Dark Queen Of Apocalypse (by Morgan Hale) novel Chapter 12

Chapter 12

Zombies had extremely poor eyesight, almost blind, but their hearing was razor–sharp. Even the slightest sound could draw a horde.

“Young lady, it’s dangerous out there. Where are you going?” an old woman’s shaky voice called from a nearby window.

She’d seen Chloe take down the zombies like a total badass and was stunned that such a pretty girl could be so fearless.

“I’m heading out for supplies,” Chloe replied.

A middle–aged man chimed in, “Can you grab some stuff for us from the supermarket? We’ll pay you.”

Chloe just scoffed and walked off without looking back.

The middle–aged man wanted to follow her, only to find the doorway swarmed by zombies. Their faces were twisted, fangs out, dark blood oozing from their wounds.

He rushed to lock every window and door, telling himself waiting for rescue was way more practical.

*****

The sky was gloomy. Except for a few zombies shuffling around, the streets were dead empty. As soon as they spotted Chloe, they let out those ear–piercing, guttural screams.

Chloe took down three zombies and, fighting her revulsion, smeared their blood all over herself to mask her own scent.

Cars were too noisy, so she hopped on her mountain bike and took off. She hurried to her marked spot and immediately spotted the mutagenic herb.

She moved like lightning, her eyes fierce and almost obsessive with her hunger for power.

There were only three ways to become a powered human: natural awakening, developing virus resistance, or eating a mutagenic herb.

The first humans to become powered would be the ones running the apocalypse.

The lush mutagenic herb stood three feet tall before Chloe. Red spots marked its single, slender leaf, with a bright red, thumb–sized fruit hanging at the tip.

Chloe’s heart thumped wildly in her chest, and she practically drooled with excitement.

On this withered grassland, Chloe, covered in grime and reeking of zombie stench, laughed and cried like a madwoman.

‘This time, I won’t survive by using my looks or being anyone’s plaything. I’m going to be my own boss,‘ she thought.

With a pounding heart, she grabbed the red fruit, popped it into her mouth, and swallowed it whole

To be safe, she smeared zombie blood she’d prepped earlier over herself again before collapsing on her back, completely exhausted.

Staring at the gloomy sky, she flashed a fierce, savage grin. ‘Apocalypse, here I come!

Her spiritual space time limit had increased to three minutes a day. And over the past few days, she’d accumulated quite a bit of time. Still, she hesitated to enter.

Her head spanned, feverish and hazy, just before losing consciousness, she darted into her spiritual space.

More than an hour later, she was kicked out.

She still reeked of rotting zombie stench, her clothes in tatters, but now radiated a chilling, unstoppable aura. Her star–bright eyes were wild and mesmerizing.

With a flick of her hand, a blade appeared in front of her, spun rapidly for a few seconds, then vanished into thin air.

Looks like I need to slay more zombies to get stronger, Chloe thought, her face pale.

After eating some bread and resting, she hopped back on her mountain bike and retraced her route.

More zombies crowded the streets than before. But thanks to her zombie blood camouflage, Chloe made it back to town unscathed.

She passed by a baby formula store, its door wide open. An eight–month–old baby was curled in its mother’s arms. The woman’s chest was a mangled mess, flesh torn where the baby had been gnawing.

As Chloe approached, the zombie baby lifted its head and flashed a creepy, twisted grin.

“Stop!” Lily called out, staring Chloe down. “Where’s all the stuff here?”

Chloe shrugged. “No idea. It was already like this when I got here.”

“No way!” Lily turned to the big guy. “Dustin, you’re bitten. We need those meds, and I bet she knows where they are. Let’s tie her up.”

“He got bitten?” Chloe’s face changed. She instantly stepped back and raised her machete defensively, ready to strike.

“Many of us got bitten. What’s the problem?” Lily asked.

She remembered what had just happened, terror flooding her eyes as her body trembled and twitched.

Chloe backed up further, tossing them a cold warning. “Once bitten by a zombie, you’ll be infected quickly. Good luck.”

With that, she yanked open the clinic’s back door and bolted.

With zombie numbers still manageable, she needed to race back to Hevenseale University and grab the mutant flower, which was also called the immune flower.

“Stop! What did you mean?” Lily yelled, fuming as she chased Chloe.

But then she watched in shock as Chloe took down a massive zombie with one swift blow.

Just then, a middle–aged man shouted from behind, “Honey, what the hell are you doing? Why are you biting me?”

Everyone turned to see that the injured, feverish woman had turned zombie, sinking her teeth into her

husband’s arm with nasty chewing sounds.

“Run! She’s a zombie now,” Lily screamed, taking off.

Instantly, chaos broke out.