Chereads / The apocalypse of another world / Chapter 54 - Day 32.5

Chapter 54 - Day 32.5

With the morning exercises out of the way, everyone was doing their own thing. Catalina and Juan were playing with Sofia. They honestly didn't know what else they could do. They sort of felt lost. Even before John's mother passed, this was pretty much all they did. Sure they just finished training, but even still, they didn't really know what else to do. But, of course, that was just an excuse. Sofia had been the one keeping them mentally sane. After John's mother died, they had begun to fear for their child. They hoped she would be able to live in peace until they could go home. They were struggling with what they could do, so they decided to join the others for morning training. Now they didn't know what to do. They did think about figuring out how to unlock their Seed Power, but they wouldn't know where to start. It was driving them crazy, but when they saw Sofia's smile, it eased them. Finally, they would feel like everything would be okay. They didn't understand why they felt like this, but they didn't care to find out either.

Mark decided to stand guard for Natalie. She was currently checking up on Don. John had already woken up and went off elsewhere. She was worried about his mental health, but she knew there were others he could rely on. If John did come to her, she would help him, but right now, making sure Don and Ryan were still in stable condition was her top priority.

"So, this is the man who saved you?" Mark never got a chance to look at Don, but now that he did, he could see there was something odd about Don. Don was young. Younger than him. Sure, Don had a good build for someone his age, but how could Don have got Natalie out of the outpost safely? Even he was struggling with that one. He used his talents to gather information and even found that the Agents were closing in on their location. He knew it wouldn't be long before they found her, but then Don showed up out of nowhere and managed to get her out of the outpost. Natalie told him that he didn't go up against a few people but an entire platoon, maybe even more.

"He is. Even though we had a rough start, I can tell he genuinely cares about those around him." Natalie would comment with a smile. "It seems like he is still in a stable condition." Natalie would add.

"And this is their Leader?" Mark asked out of the blue, which caused Natalie to look towards him and nod. Truthfully, Mark figured the Leader was Rebecca. She just gave off that kind of vibe. But it turns out he was wrong. The Leader of this group was, in fact, Don. "What do you think about that?" Mark asked while still looking over Don.

Natalie paused for a moment. She understood why Mark was asking such a question. He had done the same with Ion and Jessica. They were young, and yet they were leading a group of mercs. Natalie would shake her head. "It's not my place to say. Everyone seems to have made their decision and haven't complained once about Don being the Leader of their group." Natalie would answer.

Mark turned from Don to look at Natalie. "It seems you are in the same boat. Well, I'll trust your judgment. Still, if something like before happens, I will take you out of here. You are my top priority." Mark would comment, and Natalie would sigh softly but smiled gently. "Okay. I am going to check up on Ryan now. He should be awake by tonight or tomorrow morning." Natalie would make her way towards Ryan. Mark would turn his attention back to Don and study him a bit more. Something about the man just gave him a bad vibe.

Rebecca was out doing patrols when she encountered Josh and Jake. They decided to gather supplies to replenish what they had used. After she saw them off, she began to think of ways to unlock her Seed Power. She tried various things, like throwing her hands out while making various motions, but nothing came out. She mimicked the way Jessica threw out her fireballs and how Rose tossed out her wind, but nothing. If anything, she felt kind of embarrassed since she had been saying the elements she was trying to call to. She was about to give up and just head inside, but that's when she felt a heavy thump in her chest.

Rebecca would lean against the house and clutch her chest tightly. She was finding it hard to breathe, and there was pain going all throughout her body.

'Do you seek power?'

It wasn't like a voice spoke to her. It was more like vibration, and the words popped into her head.

After a few more seconds, the pain went away, and she could breathe again. She wondered what that was about. Was it the Seed Power? Was it trying to call out to her? If that was the case, then maybe she could try to call out to it herself. She would do what she just did before, but after several moments nothing happened. She sighed heavily. "Maybe it was just fluke... I guess I can try asking Ion and Jessica." Rebecca would mutter.

"Ask us what?" A voice came from the front of the house. It was Jessica, with Ion standing beside her. They had left sometime earlier and been just coming back. What they were doing was beyond everyone; however, people could piece it together easily. Rebecca looked towards them and cleared her throat. "D-Did you see everything?" She asked with a soft blush.

"Nope." Ion said as he looked away.

"Yup," Jessica confirmed with a bright smile.

Both of them looked at one another, wondering why one didn't tell the truth, and the other did. They turned their attention back towards Rebecca when they heard her sigh heavily. "Well, since you saw me. I'll just tell you. I was actually trying to find a way to use my Seed Power." Rebecca would explain.

"I tried doing what you and Rose do, but nothing happened. I was going to head back inside, but when I did, I started to feel this immense amount of pain all over my body, and it was hard to breathe. Then words popped in my head asking if I sought out power."

Once Rebecca finished explaining, both Ion and Jessica looked at each other again then back to her. "Uhh... I see. The process is different for everyone." Ion would respond. "Yeah, some of the mercs back at the base had experienced something similar, but I doubt the words thing was normal. People who awaken to their Seed Power normally feel the pain and find it hard to breathe. They end up passing out because of it. Or at least that is what Natalie told us." Jessica would comment.

Rebecca listened to them and nodded once they seemed finished speaking. "I see. Well, thank you. I'll check with Natalie once I finish the patrols." Rebecca would comment. "If you want, we can take over patrolling for you." Ion would suggest, and Jessica would nod in agreement. "Really? Thanks." Rebecca would waste no time and heading back inside to check up with Natalie on the matter. Natalie would note things down. She told Rebecca that the pain and difficulty breathing were normal when one first awakened to their Seed Power; however, Natalie was concerned about the other part. Words popping in someone's head were off-putting; in fact, Natalie thought that maybe the Seed was trying to communicate with her. That seemed impossible, though. The Seed wasn't a living being with intellect, right?

Mark wasn't in the room; he had stepped out to have a cigarette. When he did, he saw April in the living room. She was tending to Don's equipment. "That's a lot of gear you got there," Mark said. April looked up from the gun she was cleaning out to Mark. "It's not mine. It's Don's. I only know how to do this because I would always be by his side when he did this sort of thing. Eventually, he let me help him and showed me how to do it. But, since he is asleep, someone needs to do the maintenance, and I don't know if there is someone else capable." April would reply and explain to Mark.

Mark had this unsure expression now.

'All of this for one guy? What, is he some kind of assassin or something?' Mark thought to himself, but little did he know that he was right on the mark. Mark was out of the loop about Don. All he knew was that Don was strong and had a mutated Seed or something like that. He didn't know the rest about him.

"Do you mind if I take a seat?" Mark asked as he put away his cigarette that he was going to light.

"I don't see why not." April would comment as she returned to the maintenance on Don's gear.

"Actually, I want to ask you something. What is Don?" Mark asked; as he did, his eyes flared a soft pink. April had looked at Mark, and when she saw the glow in her eyes, her own eyes seemed to slowly lose their light in them as if she was under some kind of trance.

"Don is my husband," April responded robotic-like. Mark's brow rose at the remark. He nearly canceled his Seed Power since the answer he got was not what he was expecting, so it threw him for a loop. "No, I meant who is he?" Mark reasked the question. "Don is Don." April would respond. Mark's brow twitched slightly in annoyance. Was April just playing with him, and Mark's Seed Power was not working? Or was she genuinely answering the questions like this.

Mark decided to go for a more straightforward question now. Usually, the straightforward question instead of beating around the bush. These questions tend to be risky because the target would be aware of what they were answering and were able to break free from the Seed Power. "Is Don a hitman?" Mark asked, and once he did, April started to open her mouth to answer, but before she did, Rose stopped her. "There's no need to answer that question." Rose would comment. Mark had been so focused on getting information out of April that he didn't even realize Rose was standing behind him. The Seed Power canceled out since his concentrate was no longer keeping it intact. April would blink rapidly before shaking her head. She felt like something weird was going on. She was somewhat aware of what she was answering but not fully aware of what was going on.

"What were you trying to do?" April would glare at Mark.

"I want to know the same thing," Rose said as she hovered her hand over the hilt of her katana.

Mark brought his hands up defensively. "Alright, alright... I get it. I'll explain. My Seed Power is called Spider's Net. It has two factors to it. The first one allows me to put someone in a trace so I can ask them questions. They answer truthfully, but that part of my Seed Power takes lots of concentration. The second part of my Seed Power allows me to create a string. Just as the name implies, it's like webbing." Mark would explain.

"Okay, but that doesn't tell me what you wanted." April was upset and angry with Mark. Usually, she would have stopped Rose, but maybe there was a need for her to take action just in case Mark tried something again. "All I wanted was information on Don. You all seem to follow his command. He is your Leader, and yet he is young. Usually, Leaders are older people since they have more wisdom. I suspected the Leader was Rebecca, but I was wrong. I don't care about that part, actually, but what I do care about is that Don seems fishy. I need to make sure Natalie is safe here." Mark would explain once again.

April was annoyed now. This man was a stranger to them. They welcomed him into their home and showed him hospitality, but he wanted to treat them like this? On the other hand, Rose could understand why Mark was cautious. He had every right to be. Don was a dangerous person; however, that didn't mean one shouldn't show respect.

"How dare you!" April shouted and quickly slapped Mark. "Don is the most selfless man I know! He goes out of his way to protect all of us! He even saved Natalie. He didn't have to, but he did. He could have just handed her over after she saved me, but he didn't! I don't know what you think Don is, but whatever your vision of him is, is wrong! If you don't feel safe here, then leave!" April shouted at the top of her lungs.

This was unlike her. Even Rose didn't think April was like this. April never shouted, and even when she was upset or angry, she would try to keep calm; however, this was different. April wasn't in a stable condition. Her mental state was all over the place. Don wasn't waking up, and even though Natalie said he was alive, all she could recall was that he died. He had sacrificed himself to save them. Sure, if he didn't get back up, they would have died; however, that didn't change; what Don did was selfless.

What upset her more than anything was that it seemed like Mark claimed Don was a terrible or bad person. It pissed her off because this person knew nothing about Don and just assumed what he was. It reminded her of all the others who had the same idea when they first met Don. Instead of actually trying to ask anyone about him, he used his Seed Power to try and force the information only he wanted. Then, to make things worse, he used her to do it.

The shouting drew attention, and everyone was in the living room, except for Josh and Jake. Even Ion and Jessica heard her shouting. "What's going on?" Rebecca asked as she came out of the room with Natalie. "He tried mind controlling me or whatever." April would glare at Mark, who was leaning as far away from her as possible. There was a clear tinging handprint on his cheek from where April slapped him. Finally, Jessica would step up to Mark with a fireball in hand.

"You what!?" Jessica growled as she reached for the collar of his shirt.

Ion approached her front behind and placed a hand on her shoulder. "No, Ion! Don't stop me! People like this make me fucking sick! They are no better than those in the real world or The World Government!" Jessica exclaimed. Ion would shake his head, "I wasn't going to stop you. If anything, I was going to suggest you let me hold him down." Ion would remark, he too seemed upset by this.

Everyone was giving Mark dirty looks now, but Rebecca got their attention before anything else could escalate. Rebecca clapped her hands extremely loudly, and when everyone's attention was on her, she would be the first to speak.

"Look, I get it; after what happened to John's mother, we are all on edge. It's understandable. However, Mark was accepted into this house. This means John's mother would have likely accepted him as well. Before we proceed onward, I think we all need to calm down. However..." Rebecca turned to look at Mark. "I do not take kindly to what you have done." Rebecca was upset. They had accepted someone into their home, and this was how he treated them? By trying to mind control someone?

"Mark, It's best if you explain why you did what you did. Even if I understand it, the others do not." Natalie would comment with a soft sigh. Mark would nod and begin to explain everything. From what is Seed Power was to why he asked those questions from April. Once he did, Jessica seemed to step back, but took April's side Ion would shake his head. "Why didn't you just ask someone? Your bad habit still shows. It's no wonder everyone is upset." Ion would comment.

"Bad habit?" Rose inquired, and Ion nodded. "He's always been like this. Even when he joined us, he tried the same thing. Jessica nearly killed him. If it wasn't for me, he would have been burnt to a crisp." Ion would explain.

"Whenever Mark feels like there is something wrong, or something he feels is off, he will do whatever he can to obtain the information he wants. If anything, it's like he is overly cautious and finds trusting people extremely hard. I don't blame him for that, but we've already told him countless times that he should just ask people normally. Especially if those people are people, we can trust." Natalie would explain.

Mark would sigh softly, "I am sorry, April. I just wanted to make sure Natalie would be safe. I am sorry if I offended you and everyone else." Mark would apologize. April sat there and listened carefully. Normally, she would forgive someone. It was in her nature, but right now her she was unstable. April shook her head, "I don't care what reason you had. You have no right to treat any of us like that, especially Don. I am sick and tired of everyone thinking he is some kind of murder. I am tired of people viewing him as a bad person. When will you all look at him for who he really is?"

Guilt seemed to form in everyone. Sure, they viewed Don as a good person now and saw him as someone who cared about others, but they all thought he was heartless the first time they met. Even Tyrone said he was a monster. Dillian and Sussan also had their complaints about Don in the beginning. The only person who didn't view Don like that from day one was April. Rebecca wasn't an exception. When she found Don, she found his mature viewpoints of the world offputting for his age. It took her some time to get used to him. She did her best to change his viewpoints as well, but she had just stopped and accepted it at some point since she wasn't getting anywhere.

Tears began to whelm in April's eyes. It looked like she was going to break down at any moment, but before anyone could say another word or let the tears run down her face, she felt a pair of arms wrap around her.

"Thank you, April."

The voice caused her eyes to go wide. Everyone else was also just as surprised and shocked by who it was. April quickly turned around to see Don was hugging her with affection and care. The tears she had suppressed raced down her cheeks, and she quickly turned around to hold onto him as tightly she possibly could.

"Don!" She exclaimed through muffled sobs.