Chapter 13: Why Isn't He Dead Yet?

•National Science Academy, 1st Ward•

Ambrose

Ambrose hated it. He hated everything about today. It was as if anything that can go wrong did go wrong.

"AAAHHHHHHH" He screamed as they rushed across the forest. Ambrose was bever one for speed--in fact, he was never one for physical activities. He could feel his legs slowly growing numb and was about to give out from exhaustion.

In contrast, Ana and V seemed to only gain more speed. "Wait!" He called out to them while catching his breath. "Why the hell are they so fast." He complained.

An animalistic growl suddenly lunged into him from behind and pined him into the ground. Ambrose's back and wrists burned from the harsh fall. His pulse quickened, his instincts warning him of the imminent danger.

Kalix gave a combination of animalistic growls and snarls at him as he tried to bite Amrose's hand. It was like Kalix had lost all control over his body, his eyes were bloodshot and he was drooling. His hand was cold to the touch--like someone who was dead.

"HELPPP!" Ambrose called trying his best to free himself but to no avail. Kalix was too strong. He continued to growl at him like a wild animal.

He could hear footsteps running towards him then...

BANG

A gun fired. The bullet ahot through his head and Kalix fell on top of Ambrose, lifeless.

"Is he dead?" Ambrose asked as he pushed Kalix's body off him.

"I doubt it," Valerian answered as he loaded more bullets into his gun.

"Where did you get that?" Ambrose screamed frantically.

Valerian ignored his question and watched as monitor robots flocked in their direction. "Move, Ambrose!"

Ambrose heard bones cracking eerily, he turned to see Kalix getting up to his feet despite the bullet wound on his forehead, his joints which seemed to dislocate from the fall remained dislocated but it didn't seem to bother him as it continued to lunge at them with full force. It was as if he couldn't feel pain despite being shot.

"AHHHHHHH!" Ambrose tried to get away as quickly as he could, bumping into Valerian in the process. This caused Valerian to drop his gun as Ambrose clung to him for his life.

"Fuck!" He cursed as he pushed him away just in time to dodge Kalix who pounced on him. For some reason, Kalix seemed unusually determined to attack them. Perhaps he wanted his revenge. But something about him was weird. It was as if he lost all sense of self.

Valerian lunged at Kalix and punched him in the face. Kalix went stumbling backward. Ambrose shivered, 'Valerian was strong' he thought, it would be dangerous to get on his bad side.

Instead of exchanging blows, Kalix just kept charging at Valerian mindlessly while grinding his teeth like an animal.

"The Gun!" Valerian shouted. Ambrose looked around and saw the gun at Ana's feet a few meters away from them.

"Shoot!" Valerian ordered as Ana picked it up with trembling hands. She cocked the gun and pointed it at Kalix. It was as if she was used to holding a gun, but she just froze there as he fingers dangled dangerously near the trigger.

"I can't! He's innocent!"

"If you won't kill him, he'll kill you!" Ambrose yelled.

"SHOOT," Valerian growled. Ambrose could see why Ana was worried. She couldn't get a clear shot because Kalix and Valerian were continuously exchanging blows. Ana tried to aim for Kalix but his fight with Valerian made it almost impossible to hit Kalix without the risk of hitting Valerian. "Don't worry about hitting me, just fucking shoot!" Valerian ordered.

But it was no use, Ana turned visibly pale. Her breathing became erratic, shallow, and rapid. Beads of sweat formed on her forehead despite the mild temperature. Ambrose could see the internal struggle, the battle between the past and the present, playing out in Ana's eyes. Panic and fear gripped her, as if she was trapped in an invisible cage of memories she couldn't escape. "His legs! Aim for his legs!" Ambrose suggested.

"SHOOT!" Valerian ordered as he pushed Kalix face-first onto the harsh ground, pinning his head to the grass so he couldn't move.

With trembling hands, Ana pulled the trigger.

BANG

BANG

The sudden burst of gunfire pierced the air as the bullets pierced Kalix's calves. He tried to stand but it seemed the wound was too grave for his legs to bear.

Ambrose's eyes locked onto the injured person, who now lay on the ground. His face was not contorted in pain. In fact, there was no hint of emotion on Kalix's face. It was as if his brain was dead, but his body was still moving. "Like a zombie" Valerian muttered to himself.

"Good work, Sunshine" Valerian mocked.

He turned his head in Ana's direction. She was breathing heavily while clutching the gun with both hands. It was peculiar, despite trembling hands Ana fired 2 bullets and 2 bullets hit their designated target perfectly despite not having a clear shot. A feat that was near-impossible if you were not trained with the gun. Ambrose eyed Ana suspiciously as she approached Kalix. Her head dropped and he could swear he saw ears trying to escape her eyes. 'Was she feeling guilty?' he asked himself.

An ambulance siren wailed in the distance, as the monitor bots came racing towards the scene.

"Ow" Ambrose and Valerian's heads snapped toward the sound. Ana was nursing a wound on her hand. Ambrose saw Valerian's eyes widen. "You idiot! Why would you let him bite you?!" He scolded.

"It's just a small wound, no big deal-" She tried to hide the wound behind her.

"Bloodshot eyes, foaming mouth, unsound mind. He clearly has a disease. You idiot! You could get infected! Do you not know anything about contagious diseases?" Valerian said exasperatedly.

The robots helped Kalix into a stretcher as Mr. Cane stepped out from the trees in front of them. "What a mess." He murmured. Behind him, there were five wardens.

They were the sanctuary's safety force. Each one of them is genetically modified to have the best physical abilities. The wardens walked towards them in their identical black uniforms. It was hard to tell wardens apart. All of them looked exactly the same. The same face, the same features, and the same build. All of them were genetically modeled from the same individual. They were clones.

"Victim: Kalix Dyle..." One of them muttered as they examined the body and the crime scene.

"Would you mind telling us the owner of this firearm?" One of the wardens asked. "Licensed or illegal?" he added.

"That's mine. I have a license." Valerian answered.

"Reason for ownership, Mr. Vanguardia?"

Valerian glared at him and run his hand along his hair in frustration. "As the prime minister's son, my life is always at risk. Since I can't have a bodyguard following me around class, the gun was a compromise." He explained.

"Firearm license. Verified." One of the wardens announced.

"Cause of death: Fracture in the victim's skull. Estimated time of death: 9:00 - 9:30 P.M." Another warden announced.

Mr. Cane shook his head in disagreement. "Those engineered genes must have stopped their minds from working and made them crazy. How can a dead person walk around and attack a student if he died last night?" He said sighing. "This one must be faulty" Mr. Cane complained pointing at one of the wardens.

"I'm afraid my scan has the same result, Mr. Cane. We'll have to do an autopsy to verify the results." Another warden replied.

"The person you shot has a possibility of having a contagious disease. Please cooperate with our disease investigation." Another warden said.

"Positive for V-012 virus." One of the Wardens announced. "Initiating quarantine procedures," he added as the robot's sirens turned red and started scanning all of them.

A green light scanned Ambrose from head to toe: "Clear" the robotic voice announced.

Moving on, the green light scanned Valerian from head to toe: "Clear" the robotic voice announced.

In the same way, the green light scanned Mr. Cane from head to toe: "Clear" the robotic voice announced.

Lastly, the green light scanned Ana from head to toe: "Positive for V-012 virus." the robotic voice announced.