Chapter 04

"I'm sorry! Please, spare me!"

The pit owner crawled across the floor toward me on his knees. A minute ago he was swinging an electric stick. Now his face was wet with tears.

"I didn't know who you were," he begged. "I'll do anything you say. Anything!"

"Save it." I looked at the manager. "Lock him in the lab. Let him see what it's like to be turned into a monster."

Two guards grabbed the owner by the arms and dragged him away. He screamed the whole way down the hall until a heavy door slammed shut.

The room went quiet.

Down in the pit, the wolf-man slowly stood up. His chains rattled. His golden eyes stayed on me, sharp and careful.

"You..." His voice was low and rough. "What do you want with me?"

"All of you," I said. "I just paid for it."

The manager bowed again. "Ma'am, shall I arrange an armored car to take you home safely?"

"No need." I waved my hand. "Everyone out. Close the door. I'll handle the rest myself."

Nobody argued. The crowd left fast. The door shut behind them.

I walked into the vault. Shelves of raw diamonds glowed under the lights. I put my hand on the first box.

"Absorb."

One by one, the diamonds disappeared. A warm feeling spread through my chest.

[Space upgraded.]

I smiled. Then I went down into the pit, took the keys from the wall, and unlocked his chains. They fell to the dirt.

He didn't run. He just watched me.

"Let's go," I said. "There's a storm coming. We need to find somewhere to hide."

...

The street outside was strange. Too quiet. Snow was falling hard, and the air was so cold it hurt to breathe.

I was walking toward my car when a shadow moved between two trucks.

"Watch out, my boss!"

Something jumped at me. Gray skin. White eyes. Rotten teeth.

The wolf-man moved faster than I could see. One punch, and the thing went flying across the street. It slammed into a wall and didn't get up.

I let out a breath. "Well. I guess that one hundred fifty million was money well spent." I looked at him. "Nice moves."

Then I looked at the creature on the ground, and my blood turned cold.

"No," I whispered. "No, no, no. The freeze and the virus weren't supposed to hit for twelve more days."

But the snow was getting heavier. In the distance, people were screaming.

"Could it be..." I swallowed hard. "The apocalypse came early."

He stepped closer. "Scared?"

"Don't worry." I pulled out my car keys. "I have a plan."

"I'm not scared for me," he said quietly. "The only thing I fear is you getting hurt."

I didn't know what to say to that, so I opened the car door. "I drive. You watch the infected. Tell me where they're moving and how many there are. Don't let them get close."

"Copy that, Boss."

...

The car radio crackled to life as I sped down the road.

[Citywide maximum alert. An unknown virus is spreading. Leave the city immediately.]

Then I saw them. Hundreds of them, pouring out of the side streets like a flood.

"Horde coming!" he shouted.

"Hold on!"

"Boss, let me get out. I'll clear us a path."

"Shut up and hold on!"

I reached into my storage space. A heavy machine gun appeared in my hands out of thin air.

His eyes went wide. "What? Where did that come from?" He stared at me. "What the hell are you?"

"Your new master." I pushed the gun into his hands. "Open fire!"

He didn't wait. Bullets tore into the crowd. Zombies fell, but more kept coming.

Ahead of us, the road ended at the river. It was frozen solid.

"The ice!" I shouted. "They can't stand up on ice. Brace yourself!"

The car flew off the bank and hit the frozen river hard. We spun. The world flipped over.

"Watch out, Boss!"

That was the last thing I heard before everything went dark.

...

When I opened my eyes, I was moving. Cold wind hit my face. Something warm and soft was under me.

Fur.

I was lying on the back of a huge black wolf, and he was running across the ice.

*Who knew a beast's back could feel this safe?* I thought, gripping his fur.

"You're awake," his voice said. It came from the wolf. "Hold on tight. The smell of your blood is pulling the horde after us."

I held on and closed my eyes.

...

We found an empty cabin at the edge of the woods. He changed back into a man and set me down by the cold fireplace. He was breathing hard. His hands were cut from the ice.

For a while, he just looked at me.

"You knew this was coming," he said at last. "All of it. You knew."

"Don't ask questions you shouldn't ask." I looked away. "Once the snow stops, you're free to go."

He shook his head. "My name is Nikolai Copper. I have a medical degree. A PhD." He knelt in front of me. "I can make medicines and serums. And I can tear an entire army apart with my bare hands. I can help you."

I laughed. "Keep a man-eating wolf by my side? Do I look like I have a death wish?"

"You have food. You have weapons. You have a fortress." His golden eyes didn't leave mine. "But your fortress is missing one last line of defense."

"And what's that?"

"A monster who can survive out there." He leaned closer. "I am that monster."