Chapter 21: Ironic Poetry

If there was anything to describe the faces of Alice and her group it would be pure horror. They had only come into contact with John when he was actively controlling one of his zombies but they hadn't expected his appearance to have changed so drastically from the moment he died.

The entire room was silent to the point you could hear the only fly in the room buzzing from the kitchen. Of course, they hadn't run back to Alexia's house it was sure to be crawling with feds and police officers after they escaped and none of the other's houses were a safe bet either. So they went to the only option they had left which was Alexia's contact who had helped her track down John in the first place, Allen Stewart.

He had helped Alexia throughout her career as an FBI agent and later as a hacker helping Alice when she was in the field. Although his job in the NSA took him through many bumpy roads in life and even cost him the life of his wife and daughter which luckily Alexia helped him through. Later on in life, his well-known depression climaxed and he attempted to kill himself to only survive and become an anti-social hermit with a thing for an upcoming apocalypse that everyone just ignored him for.

Sitting next to Alexia and watching the news with everyone he whispered, "And like a demonic messenger blowing a horn, a monster made from bones of man and wings of the demon will appear to sound the end of all that lives on all worlds."

Everyone now averted their gaze of the new reporting of the monstrous skeleton figure that vanished into its own shadow back to Allen who was unaware of his ability to successfully whisper. Although he worked in a formal environment such as the NSA after retirement he let himself go and now resembled that of an old Asian hippy.

Alexia lean over and put a hand on his shoulder and softly asked, "Allen what did you just say?"

Allen looking down and thinking hard while looking back at his hands he quickly stood up and said, "We have to get out of here quickly! Everyone except Jacob get to my RV outback get it started while me and him grab a few boxes from my basement."

"What's going on uncle Al? Do you think that was John." Lana had asked Allen feeling spooked by his sudden outburst.

All the Thomsons knew him as the calm type even after he was informed of Alexia and her group's current predicament he stayed calm and let them reside in his home after their escape. Although this was the case, Alexia had seen him this tense once before, and it was when his family had used as leverage to get him to lie in court which he knew would result in the same outcome.

He grabbed the keys to the RV off the key hooks and tossed them to Alice before looking back and saying loudly, "Everyone get your assess to the damn RV now before it's too late."

Everyone was shocked for a moment before obeying his commands. Jacob ran to the door leading to the basement and quickly opened it revealing pitch-black abyss. Jacob was hesitant at first but when Allen rushed past him and quickly went down the stairs and flipped a switch he was shocked. Within the basement were many notes pinned to the walls with different colored strings leading across the room to other notes.

Jacob made his way down and looked around for a moment and realized something was off with the notes on the walls. They were all yellowed and damaged like old pages from several decades or century-old text. Jacob looked at Allen and said, "what's all this?"

Allen quickly ran over to a group of stacked boxes and signaled Jacob to grab one and said, "Evidence."

Jacob looked around with confusion and asked, "Evidence of what?"

"Evidence that what the badass looking Skeletor in Paris just said was true which means what I've been trying to tell everyone for the past few decades was true and we're about to be anally destroyed by something we might not be able to stop," Allen said hastily while walking back up the stairs with six boxes in tow.

Jacob quickly grabbing the remaining five boxes and quickly gave haste behind Allen with a look of confusion and well-displayed concern.

As everyone sat down and took their places within the mobile home Alice quickly looks at her mother and asked, "Mom? Do you have any idea why Uncle Al is so scared? Like I know it's scary with what's going on recently, but he damn near went pale when he saw what I'm gonna go out on a limb and say was John even though I don't know how he got to Paris in the first place."

Both Alice and Megan looked stared in silence at Alexia who sat at the dining table with her hands clenched together in silence. She had also been silent since they first saw the skeleton creature reveal itself on national television and had been lost in deep thought ever since. She couldn't help but feel responsible for what was happening and what John had become.

Realizing she still hadn't answered Alice she says, "A couple of decades ago way back before you were born. When I could still be considered a rookie in the FBI Allen helped me a lot. You know this already and you know that later down the line some terrorists killed his family."

"What does this have to do with his current..." Alice said interrupting Alexia before being countered herself.

"I'm getting to the point now shut up!" Alexia said with rising anger at her daughter's rudeness.

Alexis calmed and straightened herself out before continuing and said, "Many years passed and he tricked everyone into thinking he had put that traumatic event passed him, but instead it had on thrown him into a deep depression on I saw. He eventually made an attempt to put himself out of his misery with a bullet to his brain. He should've died that day but he survived which puzzled the doctors that were sure he was gone for good."

Everyone looked on with shock at the tale that Alexia was telling them. All three of them were saddened at hearing about Allens depressing tale, but were also glad that he survived an event such as that.

Alexia, feeling that they had digested the information enough continues, "When he first woke he hadn't even taken the time to look around before preaching about things we didn't understand. The things he spouted the first few weeks after his miraculous recovery we believed were caused by his brain injury but seeing the shit we're in now makes me think back to those times and realized he was warning us."

Before she could say anything else Allen and Jacob entered the RV with the boxes they had previously gone to his basement for. As he entered he said, "Damn straight I tried to warn you arrogant sons of bitches, but oh no! His depression and recently attempted suicide must have had some type of mental and physical effect on him! You better be damn grateful I never let this shit go and spent my entire inheritance on a damn decommissioned military bunker in the middle of no fucking where."

"Where exactly?" asked Lana who was at this moment worrying about the safety of her grandmother.

"Tongass. Tongass National Park all the way in Alaska!" Allen said enthusiastically more than he should have.

Jacob looked at Allen after setting the last box on the ground who was already starting the RV and said, "Wait, that's all the way in Alaska."

Allen looked back at all five of his guest and said, "What gonna start complaining now. Should've thought of that before being the cause for Diablos' ascendance. So sit your asses back and enjoy the damn ride."

Everyone fell silent sat in their chosen spots and relaxed for the long ride ahead of them. Although Lana wanted to ask why the sudden reference to the diablo games but recanted as she didn't want to incur onslaught of insults she knew he was waiting to dish out.

As the group drove from Allen's house a single pitch-black raven flew from the tree next to his driveway and began to follow them from directly above the RV as to not be seen.