CHAPTER 11
"Ugh… My… my head."
Ray could be heard mumbling as his head rolled around in pain while his eyes slowly fluttered open.
Finally, they fully opened as he blinked repeatedly, trying to adjust his sight to the unfamiliar view in front of him.
A steel ceiling greeted his gaze and, for some reason, his body was bouncing lightly up and down.
Then, at some point, he felt a firm surface beneath his back.
It took a brief moment for that sensation to properly register in his mind as confusion clouded his thoughts.
'I'm in a vehicle?'
That was when.
Woosh—!
The memories of everything he had just been through smashed into his mind all at once, causing his head to throb violently.
"Ack~" he groaned in pain as his hand shot up, clutching his bandaged head tightly.
The same makeshift bandage he had torn from the sleeves of his clothes earlier.
Slowly, the images settled, becoming painfully clear.
The sudden Abberant attack.
The desperate sprint home.
Amy crushed beneath a boulder.
His trapped mother.
The frantic attempt to save her.
Then the Abberant standing over them, ending everything right before his eyes.
The echoing pop of a body replayed in his thoughts.
Ray instantly shot upright, his eyes turning bloodshot in a split second.
"Mum!" he shouted as he sprang to his feet too quickly, only to collapse back down onto his knees.
The people inside the train, the ones who had barely secured a spot, turned toward him with furrowed brows, startled by his sudden outburst.
"Ray…" a soft, girlish voice croaked from beside him.
The sound made his head snap sideways immediately.
"Van…"
His best friend looked battered.
Bruises darkened his skin and dried blood clung to his clothes, clear signs of the stampede he had been caught in.
Tears cascaded down Van's face as he clutched his knees to his chest, watching Ray from a short distance.
When the soldier had carried Ray's unconscious body into the train, Van had noticed him instantly and rushed over without hesitation.
"Wh…what happened?" Ray asked quietly.
Van sniffled, his tears refusing to stop as his lips trembled uncontrollably.
"G…G… I went back home and found my grandfather's body crushed. There was a giant footprint left on him. He…he was crushed under the foot of an Abberant."
Ray's chest tightened painfully as images of his own family flooded his mind once more.
His gray pupils shrank as his hand reached up, yanking the bandage from his head.
Blood trickled from his forehead, sliding down his face as he dragged his feet toward the train window.
The people seated nearby watched silently as he approached, their gazes lingering briefly before turning away.
Most of them lowered their heads, eyes fixed on the rushing ground outside as faint murmurs escaped their lips.
Prayers.
Almost like everyone was begging to survive long enough to reach the next wall.
"Ray…" Van called softly, watching his friend reach the window a few moments later.
The teenager lifted his hand and pulled the window open, a rush of cold air slamming into his face.
Trees blurred past as the train sped forward relentlessly.
The lingering scent of destruction drifted through the opening as Ray stared into the distance, unmoving.
'I…does he want to jump out of the train?'
Van's heart skipped violently as panic surged through him and he scrambled to his feet.
Ray continued staring outside, blinking rapidly.
Then, suddenly, he grabbed the edges of the window and pulled himself forward, his head pushing out into the rushing wind.
Van's eyes widened in terror as he lunged forward, reaching out for his friend.
Only to freeze mid-motion.
"AHHHHH~! ARGHHHH!" Ray suddenly bellowed into the air as his eyes burned hot while staring into the distance.
He kept screaming into the air over and over again as he hammered his fists into the frame of the window loudly.
Pain throbbed in his hands but he failed to acknowledge it as he kept roaring into the air in agony.
His chest tightened as his nails dug into his palms hard.
"Ray… Ray stop. You are hurting yourself." Van softly called out.
But his friend didn't even acknowledge his presence. This made the innovator step forward, reaching out to touch his friend.
"Get away from me!" Ray hollered as he turned to glare at his friend.
His eyes narrowed like that of a predator.
His teeth grinding back and forth as he pushed Van away roughly, causing his best friend to fall on his backside.
Hard.
"Don't touch me!" Ray added with a low growl as all the humans in the train lifted their heads up to stare at the commotion in confusion.
There were several cabins in the bus-like train, and the current cabin Ray was in was filled with about three hundred and fifty humans, with just barely enough space for movement.
So his screams were definitely heard by them all.
Van's lips quivered as his eyes grew moist while staring at his best friend.
For some reason, he was unable to recognise the figure in front of him anymore.
"Ray…"
Turning his gaze back outside at the passing of trees, Ray grabbed the frames of the windows again.
"I…I promise. I fucking promise you damned creatures! I will grow stronger, stronger than ever before! I will come back and tear you all to shreds." Ray bellowed into the air as he glared into the distance.
Truth be told, he was barely able to see the wall again.
His palm hammered into the side of the train and two nails twisted together that were jutting out of the side pierced through his palms, drawing blood that trickled down immensely.
"You all took everything from me. I promise you all, I will take everything from you too! I will eliminate you all from the surface of the earth."
He paused. Taking in a deep breath, he exhaled with a roar.
"You hear me? I will eliminate all Abberants from the surface of this world. Every single one of you all. This is my promise you damned f*ckers!"
As he was saying his vow, his eyes blazed with an unseen rage.
His blood boiled from the inside as his teeth clenched tightly.
This wasn't the end for Ray. He knew deep down that things were far from over.
This was the beginning. The beginning of his story, and he was ready to see it to the end.