Meanwhile

June 28, 2075

1400 CDT

Near Colorado Springs, Colorado

The Pillar of Judgement, Mount Olympus

Kiko Farrington's Point of View

“Interesting,” I say.

“Can I go to sleep now?” Luke asks as he stretches.

“Sleep is death’s cousin, Luke, so no,” I say.

“What?” He asks in confusion.

I can’t think! We’ve been up for days.

“How about this? We’ll rest after we review everything we’ve learned,” I say to Luke.

“Alright,” Luke agrees as he rubs his eyes.

“We’ve learned that your powers activate when your body is pushed to its physical, emotional, and/or mental limits. This is proven with the transformation of your irises. Other symptoms of your conversion include accelerated dehydration, visible stress, reduced stamina, and increased aggressiveness. Zombie bites do not affect you because why? Well, we don’t know yet. Whatever Doctor Shinka injected you with turned you into a half-human-half-zombie-badass. We don’t have an official name for you yet, but I have no doubt that we’ll think of one soon,” I say.

“You are also capable of regenerating body parts, just like a mutated,” Harold kindly explains as he combs his flattop. “We don’t know and can’t risk finding out if you can regenerate vital organs such as your heart or lungs. Regeneration, tremendous strength, immunity, sudden high bursts of speed, and partial shapeshifting are your main strengths that we’re aware of so far. Since these are common traits of mutated, then it’s safe to assume that you also share the same weakness as a zombie.”

“Right. Sigh, my brain,” Luke recognizes in disappointment.

“But other than that, you’re completely fine, buddy!” I say.

“So, can I go to sleep now?!” Luke mistakenly asks in relief.

“Hah. No way! I have one more theory I want to test. Harold, help me, please,” I say.

This black bulletproof suit that I’m putting on is so heavy and clunky. I feel like a bomb squad soldier.

“Are you sure this is a good idea?” Harold asks in worry.

“No, but it’s an idea,” I say.

“What are you doing?” Luke asks in reasonable concern.

“I am doing what’s necessary for humanity!” I say. “This is a big risk, but sometimes in life, you have to risk it to get the biscuit!”

“Oh no,” Luke says in disbelief.

“Oh yeah! Harold, I’m doing it!” I say.

“You’re doing it?” Harold asks in surprise.

“She’s doing it?” Annie and Jian question in unison.

“Luke Miller! I am about to shoot you in the face with this shotgun!” I say.

“You’re gonna what?” Luke asks in shock.

“This bad boy has been used in several wars, it’s semi-automatic, carries six rounds in its magazine, and has a maximum range of forty-one meters!”

“That doesn’t help!” Luke complains.

“My point is this was created for one simple reason,” I say. “To kill. I think it’s a sad fact that humanity would have brought itself to extinction if it weren’t for the zombies. So, in a weird way, the undead not only slowed down our self-destructive lifestyle, but they forced us to make smarter decisions to survive. Speaking of the zombies, I found something extremely interesting in my six years as a researcher, and this experiment will prove my hypothesis. One second. Harold!”

“What’s wrong?!” Harold asks in lovely concern.

“I can’t load the gun because my gloves are too stubby! This suit was built for smelly grown-ass men, and I’m a grown-ass professional woman.”

“Here, Kiko,” Harold says as he helps me out.

“I’m about to die,” Luke unwisely states in doubt.

“That’s not a fact, Luke, that’s a hypothesis, one we’re about to test. Now, I have to get closer. This will only work if I’m point-blank. Also, I forgot to mention but try to stay calm.”

“There’s a gun in my face,” Luke asks as he fearlessly stares down the gun barrel.

“I noticed, but if you accidentally activate your powers too early, then not only will my test be ruined, but my feelings will be hurt.”

“T-then, we need a timer or something to prevent that!” Luke makes a good point.

“You’re right,” I say.

“Annie!” Luke and I say in unison.

Why are you always eating your hair?

“Read ya’ll like a novel,” Annie laughs from above as she prepares to sing ‘Ring Around the Rosie,’ most likely. “Ahem.

Ring around the Rosie,

Squat among the posies,

Ring around the roses,

Pocket full of posies,

One, two, thr-”

Oh, come on!

“You gotta be fucking kidding me! I can’t pull the trigger! Harold! Put something on to protect your arms, stand directly behind me and pull the trigger, ok?!”

“Aight,” Harold complies like a sweetheart.

“My heart,” Luke says as he clutches his heart.

“On three! 1…2…” Annie and I say.

Sweet Mary! That’s a lot of recoil! Fighting is definitely not my specialty.

“This hurts. Ah, my titty. Oh, but at least I’m back in Harold’s chest,” I say.

It looks like my theory is partially correct so far. The bullet ricocheted off your head and almost destroyed my suit in the process. Hah. Teresa, you are a mixture of influences on me, and I wish you were here.

“Kiko, I need air!” Harold cries out in pain.

“Are you calling me fat? Wait! Luke!” I say.

If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it.

Please don’t be dead. Please don’t be dead.

“You’re not dead!” I say.

“I feel like I am…” Luke chuckles as he lays flat on the ground.

“I’m glad you’re ok! Sonya would’ve put me in the blender if you died!” I say.

“You’re a crazy good scientist, Kiko,” Luke compliments with a smile. “So, what exactly was your hypothesis again?”

“I got bad news, everyone!” Jian announces.

Fuck.

“No! That’s the worst kind of news!” I say.

“Angela Blackwood and her troops will be arriving tomorrow afternoon!” Jian says.

The.

“That’s way too early!” I say.

“And she’s demanding to see Harold Smith along with Kiko Farrington and General Farrington for a personal interrogation!”

What?

“What the fuck?!” I say.

*

The Next Night

June 29, 2075

1900 CDT

Central Olympia, Kansas

Inside Thunder Castle’s Court Room

*

“Shit!” I say.

“I know, Kiko. We’re super late,” Harold says in haste as we near the entrance.

Sigh. I still can’t believe it. This entire journey started with interrogation, and it looks like it’s going to end that way as well. The Royals destroyed an entire kingdom, killing billions in the process, so I can only imagine what their interrogations are like! No. Can’t think like that. I just have to stay calm, analyze, and adapt to whatever happens.

“Ready Kiko?” Harold says as he slowly opens the door to the council room.

“I’m ready, Harold. Let’s do this.”

Watch over me, Mom.

“We don’t know where Doctor Shinka is, and we sure as hell ain’t disclosing Luke Miller’s location to assholes like ya’ll!” A council member yells out.

Not good!

“Heh heh. I see. You fools are of no use to me, but…” she says as she begins to make her way towards Harold and me. “I’m certain that our late arrivals know better than to beat around the bush if they’re as smart as I hope they are,” she says with an overconfident smirk.

Angela Blackwood! An Asian woman who appears to be in her mid-twenties, almost two meters tall, a long black braided ponytail, wearing a high-tech looking suit of black and white armor that protects her from the neck down, a pink cape attached to the back of it with a black inked design of a lioness on it and the suit’s chest, a small grenade launcher attached to her thigh, a holstered pistol on her waist, an assault rifle in her hand, a holstered combat knife on her chest and I can barely see the hilt of a sword on her back.

And she has a cat? It appears to be an abbysian if I’m correct.

“I know, Artemis,” she says as she kneels to pet her cat. “This hunt shall be completed in no time, and then we’ll be able to return to our lush, lavish life of luxurious luxury,” she says in a sinister tone.

What a bitch.

“I thought that you were going to arrive next week, Angela,” I say.

“Heh heh,” she arrogantly chuckles as she continues to approach us with a smug smile. “You thought, bitch.”

We could kill you, easily, and you know it, which is why you left your head exposed. Killing you is unwise, but I’m just so mad at you. Wait. Am I scared of you? Hah. No. No way.

“Fear is a normal reaction when one has been blessed with the sight of the Death Angels,” she says as she quickly pulls out her pistol.

My… my hat! She shot my hat off with a pistol?! What a sharpshooter!

“That’s for not taking me seriously,” she says as she begins to aim at Harold.

Another gunshot from her.

“And that’s for being late,” she says as she holsters her pistol.

She shot Harold!

“My shoulder!” Harold groans out in pain.

“Harold!” I say.

That look in her eyes. How horrifying. It’s the look of an evil, cold-blooded, calculating tyrant.

“So, now that I nipped your behavior in the bud, allow me to inform you two peasants, of how this interrogation shall work,” she says as she stretches her arms. “I shall ask a few questions, and if I’m not satisfied with the answers, then I shall put a bullet in the head of a council member,” she says as she reloads her pistol. “Hmmmmm. Starting with him!”

No!

“Bang. Heh heh. Just kidding,” she says with that evil smirk of hers. “Ah. I needed that brief moment of amusement. It’s not every day that I get to see peasant worms squirm for their lives. It truly is an entertaining, yet pathetic sight,” she says as she sits on a bench with her legs crossed and a jaded look on her face.

Is this a game to you?!

“I’d rather avoid a fight here, despite my methods, and I’m hoping to leave Olympia with a mutual understanding, so please try to see things from my point of view,” she explains as she looks up at the ceiling. “To me, there’s simply no difference between the peasants of Earth and the zombies,” she says with a shrug. “Sigh. Every mission is the same, no matter where I go. Most of my interactions are with the dead, the only difference being some talk, and some don’t, but the result is always predictable. They simply end up dying or die a second death, and I’m sure you can imagine how stodgy and mundane that is for someone of my talents. So, picture how enthusiastic I was when I heard that a new mutated was spotted in Winner, South Dakota, and this mutated was not only an Olympian but a human. A teenage boy, barely an adult!”

You’re cuckoo.

“From my perspective, this is potentially the biggest challenge of my life, which is why I shall show my cards as a gesture of good faith,” she says as she stands up and walks towards us again. “I give two shits about Veronica Shinka. Conducting a wild goose chase disinterests me, however, I’m certain that she shall turn up sooner rather than later because she can’t escape from her inevitable fate no matter where she decides to hide. We have eyes and ears everywhere in places you least expect,” she says as she taps on her communicator with a smirk. “She is simply an old woman who made the biggest mistake of her life by defying us. Someone as supposedly intelligent as her should know that going against The Royals is the equivalent of getting bit by a zombie,” she says as she slowly slices her own throat with a thumb.

Fucking shit-talker.

“You two, along with General Farrington, are irrelevant to my mission because I have no doubt that you’ll just say, “We don’t know!” if I ask you about Luke’s location,” she says. “The only thing I currently seek is a duel with Luke Miller, as this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to test my abilities to the fullest. Two brilliant scientists should be perceptive enough to know that the right thing to do is to simply give me the location of the boy to ensure Olympia’s safety. As the Royal’s elite enforcer, I shall inform you that I always keep my word and never lie. If you grant me this simple request, then I shall leave your kingdom immediately. Trust me, I don’t want to be in this filth longer than necessary. This foul kingdom is shit compared to the beauty that is, Mother Gaia.”

I’ve about had it with you. You talk way too much.

“Your presumption of me is probably one of an evil bitch who was sent from the heavens to raise hell on earth, and…” she says with a soft snicker. “you’re correct. Sadly for you, your analytical assessment of me, akin to your pointless lives, is insignificant,” she says with that fucking smirk. “Heh, heh, but regardless of your opinion of me, don’t forget that I’m doing this for the good of humanity! I was sent to capture the brain of mankind’s greatest threat! Luke Miller is just another one of Earth’s lifeless monsters who must be dealt with as soon as fucking possible. That is why it is not only an honor for me to be the one to do it, but I’ll potentially be the one who saves all of humanity. I mean, it’s not like peasants deserve to be saved, but, oh well. There’s only so much one person can do.”

“Hah. Harold, it looks like my assumption of her was correct. She does smell like mildew!” I say.

Ow! Why the fuck did you backhand slap me?

“Silence, peasant. In case you didn’t realize it, I have full authority to execute you, should I see fit,” she says with a cold glare.

“Go ahead and do it then,” I say. “If you kill me, then you’ll have a lot more than Luke Miller to worry about.

“Let go of me!” I say.

She’s about to slam me on the ground!

“Ugh!”

Damn it! Get your disgusting butt off of my back.

“Big talk for someone who’s eating the floor,” she says.

“Angela!” Harold calls out in anger.

“Relax, Harold. I just had to put her in her place,” she says as she slowly gets off of me.

Nasty. She just spit in my hair. Wait, why are you talking to Harold like that?

“As a Royal, it’s paramount that I remind peasants on who runs shit around here,” she says. “We don’t make frequent visits, for good reason, so I can understand how easy it is to forget who’s the judge, jury, and exe-fucking-cutioner.”

“Agh!” I yell.

She kicked me in my ribs.

“Kiko!” Harold yells as he rushes over to help me.

“Harold, my… my lungs…” I say.

She definitely broke something.

“Well, it is only natural that I leave one speechless with my presence,” Angela brags as she unsheathes her sword. “But, insult me again, and I’ll fucking leave you headless as well,” she threatens with an intense look of coldness in her eyes as she points the sword at me.

A big, mouth and a big ego, but her bite is much more painful than her bark.

“Angela! We’ve discovered Luke Miller’s location!” One of her soldiers with short green hair announces.

What?! How?

“Excellent, Li, but I must interrogate one more target before we can depart,” she says as she sheathes her sword.

Dad.

“Like I said, eyes and ears everywhere. Consider this a reminder that you peasants are simply pawns in our little game of chess,” she says with a pleasant smile.

Hah. I just spit right in your face. Blood mixed with saliva.

“Eat shit, Angela,” I say.

Oh no.

“AGH!” I yell.

My arm, fuck! She’s as fast as Sonya! No! Even faster!!! And stronger! All it took for her to break my arm was a simple chop to my elbow.

“Learn to silence your tongue, peasant,” she exclaims in anger as she takes a big leap forward.

My fucking knee! She kicked me in my knee!

“Senseless girl,” she says as she wipes off the spit from her face. “You have 203 unbroken bones left, and I just thought of an excellent way to kill time until your daddy shows up!”

“Angela, stop!” Harold yells as he gets in between us.

Finally.

“Heh heh. I suppose I shouldn’t ruin my appetite, if my target is as strong as the rumors say,” Angela says with a shrug as she walks away. “I’ve inflicted zero permanent damage on you fools, as a gesture of good faith. Your wounds shall heal, but unfortunately for you, I don’t know when and simply can’t be bothered enough to care.”

No. I’m not going out like this.

“Luke… Luke is going to wipe that smirk off your face!” I yell.

“Your hypothesis shall be tested within the next few chapters of my valorous adventure. Nevertheless, I have my doubts, considering I only know of two people who can do such a thing, and…,” she proudly states as she stretches. “Luke Miller is not one of them. Notwithstanding, this interrogation has reached its dull conclusion, peasant.”

You’re so stupid. You didn’t even ask any questions.