Rebirth in the Apocalypse: Third Time's a Charm



I shook my head. I was vertical and that was my big accomplishment for the day as far as I was concerned. Wang Chao chuckled and turned his attention back to the people in front of him. Some of them I recognized as ours and others I had no idea who they were.

"Who are you?" came a voice from off to the side. The snapping, offended tone made me realize that I should have taken Chen Zi Han up on the larger coffee before coming down here.

"Li Dai Lu," I replied looking up at Wang Chao for his guidance.  He knew the intricacies here better than I would and how to respond better.

I heard a scoff as a stunning woman in light blue fatigues weaved out of the crowd and came to a stop in front of us.  Looking at the arm wrapped around me, I could practically feel the waves of anger coming off of her. This is why I really didn't like women, we were too competitive with each other and I was too tired to deal with added shit.

"I am Captain Zhao Jia Li of Country K Navy," she introduced herself, looking me up and down.  I nodded my head to acknowledge her, but I wasn't sure what more she wanted from me. It's not like her rank meant all that much. "And I am Wang Chao's fiancé."

That last statement had me pausing. Rolling my head to look at the man that stood more than a foot taller than me, and then again at the woman that was at least 5'8, I began I realize that I should start to wear heels more.

'That's what you are taking from all this? That you are short?' Wang Chao asked inside my head. I shrugged my shoulders in response.

'What am I supposed to take? That clearly she is delusional if she thinks that you are her fiancé? I am pretty sure that you made it clear you didn't have one,' I replied.  I was too out of it to take her seriously.

Scratching my eyebrow in a very Liu Wei way, I nodded my head, "Nice to meet you, I'm the girlfriend," I said with a big smile on my face. Hey, I might be tired, but that didn't mean I couldn't stir the pot a bit.

The screech she let out make me both smile and cringe as a small headache started from the high-pitched sound.  Cracking my neck I looked back at the man beside me.

"Is everything good here?" I asked, knowing that he could handle anything, but also wanted him to know that I was here to help and support him in any way that I could.

"I'm good," he replied, once again kissing my temple and ignoring the glare coming from the woman in front of me. "Huang Xiu Yan," he called out and this time another woman came out of the crowd.  Looking at her, I automatically decided that I liked her. She was still taller than me, but shorter than Zhao Jia Li and had her straight black hair in a bob cut that made her face look small and delicate. 

I smiled at the woman when she looked over at me. She simply nodded, but I didn't take offense. I understood where she was coming from. New women were always going to be a pain in the ass and she didn't know how much I would be. "Can you get her outfitted?" Wang Chao asked, pushing me in her direction.

Huang Xiu Yan nodded, still not speaking, and gestured for me to follow her. Smiling up at the man beside me, I pulled him down for a quick kiss of my own and trailed after the woman who was already at the doors.

----

She led me to another floor, neither one of us speaking as Chen Zi Han followed behind us, close enough to guard us but not close enough to intrude.

"Do they always do that?" she asked, looking between me and Chen Zi Han in genuine curiosity. I shrugged my shoulders.

"There are four of them, so yeah, there will always be someone around. Does it bother you?" I asked, curious. I mean, I wanted to make friends, not be judged.

"Does it bother me that there are four of them or that there will always be one around?" she shot back, a small smirk on her face.  I knew I liked her.

"Either or," I replied tilting my head up at her.

"Nope," she said. "But be careful of the Captain, she tends to be territorial."

"Who isn't?" I asked with a chuckle of my own.

"Very true."

----

The blizzard lasted about four days and dumped at least 50 cm of snow on the ground, not including what blew away.  Wang Chao got people out and shoveled as the visibility improved, but since they were in a subtropical climate, none of them really knew how to shovel. 

Yes, there was a technique to it. Otherwise, you could put out your back, like a lot of the soldiers discovered within the first day.

I got to meet the Rear Admiral, yes, I finally got it right, and I have to admit, I really liked the guy. He was sweet, kind, generous, and didn't put up with any shit. All in all, a great person to have on your side.

We had been in the apartment for almost a week after the storm when the notice came from the unit on duty that there were people coming up to the base.  I didn't realize when I first came here, but there was a gate that kept people out, and that was where they were lining up. Or at least that was what the person who called it in said. Wang Chao asked me to go out with him to see what was going on and I was more than happy to comply. Sure… let's go with that.

I got bundled up, because even though I was a fire user, I really hated the cold. I picked out a white parka with faux fur trim on the hood and giant gloves that protected my hands from the cold. I had black knee-high winter boots on that were lined on the inside with faux fur and a warm toque on my head under the parka hood. I didn't bother to put on my snow pants simply because I didn't think that we would be outside that long and all of the paths were clear.

Wang Chao, Liu Wei, Liu Yu Zeng, and Chen Zi Han all wore similar outfits, but it was done in the light blue fatigue, military style that Country K provided its men. They were lucky to find a whole storage unit in the basement of one of the buildings on base when they were shoveling them all out. It apparently had all of the old gear that was not in use anymore, but had yet to be destroyed. 

Once we were ready to venture out into the great outdoors, they got a few more men to accompany us to the front gate to see what was going on. 

Zhou Gang Jia, as he asked me to refer to him, mentioned that he was willing to consider this place a safe zone, but that there needed to be strict entrance procedures before the average person could shelter here. I completely agreed with his ruling, and since he was the highest-ranking Navy personnel (Wang Chao didn't count) he was unanimously voted as the head of the safety zone.

Anyways, back to the large group of people huddled out, pacing in front of the gate… apparently, the people that were here before we arrived never really met a zombie before…

Because let me tell you… those 50 'people' out there? They weren't people anymore.

I looked at Wang Chao and wondered if he noticed the same thing. When he nodded to me, I let out a sigh of relief. Cracking my neck, I walked up the stairs to the watch tower, the four men fanning out behind me, the rest of our men awaiting orders on the ground.

Reaching the side of the man that called it in, I looked over and saw Huang Xiu Yan and Zhao Jia Li in the tower as well. I guessed it was their unit that was on duty when this happened. Lucky them.

"What is she doing here?" screeched Zhao Jia Li in such a loud voice that the zombies outside of the gate turned in our direction and stared at us. While Huang Xiu Yan and I were building a fantastic friendship through movies and ice cream, Zhao Jia Li and I were not there yet.

Wang Chao ignored her and turned to the man standing beside me. "Name?" he asked, but it was clearly an order.

"Li Ming Tao," came the reply. Wang Chao nodded his head and pointed out in front of us.

"Those are not people," he said in his commanding tone.

"Yes, they are," countered Zhao Jia Li, looking at the man we all knew she was in love with. Once again, Wang Chao completely ignored her, never taking his eyes off of Li Ming Tao.

"Those are what we are referring to as zombies. Is this your first time encountering them?"

When the man nodded, we received the answer we really didn't want to hear.