Rebirth in the Apocalypse: Third Time's a Charm



"No," said Liu Wei with a frown. "It never even occurred to me," he continued. He looked at the other three men and they, too, shook their heads.

"I barely remembered that I had a space," I admitted, "Let alone think to see if I could find its flame."

"Maybe we should add that to the top of our list," said Chen Zi Han, leaning back in his chair. I would fully admit that it was embarrassing to forget something so important, but at the same time, it just went to prove how much panic played a role in things.

The rest of us nodded our agreement, and I turned to Chen Zi Han. "It's your job to remind me about it," I said, putting all the responsibility on him. I couldn't guarantee that I wouldn't panic again and completely forget.

Chen Zi Han chuckled and nodded his head.

"Now that that is all settled, let's start getting ready," said Wang Chao, standing up and moving away from the table.

I don't think anyone really got ready to be eaten. Unless, of course, they were going to douse themselves in barbeque sauce before heading out the door.

"Positive thoughts!" called Wang Chao from the front door of the farmhouse.

"Fine! I am positive that we are going to be eaten! Is that positive enough for you?"

"Ha ha, very funny," called back Wang Chao as I stood up with a deep breath and made my way to the front of the house.

"Your wetsuit, Madam," said Liu Yu Zeng, holding out the evillest contraption ever known to man.

"Thanks," I grumbled. Not at all impressed. But at the end of the day, it did stop the zombie from getting its claws into me, so I guess it was good for something. "Is this one new?" I asked, curious as I finally noticed that it was no longer the gray one from before, but rather a black one with purple ribbing.

"Yup," said Chen Zi Han as he walked into the house carrying his wetsuit. "Found a pile of them out in a field," he said as he looked over and grinned at me.

----

We were dressed much more appropriately this time. Each of us had on our wetsuit, the buoyancy vest, the goggles, the tank, the backup air tank, at least two knives, one harpoon, one gun, and finally one spear. It was a good thing that we were going to be underwater, because as it stood right now, I couldn't move an inch on land. In fact, I was pretty sure that if Chen Zi Han wasn't holding me upright, I would have already fallen backward thanks to the air tanks. 

"Everyone ready?" asked Wang Chao. I would have answered him, but the guys had insisted that I put the oxygen mouthpiece into my mouth, so my ability to talk was greatly reduced. I also would have given him a thumbs up, but Chen Zi Han and Liu Yu Zeng were both holding onto my hands, refusing to let go.

"Ready," answered Liu Wei for all of us. 

"Then let's do this," said Wang Chao, looking at me and nodding his head. I blinked back into the real world, not knowing what to expect.

I could feel the warm water rushing around me as I was dragged by my ankle into the darkness of the water. I felt myself panic for a second before I realized that I was able to breathe perfectly fine. Calming down, I noticed that my hands were still being held.

Looking to my sides, I saw Chen Zi Han and Liu Yu Zeng still attached to me, and the last little bit of worry completely fled. With a smile, I turned to the zombie that was actually walking on the bottom of the ocean floor. Its feet kicked up clouds of dirt and sediment, causing fish to dart away, scared of the predator in their midst.

I quickly unfocused my eyes and tried to see the flame that I knew burned brightly in the zombie's chest. And it was there! I looked at Chen Zi Han, a bright smile on my face. Even though he couldn't see it, he understood what I was trying to get at.

I then turned to Liu Yu Zeng and widened my eyes in happiness. 'I can see their flames!' I called out, hoping that they could hear me through our link.

'Let me see if I can use my powers,' said Liu Yu Zeng as he held his hand out to the unsuspecting zombie. Watching intently, I saw the black mist flowing out of Liu Yu Zeng thanks to the lighter sediment floating around us.

I waited as saw the zombie stumble. As soon as I felt its grip loosen, I tried to kick my leg out of its grasp, only to have it clench down tighter. I looked at Chen Zi Han again, this time with concern. I couldn't get my leg out of its grasp.

He gently patted my arm as he let go of my hand. Going up right behind the zombie, he put his hand out, trying to take its vitality. Once again, its grasp loosened for a second before it adjusted its grip again. This time, its claws sunk into my wetsuit and into my flesh.

I held back the scream as my blood slowly started to leave my body and become dissolved into the surrounding water. I didn't know if it was my mind playing tricks on me, or what, but I started seeing streaks of white swimming up to us before darting off in a different direction.

After a moment, another one came closer and I could see the pin-pick eyes and gaping jaws of an actual shark before the zombie scared it off.

  This was literally my worst nightmare come to life.

I could feel my heartbeat pick up as my lungs started to feel like there was an elephant sitting on my chest. I felt Liu Yu Zeng squeezing my hand, trying to snap me out, but it didn't help.

I opened my mouth to scream in panic, which caused my air hose to fall out of my mouth, cutting off my ability to breathe. I was going to die here, and worst of all, I would be bringing the guys down with me.