As he looked at the beautiful woman hugging him, Glen's face was painted in confusion. Who in the heck was this woman and why was she hugging him? Was she one of his exes or flings?
No.
If she was, Glen would have remembered her. He certainly was no gentleman that would remember every one of his past relationships, but he would have definitely remembered someone as beautiful as her.
Glen was not the only one confused by this turn of events either. Just like him, his disciple Ezekiel also wanted to know what was going on. He looked at Glen with eyes asking him 'What the heck is going on old man!?' but Glen just shook his head to show he had no idea as well.
"Your arm and eye... It is okay. It is good enough that you survived" she said as she let go of Glen and took a good look at him.
The woman's voice sounded concerned, something which Glen was not accustomed to. Sure, he liked to downplay his own accomplishments but at the end of the day Glen knew himself better, he was the legendary Night Rider. No one would bother to be concerned for his safety, because he would always come back alive and victorious.
"Oh! Pardon my manners! Due to the unique circumstances, I forgot to introduce myself. You probably don't even remember me since I was one of the countless people you have saved" said the woman as she blushed and noticed what she had done due to her excitement.
"It's unfortunate to admit it but, my lady is right. I have no memories of ever meeting you, let alone saving you"
Hearing that she became a little sullen but it didn't even take her a second to become high-spirited again.
"Of course, you wouldn't remember. You protected and saved so many people in your life that it would be ludicrous to expect you to remember every single person you have helped"
Glen frowned at her words. He felt like she was playing word games with him. Was it so hard to say where they had met? Still, since she called him Mayor Rhodes, he thought it would be at Rionel's Keep but he didn't think anyone could survive such a massacre. Glen even doubted whether Melvin or whatever his name was still alive. Maybe she was one of the people that left before then? It was rare but there were still people that left his land due to some disagreements. Or they were flat out exiled due to their crimes. She wasn't a criminal, was she?
"Are you sure I was the one that 'helped' the lady?" Glen made sure to emphasize his own words so that she would answer him properly this time.
"Yes! Mayor Rhodes saved me 4 years ago when you were evacuating the people. I still remember it to this day. I was about to be ravaged by zombies when you arrived on your horse and killed them all before leaving like a storm. Mayor Rhodes was so dashing that day. Oh, sorry for my impudence, I am not saying current Mayor Rhodes is not dashing or anything. Your beard looks really good and gives a mature and stable feeling, while the eye patch creates an air of mystery. I had better stop speaking now before I embarrass myself any further hahaha"
Seeing her fumbling over her words while blushing and laughing awkwardly, a subtle smile crept on Glen's face without him noticing. He finally remembered who she was.
"The girl who was attacked by three fat zombies?"
"Yes! That was me! I can't believe that you still remember such an embarrassing moment" said the woman with twinkling eyes.
Glen remembered that event. At the time he had just heard about the breach in the west gate and was rushing there to see if the situation could still be salvaged. That was when he heard a high pitched scream and decided to fire a couple of shots to save her. He didn't even know if she was safe back then and he couldn't even stop and check due to his urgency.
"I am glad... I am really glad to see that you survived and living happily now" said Glen while trying to hold back his feelings. Now that he knew she was there back then, he couldn't ignore his own feelings.
He was genuinely happy to see that at least one more person made it out of that massacre.
"Of course, a lot of people made it out of the city that day thanks to your diligent preparations. Even though there was some confusion at first, people quickly followed your rules and escaped through the sewage system. At least, a tenth of the population managed to escape without a scratch on them. Can't say the same about their smell though hahaha"
The woman looked confused at Glen's expression. After all, he was the one that created the escape plan, so why was he acting like everyone was dead? Even though she didn't know the reason she tried to break the awkward atmosphere by making a joke.
"Uhm, how about we clean up the surroundings first before leaving?" said Ezekiel trying to divert the survivors' attention.
The old man looked like he was suddenly stabbed in the heart with that weird expression. So he knew that Glen needed some time alone to think things through. And he was right to think like that.
Right now, Glen was feeling like he was hit by that truck again. He was so wrapped up in his own self-pity that he had never even considered that there could be other survivors. He had never even thought about the escape plans he had prepared beforehand.
At least a tenth, huh? He didn't know the exact number but Rionel's Keep had a population of more than five thousand people. If a tenth of them survived that would make five hundred people at least.
He could help but laugh at his own stupidity. Currently, Glen didn't want to do anything but laugh like a lunatic.
He wasn't a failure.
He managed to protect people.
He wasn't perfect but he wasn't a total failure as well.
***
It had been a week since the attack on the caravan by the remnant zombies. Since they were heading in the same direction anyway Glen and Ezekiel decided to tag along with them.
It definitely was not because Glen wanted to learn more about the fates of the survivors of Rionel's Keep.
In the meant time, Glen also started to learn more about this survivor group. They were from a settlement that was recently reclaimed by the Empire.
Hearing that the humans were finally fighting back and the civilization was getting revitalized across the continent. They had decided it was a prime chance to leave and head towards the newly emerging cities that needed a plethora of people from all kinds of trade. The sooner they arrived the better they would be treated.
Of course, they had some oddballs among their group. It wasn't a surprise considering anyone who survived in an apocalypse for this long would have a few screws loose... except for him. He was totally sane.
"Uncle Rhodes, the supper is ready" and here comes one of the oddballs.