Rewrite the Apocalypse dream (by Dee Cari) novel Chapter 271

Chapter 271 The Billings Siblings

25:38:88

Finished

The heavy metal doors of the warehouse groaned as Joanna and Julian stepped out into the crisp evening air, the memory of their frantic kiss still lingering like a sweetness between them. Standing in the gravel lot were Jake and Allen, flanking a visibly trembling Jolie.

Joanna immediately scanned their figures, her instinct as a leader overriding her exhaustion. “Did any of you get injured?” she spoke up, her voice steady but laced with deep concern. “Any scratches?”

The team shook their heads in unison. A heavy, suffocating silence fell over the lot as they all stared hard at her, their expressions a mix of awe and profound grief. Suddenly, Jolie burst into tears, breaking rank and throwing her arms tightly around Joanna’s neck. “Boss, it hurts me to see you like this,” she sobbed, deeply touched that her leader was still putting everyone else first. “We were so scared, but we knew you would get us out alive. Allen told us you got bit by saving him… and you are still asking after us?”

Julian stiffened beside them, his eyes darting to Allen, whose grim nod confirmed that it was from saving him. Joanna patted her a little awkwardly. “It’s fine Jolie. I already poured the hot spring water on it, so if you guys need some water I can get some out for you.”

Allen stepped forward next, wrapping Joanna in a fierce hug that spoke volumes of his relief and respect. As he pulled back, Jake finally spoke up, his voice tight. “We are all fine, boss.” Joanna stared at Jake, taking in the deep lines of fatigue etched into his face and how genuinely exhausted he looked. The weight of her decisions pressed heavily on her chest before she finally spoke. “Look, I wanted to say I am sorry I made you guys stay. I realize now how close we were to dying. I should have…”

“Don’t you dare say that!” Julian cut her off fiercely, stepping directly into her line of sight to shut down the guilt trip. “The steel and supplies you risked your life for are the only reason 200 people back at the base aren’t sleeping in cardboard boxes-and that includes that absolute menace of a pigeon who won’t stop aggressively courting you, and his entire freeloading crew of airborne rats.”

Joanna smiled, the tension in her shoulders dropping a fraction as she let out an amused eye roll.

Jolie spoke up, wiping her face and brightening. “Honestly, I am just happy we got all that steel. Now we can finally let Jake use his metal ability and build us a better fortress.”

Jake crossed his arms and scoffed, clearly annoyed at being viewed as a human construction crane. “Oh, sure, fantastic. I almost become zombie chow, and my reward is being promoted to the camp’s glorified, unpaid welder. Should I bend some decorative lawn chairs for you while I’m at it?”

Jolie didn’t miss a beat, shooting him a sweet, unbothered grin. “Actually, a wrap-around porch with cup holders would be great, thanks, Jake.”

Joanna understood exactly what her team was doing, and she appreciated their effort to lighten the heavy air. She let out a genuine laugh, but it cut short as she felt Brandon staring intently at her over the sea of corpses. Further back, Fletcher and the rest of their group stayed by the trucks, waiting in tense anticipation.

Joanna took a deep breath, “Let’s get going,” she ordered, her voice suddenly dropping into a cold, lethal calm. “We have the steel, we have the supplies, and we’re going to survive this. And as for that mind- controlling freak of a zombie? Tell it to enjoy its final days. Because next time I see it, I’m going to rip its head off and make it watch me burn its little empire to the ground.”

The team walked over to Brandon, who seemed to violently shake himself free of a trance before finally

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Chapter 271 The Billings Siblings

25:37:25

speaking. “I don’t think it was a zombie, Demoness,” he murmured, his voice unsettlingly quiet.

Finished

ma frowned, her hand instinctively drifting near her weapon. “Who else would control such a massive hole like that?”

Brandon didn’t answer right away. Instead, he turned and stared intently to the west, his eyes narrowing against the dimming light. “I feel like the one who did this might be alive-and they’re after something nearby. I honestly can’t say more. When I arrived, I knew the control was radiating from two blocks away, right in that direction.”

Jake stepped forward, tracing Brandon’s line of sight, and pointed a grime-covered finger at a towering! shadow on the skyline. “If it was me, I would have picked that building,” Jake said grimly. “It is the tallest around, and it would give them a perfectly clear vantage point to watch this exact spot.”

Fletcher stepped closer to the group, his arms crossed over his chest as he spoke up. “My cousin might be right about that. A few days ago, I heard that entire area, including that skyscraper, is a recent takeover by the Billings siblings.”

Joanna looked at Fletcher, her brow furrowing with deep confusion. “The Billings siblings? Who are they?”

Fletcher sighed, shifting his weight. “I ran them out of their old territory. Told them to leave town for good -they kept stealing from my district. Eric, the piece of trash who shot me, was their cousin. He was planning to hole up at your place with some of our girls, knowing you had supplies. His own men said he wanted to set up at your compound to get out from under the Billings.”

Just then, the roaring whine of a heavily modded engine shattered the quiet evening air, sounding barely a block away. Everyone instantly tensed, weapons snapping up as hands flew to holsters. Was it a retaliation force from the Billings family? Another unknown faction?

The tension snapped a second later as the Beast-their massive, heavily armored tactical vehicle-whipped around the distant corner at breakneck speed, its tires screeching against the asphalt. Relief washed over the group as the armored plates and familiar reinforced grill came into view. Her backup had finally arrived.

。

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