《The God Of The Undead》


 Chapter 1 - 1: Lifes a Bitch

    Just how much can life screw one person over. If you ask John Carlton, then it''s a hell of a lot.


    Not once in his 80 plus years has he ever had a lick of luck. When he was 6, his family died in a fire leaving his back with burn scar tissue from his nape all the way to his waist. When he was 10, and still in an orphanage, he was framed for the murder of another kid, leaving others to believe he''d become a psycho and had him thrown into a psych ward where he was beaten daily with the warden not caring one bit. When he was 30, he convinced everyone he''d gained his sanity and was thrown out on the streets. Despite him being able to land on his feet and got a lovely home at the age of 50, he chose to be anti-social out of fear of harm and scrutiny by others on his street.


    Now at the age of 80 and returning home with a brown paper bag filled with a week''s worth of food. John walked in and set his groceries on a table and hung up his brown coat and red plaid scarf with anticipation of cooking his 15-ounce steak he saved up 2 weeks for. But before he could pick the bag back up, an ominous tapping began to beheard from his living room.


    He cautiously grabbed his umbrella for defense, although he knew it didn''t offer much protection as it was the only thing big enough he could reach at the time.


    Walking into the living room was an elderly old woman wearing a black trench coat with a glass of wine in one hand and a gun in the other. Her silver hair was distinctive as it had a hint of marine blue, which made him reminisce something a memory of someone, but he didn''t know who.


    "Hello there, John, you might not remember me, but I remember you," says the woman as she casually waves the gun to the chair that stood 2 and a half meters in front of her.


    John dropped the umbrella and sat down with a calm demeanor. It didn''t take him a minute to guess that he probably wasn''t going to survive this encounter. Although one thing was racing through his mind, who was she and what did she want, so he asked with his soft and calming voice, "Who are you?"


    She smiled and took off her sunglasses and looked John in the eyes and said, "Do you remember the orphanage you once lived in before becoming a murderer.?"


    With this question, he knew that this was someone related to his case back then. But who was she as John thought hard? Was she the friend of the girl whose murder he was framed for? Without further ado, he just nodded a yes to her.


    "Ok then, so I''m guessing you remember the girl too. Did you know she had a twin sister that was sent to another orphanage who was 6 at the time?" She asked while psychotically smiling while pointing the gun at John''s heart.


    John''s eye went wide, and his jaw dropped a little in surprise. During his trial, there was never any indication she had a sister, or they kept her secret in fear for her life. Either way, was she here for revenge or answers? John sat there and shook his head no as he was fed up with the way his life has been so far. He just resigned himself to whatever fate had decided as there wasn''t much he could now as he was 80 years old and could just barely wipe his own a.s.s.


    Shaken her head to show that she understood his gesture, she extends her arm, pointing the gun and says, "Ok, I heard you were a psycho, but looking through your stuff, I doubt that so tell me. Why''d you do what you did to my sister?"


    Throughout his painful life, she was the first-ever to ask that question. A chance to explain his side of the story. A chance to finally claim his innocence. A chance to lift the weight that''s been on his shoulder for so many years.


    "I didn''t kill her." John starts while noticing her grip on the trigger, getting tighter.


    "It was the director of the orphanage. He played an excellent game of lies and deceit while he pimped us, no older than 6 years old, to whoever could pay the price." John said solemnly as if his words took him back to those painful times in the orphanage.


    The woman''s look of surprise showed while her finger loosened on the trigger. She thought back to the warm-hearted man she had met during the case and once again at her sister''s funeral. She kept quiet for a while before coming to the conclusion that John had to be lying, no way that old director could have done such things.


    "Lies that man kept you all fed and gave you all a place to stay. Just so you know, I don''t tolerate lies." She says while sporting a look of pure hatred.


    John looking her in those sky blue eyes, says, "I''m telling you th..."


    ''Bang''


    Her gun fires, but she now wore a face of shock as she gripped the gun with all her might and pulled the trigger accidentally, hitting him in the heart.


    John at first checked his c.h.e.s.t where the bullet had pierced him. His brown hand was now covered in crimson blood that reflected the light over the woman''s head. Within seconds he hit the floor as the pain and finally caught up to him. He clutched his c.h.e.s.t while blood flowed from his c.h.e.s.t and mouth.


    The woman was in complete shock as she didn''t mean to pull the trigger, but it was too late as she looked over him, confused as to how she felt. She noticed that John was pointing to a drawer that was home to another lamp without a light bulb.


    She opened it to reveal there was nothing in it. Just empty space as was now in a hurry. She knew that the gunshot was gonna draw attention, and she needed to so she needed to find what John wanted her to see.


    Within a couple of minutes, she found that the drawer had a secret compartment that held the key to a safety deposit box hidden. ''Why would he point me to this? What could he had been keeping hidden all these years?''


    All these thoughts raced through her mind as she grabbed the key and stood watching John go limp. It was too late for her or anyone to save him, although she didn''t have the intention of doing so anyway. Although she felt he didn''t deserve any kind of departing words still said, "My name is Alexia Thomson, and we''ll see each other in hell."


    As she heard the sirens, she moved as fast as she could out the window she came in through and was gone within the darkness of the night.


    As John laid there limp unable to move, he felt cold, but he embraced it. Death seemed better than living another second in this dark and twisted world that most people believed to be daisies and sunshine. He truly hated his life, better yet, he hated everyone. Every last person who never saw the good in him. Every last person who harmed him and made him out to be a monster. As the bright light came closer, he wished he could be given a chance to make this world a hell worse than how he felt on the inside for most of his life.


    "A dark and hateful soul you truly are." A man said as John''s vision became clear again.


    John was now on a tile floor that was in a vast circle. He looked around as he could see the stars racing around him as if the room was rotating. But that thought was crushed as he looked over the edge of the tile floor and saw a that the stars were revolving around the platform he was on.


    "We''re up here, human," A giant woman in what looked like a toga with shifting worlds on it said, looking down.


    John looked up at her as she was taller than anything he''d ever seen. John thought she''d at least had to be over 3 kilometers tall. Next to her was a man the same height as her with skin that shifted and changed with purple mist stood silent.


    Below them were seven individuals who were around the same height as John, but they were floating just a few inches off the ground while wearing different colored robes.


    The giant woman bent over, revealing her sad eyes to John and said, "I did not believe that not one creature in all the worlds we govern could live through their entire lives without a shred of happiness or joy. But instead, you lived through a life of pain, misery, anger, and depression."


    "We have monitored you and how you never had a fair chance at life. So we have pulled your soul here to offer you a proposition," The giant woman said, raising back up while making a mystical pose as if to show something off.


    "As you have lived an unfair life at the hands of humanity, who throughout thousands of years of their existence, have not learned to cull their unacceptable actions from their civilizations. Even when we sent floods and shook the earth beneath them, they continue to fail to meet our expectations,"


    She says while creating an illusionary screen with a shift edge the glowed blue. The screen showed everything from humanities world wars, to their street crime, to even a glimpse of the disgusting things the director of the orphanage did to the children where John first stayed.


    John felt his anger that he had pushed to the back of his head, resurface at the sight of the director.


    "What''s your proposition, lady?" John said, skipping over the question of where he was or what the hell these people or things were. He already knew they had to be gods at this point because what else could they be.


    The other gods remained still while the giant lady smiled happily. She raised her hand, and white glowing orb flew down to John end entered his black and red soul. All of a sudden, a screen appeared with different tabs such as status, inventory, skills/abilities, and finally, an evolution tab.


    "We have chosen you to be our final and last god, The God of the Undead. Or if you want, you can call yourself the god of death, either one is fine." She said as John dark and red soul becomes caged by bone.


    After a quick inspection, he can tell he''s now taken the form of a skeleton with pure white bones. His dark and red smoke soul-form within the middle of his rib cage becomes invisible. Making him look like a normal skeleton.


    He looks back up at the giant goddess and tries to speak, but without lungs and a voice box, he was just moving his lower jaw, making the goddess giggle.


    "You don''t necessarily have to move your mouth to speak child; just think it, and we will hear it." She says with a face of amus.e.m.e.nt.


    With her words said, he thinks the question, "Ok, so what now?"


    "Before you become a god of the undead, you have three quests you have to accomplish before claiming your godhood and receiving your responsibilities. The following are your quest: First, bring about the event of an apocalypse on the three worlds we govern. Second, either eradicate all life or destroy 99 percent so it''ll be easy for us gods to restart the three worlds. And last but not least, evolve to the highest undead you can become as you''ll only be able to receive your godhood once reaching your full evolution and stand as the most powerful among the three worlds." She said this as she showed his quest on his screen, which John was now gonna calling a menu because it sounded better.


    That menu in front of you is your system, which we all have to make it easier to both remind us of things along with making it easier to use specific skills and abilities. Before we send you back to your world to wreak havoc upon humanity, you will receive a skill and or ability from each, me the goddess of creation and the god next to me, the god of destruction and the other lesser gods. The ones floating near you on the tile platform are lesser gods, which you will be apart of soon after completing your quest."


    John looks at the 5 lesser gods from the left to right as they all floated silently, covering their faces with their hoods.


    As the goddess of creation said her statement all of the gods and goddesses summoned orbs of light that they sent flying toward John. Each one of the lights flew through his ribs and were consumed by his soul that became visible just for that moment.


    [Ping]


    [Ping]


    [Ping]


    [Ping]


    [Ping]


    [Ping]


    John''s menu made seven consecutive notification sounds that he wanted to look at, but before he could check the creation goddess spoke and said, " There will be time to check your notifications later but for now it''s time for you to be on your way. Good luck with your quest John and hopefully you find peace with what your about to do."


    As she finishes speaking John is engulfed in a purple energy and is flung off the edge of the platform. While falling the platform and gods disappear and the stars stop spinning around John. John looks down and see earth as he falls through the atmosphere fast enough to burn the oxygen around him, but thanks to the purple energy around him he remains untouched.


    While falling to what he could see was the U.S. he his mind shifted to Alexia as he hoped she found the proof that proved his innocence. As he wanted her to watch the innocent man she accused of murder turn this world into a living hell.

 Chapter 2 - 02: Dirt and Tears

    Fear weighed heavily on Alexia''s c.h.e.s.t after making it home. Fear of being caught for the murder she''d just committed. Thoughts ran through her head lighting speed. She''s never killed someone on accident even when caught terrorists and serial killers while working in for the FBI.


    ''Of course, what I did was right, right? Nobody is going to miss a monster like him. Even when he was dying, he continued lying. But why''d he want me to find this safety deposit box key?'' She thought as her head spun at the thought of doubting her actions.


    She entered the two-story house that she''s lived in ever since she first married her now-deceased husband. As she walks into the house, all of the lights flip on, and in an instant, she wh.i.p.s out the very same pistol she used on John and points randomly at people in front of her.


    All the people around her stood still in fear and some in shock. A middle-aged woman approaches with her hands raised just above her b.r.e.a.s.t as a worried expression settled on her face.


    It was Alexia''s daughter, Alice, who was in her 50''s who had secretly orc.h.e.s.trated a surprise party as tonight was her 80th birthday. As she saw the gun, she knew her mother was spooked and scared. She never saw her mother as scared as she is now, so she knew something was wrong.


    "Woah, their mom everything''s alright why don''t you just put that down," Alice said softly as she slowly pushed the gun down and took it away from her mother.


    Alexia looked around and to see the shocked expression on the other 12 people''s faces as she came to her senses. Remembering that today''s her birthday, and this was a surprise birthday party, she quickly came up with an excuse and said, "Oh... oh, I''m sorry I thought I was being robbed. You know you can''t surprise me like that, especially in this neighborhood ."


    Even though she said that playfully she could clearly see that she didn''t fool her daughter and granddaughter.


    After everything was over, and the guest left 3 hours after the get-together. Alice sits next to her mother in the living room, staring daggers at Alexia, who, although she looked calm and peaceful. Her fidgeting hands and feet gave her away.


    Knowing that her daughter, who was a well renown FBI interrogator following in her footsteps, she sighed and whispered, "After thinking things through, I believe I killed an innocent man tonight."


    Alice''s eyes went wide at what her mother had just said, but she quickly jerked her head as behind her, Lana had dropped her phone in shock, revealing she had been eavesdropping.


    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


    John was close to landing as he could see the city that he grew up in. While he was falling, he wondered how exactly does he look wrapped in a purple energy while burning the oxygen around him.


    He was now just 15 second from impact as he came closer to the ground


    ''Thhooooom"


    The sound of him landing in the outskirt of the city made a thundering sound that echoed for miles to come, easily making all other noises seem like a leaf landing on the ground compared to a tree falling.


    John opened his eyes to see that he was in a crater the was 3 meters deep and very wide. After doing a thorough check of himself and finding nothing else out of the ordinary other than him being a walking skeleton in a crater within a cemetery. Knowing that someone would come to check the impact area, John quickly surveyed the area he was in.


    Thankfully because he was on the outskirts of Hornbrew City, a city north of Nashville, Tennessee, there was a forest surrounding John on all fronts except his south.


    After examining his surroundings a little better, John could see that he was in a cemetery with hundreds of well taken care of graves surrounded by a forest and mountains to all sides except the south where a street ran parallel with the edge of the cemetery. Some even had their own crypts, which meant even more graves.


    This reminded John that he was supposed to be working towards becoming a The God of the Undead, so he must have something to bring the dead back. But before he could open his menu, a bright light from a flashlight is shined upon his back, making his shadow appear on a nearby crypt.


    ''Damn, have I already been found out?'' John thought as he slowly turned to the blinding light.


    Past the blinding light, he could just barely make out the appearance of a young groundskeeper wearing a dusty brown jumpsuit that''s clearly seen better days. The young man''s face was one of complete fear of the crouching skeleton in front of him. John knew that if people knew of his existence before he could even put together a plan for his revenge on the human race, his whole quest would become exponentially harder.


    Knowing there were several ways to fix his problem, he could only think of a sure-fire way to minimalize his exposure. He stands up in front of the six feet tall man who stood still out of complete shock and horror. Although John didn''t have eyes, he could see that the was a graveyard marker behind the groundskeeper high enough for him to trip. But John didn''t think about tripping him; he had something else in mind.


    John quickly stepped forward and smacked the flashlight to the left with his boney right hand, unintentionally smashing it to pieces. Before the young man could react fast enough, John had already grabbed the poor man by the throat with his right arm bone. John looked the young man in the eyes while showing him the pitch-black emptiness of his skull where his eyes once were. The area by the young man''s crotch quickly became dark and wet, making John feel repulsed by the young man''s act of fear.


    ''Come on your grown-ass man, probably in your mid to late twenties. At least die with a little dignity,'' John thought as he didn''t have lungs nor a voice box to voice his opinion toward the young man.


    Feeling a little irritated by the young man''s clutching his arm bone with one hand while trying to pry John''s cold hard finger bones from his throat, John raised the slightly heavy young man up. Without warning, John quickly put his left hand on the young man''s back, and with all his might, he slammed the guy''s head into the corner of the grave marker, making a cracking sound from the young man''s skull.


    The cracking sound of the young man''s skull slightly unnerved John, but John quickly put it past him as he knew this was just the first of many things that was going disturb him and the more there was, the quicker he''d become desensitized to the genocide he''d commit in the future.


    After killing the young man, John could make the sounds of sirens and fire truck horns in the far off distance. Knowing it would be worse for him if the police just happened to see a skeleton standing over the dead groundskeeper, so he ran north into the sea of trees.


    Six hours after running into the trees, John stops running, thinking he''d ran enough stops to look at his surrounding. The forest had nothing but trees and bushes, giving John a sense of relief, giving him the chance to let down his guard.


    [Level-up]


    A feminine voice from within his mind says as clear as day spooking John and making him look for the origin sense he wasn''t aware of anyone else near him.


    "Stop looking idiotic, Mr.skele. I''m in your big empty head. Just focus hard on your mind, and you''ll enter your consciousness where I am," The feminine voice says, calming John, who was slightly scared despite being in an attack stance.


    John, not knowing if he could truly trust the voice better yet trust the voice crouches near the nearest bush to hide himself, then focuses as hard as he could, and everything becomes black. The only thing John could see was complete darkness except for two orbs light that floated in front of him. One of these orbs was red and mist-like and huge like a mountain that was completely still. The other baseball-sized orb glowed blue and had small translucent wings.


    "Who or what are you, and what is this place..." Before John could ask anything else, he stopped and was stunned by the fact he could talk despite still being a skeleton within this black void.


    While bobbing happily forward, the small orb approaches John and says, "Oh, don''t be surprised we''re in your mind where it doesn''t matter if you speak what you want to say or think it. I''ll hear it. Also, I''m Dixie, your personal assistant that comes with the god system that Creation Goddess gave you."


    Flying back towards the larger orb of light, Dixie says, "This here is your soul that''s been enlarged due to two factors: Your tortured life before dying, which made it the size of a basketball, and the Creation Goddesses gift to you."


    Dixie continues talking by saying, "Look at your menu in the stats tab. Thanks to the Creation Goddesses gift, your stats are far superior to that of any human in this world. Especially considering that in this world, the average human has a stats averaging at 5 or 8. Although some humans go above the average mainly because they happen to have occupations ranging from hard labor, Athletes, Law Enforcement, all the way to being soldiers."


    John following along with Dixie, looking at his stats, and if he had facial muscles, one could see his shocked facial expression at his stats.


    [Status]


    Name: John Carlton Level:2


    -Stats-


    Health:130 Mana:9000


    Intellegence:150 Wisdom200


    Agility:10 Luck:0


    Stamina: Infinite


    Stat points: 10


    Seeing his Mana, wisdom, Intelligence, health, and stamina clearing standing above John looks back at Dixie, who says, "The Creation Goddesses gifted you was a massive increase to your mana stat. While all the other stats like your health, which in normal humans would be 100 and never increase, only increased 30 because of your level, which is now 2.


    Understanding this, John began thinking his life has now officially become a game thanks to the gods. John didn''t mind since playing games was something he found joy in between work, finding evidence, and avoid contact with other humans before being shot dead.


    Feeling that John was now at ease after comparing his life to a game, Dixie continues by saying, "Now if you went over to your skills and abilities tab, you''ll see the different skills and abilities that the other gods gave you."


    Willing his menu over to the skills and abilities tab John saw the six different skills and abilities the gods had blessed him with along with several other skills that John could guess from their names were all due to him being an undead.


    Before he could see what all they could do, Dixie yelled, "John watch out we''re surrounded."


    John left his consciousness and looked around him and saw he was indeed surrounded by 20 feral dogs. They all looked starved and feral while most looked sickly with ill. To them, John looked like a buffet despite being a skeleton.


    "Ok, John, I''m gonna advise that you use your {Darkness Manipulation} skill to either conjure or use the darkness around you to defend yourself since it''s night time already. Just focus on your soul and try and pull the energy, which is Mana, to your hands and will it to either pull the darkness around you to your aid or make it from nothing. But you have to hurry since this looks ugly." Dixie says in a worried tone as she knows John doesn''t even know the fundamentals of magic yet.


    John knowing the situation is dire, begins to focus will the Mana from his soul to his hands to will the darkness to the ground around him. This reminded John of all the Dracula novels he read, while being locked up in the insane asylum, where Dracula impaled his enemies on poles. So using the darkness that he had made into a round defensive perimeter that covered everything within 7 meters with darkness, he waited, ready to spring his trap.


    Although the dogs felt the fear and dangerous intent of the circle, their hunger reaching the max, driving them all crazed and rabid. They all bolted simultaneously without a care in the world as long as the hunger now their minds dull and their appetite ravenous.


    John waited for the majority of the feral dogs to enter his defensive perimeter before he could spring his trap. Within seconds they were all in his perimeter, and the closest feral dog had already pounced intending to take a couple of John neck bones.


    With a little focus, John willed spikes from the darkness that coated the ground within his perimeter and impaled the feral dog that aim for his neck. Following afterward was the feral dog behind John that had tried to take John''s left leg and so on. All 20 feral wild dogs had now been impaled by Johns''s dark spikes, which he felt like he''d be calling {Black Spears} from know on.


    John looked up at the moon that over him along with the dead feral dogs as if they were an offering to a god. It was a horrible sight, but John felt nothing. No remorse for slaying the wild dogs nor feeling any empathy or sympathy for them either. It was like John had let the hatred and sorrow that had built up throughout his 80 years of his life all out at the same time, which killed his ability to feel anything for the lives he''d soon come to take.


    While John was admiring his work, he heard a chime.


    [Ching]


    Playfully Dixie says, "You''ve leveled up."


    [Status]


    -Stats-


    Health:130 Mana:9000


    Intellegence:150 Wisdom200


    Strength:12 Dexterity:10


    Agility:10 Luck:0


    Stamina: Infinite


    Stat points: 90

 Chapter 3 - 03: Training Wheels on and off

    The moon shines bright in the sky as the night continues for John. It''s been several minutes now, and all is quiet except for the crickets chirping and the owls hooting. In the far off distance, although John had no ears, he could still hear he shuffle off leaves and snaps of twigs of other animals either running for their lives or just being nosy.


    John had stared at the tantalizing at the moon as if its different somehow, yet it''s the same as when he died except now the scenery is decorated with the corpses of wild and feral dogs on John''s {Black Spears}.


    Before John could soak up the scenery anymore, Dixie interrupted and said, "Ok... So look, I know you think all this is the most majestic thing you''ve seen throughout your 80 years of life, but I have somethings to explain and show you before we get started on the end of the world plan we haven''t started on yet. So go ahead... open your menu so we can get the class started."


    If John had eyes, he would''ve rolled them by now, but he just complied with Dixie''s command. He opened his menu to see that he was now level 9, and there was no status changes to his stats other than he now had 90 stat points.


    Dixie continued by saying, "In this world, as you know, every creature except you doesn''t have access to menus as those capable of using magic is little to none. Even those that are capable of using magic don''t even know of its existence as most of the world believes it to be myths and fairytales. So there''s the major advantage for later remember it."


    John looks and points at the {Black Spears} and says in his mind, "Ok, and how exactly do I exploit this advantage."


    Dixie sighs and says, "That''s next, but first, let''s finish on the topic of your menu as it''s unique. You see, it comes with an extra stat called Stat Points, which allows you to put points that you earned while leveling to stats that you d.e.s.i.r.e instead of automatically distributing them like most creatures. Distribute those points later, but for right now on to the skills and abilities tab."


    John switched over to the skill and abilities tabs to saw the skills from earlier that were obviously from gods next to another section labeled abilities. John wondered for a moment for a reason for the separation of his skills an abilities before looking back at Dixie.


    Being within John''s head allowed Dixie to know when John was confused or wanted to know something, and in this case, she knew immediately and always.


    "They separated as their both different John. Skills are things you would usually have to learn and practice with; on the other hand, abilities are either something you''re randomly born with or is something your species naturally have. As your an undead, specifically a skeleton, with high Mana, you''ll naturally have access to Necromancy and abilities similar to it." Dixie says while sounding like a kindergarten teacher talking to her student.


    Having a better grasp on both skills and abilities, John wanted to look through them to have a better understanding of what he could do, but was wary of his surroundings since the attack of the feral dogs caught him off guard. "Where can I sit and read through them, without Dixie I would''ve been food for a bunch of mutts," thought John as he looks around again at the area around him and an idea finally struck.


    Hearing about him having some kind of {Necromancy} ability, he released the {Black Spears} that held the dogs up and laid them on the ground. Using the Mana from his soul, he willed it to his boney hands once more and focused on the thought of {Necromancy} and using it to raise the dogs into an undead like him.


    With his hands, he could feel the connection to the deathly auras emanating from their corpses. He felt the feral dogs d.e.s.i.r.e to live again, shit who wouldn''t want to live again considering how both John and the dogs had died, but John knew what they were about to become was going to be very different from what they wanted.


    Although John could feel the connection to their souls, it was weak, far too weak until Dixie spoke again and said, "Remember how you used your {Darkness Manipulation}. It''s the same, but this time, please channel your Mana throughout your skeletal body. Channeling your Mana into one part of your body lessens the power of your skills and abilities down to a quarter of their potential output. Also, using Mana based skills and abilities is simple as imagining them and willing them to the d.e.s.i.r.ed effect. Take your {Necromancy} ability into account, channel your Mana throughout your body while dispersing it into your surroundings among the dead dogs, and figure the rest out."


    John followed her instructions down to every word, and soon he felt his Mana flowing throughout his body and around him, entering the bodies of the dogs. Using his Mana like feelers, he reached into the black abyss that once housed their souls. He then willed his dark red Mana into potato-sized clumps of Mana and thought one thing while raising his hands, "Rise and bend to my will." Within their soul cavities around the Mana clumps, John had just made, smaller sinister red cl.u.s.ters of lights began to appear. Soon following was bright red lines of Mana that began connecting these red cl.u.s.ters of lights together along with the clumps of Mana John had made. The clumps of Mana started to harden and turn into crystals while still being tethered to the red cl.u.s.ter of lights around them, creating an almost crystalline nexus of dark red lights.


    Feeling that he''d done what was instructed, John pulled his Mana and out of the dogs and watched as they began twitching and jerking around as if having an intense seizure. After a half a minute, they rose in a synchronized manner and bowed toward the skeleton in front of them.


    John didn''t know what to expect as this was still new to him. A day ago, he was living a sad and miserable life alone as an outcast, and now he was surrounded by zombie dogs bowing to him. It was like nothing he''d ever seen as all the undead creature he''d ever seen on t.v. were either slow and lumbering or wild and feral like. Looking at the 20 zombie dogs, he wondered about their capabilities and what all he could have them do, but for now, he had to inspect his skills and abilities.


    Before looking back at his menu, he waved his hands and willed them to secure his surroundings as he didn''t want any more unexpected surprises. Following his will, they all sprinted into different directions falling out of John sight. Wanting to know where they went to, John searched for their connection and was astounded at what he saw. Through his connection with them, he could see what they saw in his consciousness. It was like seeing 20 different monitors that had their views set close to the ground.


    Looking at how far they went, John could see that they formed a perimeter around him with the distance from him being 45 meters. Seeing this, John felt relieved that his surroundings were secure for the time being. He opened his menu back up and looked at skills the gods had given him.


    ---Magic Manipulation: A skill that allows the user to use magic


    ---Dark Manipulation: A skill that allows the user to conjure and use the eternal darkness however he/she sees fit.


    ---Stat Absorption: A skill that allows the user to absorb the stat points of those he/she kills at the cost of the corpse turning to ash.


    ---Evolution Manipulation: A skill that allows the user to control what they evolve into, along with managing what their minions become as well.


    ---Inventory: A skill that allows the user to store inanimate objects and corpses into a pocket dimension.


    ---Age Acceleration: A skill that allows the user to increase the age of whatever''s in a radius of 30 meters around the user.


    ---Necromancy: An ability that allows the user to Necromancy.


    ---------Conjuration: A ability that allows the user to summon undead or souls.


    ---------Death sense: the ability to sense when someone is going to die or if someone has died in an area.


    ---------Immortality: An ability that allows the user to be live forever as long as their body is not fatally wounded.


    ---------Lifeforce Absorption: An ability that allows the user to regain health by absorbing it from anything living.


    ---------Motor-skill Manipulation: An ability that allows the user to control the movements of his/her minions.


    ---------Reanimation: The ability to bring the dead back and under your control.


    ---------Self-Resurrection: An ability to bring yourself or another back to life with a penalty to stats for 96 hours.


    ---------Spirit Magic: An ability to conjure or control spirits.


    ---------Curse Manipulation: An ability that allows the user to create and control curses to his/her liking.


    John looked at this long list of sub-abilities that belonged to his {Necromancy} and was dumbfounded. Most of his skills and abilities looked as if the gods themselves were giving him added insurance to what they wanted him to be.


    "Dixie, whats with some of these skills and abilities, aren''t some of these a little too much for a skeleton like me?" John asked hesitantly as he looked around him as if Dixie was gonna show herself outside his head.


    "First of John, I can show my self outside your conscious, but I''ll look like a random lamp in the woods which might grab the attention of campers..." Dixie said as if correcting John.


    "And second, This is mainly due to you being an undead with intelligence at 150, Wisdom at 200, and your f.u.c.k.i.n.g Mana being at a stupidly high number like 9000. Because of these stats and your mana stat being increased by the Goddess of Creation upon being reborn as a skeleton soon as you started falling from the sky like purple and red fireball. So yea, you''ll naturally be born with {Necromancy} as an ability with its sub-abilities." Dixie said as if what she just said was basic knowledge that John should have known about.


    John was concerned for Dixie''s sarcastic words and her foul language as much as he was given an enormous boon. One so big that he thought the gods had made his job easy. With such skills and abilities, John had an idea that could make things better for him.


    "Thank you, Dixie, for your insight over the matter, but it''s time to find a base. And if I know any better, a cities intricate sewer system with its twist and turns makes an excellent place to start." John says while walking back toward the direction of the graveyard on the outskirt of the Hornbrew City.


    As he walked with utter confidence, he instructed the dogs to come back to his as he now had a plan. Operation: Shadow Snatch begins now.

 Chapter 4 - 04: Difficult Situations

    How does one tell their children and their grandchildren that they killed a man who might or might not have been a murderer? The answer is simple; you sit them down and explain your side of the story and hope they understand and worst-case scenario they still love you.


    This was what Alexia hope for as she sat down with both Alice and Lana as she told them about John and how he was convicted at the age of 10 for the murder of her little sister. She explained how she broke in and took a quick look around his house before she sat and waited for his return, and how she questioned him for why she did it and for him to only say he was innocent.


    Alexia''s hands shook as she then explained how her anger got the best of her as she didn''t mean to pull the trigger and that it had just happened by mistake. She also tells them about the safety deposit box key he had pointed out to her before he died.


    When she finished explaining her story, she looked back up at both Alice and Lana to see both of their faces stricken with shock and sadness. She wondered if her daughter and granddaughter would hate or be afraid of the now 76-year-old woman that sat before them confessing her sins but was shocked by what happened next.


    Alice had grabbed her hand and looked her in the eyes and said, "Mom, please tell me what were you were thinking. You can be locked up for the rest of your life. Did you think about the repercussions of what you did and how they could affect your granddaughter or me if this leads back to you?"


    Alexia knew exactly what Alice meant as she was being scolded. Alice could be made to arrest her all the while Lana could be scrutinized, or worse, be told she couldn''t attend Quantico because of her affiliation with her (Author''s Note: It''s the place FBI agents are trained for those that don''t know).


    "Alice, I noticed that I wouldn''t have had the chance to ask him why he did what he did. I''m old, darling, and I didn''t want to leave this world without knowing why. I didn''t mean to pull the trigger, but in all honesty, it was on accident." Alexia pleaded as she looked back and forth between Alice and Lana seeing how they both look like her and her twin, who was supposedly killed by John.


    Lana rose up and hugged Alexia she fully understood her grandmother and sat back down and said, "Ok... We''re gonna need to know a couple of things first before anyone any finds any links to you. I''m not letting my grandma be locked up for taking a monster off the streets. First, did you leave anything that could lead to you."


    Alexia and Alice looked at Lana with shock as they didn''t think she would say such things, but Alice nodded as she loved her mother too much to let her die in prison.


    Alexia knew that both her daughter and granddaughter loved her greatly, but not this much to risk everything for her. She swallowed her spit and thought back to Johns house. She had worn typical boots from a random dollar store along with black gloves. Then it struck her, She never picked the shell casing.


    Alexia facepalms as she realizes she left a crucial piece of evidence, and that was gonna be the key. She looks both in the eyes and say, "The shell casing. I forgot to pick it up before leaving."


    Alice sighs and says, "Ok, I''ll see what I can do about that. I''m guessing that''s it since you didn''t say anything else. Ok, do you know where the safety deposit box that the key opens is located."


    Alexia taking the key out of her pocket, takes a closer look at it. On the front of the key, it was imprinted with MidSouth Bank of America. Alexia then looked back at Alice and Lana and said, "Its a key to a safety deposit box in the bank on Allen street in the middle of downtown."


    --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


    John and his 20 undead dogs had finally reached the edge of the forest the bordered the cemetery that John had landed in before running into the woods. Flashing blue and red lights emanating from the area in which John had killed the poor groundskeeper let know John know that his body had been found.


    John knew that they''d eventually follow his boney footprints into the woods. So he knew this was a perfect opportunity for John to test the capabilities of his zombie dogs. So he snuck back into the graveyard with the zombie dogs spread out, making a semi perimeter around the cemetery on all sides except the south, which led to the street that also led directly to the city center.


    John crept around a crypt that was the size of a large shed and peered out to where he landed to only see police talking to men in black suits. John knew the men and women in black weren''t here for the dead groundskeeper but for the crater that he''d left when he landed. Overall John saw 36 law enforcement in all, 23 police officers, and what John thought was 13 FBI agents.


    John at first doubted that his zombie dogs could handle them, but he knew that he''d needed to take them out to increase his army. So before he sent his dogs in to ravage the group of law enforcers, he had an idea. ''Why not send one to see how it does in combat and then send in the rest,'' He thought as he as command one of the dogs that were on the east perimeter to send out a ghastly howl.


    The howl could be heard for just over a kilometer scaring the birds into a midnight flight. The police and FBI all turn to the east in a synchronized manner as they all look in shock and horror toward the disturbingly odd howl.


    They all look at each other to confirm who searched that area earlier. A young female police officer in her early 20''s says out loud, "I''m sure there was nothing over there 15 minutes ago. I''m positive."


    Most of them looked at her as she raised a flashlight toward the area the howl came from. She looked back at her partner, who said, "Ok, Megan, I''ll follow and watch your back, just be careful."


    She nodded back at her partner, who was a little shaken from the howl. She knew Jake had a fear of dogs since he was little but found it attractive that he''d get brave and try to impress her by having her back.


    They walked by several tombstones and head markers on the ground that were knocked over on the ground by the impact of the crater until they reached the ones that still stood still and firm. As they looked and flashed their lights, they found nothing and looked back at each other in confusion.


    Jake turned and looked at Megan, who was still confused and said, "I guess it was just a random doACKkk..."


    Megan, who had only seen a blur tackle Jake to the ground, had blood sprayed on her face as she stood in shock. She stood there, staring at an empty space for a second to see Jake''s struggle as he finally went limp while having his through mauled by a bloody dog. In an instant, she pulled her gun out and shot two bullets into the dog''s side, making it hit the floor.


    The shots rang throughout the cemetery, causing the other officers and agents to run over to see Megan over Jake, pointing a gun at the dog they thought was dead. Oscar, the sheriff of the district, ran next to Megan, who was still pointing her gun at the dog and said, "What the hell happened here?"


    Megan remained quiet as the sudden attack of the dog left her in shock as everyone spread out, leaving a few to surround Megan, the dog, and the now-deceased Jake. Sheriff Oscar didn''t know what to make of the situation as he stared at the dog as it twitched.


    The five agents and officers, along with the sheriff and Megan, jumped at the sight of the dog as it rose back and just stood still. They all knew to point the gun at the dogs Megan kept hers pointed towards it since they arrived. It frightened them, even more, when they saw the gaping hole on it''s back where John had held it in the air with his {Dark Spear}, but they didn''t know what caused.


    Without warning, Megan shot three more times, hitting it in the side, but the dog only jerked from the impacts and regained its posture. At this point, the five officers and agents, along with Sheriff Oscar and Megan knew something wasn''t right with this dog.


    At closer inspection, seeing as the dog didn''t even budge and was still standing despite having been shot five times now, one of the FBI agents yelled, "We need back up asap!"


    As the dog was now surrounded by the 35 agents and officers, it sprinted towards one of the police officers at full speed. Seeing how the dead officer was killed quickly, everyone wasted no time filling the dog with hot lead until their clips were empty, and the dog fell on the ground once again.


    Fear flooded throughout the officers and agents as the dog struggled to raise back up with its front right paw dangling from a strand of flesh and it''s jaw missing. It''s glowing right eye dangled on the side of its face as it looked back at Megan who reloaded and her gun and delivered the final shot to its head.


    Everyone stood silently and watch the dog as if it was going to rise back up again. Everyone wore a face of shock and horror as they looked at each other for an answer to what the hell was wrong with the dog. Killing the silence, one of the commanding FBI agents says, "Terry go report this and..."


    Before the commanding agent could finish giving his order, several ghastly dog howls roared around them. Out of the shadows, 19 zombie dogs appeared from behind tombstones and crypts as they growled and snarled at the agents. Remembering how difficult it was to kill one of the blue-eyed monsters, despair washed over the officers and agents as they loaded their weapons. They formed a circle to cover each other''s backs in the hope their defense could hold off these unnatural animals.


    Megan wondered what could make dogs into creatures that horrifying. Just as she said that blue eyes appeared from all around them, showing them they were surrounded by about 19 more of these monstrous dogs. Megan looked at the agent who was supposed to run to the nearest police cruiser to radio for back up, but like the rest, he was frozen in fear. She looked around to see that she was the only officer to have bothered to have brought her portable radio and tried to radio for back up, but she noticed that the wire to her radio was cleanly cut. As she saw this, it was like a signal, and all the zombie dogs laid siege upon the 35 police officers and FBI agents.


    [Bang]


    [Bang] [Bang] [Bang] [Bang] [Bang] [Bang] [Bang] [Bang] [Bang]


    The police officers and FBI agents put up a good fight for the first five-second. Still, it was all for naught as two agents went down got their throats and intestines shredded, then five officers went down similarly soon afterward their circle defense was broken. Noticing their defense was broken, several officers and agents tried to make a break for but was only caught by the zombie dogs who were done feasting on their peers.


    At this point, there remained 12 officers and FBI who stood their ground. Along with them were Officer Megan, Sheriff Oscar, and the commanding FBI agent from before. They all scared shitless as they saw no way out of their predicament, and John was delighted.


    John saw this as an opportunity to add more fear in the mix by making an appearance so as soon as they were out of ammo, and there were only four left: Officer Megan, Sheriff Oscar, and the commanding FBI agent and one of his last surviving subordinates.


    John ordered his zombie dogs to corner them by the wall of a crypt and await further orders as he walked with a dignified manner to them. He saw their faces as they wondered why the zombie dogs weren''t finishing them off. Their face turned damn near white as they saw the skeleton with an ominous red glow from its eye sockets walk through the 19 dogs that just obliterated their friends and co-workers. John felt immense p.l.e.a.s.u.r.e in seeing they''re confused and horrified faces as he walked past his small horde of undead dogs.


    John thought hard as to what he was going to do with, and an idea struck him. Why not use these four to send a message that humanities time is up. He walked up next to the scared and frozen Officer Megan and rest his boney skeleton hand on her cheek and c.o.c.ked his head and used magic to conjure a ghastly grated voice and said, "You all... let the world know... that humanity''s time is at an end... and that the dead now walk the earth."


    Their eyes all go wide as the talking skeleton before them delivered his frightening message before backing away with his arms raised to his sides. John knew it was a bad idea to let them know of his existence, but he felt it would be more fun if they struggled, so he laughed while walking backward. John wanted them to see what they were up against while he increased his army so they would be even more afraid when they report what they''ve seen tonight.


    John, in an instant, channeled his mana through his body and throughout the entire graveyard. He established connections with all that was dead withing the cemetery and raised his arms back down and stared at the frightened and bewildered law enforcement before him.


    Megan was scared at what she was seeing before her as she silently prayed to the gods she didn''t know were the ones that unleashed such horrors upon them. She stopped praying as her fellow colleagues and FBI agents began to twitch and jerk around as if they were having intense seizures. Megan, Oscar, and the two remaining FBI agents looked on in even more horror as they bent and contorted in ways the human body wasn''t meant too.


    Megan dropped to her knees at the sight of hundreds of undead that now surrounded them. She didn''t even care for the fact that she had just pissed herself in front of her superiors because she knew they wanted to do the same, but she had just beat them to the punch. She swore to on her granny''s grave, which luckily wasn''t here that she was going to be torn asunder like her partner who stood in front her with a large portion of his throat missing.


    John felt that his goal was finished here and spread a shadow around the ground under his horde that now spanned just over 150 zombies. They all began to sink into the large shadow under their feet and completely disappeared.


    Megan didn''t know how to think or explain the horror that had just happened before them, but something within her mind broke, and she let out a small laugh as she could hear sirens in the distance. Probably backup responding due to the large amount of gunshots from earlier.


    Megan continues to laugh, which turned into crying as Oscar tried to comfort her while the commanding FBI agent and his subordinate stood looked around at the now-empty graves around them in shock. Not because they survived the night but because they didn''t know how to explain what the hell had just happened to them all.

 Chapter 5 - 05: F.u.c.k.e.d Up Shit and Great Strategies

    As Alexia, Alice, and Lana had finalized their plans and were intent on doing what was needed to keep Alexia out of prison for the remainder of her life, all three of their phone ranged at just about the same time and simultaneously answered.


    Alexia, on her phone, recognized the number as her old partner, Allen Mccoy, who she saw as a brother and her closest friend as well as her partner from when she was an FBI agent. Without hesitation, she picked up, hoping it wasn''t about John Carlton, and said, "Hey Allen..."


    "Turn your T.V. to the news, now quickly!" Allen said with a voice of great worry.


    At the same time, as Alexia was talking to Allen, Alice had just answered her phone and said, "Hello?"


    "Alice get to St.Addison''s Cemetary. Most of everyone in the office has already been informed except you and a few others. Have you seen what''s on the news? It''s a real f.u.c.k.i.n.g disaster." Jacob Haze had said over the phone with a loud voice.


    Alice turns to see Alexia turning the T.V. on to the news channel as bright "Breaking News" letters went across the bottom of the screen. Confused as to what''s going on, she said, "Jacob, what the hell''s going on?"


    "I don''t know, Alice. I haven''t got there yet. But everyone''s been called there when I say everyone I mean FBI, CIA, NSA, and Homeland Security. God Alice, we''re in for a shit show." Jacob says while Alice watches the T.V. news anchor telling the public that 23 police officers and 13 FBI agents arrived in the cemetery, and only 4 survived an attack of some sort.


    The news anchor looked to her side as a man approached and whispered something that made her jerk her head back, giving a confused expression. She then leans back toward the camera and says, "Ok people this just in at the cemetery it has been confirmed that over 130 corpses are now missing. Along with this new information from the first people on the scene, onlookers have reported that it seems that the graves and crypts were destroyed from the inside as if the dead clawed and punched their way out. This is Jackie Asagawa signing off for now, and we''ll keep you informed of any changes that occur."


    Lana coming back to her senses, closes her mouth, which was opened as she dropped her jaw while listening to the news anchor. She didn''t usually curse, but when moments like these occur, she couldn''t help but say, "What...the...actual...f.u.c.k. Ok, mom, I know you have to go to that scene but please be careful. Me and grandma will be here until you get back, and tomorrow we''ll go to this bank on Allen Street."


    Already on her way out the door, Alice says, "Ok, sweety, I''ll be back as soon as possible. If I''m not back before, then go ahead without me."


    The door closes, and Alexia finally hangs up the phone looking at the T.V. that had just reported the gruesome scene. She couldn''t help but feel an increasingly intense feeling around her c.h.e.s.t and stomach as if what she had done was linked to the cemetery somehow. She looked at Lana, who was now wondering who her grandmother was talking to since she had retired from the FBI a long time ago. She then looks back at the T.V. that was now reporting John''s murder and says, "Well, the authorities found Johns body."


    --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


    John had used his {Shadow Manipulation} to teleport him and his horde of 183 back deep within the woods miles away from the cemetery. His horde now included the 19 remaining zombie dogs, the 130 corpses from the graveyard, and 32 police and FBI agents who were now all zombies under the command of John. As he turned and looked around to see all of his minions standing around staring at him like a massive mob of people looking for a leader, John fell to his knees as what he had done shocked him.


    Remembering back to the scene, John had known himself as a cautious and shy person which he hated about himself as his shyness and pussified character was never as brave as tonight. He thought back to when he was tried in court for the murder he never committed when he was 10, ''Only if I had this courage, I was younger,'' he thought.


    Before he could wallow in any more self-pity, Dixie interrupted and said, "Oh, I forgot, Ding. Congratulations on reaching the max level with leftover experience now, you can use your {Evolution Manipulation} skill to choose your next evolution. Choose wisely; you won''t be able to change back later."


    Hearing this brought John back to his feet. He opened his menu and used his {Evolution Manipulation} skill, which took him straight to his evolution tab, and it shows a web that connected to different shapes and figures that eventually connects to him who was at the very bottom with a label of Skeleton. John wasn''t surprised seeing that he at the bottom; after all, he was a boney a.s.s Skeleton. (Author note: Yes I know it''s a very sinful pun, but ya at least have to give a dog a bone (Hehehehe))


    John saw that he had two possible evolutions that were high lighted. On the left was a Skeleton Magician, and on the right was Magic Zombie. At first, neither looked good as the option to see their abilities showed that they both only had abilities that were lesser or already fell under one of John''s skills or abilities.


    Seeing as there wasn''t much of a difference between them, so John chose the Skeleton Magician, and everything around him went dark as if he was swallowed up by a shadow construct. All was quiet until Dixie appeared in the form of a small person that just barely fit in his hand instead of a ball of light like before. She was smiling before she said, "Prepare yourself, John, it''s gonna hurt like hell."


    John at first was surprised by her new appearance but thought back to what she had said and said in his head, "Well, I''ve been beaten and shot dead what could be worse."


    Dixie looked at John and said, "Why does everyone say that phrase "What could be worse" when something worse is bound to happen. Know what? F.u.c.k it, I tried to warn you."


    John wished he could roll his eyes, but before he could imagine himself doing so, he felt a tingling sensation coming from his c.h.e.s.t. To be more precise, it was his soul that was increasing that had increased by a radius of 30 meters. In his consciousness, his soul was the size of a mountain, but whenever he looked at, it was only ever the size of a basketball. Now, after being swallowed by this unknown darkness, his soul grew to surround him like a dome.


    At first, he didn''t think much about it as he believed it would be a quick process, such as going to sleep and waking up transformed. That was was until he felt an immense pain shoot throughout his body. He looked at his pearly white arm and leg bones to see them turning into a smooth and glossy obsidian that reflected the light of his soul that gave a brighter red and fiery pattern than before on his blackened soul. After his transformation, his body still seared with immense pain, A pain he''d never felt before as he groveled on the ground in agony.


    "AAAHHHHHggggg F.u.c.k f.u.c.k f.u.c.k f.u.c.k. Goddammit this hurtssss." John says as smoke begins to leave his mouth as a red light begins to permeate from his mouth as he speaks.


    Dixie flew down to the ground and bent down near John''s face and says, "See what I mean. They all regret saying those words sooner or later, but eventually, like you, they all learn to shut up and follow my instructions."


    As Dixie walks off playfully, John shoots her a look of pure anger as he wanted to crush the kitten sized woman, but he remembered he still needed her in case something he couldn''t make sense of appeared.


    After a couple of minutes, the pain subsides, and John rises back up with one knee still on the ground and looks around as the surrounding goes back to normal, and his soul condenses to its original size as if nothing had just happened.


    John was relieved that the pain had faded away, but now he had to inspect himself. His skeleton body was now entirely black and shiny as if he was now made out of obsidian. His fingertips and toes were now sharpened like claws, which John found to be cool. While inspecting his hands, he noticed a glow reflecting off of them from his face that made John curious as his radius bone to give him a better view.


    "Those flames in your eyes and mouth are nothing more than Mana that which gives you abilities so small that they are really recognized as abilities by your menu. From my records, you can now see Mana around you along with see-through objects, which the limit to how far you can see through is based on your level, P.S. test it later. The Mana in your throat gives you the ability to speak out loud clearly than before, and whatever you say or hear is translated to whatever the other person understands as their language." Dixie said non stop while noticing that John still had stat points he could spend.


    She flew by John and said, " Ok enough of that, it''s time to assign your stat points."


    John looked up as if finally realizing that he had forgotten about them. He looked back at his stats and saw that he was now level 10 and thought about his current abilities and skills. Since his stats were very game-based, he looked back at the times where he played such games. From his memories, he remembered that his stats determined what a person was good at when it came to a fight. His highest stat happened to be Mana, which due to his evolution, had increased to 9500.


    He looked at his other stats, except luck, which had also increased because of evolution by 25, which fell under the whopping 500 increase of his Mana.


    His stats were now:


    [stats]


    Name: John Carlton


    Species: <Magic Skeleton>


    Level: 13


    Dex: 35 Mana: 9500


    Agi: 35 Hp:155


    Int: 175 Stat points:90


    Lck: 0


    John looked over his stats and was surprised that his luck hadn''t increased, not even by 1 point. Seeing this, John thinking back to the previous event, remembered that during that event had nothing to do with his luck or vice versa, but then he began what would have happened if his luck stat was higher then.


    Hearing his thoughts like a radio, Dixie said, "Your luck stat doesn''t really affect much other than your luck in doing something, looking for something or when in a dire situation it affects the chances of the Dues Ex Machina system will come to your aid. In most cases, it wouldn''t really help until your luck stat reaches around the 300 mark, which most species never reach unless they have an item capable of doing so."


    At this point, John started wondering what kind of shitty system the gods had made, but quickly put it to the side as he decided to put 30 points to his luck stat, another 30 to his strength, 10 to his dexterity, 10 to his agility, and finally 10 to health.


    Finally feeling satisfied with how his stats looked, he left his menu and looked at his horde of zombies as they stood and shuffled around, never going too far as they all still needed orders. John thought it was wonderful as his horde had in one night already stood at 130 zombies. Although there was one thing that stayed on his mind as he thought back to when he brought the entire cemetery back to life, It would quickly become more and more irritating if he had to bring back billions of humans.


    Before he could think further, it struck him, when he was younger before his father died, he''d let him secretly play Resident evil on his old GameCube. He remembered although the zombies were slow, a bite or a scratch meant infection and eventual transformation into a zombie. He thought back to all the uses for the {Necromancy} ability, and he remembered that one of the sub-abilities included {Curse Manipulation}, and from the sound of it, he didn''t even need Dixie to understand what he needed to do.


    He channeled his magic for a mere second while thinking about the type of curse he wanted. He knew that with the current technology of today, curses couldn''t be detected, so he put a lot of his faith into it.


    He wanted his curse to be capable of bringing back the deceased no matter how long they''ve been dead. He needed it to be capable of spreading from the scratches and bites from all the undead under his control while also having a 32-hour time limit before a survivor turns while slowly eroding their minds and putting them under his command from the moment of transmission. He knew this was a gonna be sure-fire curse that was going to be his best weapon in bringing down human civilization. He just needed to get his horde to the right places during the right time, and all will be game soon as he found a suitable hideout.


    John thought back to how he could get into the city undetected, and he remembers that on his way back to the cemetery, there was a huge drainage pipe that seemed to go under the graveyard and into the city. That''ll be the perfect way to sneak over a 100 walking corpses into the city


    John smiled as he thought, "It''s good to see that increased intelligence coming in handy."


    Without another thought, he wills the undead to begin their march to the sewage entrance as he makes them spread apart like Noah did the Red Sea.


    "Oh jolly, this gonna be fun. Heeee! the beginning of our mission begins now!" Dixie said as she stood on John''s head, pointing forward like he''s a ship.

 Chapter 6 - Update

    Hey everyone just updating you all on the current status of the next chapter.


    Right now I''m currently away from my computer (Which I do all of my writing/typing) and out of town for the next 2 days. So right now the chapter 6 is currently delayed until I return because I refuse to use that the app to write since EVERYTIME I use it what I write/type doesn''t save so please be patient with me as the chapter 6 is about 30% finished I plan on finishing it as soon as I get back OwO.

 Chapter 7 - 06: Humanity and Tragic Ends

    It''s been about a few minutes since Alice arrived on the scene looking at the helicopters in the skies and news crews from who knows where to surround the cemetery with only a perimeter of police officers to stop them from trespassing on the horrifying scene.


    Before Alice could begin her approach Jacob, her partner, hurriedly jogs toward her with his calm but easily seen through face, as she''s just about to exit her car. He stops and looks around before leaning closer and saying, "OK Alice look, The Assistant FBI Director wants to talk to you and right now he''s pissed as all hell so I don''t think it''s a good idea to keep him waiting any longer."


    As they walk together through the crew Alice could finally see the officers keeping guard of the perimeter who let them through once they flashed their badges. Once they made it through the perimeter it was like a scene from a movie, all of the graves were and crypts were destroyed and broken as if people fought their way out of them. When she looked toward Jacob he kept a straight face as if not trying to look at the graves as sweat dripped down his face.


    After walking past several FBI agents investigating and gathering samples from the surrounding area they finally met up with the Assistant FBI Director, James Mattheson. He was standing in front of six agents giving them orders when he heard Alice and Jacob approaching from behind him. He turned around and said, "Ok people meeting over with you have your assignments, so get to them."


    As the six FBI agents walked off in separate directions Mattheson said, "Bout damn time you arrived. Alice, I need you to head to the 2nd police precinct to interrogate the four survivors. I and the top brass believe that as soon as they arrived on the scene where the unidentified flying object landed they and the groundskeeper were ambushed by an unknown group."


    Alice listening to Mattheson looks around at all the empty graves and asks, "Ok you also want me to ask them about the graves because for an unknown group to dig out graves 7 feet under and to breakout of stone crypts that seems a bit strange don''t you think?"


    Mattheson looked around and leaned closer and said, " Look we''re still confused about this whole situation as well. When we arrived here the four survivors were in shock talking about the walking dead and skeleton. Our first assumption was they were in shock or under the effects of a hallucinogen so that''s why we''re having you and Jacob go talk to all four of them once they calm themselves down."


    As Mattheson finished speaking to Alice and Jacob he received a phone call and from the look of the stress on his face it was no good. After listening to what the other person on the phone had said he snapped, both Alice and Jacob looked shocked and bewildered as they heard Mattheson yelling about a brother who was found shot dead in his home.


    At the moment Jacob felt sympathetic towards Mattheson as he too had lost his brother a few months back to a robbery gone wrong, But unlike Jacob Alice felt a shiver go down her back as what little information she had gotten from Mattheson''s yelling she couldn''t help but feel as if the actions of her mother and his brother''s murder was one and the same.


    As Mattheson walks away toward the more private area of the crime scene Alice and Jacob begin their walk back to their cars to begin their long night of interrogating the four survivors. After both Alice and Jacob had split to go to their cars Alice grabbed her phone from her back pocket and dial a number. On the other end was the voice of a calm Alexia who had said, "Hello."


    "Mom, I believe things have gotten more complicated," Alice says while giving Mattheson one last glance before leaving the parking lot of the graveyard.


    -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


    It''s been a day since John and his horde had entered the sewer system of Hornbrew city through the sewer entrance a mile from the graveyard. It was an almost silent march if not for the m.o.a.ns and shuffling of his horde.


    John could have gave them sentience but chose to hold off on that until he could fully understand his limits. As far as he could understand he could see and sense all that is alive and dead through his undead army even when they are a vast distance away.


    He tested his control with his undead as he willed his zombie dogs to scout far and wide throughout the sewer system while remembering and mapping out the tunnels as he let them scout the nooks and crannies. Within hours he had almost half of the entire sewer system of Hornbrew city mapped out along with the locations of several medium-sized homeless camps that he ordered his dogs to go around until he could make them a part of his legion without survivors letting the surface know him and his army of undead.


    It took John a while to find a base of operations that he came to call The Grave Center. It was a huge open space in the shape of a circle with an 80-meter radius from the center with only one entrance which stood behind John and his horde. It looked as if the area hadn''t been used in years as the pipes that ran parallel and a few that crossed over giving it a steampunk vibe as all of the pipes converged to the center of the ceiling through a hole leading to the newer tunnels.


    When Hornbrew city had gone through its first wave of renovations to modernize the city they completely abandoned the old sewer system and built on top of it as if it had never existed and leaving it out books in order to hide the many violations that were never fixed by modern standards. The only people that really knew about the old tunnel system were the groups of homeless that lived throughout the new and old sewer systems along with support groups that had the intention of helping the homeless out of poverty. John knew about this as he had lived amongst them for a while before someone he didn''t think survived the fire when he was six years old came and gave him a home of his own, his younger brother, James Mattheson, who went by the name of his foster family.


    He''d spent several years down in the new sewers and never bothered to go very deep and enter the old sewer system, although now he was at the center of the old sewer system which also put him right under the center of the new one and the middle of the city. It was the perfect spot as he knew if he quickly got rid of the homeless population and added them to his army there would be very few to know the existence of the old sewer system then the first part of his operation would be complete. Dixie who had chosen to physically manifest herself looked at john as with a pleased smile said, "Well even though I exist mostly in your head most of your thoughts do get jumbled even to me, so tell me oh so merciless leader what exactly do you have planned so far.


    John walking in the middle of the open space while listening to Dixie said, "Operation: Shadow Snatch is a multi-step plan that depends on patience Dixie. It goes as follows, Step one, kill and add the majority of the homeless populations from the sewers, alleys, and bridges above ground. Step two my poor Dixie, is where our patience will be tested the most as we will infect those near major areas of transportation with my undead curse as they spread state to state and country to country. Step three Dixie, Is where things become interesting, while waiting for the spread of my curse and growing hordes of undead in secret under their cities, I''ll attempt to make a magic capable of disrupting communications worldwide to make the flow of information almost non-existent. Step four Dixie is the main course as we make our big reveal and begin our main attack on humanity on multiple fronts ensuring mass confusion and hysteria. If there''s one thing I can promise, Dixie, is that the chance the gods have given me will not be in vain."


    Dixie looked on in horror at how deep John had thought this through. She knew that at this point he was the complete opposite of the past heroes she''d assisted in the past. She knew John had anger that he had pent up and stored somewhere in his consciousness but didn''t know that anyone could use it as fuel as John did when he created this plan. She began to wonder if the gods choice to allow him to bring an end to the humans of the Triad of Worlds was the right thing as she began to see just how black his soul really was


    As John finishes he felt multiple tingling sensations within his consciousness and took a look. He looked through the minds of the zombie dogs and could tell they were notifying him of the complete mapping of both the old and new sewers. John was delighted as he knew it was time to enact step one of Operation: Shadow Snatch. Without hesitation, he willed the current horde around him into 7 groups of 23 and sent them at full sprint towards the camps of denizens who would soon be a part of his undead horde.


    It wasn''t long before the first group John made, which he mentally labeled as group 1, came upon the first camp of homeless people. It was a group of 15 that had posted their tents and shacks alongside the walls of the sewer. Most of them were sharing their food with each other while a few slept in their makeshift homes. Within their numbers were a few 2 children who were playing with a toy plane and train. John thought back to his childhood as it wasn''t that bad before the fatal fire that ruined his life, and began to wonder if he should spare the children but that went out the window as soon as he remembered just how f.u.c.k.e.d up life can become at any moment. After that unpleasant reminder of his life John only saw them as baits to lure in potential victims during step two of Operation: Shadow Snatch.


    He willed one final order to group 1, and that was to enjoy the feast. Not even hesitating, the small horde rushed towards the group of homeless making all sorts of ghastly howls, roars, and growls as if to let them know of their impending doom.


    An elderly man rose from his seat and looked a behind him to see what was making the noises unaware of what was rushing toward him as the others that sat around the burning barrel and cooking food looked on in horror as the sounds got closer. Even though the fire from the barrel gave ampul lighting it wasn''t enough so the elderly man grabbed his flashlight and shined it down the corridor to only reveal a decayed corpse pouncing at him. Because of his old age, he couldn''t react fast enough as the zombie tackled him into the burn barrel and the person who sat across from him.


    The zombie bit deep into the man''s throat and ripped a huge chunk of it out as it jerked back swallowing the chunk of flesh. It looked up and around at the screaming people as they were being assaulted by its undead brethren as well. Before it could continue its meal It noticed a woman grabbing the hands of the two children and making an attempt to escape. Following its order to kill as many as possible it rose and bolted towards them as another zombie caught on and ran alongside it at full speed.


    The woman saw looked back to only see a silhouette of the two zombies dashing at them. She knew that she run fast while holding on to both so now she faced a horrifying situation either abandon both and save herself or abandon one child but the question still sat with which one should she abandon. With not much of a choice, she abandoned the boy and picked up the girl and ran as fast as she could while ignoring the little boy''s cries and scream of agony as he''s mauled viciously by one of the zombies while the other continued its pursuit.


    John watched the whole thing through the eyes of the zombie who remained to chase the woman and the little girl she carried with tears rolling down her face at her choice to leave the boy. At first John applauded the woman for making a smart choice but sadly he found it typical as he saw it coming.


    After a few seconds, the woman grew tired and was tackled by the zombie tossing the little girl to the ground as he zombie bit deep into her nape. She made a bloody scream while looking toward the little girl before yelling, "Run Jasmine, Run!"


    The little girl was stupid seeing as she could be next she ran a yard before stopping. The woman behind Jasmine kept crying and yelling for Jasmine to run as she saw that she had stopped. She wanted her to run and survive whatever was happening to them but all hope died as she saw what was in front of Jasmine. A silhouette of a dog that was half of Jasmine''s size as it stood there as if waiting on an attack order.


    Jasmine didn''t know what to think of the dog the was now in front of her. As far she knew it was only people attacking, but with appearance of the dog she didn''t know what to do. Before she could run try and run past it pounced for her neck.


    Before John could see any more he disconnected his view of the scene as he began to feel a wait on his soul. A weight that was indeed heavier than he could ever imagine. Of course, he hadn''t felt anything for the others he''d killed but the look of fear from the girl''s face and despair from who John assumed was the mother killed felt different it was like a sharp pain in his soul. But as he began to think it over he felt something in his mind flip like a switch as at that moment John felt that weight on his soul become lighter. He wondered what it could have been but almost as if she knew Dixie flew toward John''s skull and embraced him.


    Dixie had seen what John''s zombie had done and could feel what John had gone through but was oblivious to what he had just lost. She knew that John had immense hatred and anger towards and he had a darkness that laid dormant within his mind but seeing how he felt the sadness of taking the life of innocence showed Dixie that John indeed still had a bit of humanity in him. But she knew that this heavy feeling and sharp pain was a piece of his humanity actually dying.


    John could see Dixie was crying as she was saying she was sorry over and over. John confused asks, "What are you doing little fairy do you know what that feeling was?"


    "I could''ve stopped you from watching! I could''ve saved it! I could''ve saved the huge portion of humanity in you that just died! Please forgive me John! Please don''t change on me!" Dixie cried with her eyes closed and her head on John''s nasal bridge.


    John didn''t know what had gotten into the c.o.c.ky and sarcastic fairy from earlier but from her words, he could summarize that something like this happened to someone she cared for deeply. He c.a.r.e.s.sed her tiny back with his index finger and said, "Don''t worry Dixie, I don''t change so easily."


    In Dixie''s heart, she wanted to believe those words but in her mind, she could only recount the very same words coming from the mouth of the hero she once served. She knew this quest from the gods was a dark and sad one as they put her under the impression that the next person she would be in charge of supporting would have already lost his humanity. But at this moment she could feel that the humanity John had shoved behind his hatred and darkness had just become 25% smaller. From Dixie''s experience with her last partner who had only lost 10% and became a brutal and sadistic killer she could only believe that John was going to become more monstrous.


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    Hi guys and gals sorry for super late or as it''s 4 in the morning for me early (Sinful author making sinful jokes, gotta love it) so I plan on doing a Q and A. First 10 to 15 questions will be answered (unless very spoiler-heavy then it will be skipped.)

 Chapter 8 - Q&A

    Deeeeeeeeeeeeev:


    Q: Where did the inspiration/idea for this novel comes from? It reminds me of hero summoning novels but reversed and I find it interesting.


    A: The inspiration for the story stems from me being tired of reading and watching the same old trope of the villains having no actual good reason or just point blatantly being evil with no reason for why they went down such a path. Although some media have gone so far as to fix said trope (Thank you, Marvel.)


    PleasantPresent:


    Q: Will the next worlds both be fantasy worlds or only one?


    A: Although the thought has crossed my mind before sadly I''ll have to say no. Mainly because I would find it repetitive, yet I have thought how combining sci-fi and fantasy into a world like Star Wars (They technically have space wizards prove me wrong.) But it''s all up to debate and how I steer the story.


    life_coffee:


    Q: Can you estimate the length of this novel? And tnx for the chap pls don''t dropped


    A: Don''t worry I don''t plan to drop this one and I plan to make this pretty lengthy, probably well beyond 100 chapters separated into volumes. I think this story will continue as long as my overactive imagination continues to throw ideas for the story my way while I watch Avatar the Last Airbender (the animated show not the sorry-ass live-action movie that was made a while back) that just came to Netflix.


    Q: uh can he even be destroyed then


    A: Yes trust me he can but do me a favor and look up necromancy in the powers wiki and you''ll understand a lot more about the answer to your question.


    Well guys I planned on answering more questions but seeing how the questions aren''t coming in as fast as I expected I''ll continue the Q&A next time so have them ready peeps.

 Chapter 9 - 7: Worry and Changes (Updated number)

    It''s been all morning since Alice and Jacob began interrogating the four survivors who''ve remained in a shocked and dazed state like mental patients. Both Alice and Jacob sat behind a one-way mirror looking at officer Megan as she looked at the mirror as if she sees the two looking at her but was probably looking at herself for answers herself.


    When Alice and Jacob had first entered the precinct it was like a shaken beehive as people were yelling and running from one place to another as they were trying to get as much information as they could about what happened at the graveyard. Every other 10 to 15 seconds one could hear the names of the four survivors who were brought in early that morning. Alice and Jacob couldn''t slack with their skills in interrogation as this was a very high profile case.


    Alice got back up to leave the private viewing room they were as to get back to trying to pry even a little bit of information from Megan who seemed to have now lost a marble or two. She entered the room slowly and said, "Ok Megan, we''re going to try this again. Who attacked you and what happened to the bodies that were in the graveyard? What happened to the other officers and the FBI Agents."


    Alice looked on at Megan who kept her silence while looking at her staring at her hands in a daze. Alice felt this was going nowhere until she remembered what Mattheson had said about the survivors talking about the skeleton and the walking dead. At first Alice thought it was just as Mattheson said and they were all in shock or under a hallucinogen, but she and Jacob were half a day into this interrogation and have yielded no viable information so far. So what could they lose by asking about the skeleton and the walking dead?


    "What can you tell us about the skeleton and the walking dead that you told investigators when they found you?" Alice asked feeling that Jacob probably just spit his coffee on the one-way mirror as she question.


    At first, Megan hadn''t given any gesture that she was paying attention to Alice at all, but she eventually looked up at Alice with her head still tilted and said with a soft but sore voice, "It first started when we arrived on scene at the graveyard..."


    As Megan finished telling her account of the events vividly as possible Alice looked on in shock but also in belief by what Megan had just told her. Her doubt really set in when Megan began talking about the talking skeleton and his zombie dogs that had her, Oscar, and the other two surviving FBI agents cornered. It was also like a cherry on top of the craziness coming from Megan''s mouth when she talked about how the skeleton brought the dead officers and FBI agents along with the rest of the cemetery back to life as if they were all puppets. Megan could see the disbelief in Alice''s face that showed what she thought about her testimony but finally feeling safe and having the chance to talk about the skeleton and his horde she says, "If you don''t believe me then the investigation of the graveyard will prove what I''ve been telling you is true. The coffins will look as if someone broke or clawed their way out, The stone that made the crypts will be shown to be mostly outside than on the inside like someone broke out of them. Just wait till the result of the dog that''s filled with lead show how it scarfed down a piece of my partner''s throat. You''ll see just wait, you''ll see."


    As Megan finished speaking she leaned over and place her face in the palms of her hands as if to hide and stop the tears from falling. Alice felt a little convinced but didn''t say anything as she held a strong belief that the dead don''t come back especially since her father passed away when she was a little girl and prayed for to happen to only have her hopes and prayers crushed by her mother.


    Feeling that this was truly going nowhere she left the interrogation room feeling even more disappointed that she got no new usable information from the survivors until her phone began to ring. It was Lana. Alice had gotten far too wrapped into the graveyard situation and completely forgot about her mother and Lana who was supposed to be looking into John''s safety deposit box.


    She picked up the phone while quickly walking to the stairwell she believed would be quiet. Once there she check the stairs above and below her as she put the phone to her face and said, "Hello?"


    It had been a couple of minutes since Lana and Alexia had made it to the bank and convince a teller to let them have access to the safety security box once they presented the key. Once they had made it to the vault and got the box Alexia unlocked it to find a package labeled From: Mattheson and below the name, it said To: Big bro John.


    Instantly Alexia and Lana recounted when Alice had called telling them of the complication that had arisen with their plan to ensure Alexia didn''t go to jail and to find out if John was truly innocent as he claimed before dying. Seeing his name meant that their plan had just become exponentially harder as they both knew he would probably apply pressure to find out who killed his brother along with making any evidence harder to steal.


    Without further ado, Lana opened the package revealing several doc.u.ments and a recording tape. At first Lana thought back to herself, "Who the hell still uses walkmen recording tape." This thought quickly faded from her mind as she looked over at her grandmother which made her think, "Oh right their generation forgot." She made sure to keep her thought to herself as she knew her grandmother had several condescending and hurtful comments about her millennial generation that could flow out anytime like an uzi.


    Alexia grabbed and skimmed through several doc.u.ments and looked at many sketchy photos of the former orphanage director with many sketchy people she found to be familiar but couldn''t remember who they were. Some of the doc.u.ments she looked through were old tax transcripts and banking records she guessed were obtained illegally showing multiple discrepancies between his deposits, donations that were received, transactions, and finally taxes. It was clear to Alexia that these were more than just accounting errors, it was proof that the former orphanage director had received huge sums of money from something horrible as she read through the other doc.u.ments.


    She looked at Lana and said, "Call your mother now! We''re leaving with the evidence."


    Lana who hadn''t seen the doc.u.ments yet had a concerned face as she hoped from the bottom of her heart that it wasn''t evidence that proved the man her grandmother had killed was an innocent man. Hesitantly she picked up the phone and dial her mother who took a moment to answer and finally picked up the phone saying, "Hello?"


    "What got what was inside the safety deposit box and I guess I we''re heading back to the house," She said she and Alexia exits the vault and the bank.


    "Well what was it?" Alice says while whispering and trying not to be heard by people who might be in the stairwell with her.


    Confused and wondering as well she says, "Well..."


    Before she could say anything else Alexia interrupts her and says, "It''s evidence. Evidence that proves the man I killed was innocent."


    Lana with the phone in one hand and the door handle to their car in the other pauses and yells, "What!"


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    It had been over an hour and a half and the echoing screams from the homeless that lived in the old sewer system had just become quiet. It was nothing but silence as now other than the almost soothing drip of water that fell into a puddle somewhere down the corridor accompanied by the m.o.a.ns, groans, and shuffling of the undead that had increased to 349 remained.


    John had found this to be exceptional as he didn''t expect there to be 166 homeless people living this far underground in the old sewer system. When he was alive and had been homeless he had heard there were only about 20 people who lived in down here but he just brushed the thought off and credited the rise of homelessness to the city''s neglect of them of it''s lower class.


    Before John could think about the homeless situation that plagued the city he felt a notification of sorts from his consciousness. It was like a small nudge if anything, but still something John had never felt before.


    Dixie who had calmed herself down earlier had noticed it as well by her sudden glance at John. By the way John looked at her and sensing his curiosity towards the nudging notification she flew up to him and sat on his hard boney shoulder and said, "That''s your connection to your minions, It usually does that when they either want to relay something to you or an evolution is possible. In this case, your one zombie dogs have reached a high enough level, like you did, to evolve. If you want you can use your connection to them to chose an evolution route and they''ll evolve where ever they are instead of them having to come all the way back to base."


    John found this useful as he thought it through and pulled up his menu in his consciousness. He connected to his zombie dogs and saw their possible evolution route. They had the option of Zombie Wolves or Zombie Dog Beastmen which interested John but he had already set his eyes on what he wanted. He chose the route of the Zombie Wolf for all 19 of his Zombie dogs.


    In an instant John put away his menu to look at one of the zombie dogs evolve through the eyes of his regular zombies. Without further thought John instantly saw the difference in how his minions evolved to how he evolved. Instead of them being consumed by darkness like he did, they just began to morph or for better words mutate into what John believed to be fully grown undead black wolves. John looked on as they grew larger and their bodies stretched and expanded to match the species they were evolving into as their previous wounds disappeared including the gaping holes from when John had impaled them.


    John looked on with astonishment as they finished evolving into such wonders with eyes that glowed a murky blue hinting at the magic that keeps them alive. John began to wonder what the zombie humans would become if they survived long enough, but John had lost interest in what they could become and wondered about himself as he''d only evolved once.


    Name: John Carlton


    Species: <Magic Skeleton>


    Stats: Level 17


    Str: 67 Mana: 9500


    Dex: 45 Hp: 165


    Agi: 45 Luck: 30


    Int: 175 Stat points: 40


    Wis: 225


    Seeing his level increase 4 despite having killed so many made John think for a minute. He thought on why his level wasn''t as high as it should have been and the answer hit him. His zombie dogs had just evolved meaning they gained the experience to level up to their max levels so they could evolve, meaning they must have gotten most of the experience from the kills.


    Just on time to fill in the blanks for John Dixie interrupts him and says, "When you have a minion under your control and it gets a kill or accomplishes a complex task it also gains experience. It''s also due to your master and minion relationship they gain about 60% of the experience earned while you receive 40%. This very reason is why in the other world''s summoners and necromancers are seen as weaklings."


    Hearing this John thought of it as hilarious that someone could believe that necromancy was weak despite its fearsome prowess. He looked at his consciousness to see the hundreds of threads symbolizing his connection to his undead horde who could become stronger. He looked back at Dixie and asked, "Are there others who use necromancy in the other worlds?"


    Dixie giggled and said, " Yes there are but because it''s looked down upon and seen as forbidden magic they are often hunted down and killed. This leaves very few chances for those who have learned necromancy the chance to learn how to properly use it. You, having me, the best in my profession, and your menu gives you the advantage above others in any other field of magic."


    John, hearing this found it reassuring that he''d be capable of bringing about mass extinction throughout the three worlds. Before he could think of anything else he began thinking about how useful Dixie has been to him and how he would probably be lost in this world that was currently ignorant of his existence. He exits his consciousness and looks at Dixie with his blazing red eyes and said, "Indeed you have been useful. Without you I wouldn''t have made it this far, so thank you."


    Dixie felt embarrassed as this was her first time ever being complimented by someone she was sent to help. Before she even realized it she was blushing with a surprised look plastered on her face. Without any delay, she hurriedly turned and coughed in her hands and said, "Well anyway don''t you think it''s about time you sent the horde to clear the new sewer system."


    John had entered his consciousness again and looked through all their eyes but could find the entrance at all. Feeling displeased with idea of having them go through the sewer entrance again he said, " In all my time of being a homeless bum like the rest of them I never found it important to know where the entrance to the old sewer system was so it''s going to take a while more."


    "Well since I''m feeling generous I''ll give you a hint that all Necromancers should know. As your companion is connected to your soul and mind you have many options such as giving them a little bit of free will and intelligence or viewing their memories. That''s just a bit of what you can do as you are essentially in control of a hive mind." Dixie said as she looked at the many red threads connecting to John''s back soul to their many mana nexuses.


    John looking at his connections to all of his undead horde wanted to smile despite not having muscles, cheeks, and skin to express his delight over his further understanding of his skills. Feeling confident he focuses on his connection to all of his minions and puts his attention on their memories. It was like watching multiple movies on multiple screens all of their memories and knowledge became John''s. Through the memories of several of his zombies, he saw the entrance to the new sewers being covered by a bunch of plywood.


    It was truly an excellent bonus ability attached to his necromancy, but before he could do anything else a world splitting headache shot through John''s head. It was so intense he couldn''t help but fall to the ground and curl up while clutching his head.


    He let out a roar that a magic skeleton shouldn''t be capable of making better yet any skeleton for that matter. Dixie quickly flew down to him and said, "You weren''t supposed to look at all of them for your first time. You''re supposed to only look through one of your minions memories at a time and gradually become attuned to looking at multiple memories simultaneously. Because you rushed the process you going through a withdrawal effect, for now on take it slow when it comes to this ability."


    John had heard everything that Dixie had said but it didn''t matter. If the pain from the withdrawal was only this bad he could handle it unlike the pain from the evolution process. If it only cost this much pain to do this ability on a large scale as he did then to John it was only a little nuisance. As the pain from the headache receded he began to laugh as he saw how this ability gives him the option of using the knowledge he never knew to his advance. Whether it be engineering, construction, or inventing things that never existed in other the worlds he now had an exploitable advantage over those he''s going to bring doom upon.

 Chapter 10 - 8: Love and Family (updated number)

    It had been an hour since Alice had been sent home since she and Jacob couldn''t get anything out of Megan and the other 3 survivors and she was just pulling up to her mother''s house tired eyed. She knew she was in for some more stress after the phone call she received back at the precinct which had already thrown her of her focus while she was trying to pry information out Megan.


    As she walked to the door she couldn''t help but feel the intensity of the situation on the inside as if an aura leaked past the closed door into the surrounding area. Knowing that the feeling of anxiety swelling up inside would go away much quicker if she got this over with as quickly as possible she hurriedly entered the house to see both Her mother and daughter going through aged doc.u.ments.


    "So are you gonna explain to me exactly what you said over the phone ma or are you just gonna ignore me like you hadn''t said earlier that John was innocent," Alice said to Alexia as she watched her run her old shriveled fingers across the page of a yellow-ish aged white doc.u.ment.


    Alexia looked up at Alice with whose eyes were now moist and red. Alice saw the look her mother and instantly felt disheartened as if the curiosity and snarky comebacks she had ready for her mother had been forcefully s.u.c.k.e.d away by the despair her mother showed. She knew this look that almost never changed, it was the look of a suspect who knew they''d just made a heavy and unforgivable mistake.


    Before Alice could say anything else Alexia pulled out her old and dusty cassette player she used to use for when she was an interrogator back in her day. It still sported the barely legible Califone logo above its many black buttons that were all identical to one another except the usual red button on the far left. Alice had only seen it a few times when she was younger when Alexia let her listen to a recording her father made her before passing away from cancer.


    Before Alice could start reminiscing of her father''s inspirational message Alexia pressed play and instead another voice came through the old speaker of the recorder. It was a voice Alice had never heard before, but from the look in Alexia''s eyes it was apparent that she knew whose voice it was.


    It took a while for the audio to begin playing. At first, it was just a bunch of shuffling and footsteps hat stopped abruptly. Then a soft and calming voice came through saying, "Hello Mister...?"


    "Dembe. You can call me Mr.Dembe." The firm and strong voice flowed through the speaker and Alice''s eyes went wide.


    She had her suspicions about who it could be but didn''t want it to be true. The voice coming through the speaker was none other than Mattheson who was the assistant director of the FBI currently. Shocked and confused as to why Mattheson was being recorded she remained silent.


    "So I hear the product here is top-notch better than any I could find in the state right," Mattheson said in a thick African accent that would have convinced anyone that wasn''t as well trained as both Alexia and Alice. Although the only one in the room who couldn''t tell that the voice belonged to Mattheson was Lana whose FBI training hadn''t started yet.


    The only reason Alexia knew the voice belonged to Mattheson was because she was quick to put the pieces together unlike her granddaughter, Lana. She remembered Alice''s previous call of concern mentioning Mattheson being potentially John''s brother and the package from Mattheson labeling John as a big brother.


    Alexia felt the anger that was boiling over but she hid it, unlike her sadness at the thought she''d killed a man who had been punished for something he hadn''t done. She felt the overwhelming sadness overflow out of her eyes at the thought of what her sister had gone through before being brutally killed. The grief that she had when she learned of her sister''s death seemed insignificant compared to now along with her anger.


    "Know what? I don''t think your product is as secure as you believe. I''m going to have to refuse your services until you can prove to me your hundred percent secure," Mattheson said through the recorder while still pretending to be a foreigner.


    After that, the recording ends with a quick shuffling noise that comes to a quick stop letting silence rule over the room they were in. All three of them now sat in silence staring at one another as if they were looking for answers from each other. The silence reigned supreme until Lana finally spoke up and asked, "So what do we do now?"


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    A whole day had passed since John sent his legion of undead to the new sewer system repeating what he had done previously. If any of the homeless had been near the entrance to the old sewer system they would have sworn they had seen a flood of people flow out like a geyser had just appeared.


    Camp after camp hordes of John''s undead swept through tossing and turning every tent, shack, and makeshift home the homeless had made. John made sure to order them to leave nothing untouched as he made the zombie wolves sniff out any who had hidden well enough. While on the other hand making any zombified children crawl through vents and any other small areas too small for the zombie wolves.


    The plan was progressing without a hitch if you didn''t count the few close calls where some of the homeless almost climbed to safety through a partially opened sewer hatch they used to crawl out into alley''s during the night and say. John made not of each and every one of the hatches for when the time comes for him to ascend his legion of undead to the surface.


    After taking over the new sewer system John had amassed a whopping 583 zombies. It wasn''t as huge as what he knew he''d gain after letting his horde loose upon the unaware humans above him. All John knew was that he needed to raise an even bigger army if he was to go up against the world he was born in.


    John knew he had to wisen the hell up before making any big moves. He needed information, resources, and a plan after making his mass reveal. He knew there were plenty of holes in his plan and he wasn''t smart enough yet to fill them on the spot. He needed more help than Dixie could provide. When he was alive he had a brother who helped him get on his feet financially, but now John needed someone who could help him lead and strategize. But the question that destroyed that thought was who in the hell was going to help an obsidian skeleton lead an undead army against the living.


    As if someone had rung a bell Dixie quickly Materialized herself outside John''s head and posed as if she was an angel on his left shoulder. John knowing this routine by now asked, "Let me guess more last-minute information?"


    Dixie, losing the angelic pose made a grin to show her dissatisfaction at John''s comment before saying, "Look jack a.s.s. I do my job how I best see it succeeding. If I don''t loosen up the tension you''ll end up losing more of your humanity."


    Feeling like an a.s.s now after being reminded of his promise to her John c.a.r.e.s.ses her head in a calming way.


    After calming down Dixie looks up and says, "I was just gonna remind you that you can control how much free will they have. Meaning they can be used like Generals, captains, and etc."


    Realizing what Dixie just said John felt like an idiot for forgetting such vital information. What use is having an army where you''d have to keep track of every little detail. John patted Dixie''s head with his index showing his gratitude toward her overwhelming assistance.


    Dixie being patted made her feel the same as when he complimented her before, but instead of smiling or acting cute she instead pretended to pout while not noticing her obvious blushed cheeks. John didn''t think much of her actions as he''d forgotten the term people would have used to describe people like her long ago.


    John felt he didn''t need Dixie''s help for this one as he believed he had the advanced understanding of necromancy down pact. All John needed was the zombie he wanted to act as his puppet general. He searched through his consciousness and through all the zombies he was connected too and remembered one in particular.


    It was an old man whose memories revealed his dark history as America''s former Secret General. His role in America was something little to know one knew of. He was once in charge of America''s of the books spec ops units. Their goal was simple, protect America at all costs despite international laws and restrictions. It was something John hadn''t expected when beginning his in the rink-dink sewers he now inhabited but it most definitely something he needed.


    John felt even more compelled to make him into a puppet once the thought of his strategic prowess rising with this man at his side and commanding his legions while giving John more time to focus on his personal task. John quickly commanded the man to appear before him as he felt impatient as the seconds past.


    After a few minutes the zombified man appeared in front of him still bloody from his death. John inspected him first looking from his skully down to his penny loafers. Everything this man wore made him look like the ideal street bum that everyone would walk past every day on their way to work or home. John had found the one piece of gold among the rubble.


    John channeled his magic through his body and then place his hand upon the man''s head. John had only awakened the cerebral cortex of his normal zombies just to bring them back and put them under his control using the mana nexuses he made within them which continued to be made in the newly turned through the effects of the undead curse John made. But he knew from when he looked through his hordes minds previously that parts of their minds are shut off making them nothing more than absolute drones. So from his experience with necromancy John instantly grasped that to make them self-aware under his control he only had to wake the sleeping portions of their brain.


    John channeled his black and red mana into the man''s head and felt the switches in the man''s mind that governed his consciousness within his soul and flipped them all.


    The man collapsed still as a rock while his eyes began to move rapidly under his eyelids. John could tell he''d finished and just stood their just waiting. While he waited for his zombie general to awake he noticed he hadn''t even looked through his memories for his name, but just gave up since John saw this as the man''s second life. He wanted to give the man a name he felt was both ironic and hilarious to his predicament. As if it hit him in the head John said, "Your new name will be Joseph. Instead of leading an exodus, you''ll be helping lead the apocalypse and I''ll be the god you''ll pray to."


    Dixie watching felt the coldness of one who has lost a piece of their humanity coming from John and John felt the stream of worry coming from Dixie and quickly caught himself. John before dying was one who kept his promises no matter what he had to go through even if it meant being hurt himself, John never went back on his promises.


    John knew that situations in the future were going to be tough especially with him being the way he was now he needed something to weigh himself mentally before he went insane. After thinking for hours John had no idea as to how to achieve such a feat being an undead so he thought back to the one person that had brought him out of despair once before. His little brother James. He knew that he loved his brother far too much to doom him to a fate of being an undead so he thought about using him as an example for how to anchor his sanity. He remembered James had a family, a wife, three children, and six grandkids which made him feel uneasy at the thought of taking them away from his brother so he made the choice to just leave them alone when things become hectic. But out of his little brother''s example, he learned exactly what he was missing, he a family.


    John made sure to think hectically as to insure Dixie couldn''t read his mind, as he made a separate plan in order to ensure his insanity isn''t lost before completing his quest from the gods. As an undead, John knew it would be impossible to procreate like normal so that was out of the picture, but adoption wasn''t.


    He remembered having the hope of being adopted into a caring family crushed after being framed for murder, but he wasn''t going to let that stop him as he thought back to the little girl who one of his zombie wolves had killed. The one who was being saved by the woman who cried out to her to run before seeing the zombie dog in front of her. The very girl who John had killed along with a piece of his humanity.


    John thought back to her previous lifestyle compared to her flesh-eating one now. John could only think that she wouldn''t have lasted long in such unsanitary conditions anyway, but he thought back to how happy a family could be and remembered before he attacked their homeless camp she was playing happily and John had her and her family torn to pieces. John, unlike the others, felt personally responsible for her now while also seeing her as his potential daughter in his artificial family.


    He commanded her to use one of the wolves to ride back to The Grave Center immediately while thinking about the potential spouse that he could have filled in the role of a loving mother when he looked toward Dixie. Of course, so far she''s shown great concern for him so far, but the question remained if she would welcome her role until the quest is finished. John chose to put this choice off until he could lay some of his current burden on his Joseph when he woke up and introduced himself.


    John couldn''t help feeling that things were becoming more complicated as he knew that bringing an end to the world wasn''t easy, but to think he needed a family to keep from going insane. Thinking back to how a piece of his humanity died off he felt it was odd as to how this one girl''s death made him feel go through such an ordeal. At first he believed to become a god of death one must be heartless so why didn''t they take his humanity away before they sent him flying back towards earth. Out of all the questions in his skull at the moment the one question that was outstanding was, "What games are playing at gods?"

 Chapter 11 - 9: Infections

    John had meditated for a while thinking back to his previous events as they had unfolded. He died and was offered the option to become a god of death, but what did that really incur exactly? This thought had John on the fritz, thinking randomly and at high speeds making sure Dixie had no idea of his doubts about his mission. But those doubts were quickly laid to rest after remembering his hatred for the world that gave him such a shitty hand.


    Joseph who had been laying on the ground like sleeping beauty for the past day had raised as if experiencing a bad dream. He looked around in horror not sure what to make of what he had been through. Thoughts rushed through his mind as if trying to find a reasonable explanation to what he''d seen in his dream, but they all went out the window after turning to look at the pitch-black skeleton that sat before with its legs crossed sitting in a meditative pose. Its eyes had two small fire floated in them as if he had will-o-wisp in his eye sockets. To Joseph who throughout all his years a the Secret General had never seen such a spectacle, but the one thing that struck Joseph wasn''t the awe of the figure before him but the fear he felt towards it.


    Seeing how it didn''t move Joseph rose and looked around himself to see the huge circular room he had awoken in. He remembered it as the room that most of the homeless people like him would gather every once in a while to have get-togethers. Although he did attend he didn''t mingle with everyone else as most of the time he was reliving some of the horrible things he had to do for his country, his home, the very place he believed he''d become a monster for.


    Not seeing much of a reason to stick around he got up and headed towards the exit. Not even a second after he reached the exit to the huge room he was blocked off by two shambling individuals that couldn''t have been seen clearly because of the darkness of the corridor. Confused he said, "Can I help you?"


    "Indeed you can as soon as you come back towards me Joseph." The Ghastly and grate voice of John said from behind Joseph.


    Joseph turned around to look back towards the black skeleton which from his view he could finally see what looked like a little girl laying behind it. He walked back towards the skeleton confused with a hint of fear. Was this an attempt by his former allies and into finally ensuring he was insane? Or was it the other homeless people playing tricks on him? These thoughts raced through Joseph''s head as he cautiously walked back toward the skeleton.


    He looked around the skeleton and the surrounding area to make sure there weren''t any speakers or tricks that he could fall into. It wouldn''t be the first time he''d fallen for the childish pranks of some of the sewer children.


    "Oh I ensure that I''m very much the one whose talking to you General," said John as he watched his cautious general walk towards him slowly.


    John knew that the man with his overtly cautious behavior wouldn''t believe him and only see it as another trick by the sewer kids, so John thought for a sec before standing and approaching his zombie general to be. Joseph stopped as he saw the skeleton stand while looking for indications of strings and pulleys, but he saw none as the skeleton began its approach towards him.


    Joseph wanted answers, answers to why he in this part of the old sewers, why there are two shambling people in the corridor blocking him from leaving, why there''s a black skeleton talking telling him what to do, why is there a girl laying behind the skeleton. So many questions flowing through his head. He stopped at what he felt was an appropriate distance between him and the skeleton since he didn''t know what was going to happen.


    Almost at the same time as Joseph stopped John stopped as well leaving just a half a meter between them. Just as Joseph was about to ask what John was John interrupted him by saying, "You''re overly calm for a man who''d just died a while back. Hmm interesting."


    As if something in the back of Joseph''s mind had flipped he felt a painful throbbing from the back of his head. It was intense, so intense he fell to his knees and yelled. Joseph had closed his eyes for split second and it all came back to him. His memories flooded his mind like a dam had broken. He remembered laying in the middle of a corridor by himself when he began to hear the screams of fear and agony. It was then that he pulled out the old service pistol he used while he was served as the secret general for the U.S.


    As he was backing away he tripped over a plank of wood he had completely ignored when checking where the screams had come from. As he fell tried to catch himself but failed as he made a loud crashing sound when he landed. Not knowing what the hell was going on he knew better to continue laying on the ground he rose back up and tried to scurry away before those ravenous people came around the corner, but he was too late as he peeked behind him and saw the bunch making their way around the corner. The first of the bunch he could clearly see as the light from the knocked over barrel around the corner revealing his greyed and yellowed flesh along with the rotten and dark flesh from the side of his face that was missing skin decorated by the glowing hazy blue eyes that were hard to ignore.


    As he turned around to make a run for it with what speed his aged bones would allow him he turned around just to come face to face with one of these blue-eyed ravenous people. It was like nothing he''d ever seen before as he stood there shocked at how this person or creature in human clothes had snuck up on him from behind. Unlike the others that were now behind him, this one was nicely dressed in a suit as if he was about to attend a funeral or be the centerpiece for one.


    Joseph not hesitating for the sake of his survival raises his gun and shoots the creature where the heart should have been only causing it to jerk before it lunges and tears a chunk of wrist off. Trying to pull away from the monstrosity Joseph feels multiple hands all over his body before being pulled into a wave of the creatures.


    As if waking from a dream he uncurls from the fetal position he had formed and looked back at the skeleton who now had the young girl who laid quietly behind him before standing next to him holding his right skeletal hand. The girl who was pale as paper stood silently next to it as she stared at Joseph who now remembered what happened clear as day. The little girl gave Joseph a look of sympathy as she knew he had gone through the same thing she had as well, remembering the way they had died.


    As Joseph wanted to run but it was as if all but his head was his as he looked at his arms to see the missing chunks from his arm that didn''t hurt at all. The first thing that raced to his mind was that he was in hell, but as if the skeleton before had just read his mind it said, "Nah ah ah. We''re not in hell just yet, but with your help, this world is going to look like it very soon."


    "What...what have you done to me demon?" Joseph said as he began to panic.


    Looking at the now pitiful man John felt this man needed a more direct but gentle approach and just like a wise maid Dixie materialized out of thin air in front of the man scaring the man. John wanted her to explain things to him like she did for Joselin, the little zombie girl he had adopted, and gave her back senses and will while like Joseph and the other zombies kept her under his connection.


    When Joselin had awoken she too thought it was all dream until she saw John and Dixie. Dixie had told her about John being her new father while sugar-coating her new existence as a zombie. At first, she had cried about her old family but Dixie calmed her down while telling her of the many gods that had chosen John to bring start the world all over while skipping the fact that John had the option to wipe out all of humanity and that being adopted by John was a blessing. Joseline was skeptical of Dixie at first when she explained about the gods as she, like most children, was brainwashed early into believing that there was only one god, but of course that went out the window as the words were coming from an actual fairy, a being that should only exist in fairytales.


    While Dixie finished coercing Joselin into accepting her role as the daughter of John, the god candidate, John scrambled his thoughts in order to make note of how skilled Dixie was in manipulation. This only made John wonder if the gods had given her to him for an ulterior motive that they hadn''t shown when they sent him back to earth.


    Looking back at the man on the ground John said, "You are a puppet just like the rest of the sewer dwellers that previously lived down here with you, but you have a very special role just like my daughter next to me will have when the time comes to advance into the next step of my plan."


    Feeling like John had completely botched the whole "get this prick to work for us willingly plan" she got to work coercing him. She even went so far as to point out just how cruel the world had become when she pointed out when Joseph had killed an entire family his superiors told him were supporting terrorists and they had to be disposed of in secret without any evidence that proved their accusations. Dixie had made sure this former secret general fell into her web of deceit and hopefully believed in their cause.


    John really didn''t need Dixie to convince the old and shriveled former general as he wanted to assess just how useful she was but felt even more convinced that she was meant to pacify him. That when he finally accomplished his quest of reducing humanity to 1 percent of its total population. John felt his anger swelling but had to calm himself as he knew she could feel it as well, but the question remained. "Do I kill her or infect her," he thought while simultaneously commanding his hordes of undead to crawl of the sewer hatches in alleys and by bridges in order to finish adding more of the homeless to his ranks before while he begins development of a magic capable of either stopping worldwide wireless communication or slowing it to the speed of dial-up internet. This way little to no information could be given in time of his mass attack on the world.


    His plan was proceeding just as he wanted besides the problem with Dixie, but he also felt something was off then he remembered the bitch who killed him. He didn''t want his hordes to kill her, No not at all, Why leave it up to the possibility of his zombies being outsmarted when he could deal with her personally. John just needed a way of finding her without exposing himself and his horde when he spots a rat crawling alongside the wall on the ground. At first, John felt idiotic for not thinking about infecting other animals besides dogs with his curse, but without further ado, he began thinking about the perfect animal to search for his murderer.

 Chapter 12 - Post 9 Q&A

    I only answer one post per reader (psst Cram ya questions into one post. It makes it easier to copy and paste your questions from my inbox)


    BatofG0OD


    Q: is it tsundere, or yandere


    A: To be honest tsundere for now anyways (Author chuckling in a dark room somewhere)


    undead_progenitor0


    Q: The perfect way to get a pay back is to curse the woman who killed him and turn her into an undead with consciousness. And then you can enjoy watching her rip her own family apart and live forever with a never ending hunger.


    A: Like your thinking pal


    banana_france


    Q: they have only three worlds?


    A: Yes which Is why it''s called the Triad of worlds in chapter


    vSheAintNoGxd


    Q:The ending is stupid for me the fairy if manipulating him like a little ***** and the excuse of always keeping his promise make me think he''s a retard, why keep your humanity when your not even f.u.c.k.i.n.g human anymore the fairy just wants him to be a hero when he''s not ugh this is pissing me off, expecsially how it says he''s evil but he''s not He just acts like a little kid with a petty grudge and he will let the girl who killed him off and her family it''s obv I don''t like how you changed his character just bec the fairy is their it would be better if the system just followed orders and had knowledge not a conscious.


    A: Sorry this isn''t a fast burn shit fest novel where characters and the world is built within 2 chapters. Just reminding you MC: Framed at 10yrs old and thrown in psych ward. At age 30 thrown out on streets and was given a home at age 50 by his brother, killed at the age of 80 for something he didn''t do. Just some friendly advice as much as this character had gone through best believe he''s not ignorant

 Chapter 13 - 10: Narrow spaces

    It''s been a couple of days since Alexia, Alice, and Lana found the evidence of John''s innocence, yet they were still stuck on what to do next. Should Alexia go to the authorities about the heinous crime she committed or should they drop the evidence that Mattheson worked hard for at the percent to prove John''s innocents?


    Both options were righteous but both still would''ve have torn the family apart. So what could they do other than sit in their living room and talk, or in their case right now look at each other awkwardly?


    Alexia saw looked at both her daughter and granddaughter with eyes of sorrow as she saw how Alice wouldn''t even look her way while Lana would look at her periodically and when caught would quickly look back at her phone trying to avoid. Alexia with no idea as to how she could fix the situation says, " This isn''t going to work. The awkward stares and the silence. I know what I did was horrible but we have to give this evidence to someone to clear his name. We have to prepare ourselves for when I turn myself."


    Alice looks up at her mother with a saddened look upon her face which quickly turns to a face of annoyance as she looks at her daughter who sadly tries to hide the tears from the two people who she views as the strongest women on earth to her. Alice looks out the window into the dark night sky and says, "Mom, have you not thought about the ramifications of what''ll happen when you turn yourself in. They probably won''t even care since it''s been so long, but if they do the media will make it a mission to take all of us down. Since I''ve already known about this and didn''t report this Internal Affairs would probably try to take legal action against me all the while you might spend the rest of your life in prison while Lana will have to face more than a withholding evidence charge."


    After hearing Alice''s rant everyone returned to the silent state that flooded the room before. It was another few seconds before Alexia said, "I really f.u.c.k.e.d it up this time huh?"


    Before Alice could answer, the bloody scream of a woman washes over the entire neighborhood making Alexia, Alice, and Lana jump to their feet in unison although Alexia with her age took a little longer to rise. Alexia knew the voice of the scream as Joanne, A homeless woman who lives in the alley in between the apartment complexes in front of her house who she usually plays chess with on the weekends.


    "Alice hurry, Joanne''s husband must be beating her again," Alexia says while grabbing her husband''s old cane that he used to use before passing away.


    Alice noted that her mother grabbed her father old cane before wondering if she was going to kill this man too. Although Lana saw the look in her mother''s eyes as they all approached the door to exit she could only feel concern for all of them.


    Alice raced across the street toward the alley with her gun out and ready to put a stop to the assault of the homeless woman, but what she saw was a nightmare. There were over 30 to 40 people attacking and biting people who were probably asleep at the time. People who were just awaking do to the scream of Joanne were being targeted almost instantly as if to keep the entire scene as quiet as possible. Alice watching the entire scene was paralyzed with fear and shock as she looked to the left of the alley at Joanne who was having her throat ripped out with a pair of teeth.


    It didn''t take long for her to snap out of her shocked state of mind as one of the crazed and bloodied people began to shamble toward her. It was a woman who looked homeless with beige and brown tattered and ripped clothes who''s black hair was messy in some areas and a bloody mess in others. One of her shoes was missing while the other now basically just scrap leather hanging from her ankle. Lastly her glowing pale and bluish as eyes that which locked on to


    By the time both Lana and Alexia reached the alley to meet the horror that Alice had walked upon they too stood in shock at what was unfolding before them. While they froze from shock and confusion Alice began pointing her gun at the woman who was slowly shambling towards them. Once the woman was within 30 meters of Alice and the others she broke into a full-on unnatural sprint as if she was a pro athlete.


    Alice shot not once, not twice, but the entire clip seeing that the woman seemed unfazed by the first few shot fired into her c.h.e.s.t making her jerk back a little while not stopping at all. After the last bullet, the woman stops when she catches a glimpse of Alexia and just freezes as if nothing had happened to begin with.


    Alexia and the others stare at the woman while Alice loads another clip into her gun while making sure not to take her eyes off the woman and her glowing blue eyes that seemed familiar but distant as the situation at the moment didn''t allow her to think of anything else other than survival. Although the woman before them looked threatening and dangerous, the crazed people behind her caught her attention as they were all now staring at them as if controlled by a hive mind.


    ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


    Down in the old sewer system, John had given both Joselin and Joseph an explanation of what magic, mana, skills, abilities, and what they were capable of doing while under the command of John. He could see that Joseph had a semi-understanding of how to use magic and channel his mana while Joselin was still struggling to understand the concept of the mana within her, but John didn''t see it as a burden but more of a process of parenting a despite her not having a mother yet.


    John still wanted Dixie for the role of Joseline''s mother but wanted her to be under his control after figuring she was actually meant to passively control him. He thought with all his effort on ways to get rid of her until a sinister idea grew in his head. Why not send Joselin and Joseph away and coerce Dixie into telling him how to f.o.r.c.i.b.l.y corrupt someone''s mind and test it on her. John had thought about this for a while as he remembered how she had told him of how the hero she had worked with ages ago had lost his humanity and through it dying off and becoming corrupt and insane, but what if the insane part was somehow prevented.


    He knew deep down that this was the path he wanted as what purpose would there be if there was a benevolent god of death, then everyone would live happy lives. This would have went against the entire purpose of his quest from the gods. He needed to be murderous, ruthless, and unforgiving and the only way he was going to accomplish this is if he no sympathy, empathy, or what people call humanity.


    Just as he had come up with a plan he felt the tug on his soul which connected him to the many zombies under his control. It was the connection from 30 to 40 of his zombies, just a group of which he had sent to the surface to grow his forces, which trying to show him something. He looked through their eyes and saw someone he thought he wouldn''t find for a while, Alexia.


    Faster than the beating wings of a fly John quickly takes manual control of the zombie woman in front Alice who stood just under 30 meters away. This process known to John after a little bit of practice made the zombie he took manual control of eyes change to a bright red similar to his flaming red eyes in his skull. He stood up straight in his zombies body and making the Alexia and the other two girls flinch with fear.


    In John''s ghastly and grated voice he makes the zombie woman say, "Well hello, Alexia whats it been 6 or 7 days since you killed me."


    Alexia''s eyes widened as both Lana and Alice looked at her and back at the zombified woman who began talking all of sudden. It was something they hadn''t thought would happen as they saw the people behind the zombified woman slowly escaping back into the sewers.


    "Who... or what... are you?" Alexia says while holding the cane and staring at the crimson red eyes of the woman they believe to be crazed.


    "Oh, that''s even sadder that you don''t remember me. Even after you broke into my house and shot me dead over something I never did. Know what, time to stop with the games, Alexia. The gods have given me the chance to do what they have failed to do for thousands of years. I''m gonna wipe humanity off the face of the Earth, but don''t worry I''m going to save you and those you treasure for last just as you marinate in the despair and thought of knowing you caused the end of the world before I take your life." John finishes his sentence by leaving the zombie turning it''s eyes back to a hazy blue.


    Behind the zombified woman the dead that had just been killed begin their violent twitching and jerking as they begin to rise from their places of death and begin their way back into the sewers. It was something unprecedented as Alexia, Lana, and Alice watched in horror as what they had heard from the zombified woman was still as a freshly picked flower.


    Alice knew this was nothing more than a chance for those that she still believed was nothing more than crazed people a chance to get away through the tunnels of the sewers. She dropped her empty clip and loaded a fresh one, but before she could aim her gun properly she was tackled. Now holding the woman off with her forearm against her throat she struggled to grab the gun that had fell a few inches away.


    The struggle continued for a few more seconds as the woman''s teeth got closer and closer by centimeter to biting off her nose. As the woman teeth got closer and closer so did Alice''s fingers did towards the gun. Just as the woman was about to take a bite of Alice''s nose the firing of another gun echoes throughout the alley as her Alice''s face is splattered with blood and she shoved the woman off to her left.


    Scared, shocked, and confused she looks at the woman who now had a hole where her temple used to be and at Jacob who stood looking frozen and bewildered as he lowers his gun. Alice looks at her mother and daughter who were just getting up and back at Jacob and says, "For f.u.c.k''s sake J you love coming at the last moment don''t you."

 Chapter 14 - 11: Panic and Leadership

    After what seemed like an hour after their encounter with the alley full of what they at first believed were crazed homeless people, Alexia, Alice, Lana, and Jacob sat on Alexia porch after each had been questioned about what had happened by agents of the FBI.


    They all looked stunned until Mattheson came finally arrived and looked at the four with surprise. He had just come over from the body of the woman whose body was now lying still on the ground in front of the alley across from Alexia''s house with confusion riddled over his face as if dumbfounded.


    Alexia, Alice, Lana all stared at him while tensing up as they held onto a secret that might''ve made the whole situation way worse than what it looked like. Their glaring eyes glued to the man of the brother who one of them had wrongfully killed and just watched him speak through a homeless woman.


    The women weren''t stupid as they all had heard the same ghastly and grating voice that had addressed Alexia and told them something that they only knew. Although both Alexia and Lana believed in the afterlife Alice remained constant on her atheist beliefs until an hour ago. They all knew they would have to confess they''re information sooner or later to Mattheson but for now, they had only explained things to Jacob after he saved their lives.


    Mattheson had stopped a few feet away from the group to and stared into each of their eyes before asking, " Ok so someone wanna tell me why a three-day-old dead corpse which seemed to have taken a few bites of someone, seeing how she has what looks like human flesh and hair in her mouth, is laying on the concrete across the street. I already heard what you said to the other investigators about the 30 to 40 people committing mass murder and cannibalism and how they escaped into the sewers along with the people they attacked while that supposed corpse attacked you. That''s somewhat believable looking at the scene, but what''s not believable is the whole f.u.c.k.i.n.g thing so Imma need you guys to stop bullshitting and tell me the truth now because I''m seriously not in the f.u.c.k.i.n.g mood for games."


    Each of them except Alexia looked at Mattheson with shock and a little bit of fear shooting up their spines. Alexia had thought through everything and had went cross-referenced everything from her religious beliefs and couldn''t come up with a reasonable explanation for tonights events. After going thinking deeply, she had come up with nothing to base anything she had seen tonight on except that the undead she''d only her of in movies, books, and other media were real. Without realizing it she had asked herself out loud, "Zombies?"


    Everyone''s head jerked towards her at breakneck speed and stared at her. Noticing she had the attention of everyone she knew her thoughts had escaped and needed explanation or else she would''ve lost her standing with everyone. She looked Mattheson in the eyes noticing the obvious red eyelids that showed he''d been crying. She knew that her actions were inexcusable that she would be found out sooner or later. She knew the truth would be found out sooner or later even if they were able to destroy any of the evidence. The only way out she could see was to tell the truth as John''s final words before unleashing the woman on them kept her mind busy and she needed to have the leverage to keep her family alive at any cost if John was to accomplish his goal even if she needed to sacrifice herself.


    "If you want to know what really happened we have to talk in my house. Just the five of us and no one else." Alexia said while rising from the step which she was just sitting on.


    Alice looked at her mother as if she could read her thoughts and said, " Mother..."


    "Hush child this is going to have to happen or we might have more blood on our hands, specifically mine," Alexia said while cutting Alice off rudely.


    Looking confused at the words Alexia just said, Mattheson looked at Alice who he had sent home earlier that day wondering what she tried to hide. Looking back at Alexia he said, "What you have to say can be said out here. No need to beat around the bushes."


    Turning to look back at Mattheson with her head at an angle and only one eye being capable of seeing him she said, "What I have to say to you includes pertaining your brother and that corpse over there."


    --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


    John sat in the middle of the Grave Center as he still and as if meditating, but if he had a face you would see his menacing smile. He was happy and distraught as he had found his killer more easily than he expected considering the huge city he was under and the thousands of people above him. So happy he ordered half of his zombie horde to begin stalking and infecting potential carrier of his curse as he believed would be traveling far and wide while the rest clear the remaining homeless population of the city.


    Joseph had only concluded with John''s original plan to infect those near major modes of transport. Joseph had killed and conducted several operations to stop and foil the plans of multiple would-be terrorists over the years and saw John''s plan as the most optimal for his goal, although he didn''t agree without announcing his concern over the exposure that could occur but quickly brushed it off.


    John knew of the risk but he knew that his antics at the graveyard and the alley with Alexia were minimum at most as he knew that everyone would only see their stories as nothing more than lies or deceptions. He saw this as a game of chess and he was playing different matches at the same time. On one board there was Alexia and her family that he planned to toy with, while on another was the world leaders that couldn''t see his moves against them, and lastly, the would-be heroes that would try and be brave and build resistances against his horde which he knew would eventually happen once he began humanities genocide. He and Joseph had planned wide and far for any nuisances that could occur, he now just had to be patient as his infected spread across the globe unaware of the doom they would bring upon those around them.


    While he waited patiently for his curse to spread to other nations he wanted to grow stronger while ensuring his new daughter, Joselin, and Jospeph became stronger. He didn''t want those around him to be weak in case the time came for them to take action. So he had Joseph train Joselin in close-quarter combat while he himself was being trained by Dixie to use magic properly. John decided to self teach himself while remembering he had left his menu unchecked for a while.


    He looked at his menu to be disappointed by the result he saw.


    [Status]


    Name: John Carlton


    level: 18


    species:


    --Stats--


    Health: 195 Mana:9530


    Dex: 75 Wis: 255


    Int: 205 Str: 97


    Stat points: 10


    Seeing his level and available stat points made him feel uneasy enough for Dixie to shoot him a look of curiosity as she felt his disappointment due to their connection. From his guess, he could tell that he would have to have his horde kill more in order to speed up his leveling, but it would have to wait until he could ensure that his mass of extinction of the human race had a stable pillar to start from.


    At this moment he shifts his thoughts back to Dixie as he plans her inevitable spiral into insanity. He knew she would be hesitant in teaching him the ability to make someone corrupt purposefully through the act of magic, but she wasn''t the only that was cunning as he looked back at his wisdom and intelligence stats. He knew he had to test them to see how effective it was as he needed to measure how exactly his stats were, but couldn''t risk it yet as he felt that she was stronger than him by leaps and bounds at the moment and one misstep could lead her immediate betrayal despite being an agent of the gods. From the moment she cried when a portion of John''s soul became corrupt he instantly saw her sympathy for humanity that would hold him back in the coming days but for now he asked, "Dixie can you show me how to corrupt someone''s soul? Only asking for research purposes only."

 Chapter 15 - 12: Peace Is A Lie. Insanity is the Truth

    When John asked Dixie to teach him a way to corrupt someone''s soul she thought little of it as she believed it was nothing more than him scheming to create chaos when the time came to stop hiding. Little did she know that teaching John the method was indeed going to be her downfall since he knew how to prevent certain thoughts from being read by her.


    "This unorthodox skill is an ability that comes with your necromancy. With necromancy your capable of controlling the dead which includes corpses and souls themselves. Each soul has it''s own frequency that it radiates like an iron coiled stove eye that''s burning red hot, yet holds a magnetic pull. That''s where the electrical impulses running through a brain''s synapsis come from as well as why some people can feel the presence of others or some paranormal forces." Dixie says while wearing a small pair of plastic teacher Barbie glasses without lenses and posing as if she in tune with her inner teacher.


    John looked on with a full understanding of Dixie''s lesson as if what she had told him was something a primary schooler should have known. Knowing that the soul gave off its own frequencies John began wondering what other uses could be achieved by utilizing such an untapped resource. Could it be used for direct attacks, could it be for used for distraction, or could it be used for numerous objectives john thought while Dixie continued giving examples of what the soul frequencies energy output and input does for a regular person?


    "Get on with the corruption and we can get into the other uses later," John said while resting his head on his skeletal hands.


    Seeing his impatience made Dixie wonder what he could be using it for. Could he be using it for a way to slow or cripple the infrastructure of resistances or would he be sending psychopaths after Alexia to make their lives a living hell? The myriad of things that could occur from using those with corrupted souls was like counting the corn of a 300-acre plantation with only corn. It only made her worry about the darkness inside of John that was chipping away at him more and more while slowly corrupting his soul.


    "Geez ok ok, essentially you''ll have to feel for your own soul frequency. Once found you can try to speed up that frequency or slow it down which both spreads or lowers your presence. slow it down enough and you can be right in front of someone and they would probably, NOTICE I say probably, not even see you. Although this is more of a low budget invisibility skill for necromancers it does give you a hell of a jump scare and disappearance tactic to shake the morale of others. Now to corrupt someone all you have to do is simply direct your soul frequency towards your target at a high frequency and disrupt their frequency. This makes a hole in a soul''s natural defense and allows for another''s mana to enter and depending on what you''re doing, which is corruption, you''ll want o to scramble their shit like eggs and leave. This will cause them to scream in pain and afterword convulse as if they''re having a seizure, then they''ll wake up depending on what you want the corrupted being to be like since their artificially corrupted they become influenced by your will." Dixie finished saying while gasping for air as she had run through the entire instructions like a very eager teacher on her first day.


    John like before when he was taught by Dixie followed her instruction like a good student and searched his consciousness and found his soul and felt for the frequency. It was like a vibration but in a dark and empty space and soon it was like he was in sync with his soul frequency as he began to meditate. Each second he began to increase the frequency of his soul until 30 seconds passed and Dixie appeared within his consciousness and said, "Enough John! I can''t take it anymore. It getting harder to breathe and it feels like I''m being crushed."


    John didn''t think this would be as easy as this but didn''t waste the chance before him. He didn''t know how he suppressed Dixie this quick but didn''t want to pass up this chance to corrupt her as he began to direct his frequency at her.


    "AAAggghhhh! No John what are you doing?" Dixie screamed as she begged John to stop as she finally realized why he wanted to learn such an unorthodox necromancy skill. Without hesitation, she raised her hands as if she was preparing to counter John with some type of magic. Seeing this John immediately restrained her with black shadow tentacles from his shadow and clasped both her hands into fists.


    "John why? Ahhgggg!" She asked with tears strolling down her cheeks while pleading with John to let her go with her face of despair.


    "You see Dixie, I began wondering awhile back what exactly do gods want with a benevolent god of the undead and death, but it hit me. They don''t want one do they want a god of evil to unite humanity, don''t they? So who really wants a benevolent god of death? Seeing that you are a fairy I had to begin the short thought process of coming to the conclusion that there''s more of you. Although you work for the gods it''s only reasonable that not all fairies work for them. Making me believe you tricked the gods into believing you were the best fit to be my advisor and guide all the while plotting to make me into a benevolent god when what''s needed is a mad god instead." John said while clacking his skeletal hands together in substitute for clapping with regular human hands.


    Dixie''s skin which was already fair and pale became even more white as her fear became absolute in front of John who had leaned in closer to her as if to let her feel the warmth from the literal fires in his eye sockets. She knew something was up but didn''t know this would devolve into her cover being blown wide open. In the beginning, she had prepared herself for anything under the order of the queen command until she had met John and was shown what true darkness in one''s souls was like. She believed she could have changed him for the good that he could possibly bring but her training and position as the fairy queen''s most trusted royal guard hadn''t prepared her for John and his freighting strength and cunning he hid well under the mask of his previous ignorant actions.


    "You know I really wanted you to be the first person I opened up to about my feelings, and let you know I wanted you to be Joselin''s mother, but I put the pieces together and found the snake within my soon to be Garden of Nod. Through your corruption, I only wish for your unbendable devotion and support of me and our family to be. Rejoice as your betrayal and deceit are forgiven and you are reborn anew." John finished before slipping his mana into her soul and wreaking havoc from within as she began to convulse violently.


    John knew this would take a while but wasn''t worried as he sent both Joselin and Joseph to patrol the old sewer tunnels to insure that any survivors that survived the initial sweep made by his zombie hordes were killed and turned or unless they found humans they thought to be useful be brought back to The Grave Center. Right now John needed as many resources as possible and that meant finding hidden gems among the rubbish that managed to stay unscathed during the first purge.


    John could sense that his horde was doing well per his order to infect those that were on their way in and out of the city to as to spread his curse further. Yet he still needed a way to keep an eye on key places around the world without revealing his army early. He remembered the rats that walk next to the walls of the sewers and found it suitable, but he also remembered that Joseph had mentioned how useful it would be to have eyes in the skies for more organized assaults. Yes it''s beneficial to use the zombie wolves as calvary but their sizes do not aid well for hiding and gaining surveillance. John knew he had to have a more discrete way to track people when he finally thought about birds. If he could have the wolves for tracking and calvary and the mice for infiltration and diversion tactics, then if he could find birds for surveillance and aerial assaults then he''d already opened himself up to multiple plans in case regular zombies became ineffective when humans hunkered wisened and came to adapt to a world besieged by the undead.


    John ordered several zombies to find and infect rats and mice across the entire city while ordering some to pretend dead and let some scavenger birds like ravens become infected by eating off their corpses. John had become more capable under the tutelage of Joseph after some wise and enlightening conversations they had before he and Joselin left in search of survivors. With his understanding of war tactics and John could manage a little while without the instruction and help of Joseph and Dixie over his shoulder or in his mind. Joseph knew he had to cover all of his bases and the only one he still hadn''t learned how to cover was slowing all signals across the world which he still needed Dixie to instruct him how since he never learned how because of his busy schedule and Dixie tending to Joselin.


    He looked at the now unconscious Dixie who was now breathing normally and slept quietly as if nothing had happened. He knew he''d have to halt his plan to slow signals worldwide until she woke again, but for now, he chose to focus on gaining his wild cards which were scurrying across the sewer floors, flying in the sky above the city, and being walked through parks being forced to do tricks for treats. He knew they were ready to wreak havoc on those that have polluted and chopped down their homes, he just needed to add them to his army first before unleashing them.

 Chapter 16 - Post 12 Q&A

    VerminGod


    Q: I''m still gonna hope for cults, maybe he might do something like the chaos gods from Warhammer 40k it the gene stealers, also does faith have power in this series or would it be be based on the world he resides in?


    A: Might or might not happen. And faith is something you''ll find out soon but not in this volume (Hint hint)


    DukeRem


    Q: Does the fairies maybe live in one of the three worlds? So thats why she wanted to control him?


    A: If one exist(Dixie) then yes. For the second question you''ll find out later


    Plpizza


    Q: oh thank god i thought the mc was actually a ***** for a second there, good thing i stayed reading thank author!


    A: Like a magician, an author doesn''t reveal his thought process


    MMickkWeeb


    Q: Why did the dogs attack him if he fully a skeleton?


    A: Bones are still calcium, dogs find them tasty, and yea will eat everything on you including the bones if given the chance and desperation


    Darklight248


    Q: Luck should be like negative 10000


    A: Yea I thought about that and said nah.


    Acrol101


    Q: So dixie has PTSD?


    A: sort of you''ll find out later


    Seikin


    Q: now what? let them free?


    don''t make mc hesitate in killing them, or just to catch them


    A: Trust me there''s a reason for everything I write


    DARN1t


    Q: Peace is not merely the absence of war but the presence of justice, of law, of order--in short, of government. -Albert Einstein


    Insanity is doing the same thing over, and over again expecting different results. -Albert Einstein


    So my these two quotes and the chapter title. Does that mean that the government is a lie and trial and error is the truth


    A: SShhhhhhhh ok you found the truth about the U.S. keep your mouth down or else they''ll silence you like they did Sam Cooke for singing about equality and change and make lies about you in order to discredit you. 0o0


    Ok people so here''s the bad news because my job has been putting my d**k in the blender and making a chocolate smoothies with it as of late and I am now mentally and physically worn like the sock most of the men that read this have used for <extracurricular activities> and hid behind their bed or at the bottom of the close hamper to make it look like it has been there for a while. So I have chosen to write on my off days (or if my job doesn''t change it to their liking ( don''t even see why they asked for my availability if they were just gonna make me work whenever)) which are Mondays and Thursday so I can say expect updates then.

 Chapter 17 - 13: Heartless

    It took Matthews a moment to digest what he had just heard as he didn''t want to believe it. The mother of one of his best agents had just admitted to killing his brother accidentally. If this unexpected truth didn''t just flip his whole world they even have the audacity to make up fairy tales about the dead walking and his brother somehow controlling them.


    Matthews was a really well-grounded person when it came to anything that crossed his path in life. He believed that men with greed in their hearts wrote the bible with the ideals to control the populace of early human life than believe a magic man walked on water or that the first man lived for 930 years. Everything had to be proven or based on some kind evidence for him to accept it as the truth, so when Alexia had looked him in the eyes and told him about the dead walking and his brother talking through one of them made him furious as he believed he was being taken as a fool.


    Although he believed that she killed his brother as she laid the pistol on the oval table that separated him from the rest like a barrier, he wanted to know what angle they trying to play. As far as he knew Alice, one of his ace veteran agents, was as trustworthy as his Beretta in sticky situations, so he was just as confused as to why she hadn''t told him or better yet turned her mother in.


    "So you expect me to really sit here and listen to a bunch of fairy tales after hearing that you killed my brother by accident and just found out he was innocent through the evidence you stole from his safety deposit box. For what reason do you think I would listen to you better yet shoot you, you bitch." Matthews says with as much venom in his voice while holding himself back from blasting Alexia''s brains onto the glass cabinet that held family pictures and trophies.


    "I... um...." Alexia says struggling to speak under the pressure that Matthews was throwing directly at her since the moment she filled him on what she had done before Alice interrupts her.


    "What we''re trying to tell you might just piece together what been happening around the city lately Matthew. The corpse outside, the cemetery incident, Megan the survivor from the incident and her ramblings about the skeleton raising the dead. Does none of this not line up with the death of John..." Alice says before being interrupted by Matthew.


    "Shut... the... hell... up! None of you bitches deserve to say his name. I trusted you enough to believe that at least you would have the common decency to at least bring her in for her crime Alice. As you claimed before tonight you had all the time you needed to arrest her yet you went on a crusade to find the evidence that he was innocent in order to assure yourselves that he was the monster that that sick son of a bitch of an orphanage director framed him as. You make me want to shove my Beretta down your goddamn throats and let it sing, but no, I''m not like any of you, and you will face the harshest punishment that the law can dish out I guarantee you that." Matthews yelled as he glared over at Jacob his other ace agent.


    He walks over to the frightened Jacob who looked at him with wide eyes that didn''t even try to hide his fear. Matthews begins to stare him up and down and asks, "Did you know, and for how long?"


    At first, the words couldn''t escape his mouth fast enough as he began stuttering. but he eventually said, "T..t.t..tonight was the first time I''d heard of it sir after I killed the moving corpse that was attacking Alice."


    Hearing about the corpse outside moving again he felt that they were still playing games with him, But before he could raise his voice again Alice stands and approaches Matthews at a quick pace and said, "Hey leave him alone we only told him a little before we told you...."


    Before Alice could say anymore, Matthews quickly grabs his Beretta and swings the but of the pistol at her head striking her across her temple and pointing it at everyone else in the room to make sure they wouldn''t dare try pulling a fast one on him. He raises the walkie talkie that was resting at his hip to his face and says, "I need back up inside the house issuing an arrest for the four individuals in the house for two counts of murder"


    After lowering his radio he says, "Your all under arrest, but Alexia I really hope you get an itch and move to scratch it so I can have even the tiniest reason to pull this trigger."


    As his back up finally arrives and puts everyone in handcuffs Alexia says, "You''re going to really wish you listened to us when you had the chance," before being walked out of the house by police.


    Before she made it out of hearing range Matthews says, " The only thing I''m going to regret is not putting two in your dome."


    Just as he had finished talking and Alexia had been walked out the house Matthews phone began to ring. He looked down to see his wife of 30 years name appear and presses and slides his thumb to the right on the screen where the green little dot was.


    "Yes Candice, what''s going on I told you I can''t always pick up the phone when I''m in the field." Matthews says while slowly making his way to the front door while trying to hide his frustration and anger over the phone.


    "Honey I need you to come home as quickly as possible. There''s a man in our backyard and I think he just ate the dog and reached into that new tree you had planted a month back and snapped the neck of the bird that had just built its nest there." She says in a low shaky voice while trying to keep her voice low despite being inside the house on the second story.


    Shocked by the fact that she said the man ate the dog he rushes to his car while signaling two officers to follow him he says, "Ok sweetie stay calm down and tell me what he looks like, I''m on my way with backup.


    She peaks back down at the man who was now carrying the dead bird in his right hand. She hesitates with fear, but finally says, "Ok... Ok, he''s I think 6 feet 4 wearing a white t-shirt with holes and brown-ish red... Oh my god, I think that''s blood that''s starting to dry on his shirt. Honey, please get here quicklyieEEE."


    Hearing the scream of his wife he quickly starts his car and punches it with his siren blaring and his lights flashing. He yells at his phone for her to answer and she finally says," James hurry he just looked up here... his jaw is missing and half his face is gone."


    At this moment Matthews was speeding through traffic with his back up behind him when he heard what his wife had said over the phone. He knew his wife was not a liar but he didn''t want what Alexia and her brood were saying to be true, he didn''t want not one piece of their claim to be true as this was something he wouldn''t know how to deal with. The only thing that he could think of at the moment was to reach his wife and see for himself.

 Chapter 18 - 14: Blood is Thicker Than Water

    Matthews arrived at his house which was nothing more than a 15-minute drive from Alexia''s house while driving as fast as he could through the 9 pm traffic of downtown Hornbrew. Although James was a skilled driver with him having to participate in many high-speed chases he couldn''t help but scr.a.p.e the side of his car revealing the grey metal under the black and shiny coat of paint.


    Although he was an aged old man with grandkids he moved like a man in his mid 30''s to his front porch while signaling the two officers that followed him to each go on the sides of the house in order to ensure this man didn''t have a chance to escape. He quickly unlocked the door and ran inside yelling, "Candice, Candice where are you."


    Rushing down the stairs was the frightened Candice who was currently holding a wooden bat the had the year 1976 inscribed on the side of it. With eyes of fear and hysteria, she quickly embraced her husband who was just as shocked to see her ready to defend herself despite being a hardcore pacifist. Stroking her head he looks down at her and says, "It''s ok, it''s ok everything going to be alright."


    After enjoying each other''s safety and comfort Candice says, "I think one of them is in the house."


    It had taken a quick second for what Candice had said to really sit in before an officer came from the back of the house through the door that was supposedly supposed to be locked. The officer had come and stopped by the stairs and the entrance to Candice''s painting room where she spent some of her free time painting. He stood with his gun drawn and pointed at the ground as he began to say, "I think it''s all clear except for the house Mr.Matthews as there seems to be signs of forced entry through the back do...."


    Before the officer could say anything else he''s quickly tackled into the side of the staircase and viciously mauled by a woman whose clothes were basically rags sewn together into clothes. Her wild hair was matted and slick looking with the shine of the blood that stained it. The man yelled as he had chunks and pieces of his shoulder and neck torn and ripped out as the woman continued to gouge her teeth into him.


    With his senses, James wh.i.p.s out his Barretta out and shoots 4 rounds into her piercing her right arm, her lower and upper back, and the right side of her abdomen. She stops and looks at James and Candice as if they had bothered a dog that was territorial with its food. She rose in an odd way as if she was a puppet being controlled by a novice puppeteer. Without a sign or indication, she bolts toward James and his wife as he unloads the rest of his bullets into her striking her c.h.e.s.t and her left leg which made her stumble for 3 seconds before she gained her balance and continued. Before she could pounce she stopped as if something had caught her attention.


    She rose and stood upright and casual like she didn''t just maul an officer to death and broke out into a full-on sprint toward the two scared people before her. Her murky blue eyes locked on them with her head c.o.c.ked to the right before saying, "Hello there brother, I really do hope you chose a blue casket for my funeral. It''s my favorite."

 Chapter 19 - 15: Foundations

    James looked on in bewilderment and fear as the woman who just mauled an officer to death called him brother in a voice that was clearly not hers. He thought furiously about what was going on, what he should, and what was going to happen next as he was now out of ammo. It''s not like he couldn''t drop his current empty clip and reload using his spare he kept on his waist but the woman who just took his whole clip looked as if she was going to be unfazed by it too.


    Just as he was about to try his luck he glanced at her glowing hazy blue eyes and remembered they were exactly how Alice and her group described the dead woman in front of the alley and the supposed walking corpses that the four survivors from the graveyard saw. Both events helped James realized that they were connected to each other and the evidence was in the words of the survivors. His current predicament and the last events had one thing in common which was his brother.


    The first event at the graveyard had survivors that told their tale of being ambushed by near unstoppable wilds dogs and witnessing a talking skeleton bring all of the dead within the area back to life and disappearing like magic. The second, which was earlier, which Alexia and Alice explained how the dead woman and the people attacking the alley dwellers were being controlled by John. Lastly the third with the woman in front of him having taken so many bullets now talking like she''s John.


    It was now clear as day as he put his gun down and looked on at the woman with teary eyes and said, "John? What.. Whats happened to you?"


    Candice looked at James and back at the bloody woman who looked as if she could barely stand and said with a wavering voice, "James... I don''t what your seeing but she is not John. Shoot!"


    "Ouch Candice, words hurt too you know. Well, probably not as much as it hurts whatever this zombie''s name is, but yea ouch." John said as he jerked the zombie''s head to look at Candice.


    Candice''s eyes widened at the mention of her name and the word zombies. Unlike her husband, she was a firm believer in the supernatural and loved to tease James for his see it to believe it view on life so when she heard this she immediately went silent.


    "Hmmm your silence speaks for its self what you both think, but anyway I have a proposal for you brother that I believe you would like," John said as he looked behind him hearing the approaching footsteps of the other officer that had gone into the woods past the broken fence he had made his other zombie breakthrough.


    Looking back at his brother through the eyes of his zombie he said, "Imma have to leave this zombie here to die at the hands of the incoming officer, but don''t worry I''ll make sure you won''t be attacked by this one or the others. For now, I''ll see you again soon brother for now look frightened."


    After a second the zombie woman goes back to acting like she had before John took possession of her and snarled at James and Candice while turning around to see the other officer running into the hallway. For a moment the officer looked at his dead partner and towards James and his wife who were looking scared and confused after their little conversation with John.


    "Get down," the officer yelled, and Matthews knew instinctively that he was talking about them so he hurriedly grabbed the confused and scared Candice and dropped like dead weight to the wooden floor. Just as they dropped below waist level the zombie woman bolted toward the officer who quickly whipped out his gun and rapidly pulled the trigger in quick succession.


    Each bullet hit the intended target just about everywhere except where it needed too in order to make her drop for good. Knowing he''d wouldn''t be able to reload in time he braced for what he could tell was going to be a pounce attack by the zombified woman. As she pounce he duck and extended his forearm and caught hold of her collar on her blood-drenched clothes before being pushed toward the ground. Using the momentum of her charging force and her lighting quick pounce the officer put his left foot to her abdomen and rolled on his back and kicked her through the door he had just enter.


    Quickly getting back to his feet he hurried and reloaded his gun and pointed it toward the door he had just kicked the zombie through. Past the door, he could hear the growls and grunts made the zombie woman he just threw making him prepare as he knew it wasn''t over yet.


    A few moments of deafening silence wash over the house before yell could be heard from beyond the broken door and out came the bolting woman with her arms stiffened behind her and her teeth leading the way to the officer. The officer shot 5 times hitting her in the c.h.e.s.t three times, missing one shot the hit the door frame behind her and the final one hitting her in the head right above he left eyebrow.


    The zombie woman hit the floor like a bag of potatoes that had been slung from across the hallway. After a moment of silence and waiting to see if she moves a growling noise comes from behind the officer and he turns and sees the now glowing and hazy blue eyes that were similar to the zombie woman on the eyes of his partner who was still laying on the ground. Without a word, the officer quickly shot his former partner in the head and noted how he died instantly unlike the woman laying behind him. The officer looked from his now-dead partner to both James and Candice as they stood shaking like jello when lightly touched.


    Looking angry and confused and say, "The f.u.c.k you guys didn''t help for?"

 Chapter 20 - 16: Explanations

    Rain had started to beat the ground as members of the FBI had come and done a full sweep and investigation of the Matthew''s residence. After a while, the ambulance had driven off with the dead bodies of the zombie woman and the officer she mauled while the police stayed back and questioned everyone who was in the house at the time of the incident.


    Although James was obligated to explain everything that had occurred despite how insane it was he chose the connection to his brother over the vows he promised to uphold so many years ago to his agency. His brother coming back to life and possessing the dead had completely shattered his see it to believe it beliefs of the past as he felt the need to protect his brother who the world seem to literally be out to get. No matter what he would be there to help his brother as long as it didn''t harm his wife, three grown kids, and 2 grandkids.


    It had taken a few hours for the police to finally leave along with the police officer who killed the zombie woman who was now wearing a bandage over his left arm. James didn''t see it as much as he was ignorant of what was to befall the officer along with those around him when he finally turns, unlike Candice who was an avid believer in the supernatural. James could only wonder to why she was holding onto him in a frightened manner while the officer walked away.


    After several moments sitting in their living room, both James and Candice sat on couches across from each other with a brown table separating them. They looked at each other while wanting the other to speak about what the hell had just happened in their hallway that had been cleaned in a half-assed manner. With the anticipation of his wife speaking first and raising questions that he knew he wouldn''t be able to answer he says abruptly, "Before you ask I absolutely don''t know what''s going on, nor do I have a clue as to how John could have come back and possessed that woman."


    Knowing her husband''s ignorance and randomly guessing as to what John has become while remembering his words. She remembered John as someone who was shy and had suffered at the hands of others his whole life. She even remembered when James had come to her confused and asking why John had no plan to release the evidence he had gotten him as a gift. Although she was confused she easily found the answer as she had worked as a psychologist for many years ironically despite her hobby of studying the supernatural. She knew John''s perspective was gloomy and depressing as he saw no purpose in trying to prove his innocence especially since the director died before 20 years before James found and collected enough damning evidence on those who conspired to frame him for the murder he was convicted of as a child. Before this night she knew John as someone who wouldn''t have hurt a fly worse yet kill, so the questions that were really on her mind was what changed after he died, how did he come back, and what exactly is he now?


    Candice looked at James and said, "I know you don''t so we''ll just have to wait till he comes back like he said he would, but till then I have to do a little bit of studying."


    James looked back at Candice with shock as he expected her to be more scared and afraid, but she was almost energetic like she had found a gold ore and expected a large gold vein. Filled with a little confusion as to what she was about to do he asked, "What are you about to study, his psyche eval?"


    Candice raised an eyebrow and grabbed the handrail by the stairs and said, "If there was a degree for studying the supernatural I would be a doctor in that field, yet there is none so imma hit my books in my hobby room."


    James understanding her plan saw this time as even more of a chance to break the stiff atmosphere in the house and said in a playful tone, "At least it''s being used as for something useful."


    Feeling a blood vessel somewhere in her skull swelling she because of his comment she scornfully and with venom in her tone say, "You collect rocks in yours."


    Her comment dealt a critical strike to his ego that night.


    John was glad as he hoped to contact him in some way or another. He knew his brother would stick by his side through thick and thin no matter what would happen as long as his family would be safe.


    John didn''t want his only relative to perish with his family so he imbued the faces of James''s as he remembered from pictures he would share with him to the minds of every zombie and zombie to be under his control as a way for them to stay alive when all is done. It''s the least John could do to pay his brother back for believing in him and taking care of him until he could get on his feet. Although John did have an ulterior motive.


    John knew humanity will seek refuge and safety when he releases his army of the dead upon them. There will be many who will offer safety for supplies and labor the military, big communities that lasted long enough to grow big, small groups that believes in having pack mentality will lead them to survival, and lastly but most specifically those that will use religion to guide lost and unfortunate sheep to their doors steps and beg and pray for protection against the hell outside the doors wince they came.


    If he was to become a god through his god-given quest than he will make followers and worshipers out of the remnants of those he spares and for that he needs someone who he trusts to begin his religion, someone who has always believed in him despite what others had said about him. He needed his brother to help build his religion although he could do it without him he didn''t want the bother of managing a cult as well so he went with the easier option of having his brother a the head of The Church of Death


    Just as John was about to check his menu he heard shuffling behind him. He looked behind him to see a completely transformed Dixie standing upright. Her skin had become an Aegean blue, her wings that looked like yellow hornet wings had morphed into beautiful black dragonfly wings. Her blue clothes that were similar to a 2 piece made of a blue shirt and blue mini skirt seemed to have been replaced with a long black dress with tiny dead leaves on them.


    "Hey, that hurt you, big meanie. Let do it again!" She said with her head c.o.c.ked and a smile laid on her face.

 Chapter 21 - 17: Escape Artist

    It had been hours since Alexia, Alice, Lana, and Jacob were all arrested and taken to holding cells within the North Hornbrew police precinct. While Jacob and Lana wore tired and depressed faces Alexia wore a facial expression of guilt and admittance as she couldn''t help but feel helpless and hold the thought of the world ending because of her grave mistake. She felt a huge burden weighing down on her c.h.e.s.t while thinking back at how she, her daughter, and her granddaughter ended up their current predicament.


    All the while Alexia and the others wallow in self-pity Alice sat quiet and looking around as she steadily picked the lock to her handcuffs they were all put in with a bobby pin she all ways hides in her sock. The words of John reverberated throughout her mind making her uneasy and desperate to find a way to prepare for the incoming world-ending scenario he was supposedly going to bring down upon them and everyone on Earth.


    She could tell she was no longer than five seconds away from breaking free from the handcuffs around her wrist when she had finished thinking of a plan for when her hands were free. First, she would unlock everyone around her when the guards weren''t paying attention which she found slightly difficult since there are 3 guards watching them like hawks since they were now under a pretty high profile investigation. Second, she''d find a way to distract the guards for enough time to either distract or incapacitate them giving them enough time to change into disguises and sneak out through the bas.e.m.e.nt steal a police cruiser. Third, and hopefully, they would find another vehicle along with another set of license plates to get away safely.


    Alice had her plan set and ready to go as she had just finished freeing herself from the c.u.mbersome handcuffs. Just as she was about to get the attention of the others so she could free them she found the conversation between the three guards hard to ignore as it felt off and hard to ignore.


    "Look J, all I''m saying is that I and a lot of other cops are finding it strange that a lot of the homeless bums in the alleys are disappearing so quick," Chris says while looking at J and C.h.e.s.ter who were both half-assed watching the detain while Chris typed away on his computer.


    J looks away from the cells and says, "Look I''m just saying they either ran down to the sewers to finally evolve into mole people, stopped being bums and got their lives together, or they''re moving to the woods so our alleys won''t smell like shit on daily basis."


    "Don''t forget the option of them being victims of human trafficking," C.h.e.s.ter says while standing firmly and looking at both J and Chris.


    Both Chris and J stare at C.h.e.s.ter with dumbfounded faces before saying in unison, "Shut up!"


    "Taking way over 100 people in a night doesn''t go unnoticed. Soon people are going to be asking questions. Shit, I''m asking them now since a couple were CI''s of mine." Chriss says while fiddling with a toothpick in his mouth.


    "Me too! One of my CI''s was supposed to give me some info on a drug peddler that was supposed be my ticket to a promotion," J says angrily.


    Alice finding their information very informative and frightening hurries and skips over her plan to free the others and immediately pick the lock to the cell while they weren''t paying attention. After a few seconds, she immediately unlocks the cell just as J noticed her. Before he could say anything she quickly sprints towards him and punches him in the throat. She wasn''t sure if her punch killed him or knocked him out, but she knew he wouldn''t be getting up anytime soon so before he fell she quickly grabbed his taser and shocked C.h.e.s.ter until he fell stiff on the ground. She knew Chris heard the scuffle and he''d try to reach for his gun first instead of his taser like all officers do so she chose to take no chances and quickly grabbed his gun and pointed it at Chris who was still struggling to pull his gun out of his holster.


    Chris froze in silence as he stared at the woman who just knocked out two men who were twice her size. Even Lana who was just as surprised had her mouth agape with awe. While everyone else was surprised by what Alice had done Alexia allowed a smirk to grow on the left side of her face. She could''ve done what Alice had done if not for her age acting like chains to what she used to do in her prime.


    At an early age, Alexia trained Alice like a spartan out of fear for of someone harming her like how she believed John had harmed her sister. She had trained her in CQC and ways to break free from captivity if the time ever arose if she wasn''t around or wasn''t able to come to her aide when worst came to fruition.


    Alice waved the gun she was pointing at C.h.e.s.ter to the ground as to signal him to toss his gun to the floor which he complied. Next, she walked quickly to C.h.e.s.ter and asked, "What''s the quickest way to the bas.e.m.e.nt...Now!"


    "Hey get me outta here too I don''t want to die when the dead starts their siege on this place." A woman says two cells down from where the others are.


    Instantly Alice remembered who she was. It was Megan the police officer who was the first to say anything about the dead walking. If she and her family was going to survive what was to come they would need everyone they could who believed them. Without a moment to waste she swings the but of the gun she was holding at C.h.e.s.ter''s head and knocks him out as well and grabs the keys to cells and handcuffs and free everyone else especially Megan as she knew she used to be an officer of this police precinct.


    As she strips and puts on the officer''s clothes to blend in Megan comments, "Nice moves but I see it''s not the only thing that''s nice about you."


    Noticing Megan checking her out Alice replies by saying, "Let move first flirt later."


    Seeing how that was neither a rejection nor acceptance of her move on Alice Megan just smiles while everyone else just rolls their eyes and proceeds to make their way to the bas.e.m.e.nt in hope of stealing a vehicle big enough for them all.

 Chapter 22 - 18:Unholy Round Table

    John looked down at the tiny fairy who was now sitting cross-legged in his skeletal palm with eyes of fascination glued on him. John looked on in like a curious puppy at the miniature person whose soul he just corrupted and a thought ran through his mind. What is she capable of doing now that she is corrupted to the core? Will she reveal things that she kept hidden from him? Will she prove more useful than when she wasn''t corrupted. Will she fall in line with his ideal family he never had. It was only a matter of seeing the further results of corrupting her very being and devising a counter plan for her incase she used or betrayed him again.


    They had both stared at each other for a second or two after Dixie''s weird reawakening words. John wondered if she had become a m.a.s.o.c.h.i.s.t but quickly just chalked it up to probable insanity from being driven to corruption. Although he didn''t dislike this new Dixie he remained cautious.


    "Any thoughts on the new you?" John said in his usual ghastly and unnatural voice.


    Dixie looked herself up and down and said, "My skin looks beautiful in this black dress. Very gothic. I love it."


    John walked to the large round table he had his zombies bring piece by piece from an alley behind an old museum that was in the middle of renovating. It had taken the whole duration of Dixie being unconscious for it to be finished being brought into the Grave Center and be rebuilt.


    John sat down in his chair which was also present in the alley behind the museum and had taken a liking to it since it gave a certain flair to his role as the soon to be god of the undead. It was huge and black with intricate designs and carvings of people bowing in agony. John couldn''t help but feel a certain attraction to it.


    On the left armrest, John had a zombie who was skilled in carpentry make a small chair for her to be capable of sitting next to him. John had thought of it for when she finally woke up from her temporary coma.


    As John had sat down both Joseph and Joselin had entered the Grave Center with 20 others trailing behind them. Instantly John could tell they weren''t undead with his powers over necromancy which allowed him to sense those that are as well as those that were are alive as well. Both John and Dixie looked on curiously as they finished approaching the large round table that hadn''t been there before they left.


    "Hi Dad, Hi Mom we brought the survivor like you said to do." Joselin saying playfully while bowing and twisting cutely.


    Staring at the people they brought back John took count of the survivors with interest. Before him stood 10 frightened children, 7 a.d.u.l.t females around their early twenties, and 3 a.d.u.l.t men. Some looked alike while some differed greatly showing they weren''t related at all. Some were taller while some were short but none of it mattered as John only saw them as useful tools for plans.


    John looked back at Joseph and said, "What do you, my General, propose we do with them."


    Joseph stopped bowing and stood straight and said, "For the a.d.u.l.ts, my liege, since they are all either slender or well built I suggest we use them for espionage and assassinations after we turn them and I give them proper training. For the I''m not sure what to do about them, we could either use them as bait or infect them and use them as means of underhanded bio-magical warfare. If that''s not on the table we see what Joselin has to say about this since she found all the children."


    John liked what he had heard as he thought of it as all useful, but what stood out was hearing that Joselin had found all the children. Without him even having to ask Joselin said, " Yep daddy I found them our little hiding spot that the a.d.u.l.t built for us in case DCS(Department of child services), CSS(Child social services), or CPS came looking to take us away. The other children often played there like it was a clubhouse, but they often hit and kicked me out because they thought I was weird."


    John looked at Joselin with eyes of sadness as he heard what she had just said. He felt a connection that was strong and familiar. They both had lonely and sad childhoods and they both were outcasted in one way or another as leaving little to no one to lean on. While he had spent his whole life being held down by injustice and cruelness she still had the innocence of her youth, but he knew that it wouldn''t last as she was going to have to be as useful as Joseph in order to achieve his plans. She would have to be slowly warped into a loyal and trusted member of his Unholy Roundtable. Right now she trusted him on blind faith but as she becomes smarter and more m.a.t.u.r.e and later evolves into something stronger than an undead child he would need to gain her undivided faith and loyalty. Already John began to plan for her to become deadly as can be while also wishing to cherish the time he has to be like a fatherly figure to her.


    Feeling a way to begin his plan to warp her innocence into something deadly he asks her, "Which one was the ringleader of your bullying?"


    Joselin then points at the boy-girl who once bullied her and John asks, "Why did she bully you?"


    Joselin looking at John says, "Because I think bugs and nature are beautiful."


    Without warning, he restrained the 5 of the children which were all boys with black chains made from his {Darkness magic} and made them kneel before Joselin feeling a slight. The other five children w.h.i.n.e in fear while the a.d.u.l.ts screamed for John to let them go before he yelled in his deepest and darkest voice yet, "Silence!!!!"


    His voice amplified by magic sent shook the walls and ceilings making little dust fall here and there, but that wasn''t what made them silent. When John had yelled he subconsciously sent out aura filled mana like continuous waves that brought everyone he wanted to their knees excluding Joseph and Joselin. This made a bright red light appear around him while darkening everything around them ensuring he was the focus of attention in the room. Not even John knew how he did it once he let up. All he knew was that Dixie had used telecommunication as if she was in his head currently and said, "Impressive."


    Ignoring Dixie, John manifested a floating black serrated dagger in front Joselin and said, "Joselin, as my daughter, you hold the responsibility of taking that dagger in front of you and punishing a few of those who caused you pain and made you lonely. Through this you must learn to never let anyone harm you and make you lonely again."


    Feeling conflicted and afraid Joselin said, "What about you and my old mom and brother? You harmed me and took them away from me."


    John felt pride from adopting his daughter and said, "Smart child, but ignorant as well. If your mother and brother truly loved you they would have stopped these children from hurting you and bullying you even if you kept it from your brother your mother should have paid more attention like a loving mother. So I took you away from them and am giving you the love that should have been given while making you stronger than leaving as a weak sewer urchin."


    Although she was young she wasn''t stupid either and completely understood the words her new father had told her and felt pressured as the fear from made by the conflicting situation had vanished and she gripped the knife in reverse in her right hand and left hand on the b.u.t.t of it and stabbed the boy in the c.h.e.s.t as screams went out as she repeated this four more times with a hint of anger slipping onto her face.


    After Joselin had finished with the last boy she stepped in front of a girl crying who was crying on the ground for her mommy. Before Joselin got carried away and killed her John intervened and said, "Now now now, you killed the unnecessary pest that bothered you. Now for the girls that are stuck on the ground crying like disgusting vermin, scratch them and make them into beautiful bugs and add them to your collection and learn to control them like I control the other zombies. I personally believe they would look beautiful as spiders."


    Joselin smiled with blood on her face from the blood splatter and turned toward John and said, "Thanks daddy!"


    Joselin proceeds to order some zombies to carry her like a princess while carrying the other girls like sandbags into a separate room as she knew that John had more things to talk about with Joseph.


    "Yes, my liege," said Joseph as he proceeds to scratch their arms aggressively and escorts the crying and frightened group of a.d.u.l.ts to another room to await their transition from the living to the walking dead.


    John wished he could sigh as commanding and manipulating was difficult to a newbie like him. Without warning, Dixie says, "What the hell John you haven''t been taking care of yourself at all since you opened my eyes to the beauty of darkness and life without morals have you. You know you reached the max level again and can evolve now."


    Surprised John checks his menu and sees he''s reached lv.20. With all that has been happening he had forgotten to micromanage his stats while scheming and inching closer to his goal. He looks at his stats.


    Name: John Carlton


    Species: Magical Skeleton


    Stats: Level: 20


    Str: 97 Wis: 225


    Dex: 75 Mana: 9530


    agility: 75 Hp: 195


    Stat points: 30


    Feeling excited to evolve he threw the points into his luck stat increasing it to 60 and proceeded to view his potential forms. As far he could see he had three option which were labeled Grand Magic skeleton, Magical Grim Skeleton, or Demonic Magical Skeleton. Although he felt that he could guess where these evolutionary forms could lead him he wanted to think long term as he needed to be leaps and bounds ahead of those that would oppose him later down the road making him cautious with each step he takes. Believing the Demonic Skeleton as more powerful and beneficial he chose it, but something unexpected happened. A mini menu appeared saying ''Luck stat has triggered special evolution option: Combined Evolution.


    Confused he looks at Dixie and she who had her jaw agape with awe. It was the first time seeing her this way which made John feel as if something amazing had happened. Before he could say anything she speaks up like always and says, "Your luck has triggered the insanely super rare evolution option that most monsters and other species pray for but only one had ever had the chance to obtain it."


    "You make it sound like you didn''t know the Luck stat could do such," John says while looking down at Dixie.


    Dixie looked from his screen to him and said, "Not even the gods know how such works other than the Goddess of Creation who has never revealed how it works. Hurry and choose it before it disappears now! Huge stat boost will occur making you insanely powerful and crazy overpowered for the likes of this world!"


    Seeing her reaction he knew this had to be big, although he still wanted to be cautious of her until he could tell she was completely loyal thanks to his corruption of her soul but he needed the power. Without out further hesitation, he quickly pressed the button and everything around him went black like before except this time Dixie said, "Enjoy the insane boost in stat along with increased pain from the special evolution. Yea I kinda forgot to add that info. Just see it as revenge for corrupting me. Hmmm can''t wait for the punishment when you wake back up."


    After hearing Dixie''s comment he was sure she was under his control. All that was left to do was think of a way to punish her after waking back up from the pain he''ll have to endure first.

 Chapter 23 - 19: Evolution is frightening

    In the shroud of darkness that encased John, he was slowly being reconstructed molecule by molecule at an incredibly slower pace than what he had experienced before making the intense pain of being deconstructed and rebuilt last far longer than it originally had before. Although the pain was nearly unbearable he never let out a scream or grunt as he prepared himself for it the instant Dixie surprised him with the last-minute warning of his special evolution.


    A whole 3 hours went by and he was now fully reconstructed and was relieved when the pain had finally subsided although the feeling and memory of such an event were something that would take longer to get over. It took a little under thirty seconds for the shroud of darkness the encased him to disappear and he had a clear view of his surroundings. What he saw was something he didn''t expect at all.


    Within the Grave Center, there were only three wall lights that just barely made the room more perceptible, but with John''s newly evolved body the room looked as if his eyes were a flashlight shining on everything within the room to him. John was astounded and began to inspect his body and to his discovery, just about everything about his body had changed. He was now just under 8 feet tall standing at a height of 7 feet 8 inches high if you didn''t include the new half-meter horns that protruded out the sides of his head and curved around the front of his forehead and pointed in the direction he was facing.(If looking for a reference for his horns imagine Ichigo from Bleach)


    Ting


    John touched both his horns and felt all around them as he examined their almost metallic features. He stopped c.a.r.e.s.sing them to look at his hands which had also gotten larger and were more monstrous. His entire forearms looked as if they were pitch black gauntlets with sharp spikes on his elbows while his hands looked like they were knights gloves with extremely sharp claws on each of his fingertips. His forelegs and feet looked similar making him wonder if he could look any monstrous until he opened his mouth to reveal four elongated fangs where his canines were. To make things more interesting out of excitement something on his back had twitched. Out of curiosity, he looked back to see two giant shiny black skeletal wings.


    Looking at his wings that he to stretch and maneuver to the front of him. This addition to his body made John feel happy, but that happiness soon died when he realized an important aspect to wings was that they needed some type of wind resistance that his wings lacked. John stared at them for a minute and said, "Well isn''t this about a bitch. What''s the point of them if I can''t use them?"


    As he was lost in thought over if he should just tear them off his body Dixie woke up from her nap she decided to take after John began his evolution process. She looked at the bewildered John and said as if guess his inquiry, "Just circulate magic through your wings like the rest of your body and flapped them."


    John looked at Dixie and was glad he couldn''t make facial expressions as he hadn''t forgotten how she intentionally left out the information about the triple if not quadruple pain till the last second before he began his evolution. He wanted to punish her but he wondered if she''d see it as punishment or p.l.e.a.s.u.r.e. Either way, he did as she said and flapped his wings after circulating his mana through them, and in an instant, he flew high into the air with insane speed until he hit the ceiling knocking dust and concrete particulates to the ground where he landed.


    Dixie knocking dust and ceiling debris of her shoulder and out her hair said, "Dammit just washed my hair! Ok look flying is something that most creatures born with wings have to take slow like most men go when they believe we want to be romantic when really we... Hmph! Nevermind that but when you have the free time just play with yourself until you get the hang of it but until then look at your stats they''re as wonderful and scary as you are."


    -Menu


    --Stats


    Name: John Carlton Species: Grand Demonic Lich


    Level: 20


    Str: 1097 Int: 1205


    Dex: 1075 Wis: 1225


    Agi: 1075 Mana: 10530


    HP: 1195 Luck: 400


    Stat points: 0


    Dixie looked up at him for a moment and said," At the minimum, they''d have to waste all of their nuclear armaments to kill you once, but with your necromancy, you can resurrect if you set the right requirements, which is to store a piece of your soul somewhere. Now at the most, you''ve reached the point where you''ll be a constant reoccurring threat."


    With his extremely high intelligence and wisdom, he wasn''t surprised at all seeing as necromancy was extremely overpowered as long as someone understood how to implement their strengths and cover their weaknesses. He now was fully confident that he could begin moving forward with the next steps of his plans and asked, "Is it possible to jam and or slow wireless signals across the world with magic without being found out by technology."


    "Yeah. I don''t remember if I ever told you this or not but magic and science are two sides of the same coin, it''s just not realized by many civilizations. Science is what can be understood through what can be seen and explained in simple terms, which for the god of all things sane humans like to make more difficult so they can feel superior for f.u.c.k''s sake, while Magic is something that can only be understood through belief, feelings, the understanding of one''s self, nature, and the forces that move outside of science''s reach. Making Magic in a way stronger and more conventional than science."


    John took in everything that had come out of Dixie''s mouth and understood one thing. That things were only going to become more interesting. When he was locked up in a mental asylum one of the many perks for good behavior was access to books. Many were philosophical and inspirational while others were informational and educational. While he didn''t read much of the inspirational books he took a deep liking to the other three, so in between beatings and him being thrown into the white padded rooms, he taught himself the many things he missed out in school. Within one of the many books were several up to date technology encyclopedias. From the knowledge he gained from them he knew that he needed to somehow manipulate mana into interfering with signals and frequencies worldwide.


    Looking confused John looked at Dixie and said, "I''m pretty sure you have a way to billions of signals worldwide right?"


    Dixie looked up at John and said innocently like a little girl, "Maybe, I don''t."


    Without having muscles and facial features Dixie could tell John wasn''t surprised with her in childish acting and said lets we could build totems from corpses and infuse a great number of souls into them and like the rest of your magic and will it to do what you want like I''m hoping that you do to me later." John ignored her s.e.x.u.a.l offer and proceeded to scheme up a horrifying plan for jamming all communication across the world. He knew what kind of totem he wanted. He was going to make a dead and rotten flesh and bone tree and model it after what he believed the opposite of Yggdrasil would be like. His own little trees of death with one purpose. signaling the end of all that humanity holds dear. Their comfort, their loved ones, their daily lives, and all they will come to miss in the upcoming apocalypse.


    All John needed were the corpses which he currently couldn''t spare. John thought for a moment and an idea popped into his mind, ''why not find mass burials and use the withered corpses and skeletons for the trees?'' John found this a very exceptional plan as he believed it would give his corpse trees a nice antique vibe.


    Immediately he sensed where his undead minions were and surprised to see his patients pay off. He quickly went to check within his consciousness and saw that he now had undead within the sewers of many countries capitals including Britain, Norway, China, Korea, Paris, Japan Mexico, Canada, and more. He was proud to see his plans growing and blooming like beautiful roses. They were pretty sizable and well hidden within the sewers to ensure maximum damage to when it came to enacting his surprise attacks across the globe.


    John couldn''t wait to raise so many dead that he felt a tingling sensation up his spine despite not having any nerves. This was his thought at first until he realized that it was just Dixie sliding her finger up his spine. Within John''s mind, he couldn''t help say, "Damnit fairy stop f.u.c.k.i.n.g with me."


    Dixie could here his frustrated thought and replied, "My bad I thought it would go with the cool act you were putting up."


    "You know damn well it didn''t go with it and I''m not putting up anything. Leave me alone and go check on Joselin for a change." John thought irritably.


    "Ok bye. Meanie." Dixie said while flying off into the corridor outside the Grave Center.


    John began to wonder about elevating her punishment he promised himself he''d dish out.

 Chapter 24 - 20: The Tree of Death

    John and Dixie slowly rose from the shadow of one of John''s newly turned zombies near the entrance to the infamous Paris Catacomb. John stood on the side of the entrance by a tree so he wouldn''t be seen too early while looking around to ensure no one was near before breaking his way into the Catacombs despite it being dark outside and the moonlighting the sky.


    John knew this would be the best way to bolster his forces even if most of the corpses would be nothing more then skeletons, to John they all had their uses. John had many ideas from his Tree of Death to using his necromancy to make different sizes and shapes of abominations that would give very beneficial effects in taking in humanity down. all he needed now was those who lay eternally below his feet to be at his command.


    After reassuring himself that he was clear he walked around to the entrance to the black door before him. Dixie stared for a moment and said, "Well how do you suppose we get in Darth Skele."


    John wanted to ignore Dixie''s attempt to mock him but then again he realized he was wearing a large black cloak with a hood over his head that he even had to admit made him resemble the sith from Star Wars. Without saying a thing he conjured a giant black hand with claws to his right the size of an SUV using his {Darkness Manipulation} and willed it flying into the side of the entrance breaking it along with a small portion of the wall around it before it dissipated into nothing.


    "Well... I guess this isn''t a stealth mission." Said Dixie as she sat on John''s shoulder.


    Walking into the new enlarged entrance John says, "Never was a stealth mission."


    John walked past the gift shop which he found disgusting as he saw what now only a few people in the world would find disturbing. People making a profit off of death which irritated him, yet he continued down the real entrance to the catacombs in order to not stall his intentions there.


    John had walked a few minutes into the catacombs until he came upon the walls of bone that lined the interior of the underground maze, but he didn''t stop to gaze as his aim was the heart of it. After a few minutes of walking he following the map of the catacombs, he swiped back at the gift shop he stopped as he had reached his destination. He was now in the center of the catacombs and everything was silent as he channeled his Mana through his body of bones and into his surroundings. He could feel them. All of them. All seven million within the catacombs that lined the walls and those that were stacked up to make walls themselves.


    Dixie just sat back on John''s shoulder as he didn''t need her help at all for this task. Yeah, there would''ve been a warning from her about raising this many skeletons back to life, but with John massive amount of Mana, it would only take at most half of his entire Mana pool. With enough to spare for when he made his Tree of Death along with taking most of the undead skeletons he just created back to Hornbrew City.


    After finishing John stood still as he waited for them to rise and sure enough the walls around him and under the neighboring buildings began to shake violently as the bones that lined them fell. Then as he expected they began to build themselves up like a force commanded each bone and shard to the original owner. It was like seeing oddly-shaped legos make something unexpected.


    John wondered where Dixie got this comparison from but dreaded the possible answers. Without further ado, he made his way back to the entrance where multiple police waited screaming for anyone within to come out with their hands up in french. John could only guess that he was seen entering which begged the question of if he was seen entering did anyone see him using his magic.


    John wanted what he had behind him to be a surprise so he made a slow approach before what he guessed were hand signs and yells for him to cease his approach and comply to their commands. A helicopter flew above and shined a light onto John from up in the air. John could tell it a new chopper as a man with a camera could be seen on the side filming and transmitting what he saw back to whatever news station he worked for. John kept approaching until a warning shot was fired before his feet.


    With this as a queue for him to stop John froze in his tracks. John felt that with the construction of his Tree of death just moments away and all signals around the world soon to be disrupted and slowed to the speed of dial-up modems he saw it as the best chance to show the world he was born in what they would soon be up against.


    He slowly raised his black skeletal hands toward his hood which spooked the officer on the ground along with the spectators nearby. As he pulled the hood off and revealed his black horns and skull along with his fangs and the supernatural red fire within his eye sockets. There was nothing but silence other than the helicopter above their head with the spotlight on John after all he was the star at the moment.


    John felt the stares from all over and knew that this was the moment he wanted and this was the best chance to leave a lasting impression on a soon to be destroyed civilization. He looked forward to the officers and yelled in a stern voice, "Rejoice humans, your prophecies of world destruction, extinction, and the apocalypse have finally been realized and brought forth by the true gods of this infernal existence. I who have been wronged by those who were meant to care and nurture me and was damned to a life not worth living has been given the chance to wipe away most of your race and all of your civilization by the gods you traded out for false imitations, idols, and non-existent deities that have not once answered your prayers. You have followed books made by those who wished to ensure their descendant''s dominance and control over the ignorant while pretending to be gods themselves. Religions like Christianity and the Catholics wiped out the true believers thousands of years ago and even until this night they continue to secretly wipe away any evidence of their existence. So as punishment for the churches wickedness and disgusting habit along with humanities grotesque saddening actions of the past couple of millennia humanity has been judged as too unfit to thrive in this world they wish to start anew."


    Just as John finishes his announcement he descends into his own shadow and reappears back into the catacombs. Knowing he doesn''t have much time left before they search the Catacombs he quickly spreads a shadow beneath the feet of every skeleton which encompasses the entire floor of the maze and he along with his seven million skeletons descend into the floor. Disappearing before anyone can search the catacombs on to reappear within The Grave center.


    John falls onto his knee cap and struggles to stay conscious. He hadn''t planned to bring all seven million back with him but it was too risky. He couldn''t let the world taste too much of his monstrous sweet plan before he could finish putting the topping on the main course.

 Chapter 25 - 21: Ironic Poetry

    If there was anything to describe the faces of Alice and her group it would be pure horror. They had only come into contact with John when he was actively controlling one of his zombies but they hadn''t expected his appearance to have changed so drastically from the moment he died.


    The entire room was silent to the point you could hear the only fly in the room buzzing from the kitchen. Of course, they hadn''t run back to Alexia''s house it was sure to be crawling with feds and police officers after they escaped and none of the other''s houses were a safe bet either. So they went to the only option they had left which was Alexia''s contact who had helped her track down John in the first place, Allen Stewart.


    He had helped Alexia throughout her career as an FBI agent and later as a hacker helping Alice when she was in the field. Although his job in the NSA took him through many bumpy roads in life and even cost him the life of his wife and daughter which luckily Alexia helped him through. Later on in life, his well-known depression climaxed and he attempted to kill himself to only survive and become an anti-social hermit with a thing for an upcoming apocalypse that everyone just ignored him for.


    Sitting next to Alexia and watching the news with everyone he whispered, "And like a demonic messenger blowing a horn, a monster made from bones of man and wings of the demon will appear to sound the end of all that lives on all worlds."


    Everyone now averted their gaze of the new reporting of the monstrous skeleton figure that vanished into its own shadow back to Allen who was unaware of his ability to successfully whisper. Although he worked in a formal environment such as the NSA after retirement he let himself go and now resembled that of an old Asian hippy.


    Alexia lean over and put a hand on his shoulder and softly asked, "Allen what did you just say?"


    Allen looking down and thinking hard while looking back at his hands he quickly stood up and said, "We have to get out of here quickly! Everyone except Jacob get to my RV outback get it started while me and him grab a few boxes from my bas.e.m.e.nt."


    "What''s going on uncle Al? Do you think that was John." Lana had asked Allen feeling spooked by his sudden outburst.


    All the Thomsons knew him as the calm type even after he was informed of Alexia and her group''s current predicament he stayed calm and let them reside in his home after their escape. Although this was the case, Alexia had seen him this tense once before, and it was when his family had used as leverage to get him to lie in court which he knew would result in the same outcome.


    He grabbed the keys to the RV off the key hooks and tossed them to Alice before looking back and saying loudly, "Everyone get your assess to the damn RV now before it''s too late."


    Everyone was shocked for a moment before obeying his commands. Jacob ran to the door leading to the bas.e.m.e.nt and quickly opened it revealing pitch-black abyss. Jacob was hesitant at first but when Allen rushed past him and quickly went down the stairs and flipped a switch he was shocked. Within the bas.e.m.e.nt were many notes pinned to the walls with different colored strings leading across the room to other notes.


    Allen quickly ran over to a group of stacked boxes and signaled Jacob to grab one and said, "Evidence."


    Jacob looked around with confusion and asked, "Evidence of what?"


    "Evidence that what the badass looking Skeletor in Paris just said was true which means what I''ve been trying to tell everyone for the past few decades was true and we''re about to be anally destroyed by something we might not be able to stop," Allen said hastily while walking back up the stairs with six boxes in tow.


    Jacob quickly grabbing the remaining five boxes and quickly gave haste behind Allen with a look of confusion and well-displayed concern.


    As everyone sat down and took their places within the mobile home Alice quickly looks at her mother and asked, "Mom? Do you have any idea why Uncle Al is so scared? Like I know it''s scary with what''s going on recently, but he damn near went pale when he saw what I''m gonna go out on a limb and say was John even though I don''t know how he got to Paris in the first place."


    Both Alice and Megan looked stared in silence at Alexia who sat at the dining table with her hands clenched together in silence. She had also been silent since they first saw the skeleton creature reveal itself on national television and had been lost in deep thought ever since. She couldn''t help but feel responsible for what was happening and what John had become.


    Realizing she still hadn''t answered Alice she says, "A couple of decades ago way back before you were born. When I could still be considered a rookie in the FBI Allen helped me a lot. You know this already and you know that later down the line some terrorists killed his family."


    "What does this have to do with his current..." Alice said interrupting Alexia before being countered herself.


    "I''m getting to the point now shut up!" Alexia said with rising anger at her daughter''s rudeness.


    Everyone looked on with shock at the tale that Alexia was telling them. All three of them were saddened at hearing about Allens depressing tale, but were also glad that he survived an event such as that.


    Alexia, feeling that they had digested the information enough continues, "When he first woke he hadn''t even taken the time to look around before preaching about things we didn''t understand. The things he spouted the first few weeks after his miraculous recovery we believed were caused by his brain injury but seeing the shit we''re in now makes me think back to those times and realized he was warning us."


    Before she could say anything else Allen and Jacob entered the RV with the boxes they had previously gone to his bas.e.m.e.nt for. As he entered he said, "Damn straight I tried to warn you arrogant sons of bitches, but oh no! His depression and recently attempted suicide must have had some type of mental and physical effect on him! You better be damn grateful I never let this shit go and spent my entire inheritance on a damn decommissioned military bunker in the middle of no f.u.c.k.i.n.g where."


    "Where exactly?" asked Lana who was at this moment worrying about the safety of her grandmother.


    "Tongass. Tongass National Park all the way in Alaska!" Allen said enthusiastically more than he should have.


    Jacob looked at Allen after setting the last box on the ground who was already starting the RV and said, "Wait, that''s all the way in Alaska."


    Allen looked back at all five of his guest and said, "What gonna start complaining now. Should''ve thought of that before being the cause for Diablos'' ascendance. So sit your asses back and enjoy the damn ride."


    Everyone fell silent sat in their chosen spots and relaxed for the long ride ahead of them. Although Lana wanted to ask why the sudden reference to the diablo games but recanted as she didn''t want to incur onslaught of insults she knew he was waiting to dish out.


    As the group drove from Allen''s house a single pitch-black raven flew from the tree next to his driveway and began to follow them from directly above the RV as to not be seen.

 Chapter 26 - 22: Deal with the Devil

    James stood in the kitchen pouring himself a glass of southern bourbon. He didn''t drink often especially since the birth of his first grandchild, but with everything going on he didn''t need a shot glass or anything nearly as small. His original plan was to get completely shit faced until John came and showed himself, but before his lips and mustache could touch the glass he heard glass breaking in his livingroom.


    With the speed of someone 30 years younger, he quickly ran towards the sound expecting Candice to have spotted another of John zombies or Alexia and her family to come and get payback for locking them up, but instead, he found an almost paralyzed Candice staring at the screen of their t.v. Before he could say or ask anything the new which was being reported on the screen. For a quick moment, he thought it was just a movie until he saw their local news anchor on screen talking and discussing with her partner the details of the broadcast.


    James watched on as he watched them replay the recording couldn''t help but notice the absolute similarities to which the creature said he was wronged. Deep down he wanted to believe this wasn''t John, the big brother he''d sworn to help, now looking like a demon on national news.


    "Hun..." James said still standing in the entrance to the living room.


    Candice cautiously turned around with her mouth open and half a grin laid b.a.r.e upon half her face as she made eye contact with James.


    Her eyes that had latched on to James had switched their target back to the t.v and back to James as she pointed at it. James had only seen his wife this shocked when she had once believed she had found evidence of The Rake only to be let down when it turned out to have been fabricated by her source.


    James sat next to Candice and grabbed hold of her hand with care and worry as he knew this would probably become another troublesome affixation, but this time he too was affixed to what he had seen. The very words of the creature caught on the recording was an exact summary of John''s life until his very death at the hands of the cold-hearted and misinformed bitch that murdered his brother as he thought on.


    Thinking about how Alexia put the finishing touch to what James could guess was his brother on national news anger and hatred filled his mind all the while within his heart was like an anchor pulling him into an unwanted stream of tears that he held back.


    Candice taking a break to check on James saw the watering eyes that kept back the tears he wouldn''t let fall. She knew this part of James like the back of her hands as it would mean she was a horrible wife of more than 60 years if she couldn''t see the clear distress he was going through. She gently placed her free hand over the hand he had put over hers and said, "It''s alright James. He might have been taken from us but now he''s back and once he arrives I''m sure he''ll answer our questions."


    "Indeed I will to a certain extent." A ghastly voice says from behind them close to the entrance to the hallway with the stairs and front door.


    It was John standing in the entrance to the hallway which led to the stairs and front door. His tall and hulking pitch black body along with his skeletal wings reflected the light from the lamp that sat by the window. John had ducked a little so he wouldn''t hit his head or horns on the top of the entrance.


    Both James and Candice stared at the massive figure that had snuck up on them while not making so much as a noise. They didn''t a clue as to how he had gotten behind them but all they knew was they were afraid as despite their differing beliefs they both had a singular thought within their heads, that satan himself had appeared before them.


    "Hello, there brother it''s been a rowdy couple of days hasn''t it," John says in his ghastly voice while c.o.c.king his head to the left in hopes that this gesture would be seen lower tensions.


    Hearing the word brother James snaps out of his perplexed and terror riddled mental state. At first, he didn''t want to believe his brother was the creature on the news but seeing it appear out of nowhere in his livingroom calling him brother all doubt left his mind and cautiously walked around the couch. He himself didn''t know why he was making his way toward his horrifying brother but he didn''t want to lose him again the way he did.


    Standing in front of the hulking figure that was his brother who was now a creature of hellish statue. Without saying anything they both hugged as if they were both separated again as if one of them had been lost at sea.


    Candice who was still in a shocked state of mind looked at the two lost like a student reading a book without page numbers and without a bookmark. John sensing the confused and scared gaze of Candice lets go of his brother and looks directly at her and says, "Enough of this sentimental moment I have things to explain, things to discuss with you two and something to offer you both."


    Feeling her bewilderment climaxing she asked, "Wha- What offer?"


    John looked at Candice then at James and said, "Salvation."


    Before the both of them could process the meaning of Johns use of the word Salvation James'' phone rings. He answers while still staring at John while trying to comprehend his offer. On the other end, garbled noise and screams were clear as day before the voice on the other side yells, "Mr.Mattheson we have two major problems on our hands, one is less of a problem at the moment so I''m gonna get to the problem..."


    Before the man on the other could finish his sentence gunfire could be heard in the background. The man without waiting for James to answers says, "Sir the officer who was injured during the incident at your house has begun attacking people by eating, biting, and clawing people like a feral animal. After a while, we thought we had him pinned down but everyone who he injured became just like him like he passed on a disease or infection of some sort. Sir the entire Hornbrew City FBI Branch is in chaos. I''ve already reported this to every official I could sir and with you out of commission for tonight while you tend to your wife I found this to be the appropriate action."


    Listening to what he just heard James was in deep shock. Without wasting time he said, "Where are you currently and..."


    The man on the other end began whimpering and crying as each second a piece of the door that was to soon be broken through was broken off. A distinct sound that James knows way too well made its way through the speaker of the phone and into James''s ear and the man on the other side said, "I don''t know whats going on sir, but I know that I might not make it out sir. Please get help! Any help! The buildings lost and seeing how this spread so quickly so will the city. This might be it just tell mah wife I love her and I''m sorry for everything!"


    Just as he finished talking a large boom could be heard through the phone and followed by the man yelling, "F.u.c.k you, f.u.c.k you, F.u.c.k you..."


    On the other side of the phone, James could hear the rapid gunfire of a pistol and the distinct sound of it jamming. Followed by the sound of the gun jamming and the sound of a rampaging horde of zombies rushing through the door drowned everything else the sound of a man''s blood scuttling scream as he''s viciously torn apart and devoured alive.


    James slowly removes the phone from his face and looks at Candice and back into Johns devilish glowing eye sockets. His mouth wide open with shock and fear as she wanted to ask John if he was behind it but soon received his answer with a nod as if John had read his mind. What James didn''t know was that Johns''s hearing was almost on par with that of a bat and could hear everything going on the other side along with seeing everything through the eyes of his zombies that just took over the FBI branch in the city.


    John pointed James and Candice to their couches and explained everything from dying, meeting the real gods and listening to there offer and accepting their quest, and falling to the graveyard. He even told them about his assembled army of the undead across the world starting with the homeless and his plan to either slow or cut all wireless communication and broadcast signals without going too far into detail in case he would be betrayed later.


    Lastly, he told them of his guide and now fairy partner Dixie which made James and Candice faces change into that of disbelief. John, noticing this commanded Dixie to leave his soul cavity and present herself. Following John''s orders, she flew out of his c.h.e.s.t in the form of a black ball of shadow which emanated a purple light around it. Then the black ball began to take on the form of a miniature female with wings and said, "Hello!"


    They couldn''t believe what they were seeing an actual fairy like Tinkerbell but darkened and devoid of what made fairies in books look majestic and replaced with a mysterious and fascinating lure while giving off a dangerous vibe. Candice in her aged mind was already going crazy over John being what he was, and now an actual fairy before her. James who wasn''t a believer unless he saw it type of person couldn''t help but throw out his old system of belief as his brother''s presence along with a fairy and gods topping everything off made him feel like he had never opened his eyes and saw the world before tonight.


    Of all the things James wanted to know he wanted to know why John chose to go along with the gods'' offer and what was the offer, he wanted to make with him so he asked.


    John stood silently before saying, "I chose accepted their offer as, I a victim of humanities cruelty and choice to allow injustice to trample over the damned, saw it as a responsibility to strike fear and death where it is needed to ensure humanity learns to fear the wrath of the gods and me more than they fear the loss of their money, s.e.x, multimillion-dollar mansions, and all that they hold dear. And it also makes sense if they chose someone else other than me to accomplish this task if I did not accept their quest."


    After John had said this he reached out his skeletal hand and waited for his brother to accept his offer. Although this was James''s best choice to ensure the safety of his kids and grandkids he hesitated as he thought the John he knew had changed after becoming what he was now along with his morals being heavily challenged. After all, he had just listened to his second in command die at the teeth of John''s zombies. He thought it over for minute came to the conclusion that he couldn''t let his brother end the world out of hatred and spite for it. At this moment he knew that he had to end this while he still could, but as he was just about to reach for his gun and hopefully put his brother out of his misery before he kills anyone else.


    Just as his right hand reached the grip of his pistol John said, "Congratulations Candice Mattheson you are nearby appointed as the Supreme Grand Priestess of The Damned."


    James looked at Candice as Black tattoos slithered from Johns ebony black skeletal hands all over her body. A burning and sharp pain raced across her body making her fall to the ground in agony while James watched dumbstruck and confused as to why Candice took the position. Before he could pull his gun out a black tentacle rose from the floor where his shadow was and restrained him. Fear washed over his eyes as he felt a murderous intent swallow the room whole.


    "Little brother you have really let me down. I made a bet with Dixie to see which of you would take the offer as never said you were the only one who could accept my proposal. Although I did have my doubt I thought you would at least look last your ignorant moral and join me alas you proved me wrong and I lost the bet. Although you won''t be joining me your wife will as she could see and look past her morals and see who was going to be the clear victor in the upcoming battles. I will not kill you, brother, as I owed you a debt I thought I could not pay you back for until now by sparing you and giving you a chance to save your family, yet you return it by betraying me. Although you thought you could kill me here you failed to realize you would need a much bigger gun than that to kill me. Tonight all the way until tomorrow afternoon you will have a pass to escape as far away as you can before you become lunch for my pets."


    As John finished speaking Candice rose back up, but something was different, something had changed. She had become an inch shorter and her skin tightened to the point there were no wrinkles. She tried to speak but realized her voice had become younger as well. Her hair which was gray became as white a clouds on a partly cloudy day. Her vision became clear to the point she didn''t need her glasses anymore. Her vision became so sharp she could the pores in James''s face. She looked down at her hands and saw tattoos that had crawled up her hands and all around her body and face as she saw it in the reflection of a glass cabinet.


    She knew that choosing John''s offer would lead to her being apart of many horrible things, but seeing her husband about to shoot John and probably dooming her kids and grandchildren to a fate worst then death she took the initiative Although she didn''t know that becoming younger and prettier was apart of the role she chose. Before she could take in anymore she looked at James and said, "I can''t believe you would have chosen death over your family. I could tell that John, as he is now, on a whole another level than what mear guns could ever hope to harm, Yet you would throw this opportunity to the wolves and let us die."


    Candace looked at James with sorrow as she knew this would most likely be the last time they ever see each other and turned around and looked at John and said let''s go get my kids before you start the whole world ending thing you plan on doing."


    "Yes, will we get them but before that we have a place to stop before we get them don''t worry I have eyes on them right as speak," John said in a sympathetic tone which betrayed his ghastly voice.


    James looked on in horror as he was dropped to the floor and his gun was sliced in two as by the shadow tentacle which became flame and sharp like a blade. As Candace and John began to sink into John''s shadow James yelled out, "No! This isn''t like you! Any of you!"


    And just like that, they were gone and James couldn''t do a thing about it.

 Chapter 27 - 23: Love and Loss

    Coming from the shadow of one of many of John''s victims that had turned into one of his zombies, John and Candice arrive in a desert and just not any desert. They arrived in the middle of the Mojave Desert.


    Candice looks around astounded by her surroundings. Not only did she just get to experience an act of teleportation but also being able to witness the sheer colossal army of undead around her. They all stood still as if someone had frozen them or pressed pause in the middle of a movie. She turned in a full 360-degree turn and saw that they were surrounded on all sides. With many questions on her mind she from before and now she couldn''t take it anymore.


    Without further ado, she looks up at John who was towering over her with the fairy named Dixie on his shoulder and asked, "What going on? Where are we? and whats happened to my body?"


    John looking down at Candice with his blazing red eyes and said, "Firstly Candice Matthews of the Damned we are on the soil of the Mojave to make the great tree that will be the most pivotable part of my plans to come. Secondly, as a show of my power, I have not only reversed your age to when you were in your prime I have made you a type of undead you and, when you get some, followers might like. You are now a demi-zombie, one who walks both paths of the dead and living hence why your hair is as white as it is. For the markings, as I am now a demonic entity I have the ability to make contracts and such."


    Moving his eyes from her to the tall hill to their right. It made a perfect spot to view his supplies and afterward his finished work. He quickly grabbed Candice by the waist and flapped his wings softly as he could as to not repeat the same mistake he made in the Grave Center. one second their on the ground and the next they were both 10 meters in the air.


    John took this moment to analyze his skill in flying and safely glided to the hill and dropped Candice who wasn''t ready and was still dazed by the sudden takeoff. She the ground bottom first, waking her from her momentary daze and said, "A little warning next time?"


    "Be prepared for anything next time then," John said coldly as usual before holding his hand in the air above his head swinging back down and pointing it towards the epicenter of his massive horde.


    Afterward, the zombies and skeletons began to rush toward the center and climb upon each other while holding onto each other. Within seconds they began to fuse together and combine into what looked like giant tree roots and later the very trunk of a massive tree.


    Candice looked at John and asked, "When or how were you able to get this many umm... undead to this place without it being broadcasted on the news?"


    John not even sparing a glance back at her said, "I have many ways Candice, one of them is the same way we got here. Another is just summoning them from where ever they are to my current location, in the end, it doesn''t matter, but I was able to do this before coming to your home to offer you both the deal."


    A shiver went down Candice''s spine realizing how calculative and frightening John has become. Before she could stare anymore she noticed the rumbling and sound of millions of undead began to become quiet. She looked away from John and toward the halfway complete tree that was now to her estimate 40 stories tall or to be more accurate, it was currently 132 meters and still rising. Candice couldn''t help but drop her jaw slightly at the sight.


    At this moment John chose to take the time to look down at Candice and notice her awestruck appearance and says, "This is only 1.3 million of a total of 6 million of my forces. Although this is a substantial loss this is necessary for the full onslaught on humanity that my current general and I have planned to take full effect."


    As John finished he looked back up at the tree of bones and patches of flesh. John feels joy and high spirited when he sees the giant warped face of sorrow in the middle. As he''s taking in the beauty of his masterpiece of fused and combined bone and rotting flesh Dixie jumps in the middle of his euphoria and says, "Hey, woohoo, the tree is done."


    Raising his left hand in front of him as if commanding the tree to kiss the back of his hand he ordered one of the smallest but still massive tree roots to rise from the dirt which the tree was now planted. The root raised all the way to John until it could no longer while just barely touching his finger claws.


    At this moment John made his connection with his first totem and just like the rest of his undead it was completely under his control and he began to input his command. That very moment the tree''s face began to illuminate a fiery bright light along with emitting a light smoke as if it was a jack o lantern with a flame that was too big.


    With the sight of such a frightening masterpiece, John chuckled before turning around and commanding the tree root to go back down below the earth which it came. Candice had no idea what John had down to the tree but unlike her, Dixie knew John had thought outside the box on this one. Even though her connection to John''s mind was on and off again she could instantly tell this tree wasn''t just a totem. It was just a matter of time before he explained it to her.


    ...


    The exact time in which John, Candice, and Dixie had arrived at the Mojave Desert...


    On his way to the FBI office building which he was sure either crawling with John''s undead or now deserted, James was distraught and saddened. He had just seen his wife accept an offer by his now otherworldly brother and sunk into the shadows beneath their feet. At first, James wanted to collapse and wait for his inevitable doom, but knowing that it was his brother who would bring the death and destruction of others he couldn''t sit by for his old bones to join his brother''s army of corpses.


    After pulling himself together he quickly left from his house and got in his car trying to ignore the violent shake and rock of the patrol car with its dead officers already being gnawed on by what he could tell was 3 or 4 homeless zombies. When John had first appeared within his home James had worried that they might peek through the window or come into the house and spot the skeletal monster that was now his brother, but seeing their sorry state his query for why they hadn''t come and checked on him and his wife was answered.


    James didn''t have much else to live for anyway. His wife had been taken away by James and had reason to believe that they had already taken their children and grandchildren somewhere else unknown to him. Most of his friends were in the FBI office covering for him while he took the night off to take care of his wife when supposedly the building was taken over.


    The only option left for him was to prepare for the coming apocalypse, and the best way to do that is raiding the office armory. For a fact, he knew there were plenty of weapons and supplies in the armory especially in lock-up where confiscated weapons and useful drugs were held. It was only a matter of how he was going to get most of it in his car which wasn''t very big, to begin with.


    He wondered for a moment if he should save them. If he should intervene and save them but at most he saw there were at least nine others besides the two girls. At most, his car could fit 4 others including him in the driver''s seat.


    With the option to help them looking dimmer and dimmer he noticed a rather large 18 wheeler parked on the other side of the gas station. His problem with how to store all the supplies from the office was solved along with how he could rescue them as well. As he could see they were surrounded with the glass of the gas station door close to breaking on the mere pressure of the small horde banging and clawing at it. After that glass breaks the only thing left to protect the survivor would be a makeshift barricade made from the shelves and racks from the store.


    Seeing this as his chance to redeem himself he took action. As he couldn''t really run due to his age he mustered a fast tempered walking pace with his gun drawn in one hand and a cane in the other. Although he''s aged his aim with his gun hasn''t changed much from his glory days and downs half of them with all nine rounds from his pistol. Before the undead could turn around and glare at him he had already loaded another clip and sent 4 more out the chamber piercing each in the head.


    The scream for help fell silent as the last zombie hit the floor. All was silent as James walked up to the door and banged on it with his cane inadvertently shattering it and saying, " Get your useless asses out here and help me start this truck before we all become food for the dead."


    It took them a second to register what had happened and a few small whispers were heard before they took down the barricade and opened the now shattered door frame. Some were fear stricken while others had wet cheeks from crying their soul out, but that only lasted until the gas station manager asked, "Are they dead? Are you anymore?"


    Feeling agitated over having to waste ammo now on saving someone who couldn''t tell the obvious James replied back by saying, "They were dead before I shot them and they''re still dead by whatever logic the world is running on these days, and yes there are a shit ton more and they might be on their way if none of you shit heads can get the truck started and get to F.U.C.K.I.N.G driving it where I need to go!"


    Jumping at his loud words and yelling they immediately look from one to another until the truck driver steps forward dangling a pair of keys. Before he could begin making his way to the truck while fearing the only person there with a gun he James spots something on the man that makes him say, "Wait. That wound on your arm how''d you get it?"


    Everyone froze as they didn''t know what was going on. James knew from the beginning that these folks nor probably most of the world knew that a zombie apocalypse was beginning. To his best of guesses, some people were capable of catching on to what was really happening while others at best just saw it as a rampaging drug addict reacting to a new drug that hit the streets or some kind of mass terrorist attack.


    Out of fear, the truck driver contemplated lying as he didn''t know why this old man in a nice suit was interested in his wound but chose to keep truthful and answered by saying, "one of them freaking drug addicts bit me. Hurt like hell..."


    James didn''t like his action but now believed this was what was needed to assume control over this group quickly and swiftly. With a group within his hands, he knew this was the only way to assume control without any objections. To be able to survive in a world that his brother is going to destroy he''d need to be ruthless in order to control what''s needed, what''s d.e.s.i.r.ed, and what''s left.


    After commanding them into the 18 wheeler which was still loaded with foods and drinks James felt a sense of accomplishment as they drove toward the cache of weapons and drugs. Don''t get it twisted James didn''t want the weapons and drugs to become a warlord. He needed the weapons for defense while also needing the drugs, which were mostly prescription drugs anyway, in case anyone among his group become injured or sick. While the other narcotics would either be used to numb or distract survivors during life-saving surgeries. James wasn''t leaving anything to chance when it came to a scenario like the one he''s in now.


    On his way to the FBI office, his mind drifted into wondering if should at least try contacting his family. Just as he had picked up his phone and began dialing his oldest child the line cuts and the usual message he''d get if he was unable to get a signal. At this moment James knew John succeeded in interfering with signals worldwide telling him he''d need to speed up his plan to take what he needed from the FBI office before his temporary immunity ran out.

 Chapter 28 - 24: Necessary Fear

    It was a quiet and short ride to the Hornbrew City FBI Branch Office. James, fealing deep remorse over not being able to stop his brother, quietly looked out the window at the chaos going on around them as they rode by.


    Fires raging wild and untamed throughout buildings and homes leading to the office building. It was something only comparable to some places in the Middle East and some places in Africa where pirates went unchecked. He thought he''d never see any more scenes like the ones he was passing in the 18 wheeler that cautiously drove past and tightly maneuvered through the chaotic street where people were either running for their lives, curiously watching as they had no idea what was going on, or dying and becoming apart of John''s army.


    It was truly hell in the streets and everyone in the truck was in fear for their lives except James. He sat in the passenger seat with eyes of remorse that were seasoned with anger over events and outcomes he couldn''t have prevented even if he''d tried, yet they lingered on his mind deeply. Even so deeply that when they finally arrived at the FBI office''s loading dock in the back of the building it took him a second to come to his senses.


    James looked around as far as much as he could around his surroundings before asking with an intimidating tone, "Ok, what''s your name boy?"


    The boy who was a young Hispanic kid with long black hair which had a length that just stretched to the nape of his neck looked cautiously to his right at the old man sitting in the passenger seat next to him. While never looking him in the eyes in fear that the old man next him would see that as a sign he''d be rebellious he says, " Miguel... Miguel sir."


    James could see that the boy was very fearful, but quelling his fear wasn''t something he could afford at the moment. He needed to be in charge so his plan to take as many supplies and weapons could go as smoothly as possible. While Opening his door James says quietly, " Get out and get the others and meet me by the that door over there. And leave the young woman and her kid in the back, we can''t have a kid slowing us down. Do it quickly and quietly as you can we can''t make too much noise and we don''t have much time. Got that Miguel!"


    Miguel still looking fearful of James complies and walks to the back of the truck while James makes his way to the loading dock door. After opening the trailer on the back of the truck he tells them what he was told and at first, they were hesitant, but remembering that he''s the only one with a gun at the moment they comply as well. Before leaving Miguel looks back at the young woman and the kid next to her and ponders for a moment. He has no idea what''s going on with the city nor does he have an idea of what their about to do under the rule of the old man, but to his knowledge, he knows damn well it''s not going to be safe if the old man specifically wanted to leave to them in the trailer. before leaving to meet up with the rest others he makes sure to shut and secure the trailer for their own protection.


    After meeting back up with the other five survivors and James by the loading dock door James looks back at Miguel and says, "Took you long enough... Ok look I don''t know if any of you realize it yet but we''re at the beginning of a zombie apocalypse and we''re about to loot my old workplace for weapons, meds, etc. This should be an easy grab and run with the exception that there might still be a few of them in here if they didn''t all run out into the streets earlier. Any questions before we ascend into what might be hell?"


    Everyone stared at James in silence until one person stepped forward and said, "I know you. your that old a.s.s Assistant Director of the FBI branch for the city."


    Looking at the person who had identified him James could easily tell who it was. It was a very prominent and upcoming reporter who had been on the scene at multiple high profile cases dating back a year or two. Her face was always on the news alongside a hot topic she was reporting on.


    James looked her up and down taking note that she had her black hair which was dyed blond in some areas. She wore a formal light blue dress she often wore when she was broadcasting. Lastly was the part that made James think about using her as a sacrificial lamb, her goddamn high heels.


    James looked back up from her heels and said mockingly, "I know you. Your that Asian reporter who like a fly around shit always shows up at crime scenes. What''s your name again?"


    "My name is Ally Sho for your knowledge and I want answers. Now!'' Like is this a terrorist attack? A dangerous chemical spill that mixed the right chems together to make people lose their shit, and what''s with the cell signals going out is that some way to help with a coverup. Also lastly whats with your use of the word zombie does it have something to do with a secret government project or some..." Before she could finish her barrage of questions James cut her off by saying in a semi loud whisper, "Enough! First of all no to all your stupid as questions and second these are f.u.c.k.i.n.g zombies because I know what brought them back to life. It''s otherworldly and f.u.c.k.i.n.g scary and I used to call it brother before it took and made my f.u.c.k.i.n.g wife something else."


    With the stares of everyone on him, he could feel the tense atmosphere that had built up dissipate a little after finally learning who he was he goes on to put in a passcode to open the door which was followed by silence. Out of the awkward silence that followed after his last comment Ally says, "Brother, as in the brother who was convicted of murder at the age of 10 and sent to an insane asylum until he was let go a couple of decades ago. Wasn''t he living off of the support you gave him? What does this all have to do with him and the shit going on in the city? Did he take your money and become a bioterrorist? I heard that he had died from an associate of mine."


    After hearing this everyone including Ally froze as his words sunk into the deepest part of their minds as they attempted to comprehend his words which sounded like a cliche phrasing of words with a deeper meaning. After entering they all looked around as the lights were still on and there were no signs of anything having happened in the corridor they now stood in. Feeling curious Ally chose to walk next to James and asked, "Cruelty? If I read it right he killed a little girl and remained silent about it. What happened afterward..."


    Before she could even finish her statement James cut her off and said while putting the gun to her throat and said in a quiet yell, "He was innocent! It was the director of the orphanage! He was pimping those kids out like a product and did it till the day he died which was the same day John got out! He framed John as he was the only witness to the beating death of that young girl and it was the easiest way to push the blame onto someone else."


    "How do you know. According to an old investigation into you years ago you and weren''t in the same orphanage together unless... of course. you used your status and resources to investigate the truth with, let me guess, an undoc.u.mented undercover operation that you yourself operated under your superiors noses right?" Ally asks while treading cautiously so she doesn''t get a bullet in the throat.


    James could tell by how she came to the right conclusion so easily that Ally wasn''t the average airheaded reporter that a random news channel threw the position of reporter too. She was truly resilient and resourceful when it came to any information found or heard on the job. With her talent in forming conclusions from scraps of information for a small moment, James wondered why she didn''t become a detective, FBI agent, or better yet a private investigator.


    After a moment James began quietly walking down the corridor as if he didn''t jsu. While walking he says, "After I got the evidence he told me he didn''t want it. He said what damage that had been done is done, James. I''m 50 years old. Half of a human life expectancy gone over senseless cruelty and disgusting d.e.s.i.r.es. What life I have left I rather live secluded in a box like the one I''m living in now than live one where people wonder if I really did it and just got my little brother to falsify evidence for me behind my back. Because that is what''s waiting for me James, nothing but false acceptance and closeted scrutiny from even the tiniest of doubt that I probably did do it. So whats the point in living in a society that''s as broken and unforgiving as this one? It''s the same when I was framed and the same when I got out."


    After listening to him quote his brother in a disheartened voice Ally fell silent while everyone else followed her example. As they reached a corner James signaled everyone to get close to the wall and follow his lead. He peeked around the corner and saw nothing less than what looked like a corridor of hell. Although there weren''t any zombies it was very evident that they were there before as the entire floor was bloody with bits of meat spread around. He looked back at the 6 people behind him and said, "Alls clear let''s go"


    As he began walking he noticed he didn''t hear them move at all and looked back at them. Expecting their frightened faces and horrified expression he whispered loudly, "Everyone grow the f.u.c.k up. This definitely going to be common from now and if you want to survive the night I recommend you all to get the f.u.c.k over here now!"


    One after the other they began cautiously following after James and walked through the pool of blood and bits. After some time of walking and not seeing not one zombie, he began to wonder if John had really pulled all of his zombies out of the building in order to slaughter more people outside. This thought became null and void after James and his group went stopped at a corner where the blood seemed to have left a trail to something unknown. Could it be a zombie? A survivor? There was only one way to find out so he peeked around the corner and saw half a zombie scratching at a door.


    On a closer look, the zombie seemed to have had its throat ripped out making it incapable of making growls and roars which at least answered why they didn''t hear much of anything on until they saw it. Seeing this as a perfect chance for the rest of them to see what he meant when he said zombie he walked around the corner and signaled them to follow. It was indeed a shock to them as James expected. They were all in shock once again at the creature.


    Ally realizing what James had said looked at him and said, "They''re supposed to fast? Because the f.u.c.kers back the gas station just barely managed to chase us at George Romero level of speed."


    "Yea I don''t know what''s going on with them or why my brother is making them go slow, but the one that attacked a police officer in my house could''ve probably gave Usain Bolt a run for his money," James said as if reminiscing on his first encounter with a zombie.


    Ally''s head wanted to burst with questions but the zombie had noticed them and began to slowly crawl its way toward them. Seeing this everyone in the group except James felt relief at seeing it crawl slowly as they believed they could easily walk passed it one at a time. But suddenly like someone had flipped a switch it began to crawl at freighting speeds. So fast that it picked itself off the ground using its arms and hand as legs and ran toward the group.


    Everyone began to panic and were about to run back to the exit until James c.o.c.ked his cane back like he was playing baseball. What they didn''t know was that James wasn''t it''s intended target because of his temporary immunity, but was just simply in the way of its actual targets. Just as the zombie was about to knock him down James quickly switched the way he was going to swing at the last second into an overhead swing downward making full contact to the skull of the zombie.


    A deep dent was left in the rotting flesh of the zombie''s skull meaning James had successfully managed to cave in the skull of the zombie. After James raised his cane back up he noticed the zombie trying to move still as if it was still trying crawl to its intended victims. James couldn''t help but compare what he was seeing to that of a house roach still twitching after being sprayed by Raid. Wanting to make sure it was truly down for the count swung downward two more times before relaxing and moving to the door that it was trying to scratch open.


    "Damn G you that was awesome," Miguel said in a low excited whisper after walking back to James as if he wasn''t running back with everyone.


    "Yea yea just hold my f.u.c.kin cane while I put the security code in," James says while trying to holding grunts of pain he wants to let out as he suffers from the drawback of being so physical for his age without stretching.


    After a brief moment, the door opens to reveal a huge room with lots of guns and ammunition. James walks in and spots what the zombie had been trying to reach before they killed it. A man, dead from a self-inflicted bullet wound to the head from the mouth. James only thought was ''No shame in such. Not everyone is capable of dealing with this shit.''


    Afterward, he looks around and could tell they were in the armory. The armory had two entrances one that was marked so idiots could find it easily and the other from when the building had first been built and you had to either memorize the layout of the building or carry a map it. James had started working at this branch office when they had first renovated the place so he, of course, didn''t realize he had found the room so fast.


    Not missing a beat they found three carts and began looting as fast as they could. James looked back at his previous action while overseeing that they didn''t miss anything. He couldn''t help notice that his actions were a bit tyrannical and he probably either burned absolute fear into the whole group or earned some kind of respect from them, but he didn''t care. He knew in a situation like these the old and elderly would be ignored and either fear or absolute respect was the only thing going to help him in his dire situation. So he picked the easiest of the two as he damn well none of them had respect for him when they all first met, so what if he uses a little necessary fear to make them follow him it''s not like he''s going to become a tyrant right?

 Chapter 29 - 25: The Spreading Nightmare

    At the same time, John had arrived at James'' house...


    It was quiet and suspenseful as they began their ride toward the northwest, toward Alaska. It was something to be on the run from the police and government, but it was something completely different knowing that an undead apocalypse was going to be upon them soon. They just didn''t know how soon it would be at their necks as Allen thought while driving the RV on the road that would lead directly to the side roads leading out of the city.


    Allen had many thoughts or what he would jokingly call voices in his head that tended to keep him on his toes during times like these and right now they were telling him to stray away from the main roads. Although he sometimes chalked theses thoughts up to gut feelings, but knowing that he wasn''t batshit crazy and that the supernatural actually exists he chose to follow his gut to the dismay of the others.


    When they had left Allen had instructed Alexia and Alice to look over the heavily yellowed and partially faded pages at the table while Alice and Jacob loaded many guns Allen had hidden away in a closet aboard the RV. He had Megan fiddling around with a t.v. he had hanging up in the back of the RV in the upper left corner.


    Allen was many things, but keeping those under watch organized was only second to his skill at a computer. He made sure to assign everyone a task to ensure all his openings were covered.


    Looking back through his rearview mirror he said, "Megan once you get that T.V. working turn it to the news we need to stay updated."


    "Well sure once you keep this f.u.c.ker still for a bit I can actually get it to work," Megan said in a sassy and sarcastic tone while her head was in an odd position as she tried to look for the port to connect the antenna wire.


    "Well sure sweet cheeks if you don''t mind the probability of being swarmed by the police or better yet being ambushed by Johns dirt munchers," Allen replied back matching both her tones and accent.


    As if she was part of the conversation, in the beginning, Alexia butts in and says, "He''s right we can''t stop unless its for supplies and gas."


    "Well if that''s the case wouldn''t it have been better if we stuck to the main roads and just lowered the blinds and shades on RV and..." Megan was saying when she inadvertently finds and plugs in the antenna wire to the right port and the voice of a male news anchor kills their conversation.


    "This just in we have multiple reports of unprovoked riots and extreme violence happening in the downtown area and all across the city. Many of those reports consist of people clawing and cannibalizing others. I.. I... don''t know what to say about this as it''s all too sudden. Police are nowhere to be seen and..." The new anchor was saying before being interrupted with the delivery of many papers.


    The new anchor looked at the face paper and his eyes immediately went wide and his mouth went agape. Horror hung from his face as he looked back at the camera and around at the crew and director. He flipped through the pages as small whispers began to be picked up by the several microphones.


    After skimming through the pages the new anchor locks his eyes in a certain direction and asks what everyone watching at home guessed to be the director, "Did you read this?"


    After a quick moment, he looks back the camera while grabbing several items and says, "This just in... breaking news whatever the f.u.c.k you wanna call it I just read a report that says those that have been assaulted and cannibalized and thought to have been killed in the process have begun repeating what their assaulters did to them unto others. Reports also state multiple police stations have been assaulted as well and no one has answered or replied to any attempts to contact them. Hospitals are currently on fire and no is anywhere putting out any fires. It''s as if we are alone in this pandemonium."


    Before he leaves he receives another paper and looks it over carefully. He almost goes pale and looks at the camera and says in an almost scared voice, "This just in reports about similar riots and acts have been reported around the world at a shocking rate, god help us, and that the CDC and WHO has now declared that this worldwide problem to be of a disease or infection of some sort that they themselves have yet to identify due to them also just finding out about this disease as well. They... the rest of this report seems to be them pushing the blame of not knowing about this disease unto the governments of the world for not answering or being put on hold. To sum up, what they want us to do as a community and as a people is to stay indoors and lock whatever lock you can find and stay away from strangers that don''t look normal. People, it seems that the government and doctors don''t know whats going on so I''m going out on a limb by saying hunker down and protect yourselves."


    "Run they got into the studio!" Someone says from the background as the noise of growls and animalistic noise makes it onto the screens of everyone watching and listening.


    Before the news anchor could have grabbed any of his personal belongings and made a run for it like the people around him the loud sound of the door being torn off its hinges could be heard. The news anchor could be heard saying, "Oh my god," before the camera is seemingly knocked down. But before the camera could be seen hitting the ground the T.V. within Allen''s RV turns to static.


    Everyone including Allen who had parked the RV on the side of the road to watch the news had eyes that were filled with shock and fear. Megan tried to turn the T.V. to multiple other channels, but the static persisted. "Umm, I guess it''s busted again or the nearby antenna tower got taken down by a crashed."


    "Nah uh sweetheart there''s about three of them within about 10 miles around here that me and Allen once used to pinpoint a serial killer years ago this is something different and these damn books aren''t helping Allen... Allen?" Alexia asked looking at a paled Allen who had immediately ran back to the steering wheel.


    "Yea Alexia your damn right about that. The antenna on the top of this RV isn''t just one of those red neck do it yourself antennas. That''s an AT&T antenna I stole and rigged for my own purposes back in the day and I always picked up any channel no matter where I was. Know why? Because it picks up satellite signals." Allen said almost hysterically while taking the RV out of break and into drive and pressing the gas pedal almost knowing everyone over.


    "Ok what about the satellite signals," Lana says while holding on to the corner of a built-in couch.


    "FOr the LOVE of Christ, what have they been teaching you guys at Quantico!? For a signal to have been interrupted and static appears on screens that mean there is electromagnetic interference. That either happens with an emp, an electromagnetic magnetic pulse, or a signal jammer. So either someone is close by with a signal jammer for some odd reason or someone let off a very powerful nuke in the atmosphere which would''ve fried the hardware in the RV specifically the battery, which didn''t happen. So the only obvious answer at the moment is that Darth John just pulled off the world''s most modern and biggest divide and conquer this world had ever f.u.c.k.i.n.g seen. Which makes it even more important that we make it to my bunker in Alaska."


    "To be honest uncle Al you could have lead and left it at the last half of your explanation... wait you have a bunker in Alaska?" Alice asks in confusion while fighting off her dizziness from Allen''s frantic driving.


    "Shut up and get back to looking through the pages," Allen said completely ignoring Alice''s question about his bunker.


    "A way to f.u.c.kin'' stop John. Those pages are old and forgotten text from a book that many churches and the very powerful people John hinted at deemed heresy and demonic. Or better known by the name, the book of the damned. What I found out from other old a.s.s text is that it''s original name was something less f.u.c.k.e.d up and scary. At first, it was called the book of truth before greedy old a.s.s men wanted to undermine the gods and achieve a wealth of their own through falsehood and deception through the name of donations, churches, and wars they caused to get rid of those that knew the truth and the existence of the true gods. The pages I obtained were mostly damaged due to old aged but were still readable despite being translated and rewritten in the 1400s by the first European colonizers that came to the Americas. If I remember correctly, somewhere in those pages there should be an answer to our problem." Allen says while trying to gain his breath back from his short but long monologue.


    Alexia looks back at the boxes and asks, "Are all of these boxes filled with pages?"


    Allen looks back in his rearview mirror at Alexia with scornful eyes and says without holding back his tone of anger at her for her involvement in what John is doing, "No just the first three are the pages while the rest are food and water that should hopefully last us halfway to the border."


    Noticing his tone toward her Alexia just replies, "Oh ok."


    Lana noticing this feels a small weight on her c.h.e.s.t as if she could have jumped in but felt compelled not to as she knows Allen has all the right in the world be pissed at Alexia. The whole world has the right to be bearing a grudge toward Alexia right now. Even right now she feels a little resentment towards her.

 Chapter 30 - 26: Building Bonds

    Several minutes after John had finished his tree of death, John had taken Dixie and Candice back to the Grave center. Candice looked around to her own astonishment at the massive space of the room they were now in. She looked back at John and asked in a worried voice, "Where are we now? Where are my kids and grandkids?"


    "Their about to walk through that door in about 7 minutes, but first Candice let me help clarify what exactly your role is going to be in this apocalypse," John said while walking over to his throne.


    As he sat down in his throne he pointed Candice to her seat at the rather large table. She looked around at the many other chairs and realized she was the only one to have been brought to his side. This made her wonder if he too had coerced and mad deals with them too.


    As she was about to ask about the chairs John cut her off by saying, "Your role in this chaotic time is to guide whatever pieces of human you can scr.a.p.e up and make them into loyal religious followers of yours who will worship you as my proxy, my Supreme Grand Priestess of the Damned, and my as their god."


    Candice looked on at John with fear at John as he explained her role. She couldn''t wrap her head around the thought of her being the leader of a cult or better yet being the founder of a new religion built around the very thing many fear the most, death. It was incomprehensible from her viewpoint as at the most she was only ever good at being a psychologist and being obsessed with the supernatural and being big a fan of cryptozoology. Then as if a switch flipped in her head it was her skills in psychology that were of use.


    As if reading her mind John said, "Yes your skill in reading people is a tremendous skill to have on hand but what we truly need is your peoples'' skills combined with your skills in psychology is will be the leading factor in you gaining the trust of desperate survivors."


    "How did you..." said Candice before being cut off by John.


    "When I made you a demi-undead you became like my undead which now we all share a type of connection which Dixie will explain later, but for now in a second your family will be brought in and will leave it to you explain to them their current circ.u.mstance. I do remind you that it will be up to you to convince them of your identity and of the safety of being the first members to join our religion." John said cutting off Candice before she could ask about him knowing her thoughts.


    Before the door could open John began to sink into his shadow. Before he completely vanished he made one last comment by saying, "I will take my leave momentarily as I have to tend to my daughter."


    After he had completely left Candice lingered and thought on John''s last words, ''daughter''.


    The only door leading out of the room finally opened revealing a group of zombies surrounding and escorting a group of people and teens.


    ...


    John rose from the shadow of a small and tiny undead girl and peeked over her shoulder as she used magic to levitate and connect body parts from several grown zombies onto several small zombified children. It was Joselin, and she was just putting the finishing touches on her creations when she finally noticed the giant figure behind her.


    "Papa!" she said while turning around and hugging him.


    John could tell that Dixie had done a good job in training both Joselin and Joseph in honing their magic and sensing abilities along with showing them how to look and control the lesser zombies that they had a connection with through him. He wondered just how far they had come but was distracted at Joselin''s work.


    The children he had given her to play with now looked grotesque and horrifying. Along with their original limbs, they now had eight additional arms on their backs that also had one additional forearm attached to each of them. Their lower Jaws split down the middle with precision with sharpened teeth. It took John a moment to notice their extra eyes wrapping around the crown region of their heads. John was shocked, but his shocked state of mind quickly changed to that of inspiration. Inspiration for ideas for new troops when the occasions arrived.


    Joselin looking back at her art and back at her skeletal winged father and said, "I think I call them zombie spiderlings. Since they always made fun of me when I made friends with the spiders down here I thought they could be my friends too if they became spiders too."


    John looked deeply into Joselin''s eyes and said, "Sure enough they look like spiders..." and just before he could say any more a thought came to his mind. Indeed the many zombie children that are gonna be made from this apocalypse would be taken down rather easily, yet make for good ambushers. What if they all became spiderlings then not only would they all be useful at ambushes and surprise attacks, but they would be like the wolves and be instrumental in outmaneuvering opponents, and freighting flanking tactics.


    Joselin had just gave John the most excellent unit for counter and ambush tactics. John patted her head and said, "Well what if I said you can go out above ground with your spiderlings and use them to get more material for more spiderlings."


    Joselin''s went wide with excitement as the words John had just said reached her zombified eardrums. She jumped up and down with her arms close to her abdomen and her hands clenched into fist saying, "Really Really Really!"


    "Yes, but first your spiderlings must have the capability to be like true spiders right. So why not ask Dixie to show you how to use something around the lines of magic threads so you may imbue the spiderlings with said knowledge so they may not only protect you but capture those you want to add to your group of friends." John said while also thinking he would rummage through her memories later and learn how to make the spiderlings himself while also learning a new skill.


    "Ok, thank you, papa, I''ll go and ask her right now," Joselin said while running from the room with her entourage of spiderlings.


    Watching her leave with her spiderlings he an incredible idea. Why not make multiple variants of undead to add more flexibility among the forces starting with the wolves. With this new inspiration gained from Joselin''s creativity, he couldn''t help but feel the bond between him and his daughter deepen. He began to wonder just how long will it take for him to come to a decision if Dixie should be her mother figure because after all, she is closer to Dixie after all right?

 Chapter 31 - 27: The Tiny Adventures Joslin part 1

    Skipping through one of the Grave Center''s many corridors, Joselin and her group of spiderlings reach the entrance to the giant room that John calls the center of his headquarters.


    Within the room, Joselin sees Dixie standing on the head of a zombie giving out commands in a suave but sadistic manner. After hearing the moderately loud grind and squeal of the only door leading in and out of the massive steampunk like room, Dixie turns her head and locks eyes with Joselin before saying, "Well, hey there little princess what the hell are you doing here?"


    C.o.c.king her head to the left, Joselin says, "My old mom said hell was a bad word."


    Amused at hearing Joselin''s innocent response Dixie then says, "True little dead baby chick but in a world which has so much in common with the aspect of hell, it''s alright to say since no one is going to spare the time to care, ok. Now, what is it you want? I''m quite busy directing some skeletons to gather some supplies for our newest guest."


    Joselin looks around at the skeletons and the supplies that are snuggly packed in the crates on large-sized carts and asks, "We have a guest who is it?"


    "Really none of your business at the moment. Once again, young lady, what is it that you want." Dixie asked again, but this time with an agitated eye roll.


    "Papa wanted me to ask if you can teach me how I could make spider webs using magic. So can you pretty please? Joselin said while stretching out her last word as cutely as possible.


    After looking at Joselin for a moment and thinking she said under her breath with a smile, " Mr.Sneaky thinks he can catch me off guard, uh? I''ll go along with it for now."


    Although Joselin couldn''t hear or understand what Dixie had said, the person watching through her eyes could. At this moment Dixie, under the disillusionment that John had a secret plan for her, had her mind deep in the gutter of hardcore bondage which was enough for her to give in to the request by saying, "Ok sure but you have to listen and pay attention to every tiny detail like you did with all of our other lessons."


    With her eyes lit with excitement again, Joselin said in a hyper tone, "Ok!"


    After spending an hour and several minutes learning the basics of the skill using several different methods, Joselin practiced by tying up random zombies within the Grave Center and eventually learned how to make her stick to any surface from Dixie. While teaching Joselin, she wore a rather l.e.w.d smile the entire time she was teaching her. Through her small amount of practice, Joselin was capable of gaining the skill , which she soon imparted and taught to her spiderlings joyfully.


    "Now, little zombie chick go and have fun and cause as much pandemonium as you want while I go and talk with John for a while," Dixie said while being unaware of the fact that John had no intention of giving her the "punishment" she wanted.


    Before she left Joselin''s side, she took another look at Joselin and said, "Wait! We can''t have you leaving our home looking like a dust mite, so wait a second while I clean you up just a bit."


    Just as Dixie had said that she had raised her left hand and cast a magic skill that sent balls of water toward Joselin rolling all over her body collecting dirt and other particulates they could find. Joselin''s ragged clothes looked better by leaps and bounds, although they were still faded and tattered in many areas. After several seconds they floated off her and began to evaporate, becoming smaller and smaller until there was nothing seeable but vapor and steam. Afterward, Dixie tied her hair into twin ponytail and let her wild bangs hang as they were before.


    Joselin had looked around at her clothes and was at awe momentarily while Dixie looked over her body, making sure she was smudge and dirt free before saying, "Ok, your all good to go. Can''t have you representing during the last moments of a survivors'' last moments on earth looking like a dirty rag on the side of the street now, can we?"


    Joselin looking back at Dixie before she makes her way to the surface, says, "Thank you, Ms.Dixie."


    After achieving the task that John had given her, Joselin made her way to the surface while continuing to practice with her and skills with her entourage of spiderlings following behind her on the floors, walls, and ceiling. By the time she had made it to the surface, the morning sun was giving the sky multiple beautiful orange shades that ranged from a close yellowish orange to a reddish-orange.


    Finally noticing the slight tickle her tears gave in return for her freeing them, she wiped them away with a smile and began her small adventure down a street. While she made her way down streets and alleys, her spiderlings either pounced on or tied surprised victims in their before feasting for a second and catching back up with Joselin.


    Eventually, Joselin came upon a costume store with a frilled black victorian era maid costume in her size in the mirror. As she looked at it, she saw the reflection of her face and neck above the dress''s neckline behind the glass. Although she wanted it, she felt conflicted as she was always told stealing was terrible, yet at the same time, she remembered that Dixie had told her she had been chosen to be a princess although she didn''t look the part. She contemplated it for a while before remembering one of Dixie''s comments about the world she lived in being similar to hell, and right now, nobody was going to care.


    She thought about it for a moment before commanding one of her ten spiderlings to break the glass and grab it for her by saying, "Tommy, can you get this for me?


    After a few seconds of not moving, she c.o.c.ked her head in confusion and repeated her request before saying, "Get it for me, Tommy."


    After her command, the spiderling still hadn''t even budged a little bit. Feeling something was wrong with it she looked at another spiderling and was about to repeat her last command before she was interrupted by a voice in her head that had said, "If you genuinely d.e.s.i.r.e to take what you want you must learn to take it yourself with your own strength, my daughter."


    Instantly she recognized the voice as John''s and looked around, trying to make sure she was not hearing imaginary voices. She looked back at the glass at her reflection to see that her pupils had changed from a glowing blue to a bright glowing red haze. She touched her cheek and slightly pressed up against her bottom right eyelid in amazement. With a low voice, she said, "Papa?"


    With no response, she thought back to his words and understood his message to a certain degree. She backed up and extended her right hand forward, stretching her hand and fingers, fully revealing her paled palm. Then, as if she was clawing at the air in front of her hand, she used and shot it out of each of her fingers and pulled. For a moment, she struggled before clasping her fingers into a fist and twisting it toward herself and gave one last pull. Shattering the glass and throwing it around herself without being hit miraculously, hitting the spidering with shards causing them to raise their multiple arms to protect themselves.


    Shocked at what she could do, she looked around until her eyes finally laid upon the black dress she wanted. She stared at it, wondering if she had damaged it in any way with her freighting strength and skill. Before she could stare any longer or become anymore afraid of her power, John interrupted and whispered into her thoughts, "Well done, child. Continue to make me proud."


    Feeling something that she hadn''t felt before in her heart, she smiles before taking the dress and disappearing into the store to change into her new clothes.


    At the Grave Center, John leaves Joselin''s mind as Dixie enters with a c.o.c.ky smile as if expecting something she wholly misunderstood.

 Chapter 32 - Chaper 28: The Adventures of Joselin part 2

    It didn''t take Joselin long to change out of the rags that she once sported as clothes and into the black victorian maids costume. She looked at herself in the mirror and felt wonderful to look how she believed princesses dress finally. After staring at herself in the mirror with a smile of joy for a while, she finally left the store and back onto the streets where her spiderlings stood guard in various spaces that many people wouldn''t have expected them to be, especially at night.


    She walked by many buildings that were either small or big, long or thin, burning or completely dark and silent. Multiple screams and terrifying roars and howls kept the city alive and fascinating to Joselin. It was around noon when she began to search incredibly fast around many nooks and cranny for signs of children she could add to her spiderlings group. After a while, she had found just under 30 children in various conditions. Some were injured, some were just badly bruised, while six were suffering bites from their zombified parents, friends, or neighbors. Although she wanted to work on them immediately, she was still caught on the earlier lesson of "If you want it get it yourself."


    So after wondering how she could transport the 30 children and still make back up to her current location before dark so she could continue to enjoy the daylight while searching for fresh parts, she remembers how Dixie had told her about the connection between her and the regular zombies and followed it she could summon any of them no matter how far they were. After finding a suitable answer to her problem, she closes her eyes. She focuses on her soul, which Dixie showed her how to find and access, inadvertently entering into her soul cavity to see her soul that looked like a small red crystal the size of a small ball being wrapped and connected by red lines of mana to a giant-sized dark red crystal that gave an eerie glow. She couldn''t guess the sized of it as it dwarfed the size of her own, but she could guess it was John''s.


    Without further ado, she looked at her soul and saw the branching red lines of mana and saw the millions of connections. She looked around and focused on those that were near her, and just over 60 crystals lit up as to answer her summons. She then commanded them to come and escort her "new friends" back to her playroom.


    Now having given her command to the 60 zombies, she could hear many running feet around her as she left her soul cavity. As she opened her eyes, she could see the children being utterly surrounded by the small horde and dragged away, screaming and hollering for help. Joselin, at this point, could care less as they would soon be her friends forever.


    Seeing that as over and handled, she hops on the back of one her spiderlings and has it climb to the top of a building with the other nine following behind. She soon reached the top of the 14 story building and peered out into the horizon while sending her other nine spiderlings out to search and notify her if they had found anything. It was indeed a beautiful sight before her as she looked on at the horizon decorated with rising smoke and ash from the buildings below with the tune of many agonizing screams. She couldn''t help but continue to smile as it was the most enjoyable scene she''d ever seen.


    After three hours of relaxing and enjoying several juice boxes that she had the spiderling she rode to the top of the building with go and search for she felt a tingling feeling coming from her c.h.e.s.t. More specifically, her soul cavity as she took a peek and saw that it was one of her spiderlings trying to get her attention. After seeing this, she saw begone to wonder what it was when she accidentally touched its soul crystal, transferring her vision to what it saw through its many eyes. She found it amazing as it was her first time looking through the eyes of someone else.


    Through the spiderling''s eyes, she could see a small group of survivors in the back of a building with several large carts filled with many guns ammo and first aid. This was something to be expected, except for the last cart being filled with small bags of drugs and large wrapped packages of something that looked like white powder.


    This was a thing she remembered that her mother had told her to stay away from as it "had ruined her life and landed her deep in the sewers with kids she could barely get scraps of food for. Seeing it made Joselin angry as it was something she believed was why she was living as a sewer rat in the first place. Although she was young, she did understand that it was also her mother''s fault for choosing to use the drugs in the first place, but she couldn''t stand seeing it and commanded her spiderlings to converge on the glass windows above their location.


    After gathering above the oblivious people below her, Joselin, who was hanging from a hand full of <Spider Thread> with all of her spiderlings crawling upside down toward them to gain an advantageous surprise on them the way Joseph had described how they should fight. Feeling the moment was right, she whispers, "Get''em."


    The spiderlings all drop down simultaneously in different spots surprising the people. Two landed on the truck''s back while two landed on the front of the truck peeking into the driver and passenger side at a young Hispanic teen and an old black man in a suit¡ªthe rest land on the ground on the sides of the cargo container. Screaming could be heard as the back people began to shoot holes into the ceiling of the container missing the spiderlings as they jumped around expecting such.


    The two people up front driving who were supposed to be driving to drive the truck looked in shock as they didn''t expect such an attack. As they stared at the new zombies before them, the young Hispanic teen recovers first and says while starting the truck, "Aye man shoot the f.u.c.ker, James."


    Although both the spiderling could''ve tried to break the glass to get both they ignored James and tried their best to smash the front window and driver side window to reach the driver who was the Hispanic teen. Before they could successfully break the windows, two bullets are sent flying into the head of one, and the other goes straight through the center of the other''s c.h.e.s.t with enough force to throw it to the ground.


    Seeing her spiderlings struggling, she lowers herself by a little, just enough to be seen and to have a good angle to shoot her <Spider Thread> the windshield. She then attaches the <Spider Thread> to the nape of her costume and shoots a hand full of web at the wall behind her to gain support and with her left-hand shoots some at the windshield.


    As the web hits the windshield, the two in the front are stunned to see a little girl hanging from very thin but tough threads that were incredibly hard to see if not for them glistening slightly. Wasting no time, James shoots three more times but misses, but with the last bullet in his chamber, he sends one straight through her c.h.e.s.t, leaving a small a clear hole tiny hole in her c.h.e.s.t. With the force from the impact of the bullet, she''s sent flying to the wall behind her and knocking her unconscious, swinging back and forth while dangling from the thread on her back.


    Feeling that their sub-master was injured and unconscious, the spiderlings that were assaulting the back of the 18 wheeler stopped and retreated despite successfully killing three of the survivors in the back and quickly ran up the building walls to snatch Joselin before anything else happened to her. After seeing this, The Hispanic teen quickly drives the truck away as fast as he could while saying, "Everyone hold on!"


    While the Hispanic teen was driving frantically, James says, "Miguel take us to this address here quickly, were going to an old FBI Black site."


    Miguel, still coming down from the frightening event just moments ago, says, " Yea! Yea! And then you can f.u.c.k.i.n.g explain why they didn''t attack you and only me!"


    While they were driving, they were unaware of the one spiderling that remained lying flat on the container''s roof as when they were retreating, John, who was watching it all go down, commanded this one specifically to remain hidden and stay with them from hidden from their sight.


    ...


    several hours later Joselin wakes up on a random roof somewhere in a startled condition thinking she had died again. She looks around and notices that it''s dark once again as the voice of John says behind her, "Now what have we learned this evening."


    Joselin turns and looks at John, who is sitting on a busted old AC unit. She then smiles solemnly and says, "Alot."

 Chapter 33 - 29: The Secret General

    Sometime during Johns visit to James home.


    Joseph stood solemnly with his eyes locked on to his undead squad. For the last couple of


    days he had trained them each in various fields in such a short time he began having doubts about their capabilities.


    In his career as The Secret General of the U.S., he commanded just an army of 100, no more, no less. Of course, it wasn''t his choice nor preference to limit himself to such a small army, but it was the most he was allowed to have under his belt at any given time due to other official''s disdain and jealousy of his skills and strategy at leading an army. Often they would throw incredibly ridiculous assignments and missions his way just to ensure his failure, which was always mostly in vain.


    Most who knew of him and his army would refer to them as a night parade of a100 ghosts because of their skill in infiltration and assassination. Their missions were mostly nothing more than highly classified missions pertaining to infiltrations, assassination, and lastly Radius Sweeps. The latter was the one that gave them their reputation as no one was as skilled as them when it came to killing and making entire towns or half of a city of people disappear within a night like they did.


    His success as The Secret General was one of the two things that made him happy, the other being his wife and daughter. Failure wasn''t an option in his line of work as it would either mean being decommissioned or permanently decommissioned. While the former meant never seeing the light of day again, the latter most definitely meant death for anyone who failed.


    Waking from his thoughts of similarity between his new army and the former one, he began making his way towards a gate with a very large yard with trees behind a fence with many zombies trying to find there way through. Beyond the yard was a very large white building with searchlights, tanks, and heavily armed military personnel who were either standing still or quietly shaking in the knees from the sight of what stood between them and the fence.


    Joseph standing with his army of 10 were greatly mixed in with the large crowd of undead pushing on the gate with all their might. Whose gate were they about to push down, might you ask? Who else''s but the president of the United States.


    Before arriving outside the fence, Joseph had advised that they take out certain problematic individuals and organizations before they had a chance to regroup to unknown areas before John got the chance to assign undead birds to monitor them. Especially those groups and individuals that Joseph knew were heading below ground and blasting away any trail they might leave.


    Eventually, Joseph had convinced John and let him possess his body to have a line of sight on who was all going to be teleported by a shadow he was summoned for them from across the country. At first, John himself didn''t know how Joseph''s mission would go, but seeing how confident he was in using his newly trained forces; he gave Joseph a gift in allowing his small army of ten to use their full motor functionality and sending them outside of the white house''s lawn by possessing an undead outside the fence surrounded by a small legion of undead.


    As the fence creaked and began to bend inward Joseph began to move his forces out of the crowd towards the sides. He''d seen situations like these where warlords would have a rebellion of angry farmers pushing down their gates in order to get at their throats for their constant abuse. In that case, which was very similar to his current predicament with the exception of angry farmers for zombies, he waited for the gate to fall which was followed by gunfire that mowed down most of the farmers which let him and a small group of his forces to infiltrate the compound and get the job done.


    CREEEE


    The fence had fallen and hordes of zombies began to sweep the lawn of the white house as the soldiers unleashed walls of bullets many in the swarming horde in the c.h.e.s.t. Although many bullets managed to make their way into the skulls of many zombies, thanks to the help of those who could tell what they were up against when regular bullets to the body didn''t faze them at all, the horde continued to gain ground at a frightening pace.


    While the soldiers were busy being preoccupied Joseph and his forces slipped through the right side that he commanded many zombies to leave open for him to slip through. After making a successful infiltration and managing to hide behind several trees near the white house. Joseph then commanded his forces to climb the walls a break in through any window they could find and secure any room they ended up in, but left a specific mission to capture the president specifically.


    There were many reasons for Joseph''s request to take on many organization and individuals who who had the resources to escape to hidden and unknown safe locations, but his reason for going after the president was complicated but simple, he took everything from him. Joseph could still remember the short-lived surprise attack that was ordered by the then U.S. General that took his small army. Even after surviving the attack those that he loved weren''t as lucky when he found them tied and tortured in their two-bedroom suburban home. Even after that, he was labeled a terrorist along with anyone who survived the surprise attack.


    This wasn''t only just a mission to ensure that certain individuals couldn''t regroup, this was personal. Although it was too late to go after everyone who had had hand in the downfall of his forces and the killing of his family, it wasn''t too late to find answers.


    After looking through the eyes of forces to see that several had already killed those hiding in various rooms which didn''t matter at all as they didn''t have who he was looking for, but was a good start in taking the white house. Because the sound of breaking glass could still be heard over the chorus of gunfire and explosions many soldiers were distracted losing focus on the front line to start shooting the intruders who made who was climbing through windows on the second floor.


    Because of the loss of support, the defense began to crumble as the horde came within just meters as the soldiers began to run for their lives even though it was fruitless as they were to still close to hungry zombies who were already at full sprint. Those in tanks began to cower seeing what was going on and began to shut their hatches but it was too late and many necrotic and cold hands grabbed hold of the edges of the hatches before they could be closed shut. This clearly resulting in the end of those within the tanks, and with the defense having perished this left the people inside the building with no salvation to what was about to happen to them.


    Joseph knew what the outcome of the perimeter defense was going to before it even concluded but he himself couldn''t wait as he knew that his target couldn''t wait either. So as the horde began to sweep the first floor Joseph and his force made their way to the roof where a helicopter with many important figures were in the middle of escaping. Surrounding them to the last stand were a group of 8 secret service men stood guard with their guns drawn on Joseph and his forces. With a care one of them fired first and like a row of dominoes, the rest followed his example by letting it rain on the unknown assailants.


    Joseph and his forces split and hid behind several AC units and leveled ground. Although Joseph didn''t use guns as his was an expert at throwing knives and other weapons that tend to go unheard during the night. With a slight peek and movement he had thrown 4 small and slim knives at 3 secret servicemen striking either their throats and out the back of their spine or their hearts.


    Although he was privy of taking on more than these goons by himself he needed his forces to show how well they could handle what some called the best of the best. As they began to engage in combat quickly and picking off one secret serviceman after the other and assisting their comrades where they saw fit Joseph threw with his inhuman strength a knife at the pilot of the helicopter before he had the chance to lift off the helipad. With the pilot leaned back with a knife in his eye socket Joseph began to walk toward the helicopter in a manner of someone with a serious purpose.


    With the sight of the door being flung open by a swarm of zombies, the group of people in the helicopter began to run with only their lives in their hands, If only they remembered they were on the roof of a building that had no ladders that lead down to anywhere safe. Just as the president was about to get out he received a small knife to his right patellar tendon (the tendon that connects the tibia to you patella for those who didn''t know).


    The scream the president made was music to Joseph''s ears as he had wanted to hear them for so long. As he walked up to the man sobbing and screaming for help and later for those that weren''t around anymore, he began crying and saying, "Please lord, If you help me now I promise I''ll forgive any debt you''ve incurred with me from the past."


    Hearing his ignorant and outrageous plea Joseph says, " Shut. The. F.u.c.k. Up. My lord doesn''t want anything to do with you other than to feed his dogs with fatty. So now that were alone hows your term been these past few years pre. si. dent. Grump."

 Chapter 34 - 30: Some Things Cant be fixed

    Joseph had dragged President Grump to the edge of the White House roof overlooking the carnage below where the defense line once stood. He looked at the once arrogant man lying on the ground clutching his leg where the now severed tendon is.


    Joseph stares at Grump then back at the horizon that looks majestic with its multiple hues of orange and slight tinge of red near the surface, which was nicely decorated with the smoke of several buildings in the foreground. Joseph didn''t really care for the scenery, but he at least believed that everyone should die after seeing something as beautiful as a city burning.


    "So am I gonna have to really ask and make your death more drawn out than it has to be, or are you gonna make it easy on yourself and tell me what I want to know about why you took everything from me," Joseph said with his usual southern accent that made people swear they were talking to Sam Elliot himself.


    Looking over the ledge at those on the ground being devoured, President Grump looked back at Joseph while trying his best to ignore his leg''s pain and said, "F.u.c.k... you!"


    Joseph looking at Grump with weary eyes, turns his head back toward the wonderful scenery before them and shrugs his shoulders and says, "Alrighty then, I tried my luck. I guess when it comes to making deals, I''m not as good as the big guy, but no one can say I didn''t try."


    Finishing his last words, Joseph began walking toward Grump as he tried to crawl away with the help of his one good leg. Just as he extended it to make a little distance between him and his pursuer, which was insignificant due to Joseph''s walking speed, he felt the cold and stiff grasp of a hand around his ankle. Fearing the man he once betrayed and labeled a terrorist, he knew what was to come was worse than a knife to a tendon. With one last thought of wanting to at least die on his own terms, he attempted to roll off the ledge and fall to his death.


    Although it would have been an excellent strategy to escape the more slow and painful death by cannibalism if a regular zombie grabbed him, but the zombie that had grabbed hold of his meaty ham hock he called a leg, more specifically, his ankle was non-other than Joseph. A specially trained assassin and strategist turned general of a secret army under the U.S. and finally a general of the undead horde that now threatens to knock humanity off the throne for the earth''s ruler.


    Grump rolled off the edge and fell, but not too far as Joseph still had him by the ankle. With the torque from him rolling off the edge, he generated enough speed to continue turning even though he was being held by Joseph and inadvertently twisted his ankle past the breaking point, snapping it.


    "AAARRRRRrrrrggg," Grump screamed out loudly as his ankle snapped in the hands of Joseph.


    "Well Well Well, looks like your doing my part for me," Joseph said while lifting Grump and throwing the large man behind him with one hand.


    Grump hitting a bloody AC unit coughs up blood, adding to the scattered bits and pieces of flesh near the unit. His back and nerves soared with pain as his shattered spine communicates its horrid status. Looking at the man he betrayed toss him like a rag doll he knew that there wasn''t much he could do now but bargain until reinforcements arrived, but he didn''t know how long he could last with his only option.


    "Look! Look! I think I ca..." Grump was about to say when Joseph stomped on his good knee, crushing his left knee cap.


    "AAAAAHHHHHHH..." Grump yelled out in blinding agony.


    "I hope you weren''t hoping on stalling for back up. Cause ya see storming what''s supposed to be the most important building in the country would be damn hard even if you didn''t already have a few soldiers parked out front. So I played my role in my new position as an undead general and attacked every base with large amounts of cannon fodder until they got overrun or ran away until my boss crippled wireless communication around the world. Now timing this shit here was a lil difficult when you know your new boss was going to f.u.c.k silly every signal around the world today, but just not what time. So imagine it like this; your playing the shell game with three buckets. Each has a chance to be the right time, the wrong time, or an angry a.s.s rattlesnake, and you can only pick one bucket. If you didn''t get it, well, you will in hell or as a cannon fodder. I got other ways to find out why you did it. I was just trying to get you to tell the truth like a grown man we both know you are."


    Grump, too weak to move from the stress and pain and wanting to faint, is suddenly jolted back to his sense as a set of teeth sinking into his left leg. He screamed as he tried to swat away the zombie who was tearing out flesh after flesh from his leg. He looked back at Joseph and asked, "Please make it stop, please!"


    Joseph looked around as more zombies began to converge to their location on the rooftop and said, "Yea, I''ll make it stop alright, but you ain''t gonna like how."


    After hearing Joseph''s last words, Grump takes a look around and sees the crowd of zombies walking around the AC unit he''s lying next to. A few seconds go by and the last few screams from the white house, which belonged to the president, quickly died.


    ...


    Back to the present within the room of the central chamber of the Gravemind.


    "So, have you accomplished what you wanted?" John asked Joseph from his throne.


    "Yes, master." Joseph replied with a smile.


    "And what have you gained?" John said with his fist to face as if to show his boredom.


    Joseph pulling up president Grump who was now a zombified head with only a spine and ribs said, "A lot."

 Chapter 35 - 31: A New Day A New Threat pt.1

    Several hours after John had brought Joselin home from her little adventure above ground, John went into a deep thought and began thinking about his next step. He had allowed both Joselin and Joseph to venture above land so that one of them could learn of their weakness and inexperience and so that the other could gain a real sense of loyalty towards their new master.


    John knew that he would need them to be loyal and experienced so they could be useful for his next plan to fall in place entirely. John didn''t see much point in having many mindless drones seeking and devouring like swarms of locust. He knew that their movements would eventually become predictable and easy to read when it came to survivors that could adapt to the new world that was to come. He looked at his menu, thinking back to the long list of multiple ready-to-evolving zombies and their diverse paths.


    Multiple undead were capable of evolving into different stages of what they were, such as a Brute, a massively muscular variant that John hypothesized came with heeps of strength. The next evolution was the Howler, which looked very slender with elongated limbs reaching a little over 2 meters high and runs on all fours(1). John even saw an evolution path where some of his undead could even grow insanely long tentacles from their bodies and use them for all sorts of devastating attacks on all sides, leaving no area unguarded, but what he saw what the modified undead that Joselin had coined the name of spiderlings onto made him even more impressed.


    Joselin''s spiderlings had three options in total when it came to evolving. The first option was to become a much larger variant of a spiderling called Rotten Arachne, most noticeably after the greek myth and a closer appearance to a spider with bodies the size of a 2011 smart ForTwo(2) and all their limbs being large and elongated. The second evolution path is called a Pouncer, mainly since all that would be gained were inverted legs with a cricket-like jumping ability with insane running capability. The third though was what made John highly interest as it was called the Centipede. This horror was nothing more than an a.s.s to mouth human centipede with only arms and hands as it''s a mode of movement.


    With the sight of such evolutionary paths, John had an idea for how he could hasten the search for groups of survivors and stragglers that survived the assault of the main forces within major cities. Within his mind, he had come up with a rather devious but time-consuming plan. Yet, it was better than slowly hunting for remnants of humanity hidden within jungles, forest, well-hidden crevices of cities. Why not let them gather in certain areas and let them believe they can be safer with numbers.


    John liked the idea of giving survivors the false sense of safety and security by lessening the density of his forces in certain areas. He knew that someone would attempt to make safe zones within these less dense areas. Those safe zones would eventually become small cities where survivors would gather for safety, companionship to replace those they have lost, and a place they may call home once again. Sadly John only saw this as an efficient way to draw out most, if not a majority, of the survivors.


    Although it was a great plan, John wondered about the success rate as he knew there would be some who would come to question why some areas seemed less dangerous than others, why some areas seemed less dense, and roaming hordes would seem to avoid these specific areas. That''s where the cult that Candice will be in charge of will come to be of use as they will spread false rumors as to why these areas are safe to those who either choose to reject the offer to join the cult or come to trade with them.


    From John''s perspective, some things will take time to occur, but John knew this would be nothing but a test of his patience. Although it would come to be sometime before he saw the fruits of his plan, he saw it as well needed time to become officially accustomed to his full set of abilities. Although many places, such as military bases, were already destroyed or abandoned, some places were still holding strong despite being outnumbered. John knew that after watching both Jocelyn and Joseph in their adventures and missions, he needed to assess thoroughly what he was truly capable of. He needed true first-hand experience no matter how little it was as up until now, he had only killed one human by his own hands, and that was a groundskeeper in the cemetery.


    John stood up from his throne and connected with Dixie and said, "I will be going out for a while until then continue to help Candice with her supplies."


    Dixie, who was currently within another room in the GraveCenter, said through her telepathic connection to John, "Of course, have fun and leave me with this bullshit; why don''t..."


    "Enough! You were given to me to guide me, and I remade you to suit whatever purpose I deem fit. If I were you, I would hold my tongue, or else your wings might be plucked." John said this with a loud growl in the end and ended the connection while descending into his own shadow to only reappear above ground. Unknownst to John, after scolding Dixie, Dixie had a euphoric smile from ear to ear sprawled across her face.


    Above ground, John had reappeared on a building overlooking an abandoned street splattered with blood, ash, and abandoned cars. John enjoyed his view from above ground and thought for a minute where he could go to test his strength before quickly arriving at his final decision. He was going to test himself with Fort Dawn, a military base established a few miles west of Hornbrew City, serving as a base for units returning from the field. It was also used for storing military-grade weapons and vehicles such as tanks and various aircraft. The only thing John needed was to have his undead back off from the base as he at least wanted them to be a little prepared when he arrived.


    John felt the thrill of attacking the base go up his spine once again despite the lack of nerves. He stretched his wings wide and upward and back down with the mightiest force he could muster. This sent him high into the sky with the sun at his back. With another flap of his wings, he was now above the city''s edge and well on his way to the base with his glowing eyes flaring brightly as he approached the base.

 Chapter 36 - 31: A New Day A New Threat Pt.2

    It had only been several minutes since John had begun flying towards Fort Dawn from a building within the city center, and now the base was within view of john was flying just under some gray clouds. Even from such a distance in the sky, he could still clearly see scrambling men and women on the base moving supplies and weapons around. John couldn''t quite tell if they were preparing to leave or hold down the fort since John commanded his forces to retreat temporarily beyond a certain radius behind the trees the surrounded the base. All he knew was that they better have prepared enough to withstand his assault.


    With the sound of thunder roaring after a brief flash of lightning without rain, John, after using the rough winds near the clouds to hover for a while, commenced a sharp dive towards the complex''s center. As a tank was rolling out of a garage near the center, John came crashing down with enough force from the sky and pierced through the tank''s top to the ground under it, causing an explosion. Dazed slightly but not enough to have lost his train of thought, John looked around to see the inner workings of the now destroyed tank with it''s now scorched black and crispy looking occupants.


    John knew that he would prefer to be on the outside of the tank, and starting his in the field training, he stretched his rather large and clawed skeletal hands out of the hole in the top of the tank and pulled himself out. It was then he saw the many soldiers that hard formed a crowd in the shape of a semi-circle around the tank as shock, fear, and confusion ran wild and rampant across their faces and was heavily present in their movement around the tank. John stood straight up on the tank as he looked around at the many soldiers and few civilians that managed to make it to the base the following day after the night the dead took the streets. Their eyes all locked onto the large black skeletal creature with wings and claws that had just emerged from the wreckage of the destroyed tank. It took the shock and confused soldiers a moment to realize that the entity in front of them was clearly a threat until a very smart yet not so smart soldier began shooting his AR 15.


    Seeing and hearing their fellow soldier shooting at the creature, the rest of the soldier either began shooting or running with the other surviving civilians. Each bullet either missed due to the lack of meaty bits or ricocheted off into different directions. John saw the impact areas and saw no visible damage done to him by the bullets until he focused his vision and saw the small micro indention caused by the firearms. At this moment, John wished he still had flesh over his face as he wanted to show them an expression that would have told them they were royally f.u.c.k.e.d.


    John wanting to skip the formalities and jumped high and crushing a soldier into a frightening pancake corpse. In John''s new position on the ground surrounded by shocked and frightened soldiers, he turned his head and looked to his left at the closest soldier who was frozen in fear and standing in his own piss at the hulking monster in front of him. John turned his head back towards a soldier who still hadn''t frozen out of fear and was still shooting and began to walk towards him, but not without swinging his left claws up backward, completely cutting through both bone and flesh of the soldier who had pissed themselves. The soldier fell to the ground in strips except for his organs, which were now either minced or shredded.


    With soldiers all around, John pressed forward toward the soldier who was still in front of him shooting. Now realizing this wasted effort of his, the soldier attempts to run in the opposite direction after seeing he had pulled too much aggro to himself when a sharp and rigid spear-like object pierces his back and out his c.h.e.s.t. He looks back at what it could have been and sees that it was the Johns tail before he''s yanked back and the tail leaves his body. Before the soldier could completely fall to the ground after being yanked backward, John rips his tail out if the soldier and pierces it through the back of the man''s skull and out his mouth.


    All around, John could hear the scared and shocked verbal expressions of the soldiers near him.


    "F.u.c.k F.u.c.k F.u.c.k!" as one soldier said continuously as he continued to waste his entire clip on John.


    "What in gods name is this f.u.c.k.i.n.g thing!?" As another soldier says while reloading his gun.


    "Aye no. Nope. F.u.c.k this shit. I''m not dying in the bitch today!" Another soldier says as he abandons his brothers in arms and strikes off, running in the same direction the civilians had run earlier.


    After seeing one of their compatriots begin running, the others began contemplating if it was worth dying to John, or would it be better to run for their lives; after all, it was the most logical call since to them John was unfazed by the bullets. Before most could begin running, John wh.i.p.s his tail filled with mana towards the group of running soldiers on his right. The mana in John''s tail along with the force created from the swing not only created a rush of air rushing towards them but magically generated a {wind slash} cutting all of the soldier to his right in half except for the one soldier who had been accidentally pushed down by comrades.


    The soldier who had survived John''s {wind slash} was hesitantly turned on his back and looked toward John in fear. He couldn''t come up with a better description of the monster than a demon that had just easily massacred over 30 soldiers in an instant. The soldiers knew he''d probably won''t make it out of this confrontation, so he stood up with his combat knife drawn backward.


    He began a full sprint towards John as John just had raised his left hand and made very vicious-looking black spikes impale and raise high into the sky many soldiers who had taken cover after John had used {wind slash}. The soldier didn''t know where to slash or stab as no organs were visible except the black bones that made up this abomination, so he kept at it until he attempted an upward stab on John''s chin.


    The soldier stopped when he saw John staring at him after finally gaining his attention. The soldier didn''t know what to do as fear had taken hold of every portion of his body. He wanted to run, but it was too late as John had already grabbed him by the throat.


    "Interesting, while everyone else is either running or hopelessly taking cover, your the only one to have attempted to fight me head-on. Very brave of you indeed." John said while walking towards a wall and a fence with the soldier in his hands while observing his scared expression after seeing that John could talk.


    "Let''s see... Ah, your name is second private Rudy Gaines. Your reward for your bravery shall be painted upon the very walls of which you will die on." John says while finally reaching the wall.


    John c.o.c.ks back his arm with Rudy in hand, and just as he was about smear rudy from one end of the wall to the other and back again like a painting tool, he''s struck by a white light as if a round from a tank hit him. He was sent flying like a car being hit by a wrecking ball and smashed into a wall making it crumble and fall over him.


    John laid their dazed and bewildered as to what could have landed such a hit for a moment. He raises from the rubble and sees something he himself did not expect¡ªa woman with eight white shining wings floating above. Stepping out of the rubble, John asks curiously, "And who might you be?"


    The woman just stares in silence before saying, "So they really didn''t tell you about me."


    John stares on, thinking about what she had just said. Clearly, she is a supernatural being like him if not similar, with only a very few specific few entities connecting them. At the moment, Dixie was his tool and full-time assistant, leaving the only other group of entities left were the gods who gave him this quest in the first place.


    The woman materializes a sword of light from her hand, pointing it at John, and says"Ahh, you finally get it now. Did you really think the gods who gave you your quest were the only ones, you poor fool? Well enough of that, we have more important matters at hand than letting in on more information because I hope you have prepared to die vile creature of death, for I am the Goddess of light!"

 Chapter 37 - 33: A New Day A New Threat Finale

    Many things tend to appear during many opportune times, but this was one thing John didn''t want anywhere near him. Although he was in control before the woman above him appeared, this new variable took the reins of out of his hands.


    Seeing her sword of light pointing directly at him, he waists no time quickly running for cover, assuming that this attack was going to be drastically different from the one that sent him flying into the wall. Seeing John attempting to take cover, the woman above him moves her sword up and then swings it down with little effort releasing a crescent wave of light energy towards him.


    John''s attempted dodge succeeded with him taking cover behind a stone wall except for half his tail being cut off, leaving a singed stump of what was left. The pain from having his tail cut and burned off made him want to roar in pain but chose to keep his mouth shut as to feint not being affected by her attack.


    John was thinking frightening fast about what he should do as he knew from his slight injury that still hurt that every second mattered. He knew that she had the advantage with her light magic at this very moment, and with him not knowing a thing about her other than she called herself a god, he knew this was a fight he was not prepared for at all.


    He had many ideas, but the most appealing was the mob rush, a strategic plan of ordering nearby minions to rush a target giving the master time to do what''s needed, in his case, either run or deliver a crippling attack while she''s distracted. John had thought of such a plan wouldn''t be used until he reached one of the other two worlds on his to-do list. Without letting another second go by, he sent out the order to his zombies hiding in the woods outside the army base''s perimeter.


    Just as John had sent out his order, his left foot broke through the drainage grate he was standing on, making him fall a little to his left. In his mind, John had said damn, but suddenly another crescent wave of light sliced through the wall cutting off his right horn and just grazing his forehead while leaving the wall intact.


    This time it was painful enough to have made him roar loudly in anguish. He wanted to quickly question how his luck had just saved him, but he quickly remembered two things; one he remembered the Dues Ex Machina system that Dixie had mentioned before(ch.5), the second was how much he really wanted to smash this bitches head in.


    Getting back up, he quickly jumped away from the wall before rushing towards it with his arms crossed to smash through it to catch her off guard. As he ran towards the wall and broke through it, he motioned his left hand into an upward clawing swing, but was met with a barrier of light that repelled him into another wall 15 meters behind him.


    Getting back up and brushing off the dust and singed bone particulates, he sees the woman now floating in the air within a light barrier made up of hexagons before it disappears. Although she had the advantage, John could see what she couldn''t and wanted to see how far her head was up her a.s.s, so he tried to point towards what he saw, but finally noticed his missing left forearm and badly burning arm bone. Finally, noticing the pain that he had been suppressing mentally finally kicks in, making him roar louder than he had ever before.


    He knew this was nothing compared to evolution, but it was still painful as hell. Trying his best to ignore the pain, he continued to look at her and point behind her with his right hand this time and said, "Look behind you!"


    "Like I would fall for such childish OOF..." The woman said before she was tackled from the air by a rather huskie zombie that made it''s way to the second floor and made a spectacular pounce on the woman who had let her barrier down out of c.o.c.kiness.


    "Zombies shouldn''t be able to move this fast!" She yelled out as she attempted to fly into the air but was quickly anchored as John had grabbed hold of her by the ankle with his {Darkness Manipulation}.


    Not having enough time to free herself, she swings her sword of light at the first zombie slicing it in half while catching it on fire at the same time. She materializes a shield of light in her other hand and quickly smashes a zombie backward into a couple of other zombies behind it, catching them all on fire a well.


    Seeing this as the best chance he''s going to get, John quickly sinks into his own shadow and rises from behind her and swinging as hard as he could upward with his right set of claws, completely cutting off four of her beautiful right wings. Her scream was quite loud over the m.o.a.ns and growls of the hundreds of zombies that had rushed and surrounded her after breaking down the gates and fences surrounding them.


    Many zombies grabbed and yanked on her shiny dress of gold thread while many tried shredding her skin with their teeth and claws, but all their attempts to injure her failed due to her seemingly soft and smooth skin being far too hard for their rotten, rough, though and jagged jaws. Although none of them could damage her skin, they were still able to increase the damage to her already exposed flesh from the wound John had inflicted which seemed to have hurt her more by how her screams became louder.


    As things looked good for John, something didn''t feel right to him as if all his senses were telling him to run. He didn''t know why, but he complied and flew into the air with insane speed but was too late as the woman had yelled, "Enough!!!"


    All of a sudden rays of light permeated through the horde of zombies piled on top of her and in that instant a bright flash of light illuminated the entire area. John could tell this wasn''t good as this supposed goddess was seemed incredibly mad now. Just as he was about to flee the area all the light from the surrounding began be drawn inward toward the center of the pile of hungary corpses. Even the light from the sun itself began to be absorbed towards the woman leaving the surrounding area of the base and small portion of Hornbrew city in complete darkness as if there was something massive casting a shadow over miles of land.


    Something horrifying was about to happen so before it could John gave his wings one good flap and was about to be well on his way before he was yanked viciously back by a yellow chain of light. John looked back to see the woman with her hand sticking out of a zombies back with a tight grip on the chain. Over the m.o.a.ns and growls, her voice could be heard saying, "Your not going anywhere!"


    Just as she had said that, she gave it a slight tugs the chain of light downward, sending John back to the ground with such force dirt, dust, and rubble was sent flying just over 36 meters into the sky as leaving behind a crater similar the one John had arrived in after being sent back by the gods.


    Seeing her still absorbing light and binding him, he summoned just over 300 {Dark Spears} while gathering darkness to his remaining hand into the shape of a one-sided blade half a meter long. As he slashes at the chain of light, he rains down the {Black Spears} down upon her and his zombies, but before the first {Dark Spear} could reach her body, which was now shining brightly like a bulb with a lampshade riddled with holes, a bright light shines brightly through the zombies piled on her. Afterward, the zombies are all flung in multiple directions, and not even a second later, an explosive wave of light could be seen burning the zombies to ash and completely eradicating everything as it quickly spread in a radius around the woman.


    Rendered temporarily unconscious by the blast,John wakes up to see the woman, now a giant about the size of his Tree of Death back in the Mojave Desert, looks down at whats left of him which was nothing but his badly cracked skull which was not missing several teeth and his remaining horn.


    John began wondering if this was it, if this was how his quest will end with him just barely starting. He wanted to be angry yet laughed instead as he found it pitiful of how helpless he had become so helpless that he could tell that his own laughter was nothing but mask for his dispair of his current perdicament.


    Just as the woman looked down on John she said, "Now this stupid war between us gods can end."


    John listened to her words carefully, thinking back to himself and wondering what war she was talking about as he watched her lift her feet preparing to stomp his existence into oblivion with her massive shining sandal. Just as her foot was about to send him into the after life once again, massive chains made made from Darkness magic wrap around her throat, arms, and legs yanking her backwards on to her back landing on whats left of the military base after the explosion.


    John looks and sees the Goddess of Darkness, who was the same massive size of the woman who claimed to be the goddess of light. John watches on as the woman struggled to escape from her binding while looking at her surprise attacker with nothing but disdain and hatred.


    "You temptress how dare you!? Release me and fight me with some honor!" The woman screams loudly as she was being swallowed by a massive shadow under. Before that could happen she shrinks to her original form releasing her from the chains and tries to teleport when a {Dark sword pierces her c.h.e.s.t. Although she still managed to escape, John looked on as he could tell from this confrontation that what was happening was clearly out of his league. While he was lost for words the Goddess of Darkness approached his skull while shrinking down.


    Finally, at John''s skull, the Goddess of Darkness picks him up and says, "Well wasn''t that there a close one. To think that a rebellion would start over you. Oh well, I would ask you how your doing but it''s evident."


    "Are you going to tell me why I was being attack or not, better what war are you talking about." John says as he looks at the only thing he could, which was the Goddess of Darkness pubescent face.


    John hadn''t realized it when he first met the gods who gave him the quest, but they all vary in age most looking around their 20''s and 30''s while one or two looked very young and old. The Goddess of Darkness was young and probably just a few years older than Joselin.


    "That was a god who didn''t want to fall in line with the way we chose to exterminate the humans on the Trinity of Worlds. SOOooo she organized a rebellion and created her little army to try and overthrow us mainstream gods and kill you before you get any further. Are you happy with that answer? She askes as she summons a shadow below John with the attempt to drop him through it. Where? John didn''t know?


    "I thought you and the other gods that I met before were the only ones. Why wasn''t I told about these other gods, and can I be healed now instead of being held by your small hands." John said.


    "Firstly, that was on a need to know basis, not even the fairy that came with your system knew about the rest as she was nothing but a very religious royal guard to the fairy queen on earth 1. Second, Healing magic and undead beings don''t go together like exposed wires next to a gas pump. Your only hope to get another body is to evolve so good luck with that I have to go back and handle some other gods. Oh and beware That bitch the Goddess of Light brought a shit ton of her light based forces to kill you and your minions. Toodles!" The Goddess of Darkness says as she drops John through the shadow revealing the otherside to be none other than the main room of the Grave Center as he smashes through the round table where a scared and sad Joselin was sitting.


    As his vision began to blur and darken John tell his was fainting. Although he wanted to hurry and evolve so he could get another body he was too tired and broken. He looked at his stats window to see that he only had 15 hp left while ignoring his other stats that had grown since his last evolution. He puts his stats away and just recedes into unconsciousness while Joselin calls for help from Dixie and Joseph their connection with John.


    So many new variables with some many new problems, John just wanted sleep among the broken pieces of the round table. John could only think ''a new new shit'' as he dozed off.

 Chapter 38 - 34: Revelations pt.1

    (John''s Pov)


    Getting the shit kicked out of you by a god and being saved by another god just to be dropped onto a table in the Grave Center did drain what energy I had left. After I took my much-needed nap despite having to hear Joselin''s irritatingly loud screaming and yelling.


    After what only seemed to have been a couple of minutes, I awoke to the backs of many of my zombies standing guard around the very table I landed on, which seemed to have been repaired while I was asleep.


    Sensing my surroundings with my necromancy, I see that most of the main chamber and the corridor leading to it, which I''m currently located, are filled with many zombies and skeletons. With how high and beefed up the defenses were, I could tell that someone else other than Joselin panicked when they saw the condition I was in. Although this was something I was expecting, it was unnecessary considering that if someone were to venture into the sewers, they would be courting death like moths to a flame, mostly since I kept many undead within the maze of a sewer system.


    I eventually look closely in the one direction I''m currently stuck looking at and notice a sleeping Joselin with Dixie leaned up against her head. It felt slightly heartwarming seeing them lying there in wait for me to awake, but that heartwarming feeling wasn''t needed either as I was pissed by the fact that there was still too much that I didn''t know about. Such as the other gods that are against my ascent to godhood.


    Without saying another word, I connected myself to our mental connection and yelled, "WAKE YOUR SORRY A.S.SES UP."


    Both Joselin and Dixie rose with shock and fear as if they were employees who got caught sleeping where they shouldn''t have been. They weren''t the only ones as Joseph, who was making his way back to the main chamber, swung the door open quickly as he was already on the other side of the door.


    With all three of them up and surprised, I command A zombie to pick me up while ignoring the embarrassment that came with it, along with the slight jealousy emanating from Dixie''s eyes at sight. Even though all three of them wanted to speak, only one had the actual courage to speak while under the influence of my rage, which was seeping out in the form of my blackened mana.


    "Master, what... What happened to you?" Joseph said while kneeling with the rest of the zombies. Even Joselin knelt on the ground with Dixie as my oppressive mana formed a dark and will breaking aura.


    Even though I had used this my aura like this before, this time it was much more powerful. So powerful that it emitted a vibration strong enough to slightly shake the entire main chamber. I could smirk I would have most definitely have.


    I mentally command the zombie carrying me to turn me toward Joseph and said, "I thought I was Billy Bad A.s.s until Bessie Bad A.s.s proved me wrong."


    As I let up my aura, they all look at me in confusion as I mentally command many zombies to begin moving the furniture around to make more space in the middle of the room. Dixie hesitantly flew up to my face and asked, "What do you mean, John? Nothing should''ve been able to do this much damage to you without us noticing; remember, humanity could only have done something like this with multiple nukes, and right now, they can''t even figure out what''s going on right now."


    "Yes, that is true, but when big birds divorced wife comes to you proclaiming to be the Goddess of Light, shit gets complicated. Although I would like to discuss the additional plan to hunt that bitch down right now, I need to evolve to get my body back." I said, holding in the inner rage I would''ve liked to have direct towards everyone in the room despite me knowing they wouldn''t have been any help during that conflict.


    Although Joseph''s face shifted from one of utter despair since he didn''t protect me to a face of understanding after realizing that I nor them clearly wouldn''t have had a chance against a god. Joselin''s expression stayed frozen between that of fear and confusion as she feared that she would lose the one person who accepted her and that she remained ignorant about what was going on like the child she was. Although those two were for a loss of words, Dixie''s face almost went paler than what it was already at the mention of another god that she knew nothing about. The look on her face was enough to tell she was in disbelief over what she had just heard but undoubtedly knew she had to take what she had just learned as facts after seeing my body as it is.


    I pull up my status window to see that I have reach level 40. I looked at my stats with little to no amazement seeing how useful they were when it came to fighting the Goddess of Light.


    Stats


    -John- Level 40/40


    Str: 1097 Wisdom: 1225 Stat points: 200


    Dex: 1075 Mana:10530


    Agi: 1075 Hp: 2395 (updated health stat thanks to everyone who pointed out this error 30X40=1200 base health after special evolution was 1195)


    Int: 1205 Luck: 200


    I looked at my health stats as it''s the only one to grow on its own yet didn''t help me one bit during my fight; despite this though, I was amazed to see that I was now level 40 thanks to my idle war tactics and just letting my minions autopilot themselves. I was under the impression that I''d reach my max level every 10 levels, yet it seems that I went past level 30 and reached my max level at 40 instead. This made me wonder for a moment on if evolving this time was going to be any different than my normal evolution if you exclude my last lucky evolution.


    Seeing this new development, I question Dixie on it who just says, "Most likely your going up a tier since there isn''t really any clear signs before that happens other than an increase in max level and a longer evolution time."


    I stare at dixie while cutting our mental communication so she won''t hear my thought on how to skin her a.s.s alive for not divulging such information beforehand. Alas, I clear my mind and open my evolution menu to see my options.


    Bone Collector: A creature that hunts and gathers bones from corpses or living victims and adds it to itself to grow in strength and size, often fusing several bones into much larger bones to grow bigger.


    Undead Demon King: A Demon King who has failed to resurrect correctly and is now a ravenous undead who intends to continue to bring terror to all those who aren''t demons while feasting on demons.


    Demonic Grim Reaper: A sentient Grim Reaper who, after being corrupted after seeing the disturbing acts of humans throughout its existence, sided with the demons to bring an end to humanity and their wicked ways.


    Undead Dragon: A dragon who has died rotten away while their magic core remained within their body. Because their core wasn''t taken or destroyed along with their bodies not being destroyed, they became mindless draconic undead with no other d.e.s.i.r.e but to wreak havoc.


    Special Fusion: A fusion option gifted by the Goddess of Darkness as an apology for failing to prevent the Goddess of Light from making her way to you. The option to fuse two evolution paths to make your own species. Said option will replace the evolution screen with the Species Modification Screen since a new species wouldn''t naturally have a doc.u.mented evolution path.


    I just about lost my shit once I saw the last option but gladly kept it in since appearances mean everything, even in front of my minions. I wanted to give the Goddess of Darkness my gratitude, but after re-reading the description of Special Fusion, I read in between the lines and realized that that emo bitch was the reason I''m cracked and almost broken skull in the first place.


    Looking around, I could see that I was leaking my mana aura out, making everyone frightened, so I calmed myself down for the moment and explained to them my current options and what they think I should choose. I didn''t ask them for their opinions because I cared for them, I merely needed their thoughts on what they believed was the best evolution with the best potential growth. Even with their collective minds put together they were still undecided, even Dixie as she had only heard of most of the creatures I told them about from myths. The two she did know of where that of the Undead Demon King and Bone Collector which sent shivers down her spine with a quick wave of fear across her face that she quickly covered with a smile in hopes that I didn''t notice.


    Thinking back on it Candice had a hobby studying mythological creatures so I looked through our connection to see what she was doing. Through her eyes, I could see she was cautiously approaching some survivors that I had let hide in a specific area before I went on my little training expedition and got my a.s.s kicked. I could''ve forcefully conjure her back to the headquarters instantly, but allowing her to start my cult first is currently a priority at the moment. That was a lie but her mission still is a priority so I''ll be patient.


    ////////////////////////Look at authors post please////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

 Chapter 39 - 35: Revelations pt.2

    (John Pov)


    After a while of being held by one of my zombies, I ordered it to place me back on the table in front of everyone else as they waited for me to finish checking on Candice and how she was doing with gaining her first few followers. I was under the impression that she was very charismatic when it came to socializing, but after seeing how she was currently cowardly hiding behind a wall.


    As far as I could see from the eyes of many dead birds, it was nothing more than a small group of 20 humans. Although it was only a small group of people to me to her, t was a small army, which to her was enough to kill her despite her not knowing of her own power. I found this a nuisance since she will later have to explain her appearance and her awkward clothing that I had Dixie preparing for her while arranging supplies for the survivor she would gain.


    With our connection, I established a telepathic link and said, "Staring at them won''t accomplish anything other than suspicion towards you once they spot you through a window."


    My voice within her head scared her enough to make her jump with fright, making her check her surroundings for me and overbearing appearance. After a few seconds, it clicked within her head that I was telepathically talking with her since she was, after all, now apart of my undead army. She looks back at the yellow house full of people who think their undead neighbors haven''t caught them because they are good at hiding and says, "Well, you could have told me you could do that."


    "You will know what you need to know in due time until then quit a coward behind this brick wall and proceed to "rescue" the first of my would-be followers," I say while emphasizing the part about rescuing them as a hint to assist her. I would for her to quickly gain at least a little bit of their trust before I begin my evolution.


    After a moment of gathering what little courage, she begins her slow approach to the house with her hood drench over her head and her robe dragging behind dried leaves, making them rustle. When she finally makes it halfway to the yellow house, through the eyes of one of many of the birds I have posted in trees and on the stares of fire escapes on buildings across the street, I spot the movement of curtains within the house. After noticing her, it''s clear they became frightened when they spotted her making a direct path towards the front door.


    It wasn''t the fact that a mysterious person was approaching their place of hiding that made them scared but the fact that the person walked through the horde that I specifically placed outside and around the few neighboring blocks to ensure their entrapment was secure. Through the eyes of the person who had spotted Candice, it scared her enough to speculate that Candice was some kind of monster capable of finding them even with having seen them. I laugh a little within Candice''s head and say, "It''s funny how fear and ignorance makes people irrational."


    Candice knew what I meant as it was also the same fear and ignorance that got her to the position she''s in now. The same fear and ignorance that led her and her children to be saved and relocated within the fine walls of a penthouse on the 50th floor of many other condos. This wasn''t the only building that I had set aside for my future followers as it was only one building of many I had planned to leave vacant and useable for them for when their number grew and for when they also needed storage space. Their comfort level wasn''t on my list of priorities, but then again, their list of future complaints should be highly short with this little commodity. They''ll have to get their own food themselves in the long run as lazy hand don''t get fed in the apocalypse.


    After what seemed like forever due to Candice''s overly dramatic slow-walking, she finally reached the door and knocked three times and waited in vain as no one answered. She knocked again heard the ruffling and thumping of several individuals along the with obviously loud whispering. Finally, the door creaked open, revealing the weary and frightened eyes of a survivor still trying their best to live another second of their miserable life. It has been only a few days since I knocked the world on its a.s.s.


    "Look, we don''t want any trouble, nor do we have any room or supplies to spare. We don''t even want to know the little trick to how you just walked past them dead right behind you. So if you can just leave us alone." The old man said while keeping his eyes on Candices cold glowing blue eyes.


    Candice wanted to tell them she was there to help them, but remembered that she had to play her role well if not want to incur my wrath in any kind form I deemed fit. She then mustered up her will to preach and threw out her doubts to ensure her success or suffer the consequences of failing. Before the man could shut the door quickly, she grabbed hold the edge of the door and said, "If you shut this door, you doom the twenty or so people within this house of yours, if it''s even yours to begin with."


    The old man eyes widen at the woman her the strange black tattoos that wrap around her hand, ending at each fingertip. Candice looks at the man more seriously than ever as he tried to forcefully pull the door shut out of fear for her. Although Candice was just barely holding onto the door while watching the man struggle shut the door, she noticed how little effort it took her to keep it open in the first place, letting her know that she was now stronger than what should''ve been if she was still human. This bothered her little since she knew something like her becoming something other than human was going to happen after noticing her transformation and rapid de-aging.


    "I want you to be wise in your choice as you will only get one, and only one choice to finally find salvation somewhere else other than the small confines of this house. You already know that all it will take is one small slip up or accident before this house is swarmed and everyone within is shredded apart and becomes apart this massive horde behind me. So I will only make this offer once, join me and leave this place for a place far more better. Join me in the worship of the God of the Undead who shall shower you with immunity as he has done for me and rejoice in being saved by a god to be who promises to leave alive those who pray to him." Candice preaches loudly, making the other people inside startled and afraid that she will draw the dead to them.


    "Look, lady, we want nothing of your religious bull, ok. We..." Before he could finish his dismissive words, Candice intervenes by raising her one free hand.


    "I can tell that you all are hungry, yes. You are all thirsty, yes. It''s cramped within this house little to no room, am I right. My God has provided a safe dwelling for those who choose to give their full devotion and love to him with food, water, electricity, and, last but not least, shelter from the walking dead." Candice says while trying her best to convince them while hoping that they do choose to follow her as she herself doesn''t want any more people to die.


    "Look, mam; I really do think your a looney, and I just don''t give a f.u.c.k about your goddamn god nor your damn..." Just as the old man was about to finish dishing out his disrespectful comments towards Candice, who was silently hoping that I would forgive him while he was being yanked back from the door by several eavesdropping people from behind the man.


    After a quick scuffle behind the confines of the door, a new middle-aged man appeared, opening the door, fully revealing a man in a blue flannel shirt and white t-shirt under it. Who quickly says, "We''ll take that offer we no question asked other than how are we supposed to get past the dead."


    Candice looked at her left palm at the markings that begins to move quickly and shift to form a circle within a hexagram within a square that suddenly begins to shine. Its a type of magic that Dixie had given her a last-minute tutorial on before she came to their temporary safe house. Its a type of magic called marking, which is a variant of rune magic. As long as the marking has a purpose, it''s capable of doing multiple things such as warding against unwanted entities like insects to assisting in simple everyday things like heating a stone to boil a pot of water on as long as magic is applied. As of right now, the simple marking magic that Candice is using isn''t anywhere near capable of warding off my undead legion, which is where Candice estimated that I would command them to spread like a hot knife to butter for her and her new followers.


    I didn''t really plan on going along with her improvised plan since she could''ve such connected to the horde in front of her and commanded them to move away as she and her followers approached. Still, when she places her glowing hand high above her head, I could only guess she got far too dedicated to her role, and I couldn''t help assume she was asking me to show some leniency do it for her because she didn''t know-how.


    After a moment, I gave the horde the order to get out of their way, all except the old man. I didn''t really mind his doubt toward me, but disrespecting me crossed the line. As they had quickly gathered their stuff and began to follow Candice I possessed her and made sure my eyes glowed and my voice roared as I said, "The old man stays. His disrespect earlier has earned him the reward of being the first example for those who choose to b.a.r.e their fangs toward me."


    As I shifted control back to Candice everyone was shocked and scared as they had just heard the voice of the one Candice had just spoke about worshipping. They had all heard the command of mine and was looking toward Candice who had turned back to normal. She was fully aware and caught off guard by the sudden possession, but more so by my command. With her understanding of my psyche, she understood what was about to happen to the old man and said, "As you have all just heard our my Lorde and soon to be yours too has spoken and commanded the immediate exile of the man who has offended or none of you shall never find salvation."


    Although I could hear the hurt within the voice of hers it matters none as an example needed to be made. The old man not wanting to be let behind began to plead out of fear of being left behind to his demise pleaded wit Candice, yet his pleas fell on deaf ears as Candice began to make her way through the crowd while saying solemnly, "I recommend that you all follow and keep close behind me and cover the children''s ears as you walk and don''t look back."


    The man pleaded as Candice and her newly formed group began to walk through the horde. Thinking he could tag along he''s nearly pounced upon by a zombified woman before scurrying back up the stairs leading to the yellow house and shutting the door before it''s besieged and knocked down by the pursuing horde. It takes a while before the screams to begin over the m.o.a.ns and growls as he had managed to make it to the floor before being cornered before being swarmed and devoured.


    Many of her small group were crying and looking depressed because of what had just happened. Everyone was silently upset but no one protested as they were now out in the open and surrounded by zombies they believed were being held at bay by Candice. It would be one sad and frightening walk to their new homes.


    After seeing that my d.e.s.i.r.ed outcome came to fruition I quickly switch to my evolution screen and choose to combine the Undead Demon King with the Demonic Grim Reaper. The result was something unexpected to me but I didn''t reveal it to Dixie or to anyone as I wanted it to be a surprise as to my result, but before I could begin I looked towards Joseph and Joselin and said, "I give the both of you permission to evolve yourselves when you see fit. Also as my general, Joseph I temporarily leave you in control while I go through my evolution process. While I out of commission your primary task is to ensure the entrapment plan succeeds along with the secondary task of becoming stronger in my absence as I do not know how long I will be out gone."


    They all nod in compliance with my commands and leave the room while I commence my evolution. Only if they knew that the result of my evolution would be that of an Undead Nephilim.

 Chapter 40 - 36: Revelations pt.3

    (Alice''s Pov)


    It had been a rough few days escaping the city on nothing but back roads and side street in order to avoid the inevitable build of traffic on the highways and freeways. They were obviously nothing but roads of death and sad entrapments for people ignorant of what would be at their throats faster than they could get out and run. Trust me when I say I''ve seen the carnage and army of the dead sweeping over an entire highway leading out of the city from a long patch of road that ran parallel to the freeway we passed a couple of days ago.


    It was horrifying what we saw that night. It was like a tidal wave washing over people who had noticed and got out in time, but most still had their children to get, which slowed them down, causing them to be caught by the wave with their loved ones and be torn apart. Some people were so fearful of the wave of undead quickly washing over those behind them that they complete and unwillingly gave in to their fear and abandoned their families.


    Although Jacob, Megan, and Lana wanted to help those we could by fitting as many people in the RV as we could, I stood at the door leading out of the RV and told Allen to just drive. They tried to push me out the way, but I continued to hold strong and swallow my pride that I built up over the years through saving the innocents and stopping the wicked and stilled my resolve to point my gun at them, making them stop in their tracks. I chose to be the bag guy to save those I love from dying in vain that night. It still weighs heavily on me knowing that I chose to save not one person from being slaughtered on that freeway, and it weighs heavier that I may never regain the trust, respect, love I once garnered from my daughter. It was very apparent by how she wouldn''t look me in the eyes since and would angrily scowl at me from time to time when she thought I wasn''t paying attention from within my peripheral eyesight.


    Jacob wasn''t as torn up about it as Lana was as he knew what I had done I did for our group, but I could still tell from the look in his eyes that he didn''t see me in the same light anymore. The same light that made him trust in me and follow me down whatever rabbit hole I jumped down. He was the kind of partner who would fight with you through any situation; he''s a real ride or die partner and a better friend than I would give him credit for.


    On the other hand, Megan completely understood why I did what I did despite her morals screaming that what I did was wrong. Although her high morals for helping those in need were high, she quickly stilled her resolve to follow me even after pointing my gun at them. After all, she was one of the first to witness to survive John''s little massacre as back the graveyard and was fully ingrained with what kind of horrors we were up against.


    Megan doesn''t hide the fact she''s interested in me, and due to the constantly rising situations and cramp RV, I just ignore her while leaving contextual clues to the little chats we have when near everyone to my interest in her. I have a lot of frustration and anger built up that the company that she can provide when we finally get somewhere safe and a little privacy alone can come in handy.


    Allen didn''t really mind since he''s already prophesied this to those that turned a deaf ear to him so many times. On the other hand, my mother would give me nothing but worried looks from time to time when our eyes met, but I paid no attention since I still blamed her for how civilization is ending.


    Currently, the RV is stopped on the side of the road while we check some nearby homes while my mother, Allen, and Lana wait in the RV since there wouldn''t have made any sense to leave our only mode of transportation unguarded. Although my mother couldn''t really do much by default and Allen''s age was catching up to him too, so it really only left Lana to guard the RV while baby also babysitting two people who were minimally useful to a certain extent.


    My group had already checked and rummaged through several houses to only find little to nothing except some food that would go bad soon; we still took them. Not because we were desperate for food or water, but because it was a lot better to eat whats to soon expire from an abandoned house than our own reserve of canned food. Every bit helps in the long run, especially since when food is going to become scarce soon, very scarce if we don''t find a nice place with a great yield and abundance of food and supplies. I''m not sure how great this bunker Allen keeps praising truly is but I can only hope that it will hold against what John has in store for the rest of the world.


    After a while, we eventually found a house that had been locked up tightly. It was a regular two-story house with white paint and a nice white picket fence around it. Nice decent yard with a drive and garage. Would''ve been a great home to have lived in if the apocalypse didn''t splatter the exterior with blood that''s probably been dry for a couple of days.


    Eventually, I picked the lock instead of kicking in the door as we still had the intention of gathering supplies without the unwanted attention of any potential zombies lurking around. We walk in and find a bloody mess in the hallway leading towards the kitchen to where a man''s corpse with a knife in the back of his lays still and decaying. It''s no surprise this would be what we found, but it is a major surprise to have found a nice stash of canned food in their storeroom since the rest of the neighborhood seemed to be dry<span style="font-size: calc(var(--rem) * 1px * 1.0625); letter-spacing: 0px;">. </span>


    "What do you think happened here?" Megan asks me in a concerned voice as she tells me about the bloody children''s room and the bloody bathroom with the broken door upstairs.


    I look over to her and say, "Death. Death is what came, is what happened, and what still lingers here. Grab what you can; my bag is full."


    I say that I look around and ask, "Where''s Jacob?"


    Just as I asked Megan, Jacob yells from the back yard., "You guys might wanna come see this!"


    Both me and Megan make our way out the back of the house to an astonishing sight. It was a woman with a fair complexion in her mid-twenties with wings. F.u.c.k.i.n.g wings! At least on one side of her back, the other side didn''t have wings but was apparently bleeding after having her wing slice off. Clean cuts if I didn''t say so myself.


    Jacob being superstitious as always, was highly cautious and chose not to approach not one bit until Megan and me arrived. Megan''s jaw dropped while Jacob was frozen at the sight before us while I was focused more on the wing sumps looking infected and black veins starting to appear on her back.


    Around her were the burnt and crispy corpses of 40 if not more zombies with their hands reaching toward her as she sat in the center crying. As she turned to look at us, she revealed her face also had blackened veins and had gone pale like the many zombies we''ve seen along the way.


    I didn''t know about Megan and Jacob, but I was sure in hell wasn''t about to let a fire breathing bird bitch roast me like she did the zombies around her. I didn''t need that many contextual clues to tell that whatever she was, she was dangerous. Although I did have to hand it to her, roasting the zombies around here did make it safe as hell to loot in peace, but just as I was about to shoot a nicely aim bullet at her head, she yelled, "Wait!"


    "My name is Delia, and I have a proposition for you, daughter of the one killed John," The woman says, looking pessimistically at her left hand.


    I look on and ask, "How do you know who I am... better yet, who or what are you?"


    "I am, or I should say, going to be the former Goddess of Light, better known by my colleagues as Delia. Look, I don''t have much time, but here''s a quick rundown of why I''m here. You see, a holy civil war is currently going on because we, the gods who didn''t like the decision of the oldest gods we call the elder gods, felt you humans deserved one more chance. I snuck past the battle in hopes of ending it by slaying the one you call John, but he truly is a crafty one. I almost killed him if not for the surprise attack from my sister." Delia says with a tear rolling down the side of her face.


    I slowly approach her with my gun still drawn and say, " And let me guess somehow you''re now turning into what another one his zombies. I don''t really see how that should be possible since your a god, and he''s not right now as far I can tell from what your hinting to."


    "You''re right; his curse wasn''t as powerful nor as potent as before, and I was going to purify myself when it suddenly evolved and is now affecting my very astral soul. As far as I know, only a hand full of monsters that we gods keep trapped and sealed away can do such. He must be evolving into something very powerful to be affecting me like this, and I can feel through the growing intensity of the curse he''s still evolving into something frightening. But my proposition to you can probably help with in some way."


    Although I was very skeptical before seeing as I could possibly get some kind of advantage in this world, I couldn''t pass on this as I was incredibly desperate at this point. I look Delia in the eyes that were fading and becoming milky white and said, "What the deal?"

 Chapter 41 - 36: Home Sweet Home

    (James pov)


    After a while of driving and putting up with the assholes'' complaints in the back, we finally were able to make it to Black Site 38 better as The Farm to those with high enough authorization.


    The Black Sites were originally for the use of the CIA for when they needed to house high ranking terrorist leaders or people who knew too much, but eventually, as terrorism died down and the need for them decreased, they handed a few over to the FBI as a hand me down of sorts. Of course, we didn''t want to be seen as a second-hand agency, so we turned them into massive underground bunkers in case we began to lose a war or a disease decided to wipe its a.s.s with us. Of course, the Pentagon has many precautionary measures in place if something like that was to occur. Still, I guess they didn''t have a plan or precautionary plan for John seeing how quickly he''s f.u.c.k.e.d the world into oblivion.


    Miguel didn''t really speak much to me after I told him about my connection to John and the whole zombie apocalypse we''re living through right now. It''s still too early to tell what he thinks since his face had been straight with a fine but half-assed seasoning of shock. Yeah, weird way to put, but it''s the best way to describe it.


    We eventually came across the huge walled off plot of land that came with the black site. Just under 300 acre of land disguised as a farm behind 30 feet high walls under the lie that it was to stop animals and intruders from trespassers. The wall was really used to prevent the escape of activists with too much power and influence.


    I directed Miguel around for a moment until we came upon the entrance with many people already outside attempting to break in with crowbars, which they immediately ceased when they saw us approach and slow down. They all mostly ran for cover while few stood still armed and ready to shoot. If I had to judge the situation correctly, they were mostly tired, hungry, and scared folk, hoping that everything would be ok. While it''s easy to tell them a sugar-coated lie like some pussified suburban house dad, but no, I''m not. One, I''m too damn old, and two, I really do not give one f.u.c.k about their feelings or what they''re going through.


    "Ok, Miguel, stay in the truck while I talk these folks into joining us while opening the door. I''ll wave to you to signal the ok to move the truck inside the gates." I say although I had no real intention of getting the group of 20 people to join as I had no idea what our food situation would look like on the farm along with the food reserves within the bunker.


    Miguel looked at me with a blank face and said, "Sure."


    He was probably still reeling from what he wanted me to tell him, but if he''s going to survive in this world, he will have to man the f.u.c.k up. I''m an old man who can tell his time on earth is almost up, and I would at least like to leave someone a fighting chance to survive this apocalypse.


    I get out of the car and make my approach toward the 300-foot tall gate where a man and who I assume to be his wife stood next to the keypad to get in. If I had ever seen a sugar daddy and golddigger relationship, this was it. Soon as they raised their guns, I raised my hands and said, "Woah Woah wait a minute now, I''m just an FBI official trying to get into this here black site for safety along with my people in the back of the truck behind me. If you don''t mind, could you and your wife lower your guns please while I open the door?"


    They both look at each other in disgust and simultaneously say, "Ughh!"


    The man then says, "That''s my daughter, you sick f.u.c.k"


    If I could look at my face, it would be hysterically funny-looking. I was so close, yet so far. Well, we are in the south during the zombie apocalypse so I guess it would have been ok given our circ.u.mstances and the drastic drop in the human population. Thinking about that makes me laugh on the inside while thinking how f.u.c.k.e.d we are.


    "Ok, ok, sorry, just looking for shits and giggles while the world ends, friend. So let me guess you have about 20 people with you, and I have just 6 people whose just trying to survive. So how about this? You and us can join together for safety reasons; only then perhaps we can make this place a little heaven in hell. How about it?" I say while extending my left hand while balancing myself with my cane in the other.


    Both the father and daughter were both hesitant while looking back at their group for a group consensus. After a short moment of hesitation, the man says, "Ok, but under one..."


    The man was about to state a condition our alliance that I would have most likely have declined when one of those damn zombie spider children that attacked us back at the bureau, killing 3 people in my group. It must have been following us for a while now, and it couldn''t have been just coincidence that it was waiting to attack a random person other than someone from my group.


    As it bit into the man''s throat, tearing out and consuming nice chunks of his jugular at each rabid bite before quickly whipped out my gun and shot it 4 times along with the man. As it was feasting and we were caught off guard by the surprise attack, it quickly jerked it''s head upward while its eyes shined a bright red while the ground around us shook violently. Recovering from the sudden earthquake, I took the time to slay both the man and zombie with two final shots.


    After the glowing eye show and the sudden earthquake, I look around to check on the truck and the group of survivors in front of me. The violently shaking ground wouldn''t have really caught my attention if not for what I already know.


    After a moment to let the man''s bitch of a daughter whose crying loudly, probably alerting more zombies than my gun did, I proceed to input the two sets of codes needed to open the gate and yell, "Okay Miguel, drive the truck just past the gate so we can get in."


    "We? We''re bringing the people who just held you at gunpoint too, old man. You must be going senile if you think that''s a smart idea." Miguel said, while looking at me with confusion.


    I look back at him, and without another word, he curses under his breath and proceeds to drive into what I would call our new home for the foreseeable future. I look at the man''s group and daughter before saying, "You all better hurry up and get in the back before we leave your assess. I really wanna have this gate shut in the next minute and not any later."


    They hurry up and grab their bags and carry off the sobbing daughter who tried in vain to drag her father''s body with her but couldn''t as she was too deep in shock to hold anything. As I walk behind them, I could tell that what was ahead of us was the best option, yet it was felt like it was being overshadowed by something worse despite seemingly being the safest choice. As if we really had one in the beginning.

 Chapter 42 - 38: The End Is Nigh pt.1

    (Alice''s POV)


    What is anger?


    As it''s defined, it is the intense emotional disp.l.e.a.s.u.r.e of someone or something. While I know I have anger problems, and it''s been 3 years since I noticed it, not one drop of it has subsided since my mother became the match that lit it. I wallowed in it and became drunk off of it as Delia transferred her mind and the portions of her untainted divine essence into my consciousness and next to my soul.


    I wasn''t a big fan of having a half-dead and infected diety sharing my body, but what other choice did I have other than die trying to reach Allen''s bunker or reach the bunker and wait to die. Although it was momentarily painful, It made me slightly stronger in the process.


    On our way to Alaska, I became stronger with her guidance. At the same time, she helped us decipher and organize Allen''s notes while also revealing that although the book they were once apart of was no more, she could teach me what I needed to stay alive and, with the least amount of hope, kill John.


    With what little hope, I trained and saved a couple of people who were still managing to survive in small nooks and crannies here and there and was able to guide and bring them along in separate vehicles that were abandoned. Yea, of course, we ran into problems here and there, such as being attacked and losing a couple of members, including Allen and a few other survivors, during an attack at night, but we still made it thanks to Delia''s teachings.


    Looking back on our struggles made me happy for what we''ve managed to accomplish and with so little. Although our group was a measly 42 people in the end, we were still alive and kicking.


    As I walked outside the Bunker''s perimeter, me and Megan happened upon a shambling figure walking past trees and other flora. It was clearly a zombie and it without a doubt surprised me as not many zombies wandered into Tongass National park, albeit it wasn''t rare either.


    Both me and Megan looked at each other, and without another word, we quickly came to an agreement that this one was mine since Megan got the last three, and I still had a little anger to blow off before I went back to the bunker and dealt with the same old shit that made my anger worse. If it wasn''t trying to put to rest every problem in the bunker and ensuring we had enough resources to last through winter, it was the constant bickering when everybody didn''t get what they wanted.


    I quickly made a disk of light with a wide hole in it and threw it with little force to the side as it arced around many trees before eventually slicing the zombie head in half right below the eye sockets before returning to me. I liked to call this magic [Halo] for how it looked like it should be floating above someone''s head instead of being used to kill walking corpses. Although I learned to do other things with the magic Delia taught me, such as making wings to fly and barriers to block and guard, I still preferred to experiment and come up with new stuff such as the [Halo]


    As I stopped focusing on the [Halo] in my hand and it disappeared, a set of arms wrapped around me from behind, and two b.r.e.a.s.ts rested on my back. Obviously, Megan wished to cuddle, but it was about time I got back from our little break and continued running the bunker before some idiot broke something.


    After escaping her grasps that slightly lessened my frustration, we were heading back when someone from the bunker came running towards. They were scruffy looking but then again, who wasn''t these days. Sometimes I still wish things like chapstick and lotion were a common commodity.


    "Ms.Alice, it urgent, your mother, she''s..." The messenger was saying before Alice interrupted by raising her hand.


    "Yea, yea, I know I''m on my way," Alice said while activating the light-based flight magic she learned from Delia called [Wings of light].


    After a small flight back to the bunker, I made my way to the room of my mother, who fell ill after being taught magic. She''s been lying down on her death bed for about two years now without any signs of getting better.


    I really tried my utmost to not visit, but sooner or later, my anger for her was eclipsed by my constantly piling frustration and anger of running a bunker soon faded away although it still lingered. Although it never came under attack for some reason, Delia had her theories that didn''t matter at the moment as I stood next to the woman partially responsible for the end of the world as we know it. The only people who knew of her involvement were those of our original group who kept it a tight secret among us. A


    I watched her calm down from her most recent seizure, one of many she''s had over the past two years since she learned magic. Apparently, she had become a clairvoyant capable of seeing the future after gaining some control over her magic, and with that came the price of having painful seizures along with the visions. Delia explained this simply as a form of balance as each time they looked into the future the price would be the consumption of their remain life force in the form of seizures.


    Delia once told me although she''s old the blood of a hero runs through our veins although it might be diluted down to .02 percent it''s enough to have given her enough life force to have last up until today although she doesn''t have much time left nor any control over her ability. After this, I tried on many times to get her to tell me about the blood of heroes and all she told me was that it didn''t matter since we had so little.


    As I looked down at my mother I came to the conclusion that it was probably time to let go of my anger of her and let it be fueled by the one who deserves it the most, John. It''s been well past the time I told her I forgive and once I saw her eye slowly struggle to open I said, "Mom, Umm. First I just want to say..."


    "Child... I know... I could see it when you would visit me, I know it when you would walk by my room and shoot insincere dagger from your eyes at me, I know that you have forgiven me now that your holding my hand without even knowing it, but right now you have to prepare." Alexia said in a weakened voice looking directly into Alice''s eyes.


    "Wa... Wait... What? prepare for what? I don''t understand." Alice said while trying to digest her mother''s acknowledgment of her supposed apology that she interrupted.


    "The dead is reborn and the world that we live in now was only the stepping stone and it''s ready to travel outside our realm and do what it has done to our world unto others. The roots of death is almost finished feasting while all it needs now is to choose to extinguish the last twinkle of light left in our world. When it arrives to the other worlds it will not be the only thing there causing death to them. No one will win. This is all that I can muster to say other than both you and Lana are my pride and joys and that I hope that you both find happiness when the time comes." Alexia says as she closes her eyes for the final time with tears rolling down her face.


    Alice stares on slowly puts her head down into her knuckles to let her hair hide the tears of sadness and anger from being seen while Megan c.a.r.e.s.ses her back to show emotional support. Although sadness is running through her, her mother''s slightly final enigmatic warning coupled with her loving words hangs heavily on her heart.

 Chapter 43 - 39: The End Is Nigh pt.2

    (Miguels POV)


    What is depression? According to the therapist that we saved 3 years ago, it is a mood disorder with symptoms of sadness, difficulty in thinking and concentration. Feelings of dejection and hopelessness sprinkled with a topping of suicidal thoughts and tendencies. Although I have thought on several occasions of our very low survivability, which led me down several thoughts of poisoning the water supply and putting us out of our misery, that would just give the undead free rights over our bodies without a fight.


    After James, who we all nicknamed Old Man J since after settling Black Site 38, old a.s.s finally got caught slipping by his age and could barely stand without the help of a walker and eventually settled for a wheelchair. Sometime after realizing he wouldn''t be able to lead and oversee Black Site 38 nor the disguised surface level known as The Farm, which we actually made into a sustainable farm, for much longer, he made me the de facto leader of our Safe Haven that rapidly grew for 3 years.


    The Safe Havens, more known as safe zones, were more or less zombie-free since they couldn''t pass over some sort of magical threshold as explained by religious zealots from Ther Cult of The Damned. The Cult of The Damn is a highly religious cult that sprung up after all hell broke loose, and people became desperate to live just another day. As they explained it, certain areas around the world was magically resistant to the undead incursion, and for how they knew, no one knows, but one thing for certain is they somehow were able to walk freely outside the safe zones without being attacked.


    For that very reason, many other groups within other safe havens came to believe that the cult was behind the rising of the undead and the loss of their loved one. Even my people believe that and came to label them as traitors to humanity, albeit we never engaged them like other Safe haven leaders. Even if my people and the rest of the surviving Safe Havens believed them to be the cause of this apocalyptic world we now live in, James told Ally and me the truth since were seemed to be the most reasonable people to trust with it. At First, we didn''t believe the world we live in had magic and forgotten gods that governed it, but we soon put two and two together and came to the conclusion that he was right.


    I didn''t really want that heavy burden along with being the leader of the group on my shoulders, but the old man was smooth with words and tricked me into taking over his mantle of responsibility in front of everyone. Although I could have turned the situation on its head rejected, he whispered, "He knows my ideas of survival but not yours. The surface is not safe and will never be safe as the Cult of the Damn is his worshippers, and the Safe Havens are nothing but a false sense of security he pulled over our heads, and I failed to see it in the beginning. The walls that surround us is a cage waiting to be crushed, and we are the chickens living behind a fence waiting to be broken by the predators lurking outside." Afterward, he backed away and shook my hand while congratulating me as he sat back down in the wheelchair as his legs couldn''t take the pressure of him standing anymore.


    I wanted to ask so many questions, but he feigned ignorance as if he knew too much the enemy would know what my plans would be, so I stopped asking him for answers and began leading as the leader I was chosen to be. Was I the leader that was needed? No, but I was efficient enough, according to Ally, who became my wife during these times.


    Currently, I was looking at a map in the headquarters of Black Site 38, c.a.r.e.s.sing the little bit of beard I managed to grow over 3 years. The headquarters was on the 7th level, right above level 8, which stored most of the backup supplies and emergency escape route that was a carved out tunnel that led to a myriad of other tunnels that other Safe Havens helped make that all led to the surface.


    The tunnels were the last and only option if what James had said was true. It was hell getting other Safe Havens to divert manpower to such a massive project, but it paid off in the end when we finally finished them.


    While I was looking at the map, I noticed something odd around certain areas where caravans and traders had been attacked, leaving no survivors. While it was common to be attacked by a small or huge horde of undead, uncommon when it came to the special variant of undead known as spiderlings, the Safe Havens became very capable of handling them. This left me with only the assumption that something new was out there, and it scared me as some caravans and traders traveled with rocket launchers and other explosives to deal with large hordes.


    As I was still in deep thought over this, I felt a quick smack on my arm from lieutenant Rose. Lieutenant Rose and others I called Lieutenant were people I chose to help manage and lead certain aspects of Black Site 38 it. Rose''s job was to manage and oversee things in HQ while I was gone and while I was present was to help assist others in the HQ. Other than that, she was the only person I gave permission too to make and receive any calls from the other Safe Havens. It was a surprise to everyone that despite the massive jamming of signals across the country, we able to still make calls across landlines. It was challenging to establish since we had to first get power back to optimal levels with solar power, which took us through hell to find.


    I looked towards Rose, who was looking worried, and asked, "What''s wrong?"


    "It Ally she''s sent a nurse from the level 3 who said you''re needed, it''s Old Man J. They don''t think he "doing" too well." Rose said while emphasizing the word doing as to signify that his sickness is getting worse.


    "Ok, take over for me while I go up to check on his condition," I said while walking towards the elevator, which was the only way in or out of any of the levels.


    As I rode the elevator up, I think back to when James first started getting sick. It wasn''t uncommon for elderly people his age to get sick and pass away, but his sickness was different. It was as if he was being drained of his life force and was slowly shriveling into a mummified corpse. The only possible conclusion was that his brother, John, the cause of the end of the world, was responsible, but it didn''t make sense. He''s had all this time to make his move against James and the Safe Havens, yet he''s something akin to a curse. Nah, something somewhere is missing in this equation, and I certainly don''t have all the necessary information.


    I approached the side of the bed and asked the attending nurse what his current condition was, and she said, "As of currently, his heart is becoming too shriveled to continue pumping blood throughout his body. Because of the lack of blood and oxygen to his brain, we estimate he might not live past a couple of days and..."[1]


    Just as she was about to continue to talk, James shriveled hand quickly grabbed hold of my wrist as his shriveled eyelids opened, revealing the void that replaced his eyes in his eye socket. For a man who was basically a shriveled corpse hid still retained a scary grip.


    Just as everyone was frozen, James spoke and said, "Ahh, I finally know why I... am like this. While I slept, I saw what my brother has become, and there is no hope of ever stopping him. There is only the hope of surviving, and that seems bleak. He has been asleep for 3 years and for 3 years he has become much stronger. Prophets have told of the end of the world; even now, the minions of other gods fight and die at the hands of John''s undead. We have reached the end of the final hour without knowing and now the End is Nigh."


    Just as James had said that, he goes limp, and the monitors that watched over his vitals began to beep and sound an alarm throughout the room, signifying his passing. The nurses wanted to help, but due to his final wishes of not wanting to be revived, they stood on the sidelines and did nothing. Miguel looked at Ally, and she looked back towards him as they both wanted answers to half of what he was saying as they both knew that he was nowhere near being senile.


    Under the city of HornBrew...


    In a large room sits a large egg-shaped object with what seemed to be a bloody talisman on the side. Large and black as obsidian it sat quietly until something within moved. After a bit of moving 6 long black fingers broke out of the object causing black shell-like fragments to hit the floor. After a small pause 3 of the fingers yanked back breaking off more of the shell to reveal tall faceless head with horns that went down the side of the face and extended forward. The crest on the top of the head curved towards the back of the head until it curved upward.


    It was silent until John said, albeit without a mouth, "Finally, it''s time to finish where I left off."


    (//A.N: [1] Not a scientist nor a doctor, I''m not sure how a heart will do if it was shriveled.)

 Chapter 44 - 40: Awakening

    (John''s Pov)


    After finally climbing and breaking the rest of the egg-shaped dome, I inspected my surroundings to only find that I was still in the Grave Center''s main chamber surrounded by 8 zombies. Afterward, I inspected myself to find that I had no facial features, which begged how exactly I was able to speak a moment ago. Paying little attention to it, I noticed my horns were back to the way they were originally; they were even better since I can tell they had become shorter yet sturdier. I didn''t notice it right away, but my wings now had flesh also along with it was greyish-silver feathers. For a moment, I thought my tail was going to start going wild from my excitement when I noticed that it was gone.


    After a moment of thought, I chose not to think about my missing tail anymore since it was nothing more than a trivial change. I had to think about my overall change in strength and power as I knew that, like my last few evolutions, I needed to adjust and learn quickly of my pros and cons. I quickly opened my menu to the [status] tab and was impressed by this new form.


    -John- Level 62/200 [level up] x22


    Species: Undead Nephilim


    Str: 1697 +600 Wisdom: 1825 +600 Stat points: 700 +600


    Dex: 1675 +600 Mana:30530 +30000


    Agi: 1675 +600 Hp: 2395 +1000 +660(from 30hp per level up)


    Int: 1805 +600 Luck: 202 +2


    Although most of my stats increased an amazingly 600, the most outstanding stat increases came from Mana and HP, increasing as high as 30000 and 1660. I couldn''t have been any more impressed. My excitement was at an all-time high, but suddenly I noticed the small increase in Luck, which was a measly 2 points. For a moment, I wondered if there was a god of luck who was f.u.c.k.i.n.g with me but shrugged it off since my luck was already considerably high already for I did survive the goddess of Light, if only by a miracle.


    After inspecting my stats, I switched over to my skills and abilities tab and saw my current skills and new skills along with amazement.


    -Magic Manipulation: A skill that allows the user to use magic.


    -Darkness Manipulation: A skill that lets the user use/conjure shadows however he wants


    [Dark spear] [Dark teleportation]


    -Stat Absorption: A skill that allows the user to absorb the stat points of those he/she kills


    -Evolution Manipulation: Capable of controlling the evolution of himself and those under his control


    [Evolution]


    -Inventory: A skill the allow the user to access a personal sub-dimension to store whatever they want that''s inanimate


    -Age Manipulation: A skill that allows the user to increase or decrease the age of what he/she is near or touches (Upgraded from Age Acceleration)


    [Mix and Match]


    -Necromancy: the power to utilize magic involving the dead, death-force, and/or souls.


    ---Aura Absorption


    ---Conjuration


    ---Death Magic


    ---Death sense


    ---Immortality


    ---Life-force absorption


    ---Motor-Skill Manipulation (Undead beings)


    ---Resurrection (through [Soul Fragmenting] and [soul storing])


    ---spell Casting


    ---Spirit Magic - soul absorption


    ---Undead Manipulation (Phantasms/Zombies/Vampires)


    -Holy Magic


    -Demonic Magic


    I had all these abilities, yet I barely used any for them for the lack of anything being capable of fighting me. Although I had the chance to utilize them in the fight against The Goddess of Light, I was c.o.c.ky, and by the time I needed to use them, it was too late. That mistake won''t happen again.


    After I made that vow, A small teenage girl around the age of 14 with 4 large spider legs protruding from the center of her back came busting through the double doors that led into the main chamber. Without a doubt, it was Joselin as her facial features didn''t change as much except the slightly unnoticeable lines running down the middle of her jaw, meaning her lower jaw probably could separate like insect mandible like her spiderlings.


    As if on cue, a small puddle of shadows arose from the ground beside where Joselin had stopped, and out came a skinny pitch-black figure of a man who looked as if he was made from black shadowy tendrils from his neck down. On the figures face was an expressionless men''s white face mask with eyes filled with nothing but the darkness. At first, it was hard to tell who it was, but after reading the being''s soul crystal, I could tell that it none other than Joseph.


    After seeing the two, I could tell that they followed my orders to their maximum potential. Everyone was back together after my lengthy evolution. I couldn''t tell how long I had been asleep, but just like usual, Dixie flew out from behind Joselin and viewed me with awe just like Joselin.


    After letting them have a few seconds to bask in the presence of my new form, I looked toward Joseph despite not having eyes, mouth, or a nose and said, "Report."


    My voice was spread out like it was carried by the wind between a valley with no planned direction. Although Joseph didn''t show it, I could feel the fear radiating from him along with everyone else as if my very voice carried a pressure. His movement was rather unique as the tendrils he had for feet which were submerged in the puddle of shadows didn''t move, but the puddle itself and so did he. It didn''t long for me to figure out that whatever Joseph wasn''t his true being, but most likely a small portion of him while the rest lay hidden on the other side of the puddle of shadows.


    "Master, it is great to see you once again. Please excuse my current appearance as my real body would not be capable of fitting within this large chamber without crushing you and the guards I placed to guard you. Now for the report, all has gone as planned except for a few hindrances that only delayed your plans by a month at most. While that didn''t slow progress down by much a problem occurred in the form of Alexia''s small group as they have made it to Alaska and have grown considerably during these past 3 years and have built a small resistance within a bunker and several and have learned magic of the light element. Other than them, unlike Alexia and her group, your brother and many other safe haven dwellers have managed to form what they call THRC or better known as The Human Resurgence Coalition. As of right now, they are oblivious of their impending destruction. On the other hand, Candice has made great progress with her Cult of The Damn," Joseph says while in a voice that sounded as if it was whispered loudly yet softly.


    After listening to him, I turned to Joselin, which made Joseph silent as he got the hint that I wanted her to finish the report, and in return, she got the hint as well and nodded.


    As Joseph shifted backward along with his puddle of Joselin approached cautiously with both her hands clasped together by her waist just under her exposed belly button and said, " Hello father, it''s a p.l.e.a.s.u.r.e to see you awake again. As for the rest of the report, we have followed your instructions and have become stronger and evolve multiple times while fighting tooth and nail with the other god''s monsters and champions they sent to halt your progress, as you may see... notice. I have become an insect queen. For my appearance, this is the 5th and final undead insect queen, a mythic class that is one class lower than yours, which you''ll learn about from Dixie. Joseph has managed to become a mythic class monster as well, which it is known as Void Eater; from what Dixie explains, it is a rare and deadly type of ghost lord which even the gods themselves had to personally exterminate out of existence since they posed a danger to every soul within the Trinity of Worlds."


    As Joselin struggled to get her breath after quickly reporting the rest of what I wanted to hear, I said, "Well done. Have you made the network of helpers meant to manage the evolution of every capable zombie?"


    Joseph crept forward once again and said, "Yes, and the result is excellent. Although it has decreased the population of the average zombie visible to the survivors, we have a wide variety of evolved undead within our forces waiting in hiding to finish off what''s left of them so we may finally move onto the next world. Would you like to see the many variants we have within the tunnels Master?"


    As much as I would love to rest, I also need to test my new strength as it was crucial to know my limits in case another god decided to take another shot at me, better yet, if Delia wanted to have another shot at me. It wasn''t that hard to tell that the [Holy Magic] skill gave me some sort of resistance to her light-based magic along with my Undead Nephilim evolution. If I really had to put two and two together [Holy Magic] should be equivalent to if not be a higher form of [light magic]. I''ll just have to wait and see when I run into Alexia''s group since they have learned to use it, but I need to test myself for now.


    After coming to my conclusion, I look at Joselin, Joseph, and Dixie, who has been overly silent since seeing my new appearance, and say, " No, I want to see them in action."


    As I say this, Joseph nods then says, "As you will, and this time me and Joselin will accompany you as to avoid anything like last time from happening."

 Chapter 45 - 41: Assault on a piece of Heaven pt.1

    What is the Fear? According to a dictionary, it is an unpleasant, often strong emotion caused by anticipation or awareness of danger.


    Many people believe that fear is different for everyone and that we all perceive it as something different in the end. My fear is, of course, coming head to head with the big a.s.s skeleton monster that took down my old army base 3 years ago. Most other survivors don''t believe me, and they never will, but in the end, I did have few people who believed in me a hundred percent.


    It wasn''t just blind devotion toward me for saving their lives throughout the years as it was they too had come into contact with various monsters. Although none were undead like the one I fought, some were just out of fantasy books as some were fire giants several stories high, and others were monsters like The Creature from the Black Lagoon. Everyone had come into contact with some kind of monster over the years, and other than mine, none seemed to have tried to kill them. It was almost the exact opposite as most seem to have tried to ignore anything human and only openly fought against the undead.


    "Hey Rudy, the man''s asking for proof that we''re from Black Site; give it to him so we can enter and rest." The woman next to me in the passenger side seat says while smacking my shoulder to wake me from my stupor.


    The woman next to me is non-other than my significant other, Gertrude Jones, the woman I''m choosing to live out the rest of the apocalypse with. She was originally a civilian who had made it the supposed safety and protection of the fence that surrounded my former military base before that giant black skeleton of doom came crashing down in the middle of the base. She was originally one of many people lucky enough to have made it to an evacuation bus before the massive hordes of undead that hid within the tree line converged onto the base after the pitch-black skeleton monster began to get it''s a.s.s kicked by what I came to believe was an angel.


    I gave the man station at the heavily guarded guard post the unique combination of passwords that all those who chose to be apart of The Human Resurgence Coalition came to know. It was a safety measure to keep bandits and other uncooperative safe havens from sneaking in and stealing and sabotaging the things we need. It''s really a shame, to be honest, even during times like these, we as humanity still try to f.u.c.k each other over instead of coming together to fight a common enemy.


    After driving through the security gate, I drive towards a couple of houses that I''ve parked at many times after becoming a transporter/ guard for Blacksite 38. As Gertrude and hop out of the truck, we head towards one of the guest houses meant for traders and transporters like me and settled down inside. This haven was directly centered around a large gated suburban housing area, making it almost the best place for survivors to go, especially since the large unfinished dog parks made it easy to grow crops. If we weren''t already settled down in Black Site 38 with a kid we chose to look after, we would''ve been moved here.


    The only thing holding us back was the fact that I had come into contact with the black skeleton monster. As I told my story to those at Black Site, they led me to an old man who told me a f.u.c.k ton of things about what it was and why the world was the way it was now. At some point, I became one of their lieutenants in charge of transportation of supplies and information. Mainly my job was to keep tabs on all information concerning the giant black skeleton, known as John, and secondly a transporter/guard, but my primary purpose was to remain a secret as not many people believed James stories, especially other coalition leaders.


    After getting settled in a room of one of many spare houses, me and Gertrude chose to lay in bed since it was already getting late. We had to hit the road again first thing in the morning to avoid most of the early morning monster fights. They often fought on main roads where hordes of undead roamed or stood as if waiting for a meal to wander near.


    Gertrude plopped down next to me with a face that said she was tired, making me feel down since I couldn''t get any, but it was for the best since our morning starts early. As lay down on the stained but freshly hand washed pillow, I turn my head to see Gertrude staring at me quizzically. Usually, when she looked at me like this, she was wondering what was on my mind, but with her, sometimes it meant the opposite.


    "Babe, what''s wrong? I know that look, and it can mean only one or two things." I said, but before I could continue, she cuts me off.


    "I''ve been thinking for a while. Why don''t we try our chances with the Cult of the Damned?" She asks with a face that says more than her question.


    It''s not the first time she''s asked me that question, and I''ll doubt it''ll be the last. She''s been intrigued by that cult since we arrived at Black Site and learned about them and their pros and cons from other survivors. It wasn''t just some off the wall curious fascination, I know why she wants to head there, and it pulls at my heart every time I tell her that it won''t give her back what she''s lost.


    Back in the military base, before we hooked up, she was a mother of "1," and there''s a reason for the way I say it that way. See, before this all started, she had 3 children, ages 9 to 12, and on her way to evacuating to the military base where she thought she could find shelter as she described it, a giant black undead dogs the size of a school bus snatched one in its jaws and crushed the other. The only way they made it out was by covering the mouth of her last child with tears running down her face. At the same time, she hid as silently as she could until a patrol squad from the military base found them while looking for survivors and supplies. Now during the time that John was getting his a.s.s handed to him, and I made my escape to the last evacuation buses they were still loading everybody on when the zombies overran the base, some survivors got the doors shut on them by scared drivers. While Gertrude and I were lucky to have made it on one, her last child got separated from her and was one of the many people left outside the buses as the drivers pulled off.


    Although It broke many hearts to have left their loved ones to die, it brought a few a small relief when something akin to a nuke went off at the base, destroying everything and leaving nothing behind. Some found solace in knowing that their loved ones wouldn''t have to experience being eaten and torn apart and then becoming apart of the undead legion. On the other hand, there were a boatload of people like Gertrude, who was devastated when everything went down that day. Even I was down and depressed when I looked back saw how my life flashed before my eyes as I peered into the eyes of John when he was about to finish me off. If I ever meet that bird bitch I''ll happily lend a hand to her when it comes to fighting the undead.


    "Look... Gertrude, no matter how many times you ask, I''ll say no. They are the same people worshipping the things out there killing us on a daily basis. How many times will they have to take the things you love before you have nothing again. I''m sorry to have to remind you of the past this way, but it''s better to remind you and be cautious then running towards death. Think about Susie; think about the little girl that sees you as a mother after losing her big sister 2 years ago. Right now, the cult is way off the table, and I doubt I''ll ever put near it if things ever go south." I said dead-eyed, looking at Gertrude while she shifted from being confused to teary-eyed and lastly to face that showed she saw my reasoning and once again understood that it was better to try and move on and live for the present and future.


    Gertrude understood my rough and straightforward way of speaking was better than a soft and sugar-coated refusal with sprinkles of white lies. She only asked repeatedly because of the rumors of the cult being capable of bringing the souls and mind back to the dead to live peacefully with their loved ones. People like me who were skeptical of the cult''s propaganda believed this to be a lie and an especially tempting and hard to see lie. It was better than believing that a mysterious cult that magically appeared during an apocalypse could offer some kind of salvation. I personally believed they were adding people to the undead legions for the hell of it.


    After talking for a while about our future in Black Site, we dozed off to sleep to the oddly and eerie silence of the safe haven. It was only when we heard the explosion that also shook the house did I wake back up to find the shade and curtains dyed in orange light followed by screams of terror. From the clock on the wall running on salvaged and recharged batteries, I could see that it was 5 minutes past 10pm.


    I quickly check for Gertrude to only find she was standing at the other window peeking with fear. She was shaking with fear so much that I could have sworn I had went to sleep and woke up 6 years in the past in Vegas watching a poorly trained stripper shake for what nickels and dimes should get from lonely old pervs getting small boners from her young appearance.


    I quickly get up and look through the same set of blinds she was looking through and saw the horror outside. Through the many flames, we could see both massive and regular-sized undead that looked like they were special variants like John or what James described as spiderlings. Some looked like massive spiders, while some looked like 8 feet tall bodybuilders that were doped on steroids with little to no jaw at all ( a/n yea, I just made a left 4 dead reference along with a reference to dead frontier as well.)


    With many more variants, I quickly ducked and pulled Gertrude down with me as I saw some very big and long moving across the other house. I was sure but I swear I saw it looking at me.

 Chapter 46 - 42: Assault on a Piece of Heaven pt.2

    *****Check author note******


    (Rudy Gaines POV)


    As I ducked down, pulling Gertrude with me, she looked at me with confusion. As she was about to whisper, I quickly put my index finger to my lips to signal her to remain silent.


    What was going on outside was clearly a one-sided massacre, and it didn''t help the fact that what was lurking in the darkness was something new and terrifying. All I could tell from my quick glimpse at them from the second story window was they were partially rotten yet strong, making them clearly undead. They weren''t just normal undead, specifically the long large one on the roof across the street from us. I still swear that it looked directly at me.


    I made sure to signal Gertrude to remain silent as, at the moment, I didn''t know what this new wave of undead variants could do. From what I remembered, James had told me how the spiderlings moved about like spiderman on crack and could use spider webs as well. As far as I could see from the window, there were about 14 to 15 new variants, and each had varied differently.


    As I look at Gertrude, I start using the sign language she taught me to tell her what I saw. She only knew sign language as it was needed to talk to one of her children who was deaf. After losing her deaf child, she didn''t see much use for it until, on one mission, I mention how useful it would be to have learned it for when we went on missions to gather supplies in heavily infested areas that she began teaching me.


    "Stay silent and move with caution: a giant and large undead on the roof across the street. There''s a large horde on the streets, so quiet movements only," I say in badly worded sign language as I was still getting used to it.


    As she watched what I was saying, she nodded and said in sign language, "Okay, we have to escape, so what about making it to the truck and driving to Black Site. If the dead can walk past whatever mystical threshold that held them back before, then most likely Black Site is under attack. We have to save Susie before it''s too late."


    After seeing and understanding what she was saying, I quickly responded by saying, "One step at a time. First, we have to find a way to the truck without being found or bringing attention to ourselves. We can''t save everybody, so whoever we come across or manages to hop in without us slowing down in the truck is who we save. Oh, and remember no shooting unless necessary."


    She nods, and we make our way through the house in what clothes we could throw on and proceed to make our way to the ground floor where we see a broken window. It didn''t take a genius to know that someone, better yet, something was in the house with us.


    The smart thing to have done was to silently check the other rooms on the second floor with caution even though we were supposed to be the only ones in the guest house, but then again, our goal wasn''t to secure the house; it was to get the hell out.


    The guest house was a standard 4 bedroom 2 bathroom house with a bas.e.m.e.nt that was used just for storage. There were two rooms on the ground level and two on the second floor that we didn''t want to sleep on since it reminded Gertrude of her old home where her kids shared rooms on the second floor. Still, I convince her to sleep on the second floor for once, this time through my persistence.


    Our current objective was to simply sneak out the back door without fighting the zombie that was in the house. The only problem is that the backdoor was located in the kitchen past the second room on the ground level. I didn''t mind that little detail, but when I heard things being broken and thrown around in it, that was a different story. As we approached the room, we could see that the door was opened when it was closed before, as Gertrude had made sure of that all door in the house was closed after being compelled by her OCD.


    To be honest, it didn''t make much sense to me why a zombie would have opened the door here when it had broken the window in the living room to get in. They usually claw or break their way in, so something this time was different to me.


    As I peeked in, the rabid undead was frantically searching for anyone hiding in the room. Not wanting to stay until the zombie walked out, me and Gertrude snuck past the door. As we made our way into the kitchen, finally, we came across the broken glass from when the zombie seemed to have broken in. It was only a small amount but still enough to have allowed it to reach its hand through the door and easily reach for the lock and let itself inside. This was something that scared me as it meant that either they were becoming smarter or they were being led by something smarter. The latter was more likely since I remembered what James had told me about his brother being the one in charge and starting this whole thing. Me and Gertrude made it outside the house quietly when all of a sudden, we couldn''t hear the crashing and frantic searching anymore. To be honest to me, it only meant that the zombie was done looking in the room and was about to proceed to search another.


    Sadly my imagination got the better of me; as soon as I turned around to watch our backs, it was standing right behind us. It was a saggy slob of a monster; I''ll tell you that. It was as if it used to be on my 500lb life and cheated its way to 180lb by getting the fat s.u.c.k.e.d out, leaving the excess decaying skin to hand from its body. If it''s hard to imagine, then think about if someone combined the creeper and tar monster from scooby doo and made a tall saggy monstrosity.


    To be honest, I''ve been in this situation far too many times to tell that the first thing the zombie would do would attempt to pounce, but clearly, this was a variant of some sort. My usual strategy of whipping my trusty bowie knife out and stabbing it in the head far too dangerous considering this was a new threat, so instead, I pushed Gertrude, who was oblivious to the current situation, out the way before diving to the side.


    I clearly didn''t have plans on fighting this thing, nor did I have enough time in my original plan to f.u.c.k around trying to avoid it. As Gertrude got up and looked at where she was pushed from, she stared with extreme disgust at the grotesque creature. To me, I looked at it as I did them all; to me they were all the same. Let''s say that last comment wasn''t meant to seem racist to zombies, but let be honest, they''re all dead, and they''re all gonna be deader when I put them down. Yes, I said deader because it makes me feel better on the inside.


    Before it make an attempt to run at one of us, it was as if the lord had made an angel for moments like these and name it Dues Ex Machina as the ceiling gave in crushed the bastard. I was sure that was it and was about to rush out the back door with Gertrude when I noticed it. Out of the dust from the broken ceiling, and I saw something that made me want to say ''f.u.c.k it'' and piss myself. Whatever it was, it was big and only partially sticking a piece of itself through the ceiling and crushing the saggy zombie.


    As it raised itself back up through the ceiling and out the rubble on the ground, it was a mass of decayed and fleshy torsos, and attached to it was evenly spaced arms and hands. It raised up, revealing its head that was a combination of upper halves of 5 people''s heads with sharp teeth and no jaws. It had large mandibles surrounded by small arms that was clearly to help it feed. Without a doubt, I''m calling this big bitch a Centipede.


    As it looked at us, I didn''t stick around long enough to let try to take a bite as I knew for a fact that it wasn''t going to end well for us. Now in the backyard and 3 meters away from the truck, I say ''f.u.c.k it'' and break the silence and say, "Gertrude get in the car and drive. I''ll shoot. F.u.c.k everything you see, whether it be a zombie or a living person, run them over and run this bitch till it runs out of gas. For now, wish them and us some luck."


    "...But," Gertrude says before I cut her off.


    "Gertrude, we both just saw the same damn thing get in the f.u.c.k.i.n.g truck and drive," I said loudly as we were already exposed by the centipede. I quickly hop in the back of the truck where we kept a good assortment of reserved emergency weapon for when we were on the road with a horde on our asses.


    As I hopped in the truck, the sound of breaking wood and something massive tearing out of the house caught my attention. I looked up toward the roof of the house and saw the massive coil I coined the Centipede. It was truly f.u.c.k.i.n.g massive as the only way I could really describe it as a giant train sized centipede coiled on top of the house like a snake. It made me wonder why exactly it didn''t crush the house with its size.


    As it raised its rather small head out of the house, its head grew to match the proportions of the rest of its body. Seeing this made me realize that this f.u.c.ker could just about wreak havoc anywhere if it can shrink in size. Not wanting to stick around for much longer, I brace myself and tap the hood of the truck, and Gertrude stomps on the pedal. Hitting a few zombies on the way out and being chased by a few, I could see from a distance the giant centipede looking at us as it unravels itself and climbs down to street level. In hot pursuit of us, it quickly zigs and zags about as I ignore the other zombies and attempt to blast its large fleshy yet skeletal head away with a nicely scavenged m16 assault rifle I found days ago on a corpse.


    Driving for no more than 2 to 3 minutes, Gertrude tells me to brace for impact, and it didn''t take me a minute to tell we were already at the gate. I duck and lye low while still firing off a few shots to attempt to slow the centipede down, and just like the movies, the truck busts through the gate, knocking the gate into the air just long enough for it to fall onto the centipede. Got to thank Jord for making nice reliable trucks like the Jord F20*.


    Although I wanted this to be the end of the f.u.c.k.e.d up monstrosity, the falling gate didn''t even budge the bastard as it took it like a train would do a go-cart and smashed the hell out of it. I could tell that my face was telling the big bastard, ''Go f.u.c.k yourself.'' I could tell that our way back to Black Site was surely going to be hell.

 Chapter 47 - 43: Assault on a Piece of Heaven pt.3

    (Rudy Gaine''s POV)


    When people talk about their crazy mornings, most if any never mention being chased by the giant anthropoid equivalent to Tom Six''s horrible cinematic wonder in a modded pickup truck, but yeah, life goes on right. F.U.C.K THAT.


    I''d rather be being chased by the flying monkeys from the Wizard of Oz since I know they don''t have bullet-resistant decayed flesh and bone. Notice I said resistant instead of bulletproof as some sections of its body, mainly the decaying yet elastic-like flesh that held together the many torso''s, were being torn and shredded by the bullets I was sending its way.


    Joyfully sat with my back on the window behind Gertrude as I continued to carefully pick off the much smaller and regular zombies that ran like frenzied athletes behind and next to the Centipede. Although it was hard to notice at first because it was dark, after firing a couple of rounds at the Centipede and other zombies, I noticed the signs of higher cooperation than what they would usually showcase. Not just the usual ''go that way'' or ''go this way'' type of cooperation. It was clear undoubtable teamwork that showed sophisticated tactics as several times I witnessed the tactic of sacrifice when they noticed I was aiming for a pretty damaged area of the centipede a regular zombie would simply jump in front of the bullet in order to take the hit.


    Another pretty interesting tactic that I noticed was another sacrificial tactic: the centipede simply using one of many arms to pick up and launch a couple of zombies at the truck. To be honest, I was terrified as I was thinking to myself that if John is evolving and upgrading the tactics they use, things are going to be more hellish soon.


    As the number of lesser undead around the Centipede began to decrease rapidly while it was still taking rounds to its weak points, it began to crawl faster and faster to hurry and finish with the troublesome pieces of food that continued to elude it. As it gained speed and lessened the distance between it and us, several zombies jumped onto its back as to not lose out on a chance to devour some sweet, succulent flesh.


    As much as I would have liked to admit it, it did like fun to ride on, but at the moment, I was still apart of team living, and I currently had no plans to have chunks of my flesh ripped and gouged out by a crowd. As leaned my head back a little and yelled, "Hey Gert, we need to pick up the pace, I don''t think big ugly and the chain gang like the fact we''re not in their mouths yet."


    "Well, we might just end up in them cause we never got the chance to refill on gas, remember. You wanted to wait till the morning with a nice plate of scrambled eggs and toast," Gertrude said mockingly with a nervous smile as a coping mechanism.


    "We probably just have enough to make it across the bridge over where we f.u.c.k.e.d for the first time," Gertrude said nervously as to keep her mind off the fact that they were cutting it close with the giant zombie-man bug behind them.


    As she notified me of the several details of our current situation along with the reminder of those eggs I''m most definitely not getting the chance to taste, I smirked at the mention of our first time having s.e.x. It was on a bridge that crossed over a freeway that had a nice sizable horde of undead at the time. At the time, our mode of transportation was down for the count, and we saw a chance to blow off some steam while we waited for the horde beneath us to leave. Yeah, we''re nasty thrill-seekers when the appropriate chance arises.


    After remembering that instance, I remembered the only reason we were on the road at the time was to trade for some explosives that we needed for a secret project that James called project Mole. A project that only he and several other Safe Haven leaders talked about and only allowed a select few to know about, but since I wasn''t really apart of it, I stayed out of it and minded my own business. After coming back to my senses, I remembered that we had an excess of the explosives and that we always kept it in a trunk in the back of the truck with many other things that would have gotten us on the FBI''s radar back in the day.


    I quickly search through the black and white trunk and find what I was looking for, which was nice and pristine as when I had got my had''s on it and modified it. I nicknamed it the Norris after Chuck himself as it fit his description to the last detail, which was: 3 sticks of dynamite wrapped around a jar of nitroglycerin* that I''m unsure is stable or not. Wrapped around the stick of dynamite was nature scented car fresheners that I was honestly hoping would send out a nice smell as it exploded, but that was just hopeful thinking at best.


    As I held the highly explosive bomb in my hand noticed we were crossing the bridge, and I really didn''t want to bring Centipede and its passengers anywhere near Black Site since i''m pretty sure the Safe Havens weren''t safe anymore as it was. I knew that the bridge had to go, and since it was already old and had a train sized monster on it already, it made it even more favorable to just toss the damn thing as hard as I could at the things hand feet. And so that''s what I did, and boy was it beautiful. The explosion was huge as expected, and the bridge caved in, cutting the Centipede off along with its passengers. Although I enjoyed my less than spectacular boss fight, I did have a bad feeling that it wasn''t the end of it.


    (John''s POV)


    "Hmmm interesting, I remember him from the base. He seems to have made your toy angry Joselin. Well, it doesn''t matter as it was rather satisfactory seeing your centipede toy, but for now, let us go back to that Safe Haven. After seeing the minions having fun, I''d like to finish the night with a bang." John said as he flew high above in the sky with Joselin poached on his arms and Joseph with his partial body poking out of a spatial rip within the shadow provided by John''s massive wings.

 Chapter 48 - 44: Rough Times Come Knocking On Sad Days pt.1

    (John''s POV)


    ''Can you call someone c.o.c.ky or arrogant for admiring their work when it is yet to be complete? That is something that depends on whether or not the job can be deemed to be on an irreversible path or not. I can gladly say that without a doubt that my work here on my homeworld is nearing completion despite the many variable running about.''


    As I was mid-way through my inner monologue, my attention was grabbed by the beautiful garden of fire and smoke that I have made out of one of many Safe Havens that we were attacking tonight. Smoke, ashes, and cinders rose into the sky like popped cattail fluff. It was truly a wonder in the eyes of some as wicked as me how the destruction of many could make the night sky so aesthetic.


    As I floated above the burning Safe Haven, I notice many humans putting up a nice and decent fight, which was admirable in the sense that they were showing that they wanted to live so desperately. But like all good shows, it must come to an end as the centipede-like creature had returned.


    I must truly admit my astonishment when I laid eyes upon such a specimen. Joselin had truly outdone herself with this endeavor. She had planned on waiting for me to return before naming it, but she ran out of patience while waiting for me to wake up from my egg, so she went ahead and named it Grande Chilopoda, which was simply Grand Centipede with a little flavor to the name.


    All resistance seemed futile except for the pickup truck that manage to elude it earlier. It was truly a wonder watching it thrash and destroy buildings as it rushed towards what little survivors that were resisting their inevitable deaths.


    As it finally made contact with the survivors that had made a nice defensive circle to fight till the death, the Grand Centipede simply rushed through their defensive circle, easily killing a few survivors, which scared the living hell out of the remaining survivors. As the Grand Centipede made its entrance, I found it enough and dismissed every undead mentally, all except Joselin and Joseph, who were looking confused as if I had just turned blood into wine.


    They weren''t the only ones looking confused as the survivors were confused as well since they didn''t know what was happening or why the dead had ceased their attack. Besides being scared and confused, they felt a slight sense of relief until one happened to look off into the sky and spot me, Joselin, and Joseph flying high in the sky.


    "What the hell are those things?!!!" yelled a random man who raised his gun began to point it at us.


    It took the rest of the group of resistant survivors to look at the man who had yelled his question and up at all three of us. I could only guess that those who didn''t raise their guns immediately assumed that I was an angel of some sort before raising their guns hesitantly. It didn''t matter either way as I was about to show both Joselin and Joseph why I sent our forces away as I slowly lifted both of my arms forward with my hands bent down. Then I raised my hands up with my palms facing forward, which then I rotated my hands upside down. Finally, for the last motion, a flick of the wrist upward with my palms facing me.


    At the moment that I did this, nothing immediately happened, which caught everyone off guard except Joseph. Out of everyone here, I expected him to realize what was happening since he could feel it. Not through some magical connection to me or some sort of magic detection, no, he felt it through the shadows on the ground that he could have turned into a portal for him to transverse between this reality and what I assume to be a shadow realm of sorts. Small vibrations that had appeared and disappeared without any of the survivors noticing.


    Then without warning, a ripple of earth and concrete knocked every survivor on the ground like a drop of water hitting the center of a still pond. The ripple went on until it reached the end of the Safe Haven, leaving nothing but collapsed houses and glowing purple lights protruding out of the ground like blades of emerald.


    In a panic, the survivor began to run with all their might in the same direction, but their actions and hopes bore no fruit as they all collapsed to the ground where the cracks were worsening. Some had already given up, while some still struggled to move their paralyzed bodies. If I had a face, I would''ve smiled at their luck of being here.


    After a moment, I felt that it was time to stop playing with them and finally get on with the show as I, with as much vigor and strength that I could muster, clenched my palms closed and said, "RISE."


    And Just like that, the emerald light protruding from the earth that the Safe Havens were built upon shined bright into the sky, eventually looking like slim towering beacons of light. The earth cracked more and more beneath the Safe Haven until the safe Haven, which was the size of a gated suburban community, collapsed into the earth as under it was a giant cave. Yet that was the opposite as from the giant hole that once housed a thriving Safe Haven was a giant towering green pillar of light, and out from it came black and smoke like entities. Each was ethereal, yet many were either larger or small than the next entity that spiraled around the light like organized moths to a glow stick.


    As the towering spiral of ghostly specters reached the atmosphere, they began to rain back down to the earth like meteors toward many safe havens that I knew would give my forces trouble, all except my brothers Safe Haven as I wanted to visit this one personally after I dealt with another nuisance up north.


    To be honest, I myself didn''t know what each of the specters could do since I simply tore open a large veil to the afterlife with the combination of holy and demonic magic that would pull any and all souls damned there from the trinity of worlds to exit into ours. Unbeknownst to them though, that by exiting through the gate into our world, they would become connected to me like my zombies and become unwilling servants. Once, someone said that there could never be enough toys of war on a battlefield, and I wholely agree with him.


    I looked back at Joselin and Joseph and said, "Every action must lead to a positive outcome for your objective even when it looks as though it is not or that is useless. Remember that the greatest thing that man has ever created was chess, as it is a physical representation of strategy no matter the intent or goal. Always plan your moves and counters before conceding victory as your enemy may just be leading you to your inevitable demise."


    After saying that and emphasizing the last bit toward Joselin, I return my gaze toward the spiraling tower of souls as it was truly a sight to see.

 Chapter 49 - 45: Rough Times Come Knocking On Sad Days Pt.2

    (John''s POV)


    (Alaska, edge of Tongass)


    I couldn''t feel it, nor could I care for the biting breeze of the seemingly never-ending cold of the Alaskan wilderness. It was something that never really bothered me when I first rose from the shadows of a large tree near the edge of the Tongass National Park.


    On my shoulder sat the sadistic fairy of darkness, Dixie, and behind us was none other than a sizable horde of undead ready to bombard the near-impenetrable bunker of Allen''s located near the center of the park.


    To be honest with myself, I truly didn''t need my horde for what I was about to do, but then again, I wanted to see the struggle of a dying species as it''s outmaneuvered and ravaged to the last human. I have a plan for the last human since I think it would be funny for what''s to come in the end.


    Next to me stood both Joselin and Joseph, already waiting on me to let them loose with the rest of the horde. They each had their own personally assigned objectives and now were competing to see who would finish first. It was obviously Joselin''s idea, and sadly she herself didn''t know the difference in difficulty of each other''s task.


    Joseph had the simplest of the tasks, which fell into his comfort zone as all he had to do was to cause as much destruction and devastation with his main body as possible while remaining the center of attention. On the other hand, Joselin was to try to take out as many obstacles that prevented the main attack force from proceeding with rushing the main entrance. Me, on the other hand, I had a meeting with an old acquaintance that landed me on the path I''m on now.


    Everything was ready, and now we waited for one thing and one thing only, and that was the traitor. The traitor, someone that Joselin had gotten close to over the past 3 years out of curiosity and eventually established a close bond with. The real question is whether this bond was deep enough to open the large and thick doors that none of my undead, including the variants, could breakthrough. The gate was at best a meter and a half thick, which really surprised me as I knew it would have been expensive. The gate''s expensive nature only shined a slither of light on how deep Allen''s pockets were before brought the human civilization to its knees.


    As I was lost in thought, I could feel a surge of magic being created near the center of the Park and then rising into the air, revealing a ball of golden light that then exploded into a giant multi-colored Aurora Borealis that illuminated the night sky that shrouded all of my army except their glowing eyes.


    Excellent, the signal for us to begin. As the Aurora Borealis shined bright into the sky, I raised my right hand and pointed toward the center of the park while saying, "Leave nothing behind."


    At my final words, my undead army began their race toward the center of the forest where the Bunker is located while being led by both Joseph and Joselin. Joselin began jumping from tree to tree as if she was a rapidly moving pinball while Joseph expanded the shadow beneath him, and out came his true form, a giant and hideous bundle of shadowy tendrils dripping with some sort of liquified shadow that quickly dissipated before hitting the ground as he floated and flew off toward the center knocking down trees as he went. At this point, I left the main fighting to them since it would be a great chance to gauge what they were capable of.


    The scene of my undead army racing around me for the chance to taste flesh while being led by Joseph and Joselin was mesmerizing as it was truly straight out of a movie scene. As I flew into the air and began following them from behind to witness their efficiency first hand, I noticed that halfway into the forest were 25 individual lights of varying colors that emanated magic. It was clear that this was their defensive force, but I knew for a fact that this wasn''t all of them as the bird that I had follower Alice and her group for the past 3 years has reported the exact increase of survivors living within the bunker, 42 to be precise. So either the rest were children and elderly, or they were those that couldn''t fight; all that mattered was that we had 17 unaccounted for that includes Alice and her group, and I was not too fond of unknown variables in set plans yet what kind of leader of an army would I be if I didn''t have a contingency for the unknown.


    (20 min before John and his army arrived outside of Tongass National Park)


    Nothing is worse than being awkwardly sad while resting between the legs of your lover with the back of your head on their c.h.e.s.t and your vision stuck to the ceiling. It had been almost a week since my mom passed away with that depressing forewarning of the future to come, yet I was still moping about while trying to deal with everyone''s safety and needs. Yeah, I should have taken some time to deal with her passing, but things needed to be done.


    Like the maintenance of the sensory stones. Carved stones with what Delia described as forgotten god runes that we, humans on this world and our neighboring cross-dimensional cousins, rebranded and degraded into a nonfunctional version that we call Nordic runes. Although it took a couple of months, we managed to make a less than desirable but efficient sensory array wherein which if anything, undead were to walk near one of many sensory stones, several people would be notified, including me. I hardly went to dispatch any since I needed to help micromanage resources along with making sure project: Quantum was ready at a moment''s notice.


    Project: Quantum was something that I and Delia had come up with when I was worried about an escape route in case we couldn''t hold off a large horde and they somehow made it past that thick a.s.s doors Allen had installed as the main entrance. It was something that I worried about plenty when out of the blue Delia ask if I wanted to build a jump gate. A transdimensional portal that connected the gate to any predetermined destination on our world. Although it was a one-way ticket to anywhere it was better than being stuck in a bunker with one entrance and exit with the off chance of being cornered like rats.


    When it came to the jump gate I asked several times why we couldn''t connect to other worlds and just escape there. Her answer was simple yet filled me with shock as she said, " One it would take far more magical energy than anyone on this planet could muster even with what remains of my essence within you. Two the only alternative would be to sacrifice a hundred lives, and to be honest with you darling, even if we had that number excluding your family, I doubt you''d do it just to make Lana happy. So let us keep to the idea of hopping from one place to another in order to not be cornered, and please darling let us hope and pray that we don''t end up in the middle of an ocean somewhere."


    Her informative comment widened my horizon on a couple of things including my vulnerability to trying to mend my damaged relationship with my daughter. Other than the incident back at dirt path next to the highway that was flooded with undead where I chose to hold everyone at gunpoint as to not risk drawing attention to us by trying to play hero there were other moments that further separated us. Such as the time I had to sacrifice a large number of our survivors in order to make the final push to Allen''s Bunker. No one was happy, most were pissed such as Lana, but most got over it after realizing that it was a hard choice to make given my position at the time being the only one coming up with solutions. Some times the sacrifice of others need to be made even if they are unknowing


    I would have loved to have laid on the bosom of my lover for the few moments that would have felt like an eternity for me, but I guess destiny would allow such as the bracelet, several pieces of wood tied together using scavenged strings, on my wrist that was connected to the sensory stones began shining brightly. This wouldn''t have been anything new since the undead would occasionally wander into our safe perimeter and we''d send someone to dispatch them quickly, but this time it shined brighter than ever while violently vibrating and eventually giving out as the strain it received was too much and the strings snapped. The bracelets shined but never vibrated and snapped meaning that either we were facing a horde bigger than we''ve ever fought or an undead stronger than we''ve ever fought just crossed our security perimeter.


    I couldn''t feel my face but I knew my eyes shot open wide and I jumped up startling Megan as I was running toward the door. Before I could reach the door Megan asked, "What''s going on??"


    Usually, I would smile at her clueless face, but now wasn''t the time as she wasn''t on the security team and those that were could easily guess the severity of the situation if their bracelets too have ended up like mine. I looked back at her and said, "We just went into a possible code red."

 Chapter 50 - 46: The Battle of Allens Bunker pt.1

    (Alice''s POV)


    Why of all days does this have to happen, especially at night. Scratch that; of course, this is happening tonight of all nights, like why not. Ever since my mother''s catastrophic f.u.c.k up, our world has been on par with a B-rate movie starring my dysfunctional family and me. To believe I thought I was gonna get my rocks off tonight.


    I stand at the table, looking at the magical map with runes etched into the edges. Thanks to Delia, we were capable of making many things to supplement the use of electricity or our regular daily needs, such as magic crystals from undead or by condensing raw magic from ourselves or from the air around ourselves until it crystalized enough to be considered a magic crystal. Other than magic crystals and sensory stones, she showed us how to make many other items to aid our survival, such as the Area Map. A map capable of showing incredibly accurate detail of the surrounding area, including life forms or whatever the holder sees as a threat around it in a 3-kilometer perimeter around "it." Emphasis on "it" because it''s not like a war table out of science fiction movie''s where we could just scroll around the terrain outside the map''s intended view, nor could zoom in or out for better detail like on an online map.


    I stood with a solemn face as the person responsible for monitoring the map was none other than Lana, my daughter who currently has an incredible disdain for me right now that I can only hope for the foreseeable future she forgives me as I came to forgive my mother before its too late. As I look around at the scurrying commander in my operations room who are currently arguing back and forth over the next steps we should take, I immediately slam my hand on the table which the Area Map is lying upon and say, "EVERYONE SHUT THE F.U.C.K UP!!!!"


    Everyone stops and looks at me like I just killed the most popular character from their favorite movie. To be honest, I wish I could go a day without snapping off at these f.u.c.kers for every little thing they do wrong, but then again, I guess this is what being a leader entails. I point at the map now and say, "Now that I''ve got all of your damn attention, I''m just going to say this as blatantly as possible, we see the map and saw how the bracelets reacted, and I''m gonna go ahead and go out on a limb here and say if you haven''t looked at the map and seen the sea of red at the edge of the forest as what we''re up against then imma just say it, we''re f.u.c.k.e.d."


    I gave myself a pause and said, "We only have one course of defense, and it''s retreating to where ever we can go and scatter like roaches."


    After I said that, there were discreet mumbling and sounds of fear mixed up with saddened voices. I knew everyone didn''t want to separate and return to the cold and dangerous world outside the bunker, but then again, I knew that the gate protecting us wasn''t going to last long against whatever those three large red dots on the map were.


    "WHAT!?" A random captain said while looking around to see if anyone else felt the same amount of shock he did.


    "Are you just abandoning everyone you swore to protect just like that? The same random guy said.


    I looked at him and pointed at the three large red dots on the map and said, "Look at these large f.u.c.ker and tell me that their threat level isn''t a cause to be concerned. The gates that Allen had installed in this place might have been capable of holding off explosives, but if one of those red dots is who I think it is, then those gates are f.u.c.k.i.n.g useless, either they''re closed or not. At best, they can hold back the small fry, but if it''s John, then he can simply fall through any shadow out there and quickly appear within the bunker with as many undead as he wants. I''ve been over who John is, if you remember right."


    I pulled back my hand and looked at the captain responsible for the defense of the bunker and said, "Defense captain, we are going to need a massive wall of light using those that are well trained like we practiced. If the wall fall before the jump gate is ready, retreat into the bunker and begin using the main corridor as a chokepoint while falling back and using {Light Mines}. When you all finally fall back to where I''ll have Jacob stationed, which is gonna be 20 meters away from the room housing our only escape route, just make a break for the jump gate. You''ll only have about a minute before the c4 I''ve had Jacob place there goes off, destroying the gate and closing off the only escape route out of there. Now go on to your duties. The rest of you get to work evacuating everyone. NOW!"


    As everyone scrambled to get started on their task, I leaned over the map and began thinking of what''s going to happen afterward as there were too many unknowns in the plan of mine.


    Just as several minutes went by and I was lost in thought, a captain responsible for the engineering team and the gate came running to me frantically. I looked at him with curiosity and said, what are you doing back here? You were supposed to have opened the gate and be on stand by to close it again when the {Wall of Light} falls, and the defense teams make a retreat."


    Still catching his breath and raising off his knees, he looks at me and says in gasping breaths, "Sabo... taged! The gate can''t be... Closed again! Someone sabotaged the hydraulic system just enough to where it can''t be closed again."


    My face was stoic as a smooth brick wall if there ever was one, but on the inside, I was screaming, ''DAMMIT! DAMMIT! DAMMIT! DAMMIT!'' I didn''t need a f.u.c.k.i.n.g traitor at this moment nor a f.u.c.k.i.n.g problem with my plan either. I began walking to the door and said, "Evac the Engineer team and notify the Defense captain that after the wall falls to quickly break a.s.s and make the choke point ASAP."


    I quickly make my way to where Jacob is and tell him what I had learned when the engineer captain came back running and said something startling as he said, " Some just launched a {Light Missle} into the sky and created an Aurora Borealis after the defense team had taken up position."


    ''Sigh''


    I want to strangle whoever it is that''s betraying us, but more pressing matters take precedence at the moment. The jump gate was charging, and we still were gathering survivors. My only hope was that the {Wall of Light} didn''t fall too soon.


    With all the matters at hand, I immediately remembered something, better yet, someone that I should have been worried about from the beginning. I turned to Jacob and asked, "Where''s Lana?"


    He looks at me and says, " Earlier, she told me she was running late due to a special someone and was going to help everyone evac."

 Chapter 51 - 47: The Battle of Allens Bunker pt.2

    (Lana''s POV)


    How does one survive in the apocalypse when you are the only one who sees the sign of a useless struggle? The answer is simple in the end, you just get with the program and let fate run its course.


    From the moment I realized that my mother was willing to shoot me for trying to at least save one person, I came to the realization that surviving with her was akin to becoming like her. Someone who is willing to let fear overwrite their humanity and become nothing more than a coward hiding away in a bunker. The moment I saw her true colors was the moment that I came to the same conclusion that if we were what remained of humanity, we were sure to meet our end sooner than later. Why not just accept the inevitable and get it over with.


    As I stand outside the bunker, watching as several people rush to form a formation that we had planned to use in case of a much-needed retreat, I knew that this would be more drawn out than what it should be. The wall of light defensive formation made a giant wall of light that would block the conventional method of land assaults while having multiple thin verticle crevice like openings to allow some undead to push through in single file lines. While those that were in charge of holding up the wall of light as long as they could persevere had only one goal, which was to keep the wall up as long as they could until they couldn''t anymore. From that point on, they had someone else who would replace them until they regained enough of their strength and waited till the people who had replaced them became fatigued so they could repeat the cycle all over again. It would be a strenuous battle of will power for those on the defensive, while it would be a battle of numbers for the invading undead.


    Seeing them taking up defensive formations and mentally prepping themselves for what was to come, I quickly raised my hand and prepared myself for what I was supposed to do as well. Ring the dinner bell and hope their suffering wouldn''t be too long. I gathered the mana around my hand and quickly condensed it until I felt it was just right, and changed the mana into the property of light. It was so small of a light that one could swear it was nothing more than a small ember soon to be snuffed out by the slightest breeze.


    As I felt the moment was right, I quickly opened my hand presented my palm that held the small ember of light to the stars above, and like a small flare, it launched into the night sky and exploded into a large Aurora Borealis that illuminated everything from the top of the trees to the quickly scurrying animal on the ground floor. Everything was visible, from the rugged texture of the tree to the flora. Although there was an eerie fog on the ground, awhile off into the forest, the undead could be seen rushing towards the bunker with only 25 confused individuals who quickly began conjuring the wall of light while also preparing in between them and their goal.


    The first portion of my job was done, and the other half was to ensure that the escape route, which was none other than the jump gate at the very bottom of the bunker, didn''t get destroyed. I saw all of the explosives Jacob set around it to make sure they weren''t followed through it. If only they took a second to think and come to the same conclusion I did. No matter where we go, John will eventually find us through the shared link he has with his undead. I''m not sure my mother ever remembered our first encounter with the undead, but John was able to quickly take control of an undead woman that had attacked an alley full of bums with several other undead in front of our house and proceeded to give us a warning of what he would do to the world. Overall it only took one undead to spot us, and we''d be swarmed immediately.


    "Sigh," I sigh out of frustration. If only being a traitor was easy, I''m sure someone went back to notify my mother and the others of the Aurora Borealis that lit the soon to be battlefield. Now all I have to do now is make my back into the compound as if I was outside all along and pretend to help evac people, while really my main goal is simply to let out a small yet unnoticeable and invisible {Solar Emp} magical skill that I had been working on in secret. While it was difficult to keep it a secret and find excuses for why come devices around the compound just stopped working or got fried, it finally was completed.


    As I made my way into the compound, I couldn''t help but wonder what Joselin was up to.


    (3rd pov)


    As Lana walked out from behind the tree where she stood behind while watching as her fellow survivors prepared themselves for a massive assault, another figure with a faint bluish glow reached out toward her but was too late. As she missed her chance to communicate with her, she yelled, "Lana!!!"


    Although loud to her, her spiritual strength waned and faded and couldn''t pierce the veil that kept her voice from reaching Lana, although she had just barely managed to make her body partially visible. She couldn''t help but feel useless, but all of her current thoughts went out the window when she felt a presence watching her. A presence so great that it threatened to consume her and snuff out what little bit of her soul still remained. She knew this threat was the one she helped cause, and it was the threat that was inevitable from the very beginning, and she couldn''t do a thing other than watch.


    (Joseph''s POV)


    I flew toward the center, knocking down many trees, where the many survivors of the bunker stood in formation, ready to combat the massive horde behind me. Notice I had said the horde behind me as I had yet to reveal my true form to anything. None of the humans or the mystical creatures under the other gods'' commands have had seen this grotesque form of mine. Although I call my appearance grotesque, the normal standard of beauty doesn''t really exist when all is dying, all the while the term normal died when the dead rose.


    As I arrived with their stares of fear and horror welcoming me, I attempt to pierce multiple of the survivors with many of my shadowy tendrils, but alas, they managed to erect a barrier of walls in the nick of time. My shadowy tendrils burned and faded into nothing as it came into contact with the wall of light. Truly how amusing that they managed to become this strong through the use of unity. I could fall into the shadows beneath me and flank them from one of their shadows by swimming through the shadow realm but then again, assaulting the defensive force of the survivors wasn''t my main objective. Just a test to see what we were up against. It was all up to Joselin to show how strong she has become, as is what she''s been dying to do since her father awakened.


    --------Please read author note-----------

 Chapter 52 - 48: The Battle of Allens Bunker pt.3

    War is something that never changes, no matter what the cause of it is. Before the first two World Wars, wars were always fought over resources or grudges that always ended in one person''s group of people or an entire country either dying off or living through it only to repeat the cycle again. If one were to look at the initial causes for World War Two*, one would learn that one of the many causes of such a war was their grudges for feeling blamed for the war and being made to pay reparations that just about crippled their country economically. (A/N these weren''t the only reasons I just listed these to add more depth to go along with the main topic of this paragraph. So don''t go barking up my tree about it.)


    The cause for this war was rather fundamentally different as it wasn''t over such petty thing as resources or grudges, although one could argue the latter, it was mainly for the inescapable truth that humanity''s time has come to an end. An end that has been has they have eluded long enough but can''t outrun anymore.


    Humanity was a broken species that were lower than the insect they so often looked at in disgust, yet wasn''t too far from being fixed in the mind of Joselin as she trailed behind Joseph''s massive body. The very thought of how many different kinds of insects she could attempt to make sent thrills down her back. Although it wasn''t many humans they were hunting, she knew that a few "live" toys were make thing a little interesting before they finally went onward to another world.


    As she made it a couple of trees behind Joseph, she witnessed his attempt at attacking the giant wall of light that the human fighters had conjured and continued to sustain and smiled at his failed attempt to break the wall. Although they all had the same objective, they had a strong competitive bond that kept them sane while John slept for three long years. She felt joy in seeing Joseph being slowed in completing his task, although she didn''t know they had two completely different tasks to begin with.


    She watched on a she saw Joseph slowly fall into his own shadow and not reemerge elsewhere within her visible sight. She wondered for a moment before seeing realizing one out of many of the undead had just ran past the tree she was currently on. It was then that she finally realized that the main bulk of the undead forces had finally caught up but didn''t presume to join them. Although she was an Undead Insect Queen, she still wasn''t suited for prolonged close-ranged fights as her body was certainly stronger than a human; her evolution into an Insect queen made her true potential flourish when it came to long-range to short-range control and assassination on and off of battlefields. She might not be fully capable of going toe to toe with someone or something equivalent in class or rank when it comes to pure strength. Still, when it comes down to speed, dexterity, and magic, she can fair pretty well in all instances as long as she''s capable of remaining in control of the fight like a queen on a chessboard. One would guess correctly that queens were indeed the most important piece on the board.


    As Joselin watched the army of slam into the wall of light that held rather well against the torrent of the undead, she began to notice those who were touching the walls were quickly being burned and lit a flame. Some of the undead that were pushed into the wall quickly burned down ash and cinders almost instantly, while others continued to push relentlessly. Quickly, Joselin''s eager face changed to one of annoyance as she realized that just letting the undead loose and run wild quickly to overrun the wall while the humans stuck to their "Bottle Necking" and "Gaurd and Dwindle" tactics would eventually lead to a loss for her and eventually the sense of disappointment waiting for her if she failed to use the army efficiently.


    Without waiting for another second to go by, she quickly sent out an order through her mental link with the undead army to cease the senseless loss of undead as it wouldn''t have benefited her and her goals much, and like a bunch of obedient drones, they stopped and stood still before walking backward while still taking varying damage from the battle-ready humans. Seeing her troops still taking damage didn''t sit right with Joselin, so she immediately gave an order to any and all Paladins to move forward and guard the rest of the undead from any more damage.


    The Paladins were a new type of undead that came into existence around the same time as Centipedes through the use of evolution and a little experimenting done by Joselin. They were large two-meter tall undead with whose evolution made them rather muscular and grey. Many features about them were different compared to the regular zombie as they were now completely hairless, their noses had fallen off, leaving them with two large nostril holes on their faces, their mouths were now nothing but rows of fangs that were permanently revealed due to the lack of cheeks and lips. Their most distinguishable features were the clearly visible black bone and keratine long shields that grew out of their left outer forearms and the retractable five and a half foot-long scythe blade in their right outer forearm.


    Through rigorous secret testing, so that survivors wouldn''t have had the chance to glimpse the new undead, Paladins were seen as a suitable attack and defense alternative to the usual mindless undead. Still, alas, the zombies capable of the evolution were one in ten thousand. Although they had plenty to spare, it was still a much smarter move to keep them on the back burner until they reached a world with more challenging humans.


    As the Paladins took up defensive formations, which were simply two lines shielding holding undead, the humans'' look was pure ecstasy to Joselin. They hadn''t expected variants of this type and caliber, nor did they expect for the undead to behave in such a manner. They had all been told about the mind behind them from the moment they all arrived in Allen''s Bunker, but they didn''t think it would be ready to countermeasures for countermeasures. At this point, they could only hope to be able to continue to stall for time as long as they could since they didn''t have any ideas as to what this new variant was capable of.


    Joselin enjoyed seeing them panic slightly, but the real fun was just beginning. She observed the layout of the land from the tallest tree above the tree line behind the ensuring battle and realized the Undead Wolves and Dire Wolves they had brought would be useless as long as the edges of the wall made contact with the artificially carved out rock formations of the mountainside, essentially leaving them trapped with only one escape route leading back into the bunker. It was truly a win-win situation either way, yet only an idiot would have believed that they would have chosen a bunker built into a dead-end excavated portion of a mountain. That''s why "coincidentally" encountering a lone girl outside her bunker of safety came into play, revealing her fellow survivors true escape plan.


    Now with the undead cavalry out of the picture, it was time to play her trump card and favorite by far. As she commanded the Paladins to march forward with the army of undead behind them, she sent another command for her spiderlings to proceed to climb the mountain and remain out of sight to remain unseen. It was a simple ambush tactic to aid in her attempt to get past the wall, but almost as soon as she sent her spiderlings to commence an ambush, she felt as if something was different. She felt as if something other than humans and undead were present.


    Only if she knew how right she was as a face appeared in the bark of the tree she was perched on.


    (A/N: *Not downplaying any wrongs just making a suitable reference while staying historically right as possible.)- read author note.

 Chapter 53 - 49: The Battle of Allens Bunker pt.4

    Nature.


    Nature is something that is ever-changing, yet someone can hardly say that it is truly chaotic, but when chaos and things of unnatural origin run wild similar to using a fire to put out another fire, it will use a chaos of its own making to bring order. It has been seen when man wages wars, it will bring about a plague. When man chooses to pollute the oceans with trash, oils, and non-decaying debris, it''ll make tsunamis of unheard-of proportions to flood cities drown those who chose to pollute and play ignorant, all the while returning what trash they have let pollute the ocean.


    In the case of now, even the forces of nature are finding it hard to watch as the living dead run amok and rip and tear their way into the last vestiges of humanity and adding to their forces. Behind an undead young woman with spider-like appendages, a face quietly, yet quickly, forms into the bark of the tree she stands upon. With the look and appearance of an old goat, the face slowly bulges out of the tree, revealing its rather thick and long spiral horns that pointed backward, with the intention to not alert the young woman. As it finally exists the tree, it freezes as one of the young woman''s spider-like appendages twitches.


    "You know, while that little trick that you just did was pretty cool and all, I don''t know you, nor do I like the aspect of someone sneaking up on me. Not even father sneaks up on me as he hardly ever hides his presence, although joseph does in order to keep me on my toes," said Joselin, who had turned her head slightly just enough to put one eye on the figure behind her.


    The goat-like figure behind Joselin, who stood directly behind her on the branch she stood on, remained silent with only a simple head nod that signified that it recognized her admiration of its stealthy appearance and her cautious attitude that hid a deadly warning behind it. Without further ado, it breathed in profoundly with a little elegance before exhaling profoundly and looking down at the horde of undead that slowly approached the wall of light with the help of Paladins and their extremely robust shield arms.


    "You know, while your army is strong and rather significant in quality and quantity, all of your times have come to an end. You all must cease this senseless violence and return your bodies to the earth and souls to the void of reincarnation as it should be." The goat figure said while remaining hunched over with a wooden cane to support itself from tilting forward.


    Finally, having had her attention pulled from her assaulting forces to the small goat person who immediately didn''t have to guess if it was a supernatural entity hiding its real appearance along with its power. By appearance, the goat-like figure had brown fur on its hands and forehead touches of gray hair here and there. It wore a brown robe that had a gray trimming running all around it in a majestic fashion.


    This intrigued Joselin, and if she knew her adoptive father well enough, he was also watching this encounter through her eyes, so she turned her entire body around to face the waste high goat person. She raised her hand in a questioning way, just barely above the height of her stomach with her palm facing up, and asked, "And just who are you exactly to decide what is right for us and what we should do?"


    "Well, child, I was once known to thousands, even millions. Along with my brother, I was seen as beings that symbolized the balance between the light and dark side of nature in all of its glory and horror. In the beginning, I was once called by the name Nomios, and then during the times of great upheaval and betrayal of the demons, I was known as the Ebony Black Warrior to some and to many, The Black Angel of peace and wellbeing. Throughout time my many names, including those, have all been forgotten by the common folk and by many scholars who fail to look deep enough through the aging books hidden behind their most recent ill.u.s.trations. All of my many names, except one, is forgotten, and that is Pan, the god of the wild." Pan said, tapping his cane with vigor several times.


    Joselin looked at Pan with a raised eyebrow and said with no emotion, "Another God, huh. Though you might be hiding your power and actual appearance, I know for a fact that you are nowhere near as powerful as the main gods, am I right? I''ll give it to you that I believe you''re a god, just not a big shot. You''re more of a god either on the same level or near the strength of Delia, right? So I''m pretty sure I can shove your bullshit words up your a.s.s, although it might be a close call. So before we start throwing claws and hooves, since I can tell that we''ll just go around in circles with opposing views, ideologies and beat around the bush with warnings and threats, let me introduce myself as well since I don''t know if you know me or not. I am Joselin, The Undead Insect Queen of this Earth, and daughter to the one and only, and soon to be god, John, The God of the Undead."


    Pan, hearing this closed his eyes momentarily while inhaling and exhaling his brief agitation and irritation that his plan to even reason with one of John''s companion and get them to reason with him to end all of this death and destruction was fruitless. He opened his eyes again with a saddened expression that it had to come to this and that he and his brother were asleep longer than they had planned due to the meddling of the Nature Goddess, Gaia. He wondered why Gaia had even agreed to let such a thing as this happened, but that thought was quickly answered as soon after he awoke from his centuries-long slumber to a world facing an ecological health crisis due to humanity''s ambition and greed over what he could tell was monetary gain. How quick they were to snuff out the embers of another life for momentary gain. He looked at the young woman before him and could only wonder just what she had gone through to willing cast aside her humanity as he knew from the aura of her soul she wasn''t originally an insect, nor was she this demented to begin with. He only could let out a sigh and hope to send her to the afterlife where she could finally find peace while letting go of his cane.


    As he let go of his cane and allowed it to be absorbed into the tree branch they both stood upon; he straightened his back and posture, which made several cracks and pops. Then he dropped the robe that once covered his entire body as he grew in height that rivaled Johns, while his muscles were large and refined. Just as he finished growing, a bright light similar to a flashbang erupted from his body, and just as it had erupted, it was sealed behind Black ebony-colored armor with a gold trimming wrapping around it until it met in the center, making a majestically artistically designed goat head looking forward with grace. His helmet allowed his spiraled horns freedom to point diagonally behind him with ease, while one horizontal slit allowed him to have perfect unimpeded sight. On his back floated two disconnected metallic ebony black wings with a gold trimming, while the ebony black feathers floated along with the wings in sync.


    Joselin looked stunned with awe at what she saw before her and thought of her father''s wings. If she could take the beautiful wings of Pan''s armor, then she and her father would look like an iconic duo while going about his tedious quest for the main gods. Her insectoid eye''s almost glimmered with d.e.s.i.r.e as she smiled twistedly and said, "Do you want to play the game of God? You play Lucifer, and I''ll play God. If you rebel and slay me, you win, and if I rip your wings off and kill you or banish you to whatever you consider hell, I win."

 Chapter 54 - 50: The Battle of Allens Bunker pt.5-finale

    Both Joselin and the Pan looked at each other for the slightest sign of who was going to make the first move. Was it going to be Joselin, or was it going to be Pan? No, it was John as he stealthily reached his long arm out of Pan''s shadow that was being created by the wall of light and grabbed him by the back of his leg and pulled him into the depths of his own shadow.


    At first, Joselin was shocked by what had happened until she heard her father''s voice that said, "Do not allow yourself to be hindered by a forgotten old lesser god who doesn''t know who his true opponent is and continue with the task behind you. I''ll deal with him."


    As the shadow that projected John''s final words to Joselin disappeared in a sizzle due to the illuminating wall of light, Joselin turned around with a glum face and sadly said, "Mah wings."


    Knowing that it wasn''t time to be childish despite her actual age, she quickly put her focus back on the battle at hand and continued to coordinate her troops that she noticed were pushing back the human fighters. Things were looking to be going as planned despite the slight interruption by the "lesser god," as her father called it, and almost like a red light bulb meaning to warn her illuminated in her head as she had an epiphany. Why were the humans being pushed back so easily? Why were they fighting less now with lesser moral? It was almost as if they weren''t being pushed back; it was as if they were tactfully retreating.


    Joselin knew that from this moment that something was different and gazed upon the enemy combatants and saw a scrawny man who wasn''t there before as he ran like a bat out of hell back to the bunker. Joselin wondered what could have happened to make them change their tactics so drastically and quickly came to a conclusion that they knew they had a traitor and that the gate was sabotaged. This meant that Joselin knew they were now in a full retreat while trying to give off the appearance that they were steadily being pushed back to buy time before they themselves had to make a full escape to the warp gate in the bas.e.m.e.nt of the bunker.


    This was something she knew she couldn''t allow; she at least had to kill the resisting forces currently present on the battlefield. With due haste, she sent out the order for her spiderlings to begin their ambush as soon as possible.


    Like wild animals that had received their orders from their alpha, the spiderlings initiated their ambush by quickly climbing down the walls of the carved-out mountain. It was as if two floods on either side of an empty ravine made an attempt to fill the waterless crevice below.


    Noticing the incoming onslaught of variant undead, the captain of the resistant forces knew that there was only one way out of this predicament, and it was an all or nothing retreat to the warp gate. He knew that there was not a chance in hell that he was going to get all of his forces out of this problem alive, so he did the only thing he could and yelled as loud as he could and said, "AMBUSH ON BOTH FLANKS!!! FULL ON RETREAT TO THE GATE! MOVE IT!"


    Hearing this, the resisting forces holding the wall of light together quickly retreated; using light magic, they quickly gathered in their legs to propel them swiftly backward, giving them a boosted head start 15 meters away from the wall of light they once supported and 30 meters away from the hungry undead beyond it.


    Although many of the resisting forces made a smooth retreat backward, many near the carved-out walls had been snared by spiderlings and quickly made into meals for the lucky undead. The captain, like the rest, heard the agonizing screams of those who had gotten caught but didn''t dare look back at the thought of them being next if they took the time to check who was left behind them. If it was already as bad as it was now, they heard the unforgettable sound of the undead quadrupedal beast howling and barking with monstrous joy as they gained ground on the fleeing survivors.


    It was someone in the far back of the retreating forces who heard the howls and barking the loudest and couldn''t maintain their focus while running and jumping and tripped and fell to the snow-covered floor of the forest. Although they were slow and were in the very back of the retreating forces, they didn''t give up hope and quickly got up and quickly resumed running and jumping with their magically enhanced legs. It wasn''t until they saw out of the corner of their eye a massive elongated figure quickly crawling across the floor of the forest. Dodging and knocking over trees like it didn''t matter to it until it saw a lagging resistance survivor and presumed to give chase after them.


    And now, the lagging resistance survivor who was making a desperate attempt to make it to the warp gate had to outrun an undead creature they had never seen before. It was pure terror until they heard a distinct crunching and bending of wood ahead of them. Fear filled their c.h.e.s.t as he continued until he could see a tree that was oddly out of place in the forest. In a forest full of trees with brown bark, this tree had incredibly white bark with pinkish-red leaves and what looked like a face that had naturally grown into the bark.


    The lagging resistance survivor knew very well that since the world had been flipped onto its head by the legions of undead, and they learned magic from a woman who claims she had god in her that being suspicious of suspicious shit like a randomly out of place tree was a good thing. The survivor knew it was better to try and avoid the tree, but they felt an unknown feeling of safety radiating from the tree, so out of desperation, they ran toward it.


    ''If people followed their intuition more than it would probably lead to their lives being saved more often,'' thought the old white oak spirit watching the lagging human run toward him for safety. It knew that expanding its aura and guiding the human toward it was an excellent plan as it had only planned to use it as bait to draw in its target, which was one of the heavy hitters it sensed beyond the human''s pitiful defensive wall.


    As the human finally got near the old white oak spirit in its physical form with the undead centipede-like creature made out of human body parts, it quickly uprooted its right leg flinging dirt and rock alike everywhere. It quickly raised its left leg out of the ground in a kicking motion, effortlessly kicking the front portion of the monstrosity off the ground and into the air while the other half gripped the earth beneath it to remain grounded.


    Below and out of the way, the lagging survivor stopped and completely forgot their objective and watched in awe as the giant white oak tree they found to be out of place was now a giant humanoid golem fighting off the undead creature that had pursued them. It wasn''t until they heard the several snapping of twigs and crunching of snow did they jerk their head to the left to see the jaws of an Undead Dire Wolf inches away from snapping its jaws down upon their throat. The survivor couldn''t move out of shock as they knew by standing and watching the giants in front of them fight, they f.u.c.k.e.d up and let the undead calvary reach him and catch him off guard. Although it was painful, it ended quickly as the giant oak tree, while dodging an attack from the giant Undead Centipede- like monster, accidentally stepped on him and the Undead Dire Wolf killing them both.

 Chapter 55 - 51: The Whys and The Why Nots

    As Joselin proceeded to oversee the ensuring incursion upon Allen''s Bunker, she had come to witness something rather bizarre. A rather large humanoid white oak tree with pinkish-red leaves and a rather menacing naturally grown face had just uprooted itself from the soil beneath it and get the Centipede rather brutally. At that moment, Joselin could only think, "What an amazing punt."


    Although Joselin wanted to fight Pan despite John stealing her chance to obtain those beautiful wings, she could only pout and seek enjoyment from turning the white tree humanoid into splinters.


    As she approached the currently rowdy struggle and battle of strength between the Centipede, who was attempting to wrap itself around its prey and crush it to death, and the tree creature, who was attempting to untangle itself and prevent the Centipede from crushing it. Although it was a stalemate for a short while, eventually, the tree creature stilled itself before using magic to control the nature around it and summoning and hardening the tree roots from the nearby trees to wrap around the Centipede and hold it in place to prevent it from further crushing it.


    Although the Centipede couldn''t further tighten and crush the tree creature, the tree creature couldn''t move either. They were both bound together, with neither capable of escape. Joslin found this fight between the centipede and the appearance of this new unknown threat interesting. Why were they suddenly appearing?


    The word they was indeed an accurate word choice because this wasn''t the only wooden creature that had suddenly appeared battling the forces of the undead currently racing toward the sabotaged gate, but from the magic power radiating from it, Joselin was indeed correct to watch it''s fight against the centipede closely and analyze the results of the winner.


    As the old White Oak Spirit was looking for a way to unbind itself from the Centipede, it looked around frantically for a solution as it didn''t want to use any of its trump cards when I did not need to. As it looked around amidst the deadly deadlock, its eyes ran past trees and undead that simply ignored it as they had the d.e.s.i.r.e for flesh showed by their m.o.a.ns and constant approach of the compromised bunker.


    As old White Oak Spirit scanned the forest ground, it doubled back its line of sight back to an area as he could have sworn he saw someone or something casually observing its predicament. Quickly its eye''s landed on what seemed to be a small teen girl around the age of 16 to 18 with ethnic roots to the south of what used to be what humans called North America.


    While holding the Centipede from crushing it, he simultaneously observed the girl who wore a pitch-black 18-century style custom-made dress with red and silver frills around the wrist, legs, shoulder, and neck. Her shoes were by no means cheap as they looked to be brand new and custom-made. She had headwear reminiscent of what a maid would wear on the job.


    The old White Oak Spirit looked surprised as he had not suspected such an individual of appearing here and at this moment, better yet, one that looked so young. Of course, the old White Oak tree wasn''t a fool; it knew that someone of such an appearance appearing suddenly while not being attacked by the army of the undead was nothing more than an enemy. Why? Well, why not? As the old White Oak spirit understood, this was a battlefield, and you were either a friend or a foe, and this teenage girl looked to be far from being a tree.


    "Aye, I see this won''t be an easy battle after all." The old White Oak Spirit said while keeping an on the girl while holding off the Centipede.


    "Oh, so you did notice me! I was hoping to get the chance to talk to you before turning you into wood ch.i.p.s for my corpse garden. Yeah, I know wood ch.i.p.s don''t go in gardens, but it would give it a new aesthetic," Joselin said while walking with her legs extended like a soldier in training while holding her hands in the air below her neck as if she had asked a question.


    "Wood ch.i.p.s for a garden, huh... Now that would be a very f.u.c.k.e.d up ending for a wooden fellow like me, now wouldn''t it? Naaah, you little bitch, I think I prefer to be made into I bear totem pole after death, but before that, since your this close, enjoy this, {Deep forest: Thorn Hell!}" The old White Oak Spirit yell before long, thick, and sharp branches rapidly grew out of its body, piercing the centipede with rather large holes to the point that the branches tore it apart. The branches quickly extended past the surrounding trees.


    Joselin had easily pounced like a cat around the freakishly growing branches until they stopped moving, and she finally settled one. She looked around with awe at the new surrounding. It looked like something with massive and skinny tentacles had stretched itself out across her surroundings.


    Looking around, she knew this wasn''t the d.e.s.i.r.ed effect of this creature''s attack, yet she wasn''t just idly dodging around the branches either. As she was looking around, something felt off as she happened to notice large thorns in areas where they weren''t before. It was at this moment she knew that she was at a disadvantage.


    Just as she was about to high tail it away, the large thorns began to extend with lightning speed with the intent to pierce Joseling into oblivion. Seeing as this was the d.e.s.i.r.ed effect of the creature''s attack, she quickly began running and jumping between the magically grown branches like a world-class athlete whose skills were far superior to any before her; it was as she was playing and dancing while running and jumping in mid-air.


    As Joselin pranced and danced around the branches filled with sharp thorns attempting to pierce her with every chance they got, she dodged the thorns with the most minimal of movement possible, slowly closing in on the Old White Oak Tree Spirit. Every meter Joselin got close to the tree creature, the more thorns there were to try their luck in piercing the young undead lady.


    After playing around with the new terrain, the tree creature had created with its body Joselin had finally reached a clearing where the Old White Oak Spirit stood with its arms stretched out wide and its fingers extended into the deep forest of branches surrounding them. Joselin looked around at the numeral amount of undead crushed, entrapped, or disposed by a pierced skull with its rotting brains still on the very thorn that killed it. Feeling disappointed that none of her minions survived long enough to join her fight in the makeshift arena, she huffed and said, "Well, ain''t this a bummer. Well, let''s get on with the boss fight, shall we?"


    As Joselin said, that tree creature snapped its fingers off of the branches connecting it to the forest of thorns it had just created and clenched its fist and said, "Youngling, are you sure you have enough power and experience to take me on? For I am the GREAT OLD WHITE OAK TREE SPIRIT!!!!"


    As if feeling insulted, Joselin rotated her head a full ninety degrees and said, "First, off, "Anakin," don''t refer to me as a youngling. Second when I referred to our fight as a boss fight, did you perhaps believe you were the boss in this situation? Awwweeee, how cute!"


    The Old White Oak Tree felt a shiver down his spine for a moment and quickly crafted a wooden war hammer and took on a defensive stance. It didn''t know why it felt fear and intimidated by the small undead girl, but he knew that what he assumed earlier was right, that this foe of his was nothing but trouble.

 Chapter 56 - 52: The Bigger They Are The Harder They Fall

    Both Joselin and The Old White Oak Spirit stood still for a moment and stared at each other as if daring the other to be the fool to make the first move. Their stares sent extreme malice between the thirty-meter distance between them, yet it deterred neither one of them from the fight.


    Joselin knowing she needed to get on with the current fight in order to make it back to the sieging of the bunker deciding to break the staring and baiting war between them and began to slowly walk forward. As she walked forward, she asked, "Hey giving tree; you mind giving a shorter name than The Old White Oak Tree Spirit before splinter your a.s.s across this shoddy a.s.s arena you trapped me in."


    "Those that know me usually call me Teelin, and if you call me giving tree again, then the only thing I''ll be giving out is a premium ass-whooping," Teelin said as it prepared himself, seeing Joselins'' slow approach.


    After finally hearing Teelin give out its name Joselin began sprinting at almost blinding speed toward it, only leaving behind a trailing blur that tried desperately to catch Joselin.


    Teelin knowing that because of his giant size, she had speed, but not to the point where she could move at astounding speeds such as that. Taken aback, Teelin swings his wooden Warhammer horizontally around himself with his wooden left hand creating a semi-circle in the earth around him.


    Although just an attempt to deter Joselin from committing to a direct assault, it seemed successful as to evade the counter Joselin jumped with the elegance of an Olympic pole vaulter with her back facing the dirt. Sadly this proved to have been just what Joselin wanted as she landed on the c.h.e.s.t of Teelin, and just as she had made contact with Teelin''s c.h.e.s.t, uncontested since Teelin had swung horizontally outward in a semi-circle, it left Teelin unguarded to a forceful kick from Joselin that sent its large body flying backward.


    Quickly getting up from the crater made from its impact and further scarring of the earth from being kicked with unexpected force and power, Teelin, who was still holding onto the wooden Warhammer, stood with a face of surprise with fear everso absent. Teelin looking at how far it traveled and the crater he created after hitting the ground and sliding, realized that he had just gotten himself into a battle with an enemy that matched his strength or was his greater.


    After looking back toward Joselin, he was about to speak but got interrupted by her when she said, "Seeing how you looked around and back at me, you finally realized you f.u.c.k.e.d up in thinking that you were my better, huh?"


    "To be honest with you, I was looking around to see how I was going to return that kick to you tenfold," Teelin said, raising its Warhammer above its head and swinging it toward the ground, striking it hard and deep, sending dirt and everywhere. Although Joselin was clearly more than forty meters away due to her previous kick, from the moment she saw Teelin swinging downward, she could tell he was sending some sort of long-range attack, and her assumption was correct. From the moment the war hammer impacted the earth Teelin had swung onto small spikes of wood instantly grew outward in a cone toward Joselin. As more instantly sprouted from the earth toward Joselin, the bigger they grew in jagged shaps meant to maim.


    Joselin, who had an idea of what sort of attack Teelin was dishing her way, had an idea as her chances of dodging the spikes by running to her left or right was going to less beneficial since she could that Teelin had already retrieved its hammer and was running through the small and medium spikes to ensure of her demise. Instead of running around, she began running forward toward the incoming wave of wooden spikes. Her Idea was to evade any spikes that would emerge from under her with her incredible speed and jungle gym her way toward Teelin.


    Hanging from one of many spike with her left hand and her left foot, she quickly devises a plan that could turn everything around and begin jumping around each spike in what seemed to be erratic in behavior. After what seemed like a few seconds, she quickly began making her way toward Teelin, who had made it three-quarters(10 meters away for those who are lost) of the way to Joselin. Just as they had made it to each other without any warning, Teelin, with unbelievable strength and speed, swung his war hammer upward, seemingly hitting Joselin into the air. What Teelin didn''t notice was that she was smiling as the war hammer hit her c.h.e.s.t and swung her upward.


    As Joselin was in the air 500 meters high, she twisted and maneuvered herself for reentry into the artificial area. As she reached her peak height placed her arms to her sides for maximum velocity as she began falling. Although the speed was enough to make any normal human''s face to become crinkled due to the amount of air pressure present, yet hers didn''t, as all of her flesh was an extremely soft carapace that could become as hard as titanium carbide in a moments notice.


    As she was falling, she could see Teelin readying to swing to the left horizontally while waiting for Joselin to descend where he predicted her trajectory would take her. Just as she reached his max swinging distance, Teelin swung with the same might as he did when he knocked her into the air. Just as the war hammer was about to connect once again with its intended target, something unexpected happened.


    Joselin was quickly covered in a dark purple malic-ridden aura that was darker the closer it was to her, eventually becoming black. Just as she was about to face the full brunt of the war hammer, she teleported ahead of her estimated trajectory leaving behind a purple and black afterimage* behind, but not before shooting an unnoticed micro-spider thread toward Teelin''s shoulder.


    After the small distanced teleportation, she swung between Teelin''s legs using the thread she attached to Teelin''s shoulder, but she didn''t stop there as she continued to slingshot herself using the thread that had gotten caught on Teelin''s crotch giving her increased velocity to throw herself back up behind Teelin''s back.


    As she had quickly reached a height above Teelin''s head, she immediately teleported again above Teelin''s line of sight, right as Teelin had turned to guard its rear. This would prove to be a mistake on Teelin''s part as this was exactly what Joselin wanted as; before she could begin falling, she attached another thread to Teelin''s back and yanked herself towards Teelin''s back with haste. As she made contact just like before, she sent Teelin flying forward this time, but instead of falling to the ground like last time, it fell into a trap Joselin had set up among many of the wooden spikes.


    Knowing that the trap was made of some kind of thread, Teelin quickly tried to free itself, but before it could move, it was quickly restrained with ease. With worry, it turns its head as far as it could to only see Joselin smiling with her left hand raised as if each finger was controlling a string and it was a puppet.


    "So what now little one will..." Teelin was saying before being interrupted.


    "Mulch," Joselin said with extreme satisfaction.


    Just as Joselin said that, the threads began to move around easily, cutting down the wooden spikes and quickly wrapping around Teelin. The blood-curdling screams of Teelin were ear raping to anything within miles. Just as the screams were dying down, Teelin released its final words which were, "This might be my end but "You" will not win."

 Chapter 57 - 53: The Twin Gods pt.1

    Around the time Joselin left to engage Teelin...


    John emerged from the shadows in a more isolated area of the national park throwing Pan onto his back, scarring the earth beneath him as he slid 4 meters before rolling to his feet. On guard in his ebony-colored suit of armor and wings that seemingly defied any known logic of physics.


    As he looked around at his new surroundings, he noticed that it was something that wasn''t right as soon as his eyes laid upon an eerie tree with white luminescent leaves. The tree''s bark had white luminescent lines that ran from the leaves down through the bark of the tree and down into its roots.


    As Pan looked at the tree for a moment, he knew what it was as he watched as the white luminescent lines on the bark pulsed upward through the tree''s bark and into the leaves making the whole area brighter.


    Pan looked at John with worry as he yelled, "JOHN, How do you know of this world tree!? This tree has been hidden from the gods since even before the goddess of creation came into existence. So how!?"


    John stood there silent as he himself was confused. He had intended to bring them to a clear field south of the quickly ending battle between his forces and the remaining human survivors hold up in Alaska. Instead, he received information that he was sure was not meant for any mortal to know, especially the fact that the world tree existed before a being with a name that heavily implied that they were part of the reason everything existed.


    Nothing made sense except for one easily understandable aspect he had come to hypothesize. What if there were more than just the gods meddling in his trials of ascension to godhood? After all, it makes sense in the long run.


    See John had come to understand during his time living the sewer rat life along with many of the other homeless of Hornbrew city that it was better to always be thinking a few steps ahead, but that wasn''t enough to survive in those sewers as one had to always think fifty if not a hundred steps ahead of the next person. From John''s experience and understanding of his past years in the sewers is that treating life like chess and being ahead of the desperate and depraved meant the difference between being murdered and/or r.a.p.ed for some of the residents. After all, not even the police dared to police the underbelly of the gruesome creature that was Hornbrew City.


    So with said understanding, John knew for a fact that now his major concern was not that of just rebellious gods and mortals not ready to face eternal damnation as a soldier of the undead, nor was it the gods that seemed to have an ulterior motive for choosing him. No, from seeing how he was unintentionally warped somewhere with some importance allowed John to see that there was at least another party at play and one probably unknown to others at the moment. This only meant that someone somehow hijacked his intended destination and made him exit the shadows into a place he''d previously hadn''t known about. John knew this was trouble beyond Pan as even Pan seemed unaware that they would be a tree that radiated so much magic power that he couldn''t by chance gauge it, yet the tree remained undetected by even the gods. This was indeed troublesome.


    Knowing it would be best to go along with it, John decided to play the hand he was dealt and said, "A pity that the mighty and wise Pan remains ignorant of the current situation of things if I may say so so leisurely."


    Pan watched John with wide eyes since realizing that he was within the presence of what many beings had only theorized existed. He began to question things as he himself didn''t personally know John, but through the rumors of how he was before becoming an Undead Nephilim, he knew he had a straightforward personality, so what changed and when.


    The mighty and powerful world trees were something that could easily tip the balance of the current power ranking of the gods themselves, yet none had ever been found one until now. Pan was confused as he was sure that John had just reawakened recently or so he believed, or better yet, was John truly going through a process of evolution as everyone believed. These thoughts ran wild through Pan''s mind as he tried to focus on John''s latest remark.


    "Hmm, it seems that you do not fully understand what this means do you!? You have found one of the biggest balance-breaking things of this universe, and yet you continue to prance around the topic of my question. We both know that you don''t have the habit of dancing around the topic as your a straightforward person even in death, even with your current path of destruction and death. So be straight with me before we begin this fight. Who is pulling your strings as I refuse to believe you alone could have discovered this place by yourself even with the help of a god who unbeknownst to the others have somehow located a world tree." Pan preached as he walked to the left and right with his eyes never leaving John.


    John looked on without a word as he comprehended the information he''d obtain while formulating a plan to handle Pan. John knew that at the moment, they were both in the dark, and this was in his favor as he had played his card right as right, and Pan now believed he was nothing but a puppet. Although him being a puppet in someone else''s much larger plan was surely a high possibility seeing how everything since his death has transpired, it makes sense as this all seemed drawn and planned from a perspective, even from the moment of his selection of being a God of death to the civil war between the gods. One question now floated in John''s mind, who benefitted from all of this other than him.


    Realizing that he had spent far too much time thinking about something that could wait, he pulls out of his shadow a weapon that matches his current career path, and that was none other than a pitch-black scythe with an aura of death. It was a weapon purely made from his shadow, yet with a touch of his necromancy, the scythe was made to instantly absorb one''s soul and essence with a touch as long as they were of equal strength or lower. The downside to the weapon was that opponents that were of greater strength than him only had fifteen percent of their health base health taken. Now, what the scythe did with the souls and essence of those that are absorbed into it? Well, that was up to the owner as the weapon had the option of becoming stronger with each soul and essence taken or healing wielder even if they are of an undead race.


    From the sight of the weapon, Pan shuddered ever so slightly as he had never seen such a conjuration of darkness and death magic. Even the aura coming off the scythe made Pan''s senses go on alert as he knew this weapon was far too dangerous to exist, especially in the hands of someone who is as damaged and dangerous as John.


    You see, the scythe was something that John had made several concepts of in his mind. The weapon was made from a single skull and spine, which was actually the fusion of many souls of people who Joselin had mentally broken and treated like pets, along with the many people who had mentally become broken and spiritually damaged. The Blade was made from an unknown metal that Joseph had found in an abandoned government facility that several survivors had taken up residence trying to find a way to cure what was happening to the world using the labs there.


    "A pawn can take a queen if given the chance is given, but does the pawn forget that it is a pawn after taking the queen, does the pawn even know that it is a pawn, does it even know that it is a just one of many who believe they are knights, bishops, rooks, queens, and kings," John said as he prepared himself for the fight by readying the blade to be swung in an overhead arc.


    Pan prepared himself as well by materializing a pitch-black blade with a white hilt while taking in what John had just said and asks, "And in that analogy what are you exactly?"


    John chuckled at the question as he clearly knew his role as he said with a slight frustration present in his tone, "Oh, I am what one can say is that I am a queen with the same position and status as a pawn."


    This answer was something that Pan was not really expecting, but it shined a light on his perspective of John.

 Chapter 58 - 54: The Twin Gods pt.2

    Pan stayed staring at John for a while, wielding his black blade ever so tightly. John didn''t necessarily scare him, but the sight and aura of his weapon did. After all, it was a weapon that sent chills down his spine.


    They both watched for the slightest of movement from each other. Neither John nor Pan made a move. Pan knew that John wasn''t as weak as he seemed as he did hold off Delia before the Goddess of darkness came to his rescue. Although neither he nor the other gods have seen Delia or her body for a while, they just ?ssumed the Goddess of Darkness had dealt a critical blow to her, and she was in hiding while recovering.


    John had stared on at Pan with curiosity as he was sure there was supposed to be a twin somewhere, Agreus. In mythology, they were depicted as somewhat inseparable. Like an older brother and little brother whose bond was a little too deep, but then again, John just chalked it up for their deep love of keeping the balance of light and dark.


    John ran the scenario in his head that the perpetrator of manipulating him and the other gods could be Agreus, but that was soon tossed out the window as that seemed highly improbable since mythology tells of each knowing what the other is doing.


    Feeling that his time was unnecessarily being wasted, John decided to make the first move by banging the bottom of his staff and conjuring a trail of {Shadow Spikes) that proceed to move toward Pan. John knew this would most likely not work, but he still needed to test the waters a bit before attempting to finish this quickly.


    As the spikes headed toward Pan, he quickly dodged them to the left with a flap of his metallic wings, but just as he dodged, he noticed another set of {Shadow Spikes} coming from the very direction he dodged toward. This time he decided to dodge by flying backward, but his attempt was b?r?ly successful as a shadow spike that came from behind him this time pierced through his metallic wings and feathers.


    Although his wings weren''t real, this still hurt Pan''s pride as he was sure he was being led and played with by a being lesser than him. It''s not that Pan was like most of the other gods who so eagerly looked down upon the lives of the mortals that live upon the trinity of worlds; it was the fact that one was on par with him in both combat and strategy. It was more concerning than scary to Pan and a few other minor gods who still believe he could be redeemed.


    Feeling as if he''d need to forget the ideology that John was just some weak mortal, he needed to employ different tactics. Although he didn''t really like them for their devious ways, he knew that he needed to finish this up, or else he feared humanity in this world would truly become extinct.


    As Pan continued to dodge and maneuver around his way around John''s {Shadow Spikes} he decided that the time was right for a counterattack as after avoiding the last {Shadow Spike} John conjured from under his feet, he proceeded to make his way closer to John who stood still as if waiting for him to fight back.


    It was increasingly difficult the closer Pan got to John, but nonetheless, he had gained ground and was within striking range and proceeded to swing from the ground-up with a diagonal direction, but was met with the back-end of John''s scythe as if he was an experienced fighter with it. Although his attack was blocked, Pan knew this was where his less favorable tactics came into play.


    John knew that even though Pan, a minor god, was not as powerful as one of the major Gods, he was at least the wisest. This was not based on his current encounter with the god but on his past encounters with them. The Goddess of light Delia was someone who was dignified, headstrong, and ???ky, while the Goddess of Darkness, whose name he still didn''t know, was more knowledgeable and with a pinch of sadistic aura that foreshadowed something about her that John couldn''t quite put his fingers on. Throughout all of this, he knew when someone had a trump card and was hiding it. Only if he knew just how right he was.


    It wasn''t just a hunch that John had as he could clearly tell that the power difference between him and Pan was minimal at best as right now their strength was oddly equal for him to be a minor god.


    Just as John had was about to commence his counterattack with which was consisted of using his {Darkness Manipulation} to conjure a {Shadow Replicant}, something he had thought of before after almost meeting his end by the hands of Delia, but just as was about to commence his counter Pan shimmered white for a mere millisecond before disappearing without a sound.


    John knew that something wasn''t right as soon as Pan disappeared, his senses blared warnings of danger and that it was far too late to dodge to safety, so the best option he had was to prepare for the inevitable damage he''d take by quickly covering his forearms in darkness and guarding his head. And Just as if his prediction came true to the tee, a purely white sword with a black hilt had been thrown with deadly precision toward his head. Still, it was blocked by his forearm wrapped within his {Shadow Gaurd} and was deflected upward into the air while John was knocked back with a considerable distance between him and the area he was standing.


    {Shadow Gaurd} was a technique he had developed when he realized that although his decayed skin was capable of withstanding a barrage of bullets and being hit by a blast of light comparable to that of a tank round, it did little to protect him from the brutal onslaught of Delia when she came after him. Although {Shadow Gaurd} looked like it was purely a skill made from his {Darkness Manipulation} it was actually a combination of both {Shadow Manipulation} and {Magic Manipulation}, the latter is what is responsible for the hardening and ease of deflecting. Although it did wonders with deflecting the sword, the hardening aspect of the skill needed improving as the thrown sword was still capable of piercing it and leaving a two-centimeter incision on his left forearm.


    After quickly ?ssessing his situation, John looked toward where the sword came from to only find no one, and in the air where the sword went flying, there was a person who had just caught the sword which looked like Pan in his armor, but it looked as if it was made from white Porcelain with gold trimming. Other than the white porcelain color of the armor, it was exactly the same as Pan''s armor.


    Just as John had found the white Porcelain warrior in the air reclaiming the blade, the warrior flew furiously down toward John with the intent to slice through John''s {Shadow Gaurd} where piercing had partially succeeded. John wasn''t taking the chance solely depending on his best defensive skill as it proved hardly efficient when fighting someone on the level of a minor god, so he quickly conjured swung his scythe, not with the intention of performing a counter but the intention of blocking and deflecting the rushing warrior.


    John''s idea of blocking and deflecting the warrior''s attack by swinging his scythe might have seemed to be a form of counter-attacking, but in fact, it was actually a form of psychological manipulation or better phrased as leading the opponent. By having the opponent perceive your intent as something else, you essentially lead them to either defend themselves or counter-attack. With the situation the warrior is in with their poorly planned rush, it leaves them with only the option to react instead of responding, making John''s plan succeed.


    As the warrior is under the ?ssumption that John is counter-attacking while he''s flying at high speeds towards him, leaving little to no room to either evade or think of a better counter to John''s counterattack. With little to no other option, he begins to shimmer with a black aura for a millisecond before disappearing while Pan reappeared on the ground with his ebony black armor and proceeded to rush John from three meters away making John block his blade with the spine of his scythe.


    As the blade made contact with the spine of John''s scythe, he said, "Oh Pan, this is quite the development here, isn''t it? Wasn''t that your brother, Agreus? He seemed very agitated to see me despite me not being able to see his face through the helm of his."


    "Tsk," was the only thing that came from Pan as he too seemed agitated as that was his only response.


    "So let me guess, was that little technique something like a teleportation skill where one hides far away and waits to pull the other out the fight as if it was a tag team fight? No, it would make more sense for the both of you to fight me regardless of whatever rules you are under or honor that binds you. I''m far too big of a threat to you, the rebellious gods, and the other two worlds I''m meant to visit. I can''t even see him with my new vision, which stretches very far, nor can I sense a magical signature from him if I might say so. It only means... it can''t be...Ha Ha ha ha haaaa."


    John quickly calmed himself as he knew he couldn''t currently afford to give away chances to his opponent to quickly end him in the realization of the ironic situation that his foe was in.


    John added a little more of his own weight upon the crossing weapons to add upon even more strategic pressure. It was a sound tactic and to finally put a cherry on top he decided to say, "How does it work exactly? Is it a curse or is it a condition for your godhood? You know not being able to exist within the same domain, or better phrased as not being able to exist within the same existence."


    It wasn''t hard for John to understand Pan and Agreus''s condition as it made sense as to why John couldn''t find the other when one disappeared and the other appeared. It''s not really rocket science as it was more dependent on Magical Existence Theory or M.E.T for short. A theory that John used to explain why magic was as prevalent as it was in the other worlds as he had heard. In theory, without going into an entire four speech on the ideology and philosophy, it was the idea that there needed to be a balance between the trinity of worlds. A world in which magic was the primary focus of higher enlightenment and life in general, A world where both magic and sciences were the focus of higher enlightenment and betterment of all life within, and the current world that John is situated upon, where only science is the focus of enlightenment and betterment of all life.


    In the form of order and stability, it makes sense as there was always the reasoning that chance reigned supreme over the thought that destiny controls all. So once put into the equation and summed up, too much Magic being used could either cause an unprecedented collapse of the trinity of worlds or too much science being used without the integration of magic could cause the trinity of worlds to suffer a backlash of overabundant magical build-up causing what John ?ssumed was a reaction twenty times worse than the Big Bang. All in all the worlds were built flawed, but why? This very question plagued John the moment he came up with M.E.T after attempting to understand the differences between this world and the others.


    Now how does this relate back to Pan and Agreus, well it''s simple really. Its related to them because John had realized that whoever was not in the material plane of existence in front of him now, or even within any other plane existence, was incapable of being within the same existence as the brother and vice versa. For where the other went when they switched was a mystery to John.


    It was similar to two magnets that both had positive and negative ends and at the moment both Pan and Agreus were positive. John didn''t know how this came to be for them but he knew he could use this to his advantage.


    Just as John was about to jump back and jump forward while swinging his scythe upward with a  verticle swing Pan had switched with Agreus in guarding against John and Agreus quickly said, "Yeah well it must''ve been hard to run out of a burning house and leave your family to die in that Fire!"


    John just stood there with his scythe meeting the Blade of Agreus, while somewhere outside of all existence Pan looked mortified at what his brother had said as it wasn''t a matter of how he said it as it was a matter of who he had said it too.

 Chapter 59 - 55: Harsh Words Equal Harsh Punishments

    When Agreus let those words slip from his mouth, Pan wanted to beat him into oblivion. Not because what he said was highly disrespectful, but because he knew that something as triggering as those words were they wouldn''t cause him to be stunned or shaken to the core. Instead, it would cause him to transition into a tactical rage. No, Pan knew from the very beginning that John wasn''t using anything near his full strength.


    Yet, all of that didn''t matter the slightest as what was said was said, and neither Pan nor Agreus had any control over the aspect of time to take back what was said.


    Just as Pan was about to take over, Agreus spoke up in a brashly self-confident tone and said, "How are you sure you didn''t try to kill them, failed, and forgot due to the trauma of your wicked action!"


    Now Pan knew that things were gonna get worse as John hadn''t move not said anything within the past few seconds to rebut what his brother said. He knew his brother often had a tendency of making a relatively difficult battle ten times worse by opening his mouth, but this current battle could have benefitted greatly from him keeping it shut from start to finish. Sadly luck wasn''t on Pan''s side this time. Instead, just about everything that could have gone right went wrong the moment his brother spoke.


    John stood there motionless, not understanding exactly what could''ve given Agreus the gall to throw those comments out in such a manner. It was something that he wasn''t expecting at all. He knew that the major gods had his entire history recorded somehow, probably due to the goddess of time. But the way that Agreus raised the question to John made him wonder as to why it was made into a question.


    Many possibilities went through John''s mind, but the most likely was that when the major gods decided to make John the god of death, a majority of his information was withheld from those that weren''t essential to his ascendance.


    Even then, none of that really mattered to John as a rodent had just stepped on a lion''s tail. Yes, the act wasn''t as painful as it seems, but it was the aspect of respect of it that mattered to John. Although he, of all people, clearly didn''t deserve it for his heinous act of mass genocide, he still didn''t like the accusation that it was him who caused the beginning of his long life of pain.


    John, who was thinking at speeds he didn''t realize, decided that it was time to teach these overgrown farm animals what is in tow for those who piss him off.


    As they were still locked in close quarters with each other with their weapons testing the durability of the other, John reached for the shoulder of Agreus just before Pan could switch with him at a blinding speed. Sinking his left claw through the unknown metal of  Agreus''s shoulder guard and piercing his flesh. Surely at this point, John made sure to infect the grunting Agreus, although his strength compared to mortals would slow down the infection minimally; this wasn''t John''s intention as he ripped out his claw along with a light blue, glowing ball of light the swirled with elegance. This Light blue, glowing ball was none other than a small yet substantial amount of life force energy shared between both Pan and Agreus.


    With both now several meters away from each other, Agreus looks at his shoulder at the shredded shoulder of his and drops to one knee. The amount of life force taken was small, but the act of it being stolen in such a way takes the stamina of the victim, leaving them dazed and tired, similar to what Agreus was going through at the moment.


    John looked at Agreus as he was seemingly switched out by Pan, who too seemed to be going through the same after-effects that Agreus was going through, although he was currently unharmed. Pan, who was breathing heavily, looked at John holding the piece of life force energy that had been stolen from his brother. He was frightened as he hadn''t expected such to happen, but now he had a better idea of John''s fighting potential, b?r?ly that is.


    John, who was still holding onto the piece of divine life force energy he had ripped out of Agreus, began injecting the energy with his own curse infected mana, turning the divine life force energy into what he called divine death force energy, life force energy combined and tainted with necromantic energies. The outcome was dark energy capable of healing, repairing, and rejuvenating undead entities. This shocked Pan, who was watching as he had begun to recover control of his breathing. This was something he hadn''t planned for as he and every other god knew that such should be impossible due to the major god''s ban on necromancy until John''s trials, yet here it was clear as the night sky and the luminesce of the world tree.


    (Play "First Day Out" by Tee Grizzley)


    John would have smiled evilly, but he was too far angry at the remark that Agreus had the gall to spew from his wretched mouth. After letting his actions set within Pan''s mind, he decided to make the next move by jumping towards Pan at breakneck speed with his scythe ready to swing horizontally from his left to his right at his foe''s side. John was through testing the grounds with Pan and Agreus and was ready to make them examples as well. Examples that he was not weak, he was not a pushover, he was not below those who sought his life, that there better be more than just two next time.


    Pan saw John''s direct attack and jump while turning mid-air with the intention of swing his sword down on John''s back. Although it would have made an excellent counter-attack, John accounted for this as he finished his horizontal swing to the right and followed it by quickly pushing his scythe slightly downward then upward with speeds faster than Pan could fall down with his counter-attack while releasing a slicing wave of darkness from his scythe. Pan seeing this in time, quickly switched with a slightly recovered yet lightly winded Agreus, who appeared three meters behind John, ready to pierce upward at the base of John''s skull.


    John knew this would happen, so he chose to follow up his upward swing with a heavy downward swing the was really a faint for another technique Joseph had taught him, and just as he had expected, Agreus took the bait and switched with Pan, who appeared behind John sliding on the ground with hopes to kick him off his feet. Sadly this prompted John to stop his faint midway as he planned and start by swing his scythe in a have half-crescent which seemed like a regular upward swing to counter Pan, so he switched with Agreus, who was behind John once again but this time in the air stabbing downward with the intention to pierce John head once again. Just as Agreus''s blade was about to pierce John''s skull, John sidestepped and turned his upward half-crescent swing into a full circle, spinning and slicing off Agreus''s left horn and arm before he was quickly switched out by Pan, who appeared several meters away from John on guard with his sword pointed at John ready for anything.


    Seeing what had happened to his brother, Pan quickly remembered everything from the beginning of the battle to this very moment. He remembered how John mentioned a mastermind behind everything till now but what struck him more was how he represented everyone as chess pieces. He quickly realized that the moment they arrived near the world tree, John had been laying down plans to fight them and counter each and every possible plan of attack regardless if he didn''t know of his opponent''s capabilities. It was as if he even had countermeasures for if the wind during their last bout had shifted slightly. He then knew from this point that John wasn''t thinking like a warrior or a monster; he was thinking like a grandmaster in chess out for revenge. Even though this was like a game to him, this quickly turned personal the moment his brother spoke of his past. This was problematic at the highest levels as most people who were more attuned to battle weren''t accustomed to strategy, and while those that were attuned to strategy weren''t accustomed to battle. Yet this very moment, John threw that logic out the window as he was attuned to both strategy and battle.


    John, who had stopped spinning his scythe, looked toward Pan and said, "Although fighting alone is fun but fighting with friends is better."


    As he said that, the ground next to him became shrouded in darkness and shadow, and soon a feminine figure shrouded in a cloak appeared from the shadows. The eerie presence that came off the new mystery person spread out like a quickly spreading aroma that spread out for miles. Pan''s eyes flew wide open as he immediately recognized the presence of the one who had just arrived even though it was drastically different. Just as if feeling that Pan had connected the dots quickly enough, John took the cloak off of the person to reveal a rotting and decayed Delia.


    Read Author note

 Chapter 60 - 56: The Dead do Talk

    Although Pan was shocked by what he was seeing, he could feel that not even an ounce of life force remained within the shell of the once great goddess, and what was left was corrupted like the dead that John uses like pawns. It was not all of her meaning that she had escaped the fate that many had fallen to, but enough to tip the battle into John''s favor.


    "I see now... you are a much bigger threat than we realized. Being capable of making a disease capable of corrupting a god is a big feat even if it was intended or not, but this will end here as..." Pan was cautiously saying before being interrupted as he had planned to stall for both him and his brother to regain their strength even if minimal at best.


    "Stop stalling minor god. No amount of time will bring back the strength that is quickly waning from "one" of you. You know that this fight is over and that the only way you''ll escape is if both of you rely on your teleporting trick from earlier, right?" John said as to make Pan tense as he wanted him to be reminded of what he did to his brother mere minutes ago, and just like that Pan realized what John was hinting at. It was the fundamental skeleton to how John''s undead curse spread and earlier he had his claws deep in his brother''s shoulder before ripping out only a small amount of life force. Pan knew that knew John was cunning, but to this extent, he was foolishly unaware.


    Not knowing how much time was left for his brother, Pan knew he had to think fast as their one trump card wasn''t any use against a being like John despite him being of a lower class. This was truly an urgent problem as he knew that eventually, this would become his eventual downfall. At a loss for words and completely concerned as he, for the first first time since he became a minor god, didn''t know what to do.


    Feeling that his end was inevitable Pan braced himself to fight till his eventual death, that was until he saw something he hadn''t expected. A spirit, irradiating a small amount of light near the world tree as if to gain his attention, stood staring at Pan with a face of sorrow and eyes that showed deep internal sadness. Although almost no presence was given off from her it was truly strange as it was extremely rare for a spirit, especially one as weak as the one he was seeing, to exude no presence at all. This was truly something, yet he couldn''t invest any more of his attention to this spectral being as he had made up his mind. It was time to meet his fate in the best way he could see fit, and that was to weaken John as much as possible so hopefully, the next deity could have a better chance in ending this nightmare before it spread to the other worlds.


    Preparing to initiate his next arsenal of attacks Pan positioned his sword and with the intent to throw everything into this last bout with John, he says, "Are you ready for this last dance brother?"


    Talking through their mental connection was something they very much often did as their divinity was something they both shared, yet was bond by to never exist in the same dimension. Their divinity was both a boon and a curse, but it was something they had come to accept and later turn to their advantage.


    Within this pocket dimension Agreus who now looked ready to collapse at any time from this undead disease spoke and said," Aye brother, although I am far from battle proficient in my current state and will most likely succumb to this abomination''s concoction of a curse, use me to evade and sacrifice me if need to. I am alright with dying for you as long as I don''t join his abominable hordes."


    Hearing his brother''s words struck a chord within Pan as this was never the way he imagined them dying, but this was it. It was their final moment in a battle they foolishly ?ssumed was going to go their way.


    Ready to inflict as much damage as possible before his death Pan flew to John at break-neck speeds with his sword ready to deliver an upward diagonal slash until everything went white around Pan, completely white with John nowhere in sight. Looking around Pan''s eyes stop on the spirit from before who had hidden near the world tree.


    The spirit looked relatively new to the afterlife, yet she walked confidently with the gait that most senior humans had after reaching a certain age. As she approached, she looked up at the armor-clad goat and said, "Can you stop stalling already and just die you stubborn old goat. There are other important events that must take place to ensure the best outcome we can hope for comes into being."


    Stunned and confused as this was completely unexpected, Pan stares at the female specter before asking, "Something tells me you aren''t one of John''s undead cretins?"


    "Nope... but you and your brother will be though and for that, I am truly sorry." Said the spectral woman.


    "Then who are you? Where are we? And what do you mean the best outcome we can hope for." Pan asks with a tone of concern as this specter seemed to know something he didn''t, and at this point, he was tired of being surprised by things outside of his knowledge.


    The spectral woman firstly looked at Pan before turning to her left and walking with her head looking toward the ground. Then the woman looked up at Pan and said, "I am by far not the cause of this but a match that seems to always fall into the gasoline around John. John is correct when he says that another is the puppeteer of this fiasco. His intuition has always found that out before anyone else seemed to realize it, but to answer your question I am the person who killed him this time and every other time. I am Alexa Thompson and this time around I am the starter of the apocalypse."


    After announcing who she was Alexa then proceeded to continue saying, "And this is my mindscape, my little white room of thoughts and whatever problems I have bumping around in my noggin when I was alive."


    With a disdainful look from his eye through his helmet Pan stares at Alexa before saying, "With what your introduction tells me you knew this would happen?"


    Alexa looks towards an empty space between them and waves her hand causing clear glass with a multicolored glow to appear. The glass takes the form of Alexa, but in an unknown medieval armor with a large claymore pointed at a large creature with demonic features. She points with an open hand with her palm facing upward and says, "At the beginning near my own death I had thought that I had somehow developed some sort of... clairvoyance, but now after my death, I know that they were nothing more than mere memories of the past. Past that seems to have been forgotten by even the gods by how wide your eyes have widened."


    Indeed Pan''s eyes did go wide as he was sure he remembers the past history of this world including the history of the other two. He was certain that all of his information was correct. So he looked on at Alexa with his eyes closing slightly to hint at her to continue.


    "You know when I soul or a spirit is destroyed they leave behind soul shards that are only seeable to the dead and those with a close connection to death. But what exactly happens to the soul shards of these destroyed spirits? Nothing. Nothing happens until the biggest of the shards gains a will of its own and begins to repair itself to the b?r? minimum by pulling enough of itself back together. You know what I am referring to Pan."


    Pan knew exactly what she was referring to it was the act of self reincarnation, when a shattered soul wills itself back together to the point of just being equivalent to half a newborn baby''s soul and begins a process of merging with a newborn. The child is essentially seen as stronger and has a stronger vitality than other children. Some even speak of the other worlds of The Trinity of Worlds, while some speak of worlds unknown.


    They have many unique aspects, but the one common unique aspect they all have is memories they claim are from different people or their past lives. With this understanding, Pan came to a conclusion and asked, "How many times have you reincarnated?"


    "Wise goat proves his wisdom quite effortlessly, but to answer your question let''s just say enough to know that The Trinity of Worlds was once a near-infinite multiverse of worlds. That John and I have fought more than a billion times and I have lost more than a billion times, this time it seems I have lost without even putting up a fight. I just hope that my family this time can pick up the slack and hopefully end this once and for all as I have no will to fight what seems to be the inevitable end anymore." Alexa says while waving her hand back and forth while creating more glass structures that depict several battles between her and several monsters that represent John''s past lives. Some appear to be dragons, large demons, and even a giant planetary machine that seems to be ready to destroy a ship with Alexa on board.


    Pan walks around some of the glass structures silently as if pondering about something he wants to say well versed until he says, "I don''t know how we have been fooled all this time. All I know is that whoever it is they have to be among the High Gods, the ones who supposedly chose John to be a god of death, if not higher."


    "So not even you have an idea of who it can be... Of course, you wouldn''t know they would''ve had to blend into their role or roles effortlessly throughout all of their schemings. The only thing I can say is that with three worlds left whatever their goal is it''s coming to completion soon. And whatever comes afterward is anyone''s guess." Alex talks to herself while walking back and forth and taking quick glances at Pan.


    Pan seeing the thinking Alexa turns his back to her and says, "If it''s my destiny to die then I''d rather meet it now, fighting in hopes to weaken this abomination for the next god to have a better chance at ending this... Perhaps your family might be the ones to deliver the final blow. Maybe not, but after my death, it will no longer be my problem."


    "I know. I too hope that something changes for the better because this game of war and death between me and him has gone on long enough, to be honest." Alexa says outspokenly while looking at Pan''s eyes that have long ago lost hope.


    Pan solemnly turned around with his back facing Alexa, to signal his wish to return to his mind but before that happened asked, "Why exactly did you pull me here exactly? It couldn''t have been to give me more things to be concerned about before I die right?"


    Alexa who was quiet for a brief moment appeared next to Pan as if she had teleported and said, "See, I was really hoping to give you some clarity before you died, but then again, I guess it was to have one last talk with my former mentor."


    Before Pan could question her on how they had a mentor and student connection Alexa waved her hand towards Pan as if waving a fly away and then Pan was back in his own body, still in the middle of his last attack against John.


    This would''ve infuriated Pan but at the moment he was too tired to waste time thinking about that while also in the midst of an attack, so he simply pushed it to the side. Although in his mind it would''ve been nice to have more clarification as to what exactly their connection was.


    Outside of his personal thoughts, Pan was closing to landing his last attack when unexpectantly a bright and fiery light pierced through the right side of his ?h?st, piercing both of his lungs, and out the other side. The strength of the attacked not only pierced Pan but also knocked him several meters away from John who was as still as a statue.


    Pan who was in pain knew exactly who had attacked him as he looked up to see the undead corpse of Delia''s with her sword pointing at Pan from 20 meters away. Pan knew that the attack he just suffered was fatal, although he was wondering why Agreus hadn''t switched with him until he looked towards John who was summoning, from a shadow portal, an undead Agreus. Although confused as to how Agreus''s body could appear without him going back to their shared pocket dimension Pan was ready to accept his fate.


    Pan knew that with Delia, Agreus''s, and soon to be his corpse John had gained a tremendous boost in power.


    Close to succumbing to his wounds, he looked towards Delia who was having trouble speaking, but managed to b?r?ly say, "Welcome to the legion."