After | All15

"I have had a vision!" I announced magnanimously to the group of boys in front of me.

"Not this again..." Wil muttered before saying, "Zoya, you of all people should know by now that birds cannot swim. It's cruel to keep drowning birds because of these so-called visions."

Ignoring the stares and mutterings of the other boys, I fix Wil with a glare.

"I did have a vision of a bird swimming underwater, but that's beside the point. I have had a different vision," I told him, slightly wounded.

Why must people always expect the worst of me? I mean, you kill a few people, get a few tattoos, and going swimming in alcohol ONE TIME and all the sudden your some sort if villain. Shaking my head, I began muttering curses in Russian that cause Raven to turn a slightly red color.

"So what was this dream then?" Corey asked diplomatically.

"Oh, good. A nice person around here," I said, smiling sweetly at him. "I was getting hungry."

"What do you mean by that?!" North demanded.

"Mean by what?" I asked him, tilting my head.

"That you're getting hungry!" Brandon answered for North.

Oh? Was that out loud? With a mental shrug, I decide to play innocent.

"I don't know what you're talking about," I cooed, batting my lashes and forcing my lips to smile widely.

There's a silence. Ha! I seduced them with my glorious charms! I was a vision of beauty! I knew it work.

"Zoya? Are you alright?" Axel asked me, concerned.

Sean quickly added, "You appear to be in pain. Is there something in your eye that's hurting you?"

My jaw dropped.

Indignant, I exclaimed, "Yeah, well, fuck you guys too!"

Rising to my feet, I flounced out of the room, fleeing before they even had a chance to react. In pain, my ass... I was sexy and I knew it...

I decided their punishment could be leaving them in the dark. Now I wasn't gonna tell them about my vision. Ya know, the non-swimming birds one.

Grabbing a sword, I head out on my bike. Roaring out of the house, I'm reminded of the events of yesterday.

Kota and Lucian rode together on Wil's bike and Gabriel rode with me on my bike. We spent several hours chasing after zombies and killing them. They showed me their skills, proving that they weren't incompetent with simple weapons. I mean, I wasn't about to hand them an atlatl and expect them to use it perfectly, or even well, but they were well trained with guns and blades.

They even did well enough to earn my respect.

Respect that was flushed down the toilet.

In pain...

Growling loudly, I sped down the alleys and didn't even stop to kill the zombies. I was in a mood that not even zombies could cure. I just needed to drive around some. Ya know, feel the wind in my hair, feel the power of the motorcycle, hear the squelch of bodies under the tires...

What? Not all the roads were clear. A lot of them were covered in broken down cars, others in dead bodies of humans and zombies alike.

Not that humans and zombies are that different. I'm somewhat living proof of that.

A few hours later, I was in a completely different place. I was a few towns over and at the edge of a forest. A beautiful forest. Tall trees towered and shaded the forest. I killed the engine and got off, walking into the forest.

It even smelled amazing. Fresh. Clean.

I couldn't remember the last time I came across a forest. And this one seemed to be pretty big.

Just like in my vision.

Rustling was heard a few yards away from me and I drew my blade quickly and silently moved toward it. It's been a long time since I practiced walking silently in a forest, but I was able to creep through without a sound. Must be muscle memory. Instinct.

Walking around a tree, I was able to see what caused the noise. It wasn't a zombie, like I had thought. It was an animal. A fat rabbit.

I nearly laughed out loud with delight.

In one smooth movement, I removed the small blade from the inside of my sleeve and launched it at the rabbit, hitting it squarely in the eye. Retrieving the carcass, I quickly skinned it and found a bag to place it in. The fur and bones could be used to create a stylish accessory, the feet for luck, and the meat for well, meat.

Ahh... Fresh meat...

The thought brought a small smile to my face. Wil and I have food, yes, and plenty of it. But our food is stuff made to last. Canned goods, MREs, jerky, etc.

I wiped the blade off on the soft grass underfoot to clean it off. It was one of the few things my father had taught me. Hunting, that is. He was a great hunter and decorated his office with trophies of his kills, human and animal alike.

Quickly, I darted back to my bike and raced back to the house to share my find with the boys.

"I'm back!" I called flinging the front door open. "Come bask in my presence! Oh, and I have a gift!"

They all began to make their way into the living room where I was standing triumphantly.

"My apology for being excessive and snapping at you guys," I declare, holding out the bag.

"What's in there?" Marc inquired, his different colored eyes scanning the bag.

"I found the place of my dreams. Literally," I stated. "This forest. I was only there for a minute or two and I found a rabbit."

I nodded to the bag and Wil quickly took it. Opening it up, he grinned happily.

"North? Luke? Do either of you two want come help me cook this up?" Wil offered.

"Sure!" Luke agreed easily.

"Alright," North replied before turning to Silas and saying in Greek, "But do let me know what Zoya says. I want to hear her explanation."

I pretended that I couldn't understand him for the sake of giving them their privacy.

See? I can be kinda polite when I try!

"Anyway," I said once those three were gone. "I had a vision of us in the forest. It was our home, of sorts. A refuge for survivors and a place where the zombies came to us to be butchered. It wasn't even just a camp, either. It was huge. Built well and full of people, survivors and fighters. You guys really need to come down to see this place and tell me what you think."

There was a silence before Owen said finally, "This could be what we were working towards. A new beginning. A source of hope. A life after the end."

⸻

And now you see why I changed the cover the way I did, lol.

Sorry, it took so long. 抖阴社区r's block won a round, but I won this one.