A small horde of zombies were wreaking havoc on an abandoned camp site, tainting what was once a place where families could spend time together happily into a place that only welcomed death and despair. Unfortunately for one of the humans who decided to foolishly come here alone, the undead helped him meet an early end. It was stupid for anyone to be here in the first place, and yet my daughter and I were using this opportunity to train my abilities some more.

  “This is so, so, so, cool!” Sunshine shouted in joy, watching from the tree behind me. Sure, it was pretty irresponsible of me to bring her to somewhere this dangerous, but it wasn’t like I could leave her at the cave considering that asshole, Dante, destroyed it.

  I directed my stored radioactive energy to my fingertips and continued to blast away at the zombies. It was a new technique I was actively trying to master—small blasts that burst out of my fingers like bullets. Charging and firing those blasts I used against the Mighty Terror and Dante took longer than it should have, and quick attacks like these finger bullets meant more damage to my enemies along with the privilege of keeping my energy release to a minimum.

  About four days had passed since we escaped the Underground City, and I wasn't gonna waste any time not perfecting my ability for the dangers to come.

  “Don’t forget what I told you, Sunshine.” I shifted my body to the right and left a multitude of zombies riddled with holes. “It’s cool while you’re up there, but it’s not when you’re down here. Do not move!”

  “Stop being so overprotective, Jerome,” she said, clearly annoyed at my totally understandable rule. “It is really so bad that I want to be able to fight like you do?”

  I flung a zombie off my back before it could sink its dirty teeth into me. “Yes it is, and I don’t need to explain why. You’re smart enough to know that already.”

  Sunshine didn’t respond, so I hoped that she finally understood my worries.

  “Hey, if it makes you feel better, I got something really cool to show you.”

  I rocketed into the air, aiming a finger gun at the last two zombies—unlucky enough to be part of my grand finale. Then, I fired, reducing their skulls to green mush on the ground.

  Flexing my new skills was the first thing I was gonna do—until I landed and realized my child wasn’t on the tree. Instead of staying where I told her to stay, Sunshine decided poking the head of a dead zombie mattered more than my orders. Since the thing was already dealt with, my worries went down pretty fast.

  Once I double checked that we were fine, I approached her. “Kid, you really gotta start listening to me. We’re not just dealing with zombies and animals anymore. There are people, strong people with superpowers that want you dead. You can’t just prioritize fun over caution ‘cause you think it’s cool. You have to be more-”

  “Where do you think Radions go after they die?” Sunshine asked abruptly, sticking her hand in the zombie’s head wound. “Well, I guess they already died, so wherever they’re going, they’re going there again.”

  My daughter interrupting me like my opinion didn’t matter wasn’t my favorite thing in the world, though the question was pretty interesting. “I like to think each zombie has the souls of the people they trapped within them, and killing them releases those souls into the afterlife.”

  “That’s definitely not true,” she said, flipping through the pages of her “Surviving the Apocalypse 101” textbook.

  “How did you pull that out so fast? Your bag wasn’t even open.”

  “That’s not important…” Her eyebrows wrinkled as she showed me a page about Type Two Radions. “Here, look at this. The only way to beat something like you is to destroy or cut off their head. But that only really incapacitates them. It doesn't kill them. In fact, there's no way to put a permanent end to you guys. All it takes is radioactive or nuclear energy to bring you back.” She started turning the pages again. “Jerome, you know what that means? If an afterlife exists, Type Twos can't go there.”

  That was… a whole bunch of information at once. But I did find it cute how into that stuff she was. Would be useful considering her father was a zombie now.

  I rubbed my chin, crouching to her level. “You know, Sunshine, that sounds pretty interesting. But maybe that's just something Type Twos experience and not regular zombies.” I would've been smiling if it weren’t for the fact my face didn’t allow me to.

  Sunshine placed her hands on my cheeks and began to sweat. “Jerome, don't be silly. The only thing that really separates you from a normal Radion is your strength and powers. Who's to say a normal Radion really dies when you kill it? Mom had to be out down when she turned into one, remember? What if she’s out there just sitting in darkness?”

  “Woah there, calm down, ok?” I asked, chuckling. “Your mom’s doing just fine. Let’s think about a potential positive here. Maybe all these souls already went to an afterlife, and killing the zombies they’re trapped in releases them back there. It’s kinda like releasing a zoo animal so it can go back to the jungle.”

  ”Actually, I’ve read that doing that increases the chances for the animals to die since they’re not used to being in the wild… Oh no! Does that mean-”

  “Remember… Think positively.”

  She slapped her cheeks and took a deep breath. “You’re right. Mom is fine. Besides, we have bigger things to worry about.”

  “You see, now that’s the mindset I’m talking about.” I stood back up and began walking towards the exit. “Now let’s start moving. We got a cure to find and enemies to stop.”

  “Oh, I wasn’t talking about that,” my daughter said, pointing to a bush a couple meters away. “There’s someone in the bushes watching us.”

  Energy built up in my finger as I prepared to fire. “Another zombie? Good looking out, Sunshine.”

  “It’s not a zombie,” she assured me.

  My finger gun lowered a little. “How do you know? We can't even see them.”

  “I just know, ok? Do you trust me or not?”

  That answer didn’t exactly reassure me. Maybe if she sounded less casual and more serious, I’d trust her more.

  I sighed. “Of course I trust you. But I trust my instincts more, and my instincts tell me to shoot that bush before a zombie jumps out and attacks you.”

  Sunshine groaned. “That just means you trust yourself more than me… Fine, I'll walk over there myself.”

  Before she could even lift her feet off the grass, I picked her up by her hood. “Are you crazy? Can we try and not speed up your death? You already don't have long left to live.”

  If the girl was really serious about this, then the best option was to call out to whoever or whatever it was. After all, it wasn't like other zombies could talk. Then again, it could've been something else. Perhaps an Underground Radius member wanted to test out their luck with me.

  I aimed the energy bullet at the mystery person’s hiding spot again. “Come out whoever you are or I'll shoot. I’d give you a warning shot, but I probably won’t try and miss.”

  “Wait, wait! Don’t shoot! I’m not here to cause you any trouble! I promise!”

  The bush rustled, and my body tensed up in anticipation. Sure, the voice came from a nice sounding lady, but that old hag from the Underground Radius also sounded nice, and she loved the idea of seeing my kid dead.

  A few more moments passed and the person finally revealed themselves. It was a woman, a mother holding a baby that was resting on her back. Her skin, black hair, white tank top, and brown cargo pants were soaking wet—not from sweat, but from a whole bunch of water. Pretty smart considering zombies were weak to that. What I didn’t find smart was bringing a baby out into the wilderness as if it couldn’t cry or scream at any moment, attracting the attention of any dangerous creatures.

  It looked like she and her son already paid the price for that—the mom was missing an eye and he didn’t have two of his tiny fingers. Seeing that definitely didn't give me a good first impression of her.

  “Woah, cool. You got your eye cut out,” Sunshine said unceremoniously.

  “Hey, what is wrong with you!?” I growled, pulling her closer to my face. “You don’t just say something rude like that. Apologize, now.”

  My daughter raised an eyebrow at the woman, and then smiled. “I’m sorry for thinking your cool battle scar is cool. I’m also sorry that Jerome is pointing a weapon of destruction at you.”

  My attention turned back to the mom. “I’m only pointing this at you ‘cause I don’t know what your intentions are. Why were you stalking us?”

  “Um… My group and I actually came to this campsite before you two. We heard it was a spot to find abandoned food and supplies, but we had no idea about all the zombies that had already invaded this place. That came at the cost of… well, you already saw what happened with them.”

  “How were you able to survive though? You were with them, weren't you?”

  She pointed to a wrecked car with bullet holes near a lake. “At first, I was hiding in that car with my baby, Mickey. Though, that plan changed when I saw… you blasting everything around you with those green bullets. So I waited for you to finish killing so we could leave.”

  “If you were gonna leave, then why didn’t-”

  My daughter stopped talking the moment she saw my hand in front of her face. “Don’t worry. I’ll do the questioning here. Anyways, if you were gonna leave, then why didn’t you do so? I mean, anyone would if they saw a talking zombie attacking everything in sight.”

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  Sunshine groaned, sticking her fingers inside my eye holes. “I was literally about to say that.”

  I removed them, freeing my vision from the darkness. “Then it’s good that our minds think alike. That just means you should rely on me to talk to suspicious people more. We’re not gonna have another Dante in the woods situation.”

  “It was this. Exactly this,” the woman said with a confused expression. “I found it pretty concerning that not only did I find a talking zombie, but one who was taking a child hostage too. However, I kept listening to you guys talk and watching you interact with each other, and realized that this was something different. It was like watching a dad with his daughter. Maybe this zombie didn’t want to eat me. Maybe it was… just like me.”

  Just like you? Well, I wasn’t taking my child out into dangerous situations that she couldn’t defend herself in…

  Sunshine giggled. “You are just like Jerome. He took me out into a dangerous place when I was six, and nearly got both of us killed.”

  “Hey! Don’t tell her that! You’re supposed to be making me look good in comparison to-”

  To my surprise, the mother got down on her knees and grabbed my foot. Although, it wasn't to harm me. Her hands felt soft and a little warm.

  “I beg of you, zombie dad… Please, save my town! We've been dealing with these… explosions for months now and a good number of people have been killed because of them. If we had your power on our side, we might be able to destroy whatever or whoever is doing this.”

  “Wait, did you just say ‘whoever’?”

  “Yeah,” she replied. “I can’t really explain it too well. You’ll have to get a longer explanation from our town’s leader.”

  If the cause of these explosions were from someone with a Radius Ability, then it was possible they were affiliated with the Underground Radius too. I definitely couldn’t let them know my location, no matter how much she begged me to come.

  “Sorry, I can’t help you,” I said, hoping my voice sounded genuine.

  The woman stared at me with a flabbergasted expression. “But-But why?”

  “Look, since you’re also a parent, I’ll be honest with you. My daughter has a, uh, sickness that I need to take care of. Since that’s my main priority, helping other people isn’t really my thing anymore.” There was also the event that happened at Woodshaven holding me back, and I didn't want a big battle to be responsible for even more death and destruction. “Uh, don't worry though. There's a ton of Resource Adventurers out in Van Wyck, Briarwood or Forest Hills that could help you.”

  The mom transitioned from clenching my foot to clasping her hands. “C’mon, I’ll do anything! Our town has money we can pay you. You can even have the last of our supplies. We just really need your help, or else more of us will die.”

  I awkwardly helped the woman stand up. “I’m not gonna take your money or supplies. I’m sorry, but my daughter and I should really get going. I truly do hope you guys can fix whatever is going on there though.”

  “Jerome, you picked the uncoolest option ever,” whispered Sunshine, climbing onto my back as I walked away. “You’re not weak. If someone is causing those explosions, I’m sure you can stop them.”

  “Girl, it’s not about being weak or strong. It’s about keeping you alive and out of danger, and I’m not about to walk you into a town that literally explodes.”

  “Didn’t you tell me to think positively? Well, I’m gonna think positively and say you can help them. It’ll be just like when you helped me survive and that little boy too.”

  Shit… I totally forgot to tell her what Jason did to that kid.

  But there was no way I could bring out the truth now. Especially not when her survival depends on her trust in me. Maybe thinking positively in this situation was forgetting everything that happened with him and focusing solely on my own child.

  Yeah, that’s definitely what I should be d-

  “Jerome, you did save him, right? You never told me what happened to him after we left his house. Would be fun if we got to talk to him again.”

  Her words were like a knife to my chest. “Yeah… it would.”

  “Hey, does your daughter have the Sunvirus, by any chance?” asked the mother, the mysterious name causing me to stop.

  “The heck is a ‘Sunvirus’? She has a specific disease, but I never heard that name before.”

  The mom walked closer to us, her curiosity replacing all sense of caution she had before. “I’m only asking because of that black mark on her neck. People with the virus tend to have that.”

  “Huh?” I placed my child on the ground and checked her neck. The woman was spot on, and yet her description wasn’t enough to describe what I saw. What was said to be a mark looked more like an unstitched scar, stretching from the base of her neck down to a spot on her back. “Take off your hoodie real quick. I wanna see something.”

  “Um, ok.”

  Apparently, Sunshine had lost her shirt the day she was captured, so the hoodie was the only top she had. Once she took it off, the horror of my ignorance hit me like a truck. How the hell didn’t I notice something like that for so long? Or did the scar appear there recently?

  I looked at the mother, who was readjusting her baby on her back. “You mind telling me your name?”

  “Maria.”

  “Maria, if you knew about something like this, then I’m assuming you and your town had an experience with this ‘Sunvirus’, right?”

  She nodded. “A traveling doctor came to our town a few weeks ago and looked after someone who had it. She should still be there now.”

  Hearing that shone a light bright enough to erase the darkness in my mind Sunshine’s scar created. I gave a thumbs up. “Man, you should’ve led with that. Of course I’ll come with you now!”

  “How is she gonna lead with something that isn’t even the main part of her problem?”

  “Just be happy you’ll find someone who could potentially cure-”

  Suddenly, Maria wrapped her arms around my torso, getting a yelp out of me. “Thank you. Thank you so much for coming, zombie dad. Your assistance will be greatly appreciated by our leader.”

  “I already told you I’m only interested in this doctor y’all got… Also, just call me Jerome.”

  *****

  There were many things I expected to see upon reaching a town nicknamed “Explosion City”, and the sight of the place fulfilled my expectations perfectly—buildings that were burnt and nearly torn to shreds, black spots on the ground as if the explosions grew feet and left footprints, signs on the front gate that said “Don’t enter if you value your life”, and no Resource Adventurers at the front gate. Surprisingly, the town wasn’t reduced to a crater yet even though the explosions had supposedly been active for months.

  Most civilizations nowadays had a couple Adventurers, and a few of them would be stationed at the front to ward off any danger. If even they didn’t wanna be near here, then that meant this town was the danger the zombies and animals were staying away from. Since that was the case, I didn’t think any people would be living here.

  All it took was a few steps through the gate to prove me wrong. A crowd of survivors filled the middle of the main street, standing in awe of what looked to be a teenager tied to a wooden stick with rope. No matter how hard he pulled and kicked, his body wasn’t strong enough to release his arms from the hold they were in.

  “Hey, what the hell are they doing to that kid?” I asked Maria. The three of us made sure to watch from afar to not attract any attention.

  “That guy came in here yesterday attempting to steal some of our food for his group. Our leader caught him, imprisoned him, and now it looks like he’ll be the one used as a sacrifice next.”

  “Sacrifice!?” I muttered, looking for a new hiding spot besides the alleyway we were in. That’s when I spotted Sunshine watching the event from behind a black van, immediately forcing me to tiptoe to where she was.

  She noticed me coming and smiled. “Why’d you take so long to notice I was gone? That’s not like you.”

  I crouched next to her, gritting my teeth. “You moved so fast that I didn’t hear you leave. Actually, forget that. You shouldn’t be leaving by yourself in the first place. We literally just got here.”

  “Sorry, but I wanted you to look at something.”

  The kid pointed to a boy in the crowd being held back by some men in suits. He looked to be around the same age as the teen on the stage, and his pleas for them to stop told me how close they must've been.

  Sunshine patted my shoulder. “I heard that guy call him his brother. That means they’re family. He wants to save his family.”

  “And where are you going with this?”

  “If he wants to save his brother, then that’s not any different from us, you know. You should save him.”

  “Not happening,” I said bluntly. “It’s like I always told you. The first step to survival is to only care about yourself.”

  “But you care about me, so you’re not following that step. Also, you’re not very good at not caring about others, you know.”

  “Caring about you doesn’t count, Sunshine,” I whispered, getting frustrated with each passing second. “I can care about you ‘cause you’re my family. I don’t need to care about those boys, or Maria, that kid Jason killed ‘cause they’re not my family.”

  Sunshine’s eyes widened. “Wait, Jason killed Johnny? You said you saved him.”

  Ah shit! Why the hell did I blurt that out? And how could I forget his name?

  “Ok, I’m sorry I made you believe that.” I turned back to the crowd. “However… if he had just stayed in bed like I told him to, then he probably would’ve been-”

  “Jerome, he’s a kid,” interrupted Sunshine, shoving her face into my face. “No kid wants to stay in bed when they see something cool right in front of them.”

  “What did you want me to do, huh? Save him and disregard your safety?”

  “You could’ve done both!” The moment she shouted that out, I covered her mouth and made sure no one heard us. Unlike me, Sunshine couldn’t care less about our predicament, pulling my hand off. “Like I said, you could’ve done both. Protect him and protect me.”

  “Jesus Christ, life isn’t all about having multiple choices and choosing to do all of them. You can only choose one choice and that’s it. That boy dying allowed you to survive, so the right choice was made that day.”

  Sunshine paused for a bit, giving me a judgmental look. “Did you hesitate?”

  “What?”

  “Before he got killed, did you hesitate to try and help him?”

  Constantly hearing the word “hesitate” made me hesitate to respond back. “To be honest, he died before the thought of saving him even reached my mind. If I was stronger, I probably would've helped him.”

  “Ok, good,” she said, backing off. “If you're already thinking of a scenario where you could've saved him, then you definitely care a lot more than you're letting on.”

  “Sunshine, that's-”

  “Gooooood evening, people of Explosion City! Tonight, I will introduce you to the no good thief who has volunteered to be the twenty-fifth sacrifice to the God of Calamity!”

  It sounded like some kind of announcer was speaking on stage. His voice had a raspy edge, but was also theatrical, like a circus ringmaster trying too hard to impress.

  “God of Calamity? What do you think that is, kid?”

  Sunshine remained silent, avoiding eye contact with me. That’s how I knew she was actually mad at me and not just putting on an act.

  “It’s who our leader believes is causing the explosions.” I turned my head to the left and realized Maria had answered my question. “In order to deal with he or she’s wrath, we use sacrifices. Whether those people give consent or not doesn’t matter as you can see with the one tied up tonight.”

  “Well, that’s not fun,” Sunshined murmured.

  “Hey, let me go, asshole! I already gave you your shit back!” the captured teen screamed, glaring at the cloak to his right. It was a clean crimson with some nice golden fur like a lion’s mane at the top. Who would leave a perfectly good cloak just… floating like that…?

  Looking closely at the stage, I realized something was missing. “Now that I think about it, who is speaking right now? Their voice is coming from the stage, but I don't see anyone else there.”

  Maria pointed to the cloak. “He's speaking.”

  “Huh?”

  At that moment, the cloak opened, revealing a set of white gloves moving by itself. It was as though the air itself was the body holding these clothes up.

  “Holy discovery,” Sunshine whispered in excitement. “That guy’s invisible.”

  An invisible man!? If that’s the case, then that would mean this ‘leader’ was someone with a Radius Ability.

  “In just one minute, the God of Calamity shall rip through our streets with their terrifying explosions.” The invisible man placed his hand on the teen’s shoulder. “However, I will be the one to save you all once again using my power!”

  The look of horror that showed up on the teen’s face was perfectly understandable. How else would you look if your entire body besides your head just turned invisible out of nowhere? In stark contrast to him, the crowd barely showed any reaction like this event was standard procedure. Even if this had happened multiple times prior, I'd still be pretty shocked.

  “What the hell are you doing to him!? Where’s his body!?” the restrained brother shrieked. Before he could yell again, he was slammed to the ground by who I assumed to be the invisible man’s lackeys.

  “I hope your leader doesn’t hate zombies too much, or else Sunshine and I are gonna be in trouble,” I said to Maria.

  “Believe me, zombies are the last thing he hates…”

  “I still find it weird how we haven’t seen any explosions yet. Maybe this place isn’t as bad as you sa-”

  If my daughter’s goal was to unintentionally offend this supposed “God of Calamity”, then she definitely succeeded.

  The section of concrete next to us began to emit a green light, and I instantly knew that the beast was about to awaken. I grabbed the two girls and jumped to the nail salon behind us, the ground being torn apart by a burst of energy. While debris rained down on the street of ducking passengers, another blast spawned under the car we were just at. The car flew into the air and landed. If the pool of blood under the car wasn’t enough to get the crowd running, then surely the bodega near them exploding would.

  However, even when that happened, they still didn’t move.

  “These people are crazy!” I shouted, debating on whether I should go inside the salon or not. “Aren’t they afraid of dying?”

  “Now you know why I wanted your help so badly,” Maria replied.

  “This is honestly the coolest thing I’ve ever been through,” said Sunshine, her voice showing no signs of fear. “Woah! Look at that!”

  “I applaud you all for staying calm in this time of chaos! Your fearlessness shall not go unrewarded!”

  The clouds of energy from the blasts froze midair, then merged together. A soft green light rose from the ground, drifting peacefully up from every corner of the street to join the forming mass. Once that was completed, it slowly traveled towards the captured teen.

  “Your criminal and evil deeds led you to this path! But this is your chance to redeem yourself… by letting the God of Calamity kill you so that we can live.”

  My mouth gaped. “Now what’s going on!?”

  Maria held her baby tight. “What always happens. Someone’s going to get sacrificed.”

  “Ok, I don’t think the sacrifice part is very cool. I just wanna clarify that,” said Sunshine, looking at me. “Jerome, are you really gonna let that dude die? This is your chance to actually save someone’s life.”

  Watching or letting a kid die was the last thing I wanted, but losing my child would hurt even more. Deep down, I already knew that was the reason I stayed seated even though I sensed the danger that little boy was in. There wasn’t a world I could imagine where my desire to protect could make up for my weaknesses, for the fact that there were just some people I couldn’t protect my daughter from.

  I mean, if I tried to save another kid out there in the world and failed, wouldn't that mean I could just as easily fail to protect Sunshine too?

  Then again… maybe that itself is the weakness. The belief that protecting Sunshine needed to rob me of my ability to save those who I believed should be saved, who I wanted to save. And it wasn’t about being some kind of zombie superhero.

  I just wanted to be a good person.

  So when the image of a boy exploding into red bits flashed into my mind, my body couldn’t be restrained any longer. The shackles around my legs disappeared, and I ran. I didn't pay any mind to the bystanders who saw me or the fact that I let go of the two girls back at the salon. I just kept going until I was able to jump in between the energy ball and the stage.

  In one swift motion, I thrust my fingers toward the descending orb. It collided with me like a lightning strike, the energy searing through my nerves before being swallowed whole. As I landed in front of the captured teenager, I couldn't shake off the feeling of bombs detonating inside of me. But I endured until it eventually faded away.

  If that pain could disappear, then my weaknesses could too. Hopefully, these zombie urges also got the message.

  The invisible man stumbled backwards, nearly dropping his microphone. “Another z-z-zombie! No, you’re a Type Two! What do you think you’re doing!?”

  Swiping the mic from his hand, I decided to give these people an introduction they’d never forget. “I saw something I didn’t like, and I chose to stop it from happening. If the sacrifice of kids is what goes on here, then I plan on changing that. ”

  “What the fuck!? It’s a talking zombie!”

  “Shouldn’t we run? What if it eats us?”

  “And face the wrath of Leader Kevon? I’ll take my chances with the zombie.”

  While the crowd’s reaction was understandable, these were still the same people who barely moved when a vehicle crashed onto a few of them. At least I saved a boy’s life just now…

  “What the heck are you people so scared about!?” Sunshine had climbed on top of the wrecked car to shout that out, seemingly unaware of the bodies underneath it. “Who cares if he’s a talking Radion or zombie or whatever you guys wanna call it! He saved that boy’s life and used his power to absorb those explosions before it could injure anyone else. Y'all should be thanking him!”

  “Guess she’s not mad at me anymore,” I muttered to myself.

  “Guys, guys… that little girl is right! We should be thanking this… heroic creature. In fact, we’ll throw him a well-deserved party. On me, of course!”

  A party in Explosion City!? Well, that won’t end well…