Dean and Kim Hannah chatted more in depth about mutators and evolvers.
"So mutators are people who have been infected by a zombie but don't turn into one"
Kim Hannah talked aloud.
"The difference between an evolver and mutator is that their powers are the opposite"
Dean further explained his reasoning.
"Myself and Abigail are evolvers. We don't have any drastic physical mutations but instead have mental abilities. Abigail's powers should have something to do with feeling emotions; an empath. Whereas Sang Woo could harden his skin around his hand and assimilate with concrete"
Kim Hannah nodded at his words and shared her thoughts in a scientific reasoning.
"The S gene inside of both you and Abigail should have had a goal to reach, which is why it didn't waste energy mutating your bodies but instead evolved your minds. It should also be a result of the virus being concentrated in the brain instead of the body"
"The opposite could be said about being a mutator. Since being attacked by a zombie would be on the body the virus would first start to rampage in the body and make its way to the brain. However from the brains you had shown me if there isn't enough of the virus to corrode the brain it would lead the host's body to mutate in a highly unstable way"
"The hardened fists were probably due to the skin being mutated to a high degree and the concrete armor was a mutation that occurred due to the surroundings. I believe that any surrounding material would have the same effect on a mutator that hasn't assimilated with something. Water, metal, wood or maybe even bones would lead to a different mutation, it just depends on the Dna of the person and their surroundings"
Dean gave a questioning look to Kim Hannah. He was slightly knowledgeable with what she was saying as he had learned from manga and books with sci fi or fantasy ideas that combined with real world science.
"What do you mean by Dna? Shouldn't the reactive S gene be able to mutate it"
"Ah Sorry I forgot, hmm…In the bio field we are still learning many new things about the brain and Dna. It wouldn't be too far-fetched to think that some people are more aligned with one material than another. Compatibility is a huge thing that's taken into consideration whether about medicine or illnesses. This is why people are treated differently depending on their past medical results or any allergies that might have come from their ancestors"
"Sang Woo's personality that you told me is something that doesn't bend to others, his brain or Dna should carry a trace of evidence. He could've been a distant descendant of a ruler or sovereign which influenced his character, this is all speculation but a child of an artist would typically be more creative than others. Sang Woo's hands are a clear indicator of that dominant trait. His unstable mentality should be his immune system fighting the virus and rejecting the change, it should only take time for the body to stop fighting and accept the change which is why his sanity returned at the end of the fight"
Dean nodded at her words. He didn't believe that he was like his ancestors, since he had lived a life that majorly changed him. But it was clear that the personality of someone would influence how they would mutate. He was thinking why he was able to control space but couldn't come to an answer. It was rather strange coming to an answer of a mental evolution. There wasn't really any clear evidence why he had evolved to control space. Dean thought it might have been when he wanted to become strong enough to destroy the blackhole but then everyone else should've become an evolver. He wasn't the only one who was struggling or didn't want to die by the blackhole at the time.
"Oh right"
Dean leaned to Kim Hannah's ear. Roxas was still cooking food and Dean didn't want him to hear. It was a sensitive topic so it was better that less people knew. Dean whispered.
"I'll take you to him at night"
Kim Hannah clenched her fists. She nodded and soon left the room since she and Dean had nothing more to talk about. Dean continued to devour the food at an even quicker pace now that he no longer needed to talk.
Half an hour later, Roxas left the room tiredly. He had busily made food that would equal 50 servings. His arms were sore and his energy depleted. He had never made so much food as it was usually just him and his sister. Cooking for the group was fine since he was slowly adapting to cook a lot of food, but it was just ridiculous how much food he made for one person.
"Why have I been getting beat up so much lately"
Roxas left with dropped shoulders to lay down and sleep. He had already had his turn to monitor the streets with his sister. It was Harris and Sophia's turn next.
Dean didn't have much to do in the building. He was still having trouble moving and was told by everyone to rest and heal. They decided to move when Dean had fully recovered, which was in the earliest tomorrow. His regeneration was amazing. They were expecting at least a week for him to have healed enough for him to walk but his limp had almost disappeared after eating so much and he had said that his body should be able to walk in a couple of hours.
Since he had nothing to do he decided to test his power. It mainly depended on his mental energy and his physical injuries mattered little. In his fight it was the first time he was using that power so he had no idea what the capabilities were besides blocking and attacking.
He first tested what happens if he only made a single one.
'Its solid'
A small 15cm disc appeared and was solid to touch. Since he hadn't made another portal the disc stayed motionless in the air.
'I could use it to block…no it would just be better to just make two and counter attack..hmmI guess I could use it as a foot platform and maneuver in the air by jumping on it'
Dean put his weight on the disc to check how strong it was, he jumped off it and felt it shatter below his feet.
'It's good enough'
He would have to make a single disc at a time and use them like stepping stones.
Dean created more and watched as two bright blue rings appeared. The rings were warping and changing the surrounding space and Dean could see view through one ring out the other. He put his chopstick in one and closed both at the same time. The chop stick didn't break but was forced out the portal that had more of the chopstick poking out.
'Well that sucks, guess I can't do what Dr Strange can. Would've been overpowered if I could dismembered any limb ignoring my opponents defenses'
He chuckled at that thought. He wasn't controlling space but bending it to his will. The object was still one object even if it had gone through the portal becoming two. It entered as one object and would exit as one object.
Dean then chucked a pea through the portal keeping his full attention on it. He was observing if there was any energy that changed. To his surprise the pea had minutely accelerated. It was so small that if he hadn't kept his full attention on it he wouldn't have noticed. He noticed that the portal had grown slightly smaller as well but that was to be expected.
Physics clearly stated that any reaction would lose energy in the form of heat due to friction. The surprising thing was that the pea didn't lose energy but gained it from the portal. His portals were a form of space and also needed energy to run. His mental energy controlled where to warp space and the portals automatically sustained itself by absorbing space. He wasn't sure if he would be able to make a portal big enough for him to teleport large distances but he was still new to being an evolver he would test that in the future.
'I already have an idea, but it would be a waste till I can create more than one pair of portals'
Dean continued his tests and trained to handle his portals for sometime. He was enjoying seeing the strength that he was steadily training.
Outside the building, Harris and his wife were silently walking down the street. Harris wasn't wearing his armor but instead his normal simple clothes. The plastic bottle armor they had worn before was thrown away since it was tattered and zombie blood covered it. They didn't have any other materials to make armor and could only become more careful using long range weapons. They were using the knife spears as Dean had given them the remaining knives he had remaining. They had made knife spears for everyone in the group. Dean didn't need them now that he had a more effective method of attacking.
The pair stabbed two isolated zombies in the back with the spears and quickly stepped back from the incoming retaliation. Harris didn't want his wife to be in danger and tried to make her stay away. She had pulled his ears and stared him in the eyes that she wanted to fight with him.
"Honey, I don't want to see you be attacked by zombies leaving me to live alone"
"I want to stay alive with you and help fight with you. If you die, I die as well"
She smiled while saying that but Harris knew that was her own resolve. He kissed her on her soft lips and could only resolve himself to become strong enough to protect himself and her.
His shield blocked the charge and Sophia quickly rushed from behind and stabbed a zombie in the head. She then quickly moved out of the way and Harris slammed the shield on the remaining zombie forcing it to the ground with his large build. Sophia then stabbed the head.
Three people were watching the duo fight coordinately and walked out the building to talk with them.
"Excuse me"
Harris looked at the man who called him. He then looked at the woman and another man behind him. The group slightly flinched at being looked at from such a big statured man. They were slightly scared of his size since they were averagely built.
"Do you have somewhere safe to stay, can you help us please"
"Please sir, let us join you we'll be indebted for the rest of our lives"
"Please let us come with you"
Sophia looked at her husband with an odd look. She had noticed that the past day he had been thinking about things. She didn't want to ask him about what he was thinking about since he seemed to always be in deep thought. He had always come to her whenever he was undecided with something. Even back in school, before the two started dating he had asked her opinion on many things. Sophia knew that whatever he was thinking about was important to himself, so she wouldn't try to sway his thoughts.
Harris let out a deep breath and replied
"No"
Sophia could feel Harris's hand tighten with hers. She stayed silent and would support her husband the best she could.
"I'm sorry but my group can't just let random people with us. Please understand that I can't take you with us back to our base"
Harris had resolved himself to not be as naive as with Sang Woo. He had learnt that his act of selflessness could bring danger to the people around him. He still left some supplies that he had gathered and would make it up to his group by going out again with Kim Hannah and Lucas in the evening.
The pair walked away from the trio and took the long way to their base. The trio stood still and watched the pair leave. The leading man had wanted to follow them since Sophia was such a beauty but the other man had stopped him. It was clear that the big man had a group of other people and it would be dangerous if they angered them. The stares he had towards Sophia could be explained as admiration but if he acted on his desires he would be killed.
The trio were an independent group that managed to survive and escape the supermarket. They had some supplies but not enough to last for long. The leader was slightly annoyed at being rejected but could only stop from his friends words. They were in no means stupid. Them being able to escape and survive was the result of them fighting and not running away like the others who had become trapped in the supermarket and could only die. They took the supplies and returned to their building.
"Are you okay"
Sophia asked Harris
"Yeah, it's just hard not being able to save everyone"
Sophia didn't ask any more and continued to hold Harris's hand tightly as they walked the streets back.