Chapter 28

Meanwhile somewhere else..

"Are you sure about this? If I die because of you I'll drag you to hell with me." A man with black hair said. He kept his long black hair braided at the sides. His eyes were white and pupil-less. The large black grow on his shoulder had a third eye on its forehead that was gold in color.

"Yes. Finding Tyson right now is our priority. That bastard going off somewhere when we need him." Zeal toyed with his headphones with his thumb as he spoke.

"The crow is my eyes.. if I just send it off I will be completely blind til it returns. You must keep watch for me because I can not see without it." He insisted once more as he worried over the whole idea of sending the bird out in search of Tyson too far. The reason he had pupil-less eyes was because he did not see using the eyes on his own head. His eye sight depending solely on the crow as it acted like an extension to his own body.

"I'll keep you safe you just work on locating him. We need to find him right away, Tai." Zeal insisted.

"I don't understand why I'm helping you two when your plan sounds completely crazy, but I'll make due with it for now." Tai made his way over to a tree and sat down. Once he was comfortable the crow flapped its wings and took to the air. Flying off into the distance as Tai began his search for the number one survivor. Ranking among the top ten himself he could easily recall what Tyson looked like so recognizing him would not be a problem. It was the idea of parting with the crow that made him worry. If something happened to the crow he would be completely blind until death. He would not be able to regain his sight again.

Zeal had been working without end in order to bring over as many people as he could for the cause that Tyson requested of him. There had been those who refused and fought to their own end. Many of them however were easy for him to win over because, just as Tyson believed, they all had reasons to fight together if it meant they all gained a chance to live. Those who ranked in the top ten were harder for him. Managing to gain Tai for their cause he could consider a huge achievement but there was no guarantee that the man would refrain from switching sides later on. He couldn't even say the reason why the man chose to side with them so easily. Something about it almost made him feel uneasy.

"Yea, I'd like to understand why you agreed so easily myself.." Zeal muttered out loud as he stood there watching until the crow was completely out of sight.

At the sound of approaching footsteps he caught sight of someone trying to sneak up on them. He already recognized the person as someone who had previously refused to collude with them against Numen. Knowing the man was a lost cause to try and communicate with he went for his own belt. Grasping a bullet between his fingers he sent it flying in the man's direction. Without a sound the bullet went straight through the man's chest, dropping him on the spot.

"What was that?" Tai asked when he heard the thud of the body fall in the distance. Zeal's actions had been completely silent so he never even heard the sounds of a fight take place.

"I tripped?" Zeal answered in a questioning manner as he walked over to the body to check for anything useful for them.

"I don't need eyes to see your full of shit." Tai scoffed. He could tell that Zeal was lying to him so that he would not worry since he could not see a thing going on around him.

"Does that matter right now? I'm keeping you alive so don't worry about it." Glancing over at Tai he saw the man turn his head about the air in order to listen to everything going on around them. Unable to see from his own physical body his sense of hearing was above a normal person. It was how he guided himself in his home world whenever the crow was not at his side.

"I think I found sign of their trail but I can't be certain. He was never that careless in the past." Tai said as the crow examined the scene where Jake had fallen to Tyson. On foot with their group it would take them some time to reach it but by flight the crow could easily glide across the mountain with ease and speed beyond their reach on foot. They could not rush their pace by foot because their group was too large and held people of various races and ages. Needing every life they could gather they had no choice but to pace themselves to ensure nobody was left behind.

"He's got a couple newbies with him this year so that's to be expected." Zeal understood well the risks being in a group could bring Tyson.

"Should I push further?" Tai asked while the crow was still out there.

"No. Call it back and you'll search once we get closer. We cant risk pushing and you losing the crow." Zeal said while contemplating his next move. The larger their group got the harder it became for them to move too quickly. He could only consider himself with the people he gathered as backup for Tyson at the pace they were moving. Risking the group getting caught by a tragedy caused by Numen would be bad for him so he felt he could not bring them up too close to Tyson's location. One thing Zeal had learnt over the years was Numen's obsession with Tyson because of how determined the man was to stay alive. Needing a less obvious way of communicating with Tyson from a distance he pondered over ideas.

Flapping its wings as it landed the crow perched itself upon Tai's shoulder once again. Large as the bird was it was still hard to spot within the mountains as long as it kept itself within the trees until it was already up on you. With his vision returned to his side he began to stand up and turn his head in Zeal's direction. He could see the man staring at him and his crow as if a light bulb had gone off in the man's head. Sighing to himself he could only imagine what the man was thinking.