Chapter 2 The Revenge Begins

"Y-Yvonne, I…" Yves was breathing heavily, and he couldn't even make a complete sentence, but his eyes gleamed with excitement. "I knew… I knew you'd wait for me."

It was a miracle the guy managed to make the journey from eastside to the landing strip. His stamina barely existed.

A long sigh of relief escaped Yvonne's lips, and a smile carved itself on her face.

But then, a deafening explosion thundered in the distance. The zombie swarm broke through the last line of defense.

The chopper closed its door and took off, carrying with it whatever survivors it managed to save.

My teammates did not catch the final flight, and they cursed.

"Yvonne, you madwoman! You just destroyed our only chance at survival! And that idiot! A guitar? You went all the way back right before the retreat just to get a guitar? You think anyone's interested in your performance?"

The curses wouldn't stop coming, and my teammates' fury drained Yves of all color he had. If looks could kill, he'd be more shredded than a pack of shredded cheese.

The guy grabbed his guitar tightly and hid behind Yvonne. "I-I'm sorry. This guitar's the most valuable thing I have. I didn't mean to mess up the retreat."

Besides fury for Yves, my teammates held resentment for me. I noticed the looks of displeasure. They did not care to make them subtle.

"We only made you captain because you led us through impossible situations again and again. We'd probably be dead without you, but I can't believe you'd do something so stupid."

I put on a look of guilt and patted my teammates' shoulders. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have let my emotions get the better of me, but it's too late for that now, I guess. It's okay. There's a temporary sanctuary nearby. We can hide there for now."

Yvonne held Yves' arm and let out a derisive scoff.

"Bunch of cowards. Sieghart's still here. He led us through three zombie swarms. It's just one chopper we missed. Big deal. We can wait for the next one to show up."

That almost started an explosion, but we had bigger problems to worry about, so my teammates did not try to argue with Yvonne.

…

Half an hour later, we finally arrived at the temporary sanctuary. We got inside and pushed the safety door shut. As it closed with a loud yawn, the zombies' roars were cut off as well.

My teammates heaved a collective sigh and crumpled into a heap on the ground. "Finally. Some safety."

But then one of them gasped. "Shit, bad news. Today's evacuation choppers are the last of their batch. The military's giving up on this zone!"

Someone asked, "Wait, so the evacuation's over? We're trapped here forever? With those things out there?"

There was a tremble in their voices, and their faces were whiter than tombstones.

Yvonne, however, sneered at the crisis. "You guys are losers. This place has enough food to last us three months. Even if the military's not coming, we have enough resources to move around."

I tapped into my military-grade comms device and unlocked it. "Calm down. I've talked to a top guy in the military. They're sending in special forces in three days. In the meantime, get some rest and stay on top of yourself."

That was good news. Everyone was relieved, and their worries were shaken off their shoulders.

Yvonne grinned. Excited, she grabbed Yves' hands. "Just three days, Yves! Three more days, and we'll be saved!"

The team did not share their happiness. Instead, they were outright stormy.

My deputy took me to a corner and whispered, "Sieghart, did you get enough slots for all of us? There are eight of us, including… those two."

I nodded. "Yeah, I got enough slots for all six of us, and one extra too."

Confusion colored my deputy's face, but then realization struck him. Quietly, he asked, "So that means one of us is getting left behind?"

Yvonne was feeding water to Yves. A sneer curled my lips.

"Like I said, there are enough seats for all six of us. One of them is getting left behind, not us. And she's the one making the choice."

We exchanged knowing looks. Yvonne had no idea that an impossible choice was going to land in her lap soon enough. She wiped Yves' sweaty forehead as gently as she could.

"It's okay, Yves. I'll make sure you get into the safe zone, I promise."

Oh yeah, that was what I wanted to hear. I was looking forward to the rescue. Wonder who she would choose. Her precious childhood friend, or herself?