How Zombies Survive in the Apocalypse

“This is…”

Aiden trailed off as he looked up at the apartment he had arrived at.

The pale gray, thin and tall building, the rusty exterior stairwell, even the slightly peeled outer walls – its appearance matched what Arian had described.

So undoubtedly, Sadie would be present in unit 301 of this building.

However, zombie figures could be seen lurking various areas of the apartment complex.

Not mere passersby.

The zombies here outnumbered those on other streets several times over, with a considerable portion having infiltrated inside the building itself.

Could it be… was he too late?

An ominous premonition flashed through Aiden’s mind.

But regrets were meaningless now.

Shaking his head briefly, he proceeded to force entry without delay.

Swosh!

A steel-hued longsword sliced under the jaw of a zombie standing at the entrance.

Even before the instantly decapitated corpse’s head hit the ground, an axe blade flew into the next zombie beside it.

At the sounds of rending flesh, the zombies filling the apartment’s narrow hallway turned their attention.

“Aaaarghh!”

Their putrefied, dimwitted brains finally registered the situation.

In unison, they charged toward this unfamiliar intruder assaulting their brethren.

But Aiden’s expression didn’t waver in the slightest.

He simply extended his rifle and axe to meet the onrushing zombies, felling them one by one as they neared.

A reckless frontal assault disregarding any evasion.

So Aiden didn’t emerge entirely unscathed either.

Crunch!

One zombie clamped its jaws into Aiden’s shoulder.

Bite force exceeding any human’s tore through cloth and putrid flesh alike.

But all that gushed forth was rotten blood.

Aiden gifted that creature, gagging in distress after tasting its kin’s vile fluids, with an axe blade.

Puck!

In that moment, a broken wrist bone struck the helmet Aiden wore.

It didn’t actually reach his face, but rather shattered the helmet’s visor – the coated glass meant to conceal his features.

“Tsk…!”

Clicking his tongue, Aiden stomped on the outstretched knee of that handless zombie.

Its leg snapping, it crumpled to the floor where Aiden’s gunfire finished it off.

With that zombie dispatched, Aiden’s field of vision became slightly clearer.

The broken visor had exposed part of his face.

But he lacked any means to repair it here in LA for the time being.

Nor was there any immediate need.

Having judged thus, Aiden continued the skirmish unabated.

Though zombie bites accumulated across his body, he paid them no attention.

For a while, only the sounds of rending decayed flesh and gunfire echoed within that cramped apartment.

“Kiii…”

After snapping the neck of the last zombie clinging to his arm, Aiden finally had a moment to survey his surroundings.

The state of the now quieted apartment was deplorable.

The wooden doors connecting the hallway to each unit were all smashed open.

And the occupants inside seemed to have fared little better, for the most part.

That grisly scene only fueled Aiden’s sense of urgency further.

He swiftly ascended the stairwell leading upward.

As he reached the next floor, more corpses tried swarming him, but Aiden trampled and shattered them to proceed to the third floor.

“…”

There, the door to unit 301 – nearest the staircase – came into view.

Though undamaged, it hung ajar.

Meaning someone, or something, had already forced entry inside.

Aiden pushed that door fully open.

Within were two zombies.

But thankfully, neither wore any face he recognized.

Twack!

Aiden’s axe immediately quartered those two.

With the zombies cleared, the cramped apartment interior finally became visible.

A mere single room structure with just a tiny kitchen and bathroom attached.

However… nowhere inside could he find any sign of the child he sought.

Had she perhaps sensed the zombie assault and fled outside before they arrived?

But then, Sadie’s shoes still remained by the entrance.

And the small window inside was locked from the interior.

No indications that Sadie had exited.

So Aiden naturally turned his attention back inside the apartment.

His gaze swept across every potential hiding spot – the closet, under the bed, inside kitchen cabinets.

Anywhere a small child could conceal themselves.

“…”

Of those, Aiden approached the closet first.

A built-in recessed into the wall’s interior, its size could potentially accommodate an adult.

Rattle!

Aiden opened it.

But peering inside the bifurcated top and bottom compartments revealed only some discarded clothing – no one hidden within.

Furrowing his brow slightly, Aiden moved to check the cabinets next.

Yet inside those too, as well as under the small bed, Sadie’s presence was nowhere to be seen.

Thoroughly searching that compact apartment yielded no results.

“Sadie?”

In growing vexation, Aiden called out the child’s name.

No immediate response came.

Still, hoping against faint odds for a reply, he raised his voice further.

“Sadie, are you in here?”

“…Uncle?”

At last, the awaited voice answered.

Its source – the very closet Aiden had first checked and found empty.

Clearly, she had been present there after all.

Before Aiden could ponder that discrepancy, Sadie’s head suddenly popped out from the ceiling above.

“Uncle Aiden!”

Upon spotting him, Sadie beamed brightly.

Now he understood – she had been hiding above the ceiling.

The aged apartment’s deterioration had caused part of the closet’s ceiling to collapse inward, leaving a gap.

Sadie had crawled through that opening into the space between the ceiling and upper floor, evading the zombies undetected until now.

Waving her arms excitedly, Sadie clambered down from that dusty refuge, entirely unharmed by any bite wounds.

“Safe… and sound.”

“Yes, I’m alright.”

At Sadie’s reassuring reply, Aiden finally let out a brief relieved breath.

Sadie studied him intently in turn.

Their gazes met through the shattered helmet visor.

“Did you get hurt, Uncle?”

Concerned she may have inadvertently placed him in harm’s way.

Aiden shook his head to indicate he was fine.

He then glanced upward at the ceiling gap Sadie had emerged from before continuing.

“How did you know about that hiding spot?”

“I found it myself, on the very first day we came here.”

“The first day?”

“Just like you always said. No matter how safe it seems, always have an escape route prepared.”

Sadie stated it as if it were obvious.

Yes, Aiden had indeed imparted that very lesson to her.

In every town they had passed through, whenever securing temporary lodgings.

She hadn’t forgotten his teachings, it seemed.

Sadie’s admirable reply brought a faint smile to Aiden’s face.

“…Well done.”

He patted her head affectionately.

Sadie’s lips curved upward happily in turn.

“For now, let’s get out of here. It’s too dangerous.”

Having confirmed Sadie’s safety, Aiden promptly prepared to evacuate the apartment.

“Wait a moment.”

But Sadie stopped him briefly.

The child was gazing toward the bedroom area.

“What is it?”

“This wasn’t here before.”

Sadie showed him some small folded paper note she had picked up from the bed.

An innocuous item easily overlooked by Aiden while searching the room for Sadie’s presence.

But why did she feel compelled to examine it now?

Aiden regarded her quizzically, prompting Sadie to continue.

“It says…”

According to the child, after the zombies had suddenly forced their way inside,

a visitor had arrived at the apartment before they did.

“That person knocked first, but then just opened the door and came right in. But I couldn’t see their face since I was hiding. Sorry.”

“No need to apologize. You did the wise thing. So… that person left this note behind?”

Sadie nodded in affirmation.

“Seems they were someone you and Arian knew.”

Aiden hypothesized it was likely a neighbor concerned for the girls residing here.

But Sadie carefully refuted that assumption.

“I don’t think so.”

“Why not?”

“That person was looking for you. They even called out ‘Aiden’ repeatedly.”

Sadie’s subsequent revelation made even Aiden furrow his brow slightly.

Seeking him out personally… at Sadie and Arian’s residence?

If so, only one likely possibility came to mind.

“…The Mayor.”

Aiden accepted the note Sadie proffered.

Unfolding it revealed an elaborately penned message addressed ‘To my dear Aiden’.

Disregarding the unnecessary preamble, its contents read simply:

[Come to City Hall.

Or face retaliation.]

Aiden frowned slightly at that petty threat.

For the Mayor to make a personal visit here, the target of his ‘retaliation’ was all too obvious.

“…”

So Aiden could only ponder his next move carefully.

His original plan had been to remain with Sadie, safeguarding her until LA’s tumult subsided.

But if the Mayor leveraged this meeting as a means to threaten Sadie directly, the situation changed.

That fiend could command zombies like mere appendages.

And currently, innumerable undead rampaged across LA unchecked.

By staying with Sadie, Aiden might inadvertently expose the child to unnecessary thread.

“Sadie.”

“Yes?”

“Is there anyone trustworthy nearby you can stay with?”

So Aiden asked that.

Truthfully, he didn’t harbor much expectation for a positive reply.

But to his mild surprise, Sadie nodded affirmatively.

“There is.”

The name Sadie then provided was one Aiden already knew.

* * *

Shortly thereafter, Aiden and Sadie arrived at a residential area about 10 minutes away from the rundown apartment complex.

A comparatively quieter neighborhood amidst the zombie-induced pandemonium nearby.

Aiden knocked on one particular home’s door there.

Extra fortifications like steel plating had been added over the original wooden door – giving it a porcupine-like spiky appearance that hinted at the owner’s wariness.

A door highly unlikely to open amid such chaotic circumstances.

But the moment a young girl’s voice called out from inside, it swung open with surprising ease.

“Sadie!”

The child who emerged was Luna – a face firmly etched in Aiden’s memory as well.

And behind her stood her father.

“…It’s been a while, Taylor Evans.”

Aiden had learned from Arian that the Evans family entered LA too.

So this reunion marked their first meeting since the small town encounter.

“Yeah, but…”

Taylor couldn’t bring himself to warmly welcome Aiden right away.

Not with the decayed flesh visibly peeking through Aiden’s shattered helmet like that.

Cautiously, Taylor shielded his daughter Luna behind himself.

“…What happened to you?”

Despite that, Taylor still chose to speak rather than draw a weapon – owing to the debt he owed Aiden for previously aiding his family.

Fully aware of this, Aiden calmly responded.

“Just as you see.”

He revealed that he had been a zombie long before even first encountering the Evans.

At that, Taylor let out a hollow, mirthless laugh of realization.

Now he recalled never once saw Aiden’s full face until this very moment.

At the time, he had assumed some reason existed for that concealment.

But to think the reason was because Aiden was undead…

“I did get the sense you were hiding something. The way you fought was just too abnormal – never seeming to tire and all.”

For a moment, Taylor regarded Aiden with an accusatory stare.

But soon judging this was no time for idle banter, he cut to the main issue.

“So what brings you looking for me?”

“A favor to ask.”

Aiden requested that Taylor take Sadie into his care for the time being.

Taylor was undoubtedly someone he could entrust her safety to.

More importantly, by staying with him, Sadie could avoid becoming embroiled in this crisis, at least immediately.

The question was whether Taylor would accept this request.

Up until moments ago, Aiden would not have doubted it. But now that Taylor knew Aiden’s true undead nature, his refusal would be understandable.

“…Will that be alright?”

“For something like that, of course.”

So Aiden posed that concern, and Taylor’s unhesitating affirmative reply came swiftly.

As if surprised by his ready acceptance, Aiden looked at Taylor questioningly.

The man simply shrugged.

“If you’d asked me to let you inside my home, even I would have needed to consider it carefully. But taking in a child is no issue at all. Not only is she not a zombie, but more importantly… she’s my daughter’s precious friend.”

Saying that, Taylor stepped aside.

A gesture beckoning Sadie to enter.

Sadie briefly glanced back at Aiden, who gave a reassuring nod.

Thus, the two children – Sadie and Luna – went inside together.

With the kids gone, the two men faced each other at the entrance once more.

It was Taylor who spoke first.

“Do you know anything about this current situation?”

For him too, these sudden circumstances must have been equally bewildering.

In response, Aiden concisely explained what he was aware of.

“The Mayor…?”

Taylor echoed in evident disbelief.

Naturally, such a revelation would be difficult to accept readily.

That LA’s Mayor was actually a zombie, and the one instigating this pandemonium.

But before long, Taylor seemed to find it plausible, nodding soberly.

Aiden inquired as to his reasoning.

Because Taylor had placed faith in Aiden’s words alone – something Aiden himself could not have compelled.

In answer, Taylor gestured to the radio slung over his shoulder.

“I’ve been hearing eyewitness accounts too. About the Mayor leading zombies around, attacking people. Hah, I’d dismissed it as nonsense at first…”

But now it seemed the Mayor was no longer lurking in the shadows after all.

Brazenly marching zombie hordes right through the streets from Sadie’s apartment to City Hall, assailing civilians along the way.

“…”

That information only raised further questions in Aiden’s mind, however.

For the Mayor’s actions made no sense to him.

His current conduct amounted to willfully abandoning this LA he had painstakingly built with his own hands.

Moreover, even amid this chaos, the Mayor still sought Aiden specifically.

To that man, Aiden was merely a witness who had uncovered the secret of the sewer zombies he had concealed. But he had gone so far as to leave that threatening note at the apartment, demanding Aiden’s presence.

Could the Mayor possibly have another underlying reason for wanting to confront Aiden?

If so, what might that reason be?

Aiden couldn’t even begin to fathom it.

Ultimately, the only recourse was to ask the Mayor directly.

Aiden promptly resolved to head for City Hall himself.

“In any case, I’m counting on you to keep Sadie safe.”

“Yeah. Don’t worry about the kid. I’ll protect her with my life if need be.”

Taylor answered with solemn conviction.

Satisfied by that reassuring vow, Aiden turned to leave without further words.

Wooooong!

Firing up his motorcycle once more, its headlamp illuminated the path toward LA’s downtown.