Zed After Novels & Stories

The system announced the countdown for the purge, but Zen was already at his limits. Unable to hold his eyelids open, Zen allowed himself to succumb to the pain as the adrenaline finally wore off. He slept like the dead as others fought for their lives, amusing a figure from the shadows. [You have been awarded 100 credits by the Godfather for finding the secret safe zone. Keep up the good work, Zen Taro.]

They were accompanied by joyful captions about shopping for baby supplies together. After that, I silently deleted all his contact information. My last day in this world happened to be my wedding anniversary with Elijah, and it was also Abigail's birthday. I ignored Elijah's instruction to attend Abigail's birthday party and instead sat alone at home. I wiped down a vase with my bare hands. It was the last gift my parents had left me and the last thing I had in this house. I held the vase and imagined talking to my parents while waiting for midnight to arrive.

Through the surveillance, I saw that he'd been completely frozen over like an ice sculpture, and I curled my lips in satisfaction. Charles died on the seventh day of the ice age, and everything was done and dusted. I stood up and brewed a pot of tea for myself, before turning on my computer and selecting one of the movies I'd downloaded beforehand. Then, I played it while savoring my tea, covered with a warm, cozy blanket. This was the life. One and a half years wasn't long, but it wasn't short, either. Because I'd prepared so thoroughly beforehand, it was the most comfortable period of my life.

Brad stammered. “You?” She let out a harsh, disbelieving laugh. “I wonder if you would have cared if Ted hadn’t finally had the decency to pause the game.” Brad opened his mouth and shut it, looking away in deep embarrassment. “Look,” Zeda let out a heavy breath, utterly exhausted by the drama. “I had a really nice day, thanks to you and your friends. I just want to go home and rest. Please call me every day from now on, because I just want to get this fucking debt payment over with and move on to other important things.”

Nora heaved where she stood a few feet away. It was a morbid sight- all the bodies that lay scattered, some in pieces and others like dolls- you’d think they were just asleep. The smell of decay rose in clouds; my eyes wouldn’t be able to see in a shade other than red for quite some time. “You did good,” Zade stopped in front of me. “So did you,” I said. I looked at his hand, remembering the Elder’s wound.

Zade simply gazes up at the stormy sky, a frown on his face and I’m certain that the goddess has reached out to him, because he simply lowers his head, almost… defeated. Three men including Atticus circle him and one of them passes Atticus a syringe, which he injects into Zade, one that contains enough wolfsbane that knocks him unconscious. “Daddy ew, don’t hug Mommy when you aren’t wearing clothes, it’s rude!” Zion hisses as Sebastian quickly lets go of me, turning away as someone throws him some pants. “Zion…” I say, hugging him tightly. “It’s ok, Mommy… we won, it’s over now…” Zion whispers as the first ray of morning light peeks through the clouds…

I teased Zade chuckled faintly, and I took the chance to feed him another spoonful before he changed his mind. This time, he swallowed without resistance. After a pause… “Do you… want to talk about it?” I asked. He didn’t respond. “Is it… Venita?” I pressed gently. His whole body stilled. For a second, I thought he’d shut me out. But then, his voice came low and rough. “We fucked.” My stomach turned. “Right after you warned me…” he added

Jezebel laugh. "You're dying soon, you're not even aware. The Terminator is not daft, being the queen of the underworld is not a piece of cake, she obviously knew about your games, so she planted a poison in you without your own knowledge. I recognize a poisoned person, your eyeballs changed from the original brown to complete black, RIP in advance" Zenith replied, and Jezebel's eyes widened. "What are you talking about!" "You're almost dead! B**ch!" Zenith snapped and removed an hairpin from her hair.

"Tomorrow, we'll go shopping for new clothes for you." She beamed, feeling overwhelmed as though she hadn't expected to be welcomed with open hearts and open minds. "I know the room, I'll show you." Zaya offered, already taking her hand and leading her upstairs. Zion following. Sometime later, we were all seated around the dining room, having a nice time. "How's your mom, Jared? Last time, you told me she was sick." "She's dead." Jared answered, no emotion. It was the same way he'd been when he heard of Martha's death months after uncle Pete got married.

"He survived it. I'll survive whatever this turns out to be too." We said our goodbyes not long after—Lyn's voice audible in the background by then, clearly having located Zade despite his hiding spot, something about cake and toddlers and Zade needing to get his ass back to the party before his sons started a fire with the birthday candles unsupervised. I hung up smiling, the paperwork in front of me feeling marginally less oppressive than it had twenty minutes ago.