Visette watched the black car speed away like the rest of the crowd, and soon as it was out of sight every moved in a panic.

“Hey, we have to go,” George said from below the podium. He made it up in his mind that he would look out for Visette while Rachel was gone.

“I will move on my own,” Visette replied. There was no need for her to travel with anyone else and if she did it would be slower. With Rachel and Charlie, there was some sort of attachment as well as the need for a guide, but since she could follow the road the problem with direction had diminished.

“Don’t be like that, kid.” George protested strongly, “Are you upset that they left you? They didn’t have a choice.”

“I am not upset, traveling with others would diminish my efficiency,” Visette hopped down from the podium and looked at George.

“Visette…” Arthur spoke up but didn’t know what to say.

“You don’t have to worry about us slowing you down,” George said.

“Do you have a vehicle?”

“Well, no...but we can ride with someone else for a fee.”

“Can you go on with three to four hours of sleep?”

“...Not many people can do that.”

“Are you able to sprint for a duration of thirty minutes without rest?”

“Kid…”

“If you ran out of food can you consume raw meat without getting sick?”

“Are you saying you can do all of those things?” George asked. Visette’s questioning left him without much to say in response.

“That is correct,” Visette answered simply.

“I don’t believe you,” George replied.

“Your belief is not necessary,” Visette before turning to leave.

“Wait,” George called out which caused Visette to stop. He dug into his travel pack and pull out a hunting knife, “Here, if you lose your guns you need something to defend yourself with.”

Visette silently accepted it, she would use the weapons on hand to defend herself and use her psionics for travel.

“Come on, Arthur.” George tapped his son’s shoulder as they headed toward a garage that was surrounded by people. Other than the mayor of the town and his security, not many people had vehicles. Novidium batteries were expensive and the large majority of it went to the military, though since the Falling Star Event they had been lax in enforcing their monopoly. The last seven years had gone on without many attacks from the Corrupted which caused many to unconsciously become unguarded. Though that wasn’t to say they would’ve forgotten the long and bloody history that accompanied them throughout each generation.

Visette watched the townspeople barter for rides, but no matter what was offered there were just too many people and not everyone would get a ride. She also noticed a few people didn’t look like they were planning to leave immediately, it was likely they would loot the abandoned houses and steal the possessions of others.

She changed her focus and began to follow the road, nothing else demanded her immediate attention except for getting to New Mayhall.

Elsewhere, a group of looters had already started breaking into houses on the outer perimeter of the town. The electric fence that encircled the town was shut off in order to conserve the Novidium batteries for retrieval at a later date and to provide multiple escape routes in case an attack happened immediately.

“Come on, look for food and valuables.” A man ordered his teenage son who nodded hesitantly.

Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

It dawned on him that he was stealing from his friends and neighbors, all of whom were friendly and open. There were times when they let him borrow things for free and never showed any signs of doubt. They gathered up all the food that couldn’t be taken before stepping out to the join the small group.

“Tally it up,” A woman said as they began counting what they had.

“Hey, what the hell is this?!” The man pulled a plastic action figure out of his son’s bag.

“That was my friend’s favorite so I thought I could bring it to him after we get to New Mayhall.” The boy held his down as he confessed.

“Give it to him?” His father noticed the threatening looks he was getting and decided to be strict. Looting was still a crime and bringing evidence and giving it to one of the victims was the quickest way to be arrested and punished.

The man tightened his grip on the action figure before turning around and throwing it as far as he could, “Food and valuables only,” He said sternly.

The looters were appeased with his display and went back to organizing what they stole. The man’s son began to cry and even though he wanted to comfort him, he couldn’t.

…

A red action figure made from plastic fell into a stream with a loud plop before it slowly drifted in the opposite direction. It bumped into submerged debris, but bounced off and continued its journey onward before it was lodged on a rock and stuck. Without anyone interfering it would remain there untouched. A few hours passed and the sound of branches snapping could be heard along with a few peculiar noises that couldn’t come from a human.

A figure with greyish skin crawled over to the water’s edge and reached into grab the action figure before lifting it and examining it with its huge bulb-shaped eyes. The identity of the figure was a Corrupted, something that was incredibly far from human. It looked at the direction of the stream before looking back at the action figure. It dropped the plastic toy before looking up and making a series of noises.

After a brief silence, more than a dozen Corrupted appeared behind it and made noises of inquiry. They eyed the action figure on the ground and came to the same conclusion the sole Corrupted did. There were humans upstream and they all seemed to realize it. The Corrupted screeched in unison before they ran forward with a bloodthirsty ferocity.

…

Visette surveyed her surroundings and found she was a good distance away from everyone else. The sun had begun to set and about half of the town was camping, while the rest persisted through the night. Those lucky enough to own vehicles were long gone, there was no need to purposely stay when they may be robbed by their own neighbors if the situation grew too desperate.

Visette made sure no one was around before she infused psionic power into her legs and leaped into a tree. She landed on a tree branch that was about thirty feet off the ground before sitting in a position she found comfortable. After much adjustment, she hung her backpack on another branch and began to meditate. She raised small pieces of bark and let them orbit around her while maintaining her concentration. It wouldn’t be wise for her to expend all of her energy on the first day, especially while under threat.

After she reached a point of lightheadedness she ended her meditation and took a rest. Dim lights surrounded the camping grounds and showed a few dozen people on lookout duty. The main purpose of the camp was for the older residents of C-23 and the few children that weren’t sent away by car.

Visette cleared all unnecessary thoughts away and fell asleep. Even while her body was dormant, her mind still operated with persistence. It was to the point where one could question if she was actually sleeping. She was contemplating ways to decrease the instability in her psionics. The reason they sometimes became visible was due to her lack of control over them.

Visette’s mind raced as she sought out a solution, meditation was the most obvious answer but it was a long-term solution. As long as she increased the stability the consumption rate would also be fixed, allowing her more usage.

Visette suddenly opened her eyes and showed slight frustration. It would be harder to conceal her powers if they were able to be seen. Since there were various Abnormals, she could use her psionics to pose as one if need be.

An abrupt commotion broke out as the sound of gunfire and screams filled the air.

“Run!”

“Corrupted! Run!”

“Move! Move! Move!”

“Where are they?”

“I can’t see!”

Voices tangled together and added to the confusion as people scrambled away into the darkness of the woods. The first ones to go were the elderly and then those who were too slow in leaving. The grey-skinned humanoids pounced onto their unlucky victims and tore them apart with claws and teeth. Once they found their prey they ignored everyone else and continued on.

Visette put her backpack on before she covered her legs in psionic energy and hopped down from the tree.

Visette suddenly had a thought, why didn’t she layer the psionic energy into her muscle fibers? It would strengthen them for as long as she could withstand and she could gain mental endurance far faster.

“We have to move!” Someone ran past Visette and woke her from her thoughts.

“I can not do that,” Visette answered while shaking her head.

“Are you injured?” The man asked.

“No…” Visette checked her shotgun to make sure it was loaded before continuing, “I need to inspect them.”