Be Careful What You Wish For: A Zombie Apocalypse
Chapter 364: Meaning?

Chapter 364: Meaning?

If I had thought the humidity was bad when I was on the ship, it was nothing compared to how it was as I entered the jungle. Passing from the beach to the trees was like passing through a wall of water, each one of the drops clinging to me.

"Ugh," grunted Désiré as he tried to scrape the moisture off his face. "Dis place sucks."

I had to raise my eyebrow at his words, but I couldn’t disagree. Seeing how the vines were stretching out to grab the guys, I could see how they thought it would suck. But for me, it was like entering a different version of the house.

Everything around me seemed to want what was best for me, and I could feel the pleasure of the plants when I glanced at them. I mean, I wouldn’t say no to some air conditioning, but all in all, this place wasn’t nearly as bad as I was worried about.

The dragonfly from the beach perched back on my shoulder for a second before it launched itself in the air when a spiked vine rushed forward, trying to spear it. "Protective buggers, aren’t dey?" smirked Ronan as he purposefully stepped on one of the vines intersecting the path.

They had disappeared when I stepped forward, only to rush back when the guys came after.

"Kind of like some others I know," I replied with a bright smile as I looked at him over my shoulder. "And I wouldn’t do that if I were you. Something tells me they are just as vindictive as the fish from earlier."

Ronan narrowed his eyes at the bit of bright green. "Didn’ you say dat no one touches what’s yers? Do de plants really wanna go against you?"

As if understanding his words, the plants shrunk back to a safe distance, but they continued to keep watch. "Are you saying that you wouldn’t rush to defend me if one of the others hurt me in some way? Would you put your brothers before me?"

My voice was soft, and truthfully, I wasn’t really expecting an answer. I knew without a doubt that the guys would pick their brothers over anyone else. After all, that was what family did. However, the lines between the guys were starting to blur, so it would be interesting to see where they fell when it meant the most.

"Ifn I didn’t, dey would kill me," chuckled Ronan with a shake of his head. "But I be getting’ yer point. De vines just wanna protect you."

I smiled at him but didn’t say anything else. At the end of the day, the guys were at my side, and until that changed, I wouldn’t invite trouble.

The trees and grass to the right of us rustled, warning us for a minute before a high-pitched scream could be heard. Next, there was a thud and the sound of something heavy being dragged away.

"We keep dem," nodded Dimitri with a firm nod of his head. "I like anythin’ dat kills like dat."

Beau hummed, agreeing with him, but I was more curious about what had been dragged away. I still wanted to add some new pets to the house, not to mention someone for Tink to play with.

"Thank you for protecting me," I purred, petting a leaf that was bigger than my head. It swayed gently as if it was caught in the wind; however, there was no wind here. In fact, everything was eerily quiet, like the entire world was holding its breath.

A crown of white and blood-red flowers the size of my palm gently floated down from the canopy to land on my head, like the jungle itself was declaring me its queen.

"Does the house want you to destroy the jungle?" asked Luca, his eyes constantly scanning around for threats. The poor man, how did I tell him that absolutely everything was a threat? He just didn’t need to worry?

"No," I answered with a shake of my head. But I got where he was coming from. The house wanted me to destroy the world so that it could be rebuilt; however, as far as I was concerned, this bit of the world had already been destroyed.

As if to prove my point, the jungle suddenly disappeared, and the guys and I stepped out into a more open space. Don’t get me wrong, there were still plants everywhere. The ground under our feet was covered in a lush carpet of moss and vines, and smaller plants were alive and well.

However, instead of clinging to trees for structure, they were clinging to burnt-out cars and skyscrapers. A cry from one of the pterodactyls drew my attention to the top of one building and the massive nest that was built. It was so big that the edges went over the side of the roof, making the building look almost small.

The bird inside wasn’t alone. I could see another, smaller one next to it and around the nest, at least five or six babies. Nature was taking over the cities, and those creatures who were once extinct were loving it.

"I think this was what the house wanted me to see," I replied, stroking another vine that had come close to say hi. "This is the world rebuilding itself. When the bones of civilization are stripped away, this will be it. Humans, because of our own stupidity, are no longer in control. We are now at the bottom of the food chain, and it is about time that we realized it."

"Is it safe for you to stay here?" asked Dante, now looking around more vigilantly. "If this was what the house wanted you to see, then maybe we can go home now. Leave Sadie and her merry band of men alone to figure out their own shit."

"I was here before," nodded Luca. "Before the end of the world. If my guess is right, we just went from Region A through the Dividing Mountains, and now we are in Region B. That means somewhere near here is where the ocean meets the land. That makes this place the third most populated area."

I nodded my head, not sure what he was getting at. I guess I wasn’t the only one because both Ronan and Salvatore were looking at Luca like he had grown a third head.

"Meaning?" pressed Tank, his arms folded over his chest even as a massive butterfly the size of his head fluttered around him.

"Meaning... where did all the people go?"