25 DAYS BEFORE THE REMATCH IN HALLOWSVILLE

  I thrust my hand through the gaping hole in my left pectoral.

  It showed up about an hour after Sunshine stormed out of the banana guy’s room, and Angela had been doing everything to figure out what happened. The Spider Baby used its power on my body again, and while the hole went away for a bit, it came back. After that, the theory that something somehow damaged me was brought up, so I was brought cups of radioactive blood to drink.

  Those didn’t work either. In fact, my Radius Ability didn’t even activate. That tingle I got whenever my body absorbed energy… was gone.

  Was this ‘cause of my new form, or did Jesus do something to me? If it was temporary, then I needed to find a way to get rid of this restriction. If it was permanent, then I was screwed.

  For now, all I could do was get my chest bandaged up and catch up with Angela until Kofi came down to the research facility. But for someone who’d usually go off the rails with our conversations, today she was a lot more simple. A lot more one word answers.

  “If you wanna talk about what happened with Sunshine, then don’t expect any thorough answers from me,” I said, watching the woman write down stuff on a sheet of paper. “It’s up to her to bring those things into light.”

  Angela stopped writing, but she didn’t look back at me. “You were too hard on her, Jerome. Clearly, you’re not going to tell me what she did wrong, but she did a lot of things to bring you here. That’s gotta be worth something.”

  I gripped the spot where Jesus had stabbed me. “You didn’t experience what I experienced, Angie. You didn’t see what I saw. You didn’t see her face at that moment.” I paused. “After coming back to the hospital that day and finding out about Victoria, I thought I had nobody. And then you introduced me to Sun, and I realized I still had somebody left. And then she did what she did, and I realized I still had nobody. I knew trusting anybody could backfire, but my own daughter?”

  “She’s still your daughter, Jerome.”

  “That doesn’t make it ok and that doesn’t erase what happened,” I replied sternly, making a fist. “Sure, I’m fine now. Sure, I still love her and I’ll still take care of her. But what I needed then was family, someone I could wholeheartedly trust… and she abandoned me. And I will never forgive her for that.”

  It took thirty seconds for Angela to respond back. “Were there women in the afterlife?”

  “Wh-what?” I exclaimed, flinching.

  My friend spun around in her office chair until she faced me. There were stars in her eyes. “They say when you die or have a near-death experience, you see all the things that make you happy. Like for me, I’d see cupcakes, and rainbows, and kids. For you, wrestling stuff, family-” She smirked. “Women.”

  I caressed my beard. “I didn’t see any women. But, uh, I did see myself. As a kid. Very freaky experience, but learned a lot from it.”

  Angela rolled over to me in her chair. “One of my girl friends had an experience like that. Apparently, it’s said you see yourself as a child after going through something traumatic or life-changing. And they just stare at you, as if judging you for living your life the wrong way… Or something like that. My friend got high a lot.”

  I chuckled. “Well, kid Jerome actually spoke to me. And I’ve been through forty-three years of traumatic shit, so I’m surprised he didn’t talk to me sooner.”

  “Oh, don’t be dramatic,” she laughed, holding my hand. “Your mom died when you were eight.”

  “Yeah, you’re right. Thirty-five years it is.”

  “Um, you’re still stretching it quite a bit.”

  I had no idea what she meant by that. “I only said thirty-five ‘cause that stuff happened thirty-five years ago.”

  Angela’s smile disappeared, and then her eyebrows lifted. “You mean… twenty-five years ago.”

  “Huh. I guess doctors aren’t as good with math as they are with science. Forty-three minutes thirty-five is eight.”

  “Yeah, if you were forty-three. You’re thirty-three, so twenty-five years.”

  I sighed, patting the confused doctor’s head. “The stress of what happened to me must’ve screwed up your brain a little. When’s the last time you’ve gotten sleep?”

  “Hey, I have a perfect sleep schedule!” she shouted in my face. “And that’s not the problem here. What year were you born in?”

  “1991, obviously.”

  “And yet, you wholeheartedly believe that you’re forty-three? What’s 2024 minutes forty-three?”

  “198-” I froze. An explosion went off in my mind, clearing the cobwebs filling my mind. In that instant, I felt like an old man riddled with dementia who just remembered the random girl in his room fixing his bed was actually his daughter.

  “I’m… I’m sorry,” I murmured, grabbing my head.

  “Woah, what are you saying sorry about?” Angela asked, leaning in closer. “Weren’t you, like, joking?”

  “I-I actually forgot my own age. I thought I’ve been forty-three for fucking years. I mean, Jesus, I can’t even do simple subtraction now?”

  A cruel thought came up. Did Sunshine use her Mind Trick on me? She certainly had the power to do so. After all, she manipulated me into thinking an entire month had passed. And into forgetting she still had a tracker in her body, and that marijuana I stole for her, and all the suspicious shit Jesus said to me.

  But my kid couldn't have used it before we even met Jesus. She didn't even know what it was until Dante forced us to go to Underground City.

  Suddenly, there was a sharp pain in my neck. I slapped my hand on it, realizing Angela had sliced away a piece of me with a scalpel.

  Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

  “Why? What was the point of that?” I asked, befuddled.

  “Need it for some testing,” she said, smiling. “You don’t mind, right? It’s for something really important.”

  I groaned. “Did you really have to use your aura for that? I’m sure you could’ve just cut me normally.”

  “Huh? I didn’t use any aura. I’m not really good at that yet.”

  No aura? But then how did I feel pain from a normal cut?

  I thought back to the brief summary Sunshine gave me and remembered she mentioned something about me being in between human and zombie. If I wasn’t either one of those, then what was I?

  “Anyways, if you really thought you were forty-three, then you must’ve thought I was forty…” She frowned. “Do I look old to you?”

  “Of course not. And you know what? Even if you were a forty year old, then you look real damn good for one.”

  The doctor grabbed my chin and checked each side of my face. “Yeah, you don’t look too bad yourself.”

  “I don't taste too bad either,” I said jokingly.

  She playfully shoved my face away and rolled back to her desk. “Never change, Je-Romeo.”

  Right when I thought I could have a moment of peace, another round of pain sent a shock through my whole system like a lightning bolt. My fingers twitched, attempting to absorb the crackling electricity paralyzing me.

  Once again, it was to no avail.

  It wasn't until Angela turned around that the white-hot flash dispersed, leaving my body a smoking mess.

  Someone laughed. Like a hyena.

  Angela showed more concern for my pained state, running up to check on me. “Jerome, are you ok?”

  “Ha! Roasted like a turkey on Thanksgiving dinner!”

  Kofi had made an electrifying return, holding Sunshine in his hand.

  “You… little… prick,” I growled, slowly regaining my bearings. “I should knock your damn jaw off! What was that for?”

  “You didn't absorb my attack, did you?” Kofi asked.

  “No, I didn't. But if you wanted to know about my current condition, you could've asked nicely.”

  “That's not fun,” he said, smiling. “I thought you'd have this crazy reawakening, but I guess you need a refresher, after all.”

  Angela went for an uppercut on the smiling hyena, but he dodged gracefully. Touching her arm, the woman's body trembled, causing her to retreat back to her desk.

  Angela pouted, pointing her scalpel at him. “Didn't I tell you not to fool around in this building, Kofi!? Why do you have to be so annoying?”

  “Because I'm the strongest.” Last time I heard someone with that much confidence, their head ended up in another man’s head. “Now, it's my personal duty to whip these guys and gyals into shape. But first-” He dropped Sunshine onto the floor. “Delivery for Dr. Angela Angels!”

  My daughter stayed on the floor for a couple seconds, as if waiting for someone to pick her up. Sunshine glanced at me and, after realizing I was looking back, jumped up. Her little feet rushed to Angela’s side, hiding behind her leg.

  “Make sure that tracker comes out, Angie. I’m counting on you.”

  She shook her head, strands of electricity flying out of her hair. “Well, I won’t be the one doing the surgery. Dr. Banana will. But I'll be right by his side, so you have nothing to worry about.”

  The fact that Angie implied I'd have to worry if she wasn't by his side was worrying. But I disregarded that, gave her a thumbs up, and nodded.

  ********

  Kofi was leading Sunflower and me straight into the middle of a firefight between the local Resource Adventurers and a group of bandits who’d stolen something valuable from them.

  The Manhattan side where the research facility sat was usually pretty safe, even with zombies and hungry animals lurking around every corner. Kofi had vaporized almost everything the Adventurers considered a threat over the past few weeks, so they’d been using the facility without any problems.

  Too bad our new trainer didn’t take us down that nice, safe route. Nope. He had a better idea. According to him, the best way to learn was to march straight through the most dangerous, chaotic part of the city and make us kill everything in our way.

  I didn’t have too much trouble—besides my energy absorption still being dead as hell—but Sunflower had to be saved more than once. A lot more than once. Just like Sunshine and me, she was struggling with her Radius Ability too. And that was a huge problem for our plans against Jason.

  In fact, that was the only reason she tagged along: to figure out what the hell happened. ‘Cause I certainly didn’t, but there was someone who probably did.

  “Hey, Electro,” I called out to Kofi, who was riding on the back of a dog he had “tamed”. “You got us fighting these monsters and you’re taking us to beat these bandits, but what does any of this have to do with our current predicaments? And our training?”

  “Ooo, ‘Electro’!” he exclaimed, smiling at me. “I like that nickname. If you’re gonna call me that, then I’ll call you… ‘weak loser’.”

  “That’s an insult — not a nickname!”

  “He’s not wrong though,” Sunflower cut in, folding her arms. “Without our powers, we’re no better than humans.”

  “Don’t worry, kid. We’ll get your powers back,” I assured, patting her head.

  “You might be no better than a human, but gyal, you still got your aura to train.”

  “You mean that green stuff around Sunshine’s body? What is that anyway?” she asked Electro.

  He showed us his hand, aura enshrouding it like fire burning skin. “Think of it as, uh… life energy. It powers you up. Put it in your hands, and you can break rocks. Put it in your legs, and you’d give cheetahs a run for their money. Every Radius Ability user can have it, but not everyone knows how to use it. You already have it though, Sunflower.”

  “She does?” I smiled it at her. Smiling was something I could do now after taking on this new form and it felt nice. “That’s awesome. Proud of you.”

  “Uh, yeah,” Sunflower said dryly, blushing. “But how do you know I already have it?”

  “That giant rose you created was brimming with it,” Kofi answered, turning his aura off. “Blasted me back when I tried burning it. Only way it could do that is if there were strong emotions behind that. And it looked like your zombie friend was the cause of that.”

  “Ah, I see,” I said, hugging Sunflower with one arm. “Looks like you cared about me a lot, huh?”

  “Don’t get so cocky, old man!” she shouted, trying to push me off. “I was thinking about lots of things! Not just you…”

  It still confused me as to why Rosalina would willingly go back to someone like Michael Corleone and his family. If it was mind control, then I’d make sure to break it. If it wasn’t, well, shit, I’d find another way then.

  “What about me, Electro?” I asked, letting go of the girl. “How am I gonna get stronger?” Since I was still technically a zombie, aura was out of the picture. Absorbing other Type Twos was also a no go. Not only were they hard to find, but if they were as strong as Incinivon, then I needed other training options.

  “Oh, you’re just gonna eat people.”

  Kofi’s words hit me like a train, and I nearly tripped on the absurdity of that sentence. “Are you crazy!? I'm not eating anyone!”

  He gave me a confused look. “What? You got a tummy ache or something? Ate too many humans before today?”

  “I haven't eaten any humans.”

  “You're weird. Isn't that what your kind does?”

  “I’ve met a Type Two that does, and I realized I never want to be like him.” I touched my chest. There was still no heartbeat. “On the outside, I'm a zombie. But on the inside-”

  “You're still a zombie,” Kofi interrupted. “So just act like one. If you wanna get stronger, that is. And it's not like I'm asking you to eat some random ‘innocents’. The bandits you're about to fight are thieves. Murderers. Bad guys. And you're, like, a good guy, right? Think of it as some hero shit.”

  “Cannibalism is ‘hero shit’?”

  “It’s not cannibalism. You’re a zombie!” He groaned. “Look, the Underground Radius saw your work in Boomsbarrow back when I was still closely involved. You saved all those weaklings from a bad guy, so you’re like a hero or something. Think of this like you saving my weaklings from multiple bad guys. How yuh cyaan understand dat?”

  “Yeah, just see people you think are assholes as lesser than human. Like those animals you eat,” Sunflower suggested with cruelty. “I mean, if I were you, that’s what I’d do.”

  I guess it made sense for her to have that mindset. She had been surrounded by shitty people her whole life.

  But I wasn’t.

  Eating radioactive beasts was like eating chicken, or turkey, or beef. Humans had thoughts, emotions, and could actually speak. How the hell could I go from speaking and chilling with them in school, juvie, or the barber shop to devouring them like they were candy?

  It was strange that Kofi was so desperate for me to do that kind of stuff, despite playing for the enemy team.

  “Hey, Electro, why are you training us in the first place?” I asked, suspicious. “Even if someone told you to do it, you don’t seem like the type to do what others say. And you’re with the Underground Radius, so don’t you want us dead? Or obedient to your cause?”

  He paused for a moment, and then looked forward. “You smell that?” He sniffed the air around him like a dog. “The smell of death clinging onto everything in this place. The smell of fear from all the weaklings that died here ten years ago. And… the smell of chaos. I think Sunshine living would make this world more fun than what it already is, more chaotic. Everyone’s fighting to either kill her or keep her alive. I think you, Jerome, going against the UR is also pretty fun. I like fun. I join whatever side is the most fun.”

  In other words, he wanted the exact opposite of what every survivor left in the New World wanted: peace. Probably not the best guy to let my daughters hang around.

  “This guy’s weird,” Sunflower whispered into my ear. Oh, yeah, I had my ears back now.

  “Also, I got kicked out of the UR. So making you weaklings stronger is the perfect payback against that black-eyed fuckface.”

  “How’d you manage to get fired, kid? You say something you weren’t supposed to? Steal anything?”

  “What? No!” Kofi denied, pouting. “I just realized that… I wasn’t as important as I thought I was. Dem couldn’t manage mi greatness, man. Dem neva deserve mi! Better to go where I’m appreciated, I guess.”

  “Good mindset,” I complimented, petting the “tamed” dog. “I remember when I was your age, if my boss at any of my jobs gave me shit, I’d quit right there on the spot. In front of everybody. Hell, even in juvie, I didn’t let any of those guards disrespect me.”

  “Oh, wow! We got a badass over here!” Kofi actually sounded genuinely intrigued. “I like how you think, old man.”

  “I’m not an old man anymore.” I smirked, rubbing my chin. “I just figured out I’m actually thirty-three with the help of an old friend.” I turned my head to Sunflower. “Which means you can stop calling me old.”

  She tilted her head and wrinkled her brows. “I’m glad you discovered more about yourself, but that doesn’t really change anything. You’re still old. The fact that you forgot your own age is a pretty old thing. Don’t tell me you got early dementia or something?”

  “You know, one of these days, you’re gonna have to put respect on my name.”

  The lighthearted conversation we had almost made me forget the purpose of our short journey, forget that we were walking in what used to be a bustling place before everything happened.

  The hanging bodies of Resource Adventures ahead of us snapped me back to reality.

  We stopped right before our feet stepped on the bear traps a few meters away. The Adventurers weren't so observant as they all had traps embedded in their legs, blood pooling beneath their feet.

  It was clear that the bandits did this, and the wooden sign they hung with the bodies made one thing clear:

  “YOU WILL DIE PAST THIS POINT”