Apocalypse Days: I Rule with Foresight and a Powerful Son
Chapter 150

Chapter 150: 150

The quarantine cell—moments after the green eyed man left...

Zara stood frozen in the middle of the sterile room, her breath shallow, heart hammering. The air felt thick, pressing in on her chest, the walls closing in. Every muscle in her body was coiled tight, like a spring wound too far, ready to snap.

She clenched her fists, willing them to stop trembling. Breathe, damn it. She shouldn’t be shaken like this. Shouldn’t be this unsteady. He got to me. The realization sent a bolt of anger through her, but it was swallowed up by the creeping unease curling around her ribs.

"Strange, those visions of yours."

The words replayed in her mind, looping endlessly, burrowing deeper with each repetition. The words echoed, rattling through her skull, refusing to settle. He knows. About her and possibly about Leo. The thought made her dizzy with fear. He hadn’t just suspected like winter had assured her. He had spoken with certainty, with knowledge. As if he had already seen inside her head, peeled back the layers and examined them with detached curiosity.

But how?

Sam shifted beside her, his presence steady but quiet. He wasn’t saying anything, but she could feel his eyes on her—watching, waiting. He wasn’t pushing her, but his silence made the tension in the room heavier.

She inhaled sharply through her nose and forced herself to move, rolling her shoulders to shake the stiffness from her limbs. When she turned to face him, her voice came out steadier than she expected.

"Who is he?"

Sam exhaled through his nose, his jaw tightening. He didn’t answer immediately, which only made her more suspicious.

"Sam." She took a step toward him, eyes narrowing. "You know something. Tell me."

He hesitated. Damn it.

Zara’s pulse kicked up again, frustration clawing at her ribs. "Why was he allowed in here? Who gave him clearance? How the hell does he have that kind of authority?"

Sam pinched the bridge of his nose, looking as though he was debating just how much to say. Finally, he exhaled, rubbing a hand over his jaw.

"Colonel Adrian Locke."

The name settled heavily between them.

Zara stared at him. "A colonel?"

Sam nodded. "High-ranking. Dangerous. And not just in the way you think."

Her stomach twisted. "What do you mean?"

He hesitated again, then muttered, "I heard that he was one of the first."

A chill traced its fingers down her spine. One of the first? First what?

Sam crossed his arms, expression dark. "When everything first collapsed, when people started showing abilities, the military didn’t know what to do. They tried to contain it. Study it. Locke was part of those early efforts. But he—" Sam hesitated, then sighed. "—he wasn’t like the others. He believed people like him were different. Better."

Zara’s throat went dry. "He has an ability."

A grim nod. "And from what I’ve heard? He’s not just some officer with enhanced reflexes or super strength like winter. It’s something else. Something... dangerous."

Zara’s mind reeled, trying to piece everything together.

That explained the way he’d looked at her. The way he’d known.

She swallowed hard. "Why was he allowed in here? Who gave him clearance? How the hell does he have that kind of authority?"

Sam dragged a hand down his face, tension etched into every line of his expression. His jaw tightened, then slackened, as if he were weighing his words carefully. After a long pause, he exhaled, fingers still grazing the stubble along his chin. "Locke isn’t just military. He’s influential. He has connections, pull—he’s someone people fear. And I think his eyes have something to do with it."

Zara blinked. "His eyes?"

"They’re not normal." Sam’s voice dropped lower, almost reluctant. "People say he sees things. Knows things before they happen. It’s not foresight, not exactly. It’s something else."

Something else.

Zara’s stomach twisted again.

She thought of his gaze—piercing, all-knowing, stripping her bare without so much as a word. She’d thought it was intimidation, a practiced military trick. But what if it was more than that? What if it was something unnatural?

The implications made her skin crawl.

Zara dragged a hand through her hair, trying to force her thoughts into some kind of order. "And you knew about this?" Her voice was sharper now, edged with frustration. "You and Winter both?"

Sam hesitated, but that was answer enough.

Zara’s mind reeled. "Winter knew about what he wanted," she realized. "That’s why he told me to avoid him huh?"

She remembered how angry winter had been when he came out of solitary confinement to find that she had spoken to Adrian. That was probably when the freak had seen her ability.

Fuck.

Sam sighed. "Winter doesn’t trust anyone easily. Locke least of all. But you weren’t supposed to run into him. You weren’t supposed to be on his radar yet."

Yet.

Her hands curled into fists. "So why didn’t you warn me?"

Sam’s gaze flickered, guilt shadowing his face. "We didn’t think he’d get this close, this fast."

She shook her head, crossing her arms tightly over her chest. This wasn’t right. This whole situation—her being here, the timing, him showing up right after she’d had a vision—it was too much of a coincidence.

Her frustration burned hotter. "So what now? Is the quarantine a setup? Did they isolate me on purpose?"

Sam didn’t have an answer for that. And that terrified her more than anything.

She forced herself to breathe evenly, but her mind raced with the possibilities.

Before she could press further, the door clicked open again.

The quarantine staff enteredA trio of figures in full protective gear stepped inside, the harsh fluorescent lights bouncing off their sterile suits. Their arrival shattered the moment, and Zara immediately tensed.

One of the medics—Dr. Kwan, if she read the name tag correctly—glanced at Sam with visible confusion. "You shouldn’t be in here without protective gear."

Sam didn’t flinch. "She’s not sick."

Dr. Kwan’s eyes narrowed. "We won’t know that until we run more tests. And now you may have been exposed."

Zara’s patience frayed. "Exposed to what?"

Sam crossed his arms. "I’m a doctor. How are you planning to treat her?"

The lead doctor turned to Zara. "Are you experiencing any symptoms?"

Zara exhaled slowly. "No."

The doctor’s gaze flicked between her and Sam. "Are you two partners?"

Zara frowned at the wording. Before she could answer, Sam shook his head.

"No. We’re siblings." He lied. A beat of silence.

Then: "And her partner?"

Zara stiffened.

"He’s outside," Sam said smoothly.

It was the wrong answer.

The quarantine staff exchanged glances. The room shifted, the air turning sharper. Zara could feel it—the way the doctors exchanged looks, something serious passing between them.

The lead doctor, Dr. Kwan, straightened slightly, mouth thinned behind his mask. "If you’ve been in close proximity to someone else outside of quarantine, we’ll need to ensure no exposure has occurred."

Zara’s patience snapped. "Exposure to what? No one has told me a damn thing."

The doctor barely reacted. "We’ll be running tests. You’ll need to remain here for at least a week."

"A week?" Zara’s voice rose. "I can’t stay here that long—I have a toddler to care for."

That made them hesitate.

Hope sparked in her chest. She latched onto it. "You can’t keep me here indefinitely. If I’m not sick, I need to be released."

Sam folded his arms, looking at the doctors expectantly. "What’s the way forward, then? You wouldn’t want anything happening to the future, would you?"

Zara’s brows furrowed.

The future?

Something about the way Sam said it made her uneasy.

Dr. Kwan studied her, gaze flickering—downward. Zara stiffened as she realized where they were looking. Her stomach.

Her breath hitched.

Oh.

Understanding hit her like a cold slap to the face.

They think—

She remembered. When they had first entered City H Base, they’d been encouraged to have more children. It had been a quiet policy, something always lurking beneath the surface. Repopulation efforts.

Was that what Sam had been trying to take advantage of? Was he leveraging that unspoken rule to get her out of quarantine faster?

The words seemed to do the trick. The doctors muttered amongst themselves before one of them finally spoke.

"We’ll keep her for observation for the next two days. If there are no symptoms, she can be released."

Zara exhaled sharply. Two days. She could manage that.

Sam shot Zara an apologetic look.

She exhaled, forcing herself to nod. He’d tried.

Her thoughts shifted again, splintering in a dozen directions.

Would Leo come out of his space for Sam? Would he eat, sleep? Would he be okay without her?

Why did winter have to disappear now of all times.

Pain. Sharp, sudden, blinding.It started behind her eyes, a deep, pulsing ache that spread like wildfire. Her thoughts fractured, splintering apart.

Her breath hitched. The room tilted. What was going on now?

Sam noticed immediately.

His voice cut through the haze. "Hey, you okay?"

"Yeah?" She swayed, her vision swimming.

The doctors moved closer, their voices a distant murmur.

Zara barely heard them.

Her knees buckled.

The world went dark.

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