To the Start of a New World

Extra 1: Visiting Ma and Pa

Author's Note

Now beginning the extras!

Each extra has a different scenario. You can pick the ones you want to read, as some of them are lighter and some of them are darker ( / v\)

I'll be putting summaries at the top of each extra in case you'd like to quickly gauge your interest in it. Thank you for reading!!

Mood: Fluffy, slice of life, sweet
Summary: Lu Hao and Hong Sheng visit Ma and Pa in Iceland, where they have a relaxing time and enjoy the sights.

—

The private plane landed in the Icelandic airport of Egilsstaðir at noon. Lu Hao shook Hong Sheng awake, and Hong Sheng groggily took off his eye mask and ear muffs.

The air outside had a biting chill to it, mainly because of the strong winds that whipped their clothes when the two descended from the plane. But once they got inside and away from the wind, it was a fine temperature, the kind that made one want to bundle into sweaters and jackets or sit by a fire.

The town of Egilsstaðir had a charming peace to it, with simple and colorful houses spaced out along wide and winding asphalt roads. It was one of the relatively newer towns built in the sparsely-populated region of eastern Iceland. There had only been over two thousand people living here before the apocalypse, and it was hard to say how many lived now.

Lu Hao and Hong Sheng only briefly stopped through the town before they headed north. Father and Mother Lu's vacation home had been built a ways away from the larger settlements. It took about an hour to get there, from the highway roads to the rocky dirt roads to finally, hiking up the uneven and grassy hillsides that led up to the house.

But once they arrived at the front door, Ma was already waiting for them outside, beaming brightly.

"Little Sheng, Little Hao!" She squeezed Hong Sheng's cheeks, and gave each of them a hug. "Oh, it's been so long since I've seen you. You've grown so thin!"

"Ma, we missed you." A hit of emotion overtook Lu Hao at the sight of his mother. Her hair had grown much more gray over the years. He'd never seen her grow old. He had been eighteen when his mother and father had died. They had still been young, with many years of life still left in them.

Ma ushered them in, where they saw Pa waiting to greet them. Although he had turned into a zombie, he had regained his sentience through the zombie virus cure. He looked similar to how he had looked before, except his eyes were pale, and his skin a bit waxy. But he was happy, healthy, and alive.

Through the windows pointing to the back of the house, Lu Hao saw some of the bodyguards he had hired in the distance, herding some sheep. The other bodyguards had chosen to go home. They had packed up, and were going to take the private plane that had carried Lu Hao and Hong Sheng here to return to China.

The family of four caught up over the dining table. Ma prepared some coffee and hot milk for them to drink, and put some snacks on the table—bread and sweet pastries for Hong Sheng, and a local specialty for Lu Hao.

Hong Sheng glanced at the basket of dried and torn-up fish meat with morbid curiosity, while Lu Hao himself was absolutely delighted. He was like an old man and loved the kinds of dried seafood snacks that would usually be eaten by bar-goers padding their stomachs while they drank. This, however, was a proper Icelandic snack. Ma had gotten it as a gift from their neighbor, who recommended spreading butter over the fish as one ate it.

Lu Hao had a great time trying out this buttery dried fish, to the bemusement of his family and partner beside him.

The family of four spoke casually about their experiences over the past eight years, and glossed over the hardships. Lu Hao, Hong Sheng, and Ma had checked in with each other through the satellite phone over the years, so it was mainly Pa who was hearing things for the first time.