Zed watched as the dog ran for his survival. He could have helped the doggo if he wanted to because he could. Regardless of his size, he was pretty much nearly unkillable, and it would not take much for him to help. But. Zed was not compelled to help, so it would not really matter.
When the dog was able to survive all through that and now sat beside him, Zed simply idled on the cargo and minded his own business. It was only natural. He didn't give a damn to the dog. Zed would go when it was safe, and when the undead had lost interest in him. He could outlast any undead, and even the lack of food would not deter him.
This had been Zed's way for many centuries., This was him being non-confrontational. If it would allow him, he would not want to fight the undead... It was because he loved humans. It was twisted. Persistently twisted as expected of an Old One.
"Woof! Woof!"
Zed ignored the dog as he lay his head on the ground, while he lay in his stomach in a comfortable position.
*****
Bill was annoyed. What was up with this snobby feline up to??
"Hey, why would you not talk to me?" He was on the verge of losing it, but as a sensible character who had once led his own group, he knew better than to antagonize people he'd want to ally with. "Come on... The two of us would need to work hard if we want to survive!"
Bill thought it wise to have gone here on the cargo top of the truck, but it appeared he was mistaken. The black-furred cat was very uncooperative in that it would not just listen to him. He thought it might be a wildling, but there was no such thing anymore as they had been educated for many centuries that had come and forced the lifeforms on Earth to adapt and evolve.
He watched the undead just below him gathering and trying to reach for him. He kept a wary eye conscious of the rather athletic undead that had been mixed up with the crowd. If he had chosen the forest, he would have had a better chance of losing it, but instead, he was in this situation brought by his misplaced impulse of righteousness and here he thought... Lari was the more impulsive of the two.
"Do you have any idea how we could leave here?" He asked the black cat only to hear nothing back.
When he looked over, he saw the feline stretching with its eyes squinting as if relaxed under the warmth of the sun. Only now did the heat register to Bill. Thankfully, there were a lot of clouds that despite being high noon, the sunlight shouldn't have been enough for him to get dehydrated.
"Meow..." The black cat purred without a care as it rolled on the ground, sunbathing and relaxing. This annoyed Bill.
"What was your problem?! Could you not see the danger we were in?"
"Come again?" The cat answered.
All along. Bill had been talking in his local language, and it hit him that there was really something off with the feline in front of him. "English? Said. English? You?" He asked the cat with his poor English, and the message seemed to get across.
*****
Zed narrowed his eyes. He really didn't plan on talking with the dog as it didn't concern him, but he was getting noisy. "I would not understand your words, so please give up. I was not from here, and we have nothing in common, so please don't bother me."
The cat uttered his intention so clearly and as eloquently as possible. Inwardly, he was thinking to himself how he could come to France, and visit Paris to have a talk with the Owlking. His long-term plan was to roam what was left of the world. That was definite. As a cat, he wasn't really good at geography.
Meanwhile, his short-term plan, specifically now, was to meet with the Owlking. Contacting the Owlking via radio comms would not cut it as he would prefer talking to the so-called Champion that raised the AviaNest face to face. Zed had a lot of questions, and he reckoned that the Owlking should be capable of answering a lot of them.
In order for him to achieve this small-term plan, he would need to achieve a series of objectives. Currently, he should be on his way to the center of former Indonesia to investigate the groups that were attempting to rebuild civilization. Through them, he should be able to acquire clues as to how to go to France. If he got lucky, he could try a radio comm, or any method of long-distance communication to reconnect with and talk to Chp the parrot. And. If he became much luckier than that, maybe he could even secure safe passage to at least the coast of France.
"Woof! Woof! English? You. talk english? Where? You? From?" The dog loudly barked beside him. And it was sure getting loud.
*****
It had gotten Bill's interest a lot. An inkling of suspicion in his heart welled into certainty... The black-furred cat was a foreigner. And as if to test his theory, Bill began his rambling using his local tongue. "Your mom was so fat she got stuck in the cabinet. You were an idiot! Cats were dumb! Your whole species was inferior to mine. You were black... er... I meant, nice fur..." The dog said all of these words in his local tongue in a gentle manner where his nuances would never give away that he was cussing the feline.
This time, he switched back to his poor English. "English? Where. Come From? Where? You? Going?"
This time, the feline showed a reaction. His eyes met his, and for a short while, Bill felt a sense of tension. There was just something intimidating about the feline in front of him. Since the Fall, a lot of things have changed, and violence can no longer be solely based on weight class and size alone.
"My name was Zed..." The cat first introduced himself.
Bill's English might be poor, but he knew enough to understand what the other was saying. He returned the gesture and introduced himself. "Bill. Dog."
"Yeah," The cat dismissed him easily as he returned to idling around and watching the undead below him. "Zed. Cat."
With a burst of speed, the cat descended and leaped off from the scalps of the undead with impressive alacrity, and jumped to another vantage point in sight. Using his claws, the cat made a mountain climbing to the side of a bus, and soon, he was at the top of it.
The sight of the cat leaving him made Bill feel betrayed, while that would not really matter considering that it was his own choice that brought him here. From the bus, the cat watched him silently. "Oi," The cat called. "I left my bag there. Would you watch it for me?"
Bill was confused. He thought he was being ditched.
*****
There was a first for many, and for Zed, trying to help another creature was a first. As a cat, he was quite apathetic even to his own species. Though similarly proud, he hadn't paid any real attention to others except his precious person. To be frank, he wasn't that cold considering he would also play with his neighbors from time to time with him leaving his turd on their carpet... That was a different story.
But this time, Zed was actually trying to help someone sincerely. He searched for a way inside the bus. He found a shattered window that had enough opening for him to get in. He jumped in a curve and landed on his feet. there was undead inside, but his feet were light and would hardly give off any sound. He sneaked from under the seats while doing his silent sleuthing.
He identified a few sources of food and water from under. It was quite an impressive loot if he would manage to get them all. This loot would help his life to be more convenient in the future, but for Bill the dog though, it would be a matter of life and death.
It took Zed a long time to deliberate a decision. He'd rather be selfish like he would usually do. He would not know sapience, but for the past 500 years, he should have done plenty enough of forsaking others that it would damn him to hell. Of course, he knew hell. His precious person liked using the word 'hell' to express hate. He was just too distant, aloof, and ignorant of it that he would not even need to care if there were sins committed. What was even a sin to a cat?
"I could not believe it. To actually think that I would do something like this... To think that I would make a Dog Choice such as this..." I eyed the door of the bus which was still intact, and then I glimpsed at the undead driver of this vessel still stuck on his chair.