Rebirth in the Apocalypse: Third Time's a Charm



There had been 'talk' in my past life that humans were really aliens that settled on this planet millions of years ago, and the more I thought about it, the more it made sense.  Literally, everything on this planet from the insects to the animals to most plants had some type of protection against predators… except humans.

We used our intelligence to build homes that heated us when we were cold and cooled us when we were hot. We had no natural ability to regulate our own body temperature to any efficient degree. A cat could go outside in winter and remain somewhat warm and then go back inside and not die of heat.

But instead of teeth and claws, humans relied on swords, guns, and knives for defense. But they weren't built into us. We weren't born with them. In fact, most of the population did not even know how to use any form of self-defense.  We were literally just sitting here, ready to die.

"Without our technology, we are just lunch," I reiterated quietly looking at Rear Admiral Zhou Gang Jia. "But with our powers, we might actually stand a chance." I mean, we didn't in our last life, but we also didn't have the guys and their powers to take out the zombies in a single move.

I felt a brief flutter of hope that maybe, this time, we could avoid the worst of what was to come.  But then again, there were only 5 of us, could we really make that much of a difference?

Only time would tell, I guess.

"So, these powers are our only option?" asked Zhou Gang Jia with a sense of defeat in his voice.

"Do you know how to make bullets?" I asked in return. "Do you have the supplies and abilities to do it?"

The Rear Admiral simply looked at me like I had gone crazy. "No, I don't," he admitted.

I nodded, not trying to rub it in, but to emphasize my point. "When we had factories producing everything we needed from raw materials, we never thought about it. But now that we don't have those factories, all we are left with is the raw materials and nothing more. And even then, trying to get those raw materials is a lot harder than you might imagine."

"What do you suggest?" Zhou Gang Jia asked, looking at Wang Chao as if he had all the answers.

"I think you should send people out for supplies," the man admitted as he looked at me. "Supplies will be the most important thing to keep us alive."

The Rear Admiral nodded. "I'll send them out in the spring," he agreed, not really thinking it through.  I chuckled at his response.

"You have never gone hungry, have you?" I asked, not expecting an answer.

He didn't bother to answer me because we all knew the answer. He did not understand that you could not put off looking for supplies for months simply because of the snow. Hell, I organized my entire year to avoid having to go out in the snow, but that didn't mean that I wouldn't do it.

"Send a few groups out tomorrow," suggested Wang Chao as he stood up, clearly done with the conversation. "The rest can start trying to figure out what types of users they are." 

Reaching down to grab my hand, I quickly took his hand and sent my blanket back into my space. "It has been a long day, we are going back to our room," said Liu Wei as we left the entertainment room. I was not looking forward to walking up 10 flights of stairs, but I would get over it if it meant that I could lay down in bed for a while.

We were all quiet until we got to the apartment that we all shared.  "Aliens?" asked Wang Chao as soon as the door closed behind Chen Zi Han.

"What is this about aliens?" asked Liu Yu Zeng confused. "They aren't going to show up, are they?" he continued with a slight hint of panic in his voice.

I chuckled at his response. "No, as far as I know, no aliens will be showing up," I reassured him as I collapsed onto the sectional.  I swamped out the dead television for one in my space and set out a portable generator to be able to turn it on.  I was in the mood for a movie before sleep.

Taking out the DVD player, I watched as Chen Zi Han started to set everything up. "It was a thought. In my first life there were people that thought humans could not be native to our planet simply because we didn't have any natural defenses against predators," I said, trying to clarify what Wang Chao had started.

"I guess it makes sense," agreed Liu Yu Zeng as he came to sit down beside me and pulled my upper half into his lap.  I rested my head against his chest and just listened to his heart. "I mean, we really have no way to protect ourselves aside from what we built."

His older brother hummed in agreement as he picked up my legs and put them on his lap, making himself comfortable.  Wang Chao chose to sit down in an oversized chair beside us.

"What movie?" asked Chen Zi Han as he put a selection of 9 movies onto the coffee table for us to choose from.

"Don't care," I grumbled, really not willing to move.

"This one," said Wang Chao as he picked a random action movie to put on. We all settled in and relaxed, not caring about zombies or aliens or anything else for that matter.

---

The next day started with fireworks before I even managed to open my eyes.  Apparently, I had fallen asleep on Liu Yu Zeng, and instead of waking me up, he just repositioned us so that we were both sleeping lengthwise on the sectional. His arms still wrapped tightly around me.

I groaned as the pounding on our door increased until the whole frame started shaking. "Wang Chao!" came the voice from the other side, the sound was like nails on a chalkboard and I tried to snuggle as far into Liu Yu Zeng as I could.

I felt more than heard him chuckle before he opened his mouth. "Wang Chao, it's for you," she shouted as if Wang Chao could not hear the chaos himself.  He readjusted me in his arms so I was snug between him and the back of the couch and then brought up the blankets until only my face was revealed.

"Go back to sleep, Sweetness," he said as he gently kissed me on the forehead. "There is no point in waking up right now."

As much as I could feel the sleep calling me, my heavy eyelids drifting shut with every inhale, the pounding on the door was making it impossible to ignore.  I heard a door open and a very pissed-off Liu Wei walked out of his room in only a pair of grey sweatpants.  Running his hand through his hair and adjusting his glasses, he quietly swore under his breath about the noise.

"Fuck that," I yelled at him as he was about to open the door.  "You go back into your room and put on a shirt young man," I said, not sure if I wanted to get off the couch to yell at him or if this would still make my point and not force me to move.

I heard him chuckle as he popped his head over the back of the couch and looked down at me. "Jealous?" he asked. I let out a very undignified snort.

"I have no need to be jealous. But she will die if she sees you like that. Unless you are okay with me walking around the entertainment room in just a sports bra and pants," I replied. Honestly, I was not jealous of Zhao Jia Li, I had no reason to be. As much as we never sat down and hashed it out. It was very clear that they were mine and I was theirs and that was just fine for all of us.

We each managed to bring a missing part to the group that we all desperately needed, whether we knew it or not.

No, I wasn't jealous. But I would be damned if I let someone drool over something that was mine.  "Point taken, Sweetheart," said Liu Wei as he bent down to kiss my forehead. Straightening, he went back to his room and came out with a hoodie on. "Better?" he asked before he went to open the door.

I nodded my head and let him go find out what the harpy wanted.

---

Pulling open the door, Liu Wei glared at the two women before him. "What do you want?" he growled in a completely different voice than what he reserved for Li Dai Lu.

"Sorry for disturbing you," said Huang Xiu Yan from where she stood behind a very pissed-off Zhao Jia Li.

"Do you know what time it is?" demanded the enraged woman as she tried to push past Liu Wei and into the apartment. Not having any of it, Liu Wei refused to budge.

"Nope," he said. "And I don't really care."