8: Flames And Healing

“Aw!” Nicola groaned when the car hit the metal gate.

Ace grunted when he didn’t manage to push through the gate. On the other hand, he was glad that even with the car, he couldn’t open it. It only meant that his parents and other people were safe behind the gate.

“Cover your head, Nicola. We’re going to try again,” he told the child while driving backward to gain momentum.

“Can’t we just get down and enter normally?” Nicola asked with a scared look in her eyes.

Ace almost laughed seeing the girl scared by a possible collision than the zombies outside. “We can’t get out. We’re surrounded by the zombies,” he said, clicking his tongue.

“I can use purification,” Nicola suggested.

Ace also thought about that but he was worried Nicola would get hurt if she tried to face the zombies. He couldn’t let the child take care of the problem if there were other alternatives.

“Or I can just break the gate. Now that it comes to this, we’ll have to get rid of all the zombies to feel safe,” Ace mumbled, tightening his grip on the steering wheel.

Nicola took a deep breath. “I’m ready,” she said, covering her head with both hands. “Do it quick, Ace!”

Nodding, Ace's knuckles turned white as he gripped tightly on the wheels, taking a few deep breaths with determination etched in his eyes. His sweat dripped off his face as he pressed down on the accelerator. The jeep surged forward and the loud screeching of the tires was heard.

Ace clenched his jaw when as the gate loomed closer. The car collided with the gate along with a deafening crash. Ace didn’t stop and pushed through, leaving the metal gate bent and twisted.

“We’re in,” he said, catching his breath. “Nicola, run to the house. You’ll find my parents there. I’ll take care of this mess alone,” Ace ordered as he got out of the car.

He watched the little girl struggle from getting down so he had to lift her. “Don’t look back and run. If I don’t come back, make sure you tell them to lock the door and don’t let anyone enter. Do you understand?”

Nicola nodded her head and clenched her little hands. “Be careful, Ace.”

A smile appeared on Ace’s face after hearing the girl’s words. “You should worry about yourself, shorty.” His face became serious when zombies entered the broken gate. “Run, Nicola. Faster!”

Ace didn’t have time to check whether the girl successfully entered the house. He immediately took out his axe from the storage and started swinging it against the zombie’s head, crushing its skull.

Ace repeated the same process until his arms felt tired. He started to slow down, feeling the weight of the axe. “This is not good. I should finish this as soon as possible,” he groaned.

[Ace! You have acquired 20 mana stones]

[Your total mana stone is 65]

“What now? Is there even a use to gather those mana stones aside from expanding my storage?” He huffed, still swinging his axe to defeat the enemies.

“Oh. I have that,” Ace muttered when he remembered something. He didn’t plan to use them yet but he had to clean up as soon as possible.

“I can’t spend all day crushing your skulls. I’ll just burn you down into cinders,” Ace grumbled, climbing on top of the jeep and taking out the fuel containers from his storage. He waited until the zombies gathered around the car and poured the gasoline.

Ace took out a lighter, started a fire, and tossed it on the zombies. He jumped to the opposite side where he threw the lighter, crashing the zombie’s head with his axe to clear a path for himself.

“Goodbye,” Ace whispered and watched the zombies turn into ashes. He wiped his sweat and walked to the gate to check if there were still more outside.

“It looks like everything’s been taken care of. I should fix this gate later,” he muttered and scratched the back of his head.

It had only been a few hours since the disaster happened, but Ace could already feel the huge changes. He brushed his face with his hand and walked to the house.

A smile appeared on his lips when he saw his father’s farm animals and her mother’s vegetable garden. “We don’t have to worry about food for now,” Ace whispered and stopped in front of the door.

He was about to turn the knob when he heard a scream from the inside. “Nicola!” Ace exclaimed before kicking the door.

“What’s going on?” he asked and was dumbfounded to find a few people in the house aside from his parents. Ace scanned their faces and realized they were the workers his family hired to help with the farm.

“Ace! You’re back,” his mother cried while on the floor. “Your father… He tried to save as many people as he could when the zombies started to appear… But he was bitten by one of them. I don’t know what to do,” she sobbed, covering her eyes filled with tears.

Ace balled his hands into fists. He stared at the man lying on the floor. There was a huge wound on his father’s arm that seemed to be contaminated with whatever virus came from the zombie.

“Ace, don’t worry. I’ll take care of it,” Nicola said, fidgeting with her hands.

“Nicola, can you help my father?” Ace asked the girl, hopeful for a positive response. He witnessed how Nicola used her ability to kill the zombie.

“I’m not sure but I will do my best for Ace,” Nicola said quietly.

Ace nodded and kneeled next to his father. “Just tell me what to do to help you,” he told Nicola.

Nicola took off the hoodie she was wearing. It was too big on her, the hem reaching her ankles.

“Oh, honey. Let me help you with that,” Ace’s mother said, unzipping the hoodie to help the child.

“Thank you,” Nicola said and smiled at the elderly woman. She stood next to the lying elderly man and extended her hands toward his wounded arm.

“Purify!” Nicola screamed and a white light slowly erased the dark part of the patient’s wound.

Ace’s eyes widened in astonishment. “Nicola, it’s working!”

Nodding with a smile, Nicole continued. “Purify! Purify! Purify!” The girl went on until the wound was fully gone.

“Oh… Why am I lying on the floor?” Ace’s father asked in confusion.

“Goodness! You’re awake. Thank you so much for coming back to me,” Ace’s mother cried, throwing herself to her husband.

Meanwhile, Nicola started to feel dizzy. Her vision turned dark and the next thing she knew, she was fainting.

“Nicola!”