Crossdressing To Survive An Apocalypse

"Tian, are you still glaring at that newspaper?! The boss is calling for you. Go! Go!" a burly man hurried her along by pushing her slightly to the kitchen.

She rolled her eyes and walked in. "you called for me?"

"I have a job for you. A high profile one. Take a seat," a man dressed in a three-piece suit handed her a file. "The bounty is quite high. And you are our best hit of the month, so they personally requested you," the man smiled weirdly.

Tian Ai just gave him a look.. Her slender hands opened up the file. A photo dropped onto her lap with its back facing up.

She did not bother with it. She read through the details given. Her next target was a young eighteen-year-old boy names Zou Yue. The person who issued the hit was anonymous. But the pay it was higher than any hit she had ever done.

"Why is the pay so high? Will there be any complications?"

"Don't know. But it's a good deal, right? Kill a young kid for fifty thousand dollars. With that money, you can take control of this place and start the orphanage once again. Isn't that what you wanted?" he said with a sideward smirk.

Tian Ai peered at him intently. "I'll think about it,"

"There is no time to think about. The kid is only here for a vacation. Kill him before he leaved h city."

She frowned deeply.

"Take it Tian Ai this is a great opportunity." he whispered pushing the file closer to her. "Don't you want your dear grandmother's orphanage back?"

  Tian Ai wordlessly picked up the files and walked out of the pizza store.

The pizza place was just a front, but the regular people did not know that hit a dark organization in its basement. A powerful assassin's guilt and underground gambling area. The cops were aware of this place, yet they did not have the power to take action against it.

But this place did serve a good pizza and had constant customers. She picked up the orders that she needed to deliver.

With the photo of her next hit in hand, she walked over to her bike.

Suddenly someone ran into her, the photo in her hand slipped away without her realizing it.

******

Yue picked it up. "Hey you dropped...." he glanced at his own photo in his hand in shock. 'Why does this person have my photo? What's going on....'

He glanced up. That person was wearing a jean jacket that was torn at the bottom. 'Isn't that the same person I met in that supermarket?'

"Excuse me! Is this yours? Why do you have my..." he shouted.

The person paused and glanced back. Under the baseball cap, he could see the person's straight nose and plump lips. Jaw line similar to his, chiselled and slim.

His eyes widened. "No way...."

"That's mine," the girl softly whispered, pointing to the photo in his hand.

Yue gulped softly. "Tian Ai?

They both stood frozen. It was as if time itself froze around them.

Tears rolled down his cheeks. Yue smiled softly. "I found you... and you found me..." he held up the photo in his hand.

Small specks of red dust flew around them, accentuating her beautiful honey-coloured eyes.

It was raining fire.

'It feels like a beautiful daydream, with fireflies flying all around us,' Yue chuckled wiped the tears off his eyes but even so, the small flecks of fire and ash did not disappear. Frowning, he glanced up.

His heart almost stopped from the sight he saw.

A huge ball of flame was seen falling down from the sky.

"no…. no no no….. it's too soon. It was meant to happen later, not now!" he anxiously gripped his phone. "Tian ai, we need to go." he glanced ahead, but the girl had already disappeared.

"Tian ai! Shit where did she go now…" he hurriedly ran though the road, trying to find at least a glimpse of her. But she was nowhere to be found. "Nothing is going according to plan!"

Zou Yue hurriedly made a call to his parents. "Mum, close all the windows and openings in the house. Don't let any draft in. the virus spread by air. Wear the oxygen mask I've prepared for you both!"

"Yue, what's wrong? Why do you sound like that?"

"Mum, just listen to me! Close the doors and windows. Don't let any air get in. Wear a mask i've prepared. Use all oxygen if you must, but don't get off of it."

He heard some crackling sound of the signal weakening.

Yue gritted his teeth. "Mum, do you hear me! mum!!"

"Yes, we can hear you.. But your voice is breaking…" his father said from the other side of the line.

"Dad, I want you both in separate rooms. Use my room. You lock yourself in the bathroom and let mum stay in my bedroom. You will have access to food there directly in the attic. As for Hary, tell him to quarantine in your bed room. Don't forget Trexa. Keep her very close. Inform as many people as you can before the lines go down." he anxiously whispered, watching the chaotic road.

The people on the road were panicking and running around. Few cars crashed and few even went off-road. It was complete chaos out here.

"Yue, come home… yue…" he could hear his mum's cry. "Don't worry, he will get here. Yue come here as soon as you can. be safe and do take unnecessary risk, got it?" his father said with a slight tremble in his voice.

"Hmm I will. Don't come out until I come for you. And dad…. if I don't get there...tell fan Xui"

"YOU WILL GET HERE! Got it!" his father shouted. "You have to come here. Yue… you have survived this before, don't lose hope,"

"hmm… love you mum and dad…" he whispered when al of a sudden his phone screeched and switched off.

Zou Yue glanced at the huge ball of flame and gulped loudly. "Yes.. I have to survive. I have to get to them."

With renewed passion, he ran back to his hotel.

Tian ai watched this hiding behind a garbage bin. "It's that kid. I don't think he was a guy though."

Every day, she saw the girl in the photo on the newspaper confused and perplexed.

Never in thousand years did she expect to meet that said person as her hit target.

She watched her new target run into the familiar hotel. Stealthily, she followed after him and watched him enter the familiar room.

In fact, she had met him beforehand when she was delivering pizza as well. Back then, she did not take a good look at his face.

Her relationship with that prestigious family was rocky. At first, when she found out that she had a family left, she was ecstatic, but getting a cold reception, she knew that she was not wanted.

Without a word, she left. Even though they were the reason that she got deported back here, she forgave them.

But the unforgivable offence was wiping her out of existence.

Having no identity gave her limited options for jobs and education.

Tian Ai tried applying for a birth certificate, but she did not have any other proof to prove that it was indeed her. After a while, she just gave up.

She worked harder than anyone, but made only pennies.

Pennies were not enough to restart her orphanage. She needed more. Pushed into a hopeless circumstance she started to get close to the owner of the assassin's guilt. he promised to give away the land if she did some dirty work for him.

Tian ai snapped out of the dazed state when she smelt something putrid in the air.

It smelt burnt and rotten at the same time.

She ignored it and walked over to the door. It was firmly closed from inside.

She smashed one of the locks of the nearby rooms and went in.

As soon as she locked the door, she collapsed unconscious on the ground.