Be Careful What You Wish For: A Zombie Apocalypse-Chapter 475: Dance With The Devil

Silence crackled like a live wire, so stifling that it was almost hard to take a full breath without the pressure from the men around me pressing down on my chest.

The RV had come to a full stop, but the tension inside it only grew hotter. The four men around the seated woman had shifted subtly, their deadly focus narrowed to me like I was a rabid dog someone forgot to leash.

But the woman... the woman didn’t move.

She just watched me.

Not like I was a threat, but more like I was some kind of puzzle she was determined to solve. In my head, I wished her the best of luck. I had no idea what made me tick, so if she could figure that out, I’d almost be grateful.

"I asked," she repeated, tone smooth but lined with iron, "why you don’t have a flame."

I tilted my head, ignoring the feeling of different powers poking and prodding at me. If I closed my eyes, it was almost like I could see the four individual powers like they were living things. They were trying to kill me, using whatever power they had been granted. That... was a new one. "Is that the local pickup line around here? Because if so, I’ve got some serious concerns. It sounds a bit cult-ish if I was being honest."

The one who’d been cooking—dark hair, broader shoulders, cold, dead eyes that screamed he bathed in the blood of his enemies... stepped forward. He gave me definite Tank vibes, and I wouldn’t be surprised if they were in the same line of work.

"You’re not human," he announced, twirling the chef’s knife in his hand like a toy.

"Is anyone really human anymore?" I asked, somewhat serious. I mean, back home, humans were definitely on the extinct species list. However, at the same time, they didn’t feel like a demon.

The man was silent, simply raised his eyebrow in the infuriating way that guys do when they were expecting you to already know the answer. Spoiler alert... I didn’t.

"Not in the way that counts," said the woman slowly. Coming to her feet, she walked toward me. As small as she was, I was surprised to see that she was a few inches taller than me. On a side note, I would give my left tit for hair and eyes like hers.

My brain immediately flashed to the kid at the beginning of the apocalypse and his missing nut. Never mind. I would not give my left tit for anything.

"I felt the drain," the chef continued, his eyes never leaving me. "Your essence... it didn’t resist. It slipped around my powers like water."

"No flame," said the quiet one in glasses, adjusting them with the precision of someone who probably killed for fun and then took notes on it. "No tether to this realm. No anchor."

The driver, the semi attractive one (if you went for a smiling psychopath) got out of his seat and leaned against the wall, his arms crossed like a coiled viper. The way he looked at me was like he was already picturing what I would look like dead. "She’s like a walking contradiction. Pretty little corpse with too much attitude."

I really couldn’t help but scoff at his arrogance. By the way they were acting, I knew they probably had the power to back up what they were saying. But at the same time, you would think they would be more cautious. The fishbowl we were all in was getting bigger and bigger.

Letting out a sigh, I perched on the edge of the RV’s kitchenette, pulling out a lollypop from my space and opened it. I needed the sugar. "You summoned me," I said, gesturing toward their queen. "I didn’t choose to crash this little murder brunch. I was dragged here. By one of you."

"I didn’t summon anything," the woman said, still unreadable. Her eyes cut through me like a scalpel.

"You said the word wish," I grunted, really wishing that I could knock some sense into anyone who just flung that four letter word out into the world.

"It wasn’t like I meant it," replied the woman, staring at me.

"Doesn’t matter," I shrugged. "Consider me your personal little genie in a bottle. Tell me your wish, I’ll grant it, and hopefully get home before Daddy and the others realize that I am missing. I’m on the clock, so if you would be so kind as to spit it out, I’ll be out of your hair."

The woman narrowed her eyes. "You’re not reborn. You’re not infected. You’re not human. And you’re not dead." She paused a beat, completely ignoring everything that I had said to her before. "So what the fuck are you?"

This time, I smiled. Wide as I stuck my lollypop into my mouth and jumped down from the counter. "I’m the Devil," I announced. "Wanna play?"

The air inside the RV thickened as reality flexed around us. Apparently, their go to powers weren’t working on me, and that made them a bit uncomfortable.

It also made me wonder if my powers would work on her.

I mean, they would have to, right? Otherwise, I wouldn’t be called here to grant her wish.

The driver, still lounging like this, was all a big joke for him, let out a low whistle. "You know, I think I like her."

"She’s dangerous," murmured the man, still seated on the couch, still watching me like I might try to eat one of them.

"Don’t be ridiculous," I grinned. "How could someone as cute as me be dangerous? Besides, I only eat the hearts of those who think they’re in control."

Their woman pressed even closer to me, looking down at me like I was a bug she wanted to kill. "I don’t understand you," she announced like that was a big deal. "You don’t seem to worry about anything."

"I don’t need you to understand me," I replied. "I just need you to understand what happens when you don’t hurry up and make your wish. Daddy is going to be here any minute now, and if you think your four stand a chance... well..."

I trailed off, cringing a bit as to just how everyone was going to be able to fit into this small space.

Her eyes glinted. "And if I want to test that theory?"

"Then I hope you’ve updated your will."