Chills went down my spine as I witnessed Perci and Wolfis standing in front of each other.

Being stuck tied to a chair, the only thing I could do was watch.

Perci pointed his umbrella forward. In response, Wolfis pulled out a knife.

“Let her go,” Perci said. “We don’t have to fight.”

“No way. I’ll never let her go. One of us here is not going to make it out of here alive,” Wolfis said. “And it’s going to be you!”

Wolfis started attacking Perci with the knife.

Perci had the upper hand, since his weapon was longer. He retaliated by fencing with the umbrella against Wolfis, forcing him to stay back.

Wolfis was kept at a certain distance, unable to make an offensive move.

Perci continued to swing his umbrella around, with Wolfis swiftly dodging every attack with his quick reflexes.

I'm surprised he can dodge those so easily…but how long can he last?

Perci tried to close the gap on him and sped up his movements, but Wolfis would always step back just as quickly. In time, they ended up going around the room, jumping everywhere and encircling my chair.

"I've figured out your moves."

In the blink of an eye, Wolfis stepped forward like a flash and cut the space in between them. The knife was thrusted towards Perci, but luckily he was able to get away with a graze on the cheek.

Perci staggered back and Wolfis tried to attack again. Perci tried to kick him away, but the attack was blocked by Wolfis' arm. Wolfis continued to slash away and Perci kept trying to counter him in the last milliseconds.

Wolfis kicked Perci's leg and he fell to the floor.

Before he could get the chance to finish him off, Perci opened the umbrella on his face, causing Wolfis to stagger a few steps back.

"Haha…..you think you're so damned clever, aren't you?" Wolfis said.

"I'd like to think I am," Perci closed the umbrella.

"Hey, I know you, Perci. I remember what happened on the first day of highschool. Pfft. You cried on the spot when you tried to introduce yourself! Talk about lame!”

Perci started to look uneasy. He looked at me, then quickly looked away.

“You said something about being too afraid to go to school because you used to be bullied. That nervous wimpy look you showed to the class was unforgettable!”

“Hey, what are you doing, Wolfis?!” I said. “Why are you bringing up his past?”

“No, no, listen. I have to tell you who your boyfriend truly is.”

He’s not my boyfriend…….

“When the girls tried to talk to you, all you could do was stutter and mumble words. You even pissed your pants when one of them touched your shoulder! How spineless can you be?!”

Is this…a real story?

Perci gripped his umbrella tightly and started to look agitated.

“He was super introverted. He didn’t have any friends! He always entered and left school all alone, with no one to talk to or even interact with. The only things he could say were yes, no and okay! He had no presence and was an insignificant figure. A ghost!”

“Stop, Wolfis,” I gritted my teeth.

I could tell Perci wasn’t feeling too good about this.

“I’m not done. I remember he even wrote a letter to a girl he liked, but he couldn’t even have the guts to give it to her! In the end, someone stole it away and read it in front of the class! It was way too funny! He ran away from school that day and he was never ever able to look his crush in the eyes ever again!” Wolfis laughed mockingly.

Perci’s darkened expression bothered me, so I suddenly felt the urge to scream at Wolfis.

“Shut up, Wolfis! I don’t care about his past!”

“But-”

“No matter how lame he was in the past, he’s still a thousand times better than you are!”

Perci looked over to me with a gleam on his indigo eyes.

“Ori…..”

“There’s no way you’re going to lose to that guy, right?! Get your head in the game, he’s just toying with your mind!”

Perci shook his head and showed a light smile.

“You’re right.”

“Wow! Now, you’re suddenly inspired because of some simple words from a woman! Goes to show how much of a simpleton you are.”

“You’re not going to provoke me again, Wolfis. It’s not going to work this time,” Perci said.

“It doesn’t matter! I can predict what you’re going to do with your movements. I’ll finish you off with one last strike!”

“We’ll see about that.”

Perci put up his umbrella, concealing most of his body from Wolfis. He began to move closer to Wolfis with his protective strategy.

Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

“What’s with that pussy-ass technique? You’re still as cowardly as usual!”

He quickly dashed to the side of the umbrella, being in an angle where Perci’s body would be exposed and tried to throw the knife.

“Checkmate.” Wolfis smiled.

However, before he could do anything, Perci threw his school jacket on Wolfis, catching him completely off guard.

“You can’t read what you can’t see.”

“NO!”

Perci dealt a powerful heel kick towards Wolfis’ head and he dropped to the floor in an instant.

His eyes went completely white and passed out.

“Y-you did it! Perci! Can you please untie me now?!”

“All right.”

Perci cut the ropes with Wolfis’ knife and let me free.

“Let’s go, Ori,” Perci said.

I took the knife from Perci and walked over to Wolfis’ body.

“What are you doing?”

I held it with a reverse grip and took a deep breath.

“This is for Mom!”

I slammed the knife towards Wolfis, but Perci held my arm just as it was about to touch his chest.

My hand shook as it tried to force it down.

“Perci! Don’t stop me, idiot!”

“I can’t let you do that.”

“Why the hell not?!”

“I don’t want you to kill another person.”

“But! H-He killed Mom! He has to pay! Please let go!”

“I won’t let you bear the guilt of taking a life. My grandfather said that once you kill someone, your heart will forever be scarred and tormented. That’s why I won’t allow it.”

“I don’t care! He deserves to die!”

“A girl like you doesn’t have to do this. It’s too much of a burden to handle.”

“Don’t tell me what to do! It’s my life!”

I slapped Perci in the face out of anger.

“S-sorry….”

He didn’t react to it, but he stared directly into my eyes. I stared back towards his sincere eyes of indigo and let go of the knife.

Perci put the knife away and turned his back on me.

“Revenge is not a good way to alleviate your emotions. Feel free to cry behind my back instead," Perci turned his body.

Damn it……

I planted my face on his back and grabbed his shirt.

It doesn't matter right now. I'll take anything to cry on…

I screamed my heart out and let all the tears out.

Perci didn't say anything and stayed silent.

It was a good thing. All I needed was a person who would listen to my cries. There was no need for any words.

I love you, Mom.

"Thank you, Perci, *sniff*."

"Don't mention it."

Perci patted me on the head…and I didn't seem to mind. It was strange.

Maybe, just maybe. I can trust him someday.

But my hatred towards men stops me from doing so.

If he can change my heart…then maybe.

"What are we going to do with Wolfis?" I asked. "I still don't think we can let him go free."

"My grandfather told me that people deserve second chances. They must be given the time to reflect on their actions. You don't have to forgive them, but there's still hope for them to change." Perci said.

"I really won't forgive him. But fine. We’ll let him go."

I clenched my fist and gritted my teeth.

Perci held my hand, which calmed me down.

“People deserve second chances, but monsters don’t deserve a third one,” Perci said. “I’d like to believe Wolfis isn’t a monster.”

“I doubt it.”

"Anyways, we can't stay here. We'll head over to my house instead. Is that ok with you?"

A boy's house, huh. Sounds suspicious. When a guy invites a girl over to his home, it's obviously because he has some sort of hidden intention. Can I really do it, mom?

But then again, we're in the middle of the apocalypse. What choice do I have?

"Ok," I told Perci. "But why your house in particular?"

"Well, I can't think of any other place to stay…."

"You….you do have a point."

I went over to my mom's room and looked at her face again.

I wiped my tears and held her hand for a long time. It was stone cold to the touch.

My hand closed her eyes and covered her with a blanket.

"Rest in peace, mother."

We walked outside of the house and saw Dustin riding on the motorcycle.

“G-guys! Hurry up! The zombies are coming here! Let’s go!” Dustin said.

"Hey, wait up!" Perci said.

"AH! They're close! You're way too slow! Sorry!"

Dustin took off with the motorcycle, leaving us behind.

"Hey! You coward! Come back!" I screamed.

RAAAAAAAAAH!

The zombies had suddenly gathered by the front of the house, effectively surrounding us from many angles.

“Quick! Let’s get inside!”

I was the first to react and started running back to the house.

Perci and I locked the doors and stepped away.

BANG! BANG! BANG!

“That door isn’t going to hold…”

“Through the window!” I pointed.

I ran towards the window and opened it, then signaled Perci with my hand.

However….

"I'm not letting you leave!"

Wolfis tackled me on the ground and put his hands on my neck.

"Ori!" Perci screamed.

"If I can't have you, no one can!"

He continued to choke my throat, leaving me no room to breathe.

"Gahk!"

Tears began to fall from my eyes and I was ready to black out at any moment.

"Get off her!"

Perci grabbed his body and threw him away from me.

He hits Wolfis in the head with the umbrella, causing him to fall down and break his neck on the table.

Crack.

Wolfis laid lifeless on the floor, without any sign of breathing.

Perci stared at the body with an horrified look on his face.

"I didn't mean to……."

The zombies broke open the door and entered the house.

"Leave him be! We have to leave now!"

I grabbed Perci's hand.

Together we jumped out the window and ran away.