Ch.46Chapter 6. The Price of a Name (11)

We were in the final stretch. Now that Camila had finished her part, all that was left was my job: “retreat to a safe place and return when the situation is clear.”

Neither Camila nor I had ever driven a bus, which was problematic. Fortunately, among the people we rescued was a truck driver. While I kept watch, Camila drove the bus with the man’s guidance.

“Instead of ramming into them head-on, try pushing them gently and running them over, like you’re gradually crushing them.”

“Got it.”

Crunch.

Rather than shooting, we pushed and ran over zombies as we escaped the country club. Thankfully, the bus was sturdy. We struggled a bit clearing the barricade at the shopping center exit, but we managed to escape safely.

Some zombies followed us, but they eventually wandered off toward more colorful sights and louder noises. A grand festival—or rather, a mass funeral—was taking place at the main building.

The main building looked like earthworms writhing on wet pavement, covered in black ants. That was my last glimpse of it.

We drove down the road between hills. I stopped the bus in a suitable clearing hidden by trees and turned off the engine.

“Look at that.”

The light between the curtains gradually faded. Darkness slowly devoured the sky. It was a flock of zombie crows. They seemed to be flocking toward the fire at the country club. Long, black feathers fell like snowflakes.

The world’s sounds were suddenly cut off. Only the faint fluttering of wings remained.

The flock of birds took flight again as the sun began to set. They retraced their path exactly. I wondered if those creatures had homes too, and what those homes might look like.

“What do we do now?” Camila whispered.

“Let’s go back up,” I answered without hesitation.

“Are you serious?”

“Actually, now might be the safest time.”

With the birds gone, the zombies must have either died or hidden somewhere. The remaining gang members would be gathered at the main clubhouse, quite far from the hotel, and surrounded by zombies with no chance to come here.

Besides, we couldn’t take all these people with us.

Camila and I were exhausted, but the rescued people might die if they slept in the bus. They were weak from prolonged malnutrition and abuse. They were all shivering after being drenched with water.

By comparison, the hotel had clean running water and provided towels and clothes. I wasn’t sure how long the emergency generator would last, but it seemed to be providing electricity for now.

Most importantly…

“We finally raided a decent place, so we should take what we need before leaving. It would be a waste, right? There are plenty of working cars. And lots of supplies to gather.”

“Johan, won’t this smoke be visible from far away? What if someone comes?”

“Anyone who can see this smoke would have seen the flying birds too. Those creatures that devour everything in sight are probably unable to breathe right now.

And the zombies are likely still scattered in the nearby forest. They’re hiding from the birds now, but they’ll act as our guards.”

Instead of answering, Camila placed her hand on my forehead. Then she pulled my eyelids open and checked my pulse on the side of my neck.

“What are you doing?”

“Checking if you’re sick.”

“I’m fine. Just tired.”

“…Let’s exercise together. It hurt me to see you stumbling earlier. I’ll train you rigorously.”

I thought I heard something strange at the end.

“You’ll do what?”

“Huh? What?”

Maybe I misheard.

The bus headed back up. We moved cautiously with guns aimed at the windows. Bodies with exposed white bones were scattered on the road. Some vehicles were still burning.

A lone zombie crow, unaware that all its friends had flown away, took off with a screech. It was huge—about 50cm long with a wingspan of around 1m. No wonder it could carry off a human head.

Black smoke was rising from the main building as well. The entire structure was on fire. I could almost smell the acrid odor from here. Occasional booms echoed in the distance.

In contrast, the hotel area was quiet. Though it was a four-story building, the first floor housed the lobby and café, so only three floors were used for accommodations.

“I’ll go check it out.”

Camila grabbed me as I tried to get up.

“No. I’ll go. You stay here.”

Her gaze was so determined it was almost intimidating, as if saying “I know the layout and can get back quickly” wouldn’t be a good response.

“Uh, okay.”

Camila, her face flushed, grabbed a gun and ran out. I heard small laughs from behind me, though they stopped when I turned around.

“I’m turning on the heater. Please bear with the smell.”

Since the bus engine was already running, turning on the heater wouldn’t be a problem. Warm air spread throughout. From inside, I could hear faint gunshots.

After a while, Camila returned safely.

“It’s cleaner than I expected.”

“What was that gunshot?”

“Oh, there was a zombie on the stairs to the third floor.”

“Any people?”

“None.”

“Then let’s go. Everyone, please stay still for a moment.”

We passed through the lobby, full of graffiti and broken glass, and went up to the second floor. Rooms lined both sides of the corridor. We checked each room for zombies. They were either single or double rooms.

“Hmm. Ugh.”

Some rooms were incredibly messy. I never understood why people smoked in hotel rooms.

Other rooms were filled with adult items. Seeing the blood stains on the floor, I could guess what had happened. Camila locked the door with a sad expression on her face.

“Ahem. Manager?”

“What?”

Camila looked at me in surprise. I pretended not to notice.

“We have reservations. How many rooms should we book?”

She chuckled and gave my chest a light push.

“…One room per person. With 17 people, we need 18 rooms.”

It sounded so natural I almost missed it.

“Shouldn’t it be 19 if you and I get separate rooms?”

“Are you speaking informally to the manager?”

Camila put her hands on her hips.

“I’m sorry.”

“You and I need to keep our doors open and take turns keeping watch. What? Were you planning to sleep comfortably?”

Now she was even lifting my chin slightly with her fingertip.

“No, ma’am.”

“Heh.”

“Is that funny?”

“No. Just do better from now on.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.”

Camila bent over laughing, even shedding a few tears.

* * * * *

We made temporary stretchers and carried people one by one. Wondering what food to give them, I distributed chocolate, candy, and water.

It was awkward to cook anything, and even if I did, they probably couldn’t digest it. Giving them sugar seemed better.

“Thank you… thank you.”

Their parched lips moved weakly, and their swollen eyes couldn’t even produce tears. But there was a strange vitality in these people’s movements.

“You must be hungry, but we don’t have proper food for patients. Maybe some porridge…”

“No. That would make us hungrier.”

I looked at the man in surprise. He smiled broadly, despite his swollen gums and separated teeth—typical signs of malnutrition.

“Strange, isn’t it? Everyone said that. Eating makes you hungrier. So we learned to ration our food. Instead, we recited prayers.”

“What kind of prayers?”

“Prayers to the Goddess of Hunger. Without faith, we couldn’t have survived.”

“I see.”

There wasn’t much else to say.

The water was neither hot nor cold, just lukewarm, but with shampoo and soap, washing wasn’t a problem.

The people insisted on doing this themselves, not wanting to be a burden anymore. Men bathed with men, women with women.

It took some time, but they all managed to help each other bathe and dry off. In their robes, they looked relatively comfortable.

An older man and woman were carefully examining the others’ bodies. They said they had worked as nurses at this resort for a long time.

“There are no bite marks. There are scratches that were exposed to dirty water, but no signs of infection. However, some disinfectant would be good, just in case.”

“I’ll get the first aid kit. I saw one in the hallway.”

Camila quickly stood up. I suddenly became curious.

“Sir, I know that contact with infected saliva or blood can cause transmission, but is it possible to get infected from water… mixed with those?”

Both I and these patients had been exposed to the dirty water on the first floor of the shopping center—water mixed with zombie blood, human blood, dust, and dirt. The man answered calmly.

“I’m not a doctor, but according to what I know and the infection control guidelines we received, no such cases have been reported.

As you know, before this entire region was declared an unprotected zone, infection control guidelines were issued first.”

“What did they say specifically?”

The woman answered instead.

“Saliva and blood entering the body have a high probability of infection. However, it’s not airborne, and when mixed with large amounts of water or other liquids, the virus is diluted, so the risk of infection is virtually non-existent.

That’s true for most viruses, unless it’s a waterborne disease like dysentery or salmonella. Moreover, in our case, the water wasn’t stagnant but flowing, which further reduces the possibility. Tetanus is more concerning.”

I felt relieved. I had no wounds on my face, and my eyes and mouth were tightly closed, so there was little chance of the virus entering through mucous membranes. Camila had also scrubbed my face so hard she nearly tore the skin off.

“By the way, thank you.”

The couple bowed to me. I felt awkward but just nodded.

“You are the one sent to us by the Goddess of Hunger.”

“Me?”

That seemed a bit grandiose. But the man’s eyes looked firm. The kind of determination that comes from leaning on something solid.

“The survivors prayed, and prayed, and fasted while waiting. Those cruel oppressors were actually pleased that we saved food, but we didn’t see it that way. We thought we were offering it to the hungry Goddess. And finally, we gained our freedom.”

“…Ah, your doctrine must be quite old.”

“What’s the point of hiding it now? The Goddess faith is a tradition of Elza. I believe that faith will finally save us. As proof, you came here. With a beautiful woman. Come to think of it, are you two lovers?”

This guy’s drift skills are impressive.

“No.”

“Ah, then you must be married.”

“Why is the conversation going in that direction?”

The older man burst into laughter, and the woman even showed subtle expectation.

“We’re just in a business relationship.”

When I emphasized this firmly, the older woman asked again.

“Does the lady think so too?”

I turned around to see Camila holding the first aid kit. She had raised one eyebrow.

“That’s right. We have a very, very strict business relationship. We’re nothing to each other.”

But why did she hit me on the head before walking away?

* * * * *

Camila and I took the room at the very end, closest to the stairs. On the opposite side, we locked the fire door in the corridor securely and piled up furniture to create a defensive wall. It would be impenetrable unless a bear tried to break through.

As a precaution, we wedged mop handles with towels tied to them in the door cracks of each room. Since the people weren’t very mobile, this was a signal to shake the stick if there was a problem.

If zombies attacked, they could just pull the handle inside and close the door.

Back in the room, I put down my gun and took off my shoes, releasing a terrible smell. Camila was in the same situation, but it was still embarrassing.

“You shower first. I’ll put away the equipment and check on the patients.”

Camila stomped into the living room. Was my foot odor that bad?

“Why are you back?”

Without answering, Camila flung open the closet on the opposite side of the shower. All the robes and towels were there.

She roughly opened the drawers under the closet and pulled out soap, shampoo, conditioner, and cosmetics. She glanced at me and pouted.

“I came to find tissues. Why?”

She yanked open a lower drawer and then slammed it shut. It was loud enough to hurt my ears. Camila’s face was turning red again today.

“Did you hurt your finger? Why is your face so red…?”

There was no need to look at me like I was crazy when I hadn’t asked anything strange.

“Just hurry up and shower, you stink!”

She stormed back to the living room without finding the tissues. Wondering what was wrong, I opened the drawer. There was a small paper box with something written on it. <Excellent comfort, ultra-thin…> I slammed it shut too.

“Ahem. Ahem.”

Well, we’re keeping the door open anyway, so what could possibly happen?