Journey to the Mist Island

Chapter 9: Journey to the Mist Island

R wakes into reality as he looks up through the window, his body is weak and tired. Everything looks blurry. Before thinking of himself, he checks his body instinctively searching for something, like he’s lost it. His eyes land on the nanotech wrapped around his belly.

When he notices this, he exhales in relief. The cure is still there, alive and kicking. Then a voice comes, not from his head this time, but from the radio.

“You know, you would've been dead if not for your genes... and me.”

R rolls his eyes and slumps back, staring at the window the sky is dark, the moon barely shines and the stars flicker faintly. The only real light comes from the car’s rear and the massive, eerie digital timer glowing in the sky:

102 Days — 21 Hours — 43 Minutes — 14 Seconds
The countdown still ticks.

R groans as he sees the countdown.

“How long have we been on the road?” he asks.

SHAID replies, voice crackling through the speaker.

“More like how long have you been knocked the fuck out?”

“Just answer the damn’ question,” R mutters, still dazed.

“Twelve days.”

His eyes widen.

“The fuck—?!”

He tries to sit up, pain flaring through his chest his body is healing but from the incident in the slaughter house but the pains are still there.

“Don’t you fuckin’ stand up,” SHAID snaps. “Your body’s still wrecked and why the fuck did you block my access to your vitals when I went out of commission?”

R forces a tired smirk.

“You’ve got access now, don’t you? Or else why am I sitting in the back.”

He slides toward the middle seat at the back, groaning, as he tries to move towards the driver’s seat

“I’m driving.”

But his arms and legs feels like stone his body is not listening to his command fully as he wince.

“SHAID… what the fuck are you doing?”

“You think I’m gonna let you drive in your fuckin’ condition?”

“What cond……?!” Before he finishes, a sharp pain punches through his gut. He looks down.

The nanotech is shifting, absorbing into his skin as his stomach begins to swell.

SHAID bursts out laughing.

“Look at you. You're a pregnant man now.”

R clenches his teeth.

“This is why I disconnected your access. Stop controlling my fuckin’ nerves and let me drive the damn car.”

“Nuh uh,” SHAID teases. “You’re pregnant. I need you to be treated like a princess.”

He crosses his arms and leans back.

“Fuck you.”

“Fuck you too, princess.”

“Fuck off.”

SHAID and R keeps taunting each other along the road, but after a while, the silence creeps in. R’s thoughts drift to Trevor.

SHAID interrupts instantly.

Don’t you dare think about the past right now. None of this is your fault. It’s those fuckin’ bastards.”

“B-but—” R tries to argue.

“B... b... b... what? You’re a pregnant man. You’re not supposed to be thinking too hard. Don’t affect the baby’s state.”

R blinks, then asks quietly,

“How is she?”

SHAID softens.

“She’s fine. Your blood is sustaining her. She absorbed the milk and water earlier. The nanotech’s doing its job well forming a womb in your stomach. She’s healthy and about to kick. But your body’s only healing slowly 'cause 70% of your system is focused on keeping her alive. So, we ne….”

“Can you locate someone for me?” R cuts her off.

“Who the fuck is more important than the baby in your fuckin’ stomach?”

“Well the person… might be related to her mother.”

The car screeches to a halt. R’s head hits the front seat.

“You—say—what?!”

R groans, rubbing his forehead.

“Is this how you treat a pregnant person? Fuck…”

“You’re the Great Commander R,” SHAID replies. “Don’t be a cat just ‘cause I stopped the car.”

“Why don’t you have some damn restrictions?”

“Giiirrrrl, I’m the best of the best. No restrictions can fuckin’ hold me.”

Then, she continues.

“Now, back to the topic. The fuck do you mean she has a relative?”

R leans forward.

“I met her in a cage... when I was entering the Slaughterhouse with the Landlord. You won’t know this because you were fuckin bitch glitching. It looked like... she wasn’t the only one.”

“Shadows… that’s what the Landlord called them.”

SHAID goes quiet.

“I thought Shadows were extinct…”

“So, did I,” R says. “I thought AI’s not meant to think”

“Yes, we analyze instead dickhead” she replies furiously “If the legends about Shadows are true…” SHAID mutters.
“Damn. The Landlord would’ve been fucked up badly. We dodged a bazooka there, R.”

“will you start the damn car already? Let’s move.”

“Okay, mummy,” SHAID replies sarcastically as the Jeep starts, and the journey continues.

After a few moments of silence, SHAID asks,
“How do you want me to track this SHADOW? We never met her in the tunnel during the massacre.”

R leans back.
“I remember before I entered the Landlord’s office, I saw some mercenaries and scavengers. Armed and sharp. They are way stronger than the ones I fought in the tunnel. They had trucks and cars being worked on... looked like they were prepping for a trip.”

“That doesn’t fuckin’ matter,” SHAID cuts in. “What I need is…….”

“UG3983VX?” R replies instantly.

“Ok wise one. Do you remember his voice?”

“Yes.”

“Give me a couple of minutes,” SHAID says, then goes silent.

A few minutes pass, suddenly a familiar voice crackles from the radio:
“We’re fuckin’ close to the Dead Zone. Any contact from the Landlord?”

Another voice answers,
“Negative.”

The first voice groans.
“Ahhhhhh fuck.”

R’s eyes narrow.
“I recognize that first voice.”

“Yeah,” SHAID confirms.

The radio continues:

“How’s the package?” the familiar voice asks.

“She’s here. Just barking as usual. Can’t we just fuckin end her? She looks weird.”

“Fuck no. We need to hear what the Landlord says. And I have things to do with her… before we end her.”

The radio cuts off.

“He sounds like one of the guys from the slaughterhouse,” R says.

“Where are they headed?” he asks.

“Well, good news,” SHAID replies.
“We’re going to the same place.”

“Same place?” R curious

“The East Region, duh, R. But we’re traveling by vehicle.”

R’s eyes widen as he hears this knowing the danger thy are heading to

“Don’t tell me… we’re going through the fuckin Mist Forest?”

“So are they.”

“Why the fuck are we going to the East Region?” R demands.

SHAID sighs as she replies
“Because that’s where the fuckin’ alien doctor is.”

R frowns.
“But the last time I saw Doctor Smith, he was in the West Region. How did he get to the East?”

“Before you ask—he traveled immediately after you did that womb-fusion shit. By plane. And before you ask why we are going, if you actually have brains, the baby’s already nine months. We need to get that girl out of you.”

R’s voice is low.
“But… I’m not in labor.”

SHAID snaps.
“How the fuck would you know? Your genes are one of the best on the planet. You don’t react to pain like normal people. You’ve been tested and experimented on multiple times in the lab. You’ve gone through hell multiple times and you’re still physically intact. You really think you’d feel labor like a regular human?

Why do you think you keep getting dizzy fool? Your body is reacting. Things that aren’t supposed to affect you are now affecting you.

If this continues, your wounds will take longer to heal, your pain will increase, and who knows? You might fuckin’ die.”

R clenches his jaw.
“But… she’s not safe out here.”

“She’s also not safe if you’re dead.” SHAID’s voice is harsh now.
“I’m taking you to that motherfuckin’ doctor to get that baby out. That’s what I was trying to tell you before you ruined everything.”

“But we might die before we get there.” R replies

“Who wants to kill us? Those freakin’ scavengers? Hah. I’m not scared of them.”

“Yeah, because you’re not the one doing the fighting,” R mutters.
“But I’m more scared of that Island.”

“Shut up,” SHAID snaps.
“You’ve been through worse.”

The Jeep speeds forward as they head straight toward the Mist Island.

We cut back to the West Region.

The ground is littered with bodies in black cloaks, blood seeping through their fabric, staining the dirt beneath. The place looks like an abandoned home, silent, cold, forgotten.

But the walls are alive with madness.

Crystals and blood-soaked drawings cover every surface, all surrounding a single terrifying image: a child in the center, suspended in the air, held by a tall, dark figure.

A low hum vibrates through the space.

From the abyss, a voice breaks the silence, echoing like the growl of death itself.

“This is the voice of the SHADOW OF DEATH.”

She stands in the middle of the room, tall and terrifying, her entire body dripping in blood. In her grasp, a man in a torn black cloak dangle lifelessly. His body twitches as she speaks—her voice alone enough to make the creature in her hands seize violently.

“I will only ask you this question once,” she growls.
“Where. Is. He?”

The man’s eyes roll back. His body spasms uncontrollably, and within seconds, he dies in her grasp blood bubbling from his lips.

Two shadowy figures appear behind her, moving like ghosts.

She doesn't turn to face them as she asks,
“Any details about the Landlord?”

One of them responds in a low, respectful voice,
“He’s telling the truth. He’s not playing games.”

She chuckles darkly.
“Well... our Landlord is a generous man.”

Then her tone sharpens, as she drops the dead body in her grasp

“I need the both of you too pay his tenants a visit at the Mist Islands.”

The two shadows bow deeply.

“What about you?” they ask in unison.

“The Truth Bringer has done enough damage,” she says, stepping over the corpse.
“Creating all these stupid occult societies and false prophecies he is ruining our cause. I need to put an end to all their branches in the West. I’ll catch up once I’m done here.”

Before they vanish, she adds:

“And send my greetings to the Landlord’s guest… Commander R. I need him alive.”

The two shadows gumline at each other.

Without another word, they vanish into black smoke leaving the Shadow of Death standing alone in the blood-soaked abyss, surrounded by corpses and the haunting energy of whatever force she commands.