Confessions

"You...you used him and tossed him aside. You're heartless," Zolo cried, sitting a bit away from Kane, unable to bear his condition.

---

A day ago, around midnight,

some of us firstly went outside to asses the situation.

I had cleared out all the zombies in the corridor, so there was no immediate danger. I was sleeping next to Jazmen, who had agreed to sleep beside me after my insistence. Soul had opted to sleep on the floor, not wanting to argue about the bench. Emma and Kat slept next to each other, while Kane and Zolo moved their benches to a corner.

They wanted their own private time and I had neither the right nor the authority to stop them from whatever they were upto. Law of the Jungle was covering us up now that the world order seems fallen with all the visuals we saw on the phone.

I pinched Jazmen's cheeks, "I missed you so much, it was such a long journey."

Jazmen replied with a shy stoic face, "Are you an idiot? It's not even a day since the event."

"Don't be so practical; go for the emotions, not just the words," a gentle smile appeared on my face after getting the regular expected reactions from Jazmen.

"Understood. Now, can you tell me what happened after you helped me jump down from that eaves? I've been dying to know about your transformation," Jazmen asked with an expectant gaze.

"Why don't you let me flirt for a while? Being so serious all the time won't get you anywhere," I said with a boyish pout.

"Flirting is for the immature and foolish. In these dire circumstances, we need to cling to any branch that might save us from falling to the level of those zombies," Jazmen said in a serious tone.

I wrapped my arms around her soft waist and my legs around her meaty thighs, a move she had always resisted on the second floor. This time, however, she didn't push me away, either moved by my sacrifice or too engrossed in my evolution story.

Jazmen stared at me with anticipation as I explained, "Just after I helped you jump down, I felt a churning motion inside my body, as if two different forces were intermingling. I can't explain it properly, but I was sure I felt it. Then, after bearing it for some time, I fell unconscious, only to wake up the next day with this evolved physique."

"If it's as you explained, then one theory we can deduce is that your body's immune system fought and won against the virus. Then, if it's possible, it somehow absorbed the virus, leading to your evolution," she said while scratching her chin.

"That's your part to think through. I want to sleep," I said and yawned before tightening my grip around the teddy bear wrapped in my arms and legs, drifting off to sleep.

"You're such a big child," Jazmen rubbed my hair and, after ensuring my eyes were closed, smiled before falling asleep herself.

---

3rd person POV

Around 3 in the morning, Jazmen tapped Emma's shoulder "Get up, I want to talk to you. I can see you're a light sleeper."

Emma, rubbing her eyes, replied irritably, "What do you want? I want to sleep and rest before facing those fiends."

Jazmen insisted, "Wake her up and come out; we need to make things clear." Emma woke Kat up, and after saying something in her ear, they both got up to go outside.

They found Jazmen by the gate, who suggested, "Let's walk and talk; we might be debating for a while."

Kat, in a hurry, said, "What do you want to talk about? We need to sleep to be in the best shape possible for tomorrow."

Jazmen got straight to the point and said "For how long do you plan to use Apex?"

Emma acted innocent, "What are you talking about? I don't understand."

Jazmen grew more assertive, "You can fool him, but not me. I can see what you're trying to do, so don't act otherwise. Bring your real self out."

Kat rushed, "What do you want to talk about? We need to sleep to be in our best shape for tomorrow."

Jazmen got straight to the point, irritated by their continuous disagreement, "I think you both have the IQ to think this through thoroughly, so let's talk straight. For how long do you plan to use Apex?"

Emma feigned ignorance, "What are you talking about? I don't understand."

Jazmen's tone turned more aggressive as she introduced herself again but more thoroughly than when they first met yesterday, "I'm Jazmen, a national-level brain champ with achievements in face reading, psychology and a big time science researcher. I'm 23, one year older than you, Kate, and one year younger than you, Emma. Please don't try to fool me; I can read and anticipate most of your plans. That's why I want to talk about this honestly."

Kat tried to mediate, "if you say so then... I see you're studious and skilled in psychology, so consider our perspective. We don't want to rely on someone like Kane. You know how he looked at us that night. We've been getting those strange looks for almost a week. Do you think we're acting this way just to use Apex as our guard? We want to survive this catastrophe with whatever we have."

Jazmen waved her hand dismissively, "You can go inside."

Emma pressed further, "You... you really won't tell Apex about it. Keep in mind, if something happens to me, I'll take you down with me. I can guarantee that."

Jazmen was left standing there, conflicted about her new attraction, Apex.

Her face, worried from the new burden they'd need to bear. They sure might come handy in the long run but at the moment, looking at the food and water remaining, they sure are a burden only to be disposed if not killed before they find a bigger and better source for their needs.