The Hive

The convoy reached the settlement just as it was getting dark. Waiting for him inside the gates, was the rest of his group. He greeted them as Morgan checked him from head to toe for injuries only to find there wasn't a scratch on him. Noticing her strange behavior, Matt was a little confused but ultimately didn't think much of it.

A man in a military uniform showed up at this time to lead them to where they could stay for the time being. They were guided to a five story building that had been a hotel before. They were given three rooms, not just because of the size of their group, but also because the military held Matt in such high regard. Matt took one room to himself while the rest of the group split into male and female in the other two rooms.

Matt made his way to the bathroom to shower. It wasn't that he was really dirty or anything, he just felt like taking one to relax. With his shower finished, he dried off and used energy to create new underwear form himself since the only thing he created when his other clothes burned up was outer garments. While standing in front of the window, he could see patrols going about change over and survivors heading to their dwellings to rest for the night.

At about the time he was going to go to bed, there was a knock at the door. When he opened the door, he found the woman that he had rescued waiting for him. He nodded and made way for her to enter his room.

"So, you would like to join our group." Matt said.

"If you would allow it." the woman said.

"All the people in my group bring something to the table. None joined me lightly and all have sacrificed something to get where they are now. Each and everyone of them is a strong hybrid that could fend for themselves even without me. What do you offer in exchange for a position in my group?" Matt asked

The woman looked down at the floor for a moment, thinking about what he had just said. She then looked at him with determination in her eyes as she began to undress herself. Matt never bothered to stop her and gave her an appreciating look when she was finally fully naked.

"I accept your resolve and your pledge. Now get dressed, we have a long day ahead of us tomorrow." Matt said.

"I never made a pledge. I only offered my body which is the only thing that I have." the woman said in confusion.

"You offered your body to me and I accepted it. I will make you stronger so that you can put it to go use for me. Before I can do that though, I need you fed and rested. Head next door and speak to the white haired woman called Kate. She will give you food and find you a spot to rest." with that being said, he ushered her out.

"You can call me Jess by the way, and my daughter is Circi." Jess said

Matt nodded and closed the door as she walked away. He then made his way the bed and laid down. After thinking a moment, he decided to consolidate all of the powers that he had taken from the dead criminals earlier. Through trial and error, he managed to combine and condense some of them into crystals so that they wouldn't end up fusing with his current powers as he slept. If that happened, who knew what changes it would bring. Would his body break the powers down into energy to fill up his vessel or would the integrate with the powers he had and change them. He only kept one since it was too strong of an ability to condense into a crystal.

That ability was the one the leader had used. Once Matt had studied it a bit, he realized that the criminal leader must have been messed up in the head. The ability allowed one to tear through space. If he had used it directly on Matt, his body would have been ripped to shreds. Matt bet that the leader had no idea of all the possibilities that this power could be used for.

With everything settled, Matt finally drifted off to sleep. He was planning to take down the nearby hive so that he could get a huge boost in power. Once he achieved that, he would strength his companions and then find a place for them to set up a base of their own.

Matt woke up shortly after dawn due to the fact that he could hear movement outside his door. He crossed the room and opened the door to find a soldier waiting for him. The greeted each other and then Matt was lead to the command center on the top floor. Waiting for him was a group of medium level officers where the highest rank was colonel.

"Welcome to our outpost. I hope that your sleeping arrangements were to your liking." the colonel said.

"I slept well. The only thing that I would change is instead of beating around the bush first thing in the morning, you would offer me some food and maybe coffee. Then we could get down to business on what it is exactly you want." Matt said while looking at the man with cold eyes.

The colonel seemed to be displeased with the way Matt had just spoken and frowned. However, the moment the frown crossed his face, his head snapped to the left as he felt a burning pain on his cheek.

"You seem to forget yourself colonel. I have no need for this or any settlement on this island call Japan. I just stated that I would be willing to help this settlement just like I did the other if I was fed and given coffee." Matt said as his arm slowly came back to his side.

The group around the colonel all shivered in fear as they hadn't seen the colonel get slapped until the man in front of them was already withdrawing his hand. If a simple slap was that fast, they could only imagine what would happen if he really meant to kill them.

"I'm sorry if I offended you. Please have a seat while food and your coffee is brought here." the colonel said as he bowed at the waist.

Matt nodded at the mans change of attitude and walked over to the window to survey the walls surrounding the settlement. It was similar to what the criminals had done by building walls in between the surrounding buildings. Seeing this, Matt was thinking of ways to alter their defenses so that it would still give them access to the buildings without compromising their defenses. A few moments later, food was brought in and Matt sat down to enjoy the meal while sipping the hot coffee that had been brought to him.

Once he finished the meal, which had been eaten in total silence, he scanned his gaze over those present. Most looked tired and in need of a shave since they were always on the defensive against the horde outside.

"I will use my abilities to alter the walls of this settlement so that they even cover the outsides of the buildings that already stand. This will cut off the infected that sometimes slip into the buildings while also giving you these buildings to use. Also, I will bring down that hive two blocks away that is causing such a horde to gather outside of your walls." Matt said.

They all looked at him in astonishment as this was what they were wanting to ask him to do in the first place. They had already received communications about this man and his abilities so they knew what he could do. They all turned and looked at the colonel with scorn as he had almost driven this man away.

"What are your terms of payment? If we have it, we will give it." the colonel said as he stood up from his chair and bent his waist at a ninety degree angle.

"You already paid it. I truly only wanted breakfast, plus that slap from me wasn't really needed. I really just wanted to get your attention since you already had thoughts of trying to find a way to use my group against me." Matt said.

The rest of the group sighed in relief as well as stared holes in the colonel for his underhanded plan. If the colonel had managed to say what he had thought, they would all be dead.

"Well, give me some time to prepare and I'll get started. I should be ready by noon and will meet you over by the center most spot in the wall." Matt said as he stood up and strode out of the room.

The group could only sigh seeing him go. If they could rope him in then they could easily take back their lands from the infected, but what person would want to be roped in if they were that strong?