Rebirth in the Apocalypse: Third Time's a Charm



"You horde?" ask a zombie, coming to a stop between Liu Wei and Wang Chao. The two men looked at each other but didn't turn to look at the zombie.

"We are," said Wang Chao, assuming that this was the Alpha zombie of the horde tearing into the human in front of them.

"No touch," grunted the zombie, clearly not happy with their answer. The two men stayed quiet as all of their instincts screamed at them to turn around and fight. But Li Dai Lu asked them not to, so they wouldn't.

The zombie paused for a moment before stepping in front of them. Turning around, he studied the two humans. "Not dumb meat," he said, seemingly memorizing their faces. The zombie then turned to look at Liu Yu Zeng and Chen Zi Han. "Not dumb meat," he grunted a second time.

He paused for a second before turning back around and looking at his horde. Seeing them all on the ground, gorging on the flesh of the dumb meat in front of them, the zombie Alpha nodded. It was worth it to listen to the Lord if it meant more flesh to eat. "Leave city; find more prey," he said, repeating her command.

He let his zombies continue to eat until it seemed like the majority of them were finished. Letting out a roar, he watched his scouts take off down the street. Feeling a light pressure on his leg, the Alpha looked down at a small purple zombie less than half his size.

The small female held up a severed arm to the Alpha, not moving as he stared at the offering. The smell was definitely no longer appetizing, the blood no longer flowing quickly through the dumb meat's veins. With a sigh, the Alpha accepted the meat and patted the small one on the head.

He watched as the female ran back to where a larger female stood. She looked at the Alpha for a second before lowering her head and eyes. Grunting, the Alpha took a large bite from the limb, ripping the flesh from the bone. Swallowing the unappetizing meat, the Alpha looked back at the female and her offspring, making sure that they saw him eating. The female nodded to him and opened her mouth with a smile, satisfied that her mate was eating properly.

When the scout returned, letting him know that the way was clear, the Alpha roared out his next set of instructions to his horde, and as one, the zombies walked forward, ready for whatever the bigger world offered them. At least his horde will be able to eat.

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"Did I just see what I thought I just saw?" asked Liu Yu Zeng as he walked up to his brother and Wang Chao once the zombies had left.

"That apparently the Alpha is just as whipped as the rest of us are?" asked Liu Wei, adjusting his glasses.

"That his daughter is kind of cute?" asked Chen Zi Han, coming on the other side of Wang Chao.

"That it makes me want a daughter, too?" added Wang Chao with a smirk on his face.

"I really didn't see that coming," admitted Liu Yu Zeng, rubbing the back of his neck. "Now I am feeling guilty for all the zombies I killed."

"I don't think anyone saw that coming," said Liu Wei, letting out a harsh chuckle as the reality of what they just saw hit home.

"Should we open an orphanage?" asked Wang Chao, turning to look at his assistant. "I mean, I don't know the particular laws regarding orphanages for zombies, but they should be similar to those for human children, right?"

"It should be doable," replied Liu Wei, taking out his notepad and pen. "We would need to learn the best environment for the children, whether that is in the water or on land, as well as their nutrition requirements."

"Li Dai Lu mentioned farming humans," interjected Liu Yu Zeng. "Should we look to see how cost-effective that is?"

"Then again, the zombies in the water seemed healthier," cut in Chen Zi Han. "God only knows what type of toxins the kids would be consuming if their diets only consisted of humans."

"We'll find some scientists and get them going on that project," said Wang Chao.

"Do I even want to know?" asked Li Dai Lu as she approached the men from behind.

"Thinking about zombie orphanages," said Liu Yu Zeng, turning around and looking at his woman with a smile on his face.

"Ah," nodded Li Dai Lu. "Never really thought about that, but they are cute, aren't they?"

"You know they could have kids?" asked Liu Wei, his eyes wide as he looked at his Sweetheart.

"Well, yeah, why couldn't they? They are hard to kill, but they are not the living dead, remember?" she said, looking at the four of them confused. "We could also build a sanctuary for the Asymptomatics if you want to," she added. "I know that some of them become persecuted when a woman gives birth to a zombie."

"I'll add that to the list," said Liu Wei, quickly writing down her points.

"Should that be what we do?" asked Li Dai Lu.

"What do you mean?" asked Wang Chao walking up and wrapping his arms around her shoulder. She grabbed his forearm and just held him in place.

"Originally, I was thinking that I should just teach the humans a lesson," she admitted. "I think I changed the course of things a little too much when we stopped that tide. Life seems too easy for the humans left in the world. But what if instead of just stopping at teaching the humans a lesson, I… we… side with the Asymptomatic and the zombies?"

"Side with them how?" asked Chen Zi Han as he thought about what she said.

"Create a new world just for them?" she said slowly, looking around at the men. "Create a world where they are safe, where they can walk the streets, their children attend schools and play in parks. Where Asymptomatics don't have to fear the deaths of their newborns if it turns out that they carry the zombie gene."

"What about the humans?" asked Wang Chao, not really caring about the answer either way. He was more than happy to let Li Dai Lu plan out the future.

"What about them? Millions of years making the same mistake over and over again; I think they have fucked up enough."

"Hell can be Heaven," said Chen Zi Han as he and Liu Yu Zeng shared a look.