August 8th, Tuesday, 12:21 p.m., Lucena.
In a dimly lit room on the second floor of the Abandoned Motel in Lucena, Sam huddled in one corner while Dr. Martinez leaned against the wall, munching on a cracker.
“Say, Doc. What is your daughter like?”Asked Sam, trying to initiate some casual chat.
As the words left Sam’s lips, Dr. Martinez’s gaze seemed to drift into the past, reminiscing on a complex relationship marked by a lack of time and attention. With a heavy sigh. He confessed the toll his dedication to surgery had taken on their bond, regret etched on his face.
“Elena… She—She was a bright and promising young woman.” He paused, a hint of sadness in his eyes. &ldq
Inside the Lucena Bunker, fear and uncertainty consumed the survivors as they gathered in the hall. Sarah, her hands trembling, hastily packed her belongings into a small bag. Her tired eyes once filled with a youthful hope, now flickered with a mix of fear and determination. “I can’t stay here any longer,” she exclaimed. “I’m not waiting to become one of those things!” She was referring to the dead bodies outside the hall.David, desperation etched across his face, reached out to grab her arm. “Sarah, please! We can’t just abandon the safety of this place. It’s too risky out there!”Tears welled up in Sarah’s eyes as she struggled against her brother’s grip. “I can’t live in constant fear, David. We have to take our chances. There might be something better out there.”Their parents, torn between their children’s conflicting choices, joined the heated exchange. “Sarah, we can’t afford to make rash decisions,” their mother pleaded, her voice filled with worry. “That… That thing could s
Like what occurred on that day, Finn’s vision started to flicker rapidly, and then a light appeared. It was a small, silver light that looked similar to an electrical spark, pulsating at the back of his head. He could see it. And similarly on that day, he felt a surge of power coursing through him, briefly making him feel unstoppable. Before he realized it, he was already hurtling towards the Bloat, launching into a relentless attack. The Bloat barreled forward, its robust physique rippling with raw might, its veins coursing with an ominous green hue. Its eyes blazed with an intensity that could strike fear into even the most fearless hearts. In an earth-shaking clash, the two met in the middle of the hall. The Bloat unleashed a mighty fist, determined to shatter Finn’s skull. The blow missed its mark as Finn swiftly dodged, seizing the opportunity to retaliate with a powerful roundhouse kick. His leg swept through the air, intent on delivering a fatal blow to his opponent but the
Franklin gestured to Jimmy, signaling him to shoot. In response, Jimmy promptly aimed and fired at Finn’s legs, causing Finn to collapse to the ground, unconscious.Witnessing the events unfold, Sam’s eyes widened in shock, and he instinctively made a move to rush towards Finn. However, Franklin swiftly intervened, blocking Sam’s path.“Fiiiiiiiinn!” Sam screamed, his voice filled with desperation, as he vehemently attempted to break free from Franklin’s hold.“He’s alive! He’s not dead! If we hadn’t acted, the people here would’ve killed him. You get that, right?” Franklin said, maintaining eye contact with Sam. “If you do, then come with me. I’ve already instructed my siblings on what to do. Right now, we need to have a talk.”After a moment of hesitation, Sam chose to place his trust in the person standing before him. ‘He appears to know what he’s doing,’ Sam thought to himself. With a nod to Dr. Martinez, Sam followed Franklin into the van.Despite his concern for his brother, Sam
“Indeed, Adara. I truly appreciate your thorough recollection. It makes things faster,” commented Franklin, with a light glimmer of amusement in his eyes, or perhaps not. However, Sam didn’t share the same sentiment. His patience was waning, and he found himself contemplating a swift blow to Franklin’s jaw, he just wouldn’t get straight to the point. But despite this mounting frustration, Sam managed to restrain himself. “Okay. But before I tell you the truth, I want all three of you to swear that no matter what comes out of my mouth next, it will stay between us.” Franklin made himself clear. “That’s pretty obvious,” Adara retorted with impatience. “But surely, there’s no way you’re holding onto some top-secret intel that could possibly cause world destruction, right?” But to her astonishment, Franklin’s reply was not what she had anticipated. “I do,” he stated matter-of-factly. “I do in fact possess the knowledge that could potentially lead to world destruction, Adara.” “But… Bu
Previously, Franklin said to Sam, “I lack evidence to support my claims right now. I also understand if you believe I’m going crazy and fabricating these wild stories in my head. That's only logical. It’s entirely up to you whether you choose to believe or not. Just watch me and see for yourself whether I am trustworthy.” Franklin spoke these words upon realizing that his words alone would not be enough to convince anyone. In fact, he had anticipated this outcome and had planned to substantiate his claims through his actions. “However, if you do happen to trust me, I would greatly appreciate your support in the future,” he added. Just then, a commotion caught their attention. Realizing that their conversation was going nowhere, they decided to investigate what was going on. They were greeted by the sight of Dr. Martinez brandishing his knife, protecting the convulsing woman behind him. A soon as Franklin saw this situation, he immediately understood what was going on. But if there
It was dark, and a large makeshift tent was set up next to the van, which was covered in solar panels. Inside, three bodies lay still. One was the Bloat, the other was Finn, and the third belonged to Elena. All three of them were unconscious. Franklin had just injected the blue formula into Elena. Dr. Martinez could only watch, hoping that everything would go as planned.Jimmy guarded the entrance with a gun slung over his shoulder, fatigue evident on his eyes. Inside, only Sam, Franklin, Adara, Dr. Martinez, and Brad were present. Franklin insisted that Brad had to stay, explaining he had something important to tell him.Sam had been silent since earlier, his eyes fixed on Finn, his mind buzzing with various thoughts.Just then, Franklin spoke.“Everyone. While we wait for this woman to wake up, listen up. Especially you, Brad. I’ve noticed that people tend to follow your lead around here, so I think it's only right for you to be the one to break the news.”All eyes turned to him.“T
“Augustus?” muttered Franklin. His eyes widened with shock. "W-Why are you here?" Franklin stammered. "Aren't you supposed to be up north?"Augustus, the man, had a grave expression on his face. "Uh, let's just say things got a bit messy up there. Look!" He raised his stub, "I even lost a few pounds!""N-No. That doesn't make sense. And George too. He's been missing since the leap. I don't even know where he is at this point. Is he even alive? We couldn't do another leap without him. After all the things we did, is this really the end?" Franklin was starting to get paranoid. The stress that had piled up over the last few years had finally reared its head."Franklin, just take a breath," Augustus said, trying to calm him down. "It's not all bad news, you know? I actually did it. I created the formula. T’was tough, and sadly, I only managed to make two. But hey, let's focus on the positives. We've got the formula now. That's something worth celebrating, right? We finally have a way to f
Everything— the bones, tissues, muscles, flesh, and skin— had started fixing itself up. It was like this gooey, bubbling slime that melted together. And to make it even wilder, Finn's body started absorbing the flesh from the corpses Dr. Martinez stitched on him, making it his own."What the heck is going on?" It was Adara, and just like the others, her jaw dropped to the floor the moment she saw what was unfolding."It's... It's repairing itself. It's repairing itself." Sam thought he was losing his mind and had begun seeing things. However, contrary to his fear, Finn's body was actually repairing itself. If that wasn't a miracle, he didn't know what it was.Then Finn started to let out low, guttural moans, implying that he was trying to fight something inside him and was struggling.His limbs convulsed and jerked slightly, causing Sam to nearly jump up from the floor to check on his brother. However, Augustus intervened."Oi! Hold on there, young lad. Interrupting now could ruin the