Free Web NovelChapter 196: He might attack us
The howl and the sounds of footsteps faded out of earshot, and Eva peeked through the window.
"Finally... they... didn’t..." She completed the words in her mind, too saddened by her croaky voice and the fact that she could only speak one word at a time.
Before, she hadn’t been bothered by the way she sounded, but she kept feeling that it shouldn’t be this way.
’I have a feeling something is wrong somewhere. First, I have to find a quiet place to continue reading.’
She couldn’t let her mind be occupied with such thoughts, or her hunger would overcome her reason, and she might be forced to do what she abhorred.
Eva staggered through the empty street, the wind rustling papers and rolling empty cans around her.
The book in her hand should have brought her joy, but she felt only a subtle loneliness lingering in her heart, and the empty street seemed to echo it perfectly.
Eva spotted a pharmacy ahead. Its side window was still intact, covered only by a layer of dust through which sunlight filtered.
’The lighting is perfect, and there are no humans or zombies around. Perfect spot for reading.’ These thoughts flashed through her mind as she strode toward the building.
Once inside, she set the book on the table and pushed the chair closer.
"Hard... need... cushion." She muttered, a frown forming on her pale, decayed face.
She liked staying in a comfortable position to read for hours, and the chair’s hard surface wasn’t comfortable enough.
Eva’s white-colored eyes darted around the room, searching for a cushion or a better seat she could use.
Finding none, she looked regretful and planned to move to another building when a name tag lying beside a shelf caught her eye.
"Dr... Julian..." She froze as a flicker of familiarity stirred within her at the sight of the name, only to disappear before she could grasp it.
She looked away, grabbed her book, and left, but minutes later she returned, bent over, picked up the name tag, slid it into her book, and finally left the area.
The evening sun cast its orange glow over the empty streets, its rays reflecting off broken window glass and cars.
Eva walked absentmindedly, no longer searching for a good spot to read. Lost in thought, her mind kept returning to the name tag in her book.
’Julian... why does that name feel familiar? Why do I feel happy hearing it? So strange, very strange.’ For the life of her, Eva couldn’t understand why her emotions were so turbulent today.
She kept feeling a sense of rejection in her familiar surroundings, as though she shouldn’t be here, even though these were the same streets she had walked all her life, now lying empty and silent.
Was the hunger getting to her? There was no helping it. She couldn’t feed that hunger. It was the last line of defense protecting her remaining humanity—she would rather kill herself than cross that line.
She wandered for days, hiding from her fellow zombies while fighting the endless hunger, yet her mind kept returning to the name tag.
She sensed it was important to her, but she couldn’t remember why, no matter how hard she tried.
Loneliness weighed on her like a mountain, and the novel that once brought her joy had become stale and boring.
A week passed, and one night under the starless sky, she sat against a rundown van, hugging herself tightly to generate warmth, hoping it could ease the emptiness in her heart.
’I shouldn’t be here.’ The words flickered through her mind like a fleeting dream, but the sense that something was wrong with her surroundings grew stronger.
"Szzz... szzz... Today, we are having the CEO of Leros Crops on the line. Szzz... Mr. Ethan, what would you... szzz... Today we are having..." The static-filled broadcast broke into her thoughts.
Her brows furrowed as she wondered how a car battery could still have any charge left.
But what grabbed her attention more was the name ’Mr. Ethan.’ Combined with Julian, it kept ringing in her head, and a throbbing pain tore through her skull.
The pain brought her to her knees, and she clutched her head as groans escaped her lips while images flashed through her mind.
The world around her began to crumble like shattered glass as her memories returned.
"Ethan! Julian!" she shouted as her eyes fluttered open.
She stared blankly ahead, completely disoriented, her mind in turmoil as it was torn between her days as a zombie and the time she had spent with them.
It took a while for her thoughts to settle, and she gradually became aware of her surroundings.
The red sunflower field swayed ominously in the moonlight, mist rising from the flowers and drifting toward the mountain, which was already shrouded in a thick veil of fog.
Her gaze fell on Ethan and Julian at either side of her, and her eyes stung as tears welled up in them.
Overcome with emotion, she pulled them into a tight embrace. She had thought all the time she spent with them was nothing more than a fabricated dream and that she was still wandering alone through the apocalypse.
Feeling their warm breaths washing against her neck, a wave of relief washed over her, and the empty feeling in her heart was filled.
Then worry gripped her heart at the sight of the sleeping form. They must be trapped in an illusion from inhaling the mist.
"Ethan, Julian," she called out, trying to nudge them awake, but they showed no signs of stirring.
Their bodies remained still, except for the rising and falling of their chests, which signified they were alive.
Seeing that no matter how she screamed or shook them, they wouldn’t wake up, she realized they had to break the illusion and wake themselves up.
Eva stopped and sat between them to guard them, her cold eyes fixed on the sunflower field. She would have burned it to the ground if she hadn’t feared that her actions might affect Ethan and Julian.
Inside Julian’s mind, He stood in a familiar living room. The floor, walls, and table were splattered with blood.
The kitchen knife in his hand was soaked in blood, and his clothes and face were drenched in it.
He looked at the bodies lying on the ground. Some had their throats slit, others had holes in their chests or heads, while a few had been strangled with strips of cloth or necklace chains.
His mind was blank. He couldn’t remember anything after waking up. Today was supposed to be his father’s wedding to his tenth wife, but now their once-smiling faces were frozen in disbelief as they lay dead.
’It happened again. Why can’t I remember what happened? Was I the one who killed everyone... and why?’ These unanswered questions filled young Julian’s mind.
At seven years old, he was already far more mature than most children his age, shaped by the constant neglect that followed whenever people were finished exploiting his powers for their own benefit.
"Dad, Grandpa, Grandma... anyone. Was it me?" His childlike voice echoed emotionlessly through the mansion.
The surviving servants flinched at the sound, their faces etched with terror as they recalled the horrific scene of the young master killing everyone.
They wondered what had caused the kind young master to snap. They had watched their master brutally train him from the age of three before sending him out to assassinate his business rivals.
Yet Julian still clung to them, yearning for genuine warmth from his family, only to receive fleeting scraps of attention whenever they needed him and be neglected once they had achieved their goals.
"We have to report on the Vail order, or he might kill us next." One of the maids muttered in a trembling voice, her gaze darting toward the living room at the back door.
"Shh... let’s hide. He might attack us if he sees we’re alive to witness his murder." Another maid muttered in a hushed whisper, covering the mouth of another maid who was about to speak.
Julian turned his head toward them, his lips parting as if he wanted to speak, but then he closed his mouth in quiet acceptance.
He longed for someone to tell him what had happened earlier—why he had killed everyone in the room. But they were too afraid of him, so he could only return to his room and wash the blood from his body.
For reasons he couldn’t understand, he felt relieved rather than saddened by his family’s deaths.
He squatted beneath the shower’s downpour. Blood mixed with water and swirled down the drain, revealing the bruises and whip marks crisscrossing his back.
Julian was numb, feeling no pain as the water washed the filth down the drain.
He opened his wardrobe and paused, a flash of green hair flickering in his mind. The image was so fleeting he couldn’t grasp it.
Grabbing clean clothes, he walked to the mirror facing his bed. He took out an ointment from his ring and smeared it onto his body. Feeling it absorb into his skin, he dressed and left the mansion without looking back.
