Chapter 18 - What next?

Marshall Mathew Bates clutched his bleeding abdomen as he moved along the street, trying to chase after the humanoid alien. Earlier, he had barely managed to protect the unconscious Ijvesta. The bionic suit mostly protected him from the barrage of daggers, however, there was only so much damage the suit could negate.

One of the daggers had pierced through the suit, stabbing him by the left abdomen. Mathew endured the pain, left Ijvesta in Marshall Cathy's care and gave chase immediately.

Although he had no idea why the alien had suddenly taken off, he couldn't risk allowing the foul entity to roam free.

After dashing along the street, he finally caught a glimpse of the alien hovering in the air. He was about to retrieve one of his guns, when suddenly, he heard a sorrowful scream. A scream that contained so much rage, Mathew trembled involuntarily.

It was from a kid.

"Damn it!" The Marshall had planned to intervene at that moment, but what he saw next froze him in place.

The kid had leapt high into the air, threw a punch so devastating that it blew the alien's head off in one single hit.

"What in Saturn's name…" The Marshall had his mouth wide open in disbelief.

This was the same alien that had effortlessly tanked all their attacks. A creature that could rip giant artillery in half. A mere kid…

A mere kid had killed it in one blow!

At that moment, Mathew snapped to his senses when he saw the kid plummet from the sky. He gnashed his teeth and dashed forward immediately, ignoring the pain from his wound.

He leapt upwards, snatched the boy out of the air, and carefully placed him on the ground.

Mathew Bates pulled back immediately, exercising a degree of caution. The boy was sobbing. He kept muttering, "She's dead… I couldn't protect her…"

Mathew looked ahead and saw the corpse impaled by numerous black daggers.

"Oh," He suddenly understood. The Marshall exhaled and simply stood and watched the little boy cry himself to sleep. Silence slowly descended upon the dilapidated street.

Looking around at the destruction, Mathew Bates knew his world was about to change. And it would be the same for every single human in New Earth.

A week later.

Wearing black gowns, two girls walked along the path that led to a hilltop house. They had the same hair and same face, although one appeared solemn and cold, while the other brimmed with vitality.

Nina stopped by the door of the house and folded her arms, gesturing for Nana to hit the doorbell.

"Why me? Why don't you do it?" The twin protested.

Nina simply glared at her.

"Fine, fine. Sheesh." Nana stepped forward and gently pressed her finger against the doorbell.

A soft chime sounded in the living room, but there was no response. The girls had to wait for over six minutes before the door slid open, allowing them entry.

They saw Adam seated on a sofa in the living room. He had a sheet of paper in his hands, and there were crayons sprawled on the floor.

"Cozy," Nina muttered as her gaze danced around the furnishings of the living room.

"We came to check up on you." Nana said, drawing closer to him. She glanced at the paper in his hands and it was a terrible drawing of four stick-like figures.

She tore her gaze away from the drawing and asked, "How are you holding up?"

Hm… Adam nodded slowly, not giving a direct answer. He raised his gaze and looked at Nina who stood by the glass wall. The girl was staring back at him with her doll-like eyes.

For some reason, her deep, lifeless eyes filled him with a sense of familiarity.

Probably because lately, whenever he looked in the mirror, all he saw was an empty husk. He was dead inside, and he doubted he would ever care for any other person again.

Over the past few days, Lyra's funeral had been held. A Marshall from the Overseer corps had come to see him, twice. Apparently, the man was present when he had killed whatever that creature was. Nina and Nana also came to see him frequently, asking about any new changes or if he had fallen into any new dreams.

Adam had tried his best not to think about whatever odd powers he had. He needed time to himself– time to properly mourn Lyra and decide what he wanted to do with his life.

After a while of absolute silence, he spoke, "I'm going to apply for the Overseer force."

Nana had a look of surprise, but her twin expected the development.

Adam exhaled and explained further, "That man mentioned that the Overseers are putting together a new force, one dedicated to purging invaders from beyond New Earth. Also, they would actively search for other aliens that could be disguised as humans."

A day after the battle in Ajax Sector, the giant, octopus-like alien finally fell from the sky. The Overseers whisked the giant corpse away, and construction began to rebuild this region of the Middle Ring.

"He told me he would be in charge of the new Division, and if I ever considered joining the Overseer force, I should come see him."

Adam looked at Nina again. "I mean, the least I could do is prevent something like this from happening again."

Nana pursed her lips and said, "Won't you be putting yourself at great risk? I mean, you don't know how to control these new powers. We don't even know what the powers are, except the fact that you're superstrong, and you keep dreaming of future events."

"I'll find out. I'll learn." Adam responded solemnly.

Nana looked at Nina, hoping her twin would back her up and talk him out of it.

Nina glanced at Adam– their eyes met almost immediately. After a while, the girl said with a rare, soft smile, "I guess I'll be applying too."

Nana's mouth hung agape.

Armageddon Internment Zone, Epsilon Sector, Middle Ring.

The warden walked along the corridor, ignoring the random hollering of the inmates. He stopped by a cell and tapped on the titanium door with his baton.

"You have a visitor."

"Who?" The huge figure in the cell asked.

"Paragon." The warden said solemnly.