Chapter 1Doomsday dropped.
Everyone's out there—bleeding, screaming, dying—ripping mutant beasts apart just to breathe another day.
Not me.
I'm inside. Eating. Sleeping. Gaming.
Why? I'm a Lucky Purifier. One in a freaking million.
Long as I'm alive and happy? Hundred-mile radiation shield. Beasts can't even touch this place.
Then the Director's golden girl—Cassandra—crawls back from a supply run, half-dead, furious.
Sees me with the AC blasting, controller still in hand.
She snaps.
Smashes my console. Drags me out. Throws me straight into the radioactive wasteland.
"Lucky Purifier? Bullshit! Just a lucky little pet. Get your ass out there and fight."
Fine, warrior princess.
You just kicked out your Lucky Purifier.
GOOD LUCK!
___________
GAME OVER.
Seventh damn time tonight.
I hurled the controller at the couch. That new raid boss? Absolutely broken.
"Emotional fluctuation spiked 3.7%. Heart rate 105. Terminate high-intensity activity now."
Dr. Carter barged in, tablet glowing, white coat starched stiff. My vitals screaming across his screen.
"I'm fine, Doc. Had it in the bag that time!"
He didn't even blink. Marched straight over. Scanned my wrist with that gadget.
"Director Hale's orders. Your mood stays in the 'pleasant' zone. Period."
"Anything that pisses you off? Gone."
Reached for the console plug.
"No!"
I practically tackled the thing.
"One. More. Run. I beat it, I'm happy. You want me happy, right?"
Carter froze. Those icy eyes drilling into me, calculating if I was bullshitting.
Then—
God.
That smell.
"Evening, Eliza! Look what Maggie's got for you!"
The cook bustled in, beaming like Christmas morning, thermos box in hand.
Popped it open.
Sweet Jesus.
Chicken noodle soup. Actual chicken. Fried egg on top, yolk perfect and golden. Fresh parsley scattered over it.
Compressed crackers were a luxury these days. This bowl? Priceless.
"Maggie... you're gonna make me cry."
I couldn't tear my eyes away.
"Oh stop! Without you, my herbs would be radioactive dust by now!"
Set it down. Still grinning.
"Eat up, honey. Full belly, happy heart. Happy heart? We all survive another night."
Carter glanced at her. Then me. Finally dropped his hand.
Tapped his tablet.
"Carbs and protein boost dopamine."
"Consumption approved. Blood sugar check in thirty."
Didn't need to tell me twice.
Inhaled that soup. Hot broth melting away every frustration. Heaven.
Maggie watched like a proud grandma. Carter like I was his favorite lab rat.
This. Was. My. Life.
Pampered. Coddled. Monitored every damn second.
One job: Stay happy.
Because I'm the Lucky Purifier. Long as I'm good? Invisible shield goes up. Radiation and mutants stay out.
Scraped the bowl clean. Belched. Snatched the controller.
Round eight, let's go—
WRREEEEEE—
Alarm screamed through the shelter.
Not the red "mutant attack" alarm.
The gate opening.
Maggie went ghost-white. Carter's jaw locked.
Cassandra's squad.
They were back.
Chapter 2
SCREEEEECH—
Metal grinding. Heavy. Loud.
The main gate dragging open.
The room froze.
Maggie's smile died mid-grin. Dr. Carter's knuckles went white around his tablet.
Then—the smell.
Blood. Gunpowder. Death.
Footsteps. Heavy. Dragging. Followed by moans—low, broken, barely human.
I grabbed the controller. Finger hovering over START—
BANG!
My door exploded open. Slammed into the wall so hard the hinges screamed.
Cassandra.
Standing there. Drenched in blood and mud. Combat gear shredded. One arm dangling—snapped.
Her bloodshot eyes locked on me—scanned the empty bowl, then the controller in my hand.
That look could've melted steel.
"Captain, please—" Maggie's voice shook.
Cassandra didn't even glance at her.
She marched in, each step leaving a bloody footprint on my clean floor.
Straight to the TV, she yanked the cables and lifted my brand-new console—the only one in the whole damn shelter—
And smashed it.
CRASH.
Plastic shattered. Parts scattered everywhere.
"What the hell?!"
I shot up from the couch.
"Oh, what the hell?" Cassandra spun around, face twisted with rage.
"I'll tell you what's wrong here, you spoiled little shit!"
She jabbed a finger at my face, voice cracking.
"While you were in here living like a princess, I watched Luna die choking on her own blood! Mason's brains were splattered all over the ground! Fifteen of us didn't make it back!"
Her voice climbed, practically screaming now.
"And where were you? Sitting here in your cozy little bubble, stuffing your face, playing games?!"
She stepped closer, towering over me.
"So tell me—why do you get to live like this?"
"Oh right—because you're special. You're just a parasite hiding behind that fancy title!"
"Cassandra! Enough!" Dr. Carter rushed forward, tablet up like a shield.
"She's the only thing keeping this place standing! If she breaks down, we all die! You're risking everything right now!"
"I don't give a damn!"
Cassandra shoved him. Hard. He crashed into the wall. Tablet skittered across the floor.
"My people are dead! And you're telling me we lost them protecting her?!"
"Captain, she didn't ask for this—" Maggie tried.
"Save it!"
Cassandra grabbed my collar. Yanked me off the couch. Feet dangling. Couldn't breathe.
Her blood-smeared face inches from mine. Breath hot and rank.
"Poor baby. Mad about your toy? Feeling mistreated?"
She grinned—wild, vicious.
Dragged me toward the door.
"Come on, princess. Time for a field trip."
"Let me show you what real suffering looks like."
Chapter 3
My feet dragged across the freezing metal floor, leaving two pathetic streaks behind me.
Cassandra's grip was iron. No point fighting back.
The corridor outside was packed.
Combat survivors. Support crew. Everyone who came to welcome the heroes home.
Now they just stared at me—faces twisted with disgust and rage.
"Everyone! Get a good look!"
Cassandra's voice echoed through the hall.
"This is our precious little treasure! The one we're dying to protect!"
She slammed me against the medical wing door.
I stumbled inside.
Hell.
Blood mixed with bleach—thick enough to choke on.
Riley's leg—blown off. Medic frantically trying to stop the bleeding. Not working.
Another girl—chest crushed. Breathing machine wheezing beside her corpse.
White sheets lined the floor. Bodies underneath.
My stomach twisted.
Games had blood. This? This was real.
"See her over there?"
Cassandra's breath hot on my neck. Venomous.
"That's Riley. Went hunting for those fancy peaches you love so much. Mutant ripped her in half."
She pointed at the smallest body.
"And that one? Little Maya. Just turned seventeen. Couldn't shut up about meeting you. Wanted to see what hope looked like with her own eyes."
Her voice dropped to a hiss.
"Congrats, Eliza. She finally got her wish."
The crowd's eyes shifted.
Pity died.
Hatred bloomed.
"Why does she get to hide while we bleed out here?" A one-armed woman screamed.
"Bloodsucker!"
"Toss her out!"
The plaza erupted. Fury spreading like a virus.
"Stop! All of you!"
Dr. Carter shoved through, face ghost-white, tablet trembling.
The red line on his screen spiked violently.
"This is insane! Director! Director Hale—control your daughter!"
He looked toward the back.
I followed his gaze.
Director Elena Hale.
Uniform spotless. Expression carved from stone.
Just watching.
Watching Cassandra ignite the mob.
Watching me drown.
Not a word.
Maggie pushed forward, arms wide, shielding me. Voice breaking.
"Don't do this! Lose the shield and everyone dies! Director—please!"
"Move it, grandma!"
Cassandra kicked her square in the gut. Maggie collapsed, gasping.
"Maggie!"
I lunged—Cassandra's hand locked around my throat.
"Oh, now you care?"
She leaned close. Whispered sharp enough to cut.
"Doctor's fancy theories? Old lady's crocodile tears? Worth nothing."
"Time to show them what you really are."
I looked down at Maggie curled on the floor. Dr. Carter screaming, swallowed by the crowd.
Director Hale above—unmoved.
Ice flooded my veins.
Then—
The shelter shuddered.
Just once.
A low hum buzzed through my skull.
Gone before I could blink.
Did anyone else—?
Cassandra didn't notice.
She yanked my hair. Dragged me to the center of the plaza.
Raised one hand. Crowd went dead silent.
Pulled a skinning knife from her belt. Blade glinting.
"Wanna know what makes her so damn special?"
Cassandra's smile was unhinged.
Pressed the blade to my cheek.
"Let's crack her open. See what's hiding inside our Lucky Purifier."
"Think it's something holy?"
Her grin widened.
"Or just the same rotten meat as the rest of us?"
