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2024-10-29 19:42:56Cautiously, Kevin picked up the crystal, grasping it tight in his hand.
Once more, the glowing, paper-thin, fluorescent screen appeared before him again. ‘DO YOU WANT TO ADD THE CHAINSAW AND THE CRYSTAL TO YOUR STORAGE SPACE? TO COMMAND THE SCREEN, SIMPLY MAKE THE COMMAND IN YOUR MIND.' Kevin, unsure of how to do it, only uttered a silent yes in his mind, and to his surprise, there was a response on the screen as his chainsaw and the crystal disappeared. ‘SUCCESSFULLY STORED ⅖ ITEMS IN STORAGE SPACE. TO ACCESS THEM AGAIN, SIMPLY UTTER THE COMMAND OF WHAT YOU WANT IN YOUR MIND, OR IMAGINE IT THE WAY YOU WANT IT TO HAPPEN.’ For an artist with an imagination like his, Kevin thought this would be no problem for him. It was as the screen faded away that Max called out to him. “That zombie hit me so hard. Come help me up.” Kevin went and helped his new friend sit up, making sure to slip the orb in his pocket carefully. “What the bloody hell was that?” Max asked, panting, as the zombie's throw had weakened him and made him exhausted. “I congratulated myself on how many zombies trying to bite me I have killed only to find the one planning to swallow me alive. At this point I prefer being bitten, Kevin. How did you even manage to fight that bitch off?” “Did you not see?” Kevin asked, squatting next to him, excited, but still yet, exhausted. “Yes, I sure did. For minutes you sat there idle as it punched at you, and I wondered why you were not running away or trying to escape. I only saw you stand up and attack the zombie till he was dead like a champ. So proud of you, buddy.” “No… Did you not see the blue fluorescent glow? The blue glow just like a screen in mid air, like in all those sci-fi movies? The messages glowing on it?” “Blue fluorescent glow?” Max laughed a bit too hard for himself, raising his hand to hold his hurting chest and wincing in pain as soon as he laughed. “The only glow I saw and can still see is the glow of the fire, and it most certainly does not look blue to me.” he answered, his breath heavy and laboured as he stared at the fire. Nothing measured up to Kevin's surprise at these words, instantly feeling cold, clammy sweat on his skin. He was sure he had been wide awake and not dreaming, and that he had been given a three cubic metre space, with messages shown to him on a paper-thin fluorescent surface by someone called the Allfather, congratulating him on being one of the chosen few, as the message was put. “Kevin… Kevin…?” Max's voice distracted him, and he saw the other man wincing in pain. “What happened to you? You've been distracted and seem out of place, or is that how you usually are?” Kevin shook his head, not knowing what to say. “Help me get closer to the fire so I can lie near it for the rest of the night and recover myself, please. I feel myself getting stronger and better, but the hit hurt me so bad.” Nodding, he helped Max around and after walking over the dead zombie's body, put him near the fire, taking out a sleeping bag in his bigger luggage and setting it for him to lie, and as he sat and watched his friend fall asleep, so did his own intrusive thoughts come into his head. He had seen things that Max did not see, he thought, or had he? Was the stress from this zombie invasion driving him crazy? Had he truly lifted his chainsaw by controlling it with his mind, or was he just going crazy? He had just been witness to the strangest day he had ever lived through, one he was sure never to forget, and to think he was still alive so far. His thoughts felt scattered, and he found himself in need of a cigarette to collect his thoughts. Not wanting to wake Max, he dove into his bag and sure enough, found a box of cigarettes. “The scavenging vulture.“ He chuckled, looking at his sleeping friend. The fire was dying already, but still good enough to hold, and he pulled off the doors of his kitchen cabinet and threw it in, watching the flames burn, reflecting the flames in his head. Lighting the cigarette, he toon in a puff and shut his eyes, hoping and wishing it was all a bad dream— Gina and Felix, and all these zombies coming after him. But he opened his eyes and sure enough, the body of the large zombie he had just killed was lying there. Taking a piece of burning wood from the fire, he went and tossed it upon the dead zombie, watching in silence as it slowly caught fire and burned away. He stood there, smoking his cigarette and watching. As the zombie corpse slowly became ash, he flicked the stub into the flames and whispered to himself: “Goodbye, the old Kevin Santorini.” He shut his eyes and controlled it, and sure enough, the screen was before him again. It did not matter anymore if he was the only one who could see it. With his mind, he reached into the storage capability and took out the crystal he had taken from the zombie's head, controlling as it floated slowly in mid air towards him. When it came close enough, he took it and carefully examined it before seeing the Allfather's trademark on it— the skull and crossbones over the biohazard symbol. This time, the screen appeared of its own accord. 'DO YOU WANT TO UPGRADE YOUR SPACE?’ In his mind, Kevin gave his affirmation, and felt a cold sensation as the crystal disappeared into his palm. 'CONGRATULATIONS, YOU HAVE EXTENDED YOUR SPACE FROM A 3-CUBIC METRE TO A 3.5 CUBIC METRE!!!’ At this message, Kevin smiled to himself as he made one of the beer cans that Max had thrown away and which now rested near his feet float towards him in mid air. Everything in the range of 3.5 cubic metres near him was within his control, and subject to his mind.
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THE BLAST
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HER WORDS
“We saw you on the TV, Uncle. Mamma made us watch it and the journalist said that you were a superhero.”“Really?” He asked the little girl, drawing out the last syllable even though deep within, he was unsurprised.“Yes, Uncle.”He smiled, thinking of the pay he would give to reward the soldier who had done it, Sergeant Malik. The man had one of the most cunning brains, helping him to record the session and ‘leaking’ it to the public. By now, it would be all over and hot like wildfire, with people moved by the video of him declaring his passion for the world, for what remained of humanity.The family members who had gathered to welcome him now moved away, each to his own business as he settled into the clean white sofa, with only Esmeralda to keep him company. The familiar sense of shame she made him feel had just hit him when he noticed that one person had not yet come to see him.“Where is Mama?”“She's asleep in her room.” She answered.“I should go see her,” General Rico muttered
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WEARY MAN
When all departed, he remained alone in the silence.The shirt was back in place, adjusted neatly on his form, but he did not have the heart to say all the goodbyes, handshakes, and greetings that followed after such meetings… all the officiality and pretence towards diplomacy. Physically, mentally, emotionally — he was exhausted on all fronts, and he rested his head on the table.It wearied him that he had ended a war on one front that began another on himself. Where were the heads of state when himself and the army put themselves at risk to save everyone else. Now, they came to ask for power — which he had not taken, but had quite naturally drifted towards him as the hero of the war.He managed to get himself to stand and dragged himself to his car, half attentive to the salutes the soldiers who saw him gave, their bodies stretched to the maximum while their feet stomped hard enough on the earth beneath them to cause earthquakes. At the car, his chauffeur offered to drive him, but h
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HIS REACTION
All was said and done, and they waited for his response.The 119 important pairs of eyes, and all the rest of those who were there. He felt his legs go weak, refusing to rise, but he would eventually cause them to, clenching a fist to the right side. Finding an excuse in the water — General Rico had never been a fan of drinking water, and was quick to boo in his thoughts when doctors advised it, but he took a hearty swallow then, followed by a deep breath.They were waiting, and he had to say something. The words he would say now would be immortal, remain after he was dead and gone, and be etched into the history books, if and when humanity found her feet and spread the beings that were her kind all over the face of the Earth again. When he said them, the words would have to be wise, worthy of being attributed to a wise and powerful leader. To him. And he knew that he wanted to be remembered as a great one. When his subject was taught in the history books, or made into biopics, or s
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HOW DARE THEY?
There are men who know how to inspire dislike in the people who set their eyes upon them within moments, and without any effort, and the particularly thin man that stood up when the Head of State who had been speaking laid back in his seat was one of these.“Your Excellency, General Rico Stone,” he began, adjusting a large pair of glasses that appeared to weigh his face down. “And to all 119 Heads of State seated here at this august meeting… I salute.”General Rico now found himself more irritated by the man, forming an image of him in his head. These were the kind of men who acted high and mighty, who would wrinkle their noses at the sight of poorer people, and rather throw crumbs of bread at their dogs than at people who needed them. He did not like this man.“I, elected spokesperson of the newly created Union of Heads of States have come, as the lowly servant of theirs, to speak to you on a number of matters. Firstly, is the issue of the governments, and how all power seemingly res
- The Zombie Catastrophe
THE TEARS THEY SHED
The most amusing thing about sex is that people are just as frightened of it as they are obsessed, especially people who are not supposed to be doing it. It is a touchy topic for them, one not to be spoken of in public, or even suggested at all.It was why ten-year-old Rico could not tell his parents of what Esmeralda had been doing, or who she was doing it with. Indeed, it was an absurd thing to do — what words could he use to express what he had seen, to speak of it to parents who hung their heads in so much misery that they barely saw anything beyond their noses.His courage failed him, and he spoke of it to no one.However, it sat in his mind all the time. Every time Esmeralda smiled at him, he could not help but think of how she felt about her secret activities. He remembered how she offered him a loaf of bread once and how he had refused, wondering which of the men it had come from and what she had done to get it.Sleep eluded him in those days, and he remained awake to see when
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ESMERALDA
The doors swung open into the room where 119 heads of state were waiting for him. He raised his hand to his head in salute before going to the seat reserved for him, while his guards stood on either side of him, armed to the teeth with stern faces and guns.Even then, his mind returned to Jose.Where was he now? Was he alive or dead? Had he even made it past the end of that horrid year? Or had they even passed one another without knowing?He would never know.It was why his thoughts shifted to another sibling he knew, Esmeralda. She had been fourteen at the time, with pretty hair and eyes. He still remembered how her body had still been forming into a womanly shape at the time — things he was quick to look away from. Brothers could not look upon their sisters with that kind of desire.The problem was that other eyes did not turn away the way his did.In the face of disaster, nothing is ever the same, and nothing matters to the victims more than staying and feeling alive. Could General
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ALL FIVE OF THEM
He marched in his military regalia to his villa, flanked on both sides by two armed men as they started on their way to the military headquarters, where he had demanded that they come to see him. They had asked that he come to the presidential villa of some other country, but he refused, presenting an imagined fear of a coup d’etat for his reason.The true reason was that General Rico wanted to hold onto power for a bit longer, and wished to delay the meeting for as long as he could. Life had changed so fast for him over the course of the war that he did not want to go back to the past, to the scarcity and poverty and hunger he had come from.Who would if they were in his shoes?He was born into a poor family, where his parents were farmers on a small farm. They had guarded that farm with their lives at the time, knowing that any problems with it would keep them hungry for a year, but there were things his parents and the five children which he was the third of were helpless before, t
