Today was going to be the best day of the year for me.

I could practically feel my heart trying to rip itself out of my chest, my boots stomping on the wet, muddy ground until I reached a dead end. There were a pack of radioactive dogs chasing after me with zombies riding on their backs like cowboys riding a horse. Although, with the way their bodies flailed in the wind, it seemed like the dogs had more control over them than the zombies did the dogs.

Perhaps I wouldn’t have been so scared if I was allowed to carry a weapon—even a kitchen knife would’ve been helpful. Unfortunately, the only way I was going to get out of this predicament was with my hands, hands that would ascend me to victory. A cliff was standing in the middle of that though, its protrusion casting an ominous shadow over me.

It didn’t take a second thought for me to jump onto the cliff’s side and begin the climb. It was either that or fight a bunch of hungry beasts intent on devouring my flesh. The choice was pretty easy. The dogs incessantly barking at me under my feet while the zombies clawed at the stone was proof I made the right decision. The more I pulled upwards, the closer I got to the goal. The closer I got to the goal… the harder the climb.

Every rock I clung onto was still wet from the rain last night, and I could feel my feet about to slip. The sounds of the monsters below were tempting me to look down, grabbing onto my soul, but I resisted the temptation. Never look down no matter what ‘cause it was the easiest way to allow gravity to take you hostage. That was one of the many rules I taught my child over the years in this shitty post-apocalyptic world.

There was only one spot in my field of view that looked to be dry enough for me to safely hold onto without the fear of slipping. It was big enough for me to sit on too so a quick rest actually looked to be possible. All I needed was to make that jump–jump upwards while still keeping my body sideways.

Yeah… that sounded simple enough.

I inhaled deeply, absorbing all of my fear and worries, and exhaled, releasing all those negative emotions at once. Then, I jumped. A jump that would place me on the path to freedom, a jump that would secure me a life of happiness, a jump that… betrayed me!?

The rock that I was standing on was just too damn slippery for me to fully reach the rock, and falling was my only option in that instant, a flash of pain exploding in my palm. My back hit the ground first, but the ground was soft enough to lessen the damage done to me.

Although, the results of the fall were the least of my worries as the radioactive dogs were creeping towards me, toxic saliva spilling from their mouths. They lunged forward, and I was sure I'd be their next meal. That was until I realized that the animals were more concerned with something on the ground than me.

I jumped back, avoiding the rotten hands of the zombies reaching for me. The dogs were in the middle of licking up blood from the limp grass, and that blood had come from my hand. It hurt like hell, yet that wound was keeping me alive and I needed to keep it that way. I rubbed the seeping blood on as much of my camo jacket as I could, took it off, and dropped it on the ground. As I expected, they immediately jumped at the chance to feed on the clothing, allowing me to get the hell out of there.

Though, there was still the problem of how I was going to get up that cliff. If only that disgusting smell in the air wasn’t interfering with my planning…

Hmm… Now that my nostrils were taking notice of it, it smelled more like bird droppings than mud.

The brown substance on my body must’ve been exactly that and, if what I was looking for was up there, then that giant, flying freak must’ve been near here too. I ran my finger through the feces and squashed it between my fingers. They were still soft and fresh.

At that moment, I did something I thought I’d never have the balls to do. I flapped my arms in the air, repeatedly squatted, and screeched into the sky like a baby bird. I didn’t think it would work at first, though I was quickly proven wrong the moment a long, yellow spike erupted out of the cliff’s side. A pathetic yelp came out of me, and I ended up falling on my ass.

Whatever this thing was, it nearly shaved half my head off. A couple more seconds passed and I realized that the spike was just one part of something bigger, to something a lot more deadly than I wanted it to be.

First, the head of a bird emerged from the wall, rocks falling around me. The animal looked at me with its green, beady eyes, seemingly debating on what to do with me. Then, everything else came out, and the full scale of the creature made my heart skip a beat… probably more skips than just one.

We remained still for what felt like forever until the bird neared its head closer to mine. The smell of death came from its breath, but I knew pinching my nose shut wasn't an option. If this monster hadn't killed me yet, that meant it was definitely inspecting me. And judging by the way it grabbed me with its beak and flew to the top of the cliff, I passed the test.

Once the bird reached the top, it immediately dropped me into the giant bowl of sticks it called its home. The bird didn't even use regular sticks–the nest was made up of slices of trees. It was pretty clear that the animal perceived me as one of her babies that had just hatched due to my smell. None of her other eggs had hatched, so that left me as the only one the bird paid attention to, staring at me for a while.

Thankfully, it looked like the animal’s motherly instincts kicked in as it ascended into the sky, probably in search of food for me.

That was perfect for me.

I took off my brown sweater along with my black cargo pants and left them there, leaving me shirtless and in my boxers. Swiftly, I took the egg with me and climbed out of the nest, the tree scraping my chest as I made it to the top. My boots hit the ground, and I hightailed it out of there.

I would feel sorry for taking a mother’s child away from her if it weren’t for the fact that these monsters have already been doing that for years. Perhaps it was time they got a taste of their own medicine for once.

Hell, even if this backfired, it wasn’t like I’d be involved. I was only here to retrieve it, after all.

******

“Hey, is that him!?”

“No way he actually made it. I was like… ninety percent sure he’d be zombie meat by now.”

“Does anyone else smell the putrid scent of shit in the air?”

“I wonder how Dante’s gonna feel about this…”

The finish line was just in my reach, and an entire crowd of people were standing in front of the gate to Woodshaven. The ones I could see had shocked expressions and it made sense why they would. No human unless they were a resource adventurer would dare step foot into a forest filled with man-eating monsters without some kind of weapon. It was a foolish move and I knew that already. And yet, I still won in the end.

“You guys really thought I didn’t have it in me, huh,” I asked, panting. “As you can see, I got the egg without any effort.” Considering the sweat on my face and the cuts on my body, they could definitely tell I was lying.

One of the younger guys stepped back, pinching their nose. “Dude, why do you smell so bad?”

The others stepped back as well while I gagged from my stench, realizing how right that kid was.

One of the men approached me and said, “No way that’s the Mighty Terror’s egg. This is probably a white rock you found that’s only conveniently shaped like an egg.”

I sighed. “Do you seriously think I’d do all that? I mean, I was literally covered in bird shit before getting here. I wouldn’t willingly let myself be covered in that.”

“Eugh! And you almost let me touch you? And isn’t bird poop supposed to be white?”

“Yeah, and how the hell are you still in one piece after getting into the Mighty Terror’s nest? You should at least be coming back here with only one arm intact.”

“I think the most important question we should be asking here is where are your clothes? You could’ve gotten sick out there, Jerome.”

The survivors of Woodshaven were looking more and more suspicious of me by the second. The more questions they assaulted my mind with, the greater I feared their doubts would become.

My heart became lighter the moment I saw a familiar man walk in front of the crowd. It was Saveer, his long black hair flowing in the gentle breeze. My daughter and I have known him for a couple years and he’s always been a big help to us in some way. Whether that was selling us snacks for cheap or babysitting Sunshine while I was off somewhere.

“Would you guys get off his back already!? This guy’s been going through hell for two years and you people can’t even give him a break?”

Saveer’s voice wasn’t really intimidating or commanding, but no one could really argue with a man that looked as freaky as he did. Half of his face was dark green with a bit of ooze that dripped from it occasionally. He never told me what caused him to look like that, though I assumed a zombie might’ve been the reason.

“We don’t have resource adventurers in this town to protect us from those beasts a few miles away from us.” He pointed at the large, metal fence surrounding the civilization. “The only thing we have is that cheap fence and…” He lifted my hand that was holding the egg upwards. “This man right here—the only one out of you cowards to do the unthinkable. It’s a special day for my friend, and I will not have you all spoiling it with your baseless accusations. Stealing this egg is a big step for us all.”

“But Saveer, how do you know that’s even an actual egg?”

“Look over here,” I said, pointing at the crack in the egg. There was a faint glow pulsing within it. “When a radioactive bird’s egg is about to hatch, you see the green light from their eyes seeping out of the cracks. You guys didn't see it before since I had the egg turned around.”

Saveer smiled at me and then turned back to the survivors. “Jerome just proved you all wrong again, so let's wrap this whole interrogation up.”

“No, no, I want to see what Jerome has to offer to me,” said another familiar voice.

A few survivors in the crowd were getting pushed down as a group of people made their way towards Saveer and I, screaming “move” and “get out of the way”. They were debt collectors, rocking clean black suits and shades. Their leader, Dante, was the man who had spoken to us, glaring at me with his blue eyes.

Dante stuck his hand out, gesturing for the egg. I didn’t hand it over to him yet. I needed to make sure of something first.

My fingers tightened around the egg. “You do realize that once you take this egg, all my debts to you are paid off, right? Like this’ll be the last thing I’ll ever do for you?”

“Yeah, no shit,” shouted one of Dante’s lackeys, resting her arm on his shoulder. I was pretty sure her name was… Alice or maybe Anna. “The boss ain’t stupid. You calling him stupid?”

Dante gritted his teeth and elbowed the girl's face. “Don’t talk for me. I already get enough of that as is.”

She gave a thumbs up, holding her mouth. “Whatever you say, boss. You can hit me as many times as you want till I understand that.”

Dante sucked his teeth, pinching his forehead in frustration. He then looked back at me and muttered, “An egg like that is worth around 700 bucks… maybe more depending on the species. So yeah, I guess you can finally go about your days without my hand up your ass.”

Dante laughed, turning his head to his crew of six. They all laughed as though he was forcing them to.

“Just so you understand, whatever we had between us is done now,” I said. “This egg will end up in your hands and you’ll never bother me again.”

“God, you’re like a broken record,” chuckled Dante, shoving one hand in his pocket. “Yes, the egg that you so courageously ventured for will fix all of the problems that you made for yourself. Now hand it over already.”

“I hope you’re not planning on any funny business,” Saveer cut in, folding his arms.

“Quiet, Two-Face. Do I look like the kind of guy that would pass up the chance at free money?”

With that said, I stretched my hand with the egg out to Dante for him to take. To my surprise, he didn’t take it immediately. He just covered his nose and told me that it wouldn’t be hygienic to touch the egg.

“Dante, just take the damn egg,” I said, getting impatient.

“The only way I’m touching that egg is if you at least wash it in that pond over there,” he snickered, pointing at the pond. “Get all the… extra fecal matter off it.”

I debated on if I should've chewed him out for wasting my time more, but facing the wrath of his glorified army wasn't in my best interest. I shook my head in frustration and started to walk to the pond.

“Hold on. You'll need this,” said Dante, tossing something to me.

I caught it with one hand and saw that it was an opened bar of soap… “Why do you just have this in your pocket? It's all dry and has those wool pieces from your pockets all over it. Wouldn't it be better to keep this in the box?”

“I keep it on me just in case I need to stay clean, genius. That's what soap is for.”

“Yeah, but why not hand soap,” asked Saveer. “Like why just an open bar?”

“W-What!? Don't interrogate me! Get to cleaning already, Jerome!”

I cursed under my breath as I speedwalked to the pond. After a quick, vigorous wash of the egg, I ran back to the crowd who were whispering things to each other.

I showed Dante the egg. “You happy now?” The egg felt softer, though I was sure it would wear off

His lips crept up into a smirk. “I’d say I’m satisfied…” Dante slowly reached for the egg.

Finally, I was free of this prick and his goals to make my life complete shit. The days of giving almost all of my earnings to this guy were finally over. Freedom was finally-

The egg shattered the second Dante touched it, the baby bird falling to the ground while the goo stained my hand. There was light in the animal's eyes for only a few seconds till it faded away, laying lifeless near my feet.

“You… What the hell did you do,” I snarled, staring daggers at the loan shark.

“Hey, I barely touched it,” said Dante, flashing a dirty smile at me. “You said there was a crack on it, so you probably dropped it during your run here. You should’ve been more careful.”

“There’s no way that I’d-”

“Quiet, Jerome,” he interrupted. “You failed and there’s nothing wrong with that. You’ll get back up again and find some way to bounce back like you always do. Until then… I’ll see you tomorrow for work.” He glanced at the dead bird and laughed softly. “Try not to end up like this thing here.”

The man began to walk away, yet I couldn’t let it end there. There was still a question I wanted an answer for.

My hands tightened. “How long are you gonna have me in debt, man? I feel like no matter what I do, you’re never gonna get off my back.”

Upon hearing that, Dante turned around and made the most perplexed face I’ve ever seen him make. “How long? I’ll have you working day and night, running all my little errands for as long as I want. It’s not because I want you to though. It’s because you don’t know how to do your fucking job.”

Anger festered inside of me until I couldn’t hold it back any longer, bursting out in the form of my fist flying towards Dante’s jaw. Before I could give his face the gift it deserved, Saveer grabbed me by my shoulders and restrained me. I tried to pull myself out of his grasp, but I couldn’t. The guy was simply bigger than me. Not in a muscular kind of way—just bigger.

“It’s not worth it and you know that,” Saveer whispered to my ear. “You lay a hand on that man and you’ll be Swiss cheese. Or worse… Sunshine will. Don’t give him what he wants.”

My heart wanted to defy Saveer’s words. My mind knew I shouldn’t, so I stopped resisting.

Dante’s debt collector squad were threatening me with the guns they had in their holsters. The red-haired girl that Dante elbowed was outright pointing her gun at me, growling at me like a dog.

“Calm down, Alicent,” ordered Dante, placing his hand on her neck. “You won't be pulling the trigger unless Jerome here makes it happen.” His eyes went back to me, scanning me from head to toe. “With how reckless you can be, it's a miracle that you managed to survive out there. You just never seem to die, do you?”

“I guess I'm just lucky like that,” I muttered, my buddy still retraining me.

“Luck ain't even the word,” Dante replied, smoothing out his jet-black hair. “You’re like a damn… zombie out there. Just won't die no matter what. You better hope Sunshine has the same resilience as you do.”

“The hell did you say!? Get her name out your mouth!” It was obvious that everyone there could see the fury on my face, and yet Dante couldn't care less.

The author's tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

“Don’t forget that I was the one who saved you and your daughter’s life that day. You’ll always be indebted to me.”

Getting the last word, Dante and his crew headed back into the town as I reeled myself back from what just happened. The desire to say or do more was still festering inside of me, Saveer’s strength and the image of Sunshine in my head holding me back.

“Just take a deep breath, man,” Saveer suggested. “Get out of here, wash up, get some clothes on, spend some time with your daughter, and come back once you’ve cooled down.”

“Crack the egg…,” I said quietly to myself. “There’s no way I would let it fall, right?”

“Hey, I'm going to need some kind of agreement or disagreement on that last thing, ok?”

Instead of responding to him verbally, I opted to force myself out of Saveer’s grasp and walk away.

Walk away from the words of worry that came out of Saveer’s mouth. Walk away from the judgemental faces of the survivors.

Walk away from the problems I knew that I created.

Today was not the best day of the year for me…

*****

“C’mon, Jerome, put your back into it,” my daughter encouraged, sitting on top of a rock.

“If I actually did put my back into it, I’m afraid I won’t have a back for much longer,” I panted, carrying a child sized rock to the other rocks I had placed in the main entrance of the cave. There was a burning sensation in my arms, and it felt like they were gonna fall off. “I’m already forty-three, you know.”

“You say that like you only got a couple months left before you die,” Sunshine chuckled, jumping off the rock. “Let me show you how easy it is to pick these things up.”

She tried lifting the stone, clearly using all her might, but she failed miserably. She attempted to do it again, though instead of the weight of the rock stopping her, it was an immediate coughing fit. I rushed to her side to see what was wrong and noticed the blood on the palm she coughed in.

“Hey, you can’t be doing heavy work like that,” I said worriedly, taking out a tiny jar of painkillers out of my pocket. “Here, swallow one.”

“Fine,” muttered Sunshine, opening the jar and pulling a pill out. After she swallowed it raw, she added, “You gotta stop worrying about me all time. I can be just as useful and strong as you, you know.”

My daughter and I were in the middle of a strength training regimen in front of our temporary home located within a cave. There were a few ways we kept the danger from getting inside and one of those ways were the rocks we used as a door for the cave. Every time we needed to go out, I’d have to move the rocks. Every time we needed to get back inside, I’d have to put them back.

Maybe it wasn’t the most practical way to work out, but it wasn’t easy to find an abandoned gym and steal some weights. Plus, I was sure my body was getting stronger every day doing this.

I laughed. “It’s gonna be a while before you can be as strong as your old man, Sunshine. Stick to your little experiments for the time being,”

“Hey, those ‘experiments’ are gonna save your life someday. Just watch.” She grabbed two water bottles near her feet and poured it on the area near the circular rock. Then, she pushed it with her foot, causing it to roll on the muddy ground to where the other rocks were. “Work smarter, not harder.”

“Hey, don’t waste our water.” I sighed, placing the rock on the pile. “Also, I’m the one who taught you that phrase. Besides, working harder is the only way I’m gonna get some muscle on this body of mine.”

Sunshine ran up to me. “You gotta work harder and smarter if you wanna keep that job as a Resource Adventurer, Jerome. Oh, that reminds me. Were you able to successfully complete that mission Dante sent you on? The one with the Mighty Terror? I heard it was one of the hardest missions for an Adventurer in Queens to take.”

I gulped, shoving my hands in the pockets of my green jacket. “Uh… yeah, I did. It was like… super easy too. You should’ve seen me out there. That bird had another thing coming once I entered the field.”

My daughter’s brown eyes lit up like two mini stars exploding in space. “Why do you look so disappointed about it? You realize you’re like the coolest dad ever, right? I mean taking that beautiful monster down by yourself is insane. You’re so cool! I bet Dante was stoked when he saw you come back.”

“Yeah, yeah, he was stoked,” I laughed awkwardly. “But that’s enough fangirling for now. I actually have a gift for you from that fight. I’m sure you’ll love it.”

Her eyes nearly popped out of her head when she heard that. “I feel my heart rate going off the charts. I’m going crazy!”

“Just wait till you actually see it,” I said, smiling.

We approached the small pyramid of leaves I used to cover my gift to Sunshine, and I bent down to reveal it. It was the deceased baby bird of the Mighty Terror, and my daughter could barely hide the excitement on her face.

She picked it up and asked, “Is this the offspring of the Mighty Terror? Why’d you break the egg prematurely? It would’ve been more useful alive.”

I rubbed my head. “Apparently, it cracked somewhere during my run. I wish I brought a bookbag with me to hold it.”

“If you keep wishing for things to happen, then you won’t have the time to do it.” My daughter inspected the bird’s body thoroughly. “I wish to test something out with this bird, so I’m gonna do it right now.”

I stopped her from running off with my hand on her shoulder. “Hey, aren’t you forgetting something?”

“I am…?” She raised an exaggerated eyebrow. “Oh yeah. Thanks for the dead thing. I will definitely cherish this for as long as I can keep it.”

“You’re welcome, but I’m a little worried about that last part. Are you implying that you’re gonna destroy it somehow?”

“Whatever happens, happens,” she replied, giving my hand a weird look. “What’s that green mark on your palm? Looks sick.”

“Huh?”

I checked my palm and noticed that there was, in fact, a green mark shaped like a scar on it. It was the exact same spot where I cut myself falling off that cliff, and I had no idea where it came from. I ran a finger across it and realized that the cut was completely gone too. Wounds usually healed quickly for me ever since that day in the Walmart two years ago, but that would take days. It’s only been a few hours and the pain wasn’t there either.

“Is that from a marker? A sharpie? I heard sharpies were permanent,” she said, continuing to walk.

I followed Sunshine, sniffing my hand. “Sharpies don’t smell like ooze. They’re scent is more inviting.”

She stopped in front of a hole in the ground that had a ladder leading downwards. “Ooo, maybe it’s animal spit. You should wash it off before you get radioactive rabies.”

“Maybe some radioactive ooze or energy in my system could do me some good,” I said, entering the hole and sliding down the ladder. “Might help me deal with all the problems I’m having at the moment!”

“Jerome, you’re a Resource Adventurer and you have me!” She slid down the ladder and jumped into my arms. “What problems could you possibly be having?”

I threw her onto the beanbag chair like a farmer throwing a haystack which got a cry of joy out of her. There was the head of a zombie next to a bowl of bubbly water on a round table which confused me.

“Sunshine, don’t tell me you went out when I was gone,” I sighed, shaking my head in disappointment.

My kid sat up, her smile fading. “Well… the Radion was already headless, so I just took it for myself. I didn’t get bit, ok? I was only up there for like… twenty minutes.”

“Twenty minutes!? Are you crazy? You could’ve died up there. Those monsters could’ve followed you down here”

“Well, I didn’t,” she replied, getting off the chair and approaching the table. “Besides, the rainwater scent in here would scare them off anyway.”

“That’s down here,” I argued, taking my jacket off and throwing it on the bed sheet I had on the floor. “I’m talking about up there.”

Sunshine dropped the bird on the table and grabbed the zombie head. “Hey, wanna see something cool?”

“No, I’m trying to tell you that-”

The sound of something sizzling put an end to my disciplining, bringing my attention to the zombie head melting in the water. “How are you… making it do that?”

“It’s not me, silly.” Sunshine showed me a bottle of Ajax dish soap. “It’s the soap. For some reason, the soap kinda disintegrates all the radioactive elements. Anything radioactive that touches it would either be erased or just flat out die.”

My heart–No, all of me sank at that moment. “Would this happen with any kind of soap? Like a bar of soap for example? And would it kill a baby radioactive animal?”

“Probably and yes it would do that. Why’re you asking? Did you use soap on something?”

My eyes widened as I punched a wall, my anger snuffing out the pain. “That asshole! That trickster piece of shit!”

Sunshine jumped in shock. “Woah! Those are bad words, Jerome. Words that I definitely don’t say when I’m alone.”

“How could I be so stupid,” I whispered to myself, planting my forehead on the wall. “Who the hell just carries a bar of soap in their pocket unless they were up to some shit? Of course Dante would. With the power he has, he didn’t even need me to wash the damn egg. I swear I’m gonna-”

My child’s hand touched my leg. “Jerome, what’s wrong? Did I say something wrong? Bring out some bad memories?”

The last thing I needed as a father was for my daughter, a nine year old, to comfort me in a time of distress. What the hell did I look like needing a child’s help in the kind of situation I was in? Bad memories were there, however, it wasn’t Sunshine’s responsibility to help me with that. In fact, anything bad that might happen to me or that I was currently dealing with was for me to deal with.

That was a belief that would quickly be challenged as something big burst out from the wall, knocking me back to the other end of the small cave. The screams of my child were loud and distressing, but comforting her would have to wait unfortunately. My head felt dizzy, like I just went through a roller coaster for ten minutes straight, and my back wasn't any better.

I grabbed my bald head and scanned the area, searching for Sunshine. Although, something harrowing had made my eyes take priority on it. The Mighty Terror had broken into our home, and it was drilling holes into me with its eyes once again. This time though, it was staring at me with the angriest look I thought a bird could make.

And I knew exactly why it was…

The screech that tore out of its mouth shook everything around me, causing debris to fall from above and nearly crush me. Even with the adrenaline of the situation coursing through my veins, getting up was no longer an option. The green mark on my palm began to pulse at the same rhythm of my rapid heartbeats, bulging out like bubbles made of lava.

It didn't cause me any pain. In fact, I didn't feel anything in that hand, as if my nerves had been erased completely. That wasn't the strangest thing that was happening as I realized that all my limbs were still attached to my body. I was still… alive?

The roars finally ceased along with my dizziness. That was when I heard a familiar voice that made my spine tingle.

“So this is where you hoodlums were living, huh?” Walking on the bird’s back and to the top of its head was Dante, looking down at me with a crazed smile. “I always wondered where two bums could possibly take shelter in a zombie infested world other than an actual civilization.”

I made a fist, my brows furrowing. “Dante, what the hell are you doing here? Where’s my daughter!?”

He grabbed a comb from his chest pocket and started combing back his hair. “Quit your yelling! Your brat’s coming right up.” Just like he said, Sunshine was behind him. However, she wasn’t moving by choice. My kid was standing in a large, green bubble behind Dante with a confused expression.

I started to crawl towards them. “Sunshine, are you ok!?”

“Jerome, what’s going on? Why’s your friend destroying our cave?”

Dante laughed with wild eyes. “Friend? Jerome, you told this brat that we’re friends?” He created another bubble out of thin air, stepped onto it, and descended down to me. “I mean, if you call forcing you to do the most dangerous, disgusting, and embarrassing things a friendship, then sure—we’re friends.”

“Huh? That’s not true,” said Sunshine, raising an eyebrow. “You two are Resource Adventurers. My dad told me all about the adventures you guys have all the time. Doesn’t that make you guys allies?”

“Oh my God,” he snickered. “This weakling isn’t a Resource Adventurer. He’s just a guy I have wrapped around my finger until he pays back what I’m owed.”

“Pay back what you’re owed…?” Sunshine looked at me, the light in her eyes fading. “Jerome, you’re in debt to this guy!?”

I looked down, sweat running down my face. “I-I’m sorry you had to find out this way, but yeah, it’s true. I’m not a… Resource Adventurer.” I wanted to think Dante’s incessant cackling was getting annoying, though if I was him hearing what I just said, knowing who I actually was, I would laugh at me too. “I thought I was done for the day, so what are you doing here, Dante?”

“The boss is here because we’ve gotten some very useful info about some funds you’ve been hiding from us,” said a woman on my left. It was the red-haired girl that almost blew my head off. She was taking out her gun so it seemed like she was on the verge of doing that again.

“Alicent,” Dante shouted angrily. “I told you not to pick in my mind and say what I was already about to say. You know I don’t like that!”

Alicent saluted like a soldier getting chewed out by their commanding officer. “Sorry, boss! Please hit me in the face so I won’t make that mistake ever again!”

“I would, but you’d obviously enjoy it…”

As the debt collectors continued to yell at each other, I was in the middle of figuring out what the hell they meant by withholding funds. Most of the money I’ve earned had always gone to those assholes. What money could I have that would warrant destroying my goddamn home!?

“First, you tricked me into destroying an egg that would have gotten me out of debt completely… Now you’re accusing me of keeping money from you? What could I have possibly done in these three years for you to treat me like fucking trash?”

“Allowing that hellspawn you call “Sunshine” to be born,” he answered bluntly. “If you knew all the trouble this brat will cause, then you’d understand why everyone thinks your ‘cute’ little relationship of hers is the most disgusting thing in the world. Even that two-face friend of yours.”

“…Saveer… Did Saveer do something,” I asked with a shocked look, slowly picking myself back up. The pain was still there, but there were so many things distracting myself from paying any mind to it.

“It’s not what he did. It’s more what he told us.” Dante turned his attention to Sunshine who was avoiding eye contact with me. “Care to explain what you’re doing with something worth over 3000 dollars in a shitty cave like this, kid? Actually, why don’t you show us where it is?”

“I can’t,” Sunshine quickly replied. “I need it. Me and Jerome need it.”

“I don’t care what you two bums need. I care about what I’m owed. What could you two possibly need with something worth 3000 dollars.”

“I was gonna sell it,” she muttered. “Once I did, we’d be able to leave this-”

Dante’s cackle put an abrupt end to my daughter’s confession. “This whole family are genuinely the funniest people I’ve ever talked to. I’m not lying about that too. Like you guys are actually fucking hilarious.”

A hole opened up in Sunshine’s bubble and, to my surprise, Dante punched the girl right in her face. I saw his mouth moving, probably saying something, yet I didn’t hear a thing. The only thing I worried about in that instant was the complete annihilation of Dante fucking Williams.

The pain of getting slammed into a wall tried its hardest to keep me down, but the anger surging through me told me to stand the hell up. And that’s exactly what I did.

I launched a fist filled with everything I wanted to tell Dante the entire time I’ve met him. Why did you save my life if you were gonna treat me this horribly? What did you gain by stretching this out for three whole years? How dare you make me the laughing stock of Woodshaven!

But most importantly, how dare you lay your hands on my daughter!

And the punch… did absolutely nothing–easily blocked by Dante’s hand. However, that didn't stop me. I swung, kicked, and swung even more, and yet none of them worked.

“Ooo, this looks interesting,” growled Dante, looking at the green ooze on my hand. “You're getting close, aren't you? Let's see just how much of you can be exposed.”

He pulled out a pocket knife from his back pocket and slashed my cheek, causing me to jump backwards. I carefully touched the wound and realized that my blood was green and oozy… like a zombie.

“You know, this problem only concerns the brat,” said Dante, twirling the blade on his finger. “The hell are you getting so aggressive for? All your kid needs to do is tell us where the-”

“I'm helping her ‘cause I'm her father,” I interrupted. “It's as simple as that.”

For a couple seconds, Dante didn't say another word. He actually looked shocked by my answer. He didn't laugh nor did he find my words a little amusing. The man just stood there puzzles as hell.

That was the chance I needed. I charged at the asshole and struck his jaw, sending him falling to the ground.

“Alicent, calm this dog down!”

Two shots brought me down and searing pain took over my legs instantly. Sunshine, who hadn’t spoken a word during the fight, decided to speak up.

“Stop! Stop! Fine, I’ll show you where it is…”

Dante hopped back up as thought I had never punched him in the first place. “It’s about damn time. Show me the way.”

“Sunshine, wait,” I grunted, holding my bleeding leg. “What’s going on?”

“Jerome, it’s ok,” my kid assured with a melancholic look. “You don’t have to try and win a losing battle for me.”

A losing battle? Even Sunshine thinks that I can’t beat this prick?

Sunshine pointed to a slab on the wall to my right, and the two headed toward it. Once they were there, Dante yanked the rock off the wall and was greeted with a dark hole the size of a basketball.

“It’s in there,” she noted. “You gotta stick your hand-”

“Yeah, yeah, I know,” he cut off, digging his hand inside. “The hell? This is some metaly shit.” After a couple more seconds, Dante pulled out some kind of device that looked like a cellphone. “Holy shit. Alicent, this girl has a Status Board. A UGC type too. Can you believe that?”

“No, I can’t believe it, boss,” said Alicent, a child-like expression plastered on her face. “Where the hell could a kid get a USG Status Board around these hinky-dinky parts?”

“Who knows and who cares? Holding something like this when you’re in debt with my crew is grounds for a severe punishment. Isn’t that right, Jerome?”

“Don’t you fucking touch her,” I snarled, an emerald liquid pooling beneath me. “I’m the one in debt—not her. Leave my daughter out of this.”

“Who the hell gave you the right to talk to the amazing, beautiful boss like that,” asked Alicent, stomping on my head.

“Wait, Dante! If that thing really is worth 3000 dollars, you can just take that with you and consider it a payment from me.”

Dante smiled softly. “Hmm? An SB isn’t worth anything when it’s broken to pieces.” To my dismay, the device was crushed in his hands. The pieces fell from his palm as he continued to look for anything inside the hole. “This feels furry.” He pulled out what looked like the head of a black horse, and his smile disappeared immediately. “You two were in contact with him?”

“Who the hell are you talking about!?”

Sunshine looked closer at the head. “You mean the horse guy?”

Dante’s eyes widened in fear, tossing the head to his partner. “Change of plans. This brat’s existence up here is more concerning than I thought.”

My skull was at least free from the woman’s foot and she walked to Dante’s side. “It’s not everyday I get to share a forcefield with the great Dante Williams.”

“Don’t get used to it,” said Dante. A large bubble formed around them, and they began to ascend along with Sunshine.

“Hey, where’re you taking my daughter!? Come back down here!”

“Da-Jerome, I’m sorry about this,” my child screamed down to me. “I just really wanted to be useful to you!”

“Don’t apologize to me,” I screamed back, crawling. “Your dad’s gonna save you, alright? Don’t you worry one bit.”

“Hey, Jerome,” shouted Dante. “Consider your debt fully handled. I figured why not sell off your little girl to some older man who’ll definitely enjoy her company.”

My teeth gritted. “You bastard! You wouldn’t dare do anything like that! Not even you can be that despicable!”

“Oh, and another thing. Don’t forget all the pain you put the Mighty Terror through,” he added, pointing at the giant bird. “You did kill one of her children, after all. I’m sure vengeance is the one thing on her mind!”

Shit, he was right. Not once did the monster ever stop looking at me with those angry, green eyes. Only an expression a parent who had their child murdered could have.

And that murderer was me…

“Momma Terror, do with him what you feel is necessary! Eat him or tear the guy to shreds. Just make sure you turn him green.”

It didn’t matter how much Sunshine screamed for the bird to stop—it still had its way with my injured body. And yet, through the chaos of my impending death, saving my daughter took center stage in my mind.

Save… Sunshine…

Find… a cure.

Why is everything… green?