Chapter 49: Saving Private Marquise

Jamal stares in disbelief at the figure of his father standing before him, unable to comprehend what he's seeing.

"D-Dad… is that you?" he stammers.

His father steps forward, arms outstretched for a hug. Jamal instinctively leaps back. "S-Stay away! You're dead! I know you are—they confirmed you were killed in action when you were deployed in Iraq."

Jamal stumbles but catches himself.

"Son... it's me, your father. Just come here. I've missed you so much," the man says softly.

But as he continues to approach, Jamal keeps his distance, evading him. The man sighs. "I see… forgive me. I wanted to make this painless, son."

Suddenly, his body begins to contort and twitch, expanding unnaturally. His bones stretch out from his body, transforming into long, spindly spider legs. His jaw unhinges, revealing sharpened, elongated fangs. Jamal watches in horror as the man claiming to be his father morphs into a grotesque spider-like monster.

The spider creature hisses and lunges at Jamal, trying to impale him with its bone legs. Jamal swiftly dodges the attack, knowing that if he doesn't fight back, he'll die. He snaps his fingers, igniting the creature in flames, but it presses on, unfazed by the pain.

Jamal dodges another strike, snapping his fingers again to set the creature's legs ablaze, but it continues its relentless assault, shooting webs from its mouth in an attempt to ensnare him. Jamal keeps dodging and snapping, flames engulfing the monster repeatedly, yet it shows no sign of pain.

Confused and frustrated, Jamal realizes that despite the monster's strength and size, its attacks are wild and reckless, with no real aim. It flails its legs and shoots its webs chaotically.

Jamal glares at the monster, angered that it wore his father's face. As he thinks more, he realizes this thing must be some kind of zombie—that would explain why it feels no pain.

"You have to be a zombie, right?! But why do you look like my father?!"

The spider monster laughs. "I am your father—well, I'm merely wearing his skin. My master found his corpse and implanted me into it, letting me pilot it!"

Jamal, now furious, points his finger and begins charging flame shots, firing more and more attacks. But the spider creature laughs. "I can't feel pain, none at all, and I will regenerate from all of your worthless attacks!"

Jamal thinks quickly as his anger fuels him. Realizing that his opponent feels no pain, his will technique, Showman, activates. His anger masks his sadness—like an actor embodying a role perfectly. The intense emotions Jamal feels allow him to grow stronger temporarily. He leaps forward, punching through the monster's chest and blowing a hole right through it, causing the creature to scream.

While the body begins to regenerate, Jamal feels something squirming in his hand—a strange spider-like creature. He crushes it in his palm. The spider monster de-transforms as Jamal's technique deactivates as well. He turns around, looking at the corpse as it smiles eerily before crumbling into dust, leaving Jamal confused.

"Was it holding back or something? Was the body fighting back? It felt like it was pulling its punches… Well, whatever. I hope the others are fine…"

Jamal walks into the house, curious about what he will find, and to his surprise, it has that old creaking sound from the door that he remembers so well. He walks through, looking around and seeing the photos on the wall of him and his family—pictures of him, his brother, and his sisters. He even sees photos of his grandparents.

"T-these all look so accurate, down to the detail," he whispers.

He walks into the kitchen, noticing everything—the usual fruit basket, the few stains in the sink, the spotless countertops, and the fridge covered in drawings, picture perfect. This place feels surreal to him; it's so perfect, down to the crack in the ceiling that's been patched fifty thousand times.

In the living room, he sees the ugly recliner, the comfy sofa he's slept on a thousand times, and the hideous rug on the floor. He smiles, walking down the hallway, stopping at his brother's room. As he reaches for the doorknob, an overwhelming sadness overtakes him. He steps back, shaking his head—he's not ready to face that.

He continues down the hall and opens the door to his parents' room. It's exactly the same—the wooden furniture, the king-size bed with those really nice sheets and that heavy blanket. Jamal chuckles, still annoyed that his mom doesn't remember where she got them, even after he offered her two grand for the set and she refused.

Finally, he walks to his old room, finding everything as he left it—the posters, action figures, instruments, and his bed with its janky repairs from when a leg cracked. He glances at the ceiling fan, remembering how he swore it would fly off and hit someone when on max speed. His trophies line the wall, all the music awards he won in school.

He considers checking his sisters' rooms but feels a chill down his spine. Shaking his head, he mutters, "Nope. I remember every time I got something thrown at me for even daring to enter their rooms. I'm not trying to find out how accurate this shit really is."

Jamal walks out of the house, not wanting to continue down this walk through memory lane. He knows that the past should stay in the past, and living in it means never moving forward into the future. He stares at his beloved childhood home, sorrow filling his eyes, giving it one last long look before turning away and stepping into the forest.

A firebolt charges in his hand, ready in case anything tries to attack him. The fog remains thick, and the sky is as black as night, but Jamal pushes forward, determined to find the others and help them if they need it.

Jamal walks through the forest silently, not wanting to alert any enemies to his location. The forest feels oddly peaceful, yet he wonders—was this all because of Luna trying to uncover her past, or did all of this happen by coincidence? Regardless, he presses onward to find the others, ready for another fight. He is determined to find the bastard who made him fight his father.