Feel-Good Story 단편 소설 & Bias Apocalypse 소설

When the deep freeze hit, my parents took my younger sister, Jayla Wilson, and all our supplies to a shelter, leaving me with nothing but my mentally unstable uncle. "There are only three spots for our family on the evacuation list. Jayla is still young. She has to come with us." Mom shoved the last ration bar into Jayla's pocket before pointing at the man chained up in the corner. "You can stay here with this useless burden and wait for the next rescue team." I looked at the man shivering in the corner. He was my Uncle Xavier, once a genius in physics. A physics experiment had cost him one hand and driven him mad. From then on, he had become the family disgrace. "Mom, are you sure?" I surveyed the completely emptied basement, then pointed at my uncle. "I suggest you take Uncle Xavier with you and leave Jayla behind." "Are you insane? I don't even want you! Why would I take that useless cripple?" Watching my family flee in a panic, I smiled. I just hoped they wouldn't regret their decision. After all, the useless burden they'd abandoned was the only hope of survival in this frozen apocalypse...

When the tsunami came, ninety-five percent of the world's land disappeared beneath the ocean. I was just an ordinary graduate student in aquaculture when I was swept into the deep sea and unexpectedly awakened a god-tier talent: Dragon Lord. From then on, I could sense the emotions of marine life, issue simple commands, and even make elite sea beasts bow their heads and obey. While everyone else fought for a single mouthful of fresh water, I opened a ranch in the deep sea. With an army of sea beasts, I built a city of trade upon the sea!

Victor and I were nothing more than a pair of sworn enemies married inside the camp. He hated me for handing over my frail sister to the research institute, all so they could extract the antiviral serum from her blood. And I hated him for never seeing anyone but her, even in the apocalypse, when she could barely lift a metal rod. For the ten years of the apocalypse, the words we said to each other most often were, "Die a miserable death." … However, when the zombie horde finally broke through the last line of defense, he chained me to the modified mech truck and went out alone to face it. "Live…" I watched as the tide of corpses swallowed him whole, the crack of breaking bones mixing with the sound of flesh being torn apart. On the edge of death, he pulled out my sister's faded photo and placed it over the one clean spot on his chest. "This life is yours. But if there's a next one, don't go near her again." … That night, when I returned, I blew up the camp. When I opened my eyes again, I went to the zombie king. His razor-sharp claws closed around my throat, and I smiled as I took hold of his hand. "Let's make a deal. Give humans five more years, and I'll willingly be your queen." Last time, he gave his life to save me. This time, I'll be the monster—so they can all get what they want.

After spending three months scavenging for supplies in the sweltering heat, my boyfriend, Derek Callahan, gives me just three ounces of muddy water. Then, he gives all our clean water to his childhood sweetheart, Fione Prescott, so she can wash her feet. When I confront him at the shelter, he loses his temper. "Fiona has sensitive skin! She could get sick if she washes her feet with dirty water. You're perfectly healthy, so what's the problem? Do you really have to make such a big deal over a little water? "Fiona was right about you. You never wanted to be part of my team. You only joined because you wanted me to protect you! I was even planning to save you a good spot in the safe zone if you'd just drink that muddy water. But you've really disappointed me!" I'm not about to waste my breath arguing with him. I quit the team on the spot, leaving him free to get together with Fiona. Five years later, he's taken over several smaller settlements and founded Ashford, the largest survivor base, becoming a powerful warlord with an army under his command. Meanwhile, as far as everyone knows, I'm still just a lone scavenger. When we cross paths again at the trade fair, Derek holds a glass of chilled juice in one hand, with Fiona nestled against his side. He looks me up and down, his gaze lingering on my worn-out backpack. "Still digging through trash, huh? What brings you here? Come to beg me to take you in? If you hadn't been so selfish back then, you'd be the First Lady of Ashford by now. But you blew your chance. Even if you got down on your knees and begged, I wouldn't give you a second glance." But the moment the governor of Eden, the world's only remaining ecological city, kisses me on the cheek, Derek crushes the glass in his hand. "Sophie Bennett! I never agreed to break up with you! What gives you the right to marry someone else?"