How Zombies Survive in the Apocalypse

A short while later…

“Those are…”

Upon arriving at the rear area, Aiden clicked his tongue while observing the front.

The prison area had already been vacated, as if the rescue was complete.

However, some forces were just now exiting through the barricade.

“Everyone fall back!”

They were River and the militia combatants.

Their numbers were not high.

Only about five were visible.

Moreover, they weren’t even properly holding their rifles as they scattered in all directions.

It resembled the sight of defeated remnants fleeing after losing a war against the gang.

However, what had driven them to flee wasn’t human.

“Grooooaarr!”

The ground rumbled heavily and ominously.

And matching that tremor, a monster appeared, stomping across the surface.

The Rhino.

Crunch!

It burst through the barricade and charged out.

The Rhino’s appearance was far from ordinary.

As evidence of an intense battle, one of its tree-trunk-thick arms was nearly severed, and its head appeared partially melted.

Even its remaining legs had deep gashes as if struck by a landmine.

As Arian had said, it had survived the trap but sustained significant damage.

The situation was clear.

After dealing with the gang from the rear, the Rhino was now pursuing the militia.

At least it was fortunate that the rescue forces had fully withdrawn beforehand.

Otherwise, a catastrophe would have undoubtedly occurred here.

“…”

Watching them, Arian looked at Aiden.

As if asking what they should do.

Aiden opened his mouth after a brief sigh.

“With those numbers, we could probably fit them in the vehicle.”

Arian nodded at his following words.

While unrelated to their original request, there was no reason not to rescue them.

“Let’s go.”

The vehicle’s engine roared loudly.

The black van sped at full speed towards the people being chased by the Rhino.

Seeing the vehicle approaching them, River and the vanguard members hesitated.

They couldn’t be certain if it was an ally or enemy.

“Over here!”

Unable to watch any longer, Aiden called out to them.

It was then that the people desperately ran towards him.

But the Rhino was hot on their heels.

At this rate, they would be trampled before even reaching the vehicle.

So Aiden raised his rifle.

To buy them the time needed to board the vehicle, even briefly, he poured gunfire towards the Rhino’s head.

“Grooaarr!”

The bullets that would have been ineffective against its rock-hard muscles in pristine condition…

But the Rhino’s current state could hardly be called good.

As the bullets struck the gaps in its melted flesh and muscle, penetrating its skull, the Rhino faltered.

Crunch!

And Arian didn’t remain idle either.

Having already exited the vehicle, she deeply slashed the Rhino’s exposed ankle bone with her machete.

Thump!

The Rhino staggered and dropped to one knee.

However, even that wasn’t enough to fully bring it down.

Letting out a roar filled with fury, it tried to swat Arian away with one hand as she approached.

Bang!

But that hand only swept through empty air before slamming into the ground.

As Arian bought them time…

“Get in!”

Aiden loaded the people into the van.

River and the vanguard members hurriedly boarded, panting from exhaustion.

Once the last of them was aboard…

“Arian!”

Aiden called out to his companion.

At that moment, Arian, who had been drawing the Rhino’s gaze, vanished from that spot in the blink of an eye.

“I’m in too! Drive!”

Arian’s voice came from atop the vehicle’s roof.

While the others appeared perplexed by the scene, Aiden, now accustomed to such occurrences, immediately stepped on the accelerator.

“Wait! There are still people left behind.”

At that moment, one of the vanguard members spoke those words.

It seemed there were still comrades remaining within the barricade.

However, Aiden immediately shook his head.

“Abandon them.”

“What? But Jane is-“

“Enough. We can’t go back now.”

River muttered those words while looking at him.

At that, the man who had spoken could only dejectedly lower his head, unable to say anything more.

Meanwhile, the Rhino had tried to pursue the vehicle, but the injury inflicted by Arian seemed serious, as it could no longer properly walk like before.

Thanks to that, distance was quickly created between them.

The silhouette of the Rhino, barely visible by moonlight in front of the dark barricade, soon disappeared completely.

The only thing audible from afar was the furious roar of the raging corpse.

“Phew…”

Witnessing that, someone let out a sigh.

It was River.

With someone else’s blood splattered across his body, he addressed Aiden with a grim expression.

“Thank you. Truly… if it weren’t for you, we would have all died.”

Aiden nodded.

River continued speaking.

“But junk dealer. Why did you come back?”

“I confirmed the Rhino had started moving again. So I thought, just in case, and sure enough…”

Aiden spoke indifferently.

His plain tone seemed to inadvertently point out River’s mistake of intentionally luring the mutant, causing him to wryly smile.

“Any injuries?”

“Not unscathed. But I’m alright. This blood… isn’t mine.”

River muttered bitterly.

Aiden glanced over the other people.

They were all drenched in blood as well.

However, there didn’t seem to be any corresponding injuries on them.

As River had said, that immense amount of blood didn’t belong to them.

“Ah… ah…”

One of the combatants groaned as he clutched his head.

The blood covering their bodies belonged entirely to their fallen comrades.

It was unlikely such a state resulted from a simple gunfight.

Undoubtedly, their companions had died in far more gruesome ways right before their eyes.

All the consequences of involving zombies, and mutants, in the battle.

While the militia had achieved their original objective, they had paid a heavy price. Aware of this himself, River couldn’t even offer words of consolation to his groaning comrade.

“Rest. We’ll arrive at the hospital soon.”

To those people, that was all Aiden said.

The vehicle soon reached the Kingwood Militia’s base.

* * *

The next day.

The hospital where the Kingwood Militia was staying was bustling with activity from the morning.

Some people were tending to the injured from the battle and those rescued who had difficulty moving.

Susan was among them.

She had reunited with her uncle who had returned alive.

Fortunately, her uncle only seemed to have his strength sapped from the prolonged labor, and it appeared he would soon be able to rise from bed.

In another area, packing was underway.

They were loading the spoils from Iron Sight’s base that hadn’t been retrieved the previous night.

The Wielder mutant would have vanished as soon as daylight arrived, so they were gathering the loot to prepare for potential plundering by other wanderers.

And so, every single militia member seemed preoccupied with one task or another.

In a corner of that hospital, Aiden’s group was preparing to depart on their next journey.

“How is it looking?”

Aiden asked River, who was inspecting his vehicle.

River’s original occupation seemed to have been an auto mechanic.

After hearing about the previous day’s events from Aiden, he had volunteered to personally service Aiden’s vehicle.

Since Aiden was also concerned about the vehicle’s condition, he didn’t refuse River’s kindness.

“As you said. There were some missing parts, so I replaced most of those. But…”

River spoke those words and let out a brief sigh.

“There are also some completely damaged components. It looks like they tried to strip out the necessary parts.”

“So it can’t be driven?”

“No, it can still move like this somehow. But not for long distances. You know what I mean? It could suddenly break down in the middle of the road at any time.”

Inside his helmet, Aiden frowned deeply.

It wasn’t good news.

Not just him, but Arian and Sadie’s expressions also turned grim.

“Then what’s the solution?”

“You’ll need to get a new vehicle. Since it’s the engine, this one can’t be repaired through replacement.”

At those following words, Aiden let out a sigh.

A new vehicle, huh.

Of course, obtaining one would be no easy feat.

Even this Kingwood Militia numbering in the hundreds only had a mere three vehicles in their possession.

Vehicles in proper condition were that difficult to find, and if available, most already had owners.

Well aware of those circumstances, River continued speaking with a wry smile.

“Sorry. I volunteered to service it, but I only ended up delivering bad news.”

“No, I’m grateful just to have learned about this.”

It was better than remaining unaware until the vehicle broke down.

At least they could now devise countermeasures.

With that judgment, Aiden started loading the luggage he had temporarily set aside into the vehicle.

A modest amount of food, water, and weapons were placed inside one by one.

Watching this, River asked:

“Are you leaving right away?”

“There’s no particular reason for us to stay here any longer. But before that, there’s something I want to ask.”

Aiden requested information about the nearby cities from River.

River readily accepted that request.

“That much, sure. Of course I’ll share what I know. Just give me a moment.”

River went somewhere and soon returned.

In his hands was a large map.

Not just of Houston, but depicting the entire state of Texas and its surrounding areas.

“Alright. I’ll tell you everything I know. Have you decided on a direction?”

“For now, we’re planning to head westward.”

“Then… it would be Austin or San Antonio.”

Those were major cities located 220 and 300 kilometers, respectively, from Houston.

However, River shook his head after considering them.

“But I wouldn’t recommend those two cities. Especially San Antonio.”

“Why is that?”

“That city has been completely overrun by zombies. It’s too dangerous to even approach, let alone enter. So the nearby Austin isn’t safe either. If you’re going west, wouldn’t it be better to travel through smaller towns instead?”

Aiden nodded.

While a city where they could potentially find a new vehicle would be preferable…

If there were that many zombies, even acquiring a vehicle wouldn’t guarantee their ability to escape.

So Aiden excluded those two cities from their destination options.

If there were no vehicles or people, there was no reason to go there.

Aiden pointed towards the lower part of the map.

“Then… what about the south?”

“The south? You mean Mexico?”

Aiden nodded.

While not American soil, if there was a habitable place, crossing borders wouldn’t matter.

However, River waved his hand dismissively.

“That’s even worse.”

River briefly recounted the events that had transpired at the Mexican border 3 years ago.

When the US government finally collapsed, countless civilians had tried to flee south across the border to escape the zombie virus.

However, that refugee procession was naturally something Mexico couldn’t accept.

The deadly nature of the plague they carried had already been proven.

So the Mexican military had tried to stop them.

But the American civilians weren’t mere refugees. Each armed to protect themselves, they soon erupted into a massive war at the border.

“But in the end, neither the US nor Mexico emerged victorious.”

The true winner was none other than the zombies.

Amid the frenzied conflict between the two sides, the zombie virus spread uncontrollably.

As a result, the current Mexican border had become a habitat for countless zombies, a mixture of refugees and soldiers.

“So it will be difficult to go that way.”

At River’s assessment, Aiden silently gazed at the map.

If so, there was only one remaining direction.

Advancing northwest from Houston, leaving the state of Texas and entering New Mexico.

The only other option would be the complete opposite – heading eastward along the coast.

However, Aiden had heard testimonies that the coastal areas were in a similar state as the Mexican border.

“Do you know anything about the smaller towns?”

“A little bit.”

River shared all the information he had with Aiden.

While not particularly substantial, even the basic details would be of great help to Aiden.

“Thank you. This will be enough.”

“No, thank you. I also learned something valuable.”

That was the extent of their discussion with River.

After a final handshake and exchanging wishes for each other’s safety, River departed.

Watching River’s retreating figure, Arian looked at the map he had left behind.

“But are we really going northwest?”

“Why do you ask?”

“Well, there are deserts and mountain ranges in that direction, aren’t there?”

Arian spoke with concern.

As she said, beyond the halfway point of Texas, the plains transitioned into desert.

And from New Mexico westward, they would have to cross mountains.

An environment starkly different from the gentle hills they had traversed thus far.

Yet they would have to travel through such terrain with a vehicle that could break down at any moment.

“But we have no other choice. The west and south are blocked by the Mexican border, the east is the coast, and the northeast is the direction we came from.”

“What about taking a wide detour northward?”

Arian offered another suggestion.

However, Aiden shook his head.

“It’s too risky. Summer will be ending soon. And then winter will come.”

In this world, winter posed dangers incomparable to summer.

Of course, the scorching summer sun was grueling to endure, but winter’s cold could outright kill.

The main issue was the plunging temperatures at night when they would have to remain absolutely still and hidden.

If they lit a fire to avoid freezing, the light seeping out would draw mutants right to them.

“So it’s better to remain in the south until spring arrives, even if we have to cross the desert.”

“I… suppose we have no choice.”

Haah– Arian let out a deep sigh.

Even she could see no other viable path.

In the end, Aiden’s group decided on a northwestward direction for their next journey and boarded their vehicle.

But just before that vehicle could depart…

“Wait a moment, please!”

Someone called out to Aiden’s group.

Looking in the rearview mirror, Susan was running towards them from behind, carrying a large box.

“Ah… it seems I made it in time.”

“Did you come to say goodbye?”

“Yes. But that’s not all.”

In response to Aiden’s words, Susan smiled faintly and opened the box.

Inside were two specialized weapons that had been in Aiden’s vehicle.

The high-powered Elephant Gun and a military anti-materiel sniper rifle.

They had abandoned these items after their vehicle was seized by the gang.

“How did you…”

“They were mixed in with the spoils. These belong to you, don’t they? I’ll return them. Of course, I received permission from the militia as well, so don’t worry.”

It seemed Susan had recognized these as Aiden’s belongings from his vehicle and brought them separately.

For an act Aiden hadn’t even expected, he simply expressed his gratitude.

“I’ll gladly accept them.”

“Not at all. You are my benefactors.”

Aiden loaded the weapons Susan had brought into the vehicle.

In the meantime, Susan also exchanged final farewells with Arian and Sadie.

Once again, Aiden boarded the vehicle and started the engine.

As they finally departed from the hospital, Susan saw them off.

“I wish good health upon all of you!”

Standing at the entrance, Susan waved as she spoke those words.

Arian and Sadie also waved until Susan’s figure was no longer visible.

Hoping each other would remain unharmed, no matter how long it took.