CHAPTER 22 — Strangers and Split-Second Judgments
ELION — POV
The engine purred beneath my hands like a satisfied animal. A brand-new 2025 SUV—sleek, heavy, almost indecently smooth—growled as it rolled out of the dealership lot.
Two hours of walking. Twenty-plus zombies killed. A few close calls.A lot of silence broken only by distant screams and echoing metal.
But now the hard part was done.
Rea exhaled, slumping back in her seat as the city crawled past us—shattered signs, burned-out storefronts, flipped cars, streaks of dried blood.
"This car…" she whispered, running her hand over the dashboard, "…this car is insanity."
I smirked. Of course it was. Only the best for me. I mean i never owned a car and just drove a beat up shitter, or the delivery car for a pizza job.But still this car was was the definition of luxury.
The drive back felt almost too easy.
Too… quiet.
Which usually means something is about to go wrong.
And right on cue—
I saw them.
Two figures burst out of a side street at full sprint.
A boy around my age—maybe eighteen or nineteen—messy black hair whipping behind him, clutching a backpack like it was the last thing he owned.
A girl—same age, with a snow white hair color, and longer, wearing a black jean jacket—limping, her arm wrapped in a torn shirt like she'd tried to bandage an injury herself.
Both running. Both desperate. Both doomed if someone didn't intervene.
Because right behind them—
"Shit," Rea breathed.
Ten zombies. Maybe twelve. And leading the pack was—
A variant. this one was shorter than the tall one I killed at the pharmacy but it was fast. Too fast for them to out run it.
My grip on the wheel tightened.
Rea looked at me sharply. "Elion—"
"I see them."
My foot hovered above the brake.
I didn't have to save them. I didn't owe them anything. Bringing unknowns into our group meant risk. There are liabilities, the possibility of infection. More drama and complications.
I didn't have time for deadweight.
…
Then the girl tripped.
Hard.
The boy spun, grabbed her under the arms, and dragged her upright with a raw, panicked scream.
My stomach clenched.
Not with empathy—but with calculation.
If she slowed them down, the pack would hit her first. Rip into her. The boy would either die trying to save her…or run and live with the guilt.
Either way—they weren't going to get out of this situation alone.
My jaw tightened.
Rea whispered, "…Are we stopping?"
I didn't answer.
I slammed the brakes so hard the SUV shrieked and fishtailed, stopping sideways in the road with the passenger door just a few feet from them.
The boy stared, eyes wide.
I threw open the window and shouted—
"GET IN!"
He shoved the girl inside—literally threw her across the seats—then dove in after her, slamming the door shut.
I floored it just as the variant's fingers scraped the back bumper. The SUV had a sport mode and hit the switch, almost immediately we sped off going 70 miles an hour downtime road.
The SUV surged forward, tires screaming, leaving the zombie pack behind so fast they blurred into smears of gray and rotting flesh.
Inside the car—
They were gasping, and shaking. Barely coherent as they were out of breath.
Rea already had her gun drawn and aimed at the girl's forehead.
The girl froze completely, eyes wide, trembling.
"P-please d-don't shoot," she whispered, voice cracking.
The boy raised both hands.
"W-we're not infected!" he babbled. "We're clean, I swear—please, she's hurt but she's not bitten—please sort shoot!"
I kept my gaze locked on them through the rear-view mirror. My eye cold, and measured. Sharp watching their every movement.
Fear radiated off them in waves.
Good.
"Whether you live," I said quietly, "depends on how you answer what I'm about to ask."
Both nodded so fast they nearly snapped their necks.
It was god that they didn't resist. I mean we had guns after all. But I needed a safer spot to question them.
So I swerved into the nearest open parking lot—a gas station with shattered windows and a flickering sign. I parked.
Then turned, slow and deliberate. I drew my gun and aimed it at the boy.
Rea mirrored me perfectly, her barrel never leaving the girl's face.
They both went stiff.
"First question," I said calmly. "How the hell are you two alive?"
"I—I don't know!" the boy stammered now that a gun was pointed at him. "We just—we ran, we hid— my sister got hurt, and—"
"Sister?" I cut in sharply as I looked the girl.
He nodded rapidly. "She's my twin. Delilah. I'm Danny."
He pointed at the girl. The girl—Delilah—swallowed hard but didn't look away from Rea's gun.
I studied them.
They had different hair colors. He had white hair and his black, but when I looked closely I saw that they had the same nose and jawline, and the same terrified blue eyes.
Close enough.
"Second question," I said. "What happened to her leg?"
Delilah answered before the boy could.
"A metal fence," she whispered. "We were climbing to escape a group of armed guys. The top was sharp. It cut me."
"Armed guys?" I raised an eyebrow.
Danny nodded. "They… they were raiding houses. Taking whatever they wanted. They shot our neighbor. We hid in our home until they left, then moved to a restaurant nearby. Stayed there a day. But we ran out of food. We tried to scavenge and…"
He swallowed.
"We ran into that pack."
I watched him.
He wasn't lying. Every word came out broken, terrified, unfiltered.
Delilah chimed in, voice barely above a squeak.
"We—we have an orb. An orange one. We'll give it to you. Just—just please don't kill us."
Rea stiffened.
I studied the girl now instead.
She was cute in a soft, quiet way. The type of girl who'd probably been the "reliable friend" in school. Not stunning like Alexiy. Not striking like Rea. But she had a warm aura that made her approachable. She felt gentle.
And extremely breakable.
I turned the gun slightly toward her.
She flinched, but held my gaze.
"Where was this orange orb from?" I asked.
"A man died outside," she whispered. "He had two. We ran outside to help him but he turned… we grabbed the orbs and ran."
"Smart," I muttered.
Then Danny suddenly blurted—
"Please! Please help us! My sister—she's all I have! We have another orange orb! We'll give it to you—just please take us with you!"
Ah.
There it was.
The price of survival.
They were willing to bargain with everything they had.
I leaned back in my seat, lowering my gun just an inch.
Not enough to relax.
Just enough to think.
Two orange orbs. Two survivors. They were young, scared, unskilled nobodies.
Would they slow us down? Maybe. Would they be loyal if saved? Again maybe. Would the orbs help my group? Definitely.
"…Alright," I said finally. "Both of you. Listen carefully."
They went silent.
"You're going to strip."
Both twins flushed—hard.
I didn't look away. This wasn't sexual. This was survival.
"We'll serrate into the bathroom," I continued gesturing to the building behind me. "Inside the gas station. One at a time. You're going to strip all the way, and we're checking every inch of you for bite marks. If you're clean—you come with us."
They exchanged a terrified look.
"Okay," Danny whispered.
"If either of you is bitten," I said softly, "I kill you myself before you ever get back in my car."
They both nodded violently.
"Good. Let's move."
Everyone got out of the car and I gestured for Danny to walk in front of me. We made our way indie the gas station, it was ransacked, food and candy laid on the floor and doors to the drinks were torn off the wall completely.
The bathroom reeked of mildew and rot, but it had a working door. Good enough.
Rea stood guard at the entrance.
I went in first with Danny.
He stripped fast, embarrassed but desperate. He had cuts, bruises, a deep scrape on his ribs—but no bite marks.
"Get dressed," I said. "Stay in my eye line but grab some food."
He nodded, shaking.
Then Rea took Delilah.
I didn't follow. I stood outside the door, gun in hand, listening carefully and I watched Danny search for something he would find edible.
After a full 10 minutes, Rea emerged with Delilah behind her.
"She's clean," Rea confirmed. "Just wounded. No infection."
Good.
I nodded once and let out a breath. "Delilah grab something to eat and drink let we're leaving."
She nodded as I went behind the counter and started shoving cigarets into my inventory, I also grabbed some un opened drinks and batteries and condoms, If were were here minds well take all the useful stuff.
After about 5 mins of them grabbing a handful of snacks and drinks I called out. "Alright both you. Get in the car. We're leaving.
They obeyed instantly.
Rea had an armful of snacks and drinks well but she also held her gun ready to shoot if needed.
We piled into the car and I drove off. As we rolled down the street, the twins sat tense and silent in the backseat. Rea kept her gun resting on her lap. Not aiming anymore, but it was still visible.
I kept one hand on the wheel, the other on the gearshift.
"First rule, no eating in my car, I just got this baby and I don't want her dirty."
They nodded and set the snacks down, not wanting to open them. "Now then... Next question," I said, eyes fixed forward. "Skills. Do either of you have any?"
Danny swallowed. "I… I don't. Not yet."
"My brother doesn't," Delilah said softly. "But… I do."
I glanced up in the mirror.
She looked down shyly.
"I crushed one of the red orbs earlier," she said. "My legs hurt too much. I was scared… I didn't know it was a kill I just hoped it would… help."
"And?" I pressed.
She hesitated.
Then whispered—
"It's called Piercing Cry."
Rea glanced back, eyebrow raised. "What does that do?"
"I… scream," Delilah said timidly. "And anything close to me gets stunned. A little."
I hummed.
Not bad. Not amazing. But useful in a pinch.
I nodded.
"Good. That's something."
Danny exhaled shakily, relief flooding his features.
I tapped the wheel.
"Alright," I said. "We're going back to our base. You follow the rules, you might live. You cause problems…"
They both paled.
"We won't," Delilah whispered. "We promise."
"We'll help with anything," Danny added quickly. "Anything."
"I'm not unreasonable." I said.
"My name is Elion. I'm in charge. That's Rea, she knows how to shoot. At the camp we have Alexiy, my wife, her mother Sarah, her younger sister, Lily and the kid Aaron. Tomorrow we're leaving to a safe house up in the mountains. You can come or stay. I won't force you, but if you come know that eventually you'll have to do your share, cooking, cleaning, hunting, any skill that will help the group survive."
We drove in silence for a long minute, as the twins seemed to think over my words.
"Please let us come with you... we have nowhere else to go..." Danny whispers.
I simply nod and keep driving, the 2 hour walk turned into a quick half an hour drive back.
The apartment building appeared in the distance.
Our temporary home.
My foot eased on the gas. The tension in the car softened—barely.
But my mind sharpened.
We had two more survivors. Two more variables. Two more potential weapons or burdens.
Time would tell which.
But as I turned the corner toward the street leading to the apartment—
One thing was certain:
The world was getting bigger.
And so was my group.
And I wasn't going to let any of them die.
Not now.
Not when everything was finally starting to shift in my favor.