In the first year of the apocalypse, Liam grew tired of me. He began favoring my sister, Rowan, his combat partner. Everyone in the team silently agreed they were the perfect match, leaving me feeling like an outcast. Before the apocalypse, I was his light, his savior. After, I became nothing but a dead weight, dragging our team down. Later, after he and my sister finally confessed their feelings during a battle, he allowed the rest of the team to bully me. To save the one he truly loved, he even pushed me into the arms of another man. Until, I truly fell for someone else. He suddenly remembered me, the girl who took him in, battered and broken, back when we first met. **1** I huddled with the Normals, curled up in a corner in the dead of night. I quickly ducked my head, took a stealthy bite of the last cookie, holding it in my mouth to muffle any sound. My stomach churned with acid, protesting the long hours of hunger. The cookie was a little moldy. I’d secretly stashed it away earlier when we were scavenging for supplies. It was the second year of the apocalypse. We still hadn’t reached the Northern Base, and our team had grown from five to twelve members. Seven Ability Users and five Normals. I was one of the Normals, never having awakened an ability. Not far away, a group held up lights, studying a map. Their voices drifted faintly. “Newport City has fallen. We’ll have to skirt around it, cutting through the mountains to reach the town on the other side. Fewer zombies there. Rowan, what do you think?” A cool, detached female voice replied, “Hmm. That works.” I looked up when I heard his voice. The man holding the lamp had messy hair, but his eyes held a surprising gentleness. “We should reach the Northern Base in about a month. I heard order is slowly being restored there.” Liam and I hadn’t spoken in a long time, even though he was my boyfriend. I finished the last crumb of my cookie, my gaze falling on the woman in leather, exuding an icy coolness. Thank goodness, only a month left. Once we reach the Northern Base, everything will be fine. I’d heard even Normals could live decent lives there. Then, I could finally end things. My fingers instinctively brushed against the zombie crystal core I’d secretly stashed in my pocket. They said if a Normal swallowed a pure crystal, there was a chance they’d awaken an ability. Ability Users could absorb it to grow stronger, but for a Normal, it meant a gruesome, explosive death. Yet, holding it, a fragile spark of hope flickered within me. While the Ability User squad cleared out the zombies outside, our Normal squad searched the convenience store for any remaining supplies. I wore a pack nearly half my height and climbed through a small window into a convenience store. It looked like it had already been picked clean. Only a few daily necessities and some dried peanuts were left. I stuffed everything into my bag, then my sharp eyes spotted a box of coconut candies under the table. I crouched down and tucked them into my sleeve. It was deep summer outside, but thick winter clothing enveloped my skeletal frame. I slowed my breathing, trying to minimize my presence. I handed over everything I found to Hank, the man in charge of supplies. Hank’s gaze lingered on me, laced with ill intent. That predatory look had been following me for a long time now. He took my bag, his clammy fingers brushing my hand. Hank grinned. “Elara, you’re dressed so heavily, but your hands are still freezing.” I pulled my hand back and scurried behind Liam, linking my arm through his. Liam frowned, looking at me, but I just tilted my head back and gave him a sweet, innocent smile, pretending not to notice his stiff posture. Rowan glanced at us, her eyes flashing with a hint of mockery as she saw our linked arms. “Before the apocalypse, she relied on her parents. After, she relies on men…” I pressed my lips together, offering no defense. She seemed to find it uninteresting, turning away, her neat ponytail whipping through the air. Liam watched her disappear into the vehicle, then turned to me, his gaze laced with clear disapproval. “Elara, you know your sister gets upset when she sees you. Why do you always have to appear in front of her?” The impatience in his eyes was almost palpable. I stared, stunned, biting my lip, trying to look lost and helpless. “I’m sorry, but I was scared. Hank just touched me.” Liam’s expression became uncomfortable, but he didn’t pull his hand away. This was the man I’d been with since high school. I’d found him in a dark, damp alley. Ribs showed through his emaciated frame, covered in wounds, passed out in dirty water. Pity compelled me to rescue him. I scrounged and saved every penny to get him treated, even shared my meager meals daily when he had nothing to eat. Back then, Liam’s mother had passed away, and his father was an alcoholic who beat him senseless when drunk. He only managed to stay in school because his grades were exceptional, earning him a scholarship. Slowly, the dark, brooding boy I knew began to heal, his eyes and heart holding only me. We naturally fell in love. He even gave up a scholarship opportunity to attend the same university as me. But on our wedding day, the apocalypse hit. A guest mutated, tearing into another, plunging the reception into utter chaos. My parents, in a desperate act to save us, locked Rowan and me behind an iron gate. They used their own bodies as a shield, buying us precious moments to escape. Then, right before our eyes, they turned, becoming mindless zombies. Rowan was my older sister, three years my senior, and she’d despised me since we were kids. From childhood, I was sickly; a simple cold could nearly kill me. Until I was thirteen, I was practically on medication every day. While other kids chased and played, I could only watch from indoors. Even when my health improved, my parents still worried endlessly about me. I was always so docile and well-behaved, they never spoke a harsh word to me. Rowan always believed my presence stole her parents’ love, feeling they played favorites. During her teenage years, she was as prickly as a hedgehog, and we argued constantly, every other day. She later went to a university far from home and only returned when I was about to get married. That day, her hatred seemed to climax. She grabbed my arm, relentlessly questioning, “Why you, Elara? Why aren’t you dead? If you hadn’t gotten married, none of this would’ve happened! Mom and Dad wouldn’t be dead! You’re a curse, a jinx! They gave you all their love, and even in their last moments, they told me to take care of you! Why, Elara? Why don’t you just die?!” In our small team, Rowan and Liam were the first to awaken their abilities. Ability Users were physically superior to Normals in every way, their strength and endurance far exceeding ours. Rowan had ice powers, Liam awakened fire powers. The other two were Liam’s college roommates, who awakened water and wood abilities respectively. With the apocalypse came earthquakes and floods, ravaging human homes. Nearly all water sources were contaminated, and cities plunged into darkness. Later, we heard there was a survivor’s base up north, so our group set off on the journey. Initially, everyone was friendly to me, but that changed when they realized I hadn’t awakened an ability. Resentment started to fester within the team. If I hadn’t been Liam’s girlfriend and Rowan’s sister, they would have said something. But instead, their occasional impatience and disgust revealed their inner disdain. They probably forgot that, in the beginning, before they awakened their abilities, when buildings were being destroyed by thousands of zombies, it was *me* who squeezed into collapsed ruins to find food. When their abilities were slow to improve, I was also the first to discover that some zombies had crystal cores in their heads. I watched as, over this past year, Liam’s heart was slowly, undeniably, turning towards Rowan. Her ice, his fire – a devastating combination that made quick work of any zombie horde. They were the most in-sync partners, a truly formidable duo. Maybe he felt a kinship with Rowan, a shared sense of tragedy. The more he learned about her past, comparing it to my own carefree nature, the more he seemed to ache for her strength and independence. During food shortages, I even overheard them debating whether to abandon me. They were combat partners, fighting side-by-side. I was nothing but a dead weight, dragging them down. Other Normals, even without abilities, could manage against zombies in groups. But I was weak, frail. I was only useful for my small size, able to squeeze into tight spots to find food. Nothing more than a burden. Later, Hank and his group joined. Hank was a Strength Ability User, and the man with him, George, had a rare healing ability. When did I realize he no longer loved me? Perhaps it was his silence when others mocked me. Or perhaps it was the day I went to get into the car, and my usual seat was piled high with a large duffel bag, packed with all the food I’d found. And Liam’s hesitant eyes when he looked at me. “This car is for Ability Users only. Elara, I’m the leader. I can’t show you favoritism just because you’re my girlfriend. Can you understand that, Elara?” I nodded and went to the back, to the minivan with the rest of the Normals. The Normals in the team were all like me. Any food we found had to be given to the Ability Users. Normals were given only tiny portions of water and food each day, just enough to sustain life. Everyone in the van was silent, eyes closed, conserving energy. That’s when everyone knew: Liam didn’t consider me special anymore. If I hadn’t been Liam’s girlfriend, Hank would have made his move on me long ago. And Liam seemed oblivious to Hank’s blatant, predatory gaze. He just dismissed it, telling me I was overthinking things. “Liam, we’re almost at the Northern Base.” I whispered, lowering my eyes. He paused, as if he hadn’t understood my meaning. I sighed internally. Once we reached the Northern Base, no one would have to pretend anymore. We’d all be free. **2** After a day of rest, the team set off on foot into the mountains. Newport City had long since become a zombie-infested ruin. We planned to enter through a small town at the foot of the mountains. I followed the team. This area used to be a tourist attraction, with man-made paths, so the mountain trail wasn’t too treacherous. The mountain forest was strangely quiet. Behind me, a Normal collapsed. The prolonged hunger had made it impossible for him to keep walking, but everyone else simply ignored him, as if he didn’t exist, continuing forward. I followed, the weight of my backpack reminding me that supplies were low. As I passed him, two coconut candies tumbled from my sleeve. When I looked up after doing that, my eyes met Rowan’s cold gaze. “I think someone needs to carry the pack.” I kept my head down and walked forward, pretending not to hear her. But then the strap of my backpack was yanked. “I said, someone needs to carry it. Are you deaf?!” The people in front stopped. All eyes were on Rowan and me. Rowan suddenly grabbed my arm and yanked up my thick winter sleeve. A bag of coconut candies and two compressed biscuits fell out. “Because someone’s being selfish and hoarding food.” “In the apocalypse, the first to die are the bleeding hearts. You’re damn lucky you’ve made it this far.” Her tone was mocking, her eyes filled with disdain. She picked up the biscuits from the ground and threw them at the collapsed Normal. “Eat up and hurry along.” Then she glared at me. “Don’t let me find anything else missing from the bag.” “I understand,” I mumbled, not a hint of embarrassment for being caught hoarding food. Most of the supplies in the apocalypse had already been scavenged. The majority of the food in our team’s possession was found by me, tucked away in dangerous, narrow crevices. I had to face the constant threat of zombies while navigating crumbling, precarious buildings. And since I found most of our team’s food, I didn’t feel I owed them anything, even if I hadn’t awakened an ability. The supplies they rationed to Normals were pitifully small. What I hid, I believed, was rightfully mine. But I said nothing. Speaking up would only make them think I was ungrateful. The team stopped at a mountain lodge halfway up the slope. Night had fallen. The place seemed to have been ransacked already; anything useful was gone. I set down my heavy pack. Clearly, they had no intention of sharing food with the Normals tonight. I went upstairs, searching every room, trying to find some forgotten scrap of food, but found nothing. No one noticed me. I quickly popped the last coconut candy I’d hidden in my chest into my mouth, then went downstairs and curled up in a corner to try and sleep. A group not far away seemed to be discussing something. Finally, they all left. They returned in the middle of the night. Liam was carrying Rowan, his face etched with worry. She was pale, leaning against him, her entire shoulder soaked with blood. I could vaguely see the raw flesh underneath. If she didn’t get treatment soon, Rowan would turn into a mindless zombie. The two groups seemed to be arguing, the atmosphere tense and volatile. I hid behind the crowd, vaguely understanding what had happened. Rowan had sensed a high-tier zombie in these mountains. Everyone else’s abilities had been leveling up, but hers had stagnated for too long. She was fiercely competitive, incapable of accepting that she was standing still. After sensing the high-tier zombie, she was desperate to get its crystal core. To get this crystal, everyone in the team had taken hits, but Rowan was clearly the most gravely wounded. Hank and George, the healing ability user behind him, along with a Lightning Ability User, stood opposite Liam. Liam’s eyes were bloodshot, and a fiery ball gathered in his palm, ready to strike at any second. “Make your man save Rowan! Besides this Fourth-Tier crystal, I’ll give you anything you want, *anything*.” “Anything I want?” Hank’s ill-intentioned gaze fell on me, then he grinned. “I want you to break up with Elara.” Liam turned and looked at me, standing outside the circle. My lips trembled, and my face instantly went pale. If I lost my status as an Ability User’s girlfriend, as a Normal without an awakened power, my fate was easy to imagine. Hank’s voice continued, “Anyone with eyes can see you’re Elara’s boyfriend, yet you’re obviously into Rowan too. We only have a few women in this team, and you’re hogging the two prettiest ones. That’s not fair, is it? Let go of Elara, and I promise to treat her well. Besides, she’s just a Normal, no ability — being with me would be her goddamn good fortune.” They laughed and debated, nobody caring about what I wanted. They simply decided my future with ease. Liam turned back to me. I instinctively grabbed his hand, tears welling in my eyes. “No, Liam, I don’t want to break up.” Only a month left until the Northern Base! Just one month! Liam looked down at me. He carefully put Rowan down, then gripped my hand and pulled me away. “Liam, you promised you wouldn’t leave me.” I flung myself into his arms, my tears blurring my vision. “Liam, Liam, don’t break up…” I pleaded in a low voice. Breaking up would send a dangerous signal to everyone else. Then, I’d just be a slab of meat on the chopping block, to be devoured not just by Hank, but by the other Ability Users in the team too. In the apocalypse, order had crumbled, and humanity’s depravity was on full display. I’d seen what happened to other Normals, both men and women, who hadn’t awakened abilities. The weak weren’t their kin; they were just resources, to be traded or consumed. I didn’t want to become that. We were so close, just one more month. “Elara, I’m sorry…” Liam’s expression was cold, devoid of the pity he once held for me. “Elara, your sister, she’s always had such a hard life. She was neglected since she was a child, always so strong-willed. I always thought I only felt a comradeship for her, but today, seeing her on the verge of death, I can’t lie to myself anymore. I’ve fallen for her.” “Do you know what will happen to me if we break up?” He fell silent, then spoke, “Hank is a Fourth-Tier Strength user, just as powerful as me. For you, he’s a decent option.” He analyzed it calmly, his eyes devoid of the tenderness they once held. The man who, in the early days of the apocalypse, had shielded me with his body, nearly dying at the hands of the Infected, now looked like a demon. “Besides, Elara, she’s your sister. When did you become so selfish? Do you know when I started to fall for your sister? She pretends not to care about the Normals, but when facing zombies, she’s always the first to charge in. But you? You only think of yourself, even when your own sister’s life hangs in the balance.” As he spoke, a cruel sneer twisted his lips. Rowan’s ‘tough exterior, soft heart’ act was only for others. We were sisters, yet she hated me so fiercely. As a child, she could have softened her tone a little to mend her relationship with our parents, but she always chose the sharpest thorns to face our family. When she insisted on going to a university far from home, our parents, unable to stop her, agonized over it, their hair turning gray with worry. The expenses there were huge. They sent her a hefty sum every month, even selling our family home and downsizing to afford it. No one ever owed her anything. All this way, because of Liam and Rowan’s subtle dislike for me, I had been isolated by everyone. Despite there being so many Normals in the team, I was the only one they routinely mocked and called useless. I wiped my tears, looking at the man before me, knowing it was hopeless. I turned and walked towards the door, a faint glow of dawn visible in the sky, illuminating a path through the mountains. Liam’s voice drifted from behind me, eerily quiet. “There are still some zombies in the mountains. We’ve been here so long, they’ve probably caught our scent. They should be nearby. If you think you can get down the mountain safely by yourself, then go ahead.” “Elara, how did you become so selfish?” I turned back to him. He seemed certain I wouldn’t dare go alone. Liam’s gaze was a mixture of disappointment and relief—as if he was finally seeing me for who I truly was, and was glad of it. To ensure safety, everyone stayed together. I huddled with the Normals, curled up in a corner, knees drawn to my chest. It was an excruciatingly uncomfortable position, but I’d grown used to it. An hour later, everyone rested in place. Sunlight streamed into the room, dimly illuminating the scene. A pair of hands pulled me up. I screamed, but a hand clamped over my mouth and nose. The room was silent. I struggled, kicking over a table and chairs in the living room. I saw the sofa where Liam had been sleeping shift, then settle back into stillness. The man’s foul stench filled my nostrils. His hands, like steel clamps, cinched my waist, dragging me into a room. Everyone else pretended to be oblivious. I gritted my teeth, fumbling for the small knife in my pocket. With a swift movement, I sliced open my palm, drawing blood. When everyone else awakened their abilities, even a tiny scratch on me would draw countless zombies. Born frail, then cursed by the apocalypse, even the ability I’d instinctively awakened was a useless, dangerous curse that seemed intent on killing me. I closed my eyes. If no one wanted me alive, then let everyone die. The hand covering my mouth and nose loosened. He started tearing at my clothes. The blade in my palm sank halfway into my flesh, and blood dripped onto the bedsheets. Outside the window, pale, decaying zombies smashed through the window, lunging into the room and shattering the quiet. Hank scrambled to his feet. I lay limp on the bed, my thick winter coat ripped open, revealing the short-sleeved top underneath. Liam pushed open the door, practically unable to look me in the eyes. They finished off the zombies. Hank pried open a zombie head, found no crystal core, then spat in disgust and left the room, his interest gone. Liam looked back at me. After a long moment, he closed the door. I looked at the scattered zombie corpses on the floor, walked over, and slowly reached out my hand. Just as it was about to touch the rotting flesh, I yanked it back. I couldn’t die. After all the mockery, scorn, and bullying in the apocalypse, enduring so much—wasn’t it all just to survive? **3** The next day, the team continued their trek. The mountain path stretched endlessly, growing steeper and more treacherous the further we went. Besides a few zombies in hiking gear, there were no other signs of life.
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