Tormented

It was a few minutes past 4 am. Mark was finally able to close his eyes to sleep after several hours of rolling back and forth.

He wasn't at the slightest comfortable. The tent only had so much room, and it could be suffocating due to heat.

In his dream, he was on a stage above a large crowd of people. 

The President of the United States of America, Markle H. Vilin walked up to him and took a medal from another man that stood beside him.

"I hereby present you, Sergeant Mark Jordan, a medal of honour for putting your life on the line for your country, and single-handedly ending a global crisis. You gave up your rank for your country. You are not just any hero, you're an international hero. You saved the lives of billions of people. America wouldn't be more proud."

President Villin gave Mark a firm handshake and stood by his side for the camera.

Mark's face beamed brightly. The crowd clapped and cheered for their hero.

Constant camera flashes almost blinded him. He used his hand to partially cover his face and turned his face to his side.

Far off, leaning on a wall at the side, offstage was Damian Cross, wearing a beige overcoat with his hands inside its pockets.

He had his glasses and with a rare look of disappointment.

Mark wondered why Damian was like that but soon paid no mind. He couldn't let Damian's attitude ruin the happiest moment of his life.

He got accustomed to the light and was even able to see the crowd.

He instantly noticed someone he knew in the front row, Karin.

She wore a blue designer suit and held a wrapped blue cloth in her hands that housed a baby, with Rebecca holding a blue baby stroller beside her.

Mark was thrilled. He was recognized worldwide for his amazing deeds, not only that, but he also got back with Karin and they already welcomed a new child.

It was truly the happiest moment of his life.

He signalled for them to climb up the stage by the stairs at the side.

The crowd cheered and clapped even more fiercely. Camera flashes tripled. Reporters wanted to get that perfect romantic picture with the title 'The Beauty and The Hero' that would most likely storm the headlines and might even be a new inspiration for books, movies, and cartoons.

Karin held the baby in her hand with Rebecca, looking about a year older, by her side.

Karin rocked the baby as Mark walked closer to them.

He smiled at pat Rebecca on the head then touched the clue cloth in Karin's hands.

Mark was directed by a cameraman to stay behind Karin and Rebecca to get that happy family photograph.

"Look here please…" One of the cameramen said.

Click!

Mark looked down from behind Karin to see the baby's face.

It was the corpse of a baby. The flesh had decayed, maggots came in and out of the eyes, nose, mouth, ears and even open patches of the skin; and flies hung around.

Mark jolted backwards and trembled, "Wh-What the hell?!"

He looked at the crowd in panic but suddenly, the claps, cheers and camera flashes stopped. 

It went from a bright and sunny day to a dark and cold night, with the stage light as the only source of light.

He looked down at the crowd. He couldn't believe his eyes. He realized he never really looked at the faces of the crowd.

The people that cheered, clapped, sang and danced his name were all corpses.

His lips trembled. He couldn't muster up any words. Beads of sweat trickled down his forehead. He felt like his heart was about to jump out from his mouth.

He walked back slowly as he searched frantically for a normal person he could call for help from, but there was no one. Absolutely no one.

He slipped and fell on his butt then turned to where Damian stood. President Markle H. Vilin and Damian looked at Mark with disdain and walked away.

"W-Wait!"

Mark returned his attention to the mayhem in front of him.

Karin was still standing there, with Rebecca at her side, their backs were facing Mark.

"K-K-Karin?" He pushed his legs on the ground and used his hands to drag himself backwards.

Crack… Crack… Crack… Karin's head turned a full 180°. It wasn't Karin but the pregnant woman Mark mercilessly killed in Damian's apartment building.

A heart-wrenching scream echoed through the stage, 

"What have I ever done to you?! Why did you have to kill my babies?! Why did you kill us?!"

"I don't… I don't know… I'm-I'm sorry… please forgive me…" Tears flowed from Mark's eyes like a fountain.

Rebecca turned slightly to Mark. She looked the same as the others but a hole was in her forehead.

"Bye bye~"

The corpse crowd rushed to Mark, ploughing everything in their path.

"AHH! Aaaahh! Ahhhhhh! Stop! Please stop! Someone! Damian! Someone! Please! Help! Aaaahh! Aaaaaahhh!" Mark produced constant ear-splitting screams and cries for help as they tore him to pieces and ate him alive.

…

"Aaaahh!" Mark jolted up from the bed.

He frantically touched his whole body.

"That… That was all just a dream? Damn… It felt so real… What a nightmare." Mark still felt his body.

He checked his watch and it read 4:36 am.

"Damn. I didn't even get to sleep properly."

Mark was afraid of going back to sleep. That nightmare did a number on him.

He remembered how they bit into his flesh and ripped his limbs apart. He was tormented.

He was only wearing a black sleeveless vest, so he wore a brown jacket and left the tent. He walked down south, the path to Brooklyn Bridge Subway Station.

On the stroll, his heart was weary and his mind was filled with sorry thoughts.

Every breath he took reminded him of what he had taken from those innocent people at Cranberry street.

After walking and thinking for about 20 minutes, he gathered his resolve.

"Sadly, sobbing won't bring them back to life. For every life I took to gain this power, I will save a thousand with it. And for every heart that grieves those lives, I will restore hope to a million. Now this… is my conviction."

Mark now yearned for strength but first, he had to test to see his limit.

First, he did a thousand push-ups, but that didn't seem to faze him. He didn't feel any muscle fatigue.

Then he did 500 push-ups with only one hand and did the same for the other. He felt a bit tired but could still go on many rounds.

…Wow, with this strength I wonder if I can do Hulk's thunderclap… 

Following that, he did a push up for every second till the sun rose.

By 6:30 am, he went above ground to an empty apartment building to have a shower and get ready for the day.

*  *  *

By 9:00 am, all the residents had already gotten themselves ready.

Everyone was split into groups based on gender, which was further split into smaller groups. They had to go above ground to the empty apartment building while being protected by David Dolan, Damian, Mark and other men that had the might to kill demons.

By 9:10 am, David Dolan called for the second meeting to tell everyone his elaborate plan on how they would survive the 2nd phase.

"From now on, we're going to take the 'demons' by the horn" David Dolan pointed up to the ceiling, "We're going to exterminate all the demons."