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🕑 Added 2025-07-08 04:06:39 +0000 UTCA New Beginning From the End of the World
Chapter 217 - The Best Friend
“Hoo... hoo…”
Swimming up from the bottom of the water current to the top of the train station stairs, Jason and Alicia leaned on each other until they reached higher ground where the water couldn’t reach them.
For them, getting out was urgent. After all, the current wasn’t just dragging them—it was carrying all the walkers that had been inside, too.
Immediately afterward, Jason collapsed onto the ground, nearly lying flat, panting heavily as he looked up at the sky, his clothes completely soaked.
Woof! Woof!
Seeing two unfamiliar figures lying on the ground, a white, shaggy dog approached, stretching out its tongue to lick Jason’s cheek, as if trying to say he meant no harm.
Feeling the warm tongue on his skin, Jason opened his eyes, petted the dog’s head, then looked over at Alicia, who was also panting beside him, and asked with concern, “Alicia, are you okay?”
“I’m fine.”
Alicia waved tiredly and remained lying down, her legs aching. “We can take a breather. We’ll be fine.”
“Alright, let’s rest a little.” Hearing her words, Jason felt somewhat relieved. He laid back down on the ground, and the violent rise and fall of his chest gradually began to calm, while he watched the dog that had appeared out of nowhere.
“Looks like there are still dogs around here…”
Thinking about everything that had happened in the last few days, Jason couldn’t help but feel unsettled about what might have occurred.
The two of them ignored the distant explosions, with no intention of getting up to see what was going on. They still needed time to process the intense moment they had just survived.
Woof!!
Maybe sensing that the two strangers were alright, the long-haired dog, after licking them a couple more times, ran off into the open, its legs stretched out as it sprinted away.
Jason barely glanced at it. He didn’t pay much attention. Judging by its behavior, the dog seemed smart enough to survive on its own. Besides, his body hurt so much right now that he couldn’t even stand up.
…
Ten minutes later.
Crack…
After a brief rest, Jason slowly sat up alongside Alicia and began surveying their surroundings more closely.
Everything looked the same near the train station. Except for being away from the walkers, not much had changed.
Fortunately, no walkers or people were in sight—just some destruction that suggested the constant explosions had likely driven away the dead from this place.
Seeing that there were no threats nearby, Jason turned his gaze to the few supplies they still had.
They had lost both of their backpacks. Along with them went most of their food, weapons, and ammunition. The bags must have been swept off to some unknown corner.
The gear they carried had been drastically reduced, so a quick inventory was necessary.
Two pistols—a Magnum and a Glock; several long knives; extra bullet magazines; a few energy bars and candies Jason usually kept in his pockets.
Taking out the items one by one, Jason looked at the meager supplies and felt that this time they had really lost a lot.
Thinking about the rifles and grenades they had to leave behind made him bitter. At least Alicia was still holding on to her M4, which would help later. Then he brought his hand to his left chest pocket, where he still had a lighter and the soaked radio he was supposed to use to contact his group. His face filled with frustration, but he took comfort in remembering that he’d always liked to carry a lot of gear and wear vests with multiple pockets. In a situation like this, that habit was a blessing.
Then he looked at Alicia, who was already back on her feet, and asked what she still had.
When he checked her gear, his expression grew serious. Aside from a machine gun barrel, a pistol, and the M4 that Jason was trying to dry out, she had absolutely nothing else.
“This is really bad!”
Jason looked at their few remaining supplies, struggled to stand, and said in frustration, “In that case, we have to move out as soon as possible. If we take too long, we might not even have dinner. I hope the radio still works and we can make it to your shelter.”
Alicia understood how serious things were, so she reluctantly started moving too.
Both of them headed toward the train station exit. Along the way, they picked up steel pipes from the ground, using them as improvised weapons, alert for any danger.
Fortunately, when they got out, no walkers were in sight.
Boom! Boom!
Bang, bang, bang!
As soon as they stepped outside, the nearby explosions and gunfire immediately caught Jason’s attention.
Using his binoculars, he saw a fire at the entrance to a bridge where a shelter seemed to be located.
The garrison camp of some fortified community was covered in smoke, and figures could be seen fighting each other.
Half of the bridge that once stood had long since collapsed. From the lake below, sunken remains were still visible, and the remaining fragments continued to fall into the water.
Jason and Alicia finally understood why they’d been hearing constant booms while crossing the tunnel.
On top of the existing damage, the collapse of the bridge had made everything worse.
“Damn… I don’t know if we got lucky or unlucky.”
Covering half his face, Jason remained silent, not paying much attention to the battle on the other side. Instead, he looked around.
After crossing the street, they were nearing the northeast side of Alicia’s base. They didn’t need to walk much farther to reach the stadium she’d mentioned.
Feeling the emptiness in his stomach, Jason muttered:
“Good thing we didn’t die under the rubble… but now that we’re out of supplies, let’s find some food before moving on.”
“We’ve got to keep moving…”
Looking at the ruins around them, Alicia felt disheartened. She had originally left her shelter to find supplies, and now everything had ended up like this.
Jason looked at her carefully, then stepped closer and nudged her gently with his shoulder. He pointed in a direction and said, “Look what we’ve got over there.”
Somewhat confused, Alicia followed the direction of his finger.
Not far away, the shaggy dog reappeared from a corner with a fat pelican in its mouth. Noticing that they were watching him, the animal dropped its prey to the ground and barked a few times with its tongue hanging out.
“This dog is amazing! From now on, we’re going to take care of him!”
Alicia crouched down excitedly, hugged the white dog tightly, and petted its head with both hands.
Soon they found a place to rest, and the pelican—an animal once forbidden to eat—was already sizzling over a fire, ready to be shared between two people and a dog. What did it matter now if it was a protected species?
When the meat was golden brown, they divided it into three portions. Everyone ate. Not long after, not even the bones were left, thanks to the furry friend who had joined them.
“Thanks for the meal!”
Maybe due to his injuries or simply from exhaustion, Jason leaned back in an abandoned chair, quietly remembering that it had already been a day since Billy and the others had died.
“Alicia, where are we going now?”
Once the hunger problem was solved, Alicia turned her attention to the next step: “We need to avoid the areas where the walker horde was. We’ll circle around those streets and reach the shelter.”
“Don’t worry, I know the way.”
“Alright. We need to be careful—not just with walkers, but with people too.”
Alicia didn’t add much more after that. She just said:
“It would be better if we found some kind of vehicle. With your injuries, walking too far will be hard.”
“I’m fine…”
Crack!
“Wait here. I think I heard something.”
Just as Alicia was about to say something else, a sudden noise outside caught her attention. Both of them saw several figures passing by. Jason frowned and muttered:
“Texas is definitely alive… more has happened here than in Atlanta… well, sort of.”
