Day 9 - Mystery(1)

Chapter 5

"Thank you. I'm Theo," introduced the man.

Theo shifted his head to glance at the surroundings before continuing, "It is necessary to stay in groups. I'm sure you know why."

"Those monsters--" Cain retorted.

He was cut short by Theo, "--Abominations. We call them abominations."

After a quick glance, Cain sighed, "Alright, those abominations have similar threat levels as humans. What makes you think joining a group is not worse than going solo?"

"Simple. You can't survive solo. I'm going to make an assumption here. You are quite aware that this location does not guarantee safety, right?"

Cain nodded, "Yes."

He had already thought of the dangers of staying in a chaotic place like this. After evaluating, he realized he was better off not staying in the mall. It was like there was a time bomb here.

One of them would transform into an abomination. That is certain. It could even be himself.

He wouldn't want to wake up to the sight of an abomination lunging at him.

Cain said his mind, "Nowhere is safe as long as humans are there. I still don't see the difference in joining a group."

"Do you know why humans become abominations?" challenged Theo.

Cain was caught off-guard by the question.

Did this mean that Theo knew the reason?

"No, do you know?" he responded.

"I'm as ignorant as you are. However, we can still predict who's going to transform into an abomination. You know about the signs?"

"Yes, the subject would show signs of illness," divulged Cain.

He realized that his conversation was meant to evaluate him. It was a recruitment test done by comparing his accumulated abomination knowledge with Theo's own.

The latter controlled the conversation, "The most common illness is fever. The subject shows early signs of fever approximately an hour before transformation. So, no one can hide it."

He had just provided valuable information to Cain. This was a show of goodwill.

Still, Cain could discern that Theo had someone in his team capable of making these medical deductions.

"Understood. You have yet to answer why I should join your group," asked Cain.

"There are various reasons. Firstly, it will benefit you greatly for reasons I can't disclose," said Theo.

If Cain was to break down his words, Theo was asking for a leap of faith from Cain.

He had already proven to be in possession of valuable information. He had managed to create a good impression.

Cain sighed in defeat, "I understand. Although, it is still unclear why you are recruiting me. What I'm I expected to bring to the table? Do you also want my gun?"

"No. No. No. We already have sufficient firearms. I will be frank. Part of my decision is to fill in the empty slots while another part is the fact that you came here all by yourself. There's no single street devoid of abominations, which means you found a way to navigate around them. It doesn't matter if you were lucky or not. I would like someone like you to be in my group," offered Theo.

He had finally laid everything down for Cain, promoting himself as an honest person.

As the saying goes, 'An honest relationship is the best relationship.'.

'It could also be a farce. I guess I will have to see for myself,' thought Cain.

He made up his mind. He was going to accept.

Carrying his bag, Cain stood up and motioned to Theo, "Lead the way."

Theo was surprised at first but he understood this was Cain's way of showing his compliance.

Cain had agreed.

He smiled humbly, "My pleasure."

...

Hours later, in a particular closed shop in the mall.

A youthful voice echoed in disbelief, "Are you telling him hope lies in this location?"

Before he was a large map of Rerat on a table. A circle was drawn on one particular coordinate.

The man was not alone. In the room were no more than ten people of different ages. They were seated in chairs, circling the table, as they discussed important matters.

One of them hollered at Cain, "Hush. I thought you were the quiet type."

He was a middle-aged man with facial proof of experience to back it up. He was called William.

Cain had already gone past introductions. So, he was familiar with all of them including William, the naggy one.

Theo intervened, "Cain, I understand your concern. Truthfully, I find it hard to believe myself but the information is not wrong."

His eyes glanced at one of the team members, who then went to watch the door of the room. What he was about to say was too valuable.

"Let me start with a question. In times of crisis, how is communication achieved?" asked Theo.

Cain went deep in thought as he put his dormant academic side to good use, "During wars, some nations use special frequencies to communicate."

Theo affirmed with a nod, "Yes. We can be considered to be in a state of crisis. Yet, the government hasn't addressed this at all. They seem to have disappeared. No alarm messages. No national broadcast news. Nothing."

'True,' Cain thought.

When he looked back at things, the disappearance of the government began weeks before the mass appearance of abominations. It was as if they had….predicted it.

Another person in the team spoke, "Those bloody politicians. I bet they are hiding somewhere safe. Not just them, even the rich men. Now, it makes sense that large organizations were closing down all of a sudden."

"James, you understand. Everything links up together. The government definitely knew about the abominations before they happened. They alerted the big companies about it. I'm certain it was not for free," sighed Theo.

His quick thinking and deductive ability amazed Cain. Cain had not even thought this far.

All he thought of was surviving. He was quite ashamed now.

He asked, "but how does that link to that location?"

"Think of what I said previously. The government disappeared but they didn't abandon us. They left sufficient means to those who are capable. It is cruel but....Mark, bring it!"

The teenager named Mark opened his bag and brought out a small radio. He tuned in to a specific frequency and increased the volume.

Coming from the radio were distinct noises, "&#%#% @#$$ @%%."