"At the beginning, we blamed it to wild beasts. But more people started to disappear, we thought that the other group was trying to weaken us, so we had a meeting with them. From that meeting and the intel we gathered from some of our scouts, we discovered that they were having the same problem.
We also noticed that the disappearances weren't random as we thought at the beginning, It was like every time someone disappeared there was a meaning behind, an important scout, a good fighter, we also lost a priest and some other people that acted as moral support for people, and both groups were becoming weaker.
The clinic group got the same conclusion… there was a third group trying to gain control of the city."
The guy that covered them had stopped blocking Dante, it was a goodwill sign ordered by Dr. Harting, so he confirmed me that all that he has told me till now is true.
"Let's assume that I believe everything that you just told me and decide to help out with this situation. What do I get from it?"
I have to take a side in one of the major forces in the city for survival, and Dr. Harting is probably our best shot. I know him, Hayley's father is there, and I think now that she can control her power it would be good to see him. But this doesn't mean that I have to do it without asking for anything back right?
The guy that was covering their auras made an angry face
"What you get!!! You should be thankful to be under our protection!!"
I looked in his direction with a displeased expression on my face.
"Protection? We were excellent, and that group didn't even knew about us until you appeared, this could be also be planned by you to force us to join your group. It's a great deal don't you think? I managed to kill an alligator that one of your hunting groups could do nothing about, that proves that my fighting is better than one of your groups.
And besides that, you are getting 6 Espers from which at least 3 are at the same level or better than the ones you brought, one is probably between the strongest in the city. Tell me, why should I join you when you were the one that brought this to us? The clinic group probably would be happy to receive us, and they didn't try to harm us or control us before."
I ended that phrase taking a glance at Ian. The other guy was about to retort, but Dr. Harting raised his hand to stop him and looked at me.
"What do you propose?" he understood that I would accept if the conditions were right for my group.
"First this is an alliance I'm not joining your group, we will help each other and work together, but I have a veto if I feel like something is not right. Everything concerning my group will go through me, you can't order or ask them to do something without my approval.
Also, I suppose you want me in a hunting group, and I don't have any problems with that, but I need time for myself, and you already interrupted my first resting day in a while, so I'm not going to be hunting around 24/7. From time to time some of my group will join me in hunting too.
Dana and Dante are out of the picture so you can't ask anything from them, Dana is too young, and Dante is a cat.
I don't know how you manage the accommodations, but I want a place similar to this one, a floor with a couple of apartments with roof access would be nice. Water and food… Also if you have bullets and books on paper for us would be nice too."
Dr. Harting pondered my words.
"I don't have a problem, but what if you reject doing anything and get supplies for free?"
"You can dissolve the alliance and kick us out, I'm not going to slack anyway. We are going to move tomorrow, you can take an apartment on the third floor if you want to spend the night here. Just let me know if you agree with those conditions if you plan to leave."
Dr. Harting looked outside and nodded.
"It's getting late, so we are going to stay here. And about the alliance, I don't need to ponder about those conditions. Let's work hard for survival." He stretched his hand to seal the deal.
The most surprised was the guy that yelled before and has his mouth open and didn't believe what just happened.
"It would be an honor to work with you again Professor." I shook his hand, and with that, the alliance was settled.
[Mission Completed: Accept Dr. Harting offer
Rewards: 25 System points]
"You are no my student anymore, and we are in an alliance so just call me Stephan."
"Of course, if you excuse me, Stephan, I have a lot of things to prepare, so I have to go."
"No problem, I see you tomorrow."
Dr. Harting left that place and went downstairs with everyone. It seemed like Ian wanted to ask something, but he was called by the other on the group. I went to the stairs and closed my eyes to concentrate on my hearing.
"What's the meaning of this Dr.!! Why did you accept his conditions!"
"You don't need to yell, he is right about us getting a good deal here. For some reason, his partners are better than most people. Hayley is at least on at the same level as us, the cat is an extraordinary telepath, the blonde girl also has a strong power, but I have no idea what it is. Spencer… I can't see through him, so I can't be sure if his power compared to us, but I have the feeling that it's more than just enhanced senses."
"Doesn't this make this alliance more dangerous? What if they take control over us?"
"You don't have to worry about it, Spencer is worried about protecting those important to him, becoming a leader of a larger group would make that more difficult. Did you see his reaction when the guy teleported into the room?"
"I didn't even notice, that there was someone until I heard the guy fell." This was Ian's voice.
"Exactly if his power is limited to enhanced senses I think that his senses are stronger than anyone we have seen, His instinct and decision making are top notch. When the guy appeared he killed him fast to prevent any potential damage that he could make. But this is not where he excels."
"What do you mean?"
"You know that I'm currently working on a theory called electromagnetic forced evolution?"
"Yes, it was what help us have an idea of what is happening…"
"All the basics of it came from the insights that Spencer said to Aaron at the beginning. It's true that his fighting ability is amazing, but I'm interested in understanding this situation, and I think Spencer can help me with that."
"Is that why you accepted?"
"Is one of the reasons, but the most important is that I think that it's good for both of our groups. We get Spencer and his people to work with us. And they have better protection. It works for everyone."
"Is his group that strong?"
"I have no idea, but his group is the only one left on this area, almost everyone either disappeared died or joined one of the main groups."
"I hope this works well then, but I'm going to keep an eye on them."
"Sure, but be careful, if he thinks that you are trying something against them, he will act, and you will end like the teleport guy."
I could just imagine his face when he heard that.
At least for now I think I can trust Dr. Harting intentions, but this doesn't mean that everyone in his group are trustworthy, so I have to be careful.
I went back to the apartment and prepared everything to leave, I found that almost everything was already packed.
I called everyone to tell them what I just talked with Dr. Harting.
I explained the situation with both main groups and the existence of a third group, this made Isabella pale when she remembered the kidnap. After telling them all this, I said them my decision.
"I decided to make an alliance with Professor Harting, tomorrow when we leave this place we are going to a place inside his group's area."
"We are joining them?" Hope was surprised.
"No, we are making an alliance, we are going to work together, but they are no giving us orders."
This seemed to relax everyone, Hayley was smiling at the idea of seeing her father again.
"I'm not sure what thing are they going to request from us since we have to work to earn our food, but if there is anything that I feel like is too dangerous I'm going to disagree with it, so you have nothing to worry… Even if I said all of this, us getting a "Special treatment" can be a little hard for some people to accept, so you have to be careful, especially at the beginning before we prove our worth ok?"
""Ok""
Outside was already dark. And tomorrow I was planning to leave early.
"Now let's go rest, we have a long day tomorrow, check that you have everything ready and sleep. If there is anything, we can talk about it in the new place."
They went to their rooms I asked Dante to tell me if there was any weird movement during the night and went to my room with Rose.
I checked all my belongings and went to bed.