22 DAYS BEFORE THE REMATCH IN HALLOWSVILLE

  Sunshine was in the middle of lifting weights. However, they weren’t dumbbells. Only a normal person would use those. She decided to take a different approach to muscle building and was bench pressing a literal elephant. And as someone who barely went to the gym in the Old World, her form looked top notch to me.

  My daughter had a look of extreme focus and determination, as though she’d been doing it for years. Jesus must’ve done some crazy things to get her to where she’s at now, and after thinking about that, the proud smirk on my face was wiped off.

  None of us knew where that bastard went after the Hallowsville fiasco, and that lack of info always made my body stiff. Sunshine still had the tracker inside of her up until yesterday, so why hasn’t Horse Head come to finish the job? Was he playing it safe and backing off for now? Maybe he was gathering up an army. He was working for the Radius, so that would be bad.

  I wondered if Kofi had the potential to betray us, but I doubted it. His disdain toward Daemon sounded real. Plus, he felt like a wild card anyway. As in, if he were to screw us over, it’d be for his own needs rather than anyone else’s.

  With the Corleone Family and Underground Radius all wanting our heads on a platter, it was getting increasingly harder to think about Jason. If Jesus was working for them both, then it was likely they all knew we planned on going back to Hallowsville.

  What if they all ambushed us there?

  My fists tightened as my daughter transitioned to squatting with the elephant on her back.

  As much as I wanted to believe in our strength, my family and I weren’t ready for an all out war. Even if we got our Radius Ability back, that wouldn’t be enough to stop all of them.

  An army of our own was needed. People with the same resolve to take down Jason and the rest of those pricks that we had. And the first person I wanted to see that could have that same resolve was already approaching me in the long hallway.

  “Jerome, hey,” said Angela, waving at me. “I was looking for you.”

  “Guess you couldn’t get enough of me, huh?” I teased. “I didn’t even tell you where I’d be today, and you already knew where to find me.”

  She gave me a gentle uppercut to my jaw. “Oh, shut up. I was only trying to find you so I could find Sunshine. And it looks like you made that easy for me.”

  We both watched my daughter from behind the glass door for a while until Angela broke the silence. “Don’t you think that’s too much for her? Working out too young could stunt her growth. Plus, a young lady shouldn’t be as muscular as you are.”

  I flexed my arms in front of her. “Glad someone’s noticed I’ve gotten bigger. That damn tiger you set me up with keeps calling me puny and ‘little cub’.”

  She poked my arm, holding back laughter. “Well, you were pretty skinny back in high school.”

  “Pretty!?”

  Angela laughed, covering her mouth. “Sorry! I'm sorry…” I waited almost a minute for her to regain her composure. “I miss this – stuff like this, you know.”

  “Yeah…” I crossed my arms, thinking about all the obstacles ahead of me. “But we got bigger fish to fry now, Angie. And until all that fish is eaten, moments like this are gonna have to sit on the bench.”

  The doctor readjusted her glasses. “It doesn’t… have to be that way, Jerome. Everything we had in the Old World is still down here. Everything except you. And your daughter. I mean, the first thing Sunshine did when she got those new clothes was show them to me.” She smiled softly. “I was afraid she’d never get to experience living as a normal kid, but she still had that childish look in her eyes that day. Don’t you want her to stay like that? Like a normal kid.”

  “To the extent you’re thinking about, nah.” Angela looked shocked by that answer. “Sunshine isn’t a normal kid and she doesn’t want to be. And both of us find that perfectly fine.”

  She rested her hands on her hips. “And I wonder who put that opinion in her head.”

  That comment stunned me. “What are you trying to say?”

  “It’s clear that both of you are adamant on not telling me what specifically happened between you two in Hallowsville, and I really don’t like that. If you guys are going to keep going through things that tear up your relationship even more, then I won’t support it.”

  Good thing the room Sunshine was in had soundproof walls. Hearing Angela’s words would’ve probably hindered her training. Then again, I believed my presence alone was already doing that considering my child was giving me a confused look.

  But before I left, one question I’d been meaning to ask came out. “Angela, do you think we’re gonna lose?”

  “I…” She exhaled. “I’m just worried for your safety. That’s all.”

  “If you’re worried, then that means that in your head, there’s a high chance that we die.”

  “Jesus Christ, way to exaggerate your friend’s concern, asshole,” Angela said, eyes squinting. She flashed a middle finger at me, and then walked into the room.

  That settled it. Someone who couldn't put their full trust in their friends’ strength definitely didn’t have the resolve for a fight against Jason.

  I sighed. “Guess I’ll look for other candidates.”

  ********

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  It didn’t feel right asking Vladimir the Russian Tiger to join the rematch in Hallowsville. At least, not yet. Not only did he not have a personal grudge against Jason the way my family and I had, but he and I weren’t close enough for me to ask. No one was gonna risk their life for someone they knew for barely two days.

  Not to mention, I still hadn’t beaten him in any of our wrestling matches yet. I learned how to properly do some new submissions, but countering Vladimir’s weight was still gonna take some time. Maybe getting him to tap out would give me some more respect points?

  That aside, there were still a couple people who could help us. Unfortunately, they were all in places that could’ve been a death sentence for me if I was spotted.

  Emmy’s face came up in my mind the most. It’s been a week without any contact with her, and I hated to think about how confused she must’ve been.

  I wanted to get her a Status Board. That way, we could know if she was still ok. The plan I laid out for her was risky, after all. But ‘cause of her ability to transform, it was something only she could do. And unlike Angela, I was confident she — my friend — would succeed.

  Just then, the person I wanted to think about the least appeared in front of me once I turned the corner. All it was one look for Kofi to blast a disc of electricity at me. I didn’t dodge this time. I caught it between my palms, absorbing the pain, resisting the urge to let go.

  After some more resistance, the electricity dispersed. But Electro didn’t let that be the end of the pain.

  He kicked my crotch, sending me into a world of agony. I gritted my teeth, falling to my knees. But once I realized I shouldn’t have been feeling pain in the first place in that location, my anger was replaced with relief.

  “Holy… shit. My fucking dick,” I growled as the electric prick and a horde of scientists pointed and laughed at me. Didn’t those guys have something better to be doing? Like actual science stuff?

  “Don’t just worry about the lightning, Zombie-Man,” Kofi cackled, wiping a tear from his eye. “Those foul shots can come out of nowhere sometimes.”

  “No, no, thank you, Electro,” I murmured, patting his white shoes. “You helped me realize… that I got back something important.”

  Electro crouched down with a sinister smile. “Play me again. I want a fair one-on-one this time.”

  I sucked my teeth. “You literally lost fair and square last time.”

  His face turned red. “No, I didn’t! You didn’t tell me you were actually good!”

  “Woah, Kofi actually lost something?” one of the scientists said in amusement.

  “Oh, I wish I could have seen that!”

  Electro’s hand twitched, electricity twirling around his fingers. That gave me a bad feeling. “How about you see your mother in He-”

  Before he could aim his hand at the scientists, I grasped his forearm. The person he was about to attack didn’t even notice he was so close to becoming burnt meat, and sauntered away with his buddies.

  The boy glanced at me, left eye twitching. “Leggo mi.”

  “No.”

  “Mi di strongest. Mi can do wah mi want.” It was becoming clear to me that a privileged guy like him believed he only needed pure strength and fear to miss out on the consequences of his actions, to do whatever he felt like doing. It was time I changed that.

  “I’m gonna deny that you’re strong as hell, kid. That’s exactly why you shouldn’t use that strength on someone for irrelevant shit. Zapping someone, damn near killing someone just ‘cause they made fun of you? That’s something an immature brat would do.”

  “I still got a free hand.”

  “Then I’ll break it.”

  Kofi whistled, nodding his head. “You think you can do that to me?”

  “It doesn’t matter,” I replied angrily. “Next time you feel like blasting someone, send that blast my way. I can take it. Not a human with no way to defend themselves.”

  “I think I’ll take that advice.” I calmed down a bit after hearing that. “But instead of you, maybe I’ll see if one of your kids can take the pain.”

  My grip on his arm tightened. “Then they’d fucking kill you.”

  Kofi immediately ripped his arm out of my hold and jumped back like a ninja. “They would? Not you?” He snickered, walking away. “You’re a crazy old man.”

  “Hold up,” I called out, getting back up. “Let me ask you something.”

  The kid stopped, turning back to me. “What?” he groaned

  “I assume you were with the Radius for a while, right? What are the chances those assholes are planning an ambush on Hallowsville once they find out we’re gonna be there?”

  “It’s guaranteed.” I really wished he didn’t say that. “And it’s gonna be fun to watch it happen.”

  Discussing the severity of that future was useless against someone who wanted it. I had to go about this a different way. “Unlike the Corleone Family, I think the Radius can be reasoned with. I had an… almost civil conversation with them last time. If there was a way to-”

  “So you wanna remove them from the equation? Not gonna happen,” he responded bluntly. “And it’s not just because I want them to get involved.”

  “I know they wanna kill me so they can use my abilities without me around, but-” I held my hands out. “I can’t use my Radius Ability right now, and Dr. Banana has no idea how to get them back for me. Killing me would be a waste.”

  Kofi paused, scratching his head. Then, he smiled. “You’re a crazy sack of shit, Jerome. You wanna pull up on Daemon’s doorstep and make a case for them not to pursue you for the time being, don’t you?”

  I placed my hands behind my head, chuckling. “You got me.”

  “I don’t know. That big bastard is smart. He’ll probably agree. Especially if you give him or tell him something valuable in return. That sounds like shit.” The kid bit his lip, rubbing his chin crazily. “But two of Underground City’s biggest haters pulling up to enemy territory, talking to the boss, potentially failing — oh, that sounds amazing. Oh, yeah, we gotta fuck it all up.”

  “Kid, what's with all the talking? You gonna help me or not?”

  Kofi began wagging his finger at me and nodding his head at the same time. Was that a yes or no? “Y-Yeah, unc. We’re gonna have some fun, unc.”

  I wanted to know what “unc” meant, but I had another question I’d been meaning to ask. “Where’s Jason right now?”

  “Fuck, I hope you wouldn’t ask me that,” he muttered, furrowing his brows.

  “You gonna answer me?”

  He relaxed his face. “Eh, naaaah. Let’s keep shit like that a surprise.”

  I slid my hand across my face. “You piece of shiiiit.”

  “What? I know you’re gonna go anyway,” Kofi laughed, placing his hands inside his pockets. “Unless you’re too pussy. But I know you’re not pussy.”

  After pausing to think for a minute whilst ignoring the dude’s mockery, I realized he’d only be saying all this if Jason wasn’t currently near the area. Sunshine and I were crucial to Kofi’s sick desires, and he wouldn’t let me go outside if he knew that psycho could attack me.

  “You’re right. I am gonna go.” I raised my fist toward him. “We’re gonna go.”

  He bumped my fist.

  The electrocution hurt like a bitch.

  ********

  Cars were easy to come by in the New World, but that didn’t matter since a lot of them were either totally wrecked or didn’t have any gasoline in them.

  With Electro around, that wasn’t an issue. He wasn’t just good for dishing out electrical torture. His electricity could power up vehicles too. Using that, we grabbed one of the many vehicles in Manhattan and began the drive to Underground City.

  I wasn’t just going there to convince them not to attack us in Hallowsville. Lyra Williams was one of the people I thought of that could potentially lend us a hand, and I hoped she would still be in Underground City by the time we got there.

  She helped my daughter out, and Sunshine looked a bit disappointed when she stormed off. Maybe they weren’t friends, but there must’ve been a connection I wasn’t around to witness. Maybe I could use that to my advantage.

  “Why didn’t you wanna bring Sunshine along?” Kofi asked, resting his feet on the dashboard.

  I clenched the steering wheel tight as I ran over a zombie laying on the ground. “I didn’t wanna interrupt her training.”

  “No need to lie, unc. Literally everybody can see the awkward tension between you two.”

  I sucked my teeth, nearly hitting a pack of dogs.

  Kofi smirked at me. “Hey, I need something to entertain me. This drive’s gonna be long. And I looove drama.”

  If I was gonna tell anybody my true reason, it wasn’t gonna be this dude. Then again, an hour-long drive with his annoying questioning sounded like hell.

  “I just… don't trust her. That’s all.”

  Jesus was working with the Underground Radius to take me down, and Sunshine found that more appealing than sticking with me. I hated to think it, but there was a tiny, tiny chance she was still in cahoots with them. I knew it was horrible to think like that, but could you blame me?

  “Does it involve what happened with Jesus?” Kofi asked.

  “The only way you’re gonna know what happens is if my kid mans up and tells you herself.”

  “You know I’m just gonna keep asking until you tell me, right?”

  I sighed. “Yes, sadly.” He took a deep breath, seemingly getting ready for his onslaught of questions. I decided to tell him something before I did. “I want you to know, Kofi, I appreciate you helping us out. With the training. Even if your intentions aren’t good, thank you anyway.”

  He stared at me, as though I said something taboo.

  “What?” I laughed softly. “You’ve never been thanked before?”

  “Nah, I haven’t.”

  My smile vanished. “Oh. Sorry to hear that. How, uh, old are you, by the way?”

  “Nineteen.”

  “Damn, you really are a kid! I was just calling you that ‘cause you were younger than me.” He didn’t respond, so I asked him something else. “Did you have anyone before you joined the Radius?”

  Kofi never replied back to that questiom, and for the next hour or so, silence filled the car. I didn't think somebody could hold a grimace on their face for that long, but my passenger proved me wrong.

  Finally, I said something once I noticed a sitting figure up ahead. “Are we near one of the entrances to Underground City? The closest human-run town from here was a couple miles ago. Unless that guy’s just suicidal.”

  Kofi didn't answer. Instead, he rushed to the backseat as I slowed down the car.

  “Are-Are you cowering in fear?” I questioned, genuinely perplexed by that reaction.

  “Shut up, man,” he whispered, descending to the floor. “Don’t you see who that is?”

  Turning back to see who it was, my hands froze. But my legs didn’t, slamming down on the brakes, bringing the vehicle to a halt.

  It turned out the figure was a man — a tall man who was now standing right by my window, watching me with a single eye.

  It had been a while since I last saw him, but I would never forget that face.

  “Daemon…”