Chapter 6:Into the darkness

Chapter 6: Into the Wounded Streets

Jonah led Alex and the group through the hollowed remains of the fallen city. Cracked buildings loomed like sentinels of a forgotten age, their skeletal forms cloaked in vines and ash. There streets as usual were quiet, with only the low wails of roaming crazes echoing from afar.

Nine men walked ahead, shelter guards in full patrol gear, weapons drawn and senses sharp.

Silver guns were strapped across backs and a few with blades fastened to their hips.

These were Jonah's men, elite sentinels tasked with escorting the recruits to the city's edge, a boundary only a few have ever crossed willingly.

This expedition was meant to show the new dwellers the truth of their prison, the harrowing and inescapable invisible wall that caged them all inside this cursed ruin.

Alex moved near the center of the group, his eyes sweeping rooftops, windows, and the alley's mouths. Though Jonah had vouched for the guards' capabilities, Alex had long since learned not to rely solely on others for survival.

"Right," Jonah began, his voice cutting through the air like gravel. "Where was I again? Ah, yes—the types of crazes you'll face in this damned city."

Alex and the other recruits gave him their attention.

"There are six kinds of crazes out here," stated Jonah flatly, as if what he was stating was a matter of fact.

That immediately stirred a reaction. The wiry young boy from the group of the new dwellers who had sharp features and observant eyes narrowed his brows and asked. "Wait—six? That can't be right. Aren't there only two types of crazes?"

The other survivors nodded sharing the same puzzlement.

Jonah turned to the young boy slowly, examining the boy for a beat before answering.

"Yes… and no."

His reply caused the confusion to deepened among the survivors, but luckily for them Jonah didn't keep them in suspense.

"See, by surface knowledge, yes there are two species of crazes, the normal crazes and the abnormals, who are faster and more erratic. But here, our experience says otherwise.

We have seen different kinds of crazes here.

Some of these crazes change on the full moon, growing stronger, wilder than the typical kind. We call them mutated crazes."

Jonah went on. "Then there are the bizzare crazes.

These ones are really terrifying and if you ever encounter one, l suggest you run away.

Last time we faced one those things, we lost about half of our troops.

Alex who had been listening very attentively was trying to picture how well he would fare against such terrifying creature.

'Probably not that well', he silently remarked.

He wasn't one to fool himself, he had seen how capable Jonah's men were, if there was such a craze that could single handedly deal with men as capable as them, then he had no chance .

At this moment Jonah's voice sounded, breaking Alex's wild thoughts.

"Anyways, after the bizzare crazes, we have the sired crazes, these ones are really strange and l can't really explain their nature in words.

Then last but not least we have the evolved crazes."

Jonah turned silent for a moment, as if he was organizing his thoughts.

After a while he continued.

" Only two sightings so far, they are smart, probably smarter than your average human. We lost men both times we crossed one, and barely survived with intact limps.They're the real deal."

He looked over the group again, gauging their reactions. Most of them wore expressions of skepticism, and Jonah sighed. "You'll see soon enough."

They continued moving through the empty ruins, and once they were a few miles away from the east side border of the fallen city, Jonah suddenly stopped in his tracks.

This was so because he had suddenly felt a cold pricking sensation at the back of his spine.

And Jonah had experienced too much to know what this entailed.

"Scatter!" he shouted, already pivoting.

From the shadowed alley to the left, five crazes burst forth, shrieking in bloodcurdling screams.

Their eyes as always was glowing like molten ash, with veins prouding on the surface of their skin.

His patrol squad, were well experienced to not be flustered in this situation.

They responded instantly, raising the nozzles of their guns.

Within moments gunfire erupted in short, controlled bursts—*pop pop pop*—

Alex who had been ready to react, watched in awe as three crazes drop lifelessly in mere seconds, twitching as bullets tore through their skulls.

The other survivors had the same expressions on their faces.

It was like the usually terrifying crazes were not that terrifying at all.

During their shock, two crazes managed to evade the gunshots and moved towards the guards with tremendous speed.

These two rushed low and fast, evading the initial volley.

But the guards were well experienced, before the crazes could reach them, two men, the bulkiest of the group stepped forward, their swords flashing in swift arcs of steel.

In mere seconds one craze lost its head mid-lunge, while the other stumbled back from a slash across the chest—only for a bullet to punch through its temple seconds later.

Silence returned as fast as it had been broken.

Jonah stood still, surveying the street.

After a carefull lookout, he noticed that there were no more threats coming.

"Clear," one of the guards called out.

Jonah released a relieved sigh and relaxed his posture a little.

But Jonah's attention turned to the recruits, and what he had seen had both surprised and intrigued him.

They hadn't panicked, like he had expected. Some had drawn makeshift weapons, ready to defend themselves. The girl among the group had even ducked into cover behind debris, positioning herself with clear tactical intent, while positioning her pistol, a clear strategic move.

'Huh,' Jonah thought. 'Maybe they're not as green as I thought.'

"You all just saw why we don't sugarcoat things here," Jonah said, dusting his coat off.

The new dwellers gave him a puzzled look, wondering why he was dusting his coat when he didn't even participate in the fight.

Jonah didn't pay any mind to their expressions, instead he continued his speech.

"Those were just normal crazes. Fast ones, yes, but still the lowest tier. And they nearly got the drop on us."

He looked each recruit in the eye. "Be glad this wasn't a moon night. Mutated ones are ten times worse."

Alex said nothing, but his grip on the knife at his belt loosened slightly. He had fought crazes before, but this place… it was different. Everything here was sharper. Meaner. Like for instance he had never seen crazes that worked in groups like this one.

Still, he noted the guards' efficiency and the recruits' resolve. They hadn't faltered. This caused him to drop his guard a little.