Rebirth in the Apocalypse: Third Time's a Charm

378  Time to Take the Plunge

"We're here," said Commander Huang Nian Zu with a smirk. As far as I could tell, we were in the middle of the ocean, with nothing around us, so how could he be so sure?

"You sure?" I asked, raising my eyebrow. I looked over the edge of the boat and saw, deep down beneath us, the outline of a big fucking shark. 'Where are you?' I demanded to Beta, not sure where my zombie minion was.

'Under you, my Lord,' he assured me, but given the fact that there was also a shark under me, I was not all that assured.

'What about the shark?' I asked him, still looking down and ignoring the commander. He could fuck right off if he thought that I was going to be jumping on top of a shark.

I could see something purple coming out of the shark, and all of a sudden, it disappeared. 'Eaten,' came the answer. I narrowed my eyes. I knew that blood in the water would attract more sharks, and that was the exact opposite of what I wanted.

'Keep all zombies and sharks away from me and my men. When it comes to the others, two of three are up for grabs,' I grumbled, not at all happy or impressed about the idea of jumping in the water right now.

"Having second thoughts?" pressed the commander as he came over to stand beside me. I didn't know what was going on in his head, but if he really thought that I trusted him in such a vulnerable situation, he was crazy.

"And third and fourth," I assured him. "In fact, I am wondering why we even need to go down there in the first place. Can you remind me again?"

"We need more people in the water to find the device quicker and easier," explained the commander, sounding really put out over the fact that he had to go over this again.

"But there are ten of you right now, and only three going in the water. If you wanted as many bodies as you can searching, wouldn't you all go in?" Huh, maybe there was a plan B that I could sneak in.

"But someone has to stay in the boat and make sure that everything is going okay up top," answered the commander, the smile still on his face. There was nothing I wanted to do more than drop him over the side of the boat. Tell me again why I couldn't?

"Then why don't me and the guys stay in the boat, and the rest of you go in the water? That way, you have more people searching for the device while still having people on top. I think that is a fantastic plan. Don't you?" I said with a big smile, taking out my asshole mug again.

Commander Huang Nian Zu looked at my mug before looking back at me. "No," he said simply.

"I understand," I said, my head nodding like a bobblehead. "It is really scary going into the water. I don't blame you at all for wanting to get out of it." I took a deep breath and let out a long sigh. This time I shook my head, "We will be more than happy to make the sacrifice for you. Really, it would be our honor. Just please, think of us every so often."

The commander stared at me stupidly, and I saw him trying to think through my words. "Wait!" he said after a moment. Once again, my handy mug was just what I needed to hide my smile.

"Yes, commander?" I asked, tilting my head to the side.

"I am not scared!"

"Of course, you aren't," I said with a nod. I took another sip of my coffee as Beta spoke to me through our link. 'No sharks.' I sighed in relief hearing his words. "Well, I guess we might as well get ready to jump in. That was what you were coming over to say to me, right?"

"Right," said the commander feeling like he had once again managed to take control of the situation. "Suit up! It's time to go in!" he shouted to everyone on deck.

"You heard the man," I said, looking at my men. "It's time to take the plunge."

"Are you sure about this?" demanded Liu Wei as he wrapped me in his arms. "We can go down and get the device. You can stay on the boat." I know he meant well, but the very idea that he was in a dangerous situation without me made me want to puke. No, I would deal with my fears to make sure that my men were safe.

"Thanks, but I'll be going in with you. Someone has to watch your back, and who better than me?" I said with a tilt of my head. There was a sinking, pukey feeling in my gut, and I didn't know if it was a premonition that something bad was going to happen, my fear of the water, or too much caffeine. But being away from my men was going to make it worse.

I forced myself to stop thinking about it.

Step one: get my tank on.

Step two: make sure that I could breathe. (I was considering that to be one of the most important steps)

Step three: find the device.

Step four: get back to the surface.

Step five: don't get eaten by anything.

Step six: toss the fucking commander and all of his men overboard without their oxygen tanks and let the zombies have a snack.

I took in a calming breath and smiled at my men. Six steps I could do that. And I was most looking forward to the final one.

Liu Wei gently placed the heavy oxygen tank onto my back and made sure that everything was in working order. It looked like one of the ones that the Sea Dragons had given us, but I had exchanged them with the ones from my space.

I had a lot more confidence in the tanks from my space than I did in his.

With me ready to go, my guys and the three military men (and woman) got themselves ready.

I looked down at the water beneath us and smiled when I saw Beta floating there, completely surrounded by zombies.

I might just survive this yet.

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