Rebirth in the Apocalypse: Third Time's a Charm



'I asked how Chen Zi Han and Liu Yu Zeng were holding up,' I said to Wang Chao through our link. I had been drifting in and out of sleep as the Healer held my hand through the cages we found ourselves in. The plans went to Hell as soon as I found out for sure that I was pregnant, and now all I could do was hope that my men remembered that I was here for a reason.

'Splendidly,' Wang Chao announced right before a scream cut through the air. I heard the pounding of some Reavers as they went to check out whatever was going on; however, if my men were involved, then they didn't stand a chance.

More screams joined the first one, and I could hear Wang Chao chuckling in my head, the connection between us still going strong.  'Well, they are doing much better now.'

'You do know that I have a whole plan, right?' I asked hesitantly. I opened my eyes to see the Healer watching me intently.

"Don't worry about the screams," she whispered to me, stroking my knuckles with her thumb. "They won't hurt you."

I knew that she was just trying to keep me calm, but both of us knew that, screams aside, there was a good chance that I was going to be hurt, and quite badly. 

I nodded my head at her words, a small smile appearing on my face. The world could go to Hell for all I cared, I had my men, I had my Healer… nothing else mattered.

'So, we can kill them all?' asked Wang Chao, and I could feel the excitement and happiness inside of him practically bubbling out. 

It was right now that I had a moment of clarity. My men were the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. They needed death and carnage to feel complete as much as I needed my solitude. To deny them this chance, the chance to do what they wanted and needed, I was denying them a whole part of themselves.

It was selfish to keep them in the cabin because that was what I needed. They sacrificed so much of their happiness in order to make me happy that I needed to do the same for them. 

I finally understood everything. 

And there was nothing that I wouldn't do to make my men happy.

'Go, have fun,' I said, my lungs expanding as I took in a deep breath. 'Leave the humans in the cage alone, and don't touch Rip. He is around here somewhere. Otherwise, kill the Reavers and kill the watchers.'

'We are yours to command,' came the four voices of my men, the same, yet different. 

And that was when all Hell broke loose.

-----

Wang Chao closed his eyes in frustration, trying to block out the thousands of voices that were whispering to him. Concentrating on the voice of the woman he loved, he heard the moment she found out that not only was she pregnant, but she was having twins. 

And she was stuck in a cage so small that she couldn't do anything more than lie down.

"It's confirmed," he said softly, knowing that the guys around him could hear what he was saying. "She is pregnant, and it is twins."

"Twins?" demanded Liu Wei, taking out a notebook and pen from God only knows where. He started to write down a bunch of things, only to scratch out half of the things, and then start writing again. 

"We're going to be fathers?" asked Chen Zi Han, his voice soft as the words truly hit him. "We're going to be fathers," he said again, this time stronger, his hands gripping the bars in front of them. There was one man who came up to him to talk, but Chen Zi Han no longer had time for him. His wife was pregnant. And they were in her literal definition of Hell.

"Well, it looks like a lot of people are going to die," smiled Liu Yu Zeng, cracking his fingers before he, too, gripped the bars of his cage. 

"Hold on for right now," said Wang Chao, holding up his hand. The other three men looked at him, waiting for his next order. "She wants us to keep an eye out for any military men that might be wandering around the compound."

Chen Zi Han's eyes narrowed on the man standing in front of him. "I am guessing that would be you," he said with a smile on his face. However, there was more than a bit of madness to his words. "Are you the military men that she is talking about? The ones that belong to Bai Long Qiang?"

He had remembered that name for a long time. The only man outside of their group that his Princess had really paid any attention to. She had said that he had a role to play. Maybe this is it.

The man stiffened in response. "I am," he admitted, the easy-going smile on his face no longer there. "And just how do you know that name?"

"Get back into your cage," snapped Wang Chao, and Chen Zi Han could feel the air around the other man shimmer with happiness and excitement. "Any human in their cage will be saved. Those that are not will be killed."

"We have an inside man in the VIP area," he said softly, turning his back on Chen Zi Han and looking at Wang Chao. He didn't know what was going on, but his gut said that these were not the type of men that you fuck with. And he had always trusted his gut. 

However, it bothered him that he couldn't get a reading on him, no matter how hard he tried. 

"Then you might want to lock him in with you. And fast. Our Queen has given us a command. We dare not disobey," said Wang Chao, his eyes flashing bright red. "And you will do well to stay out of my head. You won't like what you find in it."

The military man gulped and took off in a sprint, trying to find his teammate. Whatever was going on, it was going to be big. He could only hope and pray that they would not be caught in the crossfire. They still needed to find Wang Tian Mu. 

Making his way to the stands, he went onto his toes, trying to find the person he was looking for. "Qu Kuan Ji!" he shouted, waving his hand frantically. "Qu Kuan Ji!"

The man whose attention he was trying to get finally turned around to look at him. His brows furled in concern as he weaved in and out of the people in the stands. "What?" he demanded, looking around. He couldn't be caught talking to one of the fighters. Otherwise, it was death for both of them.

"Hurry up!" said the first man, turning around and sprinting away from the pit. He didn't know how much time they had, but he was willing to bet it wasn't a lot. 

"Si Dang!" shouted Qu Kuan Ji, "What the fuck is going on?!"

"There is no time to explain. Hurry up, we have to get going!" Si Dang turned around just to make sure that the other man was following him. As soon as he got confirmation, he took off in a sprint, hoping that they would have enough time. 

But it seemed like time was not on their side. 

There was a scream from one of the men beside him in the crowd, and Si Dong froze as he watched the man's face practically melting off of his skull. The agonizing scream was quickly cut off, garbled as his lips and tongue fell off.

"Are you two the military?" asked a man stepping out in front of Si Dang and Qu Kuan Ji. The former nodded his head, gripping the forearm of his teammate as he pulled him behind him. There were only five of them left out of the sixteen that had left that day; he would not lose another brother to this man with white eyes.

"Who do you belong to?" he asked, cocking his head to the side as another scream was abruptly cut off.

"Bai Long Qiang," stated Si Dang. The man in the cage mentioned that name; maybe that was what he was talking about.

The dark figure with the glowing white eyes shook his head. "I don't know that name. Is it on the list?"

Si Dang swallowed hard, not knowing what else to say.

"We belong to the Healer," answered Qu Kuan Ji, stepping out from behind his friend and staring the monster in the eyes. He had met her a few times before the world ended. Enough to develop an unhealthy crust of his Boss' fiancé. However, he didn't know why he had just said that they belonged to her. 

"You belong to the Healer? You better hurry up and lock yourself up," said the white-eyed demon, looking at the two men. "The calvary is coming, and they aren't going to stop for anyone."

"Understood. And thank you," grunted Si Dang as he and Qu Kuan Ji took off running for the cages. There was no hesitation this time, only a pressing need to get to safety.