Be Careful What You Wish For: A Zombie Apocalypse-Chapter 495: The Reckoning

Sometimes, the scariest things in the world don’t start on a dark and stormy night, or even with a loud bang. Sometimes, the scariest things come just an hour before dawn, when even the sky couldn’t decide if it wanted to be night or morning.

The very air stood still the moment I walked out of Hallow’s walls after an amazing night’s sleep.

There was no wind, not a single leaf rustles, only a silence that pressed against every surface like a breath held for too long. Time itself seemed to pause as if waiting to see what I was going to do next.

From the northern wasteland to the jungles in the south, from flooded cities to crumbling outposts, the entire western hemisphere stopped. And the world... listened.

Closing my eyes, I reached deep down inside for the ties that bind, for the chains that hold.

I wasn’t going to fuck around anymore. I wasn’t going to let anyone else fuck around either. We had gone past that point, and we were now entering the brand-new era of ’find out’.

-----

Harper Sauvage looked up from the report he was looking at on his desk, his eyes narrowing as he stared out the window.

Ever since the Devil left L City, he had done his best to rebuild everything. He overthrew the old rule, destroyed the raiders, and had created a place where everyone had a role. But still, he never felt like he had done enough.

"Sir?" grunted Matthieu Duhon, his second in command, following his gaze. "What’s going on?"

"The storm is coming," replied Harper, putting down the report and walking over to the window. The sky was starting to lighten, just enough to whisper promises of a new day, but also the reassurance that there was still time to sleep if you wanted to.

"Should I tell the others?" asked Mat, cocking his head to the side. "They can start battening down the hatches if you think it’s going to be a bad one."

"Nah," smiled Harper, the tension in his shoulders leaving. "This isn’t that type of storm. If you want my advice, though? Whatever happens next, ride it out."

"I don’t understand," muttered Mat, trying to figure out where Harper was going with this.

"Like Mama said, ’there are two kinds of people in the world—those who walk with the storm and those who get washed away. The Devil is the storm. You stand against her, you drown. You stand beside her and you just might live long enough to see the sun rise again’."

"Okay," agreed Mat, going to stand beside Harper. "Then let’s watch the sun rise together."

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"You belong to me," the soft, feminine voice said inside the heads of every man, woman, and child in the western hemisphere. However, she really didn’t need to say anything at all.

Everyone had felt it long before they heard her voice. It was a pressure in the lungs, a warmth in the ribs, and a whisper stitched into their very soul.

It was as if they were frozen, unable to move while their very souls were being judged.

To some, the feeling was comforting, and they welcomed the chains into their very being. To be tied to her was a promise of eternal life, to be counted as one of hers was something no one ever thought possible. The whispers she spoke softly into their ears were everything they had ever wanted to hear—peace, safety, and protection.

The moment they accepted the tether, it was like something deep, something powerful had awakened inside of them. Those without powers now had them, and even those who had them found that they had become stronger than ever.

Finally, they were able to take in a deep breath.

Finally, they figured out exactly who they were meant to be.

Who they were meant to belong to.

However, not everyone experienced the same thing.

To others, there was no sense of peace or protection. It was as if they had been judged and found wanting, like they were not worthy of being one of hers. The chains, when they knock at the door to their souls, felt too heavy, as if they would drown them before they could even take another breath.

And so, they fought the chains, refused to let it inside. For them, their bodies buckled and their minds shattered even as their lungs rebelled. The pain was so unbearable that they couldn’t help but scream, clutching their chests, begging for salvation that wouldn’t come. Because the world didn’t recognize them anymore.

They had made their decisions, and there was no room for second chances or regret.

Some tried to pray. Some tried to run. Some tried to rip the invisible chain from their ribs with blades or fingernails or fire.

However, no one succeeded.

They had two choices: surrender or die. To love or to fear.

And this chance would only come around once in a lifetime.

The moment Harper felt the tether, he was already ready. You don’t fight the Devil. You dance with her and hope that she doesn’t step on your toes. Mama was wise beyond her years, and he only wished that she were around to see what the world had become.

He truly believed that she would have loved Hattie.

Not a single person in L City dismissed the chain.

However, miles away, Bishop raised his head as he stared out the window, his shoulders back and proud.

He refused to allow the tether; he refused to be under anyone’s thumb, even if it was her. Especially if it was hers.

Locking his knees, he fought the chain with everything he had. He screamed, he cursed her name, he even tried to call on both Heaven and Hell to help him.

Even as his ribs burned, his spine cracked, and blood filled his mouth, he resisted.

What seemed like hours only lasted a matter of minutes before his body gave up on him, and he dropped to his knees. Shaking, he gritted his teeth to stand back up, but his legs refused.

"If you want to live in my domain, you need to take the knee," chuckled a female’s voice even as Hattie appeared in front of him. She looked exactly as she had the first time he saw her, complete with the black and red princess dress, the pig-tails, and black shoes.

"And if I refuse?" grunted Bishop, never looking away at the girl. "What then?"

"Then you die, and someone else steps up. If this world had taught me nothing, it’s that no one is irreplaceable," smirked the girl, even as she blinked her wide eyes.

"Then neither are you."