Tier 1 Mutant John paraded across his tiny settlement. With less than 300 survivors, the settlement was less than impressive. Forget about Camp York or Fortress Alpha. Even the group of former Marines Caity slaughtered on the path to Camp York could probably massacre these survivors.
The very nature of the city meant it was nearly impossible to rally thousands of survivors together like what Camp York managed to do. In the wild, survivors either had to band together and create a fortification, or they could die. But in the city, every couple hundred survivors with a concrete building and a convenience store nearby could last for a year.
The difference in power scale was absurd.
But despite so, John moved like he was a king, and to a degree, he was. In this tiny, depressing corner of World Alpha, he was the undisputed leader with absolute authority.
That "undisputed" part was about to be challenged.
Eric observed keenly as he and a dozen Stasis Troopers followed David down what used to be a road. After taking a swift turn, he found himself facing a line of apartment complexes. As far as he could see, there were very few defenses. Barricades and trenches didn't exist at all. The only thing that might be a line of protection were several sentries with non-military issue Gauss handguns and rifles.
Many of the once-mighty apartments that provided shelter for countless tenants were now in ruins. Most of the 300 survivors resided in the apartment building among the complexes that had the most parts standing. Hearing the commotion, survivors in rag tagged clothing with faces as pale as sheets of printing paper rushed out into the open.
They were hoping the scavenger party retrieved some food to satisfy their empty bellies, but they were disappointed. The few sentries, however, were alerted when they saw the Stasis Troopers. These elite-looking figures in uniform were definitely not the same scavengers that left the camp hours ago.
"David!" One of the sentries warned, his weapon slightly aimed at the uninvited visitors. "Who are those people behind you?"
Before David could say anything, Eric took a step forward.
"I am Lieutenant Eric Hemingway! I am the vanguard of a faction located at what we call Fortress Alpha. My brothers and I have been working on retaking New Sara! We will exterminate all the Mutated Animals out there and take this city back to its rightful owners! We human beings!"
He pointed at a distinct direction where gunshots and explosions kept on going off.
"Hear that? This is the sound of our people slaying those damn beasts that have devoured so many human lives! If you come with us, we will offer you food, shelter, and protection!"
Many of the survivors snapped to each other and started whispering with excitement in their voices. This change was unexpected, but more than welcomed! They had shelter and protection here in the apartment building, but food! Food! Many of the survivors were at the bottom of the social pyramid. They haven't had a full meal in days, if not weeks! There were more of their family members back in the building who were too weak to move and needed their sons or daughters or fathers or mothers to bring some scraps back to them just to survive!
If these people from this Fortress Alpha could really fulfill their end of the deal…
If there was still a hint of doubt left, it was not whether the survivors would choose food over their own dwelling. It was whether these visitors could fulfill their end of the bargain. They looked all nice and fierce, but any qualified survivor in the apocalypse would know looks could be deceiving.
Suddenly, some of the survivors felt themselves being pushed to the side. A man pushed his way through the lines of survivors and came face to face with the Stasis Troopers.
John was beyond furious. At first, while all the common survivors were busy running to the scavengers to see if they bought anything back, he was all nice and chill. In a sense, the survivors were like a pack of wolves. Every time a prize has been slain, unless he, the head wolf, grabbed his share first, no one else would dare to get their share.
He has made certain of that with the blood of the disobedient. John might just be a lowly Tier 1 Mutant too terrified to venture out of his fortifications, but in terms of killing his own kind, he was as good as any other human whose heart has been tainted by the chaos and lawlessness that has unfolded on this planet.
But as he slowly walked out, John realized things weren't quite right. The more he heard what Eric said, the more he became outrageous. Finally, he couldn't help but step out and confront the ordinary human being that dared walk into his camp and try to take his people, his subjects, away from him!
In front of John, Eric let out a small grin. His offer was beneficial to almost everyone. The survivors would get the resources they desperately needed to survive. The Phasewalkers would get to recruit troops from fresh, somewhat experienced veteran survivors. Even the non-combatants could help with common menial tasks and free up valuable personnel.
It was a win-win situation.
But if there was anyone who wouldn't want to see this deal go down, it was the former leaders of this camp. In the past, no matter how miserable the common survivors were, the leaders, usually Mutants, could feel free to do whatever they wanted. Kill. Rape. Torture. From what the Phasewalkers have seen through their time here, it was just the basic bundle. They were kings. No. They were emperors.
But emperors needed subjects, and now, the Phasewalkers wanted to take these subjects away.
"How brave of you." John suddenly cracked a smile. "For this reason, I will kill you last."
Eric was unfazed. He might have started out as Caity's assistant, but through his time in the 4th Motorized Battalion, he has become a battle-hardened warrior. Whatever his thoughts were of Section X and Project Phasewalker, he was as deadly as any of his comrades when it came to fighting.
"I must warn you, friend. I am backed by thousands of my comrades. We have enough artillery to level half the city. This...facade of yours..." He looked around. "A single Company can wipe you all out."
Was threatening the Mutant the best for the sake of negotiation? Of course not, but throughout his time here, Eric has heard a lot about John from David. John wasn't a good person. He has done things that Eric despised, possibly even more than he despised the Phasewalker Corps. If John surrendered to the Phasewalkers, it would really bother Eric.
But if he resisted, Eric could rightfully have him killed.
Eric has always been an emotional person. Well, he preferred to call this following his heart. When he wanted Mrs. Throne to recover while having a positive mindset, he didn't hesitate to act on his own and get this task for Caity. When he was annoyed by the lack of regard Caity had for her troops, he faked her order and saved Ryan.
Some would call that stupid, but Eric believed being a fool was better than being a heartless bastard who wouldn't hesitate to leave a trail of innocent bodies to get to his goal.
John smirked. Of course he heard all the gunshots, but months upon months of being the sole ruler of the region has boasted his arrogance to a dangerous level. He didn't even bother to think about the consequences. As a final act before striking, John turned to David.
Traitors were always the most hated.
"I will kill your friend there last, but rest assured that I will kill you first."
And then, there was light.
Literally. Light. The moment John was distracted, Eric and two other Stasis Troopers tossed three flash grenades at John.
The Tier 1 Mutant screamed. His power was speed and reflex, but who the hell could be faster than light? The flashbangs exploded right in front of him! Before he even knew what was going on! If he still managed to dodge the unsuspected blinding light with sheer reflex, then he wouldn't be hiding in an apartment complex, ruling over a handful of pathetic souls.
Eric knew very well a key weapon against Mutants like John was the element of surprise. These Mutants were used to treating ordinary human beings as incapable of being a threat. In that sense, human Mutants were even easier to deal with than Mutated Animals.
The bystanders, armed or not, were temporarily blinded as well, but the face shields of the Phasewalkers were designed to handle flash-bangs. Using this opportunity, the Stasis Troopers acted with impunity and drew their weapons.
As soon as he lost vision, John tried to run. His power was used to its fullest. Even the action of lifting his foot generated the sound of something piercing air. But when someone couldn't see, running became a bit challenging.
John learned that lesson when he tripped over himself and fell flat on his face, half a meter away from where he started.
The Stasis Troopers raised their Defender-II and put the crippled Mutant into their sight.
"Please!" Finally, still blinded, the self-proclaimed lord sensed his fate. He was defenseless, so the only thing he could do was beg. Yes. He stumbled and went on his knees and begged toward an ordinary human soldier that he was just laughing at. "Have mercy!"
Eric didn't show mercy. He wasn't as cold-blooded as Ryan, but he only reserved his mercy for people who deserved it.
A storm of Gauss rounds ravaged the body of the Tier 1 Mutant.
When the rest of the survivors recovered from the effect of the flashbang and saw their leader, the person they once thought was invincible, dead on the ground with his body barely recognizable, they let down their guard and followed the instructions of the Phasewalkers without another word of doubt.
---
John's group was just one of many flocks of survivors the Phasewalkers came across. As the lines advanced, the Phasewalkers quickly realized there were more survivors in the city than they expected.
The tank lines, support crafts, and Assault Trooper raiding parties kept on directing survivors to the Phasewalker staging point, where they were slowly sorted, fed, and helped settled down by the Rebirth Troopers stationed there. But as time passed, the resources were stretched a little thin.
"Colonel, there are at least 2,000 survivors being logged already. At least hundreds more are going through the process. We are running low on food supply, tents, and personnel. Major Taylor is requesting us to transport more resources over from Fortress Alpha."
In the field command center, Cara stood in front of Caity with her back straight.
"Call Major Fox and have him dispatch a detachment over and escort some of those supplies." Caity directed concisely.
Cara nodded and left. Carrying out the command used to be an issue, but lately, a communication satellite has been launched into space. Luckily, it stayed there. Since then, Fortress Alpha was able to establish an efficient line of communication to Commissar Charlotte at Camp York. The detachment of Phasewalkers here in New Sara had satellite phones to contact Fortress Alpha as well.
With Earth backing them, the Phasewalkers had little trouble dealing with the issue of supplies that could otherwise bring entire war efforts to a halt.
As the assistant left, Caity stood up and walked out of the command center. Two Security Troopers at the door saluted. Caity nodded and simply stood there. Not far away, hordes of survivors were being led into the camp. They were beaten up. Broken. They lacked the spirit that one would normally see on the cheeks of people on Earth. It was as if many of them have given up and accepted the atrocities that have happened to them and their people.
In a sense, Caity pitied them, but she also realized they were the lucky ones. Millions of others never lived long enough to be saved. They died unmarked and unmourned. Their deaths were tragic, yet at the same time meaningless.
Suddenly, Caity realized what Ryan meant when he said sometimes dying for a cause was the best thing one could ever hope for.
Shaking her head, Caity returned to her command center.
A distance away, gunshots and explosions never ceased.
---
The arrival of the Phasewalker Corps was brilliant news for most of New Sara, but for the few whose opinions mattered the most, it was a deadly blow.
Even before the Predator IIs and the Arbiter Xs arrived, the news of a mysterious group of powerful and organized soldiers going around the city, slaughtering Mutated Animals and rescuing ordinary survivors, did. Within days, most of the survivors left in the city were talking about it.
If half the city wasn't still filled with deadly Mutated Animals or Mutated Plants, many survivors would've made a go at the Phasewalker position by themselves.
Jamie. Tier 2 Mutant. Not the most powerful, but definitely one of the key players in the city. Her people were numbered at around 500, and Jamie was much more aggressive than John. Instead of passively sitting back and enjoying the power, Jamie actively rooted out weaker survivors and armed the rest with the best weapons she could find. Her followers were mainly young men and women with quite the battle experience.
Together, they have deflected multiple threats, human or otherwise.
But recently, things have changed. There has never been a formal inquiry, but many survivors have been discussing if they should desert and join this so-called Fortress Alpha. Yes. Jamie treated her people decently, but the environmental factor remained. She could never match the Phasewalkers in terms of resources and treatment.
Jamie punished the people who took part in these discussions, but the trend was inevitable. She knew she had to make a choice, so she gathered her most trusted officers for a discussion.
"We don't have to worry about them. If these people venture too close to us, we kill them all!" This was the brute talking, and he was immediately rebutted.
"Kill them? Have you forgotten what happened to the idiot 20 miles from here?" Another lieutenant mocked.
Jamie bit her lips. There was a reason she was so conflicted. If this could be handled by force, then she would've handled it already.
Yesterday, ten days after Fortress Alpha launched the campaign to seize New Sara, another Tier 2 Mutant whose settlement was 20 miles North of where Jamie's was decided to attack the intruders. Legend said he killed an entire squad of these soldiers, mauled them to death one by one. The Mutant was so satisfied that he hoped the whole city heard of his feat.
Whether the whole city heard of his deeds was another issue, but what the whole city did hear was the sound of fighter jets cruising through the air, that of projectiles piercing the air, and the explosions that engulfed that Mutant and his entire settlement.
The Mutant slaughtered a squad of Phasewalkers. Colonel Hunter responded by having her F-22s level the entire faction that he belonged to. Armored vehicles were then deployed to search through the ruins, exterminating any survivors.
Caity Hunter knew very well that the Phasewalkers were outnumbered in the city. Even with the Rebirth Battalion, there were less than 3,000 of Phasewalker units in New Sara. To conquer a city of tens, if not hundreds, of thousands, every transgression must be responded in full force.
The Phasewalkers couldn't tolerate every faction in the city thinking they were weak and taking a poke at them. Examples had to be made. Were there innocents in that settlement? Of course. Yet, they had to die.
"Then we should be more careful!" The first lieutenant complained. "That idiot was overconfident and they were able to locate him! If we do hit and run tactics…"
"Who's going to do it, you or me? Or do you want Ms. Jamie herself to do the fighting?" The second lieutenant countered. "Cause our men won't move. If anything, they may even sell us out for the free food these people are handing to everyone!"
That was when a third lieutenant spoke up.
"Do you think it's true?"
"What?"
"That they are feeding and helping everyone?" The lieutenant wondered. "Is it even possible?"
A sense of doubt was in his eyes.
Jamie sighed. The third lieutenant was hesitating. Wondering. Thinking. She could see it. Give him the chance and he would abandon her and leap for the target that was Fortress Alpha.
If this was what was going on with her second-in-commands, what was happening with the foot soldiers?
Finally, she made up her mind.
"Rally the men. We...we are leaving New Sara."
At the end of the day, when Jamie finally left the city, she only had a dozen of her true loyalists left. Two of her three lieutenants abandoned her, along with most of the men she was able to gather through months of work.
Before she left, Jamie had her entire settlement burned down. As the flames licked through the buildings, the Mutant turned and looked in the direction where the sound of battle was getting closer and closer.
There, marched the army that forced her to abandon her home.
The Mutant swore that, one day, she would return to New Sara, and when she did, she would kill every single one of these people.