Surviving the Apocalypse With My Yandere Ex-Girlfriend

Chapter 223: Others

The truck disappeared beyond the gate.

I kept staring anyway.

Like if I looked hard enough, maybe it would come back.

Maybe Hale would stop.

Maybe Aubrey would force him to turn around.

Maybe somebody would realize this was insane.

Nobody came back.

The sound of the engine faded.

Then vanished completely.

Leaving only the wind.

And Lila’s coughing.

Another violent spasm tore through her body.

Blood spilled across the snow.

Dark against white.

Too much.

Way too much.

My stomach twisted.

"No."

I immediately tore off my jacket.

My hands shook as I ripped the sleeves apart.

The fabric fought me.

I cursed.

Ripped harder.

Finally got enough.

I pressed it against her side.

Fresh blood soaked through almost immediately.

"No, no, no..."

I added more.

Wrapped it tighter.

Pressed harder.

Lila sucked in a sharp breath.

Her body flinched.

The blood kept coming.

My pulse hammered.

I pressed harder.

Hard enough that she winced again.

Still bleeding.

Still bleeding.

Still bleeding.

Why wasn’t it stopping?

Why the fuck wasn’t it stopping?

"Lila."

She opened her eyes slightly.

They looked unfocused.

Distant.

Like she was already somewhere else.

"We’ll figure it out."

My voice sounded strange.

Thin.

Forced.

"You hear me?"

She stared at me.

Then looked down.

At my hands.

At the blood.

At the snow beneath us.

At the red stain growing larger every second.

Her gaze lingered there.

For a long time.

Then she looked back at me.

"I’m dying."

The words were quiet.

Almost casual.

Like commenting on the weather.

The sentence hit harder than any scream could have.

"No."

My response came instantly.

Too fast.

Too desperate.

"No you’re not."

Lila didn’t argue.

That somehow made it worse.

I grabbed another strip of fabric.

Wrapped it around her.

Tied it tighter.

Blood immediately began soaking through that too.

My chest tightened.

No.

No.

No.

"We’ve survived worse."

The lie sounded pathetic even to me.

Lila watched me struggle.

Watched my hands.

Watched the panic I was trying and failing to hide.

For once she didn’t call me out on it.

For once she didn’t smile.

Didn’t tease.

Didn’t argue.

She just watched.

And that terrified me.

Because Lila always had something to say.

Always.

Another cough escaped her.

Blood dripped down her chin.

I wiped it away immediately.

Then froze.

Because more replaced it.

My hands started shaking harder.

"Stop."

The word slipped out.

I wasn’t talking to her.

I was talking to reality.

To the blood.

To whatever force had decided this was happening.

"Just stop."

Nothing listened.

The wind howled through the depot.

Snow drifted across the pavement.

The temperature kept dropping.

Night crept closer.

I looked around desperately.

Buildings.

Scrap.

Abandoned vehicles.

Nothing useful.

Nothing that could save her.

Nothing that could save either of us.

My chest felt tight.

Like somebody had wrapped steel cables around my ribs.

I couldn’t breathe properly.

Couldn’t think properly.

Couldn’t—

Lila tried sitting up.

Immediately failed.

I caught her before she hit the ground.

"Easy."

"We need to move."

Her voice sounded weak.

I hated it.

I hated how weak it sounded.

I hated how human she suddenly looked.

"No."

"We need to move."

I swallowed hard.

She wasn’t wrong.

If we stayed here we’d freeze.

Or get found.

Or both.

I wrapped her arm around my shoulders.

Pulled her upright.

Most of her weight collapsed onto me immediately.

I nearly fell.

Somehow managed to stay standing.

"Okay."

I adjusted my grip.

"Okay."

I had no destination.

No plan.

No clue what I was doing.

But standing still felt like giving up.

And I wasn’t ready for that.

Not yet.

So we walked.

Or tried to.

The snow crunched beneath our boots.

The wind got worse.

Every step felt harder than the last.

Lila stumbled constantly.

Sometimes I caught her.

Sometimes both of us fell.

Then we got back up.

And kept moving.

Because stopping meant thinking.

And thinking meant realizing the truth.

Hours seemed to pass.

Maybe minutes.

I couldn’t tell anymore.

The world had become snow.

Cold.

Blood.

Breathing.

Nothing else.

Eventually Lila collapsed again.

This time she didn’t immediately try standing.

My stomach dropped.

"Lila."

No response.

I crouched beside her.

Touched her face.

Ice cold.

Way too cold.

Her eyes opened after a moment.

Barely.

"I’m fine."

The lie was insulting.

I laughed.

A short broken sound.

Neither of us believed it.

I pulled her up again.

Forced myself forward.

One more step.

Then another.

Then another.

Inside the truck, nobody spoke.

The silence had become unbearable.

The heater barely worked.

Cold air seeped through every crack.

The windows rattled whenever the truck hit uneven pavement.

Still nobody said anything.

Terri stared at her knees.

Naomi watched the road.

Cherie sat against the door.

Motionless.

Hale drove.

Aubrey stared through the windshield.

Her jaw clenched.

Her hands balled into fists.

The smoke column remained visible behind them.

A black scar across the horizon.

Nobody mentioned it.

Nobody mentioned Adrian.

Nobody mentioned Lila.

Nobody mentioned the decision.

Then Aubrey snapped.

"Stop the truck."

Hale didn’t look at her.

"No."

"Stop the truck."

"No."

The response came instantly.

Automatic.

Like he’d already had this argument in his head.

Aubrey stood.

The truck hit a bump.

She nearly lost her balance.

Didn’t care.

"Turn around."

"No."

"Turn around."

"No."

Her voice cracked.

"TURN THE FUCK AROUND!"

The truck fell silent.

Even the engine seemed quieter.

Everybody stared.

Aubrey looked furious.

And devastated.

The combination was terrifying.

"We left him."

Nobody answered.

"We fucking left him."

"He stayed," Naomi said.

Aubrey rounded on her immediately.

"You know that’s bullshit."

"No."

"I said turn around."

"He made a choice."

"He made a choice because he’s Adrian!"

The words exploded from her.

"He always chooses other people."

Silence.

Nobody argued.

Because nobody could.

Aubrey laughed bitterly.

"He would’ve come back for any one of us."

Terri suddenly looked away.

A tear rolled down her cheek.

She wiped it immediately.

Too late.

Everyone saw it.

"I almost told him to get in."

Cherie’s voice was barely above a whisper.

The admission stunned everyone.

"I almost did."

She swallowed hard.

"But I didn’t."

Nobody knew what to say.

Then Hale slammed the steering wheel.

Hard.

The sound made everybody jump.

"You think I don’t know that?"

His voice cracked.

Years seemed to age him all at once.

"You think I wanted to leave him there?"

Nobody answered.

"I made the call because somebody had to."

His eyes stayed on the road.

"I made the call because if we stayed there another hour we all might’ve died."

Silence.

"I know he hates me."

His grip tightened.

"I hate me too."

Nobody spoke after that.

There wasn’t anything left to say.

Then Naomi suddenly straightened.

"Wait."

Everyone looked up.

Headlights.

Far behind them.

Several sets.

Approaching fast.

Panic erupted immediately.

Weapons appeared.

The few that remained.

Knives.

Clubs.

Anything.

Hale slowed slightly.

Watching.

The convoy grew larger.

Armored vehicles.

Military transport trucks.

Disciplined spacing.

Professional formation.

Not survivors.

Not raiders.

Not Miriam.

Something worse.

The convoy passed them without slowing.

Without acknowledging them.

Heading directly toward the smoke.

Toward Adrian.

Toward Lila.

Hale’s face went pale.

Because he recognized those vehicles.

And he knew exactly who they belonged to. fгee𝑤ebɳoveɭ.cøm

By the time I found the road, I could barely feel my legs.

Night had almost arrived.

Snow fell harder now.

The flakes looked endless.

Lila couldn’t walk anymore.

I’d been carrying her for nearly an hour.

Maybe longer.

My arms burned.

My back screamed.

Everything hurt.

I kept moving anyway.

Then my foot caught on something beneath the snow.

I fell.

Hard.

Lila slipped from my grip.

I immediately scrambled toward her.

Heart pounding.

"Lila."

She didn’t answer.

For one horrible second I thought—

Then she coughed.

Blood stained her lips.

Relief hit me so hard it hurt.

I laughed.

Then realized I was crying.

I hadn’t even noticed.

My body felt empty.

Completely empty.

I crawled beside her.

Tried fixing the bandages again.

My fingers wouldn’t cooperate.

They shook too much.

The knot slipped.

Again.

And again.

And again.

Eventually I stopped.

Because I couldn’t do it.

I physically couldn’t do it.

The realization hit me harder than anything else had.

I couldn’t save her.

Not because I didn’t want to.

Not because I wasn’t trying.

Because I couldn’t.

I wasn’t a doctor.

I wasn’t a miracle worker.

I was just some idiot kneeling in the snow pretending he had answers.

And Lila was dying because answers weren’t enough.

Her eyes opened.

Slowly.

She looked at my hands.

Then my face.

Then the tears.

A weak hand rose.

Touched my cheek.

The gesture nearly broke me.

"You shouldn’t have stayed."

The words were barely audible.

I closed my eyes.

"No."

"You should’ve gone."

"No."

The response came immediately.

Fierce.

Absolute.

"I wasn’t leaving you."

Something soft appeared in her expression.

Not happiness.

Not relief.

Something sadder.

Then her hand slipped away.

My chest caved inward.

"Lila."

No response.

"Lila."

Nothing.

Fear exploded through me.

Then—

Light.

Bright white light.

Cutting through the darkness.

My head snapped up.

Headlights.

Several.

Coming down the road.

For one insane second I thought maybe the group had come back.

Then I saw the formation.

The vehicles.

The discipline.

And my stomach dropped.

"No."

The convoy stopped around us.

Doors opened.

Boots hit pavement.

Figures emerged.

Body armor.

Cold-weather gear.

Assault rifles.

Professional.

Organized.

Terrifying.

I recognized the uniforms instantly.

The organization.

The same people we’d escaped.

The same people who’d hunted us ever since.

Relief and dread collided inside my chest.

A medic immediately dropped beside Lila.

Gloved hands moved quickly.

Efficiently.

Emotionlessly.

Checking her pulse.

Her pupils.

Her wound.

Another figure approached me.

Looked down.

Recognition flashed across his face.

Into a radio he said:

"Found them."

Not survivors.

Not people.

Them.

Found them.

Like recovering stolen property.

The medic stood.

"She’s still alive."

Again.

Not relief.

Just information.

Assessment.

Someone else grabbed my arms.

Pulled me upright.

I was too exhausted to fight.

Too exhausted to care.

The last thing I saw before everything faded was Lila being loaded onto a stretcher.

Then darkness swallowed everything.

When I woke up, I thought I was dreaming.

Lights.

Real lights.

Electricity.

Clean walls.

Heat.

For a moment I couldn’t process it.

Then memory returned.

And panic followed.

"Lila."

I tried standing.

Immediately failed.

A hand shoved me back down.

"Relax."

I looked up.

Uniform.

Badge.

Sidearm.

Organization.

Right.

Not a dream.

A nightmare.

Hours later they finally moved me.

The facility stretched endlessly.

Corridors.

Security doors.

Personnel.

Computers.

Vehicles.

Technology.

A functioning world.

The first real one I’d seen in months.

And somehow that frightened me more than the infected.

Then I saw them.

An infected stood beside a researcher.

Calmly.

Not restrained.

Not aggressive.

Talking.

Another stood farther down the hallway.

Then another.

My blood ran cold.

They weren’t prisoners.

They belonged here.

A door opened.

I caught a glimpse through reinforced glass.

Lila.

Unconscious.

Machines monitored her vitals.

Researchers surrounded her.

Studying.

Observing.

Cataloging.

Like she was an experiment.

A woman in a lab coat stepped closer to the glass.

Reviewed something on a tablet.

Then looked up.

At Lila.

At me.

A smile spread across her face.

"Interesting."

The word sent a chill through me.

She checked the tablet again.

Then looked back toward Lila.

"She’s younger than expected."

I froze.

The woman turned toward another researcher.

"Notify the Director."

The researcher nodded.

She looked at Lila one final time.

Then spoke.

"The seventh candidate has arrived."

And suddenly I understood something terrifying.

They hadn’t spent all this time searching for us because we escaped.

They’d been searching because they knew exactly what Lila was.

And whatever she was—

There were others.