System Of The Undead

Chapter 218: Power

Jason was led to a dark place, it was like a cave but there was no light source or anything.

Jason could barely see where he was going but this person seemed to move seamlessly.

That was to be expected because whoever this person was, this was their terrain.

Jason wondered why they didn’t allow the zombies to come in with them but rather, he was the one responsible for carrying Dimitris.

It wasn’t easy due to Dimitris’ body mass even though Jason was taller than him, Dimitris had more mass than Jason.

But Jason knew he had no choice, he used everything in him to make sure that Dimitris would emerge out of this alive. Dimitris dying would have a catastrophic effect on everyone back in the community, most especially the raiders. He couldn’t let this happen.

"Stop." The person commanded and Jason did that without hesitation because there was no telling what was in front of him.

The individual proceeded to light a match and walk forward, Jason didn’t follow them because he hadn’t been told explicitly to besides, who knew what lay ahead?

This place looked like it would be rigged with booby traps.

The person placed the lighter somewhere but this was the single thing that illuminated their cave.

The whole place was a lot more refined than Jason thought it would be.

It had chairs and tons of nonperishable food in the corner, the food was enough to last a couple of years.

Jason was impressed but why a cave of all places?

And why didn’t this person allow the zombie to wander inside seeing as they had control over it?

"Drop him there..." The person commanded Jason to which Jason complied, watching as they brought out a first aid kit.

"Hold him still, this is going to hurt," The person instructed, Jason noticed that they were spending an awful amount of time in the corner, he couldn’t see what was being done.

Jason, however, complied and held Dimitris down.

He didn’t have to do much because Dimitris was already unconscious.

Jason was the person who approached them with a scorching hot knife and without explaining, they yanked the bandages off and placed the knife on the injured flesh. Dimitris jolted awake and screamed.

This was where Jason had trouble holding him down but this was necessary to make sure there wouldn’t be any infection.

They had to sterilize the wound because it might not be enough to turn him into a zombie.

Infection wasn’t off the card and infections were nastier than a zombie’s bite once it feathers.

Dimitris soon lost consciousness once again but the worst had passed.

The stitching and bandaging were done by this person, they were skilled at this because the way they dressed the wound was impeccable.

But now came the silence, Dimitris slept off with his wounds now taken care of but Jason didn’t know what this person was.

"You have no control of your powers, do you?" The person broke the silence.

"Power? What do you mean by power?" Jason questioned, he knew he wasn’t referring to Chronos or the skills he had unlocked.

"That is right. We all manifest powers, each unique to us but it seems yours is yet to awaken which is strange considering the energy I’m getting from what’s within you is even greater than mine," The person muttered.

Jason knew this might be an opportunity for him to learn more about what was in him.

"How did you consume the fragment without dying?" Jason asked because this wasn’t something that could be replicated by anyone.

The chances of the fragment killing them were exponentially higher, this had a very slim chance of success yet Jason was seeing someone other than him right here. It was a lot to take in because this made him realize he wasn’t as special as he initially thought.

"Who said I didn’t die?" The person responded with a melancholic tone.

"The fragment brought me back but at the cost of what made me human. I feel nothing," The person responded but this wasn’t the case with Jason because he had Chronos to help him keep his infection under control, it was yet to corrode his humanity but he had to keep consuming fragments.

"Check infection rate," Jason asked Chronos.

[[Infection 15%!]] Chronos informed him and Jason could feel his shoulder rest easy but this only reminded him of the danger the Nexus had.

".... But you, you are different, aren’t you? I can tell that you care for that person there, you care if he lives or dies," The person picked up on Jason’s concern but this also told them that Jason wasn’t affected by this.

"It will eat away at you eventually, it’s only a matter of time." The person concluded.

Jason had so many questions and didn’t even know where to begin because he didn’t want to spook them but he was also reconsidering killing him because they had done nothing but help them but they mentioned a mark earlier.

"Why did you search my friend for a mark?" Jason questioned; most of what they had said, he already knew.

It didn’t come as a surprise either because Chronos brought it to his knowledge early on and that was how he was able to keep it under control.

However, the infection seemed to spread any time he used Nexus but he barely used it for a few seconds this time even though he was aware that the infection might have spread further.

However, it was a mere 2% from the last time so there was nothing to worry about.

"The mark of the condemned..." The person muttered but Jason wanted to know more about this.

"I’m not the only special human... And eventually, the others will come for you," The person said but this left Jason with more questions than answers.

"Mark of the condemned? Others?" Jason asked, trying to milk everything he could get from this interaction.

"That is right, the mark of the condemned is a mark the others like me give their targets. It doesn’t matter how far you run or how well you’re hidden. They will find you. I’m not the only one like this..." The person noted.

Jason had confirmation that the beeping he saw on his radar wasn’t zombies but other evolved humans.

This made a whole lot more sense but he saw four people.

Was this person not among the people he sent but Jason was also worried about the mark as it served as a death sentence in a sense.

But there was one solution that could always work and that was killing the one who marked an individual.

"You should leave as soon as possible," The person advised and his tone suggested that Jason should abandon Dimitris.

"I can’t do that, I need to bring him home and get the others," Jason said.

"I hate to be the bearer of bad news but your friends are dead and they will come for you next," The person said; Jason was confident that he could take them all on but it had to be done in approximately four minutes, which was a stretch but doable.

"I can handle myself," Jason responded sternly.

"You don’t understand... They have not only manifested their powers, they have it under control. There’s no way you will be a match for them when you couldn’t even handle my zombie," The person brought up a good point but this only made Jason curious.

Something told him he had to see it for himself to understand what this power was but then it hit him.

"Don’t tell me...!" Jason muttered.

"Your power allows you to turn and control zombies?" Jason questioned out loud.

"You’re finally catching on," The person muttered but what was his earlier reference implying that Jason could do this as well?

He didn’t have time to ponder on this because if his power was turning and controlling zombies, then it is safe to say there was one whose power was to give this mark, that would be the only explanation.

Jason understood what the fragment was capable of gradually but no one had made mention of a skill or multiple abilities.

[[Jason, you need to leave]]

Chronos informed him and Jason was surprised by this suggestion because Chronos had stayed long enough with him to know that there was no way in hell he would abandon one of his own.

"What the hell do you mean?" Jason asked Chronos, Carl and Co weren’t even here with them so he still had to set out to find them.

[[Hurry Jason! You need to leave!]]

Chronos warned once again but Jason didn’t understand what had gotten into it.

Chronos was sounding unsettled, systems weren’t supposed to show emotions but yet, Chronos was showing fear?

However, something strange happened, he could no longer feel Chronos. The space in his mind that Chronos occupied felt empty.

"Chronos?" Jason called out telepathically but there was no response.

"They are here..." The person before him muttered under their breath.