DS Chapter 4

Was my life over now? All of this was Logan’s fault. If I had just stayed in the city, none of this would have happened. I continued to move busily, weighed down by my worries.

I loaded the back seat with food. Meanwhile, Logan had filled an empty gas canister and placed it in the trunk. We couldn’t run out of gas if we returned to the city.

“Logan, let’s go. I’ve got everything.”

The wind blew across the empty fields, and a tumbleweed rolled by, unsettling me for no reason. I quickly jumped into the passenger seat. Being inside the car eased my fears somewhat.

Logan took a quick look around before getting in.

Thud.

The sound of the door closing echoed, and Logan started the engine.

“Where are we going?”

Before I could finish my question,

“Raaahhh—!!!”

Something burst out from the bushes.

“Ahhh!!”

I screamed in fright, and whatever it was that charged at us clung to the window.

Two zombies—one of them was the man from the sports car.

When had he turned into a zombie? He had left with the hood wide open, and now he was attacking us! My spine tingled with fear.

Only then could I fully see the identity of the zombie.

The once-human figure now had grayish skin, and its bluish veins stood out prominently.

What was most bizarre was its wide, black pupils that dilated like a beast, and its erratic behavior when it spotted a human.

The zombie scratched at the window with its claws, mouth agape, as if wanting to devour me.

I was paralyzed by the horrific sight, unable to move.

What on earth was that? What was that terrifying creature? Why had a person who had seemed normal just moments ago transformed like that?

Had a true movie-style zombie just appeared?

At that moment, Logan nudged my shoulder.

“Lean back in your seat.”

As I fumbled to recline the seat, he cracked the window slightly.

“What are you doing?!”

A putrid smell and animal-like sounds flooded in through the open window. What were we going to do if the zombie got in?!

While I was panicking, Logan calmly leaned over and aimed his gun at the gap in the window. Then,

Bang—!!

Bang—!!!

The sound of gunfire rang out twice.

A bullet pierced the head of the zombie clinging to the window, and two more zombies, once moving vigorously, collapsed, spewing blood.

They died instantly. It was a clean and uneventful end. With my hand still pressed to my chest, I could only mouth the words.

‘They’re dead. I killed them all without a second thought.’

Unlike my frozen state, Logan calmly checked the remaining bullets and muttered indifferently.

“We’ll need to conserve ammo.”

He pocketed the gun and pressed the pedal. We quickly sped away from the gas station.

Before we got too far, I looked back one last time. The flickering yellow sign of the old gas station, the bodies—or zombies—rolling on the cement floor.

Unlawful discharge of a firearm without a license, on top of charges of being a bystander and theft. How many crimes have we committed now? But the zombies attacked us first, so it’s self-defense. We’re innocent.

As that thought crossed my mind, my pounding heart slowly began to calm down.

I straightened up in my seat and asked again.

“So, where are we going now?”

Logan glanced at me, raising an eyebrow. He looked a bit surprised.

“What? Is there something on my face?”

“Not really… You just seem calmer than me.”

He exhaled a shallow breath and shook his head.

Am I really calmer than him, even though he’s the one who just killed zombies without batting an eye? I pursed my lips, feeling uncertain.

“That can’t be right.”

I’m so shocked I’m about to pass out.

Anyway, that wasn’t the point. The important thing was, where exactly are we headed?

A road sign zipped past us. The nearest city, Dell, was still 42 kilometers away.

There were four roads connecting the poor little city of Camden, and heading south towards Dell meant we were taking the least traveled route. In the chaos, I hadn’t even realized which direction we’d fled.

With other roads blocked, we might run into soldiers if we kept going a bit further.

When I shot Logan a glance, his lips parted and he finally spoke.

“I was thinking we could head towards Lake Radier. What do you think?”

“Hmm. Not a bad idea.”

It’s a place surrounded by low mountains and a swampy lake. At night, it’s eerily quiet and the perfect setting for ghost stories. Lots of creepy rumors surround the lake, like people going missing or bodies floating to the surface.

I nodded in agreement, and soon enough, Logan turned the car off the main road.

* * *

The road came to an abrupt end in front of the lake.

It seemed like we couldn’t drive any further, but Logan still pushed the car along the bumpy dirt path. He only turned off the engine after parking behind a container, likely used as a storage shed.

“Let’s wait until the sun comes up.”

It’s already dawn. The thought made a wave of exhaustion hit me all at once. My eyes felt dry and sore as I rubbed them, and Logan, noticing, reclined my seat back.

“If you’re tired, you can sleep.”

“You should rest too.”

“One of us should stay awake, just in case.”

“Then I’ll keep watch. I took plenty of naps earlier, so I’m still fine.”

Even with his eyes closed, Logan couldn’t fall asleep for a long time. After everything that had happened, it wasn’t surprising.

As I waited for him to settle into steady breaths, I looked up at the sky, which was slowly brightening.

The lake, which had looked like a pitch-black swamp during the night, was beginning to take on a faint blue hue. Gentle ripples lapped at the shore.

The mist-covered lake at dawn wasn’t half bad. Even with the dull ache of fatigue throbbing in my head, I could still appreciate the scenery.

No matter how chaotic people become, the sun still rises without a care. It’ll probably be the same even if the world ends.

But, when is the military going to show up? When are they planning to deal with the city’s problems? Maybe they’ll move when the sun fully rises?

The whole city is burning, and yet they’re being so slow.

For the military to resolve the city’s issues, they’ll have to come through the road we took. But so far, there’s been no sign of them.

* * *

I dozed off. The scorching sunlight on my face and the loud voices woke me up.

“Gasp.”

I felt the sensation of the ground slipping beneath me as I opened my eyes.

Wait, I was supposed to keep watch, wasn’t I? Did something happen while I was asleep?

I looked around frantically, but thankfully, I was still in the car.

The sun was already up, and Logan was awake, listening to the radio. Feeling embarrassed, I wiped my mouth with my sleeve and looked at him.

“Looks like I dozed off for a second.”

Logan had a serious expression, his brows furrowed deeply. At first, I thought he was mad that I had fallen asleep, but that didn’t seem to be the case.

[The zombie virus that started in Camden is spreading rapidly. As the virus spreads to nearby cities, the authorities are urgently conducting rescue operations. Emergency responders and soldiers have been deployed in Michigan, but long lines of citizens fleeing to other cities continue to form.

Despite the highways connected to Michigan being blocked, the evacuation vehicles are completely clogging the roads.

Experts warn that those who come into contact with an infected person must be isolated immediately. The virus’s incubation period ranges from a minimum of 1 hour to a maximum of 24 hours, and once seizures begin, abnormal behavior can occur within minutes.

If you observe such abnormal behavior in an infected person, do not approach them and keep as far away as possible.]

When we fled, the advice was to stay safe inside our homes… but the situation had drastically changed since then.

It seemed that infected people had already made it out of Camden. With an incubation period of up to 24 hours, the infected could have easily traveled far by now.

But then…

“Why is it so quiet around here?”

Surely there must be people fleeing from Camden.

“I saw a few cars passing on the other road. Doesn’t look like anyone is coming toward the lake.”

Makes sense. The road here is cut off, so no one would have a reason to come this way.

The people fleeing were probably heading for other cities, though I doubted they’d be welcomed with open arms considering the incubation period.

“So, does that mean the military won’t come?”

There must still be a lot of people waiting for rescue in Camden. The previous broadcasts had told everyone to stay put in their safe homes.

“Probably not… now that even the major cities are at risk.”

With the virus spreading to the big cities, Camden had been abandoned. Even though the buildings were burning and the roads were a wreck, nothing had improved.

In fact, things had only gotten worse.

Just last night, I had been optimistic, thinking that everything would be resolved soon and we could go back home.

But now? Does that mean we can’t go home? What about our parents? Are they okay?

Has Dad made it back home? Would he be worried if there was no one there?