86 Let's erect a fortress
“Well, that certainly wasn’t what I expected to happen,” Daniel muttered under his nose as he stared into the hole his colleague jumped into. He then tilted his head and looked at Mathew. “Would you mind elaborating further on the situation?”
Daniel didn’t need to put pressure on the young man. A slight smile and raised eyebrow were enough of a hint for Mathew to catch on.
“The story is simple,” the young man said as he shook his shoulder. “You know that my system allows me to take wives to strengthen them,” Mathew said.
‘I know it might not be wise to keep reminding him of that fact,’ Mathew thought and bit his lips to the point his teeth cut them open. ‘Still, humans are pack animals,’ Mathew forced this truth to sink in.
He took a deep breath before slowly letting it go. He then raised his eyes to the policeman.
‘We can’t survive in this world without allies.’
“That girl came onto me, asking to become my wife,” Mathew said in a plain voice he would use when describing the weather to a friend over a phone. “I bet she wanted to contribute to our efforts. And while we came quite close to make her my wife…”
Mathew stopped right in his track, biting himself in the tongue.
An image of what happened back in the shower room resurfaced in his mind. His face then melted down a little in a mix of smugness and slight embarrassment.
‘I guess it’s better if I keep some facts out of the picture,’ Mathew decided while hiding his emotions behind an uneasy smile. pᴀɴᴅᴀ-ɴᴏᴠᴇʟ.ᴄᴏᴍ
“But you didn’t do it?” Daniel asked. His eyes, although clear, oozed a strange aura of coldness.
“I did not,” Mathew replied without even a moment of hesitation and shook his head to add weight to his words. “Let’s say it was a close call, and your call for me was perfectly timed,” Mathew smiled.
Then, his eyes twitched, putting a crack in the young man’s smile.
“That’s right,” he said, smacking his right fist into his left palm. “How did you bring me here?”
Mathew didn’t have a single moment to ask this question before. Too many things appeared on the agenda the moment he came to be on the topmost floor of the school.
“I don’t really know,” Daniel said and shook his shoulders. “I gave the other guy a bit over a hundred cores and asked him to summon you through the merchant,” the policeman said before putting on a small grin.
“So that’s the case,” Mathew muttered in response before shaking his head and then turning it towards the girls. “Anyway, I’m glad you are here,” he said as he raised his eyes. “Could I ask you to take care of those poor souls?” Mathew asked and raised his right hand only to bend it in his elbow as he pointed behind his back.
“Oh my God,” Nadia muttered when she finally tore her eyes off Mathew’s face and looked to where he pointed at.
The young man didn’t need to add a single word of encouragement. pᴀɴᴅᴀ ɴoᴠᴇʟ
“If you will excuse me,” Nadia stated in a cold voice as she pushed Mathew’s shoulder aside and made her way towards the wall of filth and pity.
“We will help too,” Leila added. It was a miracle how she could make any sound with how tightly she pressed her lips together.
“I need at least one of you to stand guard,” Mathew interrupted the girls just as they were about to leave. “According to the traditional first come, first serve rule…” he added before meaningfully raising and then moving his eyes over at Daria’s face.
“It will be my pleasure,” the girl smiled from ear to ear, her white teeth showing in her cheerful grin. “A zombie or a human, what’s the difference?” she asked before shaking the bloodied machete in her hand as she looked across the floor.
“That’s one thing out of the way,” Mathew muttered while he accompanied the girls with his eyes as they left to help the victims. “We still have that room left,” he then added and shook his head, using his chin to point at one of the three corridors on the top floor.
“The one you sent Norbert… that other officer too?” Daniel sought confirmation of the exact meaning of Mathew’s words.
‘It’s more and more things. Whenever I solve something, three more problems are already starting to pile up,’ Mathew complained in his thoughts. He then released an exhausted sigh.
“Well, no good will come from standing around,” Mathew said. He then pushed his back against the wall, forcing his body back into an upright position. ρꪖꪕᦔꪖꪕꪫꪣꫀꪶ
“That’s right,” Daniel nodded his head only to then shake it sideways. “But it’s not your job to deal with whatever is in that room,” he added as he took a glance towards the mysterious place.
“What do you mean?” Mathew lowered his eyelids as he asked for clarification. ‘By what logic the affairs of this school do not involve me?’
“Don’t you have more important things to do?” Daniel asked and then leaned his head over his shoulder. Then, a small smirk crept up on his lips as he stared down at Mathew’s eyes.
The officer then shook his head before raising his hands to his head and rustling his hair in frustration.
“Out of everyone, you are the one most likely to have any idea about what’s going on,” Daniel stated in his stance on the matter. “You didn’t try to make use of the situation here either,” he added, lowering his head and then shaking it to the sides as he rested his arms on his hips.
“We don’t even know what exactly happened here,” Mathew pointed out as he sharply looked at the officer. Yet, after a moment of tense exchange of stares, Mathew ultimately lowered his eyes and bit his tongue. “But making use of the situation here?” he asked before shaking his head. “No, I’m not that desperate yet.”
“And what could that mean?” Daniel asked as he crossed his arms over his chest and raised his left eyebrow up his forehead.
“If you believe that one will uphold their morals all the way to the end…” Mathew muttered in a weak voice. “Tsk,” the young man then clicked his tongue before spitting on the ground. “Well, then you are in for an unpleasant surprise down the line,” he added before stepping away from the wall he used as support.
“Are you trying to tell me something between the lines?” Daniel asked while putting a confused look on his face. “If so, I don’t really get it,” he admitted and shrugged his shoulders.
“I am not,” Mathew said as he shook his head. “I survived two weeks into the apocalypse, don’t you remember?” Mathew then asked. He then shook his head for a second time. “I saw what kinds of things people did to other people when the push came to shove.”
Only silence followed after Mathew’s words. And for a brief moment, the two men stood in this silence, contemplating the things that occupied their minds.
“I will go check that room out, then,” Daniel said again before turning around on his feet. “I hope leaving the reins to you will prove to be a good idea,” he added before hastening his steps and moving deeper into the corridor.
“Leaving the reins to me, huh?” Mathew muttered under his nose. He then cast a wide look at his surroundings.
‘First, I need to know the situation I’m in,’ Mathew thought, watching how his wives helped the victims of the local society to dress up. He didn’t need to ask how they organized the clothes. ‘It’s not my problem,’ Mathew thought before moving his eyes even further.
He could see Daniel walking down the corridor and about to check out the one place Mathew didn’t really know much about. Yet, judging from the face the other police officer made after exiting it, there was nothing good in there.
And then there was the hole in the wall to Mathew’s back.
He turned around and looked into its dark insides, contemplating his thoughts for a moment.
“I guess there is no other choice,” he muttered before shaking his head. “We should set this fortress up as soon as possible.”
Mathew never changed his plans. Ever since the very beginning, all his actions were aimed at this exact development.
Yet, this was the last step that he knew to take. It was an achievement he didn’t obtain during his first run.
‘As great as this fortress thing could be, I literally know nothing about what lays next,’ the young man thought and then bit his lips.
“I guess I should listen to what that guy said,” Mathew admitted before releasing a deep sigh. He then rested his hands on his hips only to then stretch his back.
Feeling the joints cracking under the sudden change of pressure, Mathew finally allowed himself a second of respite. A short moment when he didn’t bother to think about the future.
He took a deep breath.
“Nadia!” he then shouted as he shook his head to clean all his relaxation out.
“Yes?” the girl, who was currently helping one of the victims to clean herself off, raised her head and looked at Mathew.
“I need you to go with me,” Mathew said before putting a small grin on his lips. “We are going to erect a fortress!”