Still, Black Brothers Were the Real Ones

Eugene was already well on his way. Gavin glanced at Old Robert, who seemed fine, then headed downstairs.

"Wait for me, damn it! I hope she isn't a zombie!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Gavin caught up with Eugene and called out to Old Robert.

"Old Robert, is your boat still working?"

"Sure is, of course it is. But what do you mean, a naked woman and zombies? What naked woman? No, wait, what zombies?"

"Have Old Mac explain it to you!"

After leaving Old Robert with those final words, Gavin hurried out the villa's back door with Eugene. They crossed the little enclosed patio built over the lake and reached the dock where two small boats were moored.

One was a little fishing boat that had to be rowed by hand; the other was a speedboat. Gavin naturally jumped into the speedboat.

Inside the villa, Madison watched Gavin and Eugene disappear. He swallowed and couldn't help taking a couple of steps toward the stairs.

It wasn't for any particular reason. He just wanted to broaden his horizons.

Noticing Madison's movement, Old Robert's eyes darted around. He quickly grabbed the stair rail and said,

"Ahem, I never thought Gavin and Redhead would both be so unreliable. It's still my straightforward Black brother here who's got my back!"

"Anyway, you're Madison, right? I'm Albert. I like watching you play. Bella and I are both your fans, buddy!"

"Seriously?"

Madison eyed Old Robert suspiciously. Something about this felt off.

Old Robert, however, made a point of assuring Madison.

"Of course I mean it, big guy! Look how excited Bella is to see you, such a lovely girl. Come on, Bella, roll over for your idol~"

At Old Robert's command, Bella cheerfully rolled over. Madison pursed his lips and said,

"Are you sure that was excitement? She looked like she wanted to eat me. But her fur sure is smooth. You wanted some water, right?"

With that, Madison went off to the first floor with a grin to get some water.

Who said folks in a big southern state like Texas weren't friendly to us Black brothers?

Just look.

Today was another day Madison made his Black brothers proud~

Meanwhile, out on the lake,

After Gavin climbed aboard, Eugene hopped into the stern, yanked the starter cord, and fired up the engine. He worked the throttle, steering the boat toward the woman.

Gavin picked up the binoculars and warily watched her movements.

After they had traveled about four hundred meters, Gavin lowered the binoculars and confirmed,

"She's alive. Thank God. Damn, I was really afraid she was a zombie swimming around!"

At that, Eugene gripped the controls and replied irritably,

"You get scared too? You sure didn't look scared when you were speeding through that gale. I damn near pissed myself!"

"Haha, that's different. Speed it up. Let's get over there."

Gavin laughed and told Eugene to accelerate. The boat roared as it sped toward the woman.

At the same time, the woman floating on the lake seemed to notice them.

From a distance, she turned in the water, floating up and down on her side as she swam toward the boat with one hand.

About a minute and a half later, Eugene slowed down and eased the boat toward her.

By then, the woman was thrashing wildly, using every last bit of strength she had as she bobbed in and out of the water.

"Help... glug glug... help me... glug glug... please, help me!"

As her hoarse, faint cries rang out, Gavin braced a foot against the side of the boat and reached down to grab her flailing arm.

"Need a hand? People who fall in the water can be pretty heavy."

Eugene stood up and asked Gavin. Gavin just smiled and shook his head.

He flexed his shoulders, back, and arms and hauled the woman out of the water like he was pulling up a radish.

"Whoa, damn! I thought she was just missing her bra, but she's not wearing panties or socks either~"

Eugene let out a teasing whistle. The woman instinctively glared at him, then turned to Gavin, shivering as she spoke.

"It's... so cold. This resort... has zombies. I'm going to sue them... brrr..."

She had barely gotten halfway through before her teeth started chattering violently. Gavin instinctively glanced at his own clothes, then turned to Eugene.

"Eugene, quit staring and give her something to wear."

"What? Why me? Don't you think it's cold right now?"

Eugene grumbled, but eventually took off his blue denim jacket and draped it over the woman.

As if she'd grabbed a lifeline, the woman clutched it tightly around herself. Still shivering, she turned to Eugene and said,

"Thanks, but... brrr... is that the same look you give your mom? You redheaded bastard!"

"Give it a rest. I wasn't the one who told you to take your clothes off. You should be grateful I even lent you half an outfit~"

Eugene shot back shamelessly, then turned to Gavin.

Gavin continued speaking to the woman.

"Cut the crap. I know this might not be the best time, but I need you to tell me about those zombies."

"Okay... brrr... okay!"

The woman nodded. Eugene went back to the engine and started the boat.

Meanwhile, the woman looked at Gavin and spoke through her shivers.

"I came here camping with my classmates. We also rented... brrr... this resort's yacht!"

"We spent the whole afternoon on the yacht, then slept there that night. I had no idea that after just one night, all my classmates would turn into zombies!"

"Believe me, they're really... brrr... the kind of zombies you see in Brad Pitt movies."

"My boyfriend and I had just woken up and walked out of the bedroom when the zombies lunged at us. We need to call the police... Wait, Gavin? Fucking Gavin? Are you really Gavin?!"

As she spoke, the woman suddenly stared at the upper half of Gavin's face.

For a moment, a little color returned to her face, which had turned bluish-purple from the cold.

"God... brrr, how could I run into Gavin here? You're the King of Cowboys, the pride of Texas!"

"Could I hug you? I... brrr... God, I'm so excited! My partner and I are both your fans..."

As she spoke, the woman instinctively sat up and opened her arms, trying to press her freezing body against Gavin.

Seeing that, Gavin pressed down on her shoulder in exasperation and rolled his eyes.

"I'm wearing a mask and you still recognized me? That's unfortunate. As for your partner, I guess I just lost a real fan."

"But let's skip the hug. You're soaking wet. Just tell me what happened with the zombies."

With that, Gavin glanced at the woman's face.

She looked like a typical American college girl, the sort you'd picture: chestnut hair, a slightly fuzzy look, an average build, a youthful face, and a healthy air. No little belly, and a few freckles on her face.

She wasn't exactly gorgeous, but she wasn't ugly either. She was young, after all.

Gavin glanced at her shivering, then reached out and pulled the jacket off her shoulders, draping it over the front of her body to cover her chest and stomach.

The woman held the jacket against her chest and spoke to Gavin through chattering teeth.

"You're... brrr... right. I should tell you about the zombies first. This is unbelievable!"

"God, they... they run so fast. My boyfriend and I had just rushed out of the bedroom when they knocked him down."

"You won't believe how I got away. They pounced on my boyfriend, and I grabbed the edge of the deck in the hallway and climbed over the zombies themselves. Then I jumped into the water with them chasing me!"

"I swear, I really wanted to save him, but I was too scared. Boo-hoo... brrr."

"Is that so?"

Hearing that, Gavin pressed her for more details.

"After you jumped into the water, what did the zombies do? Did they jump in after you?"

"Yes! They all sank, and all that was left was a huge string of bubbles!"

The woman answered hastily.

Hearing that, Gavin finally let out a relieved breath.

Things were just as he'd guessed. The zombies probably couldn't swim. They were constantly moving and moaning, so once they fell into the water, they would probably force all the air out of their lungs in no time.

Gavin didn't think the zombies would drown, but they didn't know how to hold their breath. All they did was scream, so they probably wouldn't float to the surface until the water had bloated and rotted their bodies.

His mood immediately lifted. At least he wouldn't see a whole swarm of zombies traveling down the Trinity River from Dallas and swimming into Chambers Reservoir!

Of course, maybe by then he'd be looking at a whole swarm of bloated, rotting zombies floating on the lake...