Surviving the Apocalypse With My Yandere Ex-Girlfriend

Chapter 205: Sour Reuinion

I had no idea why, but Lila was different.

Even now.

Even as she led us through the borough like she had lived here her entire life.

The streets that had almost gotten us killed didn’t seem to bother her anymore. Neither did the infected. Neither did the soldiers.

Whenever something got in our way, she handled it.

Quickly.

Efficiently.

Without hesitation.

A part of me hated how relieved that made me feel.

Because it meant the infection had changed her.

There was no denying it anymore.

Something inside her brain had shifted.

Maybe broken.

Maybe evolved.

I didn’t know.

All I knew was that every time danger appeared, Lila moved before anyone else did.

Like the idea of either of us dying simply wasn’t acceptable to her anymore.

Ironically enough, that was exactly what I had been telling myself this entire time.

That she’d survive.

That she’d find a way.

That she wouldn’t let herself die as long as she thought I was still alive.

Now I wasn’t sure whether that made me right or just lucky.

The exit itself was chaos.

People were flooding through it.

Soldiers were abandoning posts.

Civilians were carrying whatever pieces of their lives they could still fit into their arms.

Code Black was supposed to have shut everything down.

Instead it felt like the end of the world had gotten tired of pretending to be organized.

And through all of it—

Aubrey hadn’t said much.

I couldn’t tell whether she was angry.

Relieved.

Or both.

Terri looked worse.

Way worse.

She was still walking.

Still moving.

But there was something hollow behind her eyes now.

Something that hadn’t been there before.

Then again...

Maybe I was just noticing things I should’ve noticed months ago.

Because when we finally made it back—

Really made it back—

It felt like I was looking at everyone through glass.

Isabella looked thinner than I remembered.

Not dramatically.

Just enough.

Enough that it looked like she’d spent the last few months surviving instead of living.

Naomi wasn’t much different, even though I had seen her recently.

She looked exhausted. More than she was with the last time I saw her. There were dark circles beneath her eyes that made her look older than she actually was.

Even Hale looked different.

Not physically.

Hale always looked the same.

But there was something heavier about him now.

Something hard and cold.

Like every bad thing that had happened since Texas had finally started collecting interest.

Maybe I looked the same way.

Maybe we all did.

...

Cherie.

My eyes found hers.

Just for a second.

She looked away immediately.

I did too.

Lila’s fingers tightened around my hand.

The pressure was almost possessive.

Almost warning.

Before I could think too much about it, Isabella rushed forward.

"Aubrey—!!"

She practically crashed into her.

Aubrey stumbled backward from the force of it.

"Oh my God."

Isabella grabbed both sides of her face.

"Oh my God."

Her voice cracked.

"I thought you were dead or something—!!"

For the first time since we’d reunited, Aubrey smiled.

A real smile.

Small.

Tired.

But real.

Then she pulled Isabella closer and kissed her.

I immediately looked somewhere else.

Because some things were private.

Even during the apocalypse.

Across the lot, Hale was unloading supplies from a duffel bag.

He glanced toward me.

Looked like he was about to say something.

Then his eyes landed on Lila.

His expression changed.

Only slightly.

Most people wouldn’t notice.

I did.

Because Hale almost never reacted to anything, no matter how it looked.

He looked at her for another second.

Then went back to work.

That worried me more than if he’d actually said something.

Naomi was helping him load supplies into an old pickup truck that looked like it had survived three separate apocalypses.

The thing was rusted to hell.

Nothing could convince me that it’d start— but I guess we needed a way out of here.

Aubrey finally pulled away from Isabella.

"God."

She rubbed her face.

"I cannot wait to leave this fucking place."

"What? Didn’t like it here?" I asked, trying my best to make small talk that could ease a bit of the perceived tension.

Aubrey looked at me.

"Did you?"

She asked, but...it never really felt like an entertainment of banter.

I didn’t answer.

That was answer enough.

Her eyes shifted toward Lila.

Then back toward me.

"So much for your little...pursuit of paradise."

I frowned.

The way she said it felt strange.

Not quite a joke.

Not quite an insult.

Something in between.

Pursuit of...?

What the hell was she even talking about anyway?

"Things got complicated."

"Complicated."

She laughed.

It wasn’t a happy sound.

"With what, the Crucible, Adrian? The fucking crucible. Some shit we haven’t had to deal with since...since I don’t know fucking when—!"

I rubbed the back of my neck.

"Yeah."

"That’s not ’yeah.’"

Her voice sharpened.

"The second you saw those signs that they had involvement in anything, you should’ve left."

"I didn’t see them initially."

"You never see anything."

I sighed.

"Well I didn’t, okay..?"

Aubrey continued looking at me, but didn’t say anything.

Like she didn’t trust herself to continue.

That was when Hale slammed the truck trunk shut.

The sound echoed across the lot.

"Enough."

Everyone looked at him.

Everyone except Aubrey.

"This place isn’t safe."

Nobody argued.

"Every extra minute we stand around talking is another minute someone recognizes one of us."

He nodded toward me.

"Especially him."

Silence.

I looked down.

Lila didn’t seem to care about the conversation at all.

She was standing beside me humming quietly to herself.

Looking at absolutely nothing.

Almost like a child entertaining herself.

Aubrey stared at me one final time.

Then brushed past my shoulder.

Hard enough to make her point.

"Always dragging people into bullshit."

I turned.

"Aubrey—"

Lila immediately stepped in front of me.

Her hands grabbed my face.

I blinked.

She smiled.

That’s all she did.

Just smiled.

And somehow—

For a second—

I forgot what I was going to say.

Behind her, everyone started climbing into the truck.

Nobody talked much.

Nobody laughed.

Nobody celebrated.

We’d survived.

But survival and happiness were two different things.

As I climbed into the vehicle, I couldn’t shake the feeling that something had changed while we were apart.

Not just them.

Me.

Maybe all of us.

And for the first time since we’d escaped that underground hell—

I wasn’t sure how to fix it.

⸻

Far above the borough, a man stood in front of a wall of glass.

The city below burned.

Smoke climbed into the gray sky.

Sirens echoed through the streets.

Bodies moved through the chaos like ants fleeing a flooded nest.

The borough was dead.

Everyone just hadn’t accepted it yet.

The office door opened.

A soldier stepped inside.

The man didn’t turn around.

"Well?" he asked.

The soldier hesitated.

"He’s gone."

The man closed his eyes briefly.

The soldier continued.

"We searched every sector."

Nothing.

"The boy escaped."

For a moment, neither spoke.

Then the man sighed.

Not angry.

Just tired.

The soldier shifted awkwardly.

"Your escort is ready, sir."

Still no response.

"The evacuation convoy leaves in fifteen minutes."

The man finally turned around.

His expression remained calm.

"I need to speak with Jennifer first."

⸻

The white room looked less like a prison cell and more like a hospital room stripped of dignity.

Jennifer sat in a metal chair.

Hands cuffed.

Uniform gone.

Identity gone.

The bright lights overhead made everything feel sterile.

Artificial.

The door opened.

She didn’t bother looking up.

The man entered.

Closed the door.

Then slowly crouched in front of her.

Jennifer finally lifted her eyes.

Neither spoke for a moment.

Then he smiled.

Not because anything was funny.

Because he always smiled before saying something unpleasant.

"Letting humanity’s last hope walk away."

He scratched lightly at his nose.

"That’s probably the worst mistake I’ve ever seen you make, Jen."

Jennifer stared at him.

"And trust me."

His smile widened slightly.

"I’ve seen you make a lot of mistakes."

She laughed.

A dry.

Humorless sound.

"Don’t do that."

"Do what?"

"Pretend you care."

The smile faded.

Jennifer leaned forward slightly.

"You don’t care about humanity."

Her eyes never left his.

"You care about yourself."

Silence.

"You wanted the cure because you wanted protection."

Still silence.

"You wanted insurance."

The man stood.

Jennifer smiled this time.

A real one.

Because she finally found something that hurt.

"Well, too bad."

She leaned back into the chair.

"Adrian’s gone."

The words landed cleanly.

"You’re never finding him."

She tilted her head.

"He’s probably halfway out of Canada already."

The room went quiet.

Then the man smiled again.

Slowly.

Patiently.

Like she’d just confirmed something for him.

Jennifer’s smile faded.

And for the first time, uncertainty appeared in her eyes.

The man walked toward the door.

"That’s okay."

His hand rested on the handle.

Then he glanced back.

Cold.

Certain.

"Because you’re going to help me find him."

The door opened.

And Jennifer suddenly didn’t feel nearly as victorious as she had five seconds ago.