Be Careful What You Wish For: A Zombie Apocalypse-Chapter 413: The Circle Of Life

This time when I woke up, I knew exactly where I was, which seemed to be a nice change after everything. "Are you okay?" asked Tank. His face was a picture of concern as he looked down at me. I was wrapped in his arms, my head on his chest, as he clutched my shoulder.

I could practically smell his fear and desperation... and while I would probably have been more concerned before, now I was just too tired to deal with him.

That probably wasn’t a good thing. With all my luck, I’ll end up alienating all of my guys and end up an old lady with too many cats. Wait... how many cats are too many? If I collect reptiles instead of cats, like dinosaurs and gators, does it still count as being a crazy cat lady? freewēbnoveℓ.com

"Why wouldn’t I be?" I asked when he squeezed my shoulder hard enough to pull me out of my thoughts. He didn’t hurt me, he never would, but he still got my attention. Then again, Luca hadn’t physically hurt me at all, but he, too, still got my attention.

"Because you were in excruciating pain?" grumbled Tank, kissing my forehead. "I’ve never seen you collapse like that. I banged on the door to demand that someone come and look at you, but I was told that no one would enter the room until tomorrow afternoon. If you were still alive by then, then clearly it wasn’t that big of a deal."

Shrugging my shoulders, I smiled up at him. "Technically, they aren’t wrong. Most of the people who get sick here do it because they are zombies. Why would they take the chance?"

"Not acceptable," growled Tank low in his chest. That sound, along with the sound of his heartbeat, was starting to ground me. I was no longer floating away, thinking only about paths and what I needed to do next. I had Tank beside me, and that was enough.

"I need a non-pain-induced nap," I answered him. With a yawn that was so big that tears started to form in my eyes, I rolled over so that my back was pressed against his side. Pulling him with me, I forced him to become the big spoon. "I’ll be fine when I wake up."

Okay, so that was a lie, but it was close enough for Jazz.

Tank kissed the back of my neck before tightening his arms around my body. "If," I started after a moment of silence. "If I am like this for the rest of my life, will you leave me?"

Tank stiffened behind me for a second before a beastly snarl was ripped out of his chest. "There is nothing you can do or say to get me to leave you. Even if you are sick and tired of me, I will still be there behind you. This version of you is all that I know, so even if you are like this for the rest of your life, I will be happy and content."

I could feel the honesty in his words, and I was almost convinced. But at the same time, I felt like that with all the guys. And now...

"What brought this on?" asked Tank, sucking at the spot where my neck met my neck softly.

"One of the guys has left me," I shrugged. "I have no idea which one, but I’ve narrowed it down to three. I have some choices to consider in the future, but I don’t want to think about them today."

I felt Tank react to my words, but the amazing man didn’t say anything. "Then we won’t," he assured me. "Get some sleep, I’ll watch over you."

Nodding my head, I thought that even if everyone turned their back on me, as long as Tank was by my side, I would be able to get through it. But since Tank’s life would be on the chopping block, path number four was not an option. I would destroy the world before I let something take him from me.

With my newfound conviction, I closed my eyes and dreamed about absolutely nothing. It was both heaven and hell in one.

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The darkness was all-consuming. There was no light, no scent, nothing but the driving need to keep moving forward. Hundreds of legs continued to move, one in front of the other, as the creatures desperately fought for another minute, another hour of life.

Suddenly, the scent of food hit them and they all came to a sudden stop. Looking around for the source, they finally looked down at the cracks in the floor.

There was nothing but darkness, but that was not a deterrent for them. In fact, it was easier for them if it was dark. The first creature’s mandibles twitched, a sure command that the others didn’t hesitate to obey. Splitting up, they searched for more holes in the floor.

There were maybe fifteen of the creatures, crawling through the darkness together, but now they were splitting up. A viable source had been found, and now it was time for the others to find their own.

Death was close, much closer than any of them knew. But before that happened, they needed to ensure the future generations.

After all, they couldn’t go against their nature.

The creature at the front waited until the rest had disappeared before crawling to the cracks in the floor. Not caring about what it would find at the end, it dropped down.

The scent of food and warmth surrounded it, and it landed on something that was both hard and soft at the same time.

Opening its mandibles as wide as it could, it bit down, only to find something that was clearly not food. Upset that it had already wasted so much energy, the creature crawled up, zeroing in on the heat instead of the smell.

The feeling beneath its feet changed, and the warmth of whatever it was that it was on penetrated every aspect of its body. On its last leg, it opened up its mandibles for a second time, biting down on the offering beneath it.

Tasting the blood of the offering, the creature injected its venom just below the surface of its victim. Happy that it could no longer move, the creature continued to track the heat. Finding a spot that was even warmed, it crawled inside the tight space as far back as it could go before laying its eggs.

It didn’t care that it would die the second the last egg was implanted. In a short time, over a hundred of its offspring will emerge from the host, ready to start the lifecycle all over again.