Apocalypse Healer - Path of Death

At last, David changed his clothes. He found a comfortable tracksuit, boots, which he put on right after he cleansed his feet, and a large backpack. Once ready, he joined the others, who were resting in a small restaurant. He recognized the brand: a popular pizza chain. However, the oven was turned off, and David doubted anyone would be switching it on again.

"I would kill for a slice of pizza," Jack joked lightly, his gaze lingering on Flora in a way that didn't escape David's notice, "I hope you learn some better Skill Runes soon. No. Don't get me wrong, Flora. I want you to conjure flames soon. Once you can do that, we can make pizza!"

"Or we can search for a lighter and start a small fire to make a pan-style pizza," Sebastian added with a smile. He raised his Coke and toasted to the others, who lifted their soda to clink cans.

"Well, you guys are relaxed," David said casually, walking to the fridge to reach for a Coke. The refrigerator was turned off, but the Coke was still cold. It was probably one of the last cold soft drinks he would drink for a while.

He opened the can with one hand and sat down with the others.

"What do you want us to do? Panic and cower in fear, hoping the police or military will rescue us?" Jack said coldly.

David's brows furrowed slightly, but he shrugged.

That was actually what he would have expected from the average survivor: to panic, act delusional, and wait for the military even though they would never arrive. At least, that was David's guess. Maybe the military would come for them soon; however, David didn't bet on it.

Sebastian offered a smile. "I think everyone here is afraid, but the Infected are everywhere. We need to be strong enough to defend ourselves. It's always been like that."

This attracted David's interest, "Always? So, you guys know each other before this happened?"

Jack shook his head weakly, but Sebastian nodded enthusiastically.

"We have been together for years. I might be slightly older than the kids, but we were all raised in the same orphanage. I returned to help the staff at the orphanage even after I started working, and I slept at the orphanage last night as well. My job is – or was – near the orphanage, so commuting was no problem," Sebastian explained with a smile.

However, his smile faded, and David guessed it had something to do with his job or the other children at the orphanage.

That explained a lot. Sebastian and Jack seemed to know each other, but their interactions felt distant. They might even be at odds.

Sebastian's interactions with Flora seemed protective—like an older brother looking out for her. He was probably ten years older than her, but she clung to him. David noticed the way Flora stayed close to Jack and Sebastian, her movements were calculated and deliberate, as if sticking with them gave her the best chance to survive.

She'd thanked David for rescuing her, but her guarded glances told him she was still wary. David didn't mind. He didn't need to be Flora's friend.

David's understanding of the situation improved with the new information.

Sebastian is the oldest, but he's not the shot-caller. Not really. He looks rough but is a foolish softie—or maybe not foolish. Naive and overprotective, perhaps. Jack makes the decisions. He likes the power. That could be a bit…rough to deal with.

David had met various people in his line of work, but the old-fashioned, narcissistic people in higher positions were, by far, the most annoying. He could easily handle gullible workers at his level and deal with greedy and attention-seeking fools, but old-fashioned superiors were frustrating.

And to David, Jack felt like one of them. It was nothing certain based on evidence, but a gut feeling that nagged at him. Jack considered himself the group leader, and expected everyone to follow his orders.

But it did not look like Sebastian had grasped that yet, which was why he had given Jack an order earlier. Maybe Jack didn't see Sebastian's commands as a challenge to his authority – his power –, perhaps because the Warrior's orders sounded reasonable. Regardless, he couldn't look into Jack's mind, but that was probably for the best.

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"That's interesting," David took another sip of the Coke, his attention diverting to Sebastian again.

After David rescued Flora, Sebastian's attitude toward him had changed drastically. He was like an overprotective mother bear, which wasn't too bad as long as the mother bear remained on his side.

"Do you guys have a plan?" he asked, but Sebastian shrugged. "Survival is our highest priority."

Jack cleared his throat, glared at David, and smiled at the others, "I think we should stay in the shopping center for a while. We can gather the beverages from the shopping center and collect all preservable ingredients. I don't think we will have to go hungry today with all the ingredients even if we don't stock up with whatever survived in the supermarket's ruins."

He guessed the Hunter's glances in his direction were meant to gauge his reactions—trying to figure out the unknown.

"There should be ten or more restaurants with preservable ingredients and enough beverages to get us through a few days." David had to acknowledge Jack's comment. He may not like the kid, but that didn't mean he was stupid.

"We can have a small barbecue, too," Sebastian chimed in, smiling. "There's probably a lighter somewhere, and this pizza place uses dry wood for its brick oven.

David and Jack looked at Sebastian, their confusion apparent, while Flora asked the truly important question, "How do you know that?"

Sebastian smiled shyly, and to David, the sight was almost comical—such a timid expression on a hulking giant of a man.

"I usually go here on my cheat days."

Everyone was silent for a moment, but they couldn't contain their laughter any longer after Sebastian looked at them with a pout.

Sebastian scowled at first, but it only took a second before he joined the others.

Even with the world turned upside down, David couldn't help but marvel at how people adapted. It wasn't the end of the world, not entirely—not if they could still laugh and push forward. Humans were tenacious. Maybe they weren't on the same level as cockroaches, but their adaptability surpassed everything known to them.

It might look like the end of the world to everyone else, but David was certain they could make it, and he was definitely not alone with that thought.

The group jumped into action once they were ready. They split into two groups to search the shopping center for some good stuff, mostly food and water.

Jack offered to team up with David, which didn't surprise him in the least. The duo didn't talk a lot, and if they talked about something, it was mostly small talk. Even then, it was mostly Jack talking, trying to assess David's personality, his background, and much more with sneaky, personal questions.

David noticed the young man's eyes following his every move as if cataloging every twitch of his lips or shift in his posture. Most of the latter was intentionally exaggerated, which didn't happen too often, no matter how fun it was to see the cogs in Jack's head turn.

David didn't bother hiding much. The monotony of his old life felt distant now. It had only been a few hours, but David already struggled to see himself as the man he once was. It was weird, but it made sense. In the past, he'd been bored out of his mind. It hadn't been a huge disruption before, but it had always bothered him.

The last few weeks had been worse than ever before. David had felt more restrained than ever, and nothing excited him.

The integration into the Pantheon, whatever that meant, changed everything. It opened doors to something more. To something David never expected to obtain.

A proper fight. Desperately struggling to survive. That kind of excitement. He'd never felt it before…and he didn't want to let it go.

Most of all, freedom. The thought of losing it now sent a spark of defiance through him. He wouldn't let anyone take it away—ever.

He was finally himself. Truly. Maybe that meant he was a weird, crazy bastard, but that was okay!

The corners of his lips curled upward.

Jack glanced at him, his expression briefly twisting into something David interpreted as disgust before smoothing over.

You are not that different. Accept it.

David chuckled inwardly, finishing his mental sketch of Jack. The boy was easy to read—maybe too easy.

But maybe that was for the best.

The lack of immediate problems made collecting food and beverages from the restaurants scattered throughout the shopping center surprisingly easy.

They didn't encounter any Infected, which was interesting. It felt like the shopping center was a small safe point, a hideout from Infected. Of course, that was nonsense, but looking outside at random times showed them how lucky they had been.

David's pulse quickened as he watched the chaos outside. Dozens of Infected shuffled, crawled, and dragged their shattered bodies through the streets.

It was exhilarating.