Information spreads, just as it did in the criminals' debut, and so shall it spread in this war. Jack has been wreaking havoc in residential areas, and the country is starting to become aware.
Helicopters labeled 'EYEWITNESS NEWS' were hovering over the city where Jack was murdering civilians. From the helicopters, individuals were looking down on the city, with cameras in hand. In addition, underneath the helicopters were mounted cameras, rotating to get a view of the area.
Due to his speed, they obviously could not perceive him, but he noticed them.
Ah, news helicopters. I'll spare them so they can spread the good word. That'll cause more confusion between the army and civilians...
"Good morning, I am Ashley bringing you the breaking news. Yet another screw-up by our 'law enforcement' as S-Class criminal Jack the Ripper has been spotted in the state of California, yes, away from the state-sanctioned and civilian-evacuated 'danger zones'." Ashley reported from her news station as she received information from the news helicopter team.
"J-Jack the Ripper...is...in this city...?" A scared civilian uttered as he listened to the news on his phone.
"You could all guess what the mass murderer is up to." Ashley continued. "Taking the lives of innocent people, all which could have been avoided."
"There's no way the super soldiers of all people managed to screw up this badly!" Another civilian reacted to the information while watching the news on television. On the screen, the news team placed pictures of deceased victims at the hands of Jack.
"Our sources confirm that roughly a thousand victims across the city, with the numbers rising as we speak. Who knows what his other criminal mates are up to? I'm sure they aren't dead, as the military would have already confirmed it. So they could be as big a problem as Jack.."
"Dammit! I knew I should have left this country when I saw that debut video!" A man exclaimed as he and a group of coworkers in an office. "I'm not staying here any longer, goodbye everyone!!!" He declared before immediately leaving.
"Hey, I'm coming with you too!" Another worker said. "I'm moving out of this country too! Not going to wait to get murdered by Jack!"
Agreeing to this decision, almost every worker stormed out of the building. That was not the only place people thought about migrating, as this took place in many different areas.
Dropping everything they were previously doing, packing necessities such as money and clothes for themselves, and setting their sites to the airports, many people across multiple states prepared to migrate.
However, as everyone had the same idea and was trying to get to the airport, traffic started to build up rapidly. Quickly, it became akin to gridlock.
The deafening sounds of horns were audible, overlapping each other as impatient drivers blasted their horns.
"DAMMIT! GET OUT OF THE WAY!" A driver yelled. "YOU GUYS MIGHT NOT CARE ABOUT YOUR LIVES BUT I DON'T WANT TO DIE!!!"
Everything happened in less than half an hour after Jack arrived in California. However, the civilians in California were too afraid of leaving to be killed by Jack, so fearfully, they hid in their houses and other infrastructures.
* * *
Jack had decided to temporarily pause his massacre against the civilians. Simultaneously, more super soldiers and now regular soldiers had arrived. Being aware of the situation, they supported their comrades in their chase against Jack.
However, chasing was all they could do, as opening fire would only result in civilian casualties.
More and more buggers are coming, which is good, but it's still not enough yet. I'll wait some more before I truly begin my attack.
Since the regular soldiers could not hope to keep up with their super counterparts, much less Jack, they opted to search for both hiding and possibly civilians that survived Jack.
They weren't lucky to find any injured civilians, only corpses. They did however, locate hiding civilians, such as one hiding underneath the cars.
"Don't worry, we're here to help." A soldier said as he crouched underneath the car to communicate with the fearful child. Hesitating at first, the child left their hiding spot and rushed into the arms of a soldier. Shielding their face, the soldier blocked the child's vision from the bodies around.
"Sigh...I don't think...this is for us..." A soldier said as he looked around.
"What do you mean?" The soldier shielding the child asked.
"The criminals we're dealing with are blessed. Not just blessed, but some of the strongest blessed criminals we've ever seen." They explained. "We can't even see Jack's movements, and not to mention the other criminals are just as dangerous as he is."
"Well, we can still help out in any way we can." The soldier holding the child countered. "Like helping civilians like these."
"Yeah...I don't know about that..." The soldier said with a negative expression. "Maybe it's better if we do what everyone else is doing...and just leave the country..."
"What the hell are you talking about!?"
"You don't understand! When it all comes down to it, we're just regular people. We should just leave it up to the super soldiers, you know?"
"...I don't agree..."
"...Whatever."
* * *
"Regular and super soldiers are currently in California," Ashley added. "That could be good because they could finally restrain Jack...even though their track record hasn't been good as of late. It could also be bad, however, as even regular soldiers could cause property destruction with their weapons...not to mention super soldiers, who are literal war machines."
"It's not feasible." Sergeant John said as he was listening to the news. He was sitting around a table with Lieutenant Harvey and his fellow military officers. In the military base, it was dimly lit, like that of a usual cinema. "It's not feasible how things turned this way..."
"As the war's intensity is increasing, so is the amount of lives lost and property damage," Ashley said. "Even if the nation's security finally eliminates these threats, the damage has already been done. Law enforcement has become lazy due to the long period of peace we have enjoyed. The United States will never be the same again."
Silence filled the room as everyone listened.
"...This would have never happened if we had completed project 'Zero'," Harvey said.
"...Indeed," John responded.
If only the Hayes couple never got in my way...
* * *
Back in the danger zone, Nathan made his way back. On his phone, he caught up with the news, now having a better understanding of what Jack was up to.
"Murdered over a thousand innocent civilians...what the hell, Jack?" Nathan said. "Still, it seems like the forces are making their way to the safe zones. Jack's plan is working."
I'll have to get there quickly so I can help...I'm not going to be killing any civilians...just the super soldiers. Hopefully, Charles will be there soon, too.
* * *
At her mansion, Ada is watching the news and seeing the carnage that Jack is causing. With her legs folded, she sat in a lounge chair, still wearing the same white robe after kicking Zack out.
"It seems you're having quite a lot of fun, Jack," Ada said as she changed her leg position. "If only you weren't so focused on killing everything, you could have been another loyal dog."
Checking the time on her smartphone, it said 7:35 am.
"I still have some time to relax," Ada concluded. "You keep having fun, Jack. You likely will be eliminated by the strongest super soldiers soon, but kill as much of them as you can...to make this easier for me."
* * *
As everything was taking place, Rebecca was walking down the street.
Despite her injuries and streams of tears coming down her eyes, Rebecca was still moving with a determined expression.
I have to...keep moving. I have to...get rid of these criminals...I can't let...my friends' sacrifice...be in vain...