*Daniel’s PoV if anyone is confused*
“Are we really going through with this idea?” Norbert asked once Leila left to check on her wounded friend.
“Did you change your mind?” Daniel asked as he watched the girl’s back as she disappeared between the ruins of the collapsed wing of the compound. Yet, the older policemen didn’t bother to wait for Norbert’s answer. “Why?” he asked instead, acting as if Norbert’s mind was already set.
“Because we still know way too little to survive in this world ourselves,” Norbert explained in his mind. “You didn’t see what I saw,” he stated only to give Daniel a side look. “And I’m not talking about Mathew going crazy or anything. I’m talking about the zombies.”
“I saw what they did to that poor girl,” Daniel countered while rolling his eyes. “I believe that’s enough to understand what happened. She relied on her ability to move without being noticed by zombies a bit too much and ended up attacked when she didn’t expect it,” he stated even though he knew no details of what transpired.
All that Daniel knew was that Mathew was responsible for attacking the center of the zombie’s line. All that he saw was first the explosion in the distance and then Mathew carrying half-conscious Daria who kept a small rug pressed against a pretty ugly wound on her neck.
‘I might not know the details but that doesn’t stop me from figuring out what actually happened,’ Daniel thought while squinting his eyes a little.
Pam.
Norbert didn’t just wait around for Daniel to finish thinking. Instead, he took it upon himself to close the gate before securing it with the iron slab that locked it before.
“You didn’t see what I’ve seen,” Norbert said again as he turned his face to his colleague.
Daniel opened his mouth at first, ready to bash his junior’s cryptic language. Yet, when he saw Norbert’s face, Daniel slowly pulled up his lower jaw and closed his mouth. He then closed his eyes and took a deep breath to calm himself down.
“What did you see, then?”
Norbert lowered his eyes. He then raised his hand and scratched the skin behind his ear.
“I gave the order to retreat because the zombies started to fight back,” Norbert finally revealed what pushed the first domino of the events that just transpired. “Both you and Nadia were close enough to hear Daria’s shouting. Yet, in your case, I had no other choice but to push Leila to help you get back,” Norbert continued with his reveals.
He then raised his eyes and looked Daniel dead in the eyes. “But now that I saw what that kid encountered, I’m quite certain it’s him who Leila should’ve helped, not you,” Norbert stated.
“You are aware that I nearly lost my life while trying to go back, are you?” Daniel countered, his face turning slightly darker than before.
“I’m aware of that,” Norbert admitted without even a second of hesitation. “But what you fought were just zombies that attempted to strike back. But what Mathew was against…” Norbert pursed his lips and then lowered his eyes once again.
“Are you going to spit it out or are you shooting a movie and need the audience to feel the fucking tension by stalling like that?” Daniel asked, a hint of the emotions he was bottling inside peeking out through his voice.
“I just don’t know how to describe it,” Norbert didn’t mind Daniel’s attitude at all. He knew the man for long enough to know this situation wasn’t bad enough to make the old policeman lose his temper. “I bet it looked a lot different for the kid himself, but for me…”
Norbert hesitated once again. He then bit his lips and rested his back against the wall. His stress at getting the answer just right grew all the way to the point where he even started to bite on the nail of his thumb.
“You know that there were three evolved zombies out there, do you?” Norbert suddenly asked as his eyes flashed a little.
“Yeah. Two normal evolved ones and one that’s even stronger than them,” Daniel confirmed and nodded his head. “What about them?”
“Nadia managed to kill the one she was supposed to. That’s why I believe, she had no problem returning as the zombies she was surrounded with turned back to their usual, disorganized self,” Norbert explained the first phenomenon.
“That means I struggled with returning because I failed to kill the commander, right?” Daniel interjected, trying to figure out as much of the situation as he could before his companion would spoil the exercise for him.
“More or less.” Norbert nodded his head. “But that’s not the point here,” he added right away before raising his eyes and looking into Daniel’s face. “What Mathew faced weren’t just zombies. They weren’t just zombies controlled by the strongest evolved one that we encountered so far either,” he continued to elaborate.
“What did he encounter, then?” Daniel asked, slowly starting to get irritated.
‘I can guess some things but I still need some basic information to make an educated guess. I can’t just figure out something that I don’t know anything about!’ he protested in his mind although ultimately keeping his mouth shut. ‘There is no use hurrying him up, that would only make him take longer to actually explain what he wants to explain,’ Daniel realized.
“I really don’t have the words to describe it,” Norbert said, burying Daniel’s hopes for a quick resolution. “It’s like…” he hesitated, “the evolved one we just talked about suddenly vanished, only for its strength to split into the zombies he controlled?”
Norbert’s face was filled with doubt. From this fact alone Daniel could say that what his younger colleague just said was still so far removed from the real picture that it wasn’t all that better form an outright lie.
“If you want to know more about those zombies you would have to ask Mathew himself,” Norbert finished along with releasing a long wheeze.
“Okay then,” Daniel nodded his head before taking a moment and then raising his eyes at Norbert’s reluctant face. “What does all of it have to do with our plan, though?” he asked before shaking his head. “Or maybe you are no longer bothered by how that kid is sure to turn your sister into yet another sex slave of his?”
Norbert’s face froze. Carol was the only family he was certain that he had left. And in all honesty, it was the only family that he cared for at all.
“To be frank,” Norbert finally raised his face. He then gulped down his saliva before taking a deep breath and preparing himself to give a pretty bold statement. “After I saw what I saw, I don’t think that having her trade her chastity for safety is that bad of a deal.”
“I guess we have no other choice but to give up on the idea,” Daniel muttered, taking the obvious warnings behind Norbert’s words pretty seriously.
The two of them served time in the military together, even if in different units. Despite that fact, they shared some of their combat histories and even happened to cooperate on missions in the past. The fact that they both ended up in the same police department was a result of the budding friendship that their time in the military created.
‘Since he is willing to go that far, it’s better not to act up just yet, not until we understand the situation better,’ Daniel thought before releasing a heavy sigh.
“I guess we are going to trade your sister’s pussy for a few more days of the alliance.”