Mutagen

Day 4 – 7:14 AM – Firenze Townhouse Complex Subdivision Main Gates, La Joya St., Buhay na Tubig, Imus Cavite

When Mark left the congresswoman with Mei and return to the vehicle but his face could not help but darken. After all, he already said that they were leaving and said goodbye to the congresswoman several times. Yet, aside from Abbygale, Odelina and Laelaps, everyone else came running out of their vehicle. They were even in panic.

"Just what are you all doing?"

Mark said in an irritated voice.

Even the other people around them, Madam Lanie and the policemen, looked at them with confused expression. The congresswoman could not help but look at Mark with a bitter smile as she somehow understood Mark's irritation at this situation.

"Big Brother, Janette is…"

Charmaine tried to tell Mark what was happening but her voice trailed off as she did not know how to explain the situation either.

Still, that gave the information Mark needed. The situation was caused by the infected he was keeping.

'It didn't look like she made another mess right?'

Mark thought of that as he entered the vehicle.

Inside, he saw Abbygale and Odelina watching the strange behavior of Janette while Laeplas curled at the back of the vehicle doing the same. Janette, the docile infected he was keeping was now struggling with her chains and the cloth gagged on her mouth. Her movements were quite violent so that should be the reason Charmaine and the others who were afraid of the infected was alarmed and ran out of the vehicle.

Nevertheless, Mark observed that the infected girl was not struggling to attack anyone as she did not even face him as she struggled with the chains tied on her body. Janette was really not trying to attack anyone. Rather, it looked more like she wanted to get out of the vehicle.

Realizing her intent, Mark thought that there might be a reason to this as this infected did not try to resist even once since the time she became like this back in the mall. She would only stare at people or look around. Even when she was being fed, she would not act violently.

"Papa, is she hungry?"

Abbygale curiously asked making Mark look at Odelina.

"Odel, she's fed yesterday right?"

"Yes, I fed her twice yesterday, once in the morning when you were inside the City Hall and another in the evening when you were unconscious. But I don't think she's hungry either. When she is hungry she will only look weak and slumped but she never acted violently like that."

"I also thought so."

Mark nodded at what Odelina said.

"I guess I'll let her out for a bit."

Mark then proceeded to remove the lock of the chains tying Janette to her seat. Of course, he did not remove the part of the chains coiled to her body but removed the cloth blocking her mouth.

Janette tried to hurriedly run out of the vehicle but her chain was being pulled by Mark making her unable to. She almost fell down so Mark had no choice but to hold unto the chains behind her and prevent her from moving too much. Still, it was obvious that she had really no notion to attack despite there was nothing blocking her mouth at the moment.

When Mark stepped out of the vehicle with Janette, he could hear several metallic sounds echoing around the area. Looking around, he could see the policemen in the surrounding area had already pointed their guns at Janette.

"Mark, what is the meaning of this?"

Madam Lanie asked as she looked at Janette with a frown. She never expected that Mark's group had an infected with them. Yesterday, they had just let their group in without checking their vehicle due to the fact that Mark and his group helped them a lot and the emergency situation they had. Mark had fallen unconscious after they fought and subdued the Mutant Dog with him spewing out blood. Due to that, their group was hurriedly given a house to stay.

"You don't have to ask, as you can see, I'm keeping an infected with us but I have no reason to tell everything to you."

Mark nonchalantly answered. He then looked around staring at the policemen before he continued with a serious face.

"It's better if you tell your men to lower their guns. I will tell you but a single accidental shot will start a massacre here."

Seeing the expression on his face, Madam Lanie slightly shivered. She looked at Senior Inspector Tarongoy beside her.

"Tell your men to lower their guns."

"But Madam! That's an infected!"

"I know but I don't want your men to end up like those gang members."

Madam Lanie spoke while turning her gaze unto the pile of dead bodies at the side of the road gathered by the policemen.

Hearing what she said and looking at the dead bodies, Senior Inspector Tarongoy frowned but also relented.

"Men, lower you weapons."

"But sir!"

One of the policemen tried to protest.

"You heard me right?"

Senior Inspector Tarongoy glared at the policeman. He knew that many of these policemen hated the infected as their kind killed and ate their families, friends and comrades. However, this was not the right situation to vent those grievances. The man in front of them had already showed them what he could do. Furthermore, there were another woman, a child and a dog that was on par or maybe stronger than their current acting leader according to the information relayed to them by the Chief and Madam Lanie. It was not a good idea to act against these people just for a single infected.

Moreover, anyone with the right mind and even without good observation skills would notice that there was something peculiar about that female infected. Despite the fact that there were too many people around that her, she did not even try to attack. She might be behaving violently but not towards the people around her.

The policemen finally lowered their weapons but it could be seen in their faces that they were against it. It was also likely that these men would attack at a slightest threat the Janette would show.

Seeing their actions, Mark's group members who were tensed felt relived. Mark was the same. Although he did not fear falling out with these people, he would rather not fight without a good reason. Also he did not want to lose a good specimen like Janette. There might even be a possibility that Janette was one of a kind.

As Janette was struggling violently on Mark's grasp, he finally let her go where she wanted with him following behind her grasping the chains like a pet owner walking his dog in the morning.

While Janette led the way and Mark followed, the people blocking their way could only step aside afraid that they would get attacked. To their surprise and amazement, the Janette just passed by them not even leaving a glance unlike the infected they encountered every day that would attack any human near them.

Janette wanted to run but with Mark holding her chains, she could only walk unsteadily. Surprising enough, the direction she was going to was where the body of the gang leader that had yet to be collected by the policemen lie.

Arriving beside the body, Janette kneeled down violently trashed her body side by side. Mark noticed her intention so he hurriedly loosened the chain restricting her arms. After her arms were loosened, Janette immediately grabbed the gang leader's head and then…

THUD! THUD! THUD! THUD! SPLAT!

In front of everyone watching her, she bashed his head several times on the cement road.

As the sounds of gun shots had already stopped for a while and nothing else happened, many survivors who hid inside the houses during the encounter between the gang members and the police started to come out of their hiding to see the current situation. However, what they saw was a female infected bashing the head of a man on the cement. Most of the survivors exclaimed in horror. If not for the policemen and other people surrounding the area, they might have thought that the subdivision had been invaded by the infected.

One of the survivors who managed to get closer to the area bellowed.

"What are you policemen doing? There's a monster in front of you, why are you not killing it?"

Nevertheless, what that survivor received was several glares from the policemen. The survivor was taken aback. Some of the glares he received were looking at him like he was an idiot. He did not want to just receive those glares but he did not dare question them again. There must be some reason why the police were just standing around vigilantly and watching.

CRACK! SPLAT!

The head of the gang leader was finally cracked open making blood and brain matter spill out into the cement.

Many of those watching could not help but fell their stomach churn. The ones with weaker stomachs like those survivors that had come around immediately turned unto their backs and bent down releasing the very little contents of their stomachs. Even the ones who had stronger tolerance to these kinds of scenes felt sour on their throats. Different reactions came out from the crowd. The members Mark's group was not an exception.

That was the difference in seeing just blood and dead bodies than seeing a dead body's head being bashed open eaten raw.

However, there were some people here with abnormal mentality.

Janette had scooped the brain matter that spilled on the floor with her hands and put the contents of her hands that were dripping of blood into her mouth. As if it was not enough, she held the gang leader's body on his shoulder with her left hand and held his head with her right hand.

RIIPPP!!

She pulled his head off even pulling out some of his spinal column. More blood spilled as the shape of the gang leader's torso distorted.

Even more people could not keep on watching anymore.

Nevertheless, Mark squatted in front of Janette who was eating the brains of the gang leader while intently watching her. Mei also went closer and stood behind him. Abbygale also wanted to watch but she was being held off by Odelina along with her children as the scene was not good for kids.

There were really abnormal people here.

"Gege, Janette's having a hard time is she?"

"Yeah. It will consume more time if I didn't help her."

As Mei said, Janette was having a hard time extracting the contents of the gang leader's skull. Even if some of the brain matter had already spilled out due to the force of her bashing, the remaining contents would not fit through the small hole she managed to open.

Mark pulled out the machete tied unto his waist and stretched out his left hand towards the head Janette was holding. Unexpectedly to everyone, he did not snatch it. Rather, he motioned his had as if he was asking Janette for the head.

"Give me that for a bit. I'll open it."

Mark spoke making everyone look at him incredulously. Not only that he was not affected by the scene and even volunteered to slice the head open. He even talked to the infected. They were all thinking if there was something wrong with his mind.

However, they were managed to witness an absurd reality.

Janette stopped what she was doing and stared at Mark's outstretched hand, then to his face. After staring at him with her white pupils and without blinking, she slowly placed the head on Mark's hand.

Everyone was shocked to see this scene. Even Mei who stood behind him and their group members who managed to turn their sight back to the scene could not help but exclaim their shock.

No one knew but Mark. After Janette consumed the mouthful of spilled brain matter, something was triggered inside that brain of hers. It was very faint but Mark managed to detect it as he was intently observing her. That was also the reason he tried to speak to her and ask for the head instead of snatching the head from her.

Janette's response was also a surprise to Mark but the shock was less compared to others as he somehow anticipated it. With that, he put the head on the ground face down and split the back of the head open with his machete.

Seeing that the back of the head was finally split open, Janette hurriedly picked up the head and pulled two halves apart creating more and more mess spilling more blood along with the parts of the brain and brain fluid dripped continuously. Using her hands, Janette scooped the brain from the skull and devoured it.

As Janette was devouring her food, Mark observed several changes on her body. Her pale skin started to become rosy. The bloated veins that were one of the features the infected had that could be seen through their skin was now starting to fade. The more accurate thing to describe her, it was as if she was returning back into human.

However, that was not the case. Mark observed that faint consciousness that started to sprout but it did not grow too much. If he were to describe it, that consciousness was even weaker than a new born kitten. Nevertheless, Mark was in glee as if he found something very interesting. Well, what was happening to Janette was really something VERY interesting.

At this moment that everyone was immersed in the gory but peculiar scene, sounds of cars sounded outside the gates. Several gunshots echoed from the outside alarming everyone but the target of the gunshots was the infected that started to gather outside the gate. After the infected outside was eliminated, several patrol cars entered the gate together with a passenger van and a family car that was strangely covered with vines.