Step 8

-နိုးထ

°•○● - Step 8 /T

Hours passed. The waiting was difficult for everyone. No one spoke, except for a few soldiers on duty, who occasionally distributed needs. Almost two hundred soldiers stood in and on the wall in small groups. When the news was finally received, observers gave the message at similar times.

"It's zombies!"

"Zombies are coming!"

"Their numbers are at least one thousand. But probably thousands. It may be five, even ten thousand!"

Two different groups were dispatched to the south and north sides of the town. Two scout groups, after examining the speed of the approaching herd, turned back to come to town. At that time, everyone in town who received the message breathed a sigh of relief.

"We can handle it." Relieved by the voice of Morsh, Eren decided to stay where he was temporarily sitting on the wall. After all, Zombies were stupid things that moved slowly and couldn't fly. The top of the wall would be the safest place during the collision.

Despite Morsh's anxious gaze, Eren wanted to stay on the wall. As the wait continued, the pain in his head and the feeling he received from the surroundings grew stronger.

"Are we sure it's a zombie horde?"

The soldiers below didn't hear it, but many on the wall heard Eren's question. Worried eyes locked on Morsh and Eren.

"What do you mean?"

Eren shook his head.

The headache got so bad. He was sure that the three pain-killers he took half an hour ago weren't working at all.

He smiled a little when he managed to light the cigarette in his hand despite a strong wind. "I haven't seen a zombie before. Yet, the feeling I get feels like it's not a zombie, it feels like an intelligent and predatory animal. I think we should be prepared for more."

Morsh took Eren with him and went downstairs. It was like a tunnel that Lara had previously used to take out the group on night duty. They entered a tunnel that was technically inside the town but went under it a lot. As they walked, the roads widened but became darker. They walked for a while and reached a room full of cages.

"There's one zombie inside that was caught the day Nihan died. We're still keeping it alive. There were a few more, but they're constantly being wasted on experimenting. The only useful thing about their bodies is making experiments for different fields. I even forgot that this was still here."

He let in Eren in a place where there were tables full of technological tools. It could even be a stylish underground office on Earth. Or a bank office without a window. But the zombie inside, which looked opposite of Hollywood movies style, spoiled the environment.

Eren approached the big cage and examined the zombie. It was acting more calmly than he expected.

"Don't get too close."

"Sure."

[Why would I do that?]

As Eren got closer just a step or two, the zombie suddenly turned his head as if it could smell him! It was like a horror-movie scene. His eyes were, contrary to what was expected, normal human eyes.

There was little bruising on his skin, but it looked very much like a normal human being. The redness in the zombies' eyes wasn't even as exaggerated in the movies. It just looked like the bloody eyes a normal person would have when not sleeping for two days.

Besides, it didn't even smell as bad as books said.

As Eren approached, the zombie made sudden moves. It was clear that it was examining the place where it could extend its arm through the bars. When Eren stopped just at the border, the zombie thought it would stretch out its arm and catch Eren as if it was a very clever move.

There were simple expressions on the zombie's face, but they were very childish and basic level.

"Isn't it like a child? Like a 1-2 years old child who can't speak and has no logic except hunting." Morsh was serious, but there was also a relief in his voice that found this comforting. The fact that these zombies weren't clever, seemed to be what this commander enjoyed the most in this world.

Eren weighed the sensation he got from this zombie and threw the almost-finished cigarette from his hand. He took another one when he shared his opinion.

"The ones coming from the outside are maybe zombies. But the feeling I get is definitely not from a zombie!

What I feel is the same feeling I get from that wild cat. We are dealing with a beastly hunter. This zombie has a humanoid and empty feeling. But it is certainly not beastly.

Morsh, I think you should prepare for more."

The handsome commander nodded and reached for the cigarette pack in Eren's hand. When Eren handed the package over, Morsh took it in his hand and took out a cigarette. He was planning at that moment and just closed his eyes. Morsh put the cigarette between his lips but didn't light it in the end.

He looked so tired that even when Eren lit his cigarette, Morsh's eyes did not open. Stress was a disgusting feeling pressures people, and Morsh was feeling enormous stress today.

Hours later, expensive-looking and mysterious weapons were added to the wall. Weapons were brought with Morsh's insistence, despite the objections of the town's rulers. While other commanders and a man who appeared to be the town's governor tried to prevent him, Morsh persistently placed the weapons.

At that moment, Tris whispered to Eren. "Even one of these guns is more expensive than anything and everything in this town."

Eren smiled and joked. "You're exaggerating like he put an atomic bomb on the wall."

"Oh! How do you know? Has Morsh told you? I think he trusts you a lot. It's classified information."

Eren accidentally dropped the cigarette in his mouth. It has fallen to the ground from the watchtower.

He cursed behind his unfinished cigarette. [I shouldn't have said this. Now we will use atomic bombs. This is for sure thanks to Asshole-Morphies Law!]

.....

"War is a mess full of expectations, blood, and a lot of sicknesses. The plans made by different sides are often useless and you encounter many unexpected things. No enemy will attack as expected or move straight to be killed by you. There are always counter plans and moves to harm you.

What isn't described in most movies and books is that almost no plans were prepared before real wars. It starts in an instant and you have to focus on the current situations and give orders with changes.

This is also the real reason why a commander joins the war."

....

Eren noticed these details after talking with Morsh. He was trying to explain the modern tactics of the old battles on Earth. He summarized many tv shows, different concepts of animations, and comics. There were tons of different zombie horde games he played on the computer and consols.

Morsh had a lot of fun with what he was telling. Even the most basic and beautiful tactics Eren saw on Earth weren't taken seriously by this commander. He even recorded what Eren said on a video with his comm.

Eren wondered if what he said was funny, but couldn't find anything to laugh at in his sentences.

"War is won by instant decisions. It is also lost with a momentary decision made by either side. That's it..."

Morsh thought. [Moreover, the zombies in front of us are a plain horde without a commander. But what Eren said could probably work against mutants and monsters. I have to watch this video after this event end!]

..

It was already afternoon when the first zombies appeared on the horizon. Seeing that darkness would collapse in a maximum of an hour or two, the soldiers were getting happier and more relaxed.

"Zombies have a lot of bad traits compared to other monsters, mutants, and weird lifeforms. Their biggest disadvantage is that they can't do shit at night."

Eren then chatted for minutes about zombie biology with Morsh.

It was Eren's bad luck that Lara came right during this conversation. A few minutes of chatter turned into a one-hour-long biology lesson. This knowledgeable and serious woman gave Eren all the details, including "Significance of Zombies in History".

Eren took ten packs of cigarettes when the soldier who brought the orders from the town came. He packed them in his bag under food packages. Eren took the last one from his pack and put it in his mouth before throwing the pack to the ground.

After his first breath from the cigarette, Eren studied the darkness Lara showed.

"When zombies are in the dark, they don't dare to exhaust the energy they get from the sun and from what they eat. They move freely throughout the day because they can take in energy all the time, but they have to stand still at night. There is a risk that their energy runs out and their bodies die suddenly at night. It's basically like solar panel logic."

Eren said. "Well then let's go kill this them while the idiots aren't moving!"

Eren said halfway through the long lesson. And the moment he said it, he regretted it. Lara, who has gone into the old and long history of war with zombies, brought a new taste to the history lessons with shining eyes.

Eren regretted asking questions again. "In short, they don't move with a simple instinct. They can still move and start attacking like daytime when they sense danger or prey. So how many hours of energy do they have at night?"

"The blood cells of an average zombie, biologically, work like this ... ....% & / (^ ...! ... allows him to fight at his maximum power for at least five hours. If he moves a little slower, a zombie can fight a normal prey all night. And the amount of energy spent on it's legs ..% & / + ^ ....."

Eren realized that the Zombies just pressed the "stop-pause" button at night and if you tickle the dragon's tail, they would start attacking immediately.

When it got dark, the zombie-horde approaching the town started to stand out in scenery. It was filling the scenery little by little.

But luckily for the soldiers, when the sun went down the zombies really stood in their places. Almost all of them collapsed in similar seconds. Some seemed to sit or throw themselves sideways because of their damaged bodies.

Compared to the zombie that Eren had seen in the underground lab, these were more brutal and Hollywood-themed ones. Their red eyes and skin colors were humanic. Yet, their bloody clothes or naked bodies full of wounds echoed the word "Zombieeee!!!".

Eren felt his heart was beating much faster than normal. The excitement of the morning was replaced by anxiety and fear. The number of zombie-horde was so many that Eren would turn around and flee to the other side if he wasn't on the high walls.

He constantly looked at his DNA features from his comm. He had to remind himself that he wasn't in his old and weak state from Earth. Cigarette packs were running out one by one, and the worry on his face could no longer be concealed.

Around this time, Tris was called from a different location. She kissed Eren for a long time before she left.

What Tris said and the experienced Morsh's advice weren't working. Whatever Eren did, his anxiety didn't decrease but increased.

That night was one of the most exciting and stressful night of his life.

..