Chapter 2

I walked out of the dim and damp shelter.

The sunlight outside was so bright that I could barely open my eyes.

The streets lay in ruins, strewn with abandoned cars, shredded papers, and walls streaked with dried blood.

Mom must have spent a small fortune to create this scene.

In the past, I would carry her with me as we hid among the ruins. I would keep watch at night while gripping a steel bar, ready to put my life on the line to protect her at all costs.

I had acted like an utter fool in retrospect.

It felt like someone was digging a knife into the wound on the side of my waist with every step that I took. However, I kept my back ramrod straight and kept walking.

A few zombies appeared from around the corner and stumbled toward me.

I looked at them coldly, not bothering to hide or run. I simply stared at them emotionlessly as I walked toward them.

The zombies were obviously stunned by my reaction.

Noticing that I was behaving strangely, one of the zombies suddenly lunged at me. He opened his bloody mouth, as though he was going to bite my neck.

A fishy stench assaulted my nose.

I didn't bat an eye or halt my footsteps as I brushed past him.

The zombie stood rooted to the spot, looking like he had no idea if he was supposed to bite me.

I could hear them whispering among themselves behind me.

"What happened to him? Did the fear finally get to his head?"

"I don't know. The director didn't tell us to stop, so we should just keep up the act for now."

I scoffed and continued walking until I reached an abandoned residential area.

It was the same place where I had been robbed earlier.

I had managed to get my hands on a pack of cookies and half a bottle of water at the time. I was just about to bring the items back to Mom when a group of fierce-looking survivors suddenly burst onto the scene, brandishing bats.

Not only did they rob me of my belongings, but they also shoved me to the ground and kicked me several times.

I clutched the bottle of water to my chest to stop them from taking it away. I refused to let go even after they broke two of my ribs, allowing them to rain blows down on my back.

I could hear people talking from one of the dilapidated buildings ahead.

Powering through the excruciating pain, I snuck closer to one of the building's windows.

A group of men sat in a circle while smoking together. Cartons of bottled water sat near their feet, along with several boxes of pizza.

They were the men who robbed me.

"Do you reckon that all rich people have loose screws in their heads?" a bald man asked while blowing a smoke circle. "Instead of living comfortably in their fancy homes, they would rather spend hundreds of thousands of dollars to create this set to pretend that they're survivors in an apocalypse."

"What do you know?" a tall, thin man retorted. "Ms. Ellis already explained the situation to us. She's worried that Terence is only treating her well because of her money."

"It's very important to her to find out whether his love for her is genuine. She wants to know if Terence will put his life on the line to protect her in extreme conditions."

"Ms. Ellis specifically ordered us to rob Terence last time."

Baldie clicked his tongue and said, "She's so ruthless. Terence was beaten black and blue, but he still refused to let go of the bottle of water. He has definitely proved himself, in my opinion. On the other hand, Ms. Ellis is pretty heartless even though she's his mother."

"Keep it down. Ms. Ellis is planning something much bigger over the next two days. She wants us to rob him again, but this time, the goal is to trap him with nowhere left to run."

I leaned against the cement wall and dug my nails into my rough palms.

Mom wanted me to prove that my love for her was genuine. She wanted to watch me struggle after being cornered into a dead end.

A metallic taste surged up my throat, but I forcefully swallowed it down.

I emerged from behind the broken wall and said, "No need to wait another two days."

I watched as the men leaped to their feet, their faces etched with bewilderment.

"Call Cassandra Ellis now," I said. "Tell her that the jig is up."