Ch.174Chapter 20. Patriot (26)

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The road between the Southern and Western Districts, which was said to have been ravaged by a rampaging elephant, was surprisingly clean. This was because the upper echelons of the Order had commanded, “Clean the roads even if you have to mobilize heavy equipment like bulldozers.”

Debris the size of vehicles could easily become cover. That meant it would be easier for gang members to break through. From the Order’s perspective, where engaging in combat to block them was already a loss, it was important not to give them any opportunity.

“We were the ones who did that cleanup work, you see. We had such terrible flu that patrolling was difficult!”

Ellian, sitting in the passenger seat of Vehicle One, joked to Catherine in the back seat.

“My goodness, it was the worst body ache I’ve ever had! It was so painful that even the joints between my fingers were throbbing. Not just me, but everyone in our patrol unit too. Anyone who saw us might have thought we were turning into zombies. The only consolation, if you could call it that, was that we weren’t the only ones suffering.”

They say ‘even dogs don’t catch summer colds,’ but this flu with chills and high fever moved like a ghost among people despite the height of summer. Catherine, who had worked at Shelter 32, had seen many such patients and had even suffered from a mild case herself.

“Many others caught it too.”

“No, what I mean is it was worse than that. Can you imagine how noisy it was with bulldozers sweeping the roads? Many zombies died in the chaos, but those that were going to come still came.

But even those creatures were wrapping themselves up and shivering, coughing until their faces turned red, and sweating so much you’d think they were exhausted!”

This was like a joke. The kind that asks, ‘Zombies wander the streets rain or shine, but don’t they catch colds or pneumonia? At the very least, couldn’t they get heatstroke or frostbite?’

People now know that zombies seek shelter when the weather is too harsh, and that they can get heatstroke. Moreover, they’ve learned that zombies show remarkable recovery abilities and somehow manage to cling to life.

Some people held hope for the cold winter. They thought that when heavy snow falls and it becomes difficult to search for food, the zombie population would naturally decrease. With luck, zombies that survived the winter might suffer from frostbite.

‘If we can hold out until winter, that is.’

In the midst of these gloomy thoughts, a sign indicating entry into the “Central District” came into view.

“See that over there?”

Ellian pointed to a building outside the window. It was a two-story house with a spacious yard and low fences. It seemed to be in a residential area, as the surrounding houses had similar styles, though none were exactly the same.

“Was that your home?”

“Of course not. My dream was to earn enough money to buy a house there. Though I would have had to live for 30 years just breathing to earn that much. Ah, thinking about it makes me hungry. Let’s get some supplies.”

In unprotected zones, hunger comes for everyone. That’s why the Humvees were loaded with food. From military rations like MREs to instant foods that could be eaten simply by opening the package. They were all products from Kibele Company, famous for being tasteless, but at least the portions were generous enough to force down.

By the time the Humvee driver had finished eating a piece of bread, the first challenge approached.

“The road is blocked.”

Ellian wasn’t surprised. Catherine had warned them before departure. She had said that chain-collided vehicles were blocking the 8-lane road, and that finding a detour would be better than trying to break through.

“So, guide teacher, where should we go now?”

“Our target is the health center, Ellian. Not just any health center, but the one inside the retirement community. I think following the outer road all the way would be the most straightforward.”

“You don’t like alleys, do you?”

“In alleys or narrow roads, if you get blocked from front and back, you’re trapped and dead. Even if it means taking a detour, larger roads give us options to find alternative routes. I can’t guarantee 100% certainty, but still.”

It made sense. Ellian ordered the vehicle to turn around. Before they had gone even 300 meters, they spotted a cluster of zombies gathered for some reason. They were humanoid zombies; no animal types were visible.

“We’ll have to break through there.”

Catherine thought Ellian’s expression looked somewhat excited. Ellian grabbed the Humvee microphone and gave some instructions. Five Humvees lined up on either side of Vehicle One.

“Protrude!”

As Vehicle One moved to the front, the other vehicles formed a wedge formation. The soldier sitting next to Catherine grabbed the M60 machine gun mounted in the middle of the Humvee.

“Fire!”

Ratatata! Ratatata! The machine gunners didn’t waste bullets. If they fired recklessly, the guns would overheat, especially quickly on a summer day like this.

Besides, they needed to conserve ammunition. Most zombies couldn’t survive even one or two 7.62mm rounds. There was no reason to excitedly fire five rounds at just the zombie in front.

So the Humvees were advancing at a pace that seemed almost like walking speed. Already dozens of zombies had been killed, but even more were running from behind, howling.

“Reverse!”

As if on cue, all five Humvees rotated 180 degrees clockwise. The gunners also turned to face the rear.

“Disperse!”

The wedge formation changed to a / shape. Each Humvee drove as if the center line of the road was a guideline. The Humvee gunners only fired at zombies coming in their own lanes. The speed of the Humvees increased from a normal adult walking pace to something more like a jog.

“Just one or two more shakes and we’ll break through!”

Ellian shouted cheerfully. Her white teeth flashed against her tanned skin. Even to Catherine, it seemed like the zombie formation was about to collapse.

Throughout this, the gunners didn’t fire at the outermost lanes. Driving over piled corpses not only caused psychological aversion but also negatively affected the vehicle’s performance. It was much better to leave empty lanes and drive through those.

‘The situation is much worse than when we left.’

Catherine recalled the time they evacuated from the health center. There were many zombies then too, but they tended to gather where there was loud noise, making them easy to avoid. But now there seemed to be even more zombies than back then.

‘What’s the point of checking on a health center in this situation? Are they worried gang members broke in and stole medicine? Ridiculous.’

Suddenly, she wondered if she still hadn’t fully shed her military mindset. She was now a civilian affiliated with the Order, not a soldier. There was no reason she had to follow orders from above unconditionally…

– Weeeeee!

“Oh shit, what the hell!”

The harsh curse burst out. Startled by the sudden siren, a machine gunner fired wildly into the air.

– Air raid! Air raid! Citizens, please evacuate immediately to the nearest shelter! Air raid!

“What air raid?!”

Even the confident Ellian was flustered.

“Cease fire and head to the underpass on the left, quickly!”

Catherine shouted sharply. In a normal situation, someone might have questioned going underground in this situation, but the disoriented Ellian radioed, “Cease fire, everyone move to the underpass!”

Thump. Thump. Thump!

The footsteps were loud enough to feel inside the vehicle. It was the zombies. Those that had been hiding in buildings, shadows, and remote places all rushed out at once, shouting and fighting among themselves.

“Whew. Why the underpass?”

“…Zombies get excited when they hear sirens too. At times like this, it’s better to be out of sight. We’ll go back up when things quiet down.”

Catherine leaned back in her seat, catching her breath. A sigh of relief escaped involuntarily.

“Wow. That’s impressive.”

Even the driver expressed admiration. Shortly after, the siren stopped.

“But why was that siren going off in the first place? If it was this loud, it must have been heard in the Eastern and Southern Districts too.”

Catherine shared Ellian’s thoughts.

“Maybe the system short-circuited? The alert system itself is designed to operate on solar power for emergencies.”

This time the machine gunner answered. When Catherine looked at her with surprised eyes, she smiled sheepishly and said she knew that much as a low-level civil servant.

“At this rate, we won’t be able to shoot. I wonder when the commotion up there will die down…”

Ellian cut off her words and raised her hand. She whispered into the radio, “Everyone maintain silence. Keep low.” From the other side of the underpass, where light was pouring in, human shadows were cast.

Two. Three. Four or so. Their postures were awkward, and they seemed unsteady, as if limping. They were zombies.

“Don’t worry. The Humvee doors are sturdy and the windows are reinforced, so they definitely can’t break through. Just quietly close the top hatch.”

The gunner quietly stood up to push the hatch. But it wouldn’t close properly, perhaps due to rust. As her face reddened from the effort, Catherine helped her. It closed much more quietly.

“Shh. Quickly.”

Both the driver and Ellian reclined their seats. The gunner and Catherine in the back seat lay down sideways. A revolting stench wafted in.

“Grung. Kak.”

Thud. Zombies that had somehow come down touched the Humvee’s body.

“Kyaaak!”

Perhaps from touching the hot metal with bare hands, they became irritated. Other zombies approached the screaming ones.