Zombies Need Love Too!

The boy looked a bit thrown by Yoan’s intensity… but then he screwed up his face suspiciously and started talking again.

“But isn’t that a zombie? I mean, look at the skin and those totally wrecked eyes.”

Wow. No sugar-coating there. Just straight-up honesty with a side of insult.

It stung a little, but I couldn’t really blame him.

As long as I looked like a zombie, I’d have to keep proving I wasn’t about to snack on someone’s face.

“This is Sasha. And Sasha’s fine. Look, she can talk.”

While I stood there opening and closing my mouth like a confused trout, Yoan leapt gallantly to my defense.

To my surprise, the boy accepted that with zero follow-up interrogation.

“Yeah, I guess that’s true.”

Apparently, being able to talk was a big credibility booster in post-apocalyptic etiquette.

He then asked, “So what changes if I come with you?”

“Safe temporary shelter.”

“This place is safe enough.”

“Delicious food.”

“There’s probably more food here.”

“Reliable adult protection.”

“Adults like you? Not my idea of reliable at all.”

Yoan turned to me. “Are you sure we want to bring this kid? I can’t just deal with him here?”

Well, that last bit annoyed me too… but I stayed civil.

The kid was clearly in his rebellious phase, and I was trying very hard to be the adult.

I nodded firmly to make my opinion known.

“Ugh. Fine, whatever.”

Yoan might’ve been half-crazy, but at least he listened.

“Hey, quit being so stubborn. We’ll take good care of you. Just come with us.”

But something was bugging me. Yoan kept calling him “hey,” and “boy.”

I remembered how awful that had felt before I had a name of my own.

“Name. Need one.”

“He doesn’t have a name?”

“Probably.”

“Seriously, what doesn’t this kid need?”

Yoan made a face like the whole thing was wildly inconvenient.

I turned to the boy, who still looked like he was weighing all his options.

“Derek. How’s that?”

“…Derek.”

He mouthed the syllables awkwardly, like tasting a new flavor.

It was the name Aria had given him in the original story. I just happened to remember it and figured, why not?

As soon as he had a name, something shifted. His posture relaxed, and he gave a little huff before jerking his head toward the tunnel.

“Follow me this way.”

I trailed after Derek, leaving Yoan behind laughing in disbelief.

“Whoa…”

I couldn’t help exclaiming.

The kid had been busy. The cave was packed with food—neatly stored, no less.

I had no idea how we were going to carry it all. But luckily, having a zombie on hand made it doable.

Being undead had its perks.

We spent the night in the cave, finally eating our fill of proper food.

And the next morning, we set off bright and early for our hideout.

***

“My lord! You’re back safe and—oh, uh…” Rob trailed off mid-greeting.

I mean, we’d left to forage and came back with a kid, so fair enough.

He gave Derek a long once-over. “You just picked up this big kid outside? Yikes.”

Before he could say more, an arrow whizzed past his face and thunked into the wall.

“This little brat…”

Rob clutched his chest, trying to recover from the near-death experience.

His already grumpy face got even grumpier, but Derek didn’t so much as blink.

Yoan, dropping his bag, chuckled.

“This is Derek. He’s good with a bow. He was guarding the cave we found, so we brought him along.”

“My lord… Don’t tell me you’re taking in another one?”

“Sasha wanted to.”

“Hmm. Are you sure that’s wise?”

“Why wouldn’t it be?”

Rob plucked the arrow from the wall and handed it back to Derek.

“He reminds me of you when you were younger, my lord.”

“How so? We don’t even look alike.”

Which was true. Hair color, bone structure, everything was different—though I guess their expressions were both kinda blank in the same way.

“The attitude problem.”

Whoosh—!

Derek immediately shot the arrow right back at him.

“Damn it! That little—!”

G'job, Derek!

Grinning, I dropped all five of the bags I’d been carrying. One on my back, one on each shoulder, and one in each hand.

Behold: the ultimate pack-mule zombie.

“Good lord, that’s a lot.” Bliss, who’d been watching quietly, came over and began inspecting the contents.

“Sasha really worked hard. We won’t have to worry about food for a while.”

Rob sidled up beside me and gave a low whistle. “Five bags, and three are meat. This is totally Sasha’s preference, isn’t it?”

“Right. Love meat.”

“Yeah, meat… huh?” He blinked. Then stared. “…Did you just—?”

He pointed at me, mouth agape.

I nodded proudly and opened my mouth to speak.

But Yoan beat me to it.

“Our dear Sasha can talk now.”

“How is that even possible?”

“I fed her zombie blood.”

“Aha. Zombie… blood?” Rob repeated the words with a face like he’d just swallowed a bug.

So rude. Like I wanted to drink it either.

While I pulled faces at him behind his back, Yoan patted my head and added, “Isn’t she amazing?”

Rob gave a strained laugh. Even I had to admit “amazing” wasn’t quite the word.

Bliss clapped her hands, cutting through the awkwardness.

“Whatever we’re talking about, let’s do it over food. Everyone’s hungry, right?”

She wasn’t wrong. I’d been snacking on raw meat the whole way home, calling it tartare in my head… but my stomach was still grumbling.

We all lined up on the sofa, waiting for Bliss to call us.

The smell drifting from the kitchen was divine. With proper ingredients at last, she was in her element.

“Everyone, come eat!”

Apparently, she used to run a popular restaurant. And it showed—our little dining table was groaning under the weight of the food.

I carved into a beef Wellington the size of my fist, scooped out the meat, and politely pushed the hot vegetables and flaky pastry over to Derek.

“Derek. Eat lots.”

“Wow, look at her picking out everything but the meat to share.” Rob clicked his tongue and muttered like I’d just committed some great social faux pas.

He had no idea. Derek had told me earlier he didn’t like meat—he preferred vegetables.

“Veggies. Don’t like?”

“No, I like them.” Derek, sitting beside me, answered politely and picked up his fork.

“That kid’s only nice to Sasha. It’s a bit irritating.”

Now that he mentioned it, Derek—who I’d pegged as prickly—actually had a gentle side. Just not for everyone.

He was sharp with Yoan and Rob but completely obedient with me. Even used a sweet tone.

Maybe it was because I’d given him a name? In the original story, he’d followed Aria around the same way.

I don’t suppose it’ll be a big deal that I gave him a name…?

Meeting him earlier than Aria had in the story probably just meant things would unfold a little differently from now on.

And Derek wasn’t the only one I needed to recruit. If I wanted to avoid disaster, I’d need to put out the biggest fires first.

Just had to hang in there until I met Aria.

“Tomorrow during reconnaissance, we’re planning to supply food to the survivors,” Yoan announced.

“I want to go too,” Derek volunteered immediately.

“Kiddo? I get that you’re confident in your skills, but this isn’t a game. This is adult work,” Rob said, for once with actual concern instead of grump.

But Derek ignored him completely and looked at me instead. “Can I come too?”

“Come. You’ll help.”

“Yes. I’ll definitely be helpful.” He even smiled at me.

“Geez. Fine, do whatever you want. Like a little puppy, I swear.” Rob snorted in disbelief.

And just like that, our reconnaissance team became a group of four.

We’d split into pairs to deliver food. Since Rob and Yoan were the ones who knew the area, they each took the lead.

“…Can’t believe I’m stuck with this damn kid.” Rob grumbled like a sulky teenager.

“If you get in my way, I’ll shoot you.” Derek fired back without blinking.

While those two bickered like siblings, I grabbed my bag and headed off with Yoan toward our assigned area.

“Sasha.”

“Mhm?”

“Let’s try again today.”

“What?”

“Zombie blood.”

“…”

“You might get even better at talking.”

Well, that was technically true.

“Or should we try something a little more adventurous today?”

Oh no… I had a sinking suspicion I knew exactly what he meant.

“D-dont wanna.”

“Isn’t it frustrating not being able to speak properly?”

You’re the one who’s frustrated.

“Nope.”

“Sasha. Just a little. Please?”

“Nope!”

Flat refusal. No regrets.

Why did he think he got to pick my milestones?

But Yoan was never one to give up easily.