18 DAYS BEFORE THE REMATCH IN HALLOWSVILLE

  While the mindscape didn’t let me to change what already occurred, it did allow me to follow Sunflower into the mansion that Michael owned.

  Since she was considered a privileged servant, she’d been given a nice, clean bedroom across from her “father’s” office.

  It couldn't be locked.

  I didn’t wanna think about why. It would only make me angrier, and as I sat on the bed next to her, angry was the last thing I needed to be.

  “I’m sorry, Jerome,” my daughter said softly.

  “Hey, what are you apologizing for?” I said, putting my arm around her. I did it gently so I wouldn’t aggravate her wounds. “You did nothing wrong.”

  “I did.” Sunflower wiped her eyes. “I let him win. If it were you or Sunshine, you would’ve stood back up and burned this whole place to the ground. But I’m weak. My mother died the first time ‘cause I’m weak, and I’m a burden. I couldn’t stop her from leaving me in Hallowsville ‘cause I’m weak, and she knew it. Why stay with a kid who always caused problems for her?”

  She sniffed loudly, and then chuckled. “I said I hated you ‘cause you absorbed my mother, but it was really ‘cause you did the one thing I could never do. What you have with Sunshine made me so jealous that seeing all of those memories y’all had just made me want to end you both. And I hated to see you guys fighting ‘cause then I couldn’t have a reasonable justification for my own hatred.”

  “I don’t know why you make fun of Sunshine,” I said. “You two are a lot more similar than you think.”

  “Eh, it’s my way of saying her problems aren’t as big as she thinks they are. That’s her fatal flaw, you know. Overthinking.” She began sniffing the air like a dog who just sensed a treat. “This place smells better than usual. It smells like-” Her eyes lit up. “-lavenders and daffodils mixed together.”

  “Yeah, I guess it does.”

  Sunflower planted her nose on my arm. “It’s coming from you! Did you bathe in a sea of flowers or something?”

  “Nah, no bathing for this zombie. But I do believe I know where it’s coming from.” I grabbed Hope off of my back and showed it to the girl. “Ta-da! This thing’s been looking for you. Don’t know why though.”

  “Hello, mi girasol,” the flower said, waving at her. “You look good for a… beaten girl.”

  My daughter smiled — a bright, beautiful smile that erased the negativity looming in the room. She held her hands out, hesitating to take Hope from me. But I placed the flower in her hands before hesitation could turn into refusal.

  “You’re… the flower Mom always talked about,” she muttered. “She said that whenever there’s great despair in our lives, you’d come down from the mountain guarded by lava and fire-breathing monsters to help us. Not to mention, you’re durable as hell. Hundreds of degrees Celsius is no joke.”

  “Wow, you’re, like, my biggest fan!” Hope exclaimed.

  “Biggest fan?” Sunflower embraced the creature. “Right now, I’m your only fan! Mom and I were the only ones who believed you existed. Everyone else laughed at us. But now that she’s gone, I’m the last one left, and you finally came to take me out of this… hell.” She paused, eyes widening with realization. “Oh, wait. This is the past. For the next three years… I have to live like this. Until Jerome comes along. You never came to save me, Hope. You never changed the-”

  “We can’t change the past,” I cut off. “But maybe we can help you get through it.”

  “What do you mean?” she asked.

  “Well, we can’t stop you from working or getting hurt by those assholes out there, but whenever you’re in this room, we can keep you company. We can talk, have fun, or whatever keeps your mind off of the shit that went down here.”

  “Ooo, and we can play games!” Hope added.

  “That…” Her brows furrowed. Then, she smiled softly. “-actually sounds nice.”

  Words of affirmation didn’t matter as much with Sunflower as it did with Sun. Unless I showed her how serious I was, she wouldn’t understand.

  With that, the days within the mindscape flew past, and eventually, the cloudy skies grew as bright as the happiness on Sunflower’s face. Sure, there were times she struggled to get back up, and times where talking felt like a chore. However, those days didn’t stop her. Instead, she treated the bedroom we all stayed in as the single piece of paradise there.

  That was until my daughter decided to bring Hope outside the mansion. Even though I argued against it, the past was the past, and apparently, this was something she did prior to our meeting. All I could do was follow her outside.

  In the crimson field, there were a couple recognizable faces — Ricky Saints, Consequences, Rodhead, and Elias.

  Sunflower had been late to her daily shift, and that didn’t go over well with the overseers. Realistically, she was beneath them — the same as any other worker in the Slavelands. But because of her relationship with Michael Corleone, punishing her without her “father’s” position was a no go.

  Although, there were other ways to punish someone, and the sight of Hope in her hands gave Ricky an idea.

  “Hey, what’s that thing in your hands?” he questioned, pulling his sunglasses down slightly.

  You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

  “N-Nothing…”

  “Liar. I absolutely saw something there.” Ricky leaned down. “Are you denying the great eyesight of Absolute Ricky Saints?”

  She avoided eye contact with him.

  Elias pinched his nose. “Hey, Rick, what’s that smell?”

  Ricky straightened himself. “It’s coming from her.” He pushed her to the ground, causing Hope to fall out of her hands.

  The chains from before wrapped around my limbs, as if they knew I wanted to jump in.

  The flower landed in front of his feet, and he laughed. “Holy shit. Wasn’t this a part of your mom’s shitty flowerbed? Why do you still have this?” He spun around, pinching his nose. “Oh God, that really does stink!”

  The rods in Rodhead’s head twitched. “What’s that green shit on it?”

  “It’s literally green shit, Roddy,” Elias told him. “Michael’s dogs go potty on that old flowerbed.”

  “And she was still holding on to it like that? Disgusting.” Ricky turned around, preparing to stomp on Hope. “It’s a good thing I’m wearing my least favorite loafers.”

  “Wait!” Sunflower screamed, gesturing for him to stop. “I know you don’t care, Mr. Saints, but this is the last thing I have left of my mother. I know it’s not much, but… it means everything to me right now. So please-”

  “I don’t care.”

  “I’ll do anything you want!” The metal on my limbs grew tighter as the worst scenario came to mind upon her saying that. “Things that… my mother did. I’m her daughter, so whatever skills she had… probably passed down to me.” Her lips curled into a fearful smile. “I mean anything.”

  To my surprise, Ricky looked disgusted by that comment. “I’m not a weirdo, kid.”

  His foot repeatedly stomped down on Hope, and despite Sunflower’s shrieks, he just wouldn’t stop. It wasn’t until the flower was a mere fraction of its former self that the man felt satisfied.

  My ooze seeped through the chains, and it felt like my bones were gonna break from how hard I was pulling. And the worst part was that none of them noticed I was only a few feet away.

  Seeing the girl’s tears, they were pleased enough to walk away.

  “Get back here!” I growled.

  “It’s ok, Jerome,” Sunflower said, picking up the remnants of the flower. “I deserve this. Old me should've known better than to take one of Mom’s flowers out here. ‘Durable as hell’.” She laughed weakly. “How stupid of me.”

  I stopped pulling, and crouched down to her level. “It’s not stupid! You only think it’s stupid ‘cause everyone else thinks it is. Think for yourself for once.”

  She scoffed. “Easy for you to say, old man. We’ve had totally different lives.”

  “That might be true, but there’s one thing we both have in common right now: everything about this shit pisses us off. Right?”

  After a moment of silence, my daughter spoke. “It doesn’t matter. This already happened. I can’t change anything about-”

  “Who decided that?” I grabbed her hands. “You? People? The world? Logic itself? Well, I say screw all of that. I’m gonna change the past ‘cause I want to!”

  Touching Hope felt like dipping my hand into a pool of energy, and without further questioning, I absorbed every part of the flower.

  “H-How are you doing that? That’s not energy.”

  I got up and cupped my palms. Light gathered in a trembling sphere of emerald fury, wind tearing outward in spirals as the ground beneath me cracked. Energy howled. Sunflower slid back in awe.

  “I did it ‘cause I wanted to.”

  “Fatherly Beam!”

  I thrust my palms forward and a beam erupted from my hands, roaring, devouring everything in sight. It would’ve devoured the overseers too if it weren’t for one man.

  “Counter!”

  The energy smashed Consequence’s chest, but was then redirected back to me — quicker than before. I didn’t worry though. I caught the blast, sucking it back in as the grass behind me was vaporized.

  “My brother’s murderer, yooo,” he said calmly, his suit fluttering in the wind. “Why am I seeing you right now, yooo?”

  If we were in Sunflower’s mind, then Consequences was only saying that ‘cause she saw the memories of my conversation with him.

  “Hey, didn’t I tell you to stop with that stupid speech impediment?” I said, cracking my neck. “It’s really annoying.”

  “Dante must’ve knocked me out temporarily, yooo.” The theory I had before shattered instantly. “He’s getting stronger by the second, yooo. Can’t let that continue.” He flashed a smile at me, raising a hand to his head. “I’ll make sure to show you his head after I’m done with him, Hunter. And then, your daughter will be next!”

  He stabbed his head with his own finger, and his body dissipated like he wasn’t ever there.

  Confusion rushed through me, but my train of thought was halted by Sunflower grabbing my hand.

  “I don’t slack off ‘cause I’m lazy. I slack off ‘cause I’m scared I’ll ruin everything again. I tried so hard to leave this place after Mom died, but nothing worked.” She lifted herself up, hair fluttering. “But you convinced me to take action despite that, Jerome. Thank you.”

  Hearing that made me happy. Enough to where seeing the nature around us rise like pillars didn’t confuse me.

  I only wanted to cheer her on.

  “Go get ‘em, girl.”

  My daughter smiled.

  Before Ricky, Rodhead, or Elias could make sense of my presence or what was happening in general, the red grass skewered them, reducing their bodies to shish kebabs. They turned into smoke, and Sunflower bathed and danced in it, giggling. An abundance of nature I’d never seen before stretched out of the ground and into the sky.

  The mansion was torn apart, along with the mines in the distance and everyone inside of them.

  I stumbled. The world was cracking, but my daughter was blissfully unaware of it. Every time she nearly fell into a crevice, the grass would act as footing for her.

  The destruction of it all was beautiful – a beauty that was erased by the sight of Michael Corleone acknowledging my existence.

  “Kneel.”

  I didn't know why, but the command he uttered brought me down to my knees. I couldn't get back up no matter how much power I exerted. Michael walked over to me, darkness following his every step until the entire world was shrouded in black.

  He stopped in front of me, staring down at me like I was an ant.

  “You will be alone, zombie. My dreams only contain darkness, so darkness is what you will feel. I am a great and terrible man, and I will continue to be so until your life is as dark as mine. Hallowsville will only be the beginning.” Michael took his right hand out of his pocket. “You have strength, zombie. But I am strength. I am your end. And you will never get rid of me.”

  His hand descended toward me. Ooze dripped down my face like sweat. My teeth chattered. My fingers wouldn’t even twitch.

  What was he doing!? What was gonna happen to me!?

  But another question sped past the others.

  Why did Michael’s hand stop?

  His eyes squinted. “He turned… invisible?”

  Before I could process what he just said, his entire upper half was ripped up to shreds by the grass Sunflower controlled.

  He vanished silently. Light came back to shine on the dark world.

  “Jerome, are you ok?” she asked, helping me up.

  “Y-Yeah,” I said, gripping my chest.

  “Geez, you look shaken up. Was he being more of a creepy fuck than usual?”

  “Y-Yeah.”

  “Well, don’t worry about anything. I’m gonna be strong. Way stronger than before. I’ll destroy anyone or anything that tries to erase the last good things left in this world.”

  “Y-Yeah.”

  Honestly, her words were going in one ear and out the other. I still couldn’t get my mind off of the man’s - the demon’s words.

  It might've taken a lot to snap me out of it if it weren't for the caped figure meters away.

  “Is that… Kevon?” I asked.

  “You mean that invisible zombie?” Sunflower turned to where I was looking. “Oh, him. Yeah, I totally gave up on finding him after the first hour.”

  “Why…Why did you help me just now!?” I shouted. “And before in Hallowsville!?”

  The Type Two said nothing for a bit. And then, he spoke. “I was unable to protect my family because I was a horrible man. But you’re different. I want to help you protect your family so that I can make up for what I did.”

  I didn’t want to trust Kevon, but I could feel his wants, desires, and every other part of his character coursing through my body.

  The truth slammed into me.

  I tried relaxing my body. “Is it really as simple as that!?”

  “Yes.” He kneeled, as though I was his king. “All hail the true zombie king.”

  Sunflower sucked her teeth. “You sure you wanna have that thing inside of you? It’s a baby eater, or did you forget?”

  “I didn’t forget, and that’s why the fact he’s being genuine pisses me off,” I replied. “But I’m technically working with Daemon for now, so I’ll just suck it up.”

  “I’ll kill it if it tries anything funny,” she said in a serious tone.

  “And I’ll congratulate you if that happens.”

  ********

  I awoke to a bunch of lab geeks staring down at me with confused expressions. I was laying on the bathroom floor with the weight of Sunflower on my chest. Her clothes were still on her body, which surprised me considering her clothes weren’t energy.

  Guess she really liked that outfit.

  “How long have I been out?” I asked, rubbing my head.

  “Approximately twelve minutes and fifty-eight seconds,” one of the scientists answered.

  The last State Between Release was five minutes. Was that whole experience even a State Between Release in the first place? It felt… different. People mentioning current events that their past selves shouldn’t have known about and overpowering me.

  If it was what I think it was, then that meant one thing: Jason really was building a team.

  As if she read my mind and all the worries within it, Sunflower got off of me and flicked my forehead. “You’ll piss me off if you’re actually worried, old man. We’re gonna kill every last one of them.”

  I flicked her back. “And you’ll piss me off if you actually just underestimated me.”

  My daughter smirked. “That’s more like it.”

  Grabbing her shoulders, I picked ourselves both back up. It was then that I noticed something different. “Did… you get taller?”

  Sunflower placed a hand on her head, and then slid it across the air until she tapped my lower chest. “Growth spurt. Nice.”