The day the zombie apocalypse hit, our school was rehearsing a stage play. Brittany, the queen bee who played the elf, got healing powers. The background extra, who played a tree, became invisible to zombies. Liam, my childhood sweetheart playing the knight, could skewer zombies like shish kebabs with his long sword. … They all stared at me, a makeup artist, holding nothing but ordinary makeup brushes. So, I was abandoned. Later, when our paths crossed again, their team of powered individuals watched me get swallowed by a zombie horde, each one cracking sarcastic jokes. But I used my makeup brushes to turn zombies into my own superpowered army, instantly turning the tide. You guys are gods, but I’m the one who *makes* gods. **1.** When bad luck strikes, even cleaning up makeup backstage can get you attacked by a zombie. I was tackled onto the dressing table, screaming for help, my voice raw. But the stage, which had been so noisy just moments before, was now as silent as a tomb. My will to survive finally kicked in. I cried and fought, luckily managing to wrap a prop chain around its mouth. My hands shook like a leaf as I pulled back the curtain, ready to bolt, only to see a group of perfectly made-up people staring silently in my direction. When they saw it was me, they looked genuinely surprised. “Rose, you can’t even lift a water cooler bottle, and you beat a zombie?” Brittany, the queen bee, playfully punched her updo, a smirk playing on her lips. “Looks like I lost that bet again. The zombies had like, a ninety-nine percent chance of winning. How did they lose? My luck is just the worst, seriously.” Alex, the student body president, chuckled and chimed in, “A bet’s a bet. For the next two days, you’re my shadow, ensuring my safety when I’m fighting zombies.” “Ugh! Lucky you! I’m the most valuable healer now, everyone’s begging for my help.” My heart instantly sank. I’d thought everyone was dead. After all, when the zombies first broke out, the screams and wails on stage were non-stop. I’d even felt guilty for surviving alone. But they had just stood by, using my life as a damn bet! “You were all here? So, you intentionally left me to die? Why?” Everyone stared at me in silence, as if my question was utterly ridiculous. Brittany gave a light laugh. “If we didn’t push you, you wouldn’t have known you could defeat a zombie, right? So, what’s your power, Rose?” I was shocked and confused, instinctively retorting, “What power?” “No way?” She gasped. “You only beat that zombie because you got lucky?” Seeing me still standing there dumbfounded, her smile widened, becoming even more radiant. “Alright, I’ll be merciful and show you.” She walked over to a classmate with a scraped arm, gently placing her hands on the wound. The injury healed at a visible rate, then vanished without a trace! The classmate touched his smooth arm, his voice filled with awe. “Brittany’s power is healing. She’s the core member of our little team now!” I stood there, stunned, watching them show off their various abilities. The strongman classmate who played the bouncer threw zombies hundreds of feet away. The classmate who played a stone wall was impervious to blades. Alex, the student body president playing the king, just gave orders, and all the background extras sacrificed themselves to save him… Their golden auras were so blinding I could barely keep my eyes open. “We figured it out. Everyone got powers based on the roles they played in the drama club production.” “This proves we’re the chosen saviors, picked by fate!” Finally, everyone turned to look at the makeup brushes in my hand. After an eerie silence, they burst into laughter, sharing a knowing glance, their voices dripping with mockery. “Rose, you seriously plan to fight zombies with *that*? Aren’t you just going to be dead weight?” “Makeup brushes aren’t bad, though. You can poke zombies’ eyes with them, then they won’t see you!” “Brittany won’t be able to save anyone else if she’s too busy saving just you. How’s she supposed to be useful?” “Why don’t you volunteer to stay behind and cover our retreat? At least you’d be somewhat useful then!” **2.** My face went ghostly pale. I looked out the window at the dense swarm of zombies, feeling like I’d fallen into an ice pit. How could a normal person like me cover the retreat for a group of superpowered individuals? That was a death sentence. I looked at Liam with pleading eyes. We’d been childhood sweethearts for twenty years. My parents had even saved his entire family from a house fire. He wouldn’t just leave me to die. Sure enough, his brows softened, and he started to plead on my behalf. “Maybe Rose’s power just manifested later. Let’s give her a chance, okay? I can’t leave her here to die.” Someone immediately shot back, “Then *you* stay behind and protect her! But don’t forget, even if you can pierce three zombies with one sword, you can’t defeat the horde outside. Are you really going to give up your life for a useless person?” “Oh my god, seriously! The apocalypse is the worst with dead weight and overly soft heroes. You don’t fear a godly opponent, you fear a teammate who’s a total liability.” “What if you accidentally stab Rose while fighting a zombie? That would be hilarious.” Alex, the student body president, was always the peacemaker. “Let’s not call anyone useless. We’re all classmates. Liam’s right, what if Rose’s power is just late to awaken?” I looked at him gratefully, then heard him continue, “So, why don’t you go outside and find a zombie right now to trigger your potential? Or you can stay here in the school, there might still be a glimmer of hope.” He smiled sweetly at me. But a shiver ran down my spine. Only then did I realize that Alex had always been this kind of two-faced person during my days of being excluded by classmates. How could I forget? How could I forget that this very group of people had just tried to kill me! I grabbed Liam’s hand, clutching it like my only lifeline. “Liam, save me! Don’t leave me alone!” But Brittany stretched out her arms to Liam. “Liam, we need your combat power. Don’t be too soft-hearted in the apocalypse, okay? Do you want to see me exhaust myself trying to save her?” Liam didn’t let go. The two sides were at a standstill. The zombies outside grew more agitated. Someone began to pull out their weapon, pointing it at us. “Stop acting like a hero! Either stay or go, don’t waste our time here!” “Exactly! We don’t *need* you! To be honest, with dead weight like her, your combat power is even worse than mine.” “Alex, let’s go! If we drag this out any longer, all the zombies in the school will surround us!” Liam was torn, still trying to explain for me. “Rose is really good at long-distance running. She definitely won’t slow us down.” “So, you’re saying she’ll abandon us and run for her life in a crisis? We absolutely cannot let that kind of ungrateful wretch come with us!” “No, I mean…” Before he could finish, someone unexpectedly flung open the auditorium doors. The zombies, seeing a group of living people, their eyes glowing green, surged in like a tide. Everyone unleashed their powers to fight them off. In the chaos, Alex shouted, “Charge!” Everyone bolted outside. Someone shoved me, and by the time I reacted, I was behind everyone else. Liam turned back to look at me, his pupils shrinking. “Rose!” He wanted to save me, but Brittany suddenly shrieked, “Liam! Help me! The zombies are grabbing me!” Even though everyone else ran towards Brittany after hearing her cry for help, Liam hesitated. He looked at me, then at Brittany. My heart clenched instantly. I struggled, running towards him. “Liam! Save me!” Just as I was about to grab his hand, he pulled it back. “Rose, I owe you. I’ll repay you in the next life!” Then, he turned his back and ran towards Brittany without a second glance. **3.** I stood there stunned, unable to believe he would do that. Twenty years of childhood friendship, plus saving his family’s lives from a fire… and he said he’d repay me in the *next* life? If he wouldn’t save me in *this* life, what was he going to repay me with in the next?! I was trembling with rage. But the immediate priority was to get away from these zombies. Though most of them had been drawn away by the others, a few stragglers were still around. Seeing me, they shrieked and lunged. I picked up a spear from the ground, trying to overcome my fear, and thrust it into their chest. *Splat—* The zombie’s head exploded with a single blow. Its rotting body toppled onto me, and I finally reacted, screaming and scrambling backward. “Can you stand up?” A gloomy guy looked down at me, his voice hoarse. It took me a while to remember he was a classmate who always lurked in the corner of the classroom. I think his name was Caleb. Caleb, like me, was an outcast. We were also the only two people who weren’t in the drama club production. The difference was, I was disliked by a lot of girls for being too close to the popular Liam. He, on the other hand, was cold and arrogant, offended a lot of people by being a loner, and was subjected to silent treatment. “Th-thanks…” He extended a hand and helped me up. “I was worried these guys would use me as a human shield, so I pretended to be dead and observed them. Heh, just as I thought…” “Zombies aren’t human. Stabbing their hearts does nothing. You have to go for the head, understand?” “Got it! Got it!” I nodded repeatedly. He turned and started disposing of the bodies. I cautiously ventured, “Um… Caleb, are we, like, allies now?” After a few minutes, he just gave a faint “Hmm.” I sighed in relief and eagerly started helping him. But when I knelt down to look, I nearly fainted from fright. Caleb was collecting zombie blood in a glass bottle! “What are you collecting that for?” My voice trembled. Caleb glanced at me, calmly saying, “To mask our scent. You didn’t see the situation backstage earlier, but zombies use their noses to detect humans, not just their eyes.” “If we coat ourselves in their blood, we can fool them and get out safely.” I see. Despite the disgust, the thought that it was for survival pushed down my urge to vomit. After collecting the zombie blood, I took out my portable makeup brushes and started applying it to Caleb. The fishy smell of blood and decay went straight to my head. I painted and gagged. Caleb was a tough cookie, though; he didn’t even change his expression. If his eyelashes weren’t subtly trembling, I would’ve thought the person in front of me was already dead. “Alright, later you can just smear some zombie blood on yourself.” Caleb opened his eyes, and I was shocked to see his pupils had turned white! “Caleb, what’s wrong with your eyes?” I hadn’t even put colored contacts on him! A thought flashed through my mind. I snatched the spear from Caleb’s hand and leaped away. The next second, Caleb lunged at me, trying to bite. He had turned into a zombie! Cold sweat poured down me. I cursed the heavens for being so unfair. Not only did I not have a power, but my freshly-made ally turned into a zombie! The problem was, Caleb hadn’t even said he was injured! Was this just a conspiracy to keep me from living?! Caleb didn’t give me a chance to react and lunged again. I dodged while aiming the spear at his head. But killing someone sounds easy; doing it is a whole different beast. Aside from the blood all over his face, Caleb looked exactly like a human. I just couldn’t bring myself to do it! Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a prop water tank on the stage. A lightbulb went off. I jogged, luring Caleb towards it. As he lunged, I used all my strength to tackle him down and hold him underwater. *Gurgle, gurgle, gurgle—* Caleb was submerged, the blood he’d just had on his face swirling in the water. He was still struggling. I hardened my heart and pressed down harder. Caleb slowly stopped moving. I finally let out a breath, collapsing weakly to the side, about to lament my unfair fate. Unexpectedly, Caleb suddenly convulsed, then gripped the edge of the water tank and climbed out. **4.**
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