Be Careful What You Wish For: A Zombie Apocalypse
Chapter 398: You’re Not Wrong

Chapter 398: You’re Not Wrong

Miriam groaned, stretching her arms over her head in a muscle-melting stretch. Hearing the soft giggle of her oldest son, she quickly froze, her eyes opening wide in panic.

It was the first time in what seemed like forever that she had managed to get a good night’s sleep. In fact, it was almost too good. She couldn’t remember the last time she had actually slept through an entire night.

Not to mention the fact that everything was trying to kill them.

Looking around, her eyes narrowed as everyone but her and the kids were gone. Colt had growled last night that they were looking for a new place to live, and that he expected everyone to be up early and ready to go by dawn.

Did they really leave her, just like that? She knew that she didn’t get along with Sadie, but that woman had a savior’s complex a mile long that was going to get everyone killed.

Closing her eyes once again, Miriam took a deep breath. It was fine that they left her behind. She would survive just fine on her own with her children. Hell, her children were more mature than most of the adults who had managed to survive.

Letting out a yawn, she sat up on her make-shift bed and pulled Nora into her arms. "How’s my sweet girl this morning?" she asked, a bright smile on her face. The toddler giggled and cooed back at her, the babble little more than soft sounds.

"I looked after her," announced Nicholas, his chest puffing up. "I even helped her potty."

Miriam’s eyes went wide before she smiled at her son. "And you did a wonderful job," she assured him. "Thank you so much for that."

"Don’t thank me, it was the pretty lady’s idea," grinned Nicholas, pointing at the woods. "She was really nice. She even gave us pancakes for breakfast with real syrup. They were yummy."

Miriam stiffened as she continued to listen to her son. Following where he was pointing, she could just make out the shadow of a woman in the canopy.

"Thank you," called out Miriam, her voice easily reaching the woman. While she was polite, that didn’t mean she wasn’t gripping a knife in her other hand. It was almost funny. The world changed overnight, and yet humans did not. They were still just as likely, if not more so, to stab you in the back when you weren’t expecting it.

Case in point, Colt leaving her here with the kids.

"Welcome," smiled the woman, coming out of the jungle. It didn’t take Miriam more than a second to recognize her.

"I know you," said Miriam.

"I know you, too," replied the girl... Hattie. "I figured that since I wanted to talk to you and you were sleeping that I would wake until you woke up. I hate waking up; it really is the worst thing in the world, so I just waited. Nick and I had a great time making sandcastles. Then the raptors wanted to join in the fun so we had a game of tag, and everything was fun! I didn’t even have to give up my candy! But I did feed Nick. Daddy said that breakfast was important. I didn’t know what Nora wanted, so I waited for you."

The smile on the girl’s face was so bright, like she was trying to get a compliment about how well she did. In fact, if it wasn’t for what Hattie knew about her and all the scars on her body, Miriam would think that she was no more than five years old.

She had that innocence about her that made you want to protect her, but every so often, there would be a look in her eyes that spoke volumes.

"I’m glad you had fun," smiled Miriam, shaking her head once, knocking the thoughts out of her head. Clearly, this girl was ’special’ and as such, needed to be treated that way. "You did a great job feeding Nicholas. Right now, Nora still needs all her food cut up small, so it was a good thing that you waited for me."

The tension in Hattie’s shoulders disappeared at Miriam’s words, and the smile came back.

"I know you want to know about the others," announced Hattie, the innocent aura disappearing. In its stead was the woman she had met at the apartment complex. "They are all dead."

Miriam blinked before looking around.

"Not here," Hattie quickly continued, holding up both hands in front of her as if trying to calm Miriam down. "Colt made a wish. He got his wish, and he, Sadie, and the survivors all went back home and died."

"I see," nodded Miriam. Thanks to Nicholas, she was able to better piece together what was both being said and not said. "So, why aren’t we dead?"

"Because you aren’t survivors," replied the girl like it was the most obvious thing in the world. "You stepped up when no one else would. You protected everyone like the Mama Bear that you are. The fact that Colt and Sadie didn’t appreciate it is more of a testament to them than it is to you."

"So, what happens next?" asked Miriam, coming to her feet. The moment she moved, Hattie snapped her fingers, and a kitchen table, complete with four chairs and more food than they could eat, appeared on the beach.

"That depends on you," replied Hattie, going to sit down. Nicholas quickly raced after her, and even Nora toddled along, her uneven footsteps even more apparent in the sand. "You have four possible routes to take, but you can only take one. Which one are you picking?"

"I don’t know," answered Miriam as she helped the kids into their seats. Sitting down herself, she looked at the cup of coffee and almost cried. "What will keep us all alive?"

"You will," shrugged Hattie as she started pouring a waterfall of sugar into her cup. "I mean, you’ve come this far. If anyone is going to keep you all alive, it’s going to be you."

Miriam smiled into her mug as a plate of waffles with chocolate spread and strawberries appeared in front of her. "You’re not wrong."

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