Chapter 8: The Monster Outside

“Come out, John. I know where you are.”

Samuel’s voice echoed through the computer speakers, and I stared at the screen, unable to believe what I was seeing, because my twin brother stood outside the hotel surrounded by infected people while the strange black symbol beneath his skin pulsed like a living thing, and those creatures were listening to him.

“How is he doing that?” I asked.

Adrian closed the security feed. “His ability allows him to command infected humans, and the stronger he becomes, the more creatures he can control.”

I swallowed. “So he can build an army?”

“Eventually.”

“Wonderful, my brother is now a monster commander.”

Adrian gave me a strange look. “You don’t seem surprised that he has awakened.”

“I’ve known Samuel my entire life, and he’s always been good at getting what he wants.”

That was an understatement, because Samuel had spent years pretending to be the innocent twin while quietly destroying everything I cared about, and he knew how to make people love him, trust him and defend him, and now he had an army of monsters, and I was beginning to think the apocalypse had given him the perfect opportunity to become exactly who he had always wanted to be.

Adrian walked toward the weapons cabinet. “We need to prepare, because this location isn’t completely secure.”

“Why? You said this was a safe house.”

“It is, but your brother knows where we are.”

I looked at the computer. “Can he actually find us?”

“He doesn’t need to, because he can send infected creatures to search the area.”

Adrian removed two knives and a handgun from the cabinet and placed one knife on the table. “Do you know how to use a weapon?”

“No.”

“Then you’ll learn.”

I picked up the knife, which felt heavier than I expected. “I don’t want to become a soldier.”

“You don’t have to, but you need to stop being helpless.”

His words irritated me because they were true, since in my previous life I had depended on Michael for almost everything, trusting him with my money, my decisions and even my safety, and I knew exactly where that had taken me, so I would never make that mistake again.

“Teach me,” I said.

Adrian nodded, and he showed me how to hold the knife, where to aim and how to avoid exposing my body during an attack, though I struggled with the movements and my injured shoulder made everything worse, and after several attempts I dropped the knife.

“I’m tired.”

“You’ve been training for ten minutes.”

“And?”

“You won’t survive if you give up that easily.”

I glared at him. “Do you always talk like someone is paying you to be annoying?”

“Only when necessary.”

I wanted to throw the knife at him, but I picked it up again instead, and we continued for another fifteen minutes until my arms began to ache, and then the system appeared.

[TRAINING PROGRESS DETECTED.]

[BASIC COMBAT EXPERIENCE INCREASED.]

[STRENGTH: 4 → 5.]

I stared at the notification. “Did my strength just increase?”

Adrian noticed my reaction. “What happened?”

“Nothing.”

I wasn’t ready to explain the system to him, at least not completely, and then another notification appeared.

[NEW FEATURE UNLOCKED: SYSTEM SHOP.]

Available items:

Basic Healing Potion: 10 points

Strength Booster: 20 points

Beginner Survival Guide: 5 points

Unknown Ability Fragment: 50 points

Current Points: 30

I examined the items carefully, and the healing potion caught my attention, because my shoulder was still burning and I had no idea whether the scratches could infect me, so I selected it.

[PURCHASE CONFIRMED.]

[10 SYSTEM POINTS DEDUCTED.]

A small blue bottle appeared in my inventory, and I opened it and drank the liquid, which tasted bitter, but within seconds the pain in my shoulder began to fade, and when I pulled down the torn part of my shirt the scratches were still visible though the redness had reduced.

[INFECTION STATUS: UNDETERMINED.]

I frowned. “Undetermined? I just used your healing potion!”

The system offered no explanation, and Adrian watched me. “You really do have something strange going on.”

I quickly put the bottle away. “Maybe I’m just lucky.”

“Luck doesn’t heal wounds that quickly.”

I said nothing, and before he could question me further a loud alarm sounded throughout the building, so Adrian rushed to the security monitors.

“What is it?” I asked.

He switched on the external cameras, and my stomach dropped, because several infected people were approaching the gate, and they were not moving randomly but walking in a straight line almost like trained soldiers.

At the front was a woman in a torn hospital uniform whose head tilted strangely as she approached the entrance, and then she stopped, and every other infected person stopped with her.

Adrian zoomed in, and a black symbol was visible on the woman’s neck. “Samuel,” I whispered.

Adrian nodded. “He’s testing his control.”

The woman suddenly raised her head and opened her mouth, and a voice came through the outdoor speakers. “John!”

I stepped closer to the monitor, because it was Samuel’s voice. “Are you enjoying your new hiding place?”

My hands tightened. “Leave me alone!”

Samuel laughed. “Why? You’re my brother, and we should be together.”

“Don’t pretend you care about me.”

There was a brief silence, and then he spoke again. “You’ve changed, John, and Michael noticed it too.”

At the mention of Michael my expression hardened. “What do you want?”

“I want you to come home.”

“Home?”

“Yes, you know, our family, Michael and me.”

I nearly laughed, because there it was, and he was not even trying to hide it anymore.

“Michael is my fiancé,” I said.

Samuel chuckled. “Not anymore.”

My chest tightened, but I refused to give him the satisfaction of seeing me break. “You can have him.”

His laughter stopped. “What?”

“I said you can have him, because I don’t want either of you.”

For the first time Samuel looked genuinely angry. “You think this is a joke?”

“No, I think you’re pathetic.”

His face changed, and the infected woman suddenly slammed her body against the metal gate, once and then twice, and the other creatures followed, so Adrian grabbed my arm.

“Get away from the window!”

A loud crash shook the building, and the gate began to bend. “Can they break through?” I asked.

“If he keeps sending them, yes.” Adrian grabbed his gun and checked the ammunition. “We need to move to the underground storage room.”

I followed him, but the system suddenly appeared.

[EMERGENCY MISSION ACTIVATED.]

[MISSION: PROTECT THE SAFE HOUSE.]

[OBJECTIVE: DEFEAT AT LEAST FIVE INFECTED ATTACKERS.]

[REWARD: 25 SYSTEM POINTS.]

[BONUS: UNLOCK ONE RANDOM SKILL.]

[FAILURE: SAFE HOUSE COMPROMISED.]

I stopped walking. “Five?” I whispered.

Adrian turned around. “What?”

I looked at the screen, and the gate finally gave way, and the infected rushed into the compound in a group of more than twenty, while Samuel stood at the end of the road watching through a live video call on the computer.

He lifted his hand, and every infected creature turned toward the building, and then he smiled. “Let’s see how long you can protect my brother, Adrian.”

I froze, and Adrian’s face went completely still, because Samuel knew his name, though that was not what frightened me, but rather the way he had said it, as if he had known Adrian long before today.

I turned toward him. “Adrian, why does my brother know you?”

He didn’t answer, and instead he raised his gun and aimed at the entrance. “Stay behind me, John.”

The first infected creature crashed through the outer door, and then the lights went out.

[SYSTEM ALERT!]

[FIVE ENEMIES DETECTED INSIDE THE BUILDING.]

[WARNING: ONE ENEMY IS NOT INFECTED.]

My blood ran cold, because someone had entered the safe house with the monsters, and whoever it was, the system could not identify them.