Rebirth in the Apocalypse: Third Time's a Charm



I collected the pile of supplies that Liu Wei and his team had managed to collect on the third floor. There were lots of winter coats, hats and mitts, scarves, and even a few boots. Mind you, I didn't think that any of the women's boots would have been all that practical for me seeing as they were between 3- and 5-inch heels.

I knew how horrible those boots were in Canada, and I was not going to risk breaking my ankle in the middle of a battle. But I still put them away in my space. What can I say? They were cute, and maybe, once we got back to the ranch and not in constant danger, I could find an occasion to wear them.

Now, between you and I, I really wish that fur coats were still in mainstream fashion and that we could get our hands on some. Those coats would have kept us warm for winters to come, but yes, I understand why they weren't… it was more of a wish than anything else so no need to take off my head for that thought. 

Although there might not have been any fur coats, there were several outdoor winter coats that would be thick enough to keep us warm for a short period of time. The only problem with them was that the outside was too flimsy to be able to resist a swipe of a zombie claw. 

Maybe I should become the first post-apocalyptic fashion designer… you know, high-end clothes that were warm, practical, and zombie resistant.  Giggling at the thought, I continued to go through the piles of offerings, storing them all away in their proper place in my space.

I was just thinking that until you have experienced below -50 Celsius with the windchill, you really have not experienced a true winter and don't know what you would do to keep warm. Shivering as I remembered Canadian winters, I was glad that last winter was not nearly as bad.  But then again, the winters in the apocalypse were nothing to sneer at. I was pretty sure they were on par with a Canadian winter.  Maybe creating my own line of things to keep me warm was not as ridiculous as I had previously thought.

Starting to feel a bit tired after such a long day, I took out enough raw food and cast iron propane burners to be able to cook it and proceeded to set up a camp on the third floor for me and the men.

'If you are done doing whatever it is that you are doing, I have dinner ready on the third floor for everyone,' I called out to Wang Chao in my head.

'Sounds good. I just wanted to give Liu Wei some alone time with you,' came the reply, a faint chuckle filled my head.

Going back to ignoring him, I finished stirring the pot of soup that I had made.  Each team had their own campfire going and whatever they wanted to eat on it… for the most part. No one was eating steaks, that's for sure.

I had made enough extra chicken and rice soup for me, the boys, and the two teams upstairs. I debated about whether or not to cook for Hua Chan Juan and Huang Tian Kuo but figured that they should be responsible for their own food. They were not part of our team, yet, and as much as they were my friends in our past life, that meant nothing now.

And knowing them as I do, I knew that they would not hesitate to sacrifice any of us to protect themselves.  Truth be told, I didn't blame them, that was the way the world worked. But I would wait until they made the first move before becoming friends with them again.

My mind drifted back to the first time I had met them, three years after the end of the world.  I had just taken over this body and didn't really understand what was going on. Thinking that it was fine to be sleeping on the ground, I never even heard the Reavers hunting in the forest around me.

Shuddering at that though, I quickly wiped the whole experience from my mind. New life, new start, and all that. Anyways, once I had managed to get out of the Reaver compound, they were the first people that I had met. Seeing my state, Hua Chan Juan felt bad for me and allowed me to stay with them for a while.

After I proved just how useful I could be (thank you online videos) they decided to keep me around for longer taking care of most of the logistical side of things; camps, food, etc. In fact, it was Hua Chan Juan that taught me how to fight. But because they were Asymptomatic, they didn't have any additional powers, so I hid my flame just in case they would kick me out because of it.

Mind you, as much as I stayed with them for 10 years, it was me who decided to set up our own compound, it was me that picked the location and did everything to make it thrive.  I figured that since they kept me alive for so long, the least I could do was build a home for them.

And then other people arrived and one thing became another… and then there was Colin.

Feeling arms wrapping around me, I was startled out of my thoughts.  Looking up at Wang Chao, I let out a small sigh of contentment. 'Sorry, sometimes I get lost in my head more than I should.'

'Never worry about that,' said Wang Chao as he pulled me in closer so that my back and head were resting against his chest. 'The men invited them to come with them,' he continued, giving me a heads-up before the rest of the people entered our makeshift camp. I nodded in understanding and tapped the arms around me to be let go.

When Wang Chao obliged, I sat back down at our tent (yes, getting the tents were more useful than I thought) and continued to stir the soup. I waited for Liu Wei, Wang Chao, Chen Zi Han, and Liu Yu Zeng to sort out their men and figure out where the two new people would go before I started dishing out our soup and bread. 

The five of us sat around our makeshift fire, eating our dinner when Chen Zi Han spoke up, "So, I hear you almost died," he said before taking another spoonful of soup.

"Yup," I said, following his actions and looking up at him. "But then again, it is hard to kill me… I'm worse than a zombie- constantly coming back," I joked with the men. They all knew that this was not my first life, although we kept that information from the men… kind of. There were a few chosen ones that were there when I told Liu Wei and Wang Chao about the zombies, but I never specifically said that I had been reborn.

Chen Zi Han chuckled at my poor attempt at a joke and went back to eating his soup. 

"What is the plan for tomorrow?" asked Liu Yu Zeng as he ripped apart the flatbread that I had made on the open fire.

I shrugged my shoulders and looked at Wang Chao. "We only got about half of the mall's inventory today so we are going to grab the second half tomorrow before we have to meet back up with the General," said Wang Chao as he finished off the rest of his soup. 

Liu Wei had filled up a container of water for washing the dishes and Wang Chao made his way to the makeshift sink.

Liu Yu Zeng nodded his head. "And then?"

Wang Chao looked at Liu Yu Zeng.  "What do you want to happen?" he asked. Even I could guess that Liu Yu Zeng was trying to get at something.

"There is no real food here to keep up stocked up for any amount of time and the General took whatever food was in the warehouse district. There are a few grocery stores nearby that we can hit up before we meet the General," Liu Yu Zeng said as he kept his head down. "What do you think?" he asked, all of a sudden looking at me. It was then that I realized that as much of an ass Liu Yu Zeng could be, he also took many things into consideration.

Like me and my need for supplies.

I smiled at him, "I think that would be perfect," I said as I gathered the rest of our bowls and brought them over to be washed.  The water was ice cold when I put my hands in it and I didn't know how Wang Chao could stand it.  Warming it up with a bit of my pink flame, I waited until it was a decent temperature before I started washing all of the dishes.

Putting them away, I looked at the four men sitting around the fire talking to each other.  Never before had I felt this sense of completeness as I did just then.  Shaking my head over my foolishness, I walked over and took my seat between them, entering into the conversation as if I had never left.