Chapter 65: A Mystery

The world is one that is full of pain. Wherever you look, pain is present. Whether it's emotional pain or physical pain. Everyone has some sort of pain that they hide. Animals, humans, and every other living organism alike share a connection through the pain they face.

So how does one go about eradicating this pain? Does it even have a solution? Or is it something all life forms must accept as they go throughout their lives?

Looking at pain directly, there seems to be no possible solution. It is like a disease without a cure. Nothing can be done to completely eradicate pain.

However, there is a solution to getting rid of pain that no one has ever considered. That solution is destroying everything. Without living organisms to create pain, then pain would cease to exist.

Welcome to Human Cultivation Part 2: The Fall of Life...

*****

Anastasia's feet slapped against the ground as she ran. Layla and the rest of the group quickly pacing behind her. The sky was full of stars and the moon watched them in silence. No one dared to look back. They knew that they weren't fast enough to keep their lead ahead of their pursuers for long.

Behind them was an entire hoard of infected. They had to find shelter before their stamina ran out.

"I told you we should have stayed in the Apocrabile!" screamed Nick, wasting his breath.

"If we did, then the Anunnaki would have cooked us! It was either them or the infected!" replied Anastasia quickly.

"And the infected was the better choice??"

"Yes! They aren't as smart! They're driven by their desire to eat!"

"One scratch is all it takes for humans to turn! Since you're an Apocrypha, it takes a much deeper wound to infect you! So of course you'd see this as the better choice!"

"You two need to shut up, man!" interrupted Lamar, breathing as if he was having an asthma attack. "We need to hurry and find somewhere to hide! I'm almost out of breath, yo!"

Serenity looked up at Lamar with a raised eyebrow. His claim was ridiculous, given that they had only been running for just fifteen seconds.

"There's a building just up ahead! We should get inside and barricade ourselves in!" Suddenly ordered Layla.

Everyone went instantly quiet. They didn't dare to argue with Layla in serious circumstances. Ever since Zane had died, she made protecting everyone her number one priority. Her orders were the only true commands within the group.

Hastily, they dashed forward towards the building's door. Their hands slammed against the door, forcing it open. Everyone dived inside, immediately closing the door behind them.

Unfortunately, it would take a little more effort to ensure their safety. The infected slammed themselves across the front door, almost ripping it off. Nick and Lamar hurried and braces themselves against the door. Their bodies bounced back and forth from the constant pounding of the infected.

"Hurry and get something to block us in!" screamed Nick.

"Use this!" squealed Deandre. He was pushing a giant desk with the aid of Serenity.

"That alone won't do! We need more—"

Nick was interrupted as he was flung to the ground by the force from the pounding door. Lamar quickly turned himself around and braced his back against the door. Veins netted themselves across his arms and forehead, and his teeth gritted with pain. If it weren't for him, the infected would have busted themselves inside.

"Hurry up, man! I'm about to lose all my children here, yo!"

Layla and Anastasia then quickly got into action. They moved chairs, tables, and anything that could be used to block the door. They had somehow managed to put up a decent barrier full of furniture.

Finally, Lamar could take a breather. There was enough furniture in front of the door to stop an adult elephant from entering.

"Next time, we choose the Anunnaki..." mumbled Nick.

"For sure!" agreed Deandre.

Anastasia sighed, shaking her head, "You're all underestimating the Anunnaki. They're just as dangerous as the Apocrypha."

"I couldn't care less about any of that right now... We're safe for and that's what matters," stated Serenity.

Everyone agreed on that point. They had to be grateful for being alive after all they had been through. They had lost track of how many times they were supposed to die but were somehow still alive.

Layla slid herself down in a corner and took a breath of relief. They were now in Miami, Florida, very close to the harbor. Before long, they could try stealing an Apocrypha boat and escaping to the Caribbean.

Layla's only concern was the Anunnaki. They would automatically try to kill or shoot at any Apocrypha vehicle they came in contact with. This meant they were no longer completely safe, even if they managed to steal another vehicle from the Apocrypha.

Layla averted her eyes to Anastasia who was pacing around as if inspecting the place. She wanted to ask her a few questions about their plan to escape.

"Tasia..." she started, "Why did you try so hard to bring us to Miami again? There were safer routes than driving through here..."

A slightly dim look then made its way across Anastasia's face. Her reason for this was because of what Zane had told her. However, she hated bringing up topics about Zane to Layla. It always seemed to make her much more emotional than needed.

"Well... I was told to come here..."

"Told to come here by who?"

Anastasia gnawed her tongue. She knew she had to make it known eventually. She had dragged them through many dangerous routes just to get them to Miami without a proper explanation. It was time to come clean even if it made Layla a little emotional.

"Zane told me to come here..."

Layla froze as if she had just seen a ghost. A part of her regretted asking, but it also tugged her curiosity. "What? Zane told you to come here and you didn't share it with any of us??"

"I-I'm sorry, Layla... I basically told everyone else, but I couldn't build the confidence to tell you too..."

Normally, Layla would argue about such a problem. However, she understood Anastasia's reasoning. She knew that she became a little emotional whenever the topic changed to Zane.

But could anyone blame her? As they had run away, she watched Hades slit his throat. It was something that would plague her for some time.

"It's okay... But what did Zane ask you to do..?"

Anastasia averted her eyes to the floor. She hadn't gone into much detail on the topic until now.

"Honestly, I don't know... Zane just said that in approximately one week, I should come to the harbor in Miami, Florida using my discretion. He didn't give much detail, but I'm sure it must be something important for him to tell me that..."

"This is dangerous, yo! Even if Zane told you to do that, it is still very risky. There is no guarantee that we will find something in the harbor..." added Lamar.

"Yeah, I agree with Lamar. It's been nine days since Zane died. We might be a bit too late..." agreed Deandre.

Anastasia knew she was being a little selfish, but she couldn't help it. She felt like she needed to know why Zane wanted them to go to the harbor. However, she couldn't force anyone to come with her. She had to leave the decision to Layla.

"What do we do, Layla?"

"I want to know what Zane wanted us to do too... He wouldn't say come to the harbor for no reason..." supported Serenity.

Layla didn't need to think much about the situation. To her, the answer was clear. She wanted to know what Zane was trying to tell them.

"We can walk to the harbor from here. Sure it's dangerous, but we've already come this far. It makes no sense for us to turn back now."

"I second that," supported Nick.

Anastasia smiled as she looked over to Deandre and Lamar. They were the only two who had been considering turning back.

"It's decided then. Majority rules for us to go to the harbor and see what Zane was trying to tell us. If we find nothing there, then we simply find a boat and get out of here."

It was decided. They would go to the harbor and find out what awaited them there.

"Okay, I'm down for that, but how do we get out of here?" inquired Deandre.

Layla washed the interior of the building with her eyes. They were situated in a small jewelry store. At first glance, there seemed to be only one door. However, on closer inspection, there was another door at the back of the building. They could use it to escape undetected.

"Let's use the door at the back. We can quietly escape undetected by the infected. Not to mention, Apocrypha and Anunnaki will refrain from coming close to the area since it's crawling with infected."

A silent agreement was made among them. It was their best bet of escaping without trouble.

Quickly and silently, the group crawled through the back of the store. The infected remained unaware as the group made their escape.

Hurriedly, they made their way towards the harbor. They passed many dead and infected on the way, but had somehow managed to evade detection.

Finally, they arrived at the harbor. The cool sea breeze infiltrated their noses and wrapped around their bodies. The sea stretched miles before them, putting them in a temporary sense of nostalgia. They wished the days could be like they once were, where peace and joy reigned supreme.

Sadly, those days looked as if they would never return. They could only hope things would one day return to normal.

Quietly, they crept up closer to the edge of the water. Suddenly, a long structure came into view, floating silently on the water.

Their eyes widened in astonishment to see an Apocrypha boat floating before them.

"What the hell..? How did this get here??" squealed Anastasia not knowing whether or not to be scared or happy.

"Do you think this is what Zane meant?" asked Nick.

"It's a possibility! But how did he know this would happen..? This is all too weird..." muttered Deandre.

Just then, everyone noticed that Layla and Serenity had been silent. Their eyes were staring at something before them.

"Layla? Serenity? What's wrong, yo?" asked Lamar in bewilderment.

Trembling, Serenity pointed her finger forward. Everyone's eyes drifted in front of them. Instantly, horror and confusion began to make themselves known within them.

The moon looked down on a figure sitting calmly in the wind at the edge of the dock. Beautiful, shaggy black hair danced in the wind above the figure's head. A calm aura radiated from the figure, that was complemented by the moon above.

Slowly, the figure turned his head towards them. Calm, dark-blue eyes came to meet their stare.

No one dared to say a word as they tried to decode what was happening. Layla was the only one who stepped forward with her body shaking like an earthquake. The next word that left her lips, confirmed everyone's suspicion, letting them know they weren't going crazy.

"Z-Zane..?"