Chapter 654: Help?

After some time, we just watched the rest of them bleed out before we made sure they wouldn't rise up as monsters for the second time. Everyone else was just indifferent to what happened to those fuckers but nevertheless, we could breathe a little easier because we just managed to solve a problem we didn't even know he had even before the zombies came, except for a certain individual.

As we watched them burn with the rest of the deadheads we took down, Tracy set her sights on the basement.

This was the first time she showed reluctance instead of the jovial expression she was wearing around us the whole time. To be fair, we have been with her only for a short time but the change was just too sudden.

'Is this how they knew? No...'

Malachi and the rest of their group were just solemnly looking at her but once Malachi gave her the go-ahead, she turned to me as well.

"Hey… c-come with me..."

I looked at her expression before turning to Malachi but all he did was shrug his shoulders. I just didn't think of it too much because I was also planning to go back there since Kaley and Cynthia were still at the same place. Coming down there with Tracy might confirm some suspicions and answer some questions, so I left my group to Artem's care.

It's just that the scene became entirely different when we went down.

I was expecting something to chip away at our souls once we saw 'them' once again but instead, we just saw the tiniest bit of hope amidst all the helplessness.

Kaley and Cynthia did something I wouldn't even think of and Tracy just started crying on the spot.

What they did wasn't even mind-blowing if you think about it because all they did was just to treat them as they were supposed to be treated as, despite everything that happened to them, as humans.

I felt a bit guilty because honestly, seeing them in that state earlier made me subconsciously think about them as less than what they were.

From the time we spent above ground, the two cleaned up the whole room, gave them baths, made them simple clothes, and fed them some decent freshly-cooked food that was a thousand times better than the slop they were being fed on a daily basis. For once, they were sitting upright when they were eating and the two were taking the time to make sure that everyone had their fill.

However, everyone here knew full well that this moment was just fleeting. It would've made all the difference if the world hadn't ended.

Kaley and Cynthia were wearing caring looks as they took care of them but a tinge of bitterness was also present.

It didn't take long before they noticed us just staring from outside the door but they just beckoned us to help them.

"C'mon… It's the least we could do..."

"Yeah..."

"And you are~? Wait, are you--"

"Yeah… I'm Tracy… the one from the radio… C-Can I?"

"O-Of course! P-Please… It's still hot, c-careful..."

We helped them to the best of our abilities but Tracy was focused on the little girl that ran up to us earlier. She sat her on her lap and started feeding her each spoonful after making sure it was cool enough to consume. With that said, the little girl never looked so happy and she wasn't even wary of the new presence taking care of her.

'That solves the puzzle… Now I know...'

Seeing Tracy do that, it didn't take long before Kaley and Cynthia came to the same realization, and Tracy didn't even bother to hide it. After a while, we put each of them on the beds available and we waited until all of them were asleep.

Tracy just let out a faint, bitter smile before turning to each of us.

"Can I tell you three something first?"

"Hmm? Sure..."

"This'll be a little difficult to hear but this might answer some of your questions..."

"You don't--"

"I want to… More people have to know..."

We didn't say anything after and we just sat around the table in front of us.

"I was juggling two part-time jobs and my studies when I had… had her… I was actually planning to keep her but… but my boyfriend at that time suggested we talk to someone to… you know… cancel the pregnancy… When I told him I wanted to keep her he just… bailed…"

Tracy paused for a moment to compose herself.

"I… I really thought I could do it on my own but as the months go by… You know… My mind started to waver… I didn't even have anyone to help me with the check-ups and all that but who would've thought… that ass-hat of a boyfriend came back..."

"What?"

"Yeah, and that's the worst thing that could've happened to me..."

"W-What happened?"

"What do you think? Does anything ring a bell? Hmm?"

"S-Sorry… I--"

"Fuck… Sorry, that's my bad. A-Anyway, he came back to me apologizing over and over and assured me that he'd actually help me raise our kid when I give birth but-- but… little did I know his family had other motives… I lived with them in a false pretense like--"

I interjected, "Wait--"

"Don't worry about that son of a bitch, I 'handled' him last. Almost as good as what you did up there. That's the problem with actually getting revenge, you wanted it to last for as long as you could but we'd always end up doing it much quicker than we wanted it to."

"Always does..."

"Anyway… Moving on…"

Tracy continued her story by telling us that as soon as she gave birth to her child, she was made to think she had a stillbirth. She didn't have the chance to hold her until now. However, her boyfriend and his family being a 'caring' bunch, took care of everything and asked her to move in with them after everything that happened.

She was showered with blessings because her boyfriend took an actual liking to her but if she was anyone else, she would've been just simply paid of or dumped in a ditch somewhere. She lived with them for a few years until she discovered the truth.

"How did you know though?"

"Hmm?"

"How did you know they were in that type of business?"

"My boyfriend at that time was you know… recently introduced at their family's business. He isn't that careful like the rest of them… One night, we were having a little 'fun'... he was so much more wasted than I am but the words he said to me at that time took off the buzz I was feeling… To this day I wouldn't be able to explain how I managed to not kill him right then and there… I uncovered the lid of something I shouldn't have and I never felt so disgusted with the person I'm with..."

"What-- What did he say?"

"He umm… H-He asked if he could put it in my ass because my pussy isn't as tight as my daughter's…"

"What the fu--"

"I wasn't even able to respond to that when he just jammed it right in… I was bleeding after he was done and he just passed out right on top of me… I was in so much pain but I had to let it happen… If I did something at that time, it would be all over… It's just that it took too long before I-- we managed to do something about it… we encountered a lot of setbacks too..."

"Setbacks?"

"Malachi. His dad-- His dad was a detective and he just… disappeared without a trace. He was building a case around that family long before I was involved and luckily… I haven't been able to make contact. If I did… I'd probably be the same way..."

"But how did Malachi and you--"

"College. We shared the same gym class and we were actually friends for a bit but as soon as he received news of his father going missing, he hated me for the longest time. He uh… he thought I was involved and it took a leap of faith so he could trust me again… That was when I discovered that he got ahold of the last case his dad was working on and everything played out after that. I told him my side of the story but..."

"But?"

"We were just starting to build around it when our gym teacher started biting off his student's necks… This shit happened… We were stuck with each other and a few of our classmates and one thing led to another… We were a lot more when it started but we learned the how-to's the hard way… It's just that we both couldn't let go of this thing… We had to exact revenge for the others too..."

"What others?"

"Everyone else's. The university--"

Tracy was about to tell us more about their experiences but Malachi cut her off.

"That's enough. We have to go."

"Already? We--"

"Michael just came back from the base in Manila."

I interjected, "What base in Manila?"

Malachi turned to me, "The Mayor's base… Iskoh's place… We took everything who didn't deserve it over there… I'll trust you have enough documentation here to prove what we did isn't extrajudicial. He'll probably call you soon asking a lot of questions."

"Wait? What?"

"I told Michael to tell the mayor's people they came from you. You probably know the story so just tell them everything that happened. Tracy, we really got to--"

"Wait, where are you guys going?"

"Does it matter?"

"Of course, it matters. I've been wanting to meet you guys for a long time--"

"You did now-- And we don't need your help. We do just fine on our--"

Tracy cut him off, "Geez, the moment you start talking, you become a grouch. Just listen to what other people have to say for once. We're doing fine but we need some help-- YOU need some help."

Malachi shook his head, "I don't. YOU need some help, are you gonna take her with us or not?"