Chapter 11

“Are you crazy? Opening the door is going to get us all killed!”

“Can you guarantee your actions won't affect us?”

“Lady, please, your daughter's life is precious, but aren't our lives precious too?”

My heart clenched, and I instinctively grabbed my mom’s hand.

Her hand was icy cold too.

“Please, I’m begging you, open the door! I’ll go out quickly, I won’t disturb anyone!”

But the resident who had locked the door still didn’t reply.

“The zombies seem slower at night, maybe wait until then?” someone suggested.

“I can’t wait!” the mother sent a voice message, her voice thick with tears as she pleaded: “I thought rescue would prioritize the schools... It’s my fault. I’m the one who let her board. She’s so little... I have to get to her... Please...”

Some things, if you haven't been a parent, you just can't understand.

She probably knew, deep down, that going might be futile.

But the thought of her child, alone in a strange place, engulfed in fear, threatened by death… even at the cost of her own life, she desperately needed to get to her side, to hold her.

The group chat was deadlocked. Many spoke up for the mother.

Residents whose children also boarded at County Elementary sent out invitations to team up.

“Our family’s car is big! My husband and I will go! Let’s work together to bring the kids back!”

Still, the door-locking resident remained silent.

Then, someone with a very different vibe spoke up in the chat.

Incredibly brash, his avatar was a red wolf pup.

“Easy fix if they won't open the door. Just smash it.”

“Holy shit, you’re insane.”

“Fuck’s sake, what kind of sociopath are you? Don’t drag us into your death wish, go out yourself if you want to die!”

Another resident chimed in, “Everyone, calm down. He’s actually a good guy. He saved my son’s life.”

So it was him—the guy who’d snatched the kid from a zombie’s mouth in the compound the other day.

Finally, pressured, the door-locker appeared. He was evasive: “It’s not that I don’t sympathize with a mother’s heart. But we’re a community now. I’m doing this for everyone’s good.”

The Red Wolf Pup jumped back in: “Fine. I’ll handle closing it later.”

The dispute settled down.

I went back to my telescope.

Our compound had 17 buildings. Over a hundred zombies were shuffling around within the walls.

And that was just the ones I could see.

Most were former residents, including Guard Wang.

Guard Wang had always been diligent and kind.

Now he was a flesh-eating monster.

Maybe Guard Wang’s soul was floating somewhere, cursing at his own corpse.

My mind wandered, a pang of sadness hitting me.

As the woman reached the first floor, three or five zombies clustered at the heavy security gate.

They’d smelled the living.

The Red Wolf Pup seemed to be talking to her, maybe calming her down. Her panicked expression slowly steadied.

They weren’t superwomen either. But for their children, they could find the strength.

“Hey—!” A chubby man leaned out from a third-floor window, his upper body visible. He bellowed, almost singing, “Guard Wang!”

“Our drinking date never happened! Come find me!”

The zombies shambled away towards Building 15.

Our first floor was storage, not residences, so the ground-floor folks were safe for now.

Other low-floor residents started opening windows and calling out names too.

“Master Zhang!” “Auntie Liu!”

Each call was the living expressing their longing.

And it gave the living mother a chance to reach her child.