How Zombies Survive in the Apocalypse

Returning to the outskirts hideout of Paducah where their vehicle was parked, Aiden’s group decided to stay here for one more day.

It was because night was falling again as they were dealing with the request.

Having returned to the base, Aiden first gathered weapons and then approached Sadie, who was sitting quietly in a corner of the hideout.

“Sadie, are you okay?”

Aiden lowered his body towards Sadie and asked.

Sadie’s eyes, which had been wandering on the floor, turned towards Aiden.

“Yes, I’m fine.”

Although Sadie replied like that, Aiden silently looked at her.

Sadie remained expressionless.

However, what happened today must have been quite shocking for Sadie.

Aiden asked her.

“So, do you have anything you want to say?”

“I…”

Sadie’s lips hesitated.

After carefully choosing her words for a moment, Sadie lowered her head.

“I don’t know.”

“It’s okay. You can take your time to think.”

Aiden waited for Sadie’s words like that.

After a while, Sadie spoke.

“Do you think that person… will be okay?”

There was no need to think about who that person was.

It was undoubtedly referring to Joseph, who was isolated in the church.

Aiden firmly shook his head.

“No, he won’t be okay.”

At those words, a hint of tears welled up in Sadie’s eyes.

“…It’s pitiful.”

“Why do you think so? He’s the one who ran away.”

“Maybe he ran away because it was scary? At that time… I wanted to run away because I was scared too.”

Sadie said while embracing her knees.

Aiden seemed to understand Sadie’s thoughts.

It was because she sympathized with Joseph’s feelings of fleeing in fear, as she herself had been so scared.

Aiden gently placed his hand on Sadie’s head.

“Of course, everyone was scared at that time.”

“…Even you, uncle?”

“Not me. I’m a zombie.”

Aiden’s brazen response left Sadie speechless.

A sound of Arian chuckling could be heard from the side.

But Aiden paid no attention to such reactions and got back to the main topic.

“However, letting fear make you abandon your comrades is not a wise thing.”

“But that person didn’t have a gun. In that situation, what if I had run away?”

“That’s okay. You’re still young.”

“If I’m young… Can I run away?”

Aiden shook his head.

“It’s not about being an adult or a child. It’s a matter of whether you can or cannot do it.”

That man didn’t have a gun, but he had melee weapons. He knew how to fight with them and might have even defeated the zombie that jumped over the window. 

Unlike Sadie, who couldn’t do anything without a gun, he was fundamentally different.

“But even then, he didn’t fight. Maybe he judged it was too dangerous. But he had to bear that danger. If he had, we would have faced the danger to save him. It’s like when you shot the zombie that attacked him instead of the zombie that jumped over the window.”

As Aiden added this, Sadie looked slightly surprised.

She hadn’t thought that Aiden might have been watching her even at that moment.

“So, Sadie, always keep that in mind. If you ever become comrades with people who are not zombies or vampires… then, at that time, you have to fulfill your responsibilities.”

Sadie just stared down at the floor blankly.

And in a voice full of uncertainty, she murmured.

“Can I… do that?”

“Of course. You did well today, too. Just keep it up like today.”

Aiden patted Sadie’s head.

As Aiden said, Sadie’s handling today exceeded Aiden’s expectations.

Once the conversation with Aiden came to an end, this time Arian approached Sadie.

“Here, I’ll give you a reward.”

She handed something to Sadie.

It was a small candy.

It was an item that Aiden didn’t remember obtaining.

So, he asked:

“Where did you get that?”

“This? I think it was from Maverick, that guy from earlier.”

“He gave it to you?”

“Yeah. When I was drawing blood earlier.”

Arian casually replied.

Maverick’s attitude seemed somewhat odd.

Was there perhaps some affection for Arian?

However, Arian looked as if she had no thoughts at all.

Whether she pretended not to know or genuinely didn’t know.

“Hmm…”

“Why?”

“Nothing.”

Since it was an area that Aiden didn’t care about either way, he shrugged.

Meanwhile, having received the candy, Sadie unwrapped the packaging with a picture of strawberries using her small hands.

A vivid pink candy.

Looking at the color, it seemed not to have changed.

For the first dessert in a long time, Sadie put the candy in her mouth and smiled slightly.

Arian, watching Sadie like that with satisfaction, asked:

“What about tomorrow? We were originally planning to go to Memphis.”

“Hmm…”

Aiden pondered for a moment.

Although he had been considering it since a while ago, he had made up his mind to some extent after checking the stock of supplies.

“For now, let’s stick to the plan. We need to replenish quite a few supplies urgently.”

Among them, the most urgent was food.

There was only about three days’ worth left now.

Fortunately, the purified water obtained before was still available.

Also, there was no need to mention the ammunition and grenades used today.

It was quite a painful loss for Aiden.

So, even if it meant taking the risk of searching the abandoned military base, he judged that they needed to secure supplies.

“…Alright.”

Having heard the explanation, Arian nodded heavily.

It meant that they had to take risks again to avoid dying of thirst.

“Let’s rest for the day. Everyone worked hard.”

At Aiden’s words, his companions nodded.

That night passed quietly.

* * *

The next morning.

Aiden’s group finished preparing early and left the temporary base in Paducah.

The vehicle that first headed north to leave the city turned onto Highway 45, heading south after circling the outskirts.

A road stretching south from Paducah, surrounded by green forests on both sides, bathed in the morning sunlight, looked serene.

Inside the car traveling on that road, Arian suddenly asked.

“Did those people leave?”

Sadie also turned her head to look at Aiden at that question.

Maybe she was concerned about the people they met yesterday.

Aiden silently considered his expectations.

“They probably did. There was no reason to stay, but there were many reasons to leave.”

“What about that stubborn woman?”

“If you can judge it rationally, probably.”

Arian nodded naturally.

As if she hoped so.

For a moment, she stared blankly at the passing scenery outside the window and spoke again.

“How long does it take to get to Memphis?”

“About 2 to 3 days. Of course, if luck is not on our side, it could take longer.”

The distance between Paducah and Memphis is about 270 km.

It was not a short distance.

“…I hope we can meet people during that time.”

Arian murmured to herself.

Aiden also empathized with her words.

He mentioned that their destination, Memphis, has an abandoned military base.

The chances of finding people there were not very high.

Therefore, for Aiden’s group, making contact with other survivor groups before that, and additionally obtaining blood, was the best course of action.

Although they currently had 400ml of blood, if they anticipated combat in Memphis, this amount would be insufficient.

“…”

So, Aiden’s group continued south on the road.

Similar landscapes passed by for a while.

Contrary to worries, the road conditions were not bad, and there were no zombies blocking the way.

Thanks to this, Aiden’s vehicle quickly covered quite a distance.

However, after a few hours since departure, around noon…

“Hmm…?”

An obstacle blocking the road entered Aiden’s sight.

He quickly reduced the speed of the vehicle.

“What is that?”

Arian also asked, gazing at the obstacle.

It was a barricade made up of several abandoned cars and all sorts of trash, deliberately blocking the road.

“Sadie, hide your body. Arian, are there any people around?”

Aiden immediately gave instructions to his companions.

Blocking the road and attacking vehicles that stopped in front was a common pattern for looters.

Sadie quickly hid among the luggage at his command.

Arian scanned the surrounding forest once and shook her head.

“No, it doesn’t seem like there’s anyone.”

“Really?”

Aiden furrowed his brow.

There was still a forest on both sides of the road.

If it was far enough beyond Arian’s perception range, it meant they wouldn’t be able to use guns due to those trees.

In that case… there might be no ambush here right now.

Of course, that wouldn’t be strange.

Even if it was true that looters had blocked the road, there was also the possibility that those guys left here a long time ago.

“What about the road? Should I clear it?”

Arian asked, but Aiden shook his head.

He didn’t want to waste her ability in a place like this.

“I’ll find an alternative route.”

Aiden unfolded the map of the surroundings of Paducah.

Since they hadn’t moved far from Paducah, the edge of the map depicted the nearby terrain.

Fortunately, it seemed there was a detour not far from here.

It passed through the forest and led to a single-lane road connecting to a small field.

By taking that road and passing through a small village, they could bypass the obstacle.

Aiden stared at the map, deep in thought.

For some reason, this place seemed suspicious.

Whether it was because the other detour was too far or because this small village looked like an ideal place for an ambush.

If there were really looters hiding here…

Aiden debated whether he should avoid this place.

And soon, he decided that there was no need to do so.

“Both of you. Be careful.”

After warning his companions, Aiden approached the detour.

A narrow road through the woods.

As they passed through it, a flat field unfolded just as shown on the map, and beyond it, a few houses came into view.

The vehicle moved more slowly than usual on the road.

And then, as expected.

“…Someone is there.”

Arian warned from the entrance of the village.

In each of the widely spread houses, four people came into her perception range.

Fortunately, it was before their vehicle entered their line of sight.

“As expected… looters. We can’t just pass through.”

“What now?”

“We have to deal with all of them.”

Aiden calmly spoke while taking out his silver revolver.

Arian’s brow slightly furrowed at his words.

“Are you sure?”

“Could it be a coincidence?”

That was exactly what Aiden said.

Blocking the road on purpose and lying in ambush at the only detour.

It couldn’t be explained by mere coincidence.

So Arian sighed.

“I didn’t want to meet people like this.”

“Let’s get moving. If they show up first, the vehicle could be damaged.”

Aiden immediately drove the vehicle.

The building with the closest gray roof.

The vehicle left the road, trampling over its garden, and soon hid behind the building.

“Sadie, wait here.”

Aiden and Arian got out of the vehicle, leaving Sadie inside.

Right after that, Arian spoke.

“They’re moving.”

Were they also keeping an eye on this side?

Deciding that their presence had been exposed, the looters gave up on the ambush and seemed to be launching a direct attack.

Upon hearing this, Aiden checked the revolver’s magazine and raised his finger.

“You take the left, I’ll take the right. Is that okay?”

“Can’t I handle all of them?”

“No need for you to suffer alone.”

Arian chuckled lightly.

But her laughter quickly disappeared.

“Alright, I’ll go then. If by any chance, you hear gunshots, move. Got it?”

After that, Arian swiftly ran in the direction Aiden indicated.

Like a cat leaving no trace behind, she disappeared across the road in an instant.

“Gunshots, huh…”

Although she asked to wait for the sound of gunfire, Arian didn’t have a gun.

Even so, did she intend to test them like this?

Perhaps she would be the first to attempt a conversation with the looters.

If, in that situation, the looters surrendered without a fight or if they were just wanderers by chance, she wouldn’t have to kill them.

It was the mercy she could show as a vampire who wasn’t afraid of bullets.

However…

Bang!

A dry gunshot shook the once quiet village.

Upon this, Aiden didn’t hesitate any longer, pressing his body against the wall of a house and sticking only his head and the barrel of the gun out to the right.