After Gavin caught the key, he tossed it directly to Madison.
Madison grabbed the key and walked toward William and his friend's old Ford, opened the door, and began searching quickly.
About thirty seconds later, he returned with an 8x scope and a short shotgun, his trouser pockets filled with shotgun shells.
"Gavin, what a surprise."
He merely remarked to Gavin while holding the compact shotgun.
"He also has a lever-action rifle in his car that the governor used, a Winchester M1887. So cool!"
"Is that so? Is that why you took so long?"
Upon hearing this, Gavin took the eight-fold scope, weighed it in his hands, and shook his head.
"If you're late, you won't be able to use this thing."
As he spoke, Gavin lifted the scope to his eyes, focusing on the silhouette in the distance illuminated by the moonlight and the dim streetlights.
The figure was drawing closer and becoming clearer.
But what Gavin wanted to ascertain was whether there were more figures trailing behind it.
Once he confirmed that the staggering figure on the road was alone, Gavin exhaled, hung the eight-fold scope on his belt, and turned to speak.
"There's only one zombie, dressed in gas station attire, and the clerk came to collect our bills, man."
"Really? Then I really need to talk to him about the price~"
Madison replied with a grin, simultaneously pulling the lever of the Governor's gun to chamber a round, aiming it at Eugene on the ground.
William stood nearby, dazed and lost in sorrow, but the inebriated Eugene, hearing Gavin's words, quickly asked,
"You said that figure over there is a freaking zombie? Is that some kind of metaphor, or are you seriously mocking me for crashing into the crew?"
"Heh."
Gavin didn't answer Eugene, but approached Madison, giving his shoulder a pat.
"Keep an eye on them; I'll handle this."
"Just you?"
"Is that a problem? Sooner or later, we'll have to get used to dealing with zombies. Since there's only one left, we should definitely practice with it."
"Besides, I'm too lazy to explain the details to them, so I might as well give them a little visual impact."
With that, Gavin holstered his Colt and returned to the shop to retrieve his saber.
Gavin climbed into the car, saber in hand, and drove while keeping an eye on the distance between himself and the approaching zombie.
At that moment, his car was about 600 meters away from the lone zombie.
As the vehicle continued to move forward, Gavin remained fixed on the zombie until he was only 140 meters away.
He noticed that the zombie, which had been shuffling slowly, suddenly broke into a 100-meter sprint!
"The distance at which regular engine noise can attract zombies is about 140 meters."
After muttering this to himself, Gavin halted the car, exited with his knife, and prepared for the zombie's approach.
As the zombie drew nearer, Gavin trotted forward, found the right distance, and slashed at the zombie's shoulder with his knife.
The blow was powerful, and the zombie he was poised to attack was knocked to the ground.
Without waiting for the creature to rise, Gavin's knife fell repeatedly, swiftly severing the zombie's head.
Even after decapitation, the clerk zombie continued to open its mouth and roar like Gigi.
Gavin snorted, bent down to grasp the clerk's hair, and dragged the head back to the car.
He hung the head outside the window to avoid staining the interior with blood, then returned to Eugene and the others, holding the head in his hand.
William remained somewhat dazed, but Eugene let out a shocked roar upon seeing the head.
"Oh my god, that thing is still moving!"
"He killed someone? Gavin actually killed someone!"
William shouted in sudden realization, but before he could finish, Eugene slapped him on the back.
After interrupting William's foolishness, Eugene continued through gritted teeth.
"Look closely; that head is moving. Am I high as a kite?"
"Shit, it's actually moving!"
After Eugene's repeated reminders, William finally noticed the zombie's mouth moving incessantly.
Just then, Gavin casually tossed the zombie head at their feet.
As the head hit the ground, it rolled twice and stopped at William's feet.
With the light from the gas station illuminating the scene, William recoiled in shock as he saw the head attempting to gnaw at his shoes!
In a panic, William swung his right foot and kicked the zombie's head away.
While sending the head flying towards the convenience store door, William kicked out violently and screamed,
"Fuck, I didn't see it clearly, you idiot!"
Eugene didn't laugh but scolded William in discontent, then leaned closer to the zombie's head for a better look.
But just as he was about to act, Madison pointed her gun at him.
He had no choice but to lower his gaze at Gavin.
Gavin waved his hand and said,
"Old Mac, that's enough."
"Hmph, you're lucky!"
Old Mac nodded and struck Eugene's back with the butt of his gun.
Eugene ignored Old Mac and rushed straight to the zombie's head, lifting it up with wide eyes.
"Fuck..."
His gaze met the zombie's for a long moment, then he lifted the head and held it in front of William.
"Let's go, get in the car, and head home!"
"What... what about going home? Why is my head still moving after it's been chopped off? Am I dreaming, Eugene?"
"Wake the hell up; we need to get home fast!"
"My sister and my nephew are still at home, as are your damn father and brother. Haven't you noticed that something happened in Texas? I don't want to go to jail, but this is worse than jail, fuck!"
Eugene flung the zombie head away and dragged the bewildered William back to the car.
As he shoved William into the passenger seat, he turned and glared at Gavin and Madison.
After a moment of silence, he opened his mouth.
"Next time... next time I see you, I'll blow your heads off from a few hundred meters away!"
"Idiot, save your threats for next time. Be careful on your way back and think more about those zombie movies."
Gavin smiled and waved at Eugene, who was still making threats.
Eugene climbed into the car, his face a mix of red and green, and drove away in the old Ford.
Once the old Ford disappeared from their sight, Madison approached Gavin, poking his arm.
"That guy isn't bad, the short one with the buzz cut named Eugene. You just let them go like that? They would have been more useful if they stayed."
Eugene was only about 5'9" tall with short hair, so he appeared quite diminutive beside them.
Gavin shrugged and teased Madison at her suggestion.
"I thought you were quite annoyed with that guy. You two were trading insults fiercely."
"So what? I know his type all too well. You have to be ruthless to deal with people like that. But he's sharp and cautious."
"The young policeman named William is just a greenhorn, but Eugene is definitely a seasoned veteran. There's no contradiction between my annoyance with his mouth and my admiration for him."
As the conversation ended, Madison looked at Gavin expectantly.
Gavin shook his head, saying,
"Didn't you hear? They have their reasons for going home. In the face of disaster, who would stop a person from seeing their family?"
"That's true. This is one of the reasons I think he's pretty good. At least the first people he thought of were his sister and that clueless dad of his."
After their chat, Madison returned to the store to pack up without Gavin needing to urge her.
Gavin lit a cigarette, savoring the smoke while continuing to select items in the store.
In America, convenience stores generally offer a wide range of goods, or one might even say a chaotic assortment. Gavin even found a box of simple gas masks.
However, it was truly a fantasy to think one could empty an entire convenience store into just a pickup truck. After the two of them had been gathering for six or seven minutes, the pickup truck's cargo bed was nearly full.
Gavin tossed two barrels of mineral water into the truck bed and muttered to himself as he looked at the haul.
"Almost there, let us go. Perhaps we can see my home before the sunrise."
"I'll trust your judgment. Besides, there's truly nothing worthwhile in this small convenience store. They don't even have a Fiji Cup."
Madison replied with a playful grin before stacking the last four barrels of oil in the truck bed.
Then he glanced at the driver's seat of the vehicle and said, "Let me drive this time. You really need to rest. I know the way to Karens Town. Isn't your home nearby?"
"Indeed."
Gavin agreed and moved to the passenger seat. Madison eagerly took her place in the driver's seat, gripping the steering wheel tightly.
As Madison started the car, Gavin tapped the window with his fingers to remind her, "Stay off the main road. The route ahead goes straight through the heart of Ennis and Corsicana."
"I understand we must avoid crowded places, but speaking of Ennis..."
Madison couldn't help but look at Gavin.