Be Careful What You Wish For: A Zombie Apocalypse-Chapter 456: I Will Follow You

Bishop stood on the steps where Hattie had just slammed the door in his face, the echo of her final words still ricocheting inside his skull.

"You don’t get to wish for a crown and then whine that you have to put in the work."

She had been so disgusted when she had said it, but Bishop really didn’t understand. To do the most effective thing, in the least amount of time, it was obvious to go to her for the solution. How did that get turned around to him not wanting to do the work?

He killed for the Sanctuary, he protected the humans, and the demons. It wasn’t his fault that he didn’t know the first thing about creating a city...

Then again, he would bet that the majority of people didn’t know where to start.

Grumbling under his breath, he took one last look at the solid blockade in front of him. The door hadn’t just shut; it had sealed, locked, and buried him six feet under the weight of failure. Behind him, the crowd of survivors murmured like restless ghosts. They weren’t just looking at him; they were looking to him. For hope. For a plan.

For salvation.

To fix everything that was wrong in their lives... and yet, he had nothing.

"Sir?" Walt interjected, his voice cut through the static in Bishop’s mind and forcing him back into reality. "Where do we take them? We’ve got children, pregnant women, the sick, injured...hell, even our soldiers are barely standing."

"I..." Bishop opened his mouth. Nothing came out.

Walt stepped forward, holding a wrinkled map in one trembling hand. "We’ve scouted three locations to the north, but we don’t know if they’re secure. Food’s running out. Water’s contaminated. If we wait too long—"

"I said I don’t know!" Bishop roared, his face turning bright red as he spun around and glared at the other man. "I don’t know," he repeated, much softer as he tried to get himself back under control.

The crowd went silent. Even Walt froze, stunned by the sudden outburst.

Bishop’s hands trembled as he ran them through his soot-streaked hair. His breath came out ragged, and for a second, he looked less like a leader and more like a wounded animal—cornered, desperate, dangerous.

"You think I have answers?!" he snapped again, going back to his original tantrum. Turning to face them all, he pointed a finger at the men and women in front of him. "I didn’t ask for this. I didn’t ask to be your fucking savior. You all wished for safety, protection, order. I gave you that. I gave everything! And look what’s left!"

A baby began to cry. Somewhere, someone whimpered.

"The Sanctuary is ash. The bugs are still alive. Fire doesn’t work. The Sins abandoned me. And the Devil herself told me to go fuck myself." He laughed, the sound bitter and cracked. "You want leadership? You want safety? Then earn it. Work for it. Bleed for it. Because I’m done holding anyone’s goddamn hand."

The ground shuddered beneath them, and Bishop’s head snapped to the side, his eyes scanning for a threat.

From the sewer grates came the sound of clicking. But not like before.

Faster. Heavier.

The bugs that had managed to make it through the initial onslaught of fired had evolved, and now they were out for blood.

Screams erupted as a woman was yanked underground in a spray of blood. It happened so fast that no one was able to react in time to reach out and grab her, let alone save her.

The earth rolled again, and this time, a man was thrown into a tree by something too fast to see.

"Fall back!" shouted Walt. "To the base!"

"No." Bishop’s voice was low but commanding.

Everyone froze.

"We don’t run." His eyes glowed with pride-fueled fire. "We fight. We hold the line. No more cowards. No more weaklings."

"But we’re not ready!" Walt cried, grabbing his shoulder. "Bishop, we can’t!"

Bishop’s gaze turned to him, slow and deliberate. "Then you’ll die," he announced with a shrug. Finally, he got what Hattie was telling him. People took and took until you had nothing left to give, and then they still demanded more.

Well, he had no more left to give.

Wishing for the Sanctuary seemed like a great idea at the time... when he was filled with hope and determination. But now? The wish had been fulfilled, and just like Hattie, Bishop could turn around and walk away.

But first, he had something to deal with.

Stepping forward, past the cowering families, past the bleeding soldiers, Bishop conjured a bolt of lightning from the palm of his hand. He was still new to calling on these powers. After all, before Alicia had managed to hit him with the refined taser, he had no idea he even had these types of powers.

But using them was almost as easy as breathing. He just needed to know what he wanted to create, and it would appear. Thinking hard, Bishop manipulated the lightning bolt until it was thicker, like a serpent wrapping itself around his fingers, ready to be sent out.

"This is your only warning," he said to the terrified crowd. "You follow my orders without question, or I’ll kill you myself."

No one dared move.

"I’m not your leader. I’m your goddamn King. And this city—" he gestured to the burning husk of Sanctuary, "—this city will rise again. Not for mercy. Not for peace. But because I willed it so. And if you can’t handle that..."

He tossed the bolt into the sky, where it exploded like a firework.

"...then feel free to fuck off and join the dead."

As the lightning rained down onto the Earth, it purposefully struck the centipede, who thought they were hidden away from sight. The sound of the bugs screaming caused the people around Bishop to shake in fear.

But even that fear didn’t last long.

"I’ll follow you," announced Walt, stepping forward, his head held high with his chest out. "To hell and back, I will follow you." His eyes flashed gold as he conjured a ball of fire in his hand.

Casting it out, the people watched as the flames consumed the bugs, leaving them nothing more than ashes on the wind.

"I will follow you," said Caspian, stepping forward. Holding his hands up to the sky, Bishop watched silently as shards of ice, so sharp they looked like blades, rained from heaven, killing the creatures instantly. "To hell and back, I will follow you."