1 Jay: Danger, Stranger

My ears kept ringing...

I already shook my head a couple of times to get the ringing off, but it did not go away that easily.

Instead, it made me feel dizzier.

Crap.

If it weren't for the sake of lives, I would have thrown a grenade at the mob rather than instruct the boys to activate a bomb.

It was safer for both the group and me in terms of diversion and distracting the enemy.

Regardless of the decision, the damage has been done and the only thing I should worry about right now is my safety.

Yeah, about that...

You see, the commotion that came from the bombing earlier may have attracted new hordes of the undead.

Sure, they are deceased and the only sense of emotion they could exhibit is hunger. But still, the vibration and magnitude of the eruption from before were too big to be ignored — even by these numb FREAKs.

So, as much as I wanted the dizziness in my head to fade, I finally decided to stand up from the concrete ground I was sitting on and move.

However, I found myself falling back again...

Great.

Aside from this ringing and painful headache, my limbs — as far as I can feel them — also gave out; it was too weak and bruised to function.

Why would it not be?

I was near the freaking blast so what did I expect?

The impact and shock on my body were understandably severe, and I cannot believe that I was not able to notice it until just now.

I let out a deep sigh.

As I was about to reach out for my first aid kit to fix myself, rushing footsteps and loud snarls were suddenly heard.

I quickly looked up and was in time to see new crowds of FREAKs coming my way.

What the?

The bomb that we detonate earlier should have wiped out most of the group in the area and as far as my calculations go, the next batch of the undead will arrive at around thirty minutes after the first explosion...

It's been only five minutes so where did I go wrong now?

Without much thinking, and out of panic, I hastily took out my handgun — which happens to be the only firearm I have left — and even with shaky, unstable arms, I still tried to raise it and shoot some FREAKs on the head.

I took down a few but I was not that proud with the numbers for with every one kill I did, two are more added to the group.

What the hell?

Following this, it should be noted that FREAKs are fast runners and when put into a group, they are more like hungry cheetahs rushing my way.

Shit!

Think fast, Jay!

I screamed at myself while firing at the already dead beings.

But guess what: I ran out of ammo.

..... Wow, such luck of mine.

Do the Creator from above wanted me badly now, that He orchestrated such an incident to happen to me on time?

Especially, today...

Acknowledging how close the FREAKs are now, I finally decided to stop and waited for the painful end to come.

Hence, I closed my eyes and peacefully thought of Cristina, Mi Alma.

.....

It took me a while, maybe a minute or two, to realize that there was no clash, nor impact coming my way.

Not even pain.

Eh?

I waited for another minute to pass and understanding that nothing was happening within that time, I quickly opened my eyes.

Now that's odd...

The first thing I saw was skin; white as snow.

It didn't take long for me to realize; as my eyes moved from the body that was shielding me to the eyes that were staring back at me, that the one I was looking at was a human.

To be more specific, a WOMAN.

She, aside from the eyes, has long, black hair that bounces off healthily as she currently moves to kick a FREAK on the head and shortly after, hits another one on the throat using her elbow.

Well, that's a good show, to begin with...

Furthermore, as I continue to watch her fight, I carefully noted that besides her incredible strength, there was also her accuracy during blows and clever techniques that surely went for the kill.

Now that I mentioned it, is she one of ours then?

I took another glimpse at her — to try and evaluate if I could get an answer to my curiosity — and was in time to witness two more FREAKs being beheaded at the same time by a KATANA sword — HER katana sword.

Now, where did that come from?

Ultimately, as my focus went back to the present situation, I discovered that she doesn't wear the uniform. And her abilities were way too developed and advanced to be considered ours.

So, how come she's that skillful?

Unless she's one of the... No.

No, she can't be... She's not one of the Angels.

Anyway, as far as my observation goes and for a lady like her, all those skills and intelligence were too powerful — too sharp that I was starting to question if she really was a WOMAN or not.

Perhaps...

Unexpectedly and out of the blue, I recalled the boys mentioning a mysterious 'her' still living within the DEAD Zone.

The 'her' that each and everybody in the Horizon calls their "Miracle"...

This can't be.

With a new set of eyes, I watched the girl fight once again and instantly realized, she was the one they were talking about and as they said, she is not normal.

Everything about her was simply different; both as a WOMAN and as a human.

Like she was built to kill rather than meant to breathe like a normal person.

How so?

Well, she shows no emotion.

No FEAR is displayed on her face every time a FREAK pops up in front of her, no sympathy in every kill she committed — not even empathy for the soul that may still be alive inside the undead.

Only present are the cold-blooded eyes that will send down chills to your spine...

Nevertheless, with the entire momentum going, I shortly realized that I'm supposed to be doing that — the FIGHTING and the KILLING.

Why?

Well, I'm basically the one with the rescue mission, a fully loaded gun and for heaven's sake, I'm the MAN here!

Not HER.

So fueled by my annoyance and big ego, I shot up from my sitting position but instantly found out I still couldn't stand as my left leg went totally numb now.

I glanced down and saw nothing but open wounds and burned skin.

Seriously, how lucky am I really today?

And did I mention how painful it was as the blood, as red as fire, oozed out of the burned, open flesh?

Well, yeah... I just did.

Though, is it really mine?

Or maybe, with the explosion from before, this was a FREAK's blood that accidentally splashed on me?

Probably — until I remembered that a FREAK's blood color is black.

I smiled.

Oh, who am I kidding at this?

I'm human and not a robot; a human soldier meant to die from the very beginning.

So from there, I conceded that this red blood staining my skin and work clothes is freaking mine.

Pathetic.

Yeah, this is pathetic in a way that with so many wars and battles, only a wound to my leg really made me panic.

Sure, it was a small factor from the reality of being a soldier and all, but never did I possibly imagine I could be hurt this way.

Particularly, when I was always been cautious, careful to not get hurt — still, this happened.

I chuckled my shock mindlessly.

Suddenly, dead silence came.

I perked up from my burn to look around and saw no more FREAKs standing by.

Only her; was kind of busy as she was beheading one last FREAK with one slice of her blade.

I have to admit, the sight of the decapitation was extremely fulfilling. Almost satisfying that I could not help but feel relieve and then came the overwhelming respect towards her.

Hence, as if sensing my amazed eyes on her, the so-called mystery girl turns her head and stared back at me.

From there, I got struck by her eyes for a brief moment.

I don't know why but something about those midnight eyes made me pause for just this second.

Like I was hit by a speeding truck, or been electrocuted by touching a live wire; it was undoubtedly painful but strangely good at the same time.

Okay, now that is weird...