Rebirth in the Apocalypse: Third Time's a Charm



The men reached back to try and find their guns but I had tucked them away in a place that they would never find.

"We need those," grumbled Cao Mu Chen as he took a step towards me. I simply raised my eyebrow as Wang Chao and Liu Wei stepped in front of me, effectively building a solid wall between me and the pissed-off elite soldier.

"You have what you need," I said, not bothering to move the boys or go around them.  I conjured the keys to the two SUVs and the 8-wheeled ATV. Between the three vehicles, there should be enough storage space for the supplies. Placing my hand on Wang Chao's back, I waited until he turned around before handing him the keys.

"Liu Wei is to drive the ATV," I started as I looked into his eyes. "You are to take the blue SUV and the remaining people can have the black one. Grab anything and everything that could potentially be useful. Construction equipment, food, toiletries, clothes… anything." I hated sending them out there to do this, but I had to cut the apron strings sometime if they were ever going to be able to survive. "Jiang Ming Tao and Jin Si Cong should have their own lists of supplies that they need as well," I continued to instruct. "Make sure you are back by tonight. Don't make me go out and look for you."

Glaring at the man looking at me, I tried to drive home my points. "Understood," he said as he gently kissed my lips. "We will be safe and we will come back home to you." 'Even if it is just me and Liu Wei,' he added in my mind. I nodded.

"Leave the supplies if you have to. We can pick them up tomorrow if necessary."

With one last grunt and a kiss from Liu Wei, I watched as the men entered into the stairwell to go down to the underground parking garage where all of our vehicles were stored. Sending another prayer to the heavens, I turned around and went back upstairs and back to sleep.

-----

They entered the parking lot and walked over to the three vehicles that Li Dai Lu had specified for their use. Throwing the keys to the darker SUV to Cao Mu Chen, Wang Chao opened his mouth.  "Jiang Ming Tao, Feng Dong Yang, and Guo Bi Ming with me. Cao Mu Chen, Chu Chang Pu, Du Ya Ting, and Han Xi Yang will take the black SUV," he continued as he threw the second set of keys to Cao Mu Chen. "Liu Wei, you and Jin Si Cong will have the ATV."

Cao Mu Chen could only grind his teeth in protest. He didn't agree with the vehicle assignments, but it was not like he could question his general either. Filing into their designated vehicles, Cao Mu Chen noticed a walkie-talkie system hooked up in the central console. Pointing to it, he smirked at the other three in his car.  "It is debatable whether these things even go or not," he said indicating the vehicle as a whole. "Want to make a bet whether it even starts?" he continued.  The other three simply smiled.

Pressing the button that would start the car if it was before the EMP, the four men's eyes widened when it started easily.  Looking at each other, Han Xi Yang, who was sitting in the passenger seat, picked up the mic to the walkie-talkie and pressed the button to open communications. "Testing, testing," he said as he looked at Cao Mu Chen.

"Car 1; received," came the voice of Feng Dong Yang from the blue SUV in front of them.

"Car 3; received," said Liu Wei as he started up the ATV. He knew that they were not going to trust the team with a working vehicle at the end of their convoy, let alone with the supplies. Li Dai Lu was willing to use them based on Wang Chao's word, but there was no way that she was willing to risk the supplies.

He turned to look at the smaller man sitting beside him. Although he had a nervous energy to him, he sat calm and collected in his seat. "Li Dai Lu said that you had your own list of supplies," he said as he started the ATV and waited for Wang Chao to lead the way out.

The man nodded, not saying a word.

"Would you rather be placed in the car with Cao Mu Chen?" Liu Wei asked as he pulled out of the parking space and followed behind the black SUV.  When Jin Si Cong shook his head, Liu Wei relaxed a bit. He didn't care if the man didn't speak, but Li Dai Lu wanted him protected, and he couldn't do that if he was in the other vehicle.

The small convoy exited the underground parking lot in the dead of night. Sure, it was already 6:15 am, but the sun had yet to rise so they were still surrounded by darkness. Driving behind everyone, Liu Wei let his thoughts drift to what Li Dai Lu said would be in store in the coming months.

"Do you know your place?" he asked the silent man beside him. He didn't mean for it to come out as offensive, but he needed to make sure that the man knew what was happening. The other man nodded. "I am here to gather supplies for cell towers," he said as he looked around at the scene outside. It was not far off from the war zone that they had once traveled to in order to take out a terrorist.

"Have you told anyone that?" Liu Wei asked, knowing that it was one of Li Dai Lu's major concerns. She knew that eventually, people would learn about what she was planning, but she didn't want to deal with a coup in the early stages.

Jin Si Cong shook his head. "Not even Cao Mu Chen?" Liu Wei pushed. The other man turned to glare at him, not bothering to respond. Facing back towards the front, the two men continued to drive in silence.

---

"What are we even doing?" asked Jiang Ming Tao as the blue SUV exited the parking lot and drove out onto the deserted streets. It looked like someone had come by and plowed a single path down the road, but that was impossible. There were no working electronics right now, the cars not counting.

"Getting supplies," said Wang Chao as he looked out the front window. Li Dai Lu said that the zombies were too busy dealing with each other to really care about any humans, but he didn't know anything, human or other, that was too busy for food.

"But why?"

"Not our place," said Feng Dong Yang, noticing that Wang Chao was constantly scanning the area for threats. It made him feel like he was in the middle of a war zone, looking for an IED instead of City J.

"We deserve to know," the other man replied from the back seat. Although he had kept his word and didn't say anything to his teammates, he was starting to get frustrated about the secrecy.

"We didn't need to know when they had us jumping out of planes in Country X," argued Feng Dong Yang, preventing Wang Chao from answering. "And we didn't ask questions as we swam to the shores of Country F. Why are you acting like this is any different?"

"Because it was our superiors that sent us on those missions to save lives," snapped Jiang Ming Tao as he looked out the window.

"I fail to see the difference," interjected Guo Bi Ming. He was the second quietest of the group and while he had a few different specializations, he preferred hot weapons and was considered to be the sniper of their group. He very much embodied everything that it took to be a successful sniper, willing to watch and wait for the best chance to strike. They would find out the answers to their questions one way or another, but right now, he was not willing to make waves until he had gathered the needed information.

Wang Chao didn't bother to interrupt their conversation, letting them work things out on their own. He chose Jiang Ming Tao to come with him because he was the most stubborn and would probably only listen to him or Cao Mu Chen, but that didn't mean that he would be putting up with the man.

"Guo Bi Ming," he said, interjecting in their conversation. "You said that you were the sniper and the backup communications expert on the team." The three men stopped talking abruptly and looked at the man driving.

"Yes," confirmed Guo Bi Ming hesitantly. Exchanging looks with his other two teammates, a look of confusion passed over his face.

"Do you know what that means?" Wang Chao continued, taking a second to look at Jiang Ming Tao through the rear-view mirror. Silence met his question and he continued. "That means, First Lieutenant Jiang Ming Tao, that you are replaceable. So I suggest that you show the courtesy and respect that you were known for before you meet a mishap on this mission. Am I clear?" He released a bloodthirsty aura that caused the hardened killers in his vehicle to cringe.

"Yes, General," said Jiang Ming Tao, going pale at his words.

"Good," said Wang Chao, pulling back his aura.