Voice

"Shit! Shit! Shit!" Adam was enraged. Energy once again swirled around him, responding to his emotional turmoil. He wanted nothing more than to carve a bloody path through the mass of the Tainted surrounding the hotel, but there were just too many of them.

As he ran around the roof, some of the Tainted raised their heads, searching for something in the air. Their eyes slowly concentrated on his figure and they began to approach the hotel. Unable to find an entrance, a way to reach their target, these Tainted roamed around the building, following Adam's steps.

In the meantime, Adam busted into the abandoned restaurant located on the roof and began to trash the place. He was furious at the Tainted, his group, himself, and the world in general. He had only one desire right now, to find his family, embrace them and never let go.

The world just couldn't let him do this though. After every hurdle he had passed, the next one came. He had left Tarnow, defeated a pack of awakened dogs, went through a raging inferno, and finally reached Cracow, leaving a trail of corpses behind him. Yet here he was, stuck at a hotel that he had deemed to be a safe place and chosen for their rest spot.

It was the last straw that broke his back. Adam demolished the remaining furniture, throwing it around the room and smashing it on the ground. His enhanced capabilities allowed him to destroy nearly everything that had been left in the restaurant.

His rampage ended when he threw one of the tables off the roof and among the horde of the Tainted waiting below. It crashed among them, causing a wave of growls to spread through the horde.

Adam sat down slowly at the edge of the roof and looked into the horizon. Maya found him there a few hours later after she was finished with the survivors they had found below. She sat beside him and looked down at the horde of the Tainted gathered around the building.

"We have to hope that they'll move on quickly, this is the only thing we can do now," she wasn't sure why he reacted so violently, but she wasn't going to pry about it, at least not for now. The group needed him though. He had kept them together for now but if the others saw that he had lost hope, the group would crumble.

"You have to get a grip on yourself," she began. "The horde will eventually relocate, and we need to be ready. We have to prepare a route that will get us to the garrison. What do you propose?" She tried to take Adam's mind off whatever was plaguing him.

Adam looked at her absentmindedly and got up slowly. He observed the city for a while, focusing on the bridges and the other bank of the river visible from the roof.

"We won't be able to use this way," he pointed at the nearest bridge, located just a few hundred meters away from the hotel. "It's too close to the barrier and I don't think we would be able to sneak around it."

Even from their position, the two couldn't see the barrier covering the Old Town in its entirety. It was simply enormous. Countless Tainted surrounded it, drawn to the barrier for some reason.

They created a tight cordon, filling the streets and squares around it. The encirclement ended at the river though, with the last of the Tainted standing right next to the water.

The Tainted didn't enter the barrier though. Thanks to his enhanced sight, Adam noticed that many of them banged at clawed at it with no effect whatsoever. It seemed that the barrier was a solid object that the Tainted couldn't breach.

"We could risk it and try to cross the barrier, but the moment we fail, we'll be torn to pieces by the gathered horde." Maya joined him and looked at the barrier. "Aren't you curious what it is?"

"Not right now. I just hope that whatever it is that has drawn that horde to the barrier will also entice the one surrounding us, and fast," he commented listlessly. "We can figure the rest out if, and when, we reach the next bridge, and see what the situation looks like there."

At this point, Adam backed away from the edge of the roof and turned toward the stairway. "I need some rest. We'll meet here tomorrow morning and check the situation again. Hopefully, the horde will be gone by then."

Adam chose a random room on the fifth floor and barred the door behind him. He threw himself on the bed. He was tired and desperately needed some reprieve from the hell that the world turned into. Sleep eluded him though, his mind filled with memories of his family and life before the Impact.

His determination to find them remained as strong as before, but because of his predicament, it had changed from a positive force driving him forward no matter what into a dark veil of helpless anger and rage.

When the sleep finally came, it didn't bring him peace though. In his dream, he saw himself kneeling inside his home. The scene was blurry, but he could just barely see the outlines of the bodies laying beside him and hear his own bestial screams. Even though he didn't know who the bodies belonged to, the nightmare filled him with dread.

Adam woke up suddenly, the first rays of sunlight irritating his eyes. He was covered in sweat and his hands trembled at the memory of the pain he had felt in his dream. It was agonizing, and he needed a moment to calm down.

He ate the leftovers still in his backpack, gathered his clothes, and quickly ran up to the roof. He had to know if the Tainted were still there.

When Adam reached the roof he saw the horde surrounding the hotel. If anything, it only had grown bigger since yesterday.

[Ah, it seems that you need my help already, Inheritor of Blood]

A voice filled his mind. A voice he had heard before. The voice of the crystal. Adam turned around, trying to locate the origin of the voice. He was alone though.

"Where are you?" he whispered.

[We don't have much time before Ouroboros intervenes, so listen closely. Some of the Tainted can follow you, as you must have noticed already. It's because they have already learned how to use their new senses.]

As the voice began to speak, the world around Adam blurred and trembled slightly. Adam felt anger surround him. The feeling was everpresent and seemed to originate from the world itself.

Adam suspected that it was the crystal that had caused this. It looked like the crystal was wary of the Ouroboros, the system that started it all, and by speaking to Adam, it had somehow enraged it.

[They can feel and perceive Mana, and you have a lot of it. You are like a shining beacon in the world of darkness to them right now. This is why they can track you. You have to discharge the Mana. That way, you'll vanish from their sight.]

"Why are you helping me? What do you want?" Adam asked quickly. He had to gather more information. It was his second contact with the entity, but he still didn't have a clue what it wanted and why it reached out to him.

[This is not important right now. My help is your only chance to get out of this mess so pay attention, as I won't repeat myself. You have to peer deep into your body and find your Mana, the energy circulating inside of you. You have to take control of it and infuse as much Mana as you can into some of your blood. Discharge this blood to distract the Tainted from you.]

The voice paused for a second at that moment.

[Throw it in the direction of the Twilight Zone! The barrier will draw the attention of the horde afterward.]

As it conveyed the last part of the message, the world shook mightly, enraged by the crystal. Adam felt a terrifying presence sweep around him, looking for the origin of the voice. It lingered in the air for some time before vanishing with disappointment. The voice of the crystal vanished as well.

"What is a Twilight Zone?!"Adam shouted angrily, he looked around but only silence answered him. At this moment Maya reached the top of the stairs and joined him on the roof.

"The horde is still here," she pointed wearily. "We have to wait then. Come, we can at least scour the restaurants on the ground floor for some food. We had given away everything to the other group. They are still weak though and need any help they can get."

"Let's do that," Adam agreed. "But we won't stay cooped up here. I might have a solution. A way to take the horde from our backs."