Rebirth in the Apocalypse: Third Time's a Charm



'I didn't say that your entire life was useless,' huffed Reaper, and Liu Wei knew that the bike was rolling his eyes at him. 'Just that your priorities are… fucked up,' continued the bike.

'Then please, enlighten me. Who am I?' sneered Liu Wei, not actually expecting an answer. He spotted a slight movement to his left, and he signaled wordlessly to the other men that the zombies were approaching.

'You are Death,' stated Reaper. 'You are Death, nothing more, nothing less. And that is everything.'

'I am Death?' repeated Liu Wei in confusion. But he would admit that as soon as he said those words, he felt something inside of him shift.

'Simple, isn't it?' answered Reaper happily. 'No need to think about titles, or ranks, or positions, or any of that. You are Death. And at the end of the day, death is the simplest thing in the world.'

'Death is simple?' wondered Liu Wei, as he started to get worried about what type of gas his bike was using and if it was laced with anything.

'What is simpler than dying?' snorted Reaper, amused by his own joke. 'But seriously. The world, as you see it, is only a small veiled dimension over top of a much bigger reality. Push the veil to the side, and everything should become clearer.'

'I am starting to hate you,' growled Liu Wei as the first zombie put on a rush of speed, trying to take out Liu Yu Zeng, only to be swallowed by a black mist. It was not fair that his brother had a much easier and simpler gift than he did.

'You think disease is simple or easy? Your brother is just fucked in the head and doesn't know how to use his gift properly. You could probably learn something from him,' snorted Reaper as the black mist returned to Liu Yu Zeng as the men waited for the next attack.

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"Scout," said Wang Chao to Bin An Sha as a way of explaining what was going on.

"What?" asked the confused man as he twirled his knives around in his hands.

"They always send a few scouts out to see what the situation is like. Then, based on their information, they decide what course to take next. I am sure that the second scout is reporting back to the horde Alpha now," continued Liu Yu Zeng

"You make them sound like military scouts going ahead of the troops," said Bin An Sha. There was no way that the zombies could be that organized, right?

"Pretty much," grunted Chen Zi Han as he cracked his neck from side to side. "Does anyone want to put in an order for dinner tonight?"

"I don't know. City H is so frigging hot, even though it is only the spring," grumbled Liu Yu Zeng, knowing that it was only going to get hotter. He hated the heat, even though he should have gotten used to it after living here all of his life.

"Well, steaks are always a favorite," said Wang Chao. "Maybe do that potato salad she likes with steak and a salad?"

"Yeah, that should work. There should even be a working barbeque at the house that I can make the steaks on," mused Chen Zi Han, his brain already putting together a menu for dinner. "What about dessert?"

"Better leave that up to her," interjected Liu Yu Zeng. The other three men grunted in agreement while Bin An Sha looked between them, wondering what was going on in their brains.

"Are you serious?" he demanded as a second zombie rushed up to them out of the corner of his eye. However, before he could so much as blink, the zombie seemed to shrivel up on itself, looking more like a mummy than a zombie. It fell to the ground and disappeared into a cloud of dirt.

"I am always serious about making sure Princess is fed," growled Chen Zi Han, looking at the man. "Now, if you are going to offer constructive criticism about what she should be eating, then by all means, let me know. If not, shut up. You are useless right now anyway," he continued with a snort.

Chen Zi Han's words sent a sharp stab into his chest, hitting a little bit closer to home than it should have. Maybe he should have killed Wang Chao along the way and just have taken his place. That would have made life so much easier.

Then again, that option was still on the table. All he needed to do was get any of the other men alone and simply take their place.

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Once again, ignoring all other conversations, Liu Wei concentrated on Reaper's words. According to the bike, the world that he knew was nothing more than a smaller aspect of a much bigger world. If he thought of his gift as being used to take the souls from one realm to another, then that would make sense; after all, that was the widely accepted concept of Death and the Grim Reaper.

But he didn't want to live in a realm where his Sweetheart was not. 

'You are an idiot,' groaned Reaper. 'No one has said that you have to live in another realm. You just have to push aside the veil that is separating them.'

Still thinking that his bike was as useful as tits on a bull, he tried to picture a veil in front of him and then him pushing it aside.

Nothing happened.

'I don't know if it helps or not,' came a soft, soothing voice through his link. 'But instead of forcing the issue, I let my eyes go out of focus. As a kid, I loved looking at the pictures where it looked like one thing, but when you unfocused your eyes, it became a 3D shape of something completely different.'

'Like a stereogram puzzle?' asked Liu Wei, confused. He really couldn't think of the last time he had looked at a picture like that.

'Sure, if that is what they are called. Then, after my eyes go blurry and all I can see is darkness, I keep blinking until the flames become clear. Like I said, I don't know if it will help.'

'At this point, it is much better than 'shuck the human trappings',' laughed Liu Wei.