Damian and Sasha crouched behind a stack of crates near the bridge, watching the increased patrols with keen eyes. The soldiers were more vigilant than before, no doubt due to the chaos they’d caused in the Warren, the firefight Sasha instigated, and the DARPA agent Damian had consumed. The tension was palpable, but they remained calm, waiting for the perfect opportunity.

"Looks like they’ve caught on," Sasha remarked, her sharp eyes scanning the patrols with calculating precision. "We’ll have to be more careful this time."

Damian nodded, his expression thoughtful. “We’ll wait for the right moment. Once their patrols slow down, we’ll camouflage and slip through.”

For several minutes, they remained still, hidden in the shadows, until the patrols thinned just enough. Damian gave a subtle nod, and together, they activated their camouflage abilities. Their forms shimmered, becoming nearly invisible, blending seamlessly into the surroundings. Moving silently, they slipped past the guards, navigating through the gaps in the patrols with practiced ease.

The crossing was tedious, but their invisibility held strong. Every step was fluid and deliberate; it needed to be since if one paid close enough attention they could still be seen. They passed within mere feet of armed soldiers, but the guards remained oblivious, none the wiser to the intruders in their midst.

Once they reached the end of the bridge and stepped into the Historic District, Damian and Sasha finally released their camouflage, their forms solidifying once more. The atmosphere in the Historic District was just as tense as in the Warren. Abandoned buildings loomed overhead, and the streets were littered with debris from the chaos that had engulfed Empire City since the quarantine began.

“Made it,” Damian murmured, scanning the area. “Now to the next step.”

Sasha led the way through the narrow streets, guiding them toward their destination. Unlike Damian, she had insider knowledge of the First Sons, and as an ex-member, she knew locations and secrets that even he, with all his knowledge of the game, had not anticipated. One such surprise was the location of the First Sons' true base.

As they made their way through the Historic District, Sasha revealed that the First Sons’ headquarters wasn’t in some obvious fortress or secure government building. Instead, it was hidden beneath Empire City University—ECU for short. Damian raised an eyebrow, surprised by the information.

Love what you're reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on.

“I didn’t see that coming,” Damian admitted. “Under ECU? I guess it makes sense in a way. The First Sons always saw themselves as intellectuals, and what better cover than a university full of smart teachers or students? No one would bat an eye.”

Sasha smirked. “Exactly. The university was the perfect place to recruit and experiment. The First Sons targeted students, especially those with potential conduit genes. They experimented on them, using them as lab rats. When the Ray Sphere went off, most of the students were sent away, and ECU was locked down. The First Sons turned it into a fortress.”

As they approached the university grounds, Damian could see the truth in Sasha’s words. ECU was no longer the bustling hub of learning it had once been when he last visited. Instead, it resembled a military compound. The once inviting campus was now surrounded by high fences topped with barbed wire. The gates were locked, and surveillance cameras dotted every corner. First Sons soldiers patrolled the perimeter, their sharp eyes scanning the area for any intruders.

“This is going to be tricky,” Damian muttered, eyeing the increased security. “We need to get inside without drawing too much attention.”

Sasha nodded in agreement, her eyes scanning the area for a potential opportunity. “We need to find a patrol of two or more soldiers and take them out quietly. Their uniforms and equipment will make it easier for us to blend in once we’re inside.”

As luck would have it, a group of three soldiers walked around the perimeter of the university grounds, chatting quietly amongst themselves as they kept watch. Damian and Sasha exchanged a glance, silently agreeing on their course of action. They moved swiftly, keeping to the shadows as they approached the soldiers, staying close to the walls of the nearby buildings to avoid detection.

Just as they were about to pass the soldiers unnoticed, one of them glanced their way, suspicion flickering across his face. “Hey! You two—stop right there!”

Damian locked eyes with Sasha for a brief moment, then, without hesitation, they bolted, sprinting away from the patrol. The soldiers immediately gave chase, their heavy boots pounding against the pavement as they pursued them.

The chase led them deeper into the maze-like streets of the Historic District. Damian and Sasha expertly weaved through alleyways and abandoned buildings, always staying just ahead of their pursuers. They knew that although they could outrun the soldiers forever, they didn’t need to. Their goal was simple: lure the soldiers to a secluded area where they could be dealt with quietly.

After a few more twists and turns, Damian spotted a narrow alley that would serve as the perfect ambush site. He darted into it, with Sasha close behind. The soldiers, too focused on the chase, followed them into the alley without hesitation.

The moment the soldiers were deep enough into the alley, Sasha transformed. Her body shifted into her monstrous form—a terrifying sight of muscle, blades, and raw power. Her bladed tail lashed out, and before the soldiers could react, she had skewered two of them, their bodies impaled by her razor-sharp appendage.

The third soldier barely had time to scream before Damian, now a shifting mass of biomass, engulfed him. His body was consumed in seconds, disappearing into the writhing form that was Damian. The other two soldiers, still hanging limply from Sasha’s bladed tail, were swiftly dispatched as well.

Within moments, all three soldiers were dead.

Damian reformed into his human shape, his face impassive as he wiped his hands clean. He bent down and began to strip the soldiers of their equipment—radios, badges, and anything else that might prove useful. Although Damian could mimic the soldiers’ appearance and voices using his abilities, the real equipment would ensure their disguises were foolproof.

Sasha shifted back into her human form, her expression cold and emotionless as she watched Damian work. "You’re getting faster at consuming them," she remarked, her voice devoid of any particular emotion.

Damian shrugged, pocketing one of the soldiers’ radios. “It gets easier the more I do it. Anyway, we’ve got what we need. Let’s move.”