Thalira's pupils dilated, and she asked in shock. "He… he is turning into a zombie?"
Her forehead wrinkled with a deep frown, showing a troubled look. Mr. Brown's attention was thus momentarily diverted—from the fact that Thalira had just come barging into their place regardless of the danger outside.
"This kid has been like this since this weird fog spreads." He rubbed his temples and sighed. "I am afraid that in no time, he will also turn into one of those things. He couldn't even understand what I am saying now."
Thalira pursed her lips. She stood up and approached Austin. Her hand stretched out to touch him, but the man suddenly jerked, startling her. He let out a beast-like howl, his empty eyes focused on her as he struggled, trying to lunge at her.
Mr. Brown didn't hesitate to pull the girl back. In a defeated tone, he advised her, "Don't get too close. Have you seen how he looks now? He is not a human anymore."
"Yeah," Thalira nodded and stepped back to appease the naggy old man. Yet, her attention was on Austin's hand. There was a patch of skin that looked dark, almost black.
With a sniff of her cat nose, she immediately sensed that the unpleasant smell was from that spot. Austin had gotten scratched before?
Seeing that in the semester break, he usually spent his time in Mr. Brown's antique shop all day, he must have been scratched before the fog started.
With a thoughtful look on her face, she approached Austin again. Mr. Brown gazed at her stubborn face with a look of helplessness. He reached out to pull her again, "You stubborn girl. Be careful or he might scratch you."
Thalira pursed her lips. "You wait there. I need to confirm something."
Mr. Brown watched as Thalira approached Austin a few times. Seeing that she always nimbly avoided Austin, who was trying to bite her, he finally just watched from the side. There was a slight hope that Thalira might figure out the cure for Austin, but he knew that it was impossible.
Now, there was another living person with him, so the plan of locking himself with Austin in the antique shop should change…
"Austin? Can't you hear me?" Thalira opened his mouth, attracting Mr. Brown's attention.
"That kid can't understand human words anymore," he couldn't help but whisper.
Thalira narrowed her eyes and shook her head. Although the half part of Austin's face was slowly morphing to zombie-like appearance, with her mental power, she could detect some differences.
She had a feeling that Austin still had a sliver of chance. And she was willing to bet on it, no matter how small.
"He indeed couldn't speak human words," Thalira mumbled. "It doesn't mean that he couldn't understand our words."
She approached him again. Whenever she got close, Thalira observed that Austin sometimes showed some kind of struggles, as if he didn't want to bite her. If he truly couldn't be saved, he wouldn't have shown that kind of struggle…
Mr. Brown's eyes widened. "You mean?"
Thalira glanced at Mr. Brown. "It's just my assumption, but we should try."
She turned her attention to Austin again and told him. "Austin, I know that you might have gotten scratched by some creatures inside. But that isn't the end of the hope, alright? Every person who has been infected has two possibilities. Becoming an able user with superpower or turning into a zombie."
"You might have been feeling low for the past few days, worrying that because of that minor scratch, you would lose control any time. The worry is eating at your mind, but… would you just give up like that?"
Thalira took a deep breath, and she tried to stimulate him further by adding provocative words, "Is the third son of the Brown family merely like this?"
The bound figure instantly roared, and she could perceive some of its anger. She turned to Mr. Brown. "Do you have news about people obtaining superpower, right?"
"Yes, yes." Mr. Brown hurriedly nodded, snatching the phone on the table and turning it on. He had been saving the battery ever since he knew that the outside world could no longer be contacted.
"Read it to him." Thalira mumbled, and she focused on channeling her spiritual power to Austin. Coupled with his will that she had just stirred, it did slow down the zombie transformation.
It was just the beginning of the apocalypse and the infection power wasn't that strong yet. The reason people might break out just by a few bites was because those people with low immunity had been exposed to the fog for a while. Thus, it accumulated in their bodies and just waited for a strong stimulation to break.
"There are some soldiers that have gained some sort of superpower," Mr. Brown began. "Sergeant Miles was scratched by a zombie dog when he was outside. He got a fever for some hours. When he woke up, he awakened some sort of ability to command the wind…"
"Do you listen to that?" Thalira mumbled softly. Austin was gritting his teeth. The frequency with which he was trying to bite her had decreased. Her eyes lit up, and she touched his scorching forehead, channeling more spiritual power.
Luckily, she was a fire ability user, so could endure high temperatures.
"They can do it. Why can't you? Don't bring the Brown family down!" Thalira raised her voice. Mr. Brown also became excited when he saw some improvement in Austin's state.
It wasn't that noticeable, but his slowly rotting face slowed down, even showing signs of returning to his human skin.
Like two cheerleaders, they encouraged Austin.
"Remember that day…" Mr Brown even revealed some of his secret evil deeds. "It was me who secretly ate your chicken wings, not some kind of cat. Don't you want to get back at me, huh?!"
As a cat, Thalira twitched her mouth, slightly offended. But oh well, she never stole chicken wings, anyway. She continued to concentrate on her current work.
Thalira took a few breaks, saying she would fetch a drink from the kitchen. In reality, she was secretly taking some water from her inner world. It helped her replenish her spiritual power.
"Mr. Brown, help me to pry open his mouth." Thalira suddenly had an idea.
Mr. Brown didn't hesitate. He used the gloves Thalira handed to him and opened Austin's stiff mouth forcefully. Thalira poured down the water, purposely letting it spill into some parts of his body. The water proved to be more effective, and his progress increased.
Austin no longer let out some beast-like howls. He was more quiet, trying to resist the zombie virus in his body with willpower, occasionally gritting his teeth.
That was when they figured out that he still possessed his human consciousness.
The process took around two days with little rest. Thalira already had dark circles around her eyes. Mr. Brown told her to rest, but she refused. Only after Austin's fever receded did she pass out on the sofa.
"What power did you gain?" Thalira rubbed her eyes after she had an hour of nap. Her senses were on high alert. When she heard that Austin had woken up, she also stirred from sleep.
"I am not sure…" Austin trailed off, woken up from his emotional stupor. He didn't expect that he could wake up as a human again.
When he felt something was gnawing on his flesh, then he lost control of his own body. It was exactly like Thalira had said. He was too worried about the itchy wound on his hand, afraid that he would turn crazy suddenly. It affected his mentality and made him get infected faster.
"Thank you, Thalira." He muttered emotionally.
Mr. Brown was on the side, sipping on his tea. He looked much more relaxed. When Austin looked at him, he merely snorted and looked away. He had revealed a lot of his shameful deeds, but it was worth it!
Thalira didn't stay there even after the two persuaded her. She was stubborn and directly expressed her intention to go back to the school. She hadn't checked up on her other two friends yet.
After her cat's curiosity about what sort of power Austin awakened, she left. He had awakened an ice power.
When she went back, the control was much more strict, and she was stopped at the university gate.
"Stop there!"