Rebirth in the Apocalypse: Third Time's a Charm



I slowly walked down the steps and towards the metal gates that were like the gates of heaven in front of me. If, of course, there was a whole horde of zombies waiting for you on the other side of heaven.

Then again, for all I knew, there might be.

I straightened my back and shed the aspects of humanity that I seemed so desperate to cling to no matter how much I told myself otherwise. Taking my hair out of the bun it was normally in, I let it fall down my back in a black waterfall until it reached my ass. My hair was growing faster and faster, but I didn't care.

I put my right hand to the gates, swinging them back into the crowd of zombies, and stepped forward, unconcerned about the possible consequences. I would take all their souls before they had a chance to harm me as they did in my last life.

Now, as much as I had prepared myself mentally for what I thought was going to happen, you know, me being completely ripped apart before I could consume their flames, I was not prepared for what actually happened.

"My Lord," said one zombie who was standing in front of all the others. He placed his right hand on his chest before bowing his head and dropping to one knee. His voice wasn't overly loud or quiet, nor was it said perfectly. But those two words rang through my head as the rest of the horde quickly followed their Alpha.

I froze, unsure what was going on or even what I should be doing at that moment. Taking a deep breath, I fell back onto one of the most profound sayings that I had ever heard. 'Fake it 'til you make it.'

I could do that. Pretending that I was the Queen of Country E, I subtly nodded my head in response. "Rise," I said as I looked at the zombie in front of me. As much as I wish I could say that I recognized it, I really couldn't. It looked male, but with the giant round head, creepy mouth with razor-sharp teeth, pin-pricked eyes, and purple skin, it looked like every other purple zombie behind it.

"Thank you, my Lord," it-- he, growled as he stood up. The rest of the horde continued to follow his actions. "May I ask what you are doing back in this city? Is there something I can do for you?" The longer he spoke, the more sense he made until he was speaking clearly, if not with a bit of a lisp as he tried to form the words through lips that were not as flexible as a human's.

Its words were what sparked a memory in the back of my mind.

I had gotten into an Alpha battle just as we were leaving the city. This must have been the Alpha I had defeated. And if I had defeated an Alpha, I became the Alpha. That must be why my stalker followed me so often while also disappearing. I was his Alpha, but he still had a city to control.

"I am here to take care of some business," I replied, feeling much more confident now that I knew who my stalker was and why I was being stalked in the first place. "What has been going on in the city?" I asked because he was far from what I was expecting.

"Things have been fine. There is a second Alpha that is trying to gain territory, but so far, his efforts have been… lacking," admitted the zombie in front of me. I tried to keep my appearance cool and collected as if learning that zombies could speak and that I could have a whole conversation with them was nothing to be alarmed about. But inside? Inside a part of me was absolutely panicking about what was unveiling in front of me.

"Do you need help?" I asked, unsure of where the words came from or even why I was offering. If I had any sense, I would be staying far away from anything zombie related. On the other hand, it was better the devil you knew than the one you didn't. At least this one considered me his Alpha.

"Please, my Lord," said the zombie as he once again placed his hand over his chest and bowed his head. The others behind him followed suit like they were puppets led by a puppet master.

"Fine, lead the way," I said with a nod. 'Wang Chao, I am going to go fight some zombies,' I said through our link. 'I will be fine, I have a whole horde of my own behind me,' I added as if that was somehow going to make everything better.

'Wait,' replied Wang Chao quickly and I stopped following the zombie Alpha in front of me. The zombie stopped too and simply waited for my next move. 'I will send Liu Yu Zeng out with you just in case.'

I hummed in agreement and within seconds Liu Yu Zeng came barreling out the doors and through the gate. He looked around and saw all the zombies on the road. Coming to a stop beside me, I saw that both of his hands were encased in poisonous black mists.

"It's fine," I assured him, touching his hand, bringing his attention to me and away from the zombie in front of me. However, since I touched the same hand that was currently encased in his mist, a snakelike tendril climbed up my arm and now was firmly encasing it. "That's new," I said with a raised eyebrow before I turned my attention back to Liu Yu Zeng and the zombies.

"They are on our side," I continued as I tilted my head toward the zombie horde in front of us. The Alpha simply looked at Liu Yu Zeng and bared his teeth in a half-hearted challenge. I understood it more of a he was not willing to submit to Liu Yu Zeng simply because he was beside me. I was still the supreme Alpha as far as he was concerned, and he was my second.

"Wang Chao said something about fighting another zombie?" asked Liu Yu Zeng as we once again started to walk forward. The horde in front of us parted on either side, allowing us to pass through between them.