Madison knelt on the ground, her hands bound behind her back by zipties as she cried on the floor. Her father was furious with her for causing such a disaster to occur within their bunker. Had she just done what she was told and stayed inside, then none of this would have happened.
It was just bad luck that the moment Madison opened the hatch, there were survivors looting the Governor's mansion. Or so the man thought. The reality was that Zane knew about the bunker, and he was searching for its entrance.
One way or another, he would have found a way inside. But that wasn't important right now. What was important was the fact that Zane now held these survivors hostage. His plan was simple: force them all to undergo an awakening and take whichever one of them survived as a slave.
After all, because Zane was forcing this survivor to fight for him, he could not trust them, at least not until they began to accept Zane's domination. Instead, he had to force them to wear the shock collar that was currently around Madison's neck.
Zane did not bother wasting a Tier II blood crystal on any of these survivors. It only gave a 10% increase in survival, and he honestly didn't give a damn which of the survivors became his slave. But it surprised him when the middle-aged billionaire who was Madison's father volunteered for his daughter to go first.
"Well... Since my daughter is the one who allowed you bastards in here, it is only fair that she is the first to consume this so-called blood crystal..."
Madison looked at her father in horror, as if he were willingly handing her over to the wolves. As for Zane, he narrowed his eyes at the man with an intense look within his gaze.
As someone who suffered under the hands of a parent who was abusive, neglectful, and outright abandoned him once the apocalypse began, Zane had a strong hatred for those who had children, but would not do everything they could to protect them.
This hatred was compounded when Madison screamed at her father, pleading for him to protect her, not that he could.
"Daddy? Why? I'm sorry! Why can't you forgive me?"
There was a look of contempt on the man's face as he looked away from his own daughter, not even wanting to tolerate the sight of her after what she had done.
Just like her mother and brother, Madison fell to the floor writhing in pain and frothing at the mouth as her body entered a state of corruption. It was so painful for the naïve girl that she blacked out entirely. Missing the execution of the remaining survivors, all of which had turned before she woke up.
---
When Madison awoke, there was no sign of her family members, nor was she still tied up in the room where Zane had killed her father, instead she appeared to have been sleeping on her bed, or at least the bed she had occupied for the past month.
The pink-haired beauty immediately sighed in relief, believing it had all just been a dream. That is until she scratched her neck and found the collar still attached tightly to it. It was tight, but not too tight, to the point of suffocation.
Apparently, Zane had played too many video games while growing because he appeared to have been inspired by a quote from a post apocalyptic RPG when he tied the collar to the girl's neck. Or should I say readjusted it while she slept?
The collar was tight, just enough to remind the girl of her place, and who she belonged to. Every time she swallowed, or turned her head, she would feel a minor sense of discomfort, nothing too painful to the point where she would become debilitated but just enough of a reminder to keep her docile.
And then there were the marks on her wrists, proof that she had previously been bound and held against her will. The moment Madison realized that everything had really happened, she shuttered in a state of absolute dread, while holding her knees to her modest chest. All while crying profusely for her father, who was most certainly dead.
"Daddy... Daddy...."
As Madison cried and her vision was obscured, she saw the following message appear in her vision, almost as if it was waiting for her to regain a state of clarity.
---
[Congratulations! You have consumed a Tier II blood crystal! As a result, you will be given a slight bonus to your initial roll! Giving you a mildly higher chance of awakening a rare skill!]
[Roll for Skill? Yes/NO]