Surviving the Apocalypse With My Yandere Ex-Girlfriend

Chapter 200: Get over yourself

Harry sat alone in his cell once again, his head resting against the cold, stained mattress as he stared at the ceiling.

Nothing moved.

Nothing happened.

Just the distant hum of machinery somewhere beyond the concrete walls and the occasional metallic groan of the underground facility settling around him.

He hated this.

Not the cell.

Not even being locked up.

Being alone.

Because being alone meant there was nothing left to distract you from yourself.

His fingers slowly opened.

Closed.

Opened again.

Adrian.

The image came back immediately.

That stupid kid standing right there in front of him.

The gun had been in his hand.

The revenge he’d spent weeks imagining had been right in front of his face.

And somehow...

Somehow it had all gone wrong.

His jaw tightened.

The memory of being beaten.

Of losing.

Of lying helpless while Adrian got to walk away alive.

It made something ugly crawl through his chest.

A low growl escaped him before he could stop it.

Harry suddenly punched the air beside him.

Then again.

Then again.

The mattress springs rattled beneath him.

"Damn it!"

His hands flew to his face.

His fingers dug into his eyes until stars exploded behind his eyelids.

The humiliation wouldn’t leave him alone.

The anger wouldn’t leave him alone.

The image of Adrian surviving when he wasn’t supposed to wouldn’t leave him alone.

That kid.

That fucking kid.

When he got out of here...

The sound of metal scraping against metal cut through his thoughts.

Harry’s eyes snapped open.

The cell door was moving.

For a second he simply stared.

Then confusion washed over him.

The bars swung open.

And Bill stood there.

"Come on, kid," Bill said. "We’re leaving this damn place."

...how?

Harry blinked.

Once.

Twice.

His confusion quickly curdled into irritation.

Then resentment.

Then outright hostility.

"...I’m not going anywhere with you."

Bill sighed.

"I don’t think you got a choice, son."

Harry was on his feet instantly.

The distance between them disappeared.

He jabbed a finger into Bill’s chest.

"Watch yourself, asshole."

His voice barely rose above a whisper.

Sharp enough to cut.

Bill stared down at the finger.

Then at Harry.

Then smiled.

"Watch myself?"

Harry stepped even closer.

His fists tightened.

Every muscle in his body screamed for an excuse.

Just one.

"I put you on your ass once."

His voice shook with restrained anger.

"I can do it again."

Bill’s smile only widened.

"Oh, get over yourself."

He laughed.

"Those were lucky shots."

Harry’s nostrils flared.

Bill continued anyway.

"I also heard that Adrian kid beat your ass."

The words landed harder than Harry wanted them to.

His expression twitched.

Just enough.

Bill noticed.

Of course he noticed.

"Who the hell told you that??" Harry snapped immediately.

"Oh, come on. Think it wasn’t obvious? He looked like a doll compared to your face."

There was silence.

Long enough for Harry’s hatred to simmer.

"You had a gun, didn’t you?"

Harry said nothing.

"You hated him."

Still nothing.

"So why didn’t you shoot him?"

Harry’s jaw clenched.

"...you don’t know what the hell you’re talking about."

Bill tilted his head.

"No?"

"No."

"Then explain it."

Harry couldn’t.

And that irritated him even more.

Bill took a step forward.

His smile disappeared.

For the first time since entering the cell, he looked serious.

"Surviving in a world like this means becoming a man early."

Harry rolled his eyes.

Bill ignored it.

"You don’t get to sit around wondering how you feel about something."

"You don’t get to hesitate."

"You don’t get to freeze."

His voice hardened.

"You do what needs doing."

Harry’s eyes narrowed.

Bill continued.

"For yourself."

"For your people."

"For whoever’s depending on you."

Harry stared.

Silent.

Fuming.

Then Bill made the mistake.

Or perhaps he did it intentionally.

"That’s not what your father did."

The room suddenly felt smaller.

"He let his pride get in the way."

Harry’s fists shook.

"And that’s why he’s a rotting corpse right now."

"DON’T."

The word exploded out of him.

Bill stopped.

Harry’s breathing had become uneven.

Dangerous.

The kind of breathing that came before violence.

For a moment neither spoke.

Then Bill sighed.

Long.

Tired.

Like he’d suddenly remembered Harry was still a kid.

He turned toward the open doorway.

"Stop acting like a bitch and come on."

Harry glared at his back.

Bill kept walking.

The sound of his boots echoed down the corridor.

Harry remained where he was.

Then—

"You coming or what, dipshit?"

Harry shut his eyes.

Breathed in.

Breathed out.

Then followed.

—

"I’m so confused."

The words escaped before I could stop them.

"How the hell did you guys even find me?"

The elevator hummed beneath our feet.

Steel cables groaned somewhere above us.

Aubrey leaned against the wall.

"You gave us a tip about Canada a few months ago."

She shrugged.

"Remember?"

"...who knew there’d be an entire underground city under the damn country?"

I stared at the floor.

For a few seconds the elevator was filled only with the sound of machinery.

Even then, distant screams occasionally filtered through the structure around us.

Followed by gunfire.

Muffled.

But unmistakable.

"...yeah."

My voice sounded quieter than I intended.

"Canada was probably the worst mistake I’ve ever made."

Terri laughed softly.

Aubrey smirked.

"You don’t say?"

I rubbed the back of my neck.

The smile that threatened to form died almost immediately.

The silence returned.

Not uncomfortable.

Just strange.

Months apart.

People change.

And sometimes you don’t know what to say when you’re suddenly standing in front of somebody you missed.

How tall was this tower anyway?

The elevator just kept descending.

"...so."

I glanced up.

"Carl and Adira okay?"

Terri immediately opened her mouth.

"Supposed to be," Aubrey interrupted.

Terri frowned.

Aubrey ignored her.

"We left them behind temporarily."

The wording alone made me nervous.

"We wanted to see if this place was legit before bringing everybody."

Aubrey scratched her cheek.

"Guess telling them to pack beforehand was a mistake."

I looked away.

That didn’t exactly make me feel better.

"But hey."

Terri smiled.

"At least we found you."

The sincerity in her voice caught me off guard.

A small smile found its way onto my face.

Despite everything.

Despite Jennifer.

Despite the experiments.

Despite everything waiting outside those walls.

I was happy to see them.

Really happy.

"Yeah."

The word came out softer than intended.

Another silence settled over us.

Aubrey kept staring.

Not rudely.

Just...

Observing.

Like she was taking inventory.

Eventually she pointed.

"You cut your hair."

Terri’s eyes widened.

"Oh my God."

I laughed.

"You just noticed?"

"I genuinely just noticed."

I shook my head.

"Only a little."

Aubrey nodded.

Then after a moment—

"You look good with it."

I blinked.

"What?"

"It fits you."

For some reason that caught me off guard more than it should have.

Maybe because it sounded genuine.

Maybe because Aubrey wasn’t usually the type to hand out compliments.

I rubbed my neck awkwardly.

"Thanks."

The elevator suddenly jolted.

Terri grabbed the railing.

I nearly lost my balance.

Then it continued descending.

More distant gunfire echoed through the tower.

Closer this time.

Nobody spoke for a few seconds.

Then Aubrey looked at me again.

"...so."

I immediately didn’t like that tone.

"What?"

"I take it you and Lila got separated."

The guilt hit instantly.

Like a knife sliding between ribs.

Lila.

My stomach dropped.

I hadn’t even allowed myself to think about her properly.

Not since waking up.

Not since escaping.

What if she was still out there?

What if she was alone?

Hungry.

Cold.

Terrified.

Or worse.

The thought made my chest tighten.

"What?"

The response came out weaker than intended.

Aubrey shrugged.

"She wasn’t in the room."

I looked away.

The elevator suddenly felt too small.

"...and we saw that woman kissing you while you were asleep."

I blinked.

Then looked at Terri.

Then Aubrey.

Then back again.

"What woman?"

Terri and Aubrey exchanged a look.

A terrible look.

The kind of look friends share when they know something you don’t.

I immediately hated it.

"...Jennifer?"

The name escaped before I could stop it.

Aubrey’s grin widened.

"That’s her name?"

I felt dread.

Immediate dread.

"She looks like a Jennifer."

"Aubrey—"

"I didn’t think that would be your type."

"Aubrey."

Terri was trying not to laugh.

I buried my face in my hands.

"That’s not—"

"Oh, so there is a type."

"There isn’t!"

Both of them laughed.

I groaned.

For a brief moment, despite the screams outside.

Despite the infected.

Despite everything falling apart.

It felt normal.

Almost.

Then the elevator began slowing down.

The laughter died immediately.

The three of us looked toward the doors.

The metal panels were riddled with bullet holes.

Smoke stains marked the edges.

Something terrible had happened on the other side.

Something recent.

The elevator finally stopped.

A mechanical ding echoed through the cabin.

Then the doors began sliding apart.

Slowly.

Painfully slowly.

The widening gap revealed overturned furniture.

Blood.

Spent shell casings.

A hallway that looked like a battlefield.

I could already hear shouting.

Gunfire.

People screaming orders.

None of us spoke.

The moment the doors finished opening, every thought in my head disappeared.

There would be time for questions later.

If we survived long enough to ask them.