#novelcat

I was happy to be finally out because that’s what I have been dreaming about while I was inside our mansion for ten years. I feel sad because of what happened to my sister, Candace and I felt extremely worried because I have no idea what awaits me outside, especially after encountering my sister who was now “infected” by something.

I have yet to find out from Jake and my father. They have lots of explaining to do. We kept running for our dear life until we reached the empty garage outside our mansion. As soon as Jake opened the garage door, he immediately closed it.

I was panting heavily when we got inside the garage. I dropped down to the ground and sat there for a while. I looked at Jake who was still standing and looking outside the window. It seems like he’s trying to see if Candace followed us.

“Is everyone okay?” Jake asked.

“I’m fine, just a little bit tired” I responded. I looked at my father and he didn’t answer Jake’s question.

“Dad, are you alright?” I asked my father who was also sitting next to me. I noticed how tired he was with his messy hair and dark circles under his eyes. I hadn’t noticed how tired he looked until now.

“I’m fine. Just…tired” he said in almost a whisper. I didn’t know that my father was so heavy and suddenly, I felt bad for yelling at him when he didn’t want me to leave our mansion for no apparent reason. Now that I know the reason, I started to understand why my father was strict like that.

I looked at Jake and asked, “So, care to continue explaining about the infected? You mentioned that gunshots don’t work on a middle type, right? If it doesn't work, then how can we defeat a mid-type?”

“Blades can work on a mid-type. We have to stab her throat first then the heart.” he explained. “Why do that difficult process when we could just slice the head?” I asked.

“If we slice a mid-types’ head, then we’re going to fight two. In case you are wondering, her head can regenerate a new body if we behead her while her main body could still move and attack her so we’re not only going to fight one, but two middle-infected,” he explained and then continued.

 “We have to stab her throat first to weaken her and then her heart until it stops beating.” I have been dying to see the outside world just to see humanity's at risk of getting extinct and my hidden sister. “How did the virus start?” I finally asked.

“No one knew aside from the government but they didn’t disclose that information to the public. The government only said that there was a virus and the symptoms.”

“If they are not disclosing all that very important information, then they must be involved with the issue,” I pointed out. “Do you know if there is any cure?”

“They tried to create a cure but they couldn’t find the wrong ingredients, that's why,” he explained. “They failed to make the cure, they started transferring the remaining survivors under the sea and continued living there.”

I was surprised upon hearing that humans colonized the sea. It seemed unreal because colonizing the sea only happens in the books. I guess, humanity was really at risk of getting wiped out for them to migrate under the sea. “Humans were living under the sea? Wow, that sounded unreal. So, what’s the government action now aside from transferring the survivors under the sea?”

Jake shook his head sideways. “Actually, after they reported that the virus broke out, we saw in the live broadcast on TV that they were attacked by a lowly cannibal and all the government members were infected too,” Jake said in almost a whisper. “That’s why an organization called Anti-Monstrous Cannibal or A.M.C.O was formed to rebuild humanity under the sea and to eliminate all the remaining infected.”

“I see. I guess, the only choice we have now is to eliminate the remaining ones before they start infecting others, huh?” I said. I noticed that my father was silent the whole time so I looked at him, worried. “Dad, are you okay?”

For a while, he didn’t speak but when he answered, he said the words, “I guess we should end your sister.” 

For so long, I wanted to experience the feeling of being outside even though it’s only in our garden, but I never expected that I am going to feel the outside’s air while being chased by a monstrous cannibal. Good thing that we were able to escape from Candace and found ourselves in our garden. The events were still processing inside my head that I didn’t notice that my father was calling me out.

“Cali, are you okay?” He asked.

“Dad, what is that thing? And what was she talking about being my sister? I thought I was an only child? Did I live a life full of lies?!”

“Yes, she’s your sister”

I felt anger washed over me and at the same time, sadness for not being able to know that I have an elder sister.

“Why didn’t you tell me?!”

“Because she’s no longer the girl who we used to know. She’s infected.” he responded. I could see that my father was feeling sad and was hurting because of what happened to Candace or whatever the hell is that thing.

“Infected? What do you mean, dad?” I asked. I am starting to feel frustrated. “What is really happening outside? What are you hiding?! And why wouldn’t you tell me everything so I could be aware?!”

“I am concerned that you might get infected and turn into a monster too and I don’t want that to happen, so I chose to lock you inside the mansion and keep everything a secret to you,” he sighed then finally, he began explaining what’s going on outside. “The apocalypse happened 10 years ago…back then, your sister was still a human.”

I was twelve years old back then and I remembered having a tutor going to our mansion because I was homeschooled. That was the very last time my tutor taught me, and my dad never even bothered to tell me the reason. And if Candace was still human 10 years ago, why can’t I remember her? What’s happening? I just waited for my father to continue his explanation.

“Back then, we weren’t aware of the outbreak until we bumped into something on our way home. Candace said that she’d look at what we accidentally hit but as soon as she got out of the car, someone attacked and bit her,” he paused for a while and sighed. “Since I didn’t know that the one who bit her wasn’t normal anymore, I took her home and even tried to heal the wound. When nighttime came, Candace started to become aggressive, so I had to lock her inside the basement. At that time, a newsflash about a virus outbreak was announced on the television. That’s when we realized that she’s already infected.” I couldn’t believe my ears.

“If she’s already infected, then why didn’t you end her before she turned much worse?!” I asked. “You said it yourself. She’s no longer a human and she might infect me too if I was bitten by her.”

“She’s my daughter. I couldn’t,” he said. “And I don’t want the authorities to kill her so I decided to keep her down in the basement, hoping that she could be cured but things got out of hand. She used to be a low-cannibal and I didn’t expect that she’d evolve into a mid-cannibal”

“Because of your decision, I was almost bitten and turned into a monster! You put my life at risk!” I said. “And what are you talking about a low and a mid-cannibal? I don’t understand anything.”

The stranger who saved us piped in. “Low and mid-cannibal were two of the three types of the monstrous cannibals. The low ones couldn’t control themselves. They were being controlled by the plague inside their system. The middle ones were half-aggressive and half-human. They had human intelligence. They can act on their own, but they were triggered pretty easily. Last but not the least, the high cannibals. They were the masters of deceptions, and they were the types who had the highest intelligence. They could transform into something much more dangerous; they could also disguise themselves as a human. The most evil of the three.”

“I could not believe that humanity is facing this situation. Doesn't this only happen in the movies and books?”

“Apparently, not now,” he responded. “Humanity was almost wiped out and the remaining survivors colonized the sea.”

“Are you serious?! Humans colonized the sea?! How was that possible?!”

“Everything’s not impossible when you are desperate to survive and continue living,” he said. “Now, we have to get out of this mansion before she finds and devours us. I don’t have any weapon that could take a mid-cannibal down.”

“You should have escaped earlier,” we heard Candace say from behind us. She looked at us with her red cat eyes and smirked devilishly. “Found ya!” Her eyes and her vibes screamed danger. Her presence made me freeze because of the fear. My eyes were glued on her glowing red eyes, and I started drowning in it. When I didn’t react, she started walking towards me.

“What’s wrong, my little sister?” she started. “Aren’t you happy to see me?”

She was getting closer and closer and when she finally reached me, she lifted her hand and attempted to tilt my chin. Just then, I heard Jake’s shotgun – he shot Candace on her head but it didn’t seem to have any effect on her.

“Stay away from her, you monster!” Jake yelled at her as he kept on shooting her. His actions made Candace enraged. Her eyes glow red, and I could see her black veins becoming visible on her skin. Then she glared at Jake and screamed so loud that I had to cover my ears.

“I’m going to devour you, human!”

Candace began to charge towards Jake. Her nails suddenly grew into thick claws, and she tried to wound Jake by scratching him with it. Fortunately, Jake quickly jumped back, evading Candace’s attack. It made Candace even more enraged, and it made her act quicker so Jake wouldn’t be able to attack her.

“Run away while I keep her busy!” Jake suddenly yelled.