“First... what’s your na?”
Aiden’s initial question was just that.
In response, Emma tersely replied:
“I’m Emma, Emma Wilson.”
“And the friend inside the building?”
“...Michael Brown. And what’s your na?”
“Aiden Lee.”
His low-pitched voice stating his na carried no emotions.
Emma tried not to be conscious of the gun pointed at her, simply nodding.
Aiden’s questioning continued.
“Where are you from?”
“Michigan, Lansing.”
“What route did you take?”
“We passed through Coldwater from Lansing, then went through Fort Wayne. From there, we crossed over to here, through Van Wert.”
Michigan is an area adjacent to Ohio, where Aiden is, and beyond that is Canada. So, they moved south from there, passed through Fort Wayne, and headed east.
“Have you ever been to Lima?”
Emma shook her head.
It was a sowhat disappointing answer, but if they had passed through Fort Wayne, there would be much to inquire about.
So, Aiden shifted the gun he had aid at Emma to the side.
He was well aware that Emma’s companion was still hiding inside the convenience store building.
Aiden had been entrenched near the restroom building from the beginning.
Inside the convenience store, there was no position from which to shoot, making it impossible to determine the shooting angle.
Because of that, he judged that there was no need to threaten her as long as Emma’s companion didn’t move first.
“You can put your hands down. The story might take a while, so feel free to speak comfortably.”
“...If you say so.”
At Aiden’s words, Emma lowered her raised hand.
She sighed briefly and waited for Aiden’s questions.
“How’s the situation in Michigan?”
“It’s not great. No, it’s the worst. Last winter was exceptionally cold.”
At that, Aiden recalled mories from a few months ago.
It was indeed a winter colder than usual.
But if Lansing, which is north of Pittsburgh, was colder than Pittsburgh, Emma continued even more bitterly.
“A considerable number of people froze to death back then. As many people froze to death at night trying to keep warm by the fire as were eaten by zombies. There probably aren’t many survivors left there now.”
“So, you eventually ca here because of the cold.”
“That’s right. The situation here may not seem good either, but going south would be much better to endure the winter, wouldn’t it?”
Aiden sighed at Emma’s words.
The reason he inquired about the situation in Michigan was not re curiosity; it was also to find a place for Sadie to stay.
But if Emma’s words were accurate, Michigan didn’t seem to be such a place.
So, Aiden put aside any lingering regrets and moved on to the main topic.
“When did you stay in Fort Wayne?”
“About two weeks ago.”
“How was it there?”
When the story turned to Fort Wayne, Emma slightly furrowed her brow.
“You’re planning to go to Fort Wayne? I wouldn’t recomnd it. It’s not a friendly place.”
“There’s no city welcoming to wanderers.”
“Even considering that, it’s different. They’re so strict, like a military, that we couldn’t even get into their barricade.”
At that point, Emma glanced briefly to the side, tilting her head slightly.
It was because Michael, who had been inside the building, seed to be trying to co out.
Perhaps he was concerned about Emma being exposed to danger alone. But now, Emma judged that it was better not to provoke Aiden.
So, quietly nudging her companion, she casually continued her conversation.
“Fort Wayne was dominated by a single large organization that occupied the entire city. And when I went there... they said sothing about conducting a cleaning.”
“Cleaning?”
“Completely driving zombies out of the city, building a safe zone inside. I’m not sure about the details.”
For Aiden, this was an unexpected story.
It’s a common practice for gangs to clear a certain area of zombies and fortify it, but attempting to control the entire city through such a thod was a completely different story.
The high-rise buildings in the city are like large nests containing dangerous mutated zombies inside.
So, eliminating them all without considerable force and resources is a challenging task.
That ant the gang that took over Fort Wayne had significant power.
“Because of that, they were extrely hostile to visitors from the outside. They’re busy enough dealing with zombies, and they don’t want to deal with people bringing trouble, too, right?”
“...I see.”
Although Emma spoke with a negative tone, Aiden didn’t hear it that way.
A survivor group with enough manpower and resources to attempt to control an entire city.
From what he heard so far, Sadie had found a place to live under at least minimal conditions.
Of course, more details needed to be investigated, but finding a city worth looking into was already a harvest in itself.
Continuing, Aiden nodded after asking about the road conditions on Route 30 leading to that place and any information about zombies in the vicinity.
Now, there was no more canal information for them.
“That should be enough. Well then... pardon .”
Aiden said so and tried to hide behind the building towards the forest.
Emma, however, stopped him with words.
“Just a mont.”
“...What is it?”
“If it’s alright, I’d like to propose a deal.”
“A deal?”
“As you might have seen, we need ammunition.”
Aiden’s helt glanced at Emma, who spoke like that, indifferently.
Emma was well aware that Aiden also understood the urgency of the need for ammunition. It was only a short while ago that they had to engage in hand-to-hand combat with zombies due to the lack of ammunition.
However, the deal proposed by Emma was a risky venture, to say the least.
It seed more like a trade among desperate wanderers who barely had anything.
Therefore, trades among wanderers often ended not with an honest exchange of goods but rather with one side killing the other and looting their items.
“The caliber?”
Nevertheless, after a slight hesitation, Aiden decided to agree to the deal with them.
The sowhat stiff expression on Emma’s face softened at Aiden’s question.
“.308 Winchester.”
“Do you have any resources to offer?”
“We have so food. Not much, but... it should be enough to buy a few rounds of ammunition.”
.308 Winchester is a caliber with a diater of 7.62mm, not the 5.56mm caliber that Aiden primarily uses. It was an item kept as a contingency in case the current rifle malfunctioned, and there was enough of it stored in the vehicle.
So, the deal itself wouldn’t incur any loss.
However, there was sothing Aiden needed more than food.
“Instead of food, how about giving blood?”
“Blood? Human blood?”
“Yeah. The idea is that if you donate blood, I’ll take it as paynt for the ammunition.”
Aiden briefly explained the specific thod and procedure.
Emma’s face subtly wrinkled upon hearing this.
“Why would you...?”
“If you don’t like it, we can trade with food instead... What do you say?”
From Emma’s perspective, this was an extrely suspicious request.
But she couldn’t easily refuse it either.
The food she offered as a condition for ammunition was the only food they had managed to find at a small rest area.
If Aiden agreed to the trade, they would secure ammunition, but they would have to starve without a doubt for at least a day or two.
However, if Aiden simply took blood instead, they could save that food.
It was a dilemma.
Understanding this, Aiden decided to give them so ti.
“I’ll bring the ammunition. Decide by then.”
“You’re bringing it?”
“I have a vehicle.”
Emma’s gaze changed slightly at those words.
To ordinary wanderers, a vehicle was almost a luxury item.
Given the current harsh reality where it’s difficult to find both imdiate food and ammunition, managing a ans of transportation was almost impossible.
In that case, could this man in front of her be not alone?
As if planting confidence in her speculation, Aiden spoke.
“And I have other colleagues.”
His stern voice sounded like a warning to Emma.
It ant that they were superior in both numbers and weapons, so she shouldn’t entertain thoughts beyond a straightforward trade.
Although Emma had no intention of such thoughts from the beginning.
More precisely, from the mont she witnessed Aiden’s marksmanship, she had an intuition that antagonizing this man would be absolutely undesirable.
“Alright. I’ll be waiting here then.”
So, Emma said that.
Leaving her behind, Aiden disappeared into the forest behind the rest area. And a short while later, Aiden truly returned to the rest area with a black van.
Outside the rest area, Emma was still the only one present.
Aiden got out of the car and approached her.
“You didn’t run away.”
Aiden spoke as if surprised.
In response, Emma offered a wry smile.
“Well... what could I have done? If you were going to kill , you wouldn’t have saved .”
Aiden silently nodded in agreent.
“So, what are you going to give in exchange for the ammunition?”
“...Blood.”
Emma said so with a sowhat uncomfortable expression.
From her perspective, it was a decision made after much deliberation, but for Aiden, the result was as expected.
He naturally took out a paper box containing a syringe from his pocket.
“Do you know how to use a syringe?”
Emma shook her head.
For her, a blood donation syringe was sothing she had never touched in her entire life.
“...I guess there’s no choice.”
Aiden sighed briefly and tore open a new pair of gloves.
In the anti, Emma noticed Aiden’s na tag hanging on his neck.
“Are you... really a doctor?”
“I used to be. In the past.”
At those words, a faint sense of relief flickered in Emma’s eyes.
“Well then, let’s get started. Roll up your sleeve and extend it towards .”
Aiden checked the syringe’s condition and gently inserted it into her arm.
“Ouch...”
Feeling the needle pierce her skin, Emma let out a groan.
In the anti, Aiden skillfully drew out the blood.
200ml.
It was about half the usual blood donation amount. Aiden considered the possibility that prolonged wandering might have weakened her stamina.
After drawing the blood, Aiden spoke while showing the extracted blood.
“This is the amount we take from one person. This is the paynt for one cartridge of ammunition.”
“...”
Saying so, Aiden handed over a box containing 20 rounds of ammunition.
The ssage was clear.
If they wanted more ammunition, she had to bring another hidden comrade along with her.
Emma hesitated for a mont, then turned her body towards the inside of the rest area.
“Just wait a mont.”
Soon, a man walked out from the building.
He was a black man of similar age to Emma.
While glancing suspiciously at Aiden, he silently extended one arm.
“...”
Aiden drew blood from him as well, then handed over the ammunition.
Upon receiving it, Michael quickly entered the rest area as if escaping.
Aiden, having observed Michael’s retreating figure for a mont, got into the vehicle.
Since there was no intention of exchanging farewell greetings, as long as this ended amicably, the deal would be concluded.
But just in case, Aiden turned his head towards Arian.
“How is it?”
“There doesn’t seem to be any unusual movents.”
Only after hearing that, Aiden started the engine.
Slowly, Aiden’s vehicle left the rest area.
As the rest area gradually beca distant, Arian, who had been quietly waiting inside the car, spoke up.
“It ended more quietly than you suggested.”
Before coming to this rest area, Aiden had seriously warned them about the risks of this trade, ntioning the possibility of a confrontation.
So, Sadie remained hidden among the baggage, not even lifting her head.
Even Arian seed to be considering it seriously.
However, the wanderers they encountered didn’t seem to have any intention of combat. Moreover, the trade concluded without any issues.
Comparing it to Aiden’s warnings, the wanderers behaved unexpectedly peacefully.
“Lucky, I guess.”
Aiden comnted on it in that way.
Seeing Arian shrug as if not quite convinced, he continued.
“There’s no guarantee it will be like this next ti. Wanderers are a dangerous bunch.”
“Then why bother with deals like this in the first place?”
“Of course, you’re right.”
Arian’s words were not wrong.
It’s generally not advisable to engage in trade among wanderers, as opposed to giving supplies and buying information from them.
However, Aiden had his reasons for going through with the trade.
“But soday, we’ll have to face that danger.”
Right now, Aiden and his group were wanderers too So, there wouldn’t always be plenty of supplies like now.
Soon, they would have to cooperate with suspicious individuals, risking danger.
Today’s trade was a practice for the day that would inevitably co.
Understanding this intention, Arian nodded.
“If that’s the case, well, I get it. Sadie, you can co out now.”
“Phew...”
With a long sigh, Sadie’s head erged from among the luggage.
Arian pulled her out and seated her in the car.
“Oh, and... you ntioned getting information. What kind of information?”
“It’s about Fort Wayne.”
Aiden proceeded to inform Arian and Sadie about the details he learned from Emma.
And during this ti...
The vehicle carrying them safely entered Lima, the destination for today.
Reviews
All reviews (0)