Variant and Canteen

Time: 4:05 PM. Location: Second Floor, West Building

"So why did you go out, Rick? Trying to get food?" I asked, considering how everything happened so unexpectedly. I could understand why he went out—food and water are essential if we want to survive this apocalypse.

Rick immediately replied, "Yeah, bro. Me and my girlfriend didn't have any food, so I waited for things to calm down before going out to gather some."

"Good decision. I did the same as you. Anyway, do you have a specific location where you plan to gather? How about we team up? After we get enough resources, we can pick up your girlfriend and bring her to where Nadia and I are staying." I suggested teaming up since working alone isn't efficient. I mean, I have Nadia, but having another guy around to help gather resources makes things much safer.

Rick thought for a moment before saying, "We can team up, bro, but as you can see, I only have this thick wooden stick. It might break sooner or later."

I looked at the stick and noticed some cracks. It was thick, but unlike a steel pipe, wood can easily break when it takes too much impact. I handed him my extra steel pipe. "Don't worry, bro. I can still dismantle some of the chairs and tables in lecture room 412."

Rick gave the steel pipe a couple of swings before nodding. "So, do you have a specific spot in mind? There's a 24/7 convenience store outside the campus. Should we raid that?"

I sighed at his suggestion. "Bro, outside the campus is crowded with zombies. Let's raid the canteen for now. The food and water there might not be a lot, but it's enough for four people to last a bit while we figure out how to get more."

Rick scratched his chin as he thought about it. "You're right, Amon. I guess we'll have to make do with the canteen for now."

After a short planning session, Rick and I decided to head to the canteen with caution since zombies could be lurking around blind spots.

"Amon, there are five of them blocking the slanted walkway to the ground floor. How should we approach this?" Rick whispered.

"Let's kite them—take them down one by one. But make sure to support each other if anything goes wrong."

Rick nodded, and we proceeded to lure them out. Now that I only had one steel pipe, I couldn't use my usual deflect-and-bash strategy, so I had to be extra careful. When a zombie lunged at me, I quickly sidestepped and kicked its leg, making it lose balance. Then, I smashed its head with my steel pipe.

Blood splattered from the impact, luckily only a little got on me. I turned my focus to another zombie already approaching. This one was slower than the others. That made me uneasy—it could be a new variant. I frowned at the thought of stronger, harder-to-kill zombies appearing.

I approached it cautiously, but suddenly, it sprinted toward me. I panicked for a second. "Shit, I didn't think I'd die like this..." Even though the zombie was about to bite me, I felt strangely calm, like my body had already accepted my fate. But just as it was about to reach me, a figure appeared in front of me—it was Rick. He kicked the zombie back and smashed its head with his steel pipe.

"Bro, are you good? That thing almost got me too. Luckily, Sarah managed to pull me away last time," Rick said, looking at me with concern.

I felt cold sweat on my back. To think I was ready to give up without even considering how Nadia would feel... I shook my head to clear my thoughts. "Don't worry, Rick. I won't go down that easily. I can't let Nadia down."

With renewed focus, we cleared the rest of the zombies on our way to the canteen. The near-death experience made me realize how much I took my life for granted. Finally, we arrived. The canteen had quite a few zombies, but nothing we couldn't handle. It would be a challenge, but our plan was to clear the nearest food stalls, grab as much as we could, and then retreat.

"Rick, let's prioritize the nearest and easiest stalls to access. We'll grab as much food as we can and pull back. Maybe we can return tomorrow and slowly clear this place out," I whispered.

Rick nodded in understanding, and we immediately got to work. We killed the zombies near the first stall and started gathering supplies. We found a decent amount of preserved food—biscuits, junk food, canned goods. I also grabbed a portable stove and its gas canister, while Rick collected easy-to-cook frozen products. After securing as much as we could carry, we left the canteen.

We carefully made our way to where Sarah was staying. Rick knocked on the door, and Sarah slowly opened it, her face lighting up when she saw him.

"Rick, you're safe... A-Amon, you're alive! Thank goodness. Rick kept saying you'd definitely survive, and he was right," she said with a relieved smile.

"Good to see you too, Sarah. Anyway, we need to go now. Nadia is waiting on the fourth floor," I said.

Sarah's expression turned serious, and she nodded. Rick helped her grab her bag, and we slowly made our way upstairs. Since I had already cleared the hallway earlier, we got there quickly. Some zombies had wandered in, but Rick and I dispatched them easily. When we reached our door, I knocked gently and called out, "Nadia, open up. It's me, Amon."

The door opened, and Nadia rushed into my arms. I was stunned by her sudden embrace—I could feel how worried she had been.

"Don't worry, Nadia. Didn't I promise you I'd come back safely?" I said as I hugged her back.

"Looks like you guys are getting comfortable, huh? What's up, Naddy?" Rick chimed in, ruining the moment.

I smiled despite being annoyed, while Nadia's face turned red. We all went inside and laid out the food. Seeing the frozen goods, Nadia and Sarah immediately decided to cook them before they spoiled. Meanwhile, Rick and I began planning our next move while dismantling some more chairs for extra weapons.