The room froze, the old woman’s words ominously hanging in the air. My vision blurred, and it felt as if fire had engulfed every cell in my body, electrifying me in a way that was almost painful. That question…that horrifying question pierced through me, filling my head with images I never wanted to imagine.

A red haze clouded my thoughts, erasing every other thought and replacing them with that single, vicious question.

My fists clenched, raw energy surging through my body, making it glow with the pent-up power that I thought would be saved up for Dante. I didn’t think at that moment. Only acted.

With a single lunge, I charged forward, my legs flaring up like flames, my fist aiming for the old lady’s gentle, serene face as if she hadn’t been the one who asked me that question. No…not just her; every single one of them was about to feel the impact of my attack.

Whether they survived or not was of no concern to me.

“Jason.”

I was just about to deliver the blow when I was suddenly blocked by that hockey mask weirdo, my fist pushing into his abdomen but causing no evident damage. It felt like I just punched a boulder. No, even harder than that. Pure steel.

I readied my left hand, hoping to put an end to the near eight-foot tall man with a nuclear blast, but Jason seized my fist, firmly grasping it and dispersing the energy I was about to release. Not even my feet rocketing me forward were enough to even make him budge.

“Jason, be a dear and restrain him,” she said, her voice fearless. “A young man shouldn’t be so rude to his elders.”

I tried to force him off with a barrage of punches from my right hand, however it was difficult to get my full strength in any of those attacks when I couldn’t fully turn my body. Unfortunately, Jason was able to notice that and grabbed that hand as well, locking me in place. It was like two blocks of metal were slamming against my hands and, at any moment, my bones would be crushed.

“Kofi!” The girl on the right spoke up, her black hair fluttering from the force of my first punch. “Quit your laughing and incapacitate him already!”

“Shut up, Lyra!” he retorted, holding back his laughter. “How am I supposed to knock him out when he doesn't have a brain? He's a walking skeleton.”

“You’re useless,” insulted Lyra. “You call yourself a member of the Radius when you can’t even do a simple task like that?”

“Don’t act all confident just because of who your daddy is! If it were up to me, I would-”

“Impaled by a spear!”

There was no way for me to know what Jason said at that moment but, if I could guess the translation, I’d say he was warning the others about the ball of energy forming in my mouth, aimed right at his face. I figured if I could release my power through my hands and feet, why not try it with my mouth?

However, something strange happened to my body before I could use my new special blast. I couldn't use my mouth. It wasn't like it was sewn shut. My mouth was simply gone–replaced by an expanse of bone. My arms were no longer my arms and were now thick wooden planks–along with my legs.

With no time to process how this happened to me, Jason kicked my chest and stomped me down onto the table with his brown, tattered Timberland boots. It felt like a hammer went through my chest, and if I still had blood in my body, I would've definitely coughed up some blood.

“Blood loss!”

“You seemed to be struggling with that monster so I helped you a bit. Thank me properly,” said Lyra, clinging to this giant stuffed bear that she was clearly too old for.

“Teresa.” The man in the middle cut in. “Calm him down.”

“With pleasure.” The old lady–Teresa–placed her small hands on my forehead, hands rough and wrinkly. “Don't worry child, this won't hurt a bit.”

At that moment, this calm grace washed over me, as if I’d just been transported to a field of colorful flowers. The fog in my mind cleared, evaporating my rage and softening my body. All of the stored up energy in me quickly weakened as the big guy finally lifted his foot off me.

“Ly, you can change him back now.”

“D-Don’t call me by that stupid nickname!” said Lyra, her cheeks flushed. “Here, Radion, you’re lucky she sees worth in your continued existence.”

Finally, my limbs returned to what they once were along with my mouth. Though the strong urge I previously had to kill these guys was completely gone. I couldn’t even bring myself to make a fist.

These assholes tamed me—like some animal!

These emotions that intruded into my mind and destroyed my resolve…they gave me the feeling that Sunshine was still safe with me. And I knew how wrong that was.

I jumped off the table and landed on my feet. “What did you do to me?” I asked Teresa. “I feel…good.”

“Of course you feel good, child. I healed you.”

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I flexed my hand a little and the pain was still there. What did she mean by healed?

“If you're wondering exactly what I healed, let's just say I made you more…susceptible to reason. Less yelling and mindless violence and more civil conversation. Now, why don't you have a seat?”

I nodded and sat at the table, Kofi and Jason opting to stand in the corner instead.

“As we said before, we want to kill your daughter.” She said it in the same tone as before and yet, I felt fine. Not fine with my daughter being killed but curious as to why they wanted to in the first place.

“What could my daughter have done to any of you to warrant you killing her? She's only nine.”

“Oh, we don't want to kill her because she's wronged us or anything. Believe me, your daughter's been nothing but kind to us. Plus she's adorable.”

I scooted my chair closer to the table, as if it would make me understand her better. “So, what's the deal then? You guys just like killing kids?”

“AIDs!”

Whatever Jason said, I hoped that didn't translate to a “yes”.

“Of course not,” giggled Teresa. “You're aware of your daughter's illness, I'm sure?”

“Of course. It's been with her life since she was a baby.”

“Ah, that's great. That means we don’t have to waste time explaining it to you. So, in short, your daughter is going to die by the end of the year.”

To my surprise, even those words didn’t change my demeanor. And here I thought Dante only said that to piss me off.

“There has to be a cure, right? Or some way to put the disease in remission like with cancer. Long enough for her to have a long life. If I could come back from being eaten alive by zombies, then there should be a solution out there, right?”

“There is no cure in this world that could possibly heal that girl,” said Lyra. “And remission? Do you have any idea how many drugs I sensed in her body? All that did was make the process quicker.”

So it really was true. I was slowly killing my own daughter with all those dollar store drugs I bought….how could I be so damn careless? I’m supposed to be her father!

“Mhm, yes,” agreed Teresa. “But the girl’s disease isn’t just killing her. It’s been infecting others as well. The surface people, I mean.”

“What? Seriously?”

Terisa pulled out a status board from her purple wool sweater’s pocket and showed multiple pictures of people in beds. All of them looked to be in pain.“We’ve been getting reports from our surface partners lately that a number of people have been either getting so severely sick to the point of being bedridden or dying altogether. They were all infected by fragments of the disease I sensed in your daughter.”

How could that be true? We met with Savir almost every week together and he never showed any glaring problems. Then again, he’s pretty much only half-human.

Ooze began to drip off my head like sweat. “So…the only way to prevent any more deaths is to kill her?”

“Precisely,” said the man. I was able to get a closer look at the nametag on his chest when I was on the table and learned his name was Daemon. “We can’t wait for her to succumb to her disease. If we don’t kill her now, it’ll be the start of a new apocalypse.” His voice was commanding, as if he wouldn’t accept no for an answer.

“Well, if that’s the case then, why didn’t you just kill her before I got here. You wouldn’t have had to deal with the extra trouble.”

Teresa shut off her status board and placed it back.“We simply wanted your answer to the question first, that’s all. A parent should always know what’s best for their child and a child should always do what it takes to make their parent happy. Wouldn’t it be the kinder option to let us kill your daughter?”

“I..”

She continued. “Letting us kill your child would be what’s best for her. I can’t imagine all the pain she’s been through. And those haunting pictures I just showed you. Letting your daughter die would save all of those lives. Normal people don’t have the privilege of being immune to her disease like you and the rest of the Radius are, so it’s our job to put an end to her misery so he can stop creating more misery.”

“But-”

“I remembered when the apocalypse first started…” interrupted Teresa. “I was just so worried I would die. Bombs destroyed everything around me. Schools, monuments, even my favorite petting zoo. I thought I was a goner in that little house of mine. But then knights in shining armor rushed toward me, getting me to safety whilst slaying any zombies that were in their way in a red colored horse. Fortunately, I was able to survive and they sacrificed their lives to save me. They needed to die in order for me to be the woman I am today. Do you want to know who those heroes were?”

I nodded my head, afraid of her impending answer.

“They were my children,” she said, flashing a gummy smile at me. “My two sons died bravely for their mother to live. How noble. Wouldn’t it be selfish of your daughter to choose her life over yours?”

What the hell!? This bitch is crazy! I didn’t know whether this ability of hers had a time limit or that story freaking me out, but I found myself slowly returning to normal.

“So, what’s your answer going to be, Radion?” asked Daemon, getting off his chair.

“Yeah, yeah. Hurry up and tell us! You better choose the right answer!” yelled Kofi, electricity crackling around him.

Everything they told me sounded bad. People dying because of my daughter. A whole new apocalypse too!? It was a mystery to me how other parents would think about what they were going to say to this proposition.

Not me though! After all these years with Sunshine, did these people really think this would be hard for me to answer!?

“Screw the apocalypse!”

The room fell silent, eyes widening as every face turned toward me, expressions frozen in a mix of shock and disbelief. Teresa’s mouth hung open slightly, her composure slipping for the first time. Lyra blinked rapidly, as if she couldn’t process what she’d just heard, and even Daemon, stoic as ever, looked as though he’d just been slapped.

The only person who seemed to not be too bothered by my answer was Kofi, his cackle breaking the silence.

Kofi’s electricity grew rapidly. “I knew it! I knew you’d say that!”

“You…You meant to say yes, right? This is a new apocalypse we’re talking about!”

Hearing the confusion in that old hag’s face was the new best thing I heard all day so far. And I knew exactly what to say to make it even worse for her.

“Of course I didn’t mean yes! My daughter’s gonna die of some stupid disease and I won’t rest till I find a cure. So screw the apocalypse!”