25 DAYS BEFORE THE REMATCH IN HALLOWSVILLE

  There was something missing in Sunshine’s body — excluding her Radius Ability, obviously. It felt painful, as though someone had plucked out a vital organ. She pressed her hand against her chest. The heartbeat was still there. So why did that spot still feel empty?

  Maybe that was normal after an intense surgery. Since Sunshine still had that mini bomb embedded inside of her, Dr. Banana had to be extra careful to extract both the bomb and the tracker without relaying any suspicious movements to the factions behind them.

  Sunshine wasn't scared. Which was weird. Not only could the bomb probably detonate from any wrong move, but Dr. Banana learned everything he knew about surgery from skimming through books and remembering old hospital shows. Not to mention, since she had the tracker inside of her up until now, it was possible a UR member knew her location.

  The thought to be scared of any of those factors never crossed her mind. Something was far more important.

  But that was only in her eyes. Angela and Dr. Banana didn’t see it that way.

  “Hey, kid, has anyone ever told you how crazy you are?” the banana man asked, scratching his banana head, looking at a sheet of paper on a clipboard. “Someone would only consume a zombie if they knew it wouldn’t affect them.”

  “What are you trying to say?” Sunshine asked as Angela finished taking a sample of her blood.

  He and the redhead exchanged looks, and then he picked up a scalpel from a metal tray on his desk.

  “I’m a fan of visual learning.”

  Sunshine was too, but what did he mean by that in this context?

  A cut to the cheek quickly answered that question, blood seeping from her new wound. She didn’t flinch from the attack, but she was confused. Was there something else that had to be surgically removed from her body?

  Well, that was gonna be hard considering the cut had already healed by the time Dr. Banana crossed his legs. She didn’t use any Molecular Energy, so that couldn’t have been the culprit. The only ways her skin could have regenerated so fast was if the doctor did it himself or she somehow gained a new ability.

  The former was more likely.

  Yet, Dr. Banana introduced a new possibility. “Sunshine, you got a case of the undead.”

  Sunshine had never brought in a case with Radions inside it, so she didn’t know what he was talking about. Or was this one of those phrases/proverbs? “Can you say that in a more literal way?”

  “He’s saying that…” Angela paused, scooting closer to her. “You’re part Radion.”

  That was the best news Sunshine heard all day, and the news almost made her jump out of her seat. If being part part Radion meant regeneration, immunity to the undead’s bites, then she should've eaten them years ago. No wonder she didn’t turn.

  However, despite the good news, Angela’s expression was weirdly melancholic, and she sounded like she’d just given bad news.

  “What’s wrong, Angie?” Sunshine asked softly, resting her hand on her friend’s lap.

  Angela hesitated to answer. “You shouldn’t be the one showing concern. How did this happen in the first place? Did Jerome ever…”

  “Ever what? Bite me? Maybe. Who knows?”

  Her friend’s jaw tightened. “How can you be so casual about this? This is your humanity we’re talking about. Aren’t you worried it might get worse? Or if you can turn back or not?”

  “What are your panties getting so tight for, Angels?” Dr. Banana asked casually. After a quick uppercut from his colleague, knocking him out of his seat, he regained his bearings and continued. “I don’t know what you’re getting so angry about. This is a huge discovery. A half-human-half-zombie is amazing! Combining the slow healing process of a human with the regeneration of a zombie speeds up her healing immensely. And she doesn’t have to worry about eating or drinking.”

  “Wow, I’m so proud you found a new discovery at the expense of a little girl’s humanity,” Angela replied sarcastically. “You know what? You’re a talking banana! Of course you don’t care about that.”

  Dr. Banana chuckled. “Honey, I’m not a talking banana. I’m the only talking ban-”

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  He stopped talking the second a fly buzzed around his head. His hands slowly rose, fingers uncurling. The fly landed on his red palm tree shirt, and the banana man slammed his hands down on his chest. The flying bug was faster, retreating to the back of the room.

  “I will kill you, fly!” Dr. Banana growled, angrily pointing at his missed target. His composure returned. “Sorry, that damn thing’s been here all day. Anyways, I see nothing wrong with the kid’s new change. She seems normal and not out to eat my guts, so that’s a plus from me.”

  “But-”

  “Angels, my only goal in life is to create, discover, and destroy,” he interrupted bluntly. “I’m not here to help and heal. That’s what my employers are for. Now, if don’t excuse me, I gotta-”

  The fly flew past him again, causing Dr. Banana’s anger to reach its boiling point.

  Clenching the clipboard tight, he swatted down, nearly hitting Sunshine. The fly sped to the door. Dr. Banana followed, swinging his makeshift weapon around like a maniac until he ran out of the room.

  “I really don’t know what’s the problem here, Angie,” Sunshine said. “I mean, I feel fine. I feel good.”

  Angela sighed, gently holding the girl’s shoulders. “Sunshine, Radions and… Radions like your dad are inherently… evil.”

  “My dad isn’t evil.”

  “I’m not saying he’s literally evil. It’s just that since he is a Radion, he and others of his kind have a tendency to commit evil or wrong acts without being aware of it. Or think about them. You know, fun fact, it is a biological part of their nature. I’ve done studies on it. I thought they were unintelligent mindless creatures, but there were Radions who’d kick squirrels down a cliff for the fun of it.”

  “So-” Sunshine’s brows wrinkled. “You’re trying to say I’m gonna be unintentionally evil?”

  Perhaps using “gonna be” wasn’t the right choice of words. Sunshine had done pretty bad things without knowing they’d turn out to be huge mistakes. If she was already unintentionally evil, then Jerome would have to forgive her. After all, her actions couldn't be controlled. With that information, forgiving her was the most logical option.

  All she had to do was figure out when she became a part Radion in the first place.

  “You will or might do or think about some distasteful things, which is why we’re going to fix this as soon as possible.”

  “Hold on. Did eating that Radion flesh make me a part zombie, or was I already one before that happened?”

  Angela looked confused by that question. That was when Sunshine realized the smile on her face and swiftly pulled back on her happiness.

  “Well, I’m glad you can still smile in this situation. As for when it happened, while you’ve always had some Radion essence in you, they were dormant until you ate that monster.”

  Sunshine frowned. “Which means this change in me is recent.”

  “Precisely. Hey, what happened to that smile?” Angela pressed her fingers against the corners of the girl’s mouth and pulled up. “Turn that frown upside down! Everything will be fine, ok?”

  Sunshine responded with an “Ok”, but everything wasn’t gonna be ok. Now she didn’t have a genuine excuse to use for her defense. Everything was turning out like shit lately, and it left a horrible taste in her mouth.

  Angela scooted back to her desk. “I’d like to do future tests with you in the future if you and Jerome plan on staying long. Would that be ok?”

  “Well, we’re probably gonna stay here for a month anyway. That’s the time limit Jason gave us to get stronger before we gotta fight him again. If these tests can help me with that, then I’ll do them everyday.”

  The woman’s eyes bulged. “Sunshine, do you want to fight that maniac?”

  “Yeah, I have to,” she said, fists tightening.

  “I said do you want to — not do you have to.”

  Sunshine left that question unanswered.

  “I think it’d be best if you stayed down here. With me,” Angela suggested with concern. “Jason is… insane. He’s a monster, and you’re a kid.”

  “I’m a kid who’s beaten plenty of adults and plenty of monsters before. This isn’t anything new to me.” Sunshine knew her argument was backed up by fact, but it didn’t come out the way she wanted. There was no confidence behind it, no resolve. Just the stupid, weak words from a stupid, weak kid with stupid, weak thoughts.

  Every time she heard that psycho’s name, memories of that convenience store massacre came crashing down in her mind, and she remembered just how little of a chance her body had at withstanding that overwhelming presence again. Fighting Jason wasn’t an image her brain could conjure up.

  Anything more than standing in front of that masked man wasn’t a possible thought for her.

  And yet, she still wanted to defeat him.

  “If you go back to Hallowsville, you might as well be walking to Hell itself. You're not-”

  “Don’t underestimate what I've been through,” Sunshine said, her expression hardening, her soft eyes turning into a glare. “I've already been through hell. I've seen hell. And it scares me, but if my dad believes I'm strong enough to withstand it, then I want to go back to hell and beat it with these fists.”

  Angela didn't say anything.

  The girl left her seat. “I love you, Angela, but don't disrespect my dad’s resolve.”

  Sunshine was sure the woman had more to say, but she didn’t wanna hear it.

  Her stomach was grumbling.

  ********

  Sunshine always had a big appetite, so the cafeteria staff and everyone else were clutching their pearls when she finished four plates of food in only ten minutes.

  Aside from the fact that she hadn’t had a proper meal for days, eating a lot wasn’t a luxury she ever had. Even when Jerome happily gave her his share, her stomach was never full. But now it was, and her belly looked like she’d just swallowed an entire basketball without chewing.

  It felt good having a nice meal without worrying about whether she’d experience that again the next day. It felt good being around people who didn’t wanna kill her. It felt good cleaning her body with water that was actually warm. It felt good just relaxing.

  And then Sunshine saw her dad, and those good feelings shattered.

  It wasn’t his presence that did it. It was what he was doing.

  While she dove into a pool of good food and comfort, Jerome stood in the middle of the men’s bathroom, holding a ball of electricity between his palms, withstanding its electric torture.

  This wasn’t self-harm without a purpose. Kofi must’ve constructed it to help Jerome level up his durability and pain tolerance. And he was doing a damn good job — at least, that’s what Sunshine thought as she watched him from the open doorway.

  How long has he been here?

  “You gonna keep staring at me or do you wanna come inside?” Jerome asked, glancing at her.

  Sunshine gulped. “It’s not impressive that you spotted me. I’m standing right in front of the door.” After some hesitation, she walked inside. There was still distance between them. “Why the bathroom? Couldn't you have done this anywhere else?”

  “I didn’t wanna mess up and accidentally hurt someone.” Silence fell between them for a while until her dad decided to speak. “You eat good today?”

  “Yeah…” She rubbed her tummy. “You saying I’m fat?”

  “Eh, you’re a kid,” he said, looking back at the electro orb. “The bloat will go away.”

  “Ok.” Sunshine thought about what to say next. “Guess you’re getting a head start on your training. I slacked off a bit today, but I’ll find Kofi and get to it.”

  “Good.”

  “Yeah… Did you, um, learn anything new today?”

  Yeah, obviously he did, you dummy! What kinda dumb question is that!?

  “I did. What about you? Is that tracker finally out?”

  Looked like he wasn’t gonna elaborate further. That stung. “Yeah. Dr. Banana even took out the bomb that Benji put in me.”

  “Benji?” Jerome paused. “Never mind. Well, it’s pretty dark outside now. You can go to bed if you want. I’ll see you in the morning.”

  That’s it? But that was so short. Does he not wanna talk to me? Dang! What do I say…?

  He said good night and she reluctantly said it back.

  However, Sunshine didn’t want that to be the end. She wanted to talk about what Angela told her. She wanted to talk about what he did with Sunflower and Kofi.

  She just wanted to keep talking.

  “D-Dad, you still… love me, right? ‘C-Cause I do!” Her lips curled into an awkward smile. “That’s not a lie. I can work hard knowing you still do.”

  No words left his mouth for a couple seconds, and she was on the verge of leaving the room. That was when Jerome said something that made her blood run cold.

  “Sun, I think you should learn how to love yourself. It’s a really nice feeling.”

  He said that in such a serene and tranquil way that made the girl sick to her stomach.

  Sunshine had lost.

  “Good night, Jerome.”

  “Good night again, honey.”