How Zombies Survive in the Apocalypse

Rat-tat-tat!

The deafening gunshots reverberated through the once-quiet underground warehouse, the muzzle flashes briefly illuminating the darkness.

Aiden’s reflexive barrage of gunfire.

However, the speed of whatever lurked beneath the water surpassed that.

Whether or not it had been struck by the bullets-

The creature that had savagely torn into Aiden’s leg vanished in an instant.

“What, what is it? Are you alright?”

In response to Arian’s words, Aiden nodded.

True, a large chunk of rotten flesh had been ripped from his thigh.

But to the zombie Aiden, it was merely a portion of decayed meat severed from him.

Fortunately, since no muscle had been damaged, it didn’t immediately impede his mobility.

“More importantly, be careful. It will likely target you next.”

Aiden spoke those words as he illuminated the water’s surface with his flashlight.

No matter how cannibalistic zombies might be towards their own kind, they undoubtedly preferred human prey above all else. So once it had recognized Aiden as a zombie, the creature would likely prioritize the other living target first.

However, no matter how much Aiden swept his flashlight across the surface, he couldn’t discern its depths.

Additionally, from Aiden’s current position, even if the creature became visible, his means of attack would be limited.

Bullets fired into water lost nearly all their propulsive force after just two meters or so. Which meant that even in barely over a meter of water like this, any bullets that managed to penetrate would have significantly diminished destructive power compared to their original velocity.

In other words, shooting the creature might not provide enough force to penetrate its skull.

“Well? Why don’t you come out and see?”

Despite Aiden’s concerns, Arian responded with self-assured nonchalance.

Then, her eyes began glowing crimson.

An eerily flickering red light, akin to a predator’s eyes deep within a cave, flashed ominously.

“What are you planning?”

“To sweep away the water, of course. I’ll handle it. You just shoot whenever it appears.”

Saying that, Arian raised her machete overhead as if about to strike.

While Aiden couldn’t discern her specific intentions, he didn’t dismiss her words lightly.

He trusted that she had some method in mind.

Aiden swapped out his rifle’s magazine and gripped it firmly, ready to open fire at any moment.

“…”

For a brief, silent moment, there was stillness.

The lurking mutant had seemingly vanished, the water’s surface showing no disturbance whatsoever.

A tranquility that could almost convince one the depths were empty.

However, it was at that very instant…

Just as Aiden had sensed something brushing against his leg, Arian undoubtedly felt that same sensation as well.

With a reaction speed far surpassing Aiden’s, she swung down the machete she had been gripping.

Swooooosh!

It was then that Aiden finally understood Arian’s earlier words.

She hadn’t intended to use any special method to disperse the water.

Her approach was simply brute, overwhelming force.

That machete, imbued with tremendous might and speed, cleaved through the water’s surface.

In an instant, the water seemed to explode outwards as if swept aside by a blast, briefly exposing the mutant that had been clinging to the floor beneath.

“-!”

Due to that, Aiden’s flashlight illuminated the creature’s appearance in vivid detail, if only for a fleeting moment.

Its eyes, nose, and ears were melted into an indistinguishable mass.

Only its mouth remained, grotesquely enlarged and stretched into an elongated gash.

A hideously disfigured visage worse than moss-covered rock.

Additionally, its fingers had extended into long, slender protrusions.

“Guaaagh-“

However, there was no opportunity to observe the mutant at length.

The momentarily parted wall of water immediately began collapsing inward once more, the creature turning its head to retreat back into the depths.

But Aiden, who had been waiting precisely for that chance, didn’t let it slip away.

His finger had already cycled the bolt and deeply depressed the trigger.

Like a biblical miracle, several bullets streaked through the gap between the parted waters.

Shlick!

In the next instant, the water disrupted by Arian’s strike reverted to its original state.

The briefly exposed floor vanished beneath that opaque liquid wave, only the murky reddish-brown surface returning to Aiden’s field of view.

However, Aiden had definitely witnessed it in that preceding moment.

His bullets piercing through the mutant’s head.

As expected, not long after, something unfamiliar soon floated up to the surface.

The corpse of the very mutant that had attacked Aiden and Arian.

After briefly observing it, Aiden began dragging that body towards the staircase.

* * *

“Hmm…”

Gazing at the mutant called a Sinker, now resting on the stairs, Aiden let out a contemplative hum.

Perhaps due to the peculiar environment it had been trapped in…

Compared to other mutants, this one exhibited an exceptionally aberrant form.

An appearance forcibly combining human and deep-sea creatures.

Of course, even for Aiden, this was a mutant he had never encountered before.

Hence the name Sinker he had bestowed upon it.

Literally meaning ‘one who sinks’ in direct translation.

While in baseball it referred to a drastically dropping breaking ball, and in fishing it meant a weight used to submerge bait… Aiden felt it was an apt name, precisely because of those familiar associations.

“…”

Aiden meticulously examined the Sinker’s corpse.

Searching for any clues that might aid him if they encountered another in the future.

The results were reasonably satisfactory.

First, this Sinker mutant seemed to detect its prey through those elongated, slender fingers.

Well, in such a dimly lit underground warehouse, submerged within murky waters, human senses of sight, hearing, and smell would be virtually useless.

So it likely relied solely on touch to perceive its surroundings.

Additionally, its primary means of attack appeared to be that grotesquely enlarged maw, with little other muscular development present.

Implying that while formidable in this aquatic environment, confronting it on dry land wouldn’t be particularly challenging.

As Aiden was analyzing the Sinker’s various characteristics, the sound of approaching footsteps reached him from behind.

“Still examining that thing?”

It was Arian, who had just ascended from the second basement level.

While Aiden had been observing the Sinker’s corpse, he had tasked Arian with retrieving the components.

Having confirmed no further hostiles remained and already knowing the components’ location, he had left that duty to her.

“Did you find the parts?”

Aiden raised his head.

Arian wore a confident smile.

“Of course.”

Arian brought over the components she had gathered and placed them on the floor.

Their number totaled three.

Including the one they had located aboveground, they had obtained all the components Zaid had requested.

“Were they all down here?”

In truth, after witnessing the flooded second basement level, Aiden had thought it fortunate if they could recover even a single component.

After all, such steel parts would inevitably become rusted and damaged beyond use when submerged in water for extended periods.

However, it seemed luck had favored Aiden’s group this time.

“We got lucky. There were far more than expected.”

Within this warehouse, each component had been stacked from floor to ceiling in dense arrays.

So Arian explained that they had simply retrieved the ones situated above the water line.

“Transporting them will be quite a task.”

Aiden spoke those words as he observed the components.

The smallest was still the size of an adult’s forearm, made of solid steel.

While Arian and Aiden could carry two each, it wouldn’t be an easy feat for ordinary people to even move one.

“Then let’s head back.”

With the components located, there was no longer any need to remain in this underground warehouse.

Aiden, who had been examining the Sinker, rose to his feet.

* * *

The next day.

“So you managed to retrieve all of these?”

Observing Aiden’s group, who had brought the large components thoroughly wrapped up, Zaid spoke those words.

While he had entrusted them with the request, he hadn’t dared expect they would procure everything so swiftly within a single day.

“Will we be able to receive the compensation, then?”

Seeing Zaid’s astonished expression, Aiden posed that question.

Just in case the payment hadn’t been prepared yet.

However, it didn’t seem to be an issue, as Zaid nodded affirmatively.

“Of course. In fact, the timing is fortuitous, as another task was nearing completion.”

Zaid’s appearance was still thoroughly smeared with grease and metal shavings.

Behind him, Linda could be seen moving something, while Nabin sat by a wheel, fiddling with components.

Repairing the train, as he had mentioned before.

Now that Aiden observed it, the freight train they were residing in looked different from their previous encounter.

The diesel locomotive engine and the rear cargo compartments had been cleanly separated.

“Is the repair work progressing well?”

Confirming that scene, Aiden inquired.

In response, Zaid answered with a faint smile.

“Yes. It’s nearly complete now.”

“Faster than I expected.”

“Well, it has been over two months since we started working on this train here.”

Had it really been that long?

Their lifestyle aboard this freight train had certainly seemed well-established.

Aiden had expected it to be perhaps a week or two at most.

A substantial investment of time, even for ordinary survivors without any other obligations.

So Aiden asked him a question.

“Do you consider this train worth such an investment?”

“Absolutely.”

Zaid responded with a face brimming with conviction.

“This rail line passes through Lubbock and Albuquerque before extending even further westward. As long as the train and tracks remain intact, we could potentially reach LA or even head north to Wyoming.”

Both LA and Wyoming were locations thousands of kilometers away from their current position.

Of course, Aiden was aware that rail networks spanned across the entire United States.

However, there was no guarantee that all those routes remained unobstructed to this day.

“There are undoubtedly sections where the tracks have been severed.”

“That’s true. So we’ll need to stop periodically to repair the rails or clear obstacles along the way. But isn’t it the same for regular vehicles?”

“…”

“In comparison, a train is a far more robust mode of transportation. Even if an entire zombie horde blocks our path, this locomotive won’t even flinch.”

Aiden nodded in acknowledgment.

Zaid made a fair point.

The power and sheer mass of a diesel locomotive was incomparable to any ordinary vehicle.

As long as the rails remained intact, it could plow through tens of thousands of zombies without issue.

In other words, Zaid had invested two months’ time into securing a safer means of travel.

While it might seem like an extravagance to Aiden, for Zaid’s group of non-zombies, it could be a worthwhile endeavor.

“I see.”

“Of course, without the components you brought, we wouldn’t have been able to depart even now. When we first stopped here, it seems the brakes had been damaged from an emergency stop.”

“How long until the repairs are complete?”

“No more than three days at most. After that, the train will finally be operational.”

It was a remarkably swift timeline.

As Aiden briefly observed the train during that exchange, Zaid made an unexpected proposal.

“If you’re amenable, would you consider joining us?”

“Joining you?”

“Yes. Once the train starts moving, there will be far more work required compared to now.”

At those words, Aiden let out a wry smile within his helmet.

He could roughly surmise Zaid’s thoughts.

As Zaid had said, once their train journey began, they would face significantly more threats compared to being holed up in this small town.

Yet with only three people, one of them injured, the prospect of traveling even aboard a train was unsettling for them.

So the fact that a seemingly capable junk dealer was present must have seemed fortuitous.

From Aiden’s perspective, the proposal wasn’t entirely unfavorable either.

Traveling by train would undoubtedly be a better choice compared to the junker vehicle they currently used.

However, all those considerations presumed Aiden wasn’t a zombie.

He was already aware that, as a zombie, it would be difficult to accompany any group of survivors long-term.

So Aiden shook his head.

“I’m afraid I can’t do that.”

“I see.”

Zaid let out a brief, disappointed sigh.

At that opportune moment, Linda arrived carrying an abundance of food and water supplies.

The compensation for this latest request.

“I suppose this is where we part ways, then.”

At Zaid’s words implying their parting, Aiden nodded in acknowledgment.

Zaid extended his hand towards Aiden.

“I wish you a safe journey, in that case.”

“…And to you as well.”

Aiden grasped Zaid’s hand in response.

After receiving the compensation for their request, Aiden’s group bid farewell to Zaid, Nabin, and Linda.

Leaving behind those three survivors conducting the train’s final repairs, Aiden’s group departed from the small town of Snyder.

Their next destination was Lubbock.

A city that had once been home to a population of 200,000.