Reborn in the Enemy's Embrace

"Let me see!" I said through gritted teeth.

Despite everything, I couldn’t do anything about it.

Just as I was inspecting his wound, he picked me up with one arm and walked toward the bed. The VIP room was excellent. It was a large suite equipped with a view of the sea.

With this environment and the view... If it weren’t for the Rebels taking over the cruise outside, I’d actually think I was on vacation.

"Where are they taking the cruise?" I was slightly curious.

"They’re probably headed toward war zones. There are flight restrictions, and it’ll be hard to launch a rescue operation by sea." Holding me in his arms, Dexter continued softly, "Sophia... they have a limited food supply. With so many people on board... I don’t think it’ll last very long."

"It’s okay. The rations that we hid beforehand are more than enough for us," I replied gently.

"Sophia... you need to understand the horrifying reality of human nature. This is essentially like the end of the world... This cruise is a simulation of the world before it ends.

"When that happens, you’ll witness the worst of humanity. The strong will prey on the weak... They might even become cannibals."

I had heard many stories like this. This was the open sea. We were above deep waters with no freshwater nor aid. It would surely bring out the worst in people.

Everyone was still calm only because there was still food to go around. Soon... that might not be the case anymore.

"If we’re stocking up on rations, there’ll definitely be others who are stocking up on weapons. The ones without either won’t be able to defend themselves, and they’ll end up becoming rations for those who are stronger."

That was the reality.

Dexter held me and whispered, "You need to stay close to me, Sophia. Just like how Juliet sticks to Damien, okay?"

I rolled my eyes and glared at him. "Don’t just blindly make comparisons like that. Why would you bring them up? It ruins the mood."

Laughing, he held me closer. "I’m sorry. Sorry, Sophia..." 𝕗𝐫𝐞𝕖𝕨𝐞𝗯𝚗𝕠𝘃𝐞𝚕.𝐜𝗼𝚖

"What did you do wrong?"

He shook his head. "I have no clue... but I’m sorry."

"Dexter Black..." I sighed, feeling increasingly drowsy. "Hold me tight... I want to take a nap."

"Okay."

Then, I fell asleep.

I had an unusually good rest while being held in his arms.

However, it became extremely dark later on in the night. The deep sea seemed to have transformed into a horrifying beast.

The darkness seemed like an endless void.

A piercing scream echoed in the hallway outside.

I felt too unsettled to continue sleeping. When I woke up, Dexter wasn’t in the room. I got up frantically and wiped the sweat off of my forehead. "Dexter..."

I got off the bed and carefully checked the bathroom. He wasn’t there. I opened the door to the room and looked outside. All of a sudden, a man covered in blood ran past in a state of panic.

"Help! Murder... Murder!"

I watched as he fell onto the floor. His hand was bandaged.

"What happened?" I asked.

The man got up and tried to seek shelter in my room.

I stopped him with a frown.

I wasn’t a saint. In a situation like that, I didn’t trust anyone.

He stared fearfully at the end of the hallway, knocking on the door in tears. I locked the door with a chain so that he couldn’t enter.

He begged, "Please let me in. They’re killing people. There’s a group of them... They’re going after people with injured hands like me."

My heart sank. The Rebels had narrowed down the whereabouts of Crowdstar’s president to within 300 people-the ones who had injuries on their palms and couldn’t go through identification.

"Aren’t they supposed to keep them alive?" I furrowed my brows in confusion.

"In order to obtain the right to leave this ship, these people are hunting down each and every one of us. Then, they torture us and force us to admit that we’re the president."

The man outside was crying as he begged to be let in.

Just then, I heard footsteps. Someone was approaching our direction while laughing. "I found one... Looks like someone slipped away."

The gang of people grouped up and headed this way. They looked like a bunch of hooligans. Some held golf clubs in their hands while others held metal rods.

The man at my door sobbed in fear. He got on his knees, desperately begging me to open the door. Worried that something might’ve happened to Dexter, my chest tightened. I opened the door and pulled the man inside before the group could get to him.

A club hit the door just as I hastily fastened the lock. Subsequently, they began smashing on the door as if they were rabid. This was the dark side of human nature.

Suddenly, a cry was heard from outside the window. Someone was thrown off the deck. Their body hit the water with a loud splash before they sank into the depths.

I swiftly walked over to look outside. A group of lunatics was throwing people off-board from the deck. "Their hands aren’t injured, though," I questioned with a frown.

The man that I rescued was trembling as he hid in a corner. "They called it the Cutback. Food and water are limited. The more people that are alive.... the more resources will be wasted... Controlling the number of people onboard will buy more time..."

I felt a chill run down my back.

It was horrifying.

No wonder Dexter called this a simulation of the world before it ended.

I took a deep breath. I grabbed the knife from under my pillow and clutched it in my hand. "I need to go out for a while. Keep yourself safe."

The man shook his head frantically. "Don’t go, don’t go... They’ve gone mad from killing. Their leader established a rule-they kill at night and clean up before dawn. Don’t go out when the sky is still dark."

"My husband is out there," I said solemnly.

"Don’t I go. They’re all dead, everyone outside is dead," he cried out, shaking his head.

The sound of bodies being thrown off the deck was heard again, and there was the sight of blood streaming downward. Blood splattered on my face as I stood on the balcony.

Dexter couldn’t be dead.

I turned around and marched determinedly toward the door.

"No!"

I had underestimated the man’s will to survive. He picked up a vase and looked at me threateningly.

"You can’t open that door. They’re waiting outside. As soon as you open it, they’ll rush in. I can’t let you take that risk."

Then, he locked the door from the inside right in front of my face.

There was a beeping noise. Someone was trying to access the room via the key, but they couldn’t get the

door to open. I held my breath anxiously.

"Sophia?" Dexter’s voice rang out from the other side.

I let out a breath of relief and started to unlock the door.

"Don’t open it!" The man I saved, however, insisted on keeping it shut.

"Sophia! Who is inside?" Dexter asked cautiously.

A commotion could be heard outside. "There’s another one!"

I heard a lot of people charging in his direction, but the man beside me refused to let me open the door. My gaze sharpened. I grabbed his head and rammed it against the door, knocking him unconscious. Then, I opened the door and pulled Dexter inside before the group of people caught up to him.

There was blood on his body, and he had pulled a teenage girl into the room with him.

He said innocently, "We forgot about her... We left her with Jimmy when we left. When the killing started an hour ago, he came to me and told me she’d run off."

There was blood on the young girl’s face. She sat on the floor trembling while hugging her knees. "So many... people died."