This place is bigger than I imagined. The walls were sturdy and it didn’t seem like anything could get through them. Fifi and they should be safe.

Goldie walks beside me as we’re in the middle of the formation. The two men with guns protected our backs while also being able to keep a watch on all of us.

We stand in front of a gate before it opens up. There must have been some sort of surveillance cameras that were watching us. The area within the walls was spacious but the most eye-catching thing was the mansion in front of us. It was large and white just like how Fifi painted it.

“Heh, shocked, aren't you? Our bosses are some sort of government agents. They got the money and power to protect us.”

“Hey, shut up. We can’t tell him things like that.”

We walk towards the mansion as the others begin to chat. They were finally able to relax now that they were safe. We enter the front door and the interior was just as spacious and extravagant as the outside. Everything was white and I think made out of marble. In front of us was a large staircase that led up to the second floor.

There was something flying from the second floor and it wasn’t slowing down at all. It was coming straight for me.

“Whoa!”

“What’s wrong?”

“N-nothing.”

Fifi had suddenly flown at me so I was surprised but I’m glad that she’s safe. She was laying down on my hair and rolling everywhere like it’s the most comfortable place ever. None of the other guys were looking at me so I’m sure they don’t see my hair rapidly moving around.

“Jude, I’ve missed you!”

Fifi stops but she continues to lay down on my hair. I can’t talk to her right now so rub her head with my index finger. To others, it would just look like I’m scratching my head.

I think Goldie could see Fifi because he was initially barking at her when she flew at me. Now he’s quietly staring at me asking if I knew Fifi. I rub Goldie’s head to confirm that I’m fine.

“JUDE!!!!”

I look towards the direction from where I heard my name being called but my view changes as I’m tackled down by a familiar person. I was now on the ground with Mako crying within my chest. Her arms were tightly wrapped around me, not letting me escape.

“Get off of Jude! It’s my time with him.”

Fifi was slightly complaining but Mako ignores it.

“Jude! Jude! Jude! Jude! Jude! Jude! Jude! Jude! Jude! Jude! Jude! Jude! Jude! Jude! Jude!”

Her body was so warm. I wonder how long it’s been since someone has worried about me this much.

“Sorry for worrying you, Mako.”

“Jude!!”

She looks up at me and her face was a mess. Her nose was red, her eyes puffy, and snot dripping out, but I don’t mind it. These were all of Mako’s genuine feelings, I wouldn’t reject them. The only thing I can do is calm her down.

I hold her tight and comb my right hand through her hair while my left hand gently pats her back. I don’t know if this will help but this is the only way I know how to soothe a person.

“Don’t cry, Mako. I’m alive and well.”

“J-Jude!!!”

She continues to cry while calling out my name. It was weird, these kinds of tears didn’t bring pain to my heart. When Fifi cried and when Lisa cried, my heart was in so much pain but it’s different this time. I guess there are happy tears like there can be happy farewells.

“JUDE!!!!”

I never knew Mako cared about me this much. She cares for me as much as I care for her. I’ll never let her cry tears of sadness ever again.

“Jude! Jude! Jude! Jude! Jude! Jude! Jude! Jude! Jude! Jude! Jude! Jude! Jude! Jude! Jude! Jude! Jude!”

I don’t know how much time has passed but Mako continues to cry within my arms and it doesn’t seem like she’ll be done soon. Fifi was starting to get mad so she started pulling at my hair. Goldie was off on the side resting and the men who I came in with were just staring at us in shock.

From the stairs, I see a very large muscular person. He reminded me of the four-armed Tajas Tigurka showed me but just not with four arms. Appearing from behind him was another familiar face. Her petite body was blocked by the muscular man but now we were staring at each other.

Her eyes were getting watery and she runs down the stairs. Just like Mako, Lisa jumps into me. I make space and hug Lisa too.

“RUDY!!!”

“Yes, your little brother is right here.”

“Rudy! Rudy Rudy!”

Exactly like Mako, Lisa cries while calling me by my nickname. Once again, I was wrong about our relationship. I had thought that the feelings Lisa had for me were only feelings of dependence but I was wrong. She truly cared for me like her real brother. These tears of hers weren’t fake.

When did I become so blessed to have people care for me? The last time I’ve felt this much love and affection was from my parents. Along the way, I became used to being ridiculed for my scars and being alone. I don’t think I can live my life without having this warmth anymore.

……

“Are you two ok now?”

“Y-yeah.”

“Jude.”

Lisa gets up and wipes her tears away. Mako, on the other hand, wouldn’t let me go. She was snuggling even closer and had an iron grip around my body. Her tears were gone but she continues to hug me with a smile on her face.

“Let go! I gave you your time with Jude. Let him go!”

Fifi grabs Mako’s ear and tries to pry her off, but it doesn’t work. Mako wouldn't let go.

“Please let go, Mako.”

“No! I want to stay with Jude longer.”

The way she was acting was totally different from her normal self. She was a serious a proper girl but now she’s acting all selfish and spoiled. It was honestly cute but I needed her to let me go. I still need to talk with Fifi and Lisa.

“Mako, please let go. We can cuddle as much as we want later.”

I bring Mako closer and whisper into her ear. I don’t know if this would work but my ears are pretty sensitive so I’m sure other people’s ears are too.

It works like a charm and Mako’s face was blushing. That same tingly feeling I felt must have gone through her too.

“O-ok. It’s a promise.”

“Sure.”

Mako gets off of me and I stand up. Realizing that I was about to go, Goldie also stands up. Looking around, multiple people had gathered around us. There are about 20 or so people that I could count. A lot of them were whispering to each other.

“Ok, Jude. Let’s get going. We have a lot to talk about.”

Lisa grabs my hand and we head on up to the second floor. Lisa, Mako, Fifi, the muscular guy, and I walk up the stairs as the others continue to whisper amongst themselves. It seems like this muscular guy is a friend of Lisa and Mako.

“Nice to meet you, I’m Jude Craven.”

“Nice to meet you too, I’m Gorou Gorildo. I’ve heard many stories of you from Lisa and Fifi.”

“I don’t know what stories you’ve heard but thank you for protecting them, Gorou.”

“It’s fine, that’s the only thing I could do for them anyway.”

“Hehe, you can just call him Gogo, Jude.”

After our introductions, we talk for a bit. Gorou seems like a pretty nice guy and he’s been protecting the group for quite a while. Most of the members of the Shield squad has died so he’s been playing their role all by himself.

Lisa opens a door and we all enter inside. It was a pretty spacious room and there were monitors set up everywhere. Various equipment with many wires spread all around the room. The people in the room were William, Gareth, and some girl I’ve never met before. It looks like they were planning their next course of action but they look at us when we enter.

“Oh, you’re safe, Jude. Your strength will definitely help us.”

William and Gareth don’t seem surprised at all that I’ve survived.

“It looks like you’ve guys have been doing fine. Thank you for protecting everyone.”

I bow my head towards them. They have kept our end of the deal by protecting Fifi, Lisa, and Mako. Now, I have to put up my end of the deal, which is to protect them until we reach safety.

We all sit down around the room while William and Gareth fiddle with their machinery. Gorou goes and sits by the girl who I don’t know while Lisa and Mako sit right next to me. Mako was tightly holding onto my right arm while Lisa was sitting next to me. Fifi was laying down on my head while Goldie sat in between my legs. He was warily looking around at all these people he didn’t know.

“Hey, Jude, what’s that animal in between your legs.”

“It’s a dog. I found it earlier today and it decided to follow me. His golden hair reminded me of yours.”

“Are you saying I look like an animal!?”

She sounded a bit angry but that wasn’t what I meant by comparing the color of their hair.

“No, it’s just that its beautiful fur reminded me of your beautiful hair. I didn’t mean to offend you.”

“O-oh. Ok then. Yes, my hair is beautiful!”

Her tone wasn’t angry any more so that’s good. Lisa who was on my left side was intently staring at Goldie.

“Do you want to pet him?”

“Yes!”

“Go ahead. He’s pretty docile so he shouldn’t bite.”

Lisa reaches her hand out but Goldie begins to growl.

“It’s fine, Goldie. Lisa isn’t an enemy.”

I pat Goldie’s head and he calms down. Lisa was able to successfully pat him. Goldie walks over to Lisa and she begins rubbing him all over. She really likes Goldie.

“Alright, let’s get down to business. Let’s talk about the things we’ve experienced. I’m sure you’re interested in how we got here.”

“Yeah, what happened at the base?”

William begins to explain everything that has happened that led them to here. Like I had thought, the base was suddenly attacked by a horde of zombies. The one leading this horde was a zombie who used earth magic. The barricades were suddenly blasted down by a pillar of earth magic and the zombies flowed in.

After that, they had no choice but to pack up and run out of the base. Their group of 20 was able to escape and within a few days made it to the men in black’s hideout with little problems.

“I have a question. Earlier I heard a few of the men talking about buying people with Chad points. What’s that all about?”

Those two men were talking about buying Mako and Lisa so I will never forgive them. Mako and Lisa aren’t something you can buy and play with.

“I’ll explain. There’s this guy named Chad that had been part of our group when we ran away and he created this dumb system he called the Chad System. You can trade Chad points for various goods and one of those goods is sexual favors. A lot of the people within our group has fallen into the Chad System.”

Lisa was explaining the circumstances and I could see that this Chad System was troubling her.

“Do you need me to get rid of it? I can do it if you want Lisa.”

“I-it’s fine. It’s a disgusting method but this kind of system is what’s been keeping everyone’s morals up. The thought of points being able to gain you better rewards have kept people motivated. I don’t agree with Chad’s methods and at this point, if we try to destroy it, the people may retaliate.”

“I see. If you need me to destroy it, then just ask me.”

“Thanks, Jude.”

It seems like Lisa has gone through her fair share of troubles as this group’s leader. I hope my presence can at least alleviate some of her burdens.

“Now that Jude is here. Let’s talk about our plan to escape the city.”

Everyone’s attention was gathered toward William. Gareth was in the back fiddling with the computer. A second later, a map of Ostempal suddenly appears on the large monitor in the room.

“Our current problem right now is that connection to the outside world is closed off. Electricity and plumbing still work but we can’t contact the outside world. This can only mean one thing.”

William goes ahead and draws a large red circle around the city.

“Ostempal has been quarantined and is being deliberately shut off from the outside world. We don’t know why but there’s a high chance that the government decided to shut everyone inside. It’s just too much of a coincidence for a zombie outbreak to happen and that all connection to the outside world to be cut off. It could mean that we’ve been abandoned.”

Everyone in the room was shocked. This meant that we won’t be getting help from the government at all. We have to escape this predicament by ourselves. There’s one thing that I’m still questioning over. Was this zombie apocalypse deliberate? Are we all just part of some giant government testing but would the government really sacrifice one of the biggest cities of Colorfornia?

“So what’s our plan now? Are we still going to escape?”

“Yes, I’ve already talked to everyone here and our plan is to escape the city when you arrive. Since you’re here, we’ll leave this mansion within a few days after preparing ourselves. Once we’re all ready then we’ll take the armored truck in the garage and head out of the city.”

I see. They’ve already planned to escape the city. There’s one person I’m worried about and that’s Lisa. Is she fine with abandoning all these other people?

“Are you fine with this, Lisa?”

“Yes, I’ve already thought it over and the only way for us to help everyone is to get outside help. If we let the outside world know what’s happening then they have to send a rescue team to save everyone trapped in the city.”

“Ok, I have no problems with the plan.”

Now that William was done with there side of events, I begin to tell them what happened to me. I asked Fifi whether the men in black knew about her but it seems like they didn’t so I don’t reveal what actually happened to me.

The story I fabricated was that I ran towards the big tree and climbed up it. There was a large hole within the tree so I decided to rest there to recuperate the injuries that I got from the zombies chasing me. That entire week I couldn’t move or escape because there were way too many zombies surrounding the area.

It was only when a special zombie started rampaging that the zombies began to scatter. I had taken this opportunity to run for the library’s basement but what I found was that it was empty. Luckily I had found Fifi’s map and that is how I set off on my journey to this mansion.

“I see. It must have been rough being all by yourself. Take the rest of the day and recover your energy. We’ll be leaving this mansion in two days.”

William ends our meeting and he goes off to discuss with Gareth about something. It seems like they know I’m hiding something but they don’t ask about it. Since I have time to rest, I would really like to use this time to take a warm shower. I haven’t taken a shower these past few days because I didn’t want to waste mana so I stink.

“Lisa, do you guys have a bath I can use?”

“Hmm, yeah.”

Lisa stops playing with Goldie and leads me to another room. This room was ridiculously spacious. There was a bed in the middle of the room which could probably fit ten people on it and even then, there was plenty of space in this room. This entire mansion was just over the top when it came to how much space there was.

“Umm, can you let me go, Mako. I can’t shower with you here.”

“I don’t want to. We can just shower together.”

I don’t know how to reply to that. Even I would be embarrassed showering with a girl. It’s not like we are lovers or anything so it would be awkward. I signal for Lisa to help me get Mako off of me. She’s the only person who can help me right now.

“Come on, Mako. We can’t be bothering Jude.”

“No, I don’t want to!”

“Stop acting like a spoiled brat. We need to let Jude rest.”

Lisa was finally able to drag Mako away. I locked the door and the only people left in this spacious room was Fifi, Goldie, and me.

“I’m going to go shower and bathe Goldie.”

“Ok.”

Goldie and I head on over to the adjacent room. The bathroom was just as extravagant as the bedroom. There was a large tub in the middle with windows that let the sunlight in.

“Come here, Goldie. Let me look at your wound.”

I unwrap the bandages and it looks better, but just in case I wrap it with a towel. I don’t know if he’ll feel pain when I wash him. I turn on the bath and the showerhead and wait for them to warm up.

I take off my clothes and look at myself in the mirror. These scars all over my body will always be disgusting. Just seeing them reminds me of all the pain and suffering I had to go through. Those were horrible times but the fact that I’m alive today is proof that I persevered.

It’s proof that I was able to deny Death. Even that selfish Death wasn’t able to take my life that day. I fought for my life and was given a second chance to live again. I’ll live more selfishly, Tigurka. I’ll live a proud and selfish life.