Chapter 143
“…Is this it?”
After walking along the road for quite a while, Aiden gazed at the large gray building that had come into view.
Its height was at most two or three stories.
However, with a parking lot surrounding it on all sides and its elongated horizontal structure, it exhibited the typical appearance of a major retail outlet.
The faded blue logo emblazoned on the building’s front belonged to a once-famous supermarket chain.
A clear indication that he hadn’t strayed from his intended path.
Quite a few zombies could be seen near that supermarket area.
Dozens of them scattered across the parking lot alone.
Which caused Aiden’s inner sense of tension to heighten.
While it was rare for mutants to roam exposed parking lots in broad daylight without any cover…
…Aiden, who had recently confronted a mutant Hider with the same appearance as an ordinary zombie, couldn’t easily let his guard down.
“…”
He cautiously approached the supermarket building.
Compared to its size, the entrance was rather narrow.
Behind the shattered glass doors, someone’s efforts to barricade the entrance by reinforcing it with steel plates were clearly visible.
Aiden entered through that opening.
However, a large overturned product display immediately obstructed his path ahead.
Beyond that, the interior appeared dimly disheveled for some inexplicable reason.
Flick!
Aiden activated his flashlight.
He then pushed aside the fallen display to clear a path forward.
“Kii…”
One of the zombies lingering near the entrance briefly glanced at Aiden, like a nosy neighborhood resident.
Ignoring it, Aiden squeezed his body through the gap beside the display. Revealing the chaotic scene within that had been concealed from the sunlight.
“This is…”
Observing that, Aiden furrowed his brow slightly.
What he had discovered were numerous corpses.
Among them were human remains as well as those of zombies.
And standing amidst them nonchalantly was a living corpse.
A zombie, its rifle limply hanging from one hand, gazed at Aiden.
Its body, in the midst of advanced decomposition, suggested it had turned no more than three days ago.
Aiden silently drew his longsword.
He approached the zombie and thrust the blade through its jaw in an embracing motion.
Thunk-
Without even a chance to utter a groan, the zombie collapsed.
Yet the other zombies surrounding them showed no reaction whatsoever.
Aiden then proceeded to systematically eliminate the remaining ten or so zombies within the supermarket interior.
“Ki…”
After dispatching the final one, he surveyed the interior once more.
Apart from the corpses, there were also some supplies left behind by the survivor group that had clearly been present here.
Scattered on the floor were unused ammunition, while the shelving units lining the walls still contained canned goods, liquor, and cigarettes.
However, Aiden temporarily postponed recovering those items.
He had judged that there was still a possibility of survivors remaining here.
“Is anyone here?”
Aiden raised his voice.
Hoping for a response from any potential survivors.
But the only reply was the distant wails of zombies.
Aiden then retrieved a steel crowbar lying on the floor.
He proceeded to check every room branching off from the supermarket interior, one by one. Whether restrooms or staff offices, if a door was present, he opened it. If locked, he forced it open using the crowbar.
In one storage room…
…Located at the end of an employee corridor extending from the main area…
“If anyone is inside, answer me.”
…Aiden pounded on the locked door.
Receiving no response, he once again used the crowbar to forcibly pry it open.
Creak!
The door opened with a distorted groan as the lock was wrenched apart.
At that moment, Aiden was struck by an intense smell of blood.
And then…
“Tsk…!”
…Aiden clicked his tongue at the sight within.
Inside that storage room were fewer than ten individuals.
However, they were all already deceased.
Moreover, the cause of death was… suicide.
Every one of them had gunshot wounds to the head, with no signs of resistance.
Having become trapped by zombies and judging escape impossible, they had chosen to take their own lives here.
“…”
Gazing at their motionless forms, Aiden let out a brief sigh.
More than anything, the truly regrettable aspect was that their deaths had occurred less than a day ago. The estimated time of death was at most the previous night to early this morning.
If only they hadn’t committed suicide, there was a chance Aiden could have encountered living survivors.
Calmly suppressing that sense of pity, Aiden surveyed the area around the deceased.
Beside an unknown woman lay a small notebook.
Aiden opened it to examine its contents.
It contained a brief memoir recorded by that woman.
Detailing how a once-thousand-strong survivor group originating from the university had dwindled to hundreds due to zombie attacks. How those hundreds had further diminished to mere dozens while at the hospital. Until their final demise here, in this supermarket.
And on the notebook’s cover, that now-familiar phrase was visible:
‘Don’t abandon hope.’
Unlike when he had first seen it, those tiny scrawled words now seemed utterly hollow to Aiden’s eyes.
“…”
Aiden returned the notebook beside the woman and closed the storage room door.
There were no survivors remaining in Lubbock.
Having recognized that, Aiden gathered the few supplies he had noticed on his way in before returning to the temporary shelter where his companions awaited.
* * *
Three days after departing Lubbock…
Traveling northward along Interstate Highway 27, Aiden’s group had just entered the area of Tulia.
Originally home to just over 4,000 residents, Tulia was a town too small to even be called a city.
Within the entire town, the only places that might yield any useful supplies were a few restaurants and a modest grocery store – it didn’t even have a hotel, with just a single motel located on the outskirts.
Even so, the reason Aiden’s group had come here was because it lay along their route towards Amarillo.
There had also been information suggesting a small survivor group had once existed here.
However, Aiden hardly expected to actually find any survivors remaining in this place.
From Lubbock to Abernathy, then Plainview…
Those three cities had hosted survivor bases along this highway route until two years ago, yet not a single one remained intact by the time they had arrived.
So the notion of a group persisting in a far smaller town like this was simply inconceivable.
Aiden drove their vehicle into the interior of Tulia.
The scenery that met his eyes was… precisely as expected.
“As I thought, huh?”
Aiden spoke those words as he observed the deserted town.
Their vehicle was currently passing through Tulia’s central district.
The shopping area, sparsely dotted with a few stores, was likely the most valuable location in this town.
However, even here, signs of human presence – let alone zombies – were scarce.
“Hmph… what a mess this place is too.”
From the backseat, Arian let out a disgruntled remark.
For Aiden’s group, it was a rather troubling situation.
Nearly a week had passed since leaving Snyder, yet they hadn’t encountered a single person during that time.
Their stockpile of blood had long since been depleted, and the time Arian and Aiden could endure was quickly running out.
“Will we be able to reach the next town before nightfall?”
In response to Arian’s question, Aiden replied that it was impossible.
The current time was around 3 PM, not particularly late.
However, the issue was their vehicle.
This junker, which could break down at any moment, had already reached the limits of its overheating engine.
To cool it down, they would need to stop for at least 30 minutes, potentially up to an hour.
Coupled with their inability to maintain high speeds, reaching the next town several dozen kilometers away before sunset was clearly unfeasible.
Arian, already aware of this, had merely asked out of fragile hope.
At Aiden’s definitive response, she let out a long sigh.
“…I suppose there’s no choice.”
Arian’s dejected words prompted Sadie to gently grasp her hand, as if trying to offer clumsy reassurance.
In response, Arian flashed the child a bright smile.
“…”
Observing that exchange, Aiden inwardly acknowledged a faint sense of unease.
As a zombie, he couldn’t truly comprehend the nature of Arian’s thirst for blood.
However, witnessing her uncharacteristic restlessness despite typically avoiding overt displays in front of Sadie, Aiden could well imagine the severity of that craving.
Yet despite that, there was little Aiden could do.
All that remained was to invest what little time they had left in searching this small town, harboring even a shred of hopeful expectation.
“Let’s find a hideout first, then immediately search the town.”
“Well… I don’t really expect anyone to be here, though.”
“We have the time remaining anyway. No harm in trying.”
Unable to refute Aiden’s words, Arian nodded in reluctant agreement.
Soon, they arrived at a hospital.
The kind of modest facility one would expect to find in such a small town.
However, its white brick walls were sufficiently sturdy, and the surrounding area was devoid of zombies, seeming quiet and secure.
Judging it a safe enough location, Aiden parked their vehicle there, establishing it as their temporary shelter for the day.
“Where are you heading?”
After roughly preparing their temporary hideout, Arian spoke up as she exited.
Aiden gestured towards a signboard in front of the hospital.
“It seems there’s a school and a church to the north. Let’s check that area first.”
And so, Aiden’s group proceeded northward along the road.
Passing by the wide streets, wooden utility poles, and desolate, arid front yards…
The residential neighborhood they first encountered didn’t differ much from any other western town’s appearance.
Continuing along that path, they soon spotted the school.
Emblazoned in large letters on the brown structure that had once been a high school was the name ‘Tulia.’
However, there were no signs of people present. Only a few desiccated zombies could be seen wandering the parched athletic field, devoid of even weeds.
“Hmm…”
Shortly after, the church came into view as well.
The northern edge of the town, a mere few hundred meters away.
Unsurprising, given Tulia’s minuscule size.
With only vast fields stretching out ahead, Aiden altered their course to the side instead.
And so, the three of them trudged along the outskirts, circumnavigating the town in a circuitous path.
During that time, they discovered a small park and a camping area, passing by a sizeable warehouse district and an abandoned gas station.
Yet nowhere did they encounter any human presence.
Perhaps he had naively hoped, but was this outcome inevitable after all?
It was just as Aiden had that thought-
“Ah…?”
Arian turned her head towards the residential area’s edge, where nothing seemed out of the ordinary.
Her gaze was fixed upon a certain warehouse structure.
Its color was a rusty red – not its original hue, but rather the result of the iron construction succumbing to corrosion over time.
That warehouse also seemed to be part of an enclosed farmstead, connected to the town solely by a narrow road and standing in isolated desolation amidst the wasteland. Hardly a place one would expect to find supplies, let alone people.
However, Arian’s gaze lingered there for quite some time.
“Do you sense something?”
Which prompted Aiden to inquire.
Arian tilted her head slightly before responding.
“A person… there is.”
“A person? In a place like that?”
Aiden repeated those words in disbelief.
As if understanding his skepticism, Arian furrowed her brow ever so slightly.
“I know, it sounds strange to me too. That’s why I wondered if I was just imagining it.”
“You imagining things?”
“Why not? It could happen.”
Perhaps akin to a starving person experiencing hallucinations of food.
Comprehending that analogy, Aiden nodded in acknowledgment.
“I see. Then we’ll just have to verify it.”
He retrieved his rifle and headed towards the farm’s entrance gate.
The meter-high gate, fenced in a perimeter, was locked from the inside, but scaling it wouldn’t be difficult.
However, instead of climbing over, Aiden opted to observe the farm’s interior first.
If there truly were people present, they would undoubtedly be armed, necessitating a cautious approach.
“I’ll approach from the front, near that collapsed silo.”
Aiden gestured towards it, indicating a sturdy source of cover positioned diagonally from the warehouse.
Arian nodded in understanding.
“Then I’ll circle around to the rear.”
“I’ll stay over there.”
Sadie then pointed towards a nearby house.
A location devoid of zombies, concealed behind a large tree, providing a safe vantage point even if the warehouse occupants opened fire.
“Alright. Let’s move out immediately.”
At Aiden’s words, Arian began circling widely along the farm’s perimeter, while Sadie took shelter inside the house.
With the three of them having dispersed, Aiden calmly vaulted over the entrance gate.
It was at that very moment-
Bang!
A sudden gunshot rang out from the warehouse’s direction, the bullet whizzing past Aiden’s side.
In response, Aiden immediately dropped into a crouched stance. He then dashed towards the collapsed silo, its wall crumbled to provide cover.
Ping!
Even during that brief movement, the gunfire targeting Aiden didn’t cease.
Ricocheting bullets grazed perilously close after striking the ground and rocks around him.
However, amid those critical moments, Aiden felt a sense of relief rather than panic.
This gunfire served as proof that Arian’s perception hadn’t been a mere delusion.
“I’m a junk dealer! I wish to trade with you!”
Taking cover behind the collapsed silo, Aiden attempted to initiate a dialogue with the warehouse’s occupants.
However, his voice only elicited indistinct murmurs from within.
No matter how many times he repeated himself, there was no coherent response.
As that frustrating situation persisted for a while… Arian had somehow circled around and ascended onto the warehouse’s roof during that time.
“…”
From there, she silently gestured to Aiden.
An indication that she intended to proceed with entry.
“No need to kill them. Can you subdue them instead?”
Aiden spoke in a hushed tone.
While too far for ordinary humans to overhear, Arian, having perceived his words, nodded affirmatively.
The warehouse occupants had only opened fire on Aiden in self-defense.
Unlike plunderers or fanatics, there was no need to outright take their lives without cause.
Enveloping her machete in a crimson aura, Arian soundlessly made her way towards the warehouse’s rear entrance.
The moment her figure vanished from the rooftop…
Bang!
Accompanied by a thunderous impact, the two-meter-tall door was blasted inwards.
Screams of panic erupted from within as the warehouse’s occupants were thrown into disarray by the sudden rear assault.
Arian didn’t let that opportunity slip away.
In an instant, she entered the warehouse, passing between the people like a gust of wind.
“What the-?!”
One of the men let out that exclamation.
The rifle he had been gripping was now somehow in Arian’s grasp.
The speed and force with which she had disarmed him was scarcely believable, as if she had merely blinked and his gun had vanished.
“It’s over.”
In the blink of an eye, Arian, having seized all their firearms, spoke those words.
Aiden approached the warehouse’s main entrance.
The door had been opened by Arian.
She threw all the guns the people were holding out of the warehouse.
The ones inside the warehouse were… two men and one woman. Three people in total.
“Damn…!”
Their faces were pale as dead.
Well, they thought they would die without being able to move since they were standing in front of an unknown wanderer with all the weapons taken away in such an absurd way.
But Aiden, standing in front of them, shamelessly spoke once again:
“I’m Aiden Lee. A junk dealer. As I said, I’d like to trade with you.”
The man closest to him furrowed his brow slightly at his words.