Cultivator in a Zombie Apocalypse

Chapter Seven - Survivors

As a great percentage of the populace had either succumbed to the zombie virus as it infected the water supply or were bitten by those who had already turned, there would be, at first, a surge in available food and then a great decline. Survivors first hit the supermarkets, grabbing whatever they could, many not thinking long term, just grab and hoard. There were people that gathered and then holed up and created bases, the army was one such organisation to quickly respond, remove any threats within the bases that already existed for them and create boundaries to keep the threat out.

The army would send small squads in excursions to gather food and supplies, as would civilian forces. First they would visit the supermarkets and any known warehouses where food was known to be stored. Then they would look to restaurants, cafes and small corner shops, before finally searching houses outside of their borders.

One such squad was circling the edge of a nearby town, where the zombie numbers were fewer thus easier for them to handle. These men were all civilians, between them they were wielding knives and baseball bats, hockey sticks and one held a gun, but only had a few rounds of bullets. Two of the six men also had developed powers, though one could only use his to provide water for the group. They had already visited one street, avoiding houses for now that contained zombies, marking their doors with an x. They had felt it would be better to grab a bigger number of men or better weapons before tackling those properties. Instead they broke into houses that appeared to be empty. They still had to fight a couple of zombies, one had been in a tattered night dress having likely turned in her sleep, but they were dispatched without too much difficulty.

The one they put in charge; Dexter, a lightning user, dug out the small core in the brain of one of the zombies as the others raided the cupboards. They mostly were able to grab crisps and biscuits, rice and pasta, tossing them into huge backpacks as they pillaged. The food in freezers had long since spoiled, the electricity had been cut a few weeks ago. Bread was mouldy and fruit wrinkled or rotten. Still, they took any fruit and vegetables thought to contain seeds, put in plastic bags before adding to the rest. If they could grow plants that did not mutate, they could sustain themselves without raiding peoples houses.

Abilities had been born with the zombies it appeared, meaning amongst those who had weathered and survived the sickness, some awakened strange abilities. Mostly, they were weak, like a child who could produce a some smoke from his fingers and a man who now cool the air about him with a light frost. But others had developed slightly better abilities. There was thoughts that the energy in the zombie cores could help strengthen their abilities, like what was written in eastern novels, but tests were still being performed and no one had yet dared to try.

"Hey, Dex," Patrick nudged the man as Tyler rinsed the core for him with his water.

"What?" Dexter growled, back. His stretched his back and glanced to where his friend was pointing. His eyes widened as he saw a column of smoke rising upward. "A survivor?"

"Should we go see?" Patrick asked.

"Why bother?" Tyler snorted. "They won't have much food left for our base and we'd just be dragging back another mouth to feed."

"But what if it's a woman?" Patrick asked. For various reasons, there had been a decline in women, partially as a woman on her menstrual cycle was found to attract zombies. So she was not only a danger to herself, but to her fellow survivors. Any women not already on a base as wives and daughters had slim chance of getting there, especially when it came to civilian bases. So the point gave Tyler a moment's pause.

"It's unlikely..." he thought aloud.

"We will go and see," Dexter decided for them. They kept one eye on the skyline and one in the street for wandering zombies. They had to put down three before they arrived at the small row of terrace houses where the survivor was thought to be. One almost cost them a squad member, so they were a little agitated by the time they arrived and decided not to knock, especially as they saw two dead zombies outside of the house.