Rebirth in the Apocalypse: Third Time's a Charm



My eyes felt like they had been glued shut, all gritty and icky.  I groaned as the sound of people walking around me and glasses banging around entered my ears, making me pull the covers over top of my head, trying to block out everything.

I was not willing to wake up at whatever ungodly hour it was. And since I didn't want to wake up, any hour was ungodly as far as I was concerned. A small beam of light came from the side of my blanket as someone from the outside slowly and carefully lifted it, allowing the smell of freshly brewed coffee to filter into my cocoon.

Intrigued, mostly because I didn't take any supplies out of my space, I lowered the blankets from my face. Squeezing one eye closed because of the bright light, I opened the other one to look over at the person holding the offering.

"Have I mentioned that you are my favorite?" I grumbled as Chen Zi Han simply chuckled as he crouched in front of me, holding the greatest thing on Earth in front of my face.

"What the Hell!" grumbled Liu Wei as he came into my line of sight.  "I'm the one that made it, Sweetheart," he continued, glaring at Chen Zi Han from where he stood.

"There is a big difference between simply making it and actually bringing it over to me," I explained as I carefully unwound myself from the blankets I had wrapped around me and sat up.  Seeing that I was in a comfortable position, Chen Zi Han handed me the cup before standing up.

I blew a gentle breath over the surface before tentatively taking a sip. It was the perfect strength and temperature. Maybe I should give Liu Wei more credit for making it so well.  I would think about it once the cobwebs made their way out of my brain.  My eyes grumbling about being open, I closed them to enjoy the whole experience.  I would worry about things after the coffee because I was pretty sure that there was a big thing that I needed to worry about. I just couldn't remember it.

"Sorry about that lack of options," said Chen Zi Han as he took a seat on the coffee table across from me. "This place was well stocked in terms of non-perishable items, but not so much on other stuff."

I nodded as I continued to try and stick my whole head in this small cup of coffee.  Grumbling and missing my larger cups, I called them from my space and put them beside Chen Zi Han.  I heard his chuckle and the sound of the cup being picked up.

"I will take this as your way of asking for a bigger cup of coffee," he said as he got up. Not to be outdone, Liu Wei quickly sat down in the spot that he relinquished.

"What do you want to do today?" he asked as he took the empty cup of coffee out of my hands.  You know, a girl could really get used to this type of treatment.

"Is sleep an option?" I asked as I once again tried to pull open my eyes. I would definitely need to wash my face to get rid of whatever gunk was on it.

Hearing his low chuckle, I couldn't help by smile in response. "Sleep is always an option, Sweetheart, but maybe you want to do some exploring first? At least pick out a bed to actually sleep on instead of this sectional?"

I nodded my head and allowed him to help me to my feet.  Swaying gently back and forth (I am pretty sure I have stressed how much I actually hate waking up) I looked at the man beside me. "There seems to be something that I need to figure out… I just can't remember what it was," I grumbled.  This was one of those few times that I wished I was a morning person, but alas, I wasn't.

"Then you can deal with it when you remember," he said gently as he lead me to the bathroom.

"The others?" I asked, only having really seen Chen Zi Han and Liu Wei since I'd been awake.

"Dealing with the men," he assured me. "They will be back in a little bit."  And that was when it hit me; the snow, the blizzard, the guns, and the strange people.

Good and awake right now, I looked at Liu Wei with a slight panic. "Are we good here or do we need to find another place? Is the Admiral here? What is going on? Where is this place? Are all the men ok? Did we lose anyone in the storm?"  The questions flowed out of my mouth as soon (if not before) my mind could think about them.

I heard his chuckle as he brought me into the bathroom and sat me down on the toilet.  Finding a facecloth beside the sink, he wet it and brought it over to me, intending to wash my face.

"The men are fine," he said as he started gently washing the sand out of my eyes, my brain only paying half attention to him as the other half was trying to figure out what was going on and what we needed to do next. "We are at the apartments of the Country K Navy Base in City J. Nothing is going on. The REAR Admiral is here," he continued, stressing the word rear as if I really cared about trying to remember the man's rank. "And we are very good here," he finished.

Taking a dry towel, he gently patted my face before grabbing a comb to brush my hair. "This place really does have everything," I said as I felt the teeth of the comb slide through my hair.

He hummed in agreement as he finished combing my hair. "Now, do you want me to brush your teeth for you or can you do it yourself?" he asked, completely seriously as he looked into my eyes.  I rolled them at his question and stood up to tend to that chore myself.

There are some times when I think that I might have multiple personalities; one that was a badass and could take on anyone and anything, another that acted like a child and loved to have the care and attention all on her, and another that was calm, responsible and always prepared.  The second one had come out more and more as the guys have been around more, but I was not going to complain.

I noticed these different sides coming out the more that I fought with the zombies. Each time I had to unleash myself for the Alpha battles, the harder and harder it was to put the chains back on. But then again, I had promised myself that in this life, I would live how I wanted, and if I wanted to be both 5 and 80 on the same day I damn well will be and not feel guilty over it.

My teeth brushed, my face clean and my hair combed, I was ready to get on with the day.  I'd bring out the administrative personality and get shit done. Once I figured out what we were doing next.

But the idea of stepping foot outside this building left me in a cold sweat.

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Chen Zi Han, Liu Wei, and I made our way down the stairs and into the entertainment room on the third floor. Or at least that was what Liu Wei called it.  Apparently, it was the general meeting area for those that lived in the house and had a bunch of things to keep people… entertained.

Opening the glass doors, I saw a whole section of pool tables on one end of the massive room, multiple couches and chairs, and probably the biggest television that I had ever seen in my life. Before the end of the world, this room would have been an amazing place to hang out. I even spotted a mini kitchen off in a corner to prepare snacks or whatever.

It took me a few seconds to realize that our entrance had cut off all of the noise, and I looked around for the cause.  There must have been a few hundred people in here, and they were all staring at us.  Well crap, did Liu Wei screw up brushing my hair? Did I forget to get dressed? I was pretty sure that I was still wearing my clothes from yesterday, but maybe I was naked?

No… even if Liu Wei was trying to pull a prank by letting me leave the apartment without clothes on, Chen Zi Han was too responsible for that to happen. He would have said something… right?!?

The internal monologue was cut off when Wang Chao cleared his throat causing my attention to focus in on him.  Raising his arm, he tilted his head, his intention clear. Walking over to his side, I slipped under his arm and let out a soft sigh as the weight descended on me.  "Morning, Beautiful," he said giving me a soft kiss to my temple. "You awake?"