Chapter Seven

A group of sixty-seven people gathered in the second-floor restaurant. The windows were sealed shut and washed generously with bleach to help keep the smell of living away from the wandering dead outside.

Parents had been warned to go upstairs if their children began to make noise, so the children were gathered near the exit far from the drawn curtains that blocked out the scary reality they'd now have to grow up in.

His narrow eyes landed on Faye, who laughed and ate alongside her friends, a complete one-eighty from the puffy-eyed girl who cried in his arms last night.

Could he bear to make her a mother again?

Even facing the horrific times, when she found out she was pregnant, she still smiled happily when she showed him the test. The next two months she began to prepare with enthusiasm for their little babe growing inside of her. Unlike him who worryingly pulled Lixin to one side to talk about abortion...

"Yichen, you ready?" Bai Cheng nudged him out of his stupor. Yichen scolded himself for being too busy thinking of a distant, potential future when the day's affairs had yet to be settled.

Nodding, Yichen made his way onto the small stage that was used for comedy acts. Though the North Wing had a plethora of entertainment facilities, the hotel also had a few exclusive ones, just for guests, to entertain them during their meals.

"Good morning, I am Yichen Wu, the owner of this hotel," he greeted the silent crowd, feeling nervous.

Before he had just instructed others and remained in the shadows like an old man playing chess. This time, he wanted to take a step into the light and become a man like his father, who openly takes charge and leads his people.

"The government has only issued an emergency broadcast, asking people to stay indoors and wait for the military. Currently, we cannot reach the local military; however, the military in the capital is still functioning."

He wanted to be clear, upfront, and honest with the people who would choose to follow him.

"The majority of you, are tourists here in this country and I can only sympathize with your plight at being stuck here. My staff has all decided to group together and we will be rescuing their loved ones. We welcome you to join us to band together." The multiple looks of relief spread across the crowd of guests at the tables.

"We will not remain here in this hotel. When we do leave, those who wish to remain are welcome to use everything here as they wish, you will not be held accountable if I return. If you decide to join us, please fill in a questionnaire from my colleague here, Miles." Yichen gestured to Miles who stood at a table with papers and pens.

It had taken the poor old man most of the night to get the questionnaire right, just so Yichen could have all the information he needed to plan thoroughly. Whilst Bai Cheng had been tasked to figure out the safest route to the gated community up north, where his father and the Fraizer's villas were.

His father's villa wasn't far from the Fraizers and currently only had a few people stationed there, who he'd gotten through to this morning.

They had all been given the freedom of choice to stay or go for their loved ones, two had left and the rest said they would wait for him to come and join the group effort. So he instructed those who remained to help the two government guards in protecting the teens.

He'd like to see if he'd still get the nicknames 'dictator' and 'cold emperor' in this lifetime.

"Where will you be taking us?" A middle-aged, robust man broke the pause to speak up, his hand gripping his wife's hand tightly.

Yichen suppressed the relief and joy in his heart, they were listening to him.

"I have a villa in a gated community in the suburbs up North. It's around an hour to drive normally," he explained, then thought about how to sell the place to the scared crowd, "the community is over the river, beside a boating dock and golf course, then farmland, North and East of it, the ocean directly on it's West. With the river at it's south, it is completely enclosed and my staff there have assured me of its safety. Compared to the crowded city, it is the best place to safely wait for news from the government," he held back the truth of the government failing to remain in control for now. They were already panicked enough.

The family man seemed comforted by his words, "We'll follow you." He had two young boys, sixteen and twelve, who he could trust to remain quiet and well-behaved on the journey.

A young mother, holding a three-year-old, did not have the same comfort. "If we go, how can I keep my kids safe?" Her eyes anxiously glanced to the window. They had all seen the corpses gathering in the street, only growing in number since last night.

Her daughter was only just learning to speak and would cry often.

"Today, a small team of us will be traveling to a nearby shop, we intend to lure as many of the dead outside away as possible. Tonight, after the evening meal, we have two doctors here who can administer sedatives to any young children, to help them sleep as we transport you inside a truck. My men will be in cars with weapons to handle any issues, you only need to remain inside with your supplies until we reach the Villa."

The woman squeezed the fussy child in her arms tightly, "Thank you," tears gathered in her eyes as her husband pulled her into a side embrace, their five-year-old son on the husband's sister's lap being fed his breakfast obliviously. This was one of the few lucky families that had managed to remain intact.

But both this man, and the middle-aged plumber who spoke earlier, had been shot the very next day by the intruders when trying to help Miles to mediate with them.

In the end, all the families agreed to come, one family member going up to get the paperwork at a time to fill in.

It was the office workers and fit and able youths who lingered in their chairs.

Yichen could only sit with Lixin and eat his breakfast with a bitter face.

Before he finished his meal, the eldest of the office workers approached his table.

"Did you mean what you said about leaving this place to us?" He asked nervously as his colleagues at his table looked over pensively.

"I am a man of my word," so why don't you follow me...

"Ah, that's great, thank you, thank you so much, Mr. Wu," the man practically folded in two to bow.

"Even if you stay here, your safety really isn't guaranteed," Yichen decided to at least provoke them into thinking beyond surviving today, "we have no idea when, or if, the government will act, until then law and order will fall apart day by day, the electrics will go, people will panic..." He placed down his chopsticks, looking stern as he spoke clearly. "Others will harbor ideas of a place like this, they may not share the same mentality as me in sharing it with others, once I'm gone you can only rely on your own strengths to keep this place."

Lixin frowned at Yichen from behind his cup of tea.

"Understood, thank you," the older man showed no intentions of backing down and returned to his table. However, a few of the younger guests had eavesdropped and began seriously discussing whether to go or stay.

By the end of breakfast, Miles had fifty-eight sheets of paper, one for each person planning to go to the Vila. Except for the middle-aged office worker, the rest who chose to stay were young, fit, and able with no kids. Only two couples from that category changed their mind after hearing Yichen's words over his meal.

He had done his best, he could only focus on taking responsibility for the fifty-seven people following him.

Finding Faye texting her brother and ignoring her friends, he tapped on her shoulder.

"Hmm?" She glanced up at him. Seeing it was Yichen her heart skipped a few beats. The bed was empty when she woke, but the spot beside her was warm. She hadn't had a chance to speak to him all morning as he had been busy with his staff.

"There's a friend of my father's who runs a small store a few streets away, I'll be going with Bai Cheng and four guards in an hour."

Faye's grip on the phone tightened. What was she supposed to do with that information? Wish him luck? Offer to go with?

"Is there anything I can do?" She set the phone down to give him her full attention. The previously chatting friends all remained quiet. Faye felt Leo's gaze on her despite her trying to pretend he didn't exist.

"Can you assist Miles?" Yichen felt relieved that she wanted to involve herself, "If any of your friends can use a gun, we have some spare. If they want one, they just need to ask." Feeling Leo's cold glare, he could only attempt to gain brownie points with her friends in this method.

"Are you sure?" Emir asked excitedly.

"Only if you can use it, if you can't, we'll teach you after we settle in the Vila," Yichen gave him a cautious glance, from the dream he knew that Emir certainly had no idea how to handle a gun.

David laughed, smacking the back of Emir's head, "No gun for you." David came from a rich family who enjoyed hunting, he was relieved to hear he could be trusted with a weapon so quickly, even though Bai Cheng had grilled him nonstop over hacking the hotel's system...

"Before we leave, make sure the exits to the pier are closed," Yichen instructed David, recalling he was the hacker who had unlocked all of the damn doors.

The only IT guy who survived was the kind who fixed computers with his hands, not with code. Bai Cheng had lectured the youngster to not act without permission going forward, but Yichen knew that it was useless, David was the kind of guy to act without thinking. At least he was smart enough to make Yichen want to keep him close.

"Sure thing boss," David mock saluted, then dragged Emir from the table to go 'sign up' with Miles. Seeing them go, the others slowly left to do the same.

"Do I need to fill in a questionnaire too?" Faye asked.

"No need, I did it for you," Yichen smiled softly.

"Why? How? We've just met," Faye frowned, feeling slightly annoyed.

"Do you know how many times I've been forced to watch the videos your parents would send?" Yichen placed his hand on the table, leaning to close the distance between them as he spoke softer, "I know almost everything there is to know about you, from your first words to your current bra size."

Faye's chair scraped on the floor as she stood up, red-faced. Their faces were only inches apart.

"Return safely, be careful not to get bitten," Faye murmured in a sweet voice that tickled Yichen's heart, like a kitten scratching pitifully. How had he not realized how fun it was to tease her?

Leaning closer, he gave her a tender kiss on the lips.

"Don't worry, I've been bitten and I'm immune like you, but I won't be reckless. I plan to take you safely to your brother, so just focus on your tasks."

Reluctantly, he left the flustered girl to join Bai Cheng at the door.

Faye joined her friends in a daze.

"What's going on between you and the boss?" David leaned to ask quietly, but all the small group's ears were perked to listen for her response.

"He's the man my grandparents were setting me up with," Faye slid her phone into the little slot on her gym leggings, "we're seeing how things go."

"Got to hand it to you, the world is ending, but you still have time to date," Poppy chuckled as she leaned against a table to fill in her form.

"I think it's good," Claire interjected, clearly already won over by the big boss, "we have to repopulate the world eventually..."

David groaned at her words. He was gay, there was no repopulating the world for him.

"Don't worry David, I'm sure there are plenty of orphans out there you and your future hubby can adopt," Emir teased, whilst giving him a mockingly sympathetic pat on the shoulder.

"Who wants to adopt a snotty-nosed brat," David batted his friend away.

Laura's eyes were on Leo, whose eyes were hooded. He focused purely on the questionnaire before him, pretending the conversation didn't exist.

Drunkenly she had confessed to him on the beach, he seemed to reciprocate her advances then, even risking his life to protect her.

Only, when Leo woke up, he had been silent and cold, ignoring her attempts to solidify their relationship. Occasionally she caught him glancing at Faye over breakfast and her heart felt ready to burst. She had wanted Leo since they were in high school, but he only ever had eyes for Faye.

Even knowing he had cheated on Faye, she had only been secretly overjoyed that they had broken up. Faye was clearly moving on herself, so why couldn't he?

Faye ignored the overly enthusiastic friends and offered her help to Miles. He was in his late fifties but was the kind of man who aged like fine wine. Clearly athletic and ill-fitting for his office attire.

"Pleasure to see you again Miss Fraizer," he nodded but continued scanning through the handed-in questionnaires. They mainly focused on a person's work experience, education, health conditions, blood type, and oddly if they had had the virus that only emerged a few months back causing the global pandemic.

Yichen had been the one to make the questions, it was simply his job to write them out in a form and keep a hold of them.

Taking an empty form, Faye read through the questions and couldn't help but wonder just how Yichen had managed to fill them all in for her with ease. Worried that he got something wrong, she decided to fill one in herself. It would be a disaster if they'd recorded the wrong blood type for someone if something happened.

When being bitten, the night before last, it had happened so quickly and easily that it gave Faye a bad premonition for their future.