I HAVE EVOLVED

BACK TO THE PRESENT

As Mark and Anne lay there, their bodies twitched from time to time as they continued to convulse in pain.

"Guys, what's wrong?" Leo inquired, feeling helpless at the sight of his friends.

"What's going on..." he tried to keep as calm as possible, pondering the various possible causes of their conditions. "Wait, now that I think about it, I experienced something similar... I'm okay now, so I guess... I hope they will be too," Leo mused, recalling fainting when he came out to look at the explosion. He remembered feeling excruciating pain, which caused him to lose consciousness.

From what was happening to Anne, and Mark, he could only hope it was the same thing that happened to him as he was helpless unable to give any assistance to them.

He kept his gaze on them as they continued to convulse in pain, their skin and bodies contorting and releasing dark blood from their orifices and pores. He couldn't only feel sympathetic wishing he could do something to help them.

The scene was a real horror show, with their bodies twisted up like they were doing some messed-up yoga. You could hear bones cracking, loud and nasty, and skin tearing like it was being ripped apart. It was all messed up, like their bodies were rebelling against every natural rule.

Limbs were going in crazy directions like they were playing a sick game of Twister. And the blood, dark and sticky, was just pouring out, pooling on the floor beneath them. It was like their insides were turning into a real-life horror movie.

Leo, frozen by the horrific sight, couldn't shake off the taste of the metallic, blood-like smell in the air. The whole room felt heavy like it was carrying the weight of their pain. As he watched, feeling completely helpless, their bodies kept twisting and breaking, creating a messed-up symphony of suffering.

Mark, after escaping the ants, hid with Leo and Anne in one of the many rooms of the school—a storage room. He happened to pass by, entering and seeking shelter as it was empty, making it safer than outside, where the ants might still be after him.

Leo couldn't bear the helplessness he felt, so he decided to grab a towel to wipe away the blood, tears, and snort from their body. Seeing the condition of their bodies drew his attention to himself.

"Wow, I'm soaked in blood, piss, and snort... This confirms it; what happened to me must be happening to them. Let's clean them up first, and then I'll take care of myself," Mark said aloud, even though no one conscious was there to hear.

With a sense of urgency, Leo rushed around the room, searching for anything that could help. His eyes fell upon a towel; they were in a lost and found storage room, with miscellaneous items scattered on the floor due to broken shelves caused by the flood and blast waves of the explosions. Fortunately, that was the only damage the room suffered, making it a haven amid the rubble.

As if fate intervened, he spotted a bottle of hand sanitizer nearby—a coincidence that could aid in cleaning.

Leo's actions mirrored his concern for his friends. He infected the towel with hand sanitizer, poured water on it, and began delicately wiping away the traces of the ordeal from Mark and Anne's bodies. The light streaming in from the outside provided a gentle luminance, aiding Leo in his task.

However, as Leo observed their twitches and involuntary movements, he couldn't help but notice that his efforts were unintentionally causing more pain. Realizing the delicate nature of their condition, he decided to halt the cleaning process to prevent any further distress. He looked at them regrettably a state help he wished to offer was just literally adding salt to their wounds.

He then decided to attend to himself as he was extremely filthy, with dried blood, traces of snot, and the mixture of the stench of piss and the metallic smell of blood adorning his body.

Leo cleaned up using a different towel, as he cleaned thoughts raced through his mind about how this happened, creating speculations he believed fitted the situation. After freshening up he changed into a fresh set of clothes,—a hooded grey long-sleeved jacket and black tracksuit trousers. With newfound composure, he settled down, keeping a vigilant watch over Mark and Anne, silently hoping that the cleansing process would alleviate their pain and bring about a similar recovery he experienced.

He sat there unmoving for hours, keeping a vigilant watch on his friend. After what felt like an eternity, but in reality, was only 12 hours, the two stopped moving, lying there motionless as if death had claimed their souls, freeing them from unending torment.

Leo was alarmed when he noticed their unmoving state, their condition mirroring that of the deceased. Fearing the worst, he placed his hand closer to their nose, trying to feel for their breath.

"Phew," he sighed in relief as he felt their breath, heavy like that of someone in a deep sleep. "Thank goodness they're alive... Whatever was happening, I believe it's over. Let me get them something to eat before they wake up... But before that let me clean them up" Leo thought to himself, relief evident on his face.

He grabbed another towel, disinfected it, and wiped their body with it, this time causing them no pain. With a smile plastered on his face, he continued to wipe them, finally cleaning their exposed skin off the filth oozed from their bodies.

He stopped, as it was not wise to remove their clothes, even though that needed to be done. He refrained from it, considering that might create discord and distrust between him and Anne, his crush. For Mark, he just didn't want to.

If he did remove her clothes just to wipe her clean, something she could do on her own when she awoke;

How would he explain himself?

" You were dirty l, so I had to "

That could buy him a slap or a look of disgust so he decided against it.

He looked at his handy work, one he was not proud of as blood was still on Anne's legs which were exposed due to the torn tattered condition of her stocking.

" Yep, can't do anything about that," said the virgin who was too chicken to even touch a female's legs.

He didn't know how she would react if she found out he had touched her legs without her permission, so he refrained from it. Putting such thoughts behind him, he got up and moved towards the door, which was surprisingly still intact.

He stood there hesitantly as he was afraid he might experience the excruciating pain again.

From his analysis, he had figured that it was from the air outside or some other factor from the outside as such did not happen not until the explosion exposed them to the outside world.

" Go "

He abruptly turns to look behind him as the words spoken were not his own.

Mark and Anne lay down, their chest moving up and down as they were still unconscious.

" Did I just... I must be imagining things " he ignored the voice as there were no one there, making it out to be the symphony of a passing wind.

He gently pushed the door open and stepped out of it.

[ Ding, a life has been taken, extracting soul energy ]

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24yrs 9mnths 4wks 5days 2hrs 25mins

NAME: Leo Allen

RACE: Human

Evolution: Feotus

AGE: 17/100

Soul energy: 2.1/50

Vitality: 500/500

Strength:47

Agility: 47

Endurance: 84

Intelligence: 71

Mana: 50

Skills:

Poison resistance ~ Poison immunity: 0%

Motion sense: 85%

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" I have evolved?! "