The Day Love Betrayed Me and Never the Plan 18

“That damn little bitch!” Shawn muttered. 

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Kyler quickly stepped in. “Come on, man. Don’t lose your cool. Chloe’s got a ton of supplies. Calm down and ignore her for a few days. She’ll come crawling back to you.” 

They still had some food left, mostly cookies and canned goods, so they weren’t desperate yet. The real issue was that these two grown men couldn’t cook to save their lives. They had meat in the fridge, but they couldn’t cook. 

A few classmates hadn’t gone home for the holidays, picking up temp jobs in Hevenseale to make ends meet while studying. None of them had expected to get stuck here by the apocalypse. 

On the sixth day, thick, fluffy snowflakes fell from the sky, blanketing everything. The cold only grew more intense. 

The temperature outside dropped to -40°F. Down here in the south, where central heating is a luxury, even blasting the AC couldn’t cut through the chill. Everyone was shivering uncontrollably. 

Chloe stood by the floor–to–ceiling window, swirling a glass of red wine in her hand. Her gaze landed on the university town in the distance. There was a mutant flower that could make someone immune to the zombie virus. ‘I must get it,‘ she thought. 

Her resident group chat was blowing up with frantic voice messages. 

“Help. My mom drank some tap water and turned into a zombie. I live on the first floor. Please, help!” someone shouted. 

As soon as that message appeared, the chat went dead silent. No one was willing to risk their life for a stranger. Everyone knew the tap water was tainted with the zombie virus, and drinking it was a death sentence. 

Someone in the group chat said, “When are the government troops coming? Are we just going to die here?” 

With local TV channels down, the only way to stay informed was by switching phones to radio mode, tuning in for brief updates. 

Out of the blue, someone else said in the group, “I saw this badass girl yesterday. She took out a bunch of zombies by herself and just walked into our building. Is she one of us?” 

“Yeah, I saw her, too. She had a keycard, so she’s definitely one of us.” 

“Where is she? We’ll pay double. Can she go to the nearby supermarket and grab some supplies for us?” 

“I’ll pay ten times the price!” 

“I’ll pay twenty times!” 

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Chapter 18 

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Chloe couldn’t help but laugh coldly. Pay me? Who cares about cash now? You can offer all you want, but good luck finding anyone who’ll actually take it, she thought 

In the end, Chloe, the mysterious girl everyone had been talking about, never showed up. The chat were from desperate pleas to angry rants as their hopes were crushed. 

Soon after, someone started banging on the door. 

“Who is it?” Chloe called out. 

“Um, I’m from the third floor. We’re planning to go to the supermarket tomorrow to grab some supplies. Want to join us? We’ll meet downstairs at eight in the morning, a man said. 

Thanks, but no, Chloe replied. Through the pinhole camera, she could see that the man speaking was the same burly guy who’d tried to break down her door the night before. He looked like a total gangster. 

Just then, Bryce from Unit 1801 and Deacon from Unit 1802 stepped out. They exchanged a glance, and almost in sync, they started heading toward Chloe’s door in Unit 1803. 

Bryce was built like a tank, with a thick beard that made him look seriously intimidating. 

Deacon, about six feet tall, was lean and sharp, with glasses perched on his nose. His eyes were half–squinted, giving off a vibe of being calculating and clever. 

They kept their heads down, probably texting each other. 

Bryce: [Hey, don’t you think this place is kinda weird? We’ve knocked on their door numerous times, but we’ve never heard a word or seen anyone. But when they do talk, they sound pretty energetic. Think they’re hiding a stash of supplies?] 

Deacon: [Hard to say.] 

Bryce: [By the way, about that girl we saw come back yesterday, could she be the one everyone’s talking about in the group chat?] 

Deacon adjusted his gold–rimmed glasses. “Bryce, maybe we should- 

Bryce made a slitting motion across his throat. 

Then the two shared a look and knocked, suddenly putting on their best polite act. 

If Chloe hadn’t already seen their shady behavior through the pinhole, she might have actually believed they were just a couple of decent guys. 

In the apocalypse, everyone was filthy, starving, and smelly. If everyone were suffering equally, things would be more peaceful. 

But when one person had more supplies than the others, it made them a target. Jealousy and anger quickly simmered to the surface, and everyone began to expect that person to share. 

15:06 Sun, Dec 21 

Chapter 18 

Chloe realized she was on their radar now. 

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Some guys figured that since they were bigger and stronger, they could take whatever they wanted from the weak ones. In an apocalypse, laws and rules didn’t matter anymore. People’s twisted sides were coming out in full force. 

There was a knock on the door again. Chloe opened it, keeping the steel security door firmly between herself and the two men. 

When Bryce and Deacon saw her, they were stunned. They’d lived in this building for years and never imagined their neighbor was such a drop–dead gorgeous girl. Instinctively, they swallowed hard. 

“What do you want?” Chloe asked. She was stunning, her figure both innocent and dangerously tempting. She was the kind of girl who could make any man lose his mind. She looked pure yet seductive, a fantasy for countless guys. 

“W–We just wanted to ask something,” Deacon stammered, kicking Bryce to snap him out of his daze. Bryce quickly regained his composure, nervously rubbing his hands together. “Hey, miss, are you home alone?” 

Chloe didn’t say a word. 

“Here’s the thing. We’re out of food at our place. Could you lend us some? We’ll make it up to you,” Deacon said. 

“Right, or we could just pay you for it. Cash, if that works,” Bryce added eagerly. 

“Sorry, but we’re out of food, too,” Chloe replied. As she spoke, she caught a glimpse of movement in the corner of her eye. 

The elevator doors slid open, and out stepped a tall girl in a white down jacket. When she saw Chloe, a soft, almost fragile smile appeared on her face. “Chloe, I finally found you. Turns out we’ve been living in the same building all along.” 

‘Sophie? What bad luck,‘ Chloe thought. 

Sophie had a whole crew of familiar faces trailing behind her, including her roommates, Kyler, and Shawn. 

‘Guess they’re well–connected. They tracked me down this fast,‘ Chloe thought. 

“Chloe, I can’t believe you live here. We asked so many classmates to find you,” Mandy said, her tone dripping with fake sweetness. 

Sophie tucked a stray hair behind her ear and offered a shy smile. “Chloe, I kept wondering why you never reached out. Turns out you thought something was going on between Shawn and me. Seriously, there’s nothing between us.” 

Mandy pushed her way to the front. “Open up already. We’re about to freeze out here,” she said, sounding sweet but basically bossing Chloe around. 

The rest of the crew was making noise, but Shawn just kept giving Chloe sad, bitter looks, like she was the heartbreaker who had left him. 

13:06 Sun, Dec 21 

Chapter 18 

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“If you’ve got something to say, just say it here. My place isn’t big enough for all of you, Chloe said. 

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