How Zombies Survive in the Apocalypse

“Yeah, it was scary, huh?”

Arian said, hugging Sadie tightly.

The body of the child who burst into tears at the sight of Arian was shaking like a willow.

It wasn’t strange at all.

This little girl was just about to be surrounded by dozens of zombies.

Even for adults, it would have been difficult to stay sane.

Nevertheless, Sadie continued to shoot at the zombies until the end.

Arian looked at the pistol in Sadie’s hand.

Now, the gun had an empty magazine.

Arian took it out of Sadie’s hand.

Today, such weapons were no longer needed for this child.

“Don’t worry now. Sister will protect you.”

As Arian spoke, a giant zombie appeared behind them.

The Bigfoot.

The mutant that the soldiers defending this place couldn’t eliminate was approaching Arian.

But Arian had nothing to do there.

Right after that, the sound of explosives, qualitatively different from guns, swept through.

12.7mm, 50 caliber bullets.

The storm of those bullets, tearing through armored aircraft like paper, exploded the Bigfoot’s head in one go.

In the center of that sound, there was Aiden, who had torn apart a stationary machine gun.

“Is the child okay?”

“…Looks like it.”

Aiden sighed as if relieved.

He immediately scanned the surroundings.

Three old military barracks.

Inside, there was a clear sign of life.

It meant there were people.

“Other… kids are here too.”

Hugging Sadie, who had spoken with a sob, Arian opened her mouth.

Understanding her concerns well enough, Aiden nodded.

“Don’t worry. I won’t leave them behind.”

Some zombies were still clinging to those tents.

But what needed to be dealt with first was something else.

Shuuck!

Something that flew towards Arian was shattered by her machete.

It was the Vomiter’s doing.

Although not a drop of the dirt touched Sadie, Arian glared as if to kill the Vomiter.

Aiden, rather than showing emotions, aimed the heavy machine gun at it.

The distance was about 100 meters.

There was no cover in the open area.

Then, it wouldn’t take long.

Another shot blasted the Vomiter away, and he fell back into the flames.

Confirming that sight, Aiden put down the heavy machine gun, took out a pistol and a dagger.

Stabbing the ground forcefully, he cleared the zombies surrounding the barracks.

Eventually, Aiden rescued the survivors and came out.

There were about 30 surviving children.

Seeing this, Arian couldn’t hide her sadness.

She already knew from Sadie that there were over 50 students in this facility.

It meant that almost half of the children couldn’t come back.

Unlike the barracks where Sadie had lured and dropped zombies, the other barracks had zombies breaking through the walls and doors, invading inside.

“Sadie!”

“Nora…”

The two reunited children held each other’s hands.

Watching those children for a moment, Aiden opened his mouth towards Arian.

“Arian, take the kids to the west zone.”

Arian nodded.

The west zone, separated by barricades, was close even here.

Moreover, there probably were no zombies inside yet, so it was supposed to be safe.

So, it was better to entrust these kids there right away.

However, Sadie was an exception.

“Sadie.”

Aiden called Sadie.

Aiden judged that this place wasn’t suitable for Sadie to stay.

But that was just Aiden’s thought. If Sadie wanted to stay here, he couldn’t force his choice on her.

“We’re leaving this place. Will you come with us?”

So, he asked the child.

Was it really okay to leave this place?

Sadie’s gaze turned to Nora.

Her first friend she made here.

Of course, she didn’t want to be separated from her.

But…

“Yes. I’ll go too.”

Sadie followed Aiden’s decision.

The fact that Aiden was evaluating the safety of this Fort Wayne, she already knew.

So Sadie had no choice but to agree with his words.

Surviving.

That was the only earthly task left by her mother.

To achieve that, it was so clear who she should follow.

“Sadie… Where are you going?”

Nora, sensing the farewell, asked.

Sadie, with a sorry and sad expression, replied.

“To the west.”

“West… are you, by any chance, going to LA?”

Sadie couldn’t answer that question.

There was no predetermined destination on this journey.

As the child remained silent for a moment, Nora’s words continued.

“I’ve heard of it. They’re calling people to LA. It’s a much larger city than here. Sadie really going there too?”

This time, Nora looked at Aiden’s black helmet and asked.

“Maybe, who knows.”

Aiden replied calmly.

He couldn’t give a more definite answer at the moment.

Then, a muffled sound came from nearby.

The spreading flames seemed to have caused something to explode.

Aiden looked up at Arian.

“Let’s stop the conversation here. Hurry up.”

“What about you?”

“I still have things to take care of.”

Aiden pointed his finger backward.

An empty barracks where survivors have already been killed.

Arian, who already knew what was inside, with a firm expression, just nodded her head.

“Then go. We’ll meet in the vehicle after I finish.”

“Got it.”

Arian led the children away.

As soon as they left the playground, zombies appeared, but Arian’s machete swiftly cut off their heads.

Arian and the children moved away from Aiden’s sight and eventually disappeared.

Only then did Aiden finally step towards the empty barrack.

“…”

Aiden slowly walked into the building buried in darkness and silence.

Now, someone was inside the building, covered with filth of blood and guts.

It was a boy who looked about the same age as Sadie.

The boy, who had his head buried in the dirty blanket, raised his head as he sensed someone.

“Are you awake?”

Aiden asked the boy.

Whether the boy realized from Aiden’s tone that there was no hostility.

The boy slowly spoke.

“Where… where is this?”

“It’s a school. Don’t you remember?”

“I… I don’t know.”

The boy shook his head.

Aiden walked towards that side and sat next to the boy lying down.

Aiden continued speaking.

“What’s your name?”

“…Jacob.”

Jacob struggled to sit up.

But whether he still wasn’t fully conscious, the boy asked a question.

“Why am I here? What about my mom?”

“She’s at work. And you, today, decided to stay overnight at school.”

“Oh, right. Staying overnight…”

Jacob looked around.

The ruined scenery of the messed-up surroundings reflected in his retinas.

The boy’s pupils shook.

Finally, memories from a little while ago came back to him.

“Zombies appeared during the overnight stay. And my… leg…”

Jacob slowly pulled up the blanket.

His thin left leg was missing below the knee.

Instead, there were gruesome bite marks.

And an enormous amount of blood was still pouring out.

“Mister… It’s strange. I’m bleeding so much, but it doesn’t hurt at all.”

The boy’s voice slowly grew louder, and confusion filled his eyes.

The boy trembled with fear.

“Sir… Why is this happening to me? Could it be… I too…?”

“It’s okay, Jacob. You won’t become like them. Trust me.”

Aiden embraced Jacob, who leaned against him.

“Do you see this?”

Aiden showed the nameplate hanging around his neck to the boy.

“I’m a doctor. And not just any doctor, but a doctor from a very big hospital.”

“…”

“I’ll treat you, Jacob.”

Jacob, leaning on Aiden, nodded his head.

But soon, he showed a worried expression.

“How is that possible? I don’t want to be in pain.”

“It won’t hurt. Just close your eyes. Close your eyes and quietly breathe out.”

“Like this…?”

“Don’t say anything, just for a moment… keep doing that.”

The boy with closed eyes obediently followed Aiden’s words.

The sound of the quiet breath of the calm boy spread in the silent darkness.

However, not long after, his breathing gradually became rough.

As if suffering from a fever.

And eventually, the boy’s eyelids that couldn’t endure were lifted.

In those eyes, which were clearly different from a little while ago, cloudy pupils flickered.

“Jacob?”

Aiden asked.

However, from the boy’s throat, which just a little while ago answered innocently, only an unpleasant, boiling sound of phlegm could be heard.

The evidence that the boy who was here had died, and only a monster that devoured his life had been born.

Upon this realization, Aiden aimed the small pistol he held in one hand at the boy’s head.

And…

“Rest in peace.”

A short gunshot echoed through the dark barrack.

Silence quickly returned, but there was no sound of breathing as before.

Aiden gently placed the lifeless body of the child on the blanket and stood up.

Just as he was about to leave, it happened.

A commotion could be heard from outside.

When Aiden went out, several soldiers were running towards him.

“You are…”

At the front was Nathan.

Having changed his mind, Nathan had gathered parents who had left their children in this facility and came here.

“What happened? Where are the kids?”

Aiden didn’t say anything in response to Nathan’s question.

But Nathan and the others quickly understood the situation when they saw the corpses of zombies and soldiers scattered around the tent.

Parents rushed into the bulilding.

“Oh my God, Anna!”

“David! Where are you, David!”

Some of them endlessly searched for their unseen children inside.

Others found the lifeless bodies of their children and wailed.

Among them was Jacob’s mother.

“No!”

She cried out upon seeing her child lying in a corner of the tent.

She immediately tried to embrace the lifeless body, but Aiden blocked her.

“It’s better if you stay away from there.”

The woman looked up at Aiden with a despairing gaze.

Nathan, too, showed a puzzled expression.

“What are you talking about?”

“That child has been infected by a zombie.”

Nathan glanced at the child’s body with his eyes and soon discovered the gruesome injury.

The torn left leg and the distinctive bite marks, stained green, were undoubtedly from a zombie.

But at the same time, Nathan noticed another injury.

A small hole pierced through the child’s head.

“Did you… shoot him?”

Did she figure it out?

The woman asked in a trembling voice.

Sensing an uneasy atmosphere, Nathan tried to intervene.

“Calm down, ma’am.”

“Did you shoot him?”

The woman pulled out a pistol.

Nathan shouted in surprise.

“Ma’am!”

Amidst the commotion, the eyes of the people around focused on the woman and Aiden.

Despite the stares and the gun pointed at him, Aiden calmly spoke.

“Yes, you’re too late.”

Her eyes rolled back upon hearing those words.

The gun she aimed at Aiden emitted flames.

A dry sound of a bullet piercing through a rotten log was drowned in the gunshot.

Nathan was left speechless in astonishment.

Everyone in the vicinity, including the woman who fired the gun, was shocked.

However, Aiden, who stood before her, didn’t even take a step back.

His gaze hidden behind the black helmet was fixed directly on the woman.

“Feeling relieved now?”

He spoke calmly.

The woman, who had shot the gun, fainted, and Nathan supported her while looking at Aiden with confusion.

“How…?”

“Surviving kids went to the west area. You can check for survivors there.”

Parents hurriedly left the barracks in a frenzy.

Only a few parents, who were still crying while holding their dead children, and Nathan remained.

Aiden also left without a word.

“Wait a moment.”

Nathan followed Aiden.

In the silent playground, Aiden turned around when Nathan spoke.

“What is it?”

“How many surviving kids are there?”

“About thirty.”

Nathan couldn’t feel joy or sadness at that news.

It meant that half of the young people here, including newly recruited soldiers, hadn’t survived.

But if it weren’t for Aiden, all of them might have died.

Nathan let out a deep sigh and asked another question.

“Your child… Sadie, is she safe?”

“That’s right.”

“That’s a relief.”

Nathan managed to give a faint smile.

Aiden, who was being stared at for a moment, turned away.

He moved towards his vehicle, where he was supposed to meet his colleagues.

“…”

Nathan silently watched Aiden’s back.

As the sun rose faintly in the eastern sky, time passed unnoticed.