Sisters

Ever since the apocalypse began, Maggie had never stepped outside. Especially during the riots, she hid in her bedroom, refusing to leave. Even now, no one in the entire neighborhood knew of her existence. She had only come to her sister's house for a meal before catching a flight back to City.

But then, the world fell into chaos.

Seeing the bodies of women scattered on the ground below, Maggie knew that if anyone discovered her presence, her fate wouldn't be any better.

Shana, of course, had also heard the commotion. She quickly pulled her sister away from the window, scolding her, "Do you have a death wish?!"

"Shana, when is this nightmare going to end?" Maggie was on the verge of breaking down. There were times she considered jumping down and ending it all, but she could never bring herself to do it.

Shana sighed. "Our building is still relatively safe. Look at the others—they've already fallen into complete chaos."

Beep, beep, beep.

The sound of someone punching in the door code made them tense up. Shana immediately pulled Maggie behind her, eyes wary and alert.

When she saw her husband walk in, she finally let out a breath of relief.

"Honey, how did the meeting go? And why are there more gunshots from Building Three?" Shana asked as she helped him take off his jacket.

Maggie, still trying to keep herself together, hurried to pour a small glass of water. "Garrick, have some water."

Garrick gave a low hum, accepting the cup, but he didn't gulp it down—just took a small sip before setting it on the coffee table.

Then, his next words made both sisters' faces change dramatically.

"The men in Building Three… they're all dead."

"What?!"

Both sisters looked at each other in shock. How could they all be dead? Just earlier, there hadn't been any signs of this happening.

Garrick reached into his pocket for a cigarette, but when he found none left, he gave up with a sigh. "A delivery guy killed them all."

A delivery guy?

The sisters could hardly believe it. They had heard rumors before—stories about how some delivery workers were actually skilled fighters hiding in plain sight. Back then, it had been nothing more than a joke.

Garrick pulled out his phone. "I've got a video. You wanna see? Bit bloody, though."

With the way corpses were already piling up on the grass outside, there wasn't much left in this world they couldn't stomach.

The sisters sat on the couch and watched.

The moment Shana spotted Cassius, she frowned slightly. "This delivery guy looks familiar… hasn't he been to our place before?"

"Yeah, he has." Garrick nodded.

Maggie, however, was fixated on something else—Maisie and Angela.

Their outfits made her face flush red. How could they go out dressed like that? But more than that, they were clean—immaculately so. Their hair was silky smooth, practically glowing, while Maggie herself, despite using conditioner religiously, still felt grimy.

Even in the apocalypse, women compared themselves. And Maggie didn't think she was any less attractive than them.

"Garrick, why is he holding their leashes? Were they… forced?" she asked, unable to understand why two stunning women would willingly follow a delivery guy around like that.

Garrick shot her a look. "Look at their faces. Do they look forced to you?"

Maggie focused, and sure enough—not a hint of reluctance. They were obedient, even eager, and at one point, they even meowed like cats. There wasn't the slightest trace of resentment—if anything, they seemed proud of it.

"These two have been brainwashed," Garrick muttered. "Turned into his little pet kittens."

"I think you're right," Shana agreed.

Maggie, still puzzled, pointed out, "But how are they so clean? Unless they've been bathing… but the water's been cut off."

Garrick and Shana exchanged glances.

That… was a mystery.

Then, as the video showed Cassius cutting down his enemies like a goddamn war machine, Maggie clapped a hand over her mouth, and Shana sat there, stunned speechless.

This was insane.

Three minutes of footage—but it would take days to fully process.

"Garrick…" Shana murmured, still dazed. "He's gotta be a champion fighter, right?"

"No matter what, Building Three is down to just one man now. Either that delivery guy is dead, or those women in Building Three are. There's no other possibility."

Garrick wasn't wrong. In fact, he was half right.

After a moment of silence, Shana asked softly, "How did today's meeting go?"

Instead of answering, Garrick turned to Maggie. "Maggie, go to the bedroom and grab a piece of bread."

"Huh? Oh… okay."

Maggie got up and walked toward the bedroom, closing the door behind her. But instead of fetching the bread, she pressed herself against the door, eavesdropping. She knew she was being sent away on purpose.

Garrick's voice lowered. "Our Building One is safe for now, but it's only a matter of time before things go to hell. I've noticed some men are already trading food for women. They probably saw it happening in other buildings and started doing it behind my back."

"We have to stop it," Shana said urgently.

"And how?" Garrick let out a bitter chuckle. "There are already a few pressuring me to turn a blind eye. If it weren't for Elliot backing me up, they wouldn't even pretend to respect me anymore. The only reason I still have control is that I'm the one leading them on supply runs."

Shana's face paled. "Then what do we do?"

Garrick hesitated for a second before saying, "You need to prepare Maggie. She's… beautiful. It won't be long before someone notices. And when that happens…"

He didn't finish. He didn't need to.

The bodies scattered across the lawn outside spoke for themselves.

Shana clasped her hands together, silently praying for this nightmare to end.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the door, Maggie slowly sank to the floor. Her face had lost all color. Images of naked women jumping from windows flashed through her mind.

A soft, helpless whimper escaped her lips.

Garrick's voice, steady but heavy, broke the silence. "How's our daughter?"

Shana nodded. "She's okay for now. The school cafeteria still has food and water."

"The college students have a higher level of discipline. Not like the people living here—most of them are just renters, scraping by at the bottom of society, carrying around this deep-seated resentment toward the world. That's why they lost their humanity so fast."

Garrick let out a long sigh. Why did it have to be like this? Why couldn't people just come together and fight against this disaster together?

But deep down, he knew the truth.

Once the food ran out, no amount of education or morals would matter. No one was above survival instincts.

—

From the stairwell of Building Three, the sound of violent retching echoed.

Cassius gripped the railing, his chest rising and falling in heavy breaths.

This was the first time he had killed so many people. There was no way he could just brush it off.

For days, he had forced himself to think in terms of apocalypse law—a cold, ruthless mindset where survival reigned supreme. Maybe, without even realizing it, he had been conditioning himself, using these rules to suppress his own humanity, convincing himself that everything he did was justified.

But now that the bloodshed had stopped, now that there was nothing left to distract him… the memories hit like a freight train.

The gore, the screams, the wide, lifeless eyes staring back at him.

His stomach turned inside out.

For a moment, it felt like he was going to break.

Then, he forced himself to focus.

No.

He reminded himself of the rule that mattered most.

Never think you're in the wrong.

In the apocalypse, there was no absolute right or wrong—only the will to protect what's yours.

The moment that thought took hold, Cassius' expression hardened.

Follow the rules of the apocalypse.

No guilt. No hesitation.

—

By the time he made it downstairs, Angela and Maisie were dragging corpses down the steps.

The staircase was a slaughterhouse, drenched in crimson.

Blood poured down the steps like a slow-moving river, pooling at the bottom.