NOVGO.NET Chapter 105 Parasite in him
Chapter 105: Chapter 105 Parasite in him
Back at the island, Astrid was seated in one of the armchairs facing the couch, his attention fixed on the monitor that had replaced the television on the wall in front of him.
The screen was divided into several sections, each showing a different angle of the island. The cameras had been positioned strategically, giving them a clear view of almost every important area around the mansion.
Astrid slowly moved through each camera feed, checking the beach, the surrounding forest, the roads leading toward the mansion, and even the areas farther away from the house.
Nothing.
No monsters.
No strange movements.
No government soldiers.
No unfamiliar figures lurking around the island.
He finally released the breath he hadn’t realized he had been holding.
"At least nothing is happening here."
He switched to the final camera and watched the area for a few more seconds before deciding there was nothing suspicious.
Once he was satisfied, he dropped the remote control onto the couch.
That small device was what allowed him to navigate through every camera around the island, and after staring at the screens for so long, his eyes were beginning to hurt.
He had been left behind to guard the base, after all. It wasn’t as though he could simply sit around and do nothing.
Astrid stood and stretched his arms before walking deeper into the house.
The mansion was strangely quiet now.
Too quiet.
Without Luna, Rowan, Ethan, Kai, and Adrian moving around, the place suddenly felt much larger than it actually was.
Their scents were still everywhere, though.
Especially Luna’s.
Astrid could smell her perfume almost immediately.
It was strong enough that he wondered how the scent had managed to remain in the house even after she had left.
He wrinkled his nose.
He genuinely didn’t understand her.
Who wore perfume in the middle of an apocalypse?
There were monsters roaming outside, people were dying, the government was apparently experimenting on awakened individuals, and the world itself seemed to be falling apart.
Yet Luna still had time to put on perfume.
Astrid shook his head.
"What’s the point?"
Nobody was going to care how you smelled during a disaster.
Chocolate? Flowers? Roses? Whatever the hell the scent was.
Nobody was going to stop in the middle of an apocalypse and say, Wow, you smell amazing.
He snorted quietly.
"She really is strange."
He continued walking through the living room, his eyes wandering over the furniture and appliances.
That was when something on the table caught his attention.
A picture frame.
Astrid slowed down.
He walked closer and picked it up carefully.
It appeared to be the only picture frame in the entire house.
Inside it was Luna.
But she looked younger.
Much younger.
She was standing beside an elderly woman, and the two of them looked incredibly close.
Astrid stared at the picture.
For a moment, he almost didn’t recognize Luna.
Her face was softer in the photograph.
There was no sharpness in her eyes.
No constant suspicion.
No cold expression that made people think twice before approaching her.
She was smiling.
Not the small, sarcastic smile she sometimes gave them.
Not the smug expression she wore whenever she got her way.
This was a genuine smile.
Bright.
Radiant.
Happy.
Astrid’s fingers tightened slightly around the frame.
He couldn’t remember ever seeing Luna smile like that since he met her.
And suddenly, something inside his chest felt strangely heavy.
He knew what the apocalypse could do to people.
It didn’t only take lives.
It took pieces of people.
Their happiness.
Their innocence.
Their ability to trust.
Their ability to believe that tomorrow could actually be better than today.
Looking at Luna’s younger self, Astrid couldn’t help wondering what she had gone through to become the woman she was now.
How much had she lost?
How many times had she been betrayed?
How many people had she watched die?
How many nights had she spent wondering whether she would survive until morning?
He didn’t know.
And perhaps Luna would never tell them.
Astrid slowly placed the picture back where he had found it.
"Whatever happened to you..." he murmured.
His eyes lingered on the photograph for another moment.
"...it must have been hell."
He looked around the room again.
There were no other photographs.
No flowers.
No decorations.
Nothing personal.
The mansion had furniture and expensive appliances, but it lacked the little things that made a place feel like a home.
There was nothing that showed who lived there.
Nothing that revealed memories.
Nothing that said someone belongs here.
It was almost as though Luna had deliberately removed every trace of her old life.
Astrid shrugged.
It wasn’t his place to change anything.
He wasn’t going to start decorating someone’s house simply because it looked empty.
Besides, he had more important things to worry about.
He turned away from the table.
Then stopped.
A sudden itch crawled across the back of his neck.
Astrid frowned.
His hand immediately went toward it.
Again?
He had felt the same scratching sensation before.
It had happened several times since he escaped from that place.
At first, he had assumed it was nothing.
Maybe irritation from the restraints.
Maybe an infection.
Maybe some kind of reaction from whatever they had done to him.
But this time...
It felt worse.
Much worse.
Astrid scratched lightly.
"What’s the issue now?"
He frowned and rubbed the back of his neck harder.
"I don’t know why they keep scratching again and again."
He lowered his hand.
Something warm landed on his palm.
Astrid froze.
He slowly looked down.
A dark red liquid was spreading across his skin.
His eyes widened.
"No..."
He rubbed his fingers together.
Warm.
Wet.
Blood.
His breathing immediately changed.
He brought his palm closer to his face, staring at the blood staining it.
"What in the world?"
He barely had time to turn around.
His shoulder slammed into someone.
Astrid stumbled backward.
Miles caught him before he could fall.
"What the—"
Miles looked down at Astrid’s hand.
Then his eyes moved toward Astrid’s neck.
His expression changed instantly.
"You’re bleeding from your neck."
"What?"
Miles reached toward him, but Astrid quickly grabbed his wrist.
"Don’t."
"Why?"
"Because it hurts."
Astrid grimaced.
His hand kept wanting to scratch the area, but every time he touched it, pain shot through his neck.
Miles frowned.
"Then let me cover the wound."
"It’s fine."
"It’s clearly not fine."
"I’m fine."
"You’re bleeding."
Astrid opened his mouth, but Miles didn’t give him a chance to argue.
"Stop acting tough. If you bleed dry and die right here, it’s going to be a great inconvenience for me."
Astrid stared at him.
Miles continued with a completely deadpan expression.
"And Luna is definitely going to be pissed when she comes back and finds out you died while I was supposed to be watching you."
Despite everything, Astrid almost laughed.
Almost.
Instead, he sighed.
Miles guided him toward one of the dining chairs.
"Sit."
Astrid sat.
"Let’s fix your neck up."
Miles hurried toward the kitchen.
He crouched beside one of the cabinets and opened it, pulling out a large first-aid box.
He returned with it a moment later.
But halfway toward the dining table, Miles stopped.
His eyes widened.
The blood was spreading.
Far faster than before.
"My God..."
He rushed toward Astrid.
"How did it get this big?"
Astrid’s face went pale.
Miles carefully moved his hair aside.
The sight underneath made his stomach twist.
Something was moving beneath Astrid’s skin.
Not blood.
Not muscle.
Something else.
It traveled beneath the skin of his neck in thin, unnatural movements, pushing against the surface as though it were trying to find a way out.
Miles stared.
"What the hell..."
It looked almost like a parasite.
But it wasn’t one thing.
There were several.
Small, worm-like shapes were moving beneath Astrid’s skin, traveling from his neck toward his shoulder and then down his chest.
Astrid felt them too.
His breathing became ragged.
"Fuck..."
He grabbed his clothes.
"Miles..."
"I’m here."
"I’m going to die, right?"
"No."
"Miles, I think I’m going to die."
His voice cracked.
His entire body was shaking now.
The things beneath his skin continued moving.
Astrid could feel every single one.
It felt as though something was crawling through his veins.
Alive.
Very much alive.
"Calm down."
Miles placed both hands on his shoulders.
"You’re not going to die."
"You don’t know that!"
"I know enough to tell you that panicking isn’t going to help."
Miles forced himself to remain calm even though fear was crawling up his own spine.
"As long as I’m here, we’re going to figure this out."
Astrid swallowed hard.
"I don’t know what’s happening to me."
"Neither do I."
Miles glanced at his neck again.
"But we’re going to find out."
He grabbed some clean cloth and tried to control the blood still pouring from the wound.
It wasn’t working.
There was simply too much of it.
Astrid suddenly jerked.
"Ah!"
His entire body twisted.
His fingers dug into the sides of the chair.
"My skin..."
Miles looked at him.
"What?"
"It burns!"
Astrid screamed.
His entire body convulsed as though fire had been poured directly beneath his skin.
"I can’t—"
His knees gave out.
"I can’t take this anymore!"
He crashed onto the floor.
Miles immediately dropped beside him.
"Astrid!"
But Astrid pushed his hands away.
"Don’t touch me!"
Miles ignored him.
"I’m not leaving you alone like this."
The pain intensified.
Astrid screamed again, his back arching against the floor.
The strange movements beneath his skin became faster.
For several terrifying seconds, Miles could do nothing except watch.
Then—
Silence.
The pain stopped.
Just like that.
Astrid froze.
His chest rose and fell rapidly.
The things moving beneath his skin had stopped too.
Miles blinked.
"What..."
He waited.
Nothing happened.
The blood stopped flowing.
The horrifying movement disappeared.
Astrid remained on the floor, trembling violently.
"Shhh."
Miles lowered his voice.
"Let me clean you up."
He helped Astrid turn over so he could examine the wound properly.
But the moment Miles looked at his neck, he froze.
The blood was gone.
Not dried.
Not wiped away.
Gone.
The wound itself had disappeared.
Miles stared at Astrid’s neck.
Then his eyes moved lower.
Toward the back of Astrid’s neck.
The black puncture mark was still there.
Except...
It was moving.
Miles’ jaw dropped.
The black opening seemed to pulse faintly.
Then it began sucking.
The blood that had previously stained Astrid’s skin slowly disappeared toward the puncture, as though the mark itself were pulling it back inside.
Miles stared in complete disbelief.
He had never seen anything like this in his life.
His mouth opened.
Then immediately closed.
He didn’t want Astrid to see his expression and panic again.
Whatever was inside Astrid’s body wasn’t normal.
Whether it was empowering him...
Or slowly draining his life force...
Miles had absolutely no idea.
But one thing was certain.
Something had been done to him.
Something terrible.
Astrid shifted slightly.
"How is it?"
Miles didn’t answer.
Astrid frowned.
"Why aren’t you stitching the wound?"
Miles finally snapped out of his thoughts.
He quickly shook his head.
"The wound..."
He swallowed.
"...can’t be stitched."
Astrid turned his head.
"Why?"
Miles stared at the place where the wound had been.
"Because it disappeared."
Astrid’s eyes widened.
"What?"
Miles slowly stood.
Astrid turned further, trying to see his expression.
"What do you mean it disappeared?"
Miles rubbed a hand over his face.
He didn’t know how to explain it.
And honestly, he wasn’t sure he wanted to.
But as he looked at the black puncture at the back of Astrid’s neck, one thought became impossible to ignore.
The effects of whatever experiment the government had performed on Astrid were far more serious than they had initially believed.
Astrid wasn’t simply awakened.
Something had been put inside him.
Or perhaps something had been awakened inside him.
Either way, they needed answers.