Undead 08

Chapter 08

Eight o’clock in the evening.

The night was just starting, and the daylight had yet to disappear completely. Looking out of the window, the freeway had become a huge abandoned parking lot. The sound of zombie roaring could be heard from the wilderness.

Zhou Rong put his hands on the steering wheel, his eyes red, not saying a word.

Si Nan slipped into the front seat from the back compartment and was immediately greeted with a strong scent of nicotine. He couldn’t help coughing a little as he said, “Switch with me?”

Zhou Rong shook his head.

“You’ve been driving for too long.”

Zhou Rong still did not speak.

Si Nan fell silent for a moment before gently saying, “You can’t be like this, Rong Ge. The dozens of people in these two cars are counting on you. Who else can they rely on if you’re down as well? The car behind us has already changed drivers twice between Yan Hao and Chun Cao.”

“…… Driving a biodiesel-car isn’t easy.” Zhou Rong finally opened his mouth and spoke in a hoarse voice,”The road here is difficult and we have to hurry. The farther away we are from T city, the better.”

Si Nan was about to say something when the HT suddenly rang: “Calling the front car, calling the front car! Captain, our radio station is silent on this side, what about yours? ”

[T/N: handheld transceiver, or HT]

Zhou Rong’s expression changed and he quickly opened the car’s radio.

Countless sizzling noises flooded out.

-No shortwave signal.

The three soldiers in the back seat suddenly woke up as if they felt that something was wrong. They squeezed forward and instantly became alarmed upon seeing Zhou Rong’s ugly expression. The man had his hand raised as he called for their base, but like a fish disappearing in the ocean, there was no reply. The radio stayed silent except for the sizzling noises.

Zhou Rong stepped on the brakes and took a deep breath. He opened the car door and walked out.

The mini bus behind them stopped as well. The exhausted survivors were awakened from their sleep and began talking one after another.

Yan Hao and Chun Cao also jumped out of the car, their faces showing clear signs of fatigue. Zhou Rong  was in no mood for nonsense and told them bluntly: “We can’t connect to the base.”

The rest of the team approached them and stood beside Chun Cao, sharing a look of dread.

“…… There’s no sign of the nuclear bombs. I thought it was to be launched at eight?” someone said. “It’s eight o’clock now.”

“Maybe there’s been a change in the plan…”

“If the plan was changed, the base should have notified us.” Yan Hao interrupted Chun Cao and explained: “If it was changed to nine o’clock, the base would command us to save more people and more helicopters would have been sent here. What’s more, delaying the nuclear launch may cause the zombies from the city center to spread to the perimeter. The sooner the bomb is launched, the better.”

Si Nan walked from behind them and stopped two or three paces away, looking at them with his arms crossed.

There was a terrible thought rising in everyone’s hearts, but no one dared to talk or even move. It was like they were hoping that if they didn’t voice it out, the possibility of the terror in their minds would cease to exist as well.

The late autumn night was very cold and getting colder as the curtain of darkness gradually filled their surroundings. The yellow light of a street lamp flickered faintly from the railroad in the distance.

“Your base,” said the silent voice from behind them, “maybe something happened there.”

“Impossible!” Two or three special soldiers shouted at the same time.

“B Military District has complete facilities and is impregnable. During the virus outbreak, a large number of armed police guards were mobilized there, even a fly wouldn’t be able to slip in! And the national government, the commanders, all the survivors of the entire northern region, all of them are in there…!”

No one interrupted and Chun Cao’s sharp voice gradually weakened.

Si Nan looked at her: “Even the strongest fortress won’t be able to guard against an internal attack. Once the virus erupts from the inside, it’ll spread in an instant, you know this.”

All of them recalled the accident this afternoon with the four helicopters and shuddered.

“Yingjie,” Zhou Rong called out in a low voice, “report the location.”

The special force member named Zhang Yingjie was holding a tablet computer of unknown make in his hand, it was most likely a military product: “Once we bypass this road we’ll be 57 kilometers away from the outskirt of City B. The highway ahead is heavily congested, I suggest we take a detour to the industrial area which is eight kilometres away from where we are… ” he thought to himself: there may be survivors there.

Zhou Rong slowly said: “If the B City has really fallen, then it’ll be cleaned with nuclear bomb in two days at the latest. We can not go forward.”

The people on the bus couldn’t restrain themselves and peeked outside with hesitant eyes.

After a long period of contemplation, Zhou Rong finally made a decision: “We’ll camp here. Check our materials inventory and arrange accommodations for everyone.”

“Yan Hao,” he commanded, “list the names of the survivors and prepare shifts for the night.”

The wind was whistling and howling in all directions, almost like millions of souls were weeping to the sky.

Zhou Rong’s proper arrangements at the beginning of their escape immediately showed results. The minibus was piled with rice flour noodles, salted oil, canned meat, and warm clothing, all of which he brought himself from a box of supplies in the warehouse last night. Furthermore, there was also a little collection of knives, medications, and electric generators that he kept in the biodiesel-car of the special soldiers.

The survivors sat in groups of threes and fives and shared canned foods. From time to time, the sound of suppressed sobs and and mournful sighs could be heard. Si Nan sat on the biodiesel-car platform, picking up a bottle of yellow peach syrup. Zhou Rong came over and put two antipyretic tablets into his mouth.

Zhou Rong’s hand held a taste of smoke, his fingertips were a bit salty and rough.

“Captain.” Yan Hao suddenly called out from the distance.

Zhou Rong had his head bowed, about to say something to Si Nan, but turned around when he heard Yan Hao. He waved to Si Nan and walked to his subordinate.

“There’s not much fuel left in the biodiesel car, we may have use ordinary diesel instead. We’re ready to go to the highway to raid the fuel tanks of the abandoned cars on the road. After we reach the industrial area in the morning, we’ll try to shoot a location signal to the military base. If City B hasn’t fallen completely, I’m sure someone will come to pick us up.”

The two men were walking shoulder to shoulder when Zhou Rong asked in a low voice, “How many people?”

“36 survivors. 30 men, six above 50, two under fifteen; six women, two are twenty, and four above 40. All are beta. ”

Yan Hao gulped and stood still:

“Of the special force members, there are six left. You, me, Chun Cao, Zhang Yingjie, Ding Shi, Guo Weixiang. Everyone else … is gone.”

The surroundings were quiet, the night breeze carrying over the whimpering sobs from the crowd in the distance.

Zhou Rong clenched his teeth so hard that his cheeks were spasming, then bang! He punched the tree by his side!

It cracked and issued a dangerous creaking sound. Ya Hao subconsciously took a half-step back.

“What are you doing!” Yan Hao hissed at him, “Do you want to draw the zombies here?!”

Red liquid slowly slipped from out of Zhou Rong’s fingers. The blood’s smell was extremely strong and a rich fragrance of alpha pheromone instantly broke free of the inhibitor effect. Like a roar of a beast, it scattered away in all directions.

Zhou Rong forced himself to take a deep breath and withdrew his trembling fist.

Yan Hao took out a water bottle and quickly washed the tree. He moved to pour some water on Zhou Rong’s hand but was blocked without a word. The other man licked his own wounds, his eyes shining brightly in the darkness. His appearance resembled a despaired wolf with injuries that couldn’t be healed.

“…… Arrange for overnight shifts with three people per each group. We’re going to the industrial area tomorrow morning at six.” After a moment of silence, Zhou Rong quietly continued, “If in these two days there is still no news from City B, I will go there myself to see the situation.”

Yan Hao want to protest, but Zhou Rong had already turned away with lowered head. He immediately hurried to chase him.

***

Si Nan ate half a bottle of his yellow peach syrup, then exchanged the rest for a half pack of cigarettes from a man in the minibus. The man gave the peach syrup to his wife and Si Nan walked away to find Zhou Rong. He stopped short when he reached the edge of the woods.

The night air was tainted with something that made him uncomfortable.

The weird smell floated in midair- strong, mature, and aggressive; he subconsciously sought out the source, but standing there made his nerves go haywire and he was hit with a sudden bout of dizziness.

…… It’s an Alpha’s pheromone.

But how can there be alpha in this wilderness? Is there a dead alpha body in the woods?

Si Nan looked around, the cars’ lights revealing the open space surrounding the place. The rest of the survivors were getting ready to rest for the night. The other side of the forest was immersed in darkness and the distant lights were dim and seemed ominous.

“Are you all right?” A woman’s voice suddenly heard behind him.

Si Nan turned back and saw Chun Cao looking at him curiously.

“…… Do you smell anything? ”

“Eh, no?” Chun Cao inhaled deeply with her eyes closed.

Si Nan: “? ”

The next second, Chun Cao suddenly let out a violent sneeze which sprayed onto Si Nan’s face.

“It must be the smell of rotten corpses!” Chun Cao rubbed at her nose and pushed at Si Nan’s back, her ears turning red: “Go back to bed, don’t worry about anything! Just go!”

The confused Si Nan was pushed back to the biodiesel-car.

***

That night, the special soldiers were divided into three groups. Chun Cao and Ding Shi shift was until twelve o’clock, then Yan Hao and Guo Weixiang replaced them until three o’clock, and the last group was Zhou Rong and Zhang Yingjie, who stayed awake until morning.

Zhou Rong slept poorly and had to wake up for his shift.

The rear compartment seats were lifted up and several special force members were lying horizontally in its place. Zhou Rong felt someone lying so close on his side. He turned and found out it was Si Nan.

In his sleep, SI Nan had unconsciously seek out heat source closest to him, which happened to be Zhou Rong’s body. The young man was holding onto Zhou Rong’s arm, and was breathing long and steady against the other man’s shoulder.

At that moment, Zhao Rong felt dazed

Memories of the past flashed through his mind. Even in the dim light, that gentle and beautiful face, those closed eyelids, they were quietly overlapping with the images that had long disappeared from his thoughts.

Zhou Rong unconsciously raised his hands and put Si Nan’s loose hair behind his ear.

During this time, the sound of footsteps could be heard outside the door and soon the door was gently opened.

Zhou Rong immediately closed his eyes and pretended to be asleep, although he himself did not know what that conditional reflex was for. A few seconds later, he felt someone get into the car and walk through the soldiers lying on the ground quietly before stopping in front of them.

The man bent down and lifted Si Nan’s hand. The action was gentle and careful.

Si Nan, who had eaten antipyretic medicines the night before, did not wake up and merely mumbled in his sleep.

Zhou Rong continued to lie there motionlessly. After a while, he finally heard that someone open his mouth and gently say, “Thank you for saving my life.”

–it’s Yan Hao.

With surprised heart, Zhao Rong opened his eyes a little.

In the dim light of the car, Yan Hao lowered his head, and with a slight inhale of breath, he placed a kiss on Si Nan’s temple.

It barely made contact, a nervous, sincere kiss.

The emotion in Zhou Rong’s eyes was difficult to describe.

Like a boy who had just stolen candy, Yan Hao hurriedly got up and walked out the car with light steps.

Once the door was closed and darkness returned inside the car,  Zhou Rong closed his eyes in silent.

 

---

Proofreader: Salted Butter

---

Prev – ToC – Next