Stuck in China for the Zombie Apocalypse

Leaving the Hotel

"Slow down!" I laughed and then sobered. "This is a space that my many greats grandmother left for me. I sent you here so that the others didn't have to worry about protecting you while we fought the zombies."

"Did you win?" an eight year old boy asked eagerly.

I nodded but even as I did so, another woman asked: "Did anyone get hurt?"

"Everyone survived. There are some injuries. If some of you would be willing to boil some water and maybe make us some food that would be helpful. The rest of you can come back out with me and reassure your family that you are fine."

Sarah McMann, the older woman who had abolished the powers of the men who assaulted her granddaughter, and two young mothers – one Chinese and the other from Connecticut – all volunteered to remain in the space and heat water and cook. I brought out extra pots and pans, two large iron pots for boiling the water, and a quantity of meat, vegetables, seasonings, rice, noodles and basic foodstuffs from the well-stocked warehouse with the stasis function. I still didn't know exactly where that warehouse was in my space but since I could access it mentally, it didn't matter its location.

While the women worked, I brought the others, including the two youngest – a toddler and a baby – back out into the store.

The store was now much tidier. Shelves had been righted and placed in front of the metal covered windows. Someone had located a broom and swept the majority of the garbage against the walls. Most of the people were sitting and drinking cold drinks from the fridges. Those with injuries had already cleaned their wounds with bottled water and alcohol. The minor injuries were bandaged but one fellow with a deep gash on his forearm from a piece of metal jutting from a crashed car could only wrap the injury with a strip torn from the bottom of his shirt.

Our arrival startled everyone. I was nervous because revealing this space was a huge risk.

"I told you they were safe," I said quietly.

"Where are the others?" asked the husband of the Chinese woman.

"She's cooking and she kept your daughter with her," I reassured him. "As soon as everything is ready, we'll all have a meal and prepare to leave again."

As I spoke, I pulled a fully stocked emergency medical kit out of the space.

"Use this to treat your injuries. We still have to fight our way out later – unless we find an alternative route."

Because time seems to move differently in my space, it was only a few minutes before the hot water was ready. People began washing up and changing into the clean clothes I was able to offer. There was a bit of surprise at the old- fashioned nature of the clothes but the inner layer of silk and the extra layer of cotton – which was then bound by strips of fabric on the lower legs and lower arms – added a level of protection that modern t-shirts just couldn't supply. So people were generally pleased with their new outfits.

Once everyone was dressed, I pulled out some tables and chairs and the ladies exited my space with the food. It was still pretty simple stuff but people were accustomed to porridge with meat and vegetables by now. No sooner had we finished then there was soft knocking at the back door. I quickly returned the remains of our feast, along with the chairs and dirty clothes, into space.

"I ask that none of you reveal my ability," I urged everyone as Fox went to open the door. At least this person was sensible enough to keep the noise down.

Six people entered the grocery. They were thin with dry, chapped lips and expressions that told of suffering.

"Please, can you take us with you?" their leader asked urgently. "Before he wakes up?"

The others nodded but no one else spoke.

"Why are you afraid of him?" Fox asked.

"He can make you live your nightmares!" This was whispered by a boy around ten years old.

"Can he now?" Sarah asked in a grim voice. She made a gesture, as if she was pushing up her sleeves to work, and then realized her sleeves were tied to the forearm like everyone else. It only confused her for a moment, though. She marched out the back door and we all knew this was another one that was going to lose their power. No one tried to argue for the man.

"Can any of you fight?" Fox asked them.

"We can fight some," the leader said as he gestured toward the man standing closest to him. Their features were similar enough that it was easy to guess they were brothers. "Me and Xiaobo used to work security for the Gilded Lotus."

"Good," Fox nodded. "And the rest of you? What can you offer?"

I saw looks of relief cross the faces of the three women. Fox asking what they could contribute meant he wasn't assigning them to be sex slaves or worse.

"I can heal a little but I'm not very strong yet," said the oldest member of their group. She was a middle-aged woman and the boy leaned on her for comfort. She was probably his mother or nanny.

"I – I can cook," a twenty-something woman said hesitantly. She was obviously afraid this wouldn't be good enough but Fox just nodded his understanding. He looked at the last woman.

She was pretty young, probably still in their version of high school.

"I talk to plants," she whispered. "It's not much use, right?"

"That's exactly what Haven needs," I pointed out to Fox. "Someone who can talk to the tree."

Fox smiled at them.

"So tell me what happened here. Why were you stuck with that man?"

"Me and my brother were shopping with my cousin," he nodded towards the older woman, "and my brother's wife." Another nod to the twenty-something woman.

"We were lucky enough to wake up before the zombies but when they woke up we were just as shocked as anyone could be. When people started eating other people I hustled my family out the back door – this young lady just followed us."

He smiled at the girl and she twitched her lips in response. It was pretty clear that she was badly traumatized still.

"The door to the house was open so we just ran in there and shut the door. Everything was fine for the first two days. The monsters didn't seem to notice us and we had some food in the house and the food we were about to buy too. Then that man knocked on the door and my brother opened it for him. We figured a monster wouldn't knock. We were wrong."

"He controlled you by frightening you with your worst fears?" Fox asked with sympathy.

"Yes, and sometimes just for fun. He kept all the food and water and only let us have a tiny bit. He said he was going to have fun with the girl but my brother and I told him we'd kill him if he tried. He could only make one person live a nightmare at a time but we were afraid if we killed him while they were in a nightmare that they'd never wake up."

You can join us but we're actually on our way to gather supplies before returning to Haven. When we reach the mall, about half of this group will continue on – they have people they want to find – and the rest of us will be returning to the hotel next to the new conference center. We're making a safe base there."

"What about him?" The girl whispered, looking up with terror.

"You don't have to worry about him anymore," Fox told her with a kind smile. "Sarah, the lady who went up there, her power is to abolish powers. She is very happy to abolish the power of anyone who abuses it. His power is worthless to zombies anyway, right?"

The girl smiled for the first time and a few tears slipped down her face. The older kids with us – a ten-year-old boy and a fifteen-year-old girl – started handing out mineral water and steamed buns to the survivors. I hadn't realized that some of the people had saved some of the food for later until just then.

"Eat some and drink as much as you want – we'll leave after you're done," Fox ordered them. His wariness towards the newcomers was greatly reduced by then.