MAGNUS DEI: CRIMSON RESOLVE

CHAPTER 16: A SECRET WITHIN

The moment his foot touched the ground, the sound resounded in the ears of the crawlers around and they turned around, but they still didn’t move.

Alex jumped over fallen debris, landing with a loud thud, and that was when the crawlers snarled and chased.

They knew there was something unwanted in their territory.

Not looking back, Alex kept running straight. Aura became his only guidance, informing him of the infected that were closing in.

“Thank you, Aura.” Alex breathed out, as he swerved along the path, narrowly escaping the claws of an infected.

His lungs tightened but Alex wasn’t going to give up, especially when he could almost taste his destination.

“I’m almost there.” He whispered to himself, willing his body to increase his pace.

Just as they gathered, crawlers of different sizes, and reached out to him, Alex jumped.

Staying in the air for more than five seconds, he crash-landed, skidding on the ground, before his head finally stopped at the foot of a large plant.

Alex’s head banged, and his vision blurred. He coughed hard, gripping his chest. The air was even more dangerous than he thought.

“I need water, Aura.” Alex gasped and one of the large supply boxes appeared in front of him. In a rush, he opened it, taking out what looked like a liquid in a bag. The liquid was murky, but he didn’t care, and he tore open the bag.

“Bitter.” Alex’s voice was hoarse but he still didn’t stop drinking.

[Detoxifying poisons]

The screen appeared above his head, and the refreshing feeling of the water spread through his body, cooling down his rapid breathing.

He turned around, and he saw the crawlers gathering around but they stopped short of the fence of the plant.

Alex lowered his head and let out a relieved laughter.

“I’m still alive. Thank God.” He smiled, muttering a small prayer.

The next thing he needed to do was to get to practice, and strengthen his skills.

Alex stood up, and he went to the small shack. It was surprising to see that the building was still quite sturdy.

Inside was a chair, and some hand-made looking table.

There was a worn out notebook on the table, and Alex felt drawn to it.

“I’d check that up later.” Alex sat on the chair, and before he knew it, he dozed off.

— — — —

However, back in the settlement governed by Lois, Trent sat in an iron cage and his body was cold.

His right hand had been bandaged, and he looked like he had been through so much in the past few hours.

Footsteps echoed from the shadows in front of him.

“Pretty boy, you think your friend isn’t dead yet.” Jack was the one who had spoken. He walked closer leaning on the iron bar of the cage, and tapped it with his finger.

The noise pierced Trent’s ears but he simply could not back down.

“It hasn’t been two days yet.” Trent uttered with a frown.

The sentence made Jack laugh hard, before he wiped a tear from his eyes.

“You rely too much on some weird kid.” Jack smirked. “Who knows if he had run away, leaving you to rot in our arms.” He chuckled.

Trent spat on the floor before looking deep into Jack’s eyes. “He isn’t as shallow-minded as you. I'm sure if it were you, you'd leave your boss too.” Trent didn’t back down.

“The best thing you know how to do is to bully weaker people because you don’t have enough guts.” A wider smirk graced Trent’s lip, and Jack frowned. The words Trent used the truth and it gave Jack a bitter feeling.

Jack took out the key, and open the gates in an instant.

A chuckle escaped Trent’s lips. “You want to prove me right by beating me at my lowest. I’d have killed you if you hadn’t tied me up even with a broken hand. You–”

A heavy punch landed on Trent’s cheek and Jack heaved.

“Spuuuu–” Trent spat out blood and raised his head.

Then the blow came again. Jack rained blow after blow, disfiguring Trent’s face until he was sure Trent was no longer conscious.

“That’d teach you to know your place, scum.” Jack sneered and spat on Trent’s body, before walking out of the cage, leaving Trent’s unconscious and his face torn and bleeding.

— — — —

Back in the park, Alex had just woken up from his short nap, and he looked around, trying to remember what had happened.

“I’m in the park, and the crawlers can’t get in.” When his mind was cleared, Alex stood up and went outside the building.

The tall plant was still there and it was emitting a golden glow. The crawlers still did not dare to step close.

“Amazing.” Alex gasped. He was about to touch it when he remembered there was a strange book.

“Did the owner of that book know about this?” Alex muttered to himself, but there was only one way to find out.

Alex went into the shack again and he took hold of the book and sat on the chair.

Turning the first page, the first sentence hit him in the chest like a spear.

Alex couldn’t believe it so he had to read it out loud, despite the sinking feeling in his chest.

“It’s the first of January, 2055, and I celebrate my fifth new year without my family and my little boy.” Alex swallowed. This was five months ago.

Then he continued, holding his breath. “My name is Ray Weinstern, and today I made a strange discovery. I found this plant seed in an overrun research facility.”

At the stage, tears dropped from Alex’s eyes, and he lowered his head.

After a moment, he wiped his face and kept reading.

“It was a single plant seed, and before building this shack. I felt led to plant it. Five days later, this plant germinated, and since then, the crawlers were unable to come close to this place. I built a fence to mark the radius of the plant effect.”

Alex exhaled. This was his father’s writing. This was a clue.

“Unfortunately, I can’t stay here for long, I need to get to my family. The plant could not be uprooted. Therefore, to whoever finds this note, I am still looking for survivors as I head to the Frontier Region. Along my route, I’d leave supplies and clues on how to find me. I pray for you to have a safe journey.”

That was all. That was the end of the single page.

Alex flipped the pages in hopes that there’d be more. Then his eyes caught a glimpse of something, written at the very bottom of the page.

“Some of the infected, the crawlers… Not all of them are far gone. They are still in there, and I think they need our help.”