How Zombies Survive in the Apocalypse

Downtown LA.

Having just arrived at his destination, Aiden pulled his motorcycle over to the side of the road.

His gaze briefly turned skyward.

The brightly illuminated nightscape – moon and stars shining overhead, while towering artificial skyscrapers encroached across that celestial expanse.

“…”

Aiden quietly surveyed the area surrounding City Hall.

Currently, all of LA was plunged into chaos from the zombies continuously surfacing across the entire city underbelly.

The incessant gunfire from battling civilians and moans of the unrelenting undead had resounded vividly until just moments ago.

But for some reason, this particular street where City Hall stood exuded a starkly different atmosphere.

Unnaturally silent.

Not a single human or zombie presence could be detected.

The only objects littering the ground were discarded picket signs demanding the Mayor’s ouster.

Aiden fixed his eyes on the building’s front facade.

A sweeping semi-circular stairway extended grandly toward the arched entrance.

Moreover, no obstacles obstructed passage through that portico interior.

The doors stood wide open, as if openly inviting guests to some gala event.

Observing this, Aiden furrowed his brow slightly.

For it was none other than the Mayor himself who had summoned Aiden here.

Under such circumstances, setting foot inside City Hall seemed less like infiltrating an enemy stronghold and more akin to willingly entering a trap himself.

So Aiden briefly concealed himself on the side first.

He then thoroughly armed himself with all the weapons at his disposal – not just standard handguns and rifles, but grenades, flash-bangs, and even specialized anti-material handguns capable of firing depleted uranium rounds.

Only after meticulously preparing did Aiden ascend those gray stone stairs.

Reaching the top revealed a small paved brick plaza area.

Between two short lamp posts stood a black doorway leading further inward.

Like the exterior, that inner door hung wide open too in an overtly conspicuous manner.

Gripping his pistol cautiously, Aiden proceeded through that entrance.

What greeted him inside was an unexpected sight.

Beyond that doorway stretched a long corridor.

And lining both sides of that hallway stood rows of figures dressed in U.S. military fatigues.

“What kind of stunt is this?”

Aiden muttered under his breath at the sight of those ‘soldiers.’

Because they were not human at all.

Each figure had a desiccated face and limbs – mere zombies outfitted in mismatched uniforms. Some even grotesquely muscular mutant strains included, wielding American flags alongside those ill-fitting fatigues.

Was the Mayor flaunting his ability to command zombies with this display?

To Aiden, it was a humorless farce lacking any amusement whatsoever.

Nor did he have any intention of indulging it.

Bang! Bang!

The pistol in Aiden’s hand flashed, methodically blowing off the heads of those stationary zombies one by one.

Only then did the corpses topple lifelessly to the floor in more befitting undead postures.

Baaang!

Finally, Aiden’s anti-material handgun barked – its heavy round punching through the skull of the Rhino mutant standing at the very end.

A powerfully formidable strain, yet simply standing inertly like a grotesque mannequin resulted in that instantaneous destruction, dropping it where it stood.

“Tsk…”

Clicking his tongue, Aiden reloaded the spent ammunition.

Whatever the Mayor’s intent behind this theatric display, Aiden considered neutralizing those potential threats a natural precaution.

Who knew when they might have suddenly turned hostile?

Proceeding further without any countermeasures would have been suicidal folly.

But it seemed that very precaution proved distasteful to someone.

Bang!

A door further along that corridor burst open with a resounding boom.

And emerging from there was a single Brutal.

Moreover, for some inexplicable reason, its entire frame was absolutely drenched in blood.

It seemed humans had already fallen victim to that creature even before Aiden’s arrival.

An unsurprising prospect, really.

Because if not, there would be no conceivable reason for this area around City Hall alone to be so eerily silent and devoid of activity.

“Kwaaaahh!”

Unlike the inert zombie ‘soldiers,’ this Brutal exhibited no such placid behavior.

Whether reacting to Aiden’s overt hostility or simply finding that prior display too dull for its tastes.

The Brutal charged with maddened, savage fury.

“-!”

In response, Aiden unhesitatingly backpedaled.

Ordinarily, a lone Brutal exceeded the threat level he could safely handle unaided.

But its reckless, unrestrained charge here proved a fatal blunder for the creature itself.

Though opulent by civic building standards, City Hall’s interior was still ultimately just an office complex at its core. So that hallway couldn’t possibly be as spacious as a mall concourse. Nor its ceilings as lofty as a hotel lobby’s atrium spaces. At most, the corridor spanned merely 4 meters wide and 3 meters in height.

Confines offering the Brutal insufficient maneuvering room.

Thus, its charge lacked the blistering momentum one might expect.

And directly opposing it stood the fully armed and equipped Aiden himself.

Ever since detecting the anomalies in LA, he had remained in a constant state of combat preparedness back in Huntington Beach.

Always assuming the worst, Aiden had anticipated an eventuality like today would eventually arise.

What Aiden gripped was an anti-tank grenade.

Originally designed to disable armored vehicles, it packed sufficient explosive fury to shred even their reinforced steel plating.

“Ooooohhh!”

The Brutal bellowed as it bore down on Aiden.

With a scant 10 meters separating them, Aiden judged this the optimal moment.

Savagely ripping out the grenade’s safety pin, he hurled it with every ounce of strength directly at the Brutal.

The explosive arced through the air, spinning rapidly.

In that same instant, Aiden retreated back through the entrance, taking cover behind the exterior facade.

It was precisely as he positioned himself behind that solid barrier that –

Booooooom!

The thrown anti-tank grenade detonated with catastrophic force.

The shockwave tore the doors right off their hinges, and every interior light fixture shattered in the intense blast.

Grenade fragmentation even gouged deep scars across the stone stairs and brick paving outside.

Indisputably devastating power.

As soon as that detonation’s echoes subsided, Aiden switched on his flashlight and aimed his rifle back down that corridor once more.

“…”

The hallway interior, so abruptly bombed, now lay in disarray.

Side doors lining the passage had been blasted open, exposing rooms beyond.

Sections of fallen ceiling revealed severed power cables sparking erratically.

And there, amidst that wreckage… the Brutal, thankfully lifeless.

“Seems I got lucky.”

Aiden muttered, eyeing the shrapnel embedded in its skull.

As he had stated – only about half the grenade fragmentation had possessed sufficient velocity to penetrate the Brutal’s densely muscled frame and skeletal structure.

But by sheer fortuitous chance, one of those shards had skewered the creature’s brain.

Because such a putrid lump of decaying meat to boast defensive capabilities surpassing armored vehicles…

This was hardly Aiden’s first encounter against a Brutal, yet their sheer resilience still defied rational comprehension.

“Well then…”

Confirming the Brutal’s death, Aiden turned toward the door it had emerged from.

No further movement could be detected from that direction yet.

Carefully, Aiden proceeded inward.

Beyond lay a moderately sized room.

Appearing to be some manner of conference chamber, with a single table situated in the center.

However, tucked away in one corner stood yet another peculiar door.

One that struck Aiden as highly suspicious at a glance.

Not only was its positioning inconsistent with a standard doorway. But it seemed some object had previously been obstructing that area, now cleared away.

A concealed, secret entrance of some kind?

As Aiden approached, the door slid open of its own accord before he could even touch it.

And the one who pulled it ajar from within was, unsurprisingly, another zombie.

This one meticulously attired in a crisp suit, who gestured aside deferentially as Aiden neared before offering a slight bow of its head.

The semblance of a formal reception host ushering a guest into some grand ballroom suite.

“…Going to absurd lengths, I see.”

Aiden’s words came out almost like an exasperated sigh.

He then promptly blew that ‘usher’ zombie’s head off with his pistol before descending the stairwell beyond that secret door.

The staircase proved quite extensive, suggesting it led underground.

Furthermore, its construction appeared relatively new – likely built only after the zombie outbreak occurred.

Traversing that winding descent, Aiden finally reached the bottom.

“This is…”

His destination was the very same sewer network he had previously discovered teeming with zombies.

The stairwell from City Hall had directly accessed this subterranean expanse.

However, in stark contrast to Aiden’s initial discovery, that vast underground cavern now stood empty and abandoned.

All save for the lone figure awaiting Aiden at the far end who had summoned him here.

“We finally meet, Aiden Lee.”

Ross Preston, the former Mayor of LA, fixed his gaze squarely upon Aiden himself.

His eyes lingered momentarily on Aiden’s decayed countenance.

Then the corners of his mouth slowly curved into a widening grin, inwardly elated to behold confirmation that Aiden was indeed one of the undead, just like him.

“Why did you summon me here?”

Aiden asked Ross, his tone dispassionate – in stark contrast to the Mayor’s expression.

To which Ross replied with that deepening smile:

“Why, you ask? Is that not an obvious question? For the same reason you came here yourself, is it not?”

“…I don’t follow your meaning.”

Aiden furrowed his brow slightly.

He then glanced toward Ross’s flanks.

There stood two colossal mutant bodyguards protecting the Mayor.

Variants Aiden couldn’t even identify.

Similar to Brutals, but grotesquely overgrown with protruding bones piercing through their hyper-muscled hides.

And behind them loitered scores of lesser zombies besides.

Aiden studied those creatures intently as he continued.

“My reason for coming was because of LA itself.”

“LA, you say?”

“This city must not be destroyed. So even now, I hoped you would relinquish command over those zombies.”

Aiden’s presence wasn’t solely to avoid jeopardizing Sadie needlessly.

Establishing contact with this Mayor Ross Preston had been a necessity too. Because the current crisis afflicting LA ultimately stemmed from that man himself.

So Aiden required this meeting – either to persuade Ross to stand down…

Or neutralize him should persuasion prove impossible.

However, Ross tilted his head quizzically, as if Aiden’s words were an utterly unanticipated response.

“Why would you make such a demand? You don’t even reside within this place, do you?”

“…”

Aiden fell momentarily silent at Ross’s perplexed question.

The reason, of course, was for Sadie’s sake.

But should he really disclose anything about her here?

But there seemed little point in concealing it either.

Because Ross had clearly already been aware of Sadie’s existence, specifically seeking Aiden out because of her.

Having judged thus, Aiden recounted the circumstances that had brought him to LA after receiving a task in Pittsburgh.

Upon hearing that, Ross’s previously smug expression froze, his face hardening abruptly.

“Impossible. Surely you cannot be joking?”

“Why would I joke about such a thing?”

“Because you to have come all this way over something so frivolous and farcical is simply unbelievable.”

Ross fired back, his voice tinged with a slight tremor of disbelief.

Aiden simply stared back at him wordlessly, as if that silence itself conveyed the veracity of his claim.

It was then that Ross’s tone adopted a palpable edge of vexation.

“Enough with this charade. You came here to find a companion as well, did you not? Just like me – to escape the inescapable loneliness of being one of the undead!”

Ross’s raised voice echoed that accusation.

But this time, it was Aiden who reacted with genuine bewilderment.

Because the path this conversation had strayed onto so subtly until now had abruptly veered completely beyond his comprehension.

“It seems you are laboring under some misapprehension.”

Companion?

Loneliness?

While the former seemed questionable, the latter was an emotion Aiden had not experienced since turning.

“Misapprehension…?”

“I don’t know loneliness.”

At that succinct statement, Ross’s expression froze as if time itself had halted.

Only Aiden’s low voice continued a moment later.

“It is an emotion I have lost since becoming one of the zombies. But it seems that is not the case for you.”

Witnessing the gradual transformation of Ross’s face upon hearing those words.

He vigorously shook his head in denial, as if refusing to accept such an impossibility.

“Nonsense…”

Ross had begun to protest Aiden’s claim, but his words ultimately trailed off into silence.

For Aiden’s unwavering gaze never strayed from him.

A plastic, emotionless stare devoid of even a hint of madness – the only aspect distinguishing it from a typical zombie’s.

And the more Ross beheld that utterly inhuman look, the more undeniable Aiden’s statement became.

“Impossible…!”

Ross grit his teeth, finally forced to acknowledge his grave mistake.

Aiden wasn’t at all the kindred spirit he had anticipated.

A complex miasma of emotions flooded Ross’s consciousness in that moment.

Disappointment from shattered expectations.

Shame from his mistaken assumptions.

And an overriding, hollow sense of emptiness eclipsing it all.

His lips quivered uncontrollably.

In the next instant, that emotional turmoil coalesced into a singular, blazing fury.

“I searched for so long. I worked so hard for this. I created this entire LA solely to escape my loneliness – that damned, inescapable feeling.”

Ross began recounting all his arduous efforts over the years.

The culmination of that long struggle only for its purpose to now ring hollow. That despairing realization dripped from his lowered tones like ash settling to the floor.

“And today, I finally meet one like myself – my own kind. I thought you would understand me. I thought you could be my companion.”

His soliloquy reverberated through that subterranean cavern like a mournful, plaintive wail devoid of cadence.

Ross leveled an accusatory, resentful glare at Aiden.

“But what? You don’t know loneliness? After all my failed attempts, the one I finally encounter is nothing but an unfeeling, robotic husk who can only speak empty words? Hah… it’s not just disappointing, it’s outright infuriating. How dare you mock me like this? How?!”

That impotent, directionless fury found its target in Aiden as Ross demanded an answer from him.

An answer Aiden would ordinarily be unable to provide.

Yet Ross hadn’t expected any actual reply from this perceived emotionless undead anyway.

But to his surprise, Aiden calmly opened his mouth to speak once more.

“Textbook symptoms of clinical depression.”

The words Aiden uttered were an unsolicited medical diagnosis from his former life as a doctor.

A response Ross could never have anticipated, leaving him momentarily at a loss for any retort of his own.

Into that silence, Aiden’s voice continued.

“As for the details, we’ll have to do an examination to know for sure, but depression generally exacerbates loneliness. So if you were suffering that unbearable loneliness, it would have been better to seek antidepressants rather than finding companions.”

“How dare you…!”

Aiden had sincerely offered a solution, but Ross’s face twisted like a beast, thinking he was being mocked.

Boom!

At the same time, the mutant next to him stepped forward.

That was the signal.

All the zombies in the vicinity rushed towards Aiden, as if voicing their master’s rage.