“I’m back, Horse Head.” My voice was calm, but I made sure to make my intentions clear with it. It took me way too long to navigate through this cave to find this guy, so I wasn’t in the mood for any more jokes or lessons.

  The man looked at me without turning his entire body. He seemed to be more focused on the wall in front of him than me. “It’s cute that you’re still calling me ‘Horse Head’, hombre muerto. My name is Jesus Hernandez. That isn’t a placeholder name either. I have no reason to lie to you. Even if it was dangerous to give you my real name, I wouldn’t be worried. After all, nobody can beat me.”

  I chuckled, cracking my knuckles. “Didn’t I nearly kill you yesterday?” I glanced at his hands gripping his sword. “If I recall correctly, you cut off one of those hands. How’d you get them back?”

  Jesus flipped a middle finger at me, presumably with the hand he sliced off before. “Just a little secret technique I learned a while back. Not telling you anything though. And don’t think biting me makes you strong or anything. The one thing any Radius Ability user can’t defend themselves from is a zombie bite. It’s collectively our one weakness. Like prostitutes and STDs.”

  Weird analogy, but understandable.

  Aura, healing techniques, and now he knows about Radius Abilities? Just who was this guy, and why was this his choice of fashion? “Horse Head, is there a reason why you’re so knowledgeable about all this? And I also remember you called me by my full name earlier. How did you know what it was?”

  “?Aún me llamas Cabeza de Caballo?” He sighed, shaking his head. “It looks like Daemon has effectively erased me from the history books, so let me introduce myself. You’re staring at the first ever Radius Ability user since this New World was created.”

  “Huh!? You’re the first? Seriously?”

  He made a bow, as if I was congratulating him for his achievements. “You got that right. Haven't you ever questioned why nothing major was ever destroyed when the bombs initially made those ejacu-splosions ten years ago? No towns, cities, not even the atmosphere. Well, that was because the bombs actually mutated more than they destroyed.”

  “So… that explains the zombies and the animals? I guess that mutation shit affected humans too?”

  “Correcto!” He drew a picture of DNA in the ground, and then drew what looked to be a monster right next to it. “Something in those bombs either added or changed our DNA, giving some of us random superpowers. Think of the bomb impregnating the Earth with its juices.”

  “Dude, the hell?”

  “I believe every survivor has these powers, but it takes longer for some to activate than others.”

  I folded my arms. “Alright, that’s interesting. What I still find concerning is how you know my full name. I’m gonna take a wild guess and say you’re a member of the Underground Radius, aren’t you?”

  He paused for a few seconds. “I used to be. Then, I left. I will not go into details as to why.”

  “It doesn’t work like that, man. If you don’t explain in at least light detail for me, then I’m not gonna feel safe around you.” I thought back to when he saved my daughter. “I don't think you’re totally a bad guy. Just a weirdo nut job, so what’s the real deal with you?”

  “Sorry, man, my lips are sealed. I mean, would you dare force a girl to tell you about all the men that have had her way with her—no matter how much it hurts your soul!?”

  I’d actually prefer a girl with some experience…

  He went back to facing the wall. “And I don’t care if you don’t feel safe around me, or if you don’t fully trust me. I got my own problems to deal with, as you can see.”

  Yeah, staring at a wall like a crackhead should be considered a problem. “Ok, let’s make this easier. Do you have a dream?”

  Jesus remained silent, his aura softening.

  “I’ve met a few people who told me their dreams, and it made them, I guess, a lot more human in my eyes. I just wanna know if there’s a human under that… horse head.”

  The swordsman pointed at his head. “This was supposed to be a gift for my son. Every time I messed around in it, it would make him laugh. I’m keeping it on me so that when I find him, he’ll be able to wear it himself for once. The boy was still a baby when I lost him, so he should still like it.” He paused, looking down at his feet. “It’s less a ‘dream’, and more of a goal, but both are all about seeking something important, right?”

  It was hard for me not to sympathize with a fellow father, especially one in his situation. However, what I still couldn’t fathom was what he even gained from constantly bombing a town when finding his son should've been top priority.

  “Why are you a bomber?” I asked cautiously. “Are you even aware of the fact that you’re bombing a town full of innocent people, innocent children!?”

  Jesus’s head sprang up, as though that information surprised him. “Huh!? The hell are you talking about? You’re right to say I’m a bomber, but I’m not trying to kill anyone. I’m trying to save them actually.”

  I clenched my fists. “Save them? Didn’t the other Radion that came down here give you the message? You literally got their place labeled ‘Explosion City’.”

  “Oh no,” he sighed, grabbing his head and pacing in circles. “Esto es malo… I thought the dude was trying to stop me, man.” The man stopped and looked back at me. “Listen, there's actually a good reason I've been doing this, ok? I just gotta show you.”

  “What could possibly justify blowing up a-”

  The answer was soon given to me the moment Jesus tapped on the wall. One moment it was silent. The next, chaos entered, a mass of zombies ripping through the wall with an intense aggression. Horse Head leaped back, readying his sword. I opted to stay, knocking off the heads of a couple of the monsters. But there were too many. They surged forward like a wave, teeth flashing.

  Just as I was about to fall, a thunderous boom shook the room. A bulbous, green light eviscerated the zombies around me. Everything around me began to crumble, and I lost sight of the swordsman.

  Finding him would have to wait though. If that explosion was heading where I think it was, then stopping it took priority. I zoomed through the debris and other obstacles in my way, all while avoiding getting erased by the energy myself.

  Jesus's attack wasn't like a normal bomb as it didn't expand from one spot. Rather, there were multiple explosions in different areas, and I needed to absorb each one before it reached the town. One by one, I absorbed the energies, getting closer and closer to the moving explosion in the front.

  I was about to go full throttle on my rocket feet when a strong weight smashed into my back. I crashed back down, the energy on my feet dispersing. A sword pierced the floor next to my head, and I immediately knew who it was.

  You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

  “Man, are you crazy!?” I screamed, thrashing on the ground. “I'm tryna save people here!”

  “Listen, you don't get it!” he growled, pinning me down with his hand and knees. “Even if I leave this cave, that town is gonna be fucked anyway. No tiene sentido! Type Two Radions have this effect on normal zombies. Their presence or pheromones maybe make them go loco, and a whole bunch of them start to gather.”

  “Are you saying the one in the town is causing this!?”

  Jesus grabbed his sword and took care of a few zombies while keeping me restrained. “Not just him. You are too. Trust me, it wasn't this bad before, but ever since you came around here, it's been making this shit a lot harder. You get it now? As long as both of y'all are here, this shit doesn't stop. They're gonna keep coming, and I gotta keep bombing.”

  “Damn… But what's the point of saving a town if you could potentially kill everyone who's in it? There has to be another way.”

  “Look, this is only happening because that Type Two up there is either constantly leaving the town to do something, or there's a whole nother Type Two coming in and out. Easiest way to solve this problem is to just… well, get rid of the thing. However, I'm not the type to kill someone for doing absolutely nothing.” He rolled me over and pointed at me. “If you want this to stop, you gotta fix the problem in that town. Not down here.”

  “Ay, dios mio…”

  “Ay, dios mio indeed, hombre muerto.”

  ******

  I didn't think “King” Kevon was someone who needed to die in order to help the town, even if he was responsible for a couple of deaths. Despite his apparent hatred for humans, he didn't really have another choice in the matter. Leave, and the town gets ravaged by zombies. Stay, and Jesus keeps blowing shit up.

  However, there was now a different way to handle this, and it was up to me to make Kevon see that.

  The only thing standing in my way as I stood at the gate was a little girl trying and failing to climb a tree. Noticing the doll on the tree branch, I immediately understood the situation. I knew talking to the “king” about what happened was important, though helping this kid in need should be a quick task.

  I waved at the girl who gasped at the sight of me. It was too bad I couldn't crack a smile, or maybe that wouldn't matter considering everything else about me looked scary…

  I gave a thumbs up to ease her worries, and jumped high enough to grab the doll. The huge smile she had on her face once I gave it to her lifted my spirits up.

  Perhaps the kid’s missing nose kept her from seeing me as just another freak.

  Geez, was that a fucked up thing to say?

  “Thank you so much, Mr. Zombie!” she exclaimed, hugging my leg. “My name is Julie. Do zombies have names?”

  I patted her head. “Not all of them, but I do. The name’s Jerome. Didn’t you hear it at the church yesterday?”

  Julie’s smile disappeared. “Oh, people like me are not supposed to go into town. We are considered the expendable ones.”

  Expendable ones?

  “Hey, talking zombie, you mind getting my things too?” asked an older man, pointing to his crutches which were strangely stuck on a tree behind him.

  “Nah, I’m good,” I said.

  “What!?” he shouted, his face turning red. “But you helped her out just now!”

  “Yeah, ‘cause she’s a kid who can’t climb trees while you’re a grown ass man.”

  “I’m missing a leg, asshole!” he argued, pointing at his stump. “I literally can’t walk. You know, back in my day I would've taught you a painful lesson in disrespecting”

  I guess now’s a good time to ask about that missing girl. Unfortunately, I left the piece of her shirt in Sunshine’s backpack, so I had to rely on my mouth instead.

  “Weird question, but have you two seen a girl around here?” I asked. “She was wearing a white shirt with a star… or flower on it. She was apparently associated with the dude that was about to be sacrificed yesterday.”

  “No, I haven't seen them,” said Julie.

  The man’s brows furrowed, then his eyes widened. “Oooh, I know who you’re talking about! She’s been hiding with us for the past few days. Hurry up and grab my crutches so I can take you to her.”

  Nice, so she is alive then!

  With the answer finally in reach, I snatched the man’s items from the tree and handed it to him. Once he got himself situated, I was led to a place the teen’s friend was supposedly hiding in.

  That was where I was hit with an anger inducing truth as I watched him sit down on a rocking chair.

  I wrapped my arm around the man’s neck and said, “You shouldn’t lie about missing teenagers, man. I was serious about that question.”

  He gritted his teeth, dropping his crutches. “Don’t get mad at me ‘cause you were so gullible. Were you really gonna let a one legged man walk back to his home all alone?”

  “Maybe start paying attention next time so a zombie doesn't bite the other one,” I spat back. “Also, why were your crutches in a tree anyway? Are you stupid?”

  “I threw them up there after he stepped on my doll,” said Julie, raising her hand with a smile. “He deserved it, so choke him harder.”

  I’m not even choking him…

  “Ah, Maria! Please save me!” the old man begged, his eyes lighting up.

  “Maria?” I said, looking in the direction he was looking at. The woman was by the window in the small house near us, and she was talking to someone I couldn’t see. “What are you two doing out here anyways? The town doesn’t fit your needs?”

  “You can shove your questions up your-”

  “It’s like I said before, Mr. Zombie,” Julie interrupted. “Me, Mayor Bernie, and now Maria are all expendables. We broke the rules, and now we are not allowed back inside. But we can live in that house though.”

  “I’m assuming you’re Mayor Bernie?” I asked the old man.

  “Yeah, I used to be a mayor,” he groaned, eyes narrowing. “Then… he came. Ruined everything about good ole Boomsbarrow.”

  “Are you talking about-”

  Before I could finish, the subject of my upcoming question opened the door. Kevon, who went back to his invisible look, walked down the stairs. He wasn’t accompanied by his bodyguards this time. Behind him, a guy and a woman in black suits followed the invisible man.

  Maria was behind them, holding her baby. I had just now found it strange how I never saw her son move or cry once since meeting her. Now those were skills I needed to learn.

  Even stranger was the suited man who kept his head leaning to his right, as though it was permanently stuck like that. Maybe the weight of the giant string around his head caused that. Through his weird headpiece, I could see he has lazy eyes. In stark contrast, the only noticeable details the woman had was a buzz cut and a shark tattoo on her forehead.

  “Ah, if it isn’t Jerome Hunter!” said Kevon, his red cape blowing in the wind. “I… didn’t expect you back so early.”

  Maria kept her eyes locked onto her son.

  Shark Tattoo glanced at me, and she smiled slightly. “Cool, it’s a Type Two. You think we can kill it, Orange?”

  “No way,” Spring Face said tiredly. As soon as Kevon’s cape hit his face, he grabbed it and held it down. “That’s way too high effort for me. If I'm gonna kill something, it has to be as weak as possible.”

  “Um, disregarding all that, Kevon, I have something you need to-”

  “King Kevon.”

  Oh yeah. Forgot he wanted me to play this dumb game in front of humans. “King Kevon, we need to talk about-”

  “Jerome, do you notice how the two behind you are bowing down?”

  Annoyed by his constant interruptions, I quickly bowed down. “We have something we need to talk about. About the explosions, I mean.”

  “Oh no,” Mayor Bernie whispered. “Not this ‘God of Calamity' shit again.”

  “Interesting,” said Shark Tattoo, looking at Kevon. “Now why would this Radion be concerned about that?”

  “There’s nothing to worry about,” the invisible king said nervously, twiddling his thumbs. “Nothing has changed, as always.”

  “Is that so? Kevon, do we have to remind you of that secret you wanna keep so badly?”

  “I’m well aware of that, Ms. Sharketa.”

  I had no idea who these people were or why they were so chummy with Kevon, but the way they were talking about the explosions didn’t feel right.

  Spring Face gave Kevon a blank stare. “I think we’ll stay here a little longer. Might as well check on the goods we gave you.”

  “See you at the church,” said Shark Tattoo, waving goodbye.

  “Up, up and away…”

  If I didn’t think things could get any weirder, the two did something that confirmed suspicions I had in the back of my mind. Instead of walking into the town, they jumped. It wasn’t a normal jump, more like something launched them into the air at a near instantaneous speed.

  More Radius Ability users. Why am I meeting so many now than when I was human?

  “Ok, Jerome, now you may summarize your-”

  “Nah, fuck summarizing,” I said, standing up and marching towards the king. “There’s something you’re not telling me about this place, isn’t there?”

  I felt a hand grasp my leg, and saw that it was Bernie. “That’s the damn king you’re stomping towards, you idiot. I don’t care how strong you are, you’ll put the people here in danger if you step out of line.”

  “Wise words from our former mayor of ‘Boomsbarrow’.” Kevon began to walk towards the gate without a care in the world. “Jerome, anger isn’t good for-”

  I pulled my leg out of the old man’s grip, and continued to approach the invisible zombie. “Who were those guys, and what did you mean by nothing has changed!?”

  Kevon raised his arms. “Jerome, remember our deal? You’d be wise not to let your mind wander to places it shouldn’t be.”

  “Oh, you mean the doctor?” I laughed. “It’s funny you mention that ‘cause I already found one. Don’t know if Angela Angels rings a bell, but she was a biiiig help for me. Oh, and save your breath on the Radius Ability business. You know the bomber? He’s been showing me a lot about that topic recently.”

  Kevon made an uneasy laugh. “Ah, is that so? I guess you no longer feel required to do what I say.”

  “That’s right. Now start speaking.”

  “I hope you haven’t forgotten what you are. You shouldn’t antagonize me.”

  “I said…” I took the crown off his head. “Start speaking.”

  “Notice anything different about yourself, Jerome? Well, other than the scent of human in your teeth.”

  For some reason, all sense of feeling had left my lower half, like it had magically disappeared. Upon looking down, I realized that that was in fact the case.

  His hand hovered over where my belly once was, giving me the answer to what I presumed he did.

  “Oh, I never told you how the sacrifices work, did I? You see-”

  I attempted to punch him in the face, but my fist hit nothing. Was Kevon not just invisible? Did he have another ability at play?

  “You can’t hit me,” he cackled, pushing me back. “Can you hit something you can’t see? No, and in my case, I’m invisible. You’ll never lay a hand on me.”

  “Would’ve been useful during that fight with the bomber. You know, the fight that you l-”

  “As I was saying before, turning others invisible means they’re being imbued with my energy. I figured out that the explosions are drawn to that energy, so instead of destroying the town…” The zombie pointed at me. “They destroy you.”

  At that moment, the ground beneath us began to rumble, causing me to fall. If this was what I thought it was, then I was in for some painful trouble. I told Jesus to wait on using his power for an hour or two, but it looked like he couldn’t stall for any longer.

  “Oh, and I didn’t make you fully invisible, so the explosion will involve some… collateral damage.”

  “Wait… what the hell do you mean by that, Kevon!?” I asked frantically.

  The zombie started to walk away again. “Don’t be so worried, Jerome. You’re a Type Two Radion. You’re the only one here with a chance of surviving.”

  “You asshole! There are kids here!” I roared, unable to get up.

  It was no use appealing to the bastard’s humanity. That was long gone. The ground shook even more, and the fearful cries of Julie behind me momentarily snapped me out of my anger.

  While my lower half was still gone, my upper half never left, including my arms. I needed to get out of here before my body went boom, and the only way to do that was to fly out of here.

  I spread my hands on the grass.

  Perhaps it was time I tried a different way of flying.