Dead Man Walking: Living By Day, Dead By Night - Chapter 301

Chapter 301: Welcome to the Jungle Part I
Zane ultimately decided to trust Serena’s advice and followed the path south of Phoenix. It appeared to have paid off, as even after several hours of travelling to in that direction. Zane was not pursued by any other Horde Kings.

As a result, he soon found himself wandering into the borders of what had once been the city of Tucson. Tucson, Arizona, was roughly twice the size in terms of population to that of the Reno/Sparks metropolitan area.

Prior to the outbreak of the war it had roughly one million people living within it. Which meant the Horde King in charge of the area was likely Tier IV. Albeit at the bottom of the scale. From what Zane had seen so far, the Tiers of Horde Kings varied wildly.

It was a measurement based upon three primary factors: individual strength, the size of their horde, and the scale of their domain. These three things contributed to the tier of a Horde King. As a general rule of thumb, or at least so far as Zane could tell, the Horde Size of the various tiers of Horde Kings was as follows:

Tier I: 0 – 100,000

Tier II: 100,000 – 500,000

Tier II: 500,000 – 1,000,000

Tier IV: 1,000,000 to 10,000,000

Tier V: 10,000,000+

Obviously, there were variations between this rule. As one could compensate for a lack of horde size with supreme individual strength, much like Gwen had done to reach the pinnacle of Tier I prior to entering Zane’s service.

Or perhaps they could simply have an exceptionally large, and resource rich domain. The world was changing after all, and things that previously did not to exist in this world were starting to appear in the wild.

But if he were going solely off of the population of Tucson prior to the outbreak of the apocalypse, and with the assumption that the overwhelming majority of its population had been turned into undead. Then, it was reasonable to assume that the local Horde King was Tier IV.

Still, it was impossible to know without meeting them directly. And that was something that Zane desperately wanted to avoid if at all possible. Because of this, he silently and covertly entered the city limits. Trying to get a proper understanding of the current situation within the city limits, before choosing how to proceed.

Tucson was a ruin, much in the same way Reno was. However, like Vegas, the local environment had changed drastically from what it had been prior to the outbreak of the apocalypse. What was once an unbearable desert had within the last year become covered in vast foliage, and not of the desert variety.

Trees that appeared as if they were hundreds of years old sprouted across every corner of the city’s borders. Protruding through concrete, asphalt, and building alike. Forming a dense canopy of jungle around the ruins of what was once a thriving example of human civilization.

The air was humid, and a thick fog permeated the jungle, obscuring Zane’s already exceptional vision as he walked through the streets. Not only that, but as he struggled to cut through the dense woods with his sickles, the sound of thunder gathered in the distance.

No doubt a storm was approaching, which itself was unusual for a desert environment. It was clear to Zane that unlike Vegas whose perpetual sandstorm was a skill of Victor’s this was a more natural phenomenon, as the world itself began to change in unpredictable ways.

What remained of the city’s streets, which had largely been reclaimed by the earth itself, had undead walking among them. They did not pay the slightest attention to Zane as he cut through the foliage, as if he were a machete wielding explorer.

Instead, these undead stared mindlessly into the sky, where the dark clouds were gathering. Almost as if they were anticipating the rain. Frankly, Zane did not know how any humans could survive in such an environment, at least not in sufficient numbers to sustain his growth.

And he was starting to think of continuing south and ignoring the city entirely when he heard a gunshot. Followed by the sensation of blood and brain matter splashing on his body. It was not he who had been hit by the projectile, but rather one of the undead standing next to him.

Zane quickly looked up to the origins of the bullet, and saw a young woman, standing up on top of a tree branch, while holding a sniper rifle. She was perhaps twenty-five feet in the air and immediately called out to Zane.

“Well, don’t just stand there! Get up here!”

The gunshot of the woman’s scout rifle had echoed across the jungle, causing the howls and screeches of undead within the vicinity to come rushing towards them. The woman just had to aggro the undead in his presence. Meaning he himself would not be safe as well.

Because of this, he quickly jumped twenty-five feet in the air, and landed on the branch right next to the damned fool who had misunderstood the situation and tried to “save him.” The look on Zane’s face was one of displeasure. While the woman stared at him as if he was some kind of god.

She was quick to introduce herself, while assuring Zane that the lower level undead could not get to them in the trees.

“I’m sorry for startling you with that shot. But you were so close to that Walker, I honestly thought you were a dead man! I’m Allie, by the way. Although the Walkers can’t climb the trees, and the branches are too high for the leapers to get to. We do have to be careful of stalkers up here.

It would be wise for us to get out of here before any of those bastards show up. They are incredibly difficult to deal with if it’s just the two of us! I can tell you’re not from here, and the chief will want a word with you. So quickly, come with me, I’ll take you some place safe!”

Having no other choice, but to either stay and fight off the undead himself, and in doing so, likely alert the local Horde King to his presence. Or to go with the woman and hide among the survivors in the area. Zane chose the latter as he quickly followed the woman across the tree line.

Due to his enhanced abilities, Zane as coasting along the branches, jumping between them with ease. While the woman, Allie, appeared to be instead carefully watching her step. And on occasion, swinging on vines to get to the next branch.

She had never seen such a powerful awakened human before, but it made sense if he was capable of penetrating the thick jungle that now surrounded Tucson and cut through it from the outside world.

The girl continuously asked question about the outside world, while Zane effortlessly kept up with her slow and cautious pace.

“I’m surprised that an outsider managed to find their way here. We have been cut off from the outside world ever since the local terrain changed. Where are you from exactly, and what’s your name?”

Zane was not willing to give up his name, nor use the same Alias as before. After all, the Horde Kings were hunting him down. And by now, Victor had likely begun to interrogate the locals on his farms to see if any of them had come into contact with Zane.

Because of this, Zane comes up with a new name on the spot.

“I’m Dave, and I’m from Phoenix. The city…. well you wouldn’t believe me even if I told you the truth about its current state…”

Allie took that to mean that Phoenix was destroyed, and that Zane was one of the last survivors. Because of this, she remained silent throughout the rest of the journey to the local settlement. Which when Zane laid eyes upon it, he would be surprised by how the humans in this area currently lived.