Seeing that the time was ripe, and witnessing the desperation in Luke’s voice, like an experienced actor at the theater, Danny started performing his part in this play.

“Look, I am going to be straight with you. Right now, me and a few others are in the middle of an important operation for out camp. A lot of people are depending on the success of this mission and I trust that I do not need to explain how valuable food supplies had become nowadays or how important it is for us to obtain those provisions. We need a win here.” Danny said pointedly but charismatically, alluding to his non-existent partners in this scavenging of the factory at the same time.

To be fair, most of what he said was technically true or a slight deviation of the truth. Danny found out during his life that the best lies, those that hold on under close scrutiny, are lies that comprise of 90% of the truth and only 10% of factual lies.

The actual percentages of lies and truths do not matter in fact, but the point stands. Good lies are lies that are, only in their smallest parts, truly lies.

“Of course! I understand completely! What can I do to help?” Luke agreed with enthusiasm, nodding his head like a chicken pecking the ground in search of worms in an attempt to please his would-be saviors and find shelter under their wings.

“That’s just it. What we need from you is for you to do exactly nothing.” Danny responded curtly.

“I… I don’t understand.” Luke said, frowning with some confusion on his face.

“We can’t have just anyone running around, you see. It would risk jeopardizing our entire mission and get somebody killed.” Danny explained. Still referencing to his non-existent allies at the factory, without specifying, however, who exactly would get killed in this scenario, be it some of them or Luke himself.

It was not Danny’s intention to threaten the man. On the contrary, he was playing at the man’s fears of the undead creatures and of death to remind him why he should do as he was told and stay out of the way.

“I see. That makes sense.” Luke nodded vigorously once more, actually glad that his offer of help was declined and that he would be sitting on the sidelines.

Despite the fact that Luke was apparently in agreement with Danny’s explanation and logic, Danny doubted that there was anything he could say to the man right now that would not elicit and understanding and enthusiastic response from Luke.

The man was clearly eager to please.

If for some reason Danny said that Luke’s shirt was of utmost importance for the plan, the man would have started stripping right there and there, no questions asked. Luke probably didn’t care much for the reasoning behind Danny’s words as much as gaining his approval.

‘That makes things easier then. I wonder if he also was this is how he handled his sales as a real state agent.’ Danny mused in silence. Luke’s cooperative attitude showed promise. If the man was really willing to play ball, then Danny would have no issue keeping his secrets to himself.

“Our main goal is to get rid of all the enemies in the area and to secure the compound. However, this will take some time to accomplish since there are still quite a lot of them roaming around as you can imagine.”

“In the meantime, all we need from you is for you to stay put and out of our way. We need you to keep completely quiet like you have done so far and to not come out of the room until I say it is okay. We can’t deal with the distraction while the operation is ongoing.” Danny said, looking directly at Luke’s eyes, and seeing the man nod, continued with his speech.

“Once the threat is successfully neutralized, and the danger is gone, I’ll come back to fetch you. Then, we can begin the process of retrieving the supplies. Can we count on you to do that?” Danny firmly stared at Luke’s eyes as he questioned.

“Definitely! I won’t get in your way!” Luke softly pounded his left chest with his hand, as if he was making a solemn pledge.

“Good. It should not take more than a few days for us to finish our job, but remember, do not come outside until I call you, no matter what you hear. And try to keep as quiet as possible.”

Danny did not think it would really take that long for him to clear the factory. If nothing went terribly wrong, he should finish it next day. However, he also needed time to deal with the corpses and recover the crystals from them, so he fed Luke a lie about how long the fight against the undead would take to ensure that he would not be disturbed while he collected his spoils and dealt with the aftermath.

If the man could be trusted to keep his nose away from Danny’s business, everything should be wrapped up in a couple of days, provided he didn’t fuck things up with the horde of course.

“I also don’t recommend you to peek through the windows. Though it is unlikely you will be noticed, we want to avoid drawing attention as much as possible.” Danny added almost as if it was an afterthought.

He doubted that any zombies would notice Luke if they had not done so until now. However, the mere possibility that he might be spotted when looking through the window was a good enough justification for Danny to ask him to keep his head down, preventing the survivor from snooping around and seeing what Danny was up to.

The less Luke saw and heard, the better it would be for the both of them.

“Don’t worry, I will be as quiet as a ghost. You won’t even remember I am here.” Luke said while mimicking the motion of closing a zipper over his lips.

“… But please don’t forget I am here.” Luke could not help but add at the end. He really, really did not want to be left behind.

Just like this, in the same way a puppet master pushes and pulls the strings to make his puppet dance according to his tune, so did Danny nudged Luke around to make him follow the script.

Hopefully Danny had not fumbled the song somewhere and they could both get through this ordeal happy with the results. Hopefully.

After leaving the room where Luke was staying, Danny started clearing the remaining zombies on the second floor.

He had already dealt with the bulk of them before even meeting Luke, so the process did not take very long. The few zombies that remained, which were trapped in some of the rooms that were still close, did not prove to be much of a challenge for him.

Just one here, a couple there. Nothing worth of notice.

Very soon, Danny had secured the second floor entirely. Only he and Luke remained.

Taking a quick glance through the window, Danny realized that his first day at the factory and first foray against the zombies was coming to an end. According to his estimation he only had a couple of hours of daylight remaining, maybe less.

Definitely not enough to deal with the rest of the horde, which still stood strong downstairs. He had done a good enough job of pruning some of their numbers but the larger share of the group of undead was still up and about.

Taking that in consideration, Danny decided to wrap things up for today. He had done enough and if he chose to continue hunting the undead down, he risked get embroiled in a fight that would extend into the night. He wanted to avoid that scenario, as fighting in the dark could be potentially disastrous.

It offered no strategic advantages, only drawbacks. After all, if both he and the zombies had their visions impaired, he would be the one to suffer more. A mistake from their side meant potentially one less zombie, while a mistake from his side could mean game over, even if he was stronger now than ever before. Strength meant nothing if you were bleeding out on the floor, choking on your own blood.

Once he made up his mind, Danny went to the barricade he had rebuilt on the second floor and blocked the passage to the lower floors completely.

‘That should block any zombie stragglers from passing through.’ Danny thought as he made sure the barrier was as solid as it could be before heading to the third floor.

Danny had no intention of sleeping in the same room as Luke. He had to maintain the idea that he had companions up and about the factory after all. It would be strange of him to crash with Luke all by himself.

Didn’t he his own people to keep him company and watch his back? Why was he suddenly wasting his time with a stranger instead?

Besides, Danny would feel ill at ease with someone he barely knew in the same room while he slept.

Therefore, Danny went to the third floor and, choosing one of the cleaner rooms with a bed in it, closed the door, blocked it with some furniture before finally dropping his guard and making himself comfortable.

Taking his mother’s tape player, Danny relaxed at the sound of one of her favorite songs while he waited until it was time for him to eat another crystal.

Tomorrow would be a busy day.

Luke watched as his unexpected savior left the room. He could barely believe that help had actually came. He had survived. Against all odds, he had survived! Who could predict that among all the survivors that once called this place their home, their refuge, he – the fat real estate agent – would be the one to come out on the other side?

Definitely not him.

‘I’ve made it! I’ve made it!’ Luke said the words in his mind, letting it sink in and trembling with equal parts excitement and relief.

True, he was not out of the water yet, but he seen how confident that man seemed. He was hopeful for the future.

‘What was his name again? Danny, was it?’ Luke thought back on the encounter. He had been so on the edge, so confuse when the young man entered the room that most of their interaction was like a blur to him.

He had not lied to Danny. He was seriously considering ending his life for a few days already. It had all been too much. No one should go through that. Being locked in a tiny cell-like room, smelling his own filth and holding his breath every time one of those monsters stepped close to his door. It had been pure torture.

He was glad he didn’t go through with it though. His plan was terrible anyway. Chances were that if he jumped out of the window with his head facing downward, he would mess something up and not die immediately.

The fear of surviving the fall was mostly what kept him from doing so. Luke did not want to go painfully.

‘It seems my cowardice has saved me once again.’ He thought self-mockingly.

Luke was still haunted by the screams he heard the day the camp fell. The cries. The pleas for help. There were children among them…

Luke shook his head to chase away the depressing thoughts. There was nothing he could do. It was all in the past. Best to focus on what he would be doing going forward, once Danny took him out of this hellhole.

Luke wasn’t the brightest person, but years of experience as a salesman made him quite good at picking up signs and reading people. The man had conducted himself well and did a good job of hiding his thoughts, but during their talk, Luke could pick up a few things. He was more experienced after all.

Danny was definitely not telling him the whole truth. He was hiding something for sure.

Even so, Luke had no intention to pry. Everyone had secrets. Everyone had their own agenda. In his experience, it would actually be weirder if in this situation Danny had been completely forthcoming. Keeping some things to yourself was different from holding ill will.

Even if Luke felt like there was something more going on, he was dead set on doing as Danny had asked and staying in line. Why would he go out of his way and step on anyone’s toes? There was no benefit to be had there.

Besides, he thought that Danny was being sincere when he said he would help getting him out of here. And he was thankful for it.

Complying with his benefactor’s request was only the right thing to do. The fact that was also aligned with his own interests and it being the best course of action for him to get out of this shithole and into the open arms of a safe, clean and civilized human settlement was a nice bonus.

And Luke loved his bonuses.