How Zombies Survive in the Apocalypse

“Hmm…”

The location where Aiden parked his vehicle was in the eastern outskirts of Lubbock.

Still within the city limits, but the surrounding area consisted solely of roads and vacant lots.

Quite a remote spot, with even the nearest residential neighborhood considerably far away.

There stood the Lubbock Fire Department station.

A sturdy building constructed from bright orange bricks, which Aiden had chosen as their temporary shelter for today.

“It seems suitable.”

After exiting the vehicle and surveying the nearby area, Aiden muttered those words.

The desolate, wide-open view was easily taken in at a glance.

While a few zombies could be seen wandering in the distance, they were sufficiently far away.

There were no other apparent threats.

“It’s quiet inside the building too. We should be able to enter directly.”

Arian followed up with those words.

Aiden gestured towards the building.

“Then I’ll verify it personally.”

The fire station’s entrance, as well as the garage doors for the fire trucks, were firmly shut.

As they searched for an alternative entry point, fortunately, they found an open window.

“I’ll go in!”

Sadie climbed through that small window into the building’s interior.

She soon made her way to the entrance and opened it for them.

Once they had entered the fire station…

“The inside doesn’t seem too bad.”

After inspecting it, Aiden spoke those words.

There were some traces indicating someone had briefly passed through long ago.

However, the rest area where the firefighters would have relaxed remained surprisingly tidy.

Aiden’s group immediately set about preparing to use this as their temporary shelter.

They relocated some belongings from their vehicle and cleaned the area they intended to occupy. Additionally, they checked every nook and cranny of the fire station, just in case.

“Let’s rest here for today.”

After completing that series of tasks, Aiden informed the other two.

However, despite those words, Arian questioned him as she observed him gathering his weapons.

“Where are you going?”

“I need to search for any survivor groups.”

The reason they had come to Lubbock was due to information suggesting there was a survivor group located at the city’s central university.

According to Aiden, their supposed base was situated within that large campus.

Although the information was outdated, a minimum level of verification was necessary.

“Aren’t you taking anyone with you?”

“It would be inefficient. Today, I’ll only be scouting. We still don’t know if there are actually people living here.”

“…”

“And there are also supplies I need to find. With its larger population, there are bound to be more zombies present. So it will be advantageous for me to move alone.”

Aiden hadn’t forgotten that they had depleted their stock of syringes for blood collection.

The obvious place to obtain more would be a hospital, but venturing into one in Lubbock meant being prepared to encounter zombies.

Which was when Aiden suddenly turned his gaze towards Sadie.

“Sadie, have you been taking your medicine regularly?”

“Yes.”

“How much is left?”

Sadie retrieved a pill bottle from her bag.

After checking the remaining quantity, Aiden nodded.

“Once you’ve finished this, you won’t need to take the medicine anymore.”

Ever since first meeting Aiden over half a year ago, Sadie had been consuming this tuberculosis medication.

However, that would end with this final bottle.

Once she consumed its contents, Aiden could finally declare her cured.

At the prospect of being freed from that small burden, Sadie beamed a radiant smile.

“Then I’ll be back before sunset.”

Bidding farewell to his companions, Aiden departed from the fire station.

He first unfolded a map to confirm his route before setting off.

Advancing along a narrow path, with a desolate vacant lot on one side and dilapidated houses on the other.

Proceeding that way, a small bus soon came into view.

A white bus bearing the name of some church, parked forlornly beside a small monument indicating this had once been a church site.

Beyond that was a chain-link fence enclosing a somber brown building.

While curious about its purpose, Aiden disregarded it for the time being due to his current objective. And so, he proceeded onto Idalou Road, the route leading into the city center.

Despite the surroundings still consisting of only low-rise shops and vacant lots, devoid of any metropolitan ambiance.

An environment no different from the small town of Snyder they had recently passed through.

Yet Aiden steadily advanced.

He soon crossed a small river leading to a lake and passed an unnamed circular theater that must have once been lively.

It was then that a familiar railway line came into view.

Could this be the same route Zaid had mentioned passing through Lubbock?

“…”

Out of lingering uncertainty, Aiden climbed onto the tracks and surveyed their path stretching into the distance.

Fortunately, no significant obstructions were visible.

If Zaid truly did repair that locomotive and set it in motion, at the very least, it would be able to traverse through this city unimpeded.

After crossing the railway, Aiden also passed through an industrial district with dozens of factories and company buildings.

Eventually, he reached a complicated intersection of roads.

Beyond that point, the downtown area of Lubbock finally came into view.

“Hmm…”

Aiden surveyed his surroundings with a keen gaze.

Zombies could be seen scattered about like weeds. However, their numbers weren’t particularly high.

Additionally, Lubbock’s downtown wasn’t as densely developed as a major metropolis.

While high-rise buildings were visible in the distance, their quantity was distinctly fewer and spacing was sparser.

A downtown area, yet exuding a considerably more modest atmosphere.

For some reason, the four-lane roads were paved not with asphalt but red bricks instead.

Combined with the serene white buildings, it created a unique ambiance for the city. Had it not been for the abandoned vehicles and decaying corpses littering the area, it would have presented a rather pleasant scenery.

Aiden continued westward.

Passing numerous government buildings, restaurants with shattered windows, and an exceptionally ostentatious hotel structure.

Eventually, a vast stretch of residential apartment complexes came into view.

A sign that his destination was drawing near.

Beyond those lay a university that had once accommodated over 40,000 students.

Those apartment complexes had served as dormitories for the campus.

“…Is this it?”

Finally, Aiden reached the main entrance to that university campus.

A circular monument bearing the institution’s emblem was clearly visible.

However, as Aiden surveyed the surrounding area, a hint of disappointment flickered across his gaze.

The barricades that should have obstructed the road leading into the interior…

Their scale had been considerable.

Enough for Aiden to immediately discern that the survivor group residing here must have numbered in the thousands, at minimum.

Yet now, those barricades lay shattered and collapsed.

Moreover, the traces of that destruction didn’t seem recent, from just a day or two prior. At the very least, it appeared to have occurred over a year ago… or even longer.

Meaning the survivor group that had been here had fallen apart long in the past, for some reason.

“…”

Even so, Aiden proceeded past those collapsed barricades and entered the campus interior.

Beyond the equestrian statue, a circular garden-like space opened up. What must have once been a beautifully manicured lawn was now littered with debris – wood planks previously used for barricades, tattered tents, and all manner of refuse.

Presenting an utterly disheveled appearance.

“Kieeeee…”

Furthermore, zombies could also be seen roaming about.

Their numbers were quite substantial.

Markedly denser compared to the areas Aiden had passed through earlier.

While remaining wary of those zombies, Aiden searched for his intended destination.

The university buildings were sprawled across a vast area centered around that circular space.

Their sheer number, spanning such an extensive campus befitting the student population, was almost daunting to individually investigate.

However, Aiden headed towards the building that appeared to have suffered the most severe damage.

Judging that if combat had occurred within the survivor base, the most intense fighting would have taken place at the most crucial location.

It was a two-story building south of the circular space, separated by a parking lot.

A retro design with a red roof.

However, the entrance that should have been pristine white was heavily damaged, as if struck by an explosion.

Click!

Aiden cautiously gripped his rifle and entered that building.

Rather than typical university lecture halls, the interior resembled a shopping district.

It seemed to have previously housed establishments like a bank and bookstore.

Proceeding down the corridor, where scattered zombies stood here and there, Aiden’s gaze was drawn to a particular room.

At first glance, it appeared to be some kind of office.

However, while the windows had been boarded up with wooden planks, those boards had been forcibly ripped away.

Additionally, if combat had indeed occurred, several human skeletons littered the floor.

“…Excuse me.”

Aiden stepped into that office.

Atop the desk the skeletal remains seemed to be facing were a few faded sheets of paper scattered about.

One of them caught Aiden’s eye.

It was a map of Lubbock.

But not an ordinary one.

Annotated with someone’s handwriting, it depicted the distribution of zombies within Lubbock, the territories of various gangs, and marked key locations.

Although most of that information was likely outdated and useless… There didn’t seem to be any active gangs remaining here, after all.

However, some notations piqued Aiden’s wariness.

“Two Rhinos, one Brutal, three Hedgehogs…”

It detailed the presence of specific mutants inhabiting certain areas.

An excessive number of mutants for a single city.

Perhaps the group residing here had ultimately fallen while battling against such mutants.

While past information, no one knew where those mutants might have relocated.

That uncertainty fueled Aiden’s sense of impending crisis.

Averting his gaze from the map, Aiden turned towards one of the walls.

On the yellowed surface was scrawled a fading message: ‘Don’t abandon hope.’

“There’s nothing to salvage here.”

Aiden muttered those words with a brief sigh.

The survivor group that had resided here seemed to have collapsed long ago.

He had come here hoping to perhaps recover any supplies they might have left behind, just in case.

However, based on the traces left on this map, the possibility of dangerous mutants still lurking somewhere within this university campus was high. So thoroughly scouring the interior would be too risky.

Having reached that judgement, Aiden promptly exited the university grounds.

Retracing his path back to the entrance, he decided to head southwest this time.

His destination was the hospital district. An area officially designated as the ‘Medical District.’

It contained one major hospital, three moderate-sized comprehensive hospitals, and over ten smaller clinics.

“First and foremost…”

Among those medical facilities, the most accessible location to find syringes would undoubtedly be the major hospital.

However, after recognizing the potential presence of mutants, Aiden deliberately chose one of the smaller comprehensive hospitals as his target instead.

A large high-rise hospital with underground facilities would provide too ideal an environment for mutants to inhabit, so he aimed to avoid that risk.

Soon, Aiden entered one such specialized hospital.

A single four-story building constructed from light brown bricks, fully dedicated to medical purposes.

“Hmm…?”

As Aiden approached the entrance, he tilted his head upon discovering barricades here as well.

Traces of a survivor group’s presence remained at this location too. Moreover, those traces appeared somewhat more recent compared to the university.

Perhaps the group that had resided at the campus had eventually abandoned that base and relocated here.

“…”

However, for Aiden, this wasn’t necessarily good news.

While critical supplies like syringes were unlikely to have been thoroughly looted by survivors, they could have been carelessly discarded simply to clear space.

Pondering that possibility caused Aiden to quicken his pace through the hospital corridors.

Afterwards, he meticulously searched every area where syringes might have been stored.

“…Fortunately.”

As a result, he managed to secure a considerable quantity of syringes.

Although most other medications had vanished, it seemed the survivors who had occupied this place hadn’t bothered with the syringes.

After gathering the necessary supplies, as Aiden rose to leave-

“That’s…”

His gaze was drawn to the words written above the door he had entered through.

‘Don’t abandon hope.’

The same message he had witnessed at the university earlier.

Regarding it with a pensive gaze, Aiden soon retrieved his map.

While unintentional, he had ended up tracing the trail left by the group that had resided at the university.

Moreover, that trail had now shifted to a more recent timeframe – sometime between a year and six months ago.

If his conjecture was correct, then perhaps they were still residing somewhere within this city.

That thought occurred to Aiden. So he unfolded the map and searched for locations that could serve as a suitable base for survivors.

Soon, a few candidate sites were selected.

Primarily areas that had previously contained large supermarkets, numbering five in total scattered across different parts of the city.

From there, Aiden further narrowed down the candidates.

Prioritizing drawbacks over advantages, focusing on places suitable for a group fleeing from mutants and zombies after their base had been overrun.

That left only one remaining location.

A large shopping district in the southwestern outskirts, the opposite direction from Aiden’s current temporary shelter.

That shopping district was sufficiently distant from here, containing department stores, supermarkets, and major retail outlets – ensuring an abundance of available supplies. Additionally, the surrounding vast parking lots provided unobstructed lines of sight.

To the south lay a lakeside park, reducing the number of directions requiring vigilance.

An ideal location for evading the relentless zombie threat.

Having made that determination, Aiden decided to verify that large shopping district as his final destination.

Confirming the route he needed to take, Aiden folded up the map.

He exited the hospital through the door bearing that message about hope.