Chapter 30 Lines We Don’t Cross


    Chapter 30 Lines We Don’t Cross


    Theresa had no qualms about iming abandoned or uninhabitednd. Even areas with absent owners didn’t bother her conscience. But here, behind this door, there was a living person.


    Her hand, which had been resting on the door, fell to her side.


    In the apocalypse, wherews had copsed and human nature’s worst tendencies ran rampant, strength was the only rule. Dominating the weak, seizing their resources–it was allmonce. But there was a line Theresa drew. She didn’t shy away from killing when her interests were threatened, but she wasn’t some mindless tyrant, crushing others without cause.


    If someone dared encroach on her territory, she wouldn’t hesitate to eliminate them. But invading someone else’s home, driving them out, or killing them just to take what they had? That crossed a line.


    She sighed, deciding to leave the survivor be for now.


    But just as she was about to leave, the door creaked open slightly. A middle–aged man peeked out, his face gaunt and unshaven. His wire–rimmed sses gave him a schrly air, but his hollow cheeks and wary expression betrayed how long he had gone without proper food. Behind him, a woman, equally worn, hovered protectively.


    A small child–no more than five or six–peeked out from behind the man’s legs, curiosity gleaming in her eyes. As soon as the parents noticed, they pulled the little girl back, shielding her from view.


    “Woof! Woof! Woof!” The dogs barked furiously, sensing the movement.


    “Quiet,” Theresa ordered, silencing them immediately. She studied the man from head to toe before speaking coldly. “Everywhere around here is my territory except this house. Stay out of mynd, or I’ll kill you.”


    Without waiting for a response, she turned and strode toward thest vi at the far end of the area.


    “Wait!” the man called out desperately. “There are zombies in there! Don’t go!”


    Theresa paused mid–step and turned to face him. “You’ve seen them?”


    The man nodded solemnly. “The people in that vi were having a party. A bunch of young men and women stayed up all night. Then, early in the morning, we heard screams. A lot of them ran out, bleeding, but none of them got far before they were attacked and killed.”


    “What were you doing during all this?”


    “We were terrified. We locked our doors and stayed inside. It wasn’t untilter that we realized they’d turned into zombies.”


    Theresa’s gaze swept over the man, the door, the house, and the faint bloodstains still visible on the street outside. “You’vested this long. Got supplies in there?”


    The man pressed his chapped lips together, refusing to answer. In this world, no one openly shared information about their resources. Theresa distrusted him, and he distrusted her.


    Seeing that the conversation was going nowhere, Theresa signaled to her dogs and headed toward the


    tenth vi. The man watched her go, conflicted. He opened his mouth to call out again but closed it, unsure of what to say.


    “Who was she?” his wife whispered nervously.


    “I don’t know,” he replied, his gaze lingering on Theresa’s retreating figure. “But she definitely has supplies.” He was certain–her healthyplexion and the sleek coats of her dogs were clear indicators. In a world ravaged by starvation, no one could look like that without a steady supply of food and resources.


    “Should we ask her for some?” his wife suggested hesitantly.


    “Daddy, I’m hungry,” their daughter whined, clutching his leg.


    The man’s expression darkened. He raised a hand, summoning a faint green glow. The potted nt beside the door responded, its vines slithering toward his palm like living creatures. Gripping the tendrils tightly, he muttered, “Let’s wait and see. Don’t rush.”


    Theresa arrived at the tenth vi. The ce was a mess–blood sttered across the door, the ground, and the overgrown garden.


    Circling the building, she assessed the terrain and noted possible entry points. This wasn’t her first time. facing danger, and preparation was second nature.


    The vi’s reinforced metal door looked formidable, but Theresa’s strength had grown far beyond the average human’s at this point. With one swift kick, the door flew open, crashing loudly against the wall.


    The moment the door swung wide, Theresa and her four dogs darted to either side of the entryway. A guttural roar erupted from within as three zombies lunged out.


    Two were women, and one was a man.


    One of the female zombies had clearly been beautiful in life. Even in death, her decayed form retained an eerie allure. Her face was mostly intact, but one leg had been gnawed down to the bone, the stark white of her skeleton glinting through the gore.


    However, the second female zombie hadn’t fared as well. Half her face had been chewed off, exposing the framework of a broken nose and a dangling imnt. Her left eye bulged grotesquely, crawling with yellow maggots wriggling through the torn flesh.


    Theresa’s lips curled in disgust as she readied herself for the fight ahead.