Chương 134: Campfires and Conversations

Vince bent his knees and leapt directly onto the compound's perimeter wall. Inside the rear courtyard, the two guards watching over the supply warehouse were already jumpy from hearing voices outside the wall. When a silhouette suddenly vaulted onto the top of the brickwork, they nearly jumped out of their skin! Terrified, they grabbed the spears leaning against the wall, scrambled toward the warehouse door, and stared wide-eyed at the figure, just about to scream for help.

"It's me, Vince... Where's Ben?" Vince stared down at the two trembling guys. He didn't know them personally, but their faces were vaguely familiar. Whoever they were, if they were stationed here, they were definitely Ben's men. He quickly spoke up before they caused a panic.

"Ah... Holy crap, it really is Boss Vince..." One of the guys poked his head out from behind the doorframe, squinting in the dim light to double-check. Confirming it was actually Vince and not some super-mutant zombie, he gave a sheepish smile and stepped out.

"Boss Ben... we're not sure. He just took that massive new guy and left a few minutes ago..."

"Got it. Don't mind me, carry on..." That massive new guy? Bruno? Vince hopped down from the wall. Seeing that neither Ben nor Bruno was around, he glanced at the stockpile of purified water under the corrugated steel awning. The count looked right. Previously, it was strictly one barrel per person. Now that they had over fifty new mouths to feed, there were still about fifty barrels left. Clearly, even when Ben wasn't around, his logistics crew wasn't haphazardly burning through the water supply.

Management was solid. He gave the two guards a nod, walked through the courtyard's side gate, and headed straight for the front of the supermarket.

"Whoa... That's Boss Vince... that wall is so high, and he just whooshed right over it!" the guards whispered to each other as soon as he was out of earshot, eyes full of envy.

"So strong..." The main floor of the supermarket had been reorganized into a makeshift cafeteria. A few women were currently prepping tomorrow's rations. When a stranger suddenly walked out from the back storeroom doors, they all stopped and stared at him with sheer curiosity.

"Ah! Vince—!" One of the women recognized him and immediately gasped, covering her mouth. Seeing this, Vince quickened his pace, practically speed-walking out the front door. He was terrified one of these aunties was going to ambush him with small talk like,"Dr. Lin, do you remember me? You cured my dog's constipation!" He wouldn't even know how to respond to that.

"Ben, it's Vince. Where are you? And where's Bruno...?" Stepping out of the supermarket, Vince pulled out his radio and hailed Ben.

"Vince... it's Ben. Bruno's right here with me... He woke up, so we headed over to the clinic to find you, but no one was there. Where are you?" Ben's voice crackled over the comms.

"Hah! Missed each other. I'm at the supermarket. Head back here..."

"Copy that, on our way..." A few young guys loitering by the supermarket entrance hadn't recognized him at first, but hearing his half of the radio conversation, they immediately figured out who he was.

"Boss Vince, here, have a seat..." One of the kids quickly scurried over, offering him a wooden stool. Vince took it, muttered a thanks, and sat down right by the entrance. The fire under the massive iron wok near the door had died down, leaving only a gentle residual heat. Peeking through the gap of the half-open lid, he could see a few leftover flatbreads stuck to the sides of the wok. Having enough food to actually leave leftovers was practically a miracle in this apocalypse.

If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it's taken without the author's consent. Report it. Across the street, sitting on an assortment of scavenged chairs and stools, a group of people were casually chatting. Looking at their low Health bars, Vince figured they were the newly rescued survivors. Having just been dragged out from the absolute abyss of despair, these people understood the value of simply being alive better than anyone.

They huddled together in small groups, greedily savoring every passing second. The loot scavenged from the compound hadn't been hauled all the way to the supermarket; instead, it was stockpiled on the ground floors of the nearby buildings for easy access. Everything in the refrigerators had long since rotted. The only usable salvage was bottled water, rice, flour, and cooking oil—stuff that kept well. Through the windows, Vince could see silhouettes moving around inside the apartments.

It seemed the logistics crew was still busy organizing.

"Vince..." A shout came from down the street. Vince turned to see two silhouettes walking toward him against the setting sun. One was wide; the other was built like a tank. It was Ben, and the walking tank next to him was obviously Bruno.

"Boss Vince." A slightly unfamiliar voice rang out. While walking with Ben, Bruno had gotten a crash course on their "Boss." Ben had also informed him that everyone just called him by his name now, dropping the dramatic "Boss" title. [84/350] After an afternoon of rest, Bruno's Health had regenerated by over 40 points. Although his external wounds and mangled arm were far from fully healed, he looked significantly more energetic. Seeing Vince sitting by the door, the two quickly jogged over.

"Bru... I'll just call you Bruno," Vince said. The guy didn't look too old, but might not be younger than Vince either. To avoid the awkwardness of trying to guess ages for honorifics, Vince just followed Ben's lead.

"Yeah, yeah! Call me whatever works! Ben calls me that too." Bruno gave Ben a quick smile before turning back to Vince. He bent at the waist, bowing so deeply his head was lower than Vince's sitting height.

"Vince! I owe you my life! You pulled me back from the brink. Whatever you need done, just say the word!" Whatever pride he had as a "heavy hitter" had been utterly pulverized the moment he faced that mutant zombie. As he walked up, he had scanned Vince from head to toe. No exhaustion. No injuries. Nothing. He was just sitting on a stool with an easy smile, watching the survivors go about their business and nodding back at greetings like he didn't have a care in the world.

Bruno remembered waking up in the tree and running for his life with the horde on his heels. He knew this man must have killed the monster, but he never imagined the guy would look so entirely unfazed. There was nothing left to say. He instantly bent the knee and swore loyalty. Watching the massive guy with one arm in a sling bow so deeply, Vince felt a bit awkward. He shot Ben a look. Catching the hint, Ben quickly reached out to pull Bruno back up.

"Whoa there, Bruno, no need for all that. Every single one of us here owes Boss Vince our lives. True gratitude doesn't need to be spoken. Besides, Vince isn't a fan of the dramatic stuff..."

"Exactly. Look at Ben—he's got the right idea. This old bastard has never thanked me once..." Vince chimed in, perfectly playing off Ben's words. Owing someone your life was a heavy burden, for both the savior and the saved. It wasn't something that should constantly be brought up; that kind of pressure bred resentment. So Vince deliberately refused to accept the formal bow, using a joke with Ben to casually brush it off.

"Heh..." Hearing their banter, Bruno straightened up. He looked at Vince and scratched his head with his good left hand, a genuine smile breaking across his face.

"Then I won't be overly polite about it, Boss! But seriously, if there's anything you need me to do, I'm your guy!"

"Alright, alright. What are you gonna do with one arm anyway? Just focus on healing up..." Vince replied with a smile. Then, seamlessly, he pivoted to the question he actually cared about.

"Grab a seat. Tell me your story. From day one of the apocalypse..." This was the entire reason he was here. A few younger guys nearby scrambled to bring over more stools. Ben ordered someone to haul out a few crates of beer from inside. Grabbing a stool, he sat down opposite Vince. The younger guys who were off the clock didn't disperse, and Vince didn't shoo them away. If they wanted to listen, let them. Bruno was going to be living and fighting alongside them from now on.

Shutting them out would only make Vince look paranoid. As the sun dipped below the horizon, a group of people with full stomachs sat or stood around, listening. Bruno started his tale from the day he arrived at the compound to lay tiles. When he described getting bitten until his arm and both legs were broken, the crowd gasped in horror. When he mentioned the female neighbor eagerly throwing herself at him, the guys in the crowd snickered and whistled.

In this moment, the invisible wall between the Awakened and the normal civilians quietly melted away. All that remained was the story, and the man telling it. The sky grew darker, but the crowd around them only swelled. Though it wasn't autumn yet, the overcast night brought a biting chill. Someone hauled the massive iron wok off its stand and lit a wood fire right inside the stove drum, driving away the damp cold. There was no barbecue, but there was beer.

The group huddled around the three men, soaking in this rare, peaceful moment of downtime.

"Bruno, what did it actually feel like when you ate that thing?" Standing in the crowd with a beer in hand, Cody asked, his eyes wide with curiosity.

"Feel? Nothing special, really..."

"Wait a second... when did you get here?" Vince held up a hand, holding his beer can, cutting Bruno off. When he first heard Cody's voice, he thought he was hallucinating. Looking up, he saw that familiar face grinning back at him, clearly trying to pull off a surprise appearance.