Dead Man Walking: Living By Day, Dead By Night

Maya continued to snack on her white cheddar cheese puffs as Olivia and the others stared at her in disbelief. Even going so far as to lick the cheesy residue off of her dainty and child like fingers.

An act that would otherwise be adorable if not for the fact that she had just spoken to everyone. Which was something they had until this moment did not believe she was capable of doing.

Olivia was the first to recover as she spoke to Maya, approaching the girl with a cautious expression on her face, almost as if she was afraid she was not currently living in reality.

"Maya? You can talk? All this time?"

Maya smirked smugly at Olivia, which was another thing the woman had never witnessed the girl do before. Until now, she had been entirely mute, showing no signs of emotional expression. Yet once Zane had left them all behind, suddenly her personality had completely shifted.

As for Maya's retort, she made it after finishing the last of her cheese puffs, where she then hopped off the stool and stepped towards Olivia, looking up at the mature silver haired beauty with a look on her adorable little face that did not match her childlike appearance.

"Oh, I can do much more than that…"

After saying this, Maya gradually grew in size, her appearance shifting to that which Zane knew to be Death's true form. She was wearing the same white dress that her childish form had, but it expanded in size to match her sudden growth spurt.

When Death revealed herself to Olivia, the woman instinctively took several steps back and equipped all of her armor and weapons. The same could be said for everyone else who took hostile stances as if they were prepared to fight with the girl who they had all considered to be their adopted daughter until this very moment.

Death, however, laughed at their hostility, before sitting back down on her stool, resting her flawless face on the palm of her hand as she mocked the group for their sudden change in attitude towards her.

"Relax, if I wanted any of your souls I would have taken them long ago… Especially after finding out that you had the gall to become physically intimate with my beloved son!"

There was a flash of fury in Death's eyes as she stared at the five women who were Zane's lovers. They all looked at one another, as if silently communicating with their minds all the while trying to figure out just who this mysterious monster was talking about.

It was ultimately Elena who put two and two together before the others, as she pointed her Katana at Death and demanded answers.

"You're saying Zane is your son? That's impossible! I have known him practically his entire life. He killed his own mother shortly after the apocalypse began! Who the hell are you?"

Death cocked a brow towards Elena and her aggressive attempt to intimidate her, before breaking out into a fit of giggles. Once she finished, she was quick to answer the fiery redhead's questions.

"Who am I? Well I'm Death of course… And you are wrong about that, Zane is indeed my son. I would know. I gave birth to him after all. That bitch who abused my boy was simply the wife of the bastard who took him from me shortly after he was born! But that is all water under the bridge, so to speak.

Such sins have already been paid for in full.

So now that you know who I really am, I'm sure you all have a bunch of questions for me. I'm in a rather good mood right now. So fire away. I'll answer any questions you have. Although, I would much prefer it if you treated me to a beer first…"

Elena looked over at Olivia and the others with a cautious glint in her eye. Death? As in the Angel of Death? The literal personification of death? Was this even really possible? Then again, things that were considered an impossibility just a little over half a year ago were now the norm in this wasteland of a world.

Ultimately, it was Madison who spoke first. She had an unusually fierce glint in her eyes. As if she was angry at Death for reasons none of the others understood until she gave voice to her grievances.

"You said earlier that you purposely left out the truth about Elysium and what it really is behind the glitz and glamor. Why? Why would you knowingly send Zane into the lion's den like that?"

Death smirked, it was a curious smirk. One that was almost frightening to all the other women who began quaking by Madison's side. Even Madison herself was unnerved by the excitable and terrifying smirk that Death made. But she resisted the urge in her legs to collapse, at least until the woman finally spoke to her.

"You're smarter than the others give you credit for. To think that you latched onto that little detail, and combined it with the disdain I have shown you all to come to the proper conclusion.

Go on, say it! I mean you know the answer already don't you? So why bother asking me? Why don't you enlighten these little harlots that you so cheekily call your sisters? Tell them why I purposely withheld that vital information from my baby boy!"

Death stared smugly and silently at Madison and the other girls who clung to her side. By now, they had all been thoroughly intimidated by death into forsaking any form of resistance. Instead, everyone in the mess hall was waiting for the moment when the pink-haired bimbo would give voice to the conclusion she had reached.

From the girl's perspective, they were quite literally at the whims of a terrifying monster. If they made one wrong move, then their lives were forfeit. But from Death's point of view she was merely venting her frustration on Zane's lovers for daring to monopolize her beloved son's attention. Ultimately, her disdain for Madison and others came down to nothing more than petty envy.

But nobody but Death herself knew the reason behind her apparent grudge. And because of this, the atmosphere was incredibly tense, as Madison's thoughts stumbled within her own mind. All the while the girl struggled to maintain her own stance as she endured a mountain of pressure from Death herself.