After sharing her heartbreaking story, she wept, releasing the emotions she had held inside for so long. Exhausted, she went to sleep, leaving us troubled by her tale.
Amy's suggestion echoed, breaking the silence around the makeshift campfire.
"Tonight, I'll take the watch. You should sleep, Souta. You've been through a lot today," she insisted.
"But..." I protested, a restless unease gnawing at me.
"She's right, Souta. You need to rest. You've done enough for us," Steff added, urging compliance.
"Alright," I relented, settling into a troubled sleep on the back of the the pickup truck, while the twins dozed in the pickup.
At midnight, a crawling sensation woke me. Startled, I looked down to see Shana—formerly the chief—beside me. She had silently infiltrated.
"Chief?! What are you doing?" I exclaimed, bewildered by her presence.
"Don't call me chief. Call me Shana," she replied, her voice betraying vulnerability.
"After the tragedy I've endured, I couldn't resist the man who saved me from salvation," Shana confessed, her expression reflecting sadness.
"This won't do! Get out!" I asserted, holding her. "I already have Amy and Steff—I won't betray them for some thirsty girl, even if you're perfect I don't care, I already have someone I love"
"If you're worried, it doesn't matter. I already have their approval," she revealed.
"What!? No! Get away from me!" I pushed her back, pointing my pistol. "Move," I commanded, and she complied.
I confronted Amy and Steff, who sat on guard near the fireplace. My gaze was sharp. "What's going on? What's this?" I demanded an explanation.
"Oh, Souta, what are you doing here?" Amy asked awkwardly.
"Don't pretend you don't know. It's about the chief. What's that supposed to be? You two gave your permission," I accused.
Amy trembled, unaccustomed to my anger. "I-I'm sorry," she began, but Steff interrupted, "Souta, it was my idea."
"Steff..." Amy murmured.
"She's been through a lot, and we thought making her your woman would make you glad. In the night, she came to us and told us about her feelings towards you. That's why—" I breathed heavily, cutting her off.
Sighing heavily, I confronted them with a calm tone, getting closer. "You two, it seems like you're misunderstanding something. Just because a woman spread her legs open for me doesn't mean I'll take any girl. Don't think too low of me, will ya?" Disappointment etched on my face.
Lily and Nana woke up from the commotion. "What's up?" Nana asked from inside the pickup truck. "Shhh, looks like they're fighting," Lily said, peering through the window.
"Can you tell me the real reason why? Why do you want someone to sleep with your partner? Do you have some kind of fetish? Because I don't even want to think about another man with you two. I'd kill them immediately if that ever happened," I said calmly, anger barely hidden.
"I thought it would be a good idea for you to have more women, like a king with a queen and mistress," Steff said, trembling.
I sighed again heavily. "Amy, are you okay with this?" I looked at her.
"If Souta is okay with it, then I'll be too," she said, her voice shaking.
I sighed. "The apocalypse really messed us up. I'm not into that kind of relationship where I marry a woman I don't love. You two seem fine with me with other women, though? For me, I only love the two of you. Our relationship might be messed up, but we still need to be sane, okay?" I chuckled. "Everything is okay. I'm sorry I got mad at you two." Sincere apologies filled my voice.
"Sorry too—we took it too far," Steff said, regret in her eyes.
Amy suddenly cried. "I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" She cried out loud. I hugged her. "It's okay, Amy. Just don't do it again, okay? You too, Steff," I said, looking at her.
"Come here, let's forget about all this," I said, and she came and hugged me as well.
"I'll deal with Shana." After some time, they finally calmed down.
I faced Shana, who is on the truck of the pick up truck, sitting while smoking a cigarette. She saw me walking towards her and said, "oh? The prince has come" she said teasingly
"Cigarette hug, I don't remember having that with us" I said as I sit next to her
"Well that's because I have this on my pocket, want some?" She asked
"I'll pass, it's been a long time since I smoke" I replied as I look at the dark sky
"Oh? Why did you stop?" She asked
"Because they told me to stop, they don't want seeing me smoke" I said looking at Amy and Steff
"Oh? That's a cute reason to have" she said, I get down and stand in front of her. And point my pistol at her. "So tell me, what's up with that act earlier? Saying you fell for me because I saved you? Man that's bullshit, this isn't some kind of fantasy we live in"
"But this is fantasy, those zombies, that wasn't supposed to be real. That's why this is the fantasy, isn't that a good reason to have?" She said smiling
I reloaded the pistol, "Do you think I'm joking" I said, she look at me as her smile faded. "You're too serious for your age" she said glaring at me.
"Blame the world, not me, age doesn't matter in time like this, even a kid can become a leader"
She giggled, "You're right, a world that all rules have perished, when someone can do anything she/he wants to, this is the kind of world we now live in." She paused for a moment, looking on the forest.
Then she continued, "That's why, having power is essential, you, have a power in this world, you have trustworthy companions, weapons and foods. You're the ideal man to have in the apocalypse, specially how crazy your actions are, that's why becoming one of your woman is the easiest way to rise up to this survival to the fittest world" she said as she smoke her cigarette.
I stayed quiet when she told me her reason, it was reasonable to be honest. "I don't care about your reason or anything, but I said it before, you're part of the team now, if you ever do something stupid like this again, I don't mind killing you with my own hands"
"Oh, how scary" she said giggling. "I'll be in your care then"
I lowered my gun, when to my surprised, she suddenly rushed towards me, "You piece of" I tried to point my gun at her but it was too late, I move away and point my gun but she didn't go after me, but instead a zombie that was about to attack me.
She tucked the zombie, and punch it's face, she saw a rock nearby, she took it and use it as her weapon, smashing the zombie's head. Panting, she stands up, with blood on her hands, "is this enough to prove myself?" I smiled
"That should be enough"
Morning arrived, and after breakfast, we move.
Shana, now become close to us, revealing her true self after she recovered, being bold with her actions and too serious while also playful. She think too much about the future, and also bold enough to offer her body to me, while also being playful when we talk yesterday and now.
We finally reached our town after a week of scavenging and exploring the nearby town. The town looked different from when we left it. The survivors had cleared most of the zombies and built the town as their base, and makes the school into their head quarters. We saw some familiar faces among them, the students we rescued from the school. They were now following the classroom president, the now leader of the whole group.
We drove past the checkpoint without any trouble. The guards recognized me and let us through. They knew I was not part of their group, but they also knew I was not their enemy.
"Why don't we join them? Or let them join us?" Shana asked me. She was curious about the possibility of forming an alliance with the town.
"Their leader and I have different views on how to survive in this world," Amy answered.
"Oh? What are the beliefs of Souta and their leader?" Shana asked
"She wants to protect all humans and only kill zombies. While Souta want to protect he's friends and family and kill anyone who threatens us, either human or zombie." Steff answered
"I agree with you, Souta. There are too many bad people out there who would take advantage of us or harm us for their own benefit," Shana said. She used to be a police officer before the apocalypse, so she had seen the worst of humanity.
"They pity the humans too much, it's okay to extend a helping hand, but that doesn't apply to the humans who did the worse just to survive" I said
"Don't you think they will eventually fall apart because of their idealism?" Lily wondered.
"That's their problem, not ours. I tried to warn them, but they chose to follow her. If they ever split up or turn on each other, we won't get involved," I said.
"I pity them, but they made their choice. They should have chosen you, Souta," Nana said casually, munching on some chips. She was a cheerful girl who always tried to lighten the mood.
We continued our drive, heading towards the mountains where our mansion was located. It was a large and luxurious house that we found and claimed as our own. It had everything we needed: electricity, water, food, weapons, entertainment, and security. It was our home, our sanctuary, our fortress.
We arrived at the mansion as night fell. Jenny and Andy, who were in charge of taking care of the animals, greeted us at the gate. They opened it for us and we parked the truck in the garage.
"Welcome back, guys," Jenny said warmly. She seems to have been doing okay these past months.
"We're back, Jenny. We missed you," Amy said happily and hugged her.
"Woah, you gathered cool weapons!" Andy said
"Yeah, help us with this will yea?" I said and gave him a bag filled with guns
"She's…?" After hugging Amy, Jenny saw Shana. Who is new to her.
"Ah, this is Shana, we rescued her in the town we went in" Amy said
"I'm Shana, pleased to meet you" Shana introduced herself
"Ah, I'm Jenny, and this is Andy, my Brother" Andy nodded
And Shana smiled
"Let's do the introduction later, let's first
We went inside the mansion and had a delicious dinner. We shared our stories and showed our loot. We had found a lot of useful stuff: guns, ammo, armor, equipment, gadgets, and more. We divided them among ourselves, making sure everyone got what they wanted and needed.
We settled in our rooms, feeling comfortable and safe. We had survived another day in the post-apocalyptic world. But we knew that our journey was not over yet. We knew that there were still many dangers and challenges ahead of us. And we were ready to face them together.