เรื่องสั้นแนว Feel-Good Story Imagination และนิยาย Mistress ในฉาก Apocalypse

My husband, Ryan Costa, is one of the most renowned scientists in the apocalypse. To retrieve a reagent, he goes deep into the high-risk zone with his secretary, Clara Gibson. I, Alice Ashford, lead an elite squad to protect him all the way. But when a zombie horde besieges us, he refuses to retreat. "With the reagent Clara brings back, I can develop a serum that saves all of humanity! Just ten more minutes! Ten minutes, please!" Ryan insists. I feel torn as I see the zombies closing in. I can't gamble with the lives of my squad on a vague, uncertain sliver of hope. In that split second, I knock Ryan out and drag him onto the helicopter. As a result, Clara dies being torn apart by the zombies. When Ryan wakes up, the first thing he does is slap me hard across the face. He rages, "How can you be so selfish? You've doomed all of humanity!" I am sentenced to be burned at the stake. I die in unbearable pain as the crowd curses me relentlessly. When I open my eyes again, I am back at the moment when Ryan stands in front of the helicopter, blocking our retreat. I am just about to speak when I suddenly hear his inner voice, "Clara should have grabbed her makeup bag by now. Hopefully, she brings something back with her. Otherwise, I'll have a hard time explaining myself to Alice." My mind goes blank, and I stare at him in shock. He smiles at me just like he did in my previous life and asks, "Darling, don't you think we should wait?"

On New Year’s Eve, my fiancee, Delilah Carrington, left me to freeze to death in subzero snow. As my body went numb, she was wrapped in the military coat I had found for her, curled up in Everett Kingsley’s arms while eating the holiday groceries I had paid for. When I opened my eyes again, I was back before everything fell apart. So when she called—cold, demanding, rattling off a shopping list like I owed her—I hung up, blocked her number, and made my move. I sealed off Blackridge Logistics Hub, the largest logistics hub in the country. Stockpiling supplies? Pointless. Because my coworkers and I had more packages than we could ever open: seafood delicacies, premium cigars, top-shelf liquor, and industrial generators. Hundreds of millions of shipments meant for the holidays were now all mine. Inside a warehouse kept at a steady 26°C, I ate wagyu steak and watched the world collapse through surveillance feeds. I witnessed Delilah’s entire family tear each other apart over half a moldy pack of crackers. I thought I could live like this forever. I was wrong. In the apocalypse, the most dangerous thing isn’t what’s waiting outside. It’s the people who refuse to stop playing the hero.

The Ice Apocalypse. We were trapped in an ice cave. My girlfriend, Janice Zeller, came to our rescue. My heart leapt, thinking I was saved! But Janice didn't even glance at me. She went straight to her childhood friend, Chad Stewart. "Chad's not in great health and can't handle the cold. Hang in there, Devin, another rescue team will arrive soon." By the time help arrived for me, I was completely frozen and had lost consciousness. While I was helpless to resist, Janice forcibly stripped my superpower away from me and gave it to Chad.

I had just been confirmed as a match and was preparing to donate a kidney to my husband's adoptive sister. That night, she left her iPad in the living room. The screen was still on, showing her chat with the doctor: [Doctor, please don't tell my sister-in-law. If she has a kidney removed, her hidden heart condition will flare up, and she won't live longer than three months.] The next day, I canceled the donation without a second thought. My husband flew into a rage. He called me cold-blooded and forced me to sign a divorce agreement that left me with nothing. The next day, I stood outside the hospital room and heard my sister-in-law laughing smugly. "She's so stupid. I faked one chat screenshot, and she actually believed she was sick. Now her penthouse is mine, and we can finally be together openly." My husband kissed her. "Good girl. Later, I'll find you a good kidney on the black market." Outside the door, I sneered. Of course, I knew the chat log was fake. I had come back from the future, after all. In two weeks, the zombie outbreak would begin. Those two so-called siblings who were actually lovers would not only steal my medicine, they would push me out to feed me to the zombies. This time, with only four days left before zombie hordes overran the city, I wanted to see how long a sick woman without a new kidney and a scumbag without supplies could last in that penthouse.

The fortress I'd built with all my soul as refuge in the apocalypse was seized on the day of, and by my boyfriend with his childhood friend no less. Just as a zombie was about to chew through my neck, I suddenly heard his thoughts. "Who would know?! Not all zombies want to eat humans! But it's not like we have chips and cookies to munch on!" In just a flash, I whipped out the sleeve of Oreos I was carrying around. The zombie's eyes lit up. "You can understand us?!" I nodded repeatedly. "Yes! And it's not just Oreos—I have Lay's chips, Reese's Puffs… all the snacks you would want! Just name it, and I'd have it!" As I spoke, I took out all the snacks I was carrying, and the zombies promptly swarmed forward, munching and tearing up with emotion. "Argh… It's been so long since I've had these! I miss being a benign human!" "These chips are great! I could keep munching on them forever!" That was when the zombie in the lead threw an arm around my neck. "I hence declare that you shall henceforth be the queen of all zombies!" My eyes widened in shock. "M-Me?!"