Rebirth in the Apocalypse: Third Time's a Charm



To say that General Fuck Face was pissed, I think was an understatement as Liu Wei, Liu Yu Zeng, Wang Chao, Chen Zi Han and I stood in front of the enraged man. I am sure that he was trying to be intimidating… like we were called to the principal's office or something, but honestly, the vibe was more of a child throwing a temper tantrum in front of his parents.

I shook my head at that thought, trying to get that image out of it. There were some things that I didn't need to picture.

"What the ever-loving Hell took you guys so long to come to our rescue? My men have been battling those… those things… since the middle of the night!  And what were you doing?!?!"

"Sleeping?" I asked, wondering if he really felt the need to ask what we were doing in the middle of the night.

General Fuck Face—you know, I don't think I was actually introduced to the man… I probably should know his name given that Fuck Face was really not appropriate… I was pretty sure.

'Yang Bo Wen,' came Wang Chao's gravelly voice from inside my head. 'His name is Army General Yang Bo Wen, but Fuck Face is more than accurate.'

I softly giggled at the fact that the strait-laced Wang Chao was giving me permission to call one of his coworkers Fuck Face. 'Not a co-worker,' said Wang Chao as he moved to stand behind me and wrapped his arms around my waist. 'More like a pain in the ass. I was originally in the Navy but I was asked to transfer to the Army due to various reasons. The only reason why I am a general like him was because of that transfer. Otherwise, I would have made it to Admiral before I retired,' Wang Chao continued to explain as the five of us watched General Yang Bo Wen pacing back and forth, throwing up his hands. 

I wondered if I should remind him of the soldiers behind him and maybe point out the injured ones, but then again, why interrupt something that he seems to take great enjoyment in doing?

However, after a while, even I got tired of watching him pace. I needed it to come to an end and quickly. "Did the boys tell you that it was unsafe to remain on the highway at night?" I asked, interjecting myself into his rant. He stopped pacing to try to stare me down. "I'll take that as a yes."

"Did the boys not tell you that the woods would be safer for you and yours?" I continued. When he continued to glare at me, I let out a tiny smirk. "I'll take that as a yes as well."

"So," I continued since I was at the beginning of my own rant. "You purposefully chose to disregard sound advice from two men, that it is clear you don't like, in order to do what? Prove that you were the bigger, more capable man? How did that work out for you?" I asked, tilting my head to the side as I studied the General. It was clear that a night without sleep was not an improvement on his previous look.

"I don't know who they fuck you think you are, but you better keep your mouth closed around me," snapped Fuck Face as he pointed his finger at my face.

Leaning back further into Wang Chao's embrace, I smiled, "I am the one that helped the boyos save your ass. So, a little respect will go a long way if you want us to save your ass again in the future. I am not military, it would be best for you to remember that."

My Aunt was still riding me hard and it took a lot for me to not go ballistic on the man. I could ignore the pain when fighting zombies, but for the most part… not so much. But we had to deal with this situation before I could curl up in a ball and die, so let's get this shit done.

"We will be leaving in the next 5 minutes, whether or not you guys are ready," I said, not really caring one way or another.  The General's deal was with the boys, not me, so as far as I was concerned, it didn't count for anything.

"You have to escort us," said Fuck Face, causing me to burst out laughing.

"No, I really don't," I said looking the man in the eyes. "Apparently, I have to go get this Admiral—"

"Vice Admiral—" came three voices around me.  I rolled my eyes. Who really cared about ranks right now? Did they think that the country's military still existed? No… all there was were once highly trained people that were now under orders of their direct supervisor who would use them for his or her own benefit.

"Anyways… all I have to do is go get this…Vice Admiral… and then get back home. In no way, shape, or form are you included in my list of things to do. So, 4 minutes and then we leave.  The choice is yours, General."  With that, I tapped Wang Chao's arms to get him to let me go and then proceeded back to the group of men that were mine.

"3 minutes," I yelled. I was not going to give them a second longer than the original 5 minutes.  The best way of dealing with someone that thought they were hot shit was to prove that they were nothing but the shit under your shoe.

Wang Chao and Liu Wei's men, who I was now officially claiming as mine, along with Liu Yu Zeng and Chen Zi Han's men were all lined up and waiting for the boys to give them some direction. "What's the plan?" asked Chen ZI Han as the four men made their way to where I was standing.  I looked over my shoulder to see the General staring at us. Holding up two fingers, I smirked when he suddenly turned around and started issuing orders to his men.

"The plan is to go get the Vice Admiral and go back home," I said, scanning the area around us.  It felt like we were being watched, but since none of the guys were picking up on it, I was probably losing my mind.

"Where is home?" asked Liu Yu Zeng as he too started to look around. Huh, maybe it wasn't just me.

"My ranch just outside of City A," I said as I turned around and started walking in the direction of City J. I knew that we would have to get off the highway in the next city so we could try and find supplies. If the General was really going to be following us for the next three weeks, then I would not be able to access anything from my space.

Stupid Fuck Face.

Giving a brief outline to the other four, they nodded in agreement that me keeping my space a secret was best unless we really needed to use it. Which meant… I got to gather supplies!!!

Okay, so maybe I really missed being able to gather supplies, but when you have done it every day for 10 years only to stop cold turkey… you get a bit antsy… rubbing my hands in delight, my Aunt decided to make her presence known and I almost dropped to my knees in pain.

Chen Zi Han and Wang Chao, who were the closest to me when it happened quickly grabbed my arms so I would not fall.

Fuck, what do I do?!

I whispered "Space," right before I blinked into my sanctuary… completely forgetting that two men were hanging onto me when I did it.

Fuck it. I would deal with that later.

I stumbled up the steps of the house and waved at the boys to do what they wanted while I took some time to myself.  Heading straight into the bedroom, I grabbed my heating pad and went to sleep. The world would still be a mess when I woke up so I might as well enjoy some sleep.

---

"What is this place?" asked Chen Zi Han as he looked around the luscious, rolling fields.  He could see horses off in the distance while the cows and pigs were in their own barns off to the side. 

Turning around he saw a whole parking lot filled with RVs and ATVs of various sizes. There were even two SUVs parked with the others. 

He quickly snapped out of his daze when he heard Wang Chao walking up the wooden steps to the wrap-around porch. The white railings were a startling contrast to the green fields and he saw some chairs and a swing set up close by. Wang Chao sat down in one chair and stretched his legs out in front of him like he didn't have a care in the world.

"This is her space," he said, finally answering Chen Zi Han's question.  "The fact that it is set up a lot like the ranch is absolutely amazing."

"Is this what her ranch looks like?" asked Chen Zi Han as he took his own seat beside the other man.

"The house is different," admitted Wang Chao, "but outside? It's identical… in fact, I think she snuck some animals in here before we left," he chuckled shaking his head. Closing his eyes, he leaned back further into the white Adirondack chair he was stilling in, allowing his head to be supported.

Chen Zi Han followed suit, allowing himself to drift off to sleep. Trying to sleep with all the gunfire last was almost impossible, and he could definitely use a nap.

They would figure things out later when they woke up. Until then, sleep was calling.