CH16 - An old friend

[Lyon's POV]

"Looks like a breached refugee camp." I say to no one in particular as all three of us stand behind a car. Directly in front of us stood a street-long refugee camp that seemed to have had both sides of the metal wire fence broken or pushed aside, leaving the area entirely open to both entry and exit for the zombies and people who come across it.

The camp was devoid of life, what remained were only a few zombies that were aimlessly wandering around while corpses of people littered the ground, or at least that's what appeared from the outside. The camp had 6 tents, the largest one had a big red cross that was stitched onto the center of its roof. It was the one farthest to us while the other five all had the same sizes with two being in the front while three were behind them which meant those three were the closest to us.

"We can either go through the camp and try to take what we can with us or go back to where we came from and jump roofs. I think going through the camp might be easier for us since it looks like most of its former inhabitants have scattered or left it." I ask the others while looking at them as I wait for their confirmation.

"If you think it's the better option then sure, do you have a plan for how we're going to do this though?" Chisato asks while the other two wait for my answer. I look back at the camp and squint my eyes, trying to look for anything to take note of.

"The pathway of the street was left open for use by the tents so we can go through there instead of walking right in the middle of it all. I can't see past the biggest tent though so we'll have to improvise once we get there." I tell the others to which they reply to me with a nod.

I start walking towards the gap left open in the middle of the fence, avoiding stepping on the wire fence itself and trying to stick to the open road at the side of the fallen fence. All of the tent's entry points had been zipped up, preventing me from peering inside of them from this point of view.

I look around the open area and find two zombies simultaneously wandering into the open area through the narrow paths between us and the three tents in front. I doubt the others haven't noticed the corpses wandering in front of us but I gestured to them the information nonetheless.

I moved toward the pavement on our right, using it to travel further into the camp, and only stopping as I notice a small clear square in the middle of the side of the tent which was covered with only a thin layer of a material similar to plastic. I peered inside and found more than at least 10 zombies trapped inside, a few of them were still laying on the beds inside as their arms and legs were tied to the bed itself, preventing them from even moving an inch off the bed.

'If the other four tents have similar situations to this one then we better hope that their entry points are zipped close as well.' I think to myself as I look in front of me while my companions peer through the window as well, their expressions becoming grim over what they were seeing in front of them. I wait for a few seconds to let them take the sight in front of them before I continue moving, prompting the others to follow in pursuit.

We continue walking forward on the pavement, I pause for a few seconds once we reached the portion of the pavement beside the space in between the three back and two forward tents, I turn my attention to the tents intending to learn of the state of the entry points of the two in front of us. The entry point of the tent beside us had been zipped up entirely, the same could not be said for the entry point on the other side though as a noticeable gap could be seen on the upper portion of the entry point.

'We're already halfway through, and we can still pass through here anyway so we might as well continue pushing forward.' I think to myself before turning my eyes forward as we went deeper into the camp, passing the window on the tent beside us. It was the same thing inside this tent as the one we had gone through earlier so we didn't bother sparing any more than a glance inside.

We passed the last two smaller tents as the final one came into view with its entrance entirely open, I peer through the edge of the tent beside me and check the status of the entry points on this side, both of which were sealed close entirely which slightly reduced the risk and tension in the atmosphere. I move away from the tent and walk around the perimeter of the large tent with a red cross on it in an attempt to find a window to peer through but fail as it seems like the tent was designed to be fully enclosed, excluding the single entry point.

'Hm, looks like we'd need to peer or go through the entry point itself just to have a look at what's inside. I could just tear the fabric open with my machete but that might make too much noise, if only we had a pair of scissors...' I think to myself while glancing at the machete I was holding onto from the corner of my eye.

I walk back to the front of the tent and look at the zipper that sealed the tent close. My grip tightens around the machete's wooden handle in anticipation of a possible fight as I slowly drag the zipper down inch by inch, relief crashing down on me as I find the inside of the tent devoid of any zombies inside.

Light rushes in as I drag the zipper further downwards, there were no windows for light to go through but it pierced through the fabric on the roof of the tent, albeit just enough for us to see the inside without needing our flashlights. I look around the room and find tables turned over as various posters of information and guidelines that advised the reader to avoid the infected and wash their hands remain scattered all over the floor.

I pick up one of the posters on the floor and read through it, taking note of whatever information seemed important, one of which was a list of places that were turned into evacuation centers inside the city. Strangely enough, it only had two locations, the Yoime City Medical center, and Tohoku Iwate Academy.

'Wait, if those are the only evacuation centers then what is this place? Maybe this poster only includes military-held evacuation centers then?' I think to myself before throwing the piece of paper aside as my eyes do a final sweep through the room for anything to take with us but find none, likely being picked clean by the people who left this place or other scavengers.

I walk out of the tent and start heading to the gap on this side's wire fence with the others following closely. Previously hidden by the tent when we first scouted out this place from the other side were two police cars, one of which was still beside the fence with its doors wide open while the other had been flipped onto its roof in the middle of the street.

The reason for it to flip was most likely the abandoned SUV on the driver's side of the police car that had its front almost unrecognizable from the generic design. The side of the flipped car that faced us was heavily dented, and the fact that the door wasn't entirely removed from its hinges was a miracle already. The miracle was limited only to the car though as the driver and its passenger's well-being weren't included, their zombified forms were visible to us since the windows on both sides were already destroyed into small shards.

I walk around the police car that was positioned beside the fence, looking at the seats on the front side of the car as well as the chairs on the back that were usually reserved for arrested people, both of which were empty. I go inside and sit on the front passenger seat, the compartment was left open, its contents messily scattered inside prompting me to believe that someone had looted this car already.

I get out of the car and start moving toward the flipped police car, the two zombies inside were still strapped onto their seats by the seatbelts which prevented them from getting out of the car. I raise two fingers and point at Alyssa who nods to me as she takes out the knife that she was keeping with her, I then point my finger at the passenger's side of the car which was facing the camp while I move toward the driver's side.

I quickly glance at the seats on the back of the car and find them empty before I position myself close to the zombie on my side of the car, I raise three fingers and put them down one by one slowly, thrusting my machete to the zombie near me as I put down my last finger. I pull out the blade and use it to destroy the seatbelt that held the driver's unmoving corpse in place before dragging it out through the destroyed window.

"What are you doing?" Alyssa asks me as she goes around the car and moves closer beside me. I take the machete sheath off my old belt and wear the former police's duty belt with everything still inside before strapping the machete sheath beside the handcuff pouch. I finish securing the sheath before taking out the gun from its holster, finding a New NAMBU M60 revolver with a retention lanyard secured through the gun's integral loop.

I open the gun's cylinder and take out the bullets inside, finding 3 out of the 5 bullets had already been used by its former owner. I dump them all out and throw away the used bullets, the duty belt has two small pouches where a revolver's speed loader was kept. I take one out and use it to reload the gun, throwing away the used empty speed loader and using the empty pouch as storage for the two unused bullets.

Completely ignoring the surprised looks of my companions as I was reloading the gun, I turn my attention back to the contents of the duty belt I was now wearing. I finish checking the rest of the duty belt and find one more unused speed loader, an empty radio pouch, a pouch that still had a pair of handcuffs in it, and a pouch meant for a missing collapsible baton.

I move toward the passenger side and do the same for the corpse there, I take the duty belt off of the passenger's corpse but find the gun and one of the speed loaders bent the wrong way while the other speed loader pouch was empty. This pouch still had a radio and a collapsible baton but both had already been destroyed due to the crash while the cuffs seemed to be fine.

In the end, we managed to get two police duty belts designed for revolvers, and a handgun with twelve .38 special bullets, we'd have only 7 if I were to exclude the ones that were already inside the cylinder. Lastly, two handcuffs with only one key remaining since I only managed to find one of them which had fallen off from where it was kept and remained on the car's ceiling.

'It doesn't matter that we lost one of the keys though since it seems like the handcuffs are both standard designs which meant they'd have the same key.' I think quietly as I holster the gun and give Ren the emptied and unused police duty belt before I am reminded of the fact that we should probably start moving again.

Right now our position was one street north and one street to the right from Ren's apartment which is why we turned left from the crossing lane we were previously at, taking away about 15 minutes before we managed to reach the crossing lane directly north of our destination.

We turn south from there and the smoke coming from the fire on the street further south remained visible as it rose to the sky in defiance of the breeze. This street had no crossing lane which meant we were currently walking on the very street that Ren lived in, the only difference being that it was longer than what we were used to since it didn't have a crossing lane in the middle to separate it.

Ren, who probably only lived on this street for less than a few months, grimaced at the sight of the well-being of this place. I didn't live here nor has the need to go here ever arisen before but I guess a few months was more than enough for Ren to grow a form of attachment to this place. The state of this place wasn't any different from the other streets we've passed along the way, with broken doors, flipped or crashed cars, and blood that dirtied the very pavement we were walking on.

It took us an estimate of about 15 minutes before we finally managed to reach Ren's apartment, we were currently standing in front of a three-story building that had presumably once been a lobby for the inhabitants of the building, I said presumably due to the state of the inside of the first floor, the entrance had an empty car crashed through where the door to the building once stood while the cashier table had its entire surface caked with dried blood, covering its formerly white hue with red and leaving only a few small visible edges of its former color.

Ren's face turned grimmer as he took in the sight in front of us, he may have known the cashier once, who knows, maybe they even had a close bond too. Those old bonds no longer mattered though as a shambling figure came into view, an old man, or what's left of him anyway, walks out from the side of the cracked walls.

It bumps into the crashed car, falling face-first on the car's hood while Ren who safely stands beside us winces over the incident. It didn't take a genius to understand that he may have once viewed this zombie in a good manner, after all, bonds formed in an unfamiliar city tend to form a stronger chain to one's emotion.

'This might be cruel but he'll need to be able to do this if he wants to survive in this world.' I think to myself before handing him my machete. He looks at me with wide shocked eyes, understanding the implications and reason as to why I had handed him my weapon. His hands shake in an emotion only he alone feels right now, Chisato walks forward, probably in an attempt to stop him, but her attempt is cut short though as Alyssa pulls her hand back.

This causes Chisato to look back at Alyssa who only shakes her head, my eyes turn back to Ren who began moving closer to the building's widened entrance in shaky footsteps. He moves to the left side of the entrance, lowering his head as the broken wall wasn't tall enough to accommodate his height.

The zombie tries to get up from the car's hood, only to then slip as its supporting hand loses balance due to his blood wetting the surface of the hood. Ren slowly moves closer to the zombie, his eyes staring directly at the fallen zombie's figure.

My hand moves closer to the handgun kept inside the holster while I began walking to the opposite side of where Ren entered through, an extra measure just in case Ren does something stupid, which he does as his eyes fail to notice what's below him as the sound of something similar to small pieces of glass being stepped on rang out, causing everyone, including the zombie to look directly at him.

I take out the gun from my holster and rush in a good shooting position only to then see Ren rushing toward the zombie, he plunges the blade onto its skull before moving away with his ass still being dragged on the floor while breathing heavily. I put the gun back inside the holster and move toward the fallen zombie to take out the machete from its head.

Alyssa slowly moves beside me while Chisato rushes to Ren's side, patting his back in what may be an attempt to calm him down. The two look back at me as I wipe the blade on a dirty but blood-free portion of the zombie's clothes. I look around the lobby and spot couches placed in front of the elevator flipped on their side while a dried red handprint could be seen on the elevator's doors.

I check around the lobby for any more zombies that Ren may have alerted, it seems we were lucky this time since there were none to be found so my eyes return to the two who didn't move from their initial position. We're going to have to do things they never thought they'd have to do to survive, it isn't like we'd have a choice anyway since the only alternative is to either die or waste away somewhere in an attempt to hide away or refuse the reality we now lived in.

"Don't be sad, you should be rather glad about what you've done. If there's a human conscience inside that animalistic nature of your old friend, then you'd just freed it from having to do forced actions that the friend you knew would forever regret." I tell him before moving back outside with Alyssa, giving the two some quiet time while I and Alyssa enjoyed the breeze which came with a burnt smell as the fire on that still burning street remind me of a barbecue.

The two of us spend a few minutes in silence as we wait for Ren and Chisato to finish up with whatever they were doing inside. My mind wanders back to planning out our next steps from here, we could either go directly south, possibly cutting our travel time by a large margin in exchange for safety, or we could go further north a bit before moving around the urban sector of the city.

'It'll take us longer to get there but it should be the safer option, we'd also be in the second layer of the city so as long as we avoided the area around the bridge, using some form of vehicle should be fine.' I think to myself, putting the thought of asking Ren for some information away before I began hearing quiet footsteps coming from the entrance.

I look back and see Ren who was no longer shaking, while Chisato stood a bit further behind him. We coincidentally end up looking right into each other's eye, his avoiding mine altogether once he notices that I was looking directly at him unflinchingly while I was trying to look for any negative emotion like hate or contempt.

"Do you feel better now?" I ask Ren after a few seconds of him avoiding eye contact. He nods back at me before he began moving toward the stairway located at the side of the building itself. Which meant we luckily wouldn't need to risk ourselves by going up the building through the stairway indoors and moving around the other floors.

We continue moving up the stairs before stopping altogether at a door in front of us, presumably one that would allow us to get inside the 3rd floor's hallway directly. He takes out a set of keys from the inside of his pocket and picks one out to open the door, giving us a view of the inside layout of this floor. Four doors with quite a big amount of space in between them were on our right side while directly opposite where we were standing was a lone window.

He goes inside first while we followed close behind him as I close and lock the door behind us. We passed two apartment doors before we reached a stairway situated on our left side which was closed off with the kind of door you'd see in a mall. He flicks a switch on the side of the door causing the lights on the hallway to turn on, he continues moving forward while I lock the door that led from the indoor stairway to this hallway.

He stops in front of the door and picks out a different key from his set, pushing it through the door knob's hole and turning it to the side to unlock it. He slightly raises his bat in anticipation of a possible intruder even though his door was still locked just to be safe. He turns the knob and pushes the door open before visibly calming down as he removes tension from his movement.

He flicks a switch inside, causing light to pour out of the hallway before moving inside while we follow him through the door. I look back at the two doors we had just passed by earlier before pulling the door inside to close it, feeling a bit of relief as we managed to reach our first destination.

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AN: If you're curious as to where I based the number of bullets that mc managed to scavenge from their corpses then ask away.