Rebirth in the Apocalypse: Third Time's a Charm

His words were like a bucket of iced cold water being poured onto me. My head snapped up as I looked at him, my eyes wide, my mouth open. He gave me a sad smile in return. "You didn't realize that, did you?" He seemed almost heartbroken as he said it.

I shook my head even as the first staple went into my back. No one had ever said something like that to me, not once. He chuckled as he dragged his index finger down my jawline and curled it under my chin. Gently bringing up my head so he could look at me eye to eye, I didn't notice the second clicking of the gun.

"You are not alone anymore. You don't have to become strong on your own. We are here, and we are a team. When you are not able to be strong, we will be. When you can't take another step forward, we will pick you up and carry you until you can. We are your sword and your shield against the world." He gently kissed me on my lips as a third staple closed another section of a gap.

"Besides, Wang Chao does best when he is in charge, so let him," Liu Wei joked as he came to crouch beside his brother.

"You aren't mad?" I asked right before I closed my eyes and tried to shake my head. That wasn't what I wanted to say.

"We aren't mad. We are freaked out, we are concerned, and you might not be able to be further than arms reach from any one of us in the near future. But we aren't mad," said Chen Zi Han as he put in a fourth staple.

"But if you do it again, you will be in trouble, understand?" growled Wang Chao as the fifth staple went in. I nodded my head and gave a little smirk.

"Yes, Daddy," I joked looking at Liu Yu Zeng at the same time. He chuckled and shook his head.

"Brat," said Wang Chao half-heartedly. There were chuckles all around as the tension that had filled my men started to dissipate.

My moment of stupidity was forgiven, but not forgotten. And I was okay with that.

Liu Yu Zeng released my chin and I rested my cheek on Wang Chao's shoulder, burying my nose in his neck as Chen Zi Han continued to insert staples along the five slash marks down my back before wrapping them in a bandage.

----

"You found her," said the Major General as we all exited the trees and stepped onto the road.

"We did," said Wang Chao as he pretended to place a hand on the small of my back, guiding me forward. I didn't want anyone to know that I was in pain, let alone how badly I was injured. So after taking something for the pain, I disappeared into my space to put on a new sweater and jeans so that I wouldn't return covered in blood.

"How did you make out?" I asked as I got closer.

"Fine," replied Deng Jun Hie with a shrug. He was covered in blood, both blue and red. I looked around the road and noticed the piles of burned bones and blood decorating the pavement like a tie-dyed shirt. I threw out some blue flames to finish off the bones.

"My flame isn't as hot," said Chen Zi Han nodding his head to the bodies of the zombies that he had tried to burn. I nodded my head in understanding. "It isn't a matter of heat, but time." I approached one of the burnt bodies that I hadn't touched yet and gestured for him to come over.

Crouching down, I ignored the pulling of my injuries. Chen Zi Han came down beside me and looked between me and the zombie. "Call on your fire from here," I said and watched as he stretched out his hand, calling on his fire. The reddish-orange glow of a normal fire user came out of his hand and engulfed the body, causing it to twitch.

He looked at me in confusion. "It's not ash," I said as I threw out fireballs at the other corpses. I didn't need any of them regenerating right now. One was enough to demonstrate on.

"So, it was regenerating?" asked Deng Jun Hie as he crouched on the other side of Chen Zi Han and watched as the fire engulfed the bones. I nodded as just waited. It took maybe five to ten minutes before Chen Zi Han's flame managed to destroy the bones to a fine dusting of cinders on the road.

"Why did it take so much longer for him to be able to burn the zombie to ashes than it did you?" Apparently, the Major General was just full of questions today. I yawned before I answered him. "Because I am special," I said as I stood up. All the piles of burnt bones were now gone, completely consumed by flames, and no longer an issue. Yawning again, I flicked my wrist and brought out my RV.

Although we had walked all the way here, there was no way I would be able to walk home in the state that I was

in now. Yawning again, I opened up the door and walked in. I didn't care if we were staying here for the night or if someone was going to drive us back to base. Either way, the sun was setting and I was beat.

Wang Chao scoffed at that thought and I turned to smirk at him. "I'll let you guys figure out the details," I said with a wave as I went into the back room and got into bed. Thank god I could only sleep on my stomach or else this would have been even worse.

I closed my eyes, my brain blessedly silent for a change.

I heard the door open and my blanket pulled up gently over me. Muttering my thanks, I fell asleep knowing that the guys would take care of everything.

----

"She's asleep," said Chen Zi Han as he came out of her room. Wang Chao just nodded from where he was seated on the couch. The Major General sat beside him while Liu Yu Zeng was seated at the island and Liu Wei leaned back against the booth.

Li Shoi Ming and Yang Meng Yao had turned tail and ran not five minutes into the fight with the zombies. Yang Meng Yao seemed to be hesitating when it came to killing them and Li Shoi Ming just stood there, not able to do anything.

"Flight, fight, freeze," said Wang Chao under his breath as he analyzed the fight. Truth be told, as soon as the two outsiders had fled, the fight was over. Liu Yu Zeng let loose his poisonous mist and it was done.

Liu Wei hummed in agreement as Chen Zi Han passed out a cold beer to the four men before opening his own.

"Is it always like that?" asked Deng Jun Hie as he took a big swig from the bottle in his hand.

"Which part?" scoffed Liu Yu Zeng as he too took a sip. He had to admit that it was a lot easier now that he had discovered his abilities. He still remembered the first time he came up against a horde and how Li Dai Lu had to save him and his men.

"All of it," replied Deng Jun Hie.

"No," said Chen Zi Han as he started making sandwiches for everyone. No one was really hungry, but it was important to eat when they could. Who knew what might happen next. "That was easy," he continued.

"Easy?"

"Mmmm," hummed Liu Wei. "Do you remember the hotel?" he asked as he looked at Wang Chao.

"I thought she was going to kill you," chuckled Wang Chao as he took a drink of his beer. He closed his eyes as the cold liquid flowed down his throat.

"Yeah, she was not impressed," agreed Liu Wei.

"What gave it away? Her purposefully creating more zombies just to show how it was done or when she stormed off after killing them all?"

The four men chucked. Even Chen Zi Han and Liu Yu Zeng, who weren't there at that time, could picture it. "How about when I asked who she was and all she replied was that she was my savior," said Liu Yu Zeng as he stared off into the distance as he took another drink.

"She was," said Chen Zi Han as he placed a plate in front of Liu Yu Zeng. The turkey club sandwich and potato chips were just what was needed.

"She is," agreed Liu Wei with a nod of thanks as Chen Zi Han gave him his plate.

"She always will be," stated Wang Chao as he took his own plate. Even Deng Jun Hie had a sandwich with chips on the side.

"What are we going to do?" asked Deng Jun Hie as he bit into the sandwich and let out a low groan in appreciation. It had been months since he had decent food, and even longer since he had something that good.

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