Rebirth in the Apocalypse: Third Time's a Charm



Pushing myself even harder, I took the souls of a few zombies swimming off in the distance. I didn't know how much longer I needed to be swimming, and I will tell you that I wasn't stopping to equalize the pressure on my body to prevent the bends.

No. I wanted to get to the surface, and I wanted to be there now. When I found myself still swimming, I cursed that I hadn't developed the powers needed to teleport. That would have been a really handy power to have right about now.

Liu Wei and Chen Zi Han were swimming on either side of me, and I could only assume that Liu Yu Zeng was behind me, but not having eyes on him was causing me more than a little anxiety. 'I am here, Sweetness,' said Liu Yu Zeng through our link, but I could feel how tired he was getting. In fact, pretty much everyone was exhausted.

What could I do? We couldn't turn back, and we didn't have the ability to rest.

What to do?

A zombie cut in front of me and tried to grab my throat. I twisted away just in time, but it managed to grab onto my right shoulder and pulled hard. I could hear the sickening sound of my shoulder being dislocated before I was able to take its flame.

Unfortunately, the damage had been done. I couldn't keep up this place with one arm hung uselessly at my side. I paused for only a second, trying to get my thoughts in order. However, that second was enough to cause me to start sinking again.

Right, I was weighed down by the weight belts!

Struggling with my one good arm, I managed to unhook the belt from around my waist, and I started to rise to the top, my natural buoyancy kicking into gear. However, it still wasn't enough. My men swam back to me, looking me over, and I could feel their concern through our link.

And as nice as it was, it was pretty much useless right now.

I needed a solution.

The military members of Country M start passing me, occasionally looking back but otherwise not bothering. So much for nobody left behind. I scoffed.

'Beta,' I called out. 'How many more zombies out there?' I asked. I couldn't differentiate between my zombies and random hordes, so I didn't know how many of the blue and purple flames I was seeing belonged to me and who needed to be killed.

'None. All gone,' said Beta as he came up in front of me. His shrunken skull looked so much scarier than the ball-like zombie heads on land, but as scary as he might be, at least he was on my side.

'Can you carry me on your back?' I asked, my exhaustion and pain causing my head to throb.

'Hold on. I get horde for men,' he said and let out what I could only assume to be an underwater roar.  'Hold onto back.'

Beta waited until another three zombies appeared before turning around, giving me his back. Looking at my men, I nodded before gripping Beta around his neck with my still-working arm. Without warning, he shot off at full speed.

'Li Dai Lu!' screamed Liu Yu Zeng through our link.

'It's fine!' I said back, almost enjoying the rush of hanging onto a zombie. 'They will get us to the top sooner.'

As soon as I finished my sentence, I could feel their presence getting closer and closer.

The three zombies were not as fast as Beta, but they were able to hold their own. Within seconds, we were back with the pack, another second, and we were passing them. Unfortunately, my left arm wasn't as strong as my right one was, and I was constantly having to readjust my grip to make sure I didn't fall off.

Some people dreamed about swimming with dolphins and letting the dolphin pull them through the water. Well, they could eat their heart out. I was riding a fucking zombie.

Beta started to slow down after what felt like only a matter of moments. 'Almost at surface,' he said as he started to tread water. I was still clinging to him like a monkey but also trying to get my body back in working order. As fun as that was, now that the ride had stopped, it felt like my stomach was still left somewhere down at the bottom of the East Sea while my head was floating to the top.

'Thank you,' I said, meaning it. I knew the men were right behind me, so I let go of Beta and slowly swam to the surface. I popped my head out of the water and was relieved to see that the boat was where we had left it.

I slowly started to swim towards it, only using my legs to propel me forward. I couldn't see anyone on board, but that didn't mean much to me right now. I was just happy to see the boat.

I gripped the ladder with my left hand, using it and my legs to propel me forward.

"Well, well, look at who managed to survive," the commander smirked over the top of my head. I looked up to see him pointing a gun at me.

For fuck's sake, could I not catch a break today?

"Where are the others?" he asked, not bothering to let me onto the boat.

"Behind me," I gasped as I spat my oxygen hose out of my mouth to be able to answer. "We ran into some zombies."

"And they let you go ahead? I have a hard time believing that," Commander Huang Nian Zu said, the smirk on his face making my blood turn cold. I was much too tired to deal with this right now.

"It's true. I have the device," I said, contemplating my options. I couldn't consume his soul without it making me sick. I couldn't call fire or ice right now because one arm wasn't working, and the second one was needed to keep my grip on the ladder.

"I don't believe you," he sneered.

I watched him pull the trigger like everything was in slow motion. I pushed away from the ladder and back into the ocean in the hopes that the bullet would be slowed down enough not to do any damage.

But like I said, I could not catch a break.