“What’s going on?”
Responding to Aiden’s inquisitive question, Arian turned the tables and asked:
“What about tomorrow?”
In response to Arian’s question, Aiden let out a short sigh. Without saying anything, the schedule for tomorrow had already been decided.
“We plan to leave as soon as it gets light.”
“Where to?”
“Springfield, Illinois. There’s supposedly a decent gang there.”
It was a city 300 km further west from this camp.
Arian nodded in response to Aiden’s answer. After a short pause, Arian spoke again.
“Are we just going to leave them be?”
Aiden knew exactly who ‘they’ referred to.
The conversation between Aiden and John just a while ago would undoubtedly have been heard by Arian as well. And most likely, Arian had co to the sa conclusion as Aiden.
So, she was asking whether they would just stand by and watch as Indianapolis was overwheld by ten thousand mutants.
But even so, Aiden’s decision didn’t change.
“There’s nothing we can do. It’s the best option.”
His words were true.
It was a massive group numbering in the few hundreds.
The only thing an individual could do against such a group was at best to run away.
“Is there any blood left?”
“There is.”
“I hope you’ve given them all mine.”
So, Arian just said that. She didn’t bla Aiden. She didn’t label him as cowardly or make any judgnts. It was a perfectly natural and wise decision.
What was peculiar was that Arian, herself, was the only exception.
“...”
Even with Arian’s request, Aiden did not move. Instead, he asked a question.
“Are you planning to go to them?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
There were several reasons. For example, Arian was angry at their atrocities. Especially after witnessing Robert’s dying monts a while ago, she felt deep anger.
On the other hand, she was also worried about Emma and the others here in this camp. Mutants erging from Indianapolis would quickly spread in all directions. But more than anything else, what strongly motivated Arian was Sadie.
“Sadie’s words.”
“...”
“On the last day in Fort Wayne. While we were waiting for you in the car, she told a story.”
Arian, who had been playing the role of a counselor for Sadie based on Aiden’s advice, had now naturally beco soone Sadie could confide in.
And in that role, Sadie revealed a promise she had made with her friend Nora before leaving.
“Sadie made a promise to et Nora again before leaving. She said they should et again when they beco adults and when the world becos a better place.”
“...”
“So, she plans to go.”
Arian’s voice was calm, as if explaining an obvious fact.
“Because if we leave like this, Sadie will inevitably beco sad soday. Keeping the promise of the children is what adults should do, right?”
Aiden sighed for a mont.
Arian’s decision seed firm, likely because if ten thousand mutants really appeared in Indianapolis, the nearby city of Fort Wayne would inevitably be threatened.
Perhaps that’s why Arian’s determination seed so resolute.
Instead of stopping her, Aiden posed a realistic question.
“But is that possible?”
Their opponents are an ard force numbering in the hundreds. Aiden had previously ntioned to Arian that she was a threat capable of dismantling organizations by herself, but that didn’t an she could win in a direct confrontation with an organization.
That was too unreasonable.
However, Arian casually nodded.
“Of course.”
Aiden was montarily speechless at her response. Soon realizing that it wasn’t a joke, he spoke again.
“But isn’t that too risky? Do you know their location? The exact number of enemies? Do you know what weapons they’re using? And how do you plan to go to them during this night?”
Aiden bombarded her with reasonable questions.
However, Arian was prepared to counter all of that.
“I know their location. I checked it all during the day.”
“During the day?”
“The fanatics who were there. Their blood told everything.”
Aiden recalled the scenery of the school he had visited during the day. Sohow, except for the fanatic he had taken down, he hadn’t seen the bodies of any others. Only ragged clothes and weapons were scattered on the ground.
Arian had ntioned that the one she sucked blood from wouldn’t even leave a corpse.
Had Arian already ignited a desire for revenge against them at that ti?
It wasn’t impossible.
Arian’s senses were much more developed than Aiden’s.
So maybe she heard them making noise incessantly before the attack.
Or perhaps she found a crucial clue that Aiden hadn’t discovered yet.
“And... the number and weapons? If there’s blood there, those things are aningless to .”
“aningless?”
“Because I’m a vampire.”
Arian asserted.
She spoke with a mysterious smile.
“Even if you tear apart their hearts, smash their brains, behead them, or incinerate their whole bodies, vampires won’t die. They can co back to life as long as there’s enough regenerative blood.”
“...”
“The only condition for a vampire to die is when not a single drop of blood is left for them.”
That’s why she was called a weapon of war in her original world.
Because she would never lose if the opponent was a human.
But conversely, her power in this world, overflowing with rotting corpses, was only half-baked.
That’s why it was ti for her to use this power positively, as there would be very few opportunities.
“So don’t worry too much. And going there... now it’s your job to provide the blood. The distance is quite far.”
“...Can I trust those words?”
Aiden asked, and Arian nodded.
Even with her firm answer, Aiden hesitated for a mont.
Finally, with a long sigh, he spoke.
“Okay, I’ll believe you.”
“You couldn’t believe it until now?”
“Well, I still can’t believe it, but let’s go with that.”
Aiden turned around and opened the vehicle’s door. While rummaging through the luggage, he found the blood he was going to give to Arian, which he had brought from Fort Wayne the day before.
Since there was no refrigeration equipnt available, the blood had a short shelf life anyway. So, even if Arian used all of it, it wouldn’t be a big loss.
As Aiden searched through the luggage, Arian continued speaking.
“But aren’t you... unusually calm about this?”
“What do you an?”
“Well, you know. Usually, you’d be scared. Of soone like .”
Aiden let out a short bitter laugh.
“It’s too late to be scared now.”
Aiden already knew that Arian was no longer soone to be afraid of. No, now he believed it.
“Well, that’s true.”
Arian accepted it with a faint smile.
“Take this too.”
Aiden handed her the machete Arian often used.
She took it with a slight smile and, with light footsteps as if going for a night walk, began walking into the thick darkness.
“Well, I’ll be back.”
When her figure lted into the darkness, her presence was no longer felt anywhere in the forest.
* * *
Arian returned after the break of dawn.
Between the dawn and morning, as the faint sunlight gradually illuminated the forest.
Arian walked towards the entrance guarded by Aiden, facing the sunlight on her back.
“I’m back.”
Aiden observed her deanor.
She was dressed just as shabbily as when she left – worn-out clothes, dusty shoes, and clean fingers. There was no sign of battle anywhere.
Only the slight fatigue in Arian’s eyes and the severely bruised jungle blade showed that she had finished her work.
“Here. I brought this for you while I was at it.”
Arian threw a water bottle.
It was the bottle of blood Aiden had given her from Fort Wayne the day before.
The bottle was still filled with blood.
If there was any difference, the blood was slightly warr and fresher than before.
“And this too. There might be more if you search, but I didn’t have the ti.”
Next, Arian handed over bullets.
Again, exactly 30 rounds.
Arian apologized as if feeling sorry, but Aiden just nodded.
“More importantly, is your body okay?”
“Of course.”
“What happened to those guys?”
“Well... whatever. You don’t need to worry about them now.”
Aiden just nodded towards Arian, who spoke calmly.
“Well, I’ll take a break then.”
After Arian entered the cabin where Sadie was sleeping, so ti passed.
One by one, other people woke up, and a new day began.
“Anything happen overnight?”
The first to co out was John.
Aiden asked him so questions and checked his physical condition.
Fortunately, there didn’t seem to be any problems.
Next was Emma. And today, another woman nad Susan was seen beside them.
Both of them seed to have recovered quite a bit of strength overnight.
Aiden, after checking their condition, then carried Sadie, who had just woken up, into the car, as planned to leave the camp.
“Leaving in the morning?”
Emma asked.
She was giving Aiden a look as if hoping the doctor would stay a bit longer.
But there was nothing more for Aiden to do here.
Although the camp’s population had decreased significantly, there were still plenty of supplies left, enough for them to live for a while.
So, he nodded calmly.
“Yes, I hope you all stay safe.”
“...Alright. Thank you.”
With a lingering look, Emma bid farewell.
John and Susan also expressed their regrets and gratitude to Aiden’s group.
Aiden got into the vehicle as it was.
And just before pressing the accelerator, sothing ca to his mind. He opened the window and looked at Emma.
“Oh, and... this is sothing I heard yesterday.”
A slight confusion appeared in Emma’s eyes.
This kind of story might be unnecessary, but Aiden decided to inform Emma reasonably about what had happened overnight.
There was no reason to leave them in unnecessary anxiety.
“Fanatics coming from the east seem to have left.”
“What...?”
“The camp they occupied in the east was also completely empty. How about checking it when you have ti?”
Although Emma’s face showed so bewildernt at the unexpected remark, she didn’t have a chance to reply.
The vehicle carrying Aiden’s group drove out of the camp through the entrance.
In the rearview mirror illuminating the back, the dumbfounded expressions of Emma, John, and Susan were visible.
The vehicle eventually left the forest where the camp was located and headed west to the next destination.
* * *
Indiana State Route 36, extending west from Indianapolis.
Aiden’s black van smoothly passed through the narrow two-lane road.
Fortunately, the road itself was in pretty good condition.
There were no cracks in the asphalt, and the road only led to a plain, so there was no reason for bridges to be broken.
However, Aiden’s group’s journey was not as smooth.
There were many zombies blocking the road today.
“There’s another group up ahead.”
Arian’s warning made Aiden look ahead.
As she said, a zombie was slowly crossing the road.
But that wasn’t the end.
Leading the way, dozens of zombies erged from the forest on both sides of the road, forming a group of zombies.
A zombie horde.
“...”
Aiden turned off the car’s engine and silently waited for the zombies to pass.
Fortunately, the horde of zombies wasn’t heading in their direction.
It was enough to wait a while like this.
But it wasn’t a good thing either.
Today was already the fifth ti their path was blocked by a zombie horde.
Moreover, two of those tis resulted in battles, consuming ti and resources.
As a result, the distance Aiden’s group covered was far from what was expected.
The plan was disrupted.
But it wasn’t a situation where he could recklessly run over them with the car.
Just a while ago, the tires were damaged while doing sothing like that.
To avoid such unnecessary malfunctions, it was best to wait quietly for them to pass.
“Hmm...”
Seated in the driver’s seat, Aiden let out a short sigh.
The faint restlessness circulating in his consciousness quickly disappeared.
If the plan went awry, he would simply co up with a new plan.
After a mont of silence, Arian in the backseat spoke.
“Why is that?”
“Why what?”
“Why are you like that?”
“I might need to change the destination.”
Aiden unfolded the map.
They couldn’t reach the originally planned destination today.
Continuing on the path they had originally intended to take to the west, he changed it to the south.
As a result.
“This place looks good.”
Aiden decided to head towards the nearest town called Rockville.
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