21 Chapter 21: Weird Survivor

It was another day for Danni, or as normal as it could get in a small group of survivors at the world's end. Still, there was a sense of routine as he and his band of twenty arrived at a desolate town. They were once part of a larger group, a solid 150, before they were attacked by a massive horde. Forced to split up and scatter, luck—or perhaps unluck—was on their side, as most of the survivors were the strong, able to outrun those grotesque, zombie-like creatures a kid in the group called "oozers." The name seemed fitting; these creatures oozed that disgusting green liquid from every orifice of their bodies, a thought that made Danni want to gag just thinking about it. But if he wanted to continue surviving in this grim reality, he had to get used to it.

More importantly, their group leader, Cain, instructed them to split into groups of five and search the town. It was a plan they all agreed on, considering the sparse population of the town. They reasoned that the number of oozers in any given area wouldn't exceed five—a manageable number even for a lone survivor, let alone a group of five. So, the group split up, with Danni's group taking the outer part of town.

Their search yielded expected results as they stumbled upon a treasure trove of Moe.co brand food cans. This discovery brought them immense joy, as Moe.co food was renowned for its longevity. Even after opening, it could last for a good week before spoiling. Moreover, a single can was densely packed with nutrients, enough to sustain a person for an entire day. It was indeed a fortunate find for the group.

Their exploration came to a sudden halt when one of Danni's companions noticed a peculiar figure in the distance. The figure was slowly making its way up the street toward the house they were currently looting. At first, Danni thought it might be another group of oozers, but as the figure drew nearer, his perception changed.

The figure was cloaked in a large garment that nearly touched the ground, obscuring any view of the person beneath. Danni strained to catch a glimpse of the figure's face but was met only with darkness—an unsettling sight. However, his anxiety subsided somewhat when one of his group members took the lead, bravely approaching the mysterious figure who had stopped a short distance away from them.

"Hello, who are you?" The question, clear and straightforward, seemed to momentarily puzzle the figure. He gestured to his throat and then made a hand sign indicating that he was unable to speak, garnering a nod of understanding from the group. However, the enigmatic figure didn't stop there. He proceeded to pull out a stack of paper and pens and began writing on them.

"My name's Brook. I recently lost my ability to speak. It's nice to meet you," the man read the paper aloud what the mysterious figure, now identified as Brook had wrote, After reading, he asked some more questions.

"Hello Brook, are you coming from the city? How is it looking there?" Danni and the group were on slight edge as they found this question to be very important to them, as they were planning to head over to the city after looting this town.

Sadly for the group the words written on the next piece of paper is the opposite of what they wanted.

"There are no oozers in the city, but it's filled with a bunch of mutated animals. I would not suggest going there. Also, there are thousands of oozers on the road to this town, so be careful with that." The note painted a grim picture, much to the group's and Danni's dismay. But they soon sucked it up as the person speaking to Brook invited him to join the group, to which he replied, 'for a bit'.