How Zombies Survive in the Apocalypse

While the size of the gym was large, its entrance wasn’t particularly wide.

At most, it had a glass wall about 5 meters across.

Only the two door frames attached to it served as the passage leading into the gym.

But the passage Aiden’s group was now facing was completely destroyed.

All that remained was a twisted door frame and shattered wall.

The glass that had originally filled the wall and doors was smashed into jagged shards littering the floor.

Aiden surveyed the interior.

There were no zombies left in the lobby area visible first.

They seemed to have exited after hearing Aiden’s stun grenade earlier.

However, zombie groans could still be clearly heard coming from deeper inside beyond the lobby.

Meaning there were still zombies that had retreated further into the building.

Aiden looked back at Arian.

“How many inside?”

“Twenty… no, over thirty. And… there’s a mutant too.”

At Arian’s words, Aiden let out a brief sigh.

Thirty regular zombies.

A considerable number, but not an insurmountable opponent.

The issue was the mutant Arian had mentioned.

In such a wide building without any windows, it was unsurprising for a mutant to be lurking inside.

The problem was having to face it directly.

Arian didn’t specify the type of mutant.

Meaning it was one they hadn’t encountered before, and such an unknown could bring unexpected variables.

“Will you be alright?”

Arian asked.

Aiden surveyed the gym’s entrance once more.

The not-so-wide entrance.

It wasn’t a size that even larger mutants like Brutals or Bigfoots, let alone slightly smaller ones like Wielders, could pass through.

In other words, the mutant hidden here had to be medium-sized or smaller.

In that case, Aiden stood a chance.

Naturally, a mutant’s combat power was primarily proportional to its size.

While there were exceptions like Hiders that possessed immense strength despite not being much larger than regular zombies, but most small to medium-sized mutants tended to focus on special abilities like Screamers or Stingers.

“…It’ll be manageable.”

With that assessment, Aiden examined the interior.

The paths leading inward from the lobby branched off to the left and right.

In the complete darkness without any windows, he could vaguely make out treadmills and such.

Likely connected directly to the fitness area.

In that case, the inner area was likely a wide open space.

“Get ready.”

Aiden tightened his grip on his axe as he warned his companions.

Considering the enemy’s numbers and the building’s structure, combat was inevitable.

Arian calmly nodded, while Sadie tensed her gaze towards her crossbow, and Sophia gulped as she gripped her spear.

Paat!

Aiden’s flashlight illuminated the gym’s interior.

The zombies, startled by the sudden light, immediately let out cries upon spotting the people around that light source.

“Kieeee!”

Like insects swarming out from under a lifted rock, the zombies hidden in the darkness rushed towards them all together.

Their pale, crazed eyes reflected the flashlight’s beam.

Their ferocity was indeed akin to savage beasts.

But the zombies, confined to this enclosed space from limited directions, could not pose a significant threat to Aiden’s group.

Twack!

The zombie at the very front, which had been charging while pushing aside a treadmill, was cleaved down by Arian’s strike.

Not just its neck, but its entire torso was sliced clean off in one blow.

The zombie’s upper body was sent airborne, its head letting out a scream.

Kung!

But the following downward strike vertically split that screaming zombie head in two.

The briefly screaming corpse, now bisected, spilled its rotten brain matter as it further defiled the floor.

“Kiiiii-“

Enraged by the death of their kin, the zombies’ frenzy escalated further.

Their savage cries shook the gymnasium.

At those eerie howls, Sophia trembled in terror.

This prompted the zombies lurking even deeper inside to come rushing out as well.

Arian’s blade ceased incessantly cleaving through corpses.

Among them, some suddenly had small arrows protruding from their foreheads before collapsing – Sadie’s handiwork.

Sophia too, having finally found an opening past Arian, thrust her spear with all her might towards the nearby zombies.

Amidst all this, Aiden was supporting Arian’s flank. Yet his gaze continued searching for the mutant that had to be hiding somewhere inside.

However, the mutant didn’t readily reveal itself.

The building’s interior, completely devoid of light, was far too dark.

In contrast, their field of view relying solely on a single flashlight was hardly extensive.

Moreover, the various exercise equipment scattered about blocked the light and created shadows, further obstructing that limited vision.

At this, Aiden clicked his tongue in frustration.

If the mutant happened to possess a special ability like a Screamer that could summon more zombies, he needed to deal with it before that ability could be unleashed.

It was at that moment.

Keuddeudeuk-

Amidst the deafening cries of the zombies, a grating noise could be heard.

The sound of heavy metal scraping across the floor.

Just as Aiden tried to locate the source, Arian, whose eyes could pierce the darkness, spoke up.

“It’s coming!”

Boooom!

Overlapping with Arian’s voice, a deafening sound akin to an explosion resonated – the shattering of steel against steel.

When the flashlight was aimed in that direction, a large smith machine could be seen lying on its side, mangled beyond recognition.

And stepping on that crushed exercise equipment was… a barbell.

A lengthy steel bar with weights attached, also known as a barbell.

“A barbell…?”

Aiden’s brow furrowed slightly.

Then, as if moving on its own, the barbell that had smashed the smith machine revealed the mutant Aiden had been searching for.

“Grruuu…!”

Finally confirming its appearance, Aiden narrowed his eyes.

The mutant’s height was around 190cm, similar to a well-built adult male.

Moreover, distinct bodybuilder-like muscles bulged beneath its decayed skin.

But the issue was its two arms.

The mutant had no hands.

From the elbow down on each arm, a broken barbell was embedded, with the decayed muscles tightly gripping the barbell as if it had been grafted on.

Keuddeudeuk-

For that reason, at the ends of the mutant’s barbell-bearing arms, the massive weight plates, weighing tens of kilograms, scraped noisily across the floor.

Was that the source of the grating sound?

With that thought, Aiden drew his rifle.

He had sensed that melee weapons alone wouldn’t suffice against this enemy.

“Grraaaaahh!”

The mutant moved.

Despite bearing the weight of two heavy barbells, it nimbly leapt into the air, twisting its body as it brought one of its barbell arms crashing down towards Arian.

Boooom!

Fortunately, Arian immediately evaded that strike, but a nearby treadmill was utterly flattened in its wake.

That scene indirectly demonstrated the mutant’s immense striking power, prompting Aiden to steel himself.

Aiden’s rifle immediately opened fire.

But the mutant swiftly retreated behind the exercise equipment, dodging the gunfire.

The bullets ricocheted off the steel equipment taller than a person, like power racks.

“Tsk…”

Aiden ceased firing and clicked his tongue in frustration.

At this rate, even he couldn’t recklessly shoot.

No matter what, there was no way to predict the trajectories of ricocheting stray bullets in such a place. One of his companions could be struck by sheer misfortune.

“I’ll go.”

Perhaps discerning that risk, Arian spoke up.

She dashed after the mutant that had fled between the exercise equipment.

And as if anticipating this…

Whoosh!

A sweeping barbell strike came flying, as if to block the narrow path between the lined up equipment.

Arian hastily changed directions, leaping to the side.

As she landed on the seat portion of a leg press machine, the barbell slammed into the now empty path.

The soft mat was torn asunder, and even the solid concrete beneath was shattered by the impact, shaking the entire building.

Tat!

Undeterred by that shockwave, Arian leapt forward.

Likely judging that such a weighted strike would have left the mutant momentarily off-balance from the recoil.

However.

“-!”

In the end, Arian’s expectation proved wrong.

Her senses were assaulted by the chilling presence of the steel projectile piercing through the air.

At the very edge of her vision to the left, another barbell was hurtling towards her.

“Kkh…!”

Arian clicked her tongue, trying to pull her body back.

But it was already too late.

Thud!

The steel bar shattered her left arm at tremendous speed before continuing on its path.

The excruciating pain of her entire arm bone being pulverized washed over her, yet Arian didn’t let out even a scream.

She simply grit her teeth as she glared at the mutant.

The mutant was freely wielding those barbells packed with immense force.

While appearing sluggish at a glance, it could move with startling agility when needed.

Its sheer brute strength far exceeded Arian’s expectations.

Had she underestimated her opponent?

“…”

Arian’s crimson eyes turned icy cold.

The throbbing pain from her arm ignited her fury.

That rage enveloped her machete in a crimson aura.

But Arian didn’t blindly charge at the mutant. She couldn’t repeat the same mistake twice – creating an opportunity was the top priority now.

Bang!

Opportunely, a gunshot rang out.

It was Aiden.

The barbell the mutant had swung at Arian had cleared away the obstructing exercise equipment in Aiden’s line of sight.

And Aiden’s bullets struck the mutant’s head squarely.

However, they failed to penetrate the mutant’s skull.

Only a portion of its decayed flesh and bone flew off, exposing its grotesque inner face.

“Grraaaaahh!”

The mutant let out a roar in response.

Its attention, previously focused on Arian, momentarily shifted towards Aiden.

Precisely the opportunity Arian had been waiting for.

Arian, who had fallen back, now charged at the mutant.

But the mutant reacted as well.

Rather, it seemed to have been anticipating this, extending one of its barbell arms towards Arian.

Whoosh!

The steel bar came crashing down from above, aiming to smash Arian.

Arian twisted her body, barely evading that strike.

However, a second strike immediately followed.

The massive steel bar sweeping horizontally seemed impossible to dodge this time.

So Arian met it head-on with her machete.

Against the barbell hurtling at tremendous speed, the slender machete appeared as flimsy as a toothpick.

But…

Claaang!

The two violently colliding metals simply repelled each other with a resounding clang.

At that sight, a regretful sigh escaped Arian’s lips.

Had she possessed enough blood, she could have cleaved through that mere weight plate with ease.

The crimson glow faded from Arian’s machete, having expended most of her blood reserves.

Yet the mutant remained unscathed.

A single deflected attack had consumed virtually none of its stamina.

But at this point, the outcome had already been decided.

The opportunity Arian had aimed for was never solely hers to begin with.

She had merely bought Aiden the time to prepare his final strike while securing a line of fire.

Boooom!

A gunshot distinctly louder than an explosive blast resounded – a high-caliber round capable of piercing even a Brutal’s skull.

It tore through the mutant’s head right before Arian’s eyes.

* * *

A short while later.

“…Are you alright?”

Aiden asked, looking at Arian’s arm.

“Yeah. It’s fine. It’ll heal soon.”

“Still…”

Despite her words, Sadie looked at Arian with concern.

Sophia too seemed rather abashed.

For no matter how much they knew her arm would recover, the grotesquely twisted sight still evoked an imagining of the pain.

“More importantly, we need to find the person first.”

At this, Arian changed the subject.

Only after hearing those words did Sadie reluctantly nod, while Sophia snapped back to her senses.

“But… do you really think they’re here?”

Sophia spoke up.

After all, this was the dwelling of such a dangerous mutant.

Add to that the gym’s wide open structure without any compartments.

It seemed unlikely for anyone to have survived if they had stumbled in here by chance.

“There was something over there.”

As if answering Sophia’s doubts, Arian pointed towards one corner of the gym.

It was the locker room attached to the gym.

While a plastic door had originally been installed there, it was now completely shattered.

“Let’s check it out first.”

Aiden led the group into that locker room area.

The interior had the typical layout of lockers divided by a central corridor – nothing out of the ordinary.

However, at the very back was a separate staff area, and there Aiden discovered an unexpected entrance.

“…So there was something like this.”

It was a door leading up towards the ceiling.

A ladder lay fallen on the floor, presumably used to access that door.

Rather than being a second floor, it seemed to be a temporary space created for ceiling maintenance or storage purposes.

Aiden attempted to use the ladder to open that door.

But it was locked.

Without a word, Aiden looked towards Arian, and she nodded in understanding.

There was undoubtedly someone inside.

“Is anyone in there?”

Aiden called out as he knocked on the door.

A response came immediately.

“Wh-Who’s there?”

A highly tense voice.

Well, if they had taken shelter here to avoid the zombies, it was only natural to be wary of unfamiliar visitors.

So Aiden gestured towards Sophia.

“It’s me! Sophia!”

“Sophia? No way!”

“Mateo? Is that you, Mateo? I’ve come to get you. Open up.”

The ceiling door rattled a few times before finally opening.

A Hispanic man then emerged from inside.

Sophia introduced him as Mateo Rodriguez.

After climbing down the ladder, he let out a deep sigh upon seeing Sophia’s face.

“I thought I heard gunshots, but I never expected…”

“More importantly, are you alright?”

“Yeah. Haven’t been able to eat anything since getting trapped here, but I’m not injured.”

“That’s a relief.”

Sophia said, then turned her gaze back up towards the ceiling.

But there were no other signs of anyone else up there.

“But what about the others?”

“…They’re not here.”

“Then?”

“We made it to the grocery store together, but we split up there. I just mindlessly ran and ended up taking shelter here.”

“You’re saying the others fled somewhere else?”

“Well… probably not.”

Mateo answered with a gloomy expression.

Sophia tilted her head in puzzlement.

Mateo licked his lips anxiously before continuing to speak.

“Listen, Sophia.”

“…Why the sudden seriousness?”

“You know, Oliver…”

Although uneasy, Sophia slowly nodded.

There were now only two remaining companions.

Oliver Smith and Chloe Robinson.

But Mateo’s following words were devastating for Sophia, who was looking her companions.

“The last time I saw him… he as already infected.” 

“What..?”

Sophia asked back paled.