The world is obviously a dark and desolate place. And with about 98% of the population wiped out, it can get pretty lonely sometimes. And since hoards of zombies are everywhere, it's generally not a good idea to be yourself. All of corpses I see on a daily basis prove my point. That's why I try to find as many allies as I can. But not everyone is trustworthy. Some of them want to be the only survivors. Others just want to kill you, but that's more rare.

Luckily, I have a secret stragtegy in finding the right people to align myself with and ensuring my survival. And now I, Jeremy Jackson, will share that stragtegy with you. I choose my allies based on how powerful their weapons are. That's right I don't care if they have a bad leg, are kind of a jackass, or are just plain weirdos. As long as they have AR-15's, a bazooka, or even a giant tank, I'm on their side. Their experience with the weapons also helps, as the faster they can kill zombies, the better.

Now I'm pretty good with a baseball bat, but I can only do so much with it. I can take on a few of them, but if there's more than say, 10... I'm screwed.

Like yesterday, I was just going around, looking for a shelter to meet other survivors, when suddenly a hoard of about 30 zombies popped up from behind a group of buildings. I tried as hard as I could to stop them, but I could only hit one or two at a time before my bat broke in two. With my only weapon broken and surrounded my the undead, I genuinely thought I was gonna die. And so I prepared to say the last words I thought of, " Goodbye cruel world. I'm coming to see you Nicolas Cage." I closed my eyes and waited for my brain to be torn to shreds.

Suddenly, I hear gunshots and the sounds of zombie heads exploding. When I opened my eyes, all of the zombies were lying on the ground. Lifeless. I looked up, and I saw a boy with black hair and piercing brown eyes. Holding an M-1014. Oh my god, I was awestruck. In love even...Guys with guns are the coolest.

"You Okay?" he asked. His voice was very calm, like he just finished his homework instead of bombarding zombies with bullets.

"Yeah, I'm fine." I touched my head, checking to see if I had gained any injuries. Fortunately, there wasn't any blood."

"Good". He then held out his hand and helped me up. "Y'know bats aren't the most effective weapons to fight zombies, right?"

"Uh, yeah..." I said, a little insulted. I mean, clearly he hasn't seen what I can do with this powerful stick. But he did save me after all, so I guess I can't complain too much. "So..uh, where did you get that cool gun?"

"Weapon's shop." He then casually held the gun over his shoulder and began to walk off. "If you wanna survive, go find one."

"Wait! Don't go!" I grabbed his arm to stop him from walking any further. I couldn't let him escape. As far I know, he was my only chance of survival. I had to associate myself with him. So, to win him over, I decided to convince him with my rousing sales pitch:

"My name is Jeremy Jackson. I can help you find food and I'm pretty good with a bat. Let me be useful to you and we can survive together!" I made sure to do exaggerated poses to get my point across. But all I got from the boy was a weird look.

"Okay...but how do I know you're not gonna slow me down?"

He seemed to be doubting me so I hit him with my second piece of evidence. "I'm a pretty strong guy. I can carry all your weapons and will you if you ever get injured. But I doubt you won't considering how powerful you look with that gun." I admit, my cheeks burned a little bit after saying that last part. He then rolled his eyes and let out a small laugh.

"That's sweet. But I don't know. How do I know you're not wasting my time?"

I then figured out I had to use the most powerful argument I had. If this didn't work I would have to resort to begging and crying. And trust me, begging doesn't look good when you're trying to persuade someone. I took a deep breath, and looked him dead in the eye and said the words that I've been practicing for weeks, "I used to live here. So I know my way around the city. But since my home was destroyed I've got nowhere else to go. So I'm counting on the best survivors to help me live in this hell. And right now, you're the closest one I've encountered. I need you're help." I then slowly let go of his hand, looking down at the ground. The first two arguments were bragging rights, but this was the only one that was the most personal. If he brushed this off, I don't know what I was gonna do. I thought the silence between us was going to linger a little bit longer. But then he smiled at me.

"The safehouse I'm staying at is not far from here. I can take you there. "

My face lit up. My argument worked! And now my first ally! I may have let my immediate admiration for him get the better of me but I managed to convince him. Man I am so good!

"Thank you so much! I promise I won't let you down!" I could've contained my excitment better, but there's always room for improvement. The man nodded and continued walking down the abandoned streets. I adjusted my backpack as I followed him.

"Just so you know, I'm only doing this cause there's safety in numbers. Cause honestly, you're kind of annoying." I grumbled a little bit. Geez, this guy is kind of a downer. He has a point though. Sometimes I can get a little theatrical. But his comment didn't hurt any less.

"I worked on that argument for several weeks! Of course I'm gonna get emotional!" Another eye roll.

"Hey, what's your name anyway?" I realized I hadn't asked him his name in the five minutes I've known him. That was kinda dumb. The guy was silent for a moment before responding.

"Ashton." God even his name was cool. "You're.. Jeremiaha?"

"Jeremy." I affirmed. "I prefer to be called Jeremy."

"Oh, cool," He shrugged and then we continued walking. Now that we were on a first name basis, it wouldn't be long before we would be close friends. And he's got a gun, so that makes him automatically cool and trustworthy. Our survival team was underway.