Though Zane had guessed that the government backed Safe Zone had likely rapidly deteriorated into a hellhole, one that was already on the brink of collapse. He had no way of confirming this. After all, though, a week may seem like a short amount of time for the nation's foremost super power to damn near completely collapse on itself.
One also had to remember what kind of apocalypse they were dealing with. Overnight, the world became infected by a virus that turned people into cannibalistic undead monstrosities. But these were not your garden variety zombies from fiction who were slow, and only really capable of catching you if you ended up surrounded by them.
No, these mother fuckers could sprint, and they never got tired. So you absolutely could not outrun them. Because sooner or later, a living being would tire and slow down. When that happened, it was over.
The transmission of the virus rate was also extremely fast, and while it varied depending on how fast it hit the bloodstream, at most somebody would turn in an hour, and at the least only a few seconds.
This meant that people were rapidly turning into undead, where they would then ruthlessly pursue the living either to kill them and devour their flesh as a means to evolve into something far more frightening, or to simply spread the infection and create more of their kind.
This all happened in a constitutional republic, which took time to gain approval to order men into position to defend the nation. Because of this, many cities were overwhelmed before the military could even effectively deploy to counter the rising tide.
This didn't even take into account how quickly the low level Walkers, who were already terrifying enough as is, were evolving into more dangerous varieties of undead. Some of which could withstand ATGMs and other higher end military weapons.
In fact, the more powerful an Undead became, the more resistant it became to humanity's weapons. The most effective counter to these monsters would be a high level awakened survivor, specifically his or her skills. But most of humanity was not even aware of the existence of blood crystals, despite it already being a week into the apocalypse.
Zane, of course, did not know all of this, but he also understood the fact that he knew very little about the threat which humanity was facing. A threat which only emboldened those more vicious aspects of humanity to lash out against each other.
Because of this, it was not surprising that at this point, the largest gathering of survivors were in large safe zones centralized around government buildings. Safe Zones which were incapable of sustaining themselves without support.
And that support was quickly drying up, as the United States Federal Government itself started running out of supplies and the means to distribute them where they were needed most.
And while Zane had wisely opted to be self reliant, and cultivate his newfound abilities, along with a small group of survivors he could place his trust in. He had also angered the powers behind this safe zone by refusing to be kidnapped, and in turn killing one of its soldiers.
Zane was a wanted man, without even realizing it. Though the name he had given the soldiers was "Ryan Parker" Zane's appearance was of course born witness to by several soldiers within the national guard. Soldiers who returned to the safe zone and reported the incident to their superiors.
Of course, Zane was not alone in this regard, everyone who attacked the safe zone's troops, whether it be to resist kidnapping and enslavement, or simply as an opportunistic ambush to scavenge some of that sweet military equipment, they all ended up on the Mayor's hit list. And because of this, Zane had an interesting encounter while he and the girls were out scavenging supplies.
---
Hours had passed since Zane and the girls had set about on their journey. And the sun was starting to set. By now, Zane had made some headway into the city limits. Though they were far away from the temporary security of the government backed safe zone, they had gotten quite far considering they were on foot.
Through cautious maneuvering and silent takedowns of undead hostiles, Zane and the others had avoided meeting a gruesome end on this day. But as the sun began to set, they realized that they needed to make camp for the night.
After all, both Olivia and Elena needed sleep. They were not a "Living Dead" as Zane was. And thus, they needed rest, and badly. Thus, Zane and the girls began to secure a small corner shop, which had already been looted some time earlier.
Though it wasn't necessarily in an ideal location, the building's layout meant that it could be easily defended from any potential hostiles that might try to encroach upon their territory in the night, making it an ideal temporary shelter for the night.
With some effort, Zane and the girls cleared the building of the undead. Harvesting their blood crystals, before ultimately setting up some form of defenses. Primarily in the form of makeshift barricades. Whether it was boarding up the windows, or blocking the doors, Zane and the girls made do.
Once they were finished, Zane decided to go smoke. Though his body no longer required sustenance, nor could it become addicted to any substances. Zane could still enjoy the effects of food, drinks, drugs, et cetera. And in a moment like this, he needed tobacco to help calm his nerves.
Since Zane first gained himself a carton of cigarettes from his first looting experience, he had been rationing cigarettes to one a day. Thus, he did not need to go scavenge for more, at least for the time being.
However, after standing outside the building and lighting the cigarette, Zane attracted unwanted attention. The flickering flame in the darkness caught the sight of a nearby scouting party. One that immediately pulled up on Zane with their guns drawn.
Without even realizing it, Zane had found himself surrounded by government forces. All of which demanded his compliance.
"Put your hands up!"
"Don't move a muscle!"
After hearing conflicting commands, Zane spoke as loudly as possible, making sure to alert to girls inside their temporary shelter to his predicament, as he chastised the soldiers for being idiots. But only after taking a large drag from his cigarette.
"So, which is it? Do I put my hands up? Or do I not move a muscle?"