Cultivator in a Zombie Apocalypse

Chapter Forty Eight - Shows of Strength

"Just can't figure out why some of those zombies were actually feeding upon other zombies," muttered Cole, as sometime later, they drove away from the supermarket.

The devouring zombie they had encountered attacking another within the store was not the only one with this unexpected habit; within the warehouse there had been another.  That one had created itself a nest in the recesses of the warehouse, corpses strewn haphazardly around it.  It was also the strongest of all the zombies that they encountered that day and were it not for the fact that Tyler had sensed the icy, cloud of moisture which should not have existed, they may have easily become its next victims.

"There are many paths of Cultivation," Ren Zexian taught with his words of enlightened wisdom.  "Not all are righteous.  Amongst the most insidious is the practice of stealing the Cultivation of others.  In the situation of the undead, it seems, a few have figured out that they can feed from others to strengthen themselves."

"So why that zombie, why not the others?" Patrick asked, curiously.  There was still a divide between Dexter's squad and Jonah's squad; the former had accepted Ren Zexian's quirkiness and found that, although his explanations seemed like they had been created in the pages of an eastern fantasy novel, his teachings were on point.  By listening to his words, by learning from him, they had become stronger.  Jonah's people were still sceptical, but they could not deny that the man had great strength and meant them no harm, yet they would still listen his explanations with a pinch of salt.

"That one had unlocked its abilities," Ren Zexian said, following a spell of thought, "yet posed no threat."  That, all the people within the truck could understand and accept.

The supermarket had been better stocked than they could have hoped.  Granted, fresh and frozen produce was rotten, mouldy and completely inedible, the chilled section was producing particularly unpleasant smells.  And things such as pasta, rice, noodles, tins of vegetables and fruits, dried fruits and cereals, these had been nearly cleaned out by those that had come before them.  There was some signs that they had taken things from other sections, such as jar sauces and coffee, but at this point they had clearly been in a hurry as the glass and mouldy spillages on the floor attested to.  However, seasonings and baking ingredients meant for the oven had been mostly ignored. 

There was also large sacks of flour sitting in the warehouse.  The lower sacks had spoiled, the melted water from the zombie's nest of mist and fog had spread across the floor and happened to soak them.  Still they claimed the sacks of flour that were still decent; these would last them along time.

Ren Zexian's spare interspatial bag had become filled to brim with vitamin supplements, painkillers and other medicines, including ones specifically for children, while Cole, Jonah and Arthur took out the sacks of flour, bags of sugar, salt, yeast and dried dog food.  Monika filled up a few wired baskets with feminine products and Tyler claimed a few bottles of whiskey, brandy and other liquor with the excuse that a small tipple would be warming in the winter.  They also took a lot of baby products; nappies, formula, bibs and a few teething toys, creams and wipes.  These filled up a large section of the truck along with empty glass jars and Tupperware for Autumn's vinegars, jams and pickles and for Nathan's seeds.

After they had made another run through the store, this time claiming ingredients for hot beverages, dried seasonings and bottles of oil, they had come out to find a ragged group of survivors were attempting to surround their truck.  These people were skinny, clearly weak and desperate, they held knives and bats and did not fear Jimmy's guns.

"Take it easy," Jonah had said, calmly as he lit up a cigarette in front of them, which caused a couple to look longingly at the burning stick.  "There's still stuff to be had inside and we've killed all of the zombies in there.  So there's no need for you to lose your lives fighting us."