"Rice?"
Doris was a bit taken aback. She hadn't expected Gavin to enjoy this kind of food.
After all, in America, rice is primarily grown for export, and the locals rarely have it on their tables.
However, there was indeed a small bag of rice in their vehicle. After recalling its location, Doris wiped her tears away and went to the cupboard to retrieve it.
The small bag weighed only 5.4 kilograms—not much, but certainly enough for a few meals.
Once she was sure she could adequately satisfy Gavin's appetite, Doris let out a reluctant sigh of relief and placed the herb-wrapped meat into the frying pan.
Accompanied by the sizzling sound of cooking meat, Eugene leaned against the car window beside the dining table, gazing out with a gloomy expression.
On the sofa nearby, Madison shifted restlessly, repeatedly feeling that there was some strange noise, prompting him to curse at Eugene.
"Will you please stop shaking your legs?"
"Huh? Am I shaking my legs?"
Eugene was taken aback, and instinctively tapped his feet on the ground before slapping his thigh with annoyance.
"Okay, man, I'll keep an eye on my legs. You know, a man's feet are like a cat's tail. Sometimes I don't even notice them. Haha."
Eugene's expression lightened slightly with his chuckle, but he still didn't dare to relax as he stared out the window.
Gavin lay in the passenger seat, tossed his cigarette butt out the window, then closed the window and propped his feet on the dashboard.
Speaking lazily, with his left hand resting casually on his chest and his right hand bent at his waist, his fingertips grazed the handle of his Colt Python.
"Being nervous is the most useless emotion. When I have time, I'll take you out to pick up trash and have some fun with the zombies. Then you won't be nervous anymore."
"Huh? Nervous? Me? No way!"
Upon hearing Gavin's words, Eugene quickly shook his head and scoffed.
"You were playing college football while I was fighting in Iraq, and you think I'm nervous?"
"Quarterback, don't f**k with me like some Hollywood sissy. I'm a real tough guy who's been to the battlefield!"
After finishing his tirade, Eugene slammed his hand on the table in frustration.
Gavin chuckled and closed his eyes in silence.
On the sofa, Madison rolled his eyes and sneered.
"Just you? Tough guy? Wait until you stop shaking your legs before you tell us that!"
"Gavin led me out of a manor filled with zombies. What about you? What have you been through? Did you drive a junk car and stare deeply into the eyes of a young policeman's father?"
"Fuck you, Madison, can you shut your filthy mouth!"
Eugene raised his middle finger at Madison in irritation, and Madison retaliated with two middle fingers of his own.
Amidst the whispered quarrel and the sounds of Doris frying, grilling, and stewing meat, Gavin fell into a deep sleep.
Time passed, though how much he couldn't tell, before Gavin suddenly woke from his slumber.
In that first moment of waking, his right hand instinctively grasped the Colt Python and drew it.
As he cocked the hammer, Gavin sat up in the passenger seat, looking toward the hurried footsteps that had disturbed his rest.
He saw William rushing from the back of the vehicle to the front, holding a telescope.
"What happened?"
Madison, still awake, immediately asked as he noticed William's frantic pace.
As Madison questioned him, Eugene groggily climbed up from the dining table, drool on half his face, and sleepily asked in a panic, "What's going on? Are the zombies coming... slurp..."
Eugene realized mid-sentence that he had saliva on his face. His cheeks flushed as he quickly wiped his mouth with his sleeve.
Not far away, Doris, who had been stewing the meat, saw Eugene's actions and quickly lowered her head.
They're so dirty, so disgusting, oh my god...
As Doris felt sorry for herself, William hurriedly handed the telescope to Madison.
"It seems like zombies are coming!"
"Really? Let me see!"
Eugene interrupted immediately, reaching for the telescope, but Madison quickly moved it away, cursing at him.
"Go back to sleep, you stupid tough guy who said he was going to stand guard! Shit!"
After scolding Eugene, Madison raised the telescope to look out the window, but after searching for a long while, he saw no zombies.
Meanwhile, Gavin approached Madison with the gun and placed a hand on his shoulder.
"Let me see."
"Are you awake? You only slept for a short while?"
Madison asked, surprised, as he handed over the telescope.
Gavin took it and holstered his pistol, while Eugene frowned at the sight of the weapon being returned to its holster.
"Tsk tsk, that Colt is so damn beautiful; it's truly a rich man's gun. It's probably worth thirty iPhones!"
As he joked, Eugene contemplated why Gavin had suddenly awoken and instinctively drawn his gun, secretly impressed by Gavin's vigilance.
Madison, hearing Eugene's words, instinctively retorted, "You have no taste! That's a revolver in the same style as Elvis Presley's. You can't buy it for less than fifty Apple phones!"
"Okay."
Gavin reminded them through the telescope, and Madison fell silent, while Eugene ceased his chatter.
Gavin scanned the direction of Ennis for a moment, and after confirming he saw nothing, he quickly turned to William.
"The zombies are coming from the direction of Palmer, right?"
"Oh yes, that's correct, not from Ennis's side!"
William nodded emphatically, while Gavin exhaled and spoke calmly.
"Next time, explain it right away."
"I understand..."
William lowered his head, leaning against the vehicle without saying more.
After observing for a moment, Gavin confirmed the presence of the zombies and addressed the group waiting anxiously.
"Don't worry. The zombie population is far smaller than that in the Ennis direction. They're over two kilometers away from us, and there are about... six hundred or seven hundred of them?"
"I think they're probably following Eugene's old Ford from the direction of Hutchins."
As soon as he finished speaking, Gavin set down the telescope and handed it to Madison, who immediately looked toward Palmer.
In this manner, the telescope was passed from one person to another. Just as Winnie approached and took the telescope to scan the area, Gavin stepped to the front of the car door.
Gavin smiled and patted William's shoulder encouragingly.
"Good job, man."
"I'll try my best... I'll try my best not to let us end up like my dad!"
William responded through gritted teeth. Gavin nodded and then pushed open the RV door.
Crash!
The sound of the car door opening startled Winnie, nearly causing her to drop the binoculars.
Under everyone's concerned gaze, Gavin calmly jumped out of the vehicle and found a bottle of mineral water in the truck bed of the Tyrannosaurus Rex.
After taking a sip, he waved the mineral water toward everyone at the RV window and said with a smile, "Come get what you want to drink."
"Shit, I thought you were just here for a trip. Weren't you so concerned before? Why don't you care now?"
Eugene muttered, then strode out of the RV, picking up two glass bottles of Coke and opening them separately.
William took a deep breath, followed Eugene out, and raised his hand to take the extra bottle of Coke Eugene had grabbed.
Unexpectedly, Eugene quickly dodged his hand and scolded him with a grin, "This isn't for you, bitch; get your own."
After saying this, Eugene handed the Coke to Winnie, who had just gotten out of the vehicle, saying, "Hold it, kid, don't let some wet-behind-the-ears policeman snatch it away."
"Bullshit, why would I steal something from a child?"
William shot back, found a Coke, opened it, and took a big gulp in annoyance.
Seeing William like that, Eugene nodded and smiled.
"Finally, he looks a bit like a police officer."
"Cut it out!"
William raised his middle finger at Eugene, who turned away nonchalantly, leaning against the RV and gazing at the road near Palmer Town.
From afar, Eugene watched as hundreds of zombies shuffled past Palmer Town, looking up at the sky in frustration.
"Fuck it, do we have to live with those things from now on? This damn zombie apocalypse!"
"Okay, I haven't even complained yet. Guess what kind of life I lived before, and look at me now, haha."
Gavin tightened the cap on the bottle of mineral water and smiled at Eugene.
At that moment, Madison stepped out of the car and turned to Gavin, her gaze fixed on the large throng of zombies shuffling in the distance.
"Boss, Hutchins' zombies are advancing toward Ennis. Will this affect our plan?"