Chapter 110: The Commander

Chapter 110: Chapter 110: The Commander

The farther Vanya descended, the more difficult it became to separate the individual sounds coming from below.

The stairwell carried every noise upward, turning the condominium into a hollow chamber filled with panic.

Someone was crying.

Someone was praying.

A man was shouting for people to stay inside their apartments.

Then came another scream.

Harold’s grip tightened around the crowbar.

Vanya noticed but said nothing.

She continued downward, one hand lightly resting against the railing as her eyes moved over every landing they passed.

The concrete walls were unchanged.

The emergency lights were still functioning.

There were no signs of damage.

No blood.

No bodies.

Nothing that suggested the chaos had reached them yet.

But the sounds below were becoming louder.

Closer.

Harold took another step.

"Nya."

Vanya glanced over her shoulder.

"What?"

"How much farther?"

"Seven or eight floors."

His face tightened.

He nodded and continued.

Vanya turned her attention back toward the stairs.

Seven or eight floors.

Enough distance to think.

Enough distance to prepare.

Her mind began working through possibilities.

The memories belonging to the previous owner of this body surfaced naturally.

The first night.

The lobby.

The first zombie.

The moment she had seen it moving through the glass doors and realized that the stories she had heard about the apocalypse were real.

She had panicked.

She had frozen.

For several seconds, she had forgotten everything she had spent her previous life learning.

She had been staring at something that should not have existed.

A corpse that walked.

A creature that moved without thought.

She had allowed unfamiliarity to override training.

Vanya’s jaw tightened.

That mistake would not happen again.

She had been reborn into a civilization she didn’t understand.

She had spent the first two days learning.

She had studied the zombies.

Observed their movement.

Learned how they reacted to sound.

Learned what attracted them.

Learned how easily they could be distracted.

Most importantly...

She had learned how they died.

A clean strike to the head.

Damage the brain.

Destroy the body.

The creature stopped moving.

Simple.

Predictable.

No matter how horrifying a zombie looked, there was nothing supernatural about killing one.

The thought steadied her.

She wasn’t standing in the lobby anymore.

She wasn’t the confused woman who had frozen two nights ago.

She was Vanya Dexter.

Commander.

Her previous life had been spent fighting creatures far more dangerous than these.

The insect clans had possessed armor strong enough to withstand conventional weapons.

Some species had been capable of burrowing through reinforced structures.

Others attacked in swarms large enough to darken the sky.

She had commanded fleets while entire colonies burned beneath them.

She had made decisions knowing that thousands of lives depended on whether she chose correctly.

And yet...

She had allowed one dead human to frighten her.

The corner of her mouth tightened.

Never again.

"You’re thinking."

Harold’s voice pulled her back.

Vanya glanced at him.

"Yes."

"About the zombies?"

"About my mistake."

Harold looked confused.

"What mistake?"

Vanya continued descending.

"The first night."

He remembered.

"The lobby."

She nodded.

"I panicked."

Harold’s eyebrows rose.

"You?"

"Yes."

"But..."

He hesitated.

"I thought commanders didn’t panic."

Vanya almost smiled.

"Commanders do."

She looked toward him.

"They simply cannot afford to stay there."

Harold absorbed that quietly.

Vanya continued.

"Fear is information. Panic is interference."

Harold nodded slowly.

"That’s why you keep telling me to think."

"Exactly."

They reached another landing.

Vanya stopped.

Harold immediately stopped behind her.

She raised one hand.

Silence.

They listened.

Nothing.

Then—

A scraping sound.

Harold’s eyes widened.

Vanya’s expression changed.

The sound came from below.

Something dragged against the concrete wall.

Slowly.

Then again.

Scrape.

Scrape.

Scrape.

Harold tightened his grip.

Vanya lowered her voice.

"Don’t move."

They waited.

A shadow appeared beneath the next flight of stairs.

Harold’s breathing stopped.

Vanya shifted her weight.

Her body automatically settled into a fighting stance.

The movement was so natural that Harold barely noticed it.

Her feet positioned themselves for balance.

Her shoulders relaxed.

Her weapon moved into her dominant hand.

Her eyes remained fixed on the stairs.

A figure stumbled around the corner.

A woman.

At first glance, she looked human.

Her hair hung messily around her face.

One sleeve of her blouse was torn.

Blood covered her cheek.

She staggered upward.

"Help..."

Harold moved instinctively.

Vanya’s arm shot across his chest.

"Wait."

The woman took another step.

"Please..."

Her voice cracked.

Harold stared at her.

"She’s alive."

Vanya didn’t answer.

She watched.

The woman’s head suddenly jerked toward them.

Her mouth opened.

A low growl escaped her throat.

Harold’s expression changed.

The woman lunged.

Vanya moved before Harold could react.

With a swish of her Monomolecular sword, the hand reaching towards Harold was cut clean. Harold stared at Vanya.

"What is that?" He couldn’t help but ask.

"A sword." She replied flatly as she proceeded to decapitate the female zombie.

Harold’s breath hitched as he saw how incredibly fast she was.

"Are these skills from your past life?" He asked.

Vanya paused for a brief second before she nodded.

The entire exchange was less than 5 seconds. She turned towards Harold and pointed her sword at the body while saying "That is what I want you to understand."

"What?" Harold asked while staring at the female zombie’s body.

"It will look human, but it is not." She said firmly.

Harold nodded and said "I understand."

They continued walking forward when Vanya asked "Are you scared?"

"hmm...yes." Harold responded honestly.

"Good" Vanya said with a slight nod "you should be."

"Huh? Aren’t you suppose to console me and tell me not to be afraid?" he asked with a smile.

"No, fear keeps you alert." she said. "Just don’t let it control you."

Harold was quiet for a few seconds before he responded. "I wont"

Vanya believed him.

Not completely.

Not yet.

But he was learning.

She looked down the staircase.

More sounds were coming from below.

Several.

Her expression hardened.

They were getting close.

The condominium had changed.

The quiet that had protected them for two days was gone.

The lower floors were already collapsing into chaos.

Soon, the upper floors would feel it too.

Vanya stepped over the body and continued downward.

Harold followed.

This time, he didn’t hesitate.

His footsteps remained slightly uneven, but he kept pace with her.

And with every step toward the chaos below, the frightened nineteen-year-old boy who had once been worried about a basketball game was being replaced by someone else.

Someone who was learning.

Someone who could survive.

Vanya didn’t look back.

She didn’t need to.

She could hear him behind her.

And for the first time since arriving in this strange world...

Commander Vanya Dexter felt completely at home on a battlefield.