How Zombies Survive in the Apocalypse

The next morning.

Aiden crossed the bridge alone once again, heading towards Peoria.

As he did, he saw the decaying streets still overrun by zombies.

In the midst of the decayed scenery, Aiden’s eyes fell on the remnants of the mutant he had defeated yesterday.

“…”

He briefly set aside the purpose of coming here and approached the scattered remains.

Something he would never normally do.

However, Aiden wanted to examine this mutant.

Its appearance was unusual, and above all, the fact that it died a natural death was puzzling.

Thunk!

He struck the fingers of the mutant with the metal bat he was holding.

The fingers were twisted and distorted, like something burnt and stuck together.

Despite the feeble force behind the blow, the bones broke disappointingly.

“…”

Aiden stared at the broken fingers.

Just yesterday, its head was shattered by a single gunshot, and this mutant had an unusually weak bone density.

However, Aiden couldn’t find out more than that.

So, he decided to give up at an appropriate point and focus on the request again.

Today, his destination was a residential area about 4 km north of the cemetery he had visited last time.

In the middle of it, there were supplies left behind by Mia and her siblings that needed to be collected.

Aiden took out the map.

Last night, based on the location of the supplies they left and Mia’s house, he had planned the route.

“…A lot of weapons are in bad shape.”

He muttered as he looked at the metal bat in his hand.

Due to numerous battles fought so far, it had a considerably battered appearance.

It seemed like it was time to find a new weapon.

Thinking that, Aiden compared the map with reality and moved his steps.

Unlike yesterday when he was stealthily moving around, this time he walked on the wide-open road.

While there were certainly many zombies on it, there wasn’t a single one trying to block his way.

After about an hour, Aiden reached his first destination.

“Is this it?”

Aiden, who had ventured deep into Peoria, was examining the supplies left by Mia.

The place he stood at was near the area where a large mart used to be.

Right next to it, there was a road with the logo of a famous mart brand clearly visible.

Did Mia and her group explore that mart?

However, Aiden, examining the abandoned supplies, shook his head.

“Not much useful here.”

The supplies they collected included cigarettes, salt, spices like sugar, and even seeds of vegetables.

While they took up some volume, they weren’t heavy, and most of them were valuable items.

Unfortunately, the things Aiden urgently needed weren’t among them.

Of course, they could be used as exchange items, so they weren’t entirely meaningless.

“…Can’t be helped.”

With a short sigh, he picked them up and continued north.

Soon, he entered a large residential area.

Somewhere in this residential area was the house Aiden needed to find.

“500 meters north from the school building, a house with a red brick and a red roof.”

Aiden muttered while looking at the map.

Naturally, even with a map, not every single house in a residential area was marked.

So, his map only showed approximate locations with dots.

The rest was to check every house by walking through the residential area.

Therefore, he first found the school building as a reference point.

A small private school nestled among houses.

Whether it belonged to the Mission School system or not, a cross symbol was clearly engraved in the middle of the building.

“From here…”

Aiden compared the school and the map in turn to decide which direction to go.

Then, a crumpled sign left on the road caught his eye.

Fortunately, there were still signs indicating the street names. So he easily made his way to the street where Mia’s house was located.

“There it is.”

Soon, he discovered a house that seemed likely.

A one-story building with a red brick exterior and a roof of the same color.

Aiden then circled around the house to check the back.

There, he noticed a dirty puddle of water, completely neglected.

It matched Mia’s mention of a pool behind the house.

Putting on the helmet he had brought, Aiden approached the building.

If he had found the house correctly, Mia’s father should be inside.

“…”

Aiden cautiously approached the front gate.

Perhaps because it was a city crawling with zombies, most houses surprisingly had intact windows, and the condition was unexpectedly good.

This deserted neighborhood seemed untouched by wanderers who usually targeted empty houses, evident from the fact that almost all the glass windows were intact.

Thanks to that, looking through the hazy glass, nothing was visible inside.

The stagnant curtain inside, which seemed to haven’t moved for a long time, obstructed the view.

Knock, knock.

Aiden knocked on the front door.

After a moment of silence, he continued speaking.

“I’m a junk dealer. West Ryan, are you there? I’ve been sent by your daughter Mia.”

Aiden uttered Mia’s father’s name that he heard from Mia, keeping his voice low, perhaps due to the city full of zombies.

However, even after waiting for a while, there was no response from inside.

Is there someone inside?

With that thought in mind, Aiden reached for the doorknob.

Turning it, he found that the door was not locked.

“I’m going in.”

Saying that, Aiden opened the door slowly, keeping it slightly ajar.

Contrary to his concerns, there was no immediate gunfire from inside as soon as the door opened.

Aiden cautiously extended his head into the interior.

What he saw was an empty corridor leading to the kitchen.

Also, the scene was as desolate as any other abandoned house.

Only the dust reflecting the sunlight from the open door cried out that there was no one here.

However, Aiden didn’t fall for that lie.

His eyes were already fixed on faint footprints in the corridor, imprinted on the dust piled up like snow.

Someone is here.

Convinced of this, Aiden closed the door and entered the house, speaking aloud.

“West Ryan. If you’re here, answer me. I have a letter sent by Mia.”

Still, there was no response.

Aiden sighed briefly and opened the nearest door.

Then, a small room came into view.

Perhaps one of the rooms for the three siblings.

Except for furniture and miscellaneous items, there was nothing else in the room.

Having confirmed this, Aiden immediately opened the next door.

Another sibling’s room, and even the bathroom were checked.

Finally, he opened the door to the master bedroom.

A two-person bed against the left wall was the first thing that caught his eye, and above it, there was a large family photo in a frame.

Next to the bed was a large rocking chair.

In that chair, a middle-aged man sat with his eyes closed.

“…West Ryan?”

Aiden cautiously approached him.

At first glance, he looked like a corpse, but fortunately, he was breathing.

With that in mind, Aiden reached for his shoulder, still groaning, and called out more clearly.

“West Ryan!”

“Mmm…”

Ryan groaned weakly, opening his eyes with great effort.

At the same time, his face contorted with pain.

Ryan struggled to speak.

“Who are you?”

“I’m a junk dealer. I came sent by your daughter Mia.”

“Mia…?”

Ryan let out a deep sigh as if gasping for breath.

So he was sick.

He didn’t look quite well.

It took him a while to catch his breath before he spoke again.

“Yeah, Mia. Mia… my daughter, right? Why?”

Aiden then told him the story of Mia, how she came to this city to meet Ryan, faced danger, and eventually safely escaped, sending Aiden to him.

“…I see.”

Ryan, upon hearing this, responded simply.

Aiden handed him the letter Mia had sent.

Ryan’s tired eyes shifted toward it.

“What’s this?”

“It’s a letter from Mia.”

Ryan took the letter with trembling hands.

Struggling, he managed to open the envelope and retrieve the letter.

However, his pupils only wandered restlessly across the white paper.

Eventually, Ryan requested something from Aiden.

“Sorry, but… Can you read this for me? My eyes are blurry, and I can’t see the words well.”

“…”

Unable to refuse, Aiden read Mia’s letter aloud.

It contained nothing special, just the daughter’s heartfelt concern for her father.

After reading it all, Ryan let out a long sigh.

Seeing his unresponsive state, Aiden asked.

“Do you have any intention of going back?”

“No, I can’t.”

Ryan weakly shook his head.

Then, as if signaling Aiden to leave, he gestured toward the door.

“I… I’m sick. You should leave. If you stay here… it’s not good.”

Aiden quietly observed Ryan, who spoke like that.

He was trying to deduce the disease Ryan had, observing him.

Of course, even if Aiden were a doctor, he couldn’t determine the illness just by looking.

But if, as Ryan said, the scope of the disease is narrowed down to an infectious one…

At least a few candidates could be inferred.

With that judgment, Aiden continued his inquiry.

“What kind of illness are you suffering from?”

“I don’t know. But it’s a terrible one.”

“Can you describe the symptoms?”

“My whole body hurts. I’m weak, and my memory… is blurry.”

Ryan’s hazy eyes wandered through the air.

In a way, his appearance resembled a zombie, even though he didn’t seem aware of it.

“Since when has it been like this?”

“…Since the day it rained.”

“Rained?”

“Yeah, it rained. It poured heavily. And… everyone died.”

Ryan opened his eyes wide.

Though his gaze was still directed into space, he spoke with a trembling voice as if he was genuinely seeing something.

“It’s true. Everyone really died. Hit by the rain pouring like a waterfall. At first, people who were fine collapsed one by one like puppets with cut strings. Isn’t it horrifying?”

“…”

“I survived there. But I got sick. There was a terrifying disease in that rain. So please, leave. If you stay here… you’re in danger too.”

Even with Ryan’s words, Aiden’s feet remained motionless.

On the contrary, Aiden took a step closer to him.

“Can you tell me more about it? When did this so-called rain happen?”

“I don’t know. Whether it was a day or two, these days, I have no sense of time.”

“Then, where did the rain fall?”

“Well, that… it was in Kansas City.”

Aiden recalled Mia’s words.

Ryan was supposed to return to Springfield two weeks ago but couldn’t, and he was declared missing. He returned to the militia a week ago and sent a letter. So, if Ryan’s words were true, the rain would have fallen about two weeks ago.

Ryan’s words seemed outrageous, perhaps due to confusion or hallucinations caused by an existing illness.

However, Ryan continued.

“Do you think I’m crazy now?”

Aiden, struck by his words, was momentarily lost for words.

Ryan chuckled for a moment.

“That might be the case. Even I couldn’t believe it when I saw it with my own eyes. But… I swear. Everything I said is true.”

“Do you have any evidence?”

“Evidence?”

Ryan tapped his chest with his own hands.

“My body is the evidence. After being hit by that rain… my body changed.”

“Changed?”

“I came this far… How could a normal human get here? Zombies, those damn things. They don’t bite me anymore. That’s why I was able to come to my house.”

At those words, Aiden’s expression became quite serious.

However, that reaction was hidden behind the black helmet.

“…Is that true?”

“If I had a bit more strength left, I’d show you myself. But now… it’s not that easy.”

As Ryan tried to get up from the chair, his body slumped back, relying on the chair.

“Can I examine your body?”

“Examine…?”

“I was a doctor. So…”

“Don’t tell me lies about being able to cure me. If not, do as you please.”

Once permission was granted, gloved hands examined Ryan’s body.

During that time, Aiden particularly asked about the painful areas and other medical history.

Surprisingly, Ryan sincerely answered those questions.

After a while, having finished the examination, Aiden grinned.

Still, the exact diagnosis of Ryan’s illness remained unknown.

Ryan’s symptoms didn’t match any known infectious disease he was familiar with.

There was no fever, no abdominal pain – his lungs weren’t severely damaged, though he struggled to breathe.

He was just weakening, slowly dying.

Moreover, considering what Ryan said, his condition had deteriorated rapidly since a week ago.

Could it be an unknown infectious disease?

Or could it be due to some reason other than an infectious disease?

“It seems like you’re troubled.”

While Aiden remained silent, Ryan’s voice continued.

“Do you still think I’m crazy?”

Aiden shook his head.

There was undoubtedly communication between them.

While he might have experienced a moment of hallucination, there were no signs of it now.

“Then you have to believe me.”

“There is no disease that causes people to die after being hit by rain.”

“Is that so? Then… I must be wrong.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Maybe… it’s not a disease.”

With a sigh, Ryan’s words made Aiden narrow his eyes.

If it’s not a disease…

“…”

As Aiden carefully examined that possibility, one assumption crossed his mind.

It was… radiation.

Aiden frowned at this ominous expectation.