NOVGO.NET Chapter 83 The survivor rage
Chapter 83: Chapter 83 The survivor rage
A searing pain tore through Astrid’s entire body and shot straight into his skull. It felt as though a hammer was pounding against his head over and over, or someone had taken a metal bar and was drumming against his skull with all their strength.
Astrid groaned and rolled across the floor.
Then the memories came rushing back.
The monsters.
The helicopters.
The mountain.
Melanie’s screams.
Isaac’s terrified face.
He remembered the way they had fought desperately for their lives, trying everything they could to escape. He remembered the creatures tearing through flesh as though their bodies were nothing more than paper.
Most of all, he remembered their eyes.
The disappointment.
The fear.
The helplessness in their expressions as they realized they were going to die.
Astrid’s chest tightened.
"No!"
He let out a strangled scream and suddenly jerked upright.
Two pairs of hands immediately grabbed him.
"Hold him!"
Rowan wrapped both arms around Astrid’s upper body while Ethan grabbed his shoulder.
"Let me go!"
Astrid struggled violently.
"What’s wrong with him?" Rowan asked.
He glanced down and noticed the gruesome wound on Astrid’s leg.
"Is that the monster’s bite? That’s nasty. Ethan, that looks disgusting."
Ethan grimaced but didn’t stop.
His hands were already glowing with faint golden embers as he placed one palm against Astrid’s shoulder.
The moment the healing energy entered his body, Astrid jerked violently.
His eyes flew open.
"Don’t let him move, Rowan."
"I’ve got him."
Astrid didn’t understand what was happening.
He couldn’t feel his legs properly.
There was a horrible, burning sensation running through them, and when he looked down, he saw the damage the creature had caused.
His clothes were torn.
His leg was covered in blood.
The bite was deep.
Fear immediately overwhelmed him.
Who were these people?
Why were they holding him?
Were they trying to finish him off?
His friends were already dead.
He had somehow escaped the death trap after pressing that strange button, but he had no idea what happened afterward.
And now he had woken up surrounded by strangers.
"Relax," Rowan said. "We’re trying to save your life."
Astrid’s eyes remained wild.
"The creature that bit you left poison in your leg. If Ethan doesn’t heal it, the poison is going to destroy your leg."
"No!"
Astrid shook his head frantically.
"Let me go! I said let me go!"
Blood suddenly burst from the wounds covering his leg.
Everyone froze.
The liquid twisted unnaturally.
It gathered around Astrid’s legs before transforming into long, rope-like tendrils.
"What the—?"
The blood shot outward.
It wrapped around Rowan’s neck.
Another strand caught Ethan.
With a violent jerk, both men were thrown away from him.
"Whoa!"
Rowan crashed against the floor.
Ethan stumbled backward.
Astrid immediately pushed himself away.
But then he saw someone else.
Kai.
The sight of another unfamiliar face made him panic all over again.
"Wait!"
Kai raised both hands.
"Before you make another terrible decision, we’re the people you came to for safety. We’re helping you!"
Astrid stared suspiciously.
That didn’t reassure him at all.
"I don’t know you."
His eyes narrowed.
"And you don’t know me."
Blood began crawling across the floor.
Kai’s expression changed.
"Uh..."
The blood suddenly wrapped around his body.
His feet lifted from the ground.
"HEY!"
Kai was dragged into the air.
The blood tightened around his throat.
His face immediately turned red.
"Can’t... breathe..."
His veins bulged as he desperately tried to pull the blood away.
Astrid’s eyes glowed dark red.
"You were going to kill me!"
Luna, who had been watching the entire scene, finally walked closer.
She reached for a spoon and struck it against a nearby bell.
CLANG!
The sharp sound echoed through the room.
Astrid’s head snapped toward her.
"Stop that, Astrid."
Her voice wasn’t loud.
It didn’t need to be.
The command carried enough authority to make the room fall silent.
Astrid continued holding Kai in the air.
Kai’s hands were wrapped around his throat as he desperately struggled to breathe.
Astrid glared at Luna.
"And who are you to tell me what to do?"
His voice trembled with anger and fear.
"You people are evil! You’re trying to kill me!"
He tightened his control over the blood.
"If you want me dead, I’ll kill you first!"
Luna sighed.
"What a childish tantrum."
Her eyes narrowed.
"Don’t make me use my weapon on you."
She pointed toward Kai.
"Put him down."
Astrid didn’t move.
"Now."
Her expression became colder.
"Or we’ll do this the rugged way, and I assure you, that won’t be pleasant for your delicate skin."
Astrid hesitated.
Then Kai’s eyes suddenly caught sight of something on the table.
A bottle of water.
His eyes widened.
He had an idea.
The bottle suddenly burst.
Water flew into the air.
Glass shards formed around Kai, twisting together under his control.
"Sorry!"
The shards shot toward Astrid.
Astrid’s eyes widened.
He immediately dropped Kai and threw himself to the floor.
The glass flew past him.
Before he could react, Luna was already moving.
She grabbed his wrists.
A chain suddenly wrapped around them and pulled his arms behind him.
The chain locked around a nearby pole.
Astrid struggled.
"Let me go!"
Luna stared at him.
"You see? It isn’t that difficult to calm down and speak like a normal human being."
She looked around the room.
"Regardless of how destroyed the world has become, we’re still human beings. We’re not animals."
Her gaze swept over the overturned furniture.
"And for the love of God, I hate seeing my house like this."
Kai groaned from the floor.
He rubbed his throat and slowly sat up.
The couches had been overturned.
A glass table had been shoved against the wall and was dangerously close to breaking.
Pieces of glass were scattered across the floor.
Kai looked around.
"This is a mess."
Then his eyes landed on Rowan.
"Wait."
Rowan was lying nearby.
Blood was running down the side of his head.
"Dude!"
Kai immediately limped toward him.
"Fuck, are you okay?"
He crouched beside Rowan and checked his pulse.
It was steady.
Kai released a relieved breath.
"He’s breathing."
But the relief didn’t last.
Rowan’s head had slammed against the glass table when Astrid threw him.
The impact had been hard enough to leave him bleeding badly.
Luna noticed it too.
She turned toward Ethan.
"How is he?"
Ethan was already recovering from being thrown across the room.
He glanced at Rowan.
"Not good."
Luna clicked her tongue.
Of all the people in the room, Ethan was probably the luckiest.
He had been thrown away from most of the broken furniture and hadn’t suffered anything serious.
"You’re a lucky one," Luna muttered.
She crouched beside him and offered her hand.
"Come on."
Ethan grabbed her hand.
She pulled him upright.
He immediately rushed toward Rowan.
"Easy."
Ethan dropped beside him.
"I’m here."
Rowan’s body was trembling.
His eyes squeezed shut as another wave of pain passed through his skull.
"Am I dying?"
His voice was weak.
"Ethan?"
Then he turned his head.
"Luna..."
Luna moved closer.
Rowan reached for her.
His fingers weakly touched her hand.
"I don’t want to die."
His voice cracked.
"Am I going to leave you all?"
He swallowed painfully.
"Am I going to leave you and not be by your side anymore?"
Something inside Luna’s chest twisted.
She didn’t understand why.
It shouldn’t have hurt this much.
Yet hearing Rowan talk about dying made something painfully squeeze around her heart.
"You’re not dying."
Her voice came out softer than she expected.
"None of you are dying on my watch."
Rowan stared at her.
"We’re going to stay together through this apocalypse."
She squeezed his hand.
"We’re going to survive and live our best lives. That’s the plan."
She glanced toward Ethan.
"Ethan will save you."
Then she looked back at Rowan.
"And I won’t let you die either."
Ethan placed both hands over Rowan’s injured forehead.
"She’s right."
His golden energy brightened.
"You’re going to be fine."
The glow spread across Rowan’s head.
The bleeding gradually slowed.
His breathing became steadier.
Meanwhile, Astrid watched everything from where he was chained.
His anger slowly faded.
He looked at Rowan.
Then at Ethan.
Then Luna.
These people weren’t trying to kill him.
They had actually been trying to save him.
His gaze dropped.
Guilt began creeping into his chest.
He had attacked them.
He had thrown Rowan and Ethan across the room.
He had nearly strangled Kai.
And now Rowan was injured because of him.
"Maybe..."
Astrid swallowed.
"Maybe they were actually trying to help me."
His eyes filled with tears.
He thought about Isaac.
Dead.
Melanie.
Dead.
Both of them were gone.
He had survived while they hadn’t.
And now he had no one.
His shoulders trembled.
What if these people threw him out after what he had done?
What if they decided he was too dangerous to keep around?
And that strange blood ability...
How had he even done that?
Astrid stared at his hands.
He didn’t understand his own power.
He didn’t understand why the blood had listened to him.
He didn’t understand anything anymore.
Then—
BANG!
The door suddenly burst open.
Everyone turned toward it.
A figure rushed into the room.
"What the hell is happening here?!"
Adrian stopped dead.
His eyes widened as he took in the overturned furniture, broken glass, blood on the floor, Rowan being healed by Ethan, Kai rubbing his neck, and Astrid chained to a pole.
His mouth slowly fell open.
"What... happened while I was gone?"