Phase 39 “The Epilogue”
“It stands for ‘Shaman's Madness Virus’,” he said as he bit into his apple. The room was pitch black, and the light coming from the screen was the only source of illumination. On Friday night, they were lying together on the couch, watching some films.
Another person chimed in and said, “No, it doesn't stand for anything like that, Allen. It stands for ‘Sick Monster Virus’.”
“I don't see why you two can't get it right. Benji, the acronym stands for ‘Super Man Virus’, Benji.”
“Nathan,” Dominique sighed as he stopped stuffing chips into his mouth and turned to face Nathan. “Nathan. Superman is a heroic character who appears in western comic books published by DC Comics. It is impossible for a hero to have any connection to that foolish virus.”
“Isn't Marvel the company that produces Superman?” While chewing on his popcorn, Kaien asked the question.
Dominique asserted, “Nope, there's no doubt that it was published by DC Comics.” Before anyone could argue, he continued, “By the way, why are we here discussing topics such as 'what SMV stands for' and 'DC Comics VS Marvel'? Why can't we simply take it easy and enjoy the movie?”
The others refrained from speaking as they reached a consensus. Their normal daily lives were doomed to defeat them. After they had defeated the shaman, the division decided to disband. Dominique, the youngest member of the team but also the most brilliant, fabricated a report and led their supervisor to believe that all of the zombies had been eradicated from this planet and possibly even the galaxy. The others had been inquiring as to what Dominique had written on the report. Nevertheless, he had refused to reveal this information to them, advising them to have faith in him instead.
Because of this, there was no other option but to disband the division, and now they can lead normal lives. Their boss required a signed agreement from them to ensure that they would not disclose any information regarding the zombies or the top-secret organisation.
Since that time, they stopped drinking infected blood and realised their strength and power was still intact all along. They are more powerful than the normal humans, and their senses are still heightened, though not to the same extent as when they were drinking infected blood.
At this time, each and every one of them held a job in a typical government agency. Benji and Nathan worked on the forensic team, and Dominique was a member of the strategy team. Kaien and Allen worked as detectives who would catch criminals. Their work was essentially the same as it had been in the past, with the exception that they now interacted with human beings. They freely stated that it was a much simpler task compared to fending off the undead. They made it a point to spend time together on Friday nights, and their tradition consisted primarily of watching movies in one of their apartments, much as they do now.
“Arrrggg!” Nathan cried out in exasperation. “I'm dead curious!” In reference to Dominique's covert dissemination of false information.
“About how this movie is going to end?” Benji asked as he sipped his soda and offered Nathan a fresh one; Nathan gladly accepted.
“No, seriously, we just saw this movie for the third time... And... and... I just... can't stop... crying, darn it!” Nathan responded while dabbing his eyes with a tissue as he fought back tears. The remaining individuals quickly joined Nathan and wiped their tears away with the soft white paper. As the story's finale drew closer, their eyes began to turn red, and the skin on their face began to feel hot.
“Why, why, why did they have to die---” Allen was unable to continue because he was clutching a tissue to his face, which prevented him from speaking. As he sobbed and buried his face in Kaien's chest, he crumbled apart emotionally.
“Allen... don't cry, you make me on---tears too---arrg, damn this movie is so sad!” Kaien was next to cry, followed by Benji, who was currently holding Nathan, who cried as well.
“Yaaaa...” Dominique's normally calm and collected voice emerged all of a sudden. “Why are you all crying? And why aren't you bored watching this ridiculously idiotic movie about a dog named Hachiko? I would want to watch some other films:”
“Hye! Dominique, be quiet! You totally ruin the atmosphere!” Dominique's mouth was closed as Allen let out a hiss. He sulked and fixed his attention on his chips. They were no longer there. He grabbed a fresh new bag, ripped open the packaging, and immediately began chewing on the nuts.
“Why aren't you getting emotional right now?” Kaien asked Dominique as he brushed away his tears and tried to pull himself together. He was able to control his tears in some way.
Nathan, who was still crying, spoke instead of Dominique. “Because he has no heart.”
“Aye, I'm a heartless brat, but don't forget that this heartless brat is the one who saved you and wiped out the evil from this world!” Dominique remarked as he utterly disregarded the film and consumed food at an inhumanly rapid rate.
Benji mocked him by saying, "Ow... Our Dom is angry,” as he wiped the rest of his tears away.
Allen joined in the ribbing, “Angry Dom is so adorable.”
Dominique growled at them and he walked out of the living room and away from the others. He then proceeded to his bedroom, because they were already in his apartment, and closed the door from the inside of the room. The others exchanged looks with one another and pondered aloud whether they had gone too far. In the end, they came to the conclusion that they should finish the movie first.
Dominique remained in his room after the movie had ended. They all started to feel uneasy rather quickly and quietly made their way over to Dominique's front door. They pressed their ears to the door and tried to listen in on what Dominique was doing inside the room. After a moment of complete silence, they faintly heard a hissing sound, which suggested that someone was in pain.
“Move,” Kaien said as he told them to get out of the way. Kaien reflected as he instructed the others to step away as he kicked the door open, showing a scene that they never thought they would see.
Dominique was inside his room, where he was alive, and watching on his laptop. Weird groans could be heard emanating from Dominique's earphone at the same time as the other weird sounds. Because of the excellent acuity of their hearing, they were able to make out every detail of the hissing, painful voice. In conclusion, Dominique was watching an adult movie.
“Hey! How can you lock yourself in this room by yourself and watch porn?” Allen lost his mind, just as Dominique feared would happen if his mother found out he had been watching pornographic videos, but his mother had no idea and never found out.
Dominique's lips pursed as he said, “Because the movie was way too dull, and you guys kept making fun of me. And because I am an adult, I am free to watch this movie whenever the mood strikes me.”
“.. I'm disappointed in you, Dominique," remarked Benji.
“I don't understand how you can...” Nathan butted in as Dominique realized he might really have disappointed his friends. He put on an expression that suggested he was guilty, but just as he was about to apologise, someone else spoke before him.
“How could you leave us?!” Because Dominique was so stunned and speechless after hearing Kaien's confession, he came dangerously close to losing his soul. “How could you download all of this incredibly steamy and insane video without us?!”
“You can share what you know...” Nathan made a sour face.
“I never know that our friendship isn't worth as much as sharing this kind of video,” Benji continued. They all smiled at each other and were on the verge of laughing, but one of them was not in the same mind as the others.
“Hye! You four horny-zombie-blasted-human! Stop doing that or I will use my spell to skin you alive and make you pay for it. And you! Dominique, close that damn laptop!” After a moment of silence, Allen broke the hush with a cry. They were so close to forgetting that Allen still possessed his lethal white magic.
“... But Allen, you're also a zombie-blasted-human,” Kaien pointed out the point but he was being silenced by Allen's death look. Allen let out a long sigh after there had been a tense pause of quiet and a weighty mood for a few seconds.
“What should I do with all of you?” Allen asked himself. “You're not my son or underage, so I can't forbid you to watch that kind of movie, but I love you guys so much and I don't want your healthy brain infected with a new virus called horny-porn-virus... I've had enough of viruses...”
“Oh... Allen,” Kaien said. He turned to Allen and hugged the man. “I truly apologise...”
Both Benji and Nathan mumbled in unison, “I'm sorry.” All of them were eyeing Dominique as the youngest one realized he needed to apologize.
“I’m sorry,” said Dominique. He looked over at Allen. “Mother...”
They were only aware of the fact that Allen had become irrational and out of control because the youngest one suddenly called him ‘mother’. His power shattered Dominique's cherished tiny desk lamp, but Kaien stopped him just in time to prevent him from destroying the entire building. Kaien explained to him that Dominique had just meant to respect him like a parent.
Since then, every one of them has realised that they need to avoid making Allen angry at any time because he possesses his bishop magic. They had no choice but to acknowledge that it was karma because in their previous existence, nobody listened to Allen when he warned them not to deal with the shaman. Because of the mistakes made by these four other people, Allen ultimately had to make the ultimate sacrifice. The horror had finally come to an end, and at least they were all together now. They treated each other more like true family than anything else.
END