Rebirth in the Apocalypse: Third Time's a Charm



There were a lot of annoying things about being short. I mean, I needed help from random strangers to be able to get groceries from the top shelves, long dresses were too long on me, and I couldn't go on all the rides at an amusement park.

But the fact that I was too short to be able to climb into the truck in front of me was just the icing on the cake of a crappy day.

I took in a deep breath and tried not to scream my frustration. I mean, I knew I could get one of the guys to pick me up and put me in, but I really didn't want to have to do that. I started to think about if I had a stool in my space that I could take out to be able to climb up when a small step unfolded from the running board.

"Awe, aren't you just the sweetest!" I exclaimed as I used it to climb into the cab. All my fears about the seat being high enough, if I could actually reach the pedals, and if I was able to see over the hood were all put to rest the moment I sat down in the driver's seat. It was as if this truck was designed just for me.

"Welcome Li Dai Lu, I am Cerberus," came a deep masculine voice as soon as I pressed the ignition button.

"Cerberus? Nice name! Did you know I have a cat named Hades?"  I said cheerfully as I placed my hands on the wheel. I watched as the guys all climbed onto their motorcycles, matching matte black helmets on their heads. I wondered where they got those from… ah fuck!

"I forgot about Hades!!" I exclaimed as I hurriedly got out of the truck. Frigger! That cat was never going to stop plotting my murder!  I waved at the guys to stay put before I ran out of the room.

"Rip!" I yelled down the hallway. Rushing forward, I somehow missed the giant puddle of blood right under my feet. Going ass over teakettle, I ended up flat on my back looking up at the bloody ceiling.  I groaned as I felt the sticky substance seep into my clothes, the wet of the blood and the cold of the floor causing me to shiver.

I closed my eyes for a brief second and when I opened them, a very curious giant and pissed-off black cat were looking down at me.

"Why are you lying on the floor?" Rip asked with his head cocked to the side. On a side note, I have never seen a more disdainful looking feline in my entire life. "Is it comfortable?"

"Not really," I sighed.

"Then why are you lying down?"

"Probably because someone left a huge puddle of blood on the floor without a single safety cone letting others know about the wet floor."

"Oh," he said as he got down onto the floor and lay down beside me.  "There is blood on the ceiling too," he pointed out as Hades sat on his chest licking his paw. Extending his claws to clean between the pads, he stared at me. If cats had eyebrows, I was pretty sure his would be raised right now.

It was official, he was plotting my murder.

"So there is," I agreed with Rip.

"Well, they aren't the cleanest," he pointed out. I could only assume that the 'they' he kept talking about was the motorcycles.

"Nope," I agreed taking in a deep breath. "I'm sure they aren't. But if they can make the mess they should be able to clean up after themselves too."

"How should they clean the ceiling?" asked Rip as he continued to pet Hades.

"No idea," I replied. "Maybe they shouldn't have made it dirty in the first place."

There was a pause in which neither one of us spoke.

"You are leaving?" asked Rip all of a sudden.

"I am," I groaned as I tried to sit up. My ass was hurting a bit too much so I just laid back down.I think you should take a look at

"Are we going to see each other again?" he asked. I sighed.

"We are going to see each other in two years," I told him. "Unless something significant changes."

"Is that where we met in our last life?"

"It was."

"What was I doing?" he asked curiously.

"Trying to rip people limb from limb," I answered him seriously.

"I must have been having fun then."

"You were," I agreed with a small smile on my face. "But if that happened this time, I have a favor to ask of you."

"I'll try to remember it," he assured me and I smiled sadly at that response. Yeah, I guess things would be determined if he remembered my next words or not.

"You are going to meet others like you," I started slowly, not too sure what I should tell him to make sure he was where he needed to be without changing the way things needed to go. "Go with them. You will have a lot of fun."

"Fun is good," Rip agreed with an innocent smile on his face.

"Fun is good," I said. "But you are going to meet someone that is a healer."

"A healer? Like a doctor?" Ripper came forward with a vengeance. His face twisted in unadulterated rage as his voice deepened in disgust.

"Not like a doctor. She is going to want to be friends with you," I stressed.

"Doctors always say that they want to be friends and then they rip you open just to see how you tick," he growled and I took a breath.

"Not her. She is magic," I continued.

"Magic?"

"Magic," I assured him. "She can make all of your injuries go away if you let her."

"She can make the owies go away?" asked Rip coming to the front. That was good, he could convince Ripper of what I needed next.

"She can."

"What does she want in return?" And there went Rip, fuck.

"She doesn't want anything," I said with complete conviction. She never asked for anything in return.