Apocalypse Days: I Rule with Foresight and a Powerful Son
Chapter 216

Chapter 216: 216

The first thing Zara saw when her eyes cracked open was green—vivid, storm-tossed green staring straight at her. Winter. His hand was around hers, firm and warm, grounding her in the present while her mind still staggered under the weight of the dream—vision?—she’d just escaped.

Her lips parted, but no sound came out. For a disoriented moment, she couldn’t breathe.

The shade was achingly familiar, like the dream that still clung to her skin like mist. All she could focus on was the familiar shade of his irises, almost identical to the ones in the dream. The child’s eyes.

"Zara?" His brows were furrowed, concern written across his usually unreadable face. He looked like he hadn’t blinked once since she fell. When had she fallen?

"You’re awake," he added, and held up a cloth. "Here. Your nose is bleeding."

She blinked, finally aware of the warm trickle down her lip. She swiped at her face, smeared red against her sleeve, and let him hand her the cloth.

Disoriented, she looked around, but the world didn’t seem to be cooperating with her senses. Her vision trembled at the edges, her ears rang, and her stomach roiled with nausea. She leaned back against the side of the truck’s interior, the metal biting into her spine. The thick scent of wet earth, engine oil, and the coppery tang of her own blood churned in her gut.

"What..." she breathed, voice barely more than a tremble.

"You passed out," Winter said softly, kneeling beside her. "Only for a few seconds, but—Zara, you scared the hell out of me."

She tried to sit up, but another wave of nausea rolled over her like a tide. Her breath shuddered in her chest. She gripped the edge of the seat to steady herself, the cloth still clutched in her fingers.

What the hell had that been?

She had seen herself in the fog, alone with a child that was hers, and not Leo. A boy with the same eyes as Winter, calling her "Mommy." She could still hear the desperation in his voice, the strange silence that swallowed everything around them, the emptiness.

"Mommy?" a small voice piped beside her.

Leo.

Her arms moved before her mind caught up. She pulled her son into her lap, hugging him tightly. He climbed up without hesitation, his little fingers curling into the fabric of her jacket, his head tucked beneath her chin. Her heart ached as she held him.

Because that dream... that fog... that child... he’d called her Mommy, too. But Leo hadn’t been there.

Neither had Winter.

What the hell had she seen?

Where had Winter been? Where had Leo gone?

"Was that a premonition?" she whispered, though the words were more thought than speech. It had to be, hadn’t it?

Lightning flashed, making Leo tense against her.

"It’s okay, baby," she murmured, resting her cheek atop his head, breathing him in. His soft curls, his warmth, his heartbeat—he was real. He was here.

She blinked rapidly, trying to will her dizziness away, then dabbed the cloth against her nostrils again.

Outside, thunder cracked like a whip, rattling the truck. For a moment, she thought they were moving, but no—they were parked beneath a bridge. Rain hammered the roof in sheets, so violently that it made the metal walls shudder. Lightning split the sky, illuminating the damp interior for a heartbeat before plunging it back into murky dimness. The ground trembled slightly beneath them—not enough to suggest a quake, but enough to keep the tension razor-thin.

The bridge above them groaned, a low, ominous creak that crawled up her spine.

A single, intrusive thought formed: This could collapse on us.

They could get trapped. Flooded. Or worse—ambushed by a horde. The world had no shortage of ways to end you these days.

Everyone inside the truck looked uneasy. Not relaxed. Not safe. There was no such thing as true safety anymore.

Winter shifted beside her, his thigh pressing lightly against hers, grounding her again. She hadn’t realised she was trembling until that quiet contact steadied her.

"Did you see something?" he asked gently.

Zara hesitated. What could she even say?

She thought of the boy in the fog again—those green eyes, full of confusion, love, and terror. What did that mean? A possible future? A hallucination? Her gift didn’t normally feel that... personal.

"I... no," she finally said, voice quiet. "I didn’t see anything."

It wasn’t quite a lie. But it wasn’t the truth, either.

A soft scuffle drew both their eyes across the vehicle.

Zara didn’t know all of them. Not well. Some had joined in City H, people who had been with Winter from the beginning.

One man in particular—tall, broad, sharp-eyed—was watching her now.

Miles.

She thinks she heard someone call him that.

Suspicion curled like smoke in his expression, his mouth tight. He didn’t say anything, but he didn’t have to. His silence screamed.

Zara stiffened slightly.

Winter noticed.

He sighed, rubbing a hand down his face as he stood. "Alright, everyone. Gather around. We might as well make ourselves comfortable."

All heads turned toward him.

"I know not all of you know each other. I’ve been the common thread for both groups, and since we’re going to be travelling together from now on... might as well get to know who we’re trusting with our lives."

There was a moment of hesitation, then everyone slowly shifted closer, crowding the middle of the truck’s interior. Rain and thunder became the ambient background noise, steady and unrelenting.

Winter glanced around, then spoke, voice even but firm. "Since it looks like we’re stuck here for a while—and we’re all going to be traveling together from now on—I think it’s time we properly introduced ourselves."

A murmur of agreement passed through the cramped space. Everyone shifted again, eyeing each other warily. The air was thick with exhaustion, caution, and barely-restrained tension.

Winter nodded once, then sat back, letting the silence linger for a beat.

It was Miles who broke it.

"I’m Miles," he said, glancing around the group. "Served with Winter before all this. So did my wife."

Next to him, Naomi raised her chin slightly. Her gaze was sharp, assessing. "Naomi," she said simply. "These are our kids. Aren and Lia."

Ima shifted beside Richard. "Ima. Sniper in the army. I served with these guys, too." She nodded toward Miles and Naomi. "We’ve been through a lot."

Next to her, Marcus gave a tight nod, arms folded across his chest. "Marcus. Military medic. Got stuck with this lot on the road out of City F." He didn’t look at the others—just at Winter. "You trust these people?" he asked, jerking his chin toward Zara and the rest of her group.

Winter didn’t flinch. "With my life."

A beat passed. Marcus gave a grunt but said nothing more.

Then, from the other side of the circle, a younger voice spoke up.

Mike, the youngest of the group, ran a hand through his messy brown hair. "Uh, I was a college student. First year. My family was... gone before I got home."

Zara’s heart clenched.

"I ran. Tried to find help. My neighbour, Richard, found me. Brought me with him. Taught me how to survive."

Everyone’s eyes flicked to the back corner, where Richard lay unconscious under a blanket.

Mike glanced at him. "We met Sam on the way."

Sam gave a solemn nod. "Medic. Was trying to keep a local shelter alive for a while. Then the mist came."

A pause.

Sam’s voice lowered. "One minute my wife and daughters were there. Next minute... they weren’t."

A heavy silence followed that. Everyone shifted uncomfortably. No one knew what to say.

Winter felt Zara tense at his side. He turned his head and caught the haunted look in her eyes. She was clutching Leo tightly, like she feared he might vanish at any moment. That flicker of grief, raw and unspoken, dug into Winter’s gut. She never talked about Leo’s father. But maybe...

Maybe this was how she lost him.

He didn’t press. Some scars didn’t need to be peeled open.

Winter took a breath. "I’m Winter. I was in the military. Had just come home when everything started. Lost my family that same day."

He paused, but the memory hit him anyway.

His wife. Their daughter. The panic. The thunderbolt that reduced his home to ash just as the door closed behind them.

His hand curled into a fist—until something warm pressed against it. He looked down.

Zara was squeezing his hand, her gaze soft.

Then he felt another tug—Leo, gripping his sleeve, pouting and furrowing his brow.

Winter let out a shaky breath and smiled faintly.

"I was with my crew until I followed a lead about a supply cache in City B," he continued. "That’s where I met Zara and Leo. Mike and the others came after."

He shifted slightly. "I have an ability. Heightened senses. Faster reflexes. Strength. My rifle’s special too—it doesn’t need bullets to fire, but it drains me badly after."

A few of the others reacted at that. Sam, notably, with an arched brow.

"What kind of drain?" Sam asked, curious. "You go weak? Pass out?"

"Fever," Winter replied. "Sometimes hallucinations. If I push it too far, I won’t wake up."

Marcus gave a low whistle, but didn’t argue.

Then Zara took a breath.

All eyes turned toward her now.

Zara felt their stares like static on her skin. She held Leo closer, her lips parting, then pressing together again. The last thing she wanted to do was talk. But if they were all going to rely on each other, she couldn’t hide behind silence forever.

"I’m Zara," she said finally. "Used to be a scientist. Medical research."

Naomi raised an eyebrow, clearly intrigued. But Zara wasn’t offering more.

"This is my son, Leo," she added softly. "He’s the reason I’m still here."

Leo peeked up and gave a small wave. His curls bounced as he nestled back into her arms, unbothered by the heavy mood.

Winter squeezed her hand again, encouraging.

"I have an ability too," she said. "I can see the future."

Gasps and murmurs exploded in the tight space.

"You’re serious?" Naomi asked.

"How far ahead?" Miles demanded.

"Can you control it?" Ima added.

"Then why didn’t you warn us about City H?" Naomi said sharply, narrowing her eyes.

Winter bristled. "Easy."

Zara held up a hand. "It’s okay." She swallowed. "I don’t control when they come. Sometimes it’s seconds. Sometimes months. They’re vague. And when I force one... I black out. Like just now. My nose bleeds, I get dizzy. Lately, they’ve been erratic. Ever since... Adrian."

The name hung in the air like a blade.

Winter turned to her sharply. "Wait. You forced another one after that? And you didn’t tell me?"

She looked away, guilt twisting her mouth. "I didn’t want you to worry. But it didn’t knock me out that time. So I thought maybe... I could handle it."

Marcus, who had been silent until now, muttered, "Probably why Adrian was so obsessed with you."

Zara stiffened. A fresh silence fell.

She looked around at the expectant, suspicious, desperate faces. Should she tell them about Leo’s space? His ability to open a pocket of safety— a place untouched by the apocalypse?

They could use the supplies.

It would explain how they’d survived.

But she’d kept it secret for so long. She had protected her child like a mother lion guarding her cub. Trust didn’t come easy.

Not anymore.

She glanced at Leo, then Winter. He was watching her, silent, but not pressuring.

If she told them... things would change. But maybe they needed that.

She took a breath and the truck trembled again as another bolt of thunder struck nearby, shaking them all.

The storm wasn’t letting up.

Neither was the past.

But if they were to move forward, they would have to do it together.

Even if it meant revealing everything.

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