Whatever It Takes: Mutations

Chapter Nineteen

Echoes and Footsteps

October 3rd, 9:27 pm

Current Location: Knoxville, TN

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That night, after clearing out a building that was infested by Gouls, we set camp for the night in the heart of Knoxville. I took down the last one that was found, and I caught my breath against the wall. I silently cursed on how hard this was becoming. 

"You okay Jeremy?" Navarez asked as he was walking up to me. 

I wiped off some blood that was splattered on my clothes. "Yeah, I'm alright. Just tired of doing this over and over again." 

He sighed. "I am too, but we're almost there. Keep fighting hard, though, because we all need you to. You're doing great, J." 

Navarez slapped his hand against my shoulder and began to walk away towards the rest of the group. I thought about what he said just now. I knew that they needed me to protect the kids, but I didn't really expect them to need me that much. I shook my head and started on my way to join the others. 

Dad was cleaning himself off with a few towels he found, and he handed me one. "Water doesn't work, but at least the blood is fresh. Wipe yourself down as much as possible." 

I did, and I somehow managed to get most of it off. Thankfully, the shirt I was wearing wasn't white, so the stains that were going to be left there wasn't going to be that noticeable. I met Olivia, who was unpacking the sleeping materials that she slept on. I walked over there and patted her head a few times, and I noticed that her hair was growing past her shoulder blades now. "You alright?" 

She looked up at me. "I think so. I'm just really tired." 

I sat down next to her, and she put her arm on my lower back, the thing she does when she wants a hug. I wrapped my arms around her, and she leaned into me. I softly stroked her hair a few times. "Your hair is getting longer. Have you realized it?" 

She shrugged. "I've never really liked my hair that long. It becomes hard to brush." 

"I guess I understand that," I said. "I mean, I'm not a girl, so I don't get all the fashion and beauty stuff." 

She chuckled. "I don't either. I just try to make myself look at least somewhat good, y'know." 

I breathed a sigh of relief. Thank God my sister wasn't a beauty-obsessed girly girl. "That's good sis. Please stay like that for as long as possible." 

After a while of talking about small stuff, I eventually got up and made my bed up for the night. I felt like as soon as my head hit that pillow, I was out like a lightbulb. 

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The place was different than it was before. I wasn't in a place that seemed like an endless maze, it was...nothing. I was floating in a dark abyss of nothing but a lot of black. I rubbed my eyes, trying my best to get adjusted to it. Suddenly, the black changed to a dark orange, with a shadow looming in the midst of it. Red eyes suddenly opened on it. I knew who it was then. 

"Good evening, Jeremy Mills. How are you on this fine night?" 

"I'm okay, Damien," I answered. "What brings me here tonight?" 

"I've got some new information regarding the collapse and the camp, more importantly," he said. Damien stepped up to me, and my heart did a double-take. He was even bigger than he was last night. 

I swallowed. "What is it?" 

"Six-thirty in the afternoon tomorrow," he said, giving me a stern look. "That is when the government will declare its collapse."