At that moment, Melanie's cries and Selina's desperate pleas sounded from upstairs. For the first time, I cried helplessly.…Then, someone held my hand and pulled me into an embrace. The scent was familiar. I looked up and saw it was Ashton.He frowned as he gently wiped my tears away and said, "It's okay. I'll take you inside." Then, he held me as we stepped forward.No matter who tried to stop us or what strange abilities they possessed, they couldn't get within a meter of us. It was as if we were enveloped in an invisible barrier that no one could harm us even the slightest.In the villa's hall, a few more people charged toward us. Ashton merely glared at them, and they froze, unable to move.In the master bedroom upstairs, Melanie was tied to the bed. She was stripped bare, and her eyes widened in fear as she cried out, "Someone, save me!"A middle-aged man who only wore his underwear jumped off the bed and looked at us warily.Ashton quickly covered my eyes. "Don't look.
Ashton covered his mouth and smiled. "Your kissing skills are terrible too. By the way, it was you who wanted to kiss me."Hearing his words, I was taken aback. Then, once I realized what he meant, I felt shocked and embarrassed.He told me that he had awakened two abilities. One was an alternate space, and the other was object control. He explained that object control was through telekinesis, which counted as a psychic ability. That meant his mental strength was powerful.When he fainted at my house the second time, he was actually going through his second evolution. After that, he could hear others' thoughts whenever one's emotions fluctuated greatly.Then, I asked him when he started liking me.He thought for a long time and replied, "Maybe it was when you constantly yelled in my mind that you wanted to be my loyal servant. Or maybe it was the time you blocked the zombies for me while telling them to leave me alone in your head. Maybe it was that time you subconsciously block
Unfortunately, things didn't go as planned. A wave of zombies suddenly went berserk, nearing the year-end.As a result, my parents and Ashton had no choice but to join the anti-zombie squad.Mom and Ashton became big shots in just one day.Her height had increased until she was approximately 9'10". At this point, my mother genuinely resembled a life-sized meat grinder as she swept through a large swath of zombies with a swing of the telephone pole and kicked the cars under her feet. It was as if she was kicking a ball instead of an actual vehicle.Still, she couldn't top Ashton's aggrandizing ability. He had managed to freeze the very space he stood. As a result, all the zombies within a radius of 109 yards became paralyzed. They looked like frozen foods were ready to be chopped into smithereens.Nonetheless, Dad surpassed them all on day three.I heard it all happened when my mother tripped over a stone because of acute exhaustion. Dad assumed that she had fainted from overwork.
In order to stop Dad from speaking further, Mom promptly slapped him on the back of the head. Her tender ministrations immediately knocked him out cold.The air had turned eerily quiet as I looked at Ashton nervously. He shook his head, signaling that everything was fine.Meanwhile, Mr. Harris was thrilled by the discovery as he immediately rose to his feet and grabbed Mom's hand. "Currently, Derick is the only one immune to the virus. So, that makes him a great asset for research."Mom instantly withdrew her hand from his grip and immediately dismissed Mr. Harris' suggestion by saying, "You want me to hand Derick over to the lab? That's impossible!""It's really not that bad. I simply hope he can donate some of his blood from time to time," Mr. Harris said, trying to convince my mom to agree to his proposal.Even so, Mom merely answered that she would think about it. After that, we all went home.That night, Mr. Harris had his subordinate deliver several health supplements and g
It had been a year since the apocalypse.A year after the nuclear disaster, it wasn't the plants or animals that mutated first—it was the virus.Less than ten percent of humanity escaped infection, and most of those unlucky few were picked off early, torn apart by zombies.Zombies had no brains or senses; they mindlessly attacked anything that moved. But my dad? He was different.The day the outbreak started, it was just another ordinary day for our family, working in our little grocery store. It was business as usual. That was, until one of the customers suddenly snapped, wild and crazed, and sunk their teeth into my dad.Yet, he didn't panic. He pushed my mom and me into the break room, barking orders as he fought off the attacker, "Hurry! Get to the basement storage!"Then he stayed behind, hiding by the checkout counter. He passed out not long after. When he woke up three days later, he wandered through the empty store before finally calling my mom.Watching him on the sto
My mom snapped, "Handle him? Yeah, right! Do you really think he's brave enough to chop off Mr. Hoffman's head? He'll end up drenched in stinking blood! And if he doesn't clean up properly, he's not setting foot back inside!"My dad stiffened, resembling a malfunctioning robot, as he dragged his feet, clumsily reaching for his backpack. I stepped in to help him strap it on. "Remember, if you run into any living people, just drop down and play dead."Dad let out his usual croaky chuckle. "That's my specialty."But before he could leave, my mom grabbed him by the collar. "Quit dragging your feet and get moving! You may not need to eat, but we do, and we're out of food. Just look at Mr. Hoffman—he's bulked up since this whole mess began. You? You've had the best care and all the good food, yet somehow, you're the one who's losing weight!"Dad groaned, "You feed me pasta every day, but I'm a zombie! I choke down one serving and throw up two. How am I not supposed to lose weight?"The
Less than two hours later, my dad returned, carrying someone over his shoulder.My mom eyed the unconscious man on the ground and then at the drool dripping from my dad's mouth. "Did he try to crack your skull open? I'll cook him for you. But don't eat him raw— who knows what kind of parasites he's carrying."With that, she hauled the body off to the bathroom.That bathroom doubled as our kitchen, not that we had much choice. We only had a basement, a small break room, a toilet, and the staff locker area.The only reason we still had running water and electricity was due to a hydroelectric station 30 miles away.Six months ago, the power and water had been cut off, prompting my dad's initial foray for supplies. Fortunately, the utilities were restored not long after.According to the radio, a survivor base had been set up near the station.It wasn't that we didn't want to join them, but taking my dad along complicated things. I couldn't risk someone blowing his brains out.Seei
My mom yanked Ashton to the side, and he, already weakened and teetering on the edge, lost his balance and fell into my arms.This time, I didn't even get upset with my mom for her brusqueness. Instead, I beamed, holding Ashton tightly."Where's your bag? And whose blood is that on your head?" Mom demanded.With tears brimming in his eyes, my dad flailed his arms in a dramatic gesture, reaching out for a hug from my mom.She wrinkled her nose and pushed him away. "Ugh, you stink," she complained. "Are they gone yet? I'll avenge you myself! Didn't I tell you to call if there was trouble? Do my words mean nothing?"Still seething, she grabbed my dad and stormed off. Honestly, he was being dragged rather than walking at this point.Ever since we learned three days ago that Tina had been killed, nothing in this town could restrain my mom. She had been itching to get out there and do something about it.I helped Ashton onto the couch, ensuring he was comfortable before explaining, "A