Chapter 61: Something In The Trunk

A full day passed on the road; Damon and the team had made two stops at gas stations along the way, filling up on gas while battling the mutants that are attracted by their presence before returning to their journey.

During this time, Damon’s skill refreshed once, bringing his current balance to thirty thousand origin crystals; but with the addition of a thousand origin crystals from the team, Damon deposited thirty-one thousand origin crystals back into his skill.

There were enough origin crystals left over for the group to purchase some provisions, while the rest was saved for later as they continued to pile up small kills along the way to Dempture.

The journey had been slower than predicted; exhausting, even. This was because of the roundabout way Sage had to drive in order to avoid majorly congested areas that were permanently blocked by ruined vehicles or a concentration of mutant activity.

What should have been a one-day journey nearly became two; with the SUV pulling into a gas station in Dempture in the evening, at exactly some minutes to seven, around the time Damon’s skill was due for another reset.

This time, Damon received a return of sixty-two thousand origin crystals, and again he deposited everything back into his skill. There would soon be time for making some purchases, as well as increasing the overall lethality of the group, but for now, raising the overall value was the focus; so minimal purchases would mean nothing to them.

Acquiring provisions had not been a problem, even though the kills have been minimal and they’ve been avoiding dangerous zones so they are not overwhelmed. The combined total of Origin crystal in everyone’s possession always averages around four hundred now. Damon could no longer receive the additional thousand crystal boost as they’ve passed the hot zones, and Harvey’s rifle was temporarily out of commission; still, they could all afford provisions quite easily.

All this aside, something strange has been happening inside the SUV, particularly around the trunk area. Instead of alerting whatever’s inside their trunk to their awareness of its presence, the group has been sharing this concern through a group chat created just for them and planning to confront whatever was inside the moment they arrived at a relatively safe spot.

And right now, they have. This gas station had no mutants around, so Harvey, Mildred, Nick, and Hazel stepped out of the vehicle, their weapons drawn as they approached the trunk. Everyone was tense about what they might find; maybe some type of those weird mutants that they’ve been hearing about, since this one had tried to hide and remain quiet to probably ambush them when they had let their guard down.

Hazel popped the trunk open as everyone stepped back, pointing their weapons in alarm, but a look of shock appeared on their face at seeing a young girl with short hair in a black tracksuit with white trimmings; staring up at them, she was curled up underneath the trunk base, her eyes wide like a deer in headlights; and all around her were a few provisions wrappers and empty water bottles that rolled to the ground.

"Who the hell are you?. How did you get in there ?!"

Hazel questioned the frightened girl, who slowly raised both her hands in surrender—

"Please, hold on....I can explain," she implored as she slowly stepped out of the trunk, but her legs gave out underneath her as she fell to the ground with muscle cramps. This was a result of being held up in such a position inside a trunk for so long.

"Start explaining fast, or we’ll have be forced to take lethal action."

Hearing Harvey’s calm threat, and recalling his use of the pistol she’d seen the other night. Kite’s heart thudded fast against her chest as she quickly explained—

"Okay, okay....I was at the school..... There I saw you guys being all cool and taking out the mutants like pew pew, and you were like slash, bam.... The other guy was like pow pow..." Kits demonstrated what she had witnessed from the ground; even though the group would not like to admit it, her demonstrations were quite accurate.

"Get to the point, already.... How did you end up in our trunk?" Mildred said to her impatiently, feeling a bit embarrassed by her apt demonstrations of her movements.

"Well, the thing is.... "

"I am an awakened.... And I am quite fast. That’s how I got in during that battle.... But I can be useful to you guys, alright...."

"Your group is very strong, but you lack someone fast like me on the team.... If you allow me to join you guys, I can be very useful."

Everyone got quiet for a moment; as if their minds were in sync, they all looked in Damon’s direction. Damon slowly stepped out of the vehicle, his tall, slender frame commanding the space, his long, curly black hair flowing with the wind, along with his long white trench coat that beautifully complemented the paleness of his skin under the low light of the gas station.

"White prince!" Kite muttered unconsciously from wear she sat naturally on the ground. It was the first time she had seen someone so famous in real life, and so impossibly handsome at that.

"You said you were fast."

"Ye...yes, white prince," Kite replied nervously to Damon’s dry words and expression; it somehow gave her a chill. His entire bearing was so cold, like the chilling seas, and his eyes lacked warmth, almost dead and bereft of any emotion.

"Please, call me Damon. And can you show me just how fast you are?"

Kite didn’t need to be told twice; she was lucky that this group was so reasonable, and wanting to see her skills was expected. A slow smile crested her lips as she stood and began to stretch her muscles that had been affected by being in the trunk for so long.

After stretching, she turned to Damon and the rest—

"Don’t blink."

FWOOSH!