First Human Encounter

Now, Nile was already more than prepared. He got a weapon, a defensive item that could also act as a weapon. He had also scouted the area. What's left for him was to come inside the Village Hall or lure out the zombie that was inside it.

Nile was at the periphery of the 50 meter radius from the Village Hall. He was at the house where he killed the last zombie in this area.

After getting equipped with the clothes and items. Nile goes out and walks unhurriedly towards the Village Hall.

He plans to observe the Village Hall closer and see if he could determine the general location of the zombie.

As he got closer and closer, when he was 30 meters away from the Village Hall, he saw a flying pebble aiming towards him.

He evades it easily and traces back to where the pebble came from.

On that location, 20 or so meters away from him. There was a man with an anxious expression looking towards him. His hands are making a 'come over here' sign with a hurried pace.

When Nile looked at the man, his eyes lit up and at the same time became slitted.

This is the first human survivor that he had encountered. Nile was glad and also felt wary at the same time. He was in an Apocalypse World after all.

Seeing that the man beckoned for him to come over, Nile did not ignore him, as he could also see the worried look on the man's face.

Nile approached the man and maintained a 5 meter distance away from him.

The man is middle aged, the man's height is slightly over Nile's shoulder. Just like Nile, you could see that he did not take a bath for a while.

His appearance, well, compared to Nile, the man's disadvantage was that Nile had taken one bath more than him.

They are both ordinary. When it was raining with ordinariness, both Nile and the Man must have been close companions.

The man's build is also ordinary, the man's body is slightly bigger than Nile's. Compared to Nile's previous Hulk like appearance, the man's build will look like a child. In summary, the man is so ordinary that he is more ordinary than Nile.

Nile did not speak and only kept his eyes on the man. He could see that the man was panting lightly. He also noticed that the man heaves a 'phew' when he comes over.

After the man recovers his breath, he glances at Nile and speaks in an ordinary tone.

"I'm glad that you listened to me. There is a strong zombie inside the Village Hall. You could have died if you did not come over here quickly." Said the man, before letting out a 'phew,' again.

Nile only nodded and said "Thank you" in an ordinary tone.

"This is not a safe place to talk, come with me." The man said to Nile, while turning his back.

He slowly walks forward and after taking 10 steps, he glances back only to see that Nile is still rooted in that same spot.

The man "..."

Nile "..."

An awkward silence. A cricket sound could be heard somewhere.

...

Meanwhile, Nile stares at the man more warily than before.

'So suspicious, if I did not see your worried expression earlier, I would have already whacked you like a mole with my sledge hammer.'

A man suddenly pops out of nowhere. He will then tell you that the place is not safe to talk. And right after, he will tell you to follow him/her. If that is not suspicious, what is?

...

The man, seeing Nile's suspicious gaze, became dumbfounded. He then remembers the current world they are in.

They are in the Apocalypse. The world where there would no longer be a law. The world where humans will do anything to survive.

With this realization, he also became wary towards Nile. Of course, because he is the one who started their encounter, he returns towards Nile maintaining the 5 meter distance away from him.

Now, he observes Nile carefully. He could see that Nile is rather young, he must be in his early twenties, he is carrying a sledgehammer over his shoulder. He wears clean clothes with vibrant colors. His body was thin, Nile's height was taller than him. He could also tell that Nile had not taken a bath for a long time because his hair is messy and spiky because of dirt.

"I'm sorry, I am rather rash." He bowed his head towards Nile slightly. Not bowing too much, as he was afraid Nile would suddenly attack him if he did so.

"My name is Marlin, I am the Village Captain of Village Malibo. Well, I am no longer a Village Captain because of this Apocalypse."

"I am scouting at the perimeter of the Village Hall to monitor the movement of the strong zombie inside. That was when I saw you heading towards the direction of Village Hall. I stopped you because if you ever come closer to the Village Hall you will alert the strong zombie inside it and it might kill you directly."

"We have a base in the East direction, there are 23 people right now, but, during our scouting, if we ever see other people, we will bring them over to our base."

Village Captain Marlin or Marlin spoke to Nile, explaining the reasons for his action. He also mentioned the base with 23 more people, it is to inform Nile that where he wants to bring him is the base, on the other hand, he also intends to warn Nile not make any nasty movements, or else his group would certainly take revenge for him.

Nile understands his point, and he also introduces himself simply.

"I am Nile, I come from Hamlet of Palma. I was just looking for food. That is why I want to go into the Village Hall."

Marlin nodded his head. He did not lower his guard but still invited Nile out of courtesy.

"If you want to, you can come over to our base. We have food supplies there that could last us for a while. No freeloading of course, you will need to work by scouting and searching for food supplies. After gathering more people, we planned to move into a bigger place to survive."

Nile pondered about it and went to the base with Marlin. He notices that Marlin is rather well informed around the area. Maybe they know some places that have Level One° zombies around them. Of course, he will not drop his guard down.

"All right, I will come over. But I will leave shortly after. I only need some information about this area." Nile was honest as he could tell that Marlin is being honest too.

With that, they proceeded towards the base where Marlin spoke.

Along the way, they still maintain a distance of 5 meters from each other while walking side by side.