I Became the Villainess So I Struck First Chapter 05

I Became the Villainess So I Struck First Chapter 05

Boom-

The ground began to shake.

I huddled in the corner, arms over my head, listening to the building creak and groan. Plaster crumbled from the walls, the overhead light crashed down beside my feet. Around me, people screamed, cried, called for their mothers.

I closed my eyes.

Memories of being torn apart last life lingered- the searing pain of flesh rending still felt real.

Until the world collapsed into silence, everything went still.

Half the stadium had crumbled; the other half stood slanting precariously. The dome was

punctured in several places, shafts of sunlight streaming through the holes to illuminate the rubble

and bloodstains on the floor.

People started pouring in through the doors.

One, two, ten, a hundred.

Injured and unharmed, some carrying children, others supporting the elderly. Some cried, some shouted, some lay motionless-dragged inside and dumped in the corner.

The stench of blood grew thicker.

Moans, sobs, screams mingled, piercing the ears.

I edged backward until I found the darkest corner, then slid down the wall to sit. I closed my eyes. A thought drifted, unbidden: I’d killed Ethan, I’d smashed the pendant, and yet here I was—still just

an ordinary person with no ability.

Fate let me be reborn, but gave me no means to grow stronger. It let me know everything, yet

denied me the strength to change my end. But so what?

Even without a power, even if I had to risk my life, I’d drag Elena down with me.

No one who crossed me would get away.

I closed my eyes and drifted into a groggy sleep.

i don’t know how long passed. A shrill scream jolted me awake.

I snapped my eyes open.

Chaos. Pure chaos.

People fled in all directions, shouting “Zombies are biting!”

My head still throbbed. I stumbled to my feet, seeing several zombies lunging at people.

“Aaaaaah-”

The crowd erupted into pandemonium. Some rushed outside, some hid in corners, some fell and were trampled underfoot, never to rise again.

A zombie suddenly lunged at me.

I dodged sideways, stabbing it straight in the temple.

The blade sank in, and it went limp instantly.

As I pulled the knife out, a voice sounded at my feet.

“Sis……”

I looked down.

A little girl, about seven or eight, huddled in the corner, hands over her head, trembling violently. Lying at her feet was a woman, her throat torn open, blood still welling from the wound.

“Sis……” the girl looked up, tears streaming down her face, her eyes red and puffy. “I…… I’m

scared……”

I stared at her.

Last life, I’d seen children like her.

Most died-eaten by zombies, trampled, starved, or sickened. In the apocalypse, kids rarely

survived.

“Stand up,” I said.

She froze.

“Stand up,” I repeated. “Stay behind me.”

She scrambled to her feet, stumbling after me.

More zombies lunged. I killed two; the others were tackled by a group of people.

Power users.

The crowd gasped in awe.

“So strong!”

“Power users! They’ve awakened powers!”

“Thank God! We’re saved!”

The power users were swarmed-people thanked them, knelt before them, begged for protection through tears. I stayed back, leaning against the wall, wiping the blood off my knife.

“Sis.”

The little girl was still following me.

“Sis, you’re amazing,” she looked up at me, her eyes bright. “You killed three zombies! I saw!”

I ignored her.

“Sis, what’s your name?”

“Sis, can you teach me?”

“Sis, I want to be as brave as you when I grow up!”

Annoying. So annoying.

I pulled a small knife from my bag-one suitable for a child-and held it out to her.

“Take this.”

She froze.

“You have to learn to rely on yourself,” I told her, my voice still flat. “Don’t count on anyone else.”

She held the knife, staring at me blankly, then nodded fiercely.

“Okay! I’ll fend for myself!”

i ignored her again, sitting down against the wall. My head ached worse, as if someone was stirring my brain with a needle. Then suddenly, a flash of white appeared in my vision.

It resolved into a woman in a white dress, moving among the wounded with a fluttery grace, like a

pale butterfly.

She knelt, bandaged wounds, comforted the injured, fed them water, then stood and moved to the

next.

The wounded looked at her gratefully, clutching her hands to thank her.

She looked up and smiled.

Elena.

I stared at her, motionless.

I watched her bandage a wound, her smile sweet as honey. I watched her pat an old man’s back gently, whispering “It’s okay, you’ll get better.”

A sinister smile slowly curved my lips.

In my last life, Ethan had told me he was the one who rescued Elena.

That she’d been cornered by a horde, and he’d fought his way in to pull her out.

That she’d have died if not for him.

But now?

Without Ethan, she was still alive and well.

Just like last life, when I’d been pushed out to the zombies, she’d waved at me from the car window.

Smiling so sweetly.

So gently.

I stood up, my hand resting on the hilt of my knife.

My head still spun, my legs felt weak, stumbling with every step. But I kept going, moving toward

her.

She was facing away from me, feeding water to a wounded

person.

i gripped my knife tightly, inching closer.

Twenty steps.

Fifteen steps.

Ten steps.

Suddenly, a commotion erupted at the door.

“Move! Everyone move!”

“The military’s here!”

“It’s the military!”

The crowd scattered to both sides.

I stopped, glancing back, and quietly sheathed my knife.

Several military vehicles pulled up outside. Soldiers jumped out, armed to the teeth, quickly setting up a perimeter at the door. Then a man stepped out of the lead vehicle.

In combat gear, tall, with a cold expression.

It was Derek-the military officer who’d led the evacuation last life.

He stood by the vehicle, his gaze sweeping over the crowd, emotionless.