Oath of the Survivor

Kyle stood there, numb as the gravity of those two words washed over him.  Garth didn’t meet his eyes, and though he looked conflicted Kyle understood that in his view, he didn’t really have another option.  He was asked a direct question by the de facto leader of the Central Authority, and he had answered honestly.  Kyle wasn’t sure what he had expected, but he knew that events were quickly progressing towards the worst outcomes.  Porter broke that moment of silence, addressing DeRosa. 

“What are your orders, councilman?  How would you like us to proceed?” 

“I think that should be obvious Mr. Rathman, unless you have other thoughts?” 

Kyle knew exactly how deviant awakened were handled, it had been drilled into him time and again since his ability to cultivate mana was discovered.  The collective good was the responsibility of those with power, and those who turned their back on the collective had no place in it.  Porter seemed to consider the matter settled, but before he could act Garth jumped in. 

“Councilman DeRosa, if I may.”  Garth said, his words coming out in a rush. 

“There is no debate as to whether or not Kyle Mayhew is deviant, but since joining up with our group, he helped the unawakened and put the interest of others ahead of his own.  If there is room for leniency, I’m of the belief that this man deserves it.” 

Garth’s formal tone struck Kyle as odd, but nevertheless he was thankful for his friend’s advocacy.  There was another pause, with all eyes fixed on the Communication Array.  Kyle felt his breath catch as he waited for Councilman DeRosa to pass his judgment. 

“Mr. Boltsbury, the price of mercy is often far higher than is appreciated in the moment.  I have admiration for the loyalty you’re showing to this man – and I can see why you feel that he’s deserving of it.  But don’t misunderstand me – unless there is compelling evidence that his interests and the interests of the people align, then our course remains fixed.” 

Garth was about to respond, when Porter raised his right hand towards Kyle, crackling energy concentrating in his palm before it burst forward in an electrified bolt.  Unfortunately for Porter, Kyle had been expecting violence and the moment the other man had raised his hand Kyle had activated HASTE.  He easily sidestepped the attack, glowing blue eyes fixed on the attacker. 

Two more attacks came down from the men stationed on the rooftop – a slow-moving stream of fire meant to limit his movements and a barrage of bullet-sized shards of ice that flew much more quickly.  Though the tactic might have been simple and effective, Kyle almost felt upset at the disrespect.  The strategy was so basic - limit options with the fire, pin the enemy with concentrated fire from the ice, then launch powerful blasts from Porter as a finisher.  

And against most awakened there’s no doubt it would be highly effective.  However, the entire reason they were attacking him is that they didn’t think Kyle was most awakened, they thought him a dangerous deviant.  And in this moment, he was more than happy to show them exactly how badly they had misread the situation.

With the enhanced Perception granted by his HASTE skill, he easily tracked the trajectory of the shards of ice and outpaced the stream of fire behind him before he could be pinned in.  Another powerful bolt of electric energy came soaring at him, and just like the last Kyle stepped to side, easily out of the way of the linear blast.  In the blink of an eye he was beside C.H.A.D.D., grabbing the little drone and carrying it under his right arm. 

[DR. MAYHEW, A THIRD AWAKENED MOVED TO THE EDGE OF THE ROOFTOP.  MANA CONCENTRATION BEHIND THE EYES, LIKELY RANGER-TYPE.]  C.H.A.D.D.’s warning came not a moment too soon as Kyle tucked his chin and leaned forward, a crack of thunder sounding a moment later.  He felt the bullet impact his back just slightly left of his spine.  Ordinarily a shot like that would have been more than enough to bring down even most warrior-type awakened, but just like the encounter before Kyle’s enhanced attributes and reinforced skin were enough to stop the bullet before it could strike his vitals. 

The pain still made him stagger, his heightened senses screaming at him in protest, even though REGENERATION was already hard at work healing the superficial injury and pushing the piece of lead out. 

“Thanks for the heads-up buddy.”  He whispered to the drone under his arm, before turning back to face the group. 

All but Garth looked understandably cautious, they had just witnessed what the records indicated was a healer effortlessly evade their offensive skills and take a bullet to the back without any signs of damage.  Keeping an eye on the man with the rifle, he called out in a loud voice.

“You asked for proof that our interests are aligned, consider this the first installment.  If I wanted violence this could have ended differently.” 

Their only response was another gunshot cracking the air, though this time Kyle was able to dart out of the way as he saw the man tense before firing.  With a sigh, he darted back towards the cover of the trees as fast as HASTE would allow him.  It had been a nice dream to settle back into something more normal, though he had steeled himself for this before he’d even known other survivors had made it.  He and C.H.A.D.D. would have to make their own way, alone.

~~~

“You idiots!  You absolute idiots!” 

Porter shrieked, his previously calm demeanor entirely shattered at the display. 

“I selected you for this detail to be able to handle threats like this, and a nobody from a backwater like Newton made you look like a bunch of children!  That was pathetic!” 

He had gone up to the rooftop where he was berating the rest of the guard detail, Garth being forgotten below.  The men on the roof shared a look, and they seemed to come to a silent agreement.  The man with the rifle spoke, interrupting the other man’s tirade. 

“Porter, we did the best we could.  That man made a joke out of all of us, but he’s gone now.  It’s over.” 

Porter wheeled on him, flecks of spittle on the side of his mouth. 

“You’re the biggest joke of all of them Rodney.  The only thing your skills are good for is targeting someone like him at range, and you couldn’t even manage that.” 

At that Rodney’s placating tone turned hard. 

“I did hit him, Porter.  And he shrugged it off like he got hit with a water balloon.  If I’m tracking correctly, I’m the only one who did.  You’re as much to blame as any of us, so shut up so we can all get back to work.” 

It was at that moment that Garth came up the stairs, one hand raised while the other was holding the Communication Array. 

“Excuse me, I hate to interrupt but Councilman DeRosa asked for a report on what happened over the last couple minutes.  He gave orders to bring the array to you, Mr. Rathman.  I’ll leave you to it.”  A sneer crossed Porter’s face as he snatched the array, though the look was replaced with one of horror when he realized that it was still active. 

“Mr. Rathman, let Mr. Boltsbury into the city and then report to my offices immediately.  Choose one of your subordinates to take charge of the gate, I suspect they’ll be covering for quite a while.”

~~~

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