Zombie Survival System

Jack replied, "Alexandre!" and pulled his friend into a hug.

Despite the age difference between the two, Jack and Alexandre had been friends for almost nine years by the time the Genesis Project ended and Alexandre began forging his new identity. Alexandre considered Jack his brother, a man who'd helped him realize that humans could be something other than absolute monsters.

Jack stepped back and took Alexandre's luggage. "Let me take these," he said. "You go right on in."

The two men entered Jack's apartment building and ascended to the fourth floor to find Jack's unit. It was a beautiful, classical-style apartment about a hundred square meters in size.

When Alexandre entered, a pregnant woman looked up and smiled from where she was sitting and reading a book.

"Josephine!" Alexandre said with a laugh. "You look great. How come you're still married to this asshole?"

The young woman laughed. "You haven't changed a bit, have you?"

Jack set down Alexandre's luggage and the two men walked out onto the balcony, which gave a magnificent view of the Hudson Bay. Jack called out, "Darling, will you bring us a couple of beers?" Then he turned back to Alexandre and said, "So you finally made it!"

Alexandre gave a grim nod. "Yes. A lot of the candidates went through hell."

"Not you, of course," Jack said with a grin.

Alexandre reflexively put a hand to his stomach, where his bones and organs had so recently been shredded to an extent that it would have instantly killed a normal human. "Of course," he said. "For me, it was a walk in the park." He shrugged. "Well, here I am. Novice Hunter. Tonight at 9:30, I'll be on a plane again and back on my way to Hunter Academy."

Jack nodded approvingly. "Congratulations, mate. You deserved it. But no way I'm letting you go tonight—you're my guest and I've got no idea the next time we'll see each other! You can just take another flight tomorrow."

Alexandre replied, "That's very kind of you, but don't worry. Even if I Iose my American citizenship, I'll still get a visa and come visit you in New Jersey." He gave a lopsided grin. "We'll say 'Bada bing' and do vodka shots all night like we used to."

Jack stared off into the Hudson Bay water for a good ten seconds. Finally, he said, "Well, thing is, we're not going to be in New Jersey for much longer. I've been offered an interesting promotion for my research career."

Stunned, Alexandre replied, "You've been a Virus Z research specialist for... must be less than two years. How'd you get promoted so quickly?"

Jack said, "They needed a volunteer for a post in a fortress. Sounds weird, doesn't it? Kind of medieval. It's in New Dublin, in the British Isles."

Alexandre could hardly believe his ears. "Jack, that's in a Black Zone. You can't tell me you're taking your wife into a repopulation colony in one of the most dangerous parts of the world!?"

Jack raised his hands in a placating gesture. "Yeah, I know how it sounds. I'm very aware that it's still a Zombie-infested territory, even if Hunters are there. But the New Dublin fortress is one of the safest in the British Isles." He looked uncomfortable. "I, uh, probably won't have the opportunity for a promotion for at least another five years if I turn this down. To get it so soon is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity."

Alexandre snapped, 'Your wife's pregnant, idiot! What's wrong with you!?"

Jack's tone became defensive. "Look, buddy, I know you've been wrapped up in your plans for years now, but New Jersey's kind of gone to shit over the past few years. Pay a little more attention to the news and maybe you'll see the next riot when it happens."

"I've been watching the news," Alexandre said coldly. "One execution in particular."

Jack suddenly looked very tired. He rubbed his eyes and sighed. "If I take this job... After two years, I can come back to the states. I'll be able to mortgage a house in a good neighborhood. One with better police, better schools... and fewer riots. Just two years and everything will be better for us."

Alexandre's sharp tone was somewhat softer when he replied. "I hear you. Crime's on the rise everywhere. No surprise that Jersey's been hit harder than most places, I guess. But Jack, I really feel like you still don't get it. Black Zones aren't like anywhere in the US. Every minute you're there, you risk infection and death. You remember New Istanbul two years ago. It was supposed to be an invincible fortress. After all, there were dozens of Hunters and hundreds of soldiers to defend it."

Alexandre fell silent. Jack finished the thought. "And even still, every single living soul in that fortress was slaughtered. I haven't forgotten, my friend. I think about it a hundred times a day, at the very least. I know why they call the Black Zones uninhabitable."

"And yet you still want to do it," said Alexandre.

Jack replied, "Want to? No, I don't want to go to a Black Zone. I want stability. Look at me! I didn't exactly graduate from Harvard. I can't become a Hunter like you. Even though my research is well-respected, public opinion of Virus Z-related studies isn't exactly very high at the moment. It seems like all the meaningful research is moving underground for the next few years until the public forgets about the good doctor. I'm not connected, and I'm not a genius, so I'm not making it into those secret research projects.

"In the end," Jack continued, his voice becoming slow and deliberate, "what on this godforsaken planet can I offer my family, my wife and my baby, if I don't take this job? An average salary at best and a life that will be, at best, difficult."

Alexandre didn't know how to answer. If he was in Jack's position, would he do any differently?

Jack's voice became duller and even more exhausted as he continued, "The world's getting tougher and tougher. All those Great Wave refugees that were deported to Mexico and stuff... They're sure as hell not just lying down and taking it. They know that if you want a better life, you need to fight for it. And they're doing that on the southern border every single day, crossing legally and illegally as often as they can. 𝘧𝘳𝘦ℯ𝓌𝘦𝒷𝘯𝑜𝑣𝘦𝓁.𝒸𝘰𝓂

"These are people coming in to work without breaks or rights for two bucks an hour... and those are the ones who actually have something to offer. Then there's the prostitutes and the poor bastards who have to sell their organs just to feed their children."

Jack straightened up. His tone became firm as he turned to stare directly into Alexandre's eyes. "What's an average guy like me to do in a world like this? If I'm not willing to go where others refuse to go, I'm doomed to be crushed under the wheel of the man-eating machine this country has become. I'm sorry, my friend, but you can't convince me any differently."

Alexandre didn't answer. Jack was ultimately right, after all. This world, more than ever before, had become ruled by a ruthless kind of capitalism which demanded that every man make himself a useful slave... or be cast into the gutter to die and rot alone.

That was nothing new, of course. The Great Wave had just made it a little harder to ignore.