Rebirth in the Apocalypse: Third Time's a Charm



It turned out that we were heading toward downtown City A where all the expensive condos were. The first and last time that I had been here, the place looked vastly different. The Riverside area that I remembered from my last life was old and run down with graffiti written all over the outside of the buildings. There were chain-link fences that ran up the buildings, even those with more than 30 floors. The smell of unwashed bodies and despair filled the air. It was considered to be one of the most desirable safe zones in this area that the average person could go to. Mind you, the rich still had their gated communities and their own men to guard them day and night.

What I saw in front of me was nothing like that. I looked out the front window of the SUV as Wang Chao waved at the security officer as he opened the gates that lead to the condos. Huh, I had always assumed that those gates were installed after the end of the world.

But the view, the view would have been enough for the old me to die for. There were about four high-rises built with pristine white exteriors so beautiful that I had no idea how they did it. They stood strong and majestic, like they knew that they housed the cream of the crop of City A. There were parks with playgrounds and walking paths. Flowers grew along the banks of the only river that cut through the city. This place would have been a paradise for people and I could see why so many people flocked here after the zombies appeared.

Wang Chao drove into an underground parking lot in Building 2 and turned off the engine. "I take it we should sell the place and move?" He chuckled, clearly back to reading my mind. Liu Wei looked between us before he spoke.

"I take it that this is not a great place to live in after November?"

"If it were me, I would sell this place as fast as possible and use the money to buy more supplies," I said, shrugging my shoulders. "But I am kind of narrow-minded when it comes to getting money and supplies."

"Is money still used?" Liu Wei asked. "I've been trying to read some of those novels online and there seems to be a new currency put in place."

"Money is still used, it's just that anything that was in your bank account would have been lost. So the truly rich people are the ones that hid their money under their mattresses," I said, thinking about what I knew.

"What you are telling me, is that money is still important to people," said Wang Chao, already trying to figure out how he can use that information to his advantage.

"Yes, money is still extremely important. But when a moldy bun costs $20.00, you learn quickly that money is only worth what you are willing to spend it on."

"People would pay that much for moldy bread?!?" Asked Liu Wei, his eyes wide with shock.

I nodded my head. "Yup. And when that green and white bun the size of your hand is the only thing that you have had to eat for a week, then you are willing to pay whatever they want."

"Supply and demand," said Wang Chao as he escorted me into the elevator.

"And that's how you became a CEO," I laughed at him.

"Something like that," he replied.

----

I spent the evening at the guy's place before they drove me home. I guess they thought that I could use the company… and they were right. Talking and laughing with them over dinner and wine allowed me to forget about what had happened earlier. But coming home to my ranch alone brought everything rushing back.

I put my key into the front door and stared off into space. I had seen my day SUV in the driveway and I could only assume that one of the guys got one of their men to drop it off. I paused at that thought… was that like saying 'I'll get my people to call your people'?

I shook my head and walked into my massive house. Shutting the door behind me, I leaned against it and sank to the floor. The quiet was too quiet. It made me remember too many things. I cupped my hands over my ears hoping that I could get rid of the quiet that way, but it didn't help.

I was about to turn on music, or the tv, or anything when I heard the soft meow coming from my feet. Looking down I saw the little puffball of a black kitten that I hadn't seen in months. "So, you know to come home, huh?" I said, standing up. I picked up the meowing bundle and brought it to the kitchen. I had added cat food to my list of demands and Liu Wei provided me with a wide variety of hard and soft food.

"Let's see what you are interested in," I said to Hades as I put him on top of the island counter. One of my foster sisters would have shit a brick to find a cat on the kitchen counter, but it never bothered me too much. That was why you washed it before you did your cooking.

I filled up a small silver bowl of hard food and mushed some of the soft food onto a plate to make it easier for him to eat. "For your dining pleasure, you have your choice of Kitty Chow, or a tuna and white fish blend served pate style with gravy."

I chuckled to myself. Good thing that I discovered that silence, while I love it most of the time, might just drive me crazy too. Wishing that the guys were here, I watched Hades eat the tuna pate, completely ignoring the hard food.

I was startled when I heard the chime of a text message coming in. Picking up my phone I saw that it was from Liu Wei. 'Moving up the timeline. We'll be moving there in 5 days. Make sure our rooms are prepared.'

Smiling, I sent him the eye-rolling emoji and went back to watching the kitten eating. So far, this like was working out better than she expected.

Too bad men could seriously fuck things up when they wanted to.