Rebirth in the Apocalypse: Third Time's a Charm

I woke up from my second nap of the day feeling more relaxed than I ever thought possible and completely ready to take on aquatic zombies.

Well, that's a lie. I don't think anyone is ready to take on aquatic zombies, but I would try. Maybe my fourth life will be just as good as this one.

I got dressed in comfortable leggings and a sweater as I made plans for my fourth life. I mean, I really didn't see any other way out of the situation I was in. Unless it was to stay in my space for the rest of my life. The guys were already here, and I had more than enough supplies and the ability to maintain a high standard of living.

True, it would be only the five of us, but on the flip side, with it being only the five of us, there would be no more military dragging us into their issues and no zombies… aquatic or otherwise trying to kill us. Really, it was a win/win as far as I was concerned. I was definitely voting for never leaving my space.

Happy with my new plan, I went downstairs to see all four of my men drinking out of the same cups. It was one of those ones that I found funny and put in the order for one to give to my future husband whenever I happened to find him. However, somehow, when the order arrived, there were four of the same mugs.

Looks like it was not so much an accident as it was Fates intervening.

"What's up?" I asked, picking up the mug that I was going with today. This one had a small baby alien on it that said: 'Coffee spelled backwards is Eeffoc. Just know that I don't give Eeffoc until I've had my coffee.'

I thought it was pretty funny. Taking a sip, I looked at the guys that hadn't answered me yet. Turning my head to the side, I looked at Liu Wei. "Is everything okay?" I asked again, now concerned that none of them had answered me.

"Just going to wait until you gave an Eeffoc," said Liu Yu Zeng with a smile on his face.

"Fine," I said with a sigh as I looked over my mug at the four men in front of me. "Just give me a few minutes to enjoy my coffee before you burst my bubble about the five of us living in my space for the rest of our lives," I continued as I sat down at the table between Chen Zi Han and Liu Yu Zeng.

I looked over at Chen Zi Han and the evil man only raised an eyebrow at me. I rolled my eyes and ignored him. Even if I wanted to keep going, my lady bits were firmly closed for business.

Finishing off the last few drops of the nectar of the Gods, I put my mug on the table and looked at the men. "You're going to make me go back, aren't you?" I asked with a pout. I really didn't understand why they were so insistent on it. Didn't they realize that the outside world didn't exist until I returned?

"I wouldn't say make…" started Liu Yu Zeng hesitantly. "More like… strongly encourage?"

"Would it really be so bad for just the five of us to live here forever," I purred seductively, hoping that I was at least half as successful as Chen Zi Han was.

Liu Yu Zeng looked at me suspiciously. "Is this what normal parents mean when they try to warn their children about 'stranger danger'?" he asked, concerned. I couldn't stop myself from laughing even if I tried.

"I don't know. Am I a stranger?" I asked with a smirk.

"Most definitely not," he replied, picking me up off of my chair and depositing me onto his lap. "And you aren't wrong. I do like the idea of just the five of us here… not a care in the world." 𝑏𝑒𝘥𝘯𝑜𝑣𝘦𝘭.𝑛𝘦𝑡

"We gave our word," said Wang Chao, pointing out the most obvious reason why we needed to return to the real world.

"Ah, but the real world is frozen exactly as it was when I left. There is no passage of time. Therefore, the commander would remain where he was and would never know that his mission was not going to continue."

"The world is frozen?" asked Liu Wei, concerned. I shrugged my shoulders. "How else do you explain it? When I go into my space, no matter how long I spend here, I still return to the exact same moment in time as when I left. Doesn't that mean that without me, the real world would completely stop?"

I mean, I didn't think that was the case, but it still made me feel important.

"I guess that would be the logical conclusion," replied Liu Wei as he adjusted his glasses. "I am beginning to see her reasoning," he continued as he looked at Wang Chao with a smirk.

"That makes it three out of five in favor of staying here?" I pushed, knowing full well that we wouldn't.

"Make that four out of five," said Chen Zi Han as he kissed my forehead and stood up from the table. Grabbing my mug, he got me another cup of coffee and a slice of carrot cake.

"Why do you always make me the bad guy?" demanded Wang Chao as he rubbed the spot between his eyebrows.

"Because you do it so well?" I asked, hiding my grin behind my mug. The alien with his saying pointing at Wang Chao.

"We need to go back," repeated Wang Chao.

"No," I said with a shake of my head. "You want to go back — you don't need to. And weren't you the one that just apologized for dragging us into all of these messes?"

"Yes, fine. I want to go back. I can't rest knowing that I stopped halfway through a mission and took the easy way out."

My eyebrows rose so high they disappeared into my bangs. "Easy way out? As opposed to what? Drowning and then becoming chum for shark zombies?" I wondered out loud. I mean, I might agree that staying here was the easy way out, but I liked it a lot more than the alternative.