Chapter 424: Interview Of A Lifetime Part 2
"You’re just going to answer my questions? Just like that?" Ashley asked, wondering what the catch was.
"Well, if it’s something I can answer, sure. If not, then no, I won’t. Whether you will be happy with what you hear or even believe me, well. Best not to question things too much. No one likes someone calling them a liar to their face when they aren’t, in fact, lying," Laz said with a chuckle as he scanned the area quickly. He felt like there might be something he was missing, although he didn’t know what it was.
"Hmm... It’s quiet for some reason," Laz said out loud while waiting for her next question.
"Everyone seems to be retreating since they are going to bomb the hell out of this place," Ashley responded without thinking.
"They are?" Laz felt a bit surprised considering that even with the number of troops and chosen dead, many more were just injured and unable to move. If there was a bombing run, didn’t that mean that many of their own people would be killed in the process.
"You didn’t know?" Ashley’s mind went blank as the questions she had been thinking about drifted away with the incoming crisis.
"Well, doesn’t matter now anyway. Since we’ve come this far we might as well keep going," Laz commented, flooring the gas pedal.
"So... how many people have you killed?" Ashley finally asked. Miguel, who was busy taping, felt like smacking his own face at this question.
"Honestly? I don’t really remember..." Laz said while thinking about it.
"It’s been that many?" Ashley responded, stunned.
"That many? Try that few. In fact, I’m pretty sure I’ve never killed a normal human being in my life. I’ve wiped out a few chosen and I’m sure I’ve injured a few normal people, maybe even scarred them for life, but I’m pretty sure I’ve never killed."
"What would you say to those who call that bullshit?" Ashley asked, wanting to make sure she asked everything she could in the probably small amount of time.
"I would love to know who thinks they know better than me? But then again, why should they believe me, right?" Laz responded, unconcerned.
"Do you hate normal humans?"
"Nope. Why should I?
"Do you know many other Infected such as yourself?"
"Like me? No. Do I know many other’s? Yes. We can sense each other when we are close to each other. We can also sense those bastards you call the chosen. Except instead of calling it sensing, it’s more like we repulse each other. So no matter who I am near, we will find each other."
"Why do you call the chosen bastards? Is it because they hunt your people?"
"Oh yeah. Just a little bit. But it’s more than that. I’ve yet to run into one of those bastards that didn’t have his eyes so high his chin could be mistaken as his nose. They are arrogant, self-centered pieces of shit that only care about themselves and the power they wield," Laz said with venom in his voice.
"So is that how you really feel? What makes you and your kind so different?"
"In the same way that the chosen are different, we are different. Have you ever wondered why we were the ones targeted by everyone as soon as we came into our own while the so called chosen are given everything that they want and are touted as the next evolution of mankind?" Laz asked, being serious for the first time since he had climbed in.
"Because.. well..."
"Because of the deaths’ that infected caused? Most people bring that up. Yet you’ve seen the way those chosen of yours act when they think no one is watching. Do you really believe that they are just happily following orders and that they don’t do anything bad? That’s bullshit and you know it. Those jackass cause just as much damage, trouble and death as we do, but for them, it gets hidden away, nice and neat like so that these fucked up individuals end up appearing like gods to the average person. Basically, they are paraded around like some holy savor coming to rescue us all. And if there is a good guy, there must be a bad guy. Someone you can blame, someone you can focus your hatred against. That is where we come in. Until things start to go south for those chosen, this is the role we must play."
Laz’s final statement sounded like he was making a decision for his entire people, something that made Ashley feel awkward. She had, like everyone else, never once considered the things that Laz had brought up. Like why were the chosen considered to be the special ones? She had seen video of what some of the infected could do and it was amazing. And scary. But it only seemed to be scary when you were told they were evil and trying to kill you. If that wasn’t the case, then what did that mean?
"I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to make you sound like the bad guy..." Ashley apologized.
"But I am the bad guy, remember? It’s not going to change any time soon either. The chosen will listen to the government’s orders while we, the infected, won’t. Not anymore anyway. And as long as that stays true, we will be on opposite sides. So then, moving on, you should be aware of something by now. They call us infected, but that isn’t true. We all have a blood mutation that stands out because it’s not human, but each one is different. And I mean really different. It’s actually more rare to see people with similar mutations due to their blood than it is to see different ones. Do you know why?"
While normally Laz would be content with just answering questions, he suddenly had the impulse to lead things in a different direction.
"No. Why?" Ashley noticed the change too. And she understood Laz’s intention. Her mind was still set on him being evil. If that wasn’t the case, than her questions would be a bit out of place and not lead the conversation anywhere. He could be lying of course, but Miss. June had been able to read people from a young age, a self taught skill and she didn’t feel any lies in Laz’s words. Therefore, she was more than happy to hear what story he wanted to get out.
Because bloodlines run in the family. If two from the same family were to suddenly awaken, chances are much more likely that they would have similar abilities. Of course, because of the blurring of lines over the course of many years, there could be more than one bloodline within a certain family. There could even be a god bloodline. What that means is if a couple were to have two identical twins, there is a chance that one could be a chosen and one an infected. Or, as I like to call them, an awakened."
"Awakened?"
"Yes. Jotnar, the ice giants. It’s what the ancient gods of earth used to call the invaders from outer space when they went to war with them. Hundreds of pantheons clashed with hundreds of creatures from other worlds and their blood watered this planet, leaving behind their legacy. As the events of Ragnarök faded with time, so did the hatred the two sides felt for one another. And as families grew, the bloods of old got mixed. When one awakens the blood of a Jotnar, they become us. When one awakens the blood of an indigenous god, they become a chosen. Does that make sense?"
"That’s amazing..."
"That’s the truth. The thing they don’t want you to know. The fact is, whether you are one thing or another, you are still human in the end. You just have something more mixed in."
Laz swerved to avoid a large rock in the road as the trail was coming to an end. Looking up, Laz saw the bombers despite their stealth capabilities.
Just like that, the place where they had come from erupted into flames as large chunks of the earth were sent flying every which way. Anything within that inferno was killed without a doubt, but that had nothing to do with them.
"So... what do you plan on doing now? They will think you died in that explosion until they see this tape...." Ashley felt bad since her only shot at making it huge would also show that the person in front of her was actually still alive, putting him in danger.
Laz just laughed.
"They won’t let you show this interview for various reasons so if you want to get it out there, you should do so with out asking permission first," Laz smiled as he said this, thinking about how his last interview had all but disappeared from the internet.
"As for me? Well, My parents disappeared when I was only a child so I’m keeping my eyes out for them. And also, I need to rescue my grandpa who was taken away to some hidden facility somewhere."
"What? Why?"
"Because he also was an awakened, just... very different from myself. And he was taken away years ago..." Laz sighed when he said this. He had hope that his grandpa was still alive, but it was only hope. In the back of his mind, he had already come to terms with his grandpa being dead.
"Now that you say that, there is word going around. Old prisons converted into encampments to keep all the infected.. I mean awakened in one place. In theory, it’s for their own good and the general populaces protection. But if the rumors are right, they are nothing more than concentration camps designed to slowly and silently get rid of the problem when there are no people present," Ashley said, relaying some information she had been privy to.
"Oh? And where might be the closest one?" Laz asked, his focus still on the burning town behind him.
"Montana...although I couldn’t say where. But it’s somewhere remote and quiet. I can tell you that."
"Good enough. Well then, I think this is where we part ways. Just keep in mind what I said. This interview will make you a target. It’s up to you to decided what to do with it." Laz grabbed the sack from the back of the armored vehicle and turned around, not looking back.
"What are you going to do next?" Ashley called, wondering why she didn’t want to see him go.
"Next? I’m going to burn this piece of garbage and offer a pray to a fallen lover. And after that? Well... I hear Montana’s nice this time of year."
Ashley felt a chill go down her back at this statement.
"Maybe I shouldn’t have told him about that..."
