

"Today is the day for people like me to die but guess what I'm not gonna be the one to die." said Mark as Logan rose to his feet with a smile on his face.

"We'll see about that." said Logan but just before he could continue he was cutoff by Duncan as the man stuck his head into the room.

"Sir their on their way." said Duncan earning a chuckle from Logan.

"Little early but then again you're someone worth being early for." said Logan as he looked down at Mark.

"Stay here with him, I'm gonna introduce myself to our new guest." said Logan as Duncan nodded his head before moving out of the way as Logan walked past the man a smile spread across the face of the handcuffed Dark Circle leader.

"Don't see why I gotta stay with him, prick ain't going-!" started Duncan before he felt a hand wrap around his mouth and a blade and someone pull him into the dark room as Mark stepped out of the room with a smile on his face and a bloody knife in his right hand and Heather's backpack in his left as he opened the door to the next room and noticed Lee, Mercy, and Trip sitting on the floor.

"Time to go!" said Mark as smiles spread across the faces of each man.

Logan

As this was going on Logan made his way outside the mall where the bodies of the motionless Biters lay scattered around the parking lot with bullet holes in the heads as four men stood on the roof of the outlet mall with Assault Rifles in their hands as they kept their sites on Logan as the man eyed the destroyed fence with a smile on his face as he watched four modified pickup trucks pull up in front of the outlet mall as a group of about twenty armed men stepped out of the vehicles as Logan watched as a muscular man wearing survival gear with short brown hair walked up to him with an emotionless look on his face.

"It's finally good to meet you face to face Mr. Johnny Tarroli." said Logan as he extended his hand to the man only for the man to bat his hand away.

"Where is Marcus and the other Dark Circle members?" asked Johnny as Logan nodded his head.

"Right this way, but you can only have two guards escort you." said Logan as Johnny moved his head and watched as two armed men stood beside him before following Logan into the building but as they entered the building the failed to notice Link, Mercy, and Kozik attack the men on the roof before pulling them away from the edge and stealing their guns.

"We're a go on the roof." said Link over a Walkie Talkie as he walked to the back of the mall and noticed Bulk and Skull opening the back door before setting up a radio at the entrance while Mercy setup one of his own on the roof.

"Brothers you're clear to move everyone." said Link over the radio as Lee, Reid, and Trip each wearing hoods and hats on their heads while making their way towards a familiar store with four prisoners trapped inside.

"Hurry!" said Lee as he and Trip opened the grate to the store before noticing Sam, Brie, Rachel, and Tyler each ready to defend themselves.

"It's us!" said Reid as he removed his mask earning a hug and tears from Sam.

"You got out." said Rachel as Lee nodded his head.

"Yeah, now it's time we got out of here." said Trip with a smile.

"You guys need to head to the smoothie stand there you'll find Link and the others and they'll help you get out." said Lee.

"But what about Mark?" asked Sam.

"Don't worry about him he's gonna meet us in the middle." said Trip with a chuckle as the group each nodded their heads before going their separate ways.

While the Dark Circle members were executing their plan Logan was entering the mall with Johnny and his men in tow as the three mafia members noticed the armed guards standing on the second floor of the outlet mall while a few survivors watched them enter with smiles on their faces.

"This is a nice setup you have here." said Johnny as Logan nodded his head.

"Yeah we do what we can to keep it safe." said Logan.

"Including handing over dead weight." said Logan with a smile as Johnny nodded his head just as Hank approached the men.

"Sir the Dark Circle members they've escaped." said Hank to Logan's surprise.

"What find them now." yelled Logan as Johnny eyed the angry man with a half smile.

"What is this." said Johnny as his men pointed their guns at Logan who looked at the men with anger in his eyes while his guards pointed guns at them.

"Hold it they probably still here so there's no need to start-!" started Logan before he was cutoff by the sound of gunshots that filled the air.

"Those are coming from the roof sir." said Hank as Logan grew angry.

"You son of a bitch you set us up." yelled Johnny as the sound of gunshots continued to fill the air.

"No it's Marcus he's-!" started Logan before the sound of pounding could be heard on the door as the screams of Johnny's men filled the air just as the lights turned out in the mall.

"Son of a bitch!" said Johnny as the group had the fortunate of being able to see one another thanks to the skylight in the middle of the mall.

"I see you." said Mark as he lifted his MP7 and started to open fire on the group managing to hit Johnny in the chest as his men began to shoot at the guards surrounding them while Hank and Logan made ran away from the middle of the firefight while those that were around wasn't so lucky as Mark began to move away from the firefights as bullets collided with the wall next to him.

"Love it when a plan comes together." thought Mark with a devious smile on his face as his Walkie Talkie crackled to life.

"Talk to me brother." said Mark.

"Biters are here and their making their way into the back." said Link over the radio as he watched an ice cream truck approach the mall playing loud music before crashing through the gates surrounding the back of the mall with a herd of about forty of so Biters approaching.

"How does the front look?" asked Mark.

"All of Johnny's men are either dead or have fled so we're clear to move." said Link as Mark nodded his head.

"Alright get moving don't wait for me." said Mark as he put away his Walkie Talkie as he turned his head and spotted Hank and Logan.

"There he is." yelled Hank through the crowd of rushing people as he drew his Pistol and started firing at Mark who quickly ran away as Logan eyed the man.

"Screw him we gotta go." yelled Logan just as the sound of gunshots continued as they lifted their heads and noticed Lee and Trip shooting at the duo.

"Don't let them live brother." said Trip as he reloaded his Rifle while Lee continued to shoot as the duo pushed their way through the crowd and followed them to the back of the outlet mall.

"Target is heading to the trap brother." said Lee over his Walkie Talkie.

"Good make your way to the side exit." said Link over the radio as he and Trip ran in the opposite direction of the crowd of people.

"Damn it!" said Johnny as he used his hands to crawl away from the scene as blood could be seen falling from the second floor as guards lay dead.

"Where do you think you're going Tarrolli?" came a familiar voice as the mafia boss turned his head and noticed Mark making his way towards him with a devious smile on his face.

"You!" yelled Johnny as Mark chuckled as he approached the man before stomping down on his injured leg.

"You know I've been waiting to get my hands on you since I got here." said Mark as he stomped down on the man's leg again earning a loud scream from him.

"You son of a bitch." said Johnny.

"You know I wanted to kill you slowly like I did your other brothers but I'm on a tight schedule." said Mark as he pointed a Pistol at the man's head.

"Wait-!" started Johnny before Mark pulled the trigger silencing the man forever before taking a deep breath and making his way towards his next destination.

"Come on sir we have to get out of here." said Hank as he and Logan made their way into the storage garage with the crowd of people where they came face to face with a the herd of Biters which quickly leapt at them and turned the inside of the garage into a bloodbath.

"Shit!" said Hank as he fired a few shots into the crowd of Biters in order to slow them down but their numbers seemed almost endless until they heard the sound of a car horn and turned their heads and noticed Heather behind the driver seat of a school bus waving at them to get on.

"Come on!" yelled Heather out the window as both Hank and Logan approached the bus and climbed inside where they noticed they both noticed a few women and children piled inside of the bus before they took a seat behind Heather.

"Go!" yelled Logan.

"There's still people trying to get out." said Heather as more people climbed into the school bus before Logan shut the door on them.

"Now drive!" yelled Logan as Heather stepped on the gas petal sending the bus flying forward and running down any Biter that was its path as Heather drove out of the Biter infested garage and drove away from the outlet mall.

"Come on!" said Link as he Mercy, Kozik, Lee, and Trip stood by the side exit awaiting the return of their friends as Mark approached the group.

"We ready?" asked Mark.

"We're still waiting on Reid." replied Mercy as the sound of screams could be heard inside the mall as the Biters finally got inside.

"Shit!" said Reid as he entered the store before closing down the grate.

"Where the hell were you?" asked Lee as a smile spread across the face of Reid.

"Had to pick someone up." said Reid as he moved to the side showing everyone the familiar little girl.

"Laura." said Mark with a smile as the girl hugged him.

"Good work." said Mark as the group made their way out the side exit where they noticed Sam, Rachel, Brie, and Heather waiting on them as Sam caught site of Mark and ran into his arms.

"Good to see you too." said Mark as he eyed Brie who was looking away from him.

"We need to move." said Mark earning nods from the group.

"Where are we going?" asked Rachel.

"To see our friend." replied Mark the remaining Dark Circle members made their way into the woods surrounding the outlet mall.

Logan

While the Dark Circle members began to make their way towards their destination the school bus filled with the few survivors of the outlet mall suddenly came to a stop in front of a small white house on the side of the road as Logan angrily eyed Heather.

"Why are we stopping?" asked Logan with venom in his voice.

"We need to wait and give the others time to catch up." said Heather.

"For what they're probably dead so let's get going." yelled Logan.

"Sir she's right we should at least wait for someone else to come, before we left I saw Sean and Drew gathering supplies and we made a plan to meet here if something ever happened to the mall so we should wait here for them to arrive." said Hank as Logan gave the duo an angry look.

"Alright, but you and me are waiting on the bus for them." said Logan as Hank nodded his head.

"Come on hopefully there's food in supplies in the house." said Heather to the group of people on the bus as they piled out of the bus and their way inside of the house as Logan noticed that Heather left keys in the ignition as a smile spread across his face as he watched the group enter the house.

"This is bullshit." said Logan as Hank looked to the back of the bus where they both noticed to men sitting in the back across from each other in silence.

"Didn't you two here me I said get in the house." said Logan with an authoritative tone as the duo continued to sit in silence.

"You fuckers didn't hear me?" asked Logan as he quickly stomped his way to the back of the bus before looking at one man.

"I said get the fuck off the bus." yelled Logan before he watched as one man revealed his face before putting a Pistol to the man's head.

"Anybody ever told you that you talk to much?" asked Skull with a chuckle as he pointed his gun at Logan's face while Bulk pointed his gun at the back of the man's head.

"Hank do something." said Logan as Hank shook his head.

"Sorry boss but I'm with them on this one." said Hank as Logan gritted his teeth in anger.

"You you're betrayed me you let them out." yelled Logan.

"No my sister did that I just helped you not see the trap." said Hank as he approached Logan.

"And now I'm gonna deliever you to Marcus because I know nothing I do to you will match up to what Mark does to you when he gets his hands on you." said Hank as Logan gritted his teeth before feeling something hit the back of his head as the group watched Logan hit the floor with a loud thud.

"You got any handcuffs or some rope?" asked Skull as Hank shook his head.

"Nah I used them to handcuff Drew back at the mall." said Hank as Bulk looked down at the unconscious man.

"Well then give me your belt." said Skull as Hank took off his belt as Heather watched the trio from the window of the house with an emotionless glare just as the bus drove off.

Dark Circle Members

The sun was beginning to move past the middle of the skies as the group continued to make their way through the woods before they spotted a tree with a circle and a skull carved into it.

"We're here!" said Link as Rachel looked at the Dark Circle members with confused looks before they pulled a shovel from under some leaves from the tree and began to dig up the dirt in front of the tree revealing three black sacks that Mark quickly opened to revealing to the group four M4A1 Assault Rifles along with four G36C Assault Rifle, his PSD Assault Rifle, Trip's Crossbow, twelve Pistols, three Shotguns, and Brie's sword.

"Salty left us a gift from beyond the grave." said Trip as he picked up his Crossbow along with a Pistol while Mark handed Lee a G36C along with a Pistol.

"Salty's dead?" asked Rachel as Mark nodded his head.

"Along with Michael, Billy and Bobby." said Mercy as Mark handed him an M4A1 Assault Rifle and a Shotgun.

"He took the four of them yesterday morning and let's just say they didn't live to see that night." said Link as Mark handed him and Kozik both G36C and Pistols before handing Reid and M4A1 and Pistol.

"I'm sorry to hear to that." said Sam as she wiped tears from her eyes.

"Don't be because in less than ten minutes we're gonna be avenging their deaths." said Mark as he strapped his MP7 to his hip before strapping his PSD Assault Rifle to his back as the group gave him confused looks as Mark handed Brie back her sword before leaving the group.

"What did he mean by that?" asked Tyler as Rachel picked up a pistol and handed another to Tyler.

"I guess we're about to find out." said Rachel as she Tyler and Sam followed after the group of Dark Circle members as they stood next to the main road and stood still.

"What are we waiting for?" asked Tyler before the group heard the familiar rumble of an engine as they watched a school bus drive up to the road and stop in front of them.

"All aboard." said Skull as he opened the door for the group.

"Was wondering when you got here." said Trip with a chuckle as Mark climbed into the school bus where he noticed Bulk standing guard over Logan.

"He's all yours brother." said Bulk as he stepped aside as Mark came face to face with the now conscious Logan who looked at him with fear in his eyes as Mark opened the emergency exit to the bus before kicking Logan in the gut and sending him flying out onto the street where Mercy, Trip, Lee, and Reid were waiting for him.

"I'm gonna enjoy this." said Lee as he sent a sharp kick to the side of Logan's head knocking the man down as Mark, Bulk, and Skull jumped off the bus and began to beat on the man while Brie, Sam, Rachel, Tyler, Link, and Kozik watched.

"Aren't you two gonna help?" asked Rachel.

"We want to but this is something the Death Squad does we just sit back and make them money." said Link as Rachel put her hands over Laura's eyes as the group watched as Mercy took the belts binding Logan off his arms and legs before tossing him in the middle of the road.

"You sons of bitches." said Logan with an almost broken jaw as he rose to his feet and noticed Mark, Lee, Mercy, Trip, Reid, Bulk, and Skull circling him like animals with pocket knifes or switchblades in their hands.

"Remember what we talked about earlier Logan today is a good to for someone like us to die." said Mark with a chuckle as Logan's eyes widened.

"But like I said we're not the ones dying today, you are." said Mark as Logan throw a punch at Trip who ducked out of the way as Bulk grabbed both of the man's arms while Mark grabbed his throat while Lee, Mercy, Trip, Reid, and Skull began stabbing the man in the gut and forcing him to the ground similar to that of a pack of wolves working together to take down a deer as Laura put her head to Rachel's chest while the redheaded woman covered the child's ears as Logan's scream filled the air as the Dark Circle members continued to stab at the man for what felt like hours until they each rose to their feet with blood covering their bodies as they looked down at the now lifeless Logan with smiles on their faces as they each licked their lips before smiling at each other and nodding their heads in satisfaction.

"Well that was fun, but now it's time to go." said Mark as Lee and the other Dark Circle members followed him onto the bus where everyone else was waiting for them to return as they each took their seats while Link sat at the drivers seat before starting the bus and driving off while the members of the Dark Circles Death Squad took separate seats and tried to slow down their adrenaline as Mark took a seat far away from both Brie and Sam so they couldn't see him.

Thirty Minutes Later

The drive back to the white home wasn't to long but at the same time it felt shortened by almost half to the Dark Circle members as Link stopped the bus in front of the home where Heather and Hank were both sitting on the front porch before standing as they caught site of the bus.

"Time to see who got out in time." said Link as the group exited the bus as both Hank and Heather caught site of Mark and the remaining Dark Circle members along with the group from the trailer park as Heather approached Mark with a smile on her face.

"How'd I do?" asked Heather as Mark gave her a smile of his own.

"You did good princess." said Mark as Heather opened her arms and brought the Dark Circle leader in for a hug as Mark kissed the top of her forehead.

"We wouldn't have survived without you." said Mark as Heather backed of the man and noticed blood staining her clothes.

"There's water here go clean yourself up Marcus." said Heather as Mark pushed past the woman along with Lee and the others as they each patted her shoulder or ruffled her hair with smiles on their faces as Mark passed a silent Hank.

"Me and you are alright." whispered Mark as he moved past a surprised Hank with the other Dark Circle members in tow as they each entered the home.

"You guys forgive us now?" asked Heather as she eyed Sam, Rachel, Brie, and Tyler.

"We forgive you but you have to work to earn back our trust." said Rachel as Heather nodded her head before hugging the woman as they made their way into the house where they noticed the survivors bundled together and talking amongst each in fear as the Dark Circle members made their way out of the bathroom without wearing their blood covered shirts giving everyone views of their tattooed torso which showed images of eagles, dragons, skulls, and angel wings tattooed across the backs of each men as they eyed the survivors.

"Listen up, as you can all see we're kinda at a crossroads here. A few of you knew us back at the mall and you knew what we were like and how we acted around you and few of you have been influenced by guys like Logan who is now no more." said Mark earning shocked looks from a few of the survivors.

"Yeah we killed him because it was the right thing to do and we were planning on killing him before we left the outlet mall in order to give you all and those there better lives." said Mark as the group gave him mixed looks.

"So here's how things are gonna go down. Me and my Dark Circle brethren are leaving here tomorrow morning, I'm forcing and I'm not begging for you to come with us that's your choice not ours." said Mark.

"If you want to come with us be awake tomorrow morning if not there will be no grudges held and we would offer you supplies if we had any but unfortunately we don't all we can offer is a few weapons and some ammo aside from that nothing else will be given." said Mark as the people continued to eye him.

"You have until morning to decide so choose wisely and sleep tight." said Mark as he and the other Dark Circle members made their way outside of the house.

"Why didn't you tell them about the country club?" asked Link.

"This way we know who's loyal to us and who hasn't been brainwashed by Logan." said Mark as he reached into his pants pocket before pulling out the crumbled up map that belonged to Seal.

"You think we'll be able to get there in one piece?" asked Lee.

"We're going to try or die doing it." said Mark earning nods from the group as they continued to stand guard over the house while making small talk into the night until Mark was the last man awake before he finally made his way inside the house and noticed the sleeping people sitting around the living room almost on top of one another as he continued to walk until he made his way in the kitchen and noticed that it was completely empty.

"Guess this'll do for now." thought Mark as he jumped up on the hard cabinet to take a seat as his mind pondered the current situation he and the other survivors now faced with mixed feelings.

"Still beating yourself up?" came a familiar voice as Mark turned his head and noticed Brie walking into the kitchen.

"What are you still doing up?" asked Mark as he kept his gaze to floor away from the raven haired woman.

"Hard to sleep in small house with over fifty people staying inside." said Brie.

"You still haven't answered my question." finished Brie as Mark gave a loud scoff.

"Because there's nothing to answer for I'm not beating myself up for anything." said Mark as Brie started to chuckle.

"Yes you are because of the escape plan you and the your friends half formulated innocent people had to die and that's not sitting well with you or an of them." said Brie as Mark gave a low growl.

"And now you're thinking what me and you talked about back in that store in Uniontown, that people like us belong in this world, but you're wrong Marcus." said Brie as Mark remained silent.

"You're a good man no matter what you think or what you did or what you do now." said Brie as Mark lifted his head and jumped from the cabinet in front of Brie and looked into her eyes.

"You really believe that?" asked Mark earning a nod from Brie as the raven haired woman noticed that her face was inches away from the Dark Circle leader before closing the distance between them and planted a kiss on Mark's lips that the contract killer eagerly accepted as he kissed back and moved his hands from her hair to under her shirt earning a soft moan from the girl while her own hand traced over Mark's torso all the while their lips never separated as Mark's hand almost snaked from out of the woman's shirt and down to her hips where he lifted her up and set her down on the cabinet earning a chuckle from Brie through their kisses as he pulled down her pants and undid his belt buckle before starting to plant kisses on the girls neck as Brie closed her eyes and tried to hold in her moans but the moment she opened them she wished she didn't as her gaze met a familiar woman standing in the doorway of the kitchen with tears in her eyes and a hand over her mouth as she quickly walked away.

"Marcus!" started Brie to the ignorance of the Dark Circle leader as he forcibly bit down on her neck before giving an almost animal like growl that silenced Brie as her feeling pleasure soon turned to despair at the problems Mark would face in a few short hours