40 Apology

All eyes were on Damian, even Mark's. They were fierce like they were going to pounce on him the next second.

He has changed to a white long sleeve buttoned shirt and left his gun in the pocket of his overcoat.

His eyes frantically moved from one individual to another.

…F*ck! What am I going to do? Should I run to the tent and get the gun? Damn, but I forgot to reload. Sh*t! 

Damian felt a small hand land on his right shoulder from behind. A bead of sweat trickled down his forehead as he slowly turned to look.

It was Michelle, with Rachael standing behind her.

"Mr Cross?" Rachael pointed forward and continued, "Mr Dolan asked if you had anything to contribute."

Damian felt a wave of relief and gained his composure back.

He looked at David Dolan and said, "I have something in mind but it will have to wait till tomorrow when I see the blueprint of your plan."

David Dolan nodded his head before asking, "Is there anything else?"

"Yes." Damian removed his glasses and let his forearms rest on his lap. He had a sorry expression on his face.

He said, "I apologize to… everyone… for my actions, mainly to the men that got hurt. I won't deny the fact that I did it on purpose. I shot them because they were eating the food I risked my life to get for my neighbour's kid…

"His mom ate his father in front of him after she was bitten and turned into a demon. They… They were also my friends. I just arrived in the nick of time before Arthur was hurt. I was very angry when I saw them eating what I kept for Arthur…

"I am a qualified doctor and I shot those men in places that won't have lifetime effects on their body."

Suzie jumped up and shouted, "That doesn't justify anything! You're crazy! Tell me somewhere safe so I can shoot you too."

Damian glanced at Suzie with grim in his eyes. A chill ran down her spine.

"I understand if you want revenge but please… I beg you… don't hurt Arthur. He's just a child. I was an orphan and when I got fostered I lost both my parents. I was only 17. I know how he feels. It's devastating and terrifying for a child to lose their parents at such a young age. Please…"

Damian used [Perfect lies]. He could've easily said he was sorry and not have to explain so much but [Perfect lies] was a special power that had checkmarks to be filled before it was effective.

[Perfect lies] gives the user more knowledge on how to make people believe not-so-obvious lies. If the user is the only person that can prove a lie to be true then it is automatically registered as the truth for the person being told the lie.

Stephanie heard and once again felt awful. She was spewing hate on Damian when all he did was help her even though she threatened to kill Arthur[1].

…What should I do? Dad said Damian was a fake but all he's doing is helping, but what if this is what he makes it look like? But Dad hasn't shown any proof of Damian's hypocrisy…

Mark believed Damian but he remembered what Ivan told him about David Dolan and Damian. He just couldn't see Damian in the light anymore.

The crowd didn't stop themselves from airing out their thoughts.

"That's sad."

"Is he telling the truth?"

"Damn. He was orphaned twice."

"That kid had it rough."

"Stuart and Rufus are assholes for doing that."

"Yeah. Mrs Suzanne is such an awful person for supporting her husband even though he's wrong."

David Dolan stood up and said, "Since that will be all, we should all get ready for the night. The men for the pre-midnight watch should get to their posts."

…

About 3 hours later, Damian came out from his tent due to boredom and sat on his chair as he ate from a bag of chips.

Rachael was sitting on the chair in front of Mark's tent. She was about 3 feet away from Damian.

Michelle came out of Rachael's tent and ran up to Damian, "Weird uncle let's play word chain!"

"What?" Damian wasn't at all in the mood for that.

…What the hell is wrong with this girl? And who is she calling weird?

"Come here, Michelle." Rachael called. 

Michelle sat on Rachael's lap and rested her head on Rachael's chest.

After a few seconds, Damian glanced at Michelle. All the while she has been staring at him with bright eyes.

…Tch, Damn. He sighed and said, "Fruits. Banana."

Michelle's eyes brightened even more, "Apple."

"Elderberry."

Rachael chuckled. Damian saw Michelle was frowning.

"What's an elderberry? No fruit starts with a 'Y'! Hmm! You didn't win." Michelle pouted.

Damian sighed and states a new chain, "For breakfast, I'm having bread and? Butter."

"Apple jam."

"Milk."

"Pineapple jam."

"Egg."

"Grape jam."

The game got fiercer and fiercer for both sides. Damian was running out of things to say and Michelle was running out of things to add before the word 'jam.'

Damian got fed up because Michelle said things like 'Sandwich jam' and 'Elderberry jam.'

Reaching the crux of the game, Damian suddenly stopped hearing Michelle's voice.

She was asleep. Rachael noticed, "Oh, wow. She's already asleep. One minute she's wide awake but the next she's asleep."

Damian chuckled and rested his back on the chair. He was so into the game. He hadn't felt elated that much in a long time.

After a few minutes, Rachael asked, "How's the kid?"

Damian took a sip of water from a bottle, then said, "He's… managing, I guess…"

"It must be hard for him."

"Yeah."

"Did you really shoot those men in places you knew they won't suffer lifelong effects?"

"Who knows…" Damian took another sip.

"So… what do you think about David Dolan?"

"What do I think? I don't know… but I'm sure he hates me though."

"Haha, why?"

"It's a long story."

"Oh ok."

After a brief pause, Rachael spoke up once again, "Err… Thanks. For saving me and Michelle. You've done more than we could ask for."

Damian nodded and asked, "How's your leg?"

"It hurts a bit from my waist when I walk but I think I'll be alright."

After some more idle chat, Rachael grew fond of Damian. She asked, "So how was your life before the apocalypse?"

Damian wasn't comfortable with the question because he felt she was overstepping her boundaries, so he gave a short answer, "Normal. How about you?"

"Hard. Living in New York with a daughter and a job that pays only 20 to 25k a year isn't easy."

"What about child support?" Damian asked unhesitatingly. He wanted to also push the boundaries just to see if she'll feel uncomfortable with it.

Rachael became quiet, "I don't… know her father."

Damian up was getting tired. He stood up to enter his tent.

"You're a great mom for taking responsibility and not resorting to an abortion." With a goodnight, he entered his tent.

Rachael tucked her hair behind her ear and smiled gently. It wasn't the first time she heard something similar but for some reason, Damian's words held more profoundness.

After, she also retreated into the night.

…

Mark was in his tent, holding a photo of him, Karin and Rebecca on her first birthday.

…How can I end this apocalypse? That ball creature said to either kill the king of hell or the person that caused the apocalypse. I wonder how someone caused such a thing. Either way, I need to find that person. But how?

…

At an hour before midnight, the 3 men that guarded the entrance were all asleep. 

One was snoring with his mouth wide open, while the other two rested on each other's shoulders.

A shadowy figure rose from the ground and entered the mouth of the snoring watchman.

He instantly opened his eyes and stood up straight. His eyes were black and soon returned to normal.

The new men that were supposed to take over arrived.

"Haha! Glad to see you're not like those two." One of the new watchmen said.

The others went to the old watchmen that were still sleeping, "Hey! Wake up! You're time's up."

The possessed watchman calmly walked back to the camp.

*  *  *

[1] Referring to Chapter 7: The Prophet