Chapter 10: Narrow spaces

It's been a couple of days since Alexia, Alice, and Lana found the evidence of John's innocence, yet they were still stuck on what to do next. Should Alexia go to the authorities about the heinous crime she committed or should they drop the evidence that Mattheson worked hard for at the percent to prove John's innocents?

Both options were righteous but both still would've have torn the family apart. So what could they do other than sit in their living room and talk, or in their case right now look at each other awkwardly?

Alexia saw looked at both her daughter and granddaughter with eyes of sorrow as she saw how Alice wouldn't even look her way while Lana would look at her periodically and when caught would quickly look back at her phone trying to avoid. Alexia with no idea as to how she could fix the situation says, " This isn't going to work. The awkward stares and the silence. I know what I did was horrible but we have to give this evidence to someone to clear his name. We have to prepare ourselves for when I turn myself."

Alice looks up at her mother with a saddened look upon her face which quickly turns to a face of annoyance as she looks at her daughter who sadly tries to hide the tears from the two people who she views as the strongest women on earth to her. Alice looks out the window into the dark night sky and says, "Mom, have you not thought about the ramifications of what'll happen when you turn yourself in. They probably won't even care since it's been so long, but if they do the media will make it a mission to take all of us down. Since I've already known about this and didn't report this Internal Affairs would probably try to take legal action against me all the while you might spend the rest of your life in prison while Lana will have to face more than a withholding evidence charge."

After hearing Alice's rant everyone returned to the silent state that flooded the room before. It was another few seconds before Alexia said, "I really fucked it up this time huh?"

Before Alice could answer, the bloody scream of a woman washes over the entire neighborhood making Alexia, Alice, and Lana jump to their feet in unison although Alexia with her age took a little longer to rise. Alexia knew the voice of the scream as Joanne, A homeless woman who lives in the alley in between the apartment complexes in front of her house who she usually plays chess with on the weekends.

"Alice hurry, Joanne's husband must be beating her again," Alexia says while grabbing her husband's old cane that he used to use before passing away.

Alice noted that her mother grabbed her father old cane before wondering if she was going to kill this man too. Although Lana saw the look in her mother's eyes as they all approached the door to exit she could only feel concern for all of them.

Alice raced across the street toward the alley with her gun out and ready to put a stop to the assault of the homeless woman, but what she saw was a nightmare. There were over 30 to 40 people attacking and biting people who were probably asleep at the time. People who were just awaking do to the scream of Joanne were being targeted almost instantly as if to keep the entire scene as quiet as possible. Alice watching the entire scene was paralyzed with fear and shock as she looked to the left of the alley at Joanne who was having her throat ripped out with a pair of teeth.

It didn't take long for her to snap out of her shocked state of mind as one of the crazed and bloodied people began to shamble toward her. It was a woman who looked homeless with beige and brown tattered and ripped clothes who's black hair was messy in some areas and a bloody mess in others. One of her shoes was missing while the other now basically just scrap leather hanging from her ankle. Lastly her glowing pale and bluish as eyes that which locked on to

By the time both Lana and Alexia reached the alley to meet the horror that Alice had walked upon they too stood in shock at what was unfolding before them. While they froze from shock and confusion Alice began pointing her gun at the woman who was slowly shambling towards them. Once the woman was within 30 meters of Alice and the others she broke into a full-on unnatural sprint as if she was a pro athlete.

Alice shot not once, not twice, but the entire clip seeing that the woman seemed unfazed by the first few shot fired into her chest making her jerk back a little while not stopping at all. After the last bullet, the woman stops when she catches a glimpse of Alexia and just freezes as if nothing had happened to begin with.

Alexia and the others stare at the woman while Alice loads another clip into her gun while making sure not to take her eyes off the woman and her glowing blue eyes that seemed familiar but distant as the situation at the moment didn't allow her to think of anything else other than survival. Although the woman before them looked threatening and dangerous, the crazed people behind her caught her attention as they were all now staring at them as if controlled by a hive mind.

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Down in the old sewer system, John had given both Joselin and Joseph an explanation of what magic, mana, skills, abilities, and what they were capable of doing while under the command of John. He could see that Joseph had a semi-understanding of how to use magic and channel his mana while Joselin was still struggling to understand the concept of the mana within her, but John didn't see it as a burden but more of a process of parenting a despite her not having a mother yet.

John still wanted Dixie for the role of Joseline's mother but wanted her to be under his control after figuring she was actually meant to passively control him. He thought with all his effort on ways to get rid of her until a sinister idea grew in his head. Why not send Joselin and Joseph away and coerce Dixie into telling him how to forcibly corrupt someone's mind and test it on her. John had thought about this for a while as he remembered how she had told him of how the hero she had worked with ages ago had lost his humanity and through it dying off and becoming corrupt and insane, but what if the insane part was somehow prevented.

He knew deep down that this was the path he wanted as what purpose would there be if there was a benevolent god of death, then everyone would live happy lives. This would have went against the entire purpose of his quest from the gods. He needed to be murderous, ruthless, and unforgiving and the only way he was going to accomplish this is if he no sympathy, empathy, or what people call humanity.

Just as he had come up with a plan he felt the tug on his soul which connected him to the many zombies under his control. It was the connection from 30 to 40 of his zombies, just a group of which he had sent to the surface to grow his forces, which trying to show him something. He looked through their eyes and saw someone he thought he wouldn't find for a while, Alexia.

Faster than the beating wings of a fly John quickly takes manual control of the zombie woman in front Alice who stood just under 30 meters away. This process known to John after a little bit of practice made the zombie he took manual control of eyes change to a bright red similar to his flaming red eyes in his skull. He stood up straight in his zombies body and making the Alexia and the other two girls flinch with fear.

In John's ghastly and grated voice he makes the zombie woman say, "Well hello, Alexia whats it been 6 or 7 days since you killed me."

Alexia's eyes widened as both Lana and Alice looked at her and back at the zombified woman who began talking all of sudden. It was something they hadn't thought would happen as they saw the people behind the zombified woman slowly escaping back into the sewers.

"Who... or what... are you?" Alexia says while holding the cane and staring at the crimson red eyes of the woman they believe to be crazed.

"Oh, that's even sadder that you don't remember me. Even after you broke into my house and shot me dead over something I never did. Know what, time to stop with the games, Alexia. The gods have given me the chance to do what they have failed to do for thousands of years. I'm gonna wipe humanity off the face of the Earth, but don't worry I'm going to save you and those you treasure for last just as you marinate in the despair and thought of knowing you caused the end of the world before I take your life." John finishes his sentence by leaving the zombie turning it's eyes back to a hazy blue.

Behind the zombified woman the dead that had just been killed begin their violent twitching and jerking as they begin to rise from their places of death and begin their way back into the sewers. It was something unprecedented as Alexia, Lana, and Alice watched in horror as what they had heard from the zombified woman was still as a freshly picked flower.

After a few minutes, they were all gone except the zombie woman before them began her approach again this time stating in a sprint. Alice unloaded another clip into the woman who was still unfazed as Lana jumped and tackled Alexia out the way as the woman pounced and missed.

Alice knew this was nothing more than a chance for those that she still believed was nothing more than crazed people a chance to get away through the tunnels of the sewers. She dropped her empty clip and loaded a fresh one, but before she could aim her gun properly she was tackled. Now holding the woman off with her forearm against her throat she struggled to grab the gun that had fell a few inches away.

The struggle continued for a few more seconds as the woman's teeth got closer and closer by centimeter to biting off her nose. As the woman teeth got closer and closer so did Alice's fingers did towards the gun. Just as the woman was about to take a bite of Alice's nose the firing of another gun echoes throughout the alley as her Alice's face is splattered with blood and she shoved the woman off to her left.

Scared, shocked, and confused she looks at the woman who now had a hole where her temple used to be and at Jacob who stood looking frozen and bewildered as he lowers his gun. Alice looks at her mother and daughter who were just getting up and back at Jacob and says, "For fuck's sake J you love coming at the last moment don't you."