How Zombies Survive in the Apocalypse

“What is that sound?”

As soon as Aiden returned to their temporary base, Arian posed that question.

Undoubtedly referring to the ongoing gunfire still ringing out.

However, Aiden was equally unaware of its origin.

“I don’t know. It started right after I left the Liberation Front’s base. Until then, I sensed no signs of any disturbance.”

“I see…? Then it might not be anything serious?”

“Hard to say. But… I don’t have a good feeling about this.”

Aiden spoke those words as he unconsciously gathered his previously discarded weapons at their shelter.

Over the past few days of fulfilling requests, the Liberation Front Aiden had observed didn’t seem like a particularly stable organization.

They were plagued by chronic resource shortages. To the extent that they had neglected to deal with the mutants lurking around their base perimeter. Yet in that state, they had committed substantial resources and personnel to the leisure district in pursuit of medical supplies.

As a result, internal discontent had recently erupted within the Liberation Front – to the point that it had even reached Aiden, an outsider.

Even so, until recently, the Liberation Front had managed to suppress such dissent through their characteristic rigid discipline.

“The noise is escalating steadily.”

An edge of unease tinged Arian’s voice.

While the church they were residing in was separate from the Liberation Front’s base, it wasn’t excessively distant either.

Certainly not far enough to be entirely safe if an all-out conflict had truly erupted there, even from stray gunfire.

Fidgeting with his pistol, Aiden contemplated their options.

Should he attempt to scout the situation first?

However, merely attempting reconnaissance would carry significant risk from the outset.

“Hmm…”

Aiden peered through the church’s window towards the sky.

It was late morning, just before noon.

A bit late to still be considered morning, but ample time remained before their intended departure.

“Were you planning to leave?”

Seeming to discern Aiden’s thoughts, Arian inquired.

Aiden nodded in affirmation.

“We’ve concluded our business here, in any case.”

Even before this incident, Aiden had been considering departing Amarillo either tomorrow or within the next three days at the latest.

While an immediate departure hadn’t been part of his original plans, they were nonetheless prepared for it.

Although it meant an accelerated timetable, there were no foreseeable drawbacks or complications.

So rather than risking a potentially hazardous reconnaissance, outright avoiding any unnecessary danger might be the wiser choice.

“What do you think?”

After explaining his perspective, Aiden posed the question to his companions.

Neither Arian nor Sadie raised any objections.

They promptly began packing up their temporary lodgings.

Gathering the bedrolls they had placed in a corner, loading the modest food supplies they had previously readied into the vehicle.

Meanwhile, Aiden maintained his weapons and unfolded a map, identifying a safe route to exit the city in advance.

“I’m finished over here.”

“Me too!”

It was just as they had completed those departure preparations…

“Aiden!”

That Arian’s urgent voice pierced Aiden’s ears, just as he was about to board their vehicle.

It meant someone was approaching their location.

“How many?”

“…A lot. Dozens. No, the number keeps increasing.”

At those words, Aiden’s brow furrowed slightly.

It was a larger contingent than expected, and their intentions were unclear.

Yet he couldn’t simply drive the vehicle to deter them either.

Above all else, their vehicle’s speed wasn’t particularly rapid, and the road ahead was a straight line.

If they harbored hostile intentions towards Aiden’s group, they would be directly exposed to their line of fire.

“Let’s head inside for now.”

So Aiden concealed the vehicle behind the building before entering the church once more with his companions.

Soon after, the individuals Arian had sensed approaching revealed themselves.

As expected, they were members of the Liberation Front.

Armed troops carrying various firearms and weapons.

Moreover, their number seemed to exceed several dozen, potentially even reaching hundreds.

The narrow road in front of the church was densely packed with people.

“…”

Fortunately, however, they didn’t seem to notice the church where Aiden’s group was hiding.

Those hundreds of soldiers didn’t approach the vehicle parked behind the church either, simply marching silently along the road.

There were no signs that they were searching for anyone specifically.

As if Aiden’s group held no significance whatsoever.

Among that contingent, Aiden spotted a familiar face – Keira.

However, Keira merely glanced towards the church before immediately averting her gaze, continuing onwards.

“What’s going on here?”

Arian whispered those words as she observed the scene.

Aiden shook his head.

He couldn’t easily discern the situation unfolding or their current destination either.

It was at that moment when one individual abruptly broke away from the crowd, approaching the church.

An unfamiliar woman.

Having reached the church’s main entrance, she ultimately knocked on that door.

“Mr. Aiden Lee?”

She called out Aiden’s name.

However, Aiden didn’t respond, still unable to gauge their intentions.

But the woman didn’t give up there.

She insisted that she meant no harm to Aiden, merely wishing to deliver something to him.

“Do you remember a man named Parker Hemington?”

“…”

“I’m his wife, Anna Hemington.”

The woman revealed her identity.

During that exchange, Aiden had been observing the numerous soldiers passing by behind her.

However, they merely glanced in this direction curiously, showing no signs of heightened alertness or hostile intent.

In an attempt to test them, Aiden cautiously opened the door.

“What is it?”

Aiden addressed Anna with that query.

If Parker Hemington referred to the man who had requested antibiotics to treat his wife’s typhoid fever… then Aiden couldn’t easily discern why his wife, Anna, would seek him out here.

Unexpectedly, Anna extended an item towards Aiden.

“Here, take this. It’s the compensation my husband couldn’t provide you.”

It was a bottle containing blood.

It was then that Aiden vaguely recalled the promise Parker had made in passing.

That if his wife were cured, he would willingly offer her blood to Aiden as well.

A statement Aiden had forgotten, having received no further contact afterwards.

“…Thank you.”

Aiden cautiously accepted the bottle.

Even then, the soldiers marching directly in front of the church showed no interest in their interaction whatsoever. Their piercing gazes remained fixated ahead, exuding a menacing aura yet devoid of any curiosity towards Aiden’s group.

Having finally confirmed their lack of hostile intent towards him, Aiden momentarily lowered his guard as he continued his line of questioning.

“Where is Parker, then?”

“He… is dead.”

Anna’s unexpected response caused Aiden’s words to catch in his throat.

She lowered her head dejectedly.

“It was all because of me.”

Anna then recounted the events that had befallen Parker.

Parker had obtained the medicine through his transaction with Aiden.

He immediately administered the antibiotics to Anna, allowing her to recover from her sickbed before long.

However, Anna’s unusually rapid recovery from the disease plaguing the Liberation Front aroused the suspicions of their commanding officers.

Among the many individuals afflicted with severe symptoms, Anna’s recovery stood out as anomalous.

It was during that period of heightened scrutiny towards Anna that she made a fateful mistake.

“There was a small amount of the antibiotic you provided remaining. So I tried to share it with one of my friends…”

However, in the process, Anna’s possession of those antibiotics was discovered by the Liberation Front.

As a result, Parker was interrogated about how he had obtained them.

Ultimately, the fact that he had traded with an external junk dealer using the Liberation Front’s supplies was exposed.

“But if that were the case… shouldn’t there have been repercussions for me as well?”

Aiden inquired.

If his transaction with Parker had been uncovered, he should have faced retaliation from the Liberation Front as the other party involved – yet there had been no such incident.

In response, Anna continued her explanation.

“He didn’t mention your name. Instead, he claimed it was another junk dealer who had already left the city.”

“Why would he do that?”

“Because you saved my life. My condition was dire, you see. If you hadn’t accepted that request, I would have surely perished.”

Aiden was rendered speechless.

He had never imagined Parker would have protected him for such a reason.

“And… he knew it wouldn’t have mattered what he said.”

“It wouldn’t have mattered?”

“Parker was executed for that incident. Three days ago.”

While trading with a junk dealer alone might have been excusable… The deciding factor was his unauthorized appropriation of the Liberation Front’s supplies.

It amounted to embezzlement.

Even so, execution was an excessively harsh punishment, but the Liberation Front’s regulations were merciless.

“My condolences. I never imagined things would escalate to that extent…”

Upon hearing that, Aiden spoke in a low voice.

While he couldn’t be held responsible for Parker’s death, his unintentional involvement was undeniable.

However, Anna shook her head, as if indicating Aiden had no need to apologize.

Aiden silently listened as she continued, eventually raising his gaze.

There were the soldiers passing by in front of the church.

“Then what about them?”

“All of them are people similar to me. Those who could no longer endure the tyranny of that organization.”

Anna spoke those words with a somber, resolute gaze.

Aiden didn’t inquire about the specific actions they had taken at their base, nor where they were currently heading.

The answer was self-evident.

“In any case, thank you for accepting it. I felt uneasy about the debt my husband had left unpaid. Well, then…”

With a melancholic expression, Anna lowered her head and turned away.

By then, the soldiers’ procession seemed to be nearing its end.

Anna joined their rear flank, walking along the road until they disappeared from sight.

“Let’s get moving too.”

It was after the soldiers had passed that Aiden spoke those words.

A faint urgency tinged his voice, as if intuiting the tempestuous winds soon to engulf this place – or perhaps already beginning to stir.

In response, Arian gave a simple nod of acknowledgment before they boarded their vehicle.

The aging sedan, having barely undergone maintenance, rumbled as it advanced.

Passing through a small residential area and shopping district, they soon emerged onto a broad road flanked by a park.

Interstate Highway 40, leading westward out of Amarillo.

Boooom!

By then, the sounds emanating from within the city had escalated beyond mere gunfire into outright explosions.

Flames billowed in the distance as plumes of smoke rose like clouds into the sky.

Woooooong!

Aiden increased their vehicle’s speed.

While not particularly rapid, he deemed it better to put as much distance between them and the city as swiftly as possible.

And so, they managed to depart from Amarillo.

The further they traveled from the city, the more the unsettling noises diminished.

However, the black smoke towering into the sky remained disconcertingly visible on the horizon for an unnaturally prolonged duration.

* * *

Several days later…

Aiden’s group was still heading westward.

Having already traversed over 200 kilometers of road.

They had since left the state of Texas, entering New Mexico and now heading towards the new major city of Albuquerque.

However, the surrounding landscape – the distinct ochre-colored soil, the sparsely scattered utility poles, the brown-tinged weeds… not a single aspect seemed to have changed.

“…How desolate.”

Gazing out at that scenery through the window, Arian muttered those words.

As if the monotonous vista were merely a copied and pasted photograph, devoid of any appeal.

Moreover, there were hardly any signs of human presence in this area either.

Just as they had observed around Amarillo, the absence of people was so pronounced that it surpassed even the northeastern city of Pittsburgh, from which most residents had reportedly evacuated.

“Why are there so few people around here?”

It was a question Arian had eventually posed to Aiden regarding that peculiarity.

Of course, Aiden didn’t know the precise reason either, as this was his first time venturing to this region as well.

However, he could offer one conjecture.

“Probably because of LA.”

The distance from Amarillo, where they had departed, to LA was approximately 1,700 kilometers.

An immense range that no ordinary survivor could confidently traverse.

If one already possessed a stable refuge, there would be no incentive to undertake such a perilous journey.

However, for wanderers, plunderers, or junk dealers like Aiden who lacked a permanent haven, that distance could represent a glimmer of hope.

If they could penetrate just two states – New Mexico and Arizona – they would reach California, where LA was located.

The once seemingly distant LA had now entered their realistic scope.

“…”

Which meant, while they hadn’t encountered any dangers like marauders, it wasn’t an entirely favorable situation for Aiden’s group, who required a continuous blood supply.

It was fortunate that Arian had at least replenished their reserves sufficiently in Amarillo, anticipating this eventuality.

In any case, for several days now, Aiden’s group had been traveling uninterrupted, steadily cruising along the roads in their sluggish vehicle.

A peaceful, yet increasingly tedious, journey.

Even Sadie, who typically avoided letting her guard down, was nodding off intermittently due to the prolonged monotony.

After briefly observing the drowsy Sadie, Arian turned her gaze towards Aiden.

“So how far are we going today?”

“A place called Santa Rosa.”

One of the small towns situated between Amarillo and Albuquerque.

While unlikely to offer anything noteworthy, Arian seemed relieved it could at least be considered a town.

As they traversed this desert region, the distances between populated areas had gradually increased – the previous night, they had resorted to sheltering within a roadside warehouse.

“Ah, is that it over there?”

Arian pointed ahead along the seemingly endless stretch of road.

At the far end of that barren horizon, an aged signboard jutted out, heralding the small town as Aiden’s group approached.