The Tower’s Last Stand

The interior of the news station tower was a battlefield frozen in time. Spent shell casings littered the ground, bullet-ridden walls were streaked with dried blood, and the sickly stench of death hung thick in the air.

The group moved carefully through the darkened halls, clearing out any lingering Wretches. These were the weakest of the mutants, little more than husks with jagged limbs and mindless hunger. They were barely a threat now that Kade and Julia had evolved, and the firemen, despite their lack of training, were already proving themselves in battle.

Pauly protected the flank, his axe carving through the flesh of the monsters with the raw strength only a firefighter could muster. Miguel, despite being out of his element, wielded the fireman's axe with brutal efficiency, taking down a stay wretch that got too close.

But something was peculiar about the tower, based on how lively the resonance mutants were outside, it would make sense that the tower would be packed full of lingering wretches at least, waiting to pounce.

Kade had expected more resistance.

And yet, the deeper they pushed into the building, the fewer Wretches they found.

They weren't dying out. They were being stopped before they could even get inside.

Kade caught Julia's eye as they reached the emergency stairwell.

"Way too many bodies are laying here, the cores still inside?" she whispered

Kade nodded. "Yeah. Someone's been holding this place down."

Julia wiped her blade clean. "Then let's go meet them."

The group moved up the stairwell, floor by floor, clearing out any remaining threats. They were nearly halfway up the tower when a voice barked out from above.

"HOLD IT RIGHT THERE!"

The Military Standoff

A dozen rifles aimed down the stairwell, red dots dancing on Kade's chest and forehead.

The soldiers had fortified the middle floors, blocking off the upper levels with makeshift barricades. Sandbags, mounted turrets, and military-issued crates stacked high created an obvious defensive perimeter.

They weren't just holding this building. They had made a stand here.

Kade raised a hand, signaling the others to stay put. The firemen instinctively stood their ground, but Miguel was visibly tense.

One soldier—**a lean, sharp-eyed man with a sniper rifle slung across his back—**stepped forward. He was wearing tattered fatigues, his face lined with exhaustion but still steady with the gaze of a trained professional.

"Who the hell are you?" the sniper demanded.

Kade didn't move. "We're here for the survivors. We heard the transmission."

The sniper's fingers twitched near his rifle. "And you just happened to stroll up here after taking out all those Rendclaws outside?" His eyes flicked to Kade and Julia, taking in the bloodstains, the weapons, the sheer presence of power radiating off them. "The hell are you?"

"I'll be taking over command of this unit," Elliot's voice cut through the tension, stepping forward past Kade.

Everyone turned to stare at him.

Kade blinked. "Wait, what?"

The soldiers looked at each other, clearly confused. The sniper stiffened.

"You're joking," the sniper said flatly.

Elliot reached into his jacket and pulled out a black, leather-bound badge. The emblem on it—**a silver eagle surrounded by a circle of stars—**was not military, but it carried just as much weight.

Kade was confused but from the way the sniper's face went pale, it meant something big!

"Senior Executive Service SES," Elliot said calmly. "United States Department of Defense. Clearance level Omega."

The room went silent.

Even Kade and Julia were staring now.

Elliot sighed, as if this was just another day at the office. "I'm assuming you all still follow the chain of command?"

The soldiers shifted uneasily. They knew exactly what that badge meant.

Senior Executive Service.

It was above the military. The civilian equivalent of a two-star general.

A voice suddenly broke the tension.

"He's right."

Everyone turned as a man in his late fortys stepped forward from behind the line of soldiers. His hair was graying, his face weathered but sharp. He wore fatigues without rank insignia, but his posture screamed authority.

Kade recognized him instantly.

It was Frank.

The old man from the clubhouse.

Kade's brows furrowed. "Wait. You're—?"

"Still active," Frank said, cutting him off. "You think I was just some retired vet? Kid, I'm senior special forces."

Even Elliot seemed mildly amused. "Good for you to speak up, Major. I assume you can handle these kids, they still look wet behind the ears?"

Frank nodded.

The captain of the group responded with a salute "We got caught in the chaos like everyone else. We had been deployed to take control of the station from HQ, but a day ago they went silent...These men and I managed to gather as many civilians as we could from the neighboring refugee camp, secure the station as a fallback position."

Frank shot him a look. "Whats your name Captian?"

Still holding his salute, the Sniper responded. "Captain Daniels. Sir!"

Kade locked eyes with the sniper. "You were the one on the radio. And the one that took the shot at the bear."

Daniels nodded. "Yeah. Figured you needed the help."

Kade chuckled. "That's one hell of a shot."

Daniels smirked. "That was a .50 cal. Even though normally it couldn't pierce that monsters hide, it still packs a hell of a punch. I just got lucky hitting it where you had already struck"

Julia cut in, crossing her arms. "So what's the situation here?"

Daniel turned with a serious expression, lowering his salute with a solemn expression. "We've been holding out. Barely. We started with over fifty people. Now we're down to two dozen civilians and twenty soldiers. Every time we push back, more of those damn monsters show up."

Daniels exhaled sharply. "That was before the big ones started coordinating. Those Rendclaws outside? They weren't just hunting. They were testing our defenses."

Kade's eyes narrowed. "How do you know they're called Rendclaws?"

Daniels hesitated, his jaw tightening. There was a flicker of uncertainty in his expression, like he wasn't sure whether saying it out loud would make him sound insane. But after everything they had seen, what even counted as crazy anymore?

Finally, he spoke. "A day ago… something appeared out of thin air. Not a mutant. Not one of us. Something else." His voice was flat, but there was a weight behind his words, an unspoken tension that made his men shift uneasily. "It spoke English. Knew exactly what was happening. Gave us the rundown."

Kade and Julia exchanged a look.

"The lieutenant talked to it," Daniels continued, his voice quieter now. The mention of the lieutenant made the other soldiers stiffen. "It called him a Riftborn." He paused, exhaling. "Said he had potential, to be a good trade partner, so the first information was free"

Kade knew, it had to be the rift merchant.

"And then?" Julia asked.

Daniels swallowed. "Then they attacked."

The room went silent. The soldiers' faces darkened, their grief palpable.

"He fought that bear bastard alone," Daniels muttered. "So we could fall back."

No one spoke. Even the firemen—so eager and full of purpose earlier—felt the sting of familiarity in those words. Survivor's guilt was an old, cruel companion.

Julia frowned. "How sure are you that he didnt make it?" Recalling that the tier 3 aberrant had taken too long to appear initially, it seemed to have come from a distance after Kade had already killed a few of its Rendclaws. 

Daniels didn't hesitate. "Well, he should have been back by now... there's no way he could have survived fighting that thing."

Frank exhaled, rubbing the back of his neck. "Well. If he's alive, we'll find him, if not, you make sure he's laid to rest."

Daniel soluted once again, the weight of everything they had just endured pressing heavy on his shoulders. The thought of the lieutenant still being alive had seemed impossible—until now. A flicker of hope passed through the ranks, but no one dared to voice it.

Elliot clasped his hands together, his tone sharp and businesslike. "Right. I didn't come here to chit-chat. We need resources. We need equipment. And we need to find a way to fight back." His last words struck a nerve with the soldiers, reigniting the fire in their eyes.

"Frank, get the men in line. You know what I need. We need everything transported ASAP. We're burning daylight, and we can't be out in the open at night!"

Frank grinned, immediately stepping up. "Alright, listen up! We need tools, ammo, rations, any fabrication equipment inside the building—wiring, tech, anything useful. Get the civvies to work, bring everything downstairs ASAP! MOVE, MOVE, MOVE!"

Daniels shouldered his rifle, his expression hardening. "Alright, men. You heard the major. Scavenge everything useful!" The soldiers snapped into motion, their discipline taking over as they scattered to complete their orders.

Kade stood back for a moment, watching it all unfold—the soldiers, the civilians, the ones who had been barely hanging on just moments ago. He had changed their fate. Not just him—his team. Together, they had turned this hopeless stand into a victory.

It was an unfamiliar feeling.

He had never played the hero before, and he didn't intend to start now. Every decision he made had been about survival, about what he could gain, what would increase his chances of making it through another day. But here he was, standing in the middle of a group of people he had saved, faces looking to him with something dangerously close to gratitude.

It was a strange feeling.

Not a bad one, though.