Zombie Apocalypse: My Vicious Family Will Beg

Leo guided me forward, his fingers wrapped tight around my wrist as the thick cloth over my eyes blocked out the light. The freezing wind bit hard into my skin, making my skin burn, but I still forced a soft smile onto my face.

For three long years, ever since the zombie outbreak turned our city into a living nightmare, I had never had enough time to spend with my husband like this. I wasn’t even expecting he would buy out this time to surprise me on my birthday amidst the entire uproar. 

It’s safe to say that not until he remembered my birthday today, I’ve completely forgotten it because I have been too busy fighting off rotting monsters in dark alleys, scavenging through filthy trash, and starving myself until my ribs pressed against my skin, all to bring food back to our shelter. 

"Leo, where are we going?" I asked, my voice shaking as my worn out shoes scraped against rough concrete. "It is so cold up here. My toes feel like ice."

"Just a few more steps, Jade," Leo said, his voice soft and steady. "Trust me."

Warm tears gathered behind my blindfold, soaking into the ragged cloth. I did not care about the biting wind or the blood trickling into my torn shoes, his gentle touch on my wrist was all I needed to feel safe.

"Okay, stop right here," Leo said.

I stood still, listening to the howling wind. High above the ruined city, cold rain fell in thin, icy needles.

"Can I open my eyes now?" I asked softly, reaching into my pocket to touch a tiny paper package. Inside was a piece of hard, stale candy I had saved for three weeks just to share with him for my birthday.

"Go ahead," Leo said.

I lifted my trembling hands and pulled the cloth off my face.

The bright gray sky hurt my eyes for a second. When my vision cleared, my heart stopped beating. I was not in a safe room. I was standing at the very edge of the skyscraper roof, my heels resting inches away from a ten story drop straight down to the dark alleyway below.

"Leo?" I whispered, trying to take a small step back, but loose gravel slid off the ledge and plunged into the abyss. "Why are we at the edge? It is dangerous…” 

I turned around to reach for him, but Leo was not standing beside me anymore. He was standing five feet away, completely steady on his feet. He did not look weak. He did not look sick. His back was straight, his face was full, and he was breathing normally without his usual heavy cough.

Beside him stood my step sister, Amy, wearing a thick red coat and holding a heavy metal pipe.

"Leo?" My voice cracked as cold horror slowly crept up my chest. "Where is your walking stick? Your legs... you are standing fine."

Amy burst out laughing, a sharp, loud sound that cut through the wind. "Look at her face, Leo! She actually thought you were dying!"

Leo did not smile, but his eyes were completely cold. He reached into his pocket, pulled out a fresh red apple, and took a loud, crisp bite.

"I was never sick, Jade," Leo said, chewing slowly. "Not for a single day."

My mind went completely blank. "What?"

"Do you really think I wanted to go down into those filthy streets to fight zombies?" Leo sneered, tossing the apple core onto the roof. "It was so much easier to stay up here in our warm room, cough a few times, and watch you run out like a foolish slave to bring us food."

"You... you lied to me?" Tears spilled over my eyelashes as the cold wind whipped my hair across my face. "For three years? I almost died a hundred times! I bled for you! I starved myself so you could eat!"

"And we appreciate it," Amy said, stepping forward with a cruel grin. "You were very useful, Jade. But food in the city is almost gone now. You came back empty handed yesterday and today. A slave who cannot bring food is just another mouth to feed."

"Amy?" I sobbed, looking at the sister I had protected since we were children. "How can you say that to me? I shared every single crumb with you! I shielded you from the monsters!"

"Okay, enough of the pep talks ," Leo said coldly. He took two slow steps toward me, his heavy boots crushing the gravel against the stone. "We need to clear out some room in our shelter. And besides, the smell of fresh blood off the roof will draw the zombies away from the main front gates so Amy and I can escape tonight."

My brain process what he is trying to say but I refuse to let it sink.  

I refuse to accept the fact that he was going to kill me. That he was going to throw me down this cliff so the monsters can feed on me while they escape. 

It just is too hard to accept because this man right here Was my entire world. Each time I looked at his “faked” frail face, I never saw a weak man, Instead I saw the sweet, loving husband who used to hold me close before the sky fell. I love him so deeply that every time he coughs, my own chest aches, every time he shivers, I give him my only blanket. I thought My husband was too sick to endure the dangers outside, so I gladly became his shield. I traded my own life a thousand times over just to keep him alive and safe.

But now all of it was gone. I open my mouth to speak but the words got knocked out by my next statement beat me to it. 

“And guess what? Since this is our finals moment with you, I think you deserve to know the truth about Leo and I. We have been s together since before the Apocalypse. More like, Leo never even loved you. I just coerced him to marry you so we could milk your mother’s wealth dry!” She said, a dirty smirk dangling on his lips. 

I shouldn’t be surprised. In fact their conspiracy against md already gave it out. But still, a sickening, suffocating wave of disgust crashed over my entire body. 

My face on its own turned towards Leo and as if reading whatever expression like I needed confirmation from him, he concurred to what amy said. 

"Yeah right jade. You were so busy playing the heroic provider, Jade. While you were out fighting zombies in the rain, your sweet little sister was keeping me warm in bed."

Amy leaned up, kissing Leo deeply on the lips right in front of my face. When she pulled away, she stroked her own flat stomach and looked at me with pure, wicked triumph.

"And guess what, Jade?" Amy whispered, her eyes glinting with pure evil. "I am two months pregnant with your husband's baby. We do not need a useless third wheel taking up our food. My baby needs full meals, not leftovers from a slave."

"NO!" The raging demons I was trying to tame, let loose, "YOU DISGUSTING DEMONS! YOU ARE TRAITORS!"

"We are survivors," Amy sneered, her smile turning ice cold. "You spent three years bleeding in the dirt and eating garbage, just to keep us full while we slept together every single night."

I charged forward, pure hatred bursting in my chest, wanting nothing more than to tear their eyes out with my bare hands.

"I WILL KILL YOU BOTH!" I roared.

But before I could reach them, my sister raised the heavy metal pipe behind her back. Without a single second of hesitation, Amy swung it hard, slamming it straight into my left shoulder.

A loud crack echoed across the rooftop.

The crushing impact threw my body backward into the empty air. My feet slipped off the ledge. For one terrifying second, I floated above the ruined city, staring up at the two monsters who had destroyed my entire life. Leo stood at the edge with his arm wrapped tight around my sister's waist, watching me fall with cold, indifferent eyes. Beside him, Amy was still laughing, resting her hand over her stomach.

"Happy birthday, big sister," Amy called down.

Then, the wind rushed past my ears as I plunged straight down toward the dark, wet alleyway below.

My body slammed hard into a pile of rusted metal trash cans at the bottom of the building. Steel crushed my ribs, and my legs bent in terrible ways as I hit the hard concrete. A spray of hot blood burst from my mouth, painting the wet asphalt red.

I lay on my back, paralyzed, staring up at the sky. I could not move my arms. I could not feel my legs.

From the shadows of the alley, low, wet growls began to rise. Heavy, dragging footsteps echoed against the stone walls. Three tall, rot covered monsters emerged from the rain, their yellow eyes glowing as they caught the fresh smell of my blood.

They lunged forward, their sharp teeth tearing deep into my neck and stomach.

I could not scream. I could not fight back. As my blood poured onto the dirty street and the darkness swallowed my mind, one final, burning promise echoed through my dying soul:

If there is an afterlife and I ever open my eyes again... I will make my husband and my sister both burn in hell!