He wouldn't meet my eyes. "You didn't see what I saw, Hajidan. The streets were rivers of blood. The screams never stopped. By the time I carried you away, it was too late to save anyone else."
"You should've left me," I whispered, though I hated myself for saying it. "You could've saved someone stronger, someone who could actually fight."
Ginta slammed the ground with his fist again. "Stop saying that! I didn't drag you out of hell just to hear you spit garbage at yourself. You think strength is swinging a blade or punching harder? It's not. Miraza believed you were more than any of us, and I won't lie and say that I believe it too, even I doubt you, but since it Miraza, I'm forced to believe.
"Why cover that tattoo? Why look at me like I've asked the one question I should never ask?"
His jaw clenched. "Because, Hajidan, if I told you, it would crush you before the beasts even got the chance."
"Let me decide what I can handle," I shot back, struggling to push myself up my feet, but fall back in pain. "I've already lost everything, what else is there to fear? Unless you're hiding something worse than death."
Ginta brought out a map from his bag and gave me a curt nod that signaled he was about to leave, ignoring my questions.
"You not gonna live me here, are you?" I questioned as I noticed it was impossible to stand on my feet. He didn't reply but took a long pause. The wind blew across my hair and swirl in the directions of the winds.
The wind were coming from north, and the clouds far there are angrily dark.
Dammit, I'm sure we don't have any shelter at this moment except for the lousy broken old abandoned tent scattered across the land.
We were in a deserted land.
The long poles around the corner suggested it was Zui camp mountain, meaning we're still opened to more dangerous wild mountain animals.
Ginta squatted in front of me. "Even if I chose to take you with me, you would only slow me down! So sit your ass down while you recover. Don't tell me you're being a scared cat? You don't need to worry about those human mutant, the apocalypse hasn't reached here yet," he paused for few seconds, then he scratched the back of his neck, glancing at the treeline, then continued, "But still, it hard to tell in this kind of wasteland. I'm not quite sure if whatever turned those people into beasts are roaming here, and....."
"I'm not scared, get out of here and do what you gotta do!" I blurted out, resting my back on the rocks.
He raised an eyebrow. "Tough words for someone who can't even stand. Fine, I'll take them as truth if it helps you feel less like dead weight."
He was right, I was scared to stay alone with my wounded body. And I hated that he caught that. It only proves that people could only smell how loose my bones were. Few minutes minutes ago I was already given up to death, Miraza would be disappointed that thought even crossed my mind.
Ginta stood up and took a turn to leave.
I figured out he was hiding something from me, because of how wary he had been looking back and forth. Is he expecting someone? it's not my business anyways, the young man and given himself so much trouble bringing me with him, so rumbling questions would only make me look stupid.
When he was out of the picture I deeped my hand in my pocket and brought out the envelope containing the results of inherited family disease report, earlier that day, I remembered how I threw this in the dumpster without taking a sight of the content. I felt it was worthless to know the level of when I was going to die. And what prompted me to pick it back was because of the promise I made to my mother. I hope it still in the level 4 , so I can probably get a year and half to live.
I took a look at the report and my eyes widened in shock, I don't understand what actually going on with my body.
It all marked negative, meaning the disease had already cease to exist in my body.
I caught my breath when I heard noises coming from my left.
I picked up a long sharp branch beside me and managed to stand on my feet.
I stared at her wrist and recognized who she was, it was Teresa, she was mutated, running towards my direction with wobbling feet.
"Teresa, stay back!" I screamed. "It's me, don't do this, you know me!"
I didn't even have the power to balance my feet without running. She was closing up my space while I slowly took a few steps backwards.
I was running away again, there was no way I could let history repeat itself.
I plunged the sharp branch deep into her stomach till it came out from the other side.
"Hajidan please stop... stop the gimda co... core," she whispered, then closed her eyes to death.
I cried out in tears, my heart was heavy, I had just hurt a friend of mine.
"I'm sorry Teresa, I'm sorry. I would want you to do this to me if I was in your shoes," I uttered, as I turned her over.
"Hajidan, please destroy the gimda core, please destroy it," her lips uttered, but her eyes was closed, still, she was crying.
Gimda core? Ginta told me it was something to protect, it was either a person or something with marvelous value. I can only trust the person who is actually sane, her brain must have been affected as well or I might be wrong.
She was breathing in pain, and her facial was exposing the amount of pain she was compressing.
Her face was completely different from the face I was familiar with. All I'm seeing is full grown beast. Six feet tall, with massive legs.
She had already grown two sharp, pointed horns on either side of her head and a smaller one jutting from her nose.
She turned to me and whispered, "Looks like… someone… messed with your memory,"
Then she started coughing and the next moment she started growling like a real beast.
She might be right, I can't remember most of the things in the past, and when I start recalling some event they end up being a blur.
Including the memories I believed my hands and legs were amputated by the beast fang, and how they ended up growing back feels like a nightmare. But It not badly messed up for I still remember, you Teresa, including Ginta, Miranza, and, and, that all of the people I could remember. I can't even remember the face of my own parents.
Teresa bit my arm almost biting it off in one goal.
"Teresa! Fight it, please, I don't want to hurt you!"
I stood on my feet then plunge the branch on the left side of her chest.
I almost lost a arm for real this time.
"Rapid healing activated," a voice from nowhere uttered, and a digital screen appeared before me.
"What the hell? Who's talking? Where are you?" I shouted, spinning around as though someone was hiding in the trees.
I plunge through the digital screen but it all air. My hands even past through the space.
"Don't mess with me! Show yourself!" I screamed, jabbing at the glowing panel with my branch as though that would make it vanish.
I looked around the environment just to be sure no one was responsible for this.
My body pain reduced instantly.
"What is going on?" I screamed out loud, and my voice echoed through the whole space. I heard the sounds of trees and birds flying away from the left direction. Dang it, I just let my enemy know where I was heading to. I searched my pocket for my phone and there was nothing. My phone didn't come with me, it must have been in the place I was almost shredded to pieces. I was about trying to call my parents to know if my parents were still alive. l were still alive, even if I knew they are gone deep down.
I unwrapped my bandage and saw that my open flesh had been closed up.
Multiple mutated beasts came running my way, and I struggled to keep up with fighting back.
"Stay down!" I shouted as I struck one across the jaw. Who am I kidding, they're mindless creatures. They've feed on the brain of their host.
"Not today," I grunted, forcing another to the ground with every strength I had.
I was clawed, bitten and in pain, I successfully defeated them and the digital voice came up again.
"Jink power activated, tasks completed!"
"Tasks? What tasks? What the hell are you making me do?"
I looked over my hand and I staggered back.
"No way," I whispered, staring in disbelief. "No way this is me…"
I was getting powerful by defeating these mutated beasts.
"This… this isn't real, it can't be real. Fire doesn't feel cold, does it? Why is it cold?" I whispered, clutching my wrist.
"If you're listening to me, whoever you are, tell me what you want from me! Don't just throw these powers on me and vanish! Talk to me!"
There was no answer, only the hollow wind moving through the mountain path.
"Where am I," I whispered.