CHAPTER 33: NEW THREAT
A loud explosion rocked the entire third floor of the dormitory. A massive shockwave spread out, crumbling the walls of several rooms and exposing an entire section of the floor to the elements. The bright rays of the sun fell upon the damaged corridor.
It took a long time for Nathan to collect himself as a loud ringing sound engulfed his senses. Shaking his head, he staggered up groggily. He noticed Rachel huddling on the ground, with blood flowing out of her ears and down the sides of her face. The thought of helping her only lingered for a moment before Nathan shifted his eyes back to the corridor.
'Rose?'
Nathan's eyes opened in surprise when he noticed the previous zombie was covering the little girl with its decayed body, shielding her from the brunt of the shockwaves.
'So she really did succeed? What's going on? Why are the siblings so monstrous?'
Despite the thoughts running through his mind, Nathan's body moved as he approached Rose to ensure she was not hurt. The zombie growled at his approach. Nathan could swear he had seen its eyes flash with a deep pink light, though it was only for a split second. Soon after, the undead suddenly relaxed and shifted aside, its limbs still twisting unnaturally for it to stand.
"Haa!" Nathan sighed when he saw Rose's appearance. The little girl was not hurt—no, at least not physically. But from her puffed, red eyes and the tear stains on her face, Nathan could feel the emotional turmoil in her heart. She didn't even spare him a glance; her eyes were fixed in the direction of the explosion, her usual brightness replaced by harrowing anxiousness.
Nathan sighed once more, drew close to the little girl, and pulled her into his embrace.
"Don't worry. Your brother will be fine."
Nathan heard her respond with a muffled sound and soon shifted his eyes to the others who had left the adjacent room.
"Are you okay?" he spoke worriedly.
Alice's beautiful amethyst eyes locked with his emerald ones for a moment before she quietly nodded. Nathan flashed her a smile in relief before turning his eyes to the pale Sophia in Claire's arms, whose small frame appeared even more frail.
'Does using her power take such a toll on her?' Nathan couldn't help but wonder. Seeing such a tender little girl appear so weak while struggling to survive in this wretched apocalypse left a bad taste in Nathan's mouth.
"He is coming!" Natalie, who had had her eyes shut a moment ago, suddenly snapped them open, her gaze filled with joy and relief.
The others didn't even need to ask her. A moment later, the sound of steady silent footsteps reached them. They all turned toward the other side of the corridor. A large chunk of the left hallway had been eviscerated, the wind from this height blowing freely into the building and the sunlight illuminating their tired faces. It almost looked like a humongous monster had taken a huge chunk out of the side of the building. Only the rooms on their right were still standing, though the walls separating many of them had long crumbled from the rampage of Kael and the undead.
The group watched in silence as Kael moved through craters, avoided the crumbled regions, and approached them, his short black hair dancing in the wind. He was only wearing sports shorts—ones that Natalie recognized as belonging to her sister. Yet Natalie didn't seem to care about that; her eyes were trained on Kael's bare torso, which was lean and corded with muscles that appeared carved rather than grown. The little girl blushed, not even noticing that even her usually impassive sister had a strange light dancing within her eyes.
Only Claire didn't seem to care about his looks; instead, she had her eyes trained on his face. What she saw made her shiver. She was the oldest among the group, and with her experience, she could see the changes in Kael's eyes—the coldness, though subtle, was still present. And there was something else she feared mixed within those dark-as-night eyes.
"Big brother!"
Rose, who had been in Nathan's embrace, suddenly screamed. She shifted violently, prompting Nathan to release her with a rueful smile. The group couldn't help but release sighs of relief when they saw the siblings reunite, Rose crying into her brother's chest. For a moment there, they had really thought Kael would die. After all, they had watched him have his throat ripped open as he choked on his own blood. It was all the more surprising that he had no signs of injuries on his body—except for his still-missing limb.
Only now did they realize that Kael's regeneration ability, which they had subconsciously disregarded, might be the strongest ability within their group.
Kael pulled his crying sister closer into his embrace. Only when he felt her familiar warmth did that chilling coldness from being so close to death slowly leave his body.
"I am okay, Rosy." His lips curved into a small smile. "Sorry for making you worried."
Rose didn't even get the chance to answer as another cute voice called out to her brother. She didn't need to turn to know that it was Sophia, who also rushed to hug him.
"Careful..." Claire called out in anxiousness as those small legs shuffled past cracks and around craters. Seeing this sight, the cold that gripped Kael's heart and mind finally disappeared. Not willing for the little girl to get injured, Kael's smile widened as he also moved forward.
Sophia hugged his legs and also started crying her eyes out, with the others watching in silence.
"E-everyone..." Natalie's low but trembling voice suddenly resounded, prompting even the two crying girls to stop.
Kael released a sigh.
"So, it's just as I thought, huh?" His eyes shifted to Alice, and he didn't need the little girl to answer to know the truth. Her pale face and panicked eyes said it all.
He had been wondering why, despite all the noise he had made, only a few undead had been attracted. It seemed he would soon see the reason.
He brought his sister and Sophia back to the group and set his sister down. A feeling of relief welled up within his heart when he noticed the mage undead seemed to be completely controlled. He was just about to turn back to the group and instruct them on how they would face whatever horror was approaching when he caught sight of a quiet figure huddled against the wall in the other room.
"Huh?" A crease formed on Kael's face. Rachel, who locked eyes with him, screamed in fear and scrambled to the side, almost as if she wanted to claw through the wall to escape.
"What is going on?" Kael questioned, looking to the others for an answer.
Nathan had a conflicted look on his face, while Claire's face turned white. She was scared Kael might do something irreversible; after all, she knew the effect that power could have on a person.
Seeing no one respond to his question, Kael shifted his eyes down to his sister.
"Rose?"
Those big eyes—slightly dimmer than usual—watched her big brother intensely. After a few tense moments, she smiled brightly.
"You came back… that’s all that matters.”
Kael's eyes narrowed. He felt there was more to this, and he could already feel the anger suppressed deep within his heart bubbling up. Just when he was about to speak once more, his instincts suddenly screamed at him, prompting him to turn.
The others followed his eye line, and what they saw chilled their hearts.
*****
AN: Thank you for reading. Click on love if you enjoyed the chapter😁.