Chapter 136 You Wanna Come With Me?


    Theresa had imed most of the provisions here. She had taken it all.


    Bennie’s breath caught in his throat. A deeper, heavier shock crashed through him like a tidal wave.


    She wasn’t just a water-based ability user. She was a space-based one, too. And her domain… good lord, it was terrifyingly massive.


    The realization hit like a freight train. Bennie stood frozen in ce, the chill in his eyes shattering like ss. Pride? Shattered. Confidence? Crushed. Everything he had built himself up to be felt like dust under


    Theresa’s feet.


    He had always been the golden child. A prodigy among prodigies.


    By three, he was solving advanced math puzzles. At five, he had already taught himself the entire high school curriculum. By seven, he had a guaranteed ce at the country’s top university. And by 15, he had a PhD and more published research papers than most scientists see in a lifetime.


    But even that glittering resume was just the surface. His father was the biggest shareholder in Dawn Industries. His mother, a political heavyweight. Even in the middle of the apocalypse, he was the only one to awaken a mind control ability-so rare it might as well have been myth.


    Saying he was born with a silver spoon was an understatement. God might as well have been following him around with adle, force-feeding him privilege and power.


    So yeah, he was proud. Too proud. And to him, ordinary people were just ants-dim-witted and slow, not even worth stepping on.


    But now?


    Now he stood in the echoing silence of an emptied provision depot, every bit of grain gone, and all of it the work of one woman.


    Theresa.


    His mind spun, recalcting everything he thought he knew. The numbers didn’t just change-they exploded into something entirely new.


    He needed a whole new form just to measure her.


    The highway ahead stretched out smooth and clear, sunlight pouring over the asphalt as Theresa’s truck led the convoy. The return trip was a breeze. They had cleared out the zombies and wreckage on the way in, so all that was left now was the open road.


    As they neared the same intersection they had passed two days ago, a faint honk echoed behind her.


    Theresa checked the rearview mirror.


    A smaller cargo truck was trailing them, steadily catching up.


    She recognized it.


    Spark Camp.


    The girl-Charlotte, wasn’t it?


    She nodded at Kyle. “Slow it down a bit.”


    Kyle eased off the gas. The truck behind them pulled up until it was running side-by-side. The passenger window rolled down, and the first face that popped into view was dark and expressionless.


    Theresa lowered her own window, resting her elbow casually on the frame.


    To her mild surprise, it was Den behind the wheel.


    Then, just as she guessed, Charlotte leaned across the passenger seat, grinning as she waved.


    “Ms. Hall!”


    “What’s up?”


    Charlotte nudged her brother, who looked about asfortable as a cat in water. Still, Den managed to nce her way and mutter, “Thanks.”


    Theresa blinked. What?


    “Ugh, Den,e on,” Charlotte huffed at her brother, then turned back to Theresa, moreposed. “We just wanted to thank you, Ms. Hall. For saving us yesterday. And… forst time, too.”


    A faint smile tugged at the corners of Theresa’s mouth. “Message received.”


    She had saved a lot of people recently, but only these two hade to say thanks.


    Not bad, she thought. They’ve got manners.


    Charlotte let out a breath, like a weight had slid off her shoulders. But she and her brother weren’t exactly chatty types, and after a pause, neither seemed to know what else to say.


    Then Theresa’s voice drifted out from the other truck.


    “Hey, kid. You wannae with me?”


    Charlotte blinked. “Huh? You mean me?”


    Theresa smirked, leaning further out the window. “How many young girls does your team have? I’m talking to you. Come with me-I’ll make sure you live good. Real good. Meat with every meal. Whatever you want, I’ll do my best to get it. And best of all? No one at my camp’s gonna look down on you.”


    Charlotte’s eyes lit up, her heart already halfway in the truck.


    But she hesitated and looked at her brother.


    Theresa added, “You can bring him if you want. But fair warning-my camp, my rules. You both listen to me. That said, I treat my people right.”


    Charlotte turned to Den, excitement bubbling up in her voice. “C’mon, Den, let’s go!”


    Den thought it over in silence. Three full seconds ticked by. Then he said, “You go. I’ll stay.”


    Charlotte froze. “What?”


    “I gotta stay, Charlotte. Spark Camp still needs me. You’ll be safe with Ms. Hall, and I’ll feel better knowing you’re taken care of. Just… look out for yourself, okay? And drop me a message over the radio when you


    can.”


    Spark Camp was still holding on by a thread. Mostly seniors and stragglers. If he left, no one else would step up to lead. But Charlotte? She had a shot at something better.