Chapter 120

Chapter 120 Sunflower Seeds and Leadership
Theresa was laughing so hard she nearly choked on her sunflower seeds.
“If I were your brother, I’d be racing over to buddy up with those guys. Wait too long, and he’ll be lucky to
catch the dust off their boots!” ɴᴇᴡ ɴᴏᴠᴇʟ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs ᴀʀᴇ ᴘᴜʙʟɪsʜᴇᴅ ᴏɴ
Charlotte was speechless.
She sulked for a couple of seconds, then shook her head firmly. “No. In my eyes, we can’t rely on anyone. Not in this apocalypse. It’s just us. We have to survive on our own!”
Theresa chuckled as she cracked another seed, then held her hand out with some caramel-coated ones. “Here. Eat with me. I like hearing you talk.”
Charlotte hesitated. “I’m not good at talking. No one in my family ever liked listening to me.”
“Well, I like it. So keep going. Consider this my way of paying you-with sunflower seeds.”
Charlotte eyed the seeds, paused, then took them. “Alright. I haven’t really talked to anyone since the world ended… I like you too! You really built your own camp?”
“Yup.”
“Why’d they let a woman run it? Did they actually listen to you?”
“They didn’t have a choice. I saved all their lives. Of course, they listen.”
Charlotte’s eyes widened. “Wait, seriously?”
“Ask Kyle.” Theresa jerked her chin toward the silent man standing beside her, still as a statue.
Kyle, who’d been looming in the background the whole time, gave Charlotte a curt nod.
“Everyone in our camp was saved by Theresa.”
Charlotte inhaled sharply. Right then, she could only feel one thing: awe.
She had saved everyone. All of them. By herself.
Theresa looked strong-no doubt about it.
But what really blew Charlotte’s mind was that she was a woman. Since the world went to hell, the value of women had plummeted. Even though Charlotte had a fire-based ability and could fight just as well as her brother, no one listened to her when it came to camp decisions.
Most people outright ignored her. Some even claimed women should stay home, make babies, and that, power or not, they’d never compare to men. That men were heaven-sent and women should obey without question.
Every time she heard stuff like that, Charlotte wanted to rip their face off.
1/3
And this? This was her privileged experience. Her brother ran Spark Camp. She had powers. Women without either? They were treated like dirt.
So, hearing that Theresa had saved everyone in her camp and was running the place as its undisputed leader? Charlotte was floored.
Camp size didn’t even matter-Theresa was in charge. She held authority. Real authority.
And that made Charlotte burn with envy.
That envy only deepened when she saw the so-called “small camp” Theresa had built at a later time, and her jaw nearly hit the pavement.
Then came a voice-cool, flat, and absolute-from the center of the gathered crowd. Everyone went silent. A young man dressed in a crisp white uniform locked eyes with the man across from him-Lucas- ignoring everyone else.
“Mr. Keaton, weren’t there supposed to be seven squads today?”
“There are,” Lucas replied. “One more-Blazing Sun Camp. They came with me.”
He turned and nodded toward Theresa. “She’s the leader of Blazing Sun Camp, Theresa Hall.”
Dozens of heads swiveled in unison.
There sat Theresa, cross-legged on the roadside with Charlotte, happily munching on sunflower seeds like it was a picnic.
Everyone was stunned. It was… a jarring contrast.
While the rest of them had been tense and guarded for this multi-camp meetup, Theresa was just chilling by the curb, snacking and chatting.
Lucas, who actually knew Theresa, smiled. “Let’s go say hi.”
‘No need.” Bennie, the white-uniformed man, cast a glance in Theresa’s direction. His icy stare lacked the faintest hint of warmth, and he looked away almost immediately. Then he turned to face the group.
“Everyone, come register. We need your group’s details. You’ll receive rations based on your contribution during the mission. Of course, Mr. Keaton, you’ll get the allocation we previously agreed on.”
Lucas nodded.
As Bennie finished, his team stepped forward, handing out clipboards and forms to each camp. Lucas was handed one, too-but not for him. It was meant for the group he brought: Blazing Sun Camp.
Only Hope Camp knew where the eastern provision depot was.
But they weren’t confident they could secure the supplies alone. Most of them were intellectuals, with barely any combat experience..
That’s why they brought in Lucas and his group to help.
But Hope Camp didn’t trust him either. What if, once they got to the depot, Lucas’ armed group just turned on them and took everything?
So they came up with a plan-form a big, multi-camp expedition. Safety in numbers. Power in unity. A shaky alliance, held together by mutual suspicion.