“WE WANT RAMEN, WE WANT RAMEN!!”

“No no, you want bug soup, you want bug soup. Or potatoes or frogs.”

“NO!! WE WANT RAMEN, WE WANT RAMEN!!”

“Sorry, Father, I never knew I passed down my bratty genes to my kids, Father.”

“Just let them be, Father.”

Abel scratched his head. They are now way up in the mountains and heading down to the nearest city then hiking back up will take ages (a hyperbole and not, depending on your uhm optimism) – not to mention the nightmare of an aching leg that follows. Would this mountain have a ranger or hiking post?

“Anyone wanna join me to explore the forest?”

“Me, me!”

The small group traversed the bush covered track. There were four men, including him five. He had to leave Louise – the racoon, although Brother Louis also preferred staying behind – to distract the kids and maybe magically make them like frogs.

“Do you reckon there’ll be any posts here?”

“Hmm, I’m not sure, I don’t usually hike this far.”

“I don’t think people hike here, but there should be posts to monitor the wilderness. I have seen government’s rangers camping around sometimes, collecting samples.”

“Oh, Father, there is a wooden cottage there!”

Abel’s eyes perked. He’s right! There is a post out here!

They scrambled in excitedly, the kids’ ‘RAMEN, RAMEN!’ chant almost audible in their minds. They opened the cabinet. They almost chanted it themselves.

The cabinet is filled with noodles – perhaps the rangers who went here really liked noodles.

“Huh, your grins are so wide, huh?”

“N-no Father, we really liked the bug soup!”

“Yeah right, fill up your bags not only with the ramen but with the med kits there too.”

“Aye, Father!”

“Should we explore the other rooms?”

“Yes, let’s do that.”

They marched happily then stopped dead. Disfigured human corpses scattered on the floor. They were uninfected and... fresh. The one close to the wall had their bloody finger still sticking on it, scratching the writing ‘BEWARE OF THE”

They tilted their heads. Beware of what?

Abel’s heart raced.

“Scratch that, let’s hurry back.”

“Yes, Father.”

They walked in silence, everyone on high alert, every so often gripping their shovels and makeshift weapons tighter.

Abel thought hard. But before he could really think hard, laughter emanated through the air.

They are back at the campsite.

“I BET ONE MOSQUITO SOUP ON RED!”

“I BET THREE ON BLACK!”

“HEY, LOUISE, BRING BACK THE POTATO!”

“YOU HURT HER FEELINGS WHEN YOU PUKED AT HER FROG!”

“FATHER ABEL, DO YOU WANT TO SEE A STRIKE?”

Abel turned his head and walked towards the kids.

“Woah, the zombies are really aligned. You can score a strike?”

“Mhm. Watch and see!”

The other kids clasped their foreheads.

“Please fail, please fail!”

The kid rolled the rock. It bulldozed nine zombies.

“AH NO!”

“YAY! I WIN, I WIN!”

Abel laughed, clapping his hand. Oh, and the thought of the human corpses? Completely evaporated his mind.

“Should we bowl the last zombie, Father?”

“No no, let it be. You’re out of turns.”

He ran down the hill and killed it right before it noticed him. He looked left and right.

Nice, the kids are looking away.

He examined the dead zombie. Hmm, from the increasing frequency of the zombies’ appearances and their more coherent group behavior, they seemed to be developing a hive-mind behavior. The zombies can also somewhat dodge now – the kids are five-year-olds, alright, but they played zombie bowling everyday. Could the zombies be regaining primal instincts?

“Father, do we yeet the zombies off the cliff?”

“Yup. Can’t let the zombies know our whereabouts.”

“Ok!”

Abel thought hard. If his hypothesis is correct, and the infection has really evolved to airborne, then staying in the forest will attract a horde and they’ll die before the zombies even find them-

“Father, father! The water tastes interesting!”

Abel sniffed it and flinched.

“Did you drink this, kid?”

“Yes! Is it a new variant of water? I also shared it with my friends, sister, and grandma?”

“Kid, hatred is bad. Killing too.”

“H-huh?”

“Do you hate your friends, sister, and grandma?”

“No!”

“Then don’t kill them!”

Abel threw his hands to the air and scrambled to the med kits and supplies. No, there really isn’t any poison neutralizer. Well, who’d sabotage the river?! Do people get bored of zombies and decide to start a hunger game or something?

“Father! My friends, sister, and grandma have fainted!”

Damn it!

“Kid, would you like to get yeeted?”

“Huh?”

“Never mind!”

Abel sprinted down the mountain, leaping through the cliffs. He had seen smoke rising to the air not far away – friend or foe, it is their only hope now.

He hid in the shade. One… ten… twenty… thirty… fifty… seventy… There is a whole survivor group in the tents.

The branches behind him creaked. Abel jolted and looked around.

“Theo? Gary? What are you doing here?”

The two teenagers gasped for air.

“We saw you leaving in a hurry and followed you, Father.”

“Are we going to greet them, Father?”

“Yup, let’s go.”

“H-hold on, let us catch our breath!”

Abel glanced at Theo’s swollen knee.

“Did you tumble down a cliff, Theo?”

“Uhhh no Father, Louise ran into my knee.”

“Hmm, the cliff Louise alright.”

“Really!” Theo blushed.

Abel chuckled. He looked at the camps again and beckoned them to wait behind. He walked to the entrance and waved his hand.

“Hey! I came from a village on the other side of the mountain – do you happen to have any poison neutralizer? Our river is contaminated!”

The people looked at each other and smiled friendlily at Abel.

“We don’t, but we have some antidotes!”

They talked for a while. The group was more than welcoming. They offered Abel to take some food and water with him. He observed the makeshift gates as he left the well. They have strong forts, and with this much manpower, it’d make sense if they held off zombies – though given the overflow of zombies from cities, he wasn’t sure how they had managed to defend themselves for so long.

“Have a safe trip! If you need anything, please don’t hesitate to come back!”

“Thank you,” Abel smiled, “Stay safe too!”

Theo and Gary rubbed their eyes.

“We’re going to take that all back into the forest?”

“Yup! But first, Theo, let me treat your knee.”

“Are we going to go back and forth then, Father?”

Abel shifted his cheeks. That was what he hoped for, but without sufficient tools to build a water filter, if the river is continuously poisoned, they’ll have to move in with this group.

“Nah.”

When that day came, Abel told everyone to be cautious, just in case. Who’d be so happy to share their resources with everyone, and where did all those endless foods come from? Then, turning back to the entrance, he waved and smiled.

“Oh, you come back!”

“Yes, like you suggested, we decided to move in! How are you all doing?”

“Good! What about you?”

“Good! Thank you very much for having us!”