How Zombies Survive in the Apocalypse

That night.

Aiden’s group was still at the police station in Tyler.

They had cleared out the surrounding zombies, and the building itself was sturdy, so Aiden saw no reason to look for another hiding place.

In the holding cell, Sadie was chewing on the cookies she had received that morning, using a small candle as light for her late-night snack.

The child’s expression was quite bright. Perhaps because she had rested sufficiently during the day, her fatigue seemed to have vanished completely.

Arian was chatting with Sadie when she suddenly seemed to have a thought and looked back at Aiden, who was standing by the entrance.

“Ah, that’s right. We were in the middle of a conversation earlier, weren’t we?”

“A conversation?”

Aiden asked back, unable to recall immediately. Arian nodded.

“Yes, about your fiance.”

Now that she mentioned it, they had indeed had such a conversation during the day. It had been cut off when zombies appeared.

However, was it really important enough to bring up again?

As Aiden was having that thought, Sadie’s voice came through.

“Fiance?”

“Yeah. Aiden had a woman he promised to marry. Did you know that?”

Sadie shook her head.

Arian then relayed to Sadie the details about Aiden’s fiance, Jane Rose, that she had heard from him earlier.

Simple information like the name and occupation of a person who had died long ago.

Yet, Sadie’s eyes gradually filled with interest as she listened.

“So now I want to ask about something else.”

After Arian finished her explanation, Sadie turned an expectant gaze towards Aiden.

In this world with little entertainment, even the mundane past story of a zombie seemed to pique the child’s interest.

“Well… if you don’t want to talk about it, I can’t force you.”

However, before asking her next question, Arian hesitated.

After all, it was about his deceased lover. She thought it might be rude to simply ask out of curiosity.

But Aiden nodded, indicating it was alright.

It wasn’t a memory so painful that he didn’t want to talk about it.

Arian then smiled and immediately asked her question.

“So, what kind of person was Jane?”

What kind of person?

After pondering the question for a moment, Aiden mentioned the first characteristic that came to mind.

“She was an abnormally positive woman.”

Aiden recounted to them the past events involving Jane.

Based on her experience working at a pharmaceutical company, she had tried to create a cure for the virus herself.

“Because of that, Jane went out to capture zombies alive. She even set up traps over the course of several days.”

“So? Was she successful?”

“In the end, yes.”

Looking back, her traps were amateurish, but Jane managed to capture zombies and eventually conducted various experiments.

Of course, her experiments at the time didn’t lead to any major breakthroughs, but they weren’t entirely meaningless either.

It was during that time that Aiden discovered that the zombie virus didn’t die after being heated, but merely weakened – the fundamental knowledge behind the neutralizer he currently uses.

“She would cry, saying she felt sorry for cutting off the zombies’ limbs for safety, but a few minutes later, she would calmly crack open their skulls when they turned. She couldn’t control her emotions.”

“Well… she sounds like an interesting person.”

An interesting person.

That was indeed an evaluation Jane had often received during her lifetime.

At the time, Aiden had thought it was one of Jane Rose’s charms as a person.

But in this changed world, he couldn’t only see it in a positive light.

“However, that kind of personality wasn’t helpful for survival. That’s why she couldn’t last even half a year.”

Aiden’s cold follow-up remark caused Arian’s face to briefly stiffen.

“Can I ask what happened?”

Aiden nodded.

It wasn’t a story he felt apologetic about telling.

By now, recalling those memories didn’t evoke any particular emotions in him, so he continued in a composed manner.

“It’s a common story. She messed up while trying to rescue people being chased by zombies. She had succeeded in similar situations before, so she thought she could handle it this time too.”

To be precise, she had been betrayed by the very humans she was trying to save.

She had extended a hand in blind kindness, but it was not reciprocated.

Even so, until the moment of her death, she never regretted her choice.

However, Aiden didn’t go into those details and simply continued.

“It was all due to careless judgment. As a result, I became a zombie, and Jane died from severe injuries on the spot.”

Seeing Aiden casually mention his fiance’s tragic demise, Arian felt a pang of regret.

This wasn’t a question she should have asked.

The thought belatedly crossed her mind.

“…Let’s stop the story there.”

By now, Sadie’s expression and gaze had also turned somber.

So Arian quickly changed the subject.

“Anyway, where are we heading tomorrow?”

“Tomorrow? For now… we’re planning to go to Dallas.”

Despite the abrupt change in topic, Aiden promptly provided an answer.

Dallas was a major city about 170 km from here and over 300 km from Shreveport.

Right next to it were other major cities like Fort Worth and Arlington, forming a single metropolitan area known as the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex.

The size of this metropolitan area was the largest not only in Texas but across the entire United States.

As such, in the past, the population living there had reached several million.

Now, it had become a city swarming with that many zombies.

“Dallas is a dangerous city. Even the Union couldn’t handle the zombies inside and gave up on it.”

“And you want to go there?”

“In exchange, there are resources. And there’s also a survivor group or gang there that’s targeting those resources, in a somewhat unique form.”

Aiden unfolded a map of Dallas and Fort Worth.

He then pointed to the lakes on the outskirts of the metropolitan area.

There were as many as five large lakes.

Looking at those lakes, Aiden spoke.

“This is where the survivor group is located.”

“On the lake? Did they build houses on the water?”

“Exactly, that’s what they did.”

These lakes were originally recreation spots for the residents of the city.

So there were numerous yachts and boats scattered across the lakes.

The survivor group here had tied together dozens of those boats and built houses on top, living on the water.

“That’s why they use boats to go back and forth to land. Thanks to that, they seem to be living quite stable lives right next to the city swarming with zombies.”

Zombies can’t swim.

Of course, they don’t drown by entering water, and they can cross shallow rivers or ditches by flailing around.

But lakes spanning hundreds of meters in width are impossible for them to cross in that manner.

The survivors of the Dallas-Fort Worth area were those actively utilizing this fact to survive.

“Hmm… so which one are we visiting first?”

“Here, Lake Ray Hubbard.”

Aiden pointed to a lake northeast of the city.

To the north of the lake, there was a long peninsula-like landmass extending inward.

The ruins of a former yacht club there were the only point of contact with the lake’s survivor group.

“We can also access this area through an embankment leading from the opposite side of the city. We don’t have to pass through the city itself, so it’s the safest place we can go to right away. I’m planning to take requests here first.”

Arian nodded her head.

While she didn’t know what kind of place this survivor group was, it seemed necessary to find out.

After all, they would need to continuously trade with humans to obtain blood.

“Sounds good. Did you hear that, Sadie? We’re going to a lake this time. Maybe we’ll even get to ride a boat.”

At Arian’s words, Sadie’s eyes lit up.

The child, who had never ridden a boat before, seemed to look forward to the new experience.

And so, the conversation shifted to the topic of the lake and the yachts floating on it, as the night deepened.

* * *

The next day.

“Wow…!”

Sadie exclaimed as the scenery of the lake stretched out on both sides.

Aiden’s group’s vehicle was traveling along a long embankment.

Although not a particularly large lake, it extended lengthwise, giving the impression of a sea from their direction.

As expected, apart from the road and railway tracks, there were few zombies on the embankment with the lake on one side.

There were some, but in a manageable number.

Clearing the way, Aiden’s group was finally approaching their destination.

“Over there?”

As they neared the land, Arian asked.

Aiden nodded and slowed the vehicle’s speed.

This peninsula jutting out into the lake was a wasteland devoid of anything on the lake side.

However, on the opposite side, it connected to the city center, residential areas, and more.

In other words, zombies driven out of the major city could be lurking around.

Fortunately, there were no zombies in their immediate vicinity for now.

“…”

After confirming this, Aiden cautiously turned the vehicle towards the direction of the yacht club.

It was just past 1 PM.

Although the scorching sun beat down from above, the lake scenery somehow made the heat feel less intense.

Then, a small vacant lot by the lake came into view.

Weeds and small trees grew up to the waist on the dirt ground, with only a few utility poles standing amidst the desolate space.

Aiden parked the vehicle there.

He wanted to hide the vehicle if possible, but there was no cover in this area.

“Stay here.”

Aiden said that to Arian and Sadie, then got out of the vehicle after arming himself.

He walked towards the lake.

Soon, structures with only roofs remaining came into view on the water.

It was the marina of the former yacht club located here.

More than half of the yachts, which would have been densely parked like cars in a lot, were now gone.

Those missing ones had likely been used to build a base on the lake.

As Aiden approached the lake with that thought, a voice called out.

“Stop!”

The voice came from a small building at the marina.

What seemed to be the marina’s management office had two gun barrels pointing at Aiden.

“Who are you?”

Aiden stated his name and occupation as usual.

But the response he received was only a hostile shout.

“We have no requests for junk dealers. Get lost!”

Aiden raised an eyebrow at this.

It was a different response from the information he had gathered.

According to what he had heard from the Union, this place was supposed to be the most open to outsiders among the survivor groups in the Dallas-Fort Worth area.

Yet… this outright rejection.

“…Can’t be helped.”

Aiden muttered softly and retreated.

He couldn’t keep blaming faulty information forever. If he showed a hesitant attitude towards this hostile group, it would only invite misunderstanding.

“I’m leaving.”

However, even as he retreated, Aiden couldn’t let his guard down.

In addition to the two gun barrels he had initially spotted, there were other barrels poking out from inside the abandoned yachts at the marina and from behind.

Aiden counted a total of five.

Fortunately, none of those guns fired at Aiden until he reached his vehicle.

“What happened?”

Arian asked as Aiden promptly returned.

She had already grasped the gist of the conversation, but she hadn’t expected such an uncooperative response.

In response, Aiden opened his mouth with a short sigh.

“Who knows. Something must have happened, or the information was wrong. In any case, it’s going to be difficult to trade with this place. I’ll leave right away.”

It was at the moment Aiden was about to start the vehicle when Arian spoke up.

“Wait a second.”

Arian pointed towards the weed field.

“There’s someone following us from inside there.”

“How many?”

“One in the front, two in the back.”

Aiden frowned.

After being refused a trade, they were secretly trailing the retreating junk dealer.

Only one intention came to mind.

“…They’re crossing the line.”

Aiden let out a heavy sigh.

He then secured Sadie’s safety with a bulletproof vest and luggage before taking out a rifle.

Seeing Aiden’s actions, Arian asked:

“You’re going to fight?”

“I have no choice.”

Aiden had no choice.

As long as he couldn’t be certain of their intentions, he couldn’t simply depart.

In the worst case, they could receive a hail of bullets as soon as they set out in the vehicle.

However, in response to Aiden’s decision, Arian proposed an alternative.

“I’ll go first and check it out.”

“You? What are you going to do?”

“Try negotiating. If I take the one who came out front as a hostage, wouldn’t that give us an opportunity?”

Arian spoke lightly.

It was a reckless plan, but not an impossible one considering Arian’s abilities.

Even so, Aiden was concerned for her safety.

“But what if you get shot at-“

“I won’t die even if I get shot. I told you, didn’t I? I’ll take a hostage.”

However, Arian’s words weren’t spoken without any countermeasures.

The enemy she planned to capture as a hostage wasn’t just an ordinary hostage.

In the unlikely event that things went wrong, the blood filling that hostage’s body could become Arian’s insurance.

It was a cruel proposition, but better than openly engaging in a shootout.

After making that judgment, Aiden nodded after a brief contemplation.

“…Alright. Do it your way. But they might attack as soon as we get out of the vehicle. Be careful.”

The previously closed vehicle door opened, and Arian and Aiden exited one after the other.

However, there were no gunshots as they had feared.

Whether they were hesitating or timing their actions, the group had clearly not expected such a move from Aiden’s side, as there was no immediate reaction.

In that moment, Arian dashed into the weed field.

The small trees and grass reaching up to an adult’s waist instantly concealed Arian’s figure.

The enemies were briefly thrown into disarray, but in an instant, Arian swiftly advanced through the grass field at tremendous speed.

“Ugh!”

In the blink of an eye, Arian grabbed a white man from behind as he hid in the grass.

She immediately pressed her blade against his throat and stood up abruptly.

The man, taken by surprise, turned pale and froze as he saw the chilling machete aimed at his jugular.

“You two, come out. I know you’re there.”

In that state, Arian spoke.

The man and woman who had been hiding then revealed themselves, their expressions tense.

However, they were holding rifles and shotguns, all aimed at Arian.

Before they could say anything, Aiden took the lead.

“I clearly said I was leaving. Why did you follow us?”

There was no response.

Arian then slightly waved the machete in her hand.

The hostage let out a faint scream, and the woman shot an anxious glance at the man beside her.

A middle-aged black man with a rugged appearance.

Did he have the authority to make decisions?

Aiden turned his gun barrel towards him.

The man then glared at Aiden and opened his mouth.

“I’ll explain everything. So let him go.”

“No, you give that brilliant explanation first.”

Aiden replied in a low voice to the man’s demand.

The man then twisted his expression and moved his heavy lips.