Left To Die At The Gates, I Locked My Husband In Hell

The entry rule for Eden, the post-apocalyptic S-tier Sanctuary, was strictly "Model Couples Only." For 1,111 days, I played Garrett’s background wife, enduring radiation and schemes just to earn that golden ticket. Right outside the gates, his "fragile" childhood sweetheart suddenly got infected, teetering on the edge of turning into a mutant. Under the team’s watchful eyes, Garrett took the antidote serum meant for me and walked toward her. "She needs this spot more than we do." "Stay outside for now. Once she's cured, I’ll come right back for you." The team cheered, praising his chivalry and devotion. Not a single person asked for my opinion. They forgot one thing: I was the former Sanctuary Administrator—the only one who knew the access codes changed every day at sunset. If the iris scanner hidden in the ring on my finger didn't unlock the gates by dusk, the entire Sanctuary would initiate a self-destruct sequence. "Be a good girl, Luna. Hand over the serum." Garrett's words sounded gentle, but his face was hard as stone. His outstretched hand didn't tremble for a second. I stared at that hand—the same hand that had once warmed mine during bitter-cold nights in the wasteland, now reaching out to rob me of my last chance at survival. The blood in my veins turned to ice. The vial of glowing blue liquid sat in my inner pocket, its cold shape pressing against me through my hazmat suit. I had traded three months of rations on the black market to get it. I had almost been skinned alive for it. The bone-deep scar across my right arm was carved when I drew a pack of mutants away from the crew—all so I could enter Eden alive. And now, he wanted to hand it to Chloe. "Luna," Garrett pressed, his voice tight, his eyes refusing to meet mine. "Chloe can't hold on much longer. You know how fast the T-3 virus spreads. Necrotic spots are already forming on her skin. If she doesn’t get the shot now..." "And what about me?" I cut him off, my voice hoarse, barely recognizable. "I have Stage Three radiation sickness. The medic told me I have three days to live at most. Can I afford to wait?" Garrett froze, his brow furrowing into that familiar, troubled scowl. I knew that look all too well. Over those 1,111 days, every time he had to choose between Chloe and me, he wore that exact expression—as if the entire universe were forcing his hand, as if he were the tragic victim trapped in an impossible dilemma. "You're different," he finally muttered, his voice heavy with rehearsed solemnity. "Luna, you're stronger than Chloe. You're stronger than all of us. Just wait two days. Once I cure her and settle her in, I swear on my life I'll come back out to get you." As he spoke, his right thumb subconsciously rubbed the left wristband—a tarnished, rusted scrap of metal I had forged for him on the day of our wasteland wedding. What a joke of a vow. "Garrett, please... don't fight with Luna because of me," Chloe's weak voice piped up right on cue. She leaned against another team member, face pale as chalk, eyes red like a frightened rabbit. She lifted a trembling hand, her fingertips already darkening with the early signs of mutation. "It's my fault... I shouldn't have been so reckless, sneaking out to find fresh water... Cough... Let Luna go inside. I... I can wait for the next run..." "The next run?" Carter snapped immediately. He was Garrett’s second-in-command and his most loyal dog. "Chloe, don't talk crazy! Once the T-3 virus kicks in, there is no next time!" Garrett's expression hardened even further, tinged with irritation directed at me—as if my mere existence was guilt-tripping this pure, selfless girl into sacrificing herself. Carter rubbed his hands together and stepped forward with a troubled grimace, his eyes darting toward my bulging backpack. "Luna, there's another thing... What about your military-grade nutrient booster? Chloe is completely drained, and she needs the strength to pass the gate health check. Can you let her have it first? I mean, once you're inside Eden, supplies are everywhere anyway." My spine stiffened. That booster was the last legacy my dying mentor left me—synthesized using pre-collapse military tech. It sustained vital organ function and kept radiation sickness at bay. I had guarded it with my life, never daring to use it even when starving, only opening the seal to lick the condensation inside the cap at dawn. "Carter!" Garrett barked half-heartedly, offering no real pushback. I looked at him, waiting for him to say one word in my defense. He avoided my eyes, his Adam's apple bobbing before he said in a low, grim rumble, "Luna, look at the big picture. Chloe genuinely needs the nutrients right now. Give her yours first... When we get inside, I'll find you something better." It wasn't even a question. It was an order. Taking that as permission, Carter stepped in while I stood frozen. With a practiced click, he unbuckled my side pouch—a lock-picking technique I had personally taught him when he promised to protect me. Now, he used it against me. He pulled out the silver vial, its metallic shell catching the cold glare of the Sanctuary’s spotlights. "Thanks, Luna!" Carter let out a sigh of relief and turned to hand it to the female medic tending to Chloe. The movement was so smooth, as if it had belonged to Chloe all along. Chloe bit her bloodless lip, fresh tears welling up. "How can I take this... That's Luna's... I can't..." "Just take it!" Garrett's tone was firm, laced with raw affection. He took the vial himself, unscrewed the cap, and carefully guided it to Chloe’s lips, feeding her like a fragile songbird. Only then did he look back at me, his eyes dead and calm. "Luna, supplies can always be replaced. People come first. Be sensible." People come first? Did people come first, or did Chloe come first?I let out a laugh. It sounded hollow and broken, but nobody cared. "Captain's right, Luna. You're tough as nails. You can handle two days out here." "Chloe got infected trying to find water for all of us. We have to have a conscience..." "It's just two days! It'll pass in a blink. When has Garrett ever broken a promise?" Carter avoided my gaze, pretending to inspect his gear. Leo, the youngest member of the squad, shuffled over. Three months ago, mutant rats had swarmed him; I nearly died dragging him back to safety. Now, he couldn't even look me in the eye. "Luna... don't make things hard for Garrett. Chloe's coughing up blood. Her necrotic spots are spreading. Your radiation... it isn't fatal right this second. Garrett loves you. He just... has no other choice." I stared at him until he shrank back into the crowd, muttering an apology. Slowly, I pushed myself to my feet. Almost instantly, Garrett's hand dropped to his holster—resting on the vintage modified handgun I gave him as a wedding gift when we first teamed up. He gripped it, hesitated, then relaxed his fingers, but his gaze remained razor-sharp and guarded. "There's only one dose of antidote serum," I said, enunciating every syllable. "And I'm not giving it to you." Garrett's pupils constricted. "Luna, stop throwing a tantrum. Chloe really—" "I said no," I cut in. "I traded my parents' relics for this. I traded half my life for it. If you want it, Garrett, you'll have to take the rest of my life along with it." The air turned dead quiet. Ten yards away, the Sanctuary checkpoint guards raised their rifles slightly. The team exchanged uneasy looks, subtly shifting their footing to encircle me. The last shred of guilt on Garrett's face vanished, replaced by an icy resolve I had never seen before. It made my head spin. Was this really the man who had held me close against the freezing winds, promising we'd build a real home together? "You can't be this selfish!" he raised his voice, ensuring everyone could hear. "Chloe risked her life to find clean water for our team! She could have stayed safe in the outer zone! And what about you, Luna? All you’ve done this entire trip is calculate your own gains and losses! Without me, you wouldn't even know which way the gates of Eden opened! If Chloe dies out here, none of us will ever forgive you!" "So," I heard my own voice come out terrifyingly calm, "it's my fault she's dying?" "You're forcing our hand!" he snarled, throwing his arm out. "Carter! Leo!" Carter and Leo lunged forward, pinning my arms from both sides. They didn't hold back. The sheer force ripped open the unhealed gash on my right arm. Hot blood soaked through the bandage, blooming dark across my filthy hazmat suit. "What the hell are you doing?! Get off me!" I screamed, thrashing with all my might, but more teammates swarmed me. The very people I had shared rations with, stayed up on night watch for, and pulled out of mutant jaws... they pressed down on my shoulders and legs without an ounce of remorse, slamming me against the frigid armor plate of the transport truck. My cheek grated against the rusted metal. The metallic stench of rust and dust filled my nose. Garrett knelt down and reached for my combat boot—where my father's titanium dagger was strapped. Engraved with the words "Everlasting Moon", it was one of the few pre-collapse melee weapons still intact. "I'll hold onto this for now," he said smoothly, slicing the strap and pulling the dagger free. His fingertips brushed over the dried, ancient bloodstain on the hilt—my father's blood. "It's dangerous out here. You'll just act rashly if you keep it."Dangerous out here? How laughable. He knew full well the radiation clouds were gathering. He knew nightfall brought mutant hordes. He knew a lone survivor left in the wasteland had less than a ten percent survival rate. Yet he confiscated my only weapon as casually as taking a toy from an unruly child. He slid the dagger into his own boot, stood up, and looked down at me pinned against the metal. "Hold her still," he commanded. Zip-ties bit savagely into my wrists, tearing skin and drawing blood. With my face mashed against the truck, all I could see was rusted metal and dirt. "Luna, let go," Garrett’s voice drifted down, low and threatening. "Don't make me say it twice." My right hand was clamped over my chest pocket, fingers curled tight around the inner lining, knuckles bone-white. The cold glass vial pressed against my palm. I had paid 1,111 days of my life for this, endured sleepless horrors, searing radiation flare-ups, and the humiliation of begging in black markets. A flicker of hesitation crossed Garrett's eyes. But just then, Chloe burst into another fit of violent coughing. A trickle of dark blood spilled from the corner of her lips. She looked up at him, tears streaming down her face. "Garrett... don't... don't hurt Luna... I can bear it..." Her voice was faint, as if every syllable cost her last breath, yet loud enough for everyone to hear. "To die this close to Eden... is enough for me... Let Luna go inside... She’s been with you for so long... She deserves a good life..." "Look at her!" Garrett's eyes went bloodshot—whether from fury, heartache, or putting on a show for the others, I didn't care. He bent down, practically hissing into my ear, his voice carrying clearly across the yard: "She's coughing up blood! The necrosis is spreading! She's dying! How long are you going to hoard that vial?! Your life matters, but hers doesn't?!" He grabbed my wrist. My wrists were slender; he could wrap his fingers around them with ease. Once, he used to hold my wrist gently, whispering, "'It's so delicate, I'm scared I'll break it. I have to protect you.'" Now, he used full force. Blinding pain shot through my arm. I clamped my jaw shut, refusing to cry out. He used joint-locking techniques from combat training, prying my fingers back one by one. I heard my own finger joints pop under the strain, groaning like brittle twigs. "Let go, Luna! Let go!" "Garrett... you will regret this..." I hissed through gritted teeth. He paused for a microsecond, a fleeting tremor in his gaze, but it was quickly swallowed by cold cruelty. "You're the one who should regret this! If you had handed it over earlier, we wouldn't have had to do this!" He snapped my last finger back and ripped the vial from my grasp. Under the collective gaze of the team, he dropped to one knee before Chloe. It was the exact pose he had used when he proposed to me. With infinite tenderness, he positioned the needle against the blackened, bulging veins of her neck. He handled her like priceless porcelain—a brutal contrast to the way he had just broken my fingers. "Hang in there, Chloe. It'll be over in a second," his voice was so soft it could melt stone. The needle sank into her skin. Chloe let out a tiny wince, her brow knitting. "Did that hurt?" Garrett asked immediately, his thumb gently smoothing over the injection site in an instinctive act of comfort."No... it doesn't hurt," Chloe replied, ducking her head with bashful adoration. "Good girl." Garrett patted her head. "It's getting late. Let's head inside." The checkpoint scanner swept across Chloe's neck. A green light flashed: "Viral infection suppressed. Window: 12 hours. Temporary quarantine permit granted." Garrett exhaled in relief, helped Chloe up, and turned toward the gate. "Can we go in now?" The gatekeeper glanced at me, battered on the ground. "What about her?" Everyone looked at me. Their eyes held pity, impatience, indifference—anything but remorse. Garrett finally looked back. His gaze was complicated, but his voice was ironclad: "She stays outside. In two days, I'll come back personally to get her." He paused, giving me one last condescending reassurance. "Luna, you can take care of yourself, right? Wait for me." The sun was sinking fast, casting long, bloody shadows across the ruins. Golden light gleamed mercilessly off the alloy perimeter walls. Slowly, I raised my left hand, staring at the plain silver band on my ring finger. In the dying light, the engravings on the inside of the ring pulsed with a faint, imperceptible blue glow. My mentor's raspy last words echoed in my mind: "The iris key... verify every day at sunset... otherwise..." I looked up, meeting Garrett's eyes, and let a faint, chilling smile pull at my lips. "Right," I heard myself say, eerily calm. "I can take care of myself." "And all of you..." I paused, my gaze sweeping over Garrett, Chloe, and every familiar yet monstrous face, "...had better take care of yourselves, too." Garrett frowned, not catching the hidden threat in my words. But the massive blast doors were grinding open, revealing the warm light and filtered air of Eden. He didn't hesitate. Arm around Chloe, he walked forward into the light of paradise. The team followed in single file. Not a soul looked back. As Carter passed, he quickly shoved the painkiller he had taken from my pack into my bloody hand. His lips moved, but all that came out was a barely audible "I'm sorry," before he scurried inside like a frightened rat. The heavy blast doors slammed shut with a deafening boom. The sound swallowed the last sliver of twilight, severing the two worlds. Darkness engulfed me. I leaned back against the freezing metal wall and opened my left hand. The blue glow from the silver ring flared brighter, projecting tiny, razor-sharp holographic letters across my palm: [Iris Verification Window: Sunset (Remaining: 00:58:47)] [No Valid Key Detected] [Self-Destruct Protocol Primed] The countdown had begun. In the distance, wasteland winds howling with radioactive dust whipped against the steel gate, like the breathing of a colossal beast waking from slumber. I tightened my grip around the cold painkiller vial. I didn't inject it. I just felt its solid glass edges. Then, I lifted my eyes to the towering, supposedly invincible alloy fortress, and toward the sky bleeding crimson above it. Under my silent watch, the timer ticked down. 00:58:46... 00:58:45...