System Of The Undead

Chapter 114: Devil In Disguise [TRIGGER WARNING!]

After that day, things seemed to be getting back on track, Lillian was pulled from the school but not after her mother used every strength in her body to make sure it was shut down.

The teachers were arrested even though it never made the news and was kept under wraps.

They knew that Lillian didn’t need that media attention and another excuse was given as to why they were arrested. This was all thanks to Jake’s influence, Jake wasn’t a nobody.

Jake fought this by all means possible and it took months for her to get a piece of herself back and she stayed at home during that time.

Lillian was like an empty husk in a human body, everything about her felt artificial.

Rachel was going to college soon but she was beginning to have second thoughts, she knew she wouldn’t forgive herself if anything happened to her younger sister.

It wasn’t worth the gamble but she noticed that Jake had stepped up, he was playing the role of a father better than their father ever did.

"Rachel, come here," A masculine voice called out, it was from behind her door.

Rachel stopped playing music so loud that she couldn’t even hear her thoughts.

This was in case an emergency came up, she knew that things were getting better but Lillian had lied to her for months and she wasn’t the wiser.

She couldn’t let her guard down anymore, she wanted to be her sister’s safe space and she was going to do everything in her power to do so even if it meant deferring for a year.

"I’m coming Jake," Rachel responded and she did just that the moment she was called.

Jake was spending more time in the house and this was to take care of the girls while Mrs. Forbes worked.

Mrs Forbes was a busy woman and had to work to make ends meet even though she had Jake, she didn’t want to burden him with any financial responsibility.

He wasn’t her husband and she believed that if he did, she would be indebted to him.

Mrs Forbes didn’t want to give any man that isn’t her husband such control over her.

Jake, however, was helpful in other ways, he contributed in ways that Mrs. Forbes couldn’t dream of.

Mrs. Forbes knew that things would have been a lot harder without him in her life.

Jake could work from home and Rachel couldn’t believe that she was beginning to like the idea of Jake hanging around.

She met Jake, he didn’t look like a man in his mid-forties considering he could easily pass for a model, he was gorgeous and his piercing golden eyes only augmented his beauty.

"Rachel, I brought you here to discuss Lillian. She hasn’t spoken to you about what happened to her?" Jake asked to which Rachel shook her head.

"She hasn’t but I think she’s dealing with it in her own way," Rachel tried to reassure him.

Jake looked visibly worried.

"Are you sure?" Jake asked and Rachel nodded.

Jake sighed, Rachel was appreciative of Jake’s gesture.

"She hasn’t said anything to me, Jake but she spends more time with you... Shouldn’t you know this?" Rachel asked. Lillian never liked Jake but after whatever incident happened.

Lillian was a shell of herself, she never smiled or did anything else.

She just stayed in her room and distracted herself with stupid activities.

"I know, I know..." Jake said and Rachel raised a brow because she didn’t know why he was hesitant.

"Is something going on?" Rachel asked and Jake shook his head, the conversation came to a natural end.

Months later, however, it was revealed that Jake was abusing Lillian and Rachel once again blamed herself for not protecting her.

She should have seen her sister was never comfortable being left alone with him, she shouldn’t have listened to Jake and gone to college.

She should have stayed to protect her younger sister and she couldn’t contain her rage when she caught Jake red-handed.

She grabbed a knife and jammed it right into his jugular, watching him bleed to death.

Lillian showed no emotions, she just stood there as he bled out.

She took her younger sister and ran away from home and in doing so, dropped out of college to take care of her sister, who continued school in a different city.

This was the life of the Forbes family and she knew the fact that Lillian could let down her guard around Jason, something that has never happened since that incident.

It told her that Jason made her inner child feel safe but Rachel was still careful because Jake had her fooled as well.

-

Jason took Lillian to this new house and it was in pristine condition, it was way better than the other one.

"This is awesome!" Lillian blurted out, Debra shared this same thought because she shared the privilege but this wasn’t what was on Jason’s mind right now.

He wanted to know when he could get those meds so he could nurse himself back to health.

"Hey Debra, I wanted to ask about the meds..." Jason requested as Lillian explored the house.

"The meds? You haven’t been accepted by the boss just yet so I’m afraid we can’t give you any meds." Rachel responded but Jason was confused, he thought he was in or he wouldn’t have been given a house.

"I don’t understand, then why did you allow me to pick this house?" Jason asked.

"This is the one thing we all enjoy, the boss decides if you stay within the walls to protect the people of the community or venture outside, those that venture outside are our top priority," Debra cleared up his confusion.

"I see..." Jason said, defeated but Debra had other plans.

"I venture outside the walls and can get my hands on some meds for you and your friend," Debra said and Jason’s eyes immediately lit up.

"You really will!?" Jason was desperate because he knew the faster they healed, the better even though his body wasn’t as bad as it initially was.

"Of course, I’m not some heartless bitch," Debra muttered.

"Thank you so much, I don’t know how I will repay you," Jason said. Debra didn’t need to do what she was doing for him yet she was.

"Who said I was doing it for free? I need your help with something," Debra responded.

Jason was skeptical, he knew from experience that these things were often not good.

There was always some sort of repercussion but he had little to no choice.

"What do you need?" Jason asked, his tone changing.

"It’s nothing serious, I just need you to get something for me outside the wall," Debra said and Jason sighed, he knew this could spell trouble if anyone found out.

Debra had told him all the rules and this violated them.

Jason couldn’t put himself first, he had to think about the others.

"I’m sorry but I have to decline, I will just wait until I see the boss," Jason turned her down.

[Are you sure that is wise?]

Chronos resurfaced and this question alone made Jason doubt everything.

"You have been quiet, what have you been doing?" Jason asked Chronos, derailing the conversation in the process.

[Chronos is an AI that only speaks when it sees fit.]

Chronos informed Jason and Jason was surprised that Chronos was taking a more passive approach to this.

"Why the hell are you speaking like that? Why did you ask if it was a wise choice?" Jason asked his system, expecting answers that only it was capable of giving.

[Chronos has detected a fragment of the meteorite outside of the walls and wishes for you to retrieve it.]

"A piece of the meteorite fragment? Here?" Jason was surprised because this was the very thing he was about to abandon these people for.

[That is correct, I have indicated where it is located on the map. It is marked with a crystal.] Chronos was no longer speaking like it had sentience and Jason wondered why.

Jason wanted to know what was happening with the system but he knew it wasn’t important.

There had to be a reason that Chronos was so desperate other than the reason given to him.

"What the fuck are these fragments? Why are they so important?" Jason questioned, growing suspicious.

[The fragments are what causes the zombies to evolve after consumption. This is what created them and zombies don’t just crave human brains, they crave these fragments as well.]

Chronos responded and Jason now understood why the zombies varied from one another.

"They’re eating the fragments..." Jason thought and this made complete sense.

"Hey, you there?" Debra asked because Jason was spaced out, she didn’t know he was having a whole conversation in his head.

"You know what? Tell me about what you need me to do..." Jason had changed his mind and Debra was glad as she divulged everything he needed to know.