Chapter 41 Meat, Brothers, and Promises


    It was way better than their base!


    “Eat up. It’s all ours.”


    Graham snorted. “We’ve got our food! We’ll eat our own!”


    He pulled out somepressed biscuits from his bag, added a ssh of water, and began chewing on them dryly.


    The rest of the group didn’t say a word either. Looking pitiful, they reached into their packs and pulled out the remaining rations.


    As they ate the tasteless, throat-drying biscuits, the rich aroma of braised ribs kept wafting their way- again and again.


    The more they chewed, the more miserable they were.


    It smelled so good over there. Just one bite would be heavenly!


    You should eat more! Why are you eating so slowly?” Theresa was tearing into the ribs, barely bothering with the bones. Summer and the others crouched nearby, waiting.


    She left all the bones for them to gnaw on.


    Kyle, however, was eating at a slow, deliberate pace, carefully savoring each piece. The rich vors had seeped deep into the bones, and he even crunched through the marrow.


    ‘Let the dogs gnaw on the bones! You focus on the meat. There’s plenty to go around!”


    But Kyle shook his head and kept gnawing. He wasn’t about to waste even a scrap of vor.


    Theresa saw what was happening but didn’t say anything. She kept eating, and when she finished, she washed it down with a bottle of Coke. There were still plenty of ribs left in the bowl.


    She wiped her hands and stood up.


    Kyle asked, “Theresa, are you done with the rest?”


    “It’s all yours,” she replied without calling him out. As she headed back into the shelter, she added, “Wash all the dishes. And don’t forget to pack up the leftovers.”


    Kyle’s eyes lit up. “Yes, ma’am!”


    By the time she left, Dave and the others had already given up on the biscuits. There was no taste left in their mouths, but they couldn’t afford to waste even crumbs-they licked their fingers clean.


    That was when a bowl of leftover braised ribs was ced in front of them.


    “Eat. I saved some for you guys.” Kyle had practically pulled those ribs from between his teeth for them.


    “You sure Your Majesty won’t mind?” Graham teased, catching himself just in time.


    “I asked Theresa. She said I could have them.”


    “You’re the man!”


    “Kyle, you’re the best!”


    “What a buddy you are!”


    “Let me say thank you to you, because of you, everything feels warmer-”


    “Cut the crap and eat!”


    Graham, Dave, Malcolm, and the rest of the group dove in like starving wolves.


    Kyle even poured them each some water to help wash it down. He refilled every canteen.


    That was another thing they had discoveredtely-Kyle’s body had mutated. He could produce water.


    They had all undergone some kind of change: Graham had be faster, Dave stronger, Malcolm could control fire, Sebastian could sense metal, and Victor could alter terrain.


    They didn’t know how or why it was happening, and they were still figuring things out, but one thing was certain—without these changes, they never would’ve made it out of that zombie horde alive.


    While the others sat and devoured the ribs, Kyle got up to work, starting with harvesting vegetables.


    Graham watched him slice scallions while gnawing on a bone. “Kyle! You seriously gonna keep working for her?”


    Kyle didn’t look up. “I gave her


    my word.”


    “So, you’re noting back to the force with us?”


    “I belong to Theresa now.”


    “Think Lucas will let you go?”


    Kyle stayed silent and just kept cutting.


    Once he’d gotten halfway through the scallions, the others had finished eating and came over to help.


    “We share the meat, we share the work!”


    “We won’t let you sacrifice yourself alone!”


    Some harvested vegetables, some weeded, and some did the dishes. When it was all said and done, they even swept the yard clean.


    Inside the house, Theresa nced through the window, watching them work. Her lips curved slightly.


    The moment Kyle saved those ribs, she already knew he meant to share them with his old teammates. She saw it but didn’t call him out-because she knew exactly what brotherhood like that meant.


    If she didn’t, she never would’ve gone out of her way to take Kyle in during herst life.


    They’d lived through life and death together, countless times. Bonds like that, built over years-maybe even a decade-don’t fade away easily.


    But the timeline was different now.


    Last time she met Kyle, he was alone and never said a word about his past. Looking back, his team-and even Lucas-were probably already dead.


    He was the only one left, and she’d picked him up like a stray. With nothing left to hold him back, he gave her hisplete loyalty.


    This time around, his brothers were still alive. And he looked… brighter somehow. A little more alive.