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🕑 Added 2025-05-19 09:07:11 +0000 UTCStay Alive
Chapter 34 – The Infected
As they moved away from the area where they had been earlier, Alan noticed that Raj wasn’t happy with the decision that had been made, so he said, “The infected were setting up an ambush. We managed to escape thanks to the fog still being thick.”
As expected, Raj shivered when Alan said this and asked, “Was it a nest?”
“Looks like it…” Tommy was about to say more when suddenly they saw a man being pushed to the ground and bitten on the neck by an infected.
Alan crouched down along with the others, and they waited. In the best case, there were still survivors who could intervene. However, if no one alive remained to help, intervention wasn’t part of their plan.
In a short time, that man turned into an infected and ran off, leaving a backpack with his belongings on the ground.
“We take that backpack and get out of here.” Alan aimed the holographic sight of his rifle toward the spot where the man had been killed earlier, and seeing everything clear, he gave the order.
Raj went ahead, grabbed the backpack, and quickly returned.
“Let’s get back to the others.”
…
Across the street, Joel was leading another group of survivors whose sole mission was to search for food.
“This damn fog is only just starting to clear.” Joel said, clearly annoyed by the thick fog surrounding them.
“Maybe it’s because of the bombings; nature is reacting.” Edward said, though he really had no idea what was causing the fog.
“Alright, let’s move.”
Carlos nodded and carefully began walking toward their target, which was actually a food store.
Joel thought for a moment and told the others: “You can’t carry much. Don’t forget that everyone has to carry a backpack.”
Everyone obeyed his orders because Joel had much more survival experience than the others. He knew perfectly well that carrying lots of supplies and running were two things that couldn’t be combined, so they had to find a balance in order not to die.
They were not far from a van that was almost full of supplies.
When they were sure there were no infected nearby, the group usually made these big trips.
Half of the supplies were stored in locations near where the weapons were kept, so they would have places to turn to for help when in trouble.
Alan knew those supplies would be taken when he returned to a military base, so for now, he was gathering as much as he could and training the people around him.
“Bring everything back.” Joel was guarding the perimeter along with Edward while the rest carried everything toward the van.
Edward looked at his watch and reminded Joel with a worried tone, “It’s time to leave, Joel.”
“They haven’t communicated.” Joel said, looking at the radio in his hand.
“Maybe there are too many infected in their area; we shouldn’t try to contact them.”
“Yeah, maybe…” Joel was worried about his brother but knew he could take care of himself. Besides, Alan was with him, so his chances of survival were high.
At that moment, Joel noticed that the men who had left a while ago stopped making noise.
Everything seemed normal, but Joel felt that something was wrong.
“They’re in danger.”
“Who?”
“Our group.”
Arghhhh!
Far from them, a growl was heard followed by many more.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Immediately afterward, the sound of what was used as a last resort was heard. That meant only one thing—they were surrounded, and whoever fired was on the brink of death.
Edward didn’t know what was happening, but he still ran after Joel.
“Prepare your weapons.”
At that moment, Edward stopped, pointed into the distance, and said, “No, let’s go back.”
“What?”
“Large groups of infected are forming. We’re scattered, and we don’t know who’s still alive.”
Joel could see better now that the fog was lifting, and at that moment, countless infected began bursting out of buildings.
Their bodies shattered glass as they fell onto vehicles, trying to reach the people who were shooting.
“Let’s go.”
Carlos, who was running, shouted, “They came out of hundreds of buildings. There was nothing there, but suddenly they swarmed like a hive.”
“Shut up, let’s get out of here now.” Joel said, looking around, hoping not to walk into an ambush.
