Rebirth in the Apocalypse: Third Time's a Charm



"Exactly," said Liu Yu Zeng with a nod. "The military trains people to be heroes, but they don't train people how to stop."

He wrapped his arms around me as he continued to stare at the sky in my space. "So, for men like me and Chen Zi Han, finding a place like this is paradise. We can see ourselves relaxing here, starting a family, and not worried about stopping others from taking our territory. The idea of it just being the five of us doesn't cause us to panic, it … gives us a sense of peace. Does that make sense?"

He looked at me, a vulnerable expression on his face. "It makes perfect sense," I said as I kissed his chest. "It was the same way that I felt when I was reborn into this life. The idea that I could make a home for myself in the middle of nowhere, where I didn't have to worry about humans trying to take what was mine, or zombies trying to kill me, was everything I ever wanted."

And I think that was the main reason why I was so adamant about wanting to stay on my ranch. I wanted peace after having to fight for everything. But I also had that in this space too.

"Maybe we could have the best of both worlds," I mused out loud, causing Liu Yu Zeng to look at me.

"We can stay here in this world for as long as we want. Grow food, look after the animals, preserve our harvests … start a family. But when there is an itch to go out into the real world, we could do that too. What do you think?"

"I think that no matter where you are, I will be there beside you," said Liu Yu Zeng with a shrug. "If you want it here, then perfect. If you want to go out and experience the world, fine too. You are my home. You are my peace. You are the salvation that I have fought my entire life to achieve." He lifted my hand off of his chest and placed a gentle kiss on my knuckles. "All I ask is that you don't leave me behind."

"Never," I vowed. Now that I knew where Liu Yu Zeng stood, I would do my best to include him in my future plans. "How good of a fighter are you?" I asked with a sigh.

"Only Chen Zi Han has been able to beat me," said Liu Yu Zeng, confused.

"After we are done dealing with this crap, you will have a little under two years to train as hard as you can to become completely unbeatable. Do you think you can do that?" I asked seriously.

"Yes," he replied seriously, studying my face.

"I don't doubt your strength, please understand that," I said with a sigh, not wanting him to think that I didn't think he was strong enough. But to complete the mission that I had set out for myself, I was going to go down into the pits of Hell. If he wanted to follow, then I needed to know that he would be able to hold his own. "But if you are determined to follow me no matter what, then I need to know that you can take on a Reaver if necessary and win."

"All good, Sweetheart, I understand," he replied just as the other three made their way closer to us. "But you should prepare yourself. None of us will make it easy on you if you are thinking of disappearing."

"Not disappearing," I said with a shake of my head and a smile. "There is a part of me in each of you. I could never disappear someplace where you can't find me."

"Ready?" asked Liu Wei as he came to stand behind me.

"No," I scoffed at the absurdity of being ready to go back to the bottom of the East Sea, surrounded by sharks and zombies. "But let's go anyway," I said as I raised my hand and allowed Liu Wei to pull me up. I noticed Chen Zi Han doing the same thing to Liu Yu Zeng and the two of them whispering something to each other.

There was the typical manly head nod before they joined me and Liu Wei. Wang Chao came up to us, carrying two oxygen tanks. He gently placed one on the ground and carried the second one over to me. Going behind me, he hung it on my back and made sure that everything was working the way it should be. 

"If anything goes wrong, you come back here immediately. Don't worry about any of us. We will be fine," he assured me as he walked around, making sure that every part of my scuba gear was up to his exacting standards, including the lights I was making everyone wear.

"Yes, yes," I said, nodding my head before the 'regulator second stage' into my mouth. Yes, I knew what it was called thanks to a long lecture from Wang Chao, but I will continue to call it an air hose.

I gripped Liu Wei in one hand, and Wang Chao in my other while Chen Zi Han hugged me from behind, and Liu Yu Zeng wrapped around my front.

Sending up a little prayer to the Fates, I blink us back into the waters of the East Sea just as I realized that we had never actually figured out which way was back to dry ground. Fuck my life.

The good news? We all landed in an area free from zombies. The bad news was that with the combined light of all five flashlights, we could see exactly how many sharks were around us. And to my untrained eye, a lot of them looked like great white sharks.

I don't remember signing any waivers involving diving with sharks. When I got back to shore, I was going to send out a strongly worded letter to the scuba company about sending divers out without warning us of the dangers.