« By the way, Jack, where do you actually come from? »
« I already told you, from a cemetery. »
« No, I mean before you became a monster. »
Jack tosses his cigarette to the ground, crushes it under his foot, then leans against the wooden walls of the house.
« Ah, that, I have no idea. I have no memories at all. I just remember waking up, as if I had come out of a long sleep, then crawling out of a gravestone marked Jack. 1916–2006. With that, a few bits of knowledge about certain things between those years, but otherwise nothing more. »
« You have no memories of your life before, I mean before you came back to life and became a zombie. »
Jack shakes his head from side to side.
« None. And technically, I'm still dead. »
Jùnyǔ throws his cigarette to the ground and says as he crushes it, « That's sad. »
« Don't you want to remember your past life? You might have children, or even grandchildren. »
Jack chuckles.
« For what? Honestly, I don't have the time or the desire. Becoming stronger is my only concern right now. »
Jùnyǔ goes back inside, joining yumiel. Alan pulls out his pack of cigarettes, takes the photo from it, and presses it against Jack's chest.
« Here, keep it. It might help you want to discover who you really are. »
Jack takes the photo and Alan goes back inside. Alone, he looks at the photo Alan gave him; he had already seen it, but this time he looks at it closely.
Seeing Alan's family smiling in it, his children had many Asian features from their mother. Yet the older one had the same square, determined face as Alan; the younger one was making a peace sign with her fingers and had the same angelic face as her mother. Alan himself was tilting his head slightly, but smiling—at least inwardly—and that, Jack could see.
He slips the photo into a pocket of his T-shirt so as not to lose it, then joins them, sitting down on the couch with them.
« Jack, by the way, I was thinking—if they managed to transmit their ability to others, does that mean he's rank 3? »
« I don't know. Best thing is to ask the system. »
She thinks for a few moments before phrasing her question.
« System. Is it possible to confer one's "nature" to someone without being rank 3? »
The window appeared between yumiel and Jack, a bit larger than usual, as if it had adapted because there were two of them.
-------
Yes, some natures can be transmitted to another person. … Rank 3 required.
-------
yumiel thinks for a moment.
« Damn system—we can, but you have to be rank 3 to know how, » she sighs at the end of her sentence.
« So either the person who gave them their powers is rank 3. Or they figured it out themselves? »
« Yeah, something like that. »
Alan and Jùnyǔ look at them, listening, not understanding much of their discussion. Suddenly, Alan stands up and goes upstairs. Seeing him leave, Jùnyǔ asks him,
« Are you leaving? »
Alan answers in a small voice, as if he were about to throw up. « I'll be back. »
Time passes, Alan comes back and sits down, and time passes again, reaching the end of the day, the sun about to set. That's when they hear a rumble in the distance. Alan knows it well—he had heard it again earlier that very day.
« Looks like we're going to have visitors. »
The three look at him, waiting for an explanation. He stands up, grabs a glass of water, then continues.
« The rumble comes from a helicopter. You can hear it from about 5 km away. »
« Does that mean the locals heard us when we arrived? »
Alan glances at yumiel before taking another sip of water and answering her.
« If they know how to recognize the sound of a helicopter, yes. »
Jack stands up, about to leave.
« I'll go take a look. »
« I'm coming with you, » says Alan.
They leave the house, leaving yumiel and Jùnyǔ behind. They head toward the buildings. Crossing the ghost town where not a single inhabitant has still been seen, they eventually reach the bridge, seeing the helicopter land on the other side.
The two move closer; Alan grips the pistol he keeps on him. Jack goes ahead, opening the way, walking up to the helicopter, which appears empty. Opening the doors, he finds absolutely no one.
« This is starting to seriously piss me off. Ever since we got here, I feel like I've been running after nothing. »
Alan shrugs. Then gunshots echo in the distance, in the forest. They look at each other and don't waste a second, running toward where the shots are raging.
Alan quickly runs out of breath and nearly trips; Jack helps him by carrying him on his back. They push deeper into the forest, following the sound of gunfire, until they reach an area where bodies litter the ground—wolves and soldiers alike.
The fight continues. The wolves hurl themselves violently at the soldiers; the last ones still alive all use the same bluish energy, dodging the wolves and counterattacking at every opportunity. Despite the mobility advantage the soldiers had, they are quickly overwhelmed, exhausted, then surrounded, meeting the same fate as the others.
Jack sets Alan down and prepares to face the pack of wolves in front of him. The pack turns around, growling at the two of them, yet flees moments later, disappearing back into the forest.
Surprised, they turn back toward the house, but a few minutes later a heavy, rumbling sound rises on the horizon. Only minutes later, under the setting sun, a dozen helicopters arrive, flying over the two of them. At the same time, dozens, then hundreds of wolves run past Jack and Alan.
Jack sticks close to Alan, but no wolf attacks, all of them simply running toward the helicopters.
« And now? »
The sound of gunfire echoes in the distance. Jack smiles naturally.
« Now? It's time to go have some fun. »
« Haha, you're completely nuts. I like that. »