A new hope

"5... 6... Let's go! Don't stop! 7..."

"No... I can't!"

"Of course, you can! 8..."

"Abby…." He whimpered.

"GO, LEV! STRIKE IT! 9... THE LAST ONE! GO! 10! VERY GOOD, BOY!"

"Humph…huf…" He took a breathless breath. "That was a lot of weight for me."

"Don't be a chicken! At your age, I lifted 85kg on the bench press."

"What?!" he replied in surprise.

"The secret is not to skip a day of training."

"May the Prophet protect me from your training..."

"Even she won't be able to save you from this." She ruffled Lev's hair with her hands. "By the way, isn't this All-Star uncomfortable to train?"

"Not even a little. I thought it was better than that 'big bout' Stiven gave me."

"Abby!" A man opened the door to the gym where they were. "He arrived!"

"Okay, we're almost done!"

"Do we still have more training?" asked Lev dejectedly. "I thought it was the last one."

"And it was. But civilized people usually take a shower after training, you little pig."

"We also took baths. We just didn't find it necessary to do it every day."

"If I took a mug bath like you, I wouldn't do it either."

"It is true." He chuckled. "I love those gravediggers of yours."

"Showers, Lev! My Gosh! Now go, put the weights in place and clean your equipment, the doctor is waiting for us."

"Why are you so looking forward to see this doctor? Is he not a healer like others?"

"He's not a healer, Lev."

"And what's the difference?"

"Doctors use more science and less magic."

"It wasn't magic! It was nature's cure."

"Uh…" Abby rolled her eyes.

"All I don't know, you respond with that science thing," he muttered.

"It's not my fault if you were forced to cut your face at your kindergarten instead of reading books."

"We read the writings of the Prophet. They would do you good."

"Oh, Lev, go take a shower, go." She threw the towel against his chest and walked toward the locker room.

Both returned minutes later.

"Did you wash behind the ears?" mocked Abby.

"I'm not a child anymore!" he replied sharply.

"I know, but I'm responsible for you now, I have to make sure you've dried your ears well so no fungus grows there."

"Can fungus grow in my ear?" he asked perplexed.

"Sure! And if it takes a while to clean, you're going to be a bloater."

"Stop being an idiot!" Lev punched her in the arm.

"Whoa, what's up, Lev!" A young man greeted him from afar. "Get up more than yesterday, huh? You will look like Abby if you keep in that way."

"He still has to work hard to lose those skinny arms!" replied Abby, laughing.

"With you as his instructor, I know he won't rest" he teased. "See you tomorrow."

"Good night, Donius," Lev said, a little embarrassed. He turned to Abby and commented: "This Donius arrived a little after us, right?"

"Yeah, he's a newbie too."

"It was nice of the Fireflies to welcome new people like us."

"I said you could trust them. And you were so worried..."

"Everyone we'd met so far wanted to kill us or eat us. Precaution never hurts."

"I've lived with them my whole childhood, Lev."

"You also lived with the Wolves and I lived with the Seraphites."

"That's a good point."

"Okay, but you still haven't told me why you're so excited to see this Doctor Science."

Abby looked at him askance.

"He's a Neuroscientist, just like my father was."

"Neuro what?" he asked confused.

"Neuroscientist! He is a doctor who specializes in studying how our heads work. That's where the fungus settles. My father was studying how to neutralize cordyceps."

"Abby, speak my language please."

"He was trying to find a cure. Create a vaccine so that people don't become infected anymore."

"Really?! To put an end to the demons... That would be a miracle. And then?"

"He couldn't complete the experiment..."

"Why? What happened?"

Abby was clearly annoyed and changed the subject.

"Look, there they are." She quickened her pace. "Hi, Stiven." She greeted a brown-colored young man, wearing a green vest and brown cargo pants. He had short, messy hair and honey-colored eyes.

"Finally, I thought you had gone down the drain."

"You know, Lev asks things a lot."

"Ha ha ha! What's up, boy, how much are you up today?" he asked as he held out his closed hand.

Lev greeted him with a punch and replied:

"Today it was 45kg, I don't know if Abby is trying to train me or kill me."

"I believe both options." Stiven chuckled and patted Lev on the shoulder. "Now come in, he's talking to Lucius."

The three entered a small room with a few paintings on the wall, a wooden floor and a round table in the center. There were two people standing talking. The one on the right was a tall, strong black man in dreadlocks and a blue uniform. He had an eagle tattoo on his right arm. The man on the left was Asian, with short hair and glasses. He wore a white coat and brown shoes.

"Finally!" the man in the uniform said enthusiastically. "Doctor Yudi, this is Abby."

"So, you're Jerry's famous daughter." The doctor approached and held out his hand.

"Did you know my father?"

"Did I?" He chuckled, revealing a gap between his front teeth. "We were college friends. Your dad was brilliant, he always carried us around with group jobs, and I'm Asian ha ha." Abby didn't seem to get the reference. "Forget it, old-world joke. It's a shame what happened to your father, the world lost a great man, and you lost the most, my feelings." He squeezed Abby's hand with both of his hands as he bowed to her.

"T... thank you."

"Doc needs a favor from you, Abby." Lucius leaned against the wall and crossed his arms.

"A favor from me?"

"Yes, yes! In our college years, we had specific work on how fungi interact with humans. At the time, we had no idea what was to come. A while ago, we made a mission to the college to retrieve this job. Good soldiers died to make it. The work is full of your father's notes and looks very promising. However, important points are still missing."

"And what do you want me to do?" asked Abby anxiously.

"I wonder if you have any notebooks with your dad's notes or if he left you some of his research."

"Unfortunately, he didn't, doctor. I never got the hang for research. So, these things didn't interest me." The doctor lowered his head in disappointment. "But… we left pretty much everything at the hospital after all the shit. I'm sure you can find his notes there."

"That's wonderful! It's already a start. The hospital you're talking about is the one they took the immune girl to, right?" Abby scrunched up her face immediately. "It's a shame we lost her; we'll have to bet our chips on the notes."

"What if we hadn't lost her?" asked Abby, her head bowed.

"Well... That would be perfect! With your father's notes, our college work in hand, and the girl immune, the cure would only be a matter of time, I think," the doctor replied enthusiastically. Abby was silent for a moment. "I'll separate one of my patrols and send it along with you to find these notes. They will have to be enough."

"Wait!" Abby interrupted. "I know where that is!"

"The notes?" asked the doctor.

"No… the immune girl." The room immediately went into shock. Lev looked at Abby, not quite understanding. He hadn't seen her tense like this since her friends' murders.

"Are you serious?!" asked Stiven in amazement.

"Yeah. But I warn you that it will not be easy. It's a long way, and it's not even the worst part."

"Don't worry, I'll separate my best squad to follow along." Lucius boasted.

"She's in a city with energy, people, and lots of guns."

"We'd be starting a war" Stiven commented worriedly.

"Yes" said Abby, still crestfallen.

"It doesn't matter, we have a chance to heal humanity, to end all this shit we've been through."

"It doesn't matter?!" repeated Abby indignantly.

"That's what we formed the Fireflies for. We will be ready tomorrow morning."

"We formed the Fireflies to save humanity, not to carry out genocide. We are not starting a war!" The muscular girl approached and faced Lucius, confronting him.

"And what do you expect? That we ask politely?" sneered Lucius.

"That's a possibility. If we say we can find a cure, maybe the city will deliver her" Stiven proposed.

"I find it kind of difficult... The Jackson people are very tight. The last time we killed one of them, they hunted us down and took over a hundred of our people…" Abby turned her head, her gaze far away in melancholy memories.

"But this time it's different, we're going to save humanity," Stiven said hopefully.

"Great plan. We got there, we asked as a girl, and when they refused, we missed the surprise attack," Lucius replied sarcastically.

"'Ask as a girl?' I didn't understand." Lev quirked his eyebrows.

"He's being an idiot, Lev, then he's beaten like a girl and he doesn't know why," replied Abby, also sarcastic, looking into Lucio's eyes.

"Want to try your luck, newbie? Your arms don't scare me." Lucius pushed himself away from the wall and puffed out his chest.

"Well, it should. I've used them to kill things much worse than an asshole with an inflated ego." Abby rotated her shoulder, warming her arm as she approached.

"Hey, hey, hey!" Stiven came in between them. "Save that enthusiasm for the infected we encounter along the way. Anyway, I think it's worth trying to ask first. We are all tired of living among a bunch of walking fungi and scavengers. Maybe even the girl surrenders."

"Sure, enjoy and bake a walnut cake to give away while you ask them to kill their friend." Lucius turned away and headed for the door. "Go sleep, doctor, the journey will be long and tiring for someone used to aprons and syringes." He left the room.

"What a dickhead" Abby complained.

"He reminds me of a village elder. One who claimed to represent the Prophet, but only wanted to finish off the Wolves."

"What's wrong with taking out wolves?" Stiven asked.

"Wolves was the name of my faction that was warring against their group," Abby clarified.

"Ah... I see... Look, Lucius can look like an asshole..."

"He's an asshole!" Abby interrupted.

"Okay, he's an asshole. But he saved us from troubles that I never thought were possible. I lost count of how many times he was the ace up the sleeve to save our group."

"I know guys like him, Stiven. They say they'll protect the group, but they lead us into wars we can't win without thinking twice."

"I'll talk to him in the morning, let's figure something out until we get there. Trust me."

"Well... I think I'll go to bed," said the doctor awkwardly.

"Sorry, Dr. Yudi, the situation has gotten a little tense here." Stiven chuckled a little embarrassedly. "It was a pleasure to meet you."

"It was my pleasure," replied the doctor, shaking Stiven's hand. "And, Abby, your father is an inspiration to me. It's an honor to be able to finish the work he started. And I'm sure he would be proud of you, after all, it's thanks to you that we'll get the immune girl. Come back in one piece to see the new world we are going to create." He put his hand on Abby's shoulder and stared at her for a moment.

She was in a mess of feelings, but she thanked him and said goodbye to the doctor. She stood for a moment, looking at the floor, her thoughts far away and her fist clenched.

"Are you okay?" Stiven asked.

"Yes, I am, I just need to lie down for a while. We'll talk tomorrow." She turned her back and started walking. Lev picked up his pace to keep up with her.

"What just happened?" She didn't answer. "What is this word?"

"What word?"

"Immune."

"It's when a person doesn't get sick."

"And how can this help find a cure?"

"Because she's immune to fungus infection."

"You mean she doesn't turn into a demon? Not even if she gets bitten?"

"That's right."

"Whoa! How amazing, this person must be sensational." Abby once more frowned and quickened her pace. "Who is this person? You look kind of tense."

"Fuck, Lev! Shut up a little bit!" Abby exploded at the boy. He stared at her for a moment.

"It's her, right…? The girl who killed Owen and Mel."

"I TOLD YOU TO SHUT UP!" Abby punched the wall, her face twisted and enraged, staring at Lev, her body sweating and her breath coming in gasps. The boy lowered his head and took a step back. Both were in short silence. Abby took a deep breath. "I'm sorry... I just... I just need some time alone, okay?" She turned her back on Lev and walked away.