Chapter 81: Vivienne
The massive double doors of Oxford High School swung heavily open with a harsh, metallic scrape that echoed through the quiet courtyard.
Standing in the dim entryway was a small cluster of human survivors. They froze, eyes locked onto Fredrinn and his group with a chaotic mix of raw relief, terror, and deep-seated suspicion.
In total, the room held three adults—all clearly teachers—and about six or seven high school teenagers.
Fredrinn’s eyes were almost instantly drawn to a mature woman standing right in the center of the youngsters. She looked like a sanctuary in the middle of a disaster.
Two terrified teenage girls were practically buried in her sides, clinging to her dress while crying silently into her fabric. On her left stood a tall guy with bleached-grey hair.
He had one hand draped over the woman’s shoulder in an overbearing, protective stance, puffing out his chest as if he were the sole knight keeping the world from breaking down around her.
Unlike the trembling girls, the grey-haired teen wore a cocky, arrogant smirk. He didn’t look scared at all; he looked like a kid trying way too hard to play the hero.
Curious, Fredrinn gathered a thin thread of mana into his eyes. The world dimmed slightly, and a soft, unmistakable pulse of light glowed just beneath the teenager’s skin.
’An Awakened,’ Fredrinn noted internally, raising an amused eyebrow. ’Well, isn’t that something.’
Without another thought, he peeled his gaze away from the arrogant kid and let it drift entirely back to the mature woman.
Up close, her proportions were nothing short of breathtaking. Her chest was remarkably full, straining against the fabric of her simple dress so tightly that Fredrinn genuinely wondered how the seams hadn’t snapped under the pressure.
Her waist nipped in sharply before flaring out into wide, sweeping hips, creating an unreal, textbook S-curve.
Lust had categorized Rose as a succubus, but to Fredrinn, this unassuming high school teacher had a body far more sinful than any woman he had come across since the apocalypse began.
To make matters worse, that absurdly attractive frame was paired with a soft, sweet, oval face. Cute and Sexy.
It was a lethal combination.
Standing right beside him, even Rose paused. The demon girl stared intently at the woman’s chest, then slowly looked down at her own front, clearly making a silent, subconscious comparison between the two of them.
Out by the front gates, Jenny, Max, and Aadav were still catching their breath. Covered from head to toe in thick, black zombie blood and viscera, the three of them looked less like human saviors and more like monsters that had crawled out of a nightmare.
A few of the younger students gasped and shrank back in terror at the sight of the blood-drenched trio. Thankfully, the other two teachers—a middle-aged man and a stern-looking woman—quickly stepped forward, raising their hands to soothe the panicking kids.
"Hey there," Jenny called out, noticing the wide, frightened eyes staring at them. She wiped a streak of dried blood from her cheek and offered a warm, dazzling smile, raising a hand in a friendly wave.
Seeing the shockingly beautiful, blood-splattered woman wave so casually, the teenagers visibly relaxed. A few of them even returned the gesture with tentative, nervous waves of their own.
Fredrinn stepped forward, his boots crunching over the shattered glass and debris near the entrance. Beside him, Rose immediately wrapped her arm tightly around his elbow, pressing herself against his side and clinging to him like a devoted, loving wife.
"Th-Thank you... Thank you so much..." The male teacher rushed forward first, bowing repeatedly with deep, trembling nods. "We can’t thank you enough for showing up when you did. That horde had us completely cornered. The front doors were our absolute last line of defense, and you arrived right in the nick of time."
The man’s hair was severely receding, leaving the top of his head completely smooth while a ring of thin grey hair wrapped around the sides. A round, soft belly protruded over his belt.
Beside him, the second adult was a female teacher of average looks. She had faint wrinkles around her eyes and kept her brown hair pulled back into a tight, practical bun.
She carried a strict, professional demeanor, looking like someone who was used to maintaining order in a chaotic classroom. She bowed deeply alongside her colleague, her voice tight with emotion.
"We are deeply in your debt," she added.
Fredrinn offered them both a polite, easygoing smile, though his eyes quickly drifted back to the busty teacher in the center.
Having gently unclasped the weeping girls from her waist, she reached up and brushed the grey-haired teen’s hand off her shoulder. She stepped past him, walking toward the group’s obvious leader.
"Thank you for saving us..." she said softly. Her eyes flickered for a brief second toward Rose, taking in the girl’s ethereal, unnatural features, but she was smart enough not to ask any questions.
Clearing her throat, she offered a gentle smile. "I’m Vivienne. I teach here at Oxford High. Unfortunately, we’re all the survivors left in the building. When things got really bad, some of the staff and older students took the school buses and drove off, leaving us stranded behind."
Fredrinn hummed thoughtfully, digesting the information. "Took the buses, huh? I’m guessing there are still a few vehicles left in the back lot?"
Vivienne’s eyes brightened with a flash of quick understanding. She immediately picked up on the fact that this man was calling the shots—and that he hadn’t just stumbled onto their school by accident. They were looking for transport.
She nodded gracefully. "Yes... there are two buses left in the lower yard. But they’re running almost completely on empty."
Fredrinn glanced over his shoulder at Aadav.
Aadav met his look and gave a careless shrug. "Gas isn’t a problem. Give me twenty minutes and a plastic tube, and I can siphon more than enough fuel out of the abandoned cars sitting in the street."
"Oh, that’s wonderful news," Vivienne breathed, a wave of genuine relief settling over her face. She let out a small, tired cough, her chest bouncing softly with the movement as she took a polite step backward, gesturing down the main hallway. "As a small token of our gratitude for keeping us alive, please, come inside and rest for a bit, Mr..."
"Fredrinn," he replied smoothly, matching her gaze as he stepped past the threshold into the building.
Even with Rose clinging tightly to his arm, Vivienne couldn’t shake a subtle, persistent thought. Was this man... flirty? The way his eyes lingered on her, the faint, knowing smirk playing at the corner of his lips—it felt remarkably like he was sending her low-key hints.
She inwardly shook her head, trying to snap herself out of it. ’Don’t be foolish, Vivienne,’ she chided herself. ’The world is falling apart. Focus on keeping these kids safe, not daydreaming about romantic signals from a dangerous stranger.’
The rest of Fredrinn’s group offered their names in casual tones as they followed him inside. Vivienne turned quickly to lead the way down the bright tile corridor, hurrying her pace to stay at the front of the pack.
Her quick walk created a mesmerizing sight. Her voluptuous body seemed to defy physics with every heavy step, her hips swaying rhythmically as she tried to maintain a brisk walk in her low heels. Within seconds, the physical effort caught up to her, and she found herself huffing, struggling to keep up with Fredrinn’s casual, effortless stride.
She finally pulled up, leaning forward slightly with her hands resting on her knees to catch her breath, her face flushed red.
"Mr. Uh... Fredrinn... please, wait up a second..." she asked, her voice light and breathless.
Fredrinn stopped and turned around, looking down at her with an amused, cozy glint in his eyes.
Feeling his deliberate, slow gaze sweep over her figure, Vivienne felt a fresh wave of heat bloom across her cheeks.
"Of course, Vivienne," Fredrinn said smoothly, his tone warm and completely unbothered.
Standing right beside him, Rose tilted her head, narrowing her crimson eyes as she studied him with a sudden flick of suspicion. She squinted, carefully dissecting the small smile on his face and the obvious direction of his gaze.
Rose was still figuring out the complicated rules of human interaction. She operated mostly on raw instinct and whatever scrambled memories she had absorbed from the people she devoured. Because of that, she couldn’t quite tell if Fredrinn was flirting with the busty teacher or if human men just naturally talked to older women this way.
With Jenny, it was simple—Jenny actively tried to touch him, lean on him, and steal his attention, which made her an annoying rival that needed to be watched. But this teacher hadn’t made any aggressive moves yet.
Above all else, Rose didn’t want to be a bad wife. Her main goal was to keep her man happy. Right now, Fredrinn looked thoroughly entertained and relaxed. And as far as Rose was concerned, if her husband was happy, there was no problem at all.
Having caught her breath, Vivienne gave an apologetic smile and led the group through a set of double doors into the school cafeteria.
The spacious room was in a state of quiet messiness. Abandoned plastic trays, crumpled napkins, and half-eaten paper plates littered the long lunch tables. Dark, dried bloodstains smeared portions of the tile floor. There were no rotting corpses lying around—it was clear the surviving teachers had dragged the bodies outside to keep the space clean—but the faint, metallic memory of violence still hung in the air.
Yet, beneath the stale smell of the abandoned building, a far more inviting scent drifted through the room.
It was the rich, unmistakable smell of warm spices, toasted grain, and freshly prepared food.
Noticing the way Fredrinn’s nose twitched as he caught the aroma, Vivienne turned back to him, a proud, warm beam spreading across her face.
"Would you and your group like something to eat, Mr. Fredrinn?" she asked softly, stepping aside to reveal a row of covered metal trays resting over small portable burners. "It was all cooked fresh by me."