Chapter 13: Oscars. 

"Well you see, it's like this—" 

"Brother, I didn't know this until now but... You are quite shameless." 

Lee and Uncle Brown stared at Titus weirdly after they heard his 'plan' to somehow get the crystals without anyone else noticing. I mean, don't get them wrong, the plan was good, just that it was too devious. How on earth did Titus come up with it? Was he really just shameless? But why didn't they notice it till now? And he didn't even know how to socialize and had no friends!

This was... bizarre.

Titus wasn't bothered by them, not even by a bit, instead he smirked at them.

"I haven't finished yet—

You see my plan won't work if one crucial part of it is missing. And I think Lee and Uncle Brown are the ones who can do this. The communication between the two of you will be fantastic because of your father and son connection.

"Really? Brother, tell us quickly! I still feel somewhat down because of my little contribution to the battle but I assure you that this time, I will not let you down!"

"How about you Uncle, are you okay with it?"

"Go on lad, talk. I will do it, regardless of what it is, as long as it means gaining power. That way I could better protect you two."

"Alright, since we've all agreed, then it goes like this—"

...

"Lee, Uncle, you must go now otherwise we'll miss the opportunity. The soldiers might be finished in their business soon."

"Tsk, you mischievous brat! We'll see how I'll teach you after this is all over!"

"Right! Do you even consider me as a brother? How could you do this?! And also, what's your role in this anyway?"

"Of course I treat you as a brother hence I trust that you can do this task. As for my role... 'I'll be in distraught and stay here. I can only watch you in stupefaction while tending to my leg wound.' See? I really got hurt when I kicked the monster." As he pointed to his 'wound.'

'Isn't that equal to saying that you're just gonna watch us do the work?! And also, didn't your wound scab already?'

Lee and Uncle Brown thought as they glared at Titus.

'Indeed, like father, like son.' Titus thought as he looked at the two glaring at him.

"Go on, we don't have much time."

And with that, Titus shrugged them off and waved his hands to shoo them away.

Gritting their teeth, Lee and Uncle Brown reluctantly went ahead in 'performing' the plan. 

"*Sob* You Monsters! You killed mom! I'll get you! Ahhhhh!"

"Damn bastards! My wife, my dear wife was killed by you disgusting creatures! I will not let you rest even after death! I will not leave any of your corpses intact!"

Lee and Uncle Brown suddenly shouted loudly startling the other survivors and the soldiers. When they have heard what they said, they calmed down. It was actually considered normal to act like this to a certain extent. Especially to the soldiers. Before they came here and were still in the city helping, they saw such scenes so they weren't surprised anymore. 

And one more thing, who would think that they are acting in the first place? Why would you act in a crisis? That was because they were ignorant and soon, they would know why this 'act' was crucial.

After punching through the bullet holes of the monster, the father and son duo would then move to another monster. And then another. And then another. They kept repeating the action until they seemed to 'calm down' and went back to the truck. But who would've thought that after a few minutes they would erupt and started punching the corpses again.

In total, they did this for 4 times. And with that number of times. The people who were near them gradually moved far away from them with the exception of Titus who actually got closer. Of course that was to receive the crystals they've collected secretly under the cover of close body contact.

The father and son FINALLY calmed down after all this time and started talking amongst themselves.

Though they didn't want to do it over and over again, they had no choice because there were many monster corpses and they could only hold about three crystals in each hand. The reason for this was because they had to keep the crystals in their hands as they picked up another, they couldn't reach into their pockets to store them as they might arouse suspicions. It would also be too weird. It was like playing Jackstone [1].

Although their hands are still bloodied, they temporarily just rubbed them on the ground and washed them with mud. What was more important now was their spoils. In total, they got 24 crystals. They equally divided it into three, including Titus, and they got 8 each. For now, they didn't break/use the crystals as it was too eye-catching and could not be covert. Passing the crystals over to each other was already very hard, so they could only wait until they get back to the city or get in a quiet place.

"I must say, you two really deserve an Oscars. Your acting was award winning! Your expressions feel so real and is really believable—"

"Brat, you're too—"

Titus teased them to help lighten the atmosphere. When Uncle Brown was about to reprimand/bicker with Titus, they noticed the down expression on Lee's face.

"Son, what's the matter?"

"I just remembered Mom..."

Titus suddenly felt guilty. That was his idea after all. Fortunately, Uncle Brown came to his rescue.

"You'll get used to it, and besides, always keep in your heart that your mother loves you. Don't feel sad otherwise you're just making your mother sad too."

Although, Uncle Brown was affected by Lee and thought of his wife. He was mature and a dad. He was a man! What he said to Lee, was what he felt and that gave him comfort. He still remembered the smile on his wife's face before—sigh...

"Alright people, please gather and form a line neatly. Get on the trucks now. We'll set off once you're all seated. Don't push around! There is enough space for everyone. If anyone dares to cause a ruckus, I have the authority to execute punishment!"

The captain announced loudly. Originally, the survivors were agitated due to happiness, anxiety, etc. but after hearing the last sentence they shivered from fright and immediately calmed down.

Proofread by: @lynn

Author's Note:

[1] https://simple.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jackstones

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