There was something that immediately caught their attention. Lit by dim emergency lights, a horrible sculpture blocked the main door to this section of the base.
It was an immense wall of howling flesh. Naked zombies fused together into a living barricade. No arms or legs, but some nails were scattered across this mural. The thing that made it not have enough time to clean the details. The worst part was the faces, half melted to the point that one could only guess where one ended and the other began.
The stench of fresh blood saturated the boy's nostrils. He wanted to burn it to the ground.
"What is that?" Max asked with disgust.
"Such a nice work of art!" Ange said as she got closer to examine it.
"It is made out of human flesh . . . it has the virus . . . but . . ." Olivia's power was flaring up.
The tanned villain took a deep breath and nodded. "Another super did it," the blonde girl finally said.
"That could be troublesome." Max let out a sigh; they were not dealing with zombies this time.
He pulled out his combat knife and began to stab those monsters in the brain. A quick way to kill them. Also, their skulls were disturbingly soft. It was like popping water balloons.
"Hey, if they are mini Lamarks. . . Why does stabbing them in the head kills them?" Max asked while working.
"Lamarck had a core; if you pierced it, he would die," Olivia said.
"Yep, their heads are the core. Guideline shenanigans," Ange added.
When Max was finally done, he tapped out 'shave and a haircut' on the wall next to the flesh wall a few times. Simple musical notes to see if the creator was near this thing.
It took a few seconds, but then he heard a female voice on the other side of the wall.
"Hello?" It was so soft, he almost couldn't hear it.
Olivia went pale and began to walk to the monorail.
"Hi, we are other survivors. Are you fine?" Max yelled.
"Aye, thanks for asking. Are you fine? Did you get bitten? I can cure you. Just touch the wall!" The girl speaking behind the barricaded door screamed with a clear Scottish accent.
"Oh no, we have a vaccine!" The boy said.
"A vaccine?" She asked, confused.
Max looked back, and he was alone. There was no sign of either Olivia or Ange.
"Yes, we are a group of supers," Max added in a calm tone.
"This is a fucked-up situation; we need to stick together," the girl said, surprising Max by how reasonable she was.
"What about the flesh wall? Did you make it? I am also a biomancer." They could become an amazing combo.
There was a pause on the other side of the wall and a small chuckle of relief. "Good lad. We can work together then. I made this shat to stop anything from the tunnel from coming in," the girl answered.
There was a small pause, and then the wall of flesh began to unlock. Muscle, bone, and other tissue tore open just to reveal a metal door behind it.
"Let me open the door," the girl said, and he could finally see her.
With a loud click sound, the door of the hydroponics was finally open.
She was a petite girl covered from head to toe in armor made out of living body parts. Layer after layer of human skin flayed and stuck together to create this mantle that protected her from damage. On the other hand, she had a spear made out of bones and throbbing muscles. Under it, Cat was a little bit chubby with a tiny belly, a fat ass, and two big breasts gained more from diet in jail than genetics. She was still wearing her white tank top and orange prison pants.
The boy could only see tired green eyes, curly red, almost orange hair hiding under this biological exoskeleton, and a face full of freckles.
"Catriona MacConnell, call me Cat for short," she said after an exhausted sigh. The girl's face looked less alive than the zombies he had faced until now.
"Max Power," he answered with a smile.
"Nice jacket, where did you buy it?" The young man quickly added with a teasing tone to ease the tension.
"I made it myself. I am kind of new to knitting." She lifted her arms, giving the young man a full look at the suit while softly smiling.
"We have some extra armored vests and weapons if you need them," Max suggested, as it could not be healthy being so close to the virus even if she was a biomancer just like him.
"I prefer using this, but. . .Oh, I could have multiple layers. Thanks." She went out and stepped outside the door.
"And . . . you need a hug? I know I did need one after arriving here," the young man said, trying not to be creepy but also wanting emotional support for that girl who looked to be about to have a mental collapse.
"What a charming wee lad you are, but no, I am into girls," she politely declined his advances.
"Oh? Great, me too. We can be friends then; we have that in common," he said jokingly and shrugged.
She snorted a laugh and punched him in the shoulder in a playful manner. " I could use a friend or two," Cat barked with a smug smile.
"Well, the rest of the group may be on the monorail. Let's check." Indeed, the two girls were hiding inside that small train.
Well, saying that they were hiding was not the correct term. Olivia was desperately trying to get the monorail going in the cabin and having some problems with that, while Ange was just waiting, sitting with her legs crossed and looking at them.
"Oh, here you were," Max said with a calm tone. Then everything clicked together; he should have avoided this meeting under any circumstances.
The second that Cat got a good look at the girls, her skin turned red. "You! And you!" the girl screamed with pure rage as she pointed a spear at the duo.
"Hi, big sis! Long time no see!" Ange almost sprinted to hug her, but she managed to restrain herself, remembering what personal space was and how she should ask for consent before hugging someone.
The second that time ran out, the girl slowly came out of the cabin to meet the new girl. "Cat . . ." Olivia's face was twisted with discomfort. Like when you step on a wet carpet in the bathroom.
"What are you doing with them?!" The biomancer yelled at Max with an accusing tone.
"Do you know each other?" He was confused.
"Those two ruined my life!" There was pure frustration and hate in Cat's words.
Max blinked for a few seconds. The chances of finding someone with a personal grudge against Anathema were not low; on the contrary, it would be rare to find someone who didn't hated her. He was mostly surprised with Olivia also being in the same place as Ange.
"Hey, you kinda did that yourself," Olivia said with a nervous smile.
That only added more fuel to the fire. "I will fucking kill you!" she screeched, her eyes getting bloodshot.
"Can I get some context? . . . Please?" Max asked while Cat was screaming.
The only reason why Cat stopped was because she needed to vent out her frustrations, and she had learned the lesson of thinking before acting. "She!" The girl pointed at Anathema.
"Lobotomized my dad's brain with acid and made me break my only taboo!" After all, she would not let her father's body rot as a vegetable in the hospital. However, what came back was not the same person.
(That was a justified reason to hate Ange.)
"Ok, I can understand that," Max said with a calm tone.
"Sorry! I was a really bad girl . . . I am trying to be better," Ange said with a smile and bowed her head in order to show regret.
"Shove that apology in your arse!" Cat yelled back.
Now the tip of the spear was pointed toward Olivia.
"That bitch orchestrated the harassment that took me to a mental breakdown!" Cat squealed, her body and powers flaring up with such intensity that even Max got afraid of going nearby.
"Hey, don't blame me! You could have gone to a psychologist to treat that shit instead of becoming a bioterrorist!" Olivia barked back and pointed her gun at her, turning this into a standoff.
(For God's sake, Olivia, shut up.) Max needed to think fast to avoid this massacre.
That took her over the edge. "You wanted me to kill myself!" She was about to charge against the blonde.