Caz

Caz walked next to Keith as they headed in the direction they came from. He knew it was a bad idea to let Keith smash one of the zombies, but he had seemed so eager to join the guy in killing the zombies, that Caz couldn’t really say no. Had Keith been a dog, he would probably have been wagging his tail with excitement.

"I hope we don't see that guy again," Keith said and looked in the direction of the train. Something told Caz that Keith seriously didn't like that guy, and Caz could understand why. Anyone who is stupid enough to play music to attract zombies, would be no good to have around, as they could be more dangerous then useful.

When they arrived safely back to the train, Heather was playing with Ella and greeted them when she saw them through the window.
“So, I guess you stopped the music?” she asked them as they sat down, Keith by where he had been sleeping and Caz on the seat across from Heather.
“Yeah, there was some crazy dude who used the music to get the zombies to come to him, only so he could have some fun killing them,” Keith explained while Caz looked through his backpack. He seriously needed something to take his mind off the whole situation with the madman, so he dug out his little notebook where he still had to finish up the drawing and details of the one abdominal zombie from the motel and the screamer from the mall.

“What?” Heather said in disbelief. “I can’t believe anyone would actually be willing to put them self in such a risk,” she continued as she shook her head.

“Well people are losing their mind in this apocalypse, so I’m not even that surprised,” Keith said as he laid down and made himself comfortable before he closed his eyes.

“Yeah,” Heather sighed in agreement and turned her attention to Ella who was blabbing to herself, which made Heather smile.

Caz did his best to focus on finishing up the drawings of the zombies, but his thoughts kept going to the crazy guy, when suddenly a sound of moving vehicle could be heard nearby. Caz automatically looked at the others and could see Heather quickly picking up Ella and get down onto the floor, crouching out of view. Caz quickly put his things away in his backpack and picked up his rifle and crouched down onto the ground too.

“Do you think it’s someone coming this way?” Heather asked and Caz could hear her voice tremble a little which told him enough about her experiences. Caz shrugged but carefully looked out of the window to see if he could spot anything when he noticed Keith get up from the couch, his bat in his hand, and ready to head towards the entrance, if Caz hadn’t gotten up and grabbed a hold onto the edge of his shirt.
“Keith, you idiot!” He hissed as he pulled him back down with him so they were all crouching. “Don’t show yourself! Remember, it’s better that we hide then draw attention to us, especially since we have a kid with us!” he reminded him. “If there is more then one, we could be done for, so let’s stay quiet and see if they will go away,” Caz said and they stayed quiet, with Heather trying to keep Ella as quiet as she could.

The sound of the unknown vehicle got closer, and it was clear to hear it was a motorcycle engine, and it only sounded like one person. The problem was it got closer and closer until it stopped right outside of their train and Caz held his breath. The engine was killed off and they could hear the sound of footsteps as the ground crunched with every step, heading right towards them. Caz looked at Keith, who looked back, and they both nodded in agreement as Keith held up his bat, ready to hit who ever would enter, except the one who entered were no other then the madman.

He knocked on the entrance just before he poked his head in, and looked from side to side with a huge grin.
“So this is where you ladies are hiding,” he said amused.

“What are you doing here?!” Keith growled annoyed. Adrian looked at Keith, still with a grin on his face.

“You guys were the ones who stopped my music and ruin my fun, and then just leave like nothing,” Adrian reminded him. 

“So, you decided to follow us?” Caz asked a little cautiously, as he didn’t know what the guy wanted.

“Well, you had me curious,” the guy said and looked around as he entered the train. “It’s not every day I meet other people who aren't trying kill me, but actually just walk away,” he shrugged. “But don’t worry, I’m not here to cause any trouble,” he said and looked at Heather and the kid, smiling. Heather looked hesitant at him before she looked at Caz. Caz sighed a little and got up, swinging the strap of the rifle over his shoulder. Keith cursed under his breath, with Heather responding with ‘language’ without missing a beat, and groaned annoyedly. Keith stood up and went back over to his seat and laid down, his bat resting right next to him. He took out his dagger and a wooden figurine and was carving it while keeping an eye on the guy. Heather looked between Keith and Adrian then looked at Caz again.

“Is this the guy you talked about?” she asked, and when Caz nodded, she gave the guy a tight-lipped smile. The guy nodded in her direction and looked at Caz.

“Name’s Adrian,” he introduced himself to the others, which made Heather and Caz introduced themselves, but Keith kept himself out of the conversation. “I didn’t mean to intrude your guys place, I just wanted to check it out myself,” he explained. Caz gave him a slow nod and sat down on a seat.

“It’s just a temporary stop and we won’t stay for long,” Caz said, and Adrian nodded as he looked around.

“Yeah, it’s not the best place to be,” he noted. “Especially not when you have a kid. Is it yours? And are one of them the father?” he asked Heather, nodding in the direction of Caz and Keith. Caz literally choked on his own spit at the suggestion and coughed, while Keith cut his own finger in surprise of the suggestion and cursed a little. Heather let out a soft laugh and shook her head.

“Oh no, she isn’t mine nor theirs,” she said. “Besides I’m way too young to have kids, plus I have only known these guys for like a day,” she explained, then hugged Ella. “I found her wandering the streets and decided to help her,” she continued. “If these guys hadn’t showed up, we would have been zombie food.” Adrian looked from Heather to Keith then Caz and gave him a grin.

“Lucky you met them, I guess,” he said and looked back at Heather, just as Ella reached out her arms at him. Caz could see his face almost light up as he smiled at her.

“Oh, can I?” he asked Heather who for a moment looked hesitant but decided to probably trust him, even though Caz was going to say no, and watched as Heather handed Ella over to him. He held her carefully and took a seat next to Heather. Caz frowned a little, but watching him play with Ella made him feel like Adrian wasn’t as bad as he might first have assumed, and decided to talk to him.

“So, since you enjoy killing the zombies, what do you know about them?” He asked and took out his notebook, ready to write down whatever new information he could get. Adrian glanced at him then at the book before he looked back at Ella.

“I see ‘em and I smash ‘em,” he answered which wasn’t really useful to Caz. He let out a sigh and taps on the book with his pencil.

“What I mean is, have you seen anything out of the ordinary, or have you noticed something special?” He asked again and this time he had Adrian’s attention, as he was looking at Caz then down at his book.

“What? Are you writing about ‘em?” he asked. Caz nodded and showed his book to Adrian who looked curiously at it. “Damn dude, those are pretty impressive,” he said with a grin. Caz grinned back and showed him the rest of the book. Adrian whistled as he looked through the pages, and Caz noticed Heather trying to look at his drawings too, so he held it closer to her so she could look better.

“Wow, these are really good!” she smiled.

“Thanks,” Caz replied, and he could feel all the praise was getting the better of him, and his face felt like it was heating up a bit. He wasn’t used to people complimenting his work, since he wasn’t really one to talk with people at all, which didn’t really help with the apocalypse thing going on.

When Heather gave Caz his book back, he packed it away in his backpack and watched as Heather took Ella, since she was getting sleepy. Adrian got up and went over to sit next to Caz.

“So, you guys just met Heather yesterday, how long ago did you and gingerbread man meet? Have you traveled together for a long time?” Adrian asked and Caz snorted in amusement. Keith got up, visibly annoyed, clearly not enjoying being called gingerbread man, and went over to them. When he joined them, he was glaring at Adrian in warning, who smirked back at Keith, clearly enjoying that he got a reaction out of him.

“Well, Lucky Idiot-“ he snorted again in amusement, “- and I met when he decided to crash at the house I was staying in.” He smiled up in amusement at Keith, who looked back in a disbelief scowl of Caz’s betrayal. Caz directed his attention to the others, as he thought about it. “That was around five days ago,” he finished saying. He noticed Adrian was looking at Keith, still smiling.

“Now, now, gingerbread man, no need to get so serious. It’s all a bit of fun. It’s not my fault that you haven’t given me your name, so I had to think of a name for you,” Adrian tried to make light of Keith’s mood, which didn’t seem to ease Keith’s mind but only fuel his annoyance until he said something that even caught Caz’s attention. “How about a peace offering? I got beer, if you are into that?” Adrian suggested. Keith almost perked up, again reminding Caz of a dog that just heard the sound of treats.

“Beer? Really?” he asked. Adrian nodded with a grin, and Caz knew he had won Keith over just like that. “Fine, but one wrong move and you’re out, got it?” he glared at Adrian in warning.

“Or I’m out? Are you the group leader or something?” he asked, but he had his hand up in a semi surrender and he still had his cocky grin.

“No, but I can’t risk you ending up hurting the others,” Keith answered with a serious expression that even Caz found a bit surprising. Caz guessed Keith was the overprotective kind of person, and that he might have a bit of a hero complex, since he was willingly trying to defend people he didn’t even know.

“Well, you don’t have to worry, I’m not interested in joining you guys anyway, but I am a bit tired of the solitude life, which is why I am willing to offer my share of hauls,” Adrian said as he got up.

“But why? I mean you don’t know us at all, and you are willing to give away your stuff? What if we decided to attack you and steal from you?” Caz asked with narrow eyes as he didn’t really fully believe in the kindness of the guy. Adrian looked thoughtful at Caz then at the others before he smiled.

“I somehow doubt you guys are going to do that, I mean, you don’t seem like the type to backstab others,” he looked at Caz and shrugged. 

“And how can we be sure you won’t do the same,” Heather asked. She had a cautious expression on her face and Caz felt like she had experienced something similar which made her a bit more guarded.

“You can’t, no one can in this world anymore,” Adrian said flatly but quickly flashed her a smile. “I guess you just have to take my word for it,” he shrugged with a smile before he turned on his feet and left the train. Caz glanced at the others, Keith meeting his eyes as he went to the doorway to look at Adrian, most likely trying to ensure that he wasn’t going to do anything to harm them. Caz got up too and stood next to Keith, then leaned closer to him to whisper.

“You think he really got beers?” He asked. Keith pouted a little as he thought.

“I sure hope so, ‘cause I am craving one badly right now,” Keith whispered back as watched Adrian pick up the backpack that was dumped near the motorcycle and came back to them. 

“They might not be as cold as you hope for, but they should still be rather refreshing,” Adrian said and held out his backpack for the others to take. Keith took the backpack and opened it, only to be met with three beers. He picked one up, his eyes widen as he looked at Adrian before looking at Caz and handing him the backpack. Caz wasn’t sure what had caused him to look so surprised, but when he picked up a beer, which was wet with condensation and fairly cool to the touch, he understood.

“How are they so cold?” Caz asked when he handed the backpack back to Adrian. He flashed them a cocky grin.

“I got my secrets,” he said which just made Caz even more curious.