Antihero (Indefinite Hiatus D: )

Chapter Twenty-Five

Our steps were quiet, as quiet as they could be through the damp sewers, and our moves were quick. The rookies were doing good keeping up, but I didn't know if that was because of the fast-moving ARC soldiers pulling up the rear. I held a hand out, signalling the group to stop as we neared a corner, my mind tracking our steps on the map in my mind as we headed toward the rendezvous point Andrews had pointed out.

I lifted the assault rifle and leant around the corner silently, looking through the target sight, ready to shoot in case we were being ambushed. When I agreed the coast was clear, I signalled to keep moving, walking ahead as we moved closer to the rendezvous point. We were close now, only a couple of more turns, and we had yet to run into any unregistered advanced humans or affected. Luckily for us.

We made it to another corner and repeated the process, checking ahead. I paused, eyeing the two people huddled against a wall further down. I couldn't tell whether they were affected or simply unregistered from this far away, so I signalled for the crew to wait and headed out alone.

They didn't argue, although the two experienced soldiers behind me looked like they wanted to. There was no point all of us going to check as that would be plain intimidating. If they were simply unregistered advanced humans, I would tell them to move on unless they wanted to be arrested. If they were affected, well, I would simply take it case by case.

I made my way to them normally, not trying to mask my presence or walk quietly. I wanted them to know I was here, that I was heading for them. I eyed them carefully, trying to perceive their face through both the distance and the darkness.

"Who're you?" One of them grunted, standing up as I got closer. He was short and pudgy, much more well-fed than I expected for someone living in the sewers. The fact that he could talk meant he wasn't an affected, so I assumed he was unregistered. The huddled form next to him, however, growled and snarled at me, their head covered by a thin cloak of dirty material. They were definitely affected, although I couldn't be sure how far along they were without seeing them more clearly.

"Michaelson DeMarlo," I said coldly, stopping in front of the short man and looking down at him disdainfully. "Who're you?"

"None ya," he snapped, but his eyes darted left and right as he looked for an escape.

"Now, now," I said calmly, placing my hand on his shoulder and gripping it tightly, even though he was dirty and covered in germs. "I simply want to pass through quietly, I'm not here for you, you see," I hummed.

He turned to face me, his eyes raking my face as he tried to weigh his options. His foot moved, ever so slightly backward, and I gripped his shoulder even tighter, causing him to yell out slightly in pain. The affected next to him snarled and I heard their teeth snapping loudly, but they continued to keep their head bowed to the ground, the dirty material covering them.

"Uh-uh," I tsked at him. "No attacking now. You're unregistered, yes? Luckily for you, I'll let you go, if you leave quietly."

The man nodded his head and I let his shoulder go, sending him a look of approval. He shrunk away and moved to scoop the affected up, but I stopped him.

"Sorry, that one stays."

He looked hesitant, but one glance between me and the affected had his mind made up, and he muttered a sorry before scuttling down the tunnel towards my squadron. I saw him pause in shock as he saw the team hiding around the corner, but he collected himself and shuffled on quietly. I gestured for the team to follow me, so the rookies could see the affected up close. They made their way down in formation and I turned to look at them, keeping one eye on the curled being on the ground next to me.

"Rookies, watch closely. This is an affected, albeit one that's not too far along," I said lowly, knowing they would hear my voice through the headset we all wore. I saw a few nods and the experienced ARC soldiers stepped back to allow room for the rookies to view.

Crouching down, I grabbed the material off the affected, lifting it slowly to try and not startle them too much. They didn't move and didn't breathe, as though they were waiting to attack. They probably were. I dropped the germ-infested material on the ground and it soaked up the disgusting sewer water. She lifted her head slowly, revealing matted blonde hair, dirty skin, blue eyes, and round teeth bared in a growl. She was in her forties.

Round teeth flashed towards me as a large snarl escaped her mouth, her hands lifting to use her power. Quicker than a normal human could react, I gripped her neck roughly with one hand and shoved her head back against the bricked wall behind her. Her head impacted with it roughly, causing the old bricks to crumble and crack. I heard a wave of shock mumble through the rookies behind me at my rough treatment of her, but simply rolled my eyes at them, standing up and bringing her with me as I kept my grip around her neck tightly.

"Recognise her?" I asked them, smashing her back against the wall again as she tried to claw my hand from her neck whilst gasping for breath.

"Georgia Kingsly," one of the older soldiers said. I nodded, sending him a grin. He was the older man with wrinkled grey eyes, who had laughed at a comment I made in the truck.

"Correct..." I trailed off.

"Corporeal Lane," he supplied quickly, shuffling his feet.

"Correct, Corporeal Lane. This is Georgia Kingsly, one of the seven on our list. She's an affected, rookies. You see this?" I pointed at her using my other hand, and she leant forward trying to bite my fingers off. "Although she looks crazed, if you engaged her in a fight she would probably take you all out," I commented offhandedly, pulling her forward and smashing her back into the wall harshly as she begun to manifest her power. "Luckily for us, her power is slow to engage. Large explosions of light, but it takes time to build up," I explained.

I nodded to a rookie, who had a large ring hooked to his hip. He brought it forward, unlocking it and holding it out hesitantly.

"Do it, quick, we don't have all day," I snapped, gesturing my head towards Georgia's neck.

He stepped forward and placed the circular object around her neck below my hand, clicking it into place as it whirred to life. I let go, dropping her to the ground before grabbing the remote from the rookie's hand and hitting a button. Georgia's body jerked and shook as she rolled in the sewer water, her teeth chattering and her eyes rolling in the back of her head from the shock coursing through her body. Once it was done, she laid unconscious on the ground and I handed the remote back to the rookie.

"You," I said as I looked at him. "And you," I pointed to a female rookie, who looked like she was barely keeping it together. She would be better off out of the team, as she was only going to bring danger to us all. "And you," I pointed to the older ARC soldier who looked like he hated me the most. I simply was sick of dealing with his glares, so he could fuck off too.

"Take Georgia to the collection point, drop her off to the team there, and come back," I said, looking at the older ARC member, knowing he would be taking the lead. We had a collection team located a block away from our entrance point. "You know the way?" He nodded and moved, shoving the girl in the back roughly and nodding his head towards Georgia's crumpled body.

The two rookies lifted her body and they headed off down the tunnels quietly. I turned to my group, eyeing the remaining members, before nodding my head at them. Their eyes, even those of the rookies, had steeled up.

"Let's keep moving," I ordered, sending two experienced members to the back of the group and keeping Corporeal Lane behind me. We moved on, one silent step at a time, unaware of the danger that laid ahead, prepped and ready to take us out.