Harem in a zombie apocalypse

[26] Missing parts

"Parts? What kind of parts are you talking about?" I asked.

"Car parts." Cassidy shrugged casually.

"Well," I began, trying to keep the disappointment from my voice, "What kind of parts are we missing?"

"A few odds and ends," Cassidy replied, her usual hyperactive energy subdued, "A drive belt, an oil filter, a spark plug, you know, standard maintenance stuff that I've been putting off."

Despite her casual tone, these were serious issues. Without those parts, the vehicle wouldn't run properly, if at all. As for fuel, a gas guzzler like the jeep would burn through what little reserves Cassidy had in no time.

"I've got a bit of fuel stored up," Cassidy continued, looking a little sheepish. "But I'll be honest, it's not going to get us all the way to Canada."

The situation was worse than I'd thought. Without those parts, we were essentially stranded. And while Cassidy's supplies would keep us fed and safe for a while, they wouldn't last forever.

The three of us stood in silence for a moment, each grappling with the gravity of the situation. It was Ms. Yan who finally broke the silence.

"We'll have to find the parts and fuel then," she said, her voice surprisingly steady. "We can check nearby auto shops or gas stations, except they are occupied."

The news didn't come as a surprise, but it added another layer of complexity to our predicament. "Occupied?" I asked, my brow furrowing, "How many are we talking about?"

Cassidy leaned back against a workbench, her fingers tapping a restless rhythm on its surface. "Hard to say exactly. Last time I went near there, I saw about five or six guys. They're pretty rough, a real nasty bunch. They've been hoarding supplies, and aren't exactly sharing types. And, they're heavily armed."

I studied Cassidy as she spoke, noting the grim set to her mouth and the flicker of unease in her eyes. It wasn't like her. She was the kind of person who relished in danger, a wild spark of chaos in our increasingly unpredictable world. To see her visibly disturbed was unsettling, but it also gave us a fair idea of what we were up against.

"Are we sure the parts we need are there?" Ms. Yan asked, her voice steady despite the tension in the room.

Cassidy nodded. "I used to pick up my supplies from there before the whole apocalypse. But these thugs got the whole place to themselves now. It's not gonna be a walk in the park. Those guys... they're real trigger-happy."

"We have guns too," I said, glancing at the firearms we'd selected earlier. "We're not going into this unarmed."

Cassidy's blue eyes flashed with an uneasy glow as she added to her previous statement, "I said I saw five or six last time, not that there were only that many. The gang that's holed up there is bigger. Way bigger. It's more like twenty."

My heart plummeted into my stomach at her words. I was certainly not expecting this. Not this much resistance. This wasn't just a small group of thugs scavenging for survival - this was an organized gang, potentially as dangerous as the undead that roamed outside. The risk factor for our mission had just increased tenfold.

Twenty armed men, all likely desperate and hostile. The odds were dauntingly against us. But we were out of options. Without the necessary parts for the jeep, our journey to Canada would remain an unattainable dream.

"I see," I finally responded, my voice steady despite the rising panic within me. "That's... That's definitely a complication. But we still need those parts."

Cassidy sighed, running her hand through her golden hair, a rare gesture of frustration from the usually unshakeable girl. "We could try to sneak in, but twenty men... If they catch us, it's game over."

I couldn't help but agree. Stealth was one thing, but pulling it off successfully against a small army of thugs was an entirely different challenge. However, the alternative - an open confrontation - was suicidal at best.

"Then we'll have to be smart about it," Ms. Yan interjected, her calm demeanor a soothing antidote to the mounting tension. "There's always a way. We just need to figure it out."

Just as we seemed to run into a dead end of ideas, I spoke up:

"I don't know how, or why," I began, cautiously studying Cassidy's curious gaze, "But the zombies... they ignore me."

Her sapphire eyes widened for a second, then narrowed, her mouth opening slightly as if to question the veracity of my statement. But she remained silent, letting me continue.

I proceeded to recount my near-death experience at the campus, the frightening moment when James slammed the door on me. The gut-wrenching fear, the resigned acceptance of a gruesome fate that never came. The puzzled confusion that took hold as the monstrous entities surged past me, oblivious to my presence. The disbelief and relief that mingled in my veins as I walked among the undead, untouched, unscathed.

As I finished my story, the room fell into a stunned silence. Cassidy was gazing at me, her face a mask of contemplation. I couldn't tell what she was thinking, but her earlier skepticism seemed to have faded.

"That's... That's incredible, Chang," Cassidy finally said, her tone one of awe and confusion. "I mean, I've never heard of anything like this. It could be a mutation or... I don't know, some kind of pheromone thing?"

I shrugged, just as perplexed as her. "I wish I knew. But I don't. All I know is that this... ability, or whatever it is, it has kept me alive."

"Huh..." Cassidy rubbed her chin for a moment, before shooting up from her seat like a rocket the next second: "You know what partner? I just thought of one insane batshit crazy plan, but I think it just might work on you." 

Q: What plan do you think it is?