Surviving the Apocalypse With My Yandere Ex-Girlfriend-Chapter 65: Everything to loose

The room was dark and airless, the kind of darkness that pressed in on the chest and made every breath feel stolen.

Hailey sat slumped in the chair, wrists and ankles locked tight in metal restraints. Her head throbbed violently, a relentless pressure behind her eyes, like her skull was being split from the inside.

Earlier, her body had fought—thrashing, shaking, rattling the restraints with frantic desperation. Now it had given up.

Mostly.

Her muscles still jerked in small, involuntary spasms. Each movement made a faint metallic clink, the only sound in the room besides her shallow breathing.

The light flickered on.

Harsh. White. Unforgiving.

It washed over her face, revealing bloodshot eyes rimmed with exhaustion, skin drained of color. Tears—thick, dark, unmistakably red—had carved streaks down her cheeks. Her hair clung damply to her face. She looked broken. Ruined.

Slowly, with effort that seemed monumental, Hailey lifted her head.

Vivian stood in front of her.

Arms folded. Posture relaxed. Smiling.

Not a kind smile. Not even a cruel one.

An amused one.

"—fucking....I’m gonna fucking—..."

Hailey rasped, her voice shredded, barely holding together.

Vivian tilted her head slightly. "Hm?" she cooed, stepping closer. "What’s that?"

Hailey swallowed. Her lips trembled.

"I’m gonna fucking kill you..." she whispered.

Blood-tears slid down her face as she said it.

"It might not be any time soon...but I will...I swear to God you’ll fucking pay..."

Vivian’s smile widened.

"Oh, really now?" she said, eyes lighting up, genuinely delighted. "You’re going to kill me?"

She slammed her palm against the back of the chair.

The impact jolted Hailey upward, restraints biting into her skin. A sharp gasp tore from her throat.

Vivian leaned in, her voice dropping low.

"And how exactly," she asked softly, "do you plan on doing that?"

Silence stretched between them.

Vivian searched Hailey’s eyes, studying the violence still simmering beneath the pain—the hatred, raw and feral, refusing to die.

She straightened.

"You know," Vivian said casually, pacing now, "you really don’t have anything left." She glanced over her shoulder. "Your people? They work for me now."

Each word landed like a blow.

Hailey’s jaw clenched. Her breath hitched.

"I thought," Vivian continued, almost thoughtfully, "that maybe after all this... we could’ve been friends again." She smiled again. "After you finally understood that you’ll never be the one in charge."

A beat.

"It’s a pretty simple concept, really."

Vivian exhaled slowly.

"But I suppose I’ll just have to force it into you."

Hailey’s eyes widened.

Vivian reached into her coat and produced a syringe. The vial inside was filled with dark, crimson blood—thick, almost alive.

"No—!" Hailey tried to pull back, panic tearing through her voice.

Too late.

Vivian grabbed her jaw, tilting her head sharply to the side, and drove the needle into her neck.

Hailey screamed.

Her body bucked violently, restraints rattling as Vivian pressed down on the plunger. The foreign blood surged into her veins, burning as it spread. Vivian watched closely, eyes gleaming— her corneas flashing faintly red.

"See this?" Vivian said calmly over Hailey’s screams. "This is my blood."

Hailey thrashed, choking on her own breath as blood began to pour from her nose, dripping down her chin and splattering into her lap.

"In just a few moments," Vivian continued, voice smooth, reverent, "you’re going to find yourself completely surrendered to my will."

Hailey’s screams cracked. Then weakened.

"Just like the puppet you always were," Vivian whispered.

"Just like old times."

The room fell quiet.

Hailey’s head slumped forward. Her body went still.

Vivian stepped back, satisfied.

Hailey’s eyes were open—but empty. The light behind them was gone, extinguished entirely.

Vivian smiled.

And yet—

Deep beneath the surface, buried under layers of forced obedience and stolen control, something still burned.

Restrained.

Vivian stood there for a moment, studying her.

Not like a person.

Her head tilted slightly, lips pursed in mock contemplation. "Hmm," she murmured. "What to do with my new pet..."

Then her eyes brightened.

"I know."

She reached into her pocket and withdrew a pair of scissors. Long. Sharp. Immaculate. The silver blades caught the light as she lifted them, the gleam sliding slowly across Hailey’s vacant expression.

Vivian stepped closer, crouching until they were eye level.

"Why don’t you start by getting rid of that shitty haircut, hm?" she said lightly, almost playful.

"It’s disgusting."

Hailey didn’t react.

No protest. No hesitation. No flicker of emotion.

Men moved in behind her, hands efficient as they undid the restraints around her wrists and ankles. Metal clicked free. Circulation rushed painfully back into her limbs. She swayed—but didn’t fall.

The scissors were placed into her hand.

Cold. Heavy.

Hailey turned without being told.

A mirror waited for her.

She stood before it, staring at her reflection as if it belonged to someone else. Pale skin. Blood-matted lashes. Eyes dulled to glass. Vivian’s blood still burning quietly beneath her veins.

Her hand lifted.

Snip.

A lock of dark hair slid free, drifting to the floor.

Snip.

Another.

Strands fell one after another, brushing her shoulders before scattering at her feet like discarded pieces of herself. The sound was small. Intimate. Final.

Snip. Snip.

Her breathing hitched.

Just barely.

In the mirror, her face remained blank—but her body betrayed her. A faint, broken sniff escaped her throat. Then another. Soft. Almost silent. Like she was trying not to exist too loudly.

Blood welled in her eyes.

Thick. Dark.

It spilled over, running down her cheeks in slow streams. More followed—sliding from her nose, dripping from her chin, staining the front of her clothes as it fell.

She kept cutting.

Hair falling.

Blood falling.

Vivian watched from behind, smiling.

And in the mirror, beneath the obedience, beneath the blood and silence, something in Hailey’s reflection trembled—

not gone.

Just buried.

Somewhere in Texas...

The American flag snapped above us, stiff and fluttering in the wind, a cruel contrast to the chaos below. We passed through the barricades, the clang of metal gates echoing off concrete walls.

Our guns had been taken— at least temporarily. I told myself it was for safety. Their safety. Maybe ours too.

The men behind us were nothing short of ruthless. Hard eyes. Rigid postures. Every movement controlled, precise. The smell of gunpowder lingered in the air, mingling with the metallic tang of blood. It didn’t calm me. It never would.

Lila walked beside me, jaw tight, eyes forward. Aubrey mirrored her, expression pale and tense. Even Terri and Cherie seemed subdued, like shadows of themselves, stepping carefully, breathing shallow.

We reached a line of people. Ordinary-looking people. Just like us. Their presence eased something in my chest—briefly. A small flicker of hope.

Then a scream ripped through the air.

Gunshot. Sharp. Final.

I froze. My eyes shot to the front of the line. A soldier had his rifle leveled at a woman—ordinary, helpless—blood spreading beneath her like ink in water. Behind her, a younger woman screamed, clawing at the asphalt.

"Is that...—?" I whispered, barely audible.

"Why are they shooting them?" I blurted, louder than I realized.

A man behind me leaned closer, voice low but grim.

"They say it’s precautions. People could be infected."

I whipped around.

"What...? They didn’t even check her eyes—!" I muttered, disbelief slicing through my chest.

"They claim they can tell from temperature now." he said, shrugging like it was normal.

"But I think they’re just using that as an excuse to kill regular people."

My stomach twisted. Lila’s face flashed in my mind— her expression, her eyes.

They were bound to find out about her.

"NEXT PERSON!"

The command barked. The line shuddered forward, the dead woman’s blood still wet and dark on the pavement.

Something clenched deep inside me— a knot of fear and anger I couldn’t untangle.

"Adrian. This isn’t worth it," Aubrey whispered, hot breath against my neck.

"We need to find a way out. Now."

I scanned the barricades. The soldiers. The line. Lila’s figure ahead, rigid but moving. The blood. The screams.

I had to think. Fast.

A bead of sweat slid down my temple. Every second counted. Every choice could be the difference between survival... and joining the pool of red staining the ground.

"Excuse me!!" I shouted, voice cracking just enough to draw attention.

I grabbed Lila’s hand firmly, holding it like a lifeline. She looked at me, eyes wide, a faint blush creeping across her cheeks.

The soldier stationed near the front of the line turned his head, his expression sharp, skeptical.

"My... girlfriend," I began, voice steadying, "she’s on her cycle. We need somewhere private— somewhere I can help her."

The soldier’s brow furrowed. "And why exactly is that my problem?"

I felt the weight of every gaze on us. Men, women... even Terri, Cherie, Aubrey and Jane, eyes flicking back and forth between me and the soldier, curiosity and judgment clear in their faces.

I straightened, trying to keep my voice calm but firm. "Would you really deny a woman access to basic healthcare? Because if so, that’s... really misogynistic. And no woman could possibly be safe under people who think that way."

Murmurs rippled through the line. More eyes turned toward us, some filled with quiet approval, others with subtle disdain directed at the soldier.

He paused. Just for a moment, long enough for the tension to thicken the air like smoke.

Finally, he grunted, wordless but decisive.

"Very well then."

Relief hit me like a wave. I turned to Lila, squeezing her hand gently. She gave me a small nod, her fingers tightening around mine.

We stepped out of the line. The barricades, the soldiers, the endless wait—all of it seemed to fade into the background.

I didn’t know exactly where we were going. I didn’t know what came next.

All I knew was that I had to figure it out.

I had to.