Dead Man Walking: Living By Day, Dead By Night
Chapter 112: Accepting a New Member

Madison was nervous. These people were, after all, murderers, and apparently slavers, as well as she now had a shock collar tied to her neck. But she knew that if she did resist their interrogation, she would most definitely be in pain again.

Thus, she stumbled over her words as she properly introduced herself to the group.

"M… Madison… My name is Madison… Madison Harrison…"

Zane nodded his head silently as an acknowledgement of the girl's identity before asking his next question.

"So Madison… What skill did you awaken?"

Madison was nervous. She knew very little about this skill, or the system that seemed to be constantly in the back of her mind. But these people seemed to know what all of this meant and thus she answered the question, hoping they would be able to answer some of her.

"It says I awakened an uncommon skill called Force-Field Generation…. I can apply force fields to myself or others. I just don't know what that means…"

Zane was a little bit surprised by this… Combined, their team was starting to balance out well. They had Olivia who could deal massive damage with her electric discharge, Angelica who could heal anyone who was injured, and Elena who could stop time providing some much needed control to the team.

Meanwhile, Zane's own skill had evolved to the point where he could deal repeated damage to enemies, rather than rely on cooldowns. And though he had yet to discover the full extent of his current powers, Zane suspected his blood manipulation was not as powerful as Olivia's Electric Discharge.

Now they had someone who could provide some much needed defense, something that would come in handy when dealing with Abominations, which until now they had been avoiding like the plague. With this knowledge, Zane spoke to the girl, reminding her of who she belonged to while letting her know her skill was useful to the team.

"It appears you aren't useless after all…. Just remember what will happen if you try to use your new abilities to harm any of us. At any time I can shock you, and I doubt your force field can prevent that..."

Madison's legs quivered when she heard this, prompting Angelica to speak up on her behalf. The girl was clearly overwhelmed by fear, and thus, being the Angel that she was, Angelica rushed to her side.

Though this act wasn't exactly within Zane's plans, Angelica was a naturally kindhearted woman, and couldn't sit idly by when the teenage girl was practically on the edge of pissing herself in fear.

"Zane…. Please, this isn't necessary…. Are you alright Maddie?"

Madison's eyes shot over to Angelica, who wore a warm and friendly smile. Only her friends and family called her Maddie, so why was this stranger acting so chummy with her? Still, it felt nice to have someone who cared, and thus Madison hugged Angelica and cried in her arms.

"Please don't let him hurt me!"

Angelica was not mad at Zane, she had already seen his kindness to herself, and had already heard the man's reasons for being deliberately cruel to the newcomer, and thus she shot Zane a glance that let him know everything was going according to plan, while reassuring Madison that she would be fine.

"Don't worry about him. He's not as bad as you think. I was in your shoes once… And he saved me! Zane is just a bit overprotective of us all, and doesn't trust you yet. Just behave yourself and he won't cause you any harm, okay?"

Madison looked up at Angelica's warm green eyes and wiped the tears from her own before asking the young woman if this was really the case.

"Really?"

Angelica simply smiled and nodded her head, once more reassuring the girl that Zane was not the monster he portrayed himself to be.

"Of course! Now, we just have a few more questions. There's nothing to be afraid of. We just need to know how capable you are."

Madison calmed herself. She had been through a lot today, and honestly wanted nothing more than to fall asleep and never wake up. But still, she found the courage to speak to Zane and answer his questions as she stepped away from Angelica's side.

"Okay… Ask away… There's not really much of a point resisting, now is there?"

Zane didn't make a movement, or any expression, instead he simply asked his questions which were about Madison's attributes. He was horrified to replace how utterly useless the girl was, and was quick to surrender the blood crystals they currently had in an attempt to get the girl up to the bare minimum standard.

Madison would spend the night in agonizing pain as she went through the corruption process for the second time. However, when she awoke, she would be at the same level as Angelica, which was level four.

But that was a story for another time. After all, for the first time since the beginning of the apocalypse, Zane and the others had found a place which was perfectly safe and stocked full of supplies.

If not for the ever evolving threat of the undead, they could simply stay in this bunker for a lifetime, and never have to worry about re-emerging. But as long as the undead continued to evolve, there was no telling whether this bunker would withstand the rising tide.

And because of this, Zane began to devise a plan to begin clearing out and fortifying the wealthy neighborhood where the Governor's estate existed. Looting the blood crystals and helping himself and the girls level up in the process.

He would ultimately go to sleep later that night, after celebrating with the girls by sharing some drinks and a nice home cooked meal. After which he would retire to the largest bedroom in the bunker, where Olivia would join him. Leaving both Angelica and Elean to continue the party on their own.

The two women would get quite intoxicated over the alcohol they consumed, and in their drunken state, a conversation would be had that would forever change the dynamic of their party. One which Elena would be the cause of.