CHAPTER 84: Visiting the Survivors
Adam held Abbey’s hand while they walked through the halls of a local elementary school that was outside of their territory. While not a large person, Adam couldn’t help but feel that the halls and rooms were smaller than he remembered, though the emotions this trip was triggering made the walls feel like they were closing in on him even more. He would much rather be out in a battlefield, losing himself to the rage as he fought his enemies rather than seeing all these suffering people and having to reassure them.
The last meeting had ended with everyone agreeing it was best to keep the lists and search capabilities that Adam had access to confidential. Select security and intelligence personnel had been given permission to use a few of the lists and monitoring features to see how they could best make use of the overly intrusive information. There was too much confusion over how the monitoring was in the best interests of the people since they had no war purpose, as far as the group could tell. The ones with military or security purpose had been made available to those managing the base early on.
Scouts had also been sent out to see what information they could gather on known bases with access to waterways. If they needed to wait a week for the fighters to rest, cope with the mental strain, and adjust to the limits of their bodies after leveling up, they might as well use that time to select the best target and let the strategists decide on how to attack it. Adam might be a good tactician in smaller encounters, mostly due to him being able to make up for almost any group weakness so far, but he had no experience leading hundreds or thousands of people.
That meeting had been three days ago. Adam was using the unscheduled time to meet with the various groups that they had rescued or brought in. Today he was having trouble shouldering his visit with the South Hampton survivors of the Labesati.
With the other groups, Adam had introduced himself, sat in on meetings, and told the people what they could expect and what he expected of them. The groups, such as from White Bluffs, had their own leaders and representatives, though they were spread out due to the number of people and groups that had been rescued. The meetings were run by more experienced people, but they had the common information delivered by Adam to set the hierarchy and precedence.
Those from South Hampton were in much worse shape. They had been rounded up and tormented for weeks. Few had much life still in their eyes. Some had tried to end their own lives upon arriving at Jackson. They didn’t even have the energy or will to mourn loved ones or understand the new realities.
Most simply had despair and hopelessness in their eyes. They were all malnourished and emaciated. A few had flickers of fury, though usually that would only make brief appearances, quickly burning out and returning to hopelessness.
Physically they were all scared to be touched, even by the medical staff and care takers. When new people entered the rooms that they were set up in, they would shrink or show signs of wanting to hide among the cots, mattresses, and gurneys that were all they had available.
Adam wasn’t here to make reassurances, to recruit them, or to give these people a new purpose. Back when he first started fighting the invaders, his friends had realized that he had a calming presence that helped with the difficulties they faced from fighting and getting hurt. Since then, they already realized that the presence helped people inherently trust Adam. He was trying to use that to help stabilize these suffering people, to try to start them on the road to recovery.
Even while projecting calm and strength, inside Adam was seething. It wasn’t the type of anger that would trigger his heat or river. However, it was the type of anger that he would be taking out on invaders he ran into for a very long time. Seeing all the dehumanized people caused him to tremble.
Through their shared connection, Abbey’s joy at spending time with him and making the rounds during the previous two days had made this type of work almost enjoyable for him, if for no other reason than the time they got to share. Today her joy had morphed into a depression. Adam had no way to help her with it either. They just visited room after room of dozens of people who were scared of the world.
Their method felt odd. The care takers would bring a chair for both Abbey and Adam, place it right inside the entrance, and then would go about their work with the survivors. He would spend about half an hour in each room, but the effects were noticeable. The people felt almost like animals acclimating to a human presence and coming out of hiding.
The calming presence wasn’t something Adam controlled, but he had gotten a sense of how to push it outward, making it stronger and denser. He focused on this while he chatted about trivial things with Abbey. Their unimportant conversations would distract her, and eventually the people in the rooms became more relaxed too. More willing to work with the staff moving around them.
Occasionally someone would come over and talk directly to him, asking about the armor he wore or what he did in the new world. Sometimes they would become more scared when finding out that he was a leader, and sometimes they would brighten, though Adam knew it was more latching on to a desperate hope, someone who might protect them and help them survive. He even had a few people ask to come and serve him.
More than once, Adam was tempted to open a connection to the people and pump through his confidence and determination, like he did with his friends when they went into combat. Yet there was something in Adam that knew, without question, that using the connection would turn these broken people into fanatics even higher than Tom’s unit, the General’s Guards. While Adam wondered if that would be better for them, he didn’t want the weight of their lives on him. They would need to recover and find their paths for themselves.
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“Mr. General,” a woman in her 50s approached Adam when he was finally done with all the people in this school. There were still two more locations with South Hampton survivors for him to visit today. “I’m Lusia Abeyta, the head of the care efforts. I can’t thank you enough for taking the time out of your schedule to visit here. All our workers have said that the people are more receptive to them after you spent time in their rooms.”
“We had the time available and there was nothing more important than helping these people get back on their feet,” responded Abbey while patting Adam’s hand. Lusia had a warm smile at that. “Seeing them like this is heart breaking.”
Adam nodded, “I might not always be available for this, but it is important for all of us. From a larger perspective, the more people we have, even in support roles, the better off we are. From a human perspective I’m just using the skills I have to help where it’s needed.”
“That’s good of you, considering everything else you do as well,” Lusia praised, though she had an uncomfortable look on her face. “You might not have time for this, but there is a group of 38 that wanted to meet you. I told them I would ask if you could but didn’t make any promises.”
“Why do they want to meet with me?” Adam asked.
“These are some of the more…enthusiastic of the survivors. They aren’t able or willing to stay still. They’ve all been evaluated as either suicidal or violent in personality due to their trauma. Bluntly, they want vengeance or to throw their lives away fighting.”
Adam saw Abbey staring at him with an unreadable expression. There was no indication of what she was thinking when he listened to their connection. He let out a breath.
“I’ll meet with them. We can see where it goes,” Adam said.
***
That was how he ended up in the school auditorium with 38 people sitting around him in a two-row semicircle. The people had a manic glint in their eyes. None spoke, but quite a few constantly squirmed. Abbey and Lusia were waiting to the side of the stage where they all sat.
“I’m Adam. Before the invasions you might have seen me on the news. They called me The General.”
A gasp came out from a few.
“You’re the big boss?” a 15-year-old boy named Rick spat out the question.
“Pretty much,” Adam answered simply.
“Weren’t you a monster hunter in all those videos?” questioned a woman in her 30s. Her hair was just starting to grow back and a burn covered the outside of her left arm and neck.
“I was hunting the invaders.”
“Why didn’t you kill more?!” someone shouted.
“We cleared out four groups of invaders. I didn’t even know where more were,” said Adam, feeling a bit agitated from their hostility.
“How come you didn’t help keep us safe?” another voice demanded.
“There was only so much…” started Adam before another voice shouted.
“My parents are dead because of you!”
“I had nothing to do with…”
“You should have been there!”
The voices were coming heavily. Accusation and anger were thrown at Adam. He felt his insides tremble as the weight of their words hit him harder than a punch could have.
“I did everything I could…” Adam didn’t get far before more people raised their voices.
“You didn’t…”
“If only you had…”
“Why couldn’t you…”
“Wasn’t there anyone who…”
The sting from the words ignited his heat. It pulsed along with the voices. The river drowned out the words. Images of his friends being mauled came to mind. Memories of the deaths on the news feeds fueled his rage. Visions of finding these very survivors and questions of how many other humans were being held captive and abused flowed through him. Adam and his friends might not have been the ones always suffering but that didn’t mean they hadn’t taken trauma from it as well.
Damn the [System] and damn the invaders!
Adam’s fury was growing. Abbey was trying to get to him as the people who had been sitting around him, from young teens to middle aged, were on their feet shouting at once. Spit flew at him along with their words. All the pain and suffering they had felt were hurled at Adam and he barely noticed as the river tried pulling him in.
Sobbing was coming from all around. Adam didn’t notice some tears flowing down his own cheeks as their pain was a near tangible force that his soul vibrated with. Heat was coming from him as Abbey tried to get his attention. The wood on the stage was warping under it.
Adam rose to his feet so quickly the chair flew behind him, crashing into the wall.
“ENOUGH!” Adam roared, freezing everyone. Heat poured off him.
“I am not the reason this happened to you,” he shouted, not even thinking about his words. “I warned everyone! No one did more than me and I made my own city as safe as possible!”
The people were watching him now. Both terror and fury were in their expressions.
“If you want to blame someone, then blame the government or the military. Maybe the police or even yourselves! I can’t fix this for you. I couldn’t have prevented it any more than you did. But I will tell you one thing, I plan to spend my life killing all the bastards who showed up. I’ll make them regret the day they targeted Earth!”
Spittle came from his own mouth as he ranted. He was in a lather as all the frustrations he had been living with began coming up. Emotions that he hadn’t let himself feel. Thoughts that couldn’t be spoken to others. Blame for those who had done nothing while he had tried to prepare them.
As Adam spoke, the fire inside of him didn’t dwindle, but it did become more controlled. The last few months had been just as hard on him as the people who had fought with him. He wanted to be out there, attacking. Swinging his hammer. Only now did Adam realize how complicated things had gotten and how much pressure that had put on him. The more people he helped, the more he had to do.
A large breath filled Adam. He held it in while glaring at the people before him. Abbey reached him and a cooling heal passed through him, though he didn’t really need it. He placed his hand on her anyway, then let out his breath.
“Can we fight them too?” asked the young Rick meekly.
“Right now each of you are weak. Too weak to be anything but a burden. If you want to change that then let Lusia know. I’ll send someone by tomorrow to help train you physically. Once you have your feet under you then you can gain levels. After you get to level 10, we can then train you for combat. If you want vengeance, or the strength to protect yourself, then it’s up to you to get it.”
This incident helped clarify some of the uneasiness and restlessness that Adam had been feeling. So much had happened since the invasions, and so much was still to come. There had been organizing the army and units, finding resources, and making sure they were distributed, while helping his friends all get stronger. He wasn’t scared of the pressure, or the accusations. He had just gotten a little confused in his mission.
It was time for Adam to get back to his core missions. Killing all the invaders. Protecting the people. He was a warrior and conqueror, not an administrator.