It was clear by the time that they arrived back in their territory, the difference healers made to large-scale battle. Aura made what would have been a life-threatening wound tolerable, and with Prana helping to recover injuries then and there, casualties were easier to control. That did not mean they had not had losses on their side. Of the thousand fighters they had taken into battle, over half of them were wounded. One-third of them suffered crippling injuries, and forty-three of them would never return home. A majority of casualties were caused by the large-scale flame thrower, that Kenny had attached to his bike, and even then it was mostly from the surprise nature of the attack.
In the grand scheme of things, those numbers were incredible, however, no less sad.
When they got back, most went to rest or to heal, but the leaders of their faction gathered up once more.
Mark stood near the open balcony looking out over the dark city.
The pockets of twinkling lights in the distance hadn’t changed. Nothing had. After the battle, no one came to investigate because no one cared. In the morning one of their factions would just be gone, and unless they were dragged into the conflict, no nobody cared which.
Mark turned to look back at everyone, leaning against the balcony.
Karter was the first to break the silence that had settled over their group.
“Look, I know what happened tonight was not pleasant. And I’m aware you all know what you signed up for, but I urge you to take the time to work through this. This was our first conflict but it won’t be our last. We are going to have a lot of work ahead in the Firestarter's absence”
Ethel was petting Boe while frowning to herself.
“Karters right. With their faction gone, it will fall to us to pick up the slack. We will take on anyone who this willing to join, but in the meantime, we will begin extending our patrols. We will absorb as much of the surrounding territory as possible. Tomorrow we need to finalize the Workshop and the Clinic and I will secure all menial ventures with the guild. We’ll also need to do another public announcement, but I’ll find you when the time is right.”
Their words were callous but in the situation, they had to be. Mark understood that as a faction they needed to make use of this opening that they had created or others would. Securing space and jobs for their people would be their biggest problem now. Neutral parties were still tricking in as they spoke and with the Firestarters people joining them now, their non-combatant population had grown to over a thousand individuals almost overnight. Right now, they still had enough fighters to cover them, but if things continued at this rate, things would start getting difficult.
Protection and space would become a problem pretty soon.
To counter this, Karter would start training anyone who was looking to fight and Sam would put together job division for the new intakes so they could become productive. The Workshop and Clinic would help with this too.
As an afterthought, Ethel's demeanor turned solemn.
“Which reminds me. Jonathan your father has agreed to meet us tomorrow. He‘s also expressed interest in meeting with Chloe and Mark.”
Jonathan bristled almost right away.
“Well, he can’t always get what he wants. I don’t know what deal he’s made this time, but I’m not subjecting them to his scrutiny.”
Ethel seemed to expect the reaction because she tried to reason it out.
“Jonathan, he probably already knows… I can understand Chloe but Mark has already been in the limelight.”
Mark once more noted how Jonathan got at the mention of his father. While he had never met the man he didn’t have a good impression. He was however interested in what the man wanted if he had asked for Mark personally.
He spoke up interrupting the two.
“I’ll go. If only to get a better understanding of what I’m dealing with here.”
Jonathan looked over at Mark with an unhappy expression.
“Mark there is no need to get mixed up in this-”
Sam interrupted him next.
“He is already mixed up in this. We all are. I’ll be going as well.”
Now it was Ethel's turn to protest.
“Sam we need you here to hold down the fort-”
Jonathan looked like he was about to tac something onto the end of that, but Sam shut them both down.
“I’m well aware of my responsibilities here, but Jon is one of those. I’m. Going.”
Her voice was steady and void of her usual cheer. Both Jonathan and Ethel seemed to want to argue further but seemed to give up. Ethel looked at Jonathan.
“Fine, then just the four of us. Chloe can remain here if she wants.”
Chloe was deep in thought and then she said.
Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there.
“It won’t be productive for me to be there, but I should warn you I’m getting concerning percentages for you guys. Just be careful tomorrow”
Jonathan did not look happy but nodded in the end.
“Fine, but Mark you should know, my father is not a reasonable man. I can’t predict what will happen.”
Mark didn’t like the sound of that but nodded.
They didn’t discuss much longer after that, before separating for the night. Mark channeled the last of his Prana into Jonathan before they headed to their different rooms.
When Daphne shut the door behind them, Mark had already fallen onto their bed. In that moment of silence, scenes of the battle flashed through Mark's head. He had taken many lives tonight in an effort to protect his people, and it was all hitting at once.
Daphne’s voice was soft and woke Mark from his dark thoughts.
“Hey Mr, I don't know about you, but I don’t want to sleep in a bed full of blood and dirt, come on get up.”
It was only then that Mark heard the sound of running water. He realized that he had not even cleaned the blood off himself from his near miss with death. Dried flakes were peeling off him like dandruff. At the time it was not worth thinking about, but now he felt downright disgusting.
Allowing her to pull him towards the bathroom, they stepped under the spray together. Mark let the activities of the day wash away with the blood.
Both of them had very nearly died today, but there was no point in placing stock in ‘what ifs’, right now. They were both alive and he was grateful for that.
When they sat down on the edge of the bed Daphne finally spoke again.
“You know everything we did today was necessary right?”
Mark couldn’t tell if she was trying to comfort him or convince herself.
Slowly Mark bobbed his head.
“I can reason it out, and I don’t regret my actions. I’ll do it as many times as I need to, to protect everyone. But that doesn't stop my teeth from itching or stomach from turning.”
She nodded in understanding. Falling back onto the bed she relaxed into the covers, he joined her.
The low-lit room was peaceful, then Daphne looked at him and a short small giggle escaped her lips.
Mark cocked his head at her.
Between giggles, Daphne continued.
“You know… before this, I was working at a pizzeria while I studied. Never dreamed in a million years, that in a few short weeks, I would survive the apocalypse, become a leader to hundreds now thousands, and find you. It’s all just so…”
Mark looked at her, and amusement ran through him as he thought back to everything he had been through.
“Insane?” he asked.
She nodded.
Their responsibilities were large but at least they had a reason to do this. Mark could accept all of this if he knew he had people counting on him.
They continued to talk until eventually, they fell both asleep.
Mark woke feeling much better about the whole situation, Daphne had already left to go help manage the new intakes. He had to gather a team to send to the clinic. They had to get amenities back on in the building so Mark went to Logistics and gathered a team of skilled electricians, carpenters, and plumbers. Pulling a guard unit he sent them along with Tommis. He would know what was needed going forward. Mark would check on their process when he got back.
Mark then moved downstairs to meet up with everyone else, he thought he would just go meet them by the cars, but it turned out his worst nightmares had come true.
Ethel had a tailor waiting in ambush for Mark as he arrived in the lobby, whisking him away to a side room. Jonathan and Sam were already almost done with their fittings by the time he got there.
The clothes offered by the system, while cheap, were practical at best. The ones this tailor offered them were matched to their armor. Mark counted it a mercy he only got a couple of black button-downs and Khakis. After the armor went back on he thought he looked pretty good.
Once they were ready, they made the trip by car once more. This time it was different though. They still had to arrive in ‘style’. But the distance was not so insignificant that the car felt unnecessary. Mark still maintained it would have been faster to fly, but Ethel went on about ‘protocols’ and all that. As they drove Ethel and Sam kept up a stream of conversion, centered on their next moves. Mark looked over to Jonathan to see how he was doing. His new threads had him looking like the son of a wealthy tycoon, but beyond that, his face was almost too stoic. If Mark didn’t know any better he would have thought the guy looked almost nervous. Perhaps he was, but then he wasn’t presenting it in the normal way. Choosing not to say anything Mark looked out the window and pet Boe.
He found that they were moving in the direction of the city center, and as they did so, familiar checkpoints began to pop up all over the place. Soldiers stopped them several times and had Ethel produce the proper paperwork to advance. A glance upward showed the odd caster flying through the sky monitoring the airspace.
They passed through each checkpoint with ease and finally came to the center of the city. Now it was obvious by the skyline that this area had been selected because of the extensive amount of high-end highrises. Each one had to have been the life of luxury, overlooking a park, probably costing millions in rent before the fall. Everywhere they looked the normal signs of the apocalypse were nowhere to be found. There were no cracks spread throughout the infrastructure. No debris, rubbish, or abandoned cars, left lying around. It almost looked like the streets pre-fall. Granted all these things were easy fixes but as of yet not many took the time. Survival was the name of the game.
Pulling up to one such highrise they all got out. A team was there to greet them. At first glance, Mark could tell they were Aura users, high level at that. Each of them wore impeccably fitted attire and carried themselves with the grace only a physical user could manage. Strangely enough, while Mark could see they probably had military training, none of them currently wore the uniform. They had to be a private firm or perhaps another faction. Why weren’t they using soldiers here, Mark wondered.
Lead inside, Mark's group entered the lobby. It was what Mark expected, opulent, bordering on ostentatious, with marble floors and shimmering chandeliers. Though the people were anything but. Mark had expected more guards, and there were, lining the walls. Only amongst them were scatterings of different people, from all walks of life.
At a mahogany bar, sharply dressed businessmen in tailored suits sipped on what looked like top-shelf whiskey, weapons subtly within reach.
In the plush lounge areas, glamorous women with flawless style exuded a languid air, entertaining casually dressed men and women, as if speaking to long-time friends. Here and there Mark spotted thin trails of cigarette smoke moving amongst the crowd and reaching up towards the expansive ceiling. The cool air, carried with it a gentle perfume of floral scents.
As they moved through the space vigilant eyes watched them from the corners of the room. Finally, getting to the polished elevator doors, Mark turned back to take in the room once more.
He had wrongly assumed that because Jonathan's dad was with the Loyalists, his people would carry the order the military instilled in its people. But as he got into the sleek lift, he saw the danger that lurked beneath this veneer of sophistication. These people had never been law-abiding citizens.
As the doors slowly closed Mark's eyes once more glanced over at his friend.