CHAPTER-II
Kyle and Dianne walked along a path in the middle of a vast plain that stretched towards the mountains—an area in the Middle East that was once barren and extreme, a land of suffering and war, now transformed into a cool, green, and beautiful landscape. They ignored the scattered skulls; this was normal. This place was formerly a conflict zone that lasted for decades, where hundreds of thousands of lives were tragically lost due to clashing interests between many factions. Kyle vividly remembered that time when he was a teenager: everyone was busy debating who was right and who was wrong, many took sides, but no one truly did anything meaningful to end the war, as if it was all allowed to become a spectacle so that Earth wouldn't feel boring. Hatred and anger were double-edged swords; what we threw out returned to us. It was then that humanity looked up at the meteor falling from the sky. Plumes of smoke covered the world, returning everything to ground zero. Boots moved up and down, and there was no turning back from the war.
Dianne found a small yellow flower; she picked it and tucked it behind Kyle's ear, laughing as she watched Kyle's surprised and embarrassed reaction. Dianne ran, flashing smiles in all directions, avoiding Kyle's playful pursuit. Their unrestrained laughter made the atmosphere feel as if they were not living in a post-apocalyptic era. Dianne finally tripped over a stone. As she tried to get back up, retrieving their equipment box, she saw the sea.
"The Red Sea, huh?" Kyle remarked.
"It's so different from when I was little," Dianne replied.
"Did you ever live here?" Kyle asked.
"My parents worked in Medina. My hometown is Paris, but I've never been there because I was born and raised here. Sometimes we would vacation in this area, just for some entertainment. I remember clearly when I was seven, my father promised to take me to the Great Pyramids of Giza. Unfortunately, it never happened," Dianne explained.
"I see. If you want, we can go there now. Just choose: do you want to split the sea like Moses, or take the long way around through Palestine?" Kyle enthusiastically invited Dianne.
"Captain, you are truly odd. Why should we take such a long detour when the target is right in front of us and the sea is already getting shallow!" Dianne said, laughing.
Dianne put down their box, then walked forward and stopped, standing tall facing the Red Sea. She picked up a wooden stick and threw it into the sea. Suddenly, nothing happened; everything was normal. Dianne stood motionless, paralyzed with embarrassment. Meanwhile, Kyle behind her was grinning, holding back laughter.
"Alright, let's take the long way around then. Even if it takes longer, the important thing is safety, haha," Kyle said, walking north after patting Dianne's shoulder.
Annoyed, Dianne just sighed and picked up their equipment box again. They faced a long journey ahead. Normally, it would take a minimum of eighteen days, but given the circumstances, they had to avoid densely populated areas to steer clear of the Symbiotes. The longest possible time would be about a month.
After a long journey of three days, Kyle finally sat down, leaning against a rock to rest. His body was tired and soaked with sweat. Although this area had turned into a grassland, it remained a fact that the ground they stood on was still hot, just like before. He tried as much as possible to walk near the sea to catch a fresh breeze, but Kyle still reached his limit. Seeing this, Dianne immediately searched for a water source to give her captain a drink. Kyle tried to stop her, claiming he was still strong, but his hoarse voice and the fact that he struggled to stand were enough for Dianne to disregard her captain's order.
Kyle, resigned, just sat and leaned back, releasing his fatigue. Not long after, Dianne returned carrying a coconut and two squirrels that happened to be in the same tree. Dianne split the coconut and gave all the water to Kyle. She didn't forget to roast the squirrels and give them to Kyle. As if he had just received a software update, the nearly-fainted Kyle immediately stood firm again. Without thinking twice, he tried to lift their equipment chest. Clearly, the chest barely budged. This made Dianne laugh and immediately show him what true strength was. It was understandable; the chest weighed more than three hundred kilograms. Its large size required Dianne to carry it slung over her back, making her look like a child carrying an overloaded school bag for fear of missing a textbook.
Heavy rain fell that weekend. Fortunately, they managed to set up a tent that was big enough for both of them. In the middle of the night, heavy rain was accompanied by lightning everywhere. Even with layered blankets and hugging each other, Kyle still shivered from the cold. His body was still adapting to the natural environment on Earth after decades of living on Olympus, while Dianne, with her synthetic body, felt no significant temperature changes. Even her snoring and breathing tickled Kyle's ear.
"If I had known, I shouldn't have said I was immune to the virus," he mumbled, covered in goosebumps.
The rain stopped in the morning. Drops of water penetrated their tent, one landing right on Dianne's cheek, waking her from her deep sleep only to see Kyle's face, which looked very weak and his eyes droopy. He clearly had difficulty sleeping, causing him to stare blankly into space, with saliva even dripping from his mouth. Dianne got up and rubbed her eyes while yawning and stretching her body. She exited the tent and slightly squinted her eyes due to the glare of the morning sun. Dianne tidied up the tent as gently as possible so Kyle wouldn't wake up. Skillfully, she hung the tent out to dry, stretching it open to face the sun. She also took the blanket, folded it down to the size of her arm, and put it back into the chest.
Kyle finally woke up, quickly realizing everything was sorted. But as he tried to sit up, Dianne gently pulled Kyle's head and placed it on her lap.
"Hey, what are you doing!?" Kyle protested.
"Captain must be tired and sleepy. Rest a little longer. I'll wait," Dianne answered softly while stroking Kyle's head.
Unusually, Kyle was silent and compliant, as he was indeed very sleepy. Slowly, he closed his eyes to fall back asleep.
Dianne smiled and looked up at the sky.
"If only this atmosphere could be felt in other parts of the world, too," she whispered.
"Alright, we have two options now: continue taking the land route and risk passing through a city that is likely filled with Symbiotes, or use a raft to cross the water from the Gulf of Aqaba to the other side, a distance of over six kilometers. Which do you think is better?" Kyle asked.
"Captain, whether it's land or sea, we'll ultimately still encounter them. It won't be much different. On land, we might run into The Crawler or something similar. Although numerous and fast, they are a type of enemy that's easy to understand and not too bothersome in size. In the sea, we don't know what kind of fish will attack us. It's not out of the question that we'll be met by Tentacles that have taken over the body of a whale or a great white shark. So, I think the land route is better," Dianne replied.
Kyle agreed. They quickly retrieved their weapons from the chest. All were high-tech laser weapons, including assault rifles, sniper rifles, and even plasma-powered swords. Dianne took the sword and the sniper rifle, bearing in mind that she also had to carry the chest, so she couldn't move too far, as it would complicate her movement. Kyle would be the one moving to clear the path.
The two began walking. Amidst the city ruins, Symbiotes fell one by one. Several that managed to get close were instantly split in half, and those that just appeared in the distance were hit directly in the head. Kyle charged into the hordes of Symbiotes, shooting them all without hesitation. There was no need to worry; their weapons were solar-powered, so they would recharge quickly even if depleted.
Struggling to push through the Symbiotes, they finally arrived at the Sinai Peninsula.
Just as they could finally rest, they were immediately held at spearpoint by several humans. Kyle and Dianne didn't panic; they were actually surprised that there were still humans on this chaotic Earth. They were then tied up and taken to a village, while their weapons and chest were left behind where they were found.
Upon arriving at the village, they were dragged through a crowd of residents who stared at them with anxiety. Some even pulled their children away who ran too close to them. The two were thrown down to face the chief, a man who looked dignified, in his forties, with a thick beard and wearing a wide, long white robe.
Kyle tried to look at him, and when their eyes met, both were equally shocked.
"Kyle!!"
"Ali!!!"
Everyone there watched in confusion. Kyle realized the man in front of him was one of his friends from high school. Ali. They both went to the same school in America. Ali was known as a friend who was kind to everyone and very honest, sometimes a little naive, but everyone knew he was a very good person—one of those who highly idolized the character Superman.
Ali invited Kyle and Dianne on a tour to introduce them to their village. From what was visible, it was exactly as Kyle expected: Ali was deeply loved by his people.
"Here, we all still believe in religion, so some locations are designated as places of worship. People of various faiths have joined together in one community that protects each other based on humanity," Ali explained.
Kyle nodded and said, "It's quite clever of you to farm capybaras here. How did you know they were the enemies of the Symbiotes?" Kyle asked.
"It wasn't my idea, actually. Initially, we built a large wooden fortress, a solid defense with super-tight security. But like the Walls of Constantinople, that defense was breached dishonorably and took several lives. We fought desperately until we were cornered on the beach. But thankfully, a washed-up capybara stood in its characteristic pose on a large piece of wood, came from the waves, and walked past all of us. When it approached the Symbiotes, we saw them immediately run away. A child behind me shouted a brilliant idea. He said, 'Let's farm capybaras!' That's how we eventually hunted them and brought them home to breed, and now this is the result," Ali explained at length.
"Captain, what about our equipment!?" Dianne asked Kyle.
"You brought equipment? Are those weapons? Where are they?" Ali asked.
"Those are the weapons that were left to us. I have some inside people there, so when they were discarded, the weapons and equipment were secretly smuggled into our capsule," Kyle explained.
"Then you must retrieve them. We will need that in the future. It will be very important for us to upgrade our military equipment to survive. Can you teach us how to make them? It doesn't need to be that sophisticated, just at least more adequate for combat than what we currently have," Ali pleaded.
"Give us a few people. I'm afraid there will be many Symbiotes there. Try to include those who have combat experience at least once. The location is not far, but it's less than a kilometer from an abandoned city," Kyle explained.
Ali agreed. He called five trained young men to accompany Kyle and Dianne.
They set off together, carrying long, sharp spears, ready to fight whatever lay ahead. Meanwhile, Ali and his troops followed far behind to guard against undesirable conditions.
From a distance, Kyle saw several Crawler Symbiotes, all silent, walking while observing their surroundings. Kyle and Dianne moved forward first, realizing it would take too long to wait for them to move away from the chest. The two crept forward while the others followed, preparing their crossbows for defense. Unfortunately, an arrow being loaded into a crossbow slipped and firmly lodged into the ground. That sound instantly triggered the Symbiotes' rage; they immediately became aware of their presence. Screams that sounded like whimpers echoed. Large hands and claws slammed the ground, propelling the bodies of those hell-manifested creatures. Their fast and unpredictable movements made everyone panic at the horror. Kyle immediately acted to distract the Symbiotes. Dianne responded by immediately running very fast toward the chest, while the others were preoccupied with themselves due to the breaking of their formation caused by their negligence. Meanwhile, the group with Ali realized the problem ahead. Ali, fearing his best friend was in danger, immediately ordered an attack by throwing several Molotov cocktails, just enough to wound the Symbiotes and slow them down. As a result, Dianne managed to reach the chest, immediately opened it, and pulled out a plasma-powered sniper rifle. One by one, the Symbiotes collapsed, fell, and were charred. The atmosphere returned to calm. The young man who had made the mistake quickly realized and apologized to Kyle and Dianne. Everyone just laughed at him, realizing how difficult it was to remain perfect in conditions like these.
That night, they all walked together in a fairly crowded group, about fifteen people.
Kyle asked Ali about how they all managed to survive and why they didn't join the others on Olympus. It turned out that Ali and about two hundred of the village's inhabitants were the estranged ones. There were many reasons; besides the fact that most of them were environmental activists, while they were at the nuclear war refugee post in New Zealand, they were the people who were most frequently recorded voicing the cruelty of the war and demanding it be stopped. When all humans were gathered and about to be transported to the Olympus ship, about two thousand people were sedated and detained, so they were left behind to survive on Earth. From there, Ali and his friends' journey traversed oceans and crossed various lands to reach a safer place in the Sinai Peninsula. Kyle didn't anticipate what the Olympus officials had done to his friend, making him rethink what their actual purpose was for fleeing.
Kyle sat alone, staring at the stars, while looking at his communication device that had not yet received a signal from Ethan, his friend who worked in broadcasting on Olympus. After all, he was the one who gave him the device.
Unbeknownst to Kyle, Olympus was currently gripped by panic. The reason was that their communication network, which was now passing directly above Mount Chimborazo, could potentially lure Symbiotes, especially the mountain species, the Sky Piercher. Now, the entire network was disabled to avoid attracting them, which would be extremely dangerous if they all charged the ship with their sharp tails.
Meanwhile, in the room, Dianne was pondering. She lamented her condition, which was increasingly deteriorating in terms of her human nature. She began to doubt whether she was still human or just a doll that coincidentally was given a heart and intellect similar to humans.
She was once a little girl, then lost most of her life saving herself on Olympus. Parents, friends, best friends, everyone was burned. Then on Olympus, she was raised inhumanely by scientists, turned into a meta-human without her consent, and now here she was: a human trapped in a teenage girl's body, forced to live with a body that was no longer natural, and discarded for trying to be human.
A knock was heard from outside. Kyle tried to enter.
"Dianne, are you inside? May I come in?"
"Please."
Dianne got up and saw Kyle closing the door. Kyle turned around and said, "How are we going to provide weapons for all the villagers?"
"We can make something," she suggested.
"I plan to produce AK-47s. What do you think?"
"Captain, are you crazy? We don't have a factory or a stable furnace here. Although that weapon is a relatively simple type, if there's a slight mistake, it could explode and hurt the user. Let's just make slam-fire shotguns. Materials can be found in the city, and the risk is minimal. As for the ammunition, we just need any hard and painful item to put into the gun," Dianne countered.
"That's right. I'll tell Ali. Thank you for the suggestion! Good night!"
"Night," Dianne waved to Kyle, who walked out without looking back.
Kyle met with Ali, discussing their high school days a bit, recalling memories from a time when humanity could still feel the warmth of the sun without fear of predators chasing them.
Kyle then shared his plan to produce weapons for all the villagers. Initially, Ali was less interested, but after a long discussion, he finally accepted, because Kyle also planned to utilize their slam-fire shotguns to facilitate the journey to Russian territory to search for Russian arms depots that might still store usable weapons, at least a Mosin-Nagant. Even if limited, it was much better than nothing at all. Ali agreed, and the next day, dozens of villagers ready for combat would move together toward the nearest city to look for remnants of civilization that could be used to produce slam-fire shotguns—simple firearms made from steel pipes connected by a mechanism that was quite primitive but still dangerous and deadly, along with ammunition that was very easy to obtain. As long as the object was hard and felt painful if shot, it could become ammunition: nails, stones, and so on.
Ali, Kyle, and Dianne would lead, while a few people were given simple plasma rifles just in case. The rest carried crossbows, spears, and large shields.
Everyone walked together, fueled by spirit, determination, and courage, and the support of fellow survivors. Carrying the hope to continue surviving, even if it was unclear how long they could last.