Chapter 49 Work for Me
“Iris, you’re not getting any. Here, take mine.”
Iris had eaten maybe half a loaf of bread and was already done. Watching these guys fight over food like animals made her lose her appetite completely. Too much spit flying around. From now on, she’d just eat separately.
Logan slid a full plate of potato and pork stew in front of her. “This half hasn’t been touched at all.”
He’d always been careful about eating, even when he was starving. He took his time, portioned everything out neatly, and ate slowly. This was from the first serving he’d grabbed, and he’d been working on it steadily.
Iris glanced at the food he offered. “Nah, you eat it. I’m full.”
The second she said she was full, everyone looked up at her. “Wait, you’re really full already?”
“Don’t be shy now!”
“We know we’re eating like savages, but seriously, you can have it all if you want!” Tyler pushed forward what was left of his plate, which was basically just some gravy and a few tiny potato chunks at the bottom. He meant well though.
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“I’m good.” Iris had zero appetite looking at that.
“Well, if you’re not eating, can we have your bread?” Derek eyed the bread she’d been saving, his expression almost pleading. He looked like a puppy begging for scraps.
Iris sighed. “Take it.”
She handed over her food to them. They tore apart her bread and soaked it in the leftover stew and gravy, then demolished every last bit of it.
Iris cracked open a drink and watched them with mild disbelief. “Is it really that serious?”
“Hell yeah it is! We haven’t eaten this well in almost a month!” Derek said.
“But you guys are military, right? Doesn’t the army feed you decently?”
Brett shook his head. “Not anymore. Eastern Military District set up a base, and all the supplies go there first. What we get as soldiers has been cut down big time, and it keeps getting worse. By the time we left the base, we were eating one vegetable, one soup, and one serving of bread per day. That’s it.”
Iris took a sip of her drink. “You talking about Base K1?” 2/6
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“Yeah! You know about our base?” Tyler’s eyes lit up.
“Heard it on the radio.” Iris shrugged casually. It wasn’t like they’d know what their own base’s propaganda sounded like
anyway.
“Our base is huge. We’ve been running rescue operations all over the place, pulling people out of the cities in the eastern region. We’ve saved more survivors than anyone else out here,” Blake said with some pride.
Connor, who’d been quiet this whole time, spoke up. “Our base is really strong too! The entire Eastern Military District is stationed there, so it’s super safe.”
Derek turned to Iris. “Hey Iris, why don’t you come back to our
base with us?”
Iris almost choked on her water.
“I’m not kidding around. Yeah, you’re mean and you’ve got a temper and you’re aggressive and kinda brutal, but you’re seriously strong.” Derek looked her up and down. “K1 really needs someone with your skills.”
“He’s right!” Brett jumped in. “Iris, your combat ability is incredible. I think you might even be better than our captain. You should join us! That way, we could all stay together,
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including Logan.”
Everyone turned to look at Iris expectantly.
Iris stayed quiet. She wanted to recruit them, and here they were trying to recruit her instead.
She looked at the group and waved them closer. They all leaned in.
“If I join you, will I get meat every day?”
They thought about it seriously for a moment, then shook their
heads.
“If I join you, can I go wherever I want? Will I be free to do what I want?”
They shook their heads again.
“If I join you and someone pisses me off, can I just kill them?”
Their heads shook so fast they looked like bobbleheads.
Iris smiled at them. “So why the hell would I join you?”
Nobody had an answer for that.
“For honor!” Derek stood up proudly. 4/6
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“Honor my ass!” Iris kicked him across the yard. “Honor? You mean the kind where you fight like idiots out there and nobody
even comes to rescue you?
“Honor is crawling to me like a bunch of stray dogs begging for shelter? Honor is having nothing to your name but being first in line when it’s time to charge into battle?
“Let me tell you something. Your honor is already gone. Once order collapses, it doesn’t come back. These base factions are only going to get worse. Right now you’re loyal to Base K1, and what does it give you? Nothing. No guarantees. Nothing.”
Iris laid out everything she’d learned from ten years of living through the apocalypse in her past life.
The apocalypse was a completely new era. All the old order had collapsed. After the government fell apart, a few factions tried to salvage things, but they couldn’t control the tide of change sweeping through everything.
Bases were popping up everywhere. A new base–centered civilization was inevitable, and anyone trying to restore the old world order was just fighting a losing battle.
So there was no “end of the apocalypse” where everything went back to normal. At least not until they solved the zombie virus problem, and that wasn’t happening anytime soon.
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The future belonged to base civilization, and glory would come from the bases themselves.
Iris knew exactly what would happen to these guys if they went back. They’d just be insignificant foot soldiers that K1 wouldn’t even bother sending a rescue team for. Because they weren’t worth the sacrifice to K1.
“But if you work for me, I’ll make sure you eat meat. Nobody will control you or push you around. If someone pisses you off, you can deal with them. My territory means freedom for all of you!”
Iris smiled as she made her pitch.
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ir Gifts
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Sara Lili is a daring romance writer who turns icy landscapes into scenes of fiery passion. She loves crafting hot love stories while embracing the chill of Iceland’s breathtaking cold.
