PART 1
August 26th, Thursday.
Officially, the 2nd day of the Apocalypse.
“You can sleep in.” – Bianca says, seeing Ethan already up, knowing he’d been hunting through the night.
“I don’t feel very safe here; the place we’re going is safer.” – Ethan says calmly.
– “And moving you there will be one less thing to worry about, so I can focus on more things.”
“Like what?” – Bianca asks curiously.
– “Schools, clinics, pharmacies, gun shops, and much more.
There are many places we need to visit, gather resources, and accumulate them; it will help protect our people and rescue more people.”
“Oh my god… the children…” – Bianca shudders.
“There were several alerts on the 24th.” – Ethan says.
– “I doubt many children, parents, or teachers went to school today.”
He says that, but he remembers the school scene from The Walking Dead, where Shane messes things up and sacrifices that fat man.
Even though they didn’t show children there, it’s obvious what must have happened.
He lies, but he wants it to be true, he wants the parents to have been attentive enough not to send their children to school in the middle of such a dangerous time.
…
In less than half an hour, the truck stops on the hill, the clinic ahead.
Jerome, wielding an AR-15, aims at them, but upon seeing Ethan, relaxes.
Ethan parks.
– “Is everything alright?” – He asks as he gets out.
“Yes.” – Jerome nods, but at that moment the old sheriff with bloodshot eyes rushes out and hugs Mercy tightly, happy that she is safe and sound.
Mercy is also happy that her foolish husband is alive.
Kenny looks at Ethan and says.
– “Thank you, son.”
Ethan nods and the two enter.
Clark appears.
– “Man, yesterday was a mess… oh, hi Bianca.” – He smiles when he sees her.
“Is this the girlfriend you’re talking about?” – Jerome asks.
“Oh, you’ve gone that far?” – Clark teases.
Bianca leaves carrying Dina, looking at the two, giving Clark the middle finger as she enters the clinic.
“Who’s the kid?” – Clark asks and Ethan calmly says, the smiles on their faces disappearing, replaced by respect and shame.
“I see you mistreated our friend.” – Ethan looks at his truck.
“A bunch of them showed up and man… it was a real mess.
I’ll just say his screams…” – Clark shudders.
“Don’t think about it.
We can’t control this, we can only adapt.
But tell me… the armory, did you lock it?” – Ethan stares at him.
“Yes, I locked him up before leaving, gave him some weapons to protect himself, but otherwise, I locked him up.”
Ethan nods.
– “I want to go to the gun shop, it’s probably already being looted or full of that stuff, we can try our luck, more ammo and weapons will never be too much.”
They both nod.
“Man, you can’t stand still.
I don’t remember you being so energetic when you were a cop.” – Jerome says, observing him curiously.
“I agree.” – Clark nods.
“The world is ending, the dead are returning, severed heads are moving on their own and the situation is only going to get worse.
I’ll rest when I’m old or dead, I prefer the first option, and you?” – Ethan stares at them and they both laugh.
“Did you bring more people here?” – Ethan asks Clark.
“Besides the sheriff and Donna, nobody else.” – Clark says.
“You did well.” – Ethan notices traces of guilt.
– “I know that as police officers, we should serve and protect, but my friend… this isn’t the time for rules, maybe they don’t even exist anymore and we’ll have to create our own.
I didn’t even see any sign of the military today.” – Ethan sighs.
“No sign of the military?” – Clark blinks.
“That’s worrying.” – Jerome frowns.
“I know.
Maybe they’ll act today, but honestly, I think they’ll focus on isolating Atlanta, there are millions of people there and… I don’t even want to imagine what the streets are like.” – His words frighten them.
“It’s a good thing you warned me, I got my family out of that hell in time.
I wish I had put more effort into warning the others.” – Jerome sighs.
“Me too, but honestly, persuading you was already difficult.
If more police officers were aware of the situation, it would reach the superiors, the military, and they would know that someone spoke up.
To stop us because they think we’re a danger…” – Ethan stops talking, he knows what would happen, and so do they.
“Okay, enough of that, when are we leaving?” – Clark asks.
“Let’s get everyone together and form two teams.
But one of you will stay.” – Ethan looks at both of them.
“He stays, I go.
I want to see how things are with my own eyes.” – Jerome says before Clark.
“What?
No, I want to go, I want to help.” – Clark says, even seeing all the horrors, he saw what Ethan did, throwing himself into the center of the chaos, saving them and planning the future.
Clark is young, passionate, and courageous.
He looks up to Ethan in many ways.
“I can’t take both of them, because they’re the ones I trust most and I believe they’ll do what’s necessary to protect the place,” Ethan says calmly.
“We can’t let strangers in, and honestly, Kenny is a good man, too good for what the world is becoming.”
“Do we really need to be so harsh?
We can shelter some people and then send them to fend for themselves,” Jerome says.
Ethan sighs.
“If I could, I’d save everyone, but I can’t.” He’s firm in his words.
“We’re experiencing the end of the world.
You didn’t see it, but even amidst the chaos, people killing each other and all that, there were still many people alive, looting and doing whatever they wanted… this situation brings out the worst in people, turns us into monsters…”
“I have no doubt that criminals are taking advantage of this moment to kill, rob, and rape whomever they want.
In big cities it must be even worse… so… just be careful.”
…
“You’re going out?!” – Kate frowns.
“It’s necessary,” Ethan says.
“The city, the county, and the whole damn world is in chaos.
Even though I want the military to handle things, we can’t just stand here twiddling our thumbs and hoping for the best, because the worst is already happening.”
Sighing under everyone’s gaze, he says, “I’m tired.
If you heard Clark’s exaggerations, you know what I did, and I’ll repeat it.
These things are attracted to sound and can only be killed with shots to the head.
We’ll need more weapons and ammunition, not to mention medicine.
I’ve stockpiled plenty in the last few weeks, but we have elderly people who need specialized medication, and our numbers will certainly increase in the future.”
“So I plan to loot the gun stores, the pharmacies, and… check out the schools.
I want to know how they are.
If there are people there, we can help, deal with whatever’s outside, gather capable people to fight, and try to reclaim the city somehow.”
“If we do nothing, we’ll be like those useless survivors in apocalyptic movies, watching the world crumble and cowering, then the world ends, thousands die, nobody steps up to help or think about the future, and in the end, almost everyone dies.” – Sighing, he looks at everyone.
“If we want a chance to survive, a future for our children, we need to act now, not wait for a miracle to fall from the sky, we have to do it now!”
His words were enough, he knows that.
“I’ll take Jerome with me.
Arthur and Hudson, I want you to stay with the other truck, we’ll go together, clear a path.
The goal will be to clear the streets and lure as many of these things as possible far away from here.”
“Kenny, you lazy old man.” – Ethan calls him, and the sheriff frowns.
– “You have contacts with the old ranchers, do you think you could go with Damian to try and talk to them and see how things are?”
“And what about him?” – Someone points to Clark.
“He’ll stay to protect the place and keep strangers away,” Ethan says.
“Otherwise, I’d send him with Kenny, but tell me, old man, can you manage, or do you need to rest, since it looks like you didn’t sleep last night, which is understandable.”
“I slept a little and I can handle this, but what exactly are your plans?” Kenny narrows his eyes.
“There are grain and cattle farms here, even some orchards.
We’ll need fresh food and meat, so we don’t have to rely solely on the canned food we have stored.”
“The numbers will grow, I know that, they could be hundreds and eventually thousands.
We’ll need the farms functioning, properly protected to produce food for hundreds of people.
Over the years, maybe we’ll recover more cities, but until then, we’ll have to work hard.”
Ethan even wanted to isolate himself, but with the reward of death milestones and knowing that killing humans must also give something, even if he doesn’t want to, he knows he’ll be forced to do it in the future.
But if he wants to survive, he knows from YouTube videos that there’s a relatively large city with its own army that will stand firm and strong, expanding.
Ethan plans to create the same.
And knowing the type of group leader he might encounter in the near future, Ethan will need a lot of people and power on his side to have a voice.
The problem is that too many people will result in the need for a democracy.
But he will stand out; he will need to improve his Charisma even further.
Ethan has plans and goals.
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PART 2
Everyone eats and is satisfied.
With the four prepared, Jacob, Jerome’s eldest son, volunteers to help.
“No!” – Jerome refuses without hesitation.
“But Dad!” – Jacob shouts at his father’s refusal.
“No arguments, it’s dangerous, period!” – Jerome crosses his arms.
Ethan observes and says, “I think we can take him.”
“What?!” – Jerome frowns, Jacob smiles.
“Listen to my point and make the decision, I won’t interfere any further than that.” – Ethan says calmly.
“We’re short-staffed, we have six officers who can fight on the front lines, a few extra men, but they don’t have the proven ability or courage to fight on the front lines.
Your son is young, only 17, but he has the will and, frankly, he’s more than most.”
“I don’t want him wielding a weapon and fighting, nothing like that.
He’s going to stay inside the truck, which is like a tank, and he’s not going to get out for any reason.
He’s going to go, learn, and see how things are.
Whether he likes it or not, he’ll have to accept the world as it is now; it’s the world he’s going to live in, and even if I’m not a father, I think if I were, I’d want to prepare my son for a scenario where I’m not in it.” – Ethan says.
Jerome growls, glaring at his son and closing his eyes.
“Are you thinking this madness?” – Kate stares at her husband.
– “You’re not taking my son to that hell!”
Ethan stepped back; he dropped the bomb.
– “I will!” – Jacob says firmly.
– “What Uncle Ethan said makes sense; the world is getting worse every day, these things, whether you like it or not, I’m going to live here now, I’m going to have to fight, survive, and it won’t just be me.”
“Okay!” – Jerome growls.
“You’re going in our car, but you’re not getting out unless I authorize it, understand?!”
“Yes, sir.” Jacob smiles.
Kate growls and, stomping her foot, returns to the clinic.
“Sorry about that,” Ethan says.
“But in my mind, it’s good that we’re all prepared for the worst… when we have more ammunition and security, I even plan to teach the younger ones and others how to shoot.”
Jerome stares at him and nods.
“Just… don’t run over me again.”
Ethan nods, even though he doesn’t think he ran over him.
…
The trucks enter the city, vehicles leave, heading to Atlanta or somewhere else.
Perhaps some of the news that’s playing on the radio.
Clark told him about it, but Ethan ignored it, saying that the military shouldn’t have the capacity to accommodate thousands of people who may or may not be a ticking time bomb.
Going there is asking for disaster.
Anyway, the gun shop near the police station is the first objective.
Because of what they did yesterday, they dragged a horde to the edge of town, they should still be there.
Here, they observe shops and diners with their windows smashed, mutilated corpses surrounded by jewelry or money, killed while looting.
Markets are where there are the most zombies.
Ethan gets out and says, “Keep an eye on this, I’ll check inside and call if I need help… and get your son out, I don’t want him to vomit in the back seat.”
Jerome nods.
…
Ethan enters the gun shop and knows what’s inside.
With an axe in hand, he’s stronger since artificially reaching Fitness Level 5.
Bang!
A skull is pierced and with one movement, Ethan sheathes the embedded axe and retrieves it instantly.
He tested this today and is happy it works.
Moving forward, a zombie lunges at him and Ethan plunges his axe into its face, sheathing it, turning, drawing it and kicking the zombie’s torso before plunging it into its forehead.
Three dead, Ethan sees two more.
Axe in hand, Ethan advances fearlessly, extending the axe, its point in the chest of one of them, Ethan redirects it, forcing it back and when the force ceases, the zombie falls.
Ethan raises his leather boot, then crushes the limp skull.
Even though they are recent zombies, it seems that the skulls, one of the strongest bones in the body, become relatively fragile.
Or he is too strong.
Whatever the case, the last zombie is down without problems.
But frowning, Ethan walks to the back, finding a zombie dead, but not by his own hands.
But besides the zombie, he found an old acquaintance, terrified with several holes in his torso and neck; he’s the owner of the gun shop.
Ethan’s attention goes to the stairs; he stealthily climbs them, a door which opens easily, and he enters the second floor, a small, simple house.
He can hear a faint cry, along with effort and moans.
Approaching and using [Radar Sense], Ethan reaches a room where two men are having fun with a woman who certainly doesn’t want any of this.
Ethan pulls out a silenced pistol.
“Oh-shit!” – One of them shouts in ecstasy, and Ethan shoots before they can plead.
Piercing their heads and gaining +10 EXP for this trash.
Ethan looks at the screaming woman who cowers.
He grabs a cloth and covers her, revealing his badge.
“You’re safe now.
They won’t hurt you anymore,” Ethan says calmly, smiling as gently as possible.
Arthur arrives.
“Ethan, are you okay?!”
“Yes.” Ethan nods, looking at him, and Arthur freezes at the scene, growling.
“Animals!”
“Okay, get out,” Ethan says.
“Now!”
Arthur nods and refuses.
“Start transporting the weapons and ammunition,” Ethan says without looking at him.
“What’s your name?” Ethan focuses on the woman and begins to reassure her.
…
Ethan takes the woman away a while later and puts her in the truck.
At the same time, he starts helping with the transport, bringing Jacob along while Jerome keeps an eye on the streets.
They fill the trucks with everything they find.
The place wasn’t heavily looted; it was probably infested, given the nearby war at the police station next door.
The zombies inside naturally deterred anyone who wanted to loot the place.
So there are still many good things here, not to mention that using the store owner’s keys, his warehouse has even more weapons and ammo boxes.
“We’ll need more trips to transport everything,” Ethan says as he locks the warehouse.
The return trip begins.
…
They unload and return to the city.
– “We’ve already secured one of the gun shops, let’s see the next one,” he says on the radio.
They soon head to the next location.
But they stop; there are too many zombies in the streets, and it’s obvious the store is infested.
– “Retreat, we can recover things here in the future; it’s not worth it now.”
…
The next destination is the schools.
First, a high school.
Every young person in the city comes here.
Many zombies, but Ethan, observing, says… – “I’m going to jump over the wall and see what it’s like inside.”
<> “Are you crazy?” – Arthur’s voice comes from the radio.
“Maybe.
But I’ll see if it’s worth shooting or not and… I don’t want them to see what’s inside.
I think I can handle it.” – Ethan says, and only silence answers him.
“Kid, don’t leave your father’s side, understand?” – Ethan stares at Jacob and then gets out of the vehicle, waving to the other.
– “Get out of here and wait for my call.” – He says on the radio and starts running.
He reaches the wall and jumps, grabbing it, and with Level 5 Strength along with Fitness, he stands up without difficulty.
Sitting on the wall and looking inside, everything seems calm, but closing his eyes and expanding his senses, he smiles.
…
Ethan jumps and runs to the main building.
There are many zombies that haven’t come out into the courtyard, since the doors are closed.
Ethan used a shotgun to shoot, attract them, and make them come out.
With the doors open and, of course, chasing him.
Ethan looks out the windows of the upper floor; men, women, and young people stare at him.
“Wait!
I’ll figure out how to clear this place and rescue you!” Ethan shouts, even knowing that most of them will be extra mouths to feed, young people who can be properly molded into survivors.
Grabbing the radio, he says, “There are people on the second floor, but the first floor is full of these things.
I’ll spread them out into the courtyard; I’ll let you know as soon as it’s time to move.”
<> “Understood.”
Pow!
Pow!
Pow!
More of them invade, those in the streets are drawn in, including those further away.
<> “Ethan, more are coming, the situation is only getting worse.”
“I know.
But I have a plan.” – Ethan stops shooting and draws his axe.
He advances and with the first firm blow, his Skill [Axe] reaches Level 2, muscle memory flooding his body and his grip becoming firmer.
Ethan kicks the infected, knocking them down.
If they try to surround him, his shotgun fires and pushes them away.
He circles them and concentrates them.
Shooting into the mass, he manages to take down several.
His axe just adds a special touch.
As for being surprised from behind?
Impossible.
He drags the corpses until he reaches the wall, then jumps and climbs onto it.
He looks in both directions and picks up the radio.
“You can start.
I managed to lure as many of them as possible inside and into the yard; there should be very few left in the corridors.
Find a way to block the entrances to the yard… actually, I think we can use one of the trucks to block the entrance, then just exterminate what’s inside, and with the rifles, it should be possible to reduce their numbers.”
“But… damn, so many options, but all very dangerous.
Let’s play it safe, use our weapons and let’s annihilate those outside, then we’ll deal with what’s inside, okay?”
With the other party’s confirmation, Ethan aims outside, knowing that these things don’t jump or climb, not to mention that the wall is relatively high and thick.
He begins to aim and fire below.
In a short time, the trucks arrive.
Jerome and Hudson are at the windows with AR-15s, Jacob and Arthur drive slowly as they pass and unload their ammunition.
<> “Uncle Ethan, Dad said we’re going to lure a lot of them away from you, so we left a box of ammo and more guns on the corner.
Pick them up when you come down.”
“Thank you.” – Ethan replies and waits while they honk their horns and move as far away as possible from those things.
When an opening appears, Ethan jumps down, lands on the ground, and immediately starts running.
– ‘Today’s going to be one of those days.’ – Ethan smiles and draws his axe.
PART 3
Ethan has an AR-15 in hand.
He stowed everything in his inventory and began firing mercilessly, obliterating the zombies ahead.
Ran out of ammo?
Reload and that’s it.
He continues to obliterate everything in his path.
Because of him, the horde that Jerome and the others had pulled began to split up.
But Ethan didn’t think much and returned to the wall.
The zombies were still concentrated on the walls and smiling; he begins shooting them in the head.
Easy targets.
Grabbing the radio.
– “Run around the blocks, spread out as much of this stuff as possible and clear what you can.
Avoid short streets and don’t get trapped.
If the concentration increases, expand the area, I’ll take care of this.”
<> “Will you be okay alone?”
“I survived yesterday’s pandemonium and even saved 3 people, can I survive this?” – Ethan taunts, and even though he’s scared, he just puts a cigarette in his mouth and keeps shooting.
He shoots so much that his shoulders soon start to ache, but he continues.
Headshots explode with every shot.
They’re so densely focused, he rarely misses.
Here it’s no longer about survival, but about grinding.
He just needs time to annihilate all of this.
Ethan expected that when he reached 200 zombie kills, it would trigger another milestone, but no.
He needs to reach 500 kills to get another reward.
Grunting, he soon receives a notification and [Aiming] has reached Level 5.
His first Skill to reach Level 5, but it’s understandable, headshots double the EXP gained.
And consecutive kills also influence bonus EXP.
In the middle of the carnage – “Hey, buddy!” A scream comes and Ethan glances down the street; two men with pistols and a shotgun are killing zombies.
“Need help?” one of them shouts.
“No, but you can join my friends, we’re clearing the streets of these things.
Do you hear the horns?
Get away from here, you know the park?
I’ll ask them to get you there!” Ethan shouts, and they nod.
Ethan speaks on the radio, and Jerome says he’ll take care of it.
Minutes later, Jerome reports that he’s caught the two men, who are now shooting from the back.
More hands with weapons and ammunition means more zombies dead.
Less EXP for Ethan, but he couldn’t care less.
This isn’t a game.
…
Time passes, soon hours.
Ethan is exhausted; his arms feel like they’re going to fall off after shooting so much.
But somehow, reaching 339 zombie kills, those visible in the courtyard are annihilated.
The bodies outside the school are still there, but the vans are coming to clean up, the numbers are much lower.
Putting everything away, he crawls, moves away from the pile of bodies, climbs down and, grunting, advances towards the main building.
At that moment, one of the windows is broken.
“Here, officer!” – One of them shouts and Ethan sees a ladder coming down.
He wasn’t expecting it, but he accepted and climbed.
Upon entering, he looks at the young people who look at him with enormous admiration and respect.
Ethan begins to take off his shirt, to the surprise of many, then, with his torso bare, a large and toned body, truly handsome, but his shoulders red with purple undertones.
He takes out a kit he brought with him, explaining nothing and simply begins to treat himself.
– “Let me help, I’m the school nurse.” – A blonde woman in her 30s kneels down.
Ethan thanks her and relaxes, picking up the radio he says.
– “How are things out there?”
<> “Out?
Did you manage to get in?”
“Yes, I’m already counting 30 people and there must be more, maybe 50 to 60.”
<> “Good to know.
We’re handling things out here without difficulty, any order?”
“I’ll check the situation here, see if there are any infected people and… deal with it.
I’ll clean the school and barricade what’s possible.
In 2 hours, stop what you’re doing and leave, return to base and come back tomorrow.
I’ll take care of it from here.”
<> “Are you sure?”
“Yes.
I don’t want you shooting in the middle of the night, with poor visibility.
A horde of these things will gather and you’ll be killed, I don’t want that.
Continue for another 2 hours and return.”
…
Ethan asks for a minute to rest, he drinks water and eats a cereal bar, noticing that everyone is starving; they must be getting water from the bathrooms.
“The cafeteria has been overrun by these things?” Ethan asks.
“Yes, sir, officer.” – Says an older woman, whom Ethan recognizes as the director.
“I believe I’ve dealt with about 150-200 of these things so far, but there must still be many lost inside.
I’ll recover and go out tonight to clean the place.
I’ll try to close the entrances and at night, maybe we can deal with these empty stomachs.” – Ethan says.
“Need help?” – A young, strong black man volunteers.
“No.” – Ethan nods.
– “I’m grateful for your willingness to help; it shows you’re a brave young man, but courage in the moment will kill you.
In time I can teach you, but now, I’m going to rest, and we can see about the future later.”
“Sir, what is all this?
What happened to these people and… why did you kill them all?” – A young woman asked deeply, tears still streaming down her face.
“I… killed their parents or friends, right?” – Ethan said and sighed.
– “I have contacts at the CDC, an organization that deals with diseases, practically military.
All the infected people are dead.
The virus that transforms them into this first kills them with a powerful infection and fever that fries their brains, then reanimates their bodies with reduced functions, but they are immune to pain, they can fight even without a heart, with exposed guts, or even just with their heads… yes, even decapitated, their heads still move.”
“Your friends and families, if you saw this, are already dead.
And now, anyone who was bitten or scratched, please identify yourselves, you need to be isolated.” – Ethan says.
“They already are.” – A girl says.
– “They were getting sick, so we put them in one of the rooms and locked them in…”
At her words, everyone is silent; it must have been visceral.
“Okay, I’ll take care of it.” – Ethan says.