บท 27: The Train Home

The group looked around, eyes hopeful, and searched whether the zombies had indeed been taken care of.

Once confirmed, they almost cried in relief. They also saw that the two men handled so many zombies with completed limbs, and hope filled them.

Especially the girl, who had been hopeless and found capable men nearby. How could she not jump at him?

Especially… how handsome the red-haired man was!

"Thank you for coming here for us." She mumbled, blinking her eyes cutely. And she was indeed a bit good-looking, despite her chapped lips and ruined makeup.

"We literally just passed by." Ansel said bluntly, "We didn't even know anyone else was alive.

"..."

How Ansel scored so many women with his bluntness was a mystery to many men.

Was doing anything with a good face considered handsome?

The others weren't so cool however, and they immediately approached the two of them when they realized they were somewhat amicable.

"Heroes! Please help us!" the middle-aged woman said, and she was followed by the dark-skinned man.

"Please take me to City A! I will pay you whatever!"

Afraid that the two men would take his offer, the middle-aged man immediately made a counter-bid. "We need to go to City S. Please! It's on the way."

The old man was the only one who stood still, observing, but without hope in his eyes.

Ansel and Tom looked at each other with complicated expressions. "We have our own families to go to, sorry."

The other survivors frowned, but they refused to give up.

Not reconciled, the pretty girl shifted targets instead. The girl even held Tom's arm, knowing he had the softer heart of the two based on his very guilty expression.

"Mine is so close, please!"

Tom looked very conflicted and Ansel patted his shoulder. They couldn't stay here. They didn't have the time or energy to help others.

"Let's go." He said, gesturing at the door.

The duo then went to the door, followed by a few. Of course, not before taking some food from the convenience store to their spaces, as they consumed most inside the freezer.

Ansel didn't mind being followed. He was still human, but he needed them to manage their expectations.

"You can come with us to where we are heading. But we won't get out of our way to protect you."

This naturally stopped a lot of them from following to the door.

Instead, some even looked at them indignantly.

"How could you leave us like this?!" the middle-aged man yelled.

Ansel rolled his eyes. "It's not our duty to save you." He said, "You can only depend on yourself in this world."

He then pulled Tom and they went out together, not caring whether they were followed or not.

Fortunately, none did.

What they didn't expect was that as they left, the jerks inside threw some canned goods in their direction, making noise.

As if choreographed, the zombies turned their heads simultaneously in their direction.

This made their hearts drop.

"Damn it!" Ansel and Tom cursed, gesturing to dart ahead. Those jerks!

But what else could they do? They could only curse, and head to their target destinations regardless.

…

Half an hour later.

After some time of struggle, the duo eventually managed to reach their planned intersection in the middle of the city.

It was called Rosewood Intersection.

This was the intersection separating the path walk to Mocci town and the train station.

The two men looked at each other, feeling a little melancholic.

Although it had only been a few hours, the two still felt a bit sad at their separation. They found a relatively hidden place to chat and say their goodbyes.

"Well, goodbye. It was good to meet you," Tom said, extending his hand for a firm handshake.

"I hope you survive," Ansel said as he took it. Tom let out a light laugh.

"Likewise."

And so, Tom turned around (though not before giving him another look and a nostalgic nod) and went on his way.

Ansel then heaved a sigh, pulling his eyes away from his new friend, and heading to a very different direction towards the train station.

Now, alone, he was extra careful in getting the attention of the upgraded zombies. Fortunately, the concourse was mostly clear and had few things to hit.

[01:45:34]

He eventually found the north-bound train heading to Aberdeen City.

His goo-covered shoulders slumped in relief to see the train was working.

Except for hundreds of normal zombies walking about, everything seemed to be in place.

Even the train seemed to be following the set schedule.

While waiting for his train to come, which was set to arrive in 5 minutes, two upgraded zombies managed to find him.

With his level though, he could deal with them by himself.

After killing the damn things, he climbed up the vending machine nearest the train tracks.

Five minutes felt like forever to arrive, and when it did, he immediately threw a can just outside the door to attract the zombies inside the train outside.

He watched as they swarmed out of the car and he jumped above surfaces, getting closer and closer to the open door.

Roar!

He flinched but did not halt, darting to the open door.

He entered the AI-operated train with a quick beating heart.

Bump!

The door closed, and the hand of the closest advanced zombie that went after him was stuck at the door, twitching creepily as it tried to reach him.

The train surged forward with a gentle lurch a moment later.

This was followed by a squelching sound and the twitching hand dropped down to the floor, no longer moving.

Ugh.

Ansel couldn't move for a while, still waiting for his wildly beating heart to calm.

But as he felt the train move under him at a constant pace, his whole body started to relax a bit, and he entered a state of temporary peace.

He dragged his body to a nearby seat, using a rail to support himself as he flopped down the vinyl-covered seat.

His head turned and watched outside the window as it moved.

Dimly lit tunnels flashed by in a blur of darkness. The occasional flickering lights lining the walls of the tunnel illuminated the dark outside, reminding him of the light that still existed.

He closed his eyes and heaved a sigh, resting the back of his head against the window.

He knew that he had done all that he could.

Even if he didn't make it, it was fine. He just needed to be as close as possible.