Survival 9 Novels & Stories

Both can be true. “Old mines,” he said. I drew lines: cots arranged for a photograph; the blanket placed off-centre for maximum pain; trash not quite rotten; scuffs by the back door saying the last heavy thing wasn’t a child but a crate. “They dressed it for us,” I said. “A set. They wanted twenty minutes of grief and twenty hours of the wrong hunt.” “Then we won’t,” Luther said. His men hauled the survivor into the light. Garron’s camera clicked. Kade crackled—river net online, thermals on the ridge, Unit Nine moving north because men who say east here often mean north after two turns.

I'll survive. That's all that's left now. Survival.

The abnormal weather had killed many survivors. In my past life, I'd only arrived at a safe zone five months after the zombie outbreak. There'd been elite soldiers and over a hundred thousand survivors there. Over a hundred of these safe zones were scattered across the country, significantly contributing to mankind's survival. "Why aren't we leaving now since the safe zones have already been set up?" Mom asked me. I looked at the snow outside. "It's highly likely we'll freeze to death in this weather if our car breaks down." …

Xander pressed. The scout shook his head. “There was a photo—blurry. The snow ruined the writing. You can barely see anything.” “The photo. Let me see it.” Just as Xander reached for it, Holly timidly raised a hand, pointing toward a narrow crevice in the distance. “Sister’s in there…” When they started the rescue, the team moved with the utmost caution. The ice, polished smooth by relentless winds, offered no grip even for claws sharp as blades.

I mutter as I continue reading more ridiculous clauses. “Excuse me? What did you say?” Evren asks me. Only then do I notice he's no longer sitting in his office chair but is now resting comfortably on the sofa across from me, his lips curved downward. Damn shit, why does he still look so mouthwatering? This should be a sin! Being gorgeous, I mean. If I thought the first clauses were bad, I definitely wasn’t ready for what I was about to see. –Surrogate will eat food approved by the boss' nutritionist and nothing else.

No hiding. Only survival.

" he questioned. Silence fell over us. As expected, the only way to deal with this was to fight fire with fire. "Are you okay?" the system asked carefully. "Can you check if I'm still intact? Or have I already been reduced to ashes?" I asked in my mind. "The good news is that we're stuck in the middle of a plot point, so we're not dead yet." Then, it added sheepishly, "The bad news is that your supposed downfall is coming ahead of schedule, but neither of them has broken things off with you yet. If this continues, we'll be stuck here forever. None of us will be able to return home!"

Rian’s hand shot forward.It moved fast. His fingers slammed into the solid marble statue beside me.The entire structure exploded into white dust. I am dead. This is the end. I froze. The sound rang in my bones.Shards scattered across the polished floor.Rian’s breath came harsh.His amber eyes were feral. Instinct took over. Nine years of survival pushed me. I dropped low.I spun away.My knees shook.Survival. Just survive. My feet carried me toward the door.

Survivor by survivor. Week five of tremors. Network connected twelve territories. Roughly three hundred survivors total. Three hundred wolves choosing to fight. Choosing to stay present. Choosing reality over void. Three hundred out of how many? Thousands? Tens of thousands? We didn't know. Didn't want to know maybe. Didn't want to face scope of loss. Scope of destruction. Scope of void's victory. But three hundred was something. Was meaningful. Was real. Three hundred humans choosing presence. Choosing life. Choosing reality.

The other players were there—lying on the ground with exhaustion visible on their faces. The school kids made it. Likewise, the lady who went last before me, the elderly man who shoved that guy ahead first, Rick, and his friend. And me. Of all nineteen players, only nine of us made it past the plank. Ten died. I turned to the guy who had saved me. He was now up on his feet. My gaze hovered around him. Green camouflage pants, black shirt tucked in. Oh— A military man. “Yeah, I’ll accept that as a thank you.”