79 Confirmed

After a while, the guys brought out huge pots and placed them on the tables. At the same time, the kids helped with bringing out the bowls for our use and I discovered that Aunt Sharon cooked Chicken Lomi for dinner. It was made with thick egg pasta, small cuts of boneless chicken, and thinly sliced vegetables in a rich and creamy soup. Boiled eggs were also by the side as an option for toppings and everyone obviously opted for it. It took a short moment before slurping sounds and exclaims from a burn—from eating too fast—could be heard.

Kaley was sitting right next to me but we saw Rin and Olivia hawking at us from afar.

"You see what the two are doing?" Kaley whispered.

"Yeah, they've been stealing looks at us for several minutes now. Want me to talk to them?"

"No! What would you even say? Call me big brother now?"

"Pfft! What the heck?! Where did that come from? I think I've been influencing you too much with my sense of humor…"

"What? It's not that dark, it's just a bit edgy... I swear, if you do that again, I'll stab you with this tanto you gave me."

"Hah! I'll stab you with 'something else'…" I whispered.

"You—" Kaley's eyes just rounded before she elbowed me.

The egg in my bowl flew off to the side but I managed to catch it gently with my left hand. I gingerly placed it back in the bowl and I licked the soup from my hand while I caught the glances of a few people, giving them a surprise.

Russel almost spat out a mouthful, "Dude! W-What the fuck?"

"That's a soft-boiled egg, right?" Kaley added while staring right at the egg I just saved.

"Not sure… Ah—"

Before I managed to react, Kaley jabbed with her spoon and sliced my egg in the middle. The golden yolk began to flow in the soup—coating the surface of it—but Kaley scooped half of it and placed it in her mouth. I figured that this was what 'it' would feel like and I just decided to accept my fate.

"Thanks! It IS soft-boiled," Kaley smirked as she tried to speak with a mouthful.

I was about to steal her egg as revenge but I heard a splat from a few chairs next to us.

"Bro! How the fuck did you do it?! It's impossible!" Russel exclaimed as he placed his bowl under his hand where the yolk was slowly dripping.

"Hah! You? You could sharpen a pencil with those hands!" Unc Zeidrick cackled at his son.

Everyone started laughing as the two had a back and forth but we soon continued eating.

After a while, the tables were cleared and everyone gathered for the meeting. Oscar was the one that started it and he relayed everything after I left, reporting first what happened with their runs. However, he called Rin over and he made her report the supplies they managed to take. Most of it was essential items though they grabbed a few things for leisure. After that, Oscar went up again and continued his report.

"Alright, the catwalks and the fence on the left side got finished in due time but I'm suggesting we do the same thing—but a mirrored version—on the other side. Right, we ended our run after reaching these three, walled houses near the fishing areas and we made contact with two households that decided to stay put."

"They didn't want to come here?"

"Uh-huh. Well, we'll be reclaiming that whole side, right? But they did say they are willing to cooperate with us and contribute. They wanted to know more about us but I said that they need to talk to you too. I gave each of them a working radio so we could at least open up a bit of communication between residences."

I nodded a few times and said, "That sounds good, we could do that tomorrow. Is that all?"

"Nah. It's far from over, kid. You've no idea how action-packed it was when you left with your bike. It got really exciting in the afternoon when we opened this place with a lot of zombies. We managed to dispose of all of them with zero casualties though our group used a few extra of our ammo for it. Better let them practice with it sooner than later and I say it's a good investment, yeah? To be honest, I'm surprised at Kaley. Tell me, have you used guns before?" Oscar turned to Kaley.

"Yes, I used to come with my dad when he goes hunting," Kaley replied.

Oscar nodded approvingly, "Ah, that made a lot of sense then. Anyway, I took down most of the deadheads we encountered while I let the others take care of what was left, practice and all. However, the space in the place we were in was so tight, not everyone could move freely. Kaley found a place to climb on so she picked off most of them with her rifle. It's just a shame we didn't get to fight more."

"Settle down, old man. We better start with something small. Let me tell you, it would be suicide if we face the horde I saw without proper preparation."

"Bah! Sure, you 'faced' one. Back on topic, we should head back to the same place tomorrow because it's an open area. It's not like the gated houses you secured last time and more might wander without notice, causing accidents. We could both bring a group and do things at the same time. That's all I have and why don't we see those 79? Hmm? If you really did it? You could back down and say you just took down seven, I won't judge ya."

I just shook my head in amusement then I made my way to the front. I already pulled the footage from my helmet and all I needed to do was to play it on my laptop. As soon as I did, the whole place went quiet and it started when I launched myself with my Hayabusa. Mixed reactions welcomed me when I zoomed past the DDR Camp, the mob, and the road I took towards the supermarket.

As the video was playing, I saw Oscar and the rest counting silently with their mouths. Everyone's eyes were glued to the screen and even if I was already safe and sound with them, Kaley was wearing a different expression compared to the rest of them. By the time I ran past the first corner, Oscar threw his hands in defeat because even if the number I gave him wasn't accurate, it already exceeded his kill count.

However, all of their faces warped to fear when they saw the current state of the People's Park. Russel and Lois muttered curses because the number of zombies in the general vicinity exceeded a few hundred. How much more could it turn into given some time?

Everyone saw everything that happened right until I was let in by Juan at the back of the supermarket. I paused it for a moment and I decided to tell what happened before the cut.

"This was when I found Allan and the rest of the people inside. A lot of them were stranded and needed help so I decided to stay the night and help with getting them out. A few things happened in between but the next footage was when you managed to call me."

I pressed the play button once more and that 'scene' loaded up. I still believed that it was a funny joke but I already told myself I wouldn't pretend to be a zombie, maybe. A few of them were laughing because it had already passed but Kaley was 'smiling' once I started laughing with them. She was emanating this terrifying aura as she was 'smiling' at me and I involuntarily gulped.

I then fast-forwarded it right when Allan and I saw the figure that sprinted past the supermarket. I replayed it several times because I only caught it on camera for a few seconds and everyone was curious as to what it was.

"What is that?"

"Remember the broadcast? I think it's a mutation of some sort, ignoring Rigor Mortis and maybe enhancing their movement or something. We don't know for sure because the shot was dark and I only caught a glimpse of it. However, we should contact the president's number and report what we've seen. It would be helpful for everyone if they know a thing exists that is much more dangerous than what we're currently facing."

Oscar interjected, "I'll take care of that. I'll contact them, just give me the number later."

I just nodded and then the video then cut into when we were leaving through the back door.

It was another action sequence but after a few minutes, I paused the video to show them the graffiti I saw on the wall. No one took it seriously yet but Derek almost caused a ruckus when he saw the video when we reached the DDR Camp. He discovered that Ivan abandoned them and his wife tried to calm him down. In the end, he left early with his wife to get some air.

It then showed the final moments when we reached the compound and the video ended. I turned the laptop off and I took my seat.

"That was crazy, dude!" Ken exclaimed after a moment of silence.