Harem Legion: Queens of the Apocalypse-Chapter 28 She Bit Me, Sir

Magnus jumped off the bunk car, sprinting alongside Taylor straight to the warehouse gate. First thing he saw was Emily fumbling to wrap up a cut on a female teammate’s arm, while three others had a wild-haired woman pinned to the ground, knees pressed hard against her. The woman thrashed, shouting something garbled and loud.

"What happened?" Magnus asked, rushing over to the injured girl.

Tears welled in her eyes as she said bitterly, "I just told her it was time to eat, and she bit me... Just bit me! Who does that, Magnus? Look at my arm!"

Emily tried to keep her calm, hands working fast. "It’s alright, don’t worry. Won’t leave a scar. You’ll be fine."

Magnus stood, glancing toward the struggling woman. "Who is she? What’s going on here?"

One of the team quickly explained, "Magnus, she’s the one we pulled out from the pharmacy today..."

And with that, she told him the whole story - the chaos at the shop, how this woman had watched her daughter, Daisy, get stomped to death by some punk, and then ripped into the guy’s face with her bare teeth. Magnus clenched his fists hard.

He’d been through the end of the world once, but this... this kind of cruelty was on another level. That yellow-haired bastard deserved worse than death.

He looked at the woman now flattened against the ground, no hate left in his gaze. Only pity. "Let her go."

The three girls holding her down heard the full story, and their grip loosened. Slowly, they stepped back. The woman stayed on the ground, unmoving at first. Then she broke into sobs, face pressed to the concrete.

Still knows how to grieve... maybe she’s not crazy after all.

Magnus stepped forward to comfort her, but Charlotte had already moved in. She crouched beside the woman, gently supporting her up. "We heard about Daisy. I can imagine your pain..."

"No! You can’t! None of you can!" The woman flung Charlotte’s hand off her, wailing like her heart was tearing apart.

Charlotte glanced up at Magnus. He gave a silent nod and stepped back.

Once her crying slowed, Charlotte patted her shoulder again. "If you can... look around you."

Sniffling, the woman glanced at her, then hesitantly looked at the circle of girls surrounding them.

"You see them?" Charlotte’s voice was soft.

"See what?" the woman asked, her voice small and lost. Deep inside, though, she was grateful. If not for these people, she wouldn’t have lived long enough to take revenge.

"Everyone here, even me - we’ve all lost something..." Charlotte’s eyes shimmered. "I had a daughter too, a husband, parents. All of us had someone we can’t let go of. But now..."Charlotte’s voice faltered, her throat tight. She swallowed hard. "But now... do we still have that?" She paused, wiped a tear from her cheek, and pressed on. "You know, compared to me, you’re the lucky one. My daughter was only three months old when I was sent to the border on duty. I was gone for nineteen months. By the time I came back, she didn’t even recognize me anymore."

Her voice grew hoarse. "And even then, I only got to stay for thirteen days before I got deployed overseas to catch a spy. Another eleven months. When I returned again, she could already say so many things... except one - she didn’t know how to call me ’Mom’."

Charlotte broke down, choking on sobs. Around her, the other women covered their faces, tears falling silently.

"On her fourth birthday... I blew out the candles with her, smeared some cake on her chubby little face, we laughed... and that was the last time I saw her, the last time I saw my husband, my parents..."

At that, the women couldn’t hold it back anymore. The pain in Charlotte’s story hit too close. Every one of them understood. The warehouse rang with stifled cries.

Then Charlotte suddenly wiped her tears with defiance, her eyes red but burning. "But I’m not scared. Even if I’ve lost everyone I love, I’ll keep going. In this world, living hurts more than dying. The dead are free now, no more pain. So let us carry it for them!"

She grabbed the disoriented mother and helped her up, then turned to the others, voice clear and strong. "Am I right, sisters?"

"Yes!" came the chorus. Maybe they didn’t really know if it was right or wrong, but that didn’t matter - they turned their sorrow into strength.

Living... yeah, it might be crueler than death. But if death doesn’t scare us anymore... why should life?

When dinner came, the warehouse was filled with the aroma of meat and rice. Pots of fragrant pork soup simmered in the firelight, two golden roasted lambs lay on slabs, and the steam from bowls of rice warmed the air.

There was beer, fruit, drinks, even snacks.

It didn’t feel like the apocalypse. It felt like a feast in peacetime. The girls laughed, sharing food and stories. For a moment, many felt happier than they ever had before.

They clung to that moment. No one knew if tomorrow would still let them taste hot rice again.

Sophia and Grace, the twin sisters, seemed closer than they’d ever been. Through the whole meal, their hands stayed clasped - neither willing to let go. When Sophia heard Magnus had gone alone to rescue her sister, something stirred deep inside her.

She’d never been in love. Back in the forces, plenty of men tried, only to end up being pushed away - or flat out beaten back.

Did he do it for her? Or just to bring their group under control?

"Hey, sis! You didn’t answer me just now!"

Grace spoke through a mouthful of lamb, chewing shamelessly. "What’s going on between you and that Magnus guy, huh? How old is he anyway? Doesn’t even look as old as us..."

"He..."

Sophia froze. She hesitated for a second - not much, but enough for her twin to sense it. Grace suddenly stopped gnawing the lamb leg. A strange unease crept over her.

And when Sophia finally spoke, what she said sent a chill straight down Grace’s spine...