Rewrite the Apocalypse dream (by Dee Cari) novel Chapter 161

Chapter 161 Will You Join Me?

Finished

“You’re a soldier, Briggs, but right now you’re acting like a broken one,” Joanna said, her voice cutting through the bleak silence of the room. “You ask what’s left to do? You are a deadly blade. In a world this broken, a blade doesn’t just rust away because the hand that held it is gone. You find a purpose, and you cut down anything that stands in the way of survival.”

Briggs looked up, the hollow look in his eyes flickering as she spoke. Will shifted silently in the back, listening intently.

“High command is dead, but your men are still alive because they trust you,” Joanna continued, her tone dropping into a steady, confident command. “Don’t waste them on a hopeless fight for a fallen system. Build your base under me. I have the resources, I have the foresight, and I have the gear to make Evercrest a fortress that can actually survive this winter. You bring the muscle, the discipline, and the deadly power. Together, we build a kingdom that Jax can’t touch, and we save the people who deserve to live.”

The flickering light of the kerosene lamps caught the sharp lines of Briggs’ face as he processed her words. The idea of serving under someone else-especially a civilian-went against every piece of his military training, but the sheer conviction in Joanna’s speech was impossible to ignore. He could feel the raw power and certainty radiating from her.

Briggs looked past Joanna toward the back of the room, locking eyes with Will, who gave a firm, confident nod.

The Commander leaned back, thinking it over as the heavy silence returned to the office. The truth was, he had never wanted to be the top commander. He was a soldier at heart; he just wanted to fight, to protect his people, and to have a clear target. Joanna was offering him exactly that, along with a real chance at survival.

“If my men and I join you,” Briggs asked, his voice steadying, “can we get some of the gear from the mall? Winter gear is absolutely necessary if we’re going to survive what’s coming.”

Joanna nodded, a rare, genuine smile breaking across her face. “Say yes, and I will personally make sure you and your men get all the gear you need.”

Briggs stared at her for a few seconds more, the bleakness completely vanishing from his eyes. A small, rugged smile tugged at the corner of his mouth. “Screw this death sentence,” he muttered, slamming his fist lightly on the desk. “I’m in.”

Will let out a sharp laugh from the back of the room, standing up to join them. “I was hoping you’d join her,” he said with a grin. “With the way things are going, who knows? We might even get some of those crazy powers ourselves.”

“I think we need to teach Jax a lesson,” Briggs said, his eyes darkening as the operational strategy began to take shape.

Joanna nodded in immediate agreement. “I completely agree. Here is the play. I’m going to sneak into the mall ahead of time and completely clear out the inventory. Once it’s empty, we drive the convoy right past the front gates.”

She leaned over the map, a cold smirk playing on her lips. “Elliot already has a plant inside that crowd, stirring up the civilians and convincing them that the military isn’t coming to help. Jax probably gave the plant weapons. Not a lot but enough to handle your small convoy so we need to be careful. When our convoy passes, we will have our people drop the word: tell them your commander is arriving shortly, he

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Chapter 161 Will You Join Me?

only plans to take a small fraction of the supplies, and their cooperation is strictly required.”

ggs smiled grimly as he caught on. “And then we drive right off.”

Finished

“Exactly,” Joanna confirmed, her voice dripping with calculated malice. “Jax will pull up minutes later expecting an easy ambush, but the agitated crowd will mistake his men for the greedy military force. They’ll attack him outright. By the time Jax manages to fight his way past the rioting civilians and into the mall, he won’t find a single crate left. He’ll be trapped fighting a horde of angry people in a completely bare building drawing the zombies nearby.”

Briggs paused, his brow furrowing deeply as the logistics of her plan registered. “Hold on, Joanna. I need a massive haul of that winter gear, not just a few stray coats. How exactly are we supposed to clean out an entire mall’s inventory just by sneaking the two of us inside?”

Joanna didn’t answer right away. Instead, she leaned back comfortably in her chair. Right in front of Briggs’ eyes, she waved her hand through the empty air. A perfectly chilled, fresh plastic bag of grapes materialized out of nowhere into her grip. She popped a grape into her mouth and started eating them casually.

Behind her, the sudden movement caught Will so off guard that his balance completely failed. With a loud thud, he fell right off his chair, crashing hard onto the dusty floor. “What the hell was that?!” Will yelled, scrambling to his feet while pointing a shaking finger at the grapes.

Unlike Will’s frantic outburst, Briggs went dead silent. His posture stiffened, and a cold, controlled intensity washed over his expression. He didn’t jump up or shout. Instead, his sharp eyes locked onto the bag of grapes, tracking the impossible physics of what he had just witnessed. He leaned forward slowly, resting his hands flat on the desk, his voice dropping into a low, dangerous whisper.

“Explain exactly what you just did, Joanna,” Briggs commanded, his icy calm masking the absolute shock roaring through his brain. “And tell me how a bag of fresh fruit connects to clearing out an entire mall.”

“I have a storage space,” Joanna explained simply, popping another grape into her mouth. “Think of it as a pocket dimension locker that can hold any item I want, whenever I want.”

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