(Flashback)
Larry's POV
55 years ago
Larry ran through his parents' field in their backyard, playing tag with his family friend named Jasmine. "You're not going to catch me!" Larry yelled, running faster. He heard, "That's what you think, but don't you know there's a shortcut where you're going?" He listened to his friend's voice way closer than he thought. He didn't turn to his left and saw Jasmine jumping right towards him. They both tumbled to the ground, and Jasmine yelled, "Tag, you're it!" They both just laughed. They always did this. They played tag in many different ways because, to be honest, it was the only thing to do. All the other games the other kids played were just too boring. The tag was the only interesting and best one, Larry thought to himself.
As he was getting up, his friend Jasmine, who was so unruly that he didn't know what to do with her, was always smart for his age. He's not like a 100,000 IQ level of intelligence; he just had above average. He's able to think like a 10-year-old. But sometimes he does act like a five-year-old. He's truly a five-year-old at heart.
"Larry, you always fall for the same tricks over and over again. Do you ever learn?" Jasmine asked, laughing. Larry thought she had the funniest laugh ever. When she started laughing, he just laughed because her laugh was so much funnier. There might be some days where they just laughed the entire day. They kind of drove both of their parents crazy, and that just made them laugh even louder.
"No, I don't!" Jasmine argued.
Both of them started arguing. They were going so much that Larry and Jasmine didn't notice that they were both at their secret hiding spot. It was just a tree that they called the Tree of Power. Jasmine named it herself, which Larry thought was weird, but he wouldn't lie, that name was pretty cool in his opinion. They argued for who knows how long, but eventually, they heard a voice in the distance yell out, "Jasmine, Larry, dinner's ready! Get your butts over here!" This made both of them stop mid-argument. Just like a switch flipped, the entire argument was forgotten, and they both ran over to Larry's house.
Jasmine's parents and she usually ate with them now and then, pretty often. He and Jasmine didn't know why they ate so often together. When he asked his mother, she just said they were just good friends, and that's what good friends do, always be together. Of course, Larry wasn't stupid. He knew there was another reason. He was always told to keep his head down when news of scary men came to the doorstep, ordering their living tax or payment or something. Larry didn't really understand it, but the thing that he did understand was his parents were always nervous with these men. Seeing his parents always nervous made him nervous too. One time, he heard his parents talk about these Nazi people and they were also talking about American soldiers. He didn't know what all these words meant, but they were worse. They kept note of it in his mind. He knew one thing, though. He'll always protect Jasmine, and Jasmine will protect him. That was how much they meant to one another, at least he thought so. Maybe that would change. I don't know, Larry thought.
He and Jasmine finally got to the door. Both his mother and Jasmine's mother were waiting for them. "Sorry we're late, Mama," Larry said, looking down.
"Yeah, me too," Jasmine then said to her mom.
His mom just sighed and grabbed his hand. "Come on, let's go. You know dangerous monsters work at night, right?" she said.
"Do they?" both he and Jasmine said, acting very scared.
"Yes, they will rip you up," his mother said. Using their big, meaty claws, Jasmine's mother just smiled and shook her head. "Mother, isn't it true that there are like scary monsters, right?" Jasmine said, trying to put on a brave face. When her mother's expression didn't change, that's what sealed the deal for both him and her.
"So, don't take too long, or you might get eaten up by that monster in the weeds. Understood?" Larry's mother said. They both nodded. "Good. Now let's go and get some dinner," she said, smiling.
Larry then saw his father enter through their front door, wearing his hat and trench coat, which was always covered in a strange red paint, as his father described it. He always threw away his black gloves; they were always covered with the stuff. But every time, his hat was never covered in that red stuff. Regardless, his father put his hat and his trench coat on the racks.
"Hello, hun, and hello, kiddo," he said, holding out his hands, wanting him to give him a hug, which Larry didn't need to think twice about. He went and hugged his dad, as that always made them feel safe and confident.
"Please tell me the story Mama told wasn't true," Larry asked his father, which made his father confused. "What are you talking about, son? What story?" He looked at his wife weirdly. She just smiled, and both of them had a silent conversation just by staring at one another.
"Your mama told you about the monster in the cornfield?" his father asked.
"Yeah, it's super scary. Does that actually exist, Papa?" he asked.
His father just gave a smile. "Oh yes, they do exist. But don't worry, they won't attack here or harm you or your mother, 'cause I'm here, and I'll protect you both, as well as you guys, respectively," he said, looking at both Jasmine's parents. "That is why I'm here," his father said honestly.
Larry never knew what that meant, and to be honest, he didn't pay attention to it that much. Maybe he should have in hindsight.
"So, anyway, let's go get some grub. You know, if you want to be as tall as me, you have to eat all your vegetables, fruit, as well as meat, to get as big as me," his father said, poking his stomach, making Larry giggle because every time anyone poked his stomach, he would feel a ticklish sensation that made him giggle.
"Okay, father," Larry quickly said, running towards one of the seats. He sat right next to Jasmine, and every time he could remember, he always had the mashed potatoes surprise, and Larry loved it every time they had it. You didn't know what you were getting next.
Larry was too busy eating to listen to the conversation that the adults were having, but he did overhear it. "How has your work been? Were you able to catch it yet?" Jasmine's father said, sounding afraid.
Larry's father gave an expression of sadness. "No, that thing's really hard to track. It's probably the hardest thing I've ever tracked in my entire career. But don't worry, when I say I'll kill it, that means I'll kill it," Larry's father said confidently.
"So, what even is it?" Jasmine's mom asked, concerned.
Larry's father looked around. "How about we talk about this more after dinner is done?" his father quickly suggested, not wanting Larry to know as much as possible.
Larry was snapped out of his eating frenzy by loud, hard three knocks. It made Larry and Jasmine scared, as well as both of their mothers, and their fathers, too, until they were scared, too, but they were able to hide it. Both of them came towards the door, looking through the door's eyehole.
"S***It's the Nazis. Quickly, John, take you and your daughter and wife to the hiding spot near the cellar," Larry's father whispered urgently. Jasmine's family quickly went over to where his father instructed them. Larry was even more scared. What are these Nazis? Are they the monsters that his mother was talking about? Or are they the monsters in the cornfield? He didn't quite know, but he did want to find out.
When his father opened the door, this set into motion events that would change his life forever. "Hello, can I help you?" his father said, trying to sound joyous in a thick accent that Larry could barely understand. One of the three guards said, "We heard some reports of you hiding some Jew refugees. Please tell me this isn't the case, sir," the Nazi soldier asked, as he was the one in the front.
The hilarious thing was, that this one was the leader because he looked like the more authoritative type than the other two. He also had a cool hat. "I'm not sure what reports you got, but they're untrue. A lot of people have it out for us. We're very disliked and very poor. What reason would we have to even think about hoarding some refugees? We all know Hitler is our Lord and savior, right?" his father said.
"Who is this Hitler man? They never worshiped him," Larry thought. His dad was lying. He knew when his father was lying; every time he lied, he always tapped his foot two times. The one in the middle squinted at him, checking out his story and seeing if it was a lie or not. It seemed like he bought it because he smiled. "Alright, I guess I'm sorry to bother you guys. You seem like great folk. We'll be gone."
They were about to leave, and then they heard a bump from the floorboards. That made both him and his parents jump, and then that made the Nazis suspicious again. "What was that bump now, sir?" the leader of the Nazis said, super suspicious.
"It was a shelf coming out of its nails, you see," his father lied again.
"I think I'll be the judge of that. I think we will come in here now," the man said, coming into the house. His father said nothing. "Can I interest you guys with some tea?" then his mother said, as nervous as his father. He always admired them for keeping their fears. She would always cry if he ever got scared, well, he usually cried for a lot of things, but he always cries when he's scared or pees himself.
"No, that will be fine, Miss. We're just going to check something real quick, and then we'll be off," the Nazi leader reassured. They came to the door which led to the basement. The Nazi soldier quickly opened the door for his leader. The leader walked down; the other two stayed upstairs, keeping an eye out. Nothing happened for a few moments, and he came back upstairs. Both of his parents were surprised but relieved. But Larry knew something wasn't right here. The Nazi leader was different somehow. He didn't know what it was, but he thought the leader had green eyes, but now his eyes were yellow, a bright pee yellow is how he could describe it. It looked like his father knew too. That's when he went over towards his coat, but it looked like he was going to get the door for them. "I told you, nothing was there. I'm glad I was able to relieve your dresses, though," he said, as joyous as he always had been.
Larry couldn't understand the strange situation. Larry could see he was grabbing something. His father said, "I guess we should be off." Larry then noticed he was walking weirdly. He was stiff; he wasn't that relaxed. It was like he was walking with legs made out of wood, just dragging the soles of his feet, like he made a stick guy made out of sticks, and the only way he could walk was if he moved it using a hand. That was basically how he was walking like there was a huge hand moving him. It was so freaky, and it made him grip his mother even more. Larry could tell the other soldiers noticed, but they weren't sure what to do in this situation.
That's when things happened fast. It first started with his father pulling out a weird object, and it fired with a thunderous sound. But then, before Larry knew it, everything went black. When he awoke, a person woke him up. It was Jasmine, and she was crying tears. That made Larry confused. "Why are you crying?" he asked.
"They're all dead. I saw Mommy and Daddy just... they protected me," she didn't know what else to say. Larry was just confused. "What are you talking about?" Larry said, getting up, and he saw the absolute bloodbath before him. He was also lying in it; he saw the red liquid, the red paint, coming out of his parents, the soldiers. The weirdest thing in the situation as well as it being horrifying was the leader was leaking a different color; it was yellow. And once was the Nazi leader, he was a white, inverted human. That's the only way he could describe it. They also had a large snout like a horse, but it also looked like a worm at the same time. They all had two black eyes. He didn't know what this thing was, and of course, he didn't care. He was just more terrified than anything else, as well as sad. He quickly pushed Jasmine to the side and came.
Toward his parents. They were both dead. "Mom, Dad, please wake up. Come on, it's not funny. You can't die. Come on, stop playing dead. Not funny," Larry said, trying to tell himself that this was an official, whole, big, bad nightmare until he woke up, or he hoped so. When reality took that, Larry just cried. Emily was just sitting there. It looked like she had already teared up enough. It looked like she was all empty. But Larry was crying his eyes out. Larry didn't know how long he was crying, but eventually, he couldn't feel anything. He couldn't feel sadness, happiness, pain, just nothing. This is just what Jasmine felt as well because Jasmine had the same expression he did: emotionless. All the emotions were out of them for now. They both held hands. "I guess we can't stay here. We need to get help or something," Larry didn't know what to do, but the thing he did know was he and Jasmine were here together. They'd be able to figure something out. They must if they're going to survive. They both walked out of the door of his house. He looked back, knowing this would be the last time he laid his eyes on it, and just maybe, he might come back someday.
(End of flashback)
Lee's POV
Lee and the others were running through the abandoned streets of Macon, Georgia. This was once his home, but now, to see it so run down and a shadow of its former self, hurt deep down. He knew he needed to keep his newfound family safe, and if that meant leaving this place behind, then so be it.
Kenny used to be to Lee's right, and Carly was on his left, while Mark was at the back. They had four of them as their scouting party. The reason why it was each four of them was that they were the most physically quick and able-bodied people back at the Motor Inn. Having more people watching your back is good but has risks. One time, Carly got cut up by shards of glass in a car crash. Luckily, Mark was able to cover her. That was a day they didn't want to remember. There were other close calls that day.
Lee thought as they walked down the abandoned, empty street, devoid of any walkers or dangerous monsters, "Lee, we might just hit our lucky day," Kenny said, sounding confident this time. Lee couldn't help but agree with his friend's answer, but they could not let their guard down after the dairy. Lee seemed to always be on edge, keeping up his guard. You could never know what would happen next.
"That's good to hear. Surely, we need a break after the two weeks we've had," Mark said, sighing in relief. Lee agreed with what Mark said. It had been a stressful week. Some of them almost died two weeks ago, and these two weeks seemed to be even worse, but in a different way than in the dairy.
"Well, you guys, let's not jinx ourselves. Let's get what we need and get out of here," Carly said, carrying Clementine's backpack. Lee was surprised when Clementine insisted and gave Carly her backpack for these runs. He was always so attached to that thing. Everybody just nodded in agreement with Carly and they kept walking.
All of them started playing around, looking inside the abandoned buildings, killing any struggling walkers they could find. Of course, they did not find anything inside the buildings. They had already looted this area. It would make sense that there would be nothing left. The only thing they hadn't looted as much was the pharmacy.
"We ought to just go and leave it all before the Jacks and Lagoons come and take it all. Those damn bandits, they keep attacking us every two days, but we manage to send them off every time. If it wasn't for Emily and Naruto Them off.
If they were all still alive, or maybe even worse off than they already were, Lee thought. "Did you find anything yet, Mark?" yelled Lee, cringing, wanting to see if any walkers were coming up behind them. Mark could be so reckless, but that's why they liked him. He's reckless, but his heart is in the right place. He's also a loyal friend, so they couldn't get too mad at him.
Luckily, it seemed like it was truly vacant. Not even a growl or even one walker scrambling about. There was just nothing. When he met up with the others, he was the only one who felt confused and nervous. This was very odd. Could this have to do with the bandits? That can't be. When Naruto retold his battle with Jackson, Naruto never mentioned he could control walkers. And if he could, why didn't he just attack the motor inn with a giant herd of them? So, this was truly odd. Maybe there's a delay or something.
"Hey, Earth to Lee, are you there, friend?" Kenny asked, snapping his fingers in front of Lee.
"Huh, sorry, thinking about something," Lee said, scratching his head, kind of embarrassed.
"Well, aren't you the one telling all of us to keep our heads? Seems like you should take your own advice, friend," Kenny said, giving a smile.
"Adam, shut up, man," Lee smiled. "My brother, you guys are such annoying pals," Carly said, smirking at all of them. It made them all chuckle. They found some chemistry ever since they started these runs. The more active, like pals taking drinks on the side of a highway, is how we could describe this relationship they all have now. One good thing came from these two weeks; it made their group way closer and more connected than ever before. Lee saw them as his family, and they viewed it as such as well.
There was still that eerie quietness around them. There should have been at least one walker that they came across, but no, there was just nothing. Lee may be thinking too much about it. Maybe this will go smoothly, Lee reassured himself.
They continued towards a giant truck that crashed into his parents' drugstore, blocking their way. Lee also noticed a Jeep to his right. Hopefully, they wouldn't need to use that. Knowing their luck, they might have to. And of course, there might be something useful in that vehicle. It was military.
Kenny was groaning because of the shot that Andy gave him during the motel. He was still not recovering from that as well as all of them expected he would. But it looks like he's pulling through, alright. "Everyone, I probably won't get the time to tell you guys this, but where are you guys' stances for leaving? You know, I've been posing this question a lot ever since the recent attack, and it pains me to say this, but we might have to leave," Kenny told everyone. They knew the answer to his question.
"We should go. The motel runs its course. I hate to say it, but that is the truth. Of course, if Jackson isn't going to let that keep him from attacking us, maybe we could shake him off by leaving. But who knows if that will even do any good," Lee said, pulling out his stance.
Kenny smiled. Mark thought about it for a moment. "Yeah, shoot, we should leave. Lee's entirely right. Jackson will not let this go. He's the type of person that will never give up and always hold a grudge, so he'll probably keep trailing us until the end of time or until we're all dead," Mark said grimly. "I'm not even sure how he's still alive. Naruto told us you literally obliterated him," Carly said, unable to wrap her mind around it.
"I'm just not sure. That's where I stand right now," Kenny said with a smile. He didn't even care that Carly pretty much abstained from the group. He got the majority, but Kenny knew they'd run away if it was their last resort. "You know that, right, man?" Lee wanted to remind him that his way might not be needed. It would be a last resort if needed. Kenny just gave him a frown.
He just sighed. "Well, I guess that's the best I'll get," Kenny said, now paying most of his attention to the obstacle before them, referring to the truck that was blocking their way. "I wonder how this thing got here," Mark had to ask, not wanting it to go back to dead silence. "It could be Jackson trying
Carly said, looking around alert. "Could be, but I seriously doubt it, though. We said Jackson isn't really the type to play mind games. He's more of a physical guy. Of course, I could be wrong. We just don't know that much about him. That's the problem. A few of his crimes could be anywhere, waiting to snipe at us."
Lee knew he must keep his cool for now. There are plenty of times to lose your cool, but this situation was not the time. As they were talking, Kenny was climbing up the ladder that was attached to the semi-truck. Carly followed suit, but she accidentally broke it when one of the things that was keeping it on the truck came off. She was able to get up, though.
Mark was going to go and climb it. Lee immediately stopped him. "Dude, do you really think you'll be able to get up that ladder before it comes apart?" Lee said, making Mark frown in disappointment.
"Come on, man, I'm smarter than that," Mark tried to defend himself, but Lee said nothing. He walked over to the ladder, grabbed it, pulled it off its placeholders, and then threw it to the ground. "Now do you see what I mean?" Lee said. Mark nodded. "Alright, you have a point," he relented, smiling. "Looks like we'll have to figure something else out."
Carly said, concerned for Lee and Mark, "How do you think you two are going to get up there?" Kenny then added, "Don't worry, me and Lee will find a way." Mark said, Lee couldn't help but smile.
They then started looking at the military Jeep, and even with both of them pushing onto the vehicle, they couldn't budge it. That's when Mark found some car wire. "This can probably have enough power to pull the car towards the truck, giving us a good platform to quickly get up towards the others," Mark suggested.
They both started pulling the wire, making it go a little faster. "Everyone, I have to get something off of my chest. After the dairy and what I suggested to do in there," he looked at Carly specifically. "Oh yeah, you weren't there. Well then, this will just be to Lee and Mark specifically. I felt so much regret about suggesting trying to kill Larry. That's all I could always think about. I'm always happy if I do it or something like that. I'm surprised he holds no ill will towards me because if I was in his position, I'd want to punch him," Kenny explained.
"Why are you worrying? It happened. We all do stuff that we aren't proud of," Mark said. "Will you remember what happened with him in the shed, and his wife? Who knows if she's still alive at this point? How did he know her? She was probably the first one, the first wave of them."
"What exactly happened in the meat locker? Nobody told me anything. Or Doug. Hell, not even Travis and Ben," Kenny said, his eyes shadowed by his hat.
"Are you sure you want to know?" Mark and Lee were all so very glum. They were also very close to getting towards one of the wheels of the truck. "Of course, I do. I wouldn't be asking you if I wasn't sure I wanted to know. What kind of question is that?" Carly said, feeling a bit betrayed.
Kenny told her the entire story of what happened in that meat locker. "I can't say I'm surprised. I always thought you were the type to kill a man just to get to your family. While I completely understand why you would go to that place to get some closure, Larry's an a******, but you are so close to losing your humanity. Be lucky you haven't," Carly said, not sure how to address Kenny.
Now, this was when Lee and Mark finally got the hook behind one of the wheels, and now they just needed to turn it on. So, Mark quickly ran over towards it to go and turn it on. When he flipped it, it immediately started working.
"Also, there's another thing," she looked at Mark specifically. "Kenny, I know we have this 'if you don't want to talk about it, we won't ask' policy, but it's been eating at me all week. Can you at least give me a detail of what happened, Mark?" Kenny asked.
"Come on, Kenny, you know the policy as much as all of us. Until Mark wants to say what happened, or Ben, we can't pry," Carly recommended.
"Sorry, I asked," Kenny said, frustrated. "You all don't want to know. Every day, I want to unsee what happened in that shed," Mark said, his voice filled with deep sadness. He quickly walked over to his friend and put a hand on her shoulder.
Shoulder, "Are you sure you don't want to talk about it?" Lee asked. Mark just gave a smile. "Maybe after we're done with the run, we can talk about our feelings. Not really the time and place for that right now, can we?" Mark said, back to his original self.
Both Mark and Lee got up on top of the military Jeep that was parked next to the semi-truck. "Oh yeah, Carly, how's Doug doing? They finally finished that prosthetic he's been talking about for weeks now," Lee asked.
"Yeah, he finished it. He finished it like two days ago. I'm pretty sure. They haven't got all the bugs out of it yet. There have been only a few attempts with the prosthetic, but Travis says it's working pretty fine for him," Carly updated Lee.
"That's good to hear," he said happily. "Travis has always been down. He might seem in high spirits, but we could tell he was sad. With this new prosthetic, he might see himself as useful again. He was always useful to the group regardless, without the prosthetic, but it seemed like the poor kid didn't see it that way. And I've been going to bed with Ben every step of the way, helping him get through that tragic loss. It looks like they had been getting closer this past week," Lee noticed.
As Lee was thinking about this, he was now giving Mark a boost. Both Kenny and Carly were able to lift him. Lee left himself to help with Kenny as well as Mark. They were able to pull him up. They were now all on top of the semi-truck, and Lee couldn't help but feel like something was going to go wrong.
That's when everybody heard a scream. They all then saw a woman coming out of one of the stores, followed by a lot of walkers. They were closing in on the woman. "Jesus, we need to help her," Lee said, getting ready with his Glock 19.
Mark grabbed his rifle from his back holster and used the scope to get a better look. "What do you see, man?" Lee asked, very unnerved by the scene, but also concerned. If that was a woman, then they had every right to help her.
"It is a girl, and she's being swarmed by a lot of them. She might not be able to make it if we don't do something quickly," Mark said urgently. "We need to help her, and quickly," Lee said.
"Everybody, wait a damn minute. This could be a good thing," Kenny said, getting a mischievous look. Lee knew what that look was. That was the same look he had when he got the right idea to try to put a salt lick into Larry's head.
"What do you mean this is a good thing? This is clearly not a good thing. This is a very bad thing that we're witnessing here," Carly said, alarmed by Kenny's face. Kenny was not deterred at all. "Think about it for a moment. If she's just yelling her lungs out, that will buy us more time to get the supplies we need. I'm not being an a******. I'm being smart here, okay? And if any of you guys have any sense, you will take my lead here," Kenny said, waiting for their decision.
"Well, Mark, this is going to be your call. You have the rifle, so you'll be the one either making a shot or not," Lee said, trusting in Mark. He knew who made the right decision, and if the right decision was his decision, and he didn't agree with it, then so be it, he thought to himself.
When Lee was witnessing Mark trying to make this decision, he could tell it was weighing on him. It looked like he was about to pull the trigger, but he then lowered his gun and, with a sad, hardening voice, "I can't do it. I don't know why, but I just can't kill anyone anymore," Mark said, disheartened.
"What do you mean you can't kill anyone? You're playing this girl off of misery. Think about what you're saying, Mark," Carly said, disappointed about Mark's decision. But she knew it made sense. Of course, Mark's reasoning didn't make any sense, but Kenny's logic made sense. It may not be morally right, but it's the most practical. They didn't know what to say. They just left her and went towards the pharmacy, getting ready to do their run and get any supplies that they needed. But Lee wasn't sure if this would have devastating consequences in the future, in some shape or form. He just hoped his group could deal with it when the time came.
(Flashback)
Mark's POV
2 weeks ago
Mark and Ben were walking through the forest, trying to look for this kid named Adam, the family they met with on the station wagon decided to help these folks find their missing son. But Mark didn't know if they could even see him. This forest was so big, and who knows how many walkers or other dangerous things were lurking in this forest. But he trusted his friend. He had survived this long with these people, so he might as well contribute for once. He wasn't sure about Ben, though. The thing was, Mark had not seen the kid so determined. He was always so sad all the time, or maybe it was his friend. There was no "truthfully injured" poor Travis losing his leg. Mark couldn't even imagine what he would do if he lost the one. He probably wouldn't survive, so would Travis be able to concentrate on his loss, Lynn? "Are you okay, kid?" Mark looked over towards Ben, who was startled. It seemed like the kid was in deep thought. Mark knew how that felt, being broken out of it so harshly. Trying to feel bad now, "Yes," he started very nervous. Mark didn't blame him. This forest was looking scarier and scarier as they trudged through it. But Mark knew he had to put on a brave front. Somebody had to, and the others were probably close by, so if they hollered, the others would probably come. Mark also felt confident that he and Ben could fend for themselves for a little bit. "How are you holding up, man? You just seem so eager to go on this trip. I thought you would be one of the first ones to chicken out," Mark said. Ben now had a somber expression on his face. "I just feel guilty about Travis and how he protected me against that man back at the dairy," Ben took a big gulp. He was probably remembering what was happening there at the dairy. It was horrible. Mark felt like he wouldn't have made it out.
Alive if Lee hadn't watched his back. I know how you feel, man. Trust me, I do. I'm glad you're taking more initiative," Mark said, smiling at the small teenager, maybe a young adult now. Ben was on the road to becoming a man. He remembers his road, hell, maybe he might still be on it. Who can know at this point? Ben just gave a tiny smile. "Thank you, that means a lot. I never thought people or strangers could be this kind and nice to me. They always just wanted to kill me or steal from us, or stuff in between." Mark said nothing. He knew something, a light in the distance. It looked like a building. He could barely make it out. There was a fog creeping in, making the atmosphere more ominous. It looked like they were in a cheap '80s horror movie or something. He was also listening to Ben and let him keep talking. At least the boy was keeping his spirits up. He saw a lot in the boy. He could tell under all of that cowardly, snot-nosed teenager exterior, lay something. He couldn't quite put it into words, let alone describe what he saw in the boy. His intuition was never wrong. Even Jackson himself was surprised at his intuition, so he always trusted his instincts. The thing about Ben was there's just something more to him. Something that is just waiting to come out, something that is indescribable. That's why he was really glad that Ben was taking more initiative. It shows showing this thing is starting to overtake his root's exterior and start revealing itself more. Of course, it's just like a tiny droplet, but eventually, a river will form from a drop like this. It's only a matter of time, and Mark wants to see it happen himself. See what Ben truly becomes.
Before Mark knew it, both he and Ben were in front of the shed. This was the building that he saw. There were lights on. "I don't know about this, dude. Maybe we should go back. This is too... I'm getting a bad feeling about this," Ben said, shaking. Mark agreed with him. Mark didn't know what it was, but this cabin alone was reeking of it, just pure evil, as well as killing, ravishing murderous intent. It was making him sweat. But Mark made his resolve known. "Come on, we'll just have one look, and we'll be in and out. It'll be real quick. I do agree, this is a very nerve-racking place, though," Mark said. They both were getting closer toward the cabin's front door. Mark put his hand on the handle, and suddenly, his fight and flight mechanism in his brain was just going off like crazy. Mark had to ignore it, but it was very hard. His mind was a flea, and Mark clearly shows fight. His body wields so Mark opens the door. They both saw a horrifying sight. What looked like candles littered the entire room. There was a lot of blood, a lot. From that blood was a pentagram in the middle of the room. There were also candles strewn around on the bloody floor. There were also goat skulls, as well as human and other different types of skulls, lining the walls. But all of that paled in comparison to the person, no, thing, that was chewing on a boy. He was in the process of eating his entrails, just gulping them down like it was chicken noodle soup. The evil intent was even more potent when they were this close to this man. Ben was truly right; he shouldn't have even opened the door. Now they may die because of his stupidity. It looks like, just like him, Ben was peeing himself as well as ashamed of himself. He also peed himself as well and both of them were petrified. They couldn't even move. Mark was trying to think of how to get out of this, but one thing noticed them. Mark knew their fate was sealed. They were surely going to die and be like that boy, this thing's next meal. When the thing looked at them, he looked wolf-like, but he was human. He had blonde, slicked-back hair. He looked like a dog, but from this distance, he couldn't tell. His eyes were silver, as well as a slit between them like a cat. He also had a sharp, pointed nose, but that wasn't even the most horrifying difference. This guy had the sharpest, pointed teeth they had ever seen. This even pales in comparison to Jackson's, as well as his claws looking way sharper too, and they were covered in blood just like his teeth were. He could probably make out some skin.
Mark said, smiling at the small teenager, maybe a young adult now. Ben was on the road to becoming a man. He remembered his road; hell, maybe he might still be on it. Who can know at this point? Ben just gave a tiny smile. "Thank you, that means a lot. I never thought people or strangers could be this kind and nice to me. They always just wanted to kill me or steal from us or stuff in between." Mark said nothing. He noticed a light in the distance. It looked like a building, barely visible through the creeping fog that made the atmosphere more ominous. It felt like they were in a cheap '80s horror movie or something.
He was also listening to Ben, letting him keep talking. At least the boy was keeping his spirits up. He saw a lot in the boy. He could tell under all of that cowardly, snot-nosed teenager exterior lay something. He couldn't quite put it into words, not alone describe what he saw in the boy. His intuition was never wrong. Even Jackson himself was surprised at his intuition, so he always trusted his instincts. The thing about Ben was there was just something more to him, something waiting to come out, something indescribable. That's why he was really glad that Ben was taking more initiative. It showed this thing was starting to overtake his root exterior and reveal itself more. Of course, it was just like a tiny droplet, but eventually, a river would form from an eyedrop. Life was only a matter of time, and Mark wanted to see it happen himself. He wanted to see what Ben truly became.
Before Mark knew it, both he and Ben were in front of the shed. This was the building they saw. There were lights on. "I don't know about this, dude. Maybe we should go back. This is too... I'm getting a bad feeling about this," Ben said, shaking. Mark agreed with him. Mark didn't know what it was, but this cabin alone was reeking of it—pure evil, murderous intent. It was making him sweat. But Mark made his resolve known. "Come on, we'll just have one look, and we'll be in and out. It'll be real quick. I do agree, this is a very nerve-racking place, though," Mark said.
They both got closer to the cabin's front door. Mark put his hand on the handle, and suddenly, his fight and flight mechanism in his brain was going off like crazy. Mark had to ignore it, but it was very hard. His mind was a flea, and Mark chose to fight. His body wielded, so Mark opened the door. They both saw a horrifying sight. It looked like candles littering the entire room. There was a lot of blood, a lot. And from that blood was a pentagram in the middle of the room. There were also candles strewn around on the bloody floor. There were also goat skulls as well as human and other different types of skulls running around the walls. But all of that paled in comparison to the person—no, thing—that was chewing on a boy. He was in the process of eating his entrails, gulping them down like it was chicken noodle soup. The evil and intent were even more potent when they were this close to this man. Ben was truly right; they shouldn't have even opened the door. Now they may die because of his stupidity. It looked like, just like him, Ben was peeing himself as well as ashamed of himself. He also peed himself as well and both of them were petrified. They couldn't even move. Mark was trying to think of how to get out of this, but one thing noticed them. Mark knew their fate was sealed. They were surely going to die and be like that boy—this thing's next meal.
When the thing looked at them, it looked wolf-like but human. It had blonde slicked-back hair. Its eyes were silver, with a slit between them like a cat's. It also had a sharp, pointed nose. But the most horrifying thing about him was his teeth—the sharpest Mark had ever seen, even compared to Jackson's. And his claws looked way sharper too, covered in blood, just like his teeth. Mark could probably make out some skin.
The thing was wearing a black leather jacket with the sleeves ripped off. Under that, he was just bare-chested. Mark could only describe him as completely muscular; you could see his chest muscles glistening in the candlelight. His pants were just ripped-up pants, nothing special, and he also wore no shoes. When he noticed them, the thing grinned at them, the widest smile Mark had ever seen. It was inhuman; this thing was inhuman. No human could even be capable of this brutality.
"What do we have here?" it said, getting up, still grinning. Mark and Ben said nothing. "I guess I have more prey. And for that prey to be such a tasty prey, a few gifted ones that you guys haven't awoken yet. I wonder," the thing said, walking over. Mark didn't know what the thing was talking about, and he was also too scared to care. "You guys could be a problem in the future. Maybe this is a sign that I should take you out now," the thing said. It was about to claw Ben, but he immediately stopped a few centimeters in front of his chest.
"You guys have the potential to come out as strong as I hear from that group, aren't you? That group that bested Jackson, wasn't it?" the thing said, gleefully. None of them said anything; they were just too scared to even make a sound.
"I asked you guys a question, and I am expecting an answer!" the thing yelled in Ben's face, but he meant both of them. "Yes, yes, we are. We are. Just please don't kill us, please," Ben said, hysterical. Mark was also in fear for his life as well, but he was also fearing for Ben's life, maybe even more than his own.
"I love when you guys are afraid. It's so much fun to see you guys scream, and then I snuff out your screams. But I guess I can wait a little longer. It would be no fun to kill you now. Once you awaken, that's when I'll have fun killing you guys. Oh, it's going to be fun," the thing said, walking out of the building. "Let that be a reminder of me. And once you awaken, I will come for you. I promise you that," the thing finally said, jumping off.
Once he was gone, Mark and Ben immediately collapsed to the ground, absolutely exhausted and afraid.
"What... what was that thing?" Ben asked.
"I don't know, and to be frank, Ben, I don't think I want to find out," Mark said, clutching the nail-cut wound on his face. He was surprised it was the only injury they had, but the psychological damage may be a different story. "I need you to hear me now more than ever. Whatever happened that night, we didn't tell anyone, okay? I don't want anyone to freak out because of this. It's just not worth it," Mark paused, catching his breath. "Let's keep this between us, alright? For now, maybe when we're both ready, we can tell what happened that day. But right now, we need to check if that boy is the boy and then bring him back, no matter what shape he is. Do you understand, Ben?" Mark said harshly, not taking any more nonsense today. Ben just gave a nod.
"Yes, I understand," Ben said.
They both got up and checked the boy's body and to their sadness, it was the boy, fitting the parents' description of him. He was completely mutilated. Then, they quickly had to run outside and throw up. Mark just stared at the boy somberly. He didn't even know this boy, but he never liked it when children were killed in cold blood. They never even got a chance to live, let alone become their person. This world is truly terrifying. Mark wasn't even sure how he'd get through it if they were being like that. They're all dead; there's no way they can fight against that. Is this why God put us on this planet, just to mess us over? Is this just some endless entertainment for Him? He yelled out, "If you truly exist, God, then tell me why? Why do you bring us this much pain and suffering? This boy didn't deserve anything. You brought him life, and then now you easily snuffed him out. What was even the point then?" Getting no response, just pure silence, Mark, with tears in his eyes, quickly picked up what was left of the mutilated boy and walked him out. Ben quickly joined his side, and they both silently walked back to camp.
(End of flashback)
Naruto's POV
Naruto breathed in and out, keeping his eyes closed for a moment. When he opened them, he saw Emily in front of him, getting ready in the stance he taught her. He was surprised by how fast she was learning, and it made him a bit jealous but also happy. Doxy was also impressed. Now Naruto got into his stance. They were having their routine afternoon sparring session. Ever since the dairy incident, they did nothing but train due to the attacks from the bandits. They needed this training, and they both trained hard. Doxy had been ramping up his training too.
"So, who's going to make the first move?" Emily asked.
Naruto wasn't sure if he should make the first move. Maybe it would be the best course of action, or maybe it wouldn't be. He'd just have to do it to find out. And that's exactly what Naruto Uzumaki did. He ran towards her, ready for a flurry of attacks. Emily quickly shifted her stance to a more defensive one. When Naruto came in with more than six punches, Emily blocked them all. She then retaliated with a sweep kick, trying to sweep his legs, but Naruto jumped. He didn't try to kick her mid-air, but she was able to make herself flip and backflip away from his attack. When his feet hit the ground, he immediately sped toward her. He was holding back, not using any chakra. This was strictly taijutsu.
Naruto tried a flurry of kicks, each harder than the last. Emily got hit by two, but she blocked most of them. One went into her face, and the other into her stomach, making her stumble back. The second blow knocked the wind out of her, but she quickly recovered. Naruto slightly lowered his guard, as he wasn't expecting her to get that hurt. But that gave Emily a good opening. She quickly connected a hard punch towards his face, making him hit one of the trees and almost breaking it. He bounced off it like a trampoline, quickly recovering. That was a good thing he did because Emily was coming with a brutal axe kick. Naruto rolled out of the way just in time. When that axe kick connected with the ground, they created a huge crater.
Emily always told him she never knew where these new physical enhancements came from; she just attained them during the events of the dairy. But her new enhancements didn't deter him. He should probably ramp it up, as it was starting to get close to lunch, and Naruto felt hungry. So when Emily came for another axe kick, Naruto made sure to grab it. He flung her into a tree so hard that she smashed right through it. She was very dazed, but Naruto got right on top of her and almost punched her in the face. He stopped it just in time; he was victorious as always.
"Oh man, I can't believe you always win," Emily said, disappointed in herself. Naruto just picked her up.
"I've been training way longer than you have, plus you're still trying to figure yourself out and dealing with your whole family thing," Naruto said.
Emily thought for a moment. "Yeah, that is true. Well, at least I'm getting better. That's all we can say right now, right?" Emily asked.
"Yeah, I think we'll be ready for the next attack whenever that will come. When I see that bastard again, he won't know what hit him," Naruto said, remembering the defeat of Jackson and how hard he pushed to defeat him.
"Yeah, I've been reading about vampires. You remember what I told you, right?" Emily said, referring to what she had told him.
"Yeah, I know. Usually, silver kills these things. But who needs that if you have powerful chakra?" Naruto showed her his Rasengan. "Who needs that if you can make this out of your hands?" Emily said because that's the only way you can kill a vampire with silver or divine energy, AKA mana.
Naruto just gave a smile. Why would he ever need to know this mana or even need to use silver weapons? Silver was very hard to come by these days. Plus, whatever this mana stuff is, it's certainly making her stronger. At least it's making her equal to him, enhancing his body using chakra. It must be enhancing her body too. They had to keep up with this. Naruto looked around the surroundings; they were in this forest clearing. This was the same clearing where he, Mark, and Lee, found Ben, Travis, and David. A lot had changed during that time. He didn't have his full chakra capabilities back then, but now he's probably even stronger than he was back then, just by a tiny bit, not by a huge margin.
He looked in the direction of the Motor Inn and gestured to Emily to let go. She immediately got the memo and gathered her things, and Naruto did the same. They walked back towards the Motor Inn, but what Naruto didn't know was somebody was watching them.
author notes:
Hey guys, I'm back to writing the story after so long. Sorry, it took me a while, but I'm back and ready to write more of the story. I might have two episodes in this, so it's going to be a long time before we get to the end of episode 4. Don't worry, the next episode won't come for a while.
Another thing, I have to note is that today is my birthday, and for me to enter the scene like this on my birthday makes me even more excited for future birthdays. I'm also planning on being consistent with the release dates for the next chapters. Again, thank you to the people who have been patient with the story. I know how it feels to wait for a long time, which is why I'm going to make an effort to be way more consistent. I can't wait to see you guys reading the next chapter.
May 16th