From Human to Skeleton: Revived with Infinite System Crystals

"Ugh, sorry, Director," Jade stated as she looked down at the table, both her hands palm down. She saw Kieran staring at her with a slight blush.

Kieran said, "You know you can get off me whenever you want. I'd prefer not to be pinned down like this."

Jade just said, "Huh?"

Looking around, she fully noticed she was squeezed down on Kieran. She quickly rolled off and hit the ground before stammering up.

"Sorry, I apologize. I was just confused about how we were sent here and not to the teleportation room," Jade said, extending a hand.

Kieran got up without her help but still held her hand briefly. "Thank you for the assistance, but no need."

"Where are we exactly?" Jade asked.

Kieran heard a cough from behind her. A man wearing a suit with tired eyes stated, "You decided to drop in the middle of my debrief room meeting."

Kieran turned to face him. "Who are you exactly?"

"Oh, the long story or the short story?" the man asked.

"As short as possible," the Director stated.

"Well, in short," she stated, tapping her fingers together, "I'm an angelic creature, as weird as that is to say."

Kieran's eyes widened as the weight of Jade's words sank in. The room felt suddenly colder, the low hum of the fluorescent lights growing louder in the silence that followed.

Moments later, Kieran felt her body weight shift to the right as Jade tackled her to the ground. The cold, hard floor pressed against her side, and she felt the rough texture of the carpet scrape against her arm. A bullet whizzed past, crashing into the wall with a deafening bang. The sharp scent of gunpowder filled the air.

The Director stood with a gun, his eyes blazing with fury and his jaw clenched tight.

"A goddamn what?! Jade, what the hell did you bring in here?!" His voice was a low growl, filled with incredulous rage. Your journey continues on empire

"Wh-what do you mean? She found me and—" Jade's voice trembled as she stammered, her heart pounding in her chest.

"Do you not understand it's the angelic's fault this entire thing is happening?!" His voice echoed in the room, harsh and grating, as he gestured wildly with the gun.

Jade shook her head, confused, the room spinning slightly. "I don't know."n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

"Didn't Ashaiki tell you anything?! Never trust any creature that isn't human; they all see us as less than." The Director's eyes narrowed, his grip tightening on the gun.

Kieran chimed in, raising her hands defensively, "Whoa, whoa, whoa," as she noticed the other four elderly men in the room had drawn pistols on her.

Kieran stated, "First off, what are you pointing at me? That's a strange-looking weapon."

Jade looked up and said, "It's a gun. How have you never seen a gun before?"

Kieran shrugged her shoulders. "I don't know. How have you never heard of Kiboa Ricop?"

"What?" Jade asked, confused.

"Exactly!" Kieran exclaimed.

Kieran raised her hands slightly, trying to diffuse the tension. "Now, can everyone calm down for a second? I'm here to help Ty out."

The Director, shocked for a moment, said, "Ty? You mean this lady's dead boyfriend?"

Kieran glanced around the room, taking in the tense faces of the elderly men, their fingers twitching on the triggers. She noticed the flickering screens on the walls, displaying urgent data streams and maps dotted with red markers. Her eyes darted to the coffee stain on the Director's tie, then to the small clock ticking away on the far wall.

The cold air seemed to press in on her as she tried to find the right words.

"Well, he's not really dead… well, he is a skeleton, which makes him kinda dead, but not dead in the sense he's gone," she rambled, her voice picking up speed. "But the skeleton he's using is fading away because of a compatibility issue and he needs the—"

"Breathe, woman, and slow down as you talk," the Director interjected, cutting her off. His voice sliced through her frantic explanation like a knife, bringing a sudden silence to the room.

"Regardless of why you are here, it just confirms it has nothing to do with our well-being and you're just here for your own gains. Why are you covered in blood? Did something happen after meeting Jade and where is Ashaiki?"

Jade chimed in, her voice tense, "Well, that's the thing. When I went to meet her, she was nowhere to be seen, and this woman who calls herself Kieran showed up, and then some zombie busted in through the window, and your assistant director rang my phone—who I, by the way, never knew existed."

Kieran, still catching her breath from her previous ramble, pointed to a faulty cross thrown on the table. "And then after using this, we were both transported to some dark room with a scary monster that stated he had begun the invasion of Earth."

"After almost beating him, he then snapped his fingers, and we poofed here," she finished, her voice a mix of frustration and disbelief.

The director looked at her, taking a moment to form a response. His brow furrowed as he processed the information, the low buzz of the electronics around them blending with the tense silence.

"I see. Well, that does line up with what we're seeing. We're prepared to bomb the south side of New York, the west division in Alabama, and parts of the coast, as there is a heavy influx of monsters and spread of the virus that I showed you."

"Sir, there is also one more piece of info," Jade continued.

"What is it?" the Director snapped, giving Jade his full attention.

"The creature stated his 'buddy' is the one responsible for turning the humans into 'zombie-like creatures.'"

"I see, that does make sense," the Director said, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. "I suppose we will relay this info to Gojaro and the other teams fighting the monsters right now. Once we locate the main piece, we will pull out and perform a bomb run."

He turned to Jade, his expression firm. "Jade, please go get changed and get ready to join the fight."