Chapter 18‘I wonder how the rest of the world is doing right now.’ Philip wondered as he sat on the front porch of the house they stayed in. They decided to let Dina get some more rest before they set out.‘Was this how it was for those broken down cities as well? One moment, everyone is living their lives and minding their business, and the next monsters from out of someone’s nightmares spawn and destroy everything around them.‘And then there’s me.’ Philip sighed and looked at his hands. It was just so surreal.If Philip were to complement himself, he’d say that he was just fairly smart and average in everything else. He never really thought he’d amount to much in the future. That’s why when he found out of Valerie’s betrayal, while the pain cut so deep that he contemplated suicide for a moment, he honestly wasn’t too surprised.And yet here he was, being able to move at insane speeds. Was it really a surprise that he felt this way. It had only been a bit more than a month since he
Philip went to go and inspect the infected's body. When he got close to it, it was already charred and gave off an awful smell. "Why did it suddenly catch fire?" He then looked around and saw the rod he used, or what was left of it anyway. It had become deformed and was still red hot. It was at that point that Philip realized what happened. 'The friction of the rod against the air caused it to heat up uncontrollably and the heat was transferred to the infected when it hit. That's why it caught on fire.' He rubbed his chin with a small smile. 'I don't know why that doesn't apply to me or those two when I carry them. But this opens a lot more possibilities when fighting. By the time he finished his musings, Andrew pulled up next to him with the truck. "What was that?" Andrew said and pointed at the charred corpse of the infected. Philip noticed Dina closing the eyes of the siblings, heavens bless her. "I'm not too sure myself, but if I'm thinking right, then fighting should becom
Philip marched through the graveyard behind the church. From his eyes, everything appeared frozen as if someone had hit one big pause button, and he was the only one that could move. Usually, Philip marvelled at this effect. But right now, he was just pissed.He was staring down at a large bundle of vines. Well, his original thought was that they were vines, but upon closer inspection, he realized they were thick, fleshy tendrils. Even while pissed, the thought gave him chills. Even then, he followed the things with resolve. At some point, he reached a large tomb. The 'vines' went in there, and they were noticeably thicker. This had to be it. For a moment, a small part, a part Philip wasn't proud of, said that he should just leave them, that they had been slowing him down since they had met, and they were just burdens. That part of him was right, and he knew it. But the bigger part of him, the human part of him said that he would go in there, kill whatever eldritch horror awaited
When Philip told Andrew and Dina what had happened, the siblings were horrified just how close they were to death. He didn't tell the kids for fear of traumatizing them. Philip was expecting them to scold him for such a close call. But to his surprise, they both embraced him. "Damn, you saved our lives again." Andrew said with so much gratitude that Philip thought that it might spill."You guys aren't mad?" He asked in confusion and the duo looked at him incredulously. "Why on earth would we be mad at you?" Dina asked. "Well, I screwed up and almost got you guys killed. And I'm the one who suggested that we stay in the church for the night." Philip said with guilt. "Don't be dumb." Andrew said and tapped his forehead. "First of all, you weren't in your right mind when we got taken, second, how could you have known that there was a Lovecraftian horror inside the church? Life is filled with surprises, and you can't be blaming yourself when it catches you off guard. Especially when
Night fell and the group found a place to sleep without anything happening, which came as a surprise, but they took it wholeheartedly. So early in the morning, they set out again. Dina was still dissatisfied by them having to change their route, but Philip knew what he saw, and he was sure that they'd most likely get killed if they tried it. However, something amusing happened with Dina and the kids. It went something like this. "Hey, what grade are you two in in school?" She asked. "I'm in the 5th grade and Benjamin is in the fourth." Peter answered. "Well, you guys seem bored, so why don't we pick up were you left off in school?" The statement made Philip and Andrew cringe. They really didn't feel like now was the time for that. To their surprise though, the kids actually jumped at the opportunity with sparkling eyes. "Yes!" They shouted at the same time and even Dina was surprised by their enthusiasm. So back to the present, Dina was helping the two with their vocabulary as
"Next." Philip said coldly.The other guys paled when he started walking towards them. But the leader quickly regained his senses."Don't just stand there! Shoot him!" He shouted and the men snapped out of their shock.They all brought out their guns and pointed them at Philip who didn't even flinch."FIRE!" The leader shouted and they all pressed the triggers of their weapons.The constant bangs of gunfire rang out through the area as the men shot without any reservations. However, they quickly noticed something was wrong.Philip was standing still with his arms folded. However, none of the bullets seemed to hit him. At first, they thought the bullets were bouncing off his body.But there were no tears in his shirt and nothing fell on the ground.CLICK CLICK CLICKLike a nightmare, the unexpected clicking of their firearms indicated that they had run out of ammo. They looked at their guns and looked at Philip who didn't seem any worse for wear."Are you guys done?" They didn't answer
"You asked for it." Philip muttered, then his perception of time slowed.The man was stationary, his mouth still curled in an arrogant smirk. Philip was sure that he was going to wipe it off his face.He walked up to him and pulled his fist back before throwing a punch. To his surprise however, his fist stopped a few inches away from his face.The phenomenon made him frown. He felt like he had hut a solid wall. A very solid wall, dense enough to stop his punch. And yet, there appeared to be nothing in front of him.'No, that's not right.' Philip squinted. Sure enough, it was very faint, but there was a slight shimmer around the guy's body. A light grey substance that surrounded him completely. It reminded him of…'Wind. Compressed wind like that of a tornado. There's a passive barrier of wind around him that blocks all incoming objects. Even if I'm fast, I can't get past the barrier if it's already there. No wonder he was so confident.' Philip frowned and returned to his original pos
'Crap.' Philip thought as he tensed and struggled inside the cage."Don't bother, there's no way for you to move and gather enough force to break through since every part of your body is trapped." The guy said with indifference and with a wave of his hand, Philip was pulled to him."Now that I've captured you, my mission is complete. Now be obedient and let's go." Hearing this, Philip shouted some obscene things, but the guy made it so that sound couldn't escape from the cage.Seeing this, Philip slumped in his binding.'What am I supposed to do? I can't pull my fists back to attack the barrier, and I can't run either.' Philip was at a loss and wanted to pull at his hair. His frustration was understandable. After all, they'd put so much effort into running, but he got captured like this?"Unfortunately, I have to carry you back. Otherwise, I would have gone to kill those pests. After all, we can't have you being distracted when you eventually go and meet the boss. Oh well, I'll just d