Chapter 4: Old Friends

"After leaving home, David chose to take the interstate. Despite being the longest way, he chose to keep away from urban roads. After all, after the outbreak, big cities would be chaos, and the roads would hardly be clear.

Not to mention the presence of thousands of marathonist zombies.

After half an hour on the road, David had already seen several overturned cars and several people being attacked by zombies. But there was nothing he could do; after being bitten, there was no way to save them.

Furthermore, despite being someone whose purpose is to help people, David knows he can't save everyone in a zombie apocalypse.

It had been a few hours since the outbreak began in Philadelphia, and according to the map, he was already close to Newark. But as the hours passed, David was becoming increasingly anxious; he wasn't sure about the location of the residential complex where Gerry and his family took refuge in the movie.

It was late afternoon, and the sky would soon darken. At that moment, David looked at a supermarket on the edge of the interstate. There were several cars and people rushing to try to get some supplies.

At a glance, David saw a brown motorhome parked in front of the supermarket. "Damn it!" He turned the steering wheel, causing the Hummer to skid.

Entering the parking lot and stopping near the motorhome, he grabbed his pistol and got out of the Hummer. David checked the vehicle, and there was no one inside, but it was certainly the vehicle Gerry and his family used to leave Philadelphia.

Seeing that they might have just left, David ran into the supermarket.

The establishment's lights were flickering, while people ran from side to side, emptying any essential supplies from the shelves.

He began searching for Gerry in the aisles until he heard the scream of a girl not far away. Spinning around and running towards the scream, he turned a corner and saw a girl screaming while a woman was being attacked by two men.

At that moment, Gerry appeared from behind one of the shelves with his daughter. "Hey!" he shouted.

One of the men pulled a gun and started shooting in his direction, causing him to fall back and shoot back with his weapon. But the bullet missed by a few inches.

The man was about to shoot at Gerry again until a loud bang echoed from the other side of the aisle. "Bang!" A bullet entered the side of his head, and he fell to the ground.

The shot stunned Gerry for a second before he woke up and aimed the gun towards the noise. But seeing the person who shot, his body froze in surprise.

Approaching closer and offering a hand, David spoke with a smile: "Your aim seems to have gotten rusty, Gerry."

"David?!" he questioned, still surprised as he accepted the help to get up.

"The one and only. Good to see you again, Gerry," David replied before looking at the body of the man he had killed. "And to think that the first thing I killed in the zombie apocalypse was a human."

Helping his wife and younger daughters, Gerry turned to David: "How did you get here? I thought you lived in Wilmington."

"I did, but Thierry called me and said you would be in Newark," David replied. "We have to get out of here now; there's too much noise, and it's a terrible place to be cornered by zombies," he finished.

"You're right, let's go!" Gerry understood David's statement, and he quickly grabbed his family and started to leave the store. But as they passed through the door, a zombie moved like a shadow and leaped onto Gerry's eldest daughter, making her scream.

The zombie was inches away from grabbing her, but David moved like a shadow and kicked the zombie, sending it flying several meters away and crashing through a car window.

Despite being surprised by David's display of strength in sending a zombie flying with a kick, Gerry quickly snapped out of his stupor and thanked: "Thank you, David." He said sincerely before they continued to the parking lot.

But as they arrived, the motorhome was gone. "Damn it! The motorhome was taken," he cursed.

"Get in mine, quickly," David said as he unlocked the car.

Nodding, they quickly got into the vehicle, and David accelerated out of the parking lot. "Thank you for helping us, David. If it weren't for you, things could have gotten really bad," Gerry said.

"I also thank you, David. It's good to see a friendly face." Karin, Gerry's wife, spoke. "You don't need to thank me; we've been friends for a long time. I wouldn't let you get hurt in front of me," David replied.

In this reality, David and Gerry met in the field a long time ago. And David knew his family.

Looking ahead, David continued: "We need to find somewhere to stay; the helicopter will only come tomorrow morning."

"There's an apartment complex nearby. It would be a place to stay, and the terrace would serve as an extraction point." Gerry replied, pointing to the apartments not far away.

David quickly guided the Hummer towards the apartments Gerry indicated. When they arrived at the complex, people could be seen running in all directions as they tried to find a safe place.

But most of them were caught by the zombies and screamed as they tore their flesh.

Stopping in front of one of the buildings, David equipped his weapons with silencers and grabbed his bag. Handing his pistol to Gerry, he quickly spoke: "As soon as we get out of the car, stay close and behind me."

Gerry nodded while his family prepared to leave the car. "Now!"

As he opened the door, David quickly shot two zombies nearby, knocking them down before they could get closer.

He and Gerry's family moved towards one of the doors; kicking, David broke open the door, and they entered the building.

After entering, they headed into the interior of the residential complex. Keeping silent to avoid attracting the attention of the zombies, they searched for an empty apartment.

Finally, they found an apartment on the upper floor that seemed suitable to shelter in.

"This place will do." David confirmed, quickly looking around. "We need to fortify the door. We'll spend the night here."

Inside the apartment, he and Gerry put the fridge against the door, and Karin settled the girls, calming them down.

Sitting on the couch, he finally let out a sigh. "A full day, isn't it?" David said with a sigh.

Causing Gerry to nod tiredly. Looking at Karin and the girls, David realized they must be hungry; after all, they hadn't had time to get food at the market.

Digging into his bag, he took out some military food and handed it to Karin. "Here. They're not very tasty, but it'll fill your stomach for now."

"Thank you, David. It'll do." Karin gave a tired smile as she thanked him.

"We appreciate everything you've done for us, David. It's a relief to be with a friend in the midst of this situation." Gerry spoke with gratitude, while Karin and the children nodded in agreement.

"We're friends, Gerry, and we'll get through this." David replied with a slight smile. "Now, let's rest for a while. Tomorrow will be a busy day."