Gifted

"General, move away from the boy!" The young soldier shouted, unsheathing his blade and pointing it at Modred. "He's infected."

The villagers gasped in shock upon hearing the young soldier's words. Everyone began to move backward.

"What do you mean?" Uncle Duncan asked, examining Modred to see if there was any visible change.

"He was bitten right in front of me!" The young soldier replied, his blade still pointed towards Modred.

"Show me," Uncle Duncan demanded from Modred, his hand on the hilt of his sword.

"It healed up," Modred replied, revealing his neck to Uncle Duncan. There seemed to be no trace of blood or wound. "After I got bitten, I thought I would turn. But instead, I could feel this raw energy surging inside of me."

"At first, I felt extremely hot as the energy burned inside of me, then later I began to feel cold as ice. It took a few minutes before I recovered, and when I did, I felt stronger and faster," Modred explained genuinely.

Hearing Modred's explanation, Uncle Duncan knew Modred's case was similar to the girl that got bitten on the ship.

Both of them gave a similar explanation, describing how they grew stronger.

What further convinced Uncle Duncan was that Modred had already displayed his strength earlier.

There was no way a boy like him could have the power to defeat those creatures without breaking a sweat.

"So, we have another among us?" General Sikes spoke up as he stepped forward. "Show me your stomach," General Sikes demanded.

Modred was dumbstruck by General Sike's words, but he had to comply.

Lifting up his shirt, his stomach was exposed. Below his abdomen, a circular blue glowing mark was visible.

After catching a glimpse of the mark, General Sikes lifted his shirt slightly, revealing the same marking on him.

"I was also bitten three days ago. I thought I would turn into one of those creatures. But instead, the bite reversed from being a curse to a gift," General Sikes explained.

"Just like this boy said, I also felt stronger and faster. And something inside of me still feels like there's more to it than just having strength and speed. Something tells me there are still more powers yet to be discovered."

While Sikes was speaking, Kadori shifted his gaze to Bjorn, signaling that there was no need to hide it anymore.

"This newly found power is the only reason why these people are still alive," Sikes spoke further, pointing to the people behind him.

"I was able to use it to protect them up until now."

"If that's the case, then I guess our odds of survival have been increased," Uncle Duncan spoke up. "While we traverse to a safer place, the ones who were blessed with such gifts will stay behind and stand guard."

"That is an excellent plan," General Sikes commented. "Like I said earlier, there's a large open area located west. The area seems to be the safest place on this island."

"You will take everyone there and begin to build a barrier that'll shield us from the rest of the island. While you guys work on the barrier, we, the gifted ones, will stay behind until the barrier is completed," General Sikes explained.

"Okay, what kind of barrier are we talking about? If we build walls, they'll easily climb over and enter," Uncle Duncan pondered.

"Then make the wall gigantic so they won't be able to reach," General Sikes replied.

"Building giant walls would take a lot of time. Are you sure the four of you will be able to hold the creatures back for that long?" Uncle Duncan inquired.

"Actually, make that four of us," Bjorn stepped forward with his shirt lifted up, "I also got infected before I boarded the ship. I could help."

Bjorn finally took Kadori's advice and volunteered to help. What was the use of having powers if you were just going to hide them forever?

"I'd also like to volunteer!" Kadori voiced out as he stepped forward.

"Are you also gifted by the bite?" General Sikes asked, scanning Kadori from head to toe.

"No, he's not," Uncle Duncan chimed in, pulling Kadori backward. "Are you crazy? Do you have a death wish or what?"

"I want to help," Kadori voiced out, pulling his arm away from Uncle Duncan.

"You will help, by building the wall," Uncle Duncan replied.

"I won't just sit around building some stupid wall! I need to be of good help," Kadori snapped.

"You are weak, Kadori. It's best you lay low and just go with the plan," Uncle Duncan replied before shifting his gaze back to Sikes.

Kadori stood there with his head facing the ground. He knew he was weak, too weak to save his mother.

He just needed someone to tell him how weak and feeble he was.

His fist clenched as the whole scene of his mother being feasted on by those creatures played in his head.

The tears she had in her eyes as their fangs sank into her, and all he could do was watch.

"Are there any others?!" General Sikes demanded, but there was no response, indicating there were no others.

"Okay, I suggest we get going! Take this," Sikes handed a compass to Uncle Duncan."The compass will lead you to the place."

Uncle Duncan retrieved the compass from Sikes. "We'll try our best to build it on time," Uncle Duncan assured before ordering the people to follow him as he led them with the compass in his hand.

The villagers ventured further into the island, while the four gifted ones stayed behind, just as they planned.