Chapter 161: Chapter 158: Strange Illness (5)
It’s done.
Dexter thought, holding a fire torch in his weak arm.
He was covered in blood and dirt. Some of it was his own, while the rest belonged to everyone else he had just killed.
All hell broke loose after he killed Brandon. The boys attacked him, which was natural since he had killed their friend. What Dexter didn’t expect was for his colleagues to betray him.
They rushed inside, attacking him from all sides. He barely managed to survive, killing others in the process.
However, the fight took away what little energy he had left. He had intended to bury everyone as they perished before jumping into a makeshift grave and dumping soil on himself with a simple trigger.
But thanks to the fight, he couldn’t do it anymore. It was a huge risk, but he decided to burn the outpost along with himself.
As soon as he lost what little strength he had, the torch would fall, lighting up the wooden outpost. He could only hope the illness wasn’t airborne or that it’d die along with him.
This is not how I wanted to meet my children.
Dexter thought as his vision turned blurry. Still, he kept staring at his bloodied arms.
Even if it was for the greater good, he killed children and comrades. It was an unforgivable sin. One he would have to bear till his parting breath.
He only hoped that God would let him clean himself and meet his children before throwing him into the pits of hell. It was unlikely, but a man could hope.
It’s... getting dark.
Dexter smiled.
Soon, he’d get rid of the guilt that had been eating at him.
But the peace of mind was shattered when he heard a voice.
"Didn’t your mom teach you to share? If you have a gift, you should be eager to share it, not haul it all to yourself."
Who is that?
Dexter tried to look up, but he had no energy left to even lift his head. All he could see was a pair of black shoes.
No... don’t come closer! It’s dangerous!
He tried screaming, but his body was too far gone. Still, he knew he had to kill the individual. That was the only way to kill the disease.
With that thought in mind, Dexter let go of the torch. The fire would consume everything. He still had a chance of saving humanity.
Or so he thought.
"Oops, you almost dropped it," Blaze said as his tendril grabbed the torch. "Seriously, how selfish can you be?"
Cultists walked behind Blaze, alongside the zombies. Obviously, Dexter could differentiate between the undead and humans with his eyesight, but he could smell the rot.
His eyes widened in fear when he realized what was happening.
A zombie... had caused this mess!
It wasn’t the cannibals!
The only zombie capable of this... he... must be Blaze.
No one in the camp had seen the masked zombie lord themselves. However, Min and Neha had told countless tales about Blaze to the crowd.
Dexter had always believed the duo was exaggerating. The thought of such a zombie existing was hilarious to him until he felt Blaze’s presence.
He’s different... as they said. I need to... do something...
Mustering what little strength he had left, Dexter nudged towards the torch. He had to get it from Blaze. With some luck, the fire would also alert Min and the rest. It was his only chance.
Unfortunately, his courage didn’t matter in the grand scheme of things.
Blaze backhanded him into oblivion the second he tried to snatch the torch. Dexter’s head snapped to the side, blood spurting out of his mouth as he fell off the stairs.
"He’s dead," Marrow announced.
"...it was a light tap," Blaze mumbled, looking at his hand.
"Reh!" Chimera laughed.
"He was weak, I agree," Blaze nodded, turning towards the masked cultists. "Gather the corpses and dump them around the military bases."
"It shall be done," Seer snapped his fingers, and the cultists went into action.
Meanwhile, Blaze had his own planning and plotting to do. He had to ensure Neha didn’t escape this time. For that, he needed to keep her busy.
***
Back at the base...
Min had already formed a search party to look for Dexter’s crew. They weren’t worried earlier, but now that the sun was about to set, they couldn’t ignore it anymore.
Although it’s called a search party, it is anything but that.
Min didn’t want to admit it, but deep down he knew those people were dead. The search party was being sent for investigative purposes.
Their primary job was to find the corpses or determine what could have killed Dexter’s crew. This time, Min was participating in the operation, since he was having an odd feeling about it.
It was like he could feel a certain someone’s presence.
"Is everyone ready?"
"Yes!"
"Let’s go then!"
They were about to leave when someone rushed towards Min. The man was panting and sweating like he had seen a ghost while pointing towards the gates.
"What’s wrong?" Min asked.
"Cor-corpses outside!"
"...shit!"
Min rushed out, speeding past everyone. He knew it had to be Dexter’s crew’s corpses and wasn’t interested in them. Instead, he was hoping to catch the one who killed them.
However, those plans collapsed the moment he stepped outside the base. The horrific sight stunned him.
Thirteen corpses were before him, tied to massive wooden posts. They were already decaying, which meant they had died at least a day ago.
Dexter’s corpse was in the middle, with a bloodied note buried in his chest.
"By god! What the hell is that?" someone exclaimed from behind.
Min ignored the gathering crowd and reached for the note. He thought it was a message, a warning from one of those cultists who had tried recruiting them in the past.
However, that wasn’t the case.
Min’s face turned pale as he read it, his eyes widening in fear.
It was something else.
A letter from a ghost who hadn’t stopped chasing them.