Chapter 21: Disappointed (1)

"All right… we have some time until sunset," Luke said. "Let's see what you are willing to do to leave the city before we become zombies' meal."

Luke felt like he didn't have time to test other people. Still, if they help him leave the city at least one hour sooner would be worth the hassle. If the worst comes to the worst, Luke has the skills and potions that could help him escape any bind caused by others… probably.

"I am so disappointed…" Shalia said after she crossed her arms and looked away. "This attitude will only cause you trouble later, Luke."

"You can't judge others… he should at least give other people the chance to disappoint him," Rina said.

Finding the middle ground between being an utterly egocentric asshole and a birdbrain naïve guy was kind of hard in that situation since he only had a few options. He couldn't deny that Shalia and Rina had a point. Both of them were half-right… Still, he didn't regret his choice because it would be better for him if he confirmed if they would be useful now instead of regretting it later on due to some doubts.

For some reason, Celia and Amanda's parents only had the knives that everyone gained in the beginning, and luckily for them, only ordinary zombies appeared when they left the house. The creatures had achieved some levels since they were walking relatively fast, so it was clear that they soon would evolve. However, once those four lost their hesitation, they didn't flinch when the zombies approached. Amanda and Celia prepared to attack, but in the end, they stopped since their attacks would kill the zombies. Fortunately for them, Amanda's father apparently had some knowledge of martial arts. When the first zombie targeted him, he lowered his body and then kicked the creature's knee with all his might. Before the zombie could fall upward, his wife left his back and then made her knife pierce the creature's eye. It seemed that he increased his strength, and she increased her speed since she reacted pretty fast and didn't miss it.

As for Celia's grandparents, they worked together in stabbing the same zombie's arms, and they made the creature lose its ability to move them. Once that was done, piercing its head with the knives became easy. While they won, the fact that the zombies' blood gushed on them made things way more unpleasant.

"Is that… enough?" Amanda asked after turning around only to see Luke lying on the grass. "What are you doing?"

"I am resting," Luke said. "Night is quickly approaching, and I am not sure if we will have the leisure to sleep. Anyway, you know that this isn't enough… they need to at least manage to fight the zombies alone, not in pairs. You saw how many those mutants were here before. They need to get used to fighting them as soon as possible."

Amanda wanted to protest against that… her heart didn't want to see her parents fighting. Getting hurt against zombies was fatal, and she wouldn't be able to endure if they became zombies. However, her mind was telling her that it was necessary. If they don't obtain power for themselves, they will have to be protected all the time, and if Amanda fails only once…

Luke decided to stop thinking about all that. Instead of worrying if that group would become useful or not, he decided to cool his head and think of his next steps. If the zombies surrounded their airport and all the exits of the city. He needed a vehicle, a big vehicle to pass over them. Hopefully, he will gain tons of experience doing that, but he doubted that things would be so simple. There was also a chance that he would find tons of mutant zombies there as well, so perhaps not even the largest truck that he might find will be that useful… The easy way out of that mess would be by air, but those who had choppers in that city probably used all of them to escape.

While Luke was thinking of what to do, several hours passed, and the sun started to set. At the same time, he saw two Fire Zombies approaching in the distance, and when they fired their Fireballs, Luke saw Amanda's grandfather blocking them with an around steel shield.

"When did he got that shield?" Luke frowned.

"While you were daydreaming…" Amanda frowned. "You really space out a lot."

Luke wanted to explain why he spaced out, but he didn't owe any explanations to Amanda. In the end, he concluded that he wouldn't be able to come up with a decent plan without seeing with his own eyes the situation in the exits of the city. Nevertheless, those four approached the Fire Zombies while one of them was armed with the shield. While Amanda's father was clenching his teeth due to the pain caused by the heat, Celia's mother used some magic, and then apparently, the pain disappeared.

When they got close enough, the other two stabbed one of the Fire Zombies with spears. While a single attack didn't work, two finished the job. They used the same tactic against the remaining monster… it was a really clumsy fighting plan. Still, it worked, and it seemed more rational than charging toward the monsters like a madman like Luke usually does.

"I guess they can be useful… to carry my baggage," Luke said.

"What? How dare you say that?" Amanda asked.

"Wow… you really can't take a joke," Luke frowned as he watched Amanda biting her lips in anger.

"That was uncalled for, Luke," Rina said.

"What a boring bunch…" Shalia said, looking bored out of her mind. "They are so sensitive with words."

Luke wanted to agree with Shalia, but the timing wasn't that good since he said that before. In any case, to liven up the mood a little bit, Luke asked their names. Amanda's father was called Patrick, and her mother was Olivia. As for Celia's grandparents, they were Leah and Stanley.