I Survived the Apocalypse, Now Let Me Enjoy Life

“If this keeps going, we won’t be able to hold out until the evacuation vehicle arrives!”

The shout echoed through the backroom of a minimarket that had long been abandoned.

The glass doors at the front had been blocked with metal shelves, tables, and anything else that could be used as a barricade. But none of it helped much. Through the gaps, the shadows of zombies continued to move, filling the street outside and relentlessly slamming against the barricades.

The backroom’s metal door trembled, and everyone inside immediately turned toward it.

“How much longer?” Nial asked, breathing heavily.

“If they keep going like this...” The man standing near the door glanced outside, then wiped the sweat from his face. “Ten minutes at most.”

Ten minutes.

No one answered. They all knew that it was not enough time.

They had been waiting for three days in this district that had been almost completely abandoned. The military was supposed to have come that morning to evacuate the survivors, but until now, not a single vehicle had been seen.

Their food supplies were almost gone, their strength was also nearly exhausted, and worst of all, they only had one car left, with barely enough fuel for a long journey.

Outside, the number of zombies continued to increase.

“If we stay here, we all die,” the man finally said. “We have to send someone outside to lure them away and buy us some time.”

Everyone understood what he meant.

Someone had to drive the car away from the shelter, draw the zombies’ attention, then lead them as far away as possible so the others would have time to survive until the evacuation vehicle arrived.

There was only one problem.

The person who left might never return.

“Why don’t we just wait?” a woman asked quietly.

“Wait for what? Until they find us and break down the door?” The man gave a bitter laugh. “If no one does something now, we won’t even have enough time to wait for the evacuation vehicle.”

The sound of the zombies outside grew louder.

This time, the metal shelf shifted quite far.

“Decide quickly,” he said. “We don’t have time.”

Yet no one moved. They all looked at one another. No one wanted to die, that was a simple reality that could not be denied.

Several seconds passed before the man who had been speaking let out a long sigh and said, “Then... how about Morgan?”

All eyes immediately turned toward someone sitting in the corner of the room, Morgan.

He had been silent all this time while bandaging the wound on his arm. His jacket was torn in several places, and there were dried bloodstains along the side of his face. He said nothing when his name was mentioned, as if the conversation had nothing to do with him.

The man continued, “He’s not an Awakend. He… he doesn’t have any special abilities.”

Several people exchanged glances.

“If we lose him, at least we’ll still have six people with abilities.”

“That’s true. With our powers, we can still survive.”

One by one, voices began to emerge.

Nial immediately stood up, staring at them in disbelief.

“Shut up!” he shouted, his voice making everyone fall silent. “Are you seriously saying that? Morgan is the one who brought us this far.”

“He’s the one who protected us when one by one, we became weak before awakening our superpowers. He’s the one who rationed the food when our supplies were almost gone. He’s the one who went out every night looking for medicine for you. Even when we were attacked last week, he was the one who pulled two people out of the horde of zombies.”

Nial pointed at Morgan.

“If it weren’t for him, we might have been dead a long time ago.”

The man sighed.

“I’m not denying that.”

“Then why are you telling him to die?”

“Because we’re talking about who is most likely to survive.” 

He looked at Nial.

“You have the ability to strengthen your body. I can control fire. They have their own abilities as well. But Morgan? He has nothing.”

Hearing his dismissive words, Nial clenched his fists.

“He has more experience than all of us combined.”

“Experience doesn’t turn an ordinary human into an Awakend.”

That sentence made the atmosphere freeze again.

The man continued, “We’ve survived until now because of our abilities. Morgan did lead us well, but if we have to choose one person to sacrifice, why should we throw away someone who has powers?”

Some people lowered their heads, while others began to nod.

Nial looked at them one by one, then pointed at them angrily.

“Ungrateful! You’re all truly ungrateful!”

“Then what about you? If you’re so opposed to it, you go instead.”

The room fell silent again. The sound of the zombies outside became increasingly clear.

Nial stared at the door, his hands clenched into fists, and stepped forward.

“Fine. I’ll go.”

But before he could take the car keys, Morgan’s voice finally rang out.

“I’ll do it.”