BEYOND THE DEAD ZONE | COMPLETE

Fifty-Two |

Fifty-Two |

    "What do you mean so what?" It's form changed again, so that Mom stood in front of me. "I just told you something revolutionary. Humans are not the only conscious being in the world and we were made by humans! I allow you to see what you want to see! My form--I pick my form based off your needs and desires."

I shrugged. "In case you haven't noticed, which if you're just chilling in Maxwell's body, you wouldn't, but one version of your virus is about to destroy the world."

She frowned. "Is that why you're trying to absorb me?"

"Yes." Although, I still didn't know what that meant. 

"You want a power boost," she hummed, tapping her hand. "Which is a smart idea but, absorbing me won't change anything. I'm the original sure, but Alpha, Delta, Gamma and Beta were all viruses modified from me and Thirteen. What you want is Thirteen."

I tilted my head. "And what's that?"

As if comically on cue, the sky darkened, and a loud roar cut through the air. The virus—Zero—sighed loudly, not at all surprised by the sudden noise. I glanced at her, realizing she'd changed her form again but this time, she was in the form of a small, bald child (maybe seven) which I could only guess was Mom. 

"T-that's Thirteen," she whimpered. "The one Eric Maxwell made."  

Well shit. 

"And what would absorbing that do?" I asked quietly. 

She looked up at me with wide, green eyes. "I-It was made to be strong and destructive. To infect and upgrade the body but it was uncontrollable. I barely contained it. If you absorb that, it could boost your ability to absorb. Maybe even make it so you can absorb viruses without touching them."

My mind whirled. "But?"

"But it might also kill you," she whispered. 

Well, that didn't sound good at all but I didn't see any other choice. 

"Alright," I chipped. "Take me to the source of Thirteen."

She nodded, holding out her hand. "Good luck Eero Brooks. You'll need it." 

I took her hand and when I did, the world shifted around us. Or rather, dreamland did. Yeah, I guess Mom was onto something with that nickname. A small smile stretched onto my lips as I opened my eyes and took in the new sight in front of me. I was expecting a castle of sludge, or maybe a large snarling monster but that wasn't what I got. My eyes looked at the pathetic creature carefully and suddenly, I realized why Zero had picked that form that she did. 

Thirteen was a small boy. With sludge skin and black eyes. As I stared at him, he stared back. I think he was crying, but the only thing that dripped from his body was that black sludge. Before I could comment, Zero skipped past me and knelt down to his level. 

"That's Eero," she said. "She's a friend."

He sniffled again. "Friend?'

I did an awkward wave. "Hello."

"She's going to take you," Zero said softly. "She's going to take both of us."

"Will it hurt? I don't want to hurt." 

My eyes widened. Jesus Christ—what was this? Guilt flared up in my chest. I knew they were viruses, hell I knew they were the specific zombie virus that destroyed this world and gave Cora her abilities. I guess at the same time they'd given me mine and Persephone hers. It was all so confusing, the emotional whiplash was almost too much.  

"It might," I said honestly. "But I have to." 

He nodded. "Okay."

That feeling returned in my chest and for a moment I could feel them. Warmth spread through my body, a headache throbbed just behind my eyes, and I felt myself pitch backwards. Hands caught my shoulders before I could fall back and when I opened my eyes once more, I was back in the real world. Eric Maxwell was still, his body...disintegrating.  

"Huh," I murmured in a slight daze. 

"It seems when you take the virus from old bodies, there's nothing let holding the bodies together," Persephone murmured. "You're like a walking cure."  

And yet, there was a little voice in the back of my head that filled me with guilt. 

"Yeah," I whispered. "I think I can do it. I think I can absorb the virus without touching anyone, I think I can stop her and all of them." At least, that's the feeling I got. Once again, I felt the same and yet different. My body felt stronger, faster, and I could feel that need. A hunger to take everything the virus had. My tongue ran along my lips and I pulled away from Persephone. 

"Let's go," I said. 

She nodded. "Come on Sister. It's time to end this." 

I'd kill Cora, and then I'd kill every last Delta that threatened this world. But I wouldn't stop there. This hunger inside me, I wanted to take every last zombie. I wanted to feast on them until nothing was left except myself. 

The Alpha of this world. 

I smirked to myself bitterly. What a lonely responsibility. 

We slipped out of the room and down the hall. When a Delta approached, I could smell a sugary scent in the air and an ache in my body. I could almost see the threads of the virus that puppeteer the dead body. My body felt cold, and I reached out my hand as if to grab the zombie. However, before it could reach us, a warmth spread through my veins and the Delta dropped. 

"Very impressive Sister," Persephone murmured. 

Guilt ebbed at me. She was safety behind me but I hadn't even thought of her once nor her safety. Taking a small breath, I looked back to the silent Delta. Impressive indeed but would it be enough? For the sake of the Dead Zone, I hoped so. I couldn't allow any of the virus to live. Every last host had to go, it was the only way.