Before leaving, Raven glanced once more at the dead man but there was no response.
'So… it doesn't work on people who just died?'
He wasn't entirely sure yet, but at least he had a partial answer to his doubts.
With that, he began moving again but this time, he was far more cautious.
From this last encounter, he'd drawn a few conclusions.
First, they stank like hell. If he noticed a strong, rotting smell in the air, he needed to avoid it at all costs.
Second, they couldn't see. Every undead that had charged at him had done so purely out of instinct not because of sight. Most of them didn't even have eyes.
'Though I still don't know if that applies to all of them… the freshly turned ones might be different.'
Third, they weren't that hard to kill.
'All the notifications labeled them as ordinary undead. If there was only one type, why specify ordinary? That must mean there are others... but so far, I haven't seen any.'
As he moved past houses and buildings, carefully avoiding attention, he observed every undead he came across. None seemed different. No unusual traits. No special behaviors. Just the same mindless, rotting husks.
With every answer came a dozen more questions. It was fair to say he now had more uncertainties than clarity.
Staying hidden and silent, he eventually made it to the nearest food store.
'Lucky this one was close… and judging by how things are out here, staying exposed isn't a good idea at all. There are just too many of them.'
It had only taken him about half an hour to reach the store, but in that short time, he'd seen so many undead he'd lost count.
He remained hyper-aware, avoiding even the slightest noise. To mask his scent, he had smeared himself with the decaying stench of the undead. It was nauseating but when survival was on the line, there wasn't any room for pride.
Raven cautiously scanned the surroundings. No undead nearby, at least for now. Slowly, he approached the store entrance and reached for the door.
It didn't budge.
It wasn't an automatic door which was now non-functional due to the crashout. It was a manual one but it was locked from the inside.
'Someone's inside… but why can't I see them?'
Looking closer, he noticed the door had been tied shut from the inside with a cloth wrapped tightly around the lock.
Raven tugged on it a few times, but it didn't open. His attempts made just enough noise to alert those within.
A boy, probably in his late teens, peeked out from behind the counter. His face was pale with fear, drenched in sweat, barely holding onto his sanity. When his eyes finally met Raven's, his expression relaxed a little but he was still hesitant.
He began to back away, disappearing from sight again.
Luckily, Raven had spotted him too.
"Hey," Raven called out gently, "open the door."
He kept his voice calm, trying not to scare him but it was barely audible. The boy either didn't hear it... or pretended not to.
'He's not going to open it easily. I get why he's afraid… but that doesn't help me.'
Realizing a softer approach wouldn't work, Raven changed tactics.
"If you don't open this door in the next ten seconds, I'll scream loud enough to attract every undead nearby," he warned. "You can guess what happens then. Just open the door and let me in. I'll leave soon after."
His tone had changed calm but threatening. That was all it took.
The boy froze. He'd seen what the undead could do. Faced with the choice of letting one person in or bringing hell to his doorstep, the answer was obvious.
Hands trembling, he slowly walked to the door and unlocked it.
As soon as it opened, Raven slipped inside and shut it behind him.
The boy suddenly recoiled, clutching his nose and mouth, taking a few steps back before blurting out,
"You reek, man!"
It wasn't the reaction Raven had hoped for after dragging himself through hell smelling like roadkill, but it was expected. The stench of rotting flesh clung to him like a curse.
His brow twitched.
"You don't smell like roses either," Raven shot back.
Without waiting for a reply, he walked past, heading deeper into the store in search of food.
As he rounded the corner, he saw them dozens of people, huddled together in silence. All of them had been hiding here since the start of the apocalypse. This store had become their haven.
'A place with food is probably the best shelter right now. Things aren't dire yet, people still have supplies… but eventually, they'll run out. This is going to last for a month but there is no saying it will end after that.'
'But is staying here truly safe? When people get desperate, instincts kick in. If you can't protect yourself, you won't survive. It's as simple as that.'
Things were only going to get worse from here.
The undead were already a constant threat. But soon, even the safe places would vanish. People would start turning on each other. Those who couldn't fight would be left behind. Or worse.
And when that time came, the only rule would be survival.
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Thanks for reading.