A small group of three people and one dog crossed the silent streets of the urban fringe. Adrian led the way, followed by Elise, an army soldier, and a conscript. Vex looked ahead, nose and eyes twitching.
"What’s the matter, buddy?" Adrian gazed at the alerted dog.
An isolated warehouse stood in the distance. Dried murky dark blood stained the steel gates. Corpses of the undead rotting outside of it.
Adrian frowned as he surveyed through his binoculars. There wasn’t that much blood yesterday, but now, he had encountered this.
"Something must have happened. We must regroup now, and fast."
He retreated from the window and exited to the back door. Their small group cut through several alleys before stopping in front of a five-story building overlooking the warehouse at a safe distance.
The building served as Adrian squad’s temporary outpost. For now.
Adrian approached the rear door and knocked on it three times.
"Signal," a voice called from the inside.
"Confirmed."
Adrian responded. Silence stretched for a second.
"Route?"
"Clear."
The lock on the door clicked before opening. Adrian and the rest slipped through.
Inside, the hallway was dimly lit. Four soldiers stood in attention the moment Adrian stepped in. Elise and the other conscript followed to the sides.
"Report to me."
The other army soldier stepped forward.
"Sir, some zombies wandered near the warehouse gates last night. The survivors..." the army soldier paused, a frown forming on his face, "... killed them."
"You seem quite surprised." Adrian questioned, "What’s the twist?"
"Their movements were fast, quick. I could only see a blur and some slashes. Then, the zombies all died."
Adrian was startled and stared at the army soldier again. The latter gulped, sweat dripping down his pale face.
"Sir, we also testify to this."
The other conscripts added, trying to convince their doubtful squad leader. The corpses were the evidence, but the process was a little too magical indeed.
"Okay, I believe you," Adrian resigned, "This complicates things. We have to be careful around them from now."
Superhumans, and their remarkable strength.
It was an unexpected situation.
Even scouts like Adrian and Dmitri who had been pushed to the limits of human capability were still nowhere near cutting zombies in a blink.
"Do you have anything else?" Adrian asked.
"We have also detected human movement, sir." the conscript took out a notebook and handed it to Adrian.
Illustrations of three people, a woman and two men, were drawn in the crinkled white leaves. The woman’s features caught Adrian’s attention—narrow eyes, long ponytailed hair, wearing a blazer and a long sleeve underneath.
"How did you manage to evade them?" he was confused.
"They scaled the rooftops, sir, searching for something. But they didn’t linger for long. Left the area after a few minutes."
Adrian returned the book, brows furrowed.
"That’s no good. It must be the warlord’s forces looking for Dmitri," he concluded, "Should we warn them? No, I think this might be what the Commander intends to achieve."
Adrian felt that everything made sense and didn’t make sense at the same time. He glanced at his confused subordinates and chose to let things be.
"Something big is about to happen. Let’s focus on our task at hand," he knuckled his hands and took a deep breath, "Pack your bags. We’re going to meet those college students in ten minutes."
"Yes, sir!"
Adrian rubbed Vex’s fur, calming his unsettled mind. "I’ll leave the rest to you, buddy."
Vex barked in response, mouth hanging and tails wagging side to side.
The sun rose from the east, casting its warm sunrays through the gaps of the window Adrian peered from.
"A few watchers, huh? We should come in friendly, nothing dangerous."
The squad exited the building and headed into the warehouse’s large steel gates. Their disordered march continued until a shout from the warehouse roof called out.
"Stop right there!" the voice sounded immature, breaking at the last word. The young man’s cheeks reddened and glared at the soldiers below.
Poker faces met him, making him embarrassed even more.
"If you take another step, we’ll stop you!"
No one reacted.
Adrian tilted his head, "We don’t mean harm. We want to talk to whoever’s in charge."
"You’re wasting your time," the watcher snapped, "Our leader won’t see you."
"Fair enough," Adrian nodded, "Looks like we’re on our own against the warlord..."
The squad followed without hesitation.
"Wait."
The word came sharp this time—controlled and matured.
"I said wait!"
The gates began to slide open. A tall, blond young man stepped forward, hand in his pockets, eyes cold.
"That was my subordinate’s mistake," he said. "Tensions have been high lately."
Adrian studied him. So this is the leader.
"Goodwill works once," Adrian replied, "After that, it’s information."
"Careful," the young man said mildly. His eyes glimmered, "Do not force our hand."
Adrian didn’t flinch, "We won’t. The warlord will. He’s moving outward, hunting for weapons. Both you and I are on his path, whether we like it or not."
Silence ensued.
"We know. We’ve survived for long without choosing sides," the young man said after a while.
"Then consider this a charity of mine," Adrian shrugged, already turning away, "Free information."
"We didn’t ask for it," the youth smirked.
Adrian waved his hand, "Then we’re done."
The squad disappeared into the shadows of the buildings across the street. From the roof, the watcher swallowed.
"They really they still matter as soldiers."
A smaller figure landed beside him, hopping effortlessly. "They’ve had guns and power for too long. That’s hard to let go. Kimmy, you sensed something?"
"No... They’re all normal." a soft voice came below, "But that dog, and the person in black... they are quite... powerful."
The atmosphere turned bleak.
"Georgie, what do we do?" the small figure asked.
The blond leader, George, watched the empty street, Adrian’s information swirling inside his mind.
"Stop calling me that name, Kurt." he raised his head and glared.
"Keep watch," he ordered, "That Yunera might still be nearby using those soldiers as cover."
The gates rumbled shut.
In the distance, the squad gathered on an empty alley. Adrian lighted a cigar and took a single puff.
"Quite confident in their skills, huh?"
Elise rubbed her M16A4’s muzzle, keeping it clean. "Sir, what should we do now?" she asked.
"The college group is a lost cause. Let them be."
Smoke swirled in front of him, then faded.
"Join the main group. Loot things on the way. Food, valuables, I don’t care. Don’t leave a building unturned."
Adrian sensed Hans’s need of resources lately. As one of his prominent scout units, Adrian wanted to contribute more than the rest.
He wanted to remain in Hans’s vision long before the other units arrive.
"Yes!"
The squad moved.
They split into groups, breaking inside structures.
Drawers pulled.
Locked doors forced open.
Shelves swept bare.
Bags filled up quick. Too quickly.
Adrian checked the haul and clicked his tongue.
"Not enough. Grab another bag and fill it."
"Yes sir!"
They were sifting through a small convenience store when Vex suddenly froze. Ears perked up. Tail halted mid-swing.
A dull thud reached Adrian’s ears, snapping his head up. Wind cut along the rooftop as something flew out with great speed.
"I hear movement!"
Adrian gasped, pistol already on his hands. He sprinted up the stairs and slammed into the rooftop door.
Light flashed but the rooftop was empty. Then he saw it.
A figure clung to the wall facing the street, moving on all fours before vaulting over the edge and vanishing from sight.
Adrian aimed but was too late.
"Damn," he muttered, "That works too?"
The illustration of a person came to his mind. It closely resembled one of the people from the notebook.
Is this a coincidence? Are they tracking us?
Elise caught up, hands on the trigger. "Sir, where’s the target?"
"Gone, like a goddamn lizard."
A bad taste surged on his mouth. Though unwilling, he admitted that he was jealous of whoever that was.
"Continue." Adrian ordered, "I’ll watch over the rooftops. You rest, be careful below."
The rummaging continued until the sun peaked in the sky. Clouds drifted along, shading the group’s approach toward the guard post entrance.
The conscripts stationed saluted, surprised about the group’s haul.
"Sir!"
"As you were," Adrian replied. "Has the SUV been brought?"
"Yes, sir. An Army Soldier brought it over, per the Commander’s orders."
Adrian grinned, "That’s what I like to hear. Call him over. My squad is delivering this haul personally."
He turned to his squad.
"Elise!"
"Yes, sir!"
"Take the team back to base, then regroup here. I’ll wait."
The squad split off, leaving Adrian behind as he approached the stationed Army Soldier leading this group.
"Where is the platoon headed?"
"To the bank, sir!"
"Did Dmitri leave anything to me?"
"I am afraid none, sir." The Army Soldier was at a loss from the barrage of questions from the superior.
"How about these streets? Found anything?"
"None, sir."
Irritation erupted in Adrian, "No shadows? No scouts? No encounter with the enemies?"
The previous confrontation worried him. The abilities of the warlord’s subordinates weren’t to be underestimated.
If they were being watched without scouts like him knowing, it would be a disaster should the warlord’s faction decided to strike in an ambush.
"Your group is the only thing we encountered, sir..."
A sense of foreboding grown in Adrian, restless about the scouting abilities of the enemies. He tapped on his comm beads, static noise filling his ears.
Must be out of coverage. This is bad, really bad. I need to regroup with Dmitri and warn him about this.