"You can't die!"
As Lucille Lin's consciousness faded from the excruciating pain, a man's voice pierced through the haziness. She faintly felt it when he held her limp body.
He sounded so cold, akin to a frigid winter night. Even his arms that held her were tinged with frost.
"You can't die!" the man stubbornly repeated, as if challenging the Grim Reaper himself.
Gasping for air, Lucille forced her eyes open. Through the dimness of the underground cave, she barely saw the face of the man.
She had never seen him before. Or, had she?
No. She had seen and heard about him before — from photos and tales spoken with fright.
And also from distant memories over four years ago, before the apocalypse began.
He was Ashrik Zhai. The Frozen Hell Yama. And... her best friend's elder brother.
"...why are you here?" Lucille breathed, her voice barely a whisper. She coughed up blood in the next breath, dyeing her and his shirt red.
"I—"
Lucille saw the man move his lips, but she no longer heard him. Perhaps because her long-awaited death finally came, she unconsciously recalled the past hour of her life.
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[Less than an hour ago]
Lucille swept her gaze across the area as she stood on the gentle slope. A barren field with dead trees surrounded her. Not even a single flower bud sprouted.
Spring had arrived, but its soul died four years ago, following the worldwide spread of the zombie virus.
"Lucy, are you nervous?"
Lucille turned around, looking at Captain Gao. She smiled faintly at the middle-aged man before shaking her head.
"I'm not."
Lucille glanced at the underground cave where Captain Gao's two subordinates had descended. They were tasked to scout the area.
If there were no zombies, she would follow them into the cave.
Captain Gao chuckled. "Aiya, if your father is still here, he'd brag nonstop about how smart and fearless his daughter is. Boasting how his daughter broke through Rank 5."
Lucille smiled faintly. Seeing Captain Gao reminded her of her late father, Arthur Lin. All three of them resided in the same survival base, Blackstone Fortress.
When the first zombie wave began, groups of people mysteriously awakened supernatural abilities. As ability users, Lucille's father and Captain Gao were in the same team.
They were around the same age. Unfortunately, Lucille's father died during his last mission. Captain Gao was among the very few who survived the ordeal.
Lucille lost her mother on the first day of the apocalypse. Then, she lost her father two years later. Since then, she was the sole survivor of their immediate family.
Fortunately, she was also an esper even though her gravity-based ability awakened late, one year after the apocalypse. Her adaptability and strength were exceptional, allowing her to reach Rank 5 in just three years.
"They're here."
Captain Gao muttered as he watched his subordinates, Ian and Danny, climb up from the underground cave. Lucille's attention was also on them.
"Zero presence," Ian stated.
Captain Gao looked at Lucille. "Let's go. We'd better get it done quickly. Lucy, we're counting on you."
"I'll assist to the best of my ability," she replied solemnly.
Lucille never foresaw her first assignment after breaking through the crucial Rank 5 to be with another team. Captain Gao persuaded her team captain, saying he needed a gravity ability user above Rank 4.
Captain Gao received a secret mission from the base's deputy commander. He needed to retrieve an ancient relic from an underground cave. Only a high-ranked gravity esper could sense it.
As Lucille followed Captain Gao to the cave hole, she thought, 'An ancient relic, huh?'
She remembered an old argument about the sudden zombie outbreak. Instead of a virus, some insisted a mystical power had caused it. But most people didn't believe it.
Seven days before the apocalypse, the world experienced strange occurrences — unexplainable rainstorms, earth-shattering thunder, landslides, and major temperature fluctuations.
Only a few realized something was bizarre, while most continued their daily lives as usual. The freshly graduated Lucille was among the latter as she busily navigated her new job.
Lucille lightly shook her head, telling herself to focus.
The descent into the cave was steep; luckily, the tunnel was wide. The air grew colder the deeper they went. Their flashlights illuminated the tunnel.
Lucille walked behind Captain Gao, while the two men guarded from behind. They reached a wider chamber deep underground within ten minutes.
And then, she halted.
Whummm—
Lucille frowned. A strange pulse throbbed in her heart, as if something invisible brushed against her ability core. She pressed one hand over her chest.
Captain Gao narrowed his eyes. "You felt something, didn't you?"
Lucille hesitated. "There's... something here. The energy seems to call me."
Instead of giving her an oppressive feeling, the pulse reminded her of comfort, like the warm breeze on a bright and colorful spring day.
Captain Gao remained smiling, but a sinister glint flickered in his eyes. "Good. Trust your instincts. Do your work, Lucy."
Lucille's brows furrowed slightly, but she said nothing. She advanced through the cavern. The space widened further, revealing another underground chamber. The men followed her quietly.
"This is it," she murmured.
Whummm—
Lucille crouched before the uneven cave ground. The pulse throbbed excitedly, as if telling her something was underneath.
As she raised her palms, Lucille focused her power on a precise point on the ground. The earth shifted and twisted, forming a hole without collapsing the surrounding structure.
Lucille's breath hitched once she discovered what lay inside the hole.
A human skull and bones!
Based on the torn dress, the remains clearly belonged to a woman. They were dusty and dry with age. A dull metallic object that looked ancient rested over the rib cage.
'Whoever you are, may your soul rest in peace.'
Lucille regained her calm as she prayed for the deceased. Death no longer shocked her. In the past four years, she had seen too much of it — including anticipating her own.
"The energy comes from this object," Lucille reported without looking away.
"I guess that's our target." Captain Gao sneered, his tone soft while his right hand grabbed something from his jacket. "Lucy, take it."
Lucille reached out a hand, her fingers closed around the metal.
WHUM—
"—?!"
A jolt of energy surged through her hand. Her body stiffened; her core trembled in response to an unexpected resonance. Then it calmed as if nothing had happened.
And...
"Ugh—!"
Blood spurted from Lucille's mouth and chest. Her body convulsed as pain flared through her back. She staggered forward, collapsing against the bones.
Lucille abruptly turned her head, disbelief flashing in her widened eyes. She gasped, "C-captain Gao..."
Captain Gao was holding a dagger slick with blood. The weapon looked strangely archaic, unlike the common ones she had seen before.
His expression was calm. He looked neither regretful nor sad, just... satisfied.
Why did he look like that?
Amid the excruciating pain, a sense of foreboding swept her like a tide.
"You know what?" Captain Gao let out a cold laugh. "Now you looked exactly like your father. That same pathetic face when I pushed him into the zombie horde."
Lucille's eyes widened. Horror and disbelief flickered in them.
Her father… was betrayed?!
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A/N:
Hello! This is my first attempt at writing an apocalypse story. It might be lacking in certain aspects, but I hope you'll still enjoy the story :)
I actually wanted to use full Chinese names for this book, but decided against it :')
I think English first names will be easier for readers, but I keep the Chinese surnames because the story will still refer to some cultural elements, like in most Chinese apocalypse webnovels.