Chef in the Apocalypse

Zane and another 50 people sped off stealthily from the group, moving north towards the edge of the Jungle. No one reacted to the group leaving since it was all part of the plans that the Leader had drilled into them.

"Alright, let’s give the scouting team a head start. We’ll move out in 2 minutes." Jayce’s voice rang out, receiving nothing but determined gazes and nods in response.

He moved closer to Lianna who was standing in front of her unit and wrapped an arm around her waist, pulling her close. Jayce could see the worried look on her face and had come over to reassure her.

At first, Lianna had done her best to put on a brave face, knowing that Jayce was doing all he could to ensure the survival of everyone. However, as the days and weeks passed by, her facade had slowly crumbled.

It was to the point where she had almost regressed into the same anxious teenager she was before the Apocalypse. Thankfully, Jayce was able to prevent her from going into utter despair through being her emotional crutch.

He tried to keep her busy through training and cultivation, giving her no time to think about her anxiety surrounding her kidnapped sister.

Jayce had promised Rubick that he would not confront the traitors until he had made a breakthrough, otherwise everything would be for naught. Unfortunately this meant Leah would be on her own until he could achieve this, enduring possible torture and imprisonment for the entire time.

Therefore he had given himself and the others a deadline of 6 months, putting tremendous pressure on himself to reach his goal. Thankfully he had made the deadline, however Jayce had yet to fully acclimate to his newfound strength just yet.

"We’re almost there." Jayce said soothingly, holding Lianna tightly around her waist.

Lianna nodded, staring in the direction that Zane and his team had just left in. Her eyes still held an anxious look, however there was also a firm determination mixed within.

After spending a few moments with his woman, Jayce turned around to the others and spoke out, his deep voice rolling throughout the forest.

"Move out."

With that, the group of over 700 moved in a straight line through the forest, the crunching of dead leaves and twigs underfoot producing a sizable noise.

***

"How are the preparations?" A deep and gravelly voice asked.

"Leader, our team has just arrived. It will take some time to set up the array." A man who was kneeling on the ground answered, not daring to lift his head.

The man who had posed the question brought his hand up to his chin and ran his fingers through his dark and bushy beard, deep in thought. He stared out towards the forest in the distance, as if he was waiting for something.

"You have 3 hours. If the array isn’t set up by then..." Amon’s voice trailed off, leaving a veiled threat lingering in the air.

The man shivered at those words, yet he did not argue. "Yes Leader."

Without waiting to be dismissed, he quickly turned around and made off like the wind, doing the trademark duck walk until he disappeared from sight.

Amon did not avert his gaze from the forest, still running his fingers through his beard in thought. "So you’ve finally decided to show up Let me Cook... Heh."

DING

The sound of a notification rang into his ears, moving his attention from the forest. Amon made a few deft movements with his fingers and read the contents of the message in front of him, a grin forming on the corner of his lips.

"800 people... You’ve brought quite the army along for the ride. Too bad you’ve brought them here to die. Hehehe HAHAHA."

Like a typical villain, Amon tilted his head back and let out hysterical laughter, not caring who was around to hear it. Only after almost a minute did the laughter die down, an evil glint appearing in his eyes.

"Once you die, I will be the King of this new world."

Having received the new piece of information, Amon decided it was time to let off some steam before the big fight. He turned in place, taking short strides towards one of the cabins close by.

He opened the door and did not take long to locate the person in question. The woman was dressed in dirty clothes with oily hair draped over her face. She was currently knelt down on the floor, holding a mop in her hands.

Amon grinned and began to walk over to her, not bothering to take off his muddy boots, tracking dirt onto the freshly cleaned floors. He stopped in front of her, looking down at her pitiful figure.

"Oops. Looks like I’ve given you some more work to do wench."

However, there was no reaction from the woman to his words, almost like she was ignoring him. He frowned in response, letting out a scoff before grabbing her head with both of his hands and pulling it down to meet his rising knee.

A loud crunching sound rang out before the woman was thrown to the ground unmoving.

"Man this bitch pisses me off." He said angrily before turning around and heading back out the door.

Although it had been 6 months, he had yet to break her will. He was waiting for the spark of hope to extinguish within her eyes so he could take the final step and truly conquer her.

The thought of bedding the enemy leader’s woman was all too enticing to him. However, he could tell that if he were to take that final step that she would instantly end her life.

This wouldn’t be a problem, however "they" had told him that the woman must be kept alive in order to control Jayce. Today was his final attempt to get what he truly wanted, yet the woman somehow still held hope even after remaining a prisoner for this long.

Some time after he left, the Earth began to tremble underfoot, alerting everyone within the surroundings.

"It’s time!" Amon yelled in excitement, getting to his feet.