Seeran ran out of the East Gate and toward Tran and Krem's dwelling. Everyone was told to stay in their homes, so the streets were empty, making it easier to get to where he needed to be. When he reached the Kreq's dwellings, he stopped in front of the door, pulled his blaster, and banged.

The door slid smoothly open. Krem answered the door. Seeran stormed in, pushing Krem to the side; he needed to get to Tran. When he entered, Tran was at the window looking out.

"You're the son of Grev!" Seeran growled out, his blaster aimed toward Tran.

"How did you find out?" Tran asked. A slight smile on his face. His cocky tone made Seeran growl in anger.

"Your father is dead," Seeran told him, his voice in a sneer.

Tran's smile widened. "Then I lead." He was self-satisfied and proud.

Seeran smiled back, then shot his blaster, hitting Tran in the chest. Tran flew back, hitting the wall. His eyes were blank. Seeran went to the replicator and took out a bladed staff. It was the sharpest weapon in the replicator. With a wide arch, he severed Tran's head and then turned to Krem, who stood wide-eyed in shock.

"I didn't know he was Grev's son," he said blankly. "I would have said something if I had known who he was."

"None of us did," Seeran stated, then rushed past Krem to get out. He still needed to find Dreq. With the opened, bladed staff in one hand and the blaster in the other. He rushed, heading for Dreg.

The door slid smoothly open as he approached Dreg's dwelling, and Dreg strolled out. "What's going on?" Dreg asked. He sounded curious, like he didn't already know. His features told him he did know. He knew everything.

"Your uncle is dead. Your cousin is dead. Now I need to find out if you're next," Seeran stated coldly. He stood facing Dreg, his eyes piercing into him.

"What do you mean?" Dreg asked. He suddenly sounded like he truly didn't know.

"Who leads the Kreq?" Seeran asked him. "If your uncle and cousin are dead, who leads the Kreq, keeping them under the influence of the serum?" Seeran's voice was hard, even.

Dreg paled, then suddenly sat on the ground in shock. "I didn't know I was part of that. I knew Tran was; he was the next in line to lead, but I didn't know that I was, too." There was confusion in his tone. His eyes were searching, confused, and in shock.

"Is there anyone else involved?" Seeran asked Dreg; his teeth were clenched, his voice still hard.

"I know of no one else, but that doesn't mean there isn't," he stated, still in shock.

"Why did you spy on us for your uncle?" Seeran continued, shooting out each syllable.

"My uncle ordered it. If you don't follow his orders, he kills innocent people. He doesn't care who. He killed my family because I was one of the scouts detained and didn't do anything to stop Krem from meeting his niece." Dreg told Seeran. Dreg was upset and in shock, but he spoke, giving what he knew regardless.

The fighters swarming above them continued to shoot at the dome. Dreg looked up, watching them, his face pale. He slowly shifted his gaze to Seeran. "It seems you have no choice but to kill me, too. If they don't stop, then there is another that I don't know about," he said quietly, knowing his death was inevitable. "To stop them, you have no choice, and I have no choice but to let you," Dreg told him quietly. There was a bit of a shake to each word.

Seeran understood. They had it all wrong. Dreg was trying to keep people alive, so he did what was ordered. Tran stayed out of it. Many leaders did that, staying out of the fight, not getting injured or involved in it.

Dreg stood up slowly and closed his eyes. "I'm ready," he choked out in fear. He knew he was about to die.

Seeran gritted his teeth. He knew he was killing an innocent, but there was no other way. He swung the staff with such speed that it severed Dreg's head from his body and flung it across the grass several feet away. His own face was pale. In that short time, he realized that Dreg was not on Grev's side, but doing what he was told so no one would die. Tran stayed out of it. He was next in line, so he let others do the dirty work. It was the second time he realized it. This time, he ruminated on what he had discovered.

Moments after Dreg's death, the swarm of fighters was already starting to pull back, no longer firing on the dome, confirming that Dreg was the last of Commander Grev's bloodline.

Leaving the body where it lay, Seeran walked through the clusters of houses and back to the East gate. On the way, he pulled out his communicator, calling Council Leader Vorik.

"Sir, Jada killed Commander Grev. She found out Dreg wasn't the only other family he had. They were still under the influence of the serum because there were two more after him. Dreg was his nephew; Tran was his son. Both are dead now. The fighters are pulling back, confirming there are no others to control them." Seeran reported.

"We're on our way back to the dome," Council Leader Vorik stated. "When it's safe, lower the blast shield so we can enter. Not before," he ordered.

"Yes, Sir," Seeran stated, stuffing his communicator back inside the pocket of his body armor.

When he got to the east gate, he looked down, scanning the area around the gate. The fighters were all disappearing, heading back to their disks.

Jada suddenly materialized right in front of the gate. "I think you can let me in now," she told him, smiling widely.

Seeran lowered the blast shields and opened the plasma shield before he opened the gate, and Jada walked in. Orik rushed up, passing him. "I have been looking all over for you," Orik complained. He sounded annoyed, angry. His voice was frantic, fear of losing her in his eyes.

Jada smiled. "I'm the only one who could have gotten close enough, fast enough, to Commander Grev, and you know it," she told her mate. "Don't be mad at Council Leader Vorik, Merrick, or Rask. I snuck onto the shuttle using a cloaking device. They didn't know I was there until it was too late."

Keirn came rushing up to the East Gate, "Has Council Leader Vorik returned?" he asked in a rush. "Something's happening. The zombies are spitting up toxins. They're turning back into normal humans. They're cured!" he yelled out in excitement.

Jada looked at Keirn, one eye raised. "Yeah, when the fighters started to leave, I felt it too. I'm no longer special," she frowned. "I liked being a half-zombie. Now I'm fucking ordinary," she complained.

Orik pulled her close. "I don't care that you're not a half-zombie anymore. I care that you're alive and safe," he told her, hugging her tightly.

Jada rested her head on his chest. "Yeah, I'm happy to be alive and safe, too. Still, I liked being special. Now I have to learn to fight the slow way."

Orik chuckled, squeezing her tighter, kissing the top of her head.

Through the dome, Council Leader Vorik's shuttle was approaching. Seeran quickly opened the shields, allowing them inside.

The shuttle smoothly glided through the opening before Seeran closed it again. They watched the shuttle land on the landing platform; the whistle of the exhaust clouded around it before the door opened, and Vorik, Merrick, and Rask stepped out.

They waited at the gate for Vorik, Marrick, and Rask to arrive.

Council Leader Vorik looked at Jada as he approached. "Do not sneak aboard my shuttle again," he growled at her.

"Don't worry, boss. I'm no longer special. I won't be doing that again," she told him, still complaining that she wasn't special anymore.

Merrick frowned. "You killed Grev? Right?" he asked.

"Yes and no. The pilot of his shuttle shot him, and I severed his head to make sure his death stuck," she told him. "The pilot wasn't under the influence of the serum, although he acted like he was at first, trying to fool Grev."

Vorik went up to Jada and pulled her away from Orik. Orik flinched, not liking him pulling her around. "You didn't get hurt?" Vorik asked, scanning her for injuries.

"Nope. I was still special then. My specialness ended at the same time the fighters started leaving," Jada complained to Vorik.

Vorik hugged Jada tightly, relief in his features. "I was worried you were way over your head with all those fighters and Grev," he stated, then pulled away so Orik could take her back.

Keirn cleared his throat. "The zombies in holding are also cured," he notified them, not wanting to interrupt.

Vorick sighed. "All this time, trying to find a cure for the zombies, doing all those experiments, and all we needed to do was to kill Commander Grev."

"No, not just Commander Grev. Grev had a son and a nephew. All three of them were linked to the people. Tran was his son, and Dreg, you already know about," Jada told Vorik.

Seeran cleared his throat and then spoke up. "Tran was just as bad as his father was. He was even arrogant about us finding out about him. Dreg was only doing things he was ordered to do, so his uncle wouldn't kill anyone. He understood what had happened and let me kill him to stop anyone else from getting hurt. He didn't know he was part of those in line to rule. When he figured it out, he told me I had to kill him, too, to stop the battle. All three had to die to stop what was happening. He realized that. As soon as he was dead, the battle ended. I called you and came back to the gate, then Keirn showed up, saying the zombies were turning back to humans," Seeran explained.

"Yeah, then I lost my superpowers," Jada frowned.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.