novelraw Chapter 79: All Before The Sun Came UP
Chapter 79: All Before The Sun Came UP
Sera didn’t bother to slow down as she crossed the last stretch of forest. Her body moved easily through the darkness, her lungs continued to be steady as if she was taking nothing more than a pleasant stroll, and her boots were silent against the frozen dirt.
The trees parted just enough to reveal the cabin, its windows dim but not dark, a thin wisp of smoke curling from the chimney. The outside temperature didn’t bother her, but she appreciated the clean air, the crispness that clung to her clothes and cleared out any scent of blood or fire.
She was almost impressed at how well she had managed to stay clean, giving the amount of carnage she had inflicted on the zombies. But she would still have to change when she got home. Her own blood might not be seen against the black fabric, but that didn’t mean it wasn’t there.
The night wind had been steady the whole way back from the city. Between that and her speed, there was nothing left on her to give away what she’d done. Her long-sleeved shirt clung slightly at the cuffs, but the fabric was clean. Her leggings were unwrinkled. The creature inside of her was quiet—content, even—and her heartbeat never rose above resting.
She reached the cabin just as the first light of dawn began to stir behind the treetops. Not quite sunrise. Not enough for anyone to be up yet.
Perfect.
Without hesitation, she crouched beneath her bedroom window, fingers hooking beneath the sill. The frame gave easily, swinging up on silent hinges, and she slid through with the same ease she’d entered the casino hours earlier. Her feet hit the wooden floor without a sound.
Everything was exactly as she’d left it, not like she expected anything different. But it was nice knowing that no one was snooping through her stuff when she was gone.
The bed sat neatly made against the wall as she threw her pack under her bed and out of sight. Oogie Boogie, the squishmallow that Alexei had given her, was still standing guard on her bed, staring at her was a strange smile on his face. She reached out and gave it a small pat as she passed.
"Still alive," she reassured him before she walked over to the closet and stripped out of her clothes. It took her no time at all before she was changed in an almost identical outfit. This time, instead of the black shirt, she was wearing a red one with thumb loops.
She smiled secretly to herself as she studied her refection in the mirror, making sure that none of her purple skin could be seen.
No one had noticed she was gone. No one had woken up during the night. She’d slipped out, climbed a casino, burned her way through half a horde, and returned all before the sun came up. No coat. No hesitation. Just her and the thing inside her. Working together. Learning. Pushing limits.
She moved to the far corner of the room and knelt, opening one of the floorboards to check the blowtorches and lighters she’d stashed there before leaving. Everything was still in place, still dry. She tucked a few into a smaller bag and hid it again. The rest she left undisturbed.
Last night had been the first time she’d really let the creature out.
It had felt... right. Not just necessary. Not just survival. The hunt had been methodical, clean, and terrifyingly satisfying. There was something about moving through shadows and claiming something as hers that made the air easier to breathe.
The casino was hers now. A fortress. A supply depot. And a place to retreat to when the tsunami hits them in the near future. She didn’t know what had set it off, if there was an earthquake or if it was a random act of God, but the tsunami was a given.
That was the whole reason why she had gone and taken it for herself.
She could have burned the building down and been done with it. But she didn’t. She chose to clean it. To purge it. To take it floor by floor, kill by kill. Not just to find another safe house that no one knew about, but to prove that she could do it in the first place.
And in return, she found something truly phenomenal.
The bite.
Not a scratch, not a claw, not fire—but a bite. Teeth bared, throat torn out, and the zombie had stayed down. No twitch. No twitch. No second breath. The thing had died. And it had stayed dead.
She didn’t know why it worked. Not yet. But it did. And that meant she was more dangerous than she thought.
That meant she was more useful than she originally thought.
A soft knock tapped against the wood of her door. Two short raps, then silence.
"Sera?" Lachlan’s voice.
She didn’t answer right away. Instead, she moved to her desk, grabbed a hair tie, and pulled her hair back into a loose ponytail. Her hands moved automatically, checking the cuffs of her sleeves, adjusting the hem of her shirt, scanning the mirror on the wall to confirm the foundation still held over the faint purple at her throat.
Perfectly human.
Then she opened the door.
Lachlan stood just outside, dressed in field gear—faded pants, thermals, a jacket open over his chest. His hair was damp like he’d splashed water on his face but hadn’t dried off properly.
"We’re low on food and filters," he said without preamble. "Elias says the new arrivals ate through the emergency rations faster than expected. We’re gonna head out after breakfast."
"How many new arrivals?" she asked.
"More than we were told to expect," he admitted. "Military, mostly. A few civvies who tagged along. Some higher-ups are already complaining about the lack of structure. Elias almost punched one of them."
Sera gave a faint, dry smile. "I would have paid to see that."
"Come with us?" he asked.
"I’m not cooking," she said. "But yeah. I’ll go."
He nodded and turned back down the hall.
She closed the door behind her and returned to the room. Her eyes landed on Oogie Boogie again. The squishmallow sat where she’d left it, head slightly tilted, stitches forming a grin that was far too innocent for the things she had done last night. Almost like it knew and it was keeping her secrets.
She bent down and lifted it, adjusting its bulk under one arm. It took both hands to really carry it properly, but she managed.
"Just for a few more days," she told it, as if it could understand. "Then you’re going back to the city."
She tucked Oogie Boogie onto the bed again and stepped toward the window to close it.
The breeze had faded.
The sky outside was turning gray-blue.
The day was starting, and she was more than ready for whatever it held.