9. Some Hero Wanna-be

Inside a speeding second-hand car with a faded blue paint job, there were four – three humans and one infectore-wannabe, to be precise.

"Fuck!" Wade cursed as he read the words displayed on Seth's phone. "I don't want to be a fucking zombie!"

The chain smoker's frustrated scream was mirrored by Marnie's wailing cries. Seth gritted his teeth, knuckles turning white from the too-tight grip on the steering wheel. H dreaded the hardship of staying alive for the next three months with burdens like this.

"Is there a way to cure him?" Amy asked from the back seat as if his phone was Siri or something. She expected an answer, her knitted brows gave it away. But Seth was pretty sure the System in his phone was as advanced as the Explorer. "Hey, can you make the kid shut up?"

Seth sent an irritated look through the rearview mirror. "Do you really have to ask me?"

"She's your sister."

"She's not."

"She is–"

"Just toss her out then."

Amy gapped at him. Wade pulled the same expression, and Seth scoffed in annoyance. "I'm kidding."

The chain smoker grumbled, totally not amused. "It's the least funny thing I have ever heard in my entire life. It speaks volume, you know?"

"Well, it's not like you can do something–"

"I can do something!" Wade spat, crossing his arms after he cleverly cut Seth's sentence. Then, he turned around, trying to look directly at the six years old sitting behind him. "Hey, kid, look at what I have."

But the deafening wail continued. It wasn't like Marnie could hear the others' voices apart from her cry. Thankfully, Amy – the only adult female between them – nudged her. To be precise, she nudged Marnie and stiffly guided her head so that she was face-to-face with Wade.

If only she had opened her eyes.

"I swear I'll never take you to your parents ever again if you don't stop!"

"Ouch! That hurts," Wade commented.

"It got her to shut up," Seth defended.

Indeed, Marnie now bit her lip to stop her wail into a silent sob. Still, Amy thought it was too cruel of him. "At least, take your word back."

"Why? It's not like they are still alive anyway."

Seth didn't mean it viciously; he was merely speaking the truth. The System said that his blood relative was only three, not four as it should be. Besides his mother, he only had one living grandmother and an uncle who lived together on the Montana border. They were unlikely to die first, as they lived in the middle of nowhere, unlike his mother, who lived in the city.

Furthermore, Marnie's father's death was pretty much confirmed. What was to say that their mother also got the same fate?

Before Marnie could cry her lungs out again, Wade took the spotlight and resumed his panic. "Shit! I'm a dead meat!"

Seth corrected him, "You mean, a stupid rotten meat suit controlled by a fungus."

"You're not helping."

"Who said I'm gonna help?"

"Guys! Can we focus on what's the most important thing right now?" Amy broke their banter without looking at them. She was busy holding Marnie close to her body, trying to soothe her. They fell silent, so she continued. "We have to reach Cold Spring before noon."

Seth flicked his eyes at the home-décor sales girl, "You're serious about going to Cold Spring?"

"Yes, it's a less populated area than here, and we need it to lay low from the worst situation, remember? I thought we'd agreed on it?"

He didn't answer right away, but the hum and slight pout of his mouth signaled that he had been thinking. "If, and it's a very small if, anyway. If we find somewhere better than a mountain peak in Cold Spring, I want to stop there."

Amy disagreed, but knowing that there was a certain hierarchy in this small car, she reconsidered her rebuttal. Even when Seth was younger than Wade, and they ran away in her car, he was the only one who got a helping System on his phone. It was proven true when she asked the System earlier. Only Seth could use it.

"Okay, but the three of us have to agree first."

"Whatever," Seth shrugged, eyes focused on the road ahead. It was practically empty most of the time. Save from several cars coming this way, it seemed that the way to Cold Spring would be easy. It'd be better to reach it before the world knows about the invasion.

Dong!

His phone chimed in a notification. Seth couldn't read it, so Amy said it aloud.

"Shit! There's only one minute left before you turn into a zombie, Wade!"

"The fuck!" Wade's frantic curses followed suit. He rummaged around his baggy pants and pulled out another roll of cigarette. Or weed, it wasn't clear. The smell was terrible when he lit it up either way.

"Look at the [Shop], there must be something of use there." Seth supplied.

With a clammy finger, Amy touched the screen. In a blink, it showed a display of purchasable items. Not much was there aside from a very simple-looking knife and clothes. It took a while for her to scroll down and find some medicines.

"There's medicine, but I don't know which one can cure you, Wade. Gosh, I don't even think I've heard of these drugs before."

"Any drug will do." The chain smoker leaned back, trying to get a look at Seth's phone in her hand. "The fun one, I mean."

"How to stop the infection?" Seth didn't even take his eyes off the road, but the System responded immediately.

[A bottle of Ethazal Prevection can prevent infection from spreading. Effective for 1 hour.]

Only Amy could read that as she was holding Seth's phone.

[Purchase a bottle of Ethazal Prevection for the cost of 450 cells?]

Without his permission, Amy touched the [Purchase] icon. She bought three of them.

[Purchase succeeded.]

[Balance: 334 cells]

When Amy read the notification, the space in front of her seemed to be cut open from the other side. A slit of darkness with specks of light appeared, startling them.

Seth almost missed a turn as he stared in surprise at the strange happening near him. "Where did this space vagina come from?!"