At the Door

"Help me up," Adam spoke weakly. His body was in a state of collapse and couldn't move properly. He was completely devoid of strength. His skin was deathly pale and his breath ragged and labored.

Maya took him by the shoulders and helped him to his feet. She then led him downstairs and to the rest of the survivors, while bombarding him with questions.

Adam answered her weakly, convincing her that he had noticed some of the Tainted following him around the building while he had been on the roof. That he had suspected that they somehow could sense him and had been drawn to him.

"From there, I deduced that it has to be connected to the one thing that sets me apart from the others, my skill," Adam continued his reasoning. It had to be believable because he wasn't going to tell anyone that an otherwordly being had attached itself to him and was whispering into his mind.

"So I just gathered everything that I had in me and threw it out," Adam finished and observed Maya's reaction.

"So, you were both the cause and the solution all along." To his relief, she didn't question his story. "I'm interested in this energy though. I'll have to look into that as well."

The two finally reached the first floor and when the original members of his group saw the sorry state Adam was in, they surrounded him in concern.

"What happened to you?" Charlotte reached Adam and put her hand on his forehead in a motherly gesture. She was small and fragile but in his current state, Adam looked even weaker than her.

"Everything is fine," Adam reassured her and turned to the rest of the group. "The way should be clear. The horde rushed over to the bridge."

The atmosphere immediately cheered up. Survivors crowded into the rooms to check the situation outside. The Tainted were no more. They were free. The group, now consisting of nearly forty people, finally could leave the hotel.

Due to their increased numbers, Adam decided to split the survivors into three squads, consisting of the vanguard, the main group, and the rearguard. The children and some of the weaker survivors stayed in the middle, protected by Adam and two other original members as some measure of insurance against the other survivors.

Maya led the vanguard and kept an eye on the troublemakers that Adam had assigned to her. Their job was to scout the way ahead and dispose of any smaller groups of the Tainted they came across. The last group, the rearguard, was led by the other members of Adam's group and protected their back, as well as made sure that no one separated from the main group.

The survivors moved slowly, partially because they needed to maintain stealth, but mostly because Adam was still very weak. This pace allowed the survivors from the hotel to get used to their new reality though.

They quietly absorbed the images of destruction brought by the Impact, the abandoned cars littering the streets, and the corpses of the Tainted victims. After their initial enthusiasm, they grew somber again. Their world was gone, replaced by a realm of brutality and carnage.

After half an hour, they finally reached the bridge. It was filled with cars, and the survivors noticed some Tainted roaming between them, but there was nothing they couldn't handle. They could cross the river and be one step closer to safety. Adam had different plans though.

The group rested near the bridge for half an hour. In the meantime, Adam spoke with Maya and other survivors about the route they had to take. They all agreed that the next part of the journey would probably be the most dangerous, as after crossing the bridge they would enter the city center.

While talking with them, Adam carefully checked the flow of Mana in his body. It was returning to normal, albeit slowly. He needed it back for the next part of his plan. The city center was sure to be infested with the Tainted and they would need to sneak carefully to reach the garrison.

He was gambling on the Tainted sensing his Mana and making the group abandon the most straightforward path. If that happened, they would have to circle the center to reach their target. That way, the survivors would find themselves at his doorsteps, without ever knowing that it was his real goal. If the Tainted didn't come however, he was ready to make them.

After they were done talking, Adam concentrated on regaining as much strength as he could during the short rest.

When they finished resting, the group crossed the bridge, clearing it from the Tainted. Most of the survivors gained at least one level that way. Their malnourished bodies were washed with Mana and regained part of their vigor.

Half an hour later, the group was hiding in the restaurant at the intersection of the two big streets. Four bodies were lying in the center. Bodies of their companions. Just five minutes before they had been ambushed by a group of the Tainted.

They killed the assailants, but not without the losses of their own. Adam smirked internally. It worked. His Mana once again began to lure the Tainted to them. They had to change their approach now.

"Why didn't you just kill them?" Maya approached him with a questioning look. "We could avoid that if you intervened."

"I couldn't," Adam lied without batting an eye. "I still can't use my ability after what I did earlier."

He turned to the group and raised his voice. "We have to get back to the bridge. There are too many Tainted here. We won't be able to get through the garrison this way."

"It was your fucking idea in the first place!" Shaun, the troublemaker from the hotel yelled in anger. One of his friends was lying among the corpses with his throat ripped off. He was ready to fight, but before he managed to reach Adam, Maya stopped him.

"We all agreed to this plan," she held him by the shoulder, flanked by a few other survivors. "No one's to blame for this except the Impact."

Shaun backed off and threw an angry look at Adam. "It ain't over," he hissed and returned to his group.

"What after we get back to the bridge?" Maya asked Adam after diffusing the situation. "We still need to reach the garrison."

"If we can't go through the center we'll go around," he answered. "We'll go along the river and reach the garrison from the other side."

The group quickly backtracked to the bridge and began moving along the Vistula River. They quickly left the tall buildings of the city center behind them and as the group got closer to his home, Adam began to sweat. That was it. He was finally going to meet up with his family.

"We are going to reach my residential area soon," Adam turned to Maya at some point. "Would you mind if we checked my home? It shouldn't set us back more than five minutes."

She looked at him with suspicion. "That's quite a coincidence, isn't it?"

"Truth be told, I've thought about it since the moment we returned to the bridge. Considering the situation in the city center we would have to use this path either way, so no harm done." Adam shrugged his shoulders and smiled apologetically. "It's not like I planned everything from the beginning."

"I guess so. Wish I had a chance like this," she answered with a sad smile. "What do we tell the others?"

"Nothing," Adam stated calmly. "They'll take a short break while I'll go and check."

"All right," Maya agreed. "Just tell me when we need to stop."

It took the group another hour of a slow march to reach Adam's neighborhood. They took a break at the bank of the river, while he delved between large houses occupying this part of the city.

Maya joined him shortly after. "You thought I'm going to let you go alone. What if you are killed in an ambush?"

Adam's home was located in the middle of a row of houses encircled by a low fence. As he reached the gate, Adam saw a few of his neighbors roaming the enclosed space. They were Tainted. It didn't deter him though.

Adam jumped over the fence and disposed of the monsters. He looked at the familiar faces and grieved their loss for a second. He wasn't the one who killed them though. They were long dead before he got here.

There was only one thing in his mind now. They had to be there. Carol had said that they would be home. They were probably terrified but it was going to be fine. They would be together after all. Nothing else mattered.

There it was. His home. Adam rushed to the building and tried to open the door. It was closed. He banged at it calling his wife and daughter but no one answered.

"They're not here," Adam paled with despair. "They must have fled the city already."

He backed away from the door and kicked it in, lunging inside right after it.