Gathering

Adam and Maya sneaked into the food court located on the ground floor. They didn't bring anyone else because they had to deal with the Tainted inside quietly, lest they alarmed the horde waiting outside.

Adam could deal with the beats alone but he wanted to witness Maya's ability in action. He was vaguely aware that they had survived the chase through the city thanks to her, but it was all a blur now. As such, they agreed to test it in a more controlled environment.

"Be fast and don't let them make a sound," he whispered to her. "I will intervene if you have any trouble and kill it instantly."

They were hiding behind a bar and observing one of the Tainted, dressed in a barman's outfit, roaming on its other side. Adam knew that there were five more Tainted scattered in the area, but they were too spread apart to become a problem.

Maya entered her trance and immersed herself carefully in the new sensations. She was aware of everything happening around her, every piece of furniture, and every movement of her enemy visible in her mind.

She savored these feelings and the power that came with them. Concentrating on the Tainted, she instinctively knew what it would do in the next moment, where it would put its foot, and what would it look at. She could see a clear path before her that would let her approach it undetected and deal a killing blow.

Not wanting to waste any more time, and already starting to feel a slight headache, Maya acted out the scenario playing in her brain. She repeated the moves she had already seen in her mind and reached the Tainted.

It was still oblivious of her presence, even when she stomped hard right behind him, and carried out a diagonal slash with her ax, embedding it in the creature's neck and severing its spine. She supported the corpse and gently put it on the ground.

Maya deactivated the skill and staggered from the pain. It felt like her head had been filled with liquid lead. The side effects of the skill were harsher than before, maybe because she had used it mostly instinctively before.

She didn't care though. The illusion of invincibility that her skill created was intoxicating and she couldn't wait to feel it again.

"Let's search the rest of the place. There might be more of them here," she turned to Adam impatiently. "However many we find, they're mine, understand?

Adam observed as she looked at him menacingly. It was clear to him that Maya was drunk on power right now, and he could understand that. Just a few days earlier, he too had been captivated by the first call of the blood. They needed to stay focused though.

He let her kill two more Tainted before quietly disposing of the rest with the Blood Manipulation. When Maya found the corpses she looked at him angrily, but Adam just shrugged his shoulders.

"You most likely already leveled up, and we need to quicken things up," he explained. "Calm yourself down, and then we'll get the rest of the group to bring food to the sixth floor."

He turned away from Maya and began walking toward the stairs. At the same time, he observed her carefully with the Bloodsense though. He wasn't sure how much her skill affected her behavior and what she would do now, with all the enemies dead.

Despite his suspicions, Maya calmed down quickly and joined him on the way up.

"So, what's the plan? How are you going to distract the Tainted? What do we say to the others?" she bombarded him with questions while massaging her temples. Adam assumed that her skill had taken a toll on her.

"We'll speak with our group first. We haven't decided what to do with the others yet," Adam responded.

"Yeah, we kind of did decide this already. When you were trashing the roof." Maya looked at him carefully. She had talked about this with the others and they had all agreed that they had to take the other group with them. They couldn't just leave them here to die.

Maya feared how Adam would react to their decision though. He took the leadership of their group, but they weren't obligated to follow him or agree with everything he decided. Nevertheless, Maya had seen that he hadn't been entirely stable, and right now she hoped that he wouldn't get violent again. She wasn't sure she could subdue him if that happened.

Adam took the revelation calmly though.

"You know that they'll only slow us down," he said with a shrug. "But if that's what you want then fine, we'll take them with us."

In reality, he already anticipated this scenario, although he wasn't expecting the group to decide without him. He couldn't go against them though, at least not now, when he still needed them. The truth was, that even without him, the group had a chance to survive. His goal, on the other hand, would be much harder to accomplish without the others.

The two met with the other members of their group in a conference room adjacent to the other survivor's hideout. They observed Adam as he entered and released a collective breath of relief when Maya showed them a thumb up from behind him.

"We cleared the restaurants below," Adam announced after entering the room. "I think it will be safer if gather as much food as we can, and eat it here. We don't want to alarm the Tainted outside with the noise.

No one opposed the idea and the group decided to gather some of the stronger survivors from the hotel to help them. Together, they quickly scavenged the kitchens on the ground floor and ate a simple meal.

Afterward, Adam's group gathered again, this time to talk about the situation outside.

"Seeing that we'll be taking the other group with us, I think we should include them in the meeting," Adam said looking around his companions. It was time to see who they would work with.

The survivors gathered in the conference room. Even after two solid meals, the group from the hotel looked miserable. They were full of terror that radiated around the room, creating a depressing atmosphere that affected Adam's group.

When Adam and Maya entered the room, they heard multiple murmurs going around it. Their new companions had already heard about the Tainted they had slain in the food court. They were split, with some of them looking at the two with renewed hope in their eyes, and the others with suspicion and fear.

"Now, that we rested a bit, it's time to determine what we should do next," Adam addressed the group. "We had a clear goal so far, that is to reach the garrison on the other side of the city. This didn't change."

Members of the other group began whispering with each other hearing this and after a while, a young man stepped forth.

"What can we even do right now?" he asked while looking at Adam pugnaciously. "And who put you in charge exactly?

Adam looked up at the young man. He was good-looking, dressed in expensive clothes and jewelry. A small group of similar young adults gathered behind him. Troublemakers, Adam thought. He had to put them in place here and now.

"They did," he pointed at his group. "And you don't need to follow us if you don't agree with their choice. You are welcome to stay here and wait for death. If you want to go with us though, you will listen to me.

Adam reached the man in one swift motion and hit him in the gut with a fist. His opponent bent forward with bulging eyes. He groaned loudly and fell over, holding on to his belly. Adam sidestepped him and approached the group behind the man.

"Listen, everyone!" he raised his voice menacingly. "You can go with us or stay here. The choice is yours to make. But understand this, right now you are just dead weight for us. So if you want to stick around, you're going to listen and do what we say, period."

He looked at every member of the opposing group with a thinly veiled threat. Anger filled his eyes and the Mana around him answered as before, thin white streams converging at him. Other survivors stepped away from him in fear.

"With that cleared up, here is what we'll do now." Adam reined in his rage and calmed down his emotions. "I have an idea on how to get rid of the horde surrounding the building. I need some of you to lead the children and the weak to the first floor and keep them safe. The rest will scavenge the supplies we might need and look for any tools that we might use as weapons."

"When I clear the path we will proceed to the Debnicki Bridge and try to cross the river there. That's it for now," Adam ended his speech and turned to his group. "I need you to reign them in. We have to establish some chain of command or else there will be chaos and we all end up dead. You all will supervise them for now and ensure they follow the plan."

He then looked at Maya. "I'll need you to be with me on the roof in case something goes wrong."