บท 60: Tanya and Brick

Tanya was still quite new to running her own group of people and getting them to do as she wished without having to use her backing to solve the problem.

There were some times in the past involving her club that she got to do some bigger tasks in preparation for a competition but most other days were either quite relaxed or were spent training with everyone.

Once the apocalypse had come and she was faced with the threat of zombies, she was one of the first people to step out to work towards taking back the floor she was on so that others would be safe.

It had inspired others to follow her and to look up to her in the beginning but once some had gotten comfortable and were influenced by others, they had started to consider other options over the time that had passed.

The arrival of Brick had helped to straighten the survivors problems a little even if it was for a short amount of time but it would not last forever.

Tanya was different to Brick who was willing to discard anyone potentially dangerous or lazy and she valued those close to her while he had nobody.

It was a difference of views and goals but also a difference in the amount of connections they had to the people in the world that had separated them.

Tanya had yet to fully experience a big betrayal from those around her that she considered as her friends or allies so she was willing to overlook their previous mistakes.

Brick had future knowledge and knew that it was better to not be forgiving of some things so that he would not be stabbed in the back later while there was a slight disconnect from those around him that made him more distant with many of them.

The world he was in was not truly his own and any connections that the previous body owner had were very few so he had less people to trust in or to want to give a second chance to unlike Tanya.

If it was not for his connection to Tanya then he may have cut ties with many others and went off on his own to form his own group and base.

It was not like he was angry or upset about the connection he had with Tanya since it gave him some kind of goal to work towards rather than wandering around aimlessly until he found his place in the world.

He was still settling into the world and getting to know the people in it but he had yet to establish a stronger bond with anyone yet.

Tanya was the only person that he had talked to for a longer period of time besides Alice, Tristan and Cherie who he had considered as potential allies if they were able to remain loyal to him and survive by the time he had returned.

The others were somewhat useful but nobody else had really stepped up in a big way to prove themselves to him or stand out as someone worth noticing.

It may have just been that the first people he had saved were Alice, Tristan and Cherie who had helped start to build some form of survivor group so he took notice of them more.

Tanya had grown up and had gotten to know many people over the years and had formed her own friendships and even lost some over that time so she was willing to overlook any issues that may have presented themselves in the past if it meant holding onto her current friends.

The main problem was that while she did need those that were trustworthy to be able to watch her back in times of danger and she had considered those who were her friends to be able to do that, she had overlooked that they could do wrong again and the next time it could be much worse.

Friendship rarely applied when everyone started considering their own goals and navigating through power struggles since most with some kind of survival instinct would want to side with those that looked like they would be the better option or would come out as the winner.

Those who were smart enough and were able to read the room were able to judge how they should act to survive in such circumstances but it required a certain amount of coldheartedness to go along with it if they were to make such decisions for their survival.

Betrayals or conflicts happened more often without there being any kind of world structure to keep people in line and with every day being where they were faced with difficult decisions, the ones that usually survived were the ones that were willing to put away their past friendships so they could not let their friendships affect them.

There were some friendships that were forged through hardships and grew even stronger than before but not everyone could arrive at such a result and those that held onto such bonds were usually one ones that suffered.

Those close to Tanya were her fellow club members and friends in the past and she still considered them the same even if a little distance had formed recently.

She knew that some of them had been influenced by others and could not blame them for taking sides with others when she did not have a solution to their problems.

She came face to face with Brick once again and looked troubled. "Brick.. I do not think I can hold onto some of them… what do I do?"

Tanya was feeling at a loss that she was going to be separated from some of her friends due to her own powerlessness.

Brick listened to her and asked. "What is the problem exactly?"

Tanya turned her head away to hide the emotions that were slightly being shown on her face. "They do not believe that I can be of help to them and I really do not have any kind of solution to their problems so I cannot promise them anything. Have I lost them?"

Brick shook his head and spoke calmly. "If you want to keep them beside you then lets figure it out together but remember that you cannot keep doing everything for each person without getting something in return.

If you want to help others then they will have to be of use to you otherwise you will just be playing favourites to those that are close to you. If that is the case then what about the many others that are sacrificing their lives for your sake?"

Tanya lowered her head and asked. "How is this so easy for you to say?"

Brick shrugged. "I have got no family or friends. My only real priority is myself and you like I have said in the past and that will not really change. If you think this is important then it is important to me but that does not mean that I will let you be taken advantage of.

So… what is the main issue? What do they want from you exactly and what kind of demands have they forced upon your shoulders to make you so depressed? It had better not be something too difficult that would not be worth it to keep them by your side.."

He was showing his honest thoughts in front of her and was throwing a tantrum in front of Tanya which showed how annoyed he was and how upset he was that she was not in a good mental state.

Some of the previous worries and pain Tanya was feeling had washed away for a moment and she couldn't help but let out a small laugh. "Aha.. alright alright.. most are unwilling to follow me unless they get my help for.."

She went on to explain their situations individually and Brick listened to each part of it until she had finished.

Brick nodded in response and sighed. "This really makes things annoying and difficult but it is not impossible. The main issue would be trying to fulfil something that is impossible.

By the way.. while we are going over this.. can we try something?"

Tanya's brow raised as she listened to the random question of Brick. "What is it?"