Apocalypse: The Ice King Returned

Chapter 32: The Reviver

Luther didn’t have enough time to check on his sister. Joselyn's father smashed the headlamp on the table, making the room darker and harder to move around in.

Luther heard Clark’s cry, and the light in his hand fell to the ground. The young girl quickly picked up the light and threw it against the wall. The light broke, making the room almost pitch black.

Now Luther was the only one with a light. However, Joselyn's parents were in the darkness. Suddenly Luther was tackled by two infected people who were intent on biting his throat.

"Oh, stupid man." Joselyn giggled excitedly and waved her arms in the darkness.

Clark was the only one standing. He couldn’t imagine Joselyn, who looked so cute and harmless, would be so violent and cruel. He hid away, afraid that she might attack him now that she took out his light.

"Luther! Constance!"

Clark couldn't see Joselyn. His enemy was in the dark. He wasn’t a good fighter yet. The sound of his heartbeat rushed in his ears.

A knife slashed out at Clark from the darkness. He dodged it instinctively, but he wasn’t fast enough to avoid being grazed by the blade on his arm. 

Clark ignored the cut and ran to Luther. He was afraid Luther would need his help now.

However, once Clark had taken a few steps, a shadow appeared behind him and sneered.

Constance stood up with her hand on her stomach. She saw Joselyn standing behind Clark with a fruit knife. She was going to kill him.

"Clark! Watch out!"

-----

Joselyn enjoyed frightening people. She even found pleasure in killing them.

Shortly after doomsday had begun, Joselyn's parents took her to hide in this room. It was safe for the first few days. However, a few men came one day and said they needed help. Joselyn's parents hesitated for a while and finally opened the door.

The men killed their parents and wanted to rape her.

As Joselyn was pushed down on the bed and her clothes were stripped away, her desperation turned into anger, then into a rage.

She wondered how anyone could be so disgusting and want to do something so horrible to another person.

Suddenly, her dead parents stood up.

And Joselyn was awakened. At that moment, she realized that she was not a human being, she was a Reviver!

Death is not the end now. I will make these men pay. I want everyone to die. Joselyn thought.

-----

"A reviver…but you’re so young." A voice spoke just as Joselyn was about to go for the kill. It was a cold voice. She turned to find that her parent’s heads were impaled by icicles.

Luther, who was held up by the revived parents, pushed them away and got back to his feet. But she saw Luther was now very angry with her.

This all happened in a blink of an eye. Joselyn didn’t know how Luther had defeated her parents. They were stronger than anyone still living. How did he beat them both? Where did the ice come from?

Joselyn knew that Luther was not weak. She wanted to kill the others and run, so she turned away to attempt to stab Clark. 

"You hurt one of my friends. You will not hurt both." Luther wanted to kill her.

Polar Ice-cage.

Joselyn suddenly felt something was wrong, and she wanted to run. But three long spikes made of ice shot out around her feet, caging them to the floor where she stood.

"What...what is this?" Joselyn was trapped and shocked. She couldn't help but look at Luther. She knew that this was a trick of his.

She could tell that the man wanted to kill her. She started to struggle in panic. However, the icy cage was very solid, and she couldn’t break free from it.

Luther was furious. He cared about his friends just as much as he cared for himself. They came inside the room to help, unaware of the child’s scam.

And now his sister was hurt because he wasn’t careful enough to see it.

Luther was the one responsible for this mistake. The others didn’t have the experience he had. Hell, he had spent ten years living in a world after doomsday.

In just a blink of an eye, Luther reached Joselyn and grabbed her neck. The cage around her feet had started to melt already. Luther picked her up by her throat. Joselyn wanted to struggle, but an extremely cold feeling ran down her spine from Luther's hands, freezing her so she could barely move.

"Do you have anything to say?"

Joselyn looked at her parents, hoping they might stand up again and help her. She remembered her parents being killed, and her hatred began to grow again.

Joselyn said coldly, "The intruders deceived me and killed my parents. This was only payback! You’ll all day someday. It’s divine punishment for your hypocrisy."

After listening to this, Luther fell silent. Although he didn't know Joselyn's tragedy, he could also guess what happened to her and her parents based on her words. He knew her story because he had heard it so many times before.

Luther responded evenly “You could have had your revenge, but instead you used your anger as an excuse to kill innocent people. The punishment is now on your head, not anyone else’s.”

"Even though you’ve done some bad things, I want you to know that I’m sorry. Some bastard has hurt you, and it wasn’t your fault. I won’t spare you, but you have my sympathy. We’re not going to die, but we are going to stop anyone who wants to hurt people as they hurt you."

Joselyn just looked at her parents with hollow eyes, as if their rotten cheeks were new and fresh again. Joselyn felt as if they could stand up and embrace her.

"Mom…dad!"

Everything was over after a faint snap.

After killing the reviver, Luther gently picked up Constance in his arms and put her on the sofa. Her face was pale. She had a stab wound planted in her stomach. Thanks to her leather coat, the knife didn’t go in very deep, so there was almost no danger of internal bleeding.

Constance wanted to speak but Luther stopped her. He took out the med kit, anti-inflammatory liquid and bandages from the backpack to treat her wound. They were the ones he brought from Cedar Creek

Clark also was bandaging his arm when he spoke up, "Luther..."

Luther knew what he was going to ask. He answered him before he said anything else, "She was a reviver. They’re not really human, but they’re not dead either. They’re just like us, almost. The moment they realize their power, they become thirsty, then they begin to hunt and trap humans. They drink our blood and eat our flesh like there’s no tomorrow.”