Mutagen

Day 127 - 1:32 PM - Outback Steakhouse, E Black Horse Pike, Mays Landing, Hamilton Township, New Jersey, United States of America

At the roof of the steakhouse, Mark and Mei had some delicious grilled birds for lunch. Not only was the meat fresh, but they managed to find more than enough amount of seasonings to flavor their food.

Furthermore, since they were at a steakhouse, there was no lack of cooking utensils and utilities to use. 

Unfortunately, there was no gravy to pair the grilled meat. 

They found some leftover gravy mix that they could cook. However, with the limited supply of water, it was better to eat grilled meat alone.

That was one of the differences inside and outside Atlantic City.

In Atlantic City, there was more than enough food to feed the survivors for years. However, it was deadly to go out and scavenge. The outbreak started in the middle of the city, and there was no time to gather supplies before fleeing.

Here, on the other hand, there was a considerably lower number of infected, and the roads were also safer. Nevertheless, it was also because of that reason. The supply of ready to eat food and drinkable water and the area was scarce. When the outbreak struck, the people managed to prepare to some extent and bring away anything they could use and carry. As for the things left behind, the people that managed to survive the outbreak must have taken those already.

Everyone ate a delicious lunch. Nevertheless, none of Mark's group was able to eat calmly.

Arnold and the others seemed unaware, but they were looking around impulsively.

And for Mei, it was worse. She was feeling cold for some reason. Mark could tell what this was, however. Mei would only react like this if she subconsciously noticed that someone was watching her with malicious and lustful intent.

Mark was also feeling the same, and he was aware that they were under watch. However, he could not detect anything. It seemed like whoever the person or people watching them was outside the range of his detection.

Feeling discomfort, Mark looked around.

They were on the roof of a two-floor building. It meant that if the person watching them was not anywhere with lower elevation. If it was the case, they would not feel this much discomfort. The feeling was strong enough to tell that they were being openly watched.

Meaning, the elevation of the source of unwanted attention was higher than them.

Mark stealthily looked around, his eyes fell on the mall at the northwest, about two-hundred and fifty meters away.

"Mei'er, sit here."

Mark told Mei to sit next to him, in the direction opposite of the mall.

Sure enough, Mei's reaction had gotten better. It seemed Mei also noticed, and she could not help but look at Mark.

"Just don't mind it and eat."

Mark said as he patted Mei's head.

Because of his hand, Mei felt even better. 

Unknowingly, she started to rub her head to his hand even more.

The group from Bally's Casino, except for the three innocent children, could only cast their gazes away. They could not help but get drawn by the affection that the two were showing to each other. However, they did not want to be punished once more. They did not have much to do on the way here, and thus, they could only think of the reason why Mark let them fight a horde back at the intersection.

The men were rather dense, and thus, Felicia told the blockheads the reason. Realizing their fault, they decided to reflect on their actions. After all, they still wanted to live.

Despite this situation at the rooftop, it made them more relaxed. In the least, the survivors could see that Mark knew what was happening. 

Furthermore, even though he did it stealthily, Mark was close enough to them to see that he was glancing at the mall.

"Don't stare too much. Don't let them know that we know where they are."

Mark suddenly spoke to the rest as they also started looking at the mall. They immediately retracted their gazes. Still, Mark confirmed that there might be people there watching them.

"Just finish eating quickly, so we can leave."

Because of Mark, they all finished food quicker than they expected. After all, it was uncomfortable to eat if you knew that you were being watched by someone.

Soon, they left the rooftop to continue the journey after resting their stomachs a little. They also brought more things with them, like the grill they used.

Leaving the steakhouse, they passed through the main road alongside the commercial compound. Mark walked, covering Mei from the mall. It was to hide Mei from the eyes of the strangers, and it would also allow her to check the mall with less chance of getting noticed.

Sure enough, even though they tried hard to not let themselves be seen, Mei spotted them easily. After all, not only her eyes could see clearly from afar, she could also slow it down to get a better picture.

"Sir Mark, are they looking at Miss Mei? You've been covering her since earlier."

Felicia asked.

To her question, Mark nodded.

"Flowers attract bees, but most of the time, its flies," Mark said with a shrug.

It was not hard to understand what he meant.

Mei, the flower, was attracting the flies at the mall.

Beauty was a good asset. However, without enough protection and strength, it would bring more trouble than necessary.

Especially in the outbreak, the laws had been broken, and malicious intent ran rampant. Beautiful and alluring women were the first ones to fell because of this.

"I'm surprised that Sir Mark is not punishing those flies now. Since we just stared a bit, and we had to fight a horde."

Ernst complained, making the other men agree.

Felicia and the other women looked at them with a nasty glare.

"I don't have time to deal with them now. Its already past noon. We need to walk as far as we can and find a place to stay for the night."

Mark spoke nonchalantly. Nevertheless, the group could feel the coldness within those words.

He said that he had no time to deal with them... now. Although it looked like a regular statement, for those with keen understanding, it had an underlying meaning.

It seems later, he would have time to deal with them.

Nevertheless, Mark really wanted to swat these flies now. However, it would be hard to protect Arnold's group if there were some mishaps to happen.

Mark was strong. He grew stronger since the apocalypse started.

It happened to him, it could also happen to others. It was better not to take chances.

Taking a few turns at the road and passing by some familiar spots that Mark only heard and saw on the internet like Chuck E Cheese and Target when watching videos about entitled people, they returned back to the track stepping at the Atlantic City Expressway once more.

Since time was the essence, they walked as fast as they could without turning it into running. Although everyone needed to hurry as much as possible, they still had to conserve their stamina in case of emergencies.

The road was long and desolate.

Along the road surrounded by trees, the only things they could see were abandoned cars, evolved animals, and mutated infected.

There was even one time that they saw a mutated infected and an evolved animal fighting.

It was a giant raccoon, about two meters in height, with spiky metal-like fur fighting against a disfigured infected with blade-like teeth and claws.

Unfortunately for the two, they were blocking the road as they trashed everything on their path.

Since Mark and the others had no time to wait for the two to finish, and both were hostile to humans, they were dispatched by Mark in one go.

Finding their next lodging was proven difficult in this part of the Atlantic City Expressway.

There were almost no buildings by the roadside, and if there was one, it was not secure enough to spend the night in.

After walking for more than three hours, they reached a compound separating the two lanes of Atlantic City Expressway.

It looked like a pitstop for the travelers of the road as it had a gas station and a building with several restaurants. There were even a police station and some local government offices.

And among these buildings, the only suitable and secure was the police station.

However, a police station could make people not related to the police or military a bit stuffy. Thus, Mark checked his map.

There were no other choices.

On the map, the next area where they could possibly find a secure lodging was another two to three-hour walk away. If they continued on the road, the sun would have set already before they reached that area. Not to mention that they would not know what they would encounter along the expressway to hinder their path.

Thus, they could only make do of the police station. They could also check out the restaurants and the gas station convenience store to look for anything they could use.

After dispatching the infected wandering outside, they entered through the broken glass door. Upon stepping inside, everyone frowned.

The whole place was trashed.

It was a police station, what could they expect?

The stains of blood covered the many parts of the floor and the walls. Dismembered bones could be seen scattered here and there. Most of the chairs and tables were overturned and seemed to be used as barricades. Bullet casings were also everywhere, and holes on the walls indicated the bullets that hit it.

The worst part, there was the stuffy, damp, and unpleasant smell that was lingering inside.

Nevertheless, they could only shrug their shoulders as they picked a place to clean.

Of course, none of them would ever pick the jail cells to sleep in.

Although it needed more work and cleaning, they preferred the office areas.

While the survivors cleaned and Mei took guard, Mark and Arnold went to search the other buildings.

And... There was almost nothing, aside from the wandering infected.

At the convenience store, Mark located the storage. It was locked. The lock was no problem, and he broke it easily. However, it seemed to be barricaded inside.

Without wasting time, Mark slashed the hinges of the door, removing it.

COUGH! COUGH!

Mark could not help but have a coughing fit. Not because of dust, but because of the lingering smell of rotting flesh that entered his nose the moment he removed the door.

"Sir, are you okay?"

Arnold asked.

Clearing his throat, Mark signaled with his palm that he was alright.

There, he kicked the barricade that blocked the door, causing a loud clatter of falling items.

Ignoring the smell, Arnold's eyes shone.

It was a treasure trove.

The untouched boxes of food, drinks, and other necessities lay tidily in racks inside the storage.

Seeing all those, Arnold rushed inside to see if he was not mistaken.

As he turned at the corner of the door, however, he almost jumped in fright.

Mark entered and saw the reason immediately.

A decomposing corpse sat by the wall between two shelves. Looking at the splatter of blood on the wall behind the head of the corpse, he must have been shot on his head. No, he was definitely shot, but not by anyone else.

Lying by the corpse's right hand, there was a pistol covered in grime.

"It's a suicide."

Mark murmured.

Even though he had lots of supplies with him, the person still gave up. That was just how other people were. They always wanted an easy escape from hardships.

Mark and Arnold came back to the police station with the good news. Seeing the boxes Arnold was carrying, everyone rejoiced.

Despite that joy, however, Mark went out, looking at the sky. It was getting cloudy, and the wind was getting colder.

"Gege, is something wrong?"

Mei asked as she followed behind him.

"Nothing. It just looks like I will have the first snow of my life tonight. And yet, I have to turn it red."

With those words, Mark had a sharp look in his eyes.

After all, since they left the Steak House, they had already being followed by that malicious bunch. Or else, they might have traveled even faster on the road.