Jaxon slowly closed the window, pulling the curtains shut. He opened Discord to check in on the others. Only a few were online.
"How's it going in your areas?" Jaxon typed.
Almost immediately, replies started popping up.
"Bad! I take it back, man. I don't want a zombie apocalypse anymore!"
"Seriously. What's with these zombies? Why are they so strong? This is nothing like I imagined."
"I thought this was gonna be my moment to shine, but I'm shit scared to even peek out the window."
….
….
Jaxon scrolled down, reading more complaints. Everyone was in shock. These weren't the slow, shambling zombies they'd seen in movies. These things moved like athletes. They could jump crazy high, climb walls, react to the smallest sound, and they were way stronger than any normal person. At this point, no average person stood a chance unless they had a weapon or some serious training.
That was the reality of it. The world wouldn't be falling apart if the zombies were the slow, grandma type that just looked scary. Regular people would have a decent shot at running and hiding. And soldiers? They wouldn't have any trouble at all.
That's why Jaxon always thought those "grandma zombie" scenes in movies were ridiculous. Okay, maybe a few people would get caught off guard, but there was no way the world would actually end, and no way the military would be taken down by those things.
He took a deep breath and pulled up his status window. Strength +0.17, Stamina +0.11, Vitality +0.11.
"Seriously? This is all I'm getting?" he muttered to himself. "There's gotta be a better way to get stronger than just killing zombies. What if I actually trained? Like, did push-ups or something?"
After resting for a bit, he started unbuttoning his shirt. "Well, let's see if this works."
...
Hours later, there was a soft knock on Jaxon's door, and Isabel peeked inside.
"Jaxon? Where are you?" Her voice was soft as she called out.
She walked towards the bed, then stopped short, surprised to see Jaxon on the floor, shirtless, doing push-ups.
"Mom?" Jaxon pushed himself up slowly, sweat sliding down on his chest. He wasn't ripped or anything, but he was in decent shape, with just a little bit of softness around the edges.
"Wh... what are you doing, Jaxon?" Isabel asked, a little flustered, her eyes flicking from his chest down to his stomach almost without her meaning to.
"Nothing, just figured I should probably do something instead of just lying around all day," Jaxon said, scratching the back of his head. The movement made the muscles in his arms flex.
"Did you need something, Mom?" he asked.
"It's lunchtime. Come down and eat with us."
"Okay, Mom. I'll be down in a few minutes."
Isabel watched him walk into the bathroom, her eyes lingering on his back. Her cheeks felt a little warm.
"What's wrong with me? He's my son... why am I even thinking like that?" she whispered to herself, shaking her head before heading downstairs.
Meanwhile, Jaxon stepped out of the shower, a small smile playing on his lips. He checked his status window.
(Strength +0.10) That was the result of two solid hours of push-ups, pushing himself until he couldn't do another one.
"Not bad at all," he muttered, feeling a little proud of himself. "I could do this whenever I need to clear my head after all that sniping."
.....
At the dining table, the four of them ate in silence, each with a bowl of chicken soup in front of them.
"Did you guys see the news?" Natasha whispered suddenly.
"What'd it say?" Isabel asked, looking up.
"They're saying the government's starting mandatory recruitment for all men," Natasha replied. The table went quiet, and everyone's eyes turned to Jaxon.
"They're not taking my son," Isabel said immediately, pulling him into a tight hug.
"Yeah, we'll hide you when they come, Brother," Cindy added, nodding seriously.
"Calm down, Mom," Jaxon mumbled, feeling Isabel's... well, feeling Isabel's softness against his face. "They can't just do that. Remember, we're stuck here."
"Oh," Isabel said, realizing her mistake and loosening her grip. She glanced at Jaxon, noticing his slightly flushed face.
"That was dumb of me... I forgot," she said awkwardly.
"Jaxon's right, they can't really enforce that on people they can't get to. They're only reinforcing these in safe zones," Natasha whispered.
"Safe zones? There are actual safe zones?" Isabel asked, her eyes widening.
"Yeah. From what I saw, the government's set them up all over the country. I'm guessing... no, I'm pretty sure. Those soldiers who came this morning were part of that. They were trying to clear the area," Natasha said, sounding confident. "They didn't make it here, but some probably succeeded somewhere else."
"Safe zones... that sounds nice, actually. Maybe we can still count on the government," Jaxon muttered.
"I wouldn't get your hopes up," Natasha warned. "Now that it's all over the news, everyone's gonna be rushing there. More people means more problems, and a bigger chance of getting infected."
"So what do you think we should do, Sis?" Cindy asked.
"It's just a guess, but I think we should stay put for now and see what happens. If those safe zones actually hold up and stay safe, then we can think about going," Natasha said.
"And I don't think they've completely given up on this area either. I saw some zombies getting taken out outside a while ago. Didn't see anyone, so it must've been a sniper. But it's weird... I thought all the soldiers here were dead," she added, looking thoughtful.
"Really? Maybe there's someone still out there," Jaxon said, chuckling a little.
...
While the others started clearing the table, Cindy kept peeking through the cracks in the reinforced window. Everything seemed quiet until she spotted something moving.
"Brother... there are people out there," she whispered.
"Not soldiers, are they? Let me see," Jaxon said, getting up. They all crowded around the window, peering through the gaps.
They saw four guys and one woman, each carrying some kind of weapon - baseball bats, crowbars, an axe. They were creeping along the street, moving quietly and carefully.
Jaxon followed their path with his eyes. "They're heading toward the military vehicles," he said, analyzing the situation.
"You're right," Cindy whispered. "There are fewer zombies out there now, probably because of that sniper Sis mentioned. These guys must be taking advantage of it."
"Tch, they're after the guns too," Natasha said, frowning. "We need to get out there before they do."
"No, we're not going anywhere," Jaxon said firmly, stopping her. "I saw zombies around the corners. It's still too risky."
"Didn't you say you'd help me? We have to take the chance now," Natasha insisted.
"Sis, listen to me," Jaxon said, his voice serious. "Nobody's going out there."
Even though it looked like there were fewer infected, Jaxon knew from his sniping earlier that many were still lurking around the corners.
"Don't let her go out there. If she tries, stop her, Mom," Jaxon said, his voice firm.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Natasha asked, frowning at him.
"I'm serious. I'll drag you back myself if I have to," Jaxon said, staring into her eyes, refusing to take no for an answer.
"Hey, stop it, you two. No fighting, we're family. Let's just talk about it," Isabel said, trying to defuse the tension.
"I'm not trying to fight you, Sis," Jaxon said softly, reaching for Natasha's hand. "Believe me, I'm not trying to boss you around. I just don't want anything to happen to you."
"Hmph," Natasha muttered, pulling her hand away, but a faint blush appeared on her cheeks.
Jaxon leaned closer and whispered in her ear, "Don't do anything reckless, Natasha."
She didn't look at him, but the blush was still there.
"I'll keep watch from upstairs. Don't worry about the weapons, I've got a plan," Jaxon said, heading back to his room.
"Brother seems different than usual," Cindy whispered.
"I kinda like him this way," Isabel murmured, almost without thinking.
"What was that?" Cindy asked, turning to her.
"Huh? Did I say something?" Isabel asked, looking surprised.