Rebirth in the Apocalypse: Third Time's a Charm



I turned to look up at Chen Zi Han and then back down to where his hand was resting firmly on my shoulder. Giving him a look of confusion, I waited for whatever it was that he wanted to say.

"In arms reach, remember? We are not going to have another incident like before. Even if you can heal at a superhuman rate, we can't handle it," he said, his voice deep and gruff. I had the grace to blush. I guess I hadn't learned my lesson well enough if I was willing to run headfirst into a bunch of zombies again.

Then again, at least this time I didn't have my headphones in AND I was willing to use my flame.

Wrinkling my nose, this time not because of the smell but because of embarrassment, I waited beside him. "What is your plan?" I asked as the other three men spread out behind us, each taking a different section of the line. I saw a few faces that I recognized in the crowd and assumed that their men had come back out of the woodwork to help out.

"I protect you," said Chen Zi Han with a shrug. "You just have to let me," he added, almost as an afterthought.

I paused for a second and thought about my next move. Did I want to draw this out? Or hurry it up and move on?

A zombie roared at me from about 10 feet away, making my decision for me. I would do what I could to take them out all at once, what was the worst that could happen?

----

I needed to make a mental note not to say those words again because it turned out that things did not go according to plan.

My idea was simple. Draw the flames of the zombies to me, have my flame consume them, and have no human the wiser when zombies just dropped down dead.  How it happened, was not so… straightforward.

I watched as the zombie that had roared a challenge got close enough to me to the point where I could easily make out its flame. It sprinted up to me, its teeth bared and its right hand up with its claws extended, ready to take me out, only to drop dead without a sound.

My purple flame became brighter as it consumed the zombie's life force and even my pink and blue flames reacted to the increase in energy.  With a heady feeling fueled by an energy drink and a power boost, I closed my eyes, looking for the next flame to take.

I knew that Chen Zi Han was there to watch my back, so I didn't think much of it when I shut out the world to only concentrate on the different flames in front of me. It almost look like I was in a sea of darkness with fireflies flittering about.

There were thousands of different flames, some blue and lavender that I associated with the zombies and others of different colors that must be the humans. Calling on my purple flame, I held out my hand in the direction with the most zombie flames. Still with my eyes closed, I curled my fingers into a fist and allowed my flame to engulf them.

The rush of pure… happiness… caught me off guard. But as my body rejoiced in the feeling of pure bliss, I didn't think about anything else, other than getting more of those flames. Looking in another direction with even more blue and lavender flames, I reached out and this time, not bothering with my purple flame, called them to me, my body absorbing them without a second thought.I think you should take a look at

It was a heady, euphoric feeling being able to consume the flames of the zombies. Almost as if I was doing what I should have been doing all along.

My body went on to autopilot and my brain turned blank as I fixated on the blue and lavender flames. I kept pulling them into my body more and more until there… was none left.

Unable to let go of this high, I turned my attention to the other colors. If the blue and lavender ones weren't there to feed me, then I would simply take the other ones.  I found a single black flame near me and as I wrapped my fist around it, ready to call it to me, I felt something wrong, something almost painful. Dropping that flame, I struggled to find another one that would bring about the bliss again.

I found some pink flames, a whole cluster of them, but as soon as I touched them, I felt the same thing as I felt with the black flame. Quickly letting go, I growled in frustration.

Then in the middle of all of the pink flickering lights was a group of three flames. One was red, another was white and finally, there was a silver one. Taking all three in hand, I once again felt the pain that I had with the black flame. Quickly letting go, I sent the flames a slight caress in apology before moving on.

I needed more flames, I needed to consume them, I needed to become stronger. But I needed to avoid the flames that caused me pain.

This time I found another group of pink flames, and when I wrapped my fist around them… there was nothing. No feeling of pain, no feeling of… wrongness. I smiled as I pulled them towards me, but the feeling that I was expecting, the strength that I got from the zombie flames, wasn't there.

Oh, it made me a bit stronger, but not enough. Not nearly enough.

I continued to look around the darkness trying to find the fireflies that would feed me. But no matter how many flames I called to me; it wasn't the same as the first ones.

Completely disheartened, I opened my eyes to try and see the surrounding area, but all I saw was darkness before I felt my consciousness being pulled away.

----

Chen Zi Han reached out and pulled Li Dai Lu into his arms just before she collapsed onto the ground. He didn't know what had happened and didn't really care at this point, but the zombies were gone and the humans that were left were few and far between.

Pulling her tighter into his arms, he looked around for the other three men. The aftermath would need to be sorted out, and without Princess, they would have to take over.

Not to mention, they needed to figure out exactly what happened just now.