A silence laid stagnantly in the air. A tension so thick, it could be grabbed. Three out of the ten members were now dead. One by a Chimera, but the other two, ironically killed by one another.
To make it worse, Zane had returned as seemingly a completely different person. His soft-blue eyes were now a cold blue. There were no signs of emotions present on his face. He sat quietly in a corner all by himself— fiddling a piece of fallen concrete.
It was bad luck getting someone like Ellie in their group. Out of everyone they could have ended up with, they, unfortunately, got the crazy person. She had destroyed the entire group. It wasn't going to be something they could easily forget.
The remainder of the group was now situated in an abandoned building. Its structure was unfinished and the air was extremely dusty. Bits of sunlight poured through open windows and cracks.
Layla sneezed cutely as she moved over to Zane. She needed to talk to him. She was willing to bet that this would be a temporary occurrence.
"Zane..?" she called softly.
Zane looked up at her— void of any expression. "Hmm?"
"Feeling any better..?"
Zane raised his right eyebrow. He didn't understand Layla's question. "I don't know what you mean."
"I know a lot happened between you and Ellie... Isn't that the reason you're acting like this?"
"Who said I was acting? This is who I'm meant to be. I'll perform my role accordingly and get us all through this."
Layla couldn't believe what she was hearing. There was no way Zane could have changed this dramatically over such a short period.
"Zane... Don't let Ellie change you! It's not right! This isn't you... I don't know what you went through, but allowing it to turn you into someone you're not... T-That's just not healthy..."
Zane picked himself up and gave an annoyed sigh. He didn't want to be lectured about the path he chose. It was no one else's business but his own.
"Ellie didn't change me. This has always been me. Just a part of me that I have buried for so long. Everyone has a hidden side to them. I just chose to finally let mine loose. This world is cruel to the kind and kind to the cruel. I shall be cruel to the cruel, Layla."
Without another word, Zane stepped forward to greet the others. Layla left by herself to revise his words.
Zane's hands were placed in his pockets as he heightened the pitch of his voice to speak to the others.
"It's almost time to get going. Start packing up. We move in ten minutes."
"Where are we planning to go?" inquired Tyrone.
"We've been in Georgia for far too long. We get to Florida next, then push on through the Caribbean."
No one argued. Zane was right. They had been in Georgia for far too long. The Apocrypha had been increasing their numbers drastically. An extended stay would have a very negative impact.
Just then, Serenity walked up to Zane. Her hands clasped together in a bashful manner. It was evident she was worried about something.
"Serenity..?" called Zane.
"Zane... Are you okay?"
"Yes. Why?"
Serenity paused for a moment as she pondered through her thoughts. "You just seem different. You're not like the Zane I met..."
Serenity was becoming afraid of Zane. She didn't know why, but she felt extremely nervous whenever she tried speaking to him. Before, she could easily speak to him without hesitation. It was however much different now. She couldn't stand to look into his cold blue eyes.
Suddenly, she felt Zane's hand patting her head. She rose her head in shock to see Zane smiling at her. The smile was nostalgic and sweet, but his eyes were still the same. Serenity was confused for a moment until Zane spoke.
"Don't worry about me. I'm willing to protect you all, no matter what I have to do. Just trust me."
Serenity didn't know why, but for some reason, all her fear transformed into a feeling of security. Zane's presence seemed stronger than before. Layla had also noticed this. It wasn't that Zane had turned into a bad person. He had just decided to accept what must be done. It had made him much colder in the process, but there were many benefits from his sudden shift in personality.
Zane then moved over to Anastasia, who was desperately trying to stay clear from the sunlight. Zane could smell the sadness radiating from her. Ashley, the closest human she knew, was now dead.
"Hey..." he greeted softly.
Anastasia sighed before answering. "Hey, Zane..."
"I'm sorry about Ashley... I should have been able to do mo-"
"No. It's okay... I'm sure you did all you could. Ellie's the one to be blamed."
"No, Anastasia. I could have acted sooner. I could have accepted everything sooner. But I was way too naive. I don't have a problem with anyone blaming me for this. This all stemmed from my immaturity. If anyone's to be blamed, it's me for being so dumb."
Anastasia stared up at Zane. As an Apocrypha, she knew his change was a blessing and a curse. She wished he could have remained the same, but she also understood his reasons.
"Don't change too much, Zane. I appreciate the real you. Your kindness is what saved me and Ashley in the first place. Always remember we have a debt to pay you back for."
Zane nodded calmly as he walked back off towards the others. Nick then stepped forward, with a bag slumped over his shoulder.
"We ready to go?" he asked.
"Yeah. We should hurry and leave before the Apocrypha finds us." accepted Layla.
"How much gas does the truck have left though? I don't want us running out of gas. In the movies, that's where the characters are ambushed by something..." stated Deandre creepily.
"Don't worry. I know a gas station not too far from here. I'll get us there." noted Layla.
They all then made their way towards the truck, which was parked just outside of the building. Zane and Layla got into the front as usual, while the others got themselves in the back. Due to the back of the truck being completely separate from the front, the others in the back would not be able to communicate with them. This could turn out to be an issue later on.
As Zane seated himself beside Layla, he noticed she was staring at him. He brushed his nose and cleaned his eyes to see if something was on his face.
"What is it?" he asked confused.
"Was just wondering if you're going to let me drive. You've been so commanding lately, I've been unsure if I should take the lead."
Zane gave a short laugh, amused by Layla's remark. "Don't worry. I have zero intention of leading this group. You can still take command."
"Oh? That's surprising. What are you planning?"
"Nothing. Just view me as more of your main support. Leading positions are too stressful for me."
Layla smiled as she fired up the truck engine. Slowly, she drove off directing them towards the nearest gas station. The sun was simmering hot and the air was extremely humid. It had them slightly worried that Anastasia would be a puddle of purple blood, by the time they arrived at their next destination.
After a few minutes, they found themselves driving through a suburban area. Houses were destroyed and blood lined the streets. Bits of concrete crackled underneath the tires of the truck as they drove. The air was extremely depressing.
"What's the plan to get us through the Caribbean?" suddenly questioned Layla.
Zane turned his head as he began to think. He remembered just how horrible their first try had turned out to be. If the Apocrypha were surveilling the seas, then it would be near impossible to get through. No modern boat would be able to outrun to stay out of their range. At least that's what he thought until a sudden intriguing thought zoomed through his brain. His eyes widened with hope for his idea.
"Zane?" called Layla, noting his intrigued facial expression.
"I just got the dumbest, yet, probably the smartest idea ever."
"What are you thinking?"
"What if, instead of us running from the Apocrypha, we charge at them instead?"
Layla looked at Zane like he was crazy. His statement made no sense.
"What do you mean charge at them?"
"Remember how they found us with one of their boats last time? What if we simply take another normal boat and purposely allow them to track us down? Either way, they will be coming at us, no matter what mode of transport we take. But there's still one exception."
"And that is?"
"Their boat."
Layla's eyes flung open in shock. She almost lost control of the truck upon hearing Zane's crazy words.
"Wait! You aren't implying we lower them in, then steal their boat are you??"
"That's exactly what I'm thinking."
"What?? Are you crazy?? Stealing from the Apocrypha?? That's dangerous beyond comprehension, Zane!"
"But it's also a brilliant idea. If we use their boat to sail across the Caribbean, then we would have to worry a lot less about Apocrypha coming at us."
"Well, that depends on how we execute that plan... Ugh- it's a great idea, but the risk is incredibly great..."
"Not to worry. We have time to put the plan together. We'll discuss it with the others when we get the chance. It has a high chance of working if we can pull it off."
Layla agreed as she turned her eyes back on the road. They were now supposed to be close to the gas station. However, Layla felt her heart come up to her throat to what she saw next. Zane too was a little disturbed.
In front of them, laid a sea of purple. Apocravirus particles, spreading as far as the eye could see. A horrid stench also catching the attention of their noses. The air felt rough and scaly inside their lungs. If it weren't for the immunity Apollo had given them, they would have been dead by now.
"What the hell happened here..?" cried Layla as she pulled the truck to a stop.
"Seems this area has been completely submerged in the virus. It might be a little risky to go further since we can barely see."
"So, should we? I mean all of us have immunity to the virus now... So we wouldn't have to worry too much about it."
Zane paused for a brief moment as he thought. There was no way for them to tell what was hiding in the vast sea of Apocravirus. Then again, no humans would be expected to pass through an infected area.
"I think we can push through. Chances are low we will run into Apocrypha here..."
"Wait, Zane. I don't know about that... Take a good look around."
Zane moved his eyes around to see what Layla meant. At first, he didn't get what she meant, but upon closer inspection, he noticed something quite frightening.
The sea of Apocravirus was so thick, that it filtered out the sunlight completely. In other words, Apocrypha who required shelter just might take advantage of it. Just on queue with Zane's thoughts, came an earth-shaking rumbling. The truck began to rattle, as the sound of giant footsteps approached.
Zane and Layla both peered their eyes through the thick sea of Apocravirus. Their eyes laid upon a terrifyingly huge Chimera. It was humanoid, standing at 8ft tall. It had dark-brown skin and eight black eyes protruding from its head like a spider. It had two muscular, human-like arms dropping by its side and its lower body was like a horse. Two teeth the size of human arms, elongating upwards on the exterior of its mouth.
Zane and Layla watched in horror as it approached them. A giant roar blasted through the air almost driving them deaf. It swept its hooves across the dry asphalt as it prepared to charge. They were in serious trouble.