Note: There is a chance that some of the characters might be out of character, so I'll try my best to make them as close as the real one.
And possible scary moments in this chapter.
A small figure was walking down a ruined path.
Behind him was a voice calling out to him.
The voice of a mother.
The voice was telling the small figure to come to her.
But the small figure was scared.
So he ran until he saw a large figure laying down, with another small figure in front of him
They had a knife, and they suddenly plunges it into the tall figure neck.
Jaxson screamed as he woke up in fear.
He pants as he looks around the room he was in.
He then saw Jaxson in his bed, passed out with a wound on his torso, having his shirt used a bandage for it.
He was confused at first but then remembered.
The Attack.
It was a few months ago when they took shelter at Cherryton.
Zander and Jaxson were separated by force when the leader, Louis, decided that a man (whatever creature Zander is as Louis claims.) doesn't seems to be suited to take care of a kid.
Even though he still had access to most of the building rooms, a close eye was kept on him.
The only rule was that he wasn't allowed to visit Jaxson, as they believes that he wasn't fitted for childcare.
While Jaxson was placed with the other kids, where he had a hard time fitting in with them.
He was immediately outcasted by the other kids, but he didn't care.
Zander was the only thing he had left.
But it doesn't end there.
More people came to Cherryton out of thin air.
It was like that of Favelal receiving Jumpers.
Soon enough, Cherryton became a small town.
But then things went bad.
It all started when this group of people came with a really injured man.
"Please, we beg of you! Isn't there anyone who can help him?" A man asked.
The group in front of Louis consists of some space people.
There was a pilot, a mechanic, some intern, and a injured man being laid on a gurney.
The injured man was far from ok.
His skin was completely burned off, his hands and feet were gone, and he only had one eye left.
What makes it worse was that he was still in pain, groaning.
"I am sorry, but there is nothing. But I think it is best that we put him out of his misery." Louis said.
"Absolutely not! He is our captain, so I say he deserves to a chance!" The intern said.
"Daisuke. We need to face facts. He is basically a lost cause. We already lost Anya when those thing attacked us." The mechanic said.
"Swansea is right Daisuke. It's already too late for Curly." The pilot said.
"Shut it Jimmy!" Daisuke yelled, before turning to Louis.
"At least give us some painkillers. To ease him a bit." Diasike pleads.
"I am sorry, but no. We are already struggling with medicine as it is." Louis said blankly.
Zander was walking to get his lunch when he overheard the conversation.
Then he remembered the bag of Joy.
"Maybe I can help." Zander said as he walks in.
Everyone turn to look at him.
"What do you mean Zander?" Louis asked annoyed.
Zander then took out the bag and took out a small blue pill from it.
"This is called Joy. It is supposed to be some sort medicine I believe. Supposed to make you feel nothing at all." Zander explained.
"Would this work?" Daisuke asked.
"I honestly don't know. But you seem to be desperate."
Without warning, Daisuke grabbed the pill from Zander's hand and carefully put it in Curly's mouth.
"Come on now. You need to take it."
Daisuke closed Curly's mouth, and Curly managed to swallow with some difficulties.
After a while, they heard something that they didn't expect to hear from him.
He was chuckling.
Granted, it was a small chuckle, but it was a sign.
"He... laughed..." Swansea said in shocked.
"I haven't heard him laugh in... who nows how long." Jimmy said in the same state.
"That's Joy for you." Zander said as he held the bag.
"Maybe we can help each other Louis." Zander said a he turned to Louis.
With that, Louis and Zander made a deal.
Zander helps provide Joy to those who are wounded, to relieve the pain, and Louis allows him to see Jaxson once per week.
Originally it was supposed to be once a month, but Zander manages to haggle it down to a week.
After that, Zander has provided his bag of Joy to the medical team in Cherryton.
Surprisingly, the bag seems to have an endless amount of Joy, when one of the medics dumps the bag into a small container, causing a large amount of Joy to overflow it.
But despite that, Joy has helped those who were in deep pain, either physically or mentally.
Some of the survivors in Cherryton would use Joy to escape the harsh reality they were in.
Everything was going well, despite those who abuse Joy.
That was until...
"AAAAAHHHHH! AAAAAHHHHH!"
The medics were trying to calm Curly, who was screaming in pain.
It wasn't until one of them shoved a Joy pill into his mouth, causing him to swallow it in an instant.
After that, he stopped and began to chuckle again.
After that incident, it was revealed that Joy causes extreme withdrawal, where those who took Joy that cause them to become either immobile or in pain because of it.
Curly was the only one who suffered worse from the withdrawal, due to his damaged state.
But despite the incident, all went well.
But then... the attack happened.
"Hey! I was just in that much of a dark about those pills as yours! I said that I think it was some sort of medicine!" Zander defended himself as he was confronted by Louis at the busy cafeteria.
"IT IS BECAUSE OF THOSE PILLS, NEARLY ALL OF THE INJURED BECAME ADDICTS, AND WE DON'T KNOW WHICH ARE ADDICTS AND WHICH AREN'T!" Louis yelled at Zander.
Jaxson, who was eating with the other kids and guardians, managed to sneak away from them and came up to them, watching from a distance.
"It's not my fault they became addicts! They chose to take them! Those doctors knew the risks of using drugs they had no idea about!"
"THAT IS BECAUSE YOU TOLD THEM THAT THEY WERE MEDICINE!"
"And I said before that I think they were. Hence the word: THINK!"
Jaxson felt worried for Zander, because Louis's lion guards were getting a bit closer to him, and it felt like this wouldn't end well.
Then suddenly, the doors to the cafeteria opened.
Everyone turned to see a cloaked figure walking towards them.
"Don't have any fear, or sadness, or anger right now. Help has arrived."
It was the cloaked man from the tv, just before The Darkness began their assault at the city.
"Who the bloody hell are you wanker?" Some Australian man aiming a sniper at him.
"Oh, forgive me. My name is not important now. But I came here simply to help those who were in pain, and to retrieve something that my lord needs."
"So you are saying that The Darkness was caused by your 'lord'." An grey robot said, who took out an assortment of weapons out of the compartment of his chest.
"Oh no. My lord was taken by what you called The Darkness. But he instead harnessed it, and took control of it. It was a miracle. Then he used it for his purpose. But he is growing weak. We believed that he would fall. But then he sense something that can help him. So I came here to collect it, and I did."
"Ok, so can you leave us now?" Zander asked gaining some glares from the other survivors.
"It is not so simple Zander."
"Wait, how do you know my name?"
"Never mind that, how does your lord know about this world?" A medic who was eating her lunch said.
"Those who were converted are much smarter than you believe. But it doesn't matter. I have collected what I came for."
"But now, you heathens who ran instead of staying will pay."
The cloaked man then took off his cloak, revealing that his entire body was made up of The Darkness, except for his head.
The face the man had was made up of a large nose, and wide white eyes, with tears coming from them.
It also was revealed that he had some sort of clothe that is deep inside his body, but its hard to tell what it is.
"I am The First Follower of The Lord. We have got what we need, and will leave. This town will sink. And the beasts will feast on your remains."
Then T reached into his body and took out some sort of makeshift trumpet.
He then played a short song from it, looked at the people staring at him, then disappeared.
Before anyone could do anything, the medic who was eating lunch, began to scream in pain.
She fell to the floor and began to twitch.
Before long, another fell, then another.
Then their bodies began to twist, or bloat, or both.
And finally, the change stopped.
The beasts stares down.
And they screamed.
It was chaos.
The beasts attacked everyone near them.
And everyone tried to fight back.
But they were too much.
Not only that, but when some of the survivors tried to leave the building, they were met by a large flood of water, where the door was quickly shut.
It seems that Louis had reached his breaking point, as he began to shoot at Zander, managing to hit him.
Then everything else was a blur, and the last thing Jaxson remember was getting to Zander's room with him and locking it before passing out.
After getting his bearings, Jaxson got up and went to Zander.
He passed out on his bed from the pain a while ago, but he isn't getting better.
"Zander."
Jaxson knew that if he doesn't do something, Zander will be gone.
Just like her.
No! He can not let this happened!
He lost his home, blamed everyone for his misgivings, insulted his mom, and ended up loosing her.
It was thanks to Zander that he managed to understand what is wrong, and made up with her before she was gone.
He can not let him go too.
Jaxson grabbed his small backpack that was given to him, and took a small knife he grabbed at the cafeteria.
He then went up to Zander, and whispered to him.
"Don't worry Zander. I'll get help."
With that, Jaxson opened the door and walked out after closing it.
Jaxson was quietly walking through the hallway of Cherryton, which seems to be painted by the blood of the survivors.
Granted, he saw blood before back at his home, but never this much.
Jaxson knew that this was not like back home.
It was worse.
But he know that if he can make it to the medical room, he might find something.
As he walk through the hallway, he heard a groan.
He stopped and managed to see it just in time as it walk in.
It was one of beasts.
It seems to be one of the injured men the kids saw when taking the fieldtrip across Cherryton.
It used to be one of those faceless men with only a grey rectangular body, with floating hands.
But now he became a beast that is extremely skinny and tall, having its body twisted so long that it os himched over, with its head is on the ground and its hands slounging around.
It appears to be walking left and right, dragging its face on the floor.
"Damn it. One of those things is in my way. Just got to sneak past it." Jaxson thinks.
Jaxson then begins to carefully walk by the beast who didn't notice him.
As he walk by, he noticed that the beast had large veins on its body, twitching.
Then suddenly, the beast raised its head, staring at Jaxson.
Jaxson was terrified, but not by getting caught.
But by what happened to its face.
Its face seems to have its flesh ripped off, probably from rubbing it on the floor for who knows how long.
Jaxson stood still at it stares at him, but due to having its eyes ruined, it did not see him.
It then placed its head back on the ground, giving Jaxson the chance to move again, walking away from it.
He pants deeply as he managed to get away.
"That was too close. But his face... No, need to keep going."
Jaxson continued on the search for the medical room.
As he walk on, he noticed that it was night, and the moon light made it a bit easier for him to see in the dark hallways.
"hhhhaaaaaRRRRRUUUuuuu."
Jaxson stopped and turned around, only to see something.
It was the grey wolf from before.
But he had parts of himself covered by The Darkness, to the point where it surronding his head and upper body.
(Imagine Legoshi as The Smoker from L4D, but larger, without any tentacles, and The Darkness covering his body instead of those tumors.)
"HhhaAaAArrRrrrRrrRUuuUuUuUuUu." The wolf said in a broken and corrupted voice.
It then notices Jaxson who just stood there.
They stared at each other, then the corrupted wolf ran towards him.
Jaxson then ran from it, trying to avoid its arms that were reach for him.
He kept running from it, avoiding its attacks, until another of those beasts, a bloated one, bursts through one of the classrooms and attacked the wolf.
Jaxson didn't dare to look back, but by what he is hearing, it wasn't a pretty fight.
He kept running until he managed to find the medical room.
He entered the medical room, and turned to close the door to make sure that no one followed him.
"Want to know the truth?"
Jaxson froze and turned to see who spoke.
It was Jimmy, that man Zander told about.
He remember seeing him before, but he feels really uncomfortable when looking at him.
Now he is covered in the same mud as Kouta, with a scowl on his face.
"I hate him. I really really hate him."
"Even when being fired from the company, I still hate him."
"With that smile on his face."
"So when I found out she's pregnant, I had to crash the ship."
"Yet, they still survived."
"When it failed, I framed him."
"When they came, I kicked her to them."
"I hate him. I hate her. Hate, hate, hate."
"And when the trumpets played their song, I fed those two to him."
"I want him to suffer."
"And I'll make him suffer, to feel something again."
"Hate."
Jaxson just stares at him, who doesn't seem fo notice him.
Just then, he saw something at the corner.
It was a trauma kit!
He remembered that it would be used for those who are greatly injured.
So he ran up to it, and stuffed it in his backpack.
Then he went to opened the door to leave.
But as he opened the door, he saw something horrifying.
It was the burned victim he saw from before.
The first one to have Joy.
His neck was elongated, his head became larger, his limbs were being used as legs, and his eye was bloodshot.
He seems to be searching for something as his good eye survey the hallway.
Jaxson knew he couldn't outrun him.
But then he remembered his knife and The Angered One behind him.
What he was going to do will be cruel, but based on what The Angered One said, it would hurt him less.
So with that, Jaxson slowly opened the door and jammed his knife in the beasts leg.
The beast screamed and turn to see the one he has been looking for.
As Curly crawled towards Jimmy, Jaxson quickly walk out of the room and heads back to his room.
Curly crawled up to Jimmy, and Jimmy looked up to him.
He scowled at the sight at him.
"I have no regret, turning you into this. So are you going to punish your crewmate for what he did?"
Curly then screamed at him.
The scream was created by the pain he had to experience, from the lost of his crew, the lost of his job, and the anger towards Jimmy.
Then he delivered a fatal bite to Jimmy.
Zander slowly opened his eyes, where he looked around.
He then saw that the wound on his torso is completely bandaged and the bullet in him was out on a shelf.
He then turned to see a sleeping Jaxson sitting at a table, with a trauma kit on it, with blood on his arms.
It was then he realized that Jaxson did it.
He slowly got up, and went to pick Jaxson up.
He then went to the bathroom and turned on the bath.
After making sure that it was warm, he began to wash the blood off of Jaxson.
He had experiences cleaning a small child, thanks to his little sister, but he kept Jaxson's clothes on.
He then thinks about his life before this.
Before The Flash.
The last thing he rememebered was having dinner with his family, then a bright light came.
And then he was alone.
He managed to survive in the new world, but living alone was different.
Sure he made some friends, but they would come and go.
He decided to think about something else.
The Convergence, The Lord, and T.
What did he mean when they will meet again?
Have they met before?
Zander thinks back to the people he had met.
Yet he couldn't think of anyone who would meet him again.
Then again, that T guy looks familiar.
Maybe it was the face or that yellow clothe, but he just looks familiar.
After cleaning Jaxson, he dried him and went to put him on the bed.
It was then when Jaxson opened his eyes and smiled.
"You're ok." Jaxson said.
"Yeah, thanks to you." Zander smiled back.
He then frowned a bit.
"I'm sorry about what you had to do."
"I had to. I can't lose you too."
"Still you had to risk your life finding a trauma kit."
"Yeah, but I was lucky to not run into trouble." Jaxson said.
He couldn't tell Zander about the encounter with the beasts, the corrupted wolf, that mud man, and the bandaged beast.
"Yeah. Anyway, we got to get out of here."
"Later." Jaxson said as he hugged him and closed his eyes.
"No, we need to go now. This place is going to sink."
"What do you mean sink?"
Zander removed Jaxson and went to the window and opened it, where there is water on the other side.
"That creep must have done something, because when I was outside, I saw the ocean was rising and realised that we will sink."
Jaxson looked outside and saw that it was true.
"Ok. Point taken."
The two gathered whatever they get grabbed, getting ready to leave.
Even if Zander is still healing, they can't stay or they will drown when the building floods.
When they exit their room, they saw that they stepped in some water.
The building was beginning to flood.
So with that, they begin to walk.
They walk through the building, where they saw that the beasts weren't moving at all.
They ended up encountering the same tall beast with its face in the ground that Jaxson met, but it didn't move at all.
"Why isn't it moving?" Jaxson said.
"Don't know. But let's just go." Zander said as he walk past it.
As they walk, they begin to talk.
"So do you know about these things before?" Jaxson asked.
"No, I never seen this before. I didn't think those Joy pills do that."
"Glad that none of us took them." Jaxson chuckled.
"Yeah. Though I'm suprised that that guy knew about it, with the trumpet or something." Zander said.
"Yeah, but he knows a lot more than any of us. But why does he know you?"
"That... I don't know. But hopefully we don't meet again."
The two finally made it to the top of the building, where they saw something insane.
As predicted, the building was sinking, but there wasn't any sign of land anywhere.
Next to the building was a massive warship that seems to be made in somewhere in the past.
On the side was an opening, where some of the survivors were going in, with Louis and some tall Egyptian lady were talking.
It wasn't long until those two looked at the arriving two, causing some of the soldiers and survivors to look at him too.
"Hi there! What is this?" Zander asked.
Louis then whispered something to the lady, who seems to agree with something he said.
She then said something in an unknown language, causing the soldier to force the survivors to get in.
"Hey! Wait for us!" Zander said as he and Jaxson ran towards them.
The lady then lept towards them, and delivered a devasting kick to Zander's stomach.
Zander yelped in pain, causing to fall, and Jaxson ran to him.
"The deer child told me of what you had done to his people. If you try to come upon my ship."
The lady walks up to the two then took out two blades and held each of them to his and Jaxson's neck.
"You will be wishing that I killed you instead."
"...fine." Zander said, not wanting to risk their lives.
The lady then removed her blades from the two.
"Take whatever they have!"
And with that, Zander and Jaxson were stripped of their supplies, leaving only just the clothes they are wearing.
With that, everyone walked to the ship, with Louis being the last one to enter.
The door of the ship closed, and the ship began to sail away.
The two were on their own, on a sinking building.
"I'm sorry Jaxson. I failed us."
"No! We can find a way out of this."
"But... we can't. I'm so sorry."
Jaxson was sadden by what is happening, but looked up and smiled.
"Oh yeah, then what is that?" Jaxson said as he points down.
It was another one of those portal hole.
"Oh thank you whoever is in charge!" Zander said.
The two then ran to the hole and jumped into it.
"Did you found him?"
"Yes my lord. He was traveling with a small rabbit. Should we take him now?"
"No. Not yet. But soon, we will take him. Until then, make sure that none shall harm him or his little pet."
"Of course. My lord."
"..."
"Soon, we will meet again. And when we do, your life will end."
End of Chapter 5.