AW? Chapter 07 (Patreon)

We smashed our way out of the city, killing hundreds than thousands of zombies as we made our way out, our group growing bigger as more people kept flooding out of the buildings as they saw an actual force sweeping the zombies. Five became ten, fifty, a hundred and fifty, and some change survivors. At that amount we were losing as many as we were gaining, people splitting off to search other areas for friends and family most likely.

The first few deaths happened as someone drove through the crowd driving a bus. He killed about twenty survivors before he tried to take a corner too quickly and flipped the bus, the enraged crowd climbed up and most likely killed him but I was on the frontlines of the fighting gathering hundreds of the sources for later. No one noticed me killing them and storing them with my powers yet, it was fortunate it didn’t make any sound or anything.

At least no one said anything if they did notice. I had already killed thousands of zombies, each swing bashing two or three to death as I kept slowly moving forward. Everyone slowly grew to work better together, growing more accustomed to the killing. The businessman I hadn’t bothered to learn the name of was starting to hold his own as the old man somehow made a makeshift spear and was killing the ones left alive on the ground.

It was a trudge with several other people pushing up beside me to kill the zombies in the streets. Less than you’d expect but soon there would be more as zombies slowly funneled out of the buildings. It was obvious already that they were growing in intelligence. Even now they were a tiny bit faster, it was almost imperceptible but I knew we needed to get out of the city before the worst came. If they got smart enough to search out survivors any defenses set up in the city could be quickly overwhelmed.

Everyone’s adrenaline was running high so I had to keep yelling out orders. “We need another replacement! Stop trying to kill people bitten, bites don’t turn people! Collect the stones from their head as we go, they’re valuable! If you’re in the back make sure you’re keeping a watch out for other people in vehicles! We need another replacement for me, I need to catch my breath!”

My body was already drenched in liquid. Most was blood but I could tell that some of it was sweat. Even with five times more endurance than base me, I was still a chubby gamer from the start. Swinging a thirty-pound chunk of metal over and over again would wear down anyone let alone someone who didn’t work out every day. I was built for intense bursts of energy like lifting two hundred pounds a few times or sprinting for five minutes.

Our progress slowed down dramatically without me on the frontlines. Even now I could tell everyone was weary of me as I was definitely beyond human already. I could use my magic to clean myself but I kind of wanted to keep everything a secret until I knew how powerful everyone else was. I was definitely the strongest but someone with a better source than me might overwhelm me.

My biggest fear was someone with the hypnosis ability, if someone could control me then they’d become the strongest of the group. I doubted a tier-one source could control me for long enough for him to take power though. I was starting to get a good sense of everyone's powers as more people started being comfortable showing them off.

Most were useless right now. A gout of fire, someone with a weaker water manipulation than my own but they could create the water, and a gust of wind were the obvious ones. Another person had the storage skill and was running in and out of buildings storing anything valuable in the lobbies of buildings. There was someone with their hand up to their ear like a fake phone as they talked and someone held a laptop in his hands above his head like he was trying to get an internet connection.

A teenage boy got too close to the front and was attacked but he defended himself by electrocuting the zombie. The single attack made him start to sweat though, most likely a one-time use or he panic used all of his stored energy. Someone in the back drew a zombie’s attention and launched a shockwave tossing the zombie away without doing much damage.

We made it to a gas station right at the edge of the city limits and everyone went insane grabbing food like it would be the last store we were going to pass. Still, people were desperate and scared about the food. We realistically didn’t need to worry about food for at least a few months, most likely years as scavenging stores could support us. I was more worried about the other resources as I made plans for what to get to make the group I was part of the most comfortable during the end times.

The electricity and water weren’t going to last forever. Securing those resources now would make life far more comfortable in the future. As they began to loot most of the people who started with me stuck around. I looked at the Australian beauty before pulling out a cafe table I pocketed with no one noticing and a map that was part of my supplies.

As nerdy as it was, most of the map was filled with sharpy marks of states I visited for my job. I pointed at several locations as I began to lay out the plans for the future. “We have a few options in my opinion for where we should set up our base.” I pointed at the map as I explained. “Move to the freshwater lakes, head to Texas, or build around the Hoover Dam. Does anyone have any other suggestions?”

The old man looked at me questioningly. “Yea, where the fuck did this table come from?” He spoke a little too loud and I looked around as more people were noticing the oddity. “Don’t worry about it for now.” The businessman spoke next. “I think something on the coast would be good. Access to fish for food if we can find a small city to take over.”

With the idea to make plans set up, I headed toward the other groups of people, trying to gauge their attitudes. I just kept listening to the cursory conversations as I walked passed them to not draw suspicion that I was eavesdropping. “We need to head towards Canada… What, I need to head to Virginia to see if my sister is s-... Can you believe these people? They act-... Take over these people and give them leadership… Anyone got a phone? I need to call-...”

Only one problematic group to keep an eye on. I was trying to look for guns but somehow even in America the hundred-ish people outside the gas station, no one had a gun or at least they hadn’t used it yet. As if the person heard me thinking it, someone fired a gun into the air to get everyone's attention and he began to aggressively yell. “Listen. As the person with the gun, I make the rules now! Women, separate yourselves from the group, and I’ll com-.”

The man was clearly going to pick out women to do unspeakable things to. I pulled my gun out of storage and shot him in the head, killing him instantly as I jogged towards him and stored his gun. I looked towards my group as I spoke for her again, making it clear that the most dangerous person was already listening to someone. “Leader, have you made any decisions on where we should set our base up yet?”