Silas was actually surprised by how well the man applied bandages to his wounds. Not only did they not feel tight, they didn’t hinder his mobility at all. It greatly lessened how much energy he had to spend on stifling the blood loss, so he quickly thanked the man as his wife, Martha, came back up with a couple loaves of bread and set them next to him.
The mood had noticeably lightened after the mention of his Empyrean status and the Director; his Nightmare Seed siphoning the fear from everyone in the room at the same time. Henry, the father, was actually rather talkative all things considered. He was a locksmith from the Market District. They lived only a few minutes from the Lower City and were quickly received by the guardsmen by the Garrison.
Henry and his family had seen very few mutants overall because of this, probably less than the amount Silas just killed. Henry himself only recognized the Corruption because of his trips to the Mayor’s Manor. Martha taught in the Lower City and had used their connections to get them a Villa of their own.
“Lotus? How many Wayfinders are left in Ironside?”
[A total of twenty five]
Silas wouldn’t be surprised if some areas simply had more, stronger mutants hiding within. It’s likely that greater populations met with greater mutants, explaining why he only met with a relatively small group. Their area was relatively empty and Physique Establishment was rather rare all things considered.
The mind behind the attack probably didn’t realise there’d be someone like the Director there, so the amount was most likely bearable for the man. The issue was the kids. Silas only hoped that his bell strategy did enough to make it easy for the Director to take care of them on his own.
“Why didn’t you folks head towards the gunfire?” Silas tore into a piece of bread like a hungry beast, speaking in between mouthfuls. “The guardsmen are arguably safer.”
“What if we die on the way?”
True. Silas advised most of the families to head towards the gunfire when they rejected him but he doubted even half listened to him. Not many had the courage to risk their lives when hiding appeared to be a perfectly good option. The issue with hiding was that it relied on luck.
Yet wasn’t he stuck here now, hiding?
Right now, healing was all that mattered. If the guardsmen came around first, they’d be fine. If the mutants did instead, then he could only hope they weren’t discovered. His eyes suddenly narrowed as Silas remembered the trail of blood he left behind.
The more time that passes, the more likely they are to be discovered by wandering mutants. Silas wasn’t sure why the intelligent variant was attacking them but it likely wanted as many of them dead as possible. Even the Wayfinders have been dying, Silas didn’t want to be the next.
Nearly an hour had passed and Silas finally felt his blood energy hit the limit. His fear energy had long been full and he was now using it to check the surroundings. Many sources of fear energy remained in place, but some had already left in the direction of the Mayor’s Estate. At least some people listened.
“How much more jerky and bread do you have?” Silas asked Martha as Henry talked to the kids. The woman smiled weakly with a shake of her head, looking at her kids. “One more loaf and another bag.”
“Could you grab it, please? We should get going soon. I’ll recoup more on the way.”
“Wait, what?” Henry stood up and almost sent the kids stumbling. “We can’t leave- you said you’d protect us!”
“Guide was the specific word. The longer we’re alone out here the worse it gets. Ironside doesn’t have enough Empyreans to spread out. Most Sergeants have only opened a few more gates than me. They can’t lose all their people looking for survivors. We have to go to them.”
“We’ll die!”
“I can guarantee your children’s survival.” Silas spoke calmly. They helped him, yes, but he wouldn’t stay if they refused to follow. A Voiceless alone had the speed to match a Physique Establishment Empyrean, and as far as The Director told him, only the Ten Inspectors had that strength.
The Sergeants were only relatively strong Gate Opening Empyreans. With every Mutant having strength at the First Gate, waiting for rescue that might never come was suicide. His mix of pathways let him fight a little above his paygrade but he stretched himself thin just fighting six mutants.
Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.
For those who hid, their only hope was that the Guardsmen at the border of the Lower City and the Market District found them on their way back to the Mayor’s Estate. Silas watched Martha lead Henry into another room and refrained from using his enhanced senses to eavesdrop.
A few minutes later, they returned with a determined look on their faces. Ultimately, they agreed to leave so long as Silas followed through on his guarantee. Silas was happy to do so considering they did in fact help him. After that, all he did was explain what to do.
Quiet steps, no speaking. After settling a few more things, the couple went and got the food from the pantry while Silas played with the kids. He didn’t bother saying anything about the Corruption if someone got bit- it meant they were effectively deadweight; and he wasn’t really sure what happened to those who succumbed to it.
He rather not carry someone back after getting bit, end up having them mutate and then tear his throat out.
What surprised him was Henry digging up a rather cheaply made revolver from beneath one of the floorboards. He had to look at the man in a different light, considering he never used it when Silas forced his way in.
“Absolutely do not look at others. Focus on yourselves. Don’t look at windows, don’t look in houses. Do not look at the corpses. Look ahead, follow me.” Silas tossed another piece of bread in his mouth and spoke quietly. Only when everyone nodded did he slowly move the furniture out of the way and open the door onto the street.
As he pushed it all to the side, Silas felt it was remarkably.. Easy. He had never been weak but he had never been strong, either. Just how much had opening Two Gates enhanced his strength? He had practically sent one of the cabinets flying, Henry barely able to catch it before it toppled over. The noise would have been bad. He quickly gave each of them a small amount of blood energy to resist the fog.
Silas felt dozens of fear energy signatures suddenly shift as they stepped out into the open, figures appearing in the windows to look at them one by one. He could only scowl as he noticed many still remained lit inside. The street was still barren.
Henry and Martha walked at his sides while the kids walked a little in front. The boy held his little wooden sword in hand tightly, watching the streets with vigilance and holding his sister's hand tight. This way, be it from the front or behind, Silas could react quickly to keep them safe.
The Fog meant these people either needed a Guide to resist its effects, or they needed to be swift when moving through it. Silas did his best to refine as much fear as he could as he walked by, hoping they could work up the courage and risk leaving.
Stepping over the corpses of the mutants he killed earlier, they finally started heading in the direction of the Mayor’s Estate. They walked slow and quiet, Silas silently chewing on this or that and generating more blood energy to share with the group. With the small but constant amounts he was sharing, it was barely sustainable.
They finally passed his Villa some fifteen or twenty minutes later and he breathed out in relief, seeing no human bodies of any kind. All that remained were the corpses of basic mutants and a Voiceless or two. The rest must have chased after him and then gotten confused by the Screechers. No wonder only two followed.
In front of the Villa, dozens of footprints surrounded the big ass pole in a small group. A rather large chunk of them were from the kids, but Silas saw too many that were much too big. Considering the lack of fear energy from the surroundings, it seems the Director led a lot of the neighbours away.
Silas took a small glance at the window where he saw the follower of Yvmirn and walked inside the Villa. He took a few moments to gather the remaining food, tying it in a sack at his waist. If they were back in the Mayor’s Estate, it was best to have their own reserves in case the supplies situation got bad.
He returned to his ‘room’ and grabbed the ice crystal before heading back outside. Luckily for them, they only needed to follow the Director’s path back to the Estate and they’d probably be okay.
At Physique Establishment, Silas found it hard to believe that the old man had any trouble protecting himself and the kids- it was even likely that he’d pick up some patrolling guardsmen along the way. That way, he could save more blood energy for himself and let the guards supply it to the civilians.
The ice crystal still caused his blood energy to boil and Silas did feel like his limit at the Second Gate had almost been reached, but it simply wasn’t the time. They couldn’t wait for him to breakthrough.
“Sir?”
Silas looked down at the boy tugging on his torn sleeves. With a small shake, the boy lifted his toy sword and pointed down one of the streets heading towards the Market District. “Sir, what is that?”
The average person could barely see in the fog, with only the use of blood or fear energy overcoming that. Even so, Silas could only see clearly within some sixty feet. He could see a vague humanoid form and a few portions of their clothing. A mix of blue and black with some smattering of grey. It looked kind of like a..
“Guardsman? He’s wearing a Sergeant’s uniform!” Henry did his best not to shout as he pointed the figure out for his wife, mostly looking at the distinct golden insignia on the figure’s chest, reflecting the little sunlight that broke through the fog. Silas narrowed his eyes, trying to make out the smaller details. What part of a guardsman uniform was grey? There was some red, too..
He directed both blood and fear energy towards his eyes and his vision suddenly pierced through the fog with much greater clarity. The figure previously obscured by the fog was now clear as day in his sight. His eyes widened as he turned to Henry and tried to make a shushing gesture.
A whistle broke the silence and Silas stood still as a stone abruptly punched through the man’s skull and continued flying another twenty feet into the grass behind them. The immense rise in fear energy forced Silas to use his cleanse talent and his mind suddenly felt fresh, even as he watched Henry’s corpse fall to the ground.
The grey wasn’t part of the man’s uniform, instead just the exposed skin showing through the tears in the cloth. It held a fist sized rock in its offhand, the other still in a throwing stance. He quickly kept the other three silent as the mutant stood in place, dozens of vague figures slowly making themselves known behind it.