The doors to the council room opened, and Michael stepped inside. Every voice in the room immediately went quiet. The elders turned toward him, while Gerald and Cristy, seated at the far end of the table, looked up at him. Cristy's face immediately filled with relief when she saw him. "You're awake. How are you feeling?" She asked. "Much better, Mom." Michael gave her a small smile before shifting his attention toward the elders. "Let me guess… I'm not fit to run the family affairs because I brought danger to the estate." The elders exchanged uncomfortable looks, some of them had hardened expressions on their faces while the rest just looked plainly irritated. Michael noticed it and continued before any of them could answer. "You see, there's a really big chance that last night's attack wouldn't have happened if we had simply decided not to hold the ceremony. But some people decided there was no better time for it." He let out a tired sigh. "Well, it already happened, and the ce

Michael continued to stare at the screen in shock. The people he had survived with for five months were all there, their faces staring back at him from the monitor. They were the people who had made it out of Fog Island with him, the people who had finally escaped that nightmare and were supposed to have a chance at starting over. Now, every single one of them was dead. Michael let out a loud grunt and punched the table, the wooden surface cracked under the force before breaking apart completely. "F*CK!" He clenched his fist and stared at the destroyed table. "This is Kendall's doing, isn't it? That bastard!" Barry tightened his fists. His anger was obvious, but there was something else in his expression too. "They knew the survivors would be able to testify against them in court. They knew those people could expose what really happened on Fog Island." He pressed the remote, bringing up each profile one after another. "So they decided to tie up loose ends." "Drowned in the bathtu

Three days after Michael and the group found out about the UCA's upcoming anniversary meeting, they all had the same plan on mind. And the plan was simple. Burn the entire building to the ground and take down anyone who got in their way. After what happened to the Fog Island survivors, there were no more heartstrings left for anyone else to tug on. Michael had spent enough time trying to protect people while fighting carefully. Now, anyone associated with the UCA had become a threat that needed to be taken down without a second thought. While they waited for that day, they gathered advanced weapons through Mars Robotics. With the help of the Scofield totems, Cobe was able to come up with weapon ideas that would aid in the fight against the UCA’s remaining infused soldiers. However… Even with everything they were preparing, there was still a lingering fear that the UCA would make another move before they could strike. No one said it openly, but they all knew the situation had chan

Michael walked up to a machine in the far corner of the arcade. It was a laid-back matching game that required strategic thinking, the kind of game that rewarded patience more than quick reflexes and it was currently not in use. He had always played this particular game whenever he wanted to clear his head and think. He took a seat in front of the machine and tapped the screen. The list of high scores appeared, and his name was sitting at number two. A scoff left his lips. “Someone beat my high score... Unacceptable.” He tapped the screen again, ready to begin, but before the game could load, someone spoke from behind him. “You’ll never beat my high score.” Michael adjusted his cap and turned around. A girl stood a few steps away, wearing cargo pants and a sweater. She had glasses on, and her short blonde hair was tied up neatly. She looked like an ordinary university student. “What makes you think that?” He asked. She smiled confidently. “Because I beat the last person with t

After another few minutes of watching the bullies’ horrible dancing, Enid finally sighed. “Okay, stop.” The guys immediately stopped moving. They looked toward her, almost as if they were waiting for their next punishment. Enid crossed her arms. “I don't want any of you to bother me ever again.” Her voice was firm this time, without any hesitation. “Don't ask me to do your work, don't follow me around, don't touch my things. Just leave me alone.” The guys nodded rapidly. “We will.” Michael gave them a hard stare and they immediately dropped back to their knees. “Please, we won't do it again.” “We're sorry.” “You have our word.” Their voices overlapped as they begged Enid not to let Michael do anything else. Enid looked at them for a moment, then gave a small nod. Michael stepped forward, and the entire arcade went quiet again. Everyone watched him carefully as he walked toward the student who was still wearing his cap. The student immediately stiffened. Michael stopped in fro