CHAPTER 81: Jackson

All night and part of the next day had gone by before Adam was able to join the last of the humans heading back towards Jackson. He had also decoupled the dimensional layer, returning all that ashy ground to a black bubble the size of a shed, protected by a barrier. The land where the dimensional layer had occupied just became flat, dead land. Adam was sure grass would grow on it again, but all the buildings and concrete in about a 2-mile radius were completely gone.

Every Labesatis corpse, their armor, and other materials had been placed in the Rift. The combatants seemed fine with leaving the loot, knowing that the Jackson base would use the materials to create better gear for their combatants. His own base would be able to use its Rift Menu to transfer materials and absorb the organic substances for additional power over their rift network, now ten Rifts connected.

Adam laid back on the top of a slow U-Haul truck along with Andrea and Alissa. They could feel his distress and fatigue through the soul connections they shared. Even with the heavy emotions after this assault, they felt closely connected.

“I’m going to have my mom cut your hair when we get back,” said Alissa as she rubbed his hair while leaning on his right shoulder. Andrea’s head was resting in his lap as she looked at the sky. The three chatted idly and talked as much as possible with the wind blowing in their ears during the trip. Otherwise, they just took comfort in each other’s presence over the three-hour drive.

The inside of the moving truck, and the two in front of them, were crammed full of the women that operated under Andrea and Alissa. Karen was enjoying Adam’s reinforced motorcycle. Though Karen was extremely protective of all the women, including Andrea and Alissa, when Adam came around, she would give a crisp salute before excusing herself so Adam could be with The General’s Wives.

Even though Adam hadn’t directly organized the search for functional vehicles in the area or gathering clothes, food, and water for the survivors, his presence and approval was always necessary. Adam was in charge. No one from Jackson questioned it. If something went wrong, Adam was the safety plan. Adam would do his job and leave other tasks to those more capable, though he had to be kept in the loop at all times.

Still, most of the water and food for the rescued survivors had come from the assault group’s supplies and had barely been the basics for these survivors. Most of them were still naked, thirsty, and hungry in the cold, late November temperatures as they traveled to Jackson. The healers should be enough to keep anyone from dying during the trip.

Back at Jackson there were procedures and personnel dedicated to incorporating the people they found. He knew his mom and Mrs. Rhodes had worked with the former mayor’s office and the police chief to organize health checks, debriefings, and assigning people to camps while living space was prepared. Buildings that still stood needed to be altered to make them livable. It would be a bit hectic for the personnel, with almost 4,000 coming in from White Bluff, and then the 700+ survivors from South Hampton.

The South Hampton people were more mentally traumatized than any other group they had found so far. They were also the only ones to survive the invaders among those the Sentinel Army had found in bases. He would need to walk through the various camps and talk with the people over the next few days to get a feel for them and to try giving confidence. He wouldn’t be able to use his connections to help the people, but maybe his presence would bring them some comfort. Pre-invasion Adam had been all over the news and internet, practically a celebrity, and most of the new people had seen him leading their rescuers, so his presence often calmed them down and made them feel welcome.

After the invasions began, the Sentinel Army and residents of Jackson had been surprised at how many humans were still out there. In the last two months, they had found at least 50,000 people who hadn’t even encountered invaders.

When the people in Jackson, including those in the Rift base, had been watching the news feeds of the invaders appearing, they expected hordes of monsters and aliens to come descending on them at any time. All over the world news stations had broadcast the slaughter of humans and then the feeds ended. Jackson expected the same for itself, even if they felt some reassurance in the Sentinel Army’s presence.

For five days after the invasions began everyone had waited. People were passing out from lack of sleep. Everyone stayed in their evacuation locations. The US Army soldiers, local police, and the Sentinel Army members all patrolled and waited. Adam and his group rotated time for sleep, camping by the Rift exit for when they were needed. Yet nothing happened.

Panic almost set in from that waiting. The mental strain was all but debilitating. No one wanted to let down their guard only for that to be the time when the attacks came. Instead of feeling safer without being attacked, people started to expect the worst. That was until Jordan Lane, Colonel Davian, and a college student named Jake brought up a likely reason.

The invaders wanted to starve Adam and his group. In a world where killing meant becoming stronger, the best way to weaken a group was to not fight them. Adam’s group contained the strongest humans because they had previously fought so many invaders.

The police who had joined in early, and the soldiers who raided the Terrenidons, were the next strongest. Everyone else felt it was slow going as they had to rely on the XP from killing the wildlife. While the beasts propagated quickly, they started at lower levels.

To confirm the situation, patrols had been sent out. They stayed close to Jackson at first, with plenty of reinforcements ready to support. Then they ranged wider. Only occasional invader hunting parties were found, and then only rarely. All the smaller towns near Jackson, such as Huntingdon, Trenton, and Henderson had suffered no attacks. Brownsville had one invader base, which the Sentinel Army quickly captured. Electricity and communications were down in most locations, and food was dwindling outside of Jackson, but everyone within the city was still mostly healthy.

Those places were all evacuated to Jackson. Jackson grew. The wildlife hunts to get XP increased. Scouts roamed further until they were able to locate the invader bases, now dimensional layers merged with the Earth.

Adam merged his primary Rift with Earth and was surprised it provided an area with a 3-mile radius from the Sentinel Army’s building and statue. It was a lot more territory than any of the other invader bases they found and was desperately needed.

Merging his Rift with the Earth’s reality opened a lot of new features of the Rift Menu. 70% of the menu was still in a language that they were failing to decrypt, but what they did understand was supremely useful. The ability to break down materials and rebuild them within the territory had given them access to more living space, better tools, and near magical technology, though they still couldn’t afford to buy much from the Rift Store.

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***

When the moving truck came within range of the checkpoints leading to the center of the city, Adam stood on the truck so the soldiers and people would see him. They all saluted with some cheering as he came through. He was a victorious conqueror, a hero who rescued the people, even if he was riding on the top of a U-Haul.

He spent 25 minutes standing on top of the truck as they drove the final seven miles to the Sentinel Army’s building. Many new buildings had been added since they merged the Rift with Earth. Living space for those with important jobs needed to be added. Garages for maintaining the vehicles had been placed. Most of the warehouses had been shifted towards the borders of their territory so it was faster to get food and supplies to those living outside the borders.

They also found that they needed to transplant a lot of the buildings away from the Sentinel Army’s high-rise. The plaza in front had become a gathering spot, and when organizing large expeditions or assaults the space was needed. There was also one other reason they needed that space open.

Thousands of people were already in the plaza, knowing what came after fighting. They stood there expectantly, giving enough space for the vehicle, and watching Adam’s truck pull around the statue. Adam waited until all the people inside the truck had exited and taken their places with the crowds. Everyone from the assault was there. All the Sentinel Army members, soldiers, and long involved civilians who weren’t doing a critical job were waiting. Families gathered and huddled together, rejoicing in their wholeness.

Finally, Adam jumped off the truck. He didn’t speak or even acknowledge the crowd. The mood was quiet and respectful. Striding to walls of stone, he pulled out a sharp dagger and started to scratch names.

This had become a tradition. With so many people in the combat units, no one could guess how Adam always knew the names of the fallen. He just did. To most people, that was Adam.

Under the words “Earth’s Heroes” and into the growing list Adam scratched more names.

Marcus Tilden…

Harold Chasile…

Sarah Tarnilan…

Seventeen names were carved to go along those already in the stone. From a tactical point of view saving almost 5,000 people at the cost of 17 was worthwhile, and Adam couldn’t argue that. But still, his face turned angrier with each name. The heat in his heart increased as the air around him crackled and waved. By the time the names were crudely scratched into the stone, Adam was furious and struggling to keep down the heat. Just like after every other battle.

After taking a deep breath and using his only real skill [Body and Soul Shaping] to reduce the amount of strength he pulled from the heat, he stood up. Slowly he dropped the dagger into its place next to the wall, a small stand with a slot at the top so that it would always be available.

He didn’t bow to the wall, get teary, or pray. Adam kept silent with his stormy face. No one resented him for it. They saw the anguish in him as he slowly looked out over the crowds. Starting on the right he turned his head until everyone was considered. Finally, without a word, he turned and headed for the Sentinel Army building.

With Adam gone the crowds moved in. They did pray. They offered thanks and regret, both to those listed as Earth’s Heroes and to the statue of Adam and his friends who had kept the rest of them safe so far.

***

As Adam entered his penthouse, the smell of food hit him. His stomach growled.

Not everyone living in Jackson was willing or able to be soldiers. Plenty of people understood the importance of contributing but couldn’t bring themselves to fight. Some people simply refused, claiming it wasn’t their job, and those people were kept way outside the Sentinel Army’s territory.

Adam’s parents were an example of noncombatants. His mom and dad were some of the primary organizers for the territory. They worked every day, longer than they had before the [System], and that work was as necessary as the fighting.

The people who didn’t shirk in contributing had been assigned jobs. Not everyone was doing something within their pre-[System] skill set, but a lot still were. In this case, Adam had taken on a family of chefs. A husband and wife who formerly ran a restaurant had been given the responsibility of cooking food for Adam. It wasn’t expected to be a royal feast, just whatever filling foods they could make for him, and often his friends.

In payment for their cooking, they were given a two-bedroom apartment in the building for them and their two young sons. There was currently a premium on comfortable living space, and no place had more comforts than the Sentinel Army’s building. Many people tried their hardest to get important jobs so they could live within this building or one of the nearby apartment buildings reserved for Sentinel Army fighters and staff.

The General’s Wives’ large condo, taking up the other half of the top floor, had originally been built with a servant’s suite, and there was now a single mom and her 11-year-old daughter living in it as a housekeeper for Adam’s girlfriends. Adding to that, his sister Emily had moved into one the room reserved for Adam’s “wives.” While the wives’ concept that had included Abbey, Andrea, Alissa, and Brittney had started as a PR move by Tom, it had caught on with the people. Brittney, Abbey, Andrea, and Alissa welcomed Emily, even if Emily was perpetually angry and bitter towards Adam.

Emily’s move had allowed his parents to downgrade to a one-bedroom unit, freeing up the two-bedroom unit for a family. Of course, it wasn’t as big a sacrifice as it sounded, since the Rift Menu allowed them to adjust the rooms as well as the entire building. In fact, the entire building had gone through several changes as it was now taller than originally designed, and more condo units had been added to a few floors, with some units being widened or combined.

When Adam reached his dining table it was covered with food. It was truly a quantity over quality meal as there were burgers, fries, pizza, a variety of breads, cheese trays, preserved fruits, vegetables with dips, even plates full of meat. Most of the meat came from the XP hunts that all the non-combat personnel were required to do twice a week, along with their weapon and defense trainings. Everyone needed to get stronger, even if they were not considered combatants.

The food was already being greedily consumed by several of his friends at the table. Randall and Joseph were sloppily grabbing what they wanted and shoving it in their mouths. Brittney and Abbey were using silver wear and plates, though Brittney was eying the other two boys jealously. Brandon and his girlfriend Gracie both looked around nervously, concerned that they were doing something wrong as they ate. Nick, Carlos, and Lamar were lightly snacking until they saw Adam enter. Emily was there too, eating what she wanted, ignoring that Adam had even come in the room.

Once Adam sat down, several plates of food that had been put together, and pitchers of milk and juice, were pushed to him. Everyone knew what Adam would need after the last few hard days. He nodded at them all and then guzzles a pitcher of juice, followed by three hamburgers before he felt up to talking.

“It’s going to be difficult breaking further into the cities,” Adam said while still shoving pieces of cheese into his mouth. Nick nodded to him.

“True, but it’s the only way we’re going to get stronger. The invaders are fighting among themselves and gaining power right now. We’re behind on numbers, and we’ll fall behind on personal strength quickly.”

“If we get more involved then we’ll definitely have more Heroes named,” said Lamar, using the euphemism for those fallen in combat whose names Adam carved in the wall.

“The real problem,” said Brittney, “is that we can barely use the damn Rift Menu. We need to learn more about it and find a way to communicate with the invaders. I know it can track almost anything about the people living within our own territory, but I bet it can show us more regarding the invader bases too, if we could only read it.”

“Think it would be possible finding some invaders willing to ally with us?” asked Carlos hopefully.

“No chance in hell,” said Adam before he bit down on a slab of meat. “This is our fight. If we can’t stand up to it, then we might as well give up. Find us the next base to conquer.”