Chapter 10: A New Resolve

Chapter 10: A New Resolve

Still feeling sick but forcing himself forward, John proceeded away from the nurse's office, heading towards the school field to reach the gardener's shed. From there, he planned to scavenge the cars for supplies before making his way home. He knew he had to act quickly before others, who still possessed some cognitive function and had not succumbed to darkness, came by to do the same.

As he reached the school field, he noticed patches of blackness and small fires still burning, with visible bodies inside them—evidence of the mother dragons' destructive presence. Some had been reduced to blackened bones. John took a deep breath, clutching his knife tightly, and walked across the field to the shed.

Upon reaching the shed, John braced himself, fully prepared for the possibility of encountering someone inside, just as he had in the nurse's office. However, he found the shed empty, with only various garden tools, a riding mower, a weed whacker, and repair tools. He stowed the knife in his backpack and then gathered some rope and a crowbar. After making loose knots around the crowbar, he strapped it to his back, within easy reach but not obstructive.

Next, he picked up a machete, appreciating the extra range it provided in the absence of a decent or magical weapon. Gathering his thoughts, he reminded himself of his objective—to get to the main hall, collect discarded cold drink bottles for water, and scavenge snacks while trying to distract himself from the recent traumatic events.

John made his way to the large hall, which had previously been the venue of a reunion. Outside, cars burned, some smashed into each other, and bodies displayed various stages of transformation. Some had been killed before fully changing, while others lay in different forms or clothes, suggesting they had been changed and then slain. Shaking his head at the gruesome scene, John entered the hall.

Inside, chaos reigned with tables overturned, broken bottles, shattered windows, and bodies strewn across the floor. Carefully and slowly, he made his way to the corner where a bin was located. Emptying it out, he collected three 2-liter bottles and carried them under his arm, leaving one hand free.

Approaching the snack table, he placed the bottles down and pulled out a chair, sitting down to enjoy a pack of chips. Despite the circumstances, he tried to keep his focus sharp, constantly scanning his surroundings for any sign of danger. He took out his phone to message Fae, his closest confidant and support.

"I knew at some point we would probably have to kill, no matter how many times we've done it in dreams this is now reality and the weight of taking a life is heavy, I, Im only mentioning it since I don't know what to actually do now, I feel like I lost a part of my soul taking that life, like a piece of me died with them…" John typed, finishing the pack of chips, hand shaking and almost crying, feeling and hoping Fae, the one person who he always felt he could trust to be there would somehow help him through like she always seemed to be able to do, grabbing another pack of chips he proceeded to eat more to try and cope.

"Oh my god, John listen, I can't say I know or even understand how it feels, I have no doubt I will also be forced to do the same eventually so I hope you will be here for me like I am here for you and kick my ass out of it, but let me tell you, you did nothing wrong, I know you wouldn't have done something like that unless you had no choice and had no alternative, get a grip and focus, tell me, did you enjoy taking that life? Did you get a kick from it? Tell me honestly!" reading this John didn't truly know what to say, no he didn't enjoy it, no he didn't get some kind of kick out of it, if anything it made him feel sick, "no to all that, it made me feel sick, worse still I will probably need to do it more often in the future, I hated it, I hate that I had to do it. I had no choice!" he typed back to her, almost screaming at the phone.

"Good! Then remember that anger, that hatred, get a grip on it and channel it, like you said you're probably going to need to kill again in the future so get a grip, take all that you're feeling and aim it at those responsible for this, you told me you would help me and I will be helping you as well, if I was there I'd give you a proper kick in the ass, John you're my best friend, you've been my rock and even helped me with my relationship and given me strength to keep going so don't you dare give up now, things have only just begun, if you need more reason than just to face the asshats that caused this then let it be how this may bridge to our dreams, this may be how you find those mysterious people you met in your dreams, those that would help us through the tough times. You need to keep going, please…" reading all this John began to cry a little, Fae was right, he couldn't give up, he had to push forward, the world changed like he wanted and so he would need to accept that this was a consequence of it, "never forget the lives you take but never let them become chains to hold you down, rather let them be the steps you must take to reach the top" John told himself as he gave himself a hard slap on the cheek, "so snap out of it, get it together, this is your world now! This is where you will thrive! Face forward and never back, hesitate and you will die, get up if you stumble, but never stop going forward!" he all but yelled at himself, almost visibly the air around him changed, becoming more resolute, he held himself more confidently and with a nod he typed to Fae "you're right, I need to focus, I need to keep pushing, this world isn't forgiving anymore, law and order, morals and restraint are all gone now, I won't fall, I refuse, thank you Fae for knocking some proverbial sense into me, how's the situation over there by you? Have you guys managed to cope so far? What's the area like now by you?" he asked, mostly to change the subject but also out of concern for his friends.

"Well the house is a bit more secured now, we blocked the windows and most of the doors, power is still on for now, we've begun to fill any bottles we can find with water just in case so situation isn't too bad, but the sky is odd, it's pitch black and the moon has been letting off a blood-red glow, it also doesn't seem to have moved much just hanging there in the sky. Ray went out to explore a bit, says he wants to get some experience to level up well also items to sell to his system shop, I'm in a party with him so passively getting a little experience from his hunting, he messaged a moment ago telling me our area has become some kind of vampire-like world, thankfully from what he can gather were on the very edge of the outer zone, so it's mostly ghouls and very weak thralls, don't know much else other than that though, but will keep you posted if anything else comes up." Fae replied, trying to reassure John while updating him on their situation.

"Keep me posted, take care and be safe, I'll let you know what happens this side when I get to where I'm going." John typed back, finishing the pack of chips, feeling more at ease with himself, his focus sharper than before as he got up and made his way over to the snack table to restock before picking up the bottles he panned to fill with water bottles and began making his way out to the cars to try and find anything he could salvage before making his way home.