Chapter 121 Tales of the past II

Chapter 121: Chapter 121 Tales of the past II

FLASHBACK

PARALLEL WORLD — AFTER THE APOCALYPSE

During the period when the raging disaster had reached its peak, when the world had already descended into its highest level of destruction, Luna found herself being used as collateral along with other people who were supposedly part of the group protecting the base. Nobody cared that she was family. Nobody cared that she was Ava’s sister. If anything, it seemed to make her treatment even worse.

She was thrown into a basement beneath the safe zone and left there alone. Luna sat against the cold wall, her knees pulled toward her chest as tears continued streaming down her face. She was still trying to understand what had happened—her wedding night, the truth that had come out afterward, the man she thought loved her, the man she had married. He had been cheating on her all along. And now the world was ending around her. She didn’t know which part hurt more—her marriage falling apart or the fact that she had nowhere safe to run to after it did.

Luna looked down at the wedding ring between her trembling fingers. It was supposed to symbolize love. A new beginning. A promise. Instead, it had become nothing more than a reminder of how badly she had failed.

"Why would she do that to me?" Her voice broke. "What is my offense?" She squeezed the ring tightly. "Just what is it?"

Her crying became louder. She looked like a helpless child, sitting there with no idea what she had done to deserve any of this.

"Luna!" A woman’s voice suddenly echoed through the basement. "Luna! Where the fuck are you?" Luna flinched. "Come out from there, you lazy-ass bitch!" The footsteps grew closer. "And go hunt for food!"

Luna quickly wiped her face. Ever since the world had reached this stage, this had become normal. The survivors living under Simon and Ava’s protection had rules. If you wanted protection, food, and a place to sleep, you had to contribute. And contribution meant going outside. You had to join scavenging teams. You had to search abandoned buildings. You had to find food. You had to return with something useful. And if luck was on your side, you survived. If it wasn’t—well, you became a delicious meatball for a bunch of zombies and mutated monsters.

Luna slowly pushed herself to her feet. Her body felt weak. She hadn’t eaten properly, hadn’t slept properly, and certainly hadn’t recovered from everything that had happened to her emotionally. Still, she had no choice. She climbed the stairs.

When she finally stepped out of the basement, she immediately saw Ava and Martha standing there. Both women had clearly been searching for her. Ava’s expression twisted with irritation. "So this is where you’ve been hiding." She looked Luna up and down. "You useless entity."

Luna lowered her head. "Ava..."

"Don’t call me like we’re friends." Ava’s voice was sharp. "You disappear whenever there’s work to do, and then you expect everyone else to feed you."

Luna instinctively covered her ears. She didn’t want to hear anymore. But Martha suddenly stepped forward, her face filled with anger. "Don’t you dare cover your ears when she’s talking to you."

SMACK! The slap thundered through the room. Luna’s head snapped to the side, her body staggering backward. For a moment, she couldn’t even understand what had happened. Her cheek burned, her eyes widened. "What did I do?" The question came out dumbly.

Ava gritted her teeth. She looked even more irritated by Luna’s confusion. "I still can’t believe I’m a sister to such a liability." Luna stared at her. Ava crossed her arms. "But it’s alright." Her voice became cold. "You and the bunch of useless people gathered here are going to hunt for food."

Luna’s expression changed. "What?"

"If you don’t find anything..." Ava smiled without warmth. "Don’t bother coming back." Luna’s heart dropped. "This door will be locked right in your face forever."

Luna turned toward Martha immediately. She didn’t even know what she expected—maybe mercy, maybe for Martha to say something. Anything. "Martha..." Her voice was barely audible. But Martha looked away, her eyes filled with disdain. There was no help coming.

Luna’s shoulders sank. She quickly looked around for something to wear. The atmosphere outside had changed drastically, and the wind that entered through the cracks in the safe zone was brutally cold. She needed something warmer. But before she could pick anything up, Ava shoved her toward the entrance. "You dare not take anything from this house." The push was so hard that Luna stumbled. "Go."

Luna tried to regain her footing. Then—CRACK! Her foot slammed into something sharp. She screamed. "Aaah!" She looked down. A nail had pierced directly through her worn-out shoe and dug deep into the bottom of her foot. Her shoes had already been ruined from wearing them for far too long. She hadn’t been given anything new. She hadn’t been treated properly. And now the nail had gone straight into her flesh.

Luna collapsed against the doorway, her hands immediately grabbing her leg. "It hurts..."

Ava’s eyes twitched. For a brief second, she looked toward Luna’s bleeding foot. Then she simply pushed her again. "Move."

Luna stared at her in disbelief. "You..."

Before she could finish, the safe zone door slammed shut. BANG!

Luna and several other survivors were left outside. The heavy door locked behind them. Nobody came after her. Nobody opened it again. Nobody helped. Luna screamed in pain, but the other survivors simply looked away. They had their own problems. No one wanted to risk their position by helping someone who had already been labeled useless.

Luna slowly crawled away from the door. Her injured foot was throbbing. She limped toward the edge of the nearby wall and leaned against it. She looked down at the nail—it was still buried in her flesh. Her hands shook as she tried to pull it out. It wouldn’t move. She gritted her teeth. Again. Nothing. Again. Still nothing. Finally, with a desperate pull—POP! The nail came free.

Luna screamed. Her cry echoed through the empty road. Blood immediately poured from the wound. She squeezed her eyes shut, tears streaming down her face. It burned. It hurt so badly that she felt sick. And she knew how dangerous an untreated wound could be—especially something as dirty as a rusty nail. If the infection spread, it could kill her.

Luna tore a piece of fabric from her clothing and wrapped it tightly around her foot. Then she forced herself to stand. She had to find food. If she returned empty-handed, the door would remain locked. So despite the pain, Luna started walking. Limping. One step at a time.

The road ahead was deserted. Too deserted. Luna’s eyes moved around nervously. They were already in the second phase of the apocalypse. By then, the zombies had become more aggressive, the mutated monsters were spreading, and an empty street didn’t mean safety. It usually meant something worse was nearby.

Luna heard movement. She immediately hid behind an abandoned car. Her eyes widened. Zombies. Lots of them. They wandered through the broken roads, sniffing the air. Some of them raised their heads—they seemed to have noticed the scent of a human. Their tongues hung from their mouths as they shuffled through the ruins. Luna didn’t move. She barely breathed. She waited. And waited. Eventually, the zombies began moving away.

Luna slowly stepped out. She spotted a supermarket ahead. It looked abandoned. Maybe there was food inside. Maybe she could finally find something useful. Luna limped toward it. But the moment she entered—a zombie lunged from the shadows. "Ah!" Luna stumbled backward. She was about to run when another figure suddenly appeared beside her.

A woman. She moved with terrifying speed. A dagger flashed in her hand. SHNK! The blade sliced through the first zombie. Then another. Then another. The woman moved like she had done this thousands of times. Within moments, every zombie inside the supermarket was dead.

Luna simply stood there, watching. She felt useless. She hadn’t contributed anything. She hadn’t even been able to defend herself.

The woman wiped the blood from her dagger and finally looked at her. Luna immediately recognized her. Her stomach dropped. She was one of the mercenaries who had been terrorizing the town. The group had become infamous. They stole survivors’ food, raided supplies, killed people who resisted. They caused enough chaos that everyone had been warned to avoid them at all costs. And now Luna had just walked directly into one of them.

She gulped.

The woman noticed her fear. "Oh, don’t make that face." She popped a piece of gum into her mouth and chewed casually. "You don’t have anything useful that I need." Her eyes moved from Luna’s face to her injured leg. "And with the way your legs are shaking..." She shrugged. "I can see that you need help more than both of us."

Luna looked down. Her leg really was shaking. The wound had become worse. Blood was leaking through the fabric wrapped around it. The skin around the injury was already beginning to look infected.

Luna looked back at the woman. "Please." Her voice trembled. "I need to get my leg treated." She hesitated. "And..." She looked at the woman’s dagger. "I want training."

The woman raised an eyebrow.

"I love how you fight." Luna’s eyes became determined despite her fear. "I want to be like you."

The woman stopped chewing. For several seconds, she simply stared. "Well, stranger..." She slowly smiled. "I was actually looking for someone who could do my shit for me." Luna blinked. "So if you can handle the shit I do, maybe I can train you." She looked Luna up and down. "But it doesn’t look like you know much."

Luna shook her head.

The woman tilted her head. "And do you have a power ranking?"

Luna stared blankly. She shook her head again. "No."

The woman sighed. "Well, leave that for now." She walked toward Luna. "Let’s deal with something more important." Her eyes dropped to Luna’s injured leg. "That thing could kill you."

Luna swallowed.

The woman extended her hand. "By the way, I’m Alice." She grabbed Luna’s arm. "And you’re going to become a force to be reckoned with soon enough." Luna stumbled as Alice pulled her along. "And stop shaking like a drenched chicken." Alice clicked her tongue. "It’s embarrassing."

Luna didn’t even have the strength to argue.

Alice dragged her away from the supermarket and toward a hidden entrance. They eventually reached a sewer opening leading beneath the ground. Luna stared. "Where are we going?"

"Somewhere you won’t get eaten." Alice pulled her inside.

The underground passage was dark and damp, but somehow it felt safer than the streets above. As they continued walking, Alice suddenly spoke. "Hey." Luna looked at her. "I heard four SSS-class men are going around rescuing survivors."

Luna’s eyes widened. "SSS class?"

The strange term immediately caught her attention.

Alice nodded. "They’re supposed to be bringing people to safety." She chewed her gum thoughtfully. "I wonder if they’ll get here."

Luna didn’t respond. Four SSS-class men. She had never heard of such people before. But for some reason, the moment Alice mentioned them, something inside Luna shifted.