Chapter 2

[Juliet's POV]

Deep into the night, I crouched on the city wall, handing energy crystals over like a machine.

Alison waved her hand impatiently. "Hurry up. Quit dawdling. You're gonna drag everyone in this city down with you if you delay my progress with fortifying the walls."

I remained silent as I handed another crystal to her.

On the faint golden protective shield—visible only to me—the cracks spread wider and wider.

All of a sudden, a ten-foot-tall mutant zombie thrust its arm right through the lightning and protective barrier. With an effortless slash with its sharp nails, it stumbled its way inside.

Alison screamed, unleashing a bolt of lightning. Nonetheless, the lightning that struck the zombie left nothing but a faint mark.

"My power isn't working!" she shrieked, turning around to flee as her face turned white.

When she turned, she bumped right into a guard, Andrew Greene, who had just rushed to the scene. Instinctively, she gave him a hard shove.

"Hold it off for me, Mr. Greene!"

Andrew was caught completely off guard, crashing right into the arms of the zombie.

"Mr. Greene!" I called out, instantly activating my power, and tried to rush forward.

Yet, it was still too late. The zombie's sharp claws had ripped through Andrew's heart.

Alison returned after retrieving a hand grenade from the guardhouse, and she flung it at them. The massive explosion blew both Andrew and the zombie to shreds.

Upon hearing the commotion, Jeffrey and Lucas rushed over with reinforcements. Then, they heard Alison screaming her accusations at me, "Juliet, why didn't you save Mr. Greene sooner?"

She threw herself into Jeffrey's arms immediately, sobbing so hard that her entire body trembled. "It was all my fault. I failed to protect Mr. Greene," she cried.

"If Juliet hadn't just stood there in a daze, he wouldn't have died."

"It wasn't me! She was the one who pushed Mr. Greene out as bait!" I yelled urgently. "The protective shield is broken. I'm not lying. The zombie swarm will be here in six hours!

"We have to evacuate immediately. It will be too late if we delay any further!"

In desperation, I yanked out the safety amulet hanging around my neck. I lifted it, and with a tremor in my voice, I said, "Jeffrey, look at this. You once said you'll believe me as long as I present this. I'm not lying. The base will soon collapse."

This was a gift Jeffrey gave to me for my 18th birthday before the apocalypse. That day, his eyes filled with sincerity as he promised, "Jules, no matter what happens in the future, I will stand by you unconditionally whenever you hold this out."

Jeffrey's eyes looked lost for a moment, but his expression darkened even further right after that. He stepped forward and yanked the safety amulet out of my hands.

"How dare you threaten me with something so worthless, Juliet! I was truly blinded back then to ever give you something like this."

He threw the safety amulet fiercely to the ground, smashing it into bits in an instant. My heart shattered into pieces as the crisp shatter resounded in the air.

Jeffrey stared at me, his face full of disappointment. "Forget about a useless safety amulet. Even if you gave up your life, I will only ever believe Alison."

Lucas stormed over, pointing at the shattered fragments on the ground. "Get a good look! Jeffrey has long fallen out of love with you. Yet, you're still using something like this to irk everyone.

"Alison is our savior. I will purge you from this family myself if you continue to spread rumors!"

Jeffrey turned away and gave a resolute command. "She caused the death of a guard and spread rumors. Lock her up in the disciplinary cell. Do not release her or feed her unless it is by my orders."

I stared at the broken fragments on the ground, not saying another word in defense.

With a loud clank, the door was locked shut. As the darkness consumed me, the system's alarm bells rang out in my head.

[Host's vitality: 18 hours remaining. Protective shield status: 30% damaged.]

[A massive zombie swarm is estimated to arrive in six hours.]

I could hear Alison whining on the other side of the metal door, "Let it go, Jeff. Juliet didn't mean to do it, so don't punish her too harshly.

"I've fortified the lightning barrier, so there's absolutely no way the zombies can get through."