[1] Apocalypse: Third Rebirth

Chapter 118: Watchfull Eyes

"We need our guns," said the man that seemed to be leading the group inside the gas station. "It's not safe without them."

Chen Zi Han simply looked at the man in front of him. "Does it look like we have them?" he asked, holding his arms out to show that the guns weren't on him.

"You have to have them!" another one of the men said as he rushed up to where Chen Zi Han and Liu Yu Zeng were standing. "They were there in our hands and now they aren't. I don't know where you put them, but you clearly have them!" he insisted, his face turning red from anger.

"No, we don't," chuckled Liu Yu Zeng as he put a hand on his friend's shoulders. "In fact, I am pretty sure your guns grew legs and just walked out," he continued, nodding his head to where they could clearly see Li Dai Lu. "But unfortunately for you, you pissed her off enough that I don't think she is going to return them." Shrugging his shoulders. he clearly did not care about the guns or what the other men thought.

His Sweetness just walked outside, knowing that there was danger, without a second thought. He really should tan her hide over that when he got around to it. A smile rose to his face over that thought. The two men, seemingly relaxed with all the time in the world, followed their sun into the cold winter day and whatever dangers lurked in its shadows.

*****

"Did you miss the part where they said there was a human-eating monster around here?" shouted Liu Yu Zeng as he approached the ATV where I stood to the side.

Turning my head to the man in front of me, I smiled. "Pretty sure it is already dead," I said as I looked around. The only man-eating monsters around were the zombies (right now) and unless I missed my guess, however many that were originally here probably ended up as part of the horde that attacked us yesterday.

We were close enough to the base that they might have jumped into the horde looking for easier food. Or, they were still here and not willing to attack us for some reason or another. Either way, it was none of my business.

"They want their guns back," pointed out Liu Yu Zeng as we got into the ATV and Chen Zi Han got it started. We would need to wait for a bit for it to warm up before we could leave.

"And?" I asked, turning around to look at the man. "Are you asking me to give them back? Need I remind you that they were pointed at your head?" I demanded, wondering where he was going with this. If Liu Wei was my white night, all straight and narrow, Liu Yu Zeng was my grey knight. He was the one that I felt never saw things one way or another but lived in the grey areas outside of good and bad. If he was asking me to return the guns, I would... but I had to say, I didn't see that coming.

"I am not asking you to give them back by any means," he reassured me. "Just making sure that you remembered them."

"There was a pirate movie in my first life," I said, completely out of the blue, "It was really quite famous," I continued looking at Liu Yu Zeng. "There was a line that I always loved, and it went; 'Take what you can, give nothing back'. In my first life, I didn't take anything that was not bought and paid for by me. In my second life, I took only as much as I needed, and then gave that away to the people that killed me. Now, in my third life..." I smile, a feral smile that was more of me baring my teeth than an actual smile. "In my third life... I will take what I can and give nothing back."

Liu Yu Zeng looked at me in the eyes before slowly nodding his head, "Seems like good advice," he admitted.

"I think so," I replied as I turned back around. The car had finally heated up enough to be safe to drive and we pulled out of the gas station and continued on our way. The fact that nothing came out to attack us only emphasized my belief that there was no longer a zombie out there waiting for their food to be delivered.

Still, given human nature, I didn't think that anyone would dare venture out of the gas station to find out one way or another if the predator was still there. Then again, they really didn't have much in terms of food so maybe hunger would be the driving force. Either way, they were safe... for now.

We turned out of the gas station and back onto the main road heading away from the base. Now that I had snack food in my head, I was determined to hit up as many gas stations as I could... and grab their gas and diesel at the same time.

At the second gas station, I had learned from the first and put away the ATV before it could be seen from inside. Grabbing both tanks this time, not just the gas one, I pulled open the door to the station and...

It was empty.

Somewhat happy that I didn't have a gun pointed at my head, I walked around the store, grabbing whatever I could find. This time, I got more drinks, some chocolate bars and candy, some beef jerky, and even a few bags of chips. Happy about my haul, I was practically buzzing as the guys and I left the safety of the store and stepped out into the winter wonderland.

And that was when I felt it. My skin seemed to crawl with the feeling of someone's eyes on me, sizing me up. It was definitely not a comfortable feeling. Stopping dead in my tracks, I looked all around me to see where the feeling was coming from, but as quickly as it arrived, it disappeared, and I was left wondering what it was.

"You okay, Princess?" asked Chen Zi Han as soon as he noticed me stopping.

"Not sure," I admitted, still scanning around just in case the feeling came back.

"What's going on?" asked Liu Yu Zeng coming up to stand behind me as he too started to look around.

"Nothing that I can put my finger on," I admitted, "But I could have sworn that there was someone or something staring at me just now." I shuddered as I thought about the feeling of being watched. I am not saying that I am all that and a bag of chips, but I have felt the boys watching me every so often, and this felt like nothing along those lines. This gaze was... angry? Malevolent?

I didn't know how to describe it, but I knew that it meant me harm. I quickly took out the ATV and got in, locking the doors as soon as my men were secured beside me.

"Should we check it out?" asked Chen Zi Han as he started the vehicle while looking around the area. And that was another problem. We were in the middle of a neighborhood, with small houses all around, and yet, there was not a single person that we could see, and there were still supplies at the gas station.

There was something seriously wrong here, I just couldn't figure out what it could be.

I shook my head. There was no point in checking out something that I couldn't pinpoint.

"Flight, fight, or freeze," I said to the men, willing to let them make the next decision.

"Flight," said Liu Yu Zeng, looking first at me and then at Chen Zi Han with a serious expression on his face. "Let's get back to the base and regroup. We can figure things out tomorrow. Besides, the sun is going to be setting soon and I would much rather be in my bed than out here."

"Awe, shucks," I grinned, as Chen Zi Han drove the car back the way we came. "And here was me hoping to share the couch with you again."

"I volunteer as tribute," said Chen Zi Han before the other man could even open his mouth. I burst out laughing.

"I knew you would take a bullet for the man, but to go as far as to take a cuddle session for him? Now that is dedication," I joked, trying to lessen my tension.

"Funny," said Liu Yu Zeng looking completely unimpressed in the back. "I don't recall not wanting to cuddle with you again."

"It doesn't matter," chimed in Chen Zi Han as he focused on the road in front of us, his driving fast, but not dangerous. "I called it," he continued, shooting me a quick smile before returning his eyes to the front.

I chuckled at the idea. "You know, I could snore, kick you in the middle of the night AND steal all the blankets," I pointed out.

"And yet, still worth it," he assured me. Raising my eyebrows, I didn't discourage him anymore.

"Fine, I call tomorrow," grumbled the solemn voice from the back. I simply laughed, the feeling of being watched pushed into the back of my mind for later.