Rebirth in the Apocalypse: Third Time's a Charm



There looked to be about 20 of them standing here, just underwater. However, seeing as they were between us and dry land, with more zombies and sharks behind us, I fully understood the expression 'Between a rock and a hard space'.

The boys, standing now, were probably in a worse situation than I was. Being short, my entire body was covered with water, plus a few inches over my head. For the guys, since they were all over 6 feet, it was like the top of their heads were exposed to the air, but if they took off their regulators, they would be inhaling water.

Seeing the problem, all four of them sunk to their knees. While they might be shorter, at least now they were fully submerged and could see the situation better.

Trying to squish down my panic, I studied the zombies in front of me, trying to figure out a way to quickly kill that many of them. But the more I looked at them, the happier I became.

Swimming up to the surface, since many of the zombies weren't fully emerged, I took out my regulator and let out a roar. The answering roar from the zombie standing half a foot in front of the others caused a huge grin to come out.

These zombies? Yeah, they were mine.

Wanting to see something, I unfocused my eyes and attempted to see the flames inside of them.

My theory was right. I watched as the space around my zombies' flames started to slowly fill up with water, almost in time with the ebb and flow of the tide as it hit their bodies.

Life would be so much easier if I could just speak to them mentally like I could the guys. Then we wouldn't have to communicate above the water in order to be understood.

'Flame transfer,' said the icy voice in my mind. 'Send out one of your flames and implant it in the zombie.'

'I have no idea what you are saying,' I groaned as I watched the water getting higher and higher inside the zombie.

'You might want to figure it out because if that water gets too high, you won't be able to do it. Now, call your pink flame. It is the best one for the job.' Doing what the voice inside my head said, I called up my pink flame. Now, I don't recommend, on normal occasions, listening to what the voices in your head say but, trying to create a zombie slave was not what I would call normal occasions.

But I digress.

Seeing a small part of my pink flame appear in the space in front of me, I waited for the next part of my instructions. 'A bit less lip would do you well,' came the voice. 'You should know by now that I can hear everything going through your head.'I think you should take a look at

'Yes, yes, I am sorry, but I am getting a bit tired of treading water, so can we have the lecture after I manage to get the zombie under control?' I asked with a tired sigh. If I never went back into the water, I would be a very happy woman.

'Softly send the pink flame over, and with your internal eye, place it beside the zombie's flame.' Letting my eyes go blurry, I saw the blue flame of the zombie in front of me and my pink flame approach it cautiously. It flew over the top of the water and quickly managed to get next to the zombie's soul.

'Good job,' said the icy voice. 'Now, plant your flame down beside the blue flame and watch what happens.' The smug tone of the voice made me wonder if this was really a good idea, but I had a plan, and this zombie was key to it.

I guided my pink flame to the base of the blue flame and watched as the two flickered side by side for a moment. Then, something I never expected happened. The blue flame seemed to absorb my pink flame, causing it to turn a shade of purple.

Surprised, I pulled out of the space I was in and blinked a few times to clear my eyes. The blue Beta zombie in front of me had become a dark purple color instead, almost like an eggplant. It was the first time I had ever seen a zombie that color before.

Did I cause that?

'Yes, my Lord?' said the zombie inside of my mind. 'How can we serve?'

I paused, thinking about all the ramifications that I had done. And then smiled. I would have to see if my pink flame decreased in size at all, but if it didn't, I had an infinite army at my disposal. 'And one that can never betray,' hissed a new voice.

I chose to ignore it until a later date. The hissing voice didn't sound like the bitch, which meant that I probably needed more time to deal with it than I currently had. Seeing as I was struggling to keep my head above water, both literally and figuratively. 

'Absorb the changes that the water brings,' I said after a second. 'We will be going into the deep soon and will need you to keep the other zombies and sharks away from us.'

'Understood,' the Beta said right before it sent out a call to the other zombies in its horde.

Bypassing the guys as if they weren't there, the 20 or so zombies in my horde strolled along the sea floor, absorbing whatever benefits the water gave them. I even managed to see the pressure from the water causing the round head of the land zombie to condense, like a pufferfish after it blows up. Within seconds, their heads were just as sleek as the other aquatic zombies.

Hopefully, this plan will work out in our favor. If I can have my zombies fighting the other ones, it might just give us the extra time we need to be able to grab the device and get the Hell out of Dodge.