How Zombies Survive in the Apocalypse

He might be in his late twenties.

He was a Latin man with black hair.

There was no need to ask why he was hiding in a place like this.

His clothes were soaked with blood, flowing down from around his calves.

Was he shot by a bullet?

Even at a glance, the amount of bleeding was quite substantial.

Fortunately, he wasn’t about to die immediately, but if left untreated, he wouldn’t last long.

“…”

The man with such conditions stared at Aiden with a face full of hostility.

However, he didn’t have a weapon in his hands.

Considering that, Aiden, who judged the man not to be much of a threat, slowly lowered his gun.

“…Name?”

“…”

The man didn’t answer Aiden’s question.

Instead, he stared silently at Aiden with a face twisted in hostility.

That gaze… was literally like dealing with an enemy.

“I don’t know what misunderstanding you have, but I’m just a junk dealer passing through here.”

“A junk dealer…?”

Suspicious, the man looked at Aiden’s motorcycle helmet.

There were no more words.

Perhaps he intended to refuse the conversation.

“If you don’t intend to talk… well, it doesn’t matter.”

Muttering like that, Aiden turned his back.

He had already roughly grasped the situation. There was no urgent need for help from this man. So, there was no need to bother with continuing the conversation.

Thinking that way, as Aiden tried to go out again, a desperate voice suddenly burst out from behind.

“Wait, just a moment!”

“…”

“Romano! I’m Antonio Romano.”

Only after hearing the man’s name did Aiden finally stop and turn around.

However, Antonio, who introduced himself as such, still looked somewhat suspicious and questioned.

“Really… You’re not allied with those bastards?”

“Didn’t I say no?”

With Aiden’s firm response, Antonio swallowed his breath for a moment.

“Ah… phew…”

He soon wiped his face with his hand, relieved.

Looking at the ground for a moment with vacant eyes, Antonio raised his head again.

“I see. I apologize for the misunderstanding. Did you say you’re a junk dealer?”

From there, the man’s attitude toward Aiden changed.

Naturally, but somewhat inexplicably, a humble smile appeared on his face. It was a smile that was familiar to Aiden, who had always received requests from someone.

“Call me Aiden Lee.”

That was probably a hint that this man had a request to make.

Given the situation he was in, what the request was, was too obvious.

Therefore, before Antonio could continue speaking, Aiden quickly threw a question.

“All right, Romano. Can you explain what happened here?”

“…”

Antonio’s expression clouded for a moment. But soon, he sighed and began to talk.

“I understand. I’ll tell you.”

He was a member of a survivor group traveling from Pittsburgh to Canton.

There were five members in his group, and yesterday afternoon, they passed through here and had a confrontation with other survivors.

As a result, Antonio was the only one left alive.

“After seeing us, they suddenly started shooting. And they killed Anne. And John, too!”

“Do you know who those bastards were?”

“No. There were almost twenty of them, and they were all people we had never seen before.”

Aiden pondered for a moment at his words.

If the number was over twenty, they weren’t ordinary wanderers.

Then… were they part of a gang?

Also, all the bodies scattered outside were apparently Antonio’s comrades.

Aiden let out a short sigh and asked another question.

“You came from Pittsburgh?”

“Yes. Aren’t you the same?”

Antonio asked naturally.

If you call yourself a junk dealer passing through this place, you can only think of being from Pittsburgh.

Aiden nodded.

“That’s right. But why did you leave Pittsburgh?”

“Because it was hard to survive there. If you’re from there, you know there’s nothing left in that city, right?”

Antonio replied nonchalantly.

Judging by his expression, it seemed that he had no idea about the zombie horde that attacked Pittsburgh yesterday.

Just lucky to have avoided that disaster.

But considering what happened afterward, he couldn’t just be a lucky guy.

At that moment, Antonio, with a sound, coughed out a fake cough.

“By the way… Are you a doctor?”

Antonio looked at Aiden’s name tag around his neck and the faded white coat he was wearing, then spoke.

As Aiden nodded, Antonio reflected for a moment and continued.

“It’s fortunate. I have a request for you.”

“Do you want me to treat you?”

“First aid would be sufficient. And please take me to Canton.”

Aiden let out a short sigh at those words.

Of course, it was a request that he could fulfill on both accounts. Aiden already had the means to stop the bleeding, and the destination was clear.

It wasn’t a difficult request, but Antonio didn’t have anything significant to offer in return.

“So, what can you provide?”

It was the immediate question about the compensation for the request.

The meager supplies they and Antonio’s group had were taken by unknown attackers a long time ago.

Even the human blood, which Aiden’s group needed, couldn’t be obtained from Antonio at the moment. He had already lost a considerable amount of blood. Drawing more blood from him could lead to his death.

“If we go to Canton, I know someone there.”

“…Not very convincing.”

Aiden muttered in a low voice. It wasn’t the first time someone had lied with such a trivial story.

And like those people, Antonio also raised his voice.

“It’s not a lie!”

“Then what’s that person’s name?”

Aiden asked, looking at Antonio.

But right after that, what came out of his mouth was unexpectedly a name Aiden already knew.

“Avery Roberts!”

“…”

“Avery Roberts is my cousin. And she’s the leader of Canton. I used to live there originally. I came to Pittsburgh due to some circumstances, but it wasn’t a bad parting. If you take me there, she’ll surely reward you.”

Aiden was familiar with the name Avery Roberts. She was the leader of the survivor group in Canton, and Aiden had met her in person.

“Then you can answer this question.”

So, Aiden threw questions about Avery Roberts’s appearance, like height, skin color, hair color, etc., to confirm Antonio’s claim.

The answers that Antonio promptly provided matched Aiden’s memory.

“Hmm…”

Aiden let out a short sigh. If he was indeed Avery Roberts’s cousin, it wasn’t a bad deal.

There were many things to do in Canton, from trading goods to, if necessary, taking on a request to deal with a Sadie. If he could gain their favor by helping Antonio first, even if he had to disregard the compensation for the request, it would be an acceptable story.

But the problem was the possibility of it being a lie.

Even if it was a simple lie that would be easily exposed, Antonio would be desperate in the current situation.

So, Aiden, thinking to see how things unfolded, casually said something without much thought.

“…Fine. I’ll take the request.”

In the end, that’s how Aiden responded.

The potential gains from the truth were much greater than the potential losses from a lie.

“Nearby, the car I came in is with the group. Let’s go there first. Can you stand?”

At Aiden’s words, Antonio, who had been sitting on the ground, grabbed the window frame, groaning as he struggled to stand.

Barely on his feet, he looked at Aiden with a pained expression and said:

“But… can’t you lend me some support?”

“I can’t do that.”

Aiden refused flatly. Antonio sighed disappointedly.

Wasn’t it too harsh to refuse such an easy request?

As Antonio had such thoughts, Aiden, weighing the pros and cons in his mind, soon opened his mouth again.

“However… you might find this useful.”

Aiden picked up an iron rod lying nearby and handed it to him.

“If it’s too uncomfortable, you can use this like a crutch.”

“Yes. Thank you.”

Holding it like a crutch, Antonio began to walk with a limping gait.

And so, they left the quiet village, heading towards the road where the car was parked.

Upon seeing Aiden, Arian opened the passenger side door and came out first.

“Who’s that?” Arian asked with a suspicious look.

Aiden explained the situation to Arian and Sadie.

“I got a request like this. Is it okay with you guys?”

Aiden asked the group. Although it had been agreed in advance that Aiden would lead this small group, he was worried that they might resent his unilateral decision.

However, Arian responded as if it were nothing.

“It’s fine. He doesn’t seem to have any weapons, and if he’s just an ordinary human, there shouldn’t be any danger.”

If someone else had said it, it would have been an incredibly arrogant statement, but to her, a vampire, it wasn’t necessarily wrong.

So, Aiden simply nodded.

“I’m okay with it too. In fact… I think it’s a good thing.”

Sadie also responded positively. Was she saying that helping those in need is a good thing, or was it advantageous to take on requests like Aiden?

He couldn’t tell for sure, but Aiden gladly accepted the group’s permission.

“Got it. Arian, can you help me a bit?”

Aiden took out the medicines from the vehicle. However, for treating the man’s wounds and performing basic first aid, he relied entirely on Arian’s hands. Since he was a zombie, he couldn’t touch the wounds.

“…!”

Meanwhile, as Arian locked eyes with Antonio, he shivered.

There was an unsettling discomfort because of her reddish eyes, as if blood tears were flowing from them.

Perhaps he was a sensitive human.

Arian, wearing only a subtle smile even at Antonio’s reaction, completed the first aid.

Afterward, the group resumed their journey.

Vroom-

The car drove onto a bridge over a river.

There were a few obstacles scattered on the bridge, but nothing obstructed their passage.

So, they crossed the bridge and safely left the small riverside village without encountering any unwelcome visitors.

From here, a somewhat tedious but relatively safe forest path continued.

Thanks to this, the vehicle could move forward smoothly.

“Why is that?”

Aiden asked, puzzled by Antonio’s gaze that seemed to question him.

“Well, that’s… why are you driving with a helmet on?”

“It’s better if you don’t know.”

Arian’s response came.

It’s better not to know.

That was exactly the right answer.

It was better for Antonio not to know that Aiden gripping the steering wheel right beside him wasn’t a person but a zombie.

So, Aiden continued driving without saying anything, and Antonio grinned as if he couldn’t understand the words.

In this way, they arrived in Canton after two more hours.

The quiet forest ended, revealing a plain.

Built on it were low and wide buildings like warehouses.

They lined along the road, indicating that they were entering the city.

“Finally…!”

Entering Canton, Antonio felt the most relieved.

In a situation where he could die at any moment, he was fortunate to meet Aiden’s group and come this far, so his joy was understandable.

However, unlike Antonio, Aiden, with a sharp voice, said:

“But… it’s a bit strange.”

Saying so, Aiden slowed down the speed of the car.

Then Antonio turned to look at him.

“What do you mean?”

“No signs are visible.”

“Signs? Ah, now that you mention it…”

Usually, survivor groups or gangs occupying a certain area leave specific marks to indicate their territory.

It serves as a warning to intruders or visitors that this is the land of someone.

However, although Aiden’s group was driving on a major road entering Canton, they couldn’t see those signs.

And then.

“Look over there.”

Aiden pointed at something, and the vehicle stopped.

It was a makeshift checkpoint on both sides of the road.

It looked shabby with worn-out cloths, but it had a solid structure with barriers to stop bullets, watchtowers, and even shallow trenches.

However, the checkpoint wasn’w empty.

It was not just empty; the remaining signs were almost invisible, washed away by rain.

It looked like it hadn’t been maintained for several months, even at a glance.

“Something seems to be wrong.”

With that, Aiden stopped the vehicle before entering the residential area beyond the checkpoint.

It was near a small commercial building next to the road.

Confused, Antonio opened his mouth.

“Aren’t we going any further?”

“At least, we need to see what’s going on. If there’s no problem, we’ll enter the base immediately.”

Aiden remembered that the survivor group in Canton used the grounds of a university as their base.

And in front of it was a wide residential area connected to the university.

If the survivor group was still intact, the adjacent residential area would also be safe.

But now, something seemed to have happened to them, so the safety of the road ahead was uncertain.

So, moving forward from here was dangerous itself.

It was impossible to tell if there were zombies or humans hiding in the residential area. Considering this, Aiden turned to look at the back seat.

“Arian, guard the vehicle.”

This time, he was planning to go on reconnaissance alone.

It was an unavoidable decision.

There was a way to take everyone along, but there was no need to invest so many people in a simple reconnaissance mission.

Moreover, leaving the resources in the vehicle unattended wasn’t an option.

“Got it. Leave it to me.”

“Be careful.”

After the group’s response, Aiden nodded and immediately grabbed his handgun and dagger before stepping outside.

Then, beyond the abandoned guard post, a gray residential area that seemed to have slumped appeared before him.