Rebirth in the Apocalypse: Third Time's a Charm



I raised my eyebrow and looked at the man behind me. "If I wasn't looking for you, do you think that I would have been in that position?" I asked incredulously.

He shrugged his giant shoulders. "I guess we will never know," he said with a slow smile as he came up beside me and looked out at the battlefield.

"What do you mean 'never know'? I know!" I grumbled as I leaned against the side of my self-imposed bodyguard.  "It looks different up here," I said with a sigh as I watched some humans being ripped apart and eaten. 

"I am not used to it," admitted Chen Zi Han. "Normally I am down there with the others," he continued as he nodded down at the bloody clearing.

I hummed in understanding. I could hear the screams of the humans underneath us, and the answering roars of the zombies as they continued to try and break through our defenses. They wouldn't succeed with the three down there, but that didn't stop them from trying.

There was still almost 99% of the total tide not in play and already the humans were not doing well.

"If you guys hadn't been here, it would have been a massacre," breathed Deng Jun Hie. I stayed quiet and only nodded, waiting for the next comment.

"But since you are here, why aren't you doing more?" And there it was people… the not-so-subtle guilt trip.

"You think we should do more?" I asked turning to look the other man in the eyes. His gaze flickered between me and Chen Zi Han like he expected my man to say something or to take his side. When Chen Zi Han didn't make a move either way, Deng Jun Hie turned his attention back to me.

"Yes, I do," he admitted.

"What more do you want us to do?" I asked cocking my head.

"I want you to kill all the zombies. You have the ability. Hell, Liu Yu Zeng alone has the ability to take them all out. So why aren't you?" he demanded becoming louder to the point that the two guards started shifting their weight back and forth, not sure what to do.

I briefly glanced up at Chen Zi Han. With a nod of his head, the two guards became nothing more than husks on the floor.  Deng Jun Hie jumped when he heard them collapse, his wide-eyed gaze looking between me and Chen Zi Han in fear.

"Sorry," I said with a shrug. "Don't need to leave witnesses to this conversation. And as we all know, dead men tell no tales." Realizing what I just said, I chuckled. "Well, unless they are zombies, but I think in this case we will be safe."

Deng Jun Hie backed away from me and towards the open entranceway of the watchtower. With a wave of my hand, a solid wall of ice formed, preventing him from being able to flee. Creating a throne-like chair for myself out of ice, I sat down, not at all bothered by the cold.I think you should take a look at

"Now, back to our conversation," I said as I crossed my legs in front of me. Chen Zi Han came to stand just behind me and to my left. "You want to know why we don't just kill everyone and walk away?"

Deng Jun Hie shook his head, his face turning white like he saw a demon raising from the depths of Hell. "Not—not everyone. Just the zombies," he said with a gulp.

I cocked my head, impressed that he had been able to find the loophole in my statement. If he had said yes to killing everyone, well, there would not be a need for this conversion now would there be?

"You ate my food," I said, holding up one finger towards the Major General. "I said nothing."

"I told you how to fight and kill the zombies," I continued, holding up a second finger. "You never said thank you."

"I am here now to make sure that you don't lose your Sanctuary," I added, holding up a third finger. "And still, you are demanding to know why we don't do more."

I leaned forward over my knees. "Why should I? Why should I continue to help you again and again when you don't even display simple manners that any child should know."

"So if I say thank you, you five will kill all the zombies and protect us?" he asked, his eyebrows raised.

I let out a humorless laugh. "No way in Hell. We are giving you guys a chance at becoming stronger, to allow the majority of you to continue living and understand what it is that you are facing. And yet, you don't appreciate that. What will you do when we leave?"

This time, a hint of madness crosses Deng Jun Hie's face as he let out a piercing whistle. Within moments, my ice wall was melted by a massive flame thrower and a stream of soldiers came inside, their guns drawn on me and Chen Zi Han. "Who said that I will let you leave?" he asked with a smile on his face. "I tried the nice route. Making friends, all that stuff. But it didn't work. So now we will try Plan B."

"And what is Plan B?" I asked the smile on my face growing as more and more men entered the confined space. Men that should have been down on the front line protecting the base. I scoffed at that thought.

"Plan B is that I keep you safe and sound in a secured location until I can convince your men to stay here," said the Major General with an answering smile.

"And what? You are going to use me as a way of keeping my boys on a leash?" I asked, not moving off of my throne. Even Chen Zi Han didn't flinch with the 15 men pointing guns at us.

"I think that even you can agree that my way is the best way. But I would like to point out that I did offer up a nice incentive to your… boys… as you call them.  What is the saying? They 'refused a toast only to be forced to drink a forfeit'?"