Chapter Nine

Lunchtime had already passed and Yichen had not returned. Faye found herself lingering by the car park exit, leaning against the wall whilst playing with her phone to keep her from going insane with worry.

She had already been introduced to everyone through Miles, as Mrs. Boss, which was mortifying in itself. Now they saw her as the boss' wife, everybody just assumed if they had a problem they could come ask her.

Only, she didn't have a clue what she was doing or what was going on and could barely help herself, let alone others.

So it was more than worry that led her to hide out in the hallway by the exit.

The noise of an engine made her almost drop her phone. Weren't they coming back on foot?

A young guard came running down the hallway, if she remembered right he was called Rei and his parents were from Japan. He'd been rather friendly with the Japanese honeymooners earlier, who were happy to find someone who spoke their natural language fluently. Not everybody could speak English well.

"Something wrong?" Faye asked, sliding her phone into the little pocket of her gym leggings. When she woke she found this outfit already folded for her to wear. Yichen really was acting more like a parent than a lover, which only messed with her head more.

"Miles wants you back upstairs, there are strangers outside," Rei glanced out the glass doors with worry. Sure all this glass was modern and stylish, but it was also flimsy and weak compared to the stone walls.

"Thanks," Faye could only pick up her speed and jog up the stairs to the third-floor offices.

Before she made it to the third floor, there was an alarming smashing of glass below.

"Are they insane?" Faye gasped at the realization the outsiders had crashed their car into the main entrance doors. Rei picked up his speed beside her, rushing ahead to the office so he could see what was going on through the monitors.

"Are you alright Miss Fraizer?" Miles asked her, looking relieved to see her in the flesh beside him.

Faye only nodded and looked at the monitor. Short bursts of gunfire began to echo through the building, the outsiders were shooting the zombies who got too close following the noise.

Their car had somehow managed to squeeze eight people inside of it. Right now it was blocking the door mostly, but the dead could squeeze, crawl, or climb their way through if they wanted.

Miles spoke into the radio, going over the locations of the pitiful number of guards under him. Daichi and Haofang were on the top floors with the guests, so besides Rei, there were only three other trained guards and a few members of staff with guns.

"Do you think we should let them know we're here?" Rei asked Miles as he checked over the limited ammo he possessed.

Miles nodded, walked to a microphone device under the monitors, and pressed down on a button. "Welcome to Jin Resort, this is the manager speaking, please cease fire it is drawing the dead outside over. Make your way to the second floor in an orderly fashion where our staff will welcome you with a warm meal."

He read word for word the response Yichen left him. If any survivors came, they should remain distant but friendly. Keeping the guests on the top floor and the newcomers on the second floor.

"Shouldn't Yichen be back by now?" Faye asked, watching the group of eight men obediently do as instructed through the monitors. The three guards were the only ones on the second floor, in the kitchen, reheating food.

When the outsiders saw there were only three guards behind the counter, they appeared to let their guard down and be more arrogant. Each of them was bulky and athletic with guns and machetes, but they were still unknowingly outnumbered.

Miles nodded at Faye and spoke on the radio to one of the guards. They could only see through the monitors, not hear.

"We've told them we have a large group, but most of us are leaving as instructed Mr. Hunter," the guard spoke through the radio, "I'm not sure they believe us, but they're eating the food."

"Ask them to remain in the restaurant for a few hours. You three leave carefully to join us here," Miles instructed, then when the guard agreed, he tried to get through to Yichen again through text.

Faye's eyes followed the growing number of the dead outside coming closer to the hotel's South Wing, slowly but surely.

"We cannot wait here anymore," Faye interjected after thinking over the ammunition on the supplies list given to her earlier, compared to the number of zombies outside.

Not everybody was guaranteed to get a headshot in one go, so the possibilities of them handling all of them were slim. Not everybody was immune, so it was not wise to risk infection either.

If only the damn idiots had knocked quietly, they would have let them in.

The guard who had been speaking on the radio approached Miles, who was still texting on his mobile to Yichen, whilst the other two talked to Rei in the corner.

As Faye was slowly descending into madness, her phone screen lit up with the words 'hubby' on them. "When did he?" She exhaustedly let out a sigh and answered the phone.

"Hello?"

"Are you okay? Whereabouts are you?" Yichen asked, sounding a little out of breath.

"I'm with Miles, there are too many zombies outside you should make another diversion before you come back," Faye gave her opinion since he seemed eager to listen.

"It's alright, we're not coming back from that direction," Yichen let out a low muffled grunt, then continued speaking, "Get everybody onto the pier, at the exit you used the other night."

"You want us to swim?" Faye worried about the small children out in the water. Not to mention this was Australia, unlike in Britain, the ocean creatures here weren't so friendly...

"It's alright, I'm bringing my Yacht, just stay away from the new people and get those who filled in the questionnaire onto the pier quickly, we won't be much longer, I just need to... read a book."

"A book..."

"Text me once you're on the pier," Yichen replied quickly then hung up.

"Was that the young master?" Miles asked, recognizing the voice on the phone, then looking at the blunt text of instructions on his. It was clear who got preferential treatment.

"Yes, he wants us to all go to the pier, he says he is on his yacht?" Faye omitted the fact he wanted to read a damn book first.

"Does he even know how to drive a boat?" Miles frowned, then shook his head. He spoke into his radio again, then scanned his eyes around the room with a sense of loss.

Faye could only vaguely understand his emotions, this may possibly be the last time he would be here.

After her phone call with her parents this morning, the harsh new reality had finally sunk into her. Britain was affected also, though not as badly. It was now under martial law and according to the internet, they weren't the only country to abandon democracy for martial law.

For parents who barely entertained their kids with a family meal, they video-called the duo to give a bitter goodbye. Mobile phones weren't promised to last. The parents had ended the call promising that as soon as they could get permission, they would fly over and be escorted to their location.

However, they ran one of the largest pharmaceutical companies on the globe, so whether the military would let them leave or not was debatable.

Claire greeted her with both their suitcases on the stairwell. There were only two enclosed bridges connecting the Hotel to the Resort. One near the top, the other on the second floor. To avoid the outsiders, they'd traveled up instead of down.

"What happened? Daichi said someone drove a car through the main entrance?" Claire asked, still holding both handles of the suitcases as she walked.

Faye took her own, then linked her free arm through Claires, "Eight men with guns took a fancy to the hotel, outside is full of the dead, so Yichen's bringing a boat to the pier."

Claire let out a sigh of relief, "thank God, I'd rather be in the middle of the ocean than the city right now."

Faye nodded in agreement. So long they were on an actual boat, not the waters, the sharks weren't a bother.

Some kids were obsessed with space, like her brother, but she had always loved the deep blue sea. The only thing holding her back from studying here was her relationships in Britain, but after knowing the older girl Leo had cheated on her with would be accompanying her for her Ph.D. Faye finally found the courage to follow her dreams.

Now the chances of her studying here were next to none...

At least all her loved ones were still alive.

"How long will he be?" Poppy asked as they sat on their suitcases under the afternoon sun. Except for the children waiting inside the bottom carriage of the Ferris wheel, the group of over fifty adults was left to bathe in the winter sun for warmth.

Nobody wanted to be near the North Wing due to the zombies roaming too close to the metal fences on the land.

Faye looked at her phone, the last text Yichen had sent had been just less than an hour ago with "I finished my book, see you soon." He had even used a cute shark emoji to send a kiss.

Rubbing her temples Faye wondered if it was too late to change her mind about this relationship.

In the distance, a large, three-story black and white yacht approached.

"Is that him?" Faye asked Miles who was overseeing staff handing out bottled water.

"That's not his yacht," Miles took out his phone to check his texts, one was from Yichen saying 'Yes it's me'.

The young master's yacht was small and low-key, he also very rarely used it as he hated being over the ocean. Miles could only imagine how bad it was outside for the young master to agree to go by sea instead of land.

"Does Yichen like the ocean?" Faye was genuinely surprised at the size and luxuriousness of the yacht, it was one someone bought because they wanted to flash some cash or purely enjoyed being out at sea and wanted comfort whilst out there.

Going off the simple, modern style of the penthouse, compared to the gaudy style of the resort, she thought that that had been his own personal taste initially, but the yacht was more gaudy and pretentious than the resort...

"Not really, the young master watched his father getting bitten by a shark as a kid, so he rarely goes out on the sea," Miles chuckled at the memory.

"Uncle Wu got bit by a shark?" Why had he never told her, who was obsessed with the ancient creatures, this amusing story?

Miles shared the story as the group watched a smaller boat come from the yacht to the ladders on the pier. Yichen and three guards were onboard, dressed in completely different clothing (surf suits with outdoor clothing on top) and all holding a machete each.

Faye amusingly found Yichen's face a little pale.

"You're scared of sharks?" She teased when he strode over and pulled her into his arms.

Even though it had barely been a day since he'd 'made his move' she found herself not caring when he was more hands-on than Claire.

"Not all of us are crazy and like to swim with things that want to eat us," Yichen rested his head into the nook of her neck, his hot breath tickling her sensitive skin.

"They're basking sharks, they don't eat people, I just wanted a closer look," Faye argued back, pushing him off feigning a huff. Who asked him to make her wait and worry for so long?

"Didn't you book to go in a cage with the kind that eats you, just before the new legislation?" Yichen found his way to her hand and clutched it tightly, not letting her escape back off to her friends.

Miles was getting the families onto the small boat first. The sounds of groans and footsteps were only growing more intense. If the fence broke, they will need to swim, so the children and weak swimmers were sent first.

"How do you even know about that? Didn't you leave Miles to look after 'your guests' since you weren't interested," Faye wriggled her hand from his and began wandering over to her friends where her suitcase was.

Yichen wanted to chase after her, but Miles grabbed his arm, "should we ask the others again if they want to come with? Also, whose Yacht did you steal?"

Caught by the old man, Yichen was forced to let his wifey go.

"No idea, the people on it were all dead, so we decided to upgrade considering our numbers, my yacht would be too much of a squeeze."

"Who drove it?" Last Miles checked the young master could drive a boat, and the four guards shouldn't have a clue either.

"Nari's father was a fisherman, so I just read up on it, between us we figured it out," Yichen shrugged.

As the two talked in hushed tones, Faye was also debating whether they should ask the other hotel guests to come.

She was sure she could hear the metal fence starting to give way. They'd closed the doors behind them and due to the outsiders, those who were staying had simply locked themselves in the North Wing's top floors. She couldn't help but feel they were stupid for wanting to stay.

Looking at the haggard, frightened children clinging to their parents, Faye eyed up the game's stall with toy rewards. Asking Claire to take her suitcase over, Faye climbed over the counter and found a roll of bin liners besides the bin.

Whilst the others were all gathering at the exit and onto their third time loading the boat, Faye tossed the bin bags of soft toys and then climbed back over. When she bent to pick up the bags, she sensed someone behind her.

Fearing it was a zombie, she dropped the bags to spin around and saw a man holding a gun pointed at her.

"Come here, or I'll shoot," the arrogant man spat out whilst beckoning with his hand. He was one of the eight outsiders. Faye's eyes glanced over to the crowd, noticing Yichen's cold eyes looking over.

He raised his gun and shot the man dead before Faye could blink.