"So, tell us your story."
A girl named Tara in the corner of a cosmetics store looked up, glanced at the red-bearded man, and said, "I can't even understand it."
"It will help if you tell me."
"I recommend not pressing her with that story, Abraham; it might have caused a trauma that's hard to overcome."
"Eugene, shut up."
Abraham, seeing there was nothing more interesting to do, asked, "Were they walkers or thieves?"
"None of that; no one who survived knew what attacked us. The whole shelter was reduced to ashes, and only we, who were out looking for food, saw how it was destroyed by some kind of drone."
Tara paused for a moment and then said, "It wasn't just one drone, but three that attacked the entire shelter, eliminating everyone in less than a minute."
"Those were unmanned combat aerial vehicles, better known as UCAVs, or simply combat drones. These aircraft lack a human pilot on board. Eugene paused and said, "Drone missions are usually conducted under real-time human control, but human intervention in the UCAV system varies according to the levels of UCAV autonomy and communication data requests."
"That's too sophisticated for someone to use just for fun." Rosita, who had been silent, intervened in the conversation.
Abraham, who had been quiet, said, "Maybe the leader of the community you were in annoyed someone he shouldn't have; do you know anything about that?"
"I heard that a helicopter had crashed. They tried to rescue the wounded, but they were all dead."
"So, wherever that helicopter was headed, they blamed you for bringing it down. To attack you so brutally, it must have been an important flight." Abraham was now more certain of what Eugene had told him about the research center.
Everyone fell silent, hoping that at least something was still alive in Washington, D.C., or that everything they had gone through would not have been worth it.
"And you—are you really as important as they say? How do you plan to solve this virus thing?" Tara looked at Eugene, who was silent again.
"When all this began, I was part of a team of about ten people working for the Human Genome Project, designing biological weapons to combat other biological weapons. Thanks to the knowledge gained during this research, I discovered a way to counteract the epidemic. Using the special infrastructure that exists in Washington, D.C., I can create a cure."
For anyone who didn't know Eugene Hermann Porter, they would think he was really a scientist who had discovered the cure for the virus that had been tormenting the world, but those who really knew him knew he was lying.
Even so, luckily for the group right now, Washington, D.C., is safe thanks to the efforts of Dominic and his people, who haven't rested since they started operations in the north.
…
Everyone in Abraham's group slept very deeply, so much so that they didn't realize an exploration group from the New Dawn Unification had found a conspicuous military truck parked in front of the cosmetics store where they were sleeping.
"Zz… We have found a military truck; it seems that those who drive it are inside that building."
"Status of this town?" Sergeant Castro was the one cleaning the towns and roads of walkers that had been left behind after the helicopter carried the horde to an elimination point.
"All clear, we are burning the bodies of walkers we have eliminated in this place."
Sergeant Castro nodded and asked, "Have the doors been sealed?"
"Sealed and classified, sir, only this building remains."
"Good, get ready."
"Understood."
After forming a perimeter around the building, Sergeant Castro shouted, "We are the N.D.U.; we have identified you, so come out with your hands up and we won't harm you. If you cooperate, we can talk like civilized people."