After the global collapse, my daughter Daisy’s radiation immunity became our family’s lifeline, finding us food and clean water. But my sister-in-law, Cassandra, pointed at Daisy, accusing her of stealing her son Leo’s abilities. The next day, my six-year-old Daisy was thrown by my husband, Julian, into an abandoned pipe crawling with mutated rats. I knelt outside the iron bars, my head slamming against the concrete, begging them to pull Daisy out. Julian impatiently kicked me away: “She can’t be poisoned to death anyway. What’s wrong with a few rat bites?” “We’re family. Just letting Cassandra blow off some steam.” I watched, horrified, as my daughter screamed and ran inside the pipe, her clothes torn, her tiny body covered in bloody gashes. Cassandra, bored, pulled Julian away to distribute food. Daisy’s cries grew weaker and weaker, until all that was left was the excited gnawing of mutated rats. When Julian finally returned, all that was left of Daisy was half a tiny leg, dragging from the pipe opening. He kicked away a rat still tearing at her, then sneered at me: “Still wailing? I only put common rats in there. They can’t kill a person.” “Who knew she was so stupid she wouldn’t even realize that?”
I knelt on the cold concrete ground, my forehead already raw and bloody. “Please… please, just pull her up… she’s just a child!” My throat was raw from screaming, my fingers scraping against the gaps in the iron bars, nails tearing and bending backwards, but I felt no pain. From deep within the pipe came rustling sounds, mixed with Daisy’s heart-wrenching screams. “Mommy… Mommy, help me! It hurts so bad… they’re biting me… Mommy…” That sound was like a dull blade, slowly, agonizingly carving into my heart. I frantically shook the fence, only to be met with Julian’s impatient kick. “So noisy!” He kicked me to the ground, looking down at me. “Willow, can’t you be sensible? She’s just a girl, is it really worth this?” I crawled over and hugged his leg. “Julian, that’s your daughter, your own daughter.” “Tsk.” He shook me off, turning to look at Cassandra, who was clinging to him. “Cassandra’s right. That girl is just overdramatic.” “So what if she’s radiation immune? If our Leo went out to find supplies, he’d be a hundred times better than her.” Cassandra chuckled, covering her mouth. Her fingers, adorned with vibrant red nail polish, traced circles on Julian’s chest. “Julian, I knew you were the most reasonable one. Kids, they need a little lesson to learn their place.” “Mommy… Mommy…” Daisy’s voice grew weaker and weaker, replaced by the excited squeaking and tearing sounds of the mutated rats. I trembled, lunging at the fence again, but Cassandra grabbed a handful of my hair. “Willow, don’t push your luck.” She leaned close to my ear, a smile twisting her lips. “Your daughter stole my son’s abilities. This is her deserved karma.” “What abilities? There are no abilities!” I shrieked hysterically. “Daisy is just… just physically unique…” “Enough!” Julian cut me off impatiently. “Cassandra, let’s go distribute the supplies. Don’t waste time here.” Cassandra immediately beamed. “Okay, I’m starving anyway.” Before she left, she deliberately kicked the fence. “Little bastard, enjoy yourself.” They walked away, embracing, as my daughter’s increasingly faint cries for help echoed in my ears. I fumbled for a piece of shattered rock on the ground and furiously smashed it against the fence lock. The sound echoed in the empty sewer, but it didn’t budge the sturdy iron lock in the slightest. “Daisy… Daisy, hold on… Mommy’s here…” My voice was choked, fragmented. The response from the pipe had dwindled to faint sobs, then the chilling sound of gnawing. I don’t know how long passed, my hands were already raw and bloody. All I could hear was the rustling feeding sounds of the mutated rats. When Julian and Cassandra returned, well-fed and satisfied, my tears had run dry. Julian carelessly kicked away a fat rat that crawled out of the pipe opening, then shone his flashlight inside. “Tsk, already given up?” He frowned, his eyes full of impatience. “I put common rats in there. They can’t kill a person.” I stared blankly at the pipe opening. Only half of a tiny leg remained, wearing the little bunny socks I had sewn for Daisy myself. Julian followed my gaze, then suddenly laughed. “Huh? That stupid girl, did she just scare herself to death? I told you she always lied and played victim since she was little, didn’t I?” In that moment, a surge of murderous intent ripped through me.
I curled up on the damp, cold concrete floor, my arms tightly wrapped around Daisy’s tiny, incomplete leg. The small limb was already ice-cold, the sock stained with dark red blood. From the next room, the rhythmic creaking of a bed frame and Cassandra’s exaggerated moans slithered into my ears like venomous snakes. “Ah… Julian… you’re so much better than that old hag…” I bit down hard on my lower lip, the taste of rust spreading in my mouth. The small sock in my arms suddenly slipped, revealing a stark white bone. That was the only part of Daisy that was still somewhat intact. My stomach clenched violently, bile and acid surging up my throat, but I swallowed it back down. Memories from three years ago suddenly flashed through my mind. Back then, the apocalypse hadn’t arrived. Julian knelt under a cherry tree outside the company building, holding a diamond ring, looking so sincere. His voice trembled slightly in the spring breeze. “Willow, I will protect you and our future child with my life.” At that time, the sincerity in his eyes made me cry like an idiot. The scene shifted to the day Daisy was born. In the delivery room, Julian held our swaddled daughter, his fingers gently caressing her tender, pink face, his eyes soft as a spring puddle. “Our princess is so beautiful.” He leaned down and kissed my sweaty forehead. “Thank you for giving me a complete home.” Seeing the joy in his eyes made all the pain feel worthwhile. When the first pollution alarm sounded, he drove through the night from the east side of the city to the west to pick up Daisy and me. In the rearview mirror, his gaze was as firm as iron: “Don’t be scared, I’m here.” Outside the car window, crowds scattered in panic, but his arms were my safest harbor. The fragments of memory suddenly sharpened. When did he change? Was it the day Cassandra arrived with her five-year-old son Leo, seeking refuge with us? Or when supplies became increasingly scarce? I watched his eyes grow colder, watched his growing disdain for our daughter, and his overwhelming care for Cassandra… A dull thud from the next room – bodies hitting the wall – followed by Julian’s sated sigh. My hands trembling, I unbuttoned my collar, carefully tucking Daisy’s small sock and that piece of bone into my pocket, close to my skin. The fabric immediately soaked with blood, burning against my heart. “Mommy, don’t be scared… Daisy will protect you…” Before my last outing, Daisy wiped away my tears with her tiny hands. She always said she was a little superhero, meant to protect her timid mommy. She didn’t know that Mommy was the one who should have protected her. Moonlight slanted in through the vent. I looked down at my blood-stained hands. I stood up mechanically, my legs long since numb. I stumbled before I could steady myself. The blast door opening required triple authentication, but I had long memorized Julian’s fingerprint sequence. When the third green light glowed, I opened the blast door. In the early morning, the howl of mutated wolves ripped through the night sky as I stood on the lookout tower. The sound was unlike a normal wolf’s howl; it made my scalp crawl. Soon, a dozen pairs of eerie green eyes gleamed in the darkness. Julian burst out, shirtless, Cassandra following, disheveled, one high heel missing. Their panicked flight towards the SUV made me laugh out loud. “Willow, are you insane?” Julian looked up, saw me standing on the lookout tower, and his face instantly turned ashen. In the moonlight, I could clearly see the un-faded lipstick mark on his neck, vivid red like blood. I didn’t answer, just watched silently as the first mutated wolf pounced on Cassandra. The beast was the size of a small calf, its fur patchy and falling out, revealing rotting muscle underneath. It bit into Cassandra’s meticulously styled long hair, dragging her to the ground. Her scream cut short as the second wolf clamped its jaws around her throat. Julian hesitated for a second. Just one second, then he plunged into the driver’s seat without looking back. The roar of the engine mingled with Cassandra’s dying screams. The SUV rammed through two mutated wolves blocking its way and sped off, leaving a trail of dust. More mutated creatures poured in through the open blast door. I knew this was just the beginning. Julian, you can escape for a while, but you can’t escape forever. From today on, I am no longer the weak Willow. I will live, live longer than anyone else, until I see Julian descend into hell with my own eyes.
I wandered through the ruins for three days. Daisy’s little finger, tucked against my heart, had taken on my body temperature. Sometimes I even imagined I felt it tremble faintly. On the evening of the fourth day, I was surrounded by a pack of wolves. They emerged from beneath a collapsed overpass—twelve of them, maybe more. These mutated wolves were the size of adult Tibetan mastiffs, their exposed skin covered in festering sores. Their fangs were grotesquely elongated, dripping corrosive saliva. The alpha wolf at the front had a rotting empty socket where its right eye should be, its remaining left eye fixed intently on me. I stood my ground. I didn’t run. Death was no longer terrifying to me; it would be a release. The pack slowly closed in, their foul breath hot on my face. I closed my eyes, waiting for the pain to descend. However, nothing happened. I opened my eyes and found the alpha wolf sniffing my clothing, perplexed. Its rotting snout brushed against my exposed arm, but it didn’t bite. The other wolves also appeared unusually agitated, circling me but not daring to approach. “What the hell…?” A rough male voice came from above the ruins. I looked up and saw six fully armed people standing on the edge of the broken overpass. The man in the lead wore a gas mask, but I could feel his sharp gaze fixed on me. He made a gesture, and the others immediately fanned out, moving as swiftly as a pack of leopards. Gunshots rang out, but not aimed at me. Precise shots took down three wolves closest to me. The pack stirred, but instead of attacking me, they bared their teeth at the source of the gunfire. “Ma’am, slowly move to your right.” The leading man shouted at me, his voice muffled through the gas mask. “There’s a recess there, you can temporarily hide.” I didn’t move. Why hide? Wouldn’t it be better for the wolves to tear me apart? The man cursed, then leaped down from the broken bridge. He landed with a forward roll to absorb the impact, his movements clean and precise. As he got to his feet, he had already drawn a military knife. A flash of silver, and a wolf that lunged at him had its throat slit with deadly accuracy. “Are you trying to get yourself killed?” He grabbed my wrist, pulling me behind him. He dealt with the wolves that rushed him one by one. After the last wolf fell, the man finally took off his gas mask. He had a sharply defined face, a scar above his left eyebrow, adding a touch of ferocity to his otherwise handsome features. He panted, but his eyes never left my face. “Are you hurt?” I shook my head, realizing my wrist was still in his grasp. His palm was wide and rough, surprisingly warm. “Why didn’t those wolves attack you?” He asked the crucial question. I didn’t know how to answer. In fact, I wanted to know the answer too. Was it because of Daisy? She could move freely in the radiation zones, and now part of her flesh and blood was integrated with mine… “Never mind. Let’s get out of here first.” Ryder released my wrist and spoke into his communicator. “Found a survivor, female, showing unusual circumstances. Requesting return to base.” “I’m not going to any base.” I took a step back. Ryder raised an eyebrow. “Then where do you plan to go? Continue wandering in the ruins?” “Next time, it might not be a wolf pack. It could be something far worse.” “That’s none of your business.” He stared at me for a few seconds, then suddenly smiled. “Interesting. Fine, go wherever you want.” He turned and waved to his team. “Pack up, we’re heading southeast as planned.” Southeast. My heart pounded. That was the direction Julian had fled. “Wait.” I heard myself say, “Are you… are you searching for survivors?” Ryder turned back, his gaze sharp enough to pierce through my thoughts. “Not entirely.” “We’re tracking a group of scavengers. They’ve looted several shelters.” He paused. “Heard the leader is a man with a missing left arm, with a crazy woman.” “Something about… Julian?” My nails dug deeply into my palms. Julian lost his left arm? When did that happen? “If you change your mind, follow along.” Ryder had already turned to walk away. “But fair warning, if you’re with us, you’re a team member. You follow orders.” I looked at his back, then touched Daisy’s little finger near my heart. I said, “I’m in.” My Daisy died. Why should Julian get to live unharmed?
As we approached the shelter, a familiar cough echoed from a corner. My blood instantly froze. It was Julian. He was curled up in a pile of moldy blankets, his left sleeve empty and dangling, his face ashen like a corpse. Cassandra was squatting beside him, wiping sweat from his forehead with a dirty rag. Her son, Leo, was nowhere to be seen. The moment Julian looked up and saw me, his murky eyes suddenly lit up. “Willow?” He struggled to stand, his voice hoarse and unrecognizable. “You’re alive.” Cassandra whipped her head around, her meticulously drawn eyebrows raised high. “Well, well, still clinging to life, are we?” She sneered. “What, here to beg Julian for food?” My nails dug deeply into my palms. Ryder, sensing my unease, stepped half a pace to shield me. He asked quietly, “You know them?” “My husband.” I heard myself say. “My former husband.” Julian’s expression rapidly shifted from surprise to anger. “Willow, you have the nerve to come back?” He swayed as he stood. “If you hadn’t opened the blast door, how would I have…” He lifted his empty left sleeve, his voice choked. “How would Leo have…” So the child died. A twisted sense of satisfaction welled up in my heart, but it was immediately swallowed by a greater emptiness. A child’s death shouldn’t make me happy, even if it was Cassandra’s son. “Enough.” Ryder’s voice wasn’t loud, but it instantly silenced the entire shelter. He turned to the shelter’s manager. “This is Willow, a new member of our team.” “She has a unique constitution; she can move freely in heavily radiated zones without getting infected.” A collective gasp swept through the room. Julian and Cassandra’s expressions were priceless. First shock, then greed, then deep, profound fear. “Impossible!” Cassandra shrieked. “She’s just a regular housewife!” Ryder scoffed and pulled a radiation detector from his backpack. He gestured for me to extend my hand, then placed the detector against my skin. The instrument remained silent. But when he moved it towards himself, a piercing alarm immediately blared. “This…” Julian’s eyes widened, shimmering with an emotion I couldn’t decipher. “Willow, what’s going on?” I didn’t answer. Ryder clapped his hands. “From today on, Ms. Willow will be in charge of our supply exchange with the East District shelter.” “Anyone who disrespects her will be considered an enemy of the entire shelter.” Julian’s expression changed again and again, finally settling into a sickeningly fawning look. “My wife… I mean, ex-wife, she’s always been excellent.” He tried to approach me, but Ryder’s gaze pinned him to the spot. “Willow, we need to talk…” That night, I lay in the private cubicle assigned to our team, listening to the continuous coughing and groaning outside. A shadow appeared under the door crack. Then came a familiar, careful knocking. “Willow? It’s me.” Julian’s voice was barely a whisper. “Please, just five minutes.” I scoffed silently, but opened the door anyway. He slinked in like a stray dog, smelling of stale sweat and unwashed clothes. In the dim light, I saw the bloodshot in his eyes and his deeply sunken cheeks. “I know you hate me.” He dropped to his knees as soon as he spoke, his empty sleeve dangling limply. “But I truly regret it, Willow.” “That day, I was misled by Cassandra, I…” “Daisy was only six.” I said softly, my fingers unconsciously caressing the cloth pouch on my chest. “She was still calling for Mommy when she died.” Julian’s tears immediately flowed, whether real or fake. “I have nightmares every night…” He choked. “That pipe… I only found out later that a few mutated rats had gotten in…” Lies. All lies. I distinctly remembered him saying they were just common rats, saying Daisy was too stupid and scared herself to death. But now, looking at him sobbing, I suddenly understood what I needed to do. “Julian…” I reached out and gently stroked his dirty hair, my voice intentionally soft. “I… I also made mistakes…” He clung to my leg like a drowning man grasping a lifeline. “Can we start over? Just like before…” “Give me some time.” I said gently. “Right now, I have to follow the team, but… maybe after the mission is over…” Julian looked up, the hope in his eyes nauseating. “I’ll wait for you.” He said eagerly. “I’ll cut ties with that crazy woman, I swear.” Footsteps suddenly sounded outside the door, and Julian flinched. Ryder’s voice came from outside: “Willow? Everything alright in there?” Julian frantically let go of me. I quickly adjusted my expression and opened the door. Ryder stood at the doorway, his gaze like a knife, sweeping over Julian kneeling on the ground. “Am I interrupting your reunion?” His tone was chillingly calm. Julian scrambled up awkwardly, lowering his head, and slinked away. In the early hours of the morning, an alarm ripped through the shelter’s tranquility. “Mutated plant invasion! Everyone evacuate to the central hall immediately!”
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