“Head Pop!”

  Conquista’s head burst into a bloody spray, painting the roof — and Sunshine’s body — in a sticky crimson.

  “Throat Slit!”

  Hambruna’s neck split open, her head tipping back like a loose lid. Unlike her red companion, her death came with surprisingly little blood.

  “Sliced to Bits!”

  Muerte’s skeletal frame shattered into dozens of pieces, as if an invisible blade had made him its next victim.

  Seeing Jesus’ horsemen die so gruesomely reminded Sunshine of how Jason brutalized those armed men in the store — not because of how he killed them, but because of the exact ways they died.

  Her theory was right. To activate his ability, Jason had to first kill someone by that same method with his own two hands. A terrifying power, but now that she understood the pattern, and his reliance on sound and phrasing, it suddenly seemed a little less unstoppable.

  What wasn’t so easy to handle were the horsemen themselves. One by one, they began to regenerate. The blood soaking the floor—and her clothes—rose into the air, swirling around Conquista’s rigid body until it molded back into the shape of his head.

  “You’re a fool if you think that would kill me, biaaatch!” Conquista cackled, raising his middle finger. “?Jamás moriré!”

  “Death comes knocking on all of our doors at some point in our lives,” Muerte said, putting his sombrero back on. “But not today.”

  “I would prefer… if that day was today,” Hambruna said melancholicly, caressing her neck. She sighed. “Another attack… that can’t kill me.”

  “You won’t get rid of the Horsemen that easily, Zoorhees,” Jesus said, stepping back a couple meters. “All three of them are Type Two Radions.”

  What!?

  If they were really Type Two Radions, then that meant Jesus was somehow able to incorporate sentient beings into his Radius Ability—beings that used to be human. Even stranger was their ability to heal themselves without the need for energy first. Were the horsemen really the same type Jerome was, or were they a special variant?

  “AIDS!?”

  “You’re not giving me any AIDs today, buddy. My cheeks are sealed tight.” Jesus took up a battle stance. “Sorry you had to cancel the Hallowsville festivities, but I hope you don’t take your anger out on me. I’m only here to kill the girl, and then I’ll be on my merry way.”

  “Headshot!”

  “No, I’ll be the one to kill her,” the swordsman said sternly, as if Jason’s words offended him. “I don’t share the same sick fantasies you have. I’m killing her for a good reason. If you even lay a finger on her, I will make you pay for it in ways you couldn’t even imagine… is what I would say if I was prepared to fight you, but I’m-”

  Jason didn’t stay still long enough to listen until the end. Sunshine blinked, and the two men were already engaging in a clash of blades, increasing their speed by the second. The three horsemen didn’t help their leader—only watched from the sidelines. Conquista’s body shook violently, probably itching to join the fight. Muerte was busy petting his dark horse, and Hambruna looked to be on the verge of sleeping.

  Sunshine didn’t stay for much longer. She picked up her dad, ran to the edge of the roof, and then jumped. She didn’t look back after leaping off the roof. The air whipped past her as she braced for impact, holding her father tight.

  When her feet finally hit the ground, the shock traveled up her legs, but she barely felt it. All that mattered was that Jerome was safe in her arms.

  Then, his body started to pulse.

  A faint green light coursed through his body, flickering like fireflies trapped inside him. Sunshine’s breath caught in her throat. Her heart raced, matching the rhythm of Jerome’s glowing body.

  “Dad, Dad,” she said, shaking him. “C’mon, wake up. Please.”

  Sunshine laid him down carefully on the ground, staring at his face, waiting for him to speak.

  He didn’t.

  A green arm shot out of his mouth and punched her across the face. The blow was weak, but the girl could feel the passion, the anger behind the fist.

  Sunshine looked back at her father’s body, placing a hand on her cheek. A girl was pulling herself out of Jerome’s mouth, like a flower forcing its way through concrete.

  And that flower was Sunflower.

  “You?” Sunshine murmured, hands twitching.

  Sunflower didn’t respond at first, looking at Jerome with her mouth hung open. “What did you do…?”

  She then turned to Sunshine. Her eyes blazed with something feral, a heat that made the girl back away a little.

  “What… did you… do!?”

  The venom coursing through her voice burned her skin like acid, causing an instinctual spike in Sunshine's aura. But before any blows could be exchanged, a figure standing behind Sunflower caught their attention.

  It resembled a Type Two Radion, though its slender, feminine body was completely made of ooze. Covering most of that ooze was a floral dress that was long enough to cover her feet. It wasn’t a floral dress because of any flowery designs or pictures—it was literally a bunch of roses sorted together to make a dress. Her hair made out of vines flowed in the wind as she slowly turned to the two girls.

  She had a giant hole where her face should’ve been.

  Sunflower glanced at who Sunshine was looking at.

  “M… Mom?” she said in disbelief, putting a hand over her mouth. “M-Mom, it’s me!”

  If that’s her mom, then that meant she was Rosalina—that Radion that Dad absorbed. But how did she get out? Dad couldn’t have released her after… what happened.

  “Mom, it’s me!” Sunflower exclaimed, tugging at her dress. “I-I-I know I look different and that it’s been a long time, but it's still me—Sunflower… Mom?”

  Rosalina didn’t reply back, but Sunshine didn’t expect a creature with no face to say anything anyway.

  She was wrong.

  “Where is… Michael?” The Radion’s voice sounded lovelier than Sunshine expected it to.

  “Michael? Michael Corleone?” her daughter asked, drawing her hand back. “Why are you asking about-”

  “He’s my lover. Why wouldn’t I ask about him? I haven’t seen him in such a long time.”

  Silence filled the room for a while until Sunflower spoke up. “Why the-What the fuck are you talking about? No. No fucking way you’re actually my mom. Rosalina Ramirez hated that sick man! Do you… even recognize me?”

  “Cálmate, hija, todo va a estar bien,” Rosalina said softly, crouching down and petting Sunflower’s head. “Michael is a good man. He was only doing those bad things to me because I didn’t listen when I should have. Maybe if I did what a good woman would do more often, our lives would be better.” The Type Two began twirling her hair like a schoolgirl. “Oooo, I’ll have to improve my cooking and cleaning. And there’s other things I’ll need to do, but you don’t need to know about that yet, mi girasolito.”

  Stolen novel; please report.

  Sunflower pushed her mom away. “Something’s wrong with you. Maybe if Jerome absorbed you again, you’ll return to normal. But Jerome is…” She looked at the man’s body and gritted her teeth. “Sunshine… how could you?”

  Not wanting to deal with her words anymore, Sunshine picked up her dad and ran.

  ********

  The front gate was right there. Freedom was only a few steps away, and once Sunshine passed it, she’d finally be free from the nightmare that Hallowsville had become.

  Coming here had ruined everything. None of this would've happened if they’d just stayed in Woodshaven and lived like they always did. Underground City, Boomsbarrow, meeting Sunflower and Jesus, Jason—if she kept running, maybe there was still time to erase it all.

  She and Jerome could find another hiding spot, like that cave before it got demolished. New York was too dangerous now, especially with Jesus and Jason running loose. Her dad always said Jersey and Pennsylvania were a lot like NY. Maybe one of those states would be safer.

  Sunshine would never see Moonlight again, but that friendship would’ve shattered anyway once she found out what Sunshine had done. The same went for Angela, Benji, and Lyra. But who needed them?

  The story began with her and Jerome, so it should end that way too.

  Sunshine wondered what kind of decorations they’d put in their new home. She always wanted to mount the heads of the undead and radioactive beasts on the walls, but Jerome used to say that was too dark for a child to wake up to every day.

  Things were different now.

  She wasn’t just a child anymore—she was strong. Since her zombie dad would soon be human again, she’d have to protect him this time. Every ounce of strength she had left would go toward keeping him safe. Months, years, forever—it didn’t matter how long.

  Years… Considering the Sunvirus still pulsed inside her, years felt like wishful thinking.

  Is this really what Dad would want?

  The universe didn’t take long to answer. Jason stepped in front of the gate, blocking her escape—a grim reminder of the price she’d already paid. Sunshine hugged Jerome tightly, shielding his limp body with her own. Maybe it was pointless. But she had to try.

  “Your expression is rather feral,” Jason said, digging into his pants pocket. The man’s trusty machete was in his right hand, so what other dangerous weapon was he planning on using? It turned out to be nothing of what Sunshine thought. What he pulled out was a Status Board. “I didn’t save your life because I wanted you to live. I want to be the one to kill you and your father.”

  He tossed it to Sunshine, but she didn’t reach her hands out for the SB, letting it slide down to Jerome’s body.

  “I don't know what Hernandez did to him nor do I know how to fix him.” Jason pointed at the SB while he took a seat on the ground. “The map on that screen shows you how to get to a place that I believe could help. You'll know the people living there.”

  The girl’s expression softened a little, but her body remained hardened. It could've been a trick. Then again, with how serious Jason was about his goal, then maybe taking the chance was alright.

  Here goes nothing, she thought, grabbing the phone. Just as he said, there was a GPS on it that could potentially navigate them to where they needed to go. If this could help Dad, then I'll-

  “Do not waste this chance, Sunshine,” Jason said chillingly. “You and the zombie came to this city weak, and now I'm letting you leave even weaker than you were before. There's a forty percent chance your father will come back, and I'm hoping he does. I'm already much stronger than you two and anyone else you'll team up with, and I'll be getting even stronger in the weeks to come. This is your chance to train, to understand yourself and this world that created your powers. Do not waste this chance.”

  “How much time do we have?”

  “One month,” he replied, putting up one finger. “For every day until the fourteenth of February that you don’t come and stop me, I will kill fifty people at random. Every civilization, every state will be a participant. Our fated battle must happen at Hallowsville, and if any one of you attacks me outside of this city, I will kill an extra fifty people.” Sweat ran down Sunshine’s face. “And if you two haven’t made your move by February 14th, I will find you, and I will kill you both.”

  A fear of humongous intensity smashed into her body from all directions. That bloodlusted, vicious aura made it feel like she was breathing in needles.

  Sunshine couldn’t understand him. It was impossible to. Killing needed a reason, a logical reason. Revenge, survival, self-defense, even money were all reasons that made murder somewhat justifiable, that made you less of a monster. She understood why so many people wanted to kill her. Get rid of her and the Sunvirus goes away.

  But Jason couldn’t care less about that. Murdering those people in the store helped with the conditions of his Radius Ability, but that wasn’t his true reason. She saw it in his blood-red, predatory eyes, and his patient demeanor as he did it.

  What was his reasoning? Why murder so many people? It couldn’t have been for no reason.

  Sunshine gritted her teeth, glaring at the man. “How… How could you kill people who have nothing to do with you? W-Why do you want to do it so badly? You don’t get paid, they pose no threat to you, but you do it anyway. I don’t understand. I don’t understand anything… or anyone.”

  Jason wasn’t the only one she didn’t get.

  “All of you people confuse me! Why does Jerome want to fight you knowing you’re stronger in every way? Why does he take care of someone who’s nothing but a burden to him? Why would he adopt a girl who nearly killed him and me? And why would that girl look at me with so much hate in her eyes over what I did when she was the same fucking way!? She would do the same thing I did in a heartbeat!”

  It hurt. Everything hurts.

  “Why would Dante hurt other people when he himself was in so much pain? Why apologize to my dad now when he knew he was in the wrong for years? Why’d it take half his face getting fucked up for him to do that? And why would his sister still love him, despite knowing he killed their mother? Why was she so cool with me knowing I created the Sunvirus? Why would Emmy risk her life for people she barely knows? Why does Jesus hate me so much when he… that bastard made me this way!? If he likes Jerome so much, then why do this?”

  There were so many people that made it so difficult for her to understand, but there was someone else that was at the very top of that list.

  “I don’t understand myself,” she muttered, her eyes watering. “Why would I do this to someone who loved me, who would do anything for me? Why am I so jealous of Sunflower? Why do I care so much about what others think of me? I’m nine! I should be playing and doing things that kids do. My mind shouldn’t feel this jumbled up. Why are all you humans so complicated? I’m not good at understanding people, so why can’t they just tell me in a way that makes it easier to do.”

  Sunshine was out of breath. She didn’t think talking could be this tiring. Perhaps letting everything she had bottled up explode outward was more strenuous than any exercise.

  Jason laughed, which she expected. Seeking sympathy from a crazy murderer would be an unachievable feat.

  After almost a minute of enduring his laughter, the man stopped and said, “I kill because it makes me happy.”

  Huh!? Sunshine exclaimed in her head, widening her eyes.

  “You can form any opinion you want about me, but that’s the hard truth,” Jason calmly continued. “However, my reasoning isn’t all that special. All the people you just named share it.”

  “Share what?”

  “The need to pursue happiness. When the apocalypse first started, millions died, businesses were destroyed, and thousands suffered. The bombs tried to destroy any semblance of humanity without realizing that the first thing it should have done was destroy what made us special.” Jason pointed at his left chest. “Our heart. Our indomitable will. The spirit of humanity. Our need to achieve our goals and dreams. As long as those exist, then humans, including me, will never go away.”

  You’d think a maniac like him saying something that actually sounded genuinely good would lower her guard, though it had the opposite effect.

  “A world without those things. Can you even imagine that? Because I can't!,” Jason cackled, catching the attention of a bunch of Hallowsville citizens. He then threw his fist into the air, like he was a king giving a speech to his loyal subjects. “Chasing dreams… is the key to happiness! The chase will never end! You understand that, don't you!?”

  Words that sounded so right, that felt good to hear in her ears, felt so wrong coming from him. Like candy with razor blades stuffed inside. Listening to a man who killed for pleasure justify his actions in this way left a bad taste in her mouth, but it intrigued her nonetheless.

  Watching him silently was the only thing she could do.

  The crowd behind them was different. Many of them made surprised gasps while others gossiped on what Jason was talking about.

  “I’ve never heard him talk normally before.”

  “He does it from time to time, but you gotta get lucky. I wonder what he's talking about though. Sounds important.”

  “Eh, I'm too dumb to decipher it. Probably another punishment. I did hear there were a couple guys planning an escape.”

  “Well, that's dumb. Escaping is a big no-no. We're fortunate enough that a kind man like Mr. Zoorhees allows us to stay here. Without tax too!”

  “Shit. Is he gonna kill that little girl? I don't wanna watch that.”

  “Of course he is! She's out of costume.”

  “Well, if she dies, that's her fault. Rules are rules, and you can't break them. No matter the circumstance.”

  “I mean, that's cruel, but…”

  “Don't listen to them, Sunshine,” Jason said with glee. “They can go ahead and gossip. When you aim high, you'll come across people who will never understand you. They are not like us. We are a part of the small percentage of monsters who will survive in this hell. If you’re not chasing after something right now, then find that something to chase after. If you want to get stronger, that is.”

  As Jason let out one final hearty laugh, Sunshine stood there. Frozen. Unsure of what he’d do or say next.

  This wasn’t fear. She didn’t know how to describe what she was feeling at that moment, but it wasn’t the desire to run and hide away in some backend part of the country like before.

  If this monster was left alone to run wild, then there would be horrible consequences on not just the world, but the people Sunshine cared about and wanted to care about.

  A willpower on the level her father had no business being in that animal’s hands, or engraved in his soul.

  “Jason Zoorhees…” muttered Sunshine, narrowing her eyes and raising her fist. “You have to die!”

  Not now. Hallowsville was a complete loss for everyone involved, except for the beast smiling under his mask.

  In the future, however…

  Things will be different. Dad and I will make sure of that!