The apartment door swung open with a heavy creak, and the moment the sound echoed through the hallway, Natasha, Jenna, and Grace hurried out from the living room.
When they saw Elsa and Liana standing quietly behind Elric in the doorway, all three women froze mid-step.
Natasha and Grace exchanged a single, knowing glance—a silent conversation passing between them in an instant.
They understood immediately.
Elric had gone out... and had come back with more women.
They didn't comment. They didn't argue or protest. They simply accepted the reality in heavy, resigned silence. This was who Elric had become in the apocalypse—a man who took what he wanted, when he wanted it.
But Jenna—never one to hide her thoughts or swallow her feelings—puffed her cheeks indignantly and crossed her arms with an exaggerated frown.
"Seriously? You just picked up two more?" she said, her hands moving to her hips in a classic posture of confrontation. "What are we, running a shelter? Elric, what are they even doing here?"
Elric didn't raise his voice, but his tone sharpened just enough to cut through the room and silence all conversation immediately.
"They're mine," he said flatly, his eyes meeting Jenna's without wavering. "Just like you. Just like everyone in this apartment."
He let that sink in for a beat.
"Now let's sit. We have things to discuss."
Jenna clicked her tongue sharply in annoyance and turned away, clearly frustrated—but she didn't leave the room. She knew better than to push when he used that particular tone of absolute authority.
They all moved toward the dining area in tense silence.
The table wasn't large—barely adequate for the group—and now with Elric and five women crowding around it, the space felt cramped and uncomfortably intimate. Elric took his natural position at the head of the table, while keeping half his attention focused on the window, monitoring the giant cocoon creature that continued stirring somewhere in the darkened city outside.
He began the introductions calmly.
He nodded first toward Natasha, Jenna, and Grace.
"These three are already with me. Natasha and Grace were instructors before the outbreak. Jenna was a student athlete."
Elsa and Liana glanced at the trio, quickly assessing them with analytical eyes.
Elsa recognized all three names immediately—she had always been socially aware, even before the apocalypse. Natasha—one of the most admired young instructors on campus, known for her intelligence, poise, and classical beauty. Grace—widely known for her calm elegance and genuinely kind personality. Jenna—famous throughout the sports department for her athletic achievements and outspoken, competitive nature.
Elsa folded her arms lightly, her expression becoming thoughtful as she analyzed each woman like pieces on a strategic board.
Natasha? Beautiful, certainly, but older—maybe twenty-six or twenty-seven. Past her prime. Grace? Pretty enough, but too passive and soft-hearted. Jenna? Cute in an athletic way, but impulsive and lacking refinement. Liana? Disfigured now, so minimal threat to my position.
Elsa's confidence gradually returned as she completed her assessment.
Her expression lifted just slightly—something sharp, subtle, almost smugly satisfied. Among these women, she believed she held natural advantages in both youth and strategic thinking.
Meanwhile, Liana kept her head lowered throughout the entire exchange.
The burned side of her once-perfect face remained hidden behind a simple medical mask. Standing beside the naturally beautiful Natasha and Grace, she felt diminished—small, damaged, almost erased by comparison.
When it was her turn to speak, her voice emerged barely above a whisper.
"...Nice to meet you all."
Elric continued the introductions without pause.
"And these two," he said, gesturing toward the newcomers, "are Elsa and Liana. They're with me now as well."
The room immediately stirred with recognition.
Natasha, Grace, and Jenna all recognized those names instantly—both were campus celebrities in their own right.
"Wait—Elsa from the Literature Department?" Grace murmured, her eyes widening. "The one who won the national poetry competition last year?"
"And Liana?" Natasha added softly, genuine surprise in her tone. "The campus model? The one everyone called Houston's 'Ice Beauty'?"
Jenna leaned forward across the table with undisguised curiosity, staring openly at Liana.
"So you're the famous campus beauty everyone wouldn't shut up about? Then why are you covering your face like that? What are you hiding under there?"
Grace immediately reached over and nudged Jenna—hard—in the ribs as a warning, but Jenna completely ignored the hint. She kept staring with burning curiosity.
Elric's expression darkened immediately, his jaw tightening.
"Jenna."
One word. One clear warning.
She froze instantly, visibly swallowed, and forced herself to sit back in her chair—but her eyes still flickered toward Liana constantly, curiosity practically radiating from her.
Liana exhaled shakily behind her mask, her shoulders tensing.
She didn't lift the mask. She didn't try to explain her injuries or the circumstances that caused them.
She simply said, very quietly, in a voice thick with shame:
"...It's complicated."
Heavy silence settled over the table like a physical weight.
For the first time since the apocalypse began, they were all sitting together in one space—the strange, fractured shape of a new family forming under the pressure of disaster and survival.
Liana remained frozen, clearly unsure how to respond to Jenna's invasive question without revealing the full extent of her disfigurement.
It was Elsa who smoothly stepped in to defuse the situation.
"Liana has a severe allergic skin reaction," Elsa said evenly, her tone perfectly calibrated to sound both concerned and authoritative. "It's temporary. Once we manage to locate proper medical treatment and supplies, her face will recover completely."
Liana glanced sideways at Elsa, genuine gratitude flickering in her eyes—but Elsa's own expression revealed her true reasoning. She wasn't helping purely out of kindness or sisterly solidarity.
The calculation was simple: She and Liana were the newcomers here. Natasha, Jenna, and Grace had already established their positions and relationships with Elric over the past week. If Elsa wanted stability and influence in this emerging social hierarchy, she needed allies—and Liana was by far the easiest person to align with for mutual benefit.
Better to build coalitions early, Elsa thought pragmatically. Especially with someone who needs me.
Jenna opened her mouth again, clearly preparing to ask another invasive question. "But how does someone get allergic reactions that severe—"
But Natasha interrupted smoothly before she could finish, reaching up to adjust her hair with practiced, elegant authority.
"Elric, it's getting quite late," she said in a tone of gentle command. "Elsa and Liana must be absolutely exhausted after everything that happened today. Why don't we eat first and discuss other matters afterward?"
Her voice carried the quiet confidence of someone who viewed herself as first among the women—the one closest to Elric, the de facto leader of the household.
Jenna's eyes narrowed immediately with barely concealed irritation.
"Tch." She clicked her tongue sharply, her competitive nature flaring.
Then, in an exaggerated, mocking imitation of Natasha's refined tone:
"'Oh, Elric, it's time to eat. Please sit and rest. Let me act like I run this entire household and make all the decisions.'"
Grace immediately covered her mouth with one hand, trying unsuccessfully to stifle an amused laugh.
Natasha didn't even glance at Jenna—which somehow irritated Jenna even more than a direct response would have. The dismissal was more cutting than any comeback.
Elric's patience finally snapped like a breaking wire.
"Enough."
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