Mina turned to the window as well, but saw nothing there. Yet she still heard Harker clearly.
She quickly clawed a zombie's flesh like a paper shredder, and went by his side.
"You saw your Mom?" She asked worriedly.
"Yeah….. I think so." Harker narrowed his eyes. "We need to finish these zombies in the parking lot and get to the ones in the building. G.G.'s not here."
He saw all the crawling limbs and pieces of flesh, and used his torch to light them up. He burned all kinds of zombies as they went back to the hospital and finished the first floor.
"I wonder what would happen if I took their DNA." Harker said.
Yan suddenly appeared on his side mid-fight. "You would gain their bizarre regenerative ability, but also their diseases, Master. Since you were still human for the most part, you are not completely immune to these diseases and would get sick."
"Right, everyone gets sick eating rotten meat." Harker thought. "Have you always known that G.G. Faust was involved in something demonic?"
"I do, Master. Your sister said he was a Satanist after all." Yan answered.
Mina then asked. "Would killing him really end the curse?"
"I don't know." Yan simply blinked.
Harker made a face. "You don't know?"
"I don't know if killing him would end the curse." Yan said. "It's too difficult to tell…..Strong will is hard to break, after all."
"Even if he bites our asses later as a ghost, what matters is we get rid of these zombies." Harker gritted his teeth.
The eyeball just continued observing them and flying by their side as they decimated and lit up more corpses on fire. Harker felt like he was playing that video game again. These enemies were just endless and continued spawning and spawning as he cleared up these 'dungeons'.
Eventually, they had reached the end of the staircase of the 2nd floor. There was only one zombie left, and they could see it hunched down and eating the body of a male nurse.
The figure stopped once it had sensed someone approaching. Its head twitched a bit, and then rose up from the ground. Harker realized it was a woman, and was wearing a bunch of bloody white cloth around her body.
Like makeshift clothing. The effect was almost like a Greek toga.
He recognized that those sheets were the ones he buried himself. The evidence of Xi Hua's death.
The zombie lady turned slowly to them, wiping the blood off her mouth.
"Guess this is the end of the line for my borrowed life. It was fun while it lasted." She chuckled.
That chuckle was so familiar that Harker felt like he had just heard that yesterday.
"This zombie is different from the rest. She seemed to have consciousness." Mina said. "But that's no problem. I'll take care of this—"
"Wait." Harker blocked her with his arm. "You…."
"Me?" The woman just pointed to herself. "Spit it out, kid. I know you and that pretty little lady is here to come for me."
Harker could feel his chest getting heavier. Why does she have to be conscious? Why can't she just be a mindless man-eating monster like the rest?
He knows he shouldn't let her live, and the sooner he kills her, the better. It's the right thing to do. But…
"Do you….. Do you happen to have a son named Harker Jones?" He asked his mother.
"Harker Jones…." She mumbled. "My memory is still a bit fuzzy…. But I do remember havin' a son or more."
Harker gulped. "What else could you remember? How about your name?"
"Something starting with J." She answered. "It's on the tip of my tongue, hate it when that happens. But wait a minute…"
She laughed. "You sure ask a lot of questions for someone who's just killed a whole lot of us with that Ropeunzel hair of yours. What's your deal, little man?"
Harker forced himself to take a step closer, but his resolve was slowly being eaten away the more this woman spoke to him. Mina suddenly put a hand on his shoulder.
"This is your Mom, isn't it?" She said, looking like she could also feel that numb pain in Harker's chest. "I understand now."
The ache won't go away no matter how much Harker tried. Ever since the day he lost her, he wished to see her again. To hear her voice, embrace her, spend time with her…. He never thought this day would come, and definitely not like this.
Fate was so cruel. It really was.
Every step he took felt like someone was pushing a knife straight to his chest. But he had to do it. He had to….
"Son? You are Harker Jones?"
His already dwindling resolve collapsed at this. Tears flowed, and his grip over the mop torch shook. He wiped it furiously away.
"I can't do it, Mina…. It hurts too much!" He kicked at the wall. "Fuck this…"
Josephine Jones's eyes softened, as if understanding his pain. She did not even struggle to escape these two. She was willing to escape her fate, but….
"Before you kill me, can I ask you first a question? I just got this new life, and I know it was through sinful means. But I feel I ain't goin' to sleep well in the grave unless I learn about this."
Harker sniffled. "W-What is it….. Mom?"
"Did you..... never want to see me again, son? Were you already happy and content with your life?" She asked with a gentle tone. "That's all I need to know to be at peace."
That was when Harker broke down.
He was left sobbing to the floor, punching it. "Damn it, damn it, damn it! Fuck you, G.G. Faust! Why did you have to do this to me!? To my Mom!?"
Josephine Jones then mumbled the name. "G.G. Faust….. That name sounds familiar."
Harker looked up, and realized something. Maybe.... Maybe he doesn't have to kill his Mom yet. Maybe they could ask her to help find G.G. to end this curse.
That way, he could properly answer her question and say that he really was happy without having to see her again.
"Mom….. Have you seen G.G.? That man in a leather jacket, black hair and reddish eyes? He's the one we're looking for to end this thing... So all of you can go back in peace."
Her eyes widened. "Black hair and reddish eyes….. Yes, I remember now. He went that way."
She pointed to the floor where they set up the barricade.
Harker took Mina's hand. "Then we have to move fast. Can you take us to him? He started this whole curse because of you, Mom."
Josephine rubbed her bloody chin. "Because of me…. Alright then. You good people don't worry about a thing. If stopping this G.G. would absolve my sins and help me go to the afterlife in peace…."
"Then I will help you, son."
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