Population: Havoc and Drift tells the parallel stories of Riley and Aiden, two young men navigating the horrors of a zombie apocalypse. Each must confront the terrifying collapse of their world while searching for safety and a place to belong. Riley’s story begins in the chaos of his high school during the outbreak. In the Escape the School Arc, Riley and his friends are trapped in the building as their classmates turn into ravenous zombies. Desperately trying to stay alive, they fight their way through the school’s narrow corridors and barricaded classrooms, enduring heavy losses along the way. Riley, though determined to protect his friends, is not a natural leader and instead focuses on staying alive while helping his group escape. After narrowly surviving their ordeal, they manage to flee the school, only to find the outside world just as perilous. In the second arc, the Motel Arc, Riley’s group stumbles upon a seemingly safe motel where they attempt to recover from their harrowing escape. However, peace is short-lived. They encounter a small group of survivors led by a man named Tom, whose initial cooperation quickly turns into betrayal. One of Riley’s friends is kidnapped, and another is killed as tensions rise between the groups. Though Riley has been hesitant to take charge, he steps up during the rescue mission to retrieve his kidnapped friend, Bryce. His leadership is born out of necessity rather than choice, and despite the rescue’s success, the weight of responsibility begins to weigh heavily on him. In the Journey to New Eden Arc, Riley and his friends set their sights on a rumored safe haven known as New Eden. The road is fraught with danger—ranging from hostile humans to the ever-present threat of the undead. Their journey takes them through perilous encounters, including an abandoned asylum where they face a new type of undead and a city teeming with raiders. Riley’s determination to protect his friends becomes his driving force as they inch closer to New Eden, despite the overwhelming challenges they face. Meanwhile, Aiden’s story begins with the Cruise Ship Arc, where he is aboard a luxury cruise with five close friends when the outbreak occurs. The ship is quickly overrun by zombies, and the survivors barricade themselves into safe zones. With no functioning crew, the ship drifts aimlessly at sea, and the passengers form factions to survive. Aiden reluctantly becomes the leader of one faction and, in a dangerous mission to rescue the trapped captain and crew, he suffers heavy losses. The ship eventually makes it to land, but Aiden is bitten while saving a friend, falling into a coma shortly after. In the Recovery Arc, Aiden awakens in a city apartment, abandoned by his friends. Weak and embittered, he struggles to survive until he encounters two girls being attacked by zombies. After saving them, he collapses from exhaustion and wakes up under the care of their father, who nurses him back to health. As Aiden recovers, the father teaches him swordsmanship and survival skills, which bring Aiden a new sense of discipline and purpose. The small group forms a tight bond, but their peace is shattered when the father dies from illness. In the Drift Arc, Aiden and the two girls are forced to leave their home as the undead numbers grow and hostile survivor activity increases. Drifting through a dangerous and unforgiving landscape, they encounter both friendly and hostile groups as well as rising threats from the undead. Their journey becomes a desperate search for a new home, and like Riley, they are drawn toward New Eden, hoping it will offer the safety they desperately need. Population: Havoc and Drift follows the parallel journeys of Riley and Aiden as they navigate the horrors of a zombie apocalypse, each seeking safety and a place to belong. Riley's story begins with the outbreak at his high school, where he and his friends fight to escape the chaos. After narrowly surviving, they find temporary refuge at a motel, but betrayal and loss force Riley to take on a reluctant leadership role. Their journey to New Eden, a rumored safe haven, is filled with dangerous encounters, both with the undead and hostile humans, as Riley struggles to protect his friends. Aiden’s story starts aboard a luxury cruise ship when the outbreak hits. After surviving heavy losses and being bitten during a rescue mission, he awakens abandoned but eventually forms a bond with two survivors who help him recover. Together, they drift through a hostile landscape in search of safety, drawn toward New Eden in the hope of finding refuge from the relentless dangers around them.