Michael had noticed the exchange between Luke and Kane. He hadn't seen exactly what had happened before the spikes shot up, but by the time he had heard the ground cracking and looked back, the crystal they had recovered earlier was in Luke's hands. And it was broken in two. One of the halves was given to Kane.
Something about it had released a large amount of energy, but for some reason, it hadn't shattered. That meant that whatever had happened, there was still potential for more power to be extracted from the crystal.
They were standing in front of the gate to the park, Arrogance and Pride having left with their flying contraption, just looking.
"Kane?" Zoe asked timidly.
"Yeah, I got it," he responded, stepping forward. "Just try not to look."
"Hang on, what's going on here?" Michael asked, doubtful. "Why is he the guy? He hasn't been fighting at all this whole time, and now he's the one to take on the horde? I don't understand."
"The crazier I get, the worse I am at dying," Kane explained unhelpfully. "They can do it more efficiently, but I can do it longer."
"So you're the horde guy, okay," Michael accepted. "But what do you mean the-"
"Trust me, that's the best way to explain it," Luke said, interrupting him. "You'll see."
Michael looked at Luke, confused. Why was he the one defending Kane? It wasn't even Zoe? Maybe he had misjudged their relationship.
Or maybe Michael was just the outsider of the group. It certainly seemed that way. Everyone else knew things that he didn't. Well, mostly Luke, but Zoe seemed to know things too, and from their interactions they clearly knew each other. In fact, they acted almost like siblings.
But all thoughts about fifth wheeling left Michael's mind as he watched Kane climb up the fence gate.
He really was going to do it.
Michael stopped himself from calling out to him. If he said that he was safe, then Michael would believe him. Especially since Luke confirmed it. Lane wasn't one to lie or say things like that frivolously in the first place, but Luke's agreement helped more than Michael had thought it would.
Kane sat at the top, looking down at the monsters congregated there.Then he tore open his shirt.
Michael bit his tongue, staring instead of asking at the boy sitting atop the fence, as though intense scrutiny could reveal his secrets. He didn't have another set of clothes, did he? Then why in the cracked skull would he do that? It didn't make any sense.
Kane tipped forward slowly, and then he shoved off with his feet, sailing into the air.
And he fell.
With his arms spread wide, Kane fell into the waiting arms of the horde. And Michael thought he even heard a laugh, though he quickly convinced himself that that wasn't the case. It couldn't have been.
After all, who would laugh when falling towards a rotting, shuffling pile of undead flesh that wanted to tear them apart and then devour them, or bite them and doom them to an eternal existence spent overwhelmed by an unquenchable hunger?
Michael got his answer moments later, when Kane's head and shoulders began to show sporadically above the mob. He fought like a true demon, tearing the zombies apart with absolutely no regard for his own well-being. Or, at least, that's what it seemed like. As far as Michael could see, which admittedly wasn't all that far at all, he didn't make even a single defensive movement. Not once did he take a step back, not once did he pull an arm back to block. He just kept moving forward, kept destroying. Although really, he didn't need to advance very much at all. The zombies were literally surrounding him, forcing him to turn multiple times every second to deal with all of them.
And he did it. Somehow, by some ridiculous luck, or by an even more ridiculous twist of fate, he managed to fend off every single one of the zombies. After what could have been anywhere from thirty seconds to a minute to an hour, it was over. Kane stood still, bare chest heaving, body completely covered in blood, along with the occasional bit of gore, just to spice things up.
Zoe had only one thing to say.
"Ew."
Michael didn't have anything to say at all. All he could think was: What did I just witness?