Rebirth in the Apocalypse: Third Time's a Charm



I tried not to think about my lack of underwater supplies, but honestly, it never occurred to me that I would be going into the zombie's natural environment. Not willingly at least.

The place where we were might offer some good supplies, seeing as it appeared to be one of those small, seaside villages that might only see tourists in the summer, but in the winter, it would be deserted. 

We followed the signs to the beach and that was when we hit pay dirt.  There were several… shacks… for lack of a better term that lined the beach, each one promising either fishing supplies, scuba gear, surfing, or whatever else a tourist might want to do on an ocean vacation.

The men got off the bikes at the edge of the sand, and Wang Chao picked me up from behind Liu Wei and carried me to the first hut with a palm tree roof and white walls. It looked like it could fall over any minute, but I didn't think that that had anything to do with the end of the world.

There was no sign as to what could be in it, and it was still boarded up nice and tightly. Hopefully, we'd be able to find something useful. 

With a giant gust of wind, Liu Wei managed to open the door, causing it to slam against the opposite wall. Chen Zi Han, walked in first before calling out to the rest of us that it was safe. I walked into what looked to be a very small lobby, maybe five feet by five feet, and a front desk with a cash register along the back end. 

Liu Yu Zeng jumped over the desk and pushed on the swinging door into the back room. Within seconds, he was back out with a giant smile on his face. "Come, check this out."

There was a flip-up section to the counter and Chen Zi Han lifted it up in order to let me pass through. It was so much easier than trying to jump over a counter that went up to my chest.  Giving the man a quick kiss as thanks, I strolled into the back office.

On the right side of the back section, were maybe about 50 scuba tanks complete with regulators, an alternate air source (octopus), lights, and instruments. There were also a BCD (buoyancy control device), wet suits, emergency regulators, fins, and air hoses. There was still more stuff, but since I made it a point never to be underwater, I had no idea what a lot of it was for.

Each one of the scuba tanks had its own gear in and around it so that there was enough diving equipment for 50 people. Or 25 if you wanted to have two air tanks. Me? I wanted at least 3 air tanks if I was going anywhere underwater. 

"This is helpful," said Liu Wei as he walked over to the scuba equipment and checked it out. He even pulled out a knife from on top of a wet suit that I hadn't noticed before. "Can we take it all?"

I scoffed at his question. It was like the man didn't know me at all! Of course I was going to take everything. Even if it weren't useful, I would still take it. With a flick of my wrist, I brought all of it into my space. 

Then I turned my attention to the left side of the hut. Along the wall were various types of masks, vests, and snorkels while right under them was a whole case of diving knives. Pleased, I took all of that stuff into my space, not caring that I completely emptied the hut. Well, I didn't completely empty it. I left all the information brochures.

I wouldn't need those…right?

Ah, fuck it. I quickly swiped that into my space too. You never knew when something random would be useful. And no, I was not a hoarder… not yet at least.

Satisfied that I had taken everything that the little scuba shop had to offer, the boys and I went to the next hut right next door. 

This one was clearly a snack shop, and although everything would have been in here for a while, I took them anyways. Besides it is more beneficial to barter with the sketchy shit than it was with my fresh stuff. It was less suspicious to have beef jerky that only had a year left on the expiration date than it was to have fresh fruits and vegetables.

Once again, I emptied the shop, taking all that I could. 

We then moved on to the third shop. This time Liu Yu Zeng just kicked the door instead of bothering with his powers. I walked in and practically squealed in delight. This one was a fishing tour shop that offered tours out into the East Sea to catch the bigger fish like tuna and several species of carp. Yes, I stole all the brochures that showed the best places to fish, and where whales could be seen.

But more than the brochures, I took all the harpoons, spears, and knives that I could get my hands on. Apparently, this place also specialized in spearfishing, so they had several different tools that would prove helpful for us. 

"You look happy," said Wang Chao coming up beside me with a smile on his face. 

"I am," I said with a nod, looking up at him. "I might have been a little stressed about not getting every last supply that we needed, but this has taken a lot of pressure off.  I would like to say that we had enough underwater supplies, but you know how I feel about that."

"There is no such thing as too many supplies," he repeated, still smiling.

"Exactly. And there are only three more shacks for us to go through and then onto stage 2 of my master plan."

"And what is involved with that plan?"

"The best I could come up with was 'fuck it'."