How Zombies Survive in the Apocalypse

“…”

Arian remained silent for a moment.

However, her silence didn’t last long.

As if it were her duty, Arian told Aiden about Diana’s fate.

Upon hearing this, Aiden nodded just once.

“Now there are only three left.”

His voice saying so was overly plain. As if he had been expecting this tragedy all along.

At that, Arian gave a subtle distorted look toward Aiden.

“Did you know they were going to die?”

“How could I know?”

“Then how can you be so indifferent about it…”

Arian was about to say something more but ended up trailing off.

The fact that zombies lost their emotions after turning into one dawned on her too late.

Without saying anything else, she let out a deep sigh.

Seeing Arian like that, Aiden spoke.

“It was a risky operation from the beginning. It’s not surprising if there are casualties.”

Arian’s eyebrows only slightly furrowed at his following words.

She was well aware of that.

That’s why, despite knowing how pitiful she looked, she even asked for Aiden’s help.

Arian also fought desperately.

Even if the results were tragic, she had no regrets about the process.

However, Arian felt pitiful for herself.

Even though she proudly called herself a vampire, she couldn’t win a single battle without the sacrifice of a comrade.

But Aiden’s dry voice simply reported the reality.

“So, focus on what’s in front of you right now. The battle isn’t over yet.”

“What are you talking about?”

“The zombie horde is moving.”

Aiden conveyed the situation he had grasped outside to Arian.

Zombies from the city that had gathered around this hotel. As if they were trying to push all four thousand zombies into this one building.

A look of shock spread on Arian’s face upon hearing this.

“Is that true?”

Instead of waiting for an answer, Arian approached the window first.

The scenery overlooking from the top floor of the hotel was indeed as Aiden described. Zombies that had spread across the entire city were converging around this hotel.

Fortunately, for now, the zombies were irregularly crowding in front of the hotel.

However, Arian bit her lip.

If those things really hit in earnest, even Arian wouldn’t have the means to stop them.

At that moment, Aiden continued speaking.

“Protect Sadie.”

“Why?”

“If you’re considering escape, you’re better suited for that than me.”

Arian furrowed her brow at his words.

It sounded as if he were entrusting Sadie to Arian, and he would bury himself here.

“Are you giving up?”

“No way. I’m just preparing. If I fail, take Sadie and escape immediately.”

“That means… there’s still something to try?”

At Arian’s words, Aiden nodded.

“I thought of something after hearing what you said.”

From his belongings, Aiden took something out. It was a large sniper rifle that he had secured from the power plant.

With a sniper rifle and a night vision scope, he continued talking.

“Didn’t you said your Brutal avoided the explosion?”

“Yeah. So?”

“Isn’t that strange? How did he know the bomb’s location?”

“Well… you used it first. Also, you mentioned someone controlling zombies. That guy probably saw the explosion.”

“That’s it.”

Someone or something controlling zombies somewhere knew about the presence and power of the claymores set up on the emergency staircase.

But conversely, it meant that he must be somewhere where the explosion could be seen.

“He is observing this hotel from somewhere. Moreover, he knows the exact floor where the explosion occurred.”

At Aiden’s words, a light of shock flickered in Arian’s eyes.

Now that she understood what Aiden was trying to say.

“I should have noticed it from the beginning. If there’s a commander leading the zombies and he really controls them, he must be observing the entire Pittsburgh from somewhere.”

“Do you know such a place?”

“Of course. The building that meets those two conditions is the only one nearby. It’s called… Steel Tower.”

It was the tallest building in downtown Pittsburgh, with a total of 64 floors, making it a skyscraper.

Furthermore, its location wasn’t far from the hotel, a few blocks northwest.

Whether in terms of distance or direction, the emergency staircase Aiden had been guarding was undoubtedly the best place to observe the entire downtown of Pittsburgh.

“I’ll go to the rooftop. Just in case, you stay near Sadie.”

“But… did you happen to tell Sadie about this?”

There was no need to ask what that meant.

Aiden shook his head.

It was not the right time to inform that child about her mother’s death.

“…I understand.”

Arian reluctantly accepted with a dark expression.

With a nod of his head, Aiden parted ways with her and armed himself before heading to the rooftop.

Arian silently watched him leave.

* * *

The rooftop of the hotel where Aiden arrived had a relatively unique structure.

In the space usually filled with large air conditioner outdoor units, there were two or three medieval-style building structures connected by passageways.

Moreover, there were long skylights facing inward in the front and back, creating a rooftop that would have boasted a splendid view if well-maintained, given the eerie moonlight now shining there.

However, Aiden hid in the shadow that abruptly protruded from the rooftop building.

The commander of the zombies somewhere in Steel Tower.

He was undoubtedly observing this hotel from a higher place than here.

So revealing himself easily might expose his sniper intentions, and if that happened, everything could turn into a fiasco.

That’s why Aiden didn’t come out easily from the passageway. Instead, he took out the night vision scope and aimed it towards Steel Tower.

“…”

Steel Tower was a black office building with hundreds of windows attached to its exterior.

So, even if you knew that someone was hiding in the building, finding them wasn’t such a simple task.

However, Aiden calmly searched through the windows from the top floor and gradually worked his way down.

“…I found it.”

On the 54th floor, descending from the top, Aiden discovered a figure standing outside the window.

Examining the figure in detail, Aiden let out a bitter laugh.

It was because the appearance of that ordinary zombie was no different from any other.

As if he had set up a decoy, Aiden checked other windows just in case.

However, only that one figure was visible in his field of vision.

If Aiden’s guess was correct, this seemingly ordinary zombie was the mastermind behind this massive disaster.

“…”

Aiden’s gaze became cold.

Could it be? It was an appearance he wouldn’t recognize even if it passed right before his eyes.

Had mutations reached a point where they could no longer be distinguished by appearance alone?

Aiden mulled over such thoughts while pushing forward with his preparations for sniping.

He attached the detached scope back to the rifle and adjusted the sight.

The distance to the target was about 300 meters.

If it were a clear day with sharp visibility, Aiden could have considered sniping with just his naked eyes, considering the relatively short distance.

“…”

The shape of the zombie appeared sharply in the scope.

Aiden’s finger wrapped around the trigger of the sniper rifle.

And.

Bang!

The sharp gunshot and the hefty recoil shook Aiden’s body.

The feeling of the trigger in his hand was satisfactory.

The recoil of the sniper rifle was also well-managed.

There were no unexpected mistakes or disturbances during this shot.

That’s why Aiden was convinced of his success at that moment, and the image reflected in the scope confirmed that certainty.

While constantly moving his head, observing outside the window, the head of the zombie that had been watching suddenly exploded into pieces.

The body, which remained intact, leaned, then fell towards the broken window, dropping to the ground below.

Even if he couldn’t see the moment it hit the ground due to the building blocking his view, it didn’t matter.

If it had fallen from that height, the corpse would have scattered like a smashed watermelon.

Even if not, there was no possibility of survival once the head had been blown off.

Having thoroughly confirmed the process of death, Aiden finally looked away from the scope.

However, victory couldn’t be confirmed yet.

Although the commander was dealt with, his army was still present.

Aiden left the shadow of the building where he had been hiding and looked down below the rooftop railing.

Until then, the countless zombies gathered in front of the hotel were still standing there.

Unlike usual, they were like corpses frozen in place, making no sound or movement.

Their appearance was like an army of corpses waiting only for the command to advance.

“Ki!”

At that moment, one of the zombies suddenly made such a sound.

It looked around in confusion, much like a delirious patient waking up from a dream.

That was the beginning.

As if a rock had been thrown into a calm pond, the zombies gathered around started showing similar behavior, awakening.

“This is…”

Aiden muttered as he observed this.

And soon, not only regular zombies but also mutants, one after another, started awakening. The anticipated event that Aiden was waiting for began.

“Ugh…”

“Kyaah!”

A Bigfoot, awakened by hunger, swung its arm and knocked down a zombie next to it, tearing apart its upper body and devouring it.

In response, the surrounding zombies collectively screamed, and, on the other side, a Brutal caused a commotion, sweeping through the area.

Other zombies and mutants also went rampant, and in an instant, the small square where zombies had gathered turned into a chaotic battlefield.

“…”

Aiden watched the scene for a moment, then turned away.

With that situation, there was no need for Aiden to intervene any longer.

The zombie army, now deprived of its commander, would soon disintegrate, and dangerous mutants would scatter when the morning sun rose.

All that remained was to quietly deal with those flowing into the hotel until then and wait for sunrise.

Aiden equipped himself and descended from the rooftop.

As he did, Arian, who was waiting, looked at Aiden and reflected.

“Did you succeed?”

Aiden nodded.

Arian continued her questioning.

“But why is it so noisy outside?”

“The zombies that were gathered are fighting each other. Putting predators and prey in the same place, it’s only natural.”

Aiden conveyed the ongoing fight among the zombies outside.

In response, Arian exhaled a long sigh, filled with relief.

“How is Sadie?”

“I put her to sleep for now.”

“That’s a relief.”

“But I don’t know if she’s really sleeping. I haven’t seen her for a few days, but she’s a smart kid. Maybe… she knows everything.”

Although he wanted to let her pass tonight without knowing anything, if the clever child noticed, there was no avoiding the inevitable.

“Do you need to rest?”

“I’m good. How can I sleep on a night like this?”

Arian sat down on the spot, hugging her knees.

Arian, who had been staring blankly at the floor, spoke again.

“But… What are you going to do starting tomorrow?”

“I accepted Rebecca’s request. So, I have to fulfill that.”

There were two tasks that Rebecca entrusted to Aiden as a request.

One was to deliver her will to her daughter.

And the other… to find a survivor group that would take care of her daughter.

For this reason, Aiden was planning to leave the city starting from tomorrow.

“What about you in that case?”

“I? Of course, I’m going with you guys.”

Aiden looked at Arian, asking for an explanation.

“It’s natural. Sadie is my companion. Plus, she’s a child. I can’t just pretend not to know.”

Aiden felt a small shock and a pleasant sensation along with that human response.

As she said, at one point, offering a helping hand to the weak was an entirely natural thing.

But when did it happen?

In this ruined world, the expected had never occurred at all.

Instead, only the opposite had been prevalent.

Those with power oppressed the weak and even took away what they possessed.

There were times when he didn’t know what separated them from zombies.

However, this girl, Arian, was different.

Perhaps because she was a being from another world.

Arian still possessed something lost in this world.

“Of course, that’s not all. This is also for my own sake. Isn’t it the same for you?”

“That’s true.”

Aiden affirmatively agreed with Arian’s follow-up words.

Even without the request, finding another survivor group was essential for the two of them.

They needed human blood.

But in this overflowing city of Pittsburgh, filled with countless zombies and mutants, not even a small group of survivors could survive anymore.

So Aiden and Arian also had to leave this city.

They also had a reason to contact another survivor group.

“Got it. Then let’s leave together tomorrow.”

“Where are we going?”

“To the west.”

“Are you also heading to LA?”

“I don’t plan to go that far. Just getting out of the east, there should be a city suitable for staying. Finding a survivor group where Sadie can settle down is the first priority.”

Aiden and Arian talked about tomorrow’s plans for a long time.

As they did, when Aiden suddenly looked outside, he realized that the eastern sky was gradually brightening.