LOGIN"Yeah."Hayley nodded."Then we're going with you," June said. She glanced at the others, excitement written all over her face."Yeah, take us with you!""We wanna fight alongside you again!"Hayley gave a small smile. "Fine, but you follow my lead. No exceptions.""Got it!"The next day came in a blink.At 8 a.m., Hayley and Griffin were already geared up, standing outside the building. The squad of elite Gifted soldiers Clark had assigned them had arrived and were waiting.However, Clark himself still hadn't shown. Without the man in charge, Hayley couldn't just take his people and leave."Pretty sure Clark took my advice last night and didn't get any sleep," Griffin said, stretching.Hayley turned and looked at him.He immediately grinned. "Alright, alright. That one's on me."Right then, a voice called out, brisk and apologetic."Sorry, I'm late!"Clark came jogging over, hurriedly fastening his jacket as he ran.For once, Whitney, who never seemed to have a kind ex
Hayley couldn't help but feel that Clark and Whitney really drew the short straw with Ben.Hayley took a slow breath, looking at him. "So you're saying you can give me a better life than your sister?""Of course. Every woman in this base envies her life. You'd be lucky."That did it.Hayley stepped forward and slapped him hard enough to send him flying."Are you blind, or just stupid? Anyone with eyes can see I'm living better than her already! And you want me to lower myself and live your sister's life? Does your brain connect straight to your gut? All that air moving through your head, and nothing else? No wonder you can't see straight with all that crap filling your brain."Ben hit the ground hard after the slap sent him flying. He looked up furiously as Hayley walked toward him step by step, clutching his face. "You actually hit me?""So what if I did? Go cry to your sister if you've got the guts. You're pathetic. Whitney must've had the worst luck having you as a brother. S
Hayley waved it off. "Not at all. Honestly, men like you are rare."Clark shook his head, a faint smile on his face. "I'm nothing special. Whitney is. She wasn't like this before. She used to be gentle. When she married me, she even cut ties with her parents. I was stationed far away, and we barely saw each other a few times a year. She handled everything on her own. Even when she was pregnant, she went to her checkups alone. She never once complained."When the apocalypse hit, she was eight months along. Running for her life with that big belly… The baby didn't make it. Her parents died trying to save her. I can't even imagine what she went through back then. In the end, it was just her and Ben. She must've felt completely alone."A few drinks in, the words kept coming. He poured it all out in one go.Hayley listened, something clicking into place. She thought back to Whitney's attitude earlier, and it suddenly made sense."It's in the past now," Hayley said. "Things will get b
"Right, right. Let's head in. Can't keep talking out here." Clark snapped back to it and led the way.Hayley followed behind him.Ben's hand hung there awkwardly. The second she passed, his expression darkened. With everyone watching, he swallowed it.Clark brought Hayley to the center of the base. He cleared out an office building for her to stay in and had a full table of food prepared.Hayley ate a few bites, then started talking with him. By the end of the meal, she had a general understanding of the place.Just like she had guessed, Clark had been in the military before the apocalypse.Clark wasn't stationed here. After the outbreak, he fought his way back from the distant Western Division, crossing miles just to find his wife.After rescuing her, he stayed and built a survivor base from scratch. With his strength, leadership skills, and the natural authority he carried as a former soldier, he became the base director without much resistance.Step by step, he built the pla
Hayley stepped off the helicopter.Everyone below went still."Damn… She's gorgeous.""Yeah, she's even prettier than Mrs. Kinsman!""In a world like this, can someone still look like that?""She looks like some kind of goddess."People stared, eyes wide.In the apocalypse, a pretty face was hard to come by.Back in the early days, being beautiful was a liability for most women. But by the mid to late stages, it became a symbol of power and status.Everyone knew how hard it was just to get enough to eat, so anyone who could stay clean and look that good had serious backing.Hayley stepped off the helicopter in one clean motion, like something descending from the sky, completely out of place with everything around her.No one there could compare.Clark's eyes lit up the moment he saw her. He strode forward, voice firm and steady. "You're Ms. Reid?""That's me." Hayley looked him over as he approached. His cotton jacket was worn, patched in places.He looked to be in his
Hayley had been busy for days, and Griffin had followed her every step of the way.He barely got any real sleep before she dragged him out again. The moment he got on the helicopter, he passed out.Now that she had finished dealing with league matters, her attention shifted to him.The more she looked, the more annoyed she got.She was heading straight into a swarm of zombies this time. If Griffin were fully loyal to her, getting Kurt's stuff would be easy.And yet, this guy's stats improved in every way except loyalty.Just looking at him pissed her off."You tell me," she snapped. "Oh, I get it." Griffin stretched, pulling a fan out of his storage space. "Go ahead and sleep. I'll keep watch.""What month is it right now? Are you trying to freeze me to death with that thing?"Griffin paused, then quickly put the fan away and pulled out a thick blanket instead. "Then wrap up. Stay warm.""If I bundle up now, I'll freeze the second I get off this chopper!"Griffin blinked.
Beyond the glass pane was a pile of mangled corpses, stacked and scattered across the room.None of the bodies was intact. Some had nothing left but bare leg bones, some had hollowed-out stomachs, and some were missing half their heads.The walls of the quarantine room were smeared with dark, drie
Leonard took the ID card from Hayley. His number was 002, making him the second citizen of Haylight Base. He stared at the number for a moment, a warmth spreading through his chest. He figured that must be the place he held in Hayley's heart. Right after 001, which was Hayley herself. Hayle
Hayley walked with one hand gripping her shovel, a pack of dogs running close behind."Ace, keep an eye on the front. Diamond and King, watch the back. Hearts, Joker, stay on my sides."She checked several vehicles in a row before finally finding a delivery truck with the keys still in the ignitio
Leonard froze, staring through the windshield in disbelief.He knew exactly what Hayley was about to do.She was trying to lure that mutant zombie off the overpass!It might actually work, but it would put her in serious danger.His scalp tingled with panic. One wrong move, and she'd fall right






