THE ONE

chapter 5

Augustine pov.

There she was. Standing before Lewis camouflaging herself within the smoke.

Lewis, on the other hand, is prepared to fight her.

A cloud of dust obstructs my view of Lewis. He lunges towards her with his sword drawn.

I almost followed him, but the cries of the town's folks drew me back. They were sharp and ear-piercing.

Andy walks in on me, looking worried. “We need to make sure that everyone in the town is okay. Come Augustine,” he pleads.

I followed him. We entered the first house we saw. Even before we entered, I sensed something was wrong.

My legs gave up on me. I couldn't move them. I was so gripped by fear that I was unable to even breathe.

Andy sees me and pulls me into the house. That was when our eyes saw the terror that awaited us.

“What the hell is this?” Andy said in shock, covering his mouth and nostrils.

I stood behind him, but I could still see what he saw. They were bodies of people, dried up and burned.

There was no sign of fire anywhere, nor was there any sign of struggle. It was as if they died, not knowing they did.

So this is what our enemy ability is. To burn people alive and poison them. But how could she do this?

Andy expresses shock. His eyebrows were raised. “If she could do this, then what about the others?” Andy uses his super speed and runs out of the house.

I followed him, but before I could get to him, he came back to me. His fists were unfolded, his head tilts down, “She killed everybody the same way she killed those people. But I can't seem to round my head around how she was able to do it?”

Seems she has other hidden abilities we are not aware of. Maybe from their bodies we can find away to defeat her.

Lewis pov.

I squat while huffing.

I couldn't catch a single breath. My body was vibrating.

How am I losing to her? There must be something I'm not seeing here. I noticed when I charged towards her, she did something, and suddenly my breath seized.

She chuckles, staring at me from her end, “You still don't get it, do you? You can't beat me, pretty boy, your abilities are useless against me.”

I drew out my sword one more time and dashed towards her. Just when I was about to slice her, my breath seized again.

I coughed and fell to her feet.

I wheezed, “What is this?” I cleaned stains of blood coming out of my mouth.

“Like I said, you can't beat me. I don't need to fight you physically, all I need is for you to remain within my space, then you are finished,” she waves her hand, and more toxic smoke surrounds us.

I stood up one last time. Not knowing what next to do. Then, with my speed, I was able to push her far away from the town.

She laughs, “It is pointless! You can't win against me,” she manages to push me away.

Before then, I was capable of taking her far away from what was remaining of the town.

I think I have already figured her out. But first I need to try something, she won't be expecting.

With my telepathic ability, I was capable of using some stones to knock her down. While she was down, I proceeded to attack her physically.

At that moment, she uses her toxics to surround us both. I swiftly moved away from her. She sees me and charges towards me.

I chuckled.

You bitch. I summoned fire from both of my hands, and immediately everywhere around us caught fire. But before I was caught in the flames, I escaped with my speed, luckily for me, I came out unharmed.

Everything I did was premeditated. I knew that somehow her toxics might be flammable. Though I was certain, I had to test it out.

All I needed to do was drag her away from the town and then try it out.

I smirked, “It was too easy.” I walked away from the scene, heading towards my teammates.

Augustine pov.

I joined my teammates as we brought out the corpses of the town's folks. Bodies piled up on one another, it was a horrific scene.

They were all burned. Their bodies stiffened, few eyes were opened, and few mouths were also opened. Skin dried, some people even died in their sleep, both children, newborns, and adults.

To me, this was the definition of pure evil.

“What should we do now that they're dead? We can't just leave their bodies unattended to, there needs to be something we can do for them,” Bernie felt concerned.

Bernie, even when they're dead, you still show concern for them.

“We burn them. That's the least we can do,” Andy decided.

“Why not bury them?” Elenore opposes.

“Because he doesn't know what their bodies may contain. Who knows whether they were actually infected?” Janet uses her psychic powers to read Andy's thoughts out loud to the team.

Andy looks angry.

“But I don't blame him. He actually has a point. What do you think really killed these people? Perhaps it wasn't ordinary,” Janet concludes.

She's right, the only way to handle this situation is by burning their corpse. But still, that doesn't change a single thing. It can't still stop an outbreak from happening.

“The air is starting to look clear again,” I alerted.

Andy looks around. “Where is Lewis at?”

We all looked around, thinking he was nearby. Eventually he shows up. Andy meets with him.

“Where were you?” Andy furiously asked.

Lewis slowly walks passed Andy, “I took care of her. She's dead now.”

Andy still follows him from behind, because he still wants an explanation from Lewis.

“He is right, I watched as he burned her alive. Turns out her toxins were flammable,” Elenore clarifies Lewis.

Andy looks speechless, he turns to Janet, who also uses her psychic powers to confirm Lewis's words.

He was able to defeat her without our help, so he is strong. He is really above us all. Not even a single scratch on him.

Lewis uses his fire ability to set their corpses ablaze. I watched as they burned. Lewis didn't show any sign of emotion, it was as if nothing happened. We couldn't leave the town that night, so Andy suggested we spend a night in the town.

That night, while we were fast asleep, my instincts kicked in. I sprung from where I was, breathing heavily.

What's this?

I saw toxins in the air, in the room where we slept. Immediately I rushed outside, only to see her standing outside with a smirk on her face.