Apocalypse Days: I Rule with Foresight and a Powerful Son
Chapter 99:

Chapter 99: 99:

The sun was setting behind the high walls of the base, casting long shadows across the farmland. Zara wiped the back of her hand across her forehead, smearing dirt on her already smudged skin. Her muscles ached in ways she hadn’t anticipated. The other women had complained about it when she first joined the farm work, but she hadn’t realized just how grueling it would be. Now, she understood their groans and muttered curses under their breath as they pulled weeds or hoisted heavy baskets of crops.

She leaned on her hoe for a moment, allowing herself a brief reprieve as her gaze drifted toward the flowerbeds near the far corner of the farm. There, crouched by a cluster of brightly colored blooms, was Leo. He was talking to the flowers, his little hands gesturing animatedly as if he were weaving some kind of story for them.

Zara’s lips curled into a tired smile. He always found ways to make her heart lighter, even on the hardest days.

"Leo," she called softly, about to wave him over. But before he could look up, a loud alarm blared across the farm, shattering the quiet evening.

The sound startled Zara, making her jump. Her heart raced as she instinctively turned to Leo, who had stumbled back in surprise, clutching his hands to his chest.

But then it hit her—a sudden wave of dizziness, like the ground had tilted beneath her feet.

Her vision darkened, and the world seemed to dissolve around her.

*****

In the darkness, faint shapes began to form, murky and distorted. She saw the wall—its towering silhouette broken by the jagged breach of twisted metal and crumbled stone. The mist was everywhere, thicker than she’d ever seen, swirling like a living thing.

Figures moved through it—zombies, faster and more coordinated than any she’d ever heard of. They surged toward the breach, their eyes glinting with an unnatural light.

Soldiers scrambled to respond, shouting orders, firing their weapons. But the horde was relentless.

She saw blood, flashes of teeth, the sickening crack of bone as a soldier was dragged down. The mist seemed alive, obscuring the soldiers’ movements, hiding the attackers until it was too late.

She stumbled around, where was Leo?! Where was winter?! How did this happen?!

And then she saw it—a dark figure standing just beyond the chaos, shrouded in the mist. Its form was unclear, its presence chilling. The figure raised its head, and for a brief moment, Zara felt as though it was looking directly at her.

The figure took a step forward and the scene shifted again, this time to the interior of the base. The zombies had breached deeper, their groans echoing in tight corridors.

People screamed. Blood smeared walls. A woman clutched a crying child, only to be dragged into the shadows.

The vision blurred, and Zara was falling again, her body weightless in the abyss.

With a sharp gasp, she came back to herself. She was on the ground, the cold dirt pressing against her back. Her breaths came in shallow pants, her chest tight as though the air had been sucked from her lungs.

"Mommy?" Leo’s small voice trembled beside her. She turned to see his wide, frightened eyes, his little hands gripping the hem of her shirt.

"Zara, are you okay?" Clara knelt beside her, concern etched across her face. The other workers were glancing their way, murmuring amongst themselves but not approaching.

Zara forced a smile, though her entire body was trembling. "I’m fine," she lied, her voice weak and shaky.

She slowly sat up, pulling Leo into her arms. He clung to her tightly, his small frame shaking against her. "I just... I must have gotten dizzy from the heat."

Clara didn’t look convinced, her brow furrowing as she studied Zara’s pale face. "Are you sure? That alarm startled all of us when we first heard it, but you look like you’ve seen a ghost.

I have, Zara thought, the figure flashing behind her eyes but she forced a smile.

"I’m fine," Zara insisted, her voice firmer this time as she soothed Leo by stroking his hair. "Really. Thank you for checking on me."

Clara hesitated but eventually nodded, though worry still lingered in her eyes. "That alarm means the work shift is over. You should head back if you want to get any of the hot water before it runs out. The lines tend to be long, by then the water turns cold."

"Thanks," Zara murmured. She slowly got to her feet, holding Leo close. Her legs felt unsteady beneath her, her head still spinning from the vision.

As Clara walked away, Zara kissed Leo’s forehead, whispering softly. "Sorry for scaring you baby. Are you ok?"

His small hands clutched at her shirt, his voice trembling. "Mommy, what happened? Why did you fall?"

"Nothing, baby," she lied again, her heart aching at the fear in his tone. "I just got dizzy. Let’s go, okay?"

She hurried to the station where the buses were already waiting to take the workers back to the residential quarters. As she climbed on with Leo, she kept him close, her arms protectively around him. The drive back passed in a haze, her thoughts spinning with the vision.

How could she have such a horrible premonition so soon after getting here? Wasn’t this supposed to be a safe place? How would they escape such an event?

So many questions! Zara felt like her head was about to explode. She lurched forward slightly as the bus cane to a stop and realised they had gotten to their destination.

Thankfully she didn’t meet anyone she knew in the way so that made it easier and faster to get their change of clothing and rush to the baths.

Still, even in the warmth of the bathroom as she scrubbed the dirt off herself and Leo, Zara couldn’t shake the feeling of dread.

The sight of the horde, the chaos, the breach, even the strong smell of blood and decay—it lingered like a shadow in her mind, refusing to fade.

It didn’t help that she felt as though that figure had been looking at her.

"God, what have I gotten myself into?"

*****

In the dim light of her small room, Zara sat on the edge of the bed, the vision still looping in her mind as she dressed Leo. The warm light overhead did nothing to chase away the chill that had settled deep in her bones. She pulled a clean shirt over his head, her hands moving automatically, though her thoughts were far from her present surroundings.

She couldn’t stop dissecting what she had seen. The mist had always been a concern of hers. Something she’s hated for her experience. In the vision, it seems as though someone had been moving the mist, she hadn’t been too sure be cause of the chaos around her at the time.

The logical part of her brain tried to make sense of it. Mist wasn’t supposed to behave like that. Could it be some form of chemical dispersal, perhaps used by the zombies’ creators to disrupt visibility? Human made?

Her brows pinched at the thought of it. There was currently no one gaining from this apocalypse.

Or was it something worse—something beyond human design? After all the mist came with the apocalypse, not after it. She shook her head, frowning.

Speculation wouldn’t help, but it was hard to stop her mind from racing. She wished she could get into the lab.

"Mommy?" Leo’s small voice snapped her out of her spiral. He sat patiently as she adjusted his pants, his round face still clouded with worry.

Zara paused and cupped his cheek, forcing a soft smile. "I’m okay, sweetheart," she said gently, but the words felt hollow even as she said them. She kissed his forehead before standing, moving to grab a clean shirt for herself.

Her hands trembled as she buttoned her shirther mind drifting back to the most disturbing part of the vision. Amidst all the chaos, the dark figure had stood still, watching. Unlike the mindless frenzy of the zombies, this thing—this entity—had a deliberate presence, a sense of control. And that moment when it turned its head to look at her...

Zara shuddered. She didn’t believe in ghosts, but the way it had stared at her, its form shrouded in mist, felt like it was marking her somehow. Who—or what—was it? Could it have been another human? No, that didn’t feel right. Its presence had been otherworldly, almost...

Maybe it would be better if it were human. She thought, it would be easier to kill.

She didn’t notice how she’d been holding her breath until she exhaled sharply. "Focus, Zara," she muttered under her breath.

If the wall had fallen, it meant one of two things: either the horde had been significantly stronger than anticipated, or there was a structural weakness the engineers hadn’t accounted for. Either way, the base was far more vulnerable than they’d been led to believe.

And then there was the timing. Had she just glimpsed something far in the future? Or was this going to happen tomorrow? She didn’t have enough information to pinpoint when the events would unfold, but the fact that it would happen felt like a certainty.

Her gaze fell on Leo, who was now quietly arranging his shoes by the door.

The sight of him, so small and innocent, sent a pang through her chest. If the base fell, how would she protect him? What chance did they have in the face of such overwhelming chaos?

She needed answers—and a plan.

She needed to tell someone.

Winter.

She needed Winter to come back.

Now.

"Come on, baby," she said softly, lifting Leo into her arms. "Let’s get ready for bed."

He rested his head on her shoulder as she carried him to the cot. Despite the warmth of his tiny body against hers, the cold dread from her vision lingered.

Zara knew she wouldn’t be able to sleep tonight, not with the flashes of what she’d seen swimming in her mind.

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