Chapter 173

Bang! Bang! Babang!

The fierce gunshots assaulted their eardrums.

Several wolves that had been charging fiercely through the pine forest fell from the bullets.

But it was only momentary, as most of the fallen ones rose again shortly after.

The bullets had failed to penetrate their heads.

“Damn…!”

Seeing those wolves, Logan grit his teeth in frustration.

But no matter how carefully he aimed, it was never easy to hit the small, bobbing heads of the beasts charging in a zigzag.

“?!”

A sharp cry came from Madeline.

But Logan couldn’t make out what she said due to the ringing in his ears.

He simply aimed at the wolves beyond his sights.

Yet the bullet he fired only lodged into a pine tree.

He grit his teeth, but there was no time for disappointment.

Immediately after, another wolf burst out from behind that same tree, prompting Logan to pull the trigger again.

Click!

But instead of the familiar gunshot and expected recoil, his gun only made a hollow metallic sound.

His current magazine had already run dry.

He swiftly ejected the empty magazine and loaded the next one.

Even to himself, it felt like an extremely fast motion.

“Grrrr!”

But in that brief moment, the wolves had closed the distance significantly.

Their howls grew louder.

The distorted sound was so clear, as if they were howling right next to his ear.

“Dammit!”

Logan clenched his teeth.

He fired his gun more fervently, as if to drown out those grating, unpleasant cries.

But the Beasts charged from all sides, seemingly unfazed by the guns.

As a result, Logan didn’t even have a chance to check the state of his targets.

“Kak!”

One wolf that had approached too close took a bullet to the head and rolled onto the ground.

Its corpse came to a stop right before Logan’s feet.

For a fleeting moment, Logan’s gaze fell upon the fallen wolf corpse.

Its size was literally larger than a human’s.

A far cry from the wolves he had seen from afar at the zoo in the pre-apocalypse days.

But before Logan could even recoil in horror at the sight of the massive wolf, something even more daunting appeared.

“Grrraaaaoooo!”

A distorted, guttural roar tore through the air.

Its magnitude was on a different scale from the howls of the wolves.

Logan’s gaze immediately turned in that direction.

There, some gigantic creature was swatting aside the wolves that had been charging ahead with its forelimbs.

The wolf, as large as a person, was sent flying like a ragdoll before crashing into a pine tree, its spine snapping.

“What is that thing!?”

Witnessing that sight, Logan cried out as if screaming.

It was… a bear.

An immense beast incomparable to the wolf corpse lying before him.

Nearly 3 meters in size, a massive grizzly bear had become a hideous zombie, with a long iron chain attached around its neck.

This monstrosity came charging towards them, snapping thick pine trunks like twigs with its frontal impact.

The ground shook with each of its steps.

Just where had such a creature been lurking?

The Millers couldn’t help but be aghast at the sheer size of this mutant-level zombie.

“It’s coming!”

Aiden’s voice rang out.

Aiden stood protectively before the Millers and Sadie, firing his rifle.

Not single shots, but automatic bursts close to full-auto.

In the midst of this, Aiden controlled the recoil that felt like an earthquake, planting most of his bullets into the bear’s head.

But even that hail of gunfire only slightly slowed the charging beast’s advance.

It merely shook its head once in a dismissive manner before pounding the ground again.

Aiden shouted over his shoulder.

“Dangerous! Fall back!”

Finally snapping back to his senses at Aiden’s warning, the Millers turned and ran.

Then, remembering the child, Logan looked for Sadie.

Sadie was right behind him, following.

But the young child’s legs couldn’t move as swiftly.

The moment he realized Sadie would inevitably fall behind at this rate, Logan’s body moved on its own.

“Too slow!”

Logan scooped Sadie up into his arms.

Even to himself, it was a reckless act, but he had no choice.

It was the only option that came to mind.

At the very least, it was better than abandoning the child to flee.

Right after that.

Kwack!

A massive claw mark was etched into the ground where they had been standing.

The gigantic Beast had already closed the distance right behind them.

“Grrraaaaah!”

The bear’s torn vocal cords let out a roar directed at Logan.

The foul stench wafting from it assaulted Logan’s nostrils.

“Shit…!”

Logan ran with all his might.

But it was impossible for mere human legs to outrun the zombified Beast.

Its massive frame leapt into the air.

Its forelimb was aimed straight at Logan’s head.

The claws on its decayed paw glistened like a guillotine blade.

Logan thought he was going to die.

But in the next moment.

Bang!

At the earsplitting sound that reached his ears, Logan’s eyes shot wide open.

The descending Beast’s lethal weapon had halted before a chillingly crimson blade.

Upon seeing the owner of that blade, Logan let out a gasp of horror.

It was Arian.

A mere mid-teenager wielding a short sword, blocking the massive Beast.

The sight defied all common sense, invoking an intense sense of dissonance.

But more than that, an inexplicable dread crept into Logan’s mind.

For some reason, her blazing red eyes seemed utterly terrifying.

At that moment.

“Run!”

Arian, standing against the bear, shouted.

At that chilling cry, Logan immediately turned and fled without a second glance.

He ran as if he had seen a horror movie ghost, unable to even look back.

“Grrraaaahh!”

The howls of the Beasts still resounded from behind.

Accompanied by deafening roars and the clashing sounds of metal on metal.

But the Millers ignored it all and kept running.

“Grrrr!”

This time, the remaining wolves gave chase.

However, their pursuit didn’t last long.

Soon, a few gunshots rang out, and with each bullet, Logan felt the wolves’ presence disappearing one by one from behind.

How much time had passed?

Before long, there was nothing around the Millers, who had been running mindlessly.

“Huff… haah…!”

Gasping for breath, Logan finally set down Sadie, whom he had been carrying all this time.

He then collapsed onto the ground as if crumpling.

Simultaneously, the tension that had been gripping Logan released.

He no longer had the strength to even move a finger.

“Are… are you okay?”

Seeing Logan’s state, Sadie asked with concern.

Logan couldn’t even answer.

His breathing was still labored, the air stuck in his throat.

“Don’t worry. He just… needs some rest.”

As Sadie looked at a loss, Madeline, also breathless, reassured the child.

Sadie nodded and obediently stood by Logan’s side.

She alternated between looking back in the direction they had fled from and scanning the forest surroundings.

Gunshots could still be heard echoing from beyond the trees they had escaped through.

But the scene was now obscured by the pine trees blocking their view.

Worry clouded Sadie’s eyes.

Even as a child, she could well understand the danger of the Beast they had encountered.

“…”

A considerable amount of time passed like this.

It was only when the distant gunfire had almost ceased that…

“Never imagined… I’d push myself… this far at my age…”

Using his trembling arm for support, Logan barely managed to sit up.

His breathing had steadied, but he was still in no condition to move.

The frantic escape through the forest had clearly pushed him beyond his limits.

No matter how dire the situation, to have run all this way while carrying a child.

Even Logan himself found it incredible where he had mustered such stamina from.

“Have some water.”

Beside him, Madeline offered a water bottle.

Logan gulped it down and let out a deep sigh.

It seemed his senses were finally returning.

Having regained his composure, Logan gazed in the direction Sadie had been looking towards the forest.

“…It’s gone quiet.”

The deafening roars and beastly howls that had been ringing out until just before were long gone.

The only sound that could be heard was the wind rustling through the pine trees now that the rain had ceased.

It was eerily tranquil, as if the earlier commotion had been a lie.

“Will those people… be alright?”

Madeline asked.

Realistically speaking, it was an implausible notion.

Wolves and even a bear, zombified Beasts that were dangerous enough on their own, had attacked the two of them together.

No matter what guns or explosives they might have had, they couldn’t have been a match.

And yet, Logan ultimately couldn’t bring himself to give a negative answer.

It wasn’t solely because he didn’t want to trample on the child’s hope.

He still couldn’t forget the sight of Arian blocking the bear’s claws.

The aura she had exuded at that moment was an ominous sense he could scarcely describe in words, a chilling feeling he didn’t want to recall.

So much so that even though Logan fully understood Arian had saved his life, in that instant, her appearance didn’t seem like a hero fending off a monster, but rather another monster intent on devouring it.

That’s why Logan couldn’t assert with confidence that such a monster would have easily fallen.

As Logan briefly sealed his lips amidst this contradiction-

“They’ll be okay.”

Sadie’s soft voice reached his ears.

While the child’s worry didn’t dissipate, she didn’t seem to doubt her companions’ safe return.

It was at that moment.

As if in response to the child’s words, a shadow stirred in the forest beyond.

“Over there…!”

Madeline pointed with her finger.

Glimpses of movement flitted between the trees, reminiscent of the wolves’ first appearance, causing Logan to swallow hard.

But what soon emerged from between the trees were two figures.

Each gripping a rifle and a machete.

Towards them, Sadie went running.

* * *

That evening.

Having barely made it out of the pine forest before nightfall, Aiden’s group had to set up camp once again deep within another mountain range.

Their location was a small cave on a cliffside.

Though calling it a cave was a stretch, as its depth was barely a few meters.

It was merely a shallow alcove big enough for a person to lie down in.

But it was sufficient for spending the day after what they had been through.

It was far better than sleeping out in the open, unable to shelter even from the wind.

“Rest up, then.”

After settling his companions inside the cave, Aiden took a spot on a rock slightly away from the entrance.

He would be standing guard here throughout the night.

The sunset arrived briefly.

In the mountains where night fell swiftly, the reddish glow faded away almost as soon as it had appeared. But before that crimson light vanished completely, someone approached.

It was Logan.

“What is it?”

Aiden asked the quietly approaching Logan.

Logan opened his mouth with a wry smile.

“Can’t sleep, that’s all.”

“You must be exhausted, though.”

“Haha, I did push myself today. But maybe it’s because I’m old, I can’t sleep when I’m too tired. So I thought I’d borrow a spot here for a bit.”

It was a simple enough request, so Aiden nodded in response.

Seated on the rock, Logan looked up at the sky.

His unfocused gaze seemed lost in thought as it settled on the stars slowly regaining their brilliance in the darkness.

It was Aiden who first spoke to the pensive Logan.

“Thank you for looking after Sadie. We’ll be sure to repay you once we reach Phoenix.”

Aiden remembered that Logan hadn’t abandoned Sadie back in the forest.

For him, it had been an unexpected help.

He hadn’t expected wanderers they had just met that day to protect Sadie as if she were their own.

“No need. It was just looking after a child, nothing major.”

Logan waved his hand dismissively in response.

An unusual reply in this world where even common courtesy was often forgotten.

Aiden stared intently at Logan.

Perhaps sensing Aiden’s questioning gaze even through his helmet, Logan let out a soft chuckle.

“My humility must seem strange.”

“Well-“

“Yeah, I know what you’re going to say. It’s become rare these days.”

Logan let out a brief sigh.

After a momentary silence, he continued speaking.

“You see, my wife and I… we don’t have any children. We’re infertile. Not that I’m complaining. It was a marriage we both knew about, and we didn’t really think about having kids when we were young anyway.”

“…”

“But as we got older, those feelings gradually changed. Especially for Madeline. She couldn’t take her eyes off any child that passed by.”

As if recalling some memory, Logan chuckled softly.

Despite the sudden recounting of the past, Aiden simply listened quietly to his words.

“Eventually, we even left the hospital we had been working at and opened a pediatric clinic in a small town. At least that way, we could be around children. We spent 15 years there. It wasn’t an easy life, but it was fulfilling. There were even times when children we had treated brought their own kids to us.”

Logan’s gaze towards the stars in the sky became distant, as if revisiting old memories.

After a while, he finally lowered his eyes and shrugged his shoulders.

“Just some old memories resurfacing, nothing to worry about. Besides, we did save a child, didn’t we? It was you all who saved us. I’m the one in debt, really.”

Logan stated firmly.

To this, Aiden simply nodded once.

If Logan put it that way, Aiden had nothing more to say.

“Understood. But… we should move a bit slower tomorrow.”

Aiden said, looking at Logan’s legs.

They were still trembling ever so slightly.

Considering Logan’s age, the fatigue wouldn’t dissipate overnight.

Logan gave a wry smile.

“I’ll take you up on that offer.”

With those words, Logan returned to his bedroll to rest.

And so the night deepened, Aiden quietly observing the darkened forest.

* * *

From the next day onward, Aiden’s group continued forging through the mountains and forests, accompanied by the Millers.

While their path wasn’t smooth, they no longer encountered threats like the Beasts.

And three days later.

“We’ve finally arrived.”

Arian said as she stepped onto the long stretch of a six-lane road.

At last, they had set foot in the metropolis of Phoenix, approximately 600km away from LA.