The next day, John was seated in the lounge having his coffee when a scout came rushing in, his face pale and filled with fear, "Boss, our outpost fell. One man came with a large retinue of soldiers and is holding everyone hostage. That man said he is looking for you," the scout cried.
John’s eyes narrowed and he wondered, ’who could it be?’
"Alright, let’s go," John said, looking at the fearful scout.
"Wait, the man said that Amber should come, too or he would kill everyone."
John’s eyes narrowed even further at those words.
"If I didn’t know any better, I’d say it was Michael, the asshole that came looking for Amber."
"Lead the way," John told the scout. He called Amber and she approached with faltering steps.
"Don’t worry, Amber. You just stay close to me, I’ll take care of it."
"O—Ok," she replied with a hesitant voice and they walked towards the entrance.
On their way, the members bowed towards John, "Boss!" and John nodded at the members in return.
Julia was in a corner, gazing towards him with a melancholic look in her eyes.
They made their way towards the outpost and arrived at the entrance as Michael eyed John, from head to toe and chuckled.
"Do I look familiar, hm?"
"Unfortunately," John replied while stroking his chin with his finger. He certainly looked like Michael, but he was different. His skin was deathly pale, but he was exuding much more strength than usual. John’s eyes narrowed as he appraised Michael.
[Michael ??]
[Age: ??]
[Strength: 35.1]
[Vitality: 9]
[Agility: 20]
[Energy: 33.2]
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Michael’s stats were surprising, and strange too. His Strength and Energy were even higher than John’s, but his Vitality was too low. Was that possible?
John scanned the man from head to toe. He was wearing a thin white shirt and he could see through in certain angles. John could swear his chest had stitches all over as if he was killed and dissected, then brought to life again.
"Tell me, what are you, Michael?" John said while looking at him.
Michael burst out laughing after hearing that question.
"Me? Ha haha ha... You could say, I am dead, alive, but not a monster. Heh hahaha...."
Michael’s manic laughter vanished in an instant as his gaze landed on Amber and licked his lips.
"Now, we have some business to talk about. You will hand over Amber and I..." Michael said while pulling out what looked like a remote control from his pocket, "...won’t press this button."
John’s features morphed and his muscles bulged as he understood Michael’s threat.
"Take a look at that screen behind you," Michael chuckled and said.
John and the other survivors who were present, including Amber looked up towards a big screen that hung on a wall behind them.
The survivors gasped as they found their comrades tied up to pillars and surrounded by several cardboard boxes.
"That’s right, those are explosives," Michael said.
John clenched his jaw as he looked at the screen. He was certainly in a pinch. The boxes could be filled with nothing, but the only way to find out would be to have Michael press that button and he couldn’t gamble with the life of so many survivors.
His mind reeled as he thought of ways to get out of the situation but nothing came to his mind, but he refused to give Amber over to Michael, no matter what.
"John..." Amber spoke. Her voice trembled and he turned towards her.
"It’s alright. Don’t worry, I won’t hand you over to him. No matter what." John assured her and Amber’s lips trembled as tears pooled in her eyes.
She hugged him and John embraced her while patting the back of her head, sticking a Web of Whispers on her. He had no choice, he would have to let Michael take Amber with him and go after them once the survivors were safe.
He had his Haze Veil skill that would allow him to follow Michael without him knowing, but John just hoped Michael wouldn’t hurt Amber, at least, not until he arrived.
John released Amber and she turned towards him, he grabbed her chin and cupped her cheek as Michael grinned maniacally in the background.
"It’ll be alright," he whispered, "trust me."
Amber nodded weekly and faltered towards Michael while John turned towards the outpost with a solemn look in his eyes. He needed to save the survivors, first and foremost. He couldn’t afford to think about anything else.
Amber approached Michael as the madman smiled from ear to ear, the deranged look in his eyes was unsettling and Amber gulped.
"Finally," Michael said as he grabbed her wrist and pulled her.
"I’ll be waiting for you, John."
With those words, he and his men hopped on their truck and left the scene. As they did, John activated his Haze Veil and Quiet Step skills, running at lightning speed towards the survivors. He couldn’t trust Michael wouldn’t press the button once he was far enough, he needed to hurry.
As he approached, John used his dagger to cut the rope binding the survivors.
"Run towards the base!" John shouted and the survivors nodded.
He used the dagger on the boxes filled with explosives. The boxes had a mechanism that would activate the explosives when opened and the ropes were tied to the trigger.
After the boxes were cut, the mechanism broke and John’s shoulders slumped, he heaved a sigh of relief, but the distant sounds of blasts caught his attention and his eyes widened.
The sound was coming from the outside, where the survivors were headed and John’s eyes widened in fear as the ground shook and the walls of the nearby buildings began to crumble.
The screams were like nails on a chalkboard, grating and ear-piercing. They were cries of agony, a symphony of horror and the sounds of a nightmare come true.
The ground trembled and a loud rumble sounded, and dust billowed from the collapsing buildings.
The survivors had no time to react as they were crushed beneath the concrete slabs.
"Fuck!" John shouted.
"How could this be..." He looked up and saw Michael’s silhouette, sitting on the speeding truck. His cackling laughter reverberated through the streets. He’d been had.