Chloe saw the bison looking up from their grass chewing as if they sensed something. Not long after, the ground started to shake and she had to hold on to her seat for dear life.
"Harker!" She exclaimed trying to get out of the limo.
A bodyguard stopped her. "We were told to keep you here no matter what, little Miss. Let's just wait for your brother."
"But he's in trouble!" She exclaimed. "And Victoria is getting farther away down the ground to somewhere I can't detect! We need to tell him about it"
"We will once he's here. Your brother could definitely handle this."
Chloe doesn't know why these people were so sure about that. Sure, her brother can do neat tricks with his hair and got stronger and faster for some reason, and he had a mermaid girlfriend with him. But that's not enough—-
Soon they saw random people filing out of the hatch in neat order.
"Go, go, go!" Someone yelled. "Let's all get moving."
These people seem to be in a daze and confused as to why they were moving. Some of them wore lab coats, some wore black shirts and pants with shotguns attached at their hips. They all moved out and eventually….
Chloe finally saw her brother, carrying dozens of sleeping people with his hair.
"All of you stay back. Victoria abandoned you, there's no use working for her anymore." He yelled.
After him was Mina, who answered back. "You are all free to go, but don't follow us."
Roland also came along with Alejandro's bald head. He said. "We have our own ways to hunt you down if you do. So think about this wisely and get new jobs instead."
But Alejandro wasn't alone. He was carrying someone on his back.
Chloe's eyes widened and an inexplicable feeling coursed through her veins.
It was her. She really was here.
The five of them went inside the limo once more, leaving behind these people who ran as far away from the hatch to avoid the earthquake. Soon an explosion resounded below, scaring off the bison, birds and other animals within a 100 meter radius.
The driver of the limo fired up the engine and headed for the way home in New York. Everyone caught their breaths for a moment. Eventually, Chloe had the courage to ask:
"You…. Are you really…." She asked the woman sitting by her brother's side.
Josephine Jones turned to her. Her face was very pale and the green veins stretched out from her neck to her chin.
"You must be my daughter." She forced a smile. "What's your name, darling?"
"Chloe…." She said. "So you don't remember me…."
Harker patted her shoulder. "She will soon. She doesn't remember anything at the moment."
"I do remember a few flashes now." Josephine admitted. "Mostly flashes about my childhood and going to Church on Sundays. But it's getting there."
Harker beamed. "See? She'll remember us soon."
"But you can't keep her forever, Harker." Roland reminded him. "Our goal is to bring her back to the cemetery where she belongs and help her be at peace—"
"Oh, shush, White Ape. Let them have their moment first." Mina said.
Roland frowned, whispering to her. "I know. But it's better to not get attached."
The Jones family easily started talking with each other. Harker shared about what happened after she died, and Chloe did too. Him getting a scholarship, his part-time job at BBB, and his plans to be a geneticist. Chloe then told her about her own school experiences and her small business of helping the boys deliver newspapers.
"You two are really wonderful kids…. I am lucky to have you as my children." Josephine said, patting their heads. "It's a shame that I haven't been with you all these years to watch you grow like this."
"It's alright, Mom. I know that you would have been proud." Harker leaned on her touch.
Chloe still felt a little uneasy because she was basically a stranger to her. She had only known her for less than 3 years before she died. And most importantly….
She had always wished for her to come back, so she would have a woman to look up to. And now that she did, he would only have her last for a few days at most once they got back to New York.
"I…. I wish I could have gotten to know you more. I read your diary, by the way. I hope that's ok."
Chloe took out the diary from the little backpack she carried with her inside the trunk. She also brought some biscuits and a water bottle that's why she didn't get hungry or thirsty from the long, long ride. It takes almost 24 hours of non-stop driving to get here, and the group took a few stops without even noticing her.
They didn't take a flight as this might alert Victoria in case she had men checking in on them. Which was fortunate for Chloe.
"Oh, my diary…." Josephine took it, flipping through the pages. "Haha, look at that. Such a fine young ebony woman. I bet I used to make all the boy's heads spin."
"You really did." Chloe chuckled too. "Dad really missed you a lot. I saw you also keep some of his love letters. And this guy over here…. Yeah, he's the one who brought you back to life. He used some Satanic curse to bring in zombies."
"Is that so…."
Harker just watched the mother and daughter having their own bonding moment, and wore a look of satisfaction on his face. Chloe looked so happy with her mother, and they looked perfect together like shoes that fit. It's just so nice.
Roland tapped his shoulder. "We're making a pit stop over there. There's also a convenience store so we could use a bathroom break and lunch break."
"Can we bring Mom along?" Chloe asked.
Roland shook his head apologetically. "Sorry, Chloe. Your mom would cause panic since she's not really looking that well. And I don't know if she eats anything…."
"I'd like to stay here, please. I don't like the sunlight very much." Josephine told them.
"Then I'll stay here too. You guys can just bring me some food to eat here." Chloe said.
Harker ruffled her hair. "Alright, you guys continue chatting. We'll be back soon."
They left the car, and went for a refuel. Roland talked with the gasoline station owner for some questions about the area and if there were any shortcuts he knows. Harker and Mina then went on shopping duty at the convenience store along with the bodyguards.
As they went on however, Mina only noticed that her pants were damaged.
"Oh no…" She noticed the large rip near her bum. "Well, this might be a problem…."
Harker reddened. "That's a large tear….. Maybe we can cover it up with something in the bathroom."
There was only one large unisex bathroom stall in the convenience store. They rushed inside, andHarker took off his maintenance man shirt to cover the tear for her.
"Will you be okay without a shirt?" She asked.
"Haha, I'm a man so it's fine if I get shirtless. Worst I'll get are people thinking I'm a hoodlum or something."
Mina nodded. "That's true, but…."
Her hands trailed on his abs. "Instead, I feel like they would think that my boyfriend is too sexy and would want to steal you from me."
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