How Zombies Survive in the Apocalypse

“Hmm…”

After the conversation with Maria, in their temporary shelter on the outskirts of the city.

There, Aiden let out a short thoughtful sound.

It was because the information… no, the advice he had just heard from Maria was bothering him.

“If what that woman said is true, we’re in trouble. It means we have to abandon the car, doesn’t it?”

Arian said with a furrowed brow.

As she said, the first thing Maria had suggested after hearing Aiden’s group’s journey plan was to abandon the vehicle.

The reason was that the environment west of Albuquerque was simply not conducive to operating a vehicle.

“She didn’t seem to be lying. There’s no reason for her to do so. Besides, we’ve experienced it ourselves.”

Maria had first said that attacks from zombies and cannibals would be frequent.

That much was fine.

Hadn’t Aiden’s group come all the way to this city by smashing through those very attacks head-on?

While somewhat troublesome, it wasn’t a threat severe enough to warrant abandoning the vehicle.

However, the real problem came next.

It was the fact that traps like steel spikes, which had even stopped Aiden’s group’s vehicle, were spread all over the roads.

“Still… couldn’t we avoid them well enough?”

“I’m not sure. But what’s clear is that from here on, there are only a few roads we can use. If someone set their mind to it, it wouldn’t be impossible to block all of them.”

The path ahead from here is mountains and desert.

So the terrain accessible by vehicle was limited, and the same went for roads.

This meant that if someone wanted to block them, they could completely seal off vehicle passage with little effort.

Moreover, roads blocked in this way would become increasingly impassable over time.

This was because vehicles stopped by traps or ambushes would become obstacles on the road themselves.

However, including the gang of a thousand that had reportedly left half a year ago.

It had been a long time since any vehicles that headed west had returned, so it was obvious how many abandoned vehicles would be clogging up the narrow roads.

“So should we really abandon the car?”

Arian looked at Sadie with a gaze full of concern.

Aiden was just as worried about abandoning the vehicle as Arian was.

Albuquerque is about 1300km away from LA.

Needless to say, there was the physical issue of Sadie having to walk that enormous distance.

Also, abandoning the vehicle ultimately meant giving up on the supplies they could transport.

It meant that despite having to travel such a long distance, they could only carry a few days’ worth of food at most.

“…Let’s gather more information for now.”

Aiden finally answered like that.

It wasn’t that he didn’t trust Maria, but this was an issue that required even more careful consideration.

* * *

So Aiden’s group stayed one more day in Albuquerque, focusing on gathering information.

Aiden used the supplies he received as rewards to buy information from gangs.

Arian also used her abilities to collect secret rumors and such.

However, the conclusion… was not much different from Maria’s advice.

Not a single gang in Albuquerque viewed positively the idea of taking a car west.

“It seems we’ve reached a conclusion.”

That evening, in front of the group gathered again at their temporary shelter, Aiden spoke. Arian also nodded with an uncomfortable expression.

“I went to the western edge of Albuquerque today, and I could see it there too. The road was completely blocked.”

“All the information I gathered was the same. The disadvantages of operating a vehicle were more apparent than the advantages.”

“Then…?”

“We’ll abandon the vehicle.”

Aiden came to that conclusion.

There were no objections.

Only a deep sigh escaped from Arian’s lips.

“Will it be alright?”

Arian asked.

Her concern was entirely directed towards Sadie.

Sadie seemed to know this too, looking slightly dejected.

Perhaps she thought she had become a burden to the group.

But Aiden’s thoughts were different.

The person who would be most troubled by the loss of the car wasn’t Sadie.

“Who are you worried about?”

“What do you mean?”

“What Sadie needs during the upcoming journey is food. However, in the worst case, Sadie could survive up to a month without food as long as she has water.”

Arian’s eyes sharpened as if asking if he was really saying he’d starve Sadie for a month.

Shaking his head, Aiden continued.

“I’m just saying that you and I can’t do that. Isn’t that right?”

“…”

At Aiden’s words, Arian understood what he was trying to say.

Abandoning the vehicle would ultimately slow down their journey.

It meant they might have to camp outdoors in mountains or deserts, perhaps unable to find shelter for quite a long time.

In that case, Sadie would be cold and uncomfortable, but that would be the extent of it.

Even if they wandered in the mountains for a month, she wouldn’t need to consider her immediate death as long as she had portable water and food.

However, it was different for Aiden and Arian.

They, who required human blood, couldn’t survive even a month without contact with other people.

“But… there will be cannibals, right?”

“Those guys only stay around Albuquerque. Once we leave New Mexico, we won’t see hide nor hair of them. Arizona is the territory of that dangerous mutant.”

“So you’re saying there’s no possibility of meeting people at all?”

“It’s not impossible. I heard there are quite a few people who risk going to LA, even if it’s not us.”

Although many people were stuck here, not everyone had given up on going to LA.

Roughly speaking, about 20% of the people who come to Albuquerque eventually leave for LA again.

“But finding such people won’t be easy. Even considering your ability, we’ll have to rely on luck for a significant part.”

“…”

“Still want to go to LA?”

Aiden asked Arian.

While taking Aiden’s words seriously and steeling herself, she answered without hesitation.

“Of course we’re going.”

“Good. Then…”

Aiden looked at Sadie.

Sadie also nodded slightly.

“Understood. We’ll leave Albuquerque and head towards Phoenix first. After that, we’ll move on foot to LA. We’ll depart tomorrow morning.”

“Tomorrow? So soon? Didn’t you say we had a lot to prepare?”

Arian said, slightly surprised.

As she said, when they came to Albuquerque, there were many things they needed to do.

However, now that they had decided to abandon the vehicle, those preparations were greatly reduced.

“Not anymore.”

First, there was no need to repair the vehicle. So the supplies that would have gone into repairs were left intact.

Also, the additional supplies they were planning to stock up on were no longer necessary. Without the vehicle, they couldn’t transport any more supplies.

Rather, now there were even surplus supplies from what had been loaded in the damaged vehicle.

All that remained was to dispose of these and sort out the resources they could carry.

“I see. Then we should rest well today.”

And so, Aiden’s group’s journey plan was decided.

Aiden nodded impassively.

* * *

The next day.

As planned, Aiden’s group, each carrying their luggage, left the western border of Albuquerque.

A small backpack suitable for a child was on Sadie’s back, while a large bag like a fishing bag hung on Aiden’s back.

Arian was even pulling a handcart behind her.

It was by no means a small amount of luggage for three people, especially considering one was a child.

Yet even this was carefully selected by Aiden himself, containing only the absolutely necessary supplies.

“Well… this isn’t so bad.”

Arian said as they slowly left the boundaries of Albuquerque.

The autumn breeze was cool.

The cityscape still visible nearby, with traces of human presence, was quite nice too.

It was just the right environment for a walk.

“…”

But Arian’s appreciation didn’t last long.

How long had they walked?

After walking along the road for a while, the cityscape had disappeared before they knew it.

They had completely left Albuquerque and its metropolitan area.

What appeared before Arian then was a desert covered entirely in ocher.

Over that desolate desert stretching to the horizon, only the gray concrete road extended forward like a thin line drawn on a canvas.

“…”

Arian looked around at this scenery as if finding it boring.

If it was just the desert, she might have liked its unique atmosphere.

Unfortunately, there were overturned vehicles scattered here and there around them.

Those eyesores were marring the landscape like stains on a painting.

Quickly bored, Arian glanced at Sadie.

Unlike Arian, the child taking steady steps seemed rather relaxed. She even gave a slight smile when her eyes met Arian’s.

Arian returned the smile to Sadie and then spoke to Aiden walking ahead.

“How far are we going today?”

“Well. It’s the first day, so we should go about 40km.”

The answer came quickly.

But hearing Aiden’s words, Arian tilted her head.

Usually, he would have mentioned the name of a small town or village that was their destination.

“Where is that?”

“There’s no place name. Just on the road.”

“What?”

When Arian asked again, Aiden slightly turned his head to look at her.

“Today and tomorrow, we’ll just continue on roads like this. There won’t even be small villages during that time.”

“…”

For a moment, Arian was at a loss for words.

She had heard it would be like this, but she didn’t expect to be camping out from the very first day.

But it was something she had been prepared for anyway.

Arian just let out a short sigh and continued her questions.

“What about the day after tomorrow?”

“If nothing happens, we should be able to reach a small town called Grants.”

“Grants…”

As Arian murmured the name of their first destination, her eyes suddenly sharpened.

Then her gaze turned towards a wrecked car on the road.

“It’s a zombie.”

“Location?”

“It’s fine. I was getting bored anyway, I’ll handle it.”

Arian drew the machete attached to her waist.

Leaving a faint blood-red trajectory, Arian’s figure sprang forward.

* * *

Two days later.

As planned, Aiden’s group was able to arrive at the small town of Grants in the evening as the sunset began.

“This place looks good for today.”

Aiden’s group set up a temporary shelter in an animal shelter located in the eastern corner of Grants.

With only a park and an open field around, it had good visibility, and the building was sufficiently sturdy, made of brick rather than wood.

Also, since it wasn’t a place likely to have supplies, it was an advantage that the building’s interior remained intact.

Inside the shelter, there was even a soft cot left, probably for the night shift staff.

“Good. The inside is clean too.”

Arian said after checking the building’s interior.

She had been worried about possible abandoned animal carcasses, but fortunately, that hadn’t happened. It seemed that even during that chaotic time, the staff had managed to evacuate all the animals somewhere.

“Then let’s prepare to rest.”

Aiden said as he put down his bag inside the shelter.

Arian then unpacked some of the luggage, taking out sleeping bags and blankets.

Sadie prepared canned food and water for today’s meal.

Meanwhile, Aiden counted the bullets used during their recent travel and maintained the weapons.

While checking the status of the remaining supplies, he turned to look at Arian.

“Arian, do you have enough blood left?”

“Yeah. Why, do you need some?”

Arian answered lightly.

Thanks to dealing with a group of cannibals yesterday, she wasn’t in a situation where blood was scarce.

“That’s not it. If you have enough blood, I want to explore this town tomorrow.”

“Explore? To find supplies?”

“That’s right. We need to replenish the supplies we’ve used in advance. When blood is scarce, we won’t have time to explore.”

Arian nodded at Aiden’s words.

Indeed, without blood, there wouldn’t even be time to explore.

Even if they found a small town like this, they would have to move immediately to find blood first.

As Aiden said, it was right to replenish used supplies whenever the opportunity arose.

“…Hm?”

At that moment, Aiden reacted while looking out the window.

He had seen some shadow passing at the edge of his vision.

But that shadow, which had already disappeared beyond the distant residential area, was no longer visible.

Could it have been a zombie?

As ominous concerns arose in Aiden’s mind, Arian spoke up.

“There’s a dog.”

“…A dog?”

“Yes. I’m sure. It’s not a Beast. Just a regular dog.”

Arian affirmed.

Aiden didn’t doubt her words.

It wouldn’t be strange for an abandoned dog to live in a place like this.

However, caution was necessary.

Even if it wasn’t a Beast, a starving stray dog could be plenty dangerous.

“…”

Aiden decided to remember the dog’s presence and silently watched the direction where it had disappeared.

But the dog didn’t show itself again until sunset.