Be Careful What You Wish For: A Zombie Apocalypse
Chapter 399: Why Me?

Chapter 399: Why Me?

Miriam looked at the plate of food in front of the little girl and couldn’t help but tsk. It was nothing more than sugar on top of sugar. Her waffle was an almost exact copy of Miriam’s with the chocolate hazelnut spread and strawberries, but Hattie was already pouring an entire fountain of maple syrup on the thing.

Combined with all the whipped cream and sugared coffee, Miriam couldn’t help but gently scold her. "Drink some water," she said, pushing the cup of water closer to the girl. "You need something to dilute all the sugar in your system. Add some bacon or sausage. You need protein if you are going to get bigger."

"What is with everyone’s obsession with getting me bigger?" huffed Hattie even as a plate of bacon appeared on the table. Nick looked at the offering with bright eyes, even as he shoveled his French toast into his mouth. "Take some. I can’t eat it all by myself."

Miriam smiled, swallowing hard around the lump in her throat. Not a day since Nicholas had been born had he ever been able to eat until he was full. Even if they were going to die when it was all said and done, Miriam might actually be able to accept it.

"You told me that there were four paths that I could take," said Miriam, taking in a deep breath. "Can you tell me a bit about them?"

Hattie nodded her head, even as chocolate spread smeared against her cheek. "The first path is the simplest... I guess," she said, cocking her head to the side and stared out into the distance as if she was actually looking at the path. "Nothing changes. You and your kids stay here and live how you want to live."

Miriam blinked, trying to work out what Hattie was trying to say.

"We’d die," she announced with a shake of her head. "If the bugs don’t get us, the jungle will."

"The jungle will not and cannot touch you," Hattie said with a wave of her hand like she was saying something obvious. "You are one of mine, and nothing in this world will be able to hurt you and your kids because of it."

"My son played with raptors," muttered Miriam, her voice trailing off as she remembered what Hattie had casually thrown out. Miriam hadn’t seen any raptors, but she could guess what they looked like. If her son really survived that...

"He did," Hattie nodded. "They are really good at playing tag and hide and go seek. I think they cheat, but they assure me that they don’t."

Once again, Miriam nodded her head. "What’s the second path?" She liked the sound of the first path, but if she wanted to make the best decision for her and the kids, then she needed to know all the options.

"The second path is that you make a wish. You offer up something that you are willing to sacrifice, and whatever you wish for is what you get," shrugged Hattie. "If you wanted to live somewhere else, wish it. If you want immortality, wish for it. Whatever it is, I will grant you however many wishes you want... as long as you can pay the price."

Automatically, Miriam started shaking her head. She had nothing that she was willing to sacrifice for something that could go wrong. "And the third path?"

"The third path is a bit twisty," announced Hattie, putting down her knife and fork and wiping her face with a napkin. "But honestly, it’s the one that I want for you. It’s a whole thing; demons, demon seeds, immortality, and the Seven Deadly Sins. But the short form is that I will give you a fully developed demon seed of your choosing. It will merge with your heart, and you will have unlimited powers and unlimited life. You will be stronger, everyone will fear you, and the jungle will bow to you. Your kids will have the same option so that when they grow up, they are more than human."

"What’s the downside?" asked Miriam, trying to process this path. She had no idea what demons or demon seeds had to do with anything, but if she wanted every option, then she needed to take whatever Hattie said seriously.

"Personally, I don’t think there is one. I’d even let you pick which one of the Sins you wanted. You could pick them out for the kids, too. But you will never starve, you will always be directly connected with me, so that if something did happen, I’d be able to help. You would be a queen, and you would never have to fear man or beast again."

"Why me?" asked Miriam, putting down her fork as she studied Hattie. "Why are you handing me all this on a silver platter when everyone else was killed?"

"Some people deserve to live," Hattie shrugged, her eyes flashing.

"And some people deserve to die," replied Miriam, her eyes turning cold as she remembered Leo.

"And most people are too weak to know the difference," smiled Hattie, picking up a strip of bacon and nibbling on it. "You did everything in the name of your children."

"Any mother would," deflected Miriam with a wave of her hand.

"My mother sold me to a monster when I was Nick’s age," sneered Hattie. "Don’t ever put yourself on her level ever again. You stood strong when it would be easier to be weak. You never bent when it came to your kids. You are what the new world needs more than Sadie and Colt. You are the one who will lead everyone around you into the future."

"What are the Sins?" asked Miriam. She actually felt fear when she looked at Hattie, so she quickly changed the subject.

"Pride, Greed, Wrath, Envy, Lust, Gluttony, and Sloth."

Miriam nodded her head as she listened to Hattie. "I will be wrath, then," she said finally. "It’s the one that speaks to me the most. Nora will be pride, because I want her to never bow down to anyone. Nicholas can be envy."

"Whatever you say," smiled Hattie with a nod of her head.

Before Miriam could say another word, two dandelion seeds landed on her children while a bright, beautiful sunflower appeared in her hand. It had multiple shades of red, because not even wrath was a simple thing.

"It’s beautiful," she breathed.

"The deadliest things tend to be the most beautiful," agreed Hattie, right before she disappeared.

Looking around, Miriam spotted a beautiful cottage at the edge of the jungle as if it were made just for her. "What do you say that we go home?" she smiled at Nick and Nora. This was the first time she felt safe and happy since the apocalypse first arrived, and it was all thanks to a strange little girl with eyes that saw too much.

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