Eve ran with Adler, Kohaku, and Kale through the camp that was once filled with life, but now the camp was like a gathering for the undead. Look right: there was a zombie. Look left: there was another zombie with a severed arm in its mouth. Everywhere they looked was like straight from a horror movie.
Eve glanced at Adler and asked, “Do you have any idea how this happened?”
Adler shook his head and added, “I was just looking for Kohaku like you guys and when I tried to ask one of those mercenaries for help, he just turned into a zombie and tried to take a chunk out of me.”
“Did you shoot him?” asked Kohaku. Adler groaned gripping the steel pole in his hand.
“I tried to, but my gun went crazy. Seriously, a gun shouldn’t be able to shoot by itself.”
Eve frowned saying, “The same thing happened to us. It was all Blaze’s doing.”
“Blaze, but isn’t she supposed to be on our side?” asked Adler with a raised eyebrow. Eve shook her head saying, “Not if she is a zombie.”
“She was turned?”
Eve nodded and added, “The way she looked. It looks like she has been a zombie for a long while.”
“Then how come she was normal when we talked with her last.”
Eve remained silent, not knowing how to answer. Eve suddenly saw one of the zombies approaching them and immediately summoned a pistol in her hand and fired at the zombie between the eyes. The zombie gave out a groan falling backwards onto the ground motionless.
“Is it safe for you to summon weapons?” asked Kohaku. Eve nodded.
“My weapons may look like machinery, but you must remember that it is my power and this is made by my User ability.”
“So doesn’t count?” asked Kohaku. Eve nodded and then shot at two more approaching zombies. She suddenly heard two more gunshots and looked toward one of the trees only to see Ivan cocking his gun.
Eve called his name and Ivan in turn gave a nod and fired at more zombies.
“Why isn’t his gun going crazy?” asked Adler as he looked at Ivan shoot at more zombies from a distance.
“Blaze mustn’t know his location yet,” stated Eve and then dropped her pistol as it disappeared.
Kohaku suddenly held his hand to Eve and demanded for a gun. Eve summoned a shot gun for him and Kohaku immediately gripped it shooting two zombies in the head with a smirk.
“That’s for taking my hat you bastards!”
Eve also handed a gun to Adler and Kale and then summoned a gun for herself. She fired at multiple zombies pressing her back against Kale’s. Kale didn’t seem to mind as he fired at more zombies with Eve’s summoned gun.
Ivan suddenly stood up and announced, “I see David approaching!”
“From where?” asked Eve with a loud voice. She saw Eve point north. She looked at that direction and indeed did see David approaching, but to her surprise she saw another male next to him or to be precise: David was dragging the male as the male covered his eyes with both hands. Eve took notice of the teenage boy’s clothes and gasped.
“David has a User with him,” stated Eve. The others followed Eve’s eyes noticing the boy.
As David got closer, they were surprised to hear the boy muttering, “I can’t see so it can’t activate” repeatedly like a chant.
When David reached them, he fired his gun at the zombies that were behind him and then tossed the boy toward Eve saying, “I found a User. Find out what you can from him, while we cover you.”
Eve nodded realizing that David wanted her to speak with the boy since they were both Users and with them being the same “kind,” she is more likely to get more information compared to the others.
Eve knelt before the boy, who continued to cover his eyes as the others protected them from the zombies and then asked, “How did you get here?”
“Bishoy teleported me here. Along with Blaze, Mary, and Mirage.”
“Mirage is here too?”
The boy nodded and lowered his hands, but his eyes still remained closed.
“Are you a User like me? You seem to know what I am talking about,” stated the boy.
“I am. My name is Eve, User Number 45.”
“I see. My name is Chronos, User Number 2.”
“I’ve heard of you, you are a User that can see the past, but you can’t control it and blurt out peoples’ past secrets when you see them.”
“That’s true. That’s why I refuse to open my eyes for now. I also heard about you, but not about your power. Can you tell me?”
“Weapon summoning, but I need you to tell me something very important right now. You were teleported here before my companions and I. Was the camp already like this when you got here?”
Chronos shook his head.
“It was quite lively when we appeared here. We were tired and hungry, so the mercenaries gave us food and shelter, but…but if only we knew how wicked they were.”
“Wicked?”
“They drugged the food and then…poor Blaze and Mary. We couldn’t do anything to stop it. Mirage…he went crazy when Blaze and Mary were shot after being used. He summoned an illusion so terrifying that the men went crazy and began shooting each other and then they all turned and the camp became like this. Blaze and Mary were also turned after they were bit. They were suffering so much from the shot and the bite and Mirage and I could only watch.”
“Then what happened?” asked Eve with traces of tears in her eyes.
“I wanted to run away, but Mirage forced me to stay saying he needed me. He wanted to make an illusion using the zombies. To make a camp where Blaze and Mary were OK and the men weren’t monsters. A place we should have been in to find peace.”
Eve clenched her fist and asked, “Where is Mirage now?”
“I don’t know. After he placed a tree illusion over me, so I wouldn’t be attacked, he just vanished, but he is still here if the illusion is here.”
“Was there a reason for my companions and I to be here?”
Chronos nodded saying, “Mary and Blaze get hungry often, so he wanted to feed them.” Eve frowned and then placed a hand on Chronos’s shoulder.
“What is happening here is wrong, so please help us fight. Help us stop Mirage,” stated Eve with determination in her voice. Chronos clenched his fists saying, “I know you mean well, but Mirage is my friend…I can’t.”
They suddenly all heard the tank and looked in the direction of the sound, only to see a ball of fire coming toward or to be more precise: toward the zombies that were approaching them. They all ducked and Ivan jumped out of the tree to all take cover.
The ball of fire connected to the zombies sending dead flesh flying.
“Looks like we came in time!” stated the familiar voice of Blaze. Eve glanced at Blaze on top of the tank, but instead of showing a relieved face, she showed a face of sadness.
“You’re Blaze right?” asked Eve. Blaze cocked her head at Eve as the tank stopped in front of her group and stated, “Of course, I’m Blaze. Who else could I be funny girl?” Eve clenched her fists as her summoned weapons vanished.
“Then can you tell us why we saw a zombie who looks like you and even has your power.”
Blaze chuckled saying, “That’s ridiculous.” She then looked at Mary who stood next to her saying, “Isn’t that right Mary?”
Mary nodded saying, “I have to admit that it sounds strange.”
David suddenly growled yelling, “Don’t bull crap us! Your buddy here told us everything. We know that you died in this camp and were turned, so fess up.” Blaze and Mary’s smile suddenly faded and glared toward Chronos.
“So you told them?” asked Blaze.
“I did.”
“Why would you do that when we are friends?”
“They needed to know the truth, especially since the illusion faded.”
Blaze sighed scratching the back of her head.
“That’s a bummer, but Blaze and Mary do need to eat, so I will forgive you if you grab that User girl for me,” stated Mary this time. Chronos gulped and held Eve’s wrist muttering an apology.
Eve frowned and then looked up at Blaze and Mary.
“What do you plan to do with the others?”
“As I said, Blaze and Mary need to eat so those guys will be the meal,” stated Blaze. Eve growled and whipped her hand away from Chronos’s hold and then rushed at the tank.
“I won’t let them die!” yelled Eve and began to climb the tank. Eve was swift and made it to the top making Blaze and Mary cringe. Many would expect for Eve to strike Blaze and Mary, but instead, she gripped the hatch.
“GET OUT OF THERE MIRAGE!”
Area 40 Facility
Staff: 90 (Dead) 0 (Alive)
Users: 4 (Alive) 6 (Dead) 35 (Unknown)
Genome Detention Center
Staff: 90 (Dead?) 0 (Alive)
Prisoners: 5 (Alive) 50 (Dead?)
School
Staff: 50 (Dead) 0 (Alive)
Students: 2 (Alive) 140 (Dead)
Mercenary Camp
Mercenaries: 0 (Alive) 25 (Dead)
World
About 50,000,000,000 (dead) others (Unknown)
Manga Hunter 