Victor closed his eyes slowly after hearing the recording. The tension in the air was palpable as everyone stared at his slightly trembling body. He swung around without warning, striking Alexei with a backhand.

The man was flung through the air as though a sledgehammer just hit him. Though considering Victor’s increased strength, it probably did feel like one. Alexei tumbled onto the ground, the arrow still embedded in his shoulder mercifully snapping off. Victor walked towards forcefully, lifted him up by his shirt with one hand and slammed him against the broken wall. No one else dared to move a muscle.

“I trusted you. After all we have been through, why?” Victor said as calmly as he could, but his trembling voice betrayed the seething anger and hurt beneath the facade.

Alexei grinned through bloodstained teeth. Or maybe he was grimacing; it was hard to tell when he was missing a few of them. “Why? You don’t know why?”

“Don’t be coy with me,” Victor snarled and the ground trembled slightly. “What did Firdaus offer you? Power? Sanctuary?”

Alexei gurgled a raspy laugh. “That’s the problem with you. You always assume you know everything.”

Victor’s murderous gaze intensified.

“Firdaus intends to rule this doomed world, and he has the means to control mutates. But that’s something you and I already found out a long time ago,” Alexei continued. “What’s infuriating, is that instead of joining him, you chose to oppose him. You didn’t even bother asking the rest of us if that’s what we wanted. Hell, you didn’t even ask me! You ever thought I would’ve preferred not to be worrying every night if I’ll wake up to a goddamn horde of zombies at my feet?”

Victor’s grip slackened slightly. “I didn’t know-”

“Of course you didn’t,” Alexei spat. “Not like it ever mattered to you anyway. You relish in your god-like powers as an enhanced; you could destroy hundreds of zombies with a swat of your hand. Good for you, but how about the rest of us? You think we like being cooped up behind a wall? We don’t have a choice!”

“I gave you the resources to defend yourselves!” Victor argued, letting go of the man completely. “I made sure that we would never run out of food and water. I made this place a safe haven for everyone, you damn ingrate!”

“So what if you did? You’re not even here half the time,” Alexei retorted, his body slumping onto the ground. “All you ever did was use us to do your bidding and claim all the credit for it. And all I did was ensure my safety from Firdaus’ inevitable attack on this place. I’m sick of playing second fiddle to your complacent leadership. What right does a twenty-nine year old have to rule over us?”

“Wait!” William interjected. “Even if you’re not happy with him, you don’t have to betray the rest of us too. Hundreds more innocent people would have died because of you!”

“No, they are dead because of you irresponsible metahumans. But no matter, perhaps this is a blessing in disguise.”

Alexei suddenly pulled out a pistol with his uninjured hand, aiming it at Victor-

Blood exploded from his head.

The pistol fell harmlessly to the ground as Alexei’s hand fell limply. His lifeless eyes stared into nothingness with a clover-shaped arrow sticking out of his forehead.

“Traitor,” Yuxia hissed quietly. The tension in the air was so thick now that it seemed to hold everyone else firmly in their place.

“Leader-” Brett started, but Victor raised a hand to stop him.

“Can we make sure that the rest are alright?” Victor said in an uncharacteristically small voice. “They have suffered enough today.”

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Fortunately for the medics, the distinction between the dead and the living was clear. The people who were spared were the majority who had chosen to adhere to the change in dinner time. William and Masako used their abilities in tandem, locating and unlocking the underground command room where the guards were discovered, all dead from carbon monoxide poisoning.

The remaining survivors were surprisingly stoic, considering that they just went through what was essentially a repeat of a nightmare that was the mutation wave. They spared no effort in helping to clear up the gory mess, piling up all the dead bodies of their families into a huge bonfire. Groups of people huddled around one another, giving each other hushed whispers of encouragement. William closed his eyes, silently paying his respects to the poor souls wrapped up in this tragedy.

A wave of murmuring spread through the crowd as Victor walked up and stood in front of them. He took a slow deep breath, and uttered the words William would never have thought come out from his mouth.

“Brave people of my settlement, I am sorry. Today was a disaster beyond proportions, a disaster that happened because of me.” Victor paused for a moment. There was a tiredness in his eyes that went beyond mere physical exhaustion.

“The leader of Sector 163 has found a way to control mutates, essentially ending this whole apocalypse. He has reached out to me on many occasions for cooperation, but in my pride and foolishness, I turned him down. And now, he has brought down his wrath on you people, who did not even have a say in this decision. Not only did I not prepare our defences in light of this potential threat, I was also blind to the mole he planted beside me, Alexei. It was he who coordinated the attack when I was away.”

This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

Shocked gasps stirred in the crowd at the revelation.

“I have utterly failed you as a leader and you have lost loved ones yet again because of my incompetence and complacency,” Victor continued. “I am in no position to ask for your forgiveness, but I truly am sorry. So as of today, I will no longer be the leader of this place. No longer do you need to cower behind this wall. You are free to follow another leader now.”

The crowd grew deathly silent as everyone looked at each other in confusion.

“W-What? Are you leaving us to die out here by ourselves?” a voice called out frantically. Victor turned his head to the source of the sound, but another caught his attention instead.

“I’m not following the leader of Sector 163; he tried to kill us!”

The crowd murmured in agreement. “My son is dead because of him! To hell with that guy!”

“You must protect us, leader!”

“Don’t abandon us!”

Victor looked at the people, stunned at their response. “I failed you! I’m not worthy to be your leader! Why do you still want me when I’ve made all those mistakes?”

“Nobody is perfect, dear,” a familiar voice rang out, and the crowd quickly quietened down out of respect for the old doctor.

“A man should not be judged by his mistakes, but his strength to march on in spite of them." Granny stepped forward, smiling warmly at Victor. “Your faults will never invalidate your deeds. We were prospering because of you, so I believe it’s reasonable to say you’ve done a pretty fine job at leading us. Don’t stop, Victor. We’re still counting on you.”

“I…” Victor put his head in his hands. “I don’t know if I can live up to your expectations. I don’t even know if I have ever lived up to them at all…”

“I don’t know about the rest, but you have far exceeded mine,” Brett spoke up. “We’re living in a world where our predators not only outlast us, but can also outrun us. We should all be dead by now. But we’re not, thanks to you. Please, we need a strong leader more than ever to lead us against this threat. Now is not the time to give up. We need you.”

“Guys…” Victor choked a little, but stopped himself and smiled at them instead. “Thank you for believing in me in spite of my mistakes. We will not go quietly into the night. This, I promise you.”

Shouts and cheers rang into the night sky.

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The crowd quickly dissipated, eager to get their rest for the night. William leaned against a wall with his arms folded, smirking slightly at Victor walking in his direction.

“Well done, leader,” he jested.

“There’s still more work to be done,” Victor muttered, waving his hand absent-mindedly. “I have some information for you; whether or not you decide to follow the thread is up to you.”

William tilted his head a little. “I’m listening.”

Victor opened his mouth, but was immediately interrupted by scurrying footsteps. Both of them turned around to the sight of three people walking briskly towards them.

“You guys are metahumans, aren’t you?” Brett blurted, his voice rising with excitement.

“I’m sorry, what humans?” William raised an eyebrow.

“Calm down, Brett. Start from the beginning.” Masako gestured in mild exasperation.

“Alright, my bad,” Brett said, taking a breath to compose himself. “A few days ago, I lost my sister on a hunting trip. You guys have been to Sector 163, right? Please help me save her!”

Yuxia sighed. “What he means to say is that his sister was kidnapped by a bunch of bandits near the town of Sector 163. He has tracked them down but needs our help to break into the place to save his sister.”

“Well that’s just right up your alley, Red Clover. Give those bandits hell.” William grinned and turned away.

“No, please. We need your powers too-” Brett began pleading.

“I think you should go, William. If you’d like to know if Marianne’s still alive,” Victor said.

“What are you getting at?”

“I was at that town just today clearing the rubble, and guess what I found? A half melted drain cover leading to an underground train track. There was one thing I neglected to tell you that night. I did sense a metallic object coincidentally passing by underground when the buildings collapsed.”

William blinked slowly, recalling the bright light he saw that night. “You mean she…”

“Probably melted the ground she was standing on and fell into an underground moving train.” Victor finished his sentence.

“So Marianne’s not dead?” Masako chimed in.

“There’s a good chance she was saved by the train at the right moment.”

“That sounds like one hell of a coincidence,” Yuxia commented.

William’s heart soared at the prospect of seeing his friend again, though it sank a little at the guilt that still ate away at him. Amber isn’t coming back, but there’s a good chance that a good friend survived. Would she blame him if they met again? But if there was even a fraction of a chance to see her alive again…

“I guess you won’t be coming with us then?” Yuxia asked Victor.

“No, I’m staying here to help rebuild this place. Our safety cannot be dependent on a mere wall without any effort to protect it,” Victor replied solemnly.

“Let’s go,” William said, pooling water and forming a large ice box. “We’ll go by air; it’s much faster-”

“Calm down.” Yuxia’s voice cut through his concentration. “You may be enhanced, but Brett and I are only human. I believe I speak for him when I say we’re both bloody knackered from today. Let’s rest up and go tomorrow instead.”

“Fine,” William grunted, letting the water enter back into the ground again. “But we set off early tomorrow.”