Novel Full 299 What Mathew saw
“How do you…” Marcus attempted to reply, only to then turn his mouth shut as his face gave out a mix of emotions.
From terror, through surprise and shock all the way to fury mixing with killing intent.
Then, the man shook his head while hiding his emotions and replacing them with a helpless smile.
“Even if I asked, you wouldn’t tell me how in all hells you know me, would you?” he asked with a small, obviously fake smile.
“Isn’t it better to talk when we are no longer pretending to be stupid?” Mathew played along with a small smile on his own.
“It is…” Markus muttered as he shook his head. He then brought his hands up and slapped his own cheeks twice as if to sober himself up. “Fine, I will arrange for Peter and the other guy that came with that friend of yours to arrive at your room,” Markus stated. “The cores that we gathered so far will be sent to you as well, while I will pull my men from collecting the rest of them,” Markus stated, listing out all the concessions he was willing to give. “With that said, can I hope for you not to interfere too much with me, from now on?”
“I have no such intention in the first place,” Mathew replied while lightly shaking his shoulder. “With how the world is right now, I find it pretty idiotic to waste resources and…” Mathew made a short pause only for his smile to widen a little bit, “and manpower over some foolish squabbles between survivors.” Mathew then spread his arms open. “Don’t we have a common enemy wandering the streets of what used to be a beautiful and comfortable city to live in?”
“That’s certainly true,” Markus agreed and nodded his head. “With that said, I won’t impose on you guys any longer,” he added before turning around and taking one step away from Mathew’s group.
“Let’s talk more once we both recover from our exhaustion,” Mathew suggested before turning around himself and heading right back to the room he just escaped from.
Mathew’s companions followed after him without even a single word of protest while carefully eyeing the other party on the way out. Yet, the image of them simply agreeing with whatever course Mathew decided on came undone as soon as the doors to the room got closed, giving them some space to talk freely.
“What were you thinking, you dummy!” Nadia was the first one to freak out. “Snipers?! Even with all your strength, I can’t say for sure you could survive a high-powered shot like that!” she complained, putting all her worries and fear into her words while doing her utmost to keep her voice low.
“Dear, calm down,” Mathew said, mindful of his voice. “The echo in this room…” he made another pause, “is turning all your shouts into a massive pain in my… head,” he added with yet another pause.
Nadia wasn’t stupid. Nor was Norbert or Leila. And even though there was no echo whatsoever in the room, they both took a deep breath before tuning their voices down another notch.
“I know you guys have a lot of questions, but first…” Mathew muttered while turning his eyes to Leila. “Can I ask you to keep on a lookout?” he requested while giving Norbert a quick glance.
Leila’s face tensed up a little only for the girl to then nod her head and approach the window while making sure to sit as close to the center of the room as she could.
“Now, you little whore, come here,” Mathew then added in a voice he would never use when interacting with even his second or third wife, not to speak about the one he actually loved.
Mathew then sat down by the wall before tapping his hand against his leg.
Nadia gave Mathew a slightly surprised look… before following his suggestion and plopping down on his lap.
“Now then…” Mathew muttered, reaching out and sneaking his hand underneath Nadia’s shirt before strongly grasping at her breast and giving it a tight squeeze. He then leaned his head back before putting on an arrogant face. “Ask what you want to know.”
Mathew’s behavior was completely out of his character. Yet, this was something that only those present in the room could know.
“We are safe,” Norbert muttered while opening his eyes. “I found no traces of any listening in devices or people eavesdropping from nearby rooms,” he reported.
“That’s a relief,” Mathew then whispered, pulling his hand out from underneath Nadia’s shirt. “I’m sorry for that, dear,” he apologized in a whisper. “If there is one person that we can never be too careful around, it’s Marcus.”
“I didn’t mind it at all,” Nadia shook her shoulders while switching her position a tiny little bit before resting her side on Mathew’s chest and leaning her lips over his ear. “And in this way, we can make sure that even if Norbert missed a device, they won’t hear shit either way,” she whispered in a soft voice.
“That’s true,” Mathew agreed with a small smile when the girl’s voice tickled his earlobe. “But can’t you see how jealous Leila is already?” he whispered back only to shake his head a little before raising his voice a bit.
“First off, this guy…” Mathew pursed his lips. He took a long breath to help himself gather courage. “This guy is someone I encountered back in my previous life,” Mathew admitted. “And while I’ve never caught him directly in the act with how weak I was, there is one thing I know for sure.”
“And that is…?” Leila muttered while doing her utmost not to let her jealousy appear on her face.
According to the arrangement they made just recently, tonight was supposed to be her turn to enjoy intimacy with Mathew all for herself, and yet, there Nadia was, occupying a spot on his lap…
“He would take unturned people, deprive them of all their limbs in the most gruesome way possible. He would then turn them into zombies before leaving them in the spot he wanted to secure.”
This was the one thing that Mathew knew for sure from his past memories. And the one clue that made him nearly certain about who they were dealing with was even before he woke up in the local camp.
It was the story that he heard from Peter, a story that had way too much in common with what he saw with his own two eyes for it to be a coincidence.
“Why would he do that for?” Leila asked, her face mellowing down as her disgust over the man’s action got one better than her jealousy. “To get rid of unwanted opposition?” she attempted to guess.
“That one for sure,” Mathew agreed while nodding his head only to then start shaking it sideways. “But back when I saw it, I thought there was something more to it. And the story we heard from Peter pretty much confirms my guess from back then.”
Mathew turned silent for a moment as he took a few breaths to calm himself down. He then closed his eyes and took some time to gather his courage before opening his eyes again and looking at his companions in the room.
“I believe a zombie who experienced this kind of trauma before getting turned… In one way or another, it helps to keep zombies out of the area where they are left to rot.”