Chapter 31

Flickering candles illuminated the crew bar as hot wax dribbled down. Alcohols and spirits were organized orderly on the bar shelves, the liquid content gloomily reflecting the light source.

Esther poured hot tea into a ceramic cup, placing the stainless steel kettle atop a coaster. The cup sizzled as mist eddied from the heat. Thanking her, Jericho took a sip. The aroma lingered in his tastebuds, warming his heart.

Disheveled men and woman sat silently across the array of upholstered seats and furbished couches.

Because the time of the apocalypse was also the busiest and most active period on the cruise ship, the majority of the crew and guests on Utopia were concentrated across the several dining and entertainment venues. These survivors were fortunate enough to be wandering or stationed at more remote areas, where they managed to rally up and escape the initial onslaught.

In the middle of the crew bar, the muscular man that Jericho had saved earlier stared intently into the eyes of another tall man seated across him.

The muscular man berated, slamming the table with his fist. "Liam, how could you do that to us!"

"You killed Ning." Responding coldly, Liam was unfazed by the physicality. His eyes felt soulless, as if he had lost a part of himself. He was the man who had shut the group out and left them to die.

"Mitch, tone it down a little. We were partially in the wrong." The lady reproached the muscular man's actions. "Ning was the chef assistant, so we believed she had great value for the mission. But her rowdy personality…" Reaching her hands out, she tried to hold on to Liam to display sympathy.

Liam ignored her act, swatting away her hands. "Ning is more responsible than any of you could ever be. I don't believe a word you say. You killed her."

"Nonetheless, you tried to kill us all over her! 4 lives over 1? What were you thinking?" Mitch roared in rage. Unable to control himself any longer, Mitch unleashed another outburst and slapped towards Liam.

"Stop."

A young voice entered Mitch's ears. Before he could even react, he realized that his arms had been intercepted mid process. Jericho's adolescent fingers coiled around his wrist, inducing an irresistible force.

Jericho's voice brought shivers down Mitch's spine despite Mitch towering over him. Images of the bloody carnage at the corridors haunted Mitch as he retracted his arms, behaving more calm and cool headed.

"I don't care about your insignificant quarrels anymore. Bring me to the control room." Jericho grew sick of listening to such trivial arguments. He wanted to gain access to the ship before the second wave struck. He didn't know when it was going to arrive, but the memories in his head warned him of an oncoming disaster.

Although Jay and Esther had reincarnated from Earth too, the segment of memories regarding the second wave of disaster were fuzzy and muddled. Fearful of the unknown, they felt the immense stress prompting them to immediately reach the city.

All of a sudden, rapid knocks on the metal door disrupted the intense environment.

"Open this damn door up Liam! Jiro the Great has come with an offer!"

Outside the crew bar, a thin man in an expensive black suit boasted as he banged on the metal door.

"Hand us the women and your valuables! We don't want any trouble!"

Behind, multiple men crowded the corridors, surrounding a short man wearing a pair of tinted sunglasses. Despite having a rather small stature, the man's arms were disproportionately large, nearly bursting through the maroon T-shirt he had on.

"Shit. Those barbarians are back again!" Liam reacted vehemently to the people outside. The people within the bar scrambled to find weapons, but the bar for crew members to relax in wasn't necessarily the best place for lethal equipments.

Thump!

The metal door sealing the entrance dented inwards.

"This is the first warning!"

A second indentation formed as the short man outside buried another punch into the metal door.

"Second warning!"

The bizarre scene evoked a wave of panic as survivors trembled in fear. Despite the apocalypse occurring for barely two days, some of humanity has begun to show their true colors. Jiro and his men had already established a poor reputation, oppressing and taking advantage of the hopeless survivors through brute force.

Survivors within the crew bar reacted in different ways. Some were adamant about resisting Jiro's regime; some regretted the side they had chosen; some sat in the middle of the fence, awaiting how the story will progress…

As the people fret, a small figure stood out. Jericho walked towards the damaged metal door, examining the two dents.

"Third and final warning!" A shriek emanated from outside, deciding the fate of the people inside. The piercing sound of metal creaking resounded as the thick door sculpted the outline of a large fist.

Glaring nonchalantly at the protruding metal door, Jericho answered back Jiro's provocation with a powerful jab of his own.

"AHHHHHH!" A cry of pain slashed through the air.

Jericho's tiny first ceased the formation of Jiro's punch. His fist shoved back the protruding dent, smashing through flesh and hard metal. Meeting an unstoppable force, Jiro's abnormally large arm flailed in the air lifelessly as the bones in his arms shattered. Jericho's entire arm punctured through the thick metal door, opening a small tunnel between the corridor and the bar.

Administering fear and death was what Jericho excelled at.

Retracting his arm, he put on a bright, innocent smile and unlocked the door.

Metals shards blasting out from the metal door embedded into the walls and flesh. Although the impact from his jab were not sufficient for the shards to inflict fatal wounds, it was enough to instill his dominance. Few men who were struck rolled on the floor in agony while fearfully backing away from the young boy who inflicted those wounds.

The boy's silky golden hair and adorable features enhanced his pure appearance, but it only served as a foil to his demonic presence.

Jiro was knocked out cold by the unbearable pain, red blood frothing at his lips. The feeling of superiority fed Jericho as he sauntered towards the fainted Jiro, an eerie smile splitting open. A mindless zombie felt nothing like a live human being.

'Kill him. It's in your nature.'

A sinister voice in his head enticed Jericho. Jericho's vision shifted. He saw himself. A younger version of himself.

His callused hands were wrapped around the sweet boy who grew up with him, the boy who supported him all the way. He watched as his best friend's purple face swelled up, his deadly grip draining away his life.

"Don't kill him!" Jericho screamed desperately, but his younger self couldn't hear the deep regret in his voice.

The dying boy reached out his arms, clawing against Jericho's chest. He couldn't understand why his best friend would do this to him, so his eyes bore sorrow and bewilderment.

Jericho's heart twitched. Was it all worth it?

However, from the dreadful shadows of the sleeping quarters emerged a man who tormented him on a daily basis.

"Only one spot left". The man beguiled, triggering the gnarly scar crawling down his jaw. "One spot left for survival…"

'Kill him.'

A frenzy spark of light emitted from Jericho's palms. The unconscious man in front of him transformed into a series of pixels, detaching Jericho from reality.

Twitching robotically, Jericho prepared to bash down at the man before him.

"Jericho stop! Control yourself!"

Still seated at the table, Jay witnessed a twisted thirst for blood arising from Jericho. Realizing something was off, he immediately called out in urgency and raced towards Jericho at full speed. He spread out his arms, restricting Jericho's movements.

Trapped in a chamber of darkness, Jericho shivered. It was cold. Freezing. And he felt so alone.

"I'm a monster. I'm a monster…"

He whispered in desolation, burying his head in his arms. He was just a horrible kid, a monster who should never deserve warmth.

"You're not acting like your usual self! Snap out of it!"

'Huh?'

Jericho looked up at the eternal darkness. He sensed warmth enclosing him and isolating him from the horrors all around.

'No, I don't belong here.'

Jericho absorbed the pleasing warmth. It felt like the hot tea he drank a while ago, snug and cozy. That's right. Jay and Esther were relying on him too.

Jay's voice snapped Jericho's wicked impulsions, clearing the murky harrowing haze shrouding his mind.

The blinding light in his palms dissipated as the murderous intentions subsided instantly.

"Oh no. Did I go overboard again?" Jericho gasped.

Jericho dropped his menacing demeanor and exhaled. He had almost lost control again. Was this increase in power overwhelming him? Or was it some other random factor?

"Thank you Jay." Whispering softly, Jericho wanted to go for a hug to showcase gratitude, but the thought of an embrace was too difficult to execute. He stuck his arms close to his body, giving Jay a weak smile.

"You're welcome." Jay answered back with a grin of affirmation, releasing his grasp. "You sure you're okay?"

"Yeah. I'm perfectly fine."

Shaking his head to stay alert, Jericho crouched down to observe the fainted superhuman. Lying unconsciously on the ground, Jiro's massive arms seemed to have shrunk in size.

"So that was your ability… weird." Jericho said as he ran his fingers across Jiro's neck before tapping roughly on a certain region.

Groaning, the fainted man woke up.

But before he could analyze his surroundings, pain engulfed him once again as he pressed his remaining hand against his destroyed arm to delay the flow of blood.

"I'm rather surprised by your endurance." Jericho stared deeply into his soul, instilling fear. "How many of you are there?"

"How many of us?" Gritting his teeth to suppress the seething pain, Jiro asked frightenedly.

"Superhumans. How many of you are there?"

"There's only two of us that I know of. Me and Aristaeus." Jiro pointed towards the group of men with his chin. Grimacing, he tried to identify the the man he was referring to. "Wait, where'd Aristaeus go?"

Amongst the group of injured and frightened man, the other superhuman that Jiro had mentioned suspiciously vanished during the chaos.

'Aristaeus must be the one who caused this!' Jericho thought inwardly, identifying a trail of blood leading far away. Signing farewell to Jay, he sprinted off at extreme speed, dying to uncover the man who made him lose control.

Yanking out a metal shard lodged into his arm, a bleeding man stumbled up the winding stairs while grunting in agony.

"Argh! I need to report this anomaly to Master. There's a boy strong enough to ruin our plan."

The man heaved a heavy breath as he sneered in resentment.

"We've been plotting far too long for us to fail."