Stronghold In The Apocalypse

Chapter 223: Hi.

"I wonder if they are doing well"

Leo thought while lifting a large log and placing it over another log that's attached to multiple logs below it, under the astonished gaze of his subordinate.

The cabin or hut they are making are already halfway done. The only thing missing now are a set of small stairs, a completed wall, the flooring, and roof over it.

It would have already been long over if Leo had just made the System recognize the island as a part of his territory, but maybe he thought that he and his subordinate were capable of building one all by themselves.

But the actual reason behind this time consuming task is actually because he can't use the System under the eyes of someone who is not part of the core of his group.

After all, even he has a hard time explaining this phenomena to his parents, much less from an outsider who would have certainly leaked this secret to others if he learns about it.

Meanwhile.

"Min, I'm hungry, can we go outside and scour some food?"

A frail seven year old girl came before the oldest of them while rubbing her tummy.

Min, who was the girl who was watching Alex from before through the binoculars stood up and rubbed the little girl's head with pity.

Because today was suppose to be their Scavenging Day for them and to go out and scour for food in their surroundings, but the appearance of Alex and his crew disrupted their plans as the streets had become more active with zombies roaming about because of the commotion that the Pelican created when it was flying around the naval base.

And so they were forced to wait it out until everything calms down, but at the same time, this is also a chance for them because the zombies are slowly moving towards the north eastern direction, attracted by occasional sound of muffled gunshot that would rang out every now and then.

"Endure it for now, okay? Drink more water. Hopefully, everything returns to normal soon"

Min was patient with the kids because she's the only one they can rely on, and she can't have in her heart to abandon them.

"Uhm, okay~"

The little girl nodded in understanding, and went back to the corner where another kid her age is laying down.

The little kid knew life had become tough since she had lost her parents, and with everything going around, kids her age had already matured quicker due to circumstances.

Having only eaten two small packs of biscuits this morning that was shared among the nine of them. Everyone of them are all feeling hungry which made Min sighed helplessly, as even the energetic dark skinned boy from earlier is feeling low on energy as he just sat in one corner in silence as he tried to conserve as much energy as possible.

But thankfully for him, he's a bit overweight on the side which means he'd at least be able to outlast all of them in the worst case scenario.

Min stood up and walked over towards the window that's hidden behind the curtain.

She lightly pulled it to the side, just enough for a peek.

She checked the building across from them and saw a couple of zombies moving about, and there's even one zombie who kept banging on the door because it got trapped with all the mess around it.

Then her eyes moved down to the streets below them, and saw a group of zombies heading north, and when she looked to the south, she only saw a couple of zombies lying along the road because they can't move as half of their body is already like a melted candle, stuck to the ground.

'In an hour or two, that side would probably be cleared of almost all zombies'

At the thought of that, Min couldn't help but feel excited because she knows full well that there's a lot of stores that haven't been ransacked by them and other survivors living in the surroundings, and if the zombies disappear, then it will be the best chance for them to start looting for food before the place is once again become zombie infested.

'But will those people be okay? There's at least thousands of zombies here,and that doesn't even include the zombies from the neighboring towns who might have stumbled here'

Min suddenly grew worried about the people who caused this event, but then she quickly shook her head and thought.

'No, I should stop worrying about people who aren't related to us, and just take advantage of what they were doing and prepare ourselves to go out later'

Then Min turned around and walked towards a cabinet in the corner and opened it.

Inside, there are various weapons that look ragged from their current appearance.

"Are you going out, Min?"

The dark skinned boy quickly noticed what Min was doing and couldn't help but get up while walking towards her and asked.

"With the commotion happening on the other side of the bay. The zombies around here have become lesser, so I'm going out to look for food, so you guys stay here, and you're in charge Merlin while I'm away" Min turned towards the dark skinned boy called Merlin and patted his shoulders while arming herself with a sheathed machete over her shoulder.

"But I want to come with you and help you, I don't want to stay here" Merlin argued as this is his chance to prove himself worthy as the older brother of the kids here.

"You staying here is already helping me, and the rest of us. Don't think that looking over our base and the others is a simple task, because you need to protect them if dangers come in the case when I'm not present" Min said, trying to dissuade the little man with morale boosting words not appropriate to her age as she's not even fifteen.

Hearing her words, the little kid suddenly couldn't help but feel a sense of responsibility as he looked at the kids who are already family one by one.

Merlin turned towards Min and opened his mouth full of determination.

"Okay! I will stay here and protect this group of little brats!"

"Boo!"

One of the kids that's wearing glasses not far from Merlin's age couldn't help but utter a word of disagreement while giving him a thumbs down.

"Shh! Lower your voices, we don't want those zombies hearing us" Min quickly warned them when she saw two older kids starting to get rowdy.

Bang!

But just as she said those words, there was suddenly a loud bang coming from the door, and the kids quickly covered their mouths to prevent themselves from unconsciously screaming in fright!

Min gestured for them to keep quiet with her fingers over her lips, and then gestured for them to get up and make their way towards the farthest corner of the room, away from the door.

Min took two sharpened poles and handed them to Merlin and the glasses kid, while she unsheated her machete and prepared herself for an incoming battle, in case the door got shattered.

Bang!

Another bang sounded which shook the corners of the already barricaded door, causing dust to to fall down.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

The three kids grasped their weapons tightly, while kids behind cowered in the corner in fear as the continouos banging continued with no signs of stopping.

Even though they were nervous, they were also not afraid as they had already been accustomed to a life of hardship where a single mistake could cost them their life.

Min looked at the two kids who had grown up with her in terms of maturity and said, "Merlin, Art, you guys already know the drill, right?"

Art looked at her and said, "Don't worry, it's already ingrained to my bones"

"Yeah, we already did this strategy a hundred of times already" Merlin answered her with a nod.

As the group of kids waited with bated breath, there was suddenly another sound that appeared, there was a set of heavy footsteps followed by the sound of a zombie moaning or groaning like it had just seen the best delicacy in the world!

'Are those bastards from other neighborhoods raiding us this time or is it a large zombie?'

Min couldn't help but have those thoughts when she heard the sound of heavy footsteps, as her hands that gripped her weapon had already turned pale from gripping it tight.

Bam!

Thud!

Then the kids heard the sound of a muffled gunshot followed by something heavy falling on the ground.

Then the sound of footsteps resumed and stopped before the door where the group of kids were hiding.

Knock! Knock!

"Come out, I know you kids are in there"

Min quickly gestured for the kids to keep quiet, and they nodded in affirmation while she moved slowly towards the door, with Merlin and Art slowly following behind her.

."Kids, seriously, open the door if you don't want to live pitifully like this where you need to risk your life everyday in search of food"

"Open the door if you want to live in a place that is safe from the threat of zombies and mutated monsters alike, and of course people too"

The person on the other side of the door kept persuading the kids patiently, as the person wasn't really in a hurry to leave.

Hearing the man's words, Min looked at the two kids behind her and whispered.

"What do you guys think?"

Art shrugged his shoulder and replied, "We don't really have anything to lose except for our life"

"I don't know, there's also a good chance that he's lying. Don't forget about what almost happened to us a few weeks ago when we met that group of cannibalistic bastards and almost got ourselves killed" answered Merlin.

MIn looked at the kids huddled in the corner, then thought for a bit.

"Give me the pole," Min said to Art.

Art obediently handed the pole to her while taking the Machete from the latter while Merlin asked her in a whisper.

"Don't tell me you're planning to open the door?"

Min nodded at his words and said, "Yeah, so move back behind me. If the person on the other side does anything funny. Don't hesitate to stab him in the head"

Merlin lightly hit his chest and said, "Leave it to me"

Min nodded, then turned her attention towards the door, where the other person on the other side had been silent the whole time.

"I'm opening the door"

Min raised her voice, and started taking off the locks and wooden barricade.

"Ready?"

"Yeah"

"Let's do it"

Min took a deep breath while Merlin moved behind her and placed the sharpened tip of the pole above her head while pointing towards the opening.

Creak!

Min slowly opened the door, and quickly pointed it towards the neck of the new comer.

But when trio saw the person that's been standing before the door the whole time, they were in shock as they weren't expecting this person to appear before them.

"It's you!"

"It's him!"

"Oh~ boy"

Alex gave his best smile that he could give and said.

"Hi"