“Sergeant, run! Save yourself!” a soldier cried out, blood pouring down his face as he struggled to get himself free from the rubble pinning him down. His legs were crushed beyond saving, but he still pulled himself forward. It didn’t matter; the corps will get him replacement legs-

A piece of the ceiling broke off and crashed into his head, ending his thoughts cruelly.

“AARON!” the sergeant screamed, still pulling at the metal doors even though there was no longer any point in doing so. She pounded her fists weakly against the cold steel that separated her from the last of her comrades.

No… Not him… He had a whole life ahead of him; he wasn’t even eighteen…

Sergeant Ma Yuxia stood up slowly, fighting the temptation to stay there and join her best friend in heaven. No, the mission was not over yet. Not until she slit the throat of that traitorous bastard who blew up her home. She wiped her tears away and began climbing the ladder out of the collapsing underground tunnel.

Yuxia ran along the corridor littered with the bodies of her comrades, her pistol at the ready. There was no longer any point creeping around; the element of surprise was clearly no longer on her side. She burst into a room and immediately fired two shots at the torso of a man standing in the middle. The figure stumbled back, clutching where the bullets had hit him.

“Ah… come to take revenge, have you?” a dry voice emanated from the silhouette.

Yuxia’s vision blurred as the room began to swirl around her. That voice… No, that’s not right-

“You’ve failed,” the figure continued. “And now your friends are going to pay the price for you.”

The man walked slowly towards the two chairs where an unconscious woman sat. A light shone from above, illuminating her face. He pulled out a knife slowly with a sadistic smile on his lips and lifted her head to expose her neck.

He plunged the knife downwards, slitting the girl’s throat-

“Masako!”

Yuxia jerked awake, cold sweat covering her body. She stood up slowly from the floor, still feeling a little disoriented from her nightmare. Darn, was I really that tired? She looked around at the dimly lit laboratory that she had fallen asleep in and shook her head to clear it. Home sweet home. It was a miracle the lights have not gone out yet.

Wait, why haven’t the lights gone out yet?

Her body tensed up as realisation dawned on her. She put her helmet back on and pulled out her crossbow, walking cautiously towards the only room in her father’s old laboratory. Yuxia stopped suddenly and fired an arrow at an acute angle into the room. It bounced off the tiled floor harmlessly, but a small crash sounded from the left side of the room. Gotcha.

The Red Clover rushed into the room, aiming her weapon at the source of the sound. A young boy was sitting on her bed, trembling with his hands in front of himself. She glanced at the half eaten ration pack and the broken plate on the floor.

“Who are you? How did you get in here?” Yuxia questioned him hostilely.

If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

“P-please don’t shoot me…” The boy put his hands up slowly, still shivering in fear. “You sa-saved my life. I have nowhere to go… C-can I please stay here with you?”

Yuxia’s eyes narrowed from behind her helmet. The boy looked familiar, though she could not at the moment recall where she had seen him before. But it did not matter, he seemed harmless enough. She put her crossbow away, and the boy relaxed a little.

“Give me one good reason why I should let you stay.”

“Erm… I’m really good at surviving!” The boy looked at her with big round eyes. “I’ll be a big help, I promise! You’re a good person right? Please don’t kick me out…”

Yuxia looked around at the well maintained place. The dust had been cleared from the furniture and the electrical cables were neatly routed to the solar panels. Hell, it actually looked better than when she was there. Yuxia’s expression softened behind her helmet as she finally recalled where she had seen him before.

“You followed me here after I freed you from the cannibals, didn’t you?” she said, shaking her head slightly in disappointment. “I must be losing my touch; how did I not notice I was being tailed by a ten year old boy?”

“I’m twelve,” the boy said firmly.

“Whatever. Alright kid, stay with me if you want, or don’t. I don’t really care as long as you don’t get in my way.” Yuxia took off her helmet. “Just keep to your side and don’t steal too much of my food.”

“Erm… about that.” The boy lowered his head, putting his index fingers together nervously as Yuxia opened her cupboard.

“WHAT?! MY FOOD!” Yuxia bellowed in indignation, greeted by only a few packets of rations left in it. “They were supposed to last for at least half a year…”

“S-sorry…”

“Jesus Christ, do you not know how to ration?” Yuxia turned around angrily at the boy. “Great, now we’re both going to starve to death.”

“I’m sorry…” the boy pleaded. “Y-you were gone for a month and I didn’t know if you were going to come back so… But don’t worry, I know a place where we can get more food.”

“What’s your name, boy?”

“Henrik Leif…”

Yuxia bent down and glared at him. “Alright Henrik, you better not be lying or I swear to heaven, I’m gonna use you as bait to hunt for animals. Got it?”

Henrik nodded meekly.

----------------------------------------

Yuxia bent down in a half kneeling position, using the tall grass to hide her body. Henrik stood up straight as he pointed ahead at a place that looked like a factory. “There. My mother and I used to get food from that place.”

Yuxia activated her infrared vision and scanned the area. “You must be joking, boy. How do you expect us to get past all those zombies in that distribution centre?”

“No, no!” He waved his hands desperately. “Look again, there’s a small room where all the canned food is stored. I swear I’m not lying!”

“Y’know, if you get bitten and turn into a zombie, I can’t use you as bait anymore. Why should I take this risk?”

“But I really didn’t lie! I brought you to a place where there’s food!” The boy cried. “How can you go back on your word like that? You big meanie!”

This kid… The Red Clover clenched her jaw, looking once more at the distribution centre. A hollow rectangular box in its structure, which she assumed was what Henrik was referring to, seemed to be cordoned off from the rest of the zombies. Bells of suspicion rang in her head, but she ignored them. After all, what choice did she have? It was either steal the food there or return to Victor’s settlement and beg for forgiveness. And she’d rather take on a hundred zombies without her armour than choose the latter option.

“Alright kid, I’m giving you only one chance. Show me how you got in last time,” she said in a monotonous voice. Henrik stopped crying immediately with a big smile and ran off in the direction of the centre. Yuxia looked at him in amazement and shook her head in disbelief.

Kids nowadays…