“How much longer are y’all gonna make me walk!?” Ricky complained, dragged by his black shirt by yours truly. “Oh! Watch the shirt! You’re absolutely gonna stretch it.”

  “I’ll stretch your neck out if you don’t stop screaming,” I said calmly, walking behind our little group.

  Benjamin was still shaken up over what happened in the sewer, so Sunshine spent most of the walk carrying him like a bag of luggage. Jesus said his power had the potential to help out with the fight, though he was no use to us like this. Emmy also had to be dragged by me, but that was only ‘cause of how obsessed she was with the environment around us.

  Ricky let out an extra loud groan. “I gotta take a leak.”

  “Your pants are in need of a wash, so why don’t you piss yourself?” I said, chuckling at the end.

  “Screw that! These pants are absolutely Gucci. And not fake either.” The hostage stopped using his legs, but I kept pulling him forward. “How can you people be so cruel, huh? I just need one little leak.”

  “Hey, Surfer!” Emmy shouted with a scowl, a dusty bottle in her hand. “It would be more satisfactory to my ears if you just let this baboon urinate instead of complaining about his genital mishaps.”

  Ricky smiled. “I’m not gonna take that as an insult because all of us humans absolutely derive from chimps.”

  Emmy’s face titled back, as though the man’s idiocy made her recoil. “Modern chimpanzees evolved from the same primates as humans did, you fool. Don’t use ‘absolute’ based terms if you’re going to say something foolishly foolish. And I thought you surface dwellers would at least know your ances-”

  “Would you two knock it off?” I interrupted, stomping my foot down.

  How the hell was my nine year old more mature than these two? Speaking of Sunshine, she had this dark expression ever since we started our journey. That wasn’t like her at all. That Moonlight situation must’ve really messed with her head, and it was my job to get the girl out of her funk.

  I tapped Sunshine’s leg with my toe, getting a bit of her attention. “Sun, you think I should let him pee or what? His fate is all yours.”

  “Who cares?” Sunshine replied, her voice low and brooding.

  “I swear to God, I’ll piss in your mouth, Hunter,” threatened Ricky, kicking his foot against the sidewalk.

  I hoped and didn’t hope I was the “Hunter” he was talking about. “Fine, fine! Jesus, Sunshine, you guys go on ahead. I’ll find a spot for him to do his business.”

  Jesus gave a thumbs up, while Sunshine kept on walking without even turning her head. I dragged both of them to a nearby alleyway, and was given the unfortunate task of unzipping Ricky’s pants. Emmy didn't move an inch strangely. I guess watching someone pee on a brick wall was fascinating to her.

  Ricky sighed in relief as the fluids left his system. “You hear that, Hunter? That’s the sound of your efforts absolutely going down the drain.”

  “Trust me, I don’t wanna put any effort into watching you pee.” I glanced at the green woman. “Other people, on the other hand…”

  The prick chuckled. “You absolutely know what I mean, asshole. You don’t mess with the boss of my family. At the end of the day, we’re all just cogs in a machine, and that machine is Michael Corleone.”

  “You sure do love to meatride a man who got your buddy killed,” I replied.

  Ricky turned his head to me, his eyebrows raised. “Fuck him. He’s dead to me.”

  “Yeah, your boss made sure of that.”

  He smiled, shaking his head. “You really think this is some kind of game, don’t ya? If the boss wants your kid dead, then it’ll absolutely happen. Simple as fucking th-”

  “Do you remember a ‘Rosalina Ramirez’, by any chance?” His smile faded at that question. “She also wants your boss dead. And as a fellow parent, I can say with confidence that that will absolutely happen.”

  The man stared at me for a while, clearly making sure I got the full brunt of his mean mug. “I’m finished. Zip it up.”

  “Figure it out yourself,” I said, walking away.

  That was until I felt something crack beneath my feet. It could’ve been shattered glass considering you’d usually find that on New York sidewalks. Except this was different—more wooden. Lifting my foot up, my suspicions were confirmed. Shards of wood wouldn't seem like much to care about, if it weren’t for the traces of energy enveloping them.

  A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

  Emmy pushed my leg away, and gawked at the discovery on her hands and knees. “An inanimate object undergoing a mutation? Fascinating! Should be impossible, but still fascinating.”

  “Check your facts ‘cause I saw something similar in a cave near Boomsbarrow,” I said, lightly kicking her cheeks. “Crystals that could teleport you, if I recall correctly.”

  “Hey! Quit talking and zip my pants up!”

  She pinched her chin, eyes narrowing. “The world’s changing everyday it seems. And I’m… missing all of it. Oh well! It means nothing to a KB like me. I have more important purposes.”

  “Like what? Serving under Daemon like a lapdog while he makes you do those fucked up experiments? Don’t forget he tried to kill you.”

  Emmy’s hand trembled, fingers flexing open and shut. “He-He was only trying to discipline me, surfer! For failing my mission. And those experiments you describe with your vulgar adjectives will better humanity, and make Daemon’s dreams a reality. We’re gaining an increased understanding of the New W-”

  I sighed, interrupting her. “Well, that’s dumb. If someone’s stopping you from doing what you want to do, then don’t listen to them anymore, Emmy. If you want to ‘better humanity’, then actually interacting with humans is the first step. Not locking yourself away underground.”

  Emmy’s cheeks darkened. “Didn’t I tell you to stop calling me that? Also, interacting with you surface dwellers doesn’t benefit-” Her attention shifted to my foot. “Do you Radions have a tendency to grow plants from your soles?”

  I raised my foot to see what she meant by that, and the sight freaked me out a bit. Stems wriggled from my left sole like worms digging themselves out of the ground. This had to be Sunflower making an attempt to escape again, but that would’ve been hard to explain to the KB.

  “I guess I stepped on some grass earlier,” I lied, ripping out one of the plants. Suddenly, the world around us shook as a haunting bellow ripped through the neighborhood.

  “Ah! What the hell was that!?” Ricky shrieked, nearly tripping on his own feet.

  Emmy jumped on my back, her body shaking. “We’re all gonna die!”

  I quickly grabbed the man by his neck and said, “Calm down, people! It could just be a pack of radioactive birds. It’s mating season for them, remember?”

  “Zip my fucking pants up!”

  “Fine, damn it!” I lifted the zipper up, getting a good yelp out of him. “We stayed here for too long. Let’s get back to the group.”

  However, the world stopped me yet again. One step, and the concrete rumbled, cracking like an earthquake was brewing. I pressed on anyway, adamant on catching up with Sunshine. Even when making it back on the sidewalk and looking at the sky, the source of the roars couldn’t be pinned down. They weren’t the only thing I couldn’t find as my daughter and Jesus had disappeared completely.

  “When I told those two to go on ahead, I didn’t mean to leave us in the dust…”

  “I knew I should’ve never come to New York,” Ricky cried. “It’s in the top five most dangerous states in this god forsaken country.”

  “Factually, that’s only because you humans made it so dangerous. There are a lot more undead in the south,” Emmy informed us. “Type Two, you have more plants growing from your shoulder! Get rid of it. It’s very unsightly.”

  The moment I tore the stems out, the ground shook once more. This time, nearly bringing me to my knees. “Ok, no animal is causing this.”

  “Type Two, I’m starting to think these plants are becoming attached to you,” the woman said, pointing at the stems on my chest.

  If this shit kept going, I was gonna need to have a serious talk with Sunflower again. My hand inched towards the plants, but a “Wait!” from Emmy stopped me.

  “What’s the matter now?”

  “Logically speaking, this sounds ridiculous. However, there might be a correlation between you damaging those plants, and these tremors.”

  Ricky sucked his teeth. “There’ll be a correlation between my fist and you two’s jaws if I don’t get out of here in safe condition.”

  “You wanna get knocked out again!? No? Then stop talking!” I turned my head back to Emmy. “You serious about this?”

  “I’m always serious.” Another shriek filled the air, causing her to flinch. “A-A-Also, your earlier statement about you merely stepping on plants is clearly false. I’ve seen with my own eyes that they grew from your body. P-Please explain what’s going on, so I can have a full understanding.”

  The explanation would have to come from the girl running amok within me. Just when I prepared to release her, a blast from above hit the street next to us, cars and debris flying everywhere. Another signal wasn’t needed for me to get going. My legs were already on the move.

  Maybe I should’ve waited for the smoke to clear as something big swung at me from out of nowhere. I jumped back, shooting a mouth beam upwards at my attacker. It looked like a hand, but what hand only had three fingers?

  And was made out of wood?

  “Yes! Please absolutely kill this fucking zombie!” exclaimed Ricky. The excitement in his voice was undeniable.

  “Lord, I come to you in my time of need,” Emmy whispered, clasping her hands together. “Please make sure this incompetent Radion doesn’t cause my existence to be obsolete.”

  “Geez, Emmy, I didn’t know you were a believer,” I said, dodging another slash.

  “Don’t be foolish, surfer! I'm praying to Daemon! Daemon, forgive this mindless Radion for disrespecting your name.”

  Ignoring her useless prayers, I put all of my focus into the red light hiding behind the smoke. Whatever it was, it was getting closer. Energy was readying itself to erupt from my mouth, while the smoke dispersed a second later. It was like a beam of blood descending towards me, its size dwarfing me.

  Before I could fire, the attack switched directions. The building to my left became its victim, sending a second cloud of dust into the field.

  “Holy shit!” Ricky yelled.

  “The way that beam curved at the last minute… It must’ve come from a living organism!” Emmy suggested, grabbing my skull. “Perhaps a living organism that’s fighting with something else. But that’s illogical! What surface dwelling creature could possibly shoot blood that size!?”

  Aren’t there lizards that shoot blood from their eyes? Like in Australia or something? But we’re in Brooklyn! There ain’t no blood shooting lizard native to here. Let alone, anything made out of wood. There was one way to find out, and that was to see this animal with my own eyes.

  My rocket feet blasted us into the air, and I flew through the smoke til I could see the orange sky. I would’ve commented on the beautiful sunset if it wasn’t for the hulking goliath with wings glaring holes into me. Even more confusing was the fact that it resembled the dragon that Rosalina used against me.

  “Take me down from here, you idiot!” Ricky demanded, hitting my back. “Don’t forget what the boss said. Your brat goes kaboom if I die.”

  “Holy moly! What kind of draconic abomination is this?”

  “That, Emmy, is a goddamn wood dragon,” I answered, glaring right back at the monster. “I don’t know how it’s here though. Another Type Two before me created this thing. I absorbed her, but that doesn’t mean it should be roaming around like a wild animal.”

  The dragon blew its hot, red breath at me. “Jerome Hunter…”

  “It spoke!?” my ”teammates” said at the same time.

  “Oh yeah. Forgot it does that too.”

  “Do not accuse me of roaming around like a wild beast, Jerome,” the dragon said calmly, its voice booming in my ears. “My former master’s daughter unknowingly summoned me inside of you. Now, I’m out here.”

  I shook my head slowly. “I should’ve known. She’s trying to escape again.”

  “Quite the contrary. Sunflower is trying not to escape,” it replied. “A better way of saying it would be she’s afraid to. But all the strain it has on her body is causing her pain. Her mother’s ability was birthed from the desire to protect her daughter, so its strength increases exponentially when she’s in trouble. Since the kid inherited that power from her, the same effect applies.”

  “So, Sunflower’s protecting herself… from herself? But then what does this have to do with me? And why’re you attacking me? I absorbed Rosalina. That makes me your owner now, right?”

  The dragon’s wings began to flap more intensely. “Jerome, you seem to have a misunderstanding here. While the mother is currently inactive, the daughter is not. She comes first in my heart of hearts. Think of this situation as a virus. Sunflower is the body suffering, and I’m the white blood cells trying to rid the bacteria from her system. And that bacteria is you.”

  I gritted my teeth. “There was a girl walking with a man in this area. Where are they?”

  “I ate them.”