Be Careful What You Wish For: A Zombie Apocalypse-Chapter 449: Your Next Life

Chang Xuefeng looked around the room, studying everyone that was inside of it. Most had death written on their foreheads like it was just a matter of time before their soul was taken to the underworld. Now that there was no Hell, the Reapers were having to come up with a new system...

A new place to put the souls that didn’t go to heaven.

One woman, standing in the corner, look at him with a quiet confidence. "You can’t kill me," she announced, her voice soft and pliant. However, even in her softness, there was a firmness to her. She would bend but never break. "I am Eve. I’ve been around since before man walked the Earth. I am the mother of all humankind."

"And yet," agreed Chang Xuefeng as he narrowed her eyes on her. "You can still die. I’d be careful if I were you. You are not on the Devil’s shit list, but she really doesn’t care about you one way or another."

"I don’t need the Devil to care for me. Not even you are worthy of reaping my soul," shrugged Eve as she sat back down on the couch. Her head was held high like she was in complete control, but because of her shaking knees, she was forced to sit.

This wasn’t her first time meeting the Grim Reaper, but something was vastly different about him now. Before, he was just another creature with a role to play... but now, now he terrified her.

"If you really believe that, then you will die that much sooner. I highly recommend that you find a hole to hide in until everything passes over. Then, when the world is rebuilt, you can go on with your life and forget about all this. But if you keep interfering with Hattie, if you keep trying to take what is hers, then she will turn her attention on you, and nothing will be able to save you. Have I made myself clear?"

Under the gaze of the Grim Reaper, Eve nodded her head stiffly. Even if she didn’t agree with his assessment, she wasn’t willing to put it to the test, either. Her body had been burned at the stake during the witch trials. She had been drowned, stabbed, shot, and every time she thought it was her last breath, she still lived.

She would keep on living long after the Devil had gotten bored and moved on. The Earth belonged to her and Adam, and no creature would change that.

As if able to read her mind, Chang Xuefeng didn’t bother to continue. She would either take his advice or not. But even Gods needed to fear when Death set his eyes on them. And all Hattie needed to do was point in a direction and he would follow her forever.

Ignoring everyone else, he slowly walked toward where Réne was slumped on the floor. While his chest might still be moving up and down, he could easily see his heart starting to slow down. The bolt of lightning that Bishop had used managed to not only carve a hole through Réne’s chest but also cauterize the wound, leaving his heart, ribs, and lungs out on full display.

Seeing the Reaper staring at Réne, Alicia let out a guttural scream. "You can’t take him," she rasped, cradling Réne’s body in her arms. His back was pressing against her front, which meant that she couldn’t easily see his wound.

However, she could feel him struggling for breath and his heart beating against her own. "He is mine. You are not welcome here. He’s not ready to die. We’re not ready for him to pass on."

Chang Xuefeng didn’t glance at her, only scoffed when he heard her words. His silver eyes were locked onto Réne’s soul, already beginning to separate from his broken body. It flickered like a dying flame—bright, scared, and unsure. She might not be ready to let him go, but Réne’s soul told a different story.

"Please," Réne whispered, his voice shaking. "If this is it... if this is really the end..."

He turned toward Chang Xuefeng, the light of recognition dawning in his eyes. "I want to make a wish."

The Reaper cocked his head. His face remained impassive, but he gave the man his attention. "Speak."

"Let this be the end," Réne said, each word costing him breath. "Let my death be the price. Let it pay off all my debts and sever all the connections I have in this life. I don’t want Alicia in my next life. I don’t want to know her, see her, or have anything to do with her. Not ever again." The soul paused as he closed his eyes. "The guys, too. I don’t want anything to do with them in my next life."

Chang Xuefeng stepped closer and cocked his head to the side as he studied the soul, trying to make a bargain with him. "Do you really think it works that way?" he asked at last. "That by sacrificing yourself for her, that you can just deny all the bonds of your current life?"

"Yes," nodded Réne’s soul as it drifted closer to the Reaper. "I want nothing to do with them in my next life. I deserve a life free of those who betrayed me."

It took a moment, but Chang Xuefeng tilted his head back and laughed like he had heard the funniest thing in the world. "That’s not how this works," he assured the other man. "All the connections you have in this life, you will have in the next. It will be up to you if they are friends or foes, but that’s about it."

Chang Xuefeng held out his hand and grabbed onto the soul. "Besides, Hattie already made her feelings clear," he said, his voice calm and absolute. "And I will never go against her."

Réne’s eyes widened. "But... it’s my life. It’s my call."

"No," Chang said, gently touching the man’s forehead with two fingers. "It belongs to her now."

Réne’s soul began to lift, golden and trembling. It hovered over his body like a leaf caught in a still breeze. He stared up at the Reaper, panic rising.

"Please," he begged.

Chang shook his head, voice like the final toll of a bell. "Rest well because, in your next life, Alicia will be there waiting for you."