The First Days (As the World Dies 1)

Jason shifted on his feet uncomfortably. "Look, dude, I think we should find someone to talk to you. "

Tobias shook his head. "There is no talking. They need us and we deny them. We need to go out there and tend their wounds. I don't believe these lies about those poor people eating people. It's a lie. "

Jason shook his head. "No, I swear, it is not. "

Tobias just stared at him, turned and started down the hall.

Jack whined after him, then looked up at Jason. Jason took a breath, ran a hand over his hair before following after Tobias. There were construction workers coming into the building to get something to drink and maybe a snack. Jason had to push through a bit of a crowd to get down the stairs and out of the building.

When he got outside, he looked around for the older man. The site was a bit of mess considering all the work they were doing and he wandered around. Threading his way past living areas set up under tarps and past large piles of equipment, he finally saw Tobias standing on the platform that Juan had told everyone to stay off of. The plan was to put up a screen to shield the sentries from the zombie's view. Tobias stood on the platform waving at the crowd beyond the truck perimeter.

"Hey, dude, get down from there!" Jason started to jog toward the older man.

Tobias hesitated at the sound of his voice then began to push one of the longer ladders from the platform, over the wall, over the fence and toward the top of the trucks. The wall and fence held up its weight and it's length barely reached the trucks. The older man didn't even test its sturdiness, but began to crawl over it.

Jason reached the platform and fell to his knees to grip the end of the ladder to hold it in place. The crowd of zombies began to go nuts. Though he was far away from the zombies, the sight made Jason feel sick.

"Come back, dude! Come back!"

When the ladder see-sawed,Tobias stopped for a moment, and then continued on.

"Mom!" Jason shouted. "Mom!"

Jenni looked up from her far corner, saw him holding the ladder, and came running.

Tobias reached the fence and began to crawl over the spikes.

Nearby, a woman gave out a cry and Jason was sure it was Tobias' wife.

Jenni reached the steps just as Juan did. They jostled each other as the moved up the stairs and reached the platform at the same time. Jason noticed Jenni's gun was already in her hand.

"What the hell is he doing?" Juan took off his cowboy hat and ran a hand over his hair.

"He was talking about his family. About how they needed help. He said he didn't believe the stories about them eating people. "

Jack started barking crazily at the zombies and Jenni gave him a stern look and ordered him back down the stairs. Jack gave her a plaintive look, but obeyed.

Tobias reached the top of the trucks and started to walk over them, maneuvering over the dirt trucks, the cargo trucks, the heavy sandbags, his arms held out to keep his balance.

"Tobias, come back!" A woman had joined them and her expression was desperate.

Tobias hesitated and looked back at them. "I will not abandon our family. I will not give in to superstition. " He walked on until he reached the edge of the truck perimeter. Kneeling, he held out his hand toward the throng below. He started calling out names and Jason could see the crowd getting more and more riled.

"Come back," the woman kept screaming.

Jenni looked at Juan and showed him the gun. Juan nodded and Jason looked back toward Tobias sadly.

The older man had now slid down onto his stomach and reached down over the crowd to one particular zombie most likely, but it was too hard to tell. And then it happened. One of the taller zombies managed to snag his arm and began to pull him down into the crowd. Since his back was to them, Jason did not know if Tobias had finally realized the error of his ways or not.

But there was no more time to Tobias to consider if his idea to go to his family was faulty. Jenni's gun let out a sharp bark and Tobias head split open.

Limp, he was dragged down into the crowd.

Jenni turned away and looked at Jason. He couldn't help but watch as gouts of blood exploded over the heads of the zombies and a battle for flesh began among them.

"Don't look," she said softly.

"You killed him. "