When everything was finally quiet, they ate the light meal Isabel had made. The warmth of the food filled the quiet room, easing the weight that had been on their chests.
After eating, Jaxon went to bed. The moment his back hit the mattress, his body felt like it was sinking into it.
'The window reinforcements... I'll have to fix them again,' he thought, his eyes growing heavy.
'I'll do it tomorrow...'
Before he knew it, sleep had taken him. He drifted off to dreamland with a small tired smile, relieved that at least for tonight his family was safe.
….
The next morning came quietly.
Sunlight peeked through the cracks in the curtains. Jaxon slowly opened his eyes and sat up, his body still sore from yesterday's fight.
He looked out the window. The street outside was calm, no growls, no movement. But the sight wasn't peaceful. Bodies of the dead were scattered near their destroyed gate and along the road, lying still in awkward, broken shapes.
"I've got a lot of work to do," he muttered under his breath.
Downstairs, the family gathered for breakfast. The table was quiet, the air heavy with fatigue and unspoken thoughts.
"Natasha, what's wrong?" Isabel asked, noticing her daughter's pale face. She looked uneasy, like she'd seen something she didn't want to believe.
Natasha hesitated for a second, then pulled out her phone. "I saw something this morning," she said, her voice low.
She played a video, showing footage taken from a helicopter. The shaky camera revealed endless swarms of zombies flooding through streets, tearing down everything in their path. It looked almost exactly like what they'd faced last night, buildings collapsing, screams echoing, and thousands of zombies surging like a tide.
"This was taken from the nearest safe zone," Natasha said quietly. "The City of Dunlow... west from here. The zombies broke through it."
Silence fell around the table. Each of them exchanged worried looks, realizing what that meant, nowhere was truly safe anymore.
Their home was in the small city of Grenton, a quiet place that used to have around eighty thousand residents. It wasn't far from Dunlow City, the nearest major city to the west. Along with three other cities and two small towns, they all made up the province known as Verden.
Dunlow was the only place in Verden that had managed to set up a real safe zone. But now, even that was gone.
"It's that Alpha zombie we saw last night," Jaxon said firmly, his tone full of certainty. "I'm sure of it."
"Then... what do we do now?" Isabel asked softly, her voice trembling. "If even the safe zone couldn't last, then staying home doesn't guarantee anything. W-what if they come here again?"
No one spoke. The silence stretched, heavy and uneasy.
Then Natasha looked at her mother, her voice calm but strong. "Mom, don't lose hope. You can't fall apart now. As long as we're together and alive, that's what matters most." She placed her hand on Isabel's. "After all, we still have Jaxon."
Jaxon turned to them. "I can't promise anything," he said quietly, "but I'll do my best."
....
After breakfast, Jaxon turned to Natasha.
"Sorry, Sis. I can't work out with you today. I need to clean up the bodies outside."
Natasha shook her head lightly. "It's fine. I'll help. You shouldn't do that by yourself."
"I'll help too, Brother." Cindy said quickly.
"Don't leave me out. Let's do it together," Isabel added with a small smile.
A few minutes later, the family started working.
"Don't go too far," Jaxon reminded them as he started clearing the broken wood from the windows. He grabbed his hammer and nails, adding more reinforcements to strengthen the barriers.
Meanwhile, Natasha, Isabel, and Cindy dragged the corpses one by one outside the gate. The stench was unbearable, the air thick with the foul odor of rot and blood. The dark red stains on the ground had already turned brown, and the crushed bodies of the zombies were twisted into shapes no human should ever see.
Cindy covered her nose and gagged. "It smells so bad..."
"Just hang in there," Natasha said, trying to sound calm even though her face was pale.
Each of them pushed through the disgust and fear, working together in silence. It was awful work, but they all knew it had to be done.
They worked for hours under the morning sun, sweat mixing with the heavy stench of death around them. After Jaxon finished reinforcing the windows, he joined them outside to help move the bodies.
"Wow, Brother, when did you get so strong?" Cindy whispered in awe as she watched him drag two corpses at once, their limp arms scraping against the ground.
Jaxon gave a small shrug. "Guess my workouts are finally paying off. You should start doing some too when you've got nothing else to do."
Cindy frowned but smiled faintly after. "Maybe... if it helps me get strong like you."
In truth, Jaxon was surprised too. He could feel it, his muscles moved with more power and less strain than before. If his limit before was a hundred kilos, now it felt closer to a hundred fifteen.
They kept working, dragging one body after another toward the road. Isabel paused and looked at the bent metal lying by the gate, the twisted remains of what once protected them.
"The gate..." she murmured.
Jaxon followed her gaze and sighed quietly. "I'm sorry. I can't fix that."
"You don't have to," Natasha said gently, stepping beside him. "We'll figure out a way."
Jaxon nodded, but his eyes stayed on the broken gate. If the zombies came again, there wouldn't be a gate to stop them next time.