Be Careful What You Wish For: A Zombie Apocalypse
Chapter 363: Wanna Kill Us

Chapter 363: Wanna Kill Us

It took a lot less time for us to fly over than it did for the boats to cross the river. In fact, the boats hadn’t even left the sinking ship.

"What’s takin’ dem so long?" yawned Ronan as he landed beside Luca on the beach. Soon, everyone was standing in a line at the water’s edge, staring back at the five boats.

"They asked for boats," I sighed with a wave of my hand in dismissal. "They never said anything about paddles or a motor."

"Den..." started Salvatore, his brows furrowing as one of the men placed his hand in the water. The second it broke through the surface, he pulled it back, screaming in pain. Holding his hand up, he stared in disbelief at his skeleton hand, a fish with massively sharp teeth still holding onto his index finger like it wasn’t willing to give up his meal.

Panicked, the man flung his hand from side to side, dislodging the creature and sending him flying into the side of the ship.

"Poor baby," I purred, pouting a bit as the dazed fish before it slid into the water. "That had to hurt."

The men simply grunted in agreement as the man continued to make a racket. However, despite what was happening, he was still very much alive and well.

"It seems like it might hold a grudge," I said, unable to hold back my laughter. "Should we get going? Or are we going to just stay here and wait for everyone to make their way to shore?"

"We’re leaving them?" asked Tank. It wasn’t like he was questioning my decision or even disagreeing; he was just asking for clarification.

"Or what? We look after them for the rest of our lives? I don’t have the time or the patience for that type of bullshit," I answered, the smile dropping off my face as I continued to watch the boats.

Colt was standing in his, talking to the survivors before turning around and yelling something at me. Too bad I couldn’t hear him. Otherwise, I might just take offense to whatever he was saying.

"It might be better to rip that particular strand of grass out by the roots," advised Dante, his eyes narrowing as if he could hear what was being said. "Leaving that man alive might cause more problems."

Patting the man’s shoulder, I turned around and looked at the jungle in front of me. "He needs to have the energy to take me on. Do you really think that it’s really that easy to survive in this new world?"

Even as I spoke, vines, like snakes, slithered out of the jungle edge, rushing toward the ten of us.

"Careful!" warned Salvatore as he flicked his wrist and Envy’s talons appeared.

When the vines had come in a respectful distance, one of them rose up until it was almost my height. Like a magician, a blooming flower appeared at the top just as the plant leaned toward me.

"It’s harmless," I purred, taking the offering. The flower smelled divine, the scent both familiar and strange at the same time. The bright green vine stroked the back of my hand before breaking off from the main plant and wrapping itself around my wrist. "See, it just wants to be my friend."

"Yours, maybe," acknowledged Ronan as he pointed at the vine at his feet. This one was completely different. Three-inch thorns covered the entire body, venom dripping from the tips as it tried to find an exposed piece of skin. "I be thinkin’ dey wanna kill us."

"Probably," I shrugged. "But it knows better than to touch what is mine, right?" I continued, addressing the bloom that was still in my hand. As if it understood my words, the vine retracted the thorns and lay helplessly against the sandy beach. "See? They’re perfect."

Like an excited puppy at the praise, the flower in my hand and the vines on the ground wiggled in happiness. "Come," I smiled, skipping forward. "Let’s see what else this place has. I might never want to leave."

----

"They’re leaving," said Sadie, her brows furrowing in confusion as she and Colt watched the ten mutants turning around and walking into the jungle. "Is that smart? We should stay together."

Colt hummed, not really paying attention to the conversation. It wasn’t until he was standing up that he could see the shapes in the swampy water. Long log like creatures simply lay under the surface, not moving while schools of those piranha like fish swam around them.

"Colt," snapped Sadie, pulling his attention back to her. "What should we do?"

"Well," started Colt. "Ben just proved that we can’t simply paddle with our hands," he continued, nodding toward the man who had just stopped screaming. He and everyone else around him was staring at his hand. Where there had just been bone before, new muscles, veins, and skin started appearing like magic.

Finding a long branch that was several feet long floating at the top of the water, Colt bent over to grab it just as an alligator sprang up and snapped at his hand. Luckily for the man, his reflexes had been hones against wild animals, so he managed to escape unscathed. But the alligator seemed to be pissed that it missed out on a meal.

Sinking down, with only his eyes and nostrils above the water, the animal made no effort to blend in. His eyes remained fixed on his next meal.

Holding the stick up, Colt nodded his head, ignoring the creature. "Get the boats tied together; I’ll push us through the river and onto the shore."

Sadie quickly nodded her head and sent out the instructions. Soon enough, the five boats were linked together by a single thread of rope. At the helm of his boat, Colt stood. Reaching forward, he stuck the bottom of the branch into the bottom of the water and pulled himself forward.

The boat came with him, and with it, the rest of them. Letting out a loud grunt, Colt pulled the branch out of the sand before repeating the action over again. His muscles strained as he continued to pull the boats, using strength more than anything else to keep the survivors safe.