’I’m no better...’ she thought bitterly. ’I did those things... I helped sothing far worse once. ...’
The truth was out now. And there was no taking it back.
By the next evening, everyone knew about Angelina’s secret.
Angelina kept her head down as she walked along the road.
’She really wants to ruin everything... just because of jealousy...’
She exhaled slowly, trying to steady herself. ’It won’t be long before I’m forced out anyway... I just want so peace before that happens.’
The mont she returned ho, the door had barely clicked shut when footsteps approached.
Her husband, Archie, entered with an eager expression, his eyes lighting up the mont he saw her.
"Wow, you’re finally back!" he exclaid, a hint of excitent in his tone. "I heard your mother and father ca to visit. Where are they? I’d like to et them."
Angelina froze.
A faint, tired smile appeared on her lips, though it didn’t reach her eyes.
"They’re not... my parents," she said quietly.
Archie blinked, confusion flashing across his face. "What do you an?"
Taking a deep breath, Angelina began to explain everything, her voice steady at first, then gradually softening as the weight of it all settled in.
By the ti she finished, the room had fallen into a heavy silence.
Archie stepped closer and gently pulled her into an embrace.
"I... never imagined you went through all that," he murmured, his voice low, filled with a complicated mix of emotions.
’She’s not innocent... but she’s not entirely wrong either...’ he thought.
He pulled back slightly, looking into her eyes. "It’s alright. If things co to that... we’ll just live outside the base together."
Angelina’s expression softened, her eyes glistening faintly.
"I’m sorry," she whispered, her voice trembling. "Now that they’re treating like this... I finally understand how Ivy must have felt when they kept harassing her again and again."
She wiped at her tears, her fingers cold against her skin.
"If I get the chance... I want to apologize to her," she continued. "But if I do it now, it’ll just look like I’m pretending... like I’m doing it to stay here."
Archie shook his head gently. "That doesn’t matter. An apology is still an apology."
Angelina clenched her fists before slowly shaking her head.
"No," she said firmly. "I’ll leave a letter instead. After I’m kicked out."
Her voice steadied as she continued, "That way, she’ll know it wasn’t for show... that I didn’t do it just to stay."
Archie studied her for a mont before nodding quietly.
Angelina sat down soon after, her fingers gripping the pen tightly as she began to write.
..........
As expected, chaos erupted not long after.
People began to revolt, their anger fueled by the revelation that Angelina had consud human flesh.
Ivy, on the other hand, had already been aware of the situation.
At first, she ignored it.
But when the unrest escalated into a full-blown revolt, she finally pressed her fingers against her temples, massaging them slowly as a faint sigh escaped her lips.
"People really do forget quickly," she murmured to herself. "Have they already forgotten how desperately they were struggling just a few months ago?"
After a brief mont of thought, she straightened and decided to confront the source directly.
............
When she appeared before the crowd, the so-called leader of the revolt, Benjamin, imdiately rushed toward her.
His face was flushed.
"You need to take action imdiately!" he burst out. "Angelina is dangerous! She went as far as eating human flesh...she has no humanity left!"
His voice grew louder with each word, drawing more attention.
"People like her shouldn’t be allowed to stay here! She must be expelled at once!"
Ivy listened and listened and listened.
Until finally, she raised a hand, her expression turning faintly annoyed.
"That’s enough," she interrupted, her voice calm yet carrying an unmistakable authority.
Benjamin froze mid-rant.
Ivy looked at him, her gaze steady, almost piercing.
"Tell sothing," she said quietly.
Her lips curved into a faint, unreadable smile.
"Can you swear... that you have never done a single wrong thing in your entire life?"
The mont those words left Ivy’s lips, Benjamin froze as if struck by lightning.
His mouth parted slightly, yet no sound ca out.
Ivy’s gaze shifted past him, sweeping across the so-called rebels, her eyes calm yet sharp enough to make people instinctively lower their heads.
"I don’t know how you all have so much free ti," she began, her tone indifferent, almost bored, "but I do know one thing."
A faint pause followed.
"Every single person here has made mistakes."
A ripple of unease spread through the crowd.
"As for Angelina," Ivy continued, her expression unreadable, "she reported long ago that she had used human corpses, people who were already dead. I found it suspicious, of course, so I spoke to her privately."
Her fingers tapped lightly against her arm as she spoke.
"And I made one thing clear to her," she added, her voice turning colder, "no matter how much she contributes in the future, she will never be promoted to a higher position."
The crowd fell completely silent.
Even the faint whispers that had lingered monts ago vanished, leaving behind only the sound of uneasy breathing.
Ivy let the silence stretch before speaking again.
"Other than that," she said, her gaze hardening slightly, "let’s not pretend that any of you are saints."
Her lips curled faintly, though there was no humor in her eyes.
"In an apocalypse, every one of you has sacrificed sothing... or soone... just to survive."
A few people visibly flinched.
"Yet here you are," she continued, her voice now laced with faint ridicule, "acting like righteous judges, starting a revolt over sothing that has already been addressed."
She let out a quiet, almost mocking breath.
"Honestly, it’s quite amusing."
That single word stung more than any shout could have.
Then, her expression turned completely serious.
"I’m giving you five minutes," she said, her tone sharp and commanding. "Clean up this area and return to your hos. After that, everything goes back to normal."
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