It was another day after the horde had attacked us, and we had managed to survive. We were busy fortifying our base, making sure it was secure and ready for any future threats. I was on the walls, overseeing the work, when I saw a woman approaching me. She was one of the survivors we had rescued from the helicopter crash. Her name was Anna, and she was a doctor. She had been injured in the crash, but she had recovered thanks to our medics.
She walked up to me and said, "Souta, right? You're the leader of this place?"
I nodded, and asked, "Yeah, that's me. How are you feeling? Are you okay?"
She smiled, and said, "I'm okay now, thanks to you and your people. You saved my life, and I'm grateful. But I need to talk to you about something. Something important."
I felt a pang of curiosity, and said, "Okay, let's go somewhere more private then." I led her to a room inside the base, where we could talk without being disturbed. It was an office, where I kept some documents and maps. She closed the door behind us, and I sat down on a chair. She sat down on another chair, facing me. She looked serious, and I wondered what she wanted to tell me.
I looked at her with curiosity as she fidgeted nervously. "So, can you tell me what you want?" I asked, hoping to get to the point.
She took a deep breath and said, "I want you to go to our base." She paused, waiting for my reaction.
"Our base? You mean the military base?" I raised my eyebrows in disbelief. "Why would you want to go there? It's crawling with hordes of zombies. It's too risky."
She bit her lip and continued, "I want to save any survivors from that base. I'm sure there are still some of them alive. They might be hiding or trapped somewhere. They need our help."
I shook my head, not buying her argument. "You have a kind heart, but you're being naive. What can we gain from saving a few survivors? We have enough problems of our own. We need to focus on our survival, not on some hopeless rescue mission."
She clenched her fists and said, "The military base is not just a rescue mission. It's also a treasure trove of resources. It has weapons, explosives, ammo, tanks, and other things you can imagine. That base was designed to accommodate thousands of civilians, up to a million. That's why the supplies there should be enough for your men, at least a hundred times over."
I had to admit, that was a tempting offer. The military base could have everything we needed to fight the zombies, even the evolved ones. But there was a catch. "That sounds too good to be true. And you know what they say, if something sounds too good to be true, it usually is. How do you know the base is still intact? How do you know the supplies are still there? How do you know the zombies haven't taken over everything? And besides, we both know that the evolved zombies can't be dealt with without walls"
She sighed, knowing I had a point. "I don't know for sure. But I have a feeling. A hunch. A hope. And I have one more thing that might convince you." She looked at me with a glint in her eye. "What if I told you that there is a working helicopter here? Would you agree then?"
I blinked, surprised by her revelation. "A helicopter? Where did you find a helicopter? And how do you know it's working?"
She smiled, thinking she had me hooked. "It's a bit far from here, but not impossible to reach. It's in one of the metropolis cities, the hospital there has a working helicopter. When the apocalypse began, the hospital was the first to get infected, so they didn't use the helicopter. It's still there, waiting for someone to take it."
I sighed heavily, disappointed by her answer. "The metropolis? Are you kidding me? Out of all the places you want us to go, you choose the most dangerous and crowded one? The one that has not just thousands but a million zombies roaming around? The one that even the military avoided because of how dense the population was? And you want us to go there for a helicopter that we're not even sure if it's working or not? That's insane."
She frowned, not giving up. "But it's worth a shot, don't you think? A helicopter could be a game-changer. We could use it to lure the zombies away, even the evolved ones. We could use it to scout the area, to find other survivors, to escape if things get bad. We could use it to reach the military base, to save the people there, to get the supplies we need. A helicopter could be our ticket to a better life."
I shook my head, not convinced. "I can't risk my people for a helicopter that might not even exist. It's too dangerous, too uncertain, too foolish. I'm sorry, but I can't agree to your plan. It's too risky."
She looked at me with pleading eyes. "Please, just think about it. What if there are people out there who need our help? What if there are people who are still fighting, still hoping, still living? What if we could make a difference? What if we could change the world?"
I sighed, feeling a pang of sympathy for her. She was passionate, idealistic, brave. But she was also reckless, unrealistic, naive. She didn't understand the harsh reality of this world. She didn't understand the cost of her actions. She didn't understand the consequences of her choices. "Look, I appreciate your enthusiasm, but I can't do this. I have a responsibility to my people, to keep them safe, to keep them alive. I can't jeopardize that for a helicopter that might not even work. I can't gamble with their lives for a base that might not even have survivors. I can't do this."
She lowered her head, defeated. "I understand. I'm sorry for wasting your time. But can I ask you one more thing?"
I nodded, curious. "What is it?"
She looked at me with determination. "If I could find comrades who want to join me, who are willing to take the risk, who share my vision, would you support us? Would you lend us some of your resources, some of your weapons?"
I sighed, knowing she wouldn't give up. "Well, if you can find such people, I would support you. But I doubt you will. Who would be crazy enough to join you on this suicide mission? Who would be dumb enough to follow you to the metropolis?"
She smiled and said, "Thanks. That's all I ask." And then she left, leaving me alone with my thoughts. "Does she really care about the survivors that much? Or is she just looking for a thrill? Well, good luck to her. She'll need it." I muttered to myself, wondering if I would ever see her again if she ever go there.