Be Careful What You Wish For: A Zombie Apocalypse-Chapter 283: Just Like That?

The woman’s mouth dropped open as she looked between me and Tank. Shrugging my shoulders, I turned around and rubbed Tank behind the ear.

"Isn’t that right?" I purred at him as I adjusted the backpack on my shoulder. Dante told me that it would look weird if I didn’t come with some sort of luggage with supplies, but that didn’t make this thing comfortable. "Are you the most perfect man in existence?"

Very sagely, Tank nodded his head as he gave me his best puppy look as he licked my hand.

"That’s right," I continued as the line became one person shorter. Five people walked towards me, going in the opposite direction. One of the women was completely inconsolable as she was practically bent over one of the younger girls.

"We are going to die," she sobbed softly. "And I don’t know why. I thought they took everyone."

"I know, Mom," replied the girl, looking around, terrified that someone might be overhearing the conversation. "But we will find a way to survive. We’ve done it this long, right? We can make it work."

It took me a second to realize that all five of them were women of varying ages, but it was clear that they were all part of one family.

"But your father..." sobbed the woman so hard that she fell to her knees just behind me.

"Fuck him," snarled one of the older girls, a look of pure rage on her face. "Since he could so easily abandon us for that place, then he is no longer our father. I wish—" she started before I held up my hand.

"Before you make a wish," I sighed, looking at the five women. Fuck, and after I promised myself that I would no longer be a fucking bleeding heart. "When you arrive in L City, find Harper. He should be easy to find. Tell him Lucifer sent you to him."

"Excuse me?" sneered the woman, looking me up and down. "Who are you?"

"You don’t need to know," I sneered back. "Now," I continued, turning to look at the mother. She was staring at me with wide eyes like she had seen her savior. "Tell me your wish." ƒreeωebnovel.ƈom

"I wish for my daughters and me to be someplace where we can be safe for the rest of our lives." The mother spoke with such conviction that her voice never wavered once.

"Do you remember what I said?" I asked, looking at the older daughter.

"I remember," replied one of the younger ones. Her voice was soft, but that didn’t mean she didn’t have an edge of steel behind it. "In L City, find Harper. He will be easy to find. Tell him that Lucifer sent us to him."

"Good," I replied, smiling at her. "Deal accepted."

As soon as I spoke the words, the five women disappeared into thin air.

----

Harper looked up from where he was going through the reports at the sound of a knock on the door. L City was thriving, even after only a short amount of time. The supplies were never-ending, and as long as he willingly gave them out, they would be fine.

However, the second that someone tried to steal from him, they would find everything disintegrated into nothingness.

"Come in," he called out. Leaning back in his chair, he watched dispassionately as Matthieu walked into the room, followed by a family of five women. "What’s going on?" he asked, his head cocked to the side.

L City, while it could be called a Sanctuary, worked a lot like how the cities in the past did. Anyone could come in, and anyone could leave. He didn’t have any procedures or medical exams. Everyone was welcome until they weren’t.

But it was an unspoken rule that no one met with him other than a select few.

"I don’t know," grunted Matthieu, walking away from the women and going to stand beside Harper. "All they would say was that they have a message for you."

"Well?" demanded Harper, his cold gaze trailing over the women. Had he known any of them? No, that was impossible. He spent most of his career overseas; it wasn’t until a few weeks before the apocalypse that he even bothered to come back.

And if he didn’t know them, how could they know him?

"We..." started one of the more petite women. She wasn’t the smallest or the youngest, but she definitely seemed to be actively trying to fade into the background.

"It’s okay," smiled Harper, his entire body relaxing the longer he looked at her. It was like she drew all his stress out of him. He needed to know more about her. "No matter what the message is, you will be safe here, in L City."

The oldest daughter snorted as she crossed her arms in front of her, but otherwise, she didn’t say anything.

"We know we’ll be safe here," smiled the other girl. "Mom made a wish. But the woman said that the message was for Harper. Are you Harper?"

The moment the girl explained what was going on, Harper was up on his feet and walking around his desk to stand in front of her. "I am Harper," he assured her with a soft smile. "What did this woman say?" he asked, his head cocked to the side.

A woman... not a little girl in a frilly dress, but then again, the Devil came in a lot of disguises. It being a woman and not a girl didn’t mean much.

"She said to tell Harper that Lucifer sent us to him... you," sputtered the girl, her face turning bright red as she looked at him.

"Lucifer sent you here?" demanded Matthieu, but Harper could only smile.

He was right; it wouldn’t matter what the outside looked like; the inside was the same. "Then be welcome. You can rest here in the Compound for a few days, and then just let me know where you want to go from there. However, I can help you, I will."

"Just like that?" demanded the oldest daughter. "A stranger sends us here because of a wish, and suddenly, everything is fine?"

"Just like that," sneered Harper. While the one in front of him made him feel peaceful, her sister was like walking over broken glass.

"I don’t trust you," sneered the sister. "You’re probably going to do something to us as soon as our back is turned. I haven’t seen a single woman here since we walked in."

"Susan," hissed the girl. "Shut up. You know nothing."

"I know better than to trust something too good to be true."