After hours of traveling through the sky, Frank's private plane landed in New York International. But problems doesn't end there. Because NYI was already overran by zombies. Frank and his companions had to fight their way through those flesh-eating monsters.

As they move further to the exit of the airport, Frank's companions started dying. Those dead walkers really have their way of just appearing out of nowhere. And instead of decreasing in numbers, they seemed to be multiplying. Until Shiela heard something.

"Wait!" Shiela whispered. "Can you guys hear that?"

Her two male companions listened closely. There's a distant sound of gunfire, which means there are other people outside the airport. The three of them hurried towards the exit. Frank, who's favorite hobby is target shooting, helps the pilot on killing the other zombies that blocked their way.

Outside the airport, they saw four people trying to fight their way through an increasing number of zombies. The loud sound of gun fire seemed to be attracting the attention of other zombies around the area. Frank saw this as an opportunity to have more protection for himself. So he helped the strangers.

"You're all headed to San Francisco?" He asked the man nearest to him.

"Yes, you?" The man replied.

"Yes, we are. Maybe we can all go together. Strength in numbers and all that."

"Hey! I found a bus, and it's still working! Come on!"

They are all boarded the bus and finally breathed a sigh of relief. Frank stared at his companions and studied them. A Filipino family, an English man, an American, an Indian pilot, Shiela and himself. Not the kind of team that he would bet his money on, but at least his not alone.

"Mama, I'm hungry." Youngest on the Filipino family said in a language Frank could not understand.

"Here, baby. Let's just divide this to and your siblings." The mother replied, dividing the chocolate bar among her four children.

"I'm good, Mama. You can have my share." The eldest said. Even though Frank could not understand what they were saying, it was obvious that the eldest didn't want to take his share. Maybe, he want to give it his siblings? Whatever. He doesn't actually care.

"Give me that." The Filipino man said before snatching a piece of chocolate bar from the woman's hands. Frank's guess is that this man is the father. He ate the piece of chocolate without hesitation.

The eldest shook his head and held his mother's hands, then gave it a slight squeeze. A small and sad smile formed on the mother's lips, as if telling her son that it's okay. Frank didn't have to understand their language to know that the man is an irresponsible father and husband.

Their already about a kilometer away from the airport when they saw two figures walking under the heat of the sun. A man holding a sniping rifle, obviously a military man, and a young woman covered in tattoo. When the two saw their bus, they jumped in joy and waved their hand. Frank wanted to just ignore them, but the driver, the English man, stopped the bus for them.

"Oh, my God! Thank you!" The young woman exclaimed as soon as they got on the bus.

"Thank you, thank you so much." The man said in a think Spanish accent.

Frank then thought, having more companions is better because it means more people to protect him. He would never have thought that he would spend time with such people. Growing up in a luxurious life of the business world, Frank was always one of those elitist, and the people around him now are the people he used to look down before.

-------------------------------------------

-Flashback-

'Shiela, is it true? You only made friends with me because I can help you pass the exams?'

'What? Of course, not. Bella, you are my best friend and I am true to you. I was the who told you who was spreading those issues about you, remember?'

Bella sighed and nodded before giving her a tight hug. Because of that, Shiela was able hide her wicked smile. A triumphant smile that she will carry until her graduation.

-End of Flashback-

Shiela Johanson, an ambitious woman with no sense of hardwork and perseverance. All she has is resourcefulness. If there is one thing that Shiela is good at, that's knowing who she can use better to her advantage and manipulating those who became her target.

She graduated college with honors because she befriended the smartest student in school. Being hired at the di Angelo Industries was made possible because of her connection to one of its department managers. And as soon as she got into the company, Shiela immediately set her eyes on the biggest fish, Frank di Angelo.

-Flashback-

Being the CEO and Owner's executive secretary is not the kind of job that Shiela wanted for herself. In fact, she didn't actually want to work at all. She's capricious, ambitious, and a gold-digger. All she want is an easy life, a life fit for a princess or maybe a queen.

"Good morning, sir. Here's your coffee."

Wearing a red mini-dress with thin strap and a very low v-neckline, Shiela entered di Angelo's office. It's her first day on the job, and she wanted to make an impression to her boss. Well, a different kind of impression. As she placed the the coffee on his table, Shiela intentionally bent over a little too much, showing her rich and firm cleavage.

"T—thank you, Shiela." And when she saw how Frank di Angelo stared at her breast, she knew that she already got what she wanted.

-End of Flashback-

She let herself become the mistress of the wealthy CEO for the sake of money. Houses, credit cards, expensive bags and shoes, jewelries. But none of it was enough for her anymore. Even when Frank di Angelo is almost living with her and neglected his family, it still not enough.

Shiela wanted to have his baby to secure her future. She knew that she's getting older and she wants to ensure that her life will always be the way she wanted. Her boss might not be able to marry her—she doesn't care at all—as long as she will have a good life.

But then the outbreak happened. Her priorities have changed and she needs to survive. That's what's important for her as long as the situation is still the same. However, she's still clinging into Frank hoping that when the situation got better, she'd better have a better shot at life.

"Look. There are two people running! Oh, my God! They're being chased the large hoard of zombies."

"Here! Come on! Hurry!"

They've already traveled about seven miles and their travel has been smooth sailing so far. It looks like the way they were taking has cleaned by other survivors, or maybe the zombies got drawn towards another direction. Apart from a handful of zombies they killed every here and there, the road was practically clean.

"Let's rest here." The driver said when they stopped in front of a record store. It's front is still intact, and they may be able to sleep there for the rest of the night.

If it were up to Shiela, she would want to continue as long as they can, but the needs some tank refill. They also need some supply run, and the kids need to rest. She may be most evil person in the world, but she didn't have the heart to see child suffer.

"You know what, Aki? I had a daughter as old as you. She was a painter because that's what she wanted to be. I had three kids, a son and two daughters, that's why when my doctor's told that I could never kids again, I was okay about it. But now, with all these? I wished I had spent more time with them."

Shiela didn't know what else they talked about to bring up the topic about his children. But what burned into her mind was the truth that he can never children again. Her hopes of having his baby for permanent stability is now gone, and she no longer have a use for him.

The world is different now. If he dies today, no one would ever have the ability to question her. She doesn't need him alive, all she needs is to survive.

---------------------------------------------

First thing in the morning the next day, the companion of survivors woke and boarded the bus. Alicia with her husband Russel and their children, the pilot named Lester, the American doctor named Robbie, the German special agent Lt. Bill Hauffer. The American-japanese nurse named Aki, the Chinese teacher named Luan, the Spanish soldier named Miguel, and the American-filipino call center agent named Ally.

Both Shiela and Frank di Angelo see their companions as advantage. Now, all they have to is reach San Francisco in one piece. Maybe it will not be impossible with the help of these people with them. Maybe, with them they can have shot for another future. Something better than what they have today.

"Sh*t! That's a large hoard! We have to turn back." Ally exclaimed when she saw what's ahead of them. In ten years of surviving alone with her aunt, she has never really seen a large hoard.

"We're losing time. Maybe we can find a detour, back road through countries and small towns." Frank commented. His mind is only set on getting the cure.

"Does any of us know any other way?" The driver, which is now the pilot companion of Frank, asked. But no one replied.

"We have to turn back." Lt. Bill Hauffer agreed.

"Or we can stay in this town for awhile and let the hoard pass. Perhaps we can a map here that could help us in our journey. Turning back makes lose more time, so is staying here. At least if we're here, we can get supplies and things that we need." Luan suggested instead.

"I agree with Luan." Shiela said.

"Yeah, I think that's a better idea. Besides, we're not sure how far this bus would take us before we ran out of gas." Corporal Miguel Fernandez added.

"Okay, let's stay here."

------------------------------------------------

The hoard seemed to have liked the town because they stayed a bit longer than they have expected. Now, they are stuck in a ghost town, inside the town hall. Lt. Bill Hauffer and Corporal Miguel Fernandez are both drawing up a plan. However, given their tactical trainings, they wouldn't settle on one or two plans alone.

Everyone is giving the time they need because it's their life that depends on it. So, while the two are still finishing up all their back up plans, the others secured the area and did a supply run. Shiela took this as an opportunity to do what she's been planning to do.

"Babe, come with me." She said in a flirtatious tone. Everytime she does that, she knew that Frank always gets turned on.

The Italian business tycoon followed her quietly. They both walked through city hall's cold, silent, and bloodied corridor. What was once the heart of what could have been a beautiful town, is not a dead, decaying, and abandoned memory. As soon as Shiela found what she's looking for, she silently uttered a prayer. She may be ambitious but she's not a murderer.

Earlier, while everyone's busy debating about what they should do next, Shiela walked around, trying to find the perfect spot. That's when she found a part of the city hall that was destroyed by the bombing. And she prepared everything she needed for this.

"Don't you think this is too far from our companions?" Frank asked with a smile on his face.

"Oh, baby. This is not far enough. You know how I like to scream when you're inside me." Shiela replied seductively.

She pushes Frank to the just beside the door. Their kisses are passionate and wild. When Frank changed their position, Shiela carefully maneuvered away from the door. And when she felt Frank's already unfocused because of his libido, Shiela's plan came to it's conclusion.

Frank fell backwards when Shiela pushed him. He thought it was part of the foreplay but he thought wrong. The door didn't help him keep his balance, in fact, it made things worst. As soon as leaned backwards to the door, it swung open and betrayed him. Being at the second floor of the city hall, he knew that once he fell on the ground, the dead walker will be waiting for him.

But there"s no time to think or safe himself. His feet gave away, allowing him to continue to fall. And the last thing he saw was Shiela Johanson's face smiling down at him. They say when your about to die, your life will flash before you like a movie. In his case, the only thing that came to his mind was his beautiful wife.

A vibrant, intelligent, yet loving woman who gave him the world. She gave him three lovely children and a peaceful life. Despite his womanizing, his wife remained faithful and loyal. She never complained, never even said anything. Even when his only son condemned him for hurting his mother's feelings repeatedly, Frank's wife still stood by his side.

Frank didn't even realized that zombies are already gathering around him. Clawing into his insides and making him their dinner. Maybe that's what they call adrenaline rush, or maybe his body simply accepted his fate. Or maybe, he just didn't know he's already dead.

"Oh, my God! Frank!" Luan screamed when she saw Frank's body lying with more that half a dozen zombies tearing at his insides. Their munching at his arms, his legs, his face like his some kind of delicious meal.

Their companions ran towards Luan's spot and saw what she's looking at. There's nothing they can do anymore, but Alicia and Aki still cried for the lost of a friend. In the world they live in, it's not hard to get emotionally attached to people you just met. Maybe it's the desperation to feel alive, to know that that there's still humanity left.

"What happened?" They looked at the second floor of the city hall almost in unison, and saw Shiela kneeling down as she wept. She's wailing for the lose of her lover, crying in grief.

But why can't they find it in their heart that to believe her tears. Why can't they see the sincerity in her eyes? It's not right to judge, but for some reason, all of them are thinking the same thing. Shiela killed her lover, and whatever her reason is, they know that she's a killer.

"That's cold, premeditated murder. Damn! If I witnessed this before, I'd be arresting her now." Bill exclaimed while shaking his head.

"Why? No one witnessed what happened." Alicia disagreed.

"You're too young to understand many things, hun. Let's get back inside. We're getting too much attention from the walkers. We have to finish planning."