How Zombies Survive in the Apocalypse

Some time later…

“Seriously? Are you really junk dealers?”

After Aiden had finished explaining the situation, Mateo Jensen, one of the three people in the warehouse, asked him that question.

Aiden calmly nodded in affirmation.

“Then how did you know to come here?”

“I simply followed the traces of movement I detected.”

Aiden nonchalantly lied.

He couldn’t reveal that they had found this place due to Arian’s perceptive abilities.

“What the hell…”

On the other hand, hearing that response, Mateo seemed to heave a sigh of relief.

Observing Mateo’s reaction, Aiden narrowed his eyes beneath his helmet.

It was a somewhat unusual response for an ordinary wanderer.

Even in a situation where Aiden’s group hadn’t definitively confirmed whether they were plunderers or not, why would he exhibit such relief?

Harboring that doubt, Aiden continued speaking.

“So what are you, then? Wanderers?”

“Well… I suppose you could call us that.”

Mateo nodded vaguely in response.

His companions wore similar expressions.

At that, Aiden swept his gaze across the warehouse’s interior they had been hiding within.

It wasn’t a particularly large space.

Only a few meters wide and barely over ten meters long, offering no room to conceal substantial belongings.

However, nowhere within that warehouse were the sorts of supplies ordinary wanderers would always carry with them.

“I don’t think that’s the case, though.”

At Aiden’s words, Mateo’s face tensed slightly.

“What do you mean?”

“Wanderers don’t simply travel with just weapons like this.”

Even if they had depleted their food supplies, the necessities for a nomadic lifestyle were far too numerous to list individually.

Yet there was a limit to what could be transported solely by human labor.

Additionally, considering the need to occasionally flee from zombies, ordinary wanderers would pragmatically carry only the bare essentials.

However, these individuals lacked even those.

“We just stored our other supplies elsewhere.”

“You’re already hiding out in such a remote location, yet you claim to have stored your belongings separately somewhere else?”

Aiden calmly pointed out the flaws in Mateo’s feeble excuse.

Seemingly at a loss for a better response, Mateo let out a dismissive click of his tongue.

“So, what are you trying to say, then?”

Aiden briefly pondered Mateo’s true identity.

However, he didn’t immediately arrive at a conclusion.

They didn’t seem like typical wanderers, yet their chosen hideout was far too obscure for a gang’s scouting party.

So instead, Aiden opted to directly inquire from them.

“If possible, I’d like to purchase some information from you.”

Aiden revealed his objective of searching for a survivor group.

In response, Mateo and his companions exchanged glances with each other.

“And what will you offer in return?”

“Food and water supplies.”

Aiden retrieved some canned goods and bottled water from their belongings.

Having set out initially to locate survivors, they had prepared a modest quantity of trade items.

Moreover, judging by their apparent condition, these individuals likely lacked even a day’s worth of food supplies.

Which was why Aiden intended to offer them food provisions in exchange.

Requesting their blood from the outset might have raised unnecessary suspicion.

And the result was a successful negotiation.

“…Alright.”

Upon seeing the offered food, Mateo and his companions, their eyes gleaming, didn’t hesitate long before accepting the deal.

Aiden first inquired about their true identities.

Whether they were genuinely wanderers or members of some gang.

The conclusion was that they belonged to neither category.

“There’s an organization called the Amarillo Liberation Front in Amarillo, you see. We… used to be part of that group. But three days ago, we deserted and came here.”

They had been members of the Amarillo Liberation Front but had since abandoned that affiliation and defected from the organization.

However, their current circumstances suggested they hadn’t adequately prepared for their departure.

Aiden followed up with another question.

“Were you expelled, then?”

“Expelled? No, we fled. Those bastards were trying to kill us.”

Mateo spoke those words through gritted teeth.

It was Arian, not Aiden, who posed the next inquiry.

“What did you do for them to want that?”

“It… wasn’t anything bad, so don’t look at me like that.”

In response to Mateo’s plea, Arian shrugged and averted her gaze.

However, her lingering crimson eyes, still exuding an eerie sensation, caused Mateo to continue glancing apprehensively in her direction.

“Arian, could you stay with Sadie while I handle the rest?”

At Aiden’s suggestion, Arian nodded and exited the warehouse.

It was only then that Mateo’s lips parted once more.

“We had gone out on a scouting mission. And we found some water supplies in the city. But… there seemed to be an issue with it. A few of our comrades fell ill after drinking it. It was some kind of infectious disease.”

They had brought back contaminated water, it seemed.

A common occurrence in this world lacking proper testing equipment, where food and water were precious commodities.

For an ordinary organization, it might have ended with a mere reprimand.

However, the Liberation Front they had been part of didn’t stop there.

“So we were put on trial by the Liberation Front over it. And the result was… execution.”

“Execution? For something like that, they wanted to kill you?”

Aiden questioned that incredulously.

In response, Mateo let out a derisive snort.

“Yeah. The great Liberation Front’s regulations state that anyone who spreads disease within the organization is to be executed. So we simply fled before they could carry out that sentence.”

Aiden studied the man’s expression.

There were no signs of deception.

And if that was the reason, it made sense why they had urgently deserted with barely a few days’ worth of supplies.

It was a reasonably coherent account.

“What kind of place is this Liberation Front?”

“A complete shithole. The rules are cruel and inflexible, the superiors are more deranged than gang bosses, and they’ve even assigned military ranks like private and sergeant, playing dress-up as some kind of army. Ha! Not a single one of them was ever an actual soldier!”

Mateo’s agitated voice rose in volume.

However, he soon regained his composure with a sigh before adding a cautionary remark.

“If you’re thinking of going there, be especially wary of their leader. Some asshole called Colonel Nelson. A complete nutjob. He’s the one who started this delusional military role-play, making up all those regulations himself.”

Aiden silently listened as Mateo vented that stream of negative information.

While needing to filter out potential biases… The fact that they had clashed with and fled from that organization meant their words couldn’t be entirely baseless.

“Oh, and for people who desert like us, they call us ‘deserters’ and have a dedicated execution squad to deal with deserters. We initially thought you were part of that squad.”

However, even accounting for that, the Amarillo Liberation Front didn’t seem to be an ordinary group.

Maintaining a specialized unit solely for hunting down and eliminating defectors.

It wasn’t exactly good news for Aiden, who intended to establish trade relations with them.

An obstinate organization that had forsaken even rational choices would undoubtedly prove exceedingly troublesome for a junk dealer like Aiden to deal with.

“Alright. That’s enough information.”

After receiving additional answers to a few more questions, Aiden spoke those words.

Overall, the information had proven quite useful.

Satisfied, Aiden handed over the promised food supplies to Mateo and his companions.

One bottle of clean water and two cans of preserved food.

Finally able to alleviate their hunger, they failed to conceal their joyful expressions despite feigning nonchalance.

However, realistically speaking, those meager provisions were insufficient for three people.

There was one can short compared to their number.

Which was when, just as that underlying tension arose between them…

“And… there’s one more thing I need.”

…Aiden once again presented them with canned goods and syringes.

“Would you be willing to donate some blood?”

Aiden’s subsequent proposal struck Mateo’s group as highly suspicious.

Why would he want to extract their blood?

However, such doubts paled in comparison to the allure of the food provisions before them.

“…Alright.”

In the end, they couldn’t refuse.

Aiden gave a simple nod of acknowledgment.

* * *

Several days later…

Aiden’s group had finally approached Amarillo, located at the northern terminus of Interstate Highway 27.

“We’re about to arrive.”

Observing an old, paint-flaked signboard indicating their proximity to Amarillo, Aiden spoke those words.

For now, their view consisted solely of a flat prairie.

Once utilized as farmland but abandoned for years, the fields had transitioned from a lush green befitting spring to a desolate brown hue more suited to autumn.

Such plains stretched towards the horizon on either side of the road.

After proceeding some distance along that road, buildings gradually began appearing one by one.

Additionally, conspicuous metal signs lined the sides of the road.

Emblazoned upon them in vivid detail was a shield-like emblem.

The insignia of the Amarillo Liberation Front, which Aiden’s group was already familiar with.

“That Liberation Front, was it? Doesn’t sound like a very good place.”

Observing those emblems, Arian remarked.

According to Mateo’s testimony, the Liberation Front was an organization of around a thousand members. A moderate size compared to the survivor groups Aiden had previously encountered.

However, within this region, they were a formidable force unmatched by any similar-sized factions.

Yet Aiden’s group harbored little optimism about the prospect of making contact with this Liberation Front.

“Hard to say. We can’t take that man’s words at face value. But… they likely weren’t entirely baseless, either.”

Strictly enforcing rules to control the populace was one thing.

However, they had heard that the punishments – flogging, exile, or execution – were excessively harsh even by rational standards, and the frequency of such punishments was disturbingly high.

If those claims were true… they were hardly an organization Aiden wished to encounter.

Even so, Aiden had come here due to a lack of alternative options.

“And yet you still intend to approach them?”

“We have no choice. Somehow, we need to establish contact and trade with them.”

The information Aiden had obtained from Mateo wasn’t limited to Amarillo alone.

As a former scouting party member for the Liberation Front, he was naturally aware of other survivor groups in the vicinity as well.

However, the results were discouraging.

The only confirmed existing group was located hundreds of kilometers west of Amarillo, in Albuquerque.

Within this immediate region, no other groups comparable to Amarillo’s size remained.

Which meant Aiden’s group needed to make contact with the Liberation Front by any means necessary.

To engage in trade through requests, preparing for the next leg of their long journey from this location.

“We’re about to enter the city proper.”

The scenery, previously consisting solely of unbroken plains, abruptly transformed.

Residential neighborhoods appeared along both sides of the road, followed by abandoned shops in the immediate vicinity.

However, there were still no signs of Liberation Front sentries or barricades.

Amarillo had once been home to a population nearing 200,000 civilians. So it was impossible for the mere thousand-strong Liberation Front to fully control the entire city area. Meaning the territory under their administration was likely limited to parts of the downtown district alone.

Conversely, that implied the rest of the city had been left abandoned, yet as Arian surveyed their surroundings, she made an unexpected remark.

“Though… there don’t seem to be that many zombies around, do there?”

“Well, this road serves as a major route leading out of the city for them as well. They probably conduct periodic clean-up operations.”

After entering the city that way, Aiden’s group proceeded into a side street before parking their vehicle in front of a small church.

While there were a few zombies in the vicinity, they swiftly dealt with them.

“We’ll use this as a temporary shelter and conceal the vehicle here for now.”

The location where Aiden had stopped was quite far from the downtown district.

From there, Aiden’s group gathered only the bare minimum of trade supplies before proceeding on foot towards the city center.

It was an uneasy decision, risking potential theft with an active survivor group nearby, but they couldn’t bring their vehicle any further either.

There was also the possibility that this group truly was as dangerous as Mateo had claimed, which couldn’t be ruled out.

“…”

And so, they began walking towards Amarillo’s downtown area.

Passing through residential neighborhoods far more extensive and densely populated compared to the small towns they had traversed thus far.

While there were quite a few zombies within, Arian’s presence allowed them to minimize combat encounters along the way.

Afterwards, they crossed through a small park area.

In the center of that park, a Big Foot mutant was crouched, surrounded by the remains of something it had presumably devoured.

Aiden’s group gave that creature a wide berth as they maneuvered around it.

“…This is an unsettling place.”

Observing that scene, Arian protectively embraced Sadie with one arm.

Despite their relatively close proximity to the Liberation Front’s base in the downtown area, the brazen presence of such a mutant was disconcerting.

Soon, they arrived near the downtown district that served as the Liberation Front’s headquarters.

Just a few dozen meters ahead lay the position of their sentry outpost.

However, even before they could approach that vicinity, someone’s shout rang out.

“Drop your weapons and put your hands up!”

That bellowed order wasn’t directed at Aiden’s group, however.

Aiden, who had been leading, concealed himself behind a building and peered towards the source of that voice.

There, he saw a barricade completely blocking the road, guarded by sentries, with a few individuals standing before them.

It seemed some other arrivals had reached the Liberation Front before Aiden’s group.

“What… what’s going on?”

“Drop your weapons, now!”

The sentry barked those words harshly, prompting the three individuals to gaze at the Liberation Front’s guards in bewildered confusion at the sudden demand to disarm.

During that exchange, Aiden studied the appearance of those arrivals.

Carrying large bags and rifles…

Wanderers… no, perhaps fellow junk dealers like Aiden.

“This is no way to-“

Just as one of the junk dealers tried to protest, those words were cut off by an abrupt sound.

Bang!

A gunshot unexpectedly rang out, its thunderous echo causing everyone – the junk dealers as well as Aiden’s group – to freeze in shock.

Undoubtedly the work of the sentry, though fortunately the bullet hadn’t struck anyone, with the barrel clearly aimed towards the junk dealers.

An overt threat, if not an intentionally missed shot.

“Drop your weapons. Now.”

The sentry followed up with that growl, as if indicating there would be no further warnings.

In response, the junk dealers, their faces etched with dismay, had no choice but to comply with those instructions.

And so, having been forcibly disarmed, the junk dealers were taken away like prisoners by the sentries.

“Have you encountered a group like them before?”

Watching that scene unfold, Arian posed that question.

Inquiring whether Aiden had previous experience with an organization exhibiting such overt hostility.

In response, Aiden nodded.

“Of course.”

“So? What happened back then?”

“…Combat was narrowly avoided.”

Upon hearing Aiden’s subsequent reply, Arian’s expression hardened.

“Was the situation so intolerable for you?”

“It wasn’t about tolerating it or not. People like them always insist on seeing what’s under my helmet, you see.”

As if understanding his implication, Arian nodded in acknowledgment.

For Aiden to approach them directly would be far too perilous.

Which left only one viable option.

“Then I’ll go instead.”

At those words, Aiden fixed Arian with an intense gaze.