All Chapters of Kicked Out in the Apocalypse, But My Dog Was My Secret Weapon: Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

10 Chapters

Chapter 1

My head was pounding.My forehead was so hot it felt like it could fry an egg.I curled up in the corner of the couch, wrapped in that old tattered blanket, my teeth chattering uncontrollably.“Mom, please give me a fever pill. I really can’t take this anymore.”My voice came out hoarse, and my throat tasted like blood.Linda Carter sat by the coffee table, clutching the white pill bottle tightly in her hand.It was the last bottle of ibuprofen in the house.She didn’t even look at me. Her eyes were locked on Tyler, who was sitting there playing video games.Tyler Jackson sniffled and let out the faintest little sneeze.Linda shot to her feet at once.She poured a glass of warm water, shook out two pills, and pressed them into Tyler’s hand.“Baby, hurry up and take these. That sneeze didn’t sound right. Don’t go catching a cold.”I stared at the scene in disbelief.I had a fever of a hundred and three point six. I was even starting to hallucinate.Tyler’s nose just itched

Chapter 2

“Go die out there, then! At least you won’t be wasting your brother’s food!”She yanked the front door open and kicked me hard in the side.I lost my balance and tumbled into the hallway, clutching Duke.Bang!The door slammed shut.Then came the locks.Click.Click.Two deadbolts.I lay sprawled on the cold concrete floor, every bone in my body screaming.From inside, Tyler’s voice drifted out.“Mom, her puffer jacket’s pretty thick. You should’ve taken it off her before kicking her out.”Linda spat.“Gross. It’s got that sick girl’s germs all over it. I don’t want it.”I listened to their warm, loving little conversation through the door, until there were no tears left to cry.The hallway was pitch black.The motion sensor light had been broken for ages.A cold draft swept through.From downstairs, I heard heavy footsteps.Dragging.Like something scraping across the floor.The stench of rot drifted up through the stairwell.The zombies were inside the building.

Chapter 3

“Throw the food down to your brother right now! If you don’t, I’ll curse you die a horrible death!”She shrieked into the rain, her voice sharp enough to cut glass.The zombies were drawn by the noise and started slamming themselves against the security door.Linda jerked her head back inside and slammed the window shut.I stared coldly at the closed window.Whatever tiny bit of warmth I still had left for her was gone.I ran my hand over Duke’s soaked fur.“It’s just the two of us now, Duke.”He licked my palm.Then a mechanical voice suddenly rang out.Not in my head.Out of Duke’s mouth.“Woof. [Host’s life signs are critically low. Infinite Supply Search System activated.]”I froze.Was my fever making me delirious?Duke looked at me, his blue eyes glowing with something strange.He got to his feet and pawed at an abandoned flowerpot in the corner of the rooftop.“Woof. [Hidden supplies detected: one unopened pack of hot dogs, one bottle of water.]”Still half in

Chapter 4

He didn’t kill Duke.Instead, he used the back of the machete to smack Duke hard across the head.“Go on, bite me again! Bite me!”Duke whimpered, blood spilling from the corner of his mouth, but he still kept his eyes locked on him.Then Tyler turned to me, his face full of vicious delight.“Nice coat, sis. I’ll take it.“You’re gonna die anyway. No point wasting it.”He came at me and started yanking at my jacket.Linda stood there watching. Not only did she not stop him, she actually urged him on.“Hurry up! Stop dragging this out! It’s freezing up here!”I struggled with everything I had, my nails raking a bloody scratch down his face.“Get off me! Tyler, you’re disgusting!”He wiped the blood from his face and slapped me hard across the cheek.My ears rang instantly.He and the two creeps pinned me down and ripped off my puffer jacket.All I had left was a thin sweater.The freezing wind cut straight through me.Tyler happily pulled on my still-warm coat and brush

Chapter 5

It was Duke.Dragging his broken leg, he threw himself in front of me.His eyes were no longer that gentle blue. They had turned a savage, blood-red.Every hair on his body stood on end, and his whole frame seemed to swell in an instant.The mechanical voice rang out again. This time, it wasn’t just for me.It blasted across the entire rooftop like a loudspeaker.“Host detected under lethal threat.”“Infinite Supply Search System... authorization upgraded.”“Combat mode activated: King of All Dogs.”“Command issued: all canines in the city, protect the host immediately.”The moment that command went out, the air itself seemed to freeze.Then, in the next second, barking erupted everywhere.From nearby rooftops.From the streets below.From the ruins in the distance.Bark. Bark. Bark.It was the response of thousands of dogs.A massive Tibetan mastiff leaped onto the rooftop first.Then came a pack of strays.Then mutated golden retrievers, German shepherds, and Rottw

Chapter 6

Before I left, I glanced back one last time.“There’ll be more zombies coming up here soon.”“Good luck.”Linda’s desperate screams rang out behind me.But I didn’t look back.Duke carried me as we charged out of the apartment building.The zombies outside were scattered by the dog pack before they could even get close.“Woof. [Outdoor supply store five hundred meters ahead. Safe.]”“Woof. [Underground garage to the left. Modified off-road vehicle detected. Keys located in the security office.]”The system alerts kept going off.Half an hour later.I was sitting inside an upscale outdoor gear store.I’d changed into top-of-the-line arctic gear and a pair of tactical boots.A portable stove beside me was heating up a steaming pot of ready-to-eat meals.The smell of beef filled the air.Duke lay at my feet, gnawing on a tomahawk steak.He’d earned it. He deserved the best.Through the floor-to-ceiling windows, I looked out at the apartment building in the distance.Flam

Chapter 7

I looked at them the way I’d look at two flies buzzing in my face.Slowly, I peeled a grape and fed it to Duke.Then I stood up and looked down at them from the top of the wall.“Who are these beggars?“Trying to claim they’re family.“My mother died a long time ago.”Linda froze.She clearly hadn’t expected me to be this heartless.So she immediately pulled out her favorite move, throwing a full-blown tantrum.She dropped into the mud, slapped her thighs, and started wailing.“Oh, God, look at this! There’s no justice in this world!“My own daughter makes it big and won’t even acknowledge her mother anymore!“I raised you from nothing, and this is how you repay me?“Everyone, come look! Look at this heartless little monster!”The refugees nearby started whispering and pointing.To people like them, family loyalty still meant everything.Some of the looks they threw my way carried a hint of judgment.Seeing that, Tyler got even bolder.“Hannah, aren’t you scared karma

Chapter 8

I rubbed behind Duke’s ears and turned to the monitor.I recognized this group.They were the so-called Wolf Pack, a gang from around here. Bullies, looters, the kind who’d done plenty of ugly things even before the world fell apart.I didn’t expect Tyler to have connections like that.On the screen, a group of men crept along the base wall under the cover of darkness.Tyler was leading them, hunched over, nodding and bowing like a lapdog. He pointed at the towering wall, spittle flying as he talked.“Boss, I swear, my sister’s in there! That warehouse is stacked with rice and flour. Enough to last us ten years! And that girl, she’s a looker. You can keep her warm at night!”The gang leader, a thick-necked brute with a cleaver in hand, smacked Tyler’s face with the flat of the blade.“If there’s nothing inside, I’ll carve you up and toss you in a pot.”“No way! She’s my sister. I know exactly what’s inside!” Tyler thumped his chest, all smiles and flattery. It was sickening to

Chapter 9

“Wake her up,” I said calmly.A bucket of ice water came crashing down.Linda jolted awake, then dropped to her knees with a thud, banging her head against the concrete over and over.“Hannah! Hannah, it’s me, your mom!“It was those bastards! They forced us! If we didn’t lead them here, they said they’d kill us! I had no choice!”Her face was smeared with snot and tears as she reached for my pant leg.I stepped back, disgusted, avoiding her touch.Beside her, Tyler twitched, his body jerking as he snapped out of playing dead.“Bullshit! It was you! You old witch!”He pointed at Linda, eyes bulging.“You told me she had food! You told me to go find the Wolf Pack!“You said if we took the base, I’d be king!“You said she was soft, that if I just got on my knees and cried, she’d let me in!“Hannah! This was all her idea! She made me do it! I’m innocent!”Faced with death, the so-called loving mother and devoted son turned on each other without hesitation.They hurled every

Chapter 10

He slammed Linda into the snow and straddled her, tearing at the coat like he’d lost his mind.“Give it to me! Let go! Give it!”Linda screamed, kicking and thrashing, her nails clawing bloody streaks across his face.“This is karma! Karma! How did I raise a monster like you?“Hannah! Hannah, look at him! Save me! I was wrong! I’ll listen to you from now on!”Her face was pressed into the snow, twisted out of shape, waving frantically toward the camera.It didn’t matter.Tyler drove his foot into her stomach.She doubled over in pain, her grip loosening.The coat was gone.Tyler snatched it and wrapped it around himself without even glancing at his mother, then scrambled toward a windbreak in the distance.Linda lay there in the snow, left with nothing but a thin layer of clothing.The wind cut right through it.She watched her son run, a broken, rasping wail tearing out of her throat.“This is karma… this is karma…”She crawled toward the base gate, dragging herself for

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