The survivors, still trembling, gave Tysone a look of fear and respect before nodding.
The woman slowly placed her baseball bat on the ground. The lanky man nervously handed over a small handgun. The injured one just slumped against the wall, unable to offer anything.
Tysone's frown deepened.
The idea of having potentially dangerous people nearby didn't sit well with his paranoia. A gang of super-powered thugs, huh? Were they like him? Or something else entirely? Whatever it was, it was a threat he couldn't ignore.
He glanced at Miku and Takashi. "Open the gate."
They hesitated for a second.
"Tysone, are you sure?" Takashi asked, his hand on his rifle.
Tysone nodded, taking a step forward to make himself clear. "I'm going to let you in, but before we do, we'll thoroughly check you. So, if you've got bitten by a zombie or anything else, we're gonna find out."
The trio glanced at each other.
"Thoroughly?" The blonde woman asked.
"Very. You may not like it, but if you have an infectious disease that we could easily get sick from and kill us, we'll toss you out. Simple as that." Tysone continued as Takashi and Miku hastened to open the gates. "And, as I said earlier, if you try anything, your end will be very... painful and permanent." He said with a tilt of his head, eyeing them from head to toe, studying their bodies for any signs of injury or deceit.
The woman gulped but nodded. It was only fair to expect this, given their situation, and what was outside.
Once the gate was open, Tysone stepped out of the way, allowing the three survivors to stumble inside. He, Takashi and Miku immediately flanked them, weapons raised.
The injured one was quickly laid down while Miku performed a body search on the woman, and Takashi on the lanky man. Tysone briefly checked the bleeding fellow, finding nothing suspicious on him.
Shizuka, Kohta, and Kenji soon arrived at the scene, with the others watching from the mansion's windows.
Asami was on the gate, keeping watch for any unwelcome visitors.
"Take him to the infirmary." Tysone ordered, pointing to the injured man. "No, all of them. Check for any sign of zombie infection, or anything else."
"Right away, boss." Shizuka said, her usual ditzy demeanor replaced with professional competence.
"Takashi, Kohta, go with them. Do the same for the males. If they try anything, don't hesitate. No, it would be even better if you tied them to the bed, for safety."
"You got it." Kohta saluted, hefting his sniper rifle.
The lanky man flinched. "Hey, we're not dangerous! We're just trying to survive!"
"So are we." Tysone said, his tone leaving no room for argument. "And we plan to keep it that way."
He turned to the blonde woman. She stood her ground, her chin up, despite the fear in her eyes. "You. You seem to be the leader here. What's your name?"
The woman took a deep breath, trying to steady herself. "Yuki. Yuki Furukawa. And this is my brother, Jun." She gestured to the injured man. "And our friend, Ren."
"We'll introduce ourselves once we confirm you're not a threat." Tysone said. "Now, guys, take them to the infirmary. Be thorough."
Yuki's eyes narrowed, but she didn't protest. She knew she was in no position to bargain.
Tysone watched as they were escorted away. He then turned to the gate, peering out into the street, searching for any sign of the gang Yuki had mentioned.
Nothing.
But that didn't mean they weren't out there. "Kenji, you and Haruto patrol the perimeter. Double the usual watch. If you see anything suspicious, you radio me immediately."
Kenji nodded. "You got it."
Haruto saluted. "Yes, sir!"
He went back to the Apocalypse Mule and put on a fresh shirt. The sun was beginning to set, casting long, eerie shadows across the courtyard. He stared at the walls of his mansion, hoping he wouldn't have their resilience tested by evolved humans.
He went inside to the infirmary. Shizuka was already tending to the injured man, Jun. Takashi and Kohta were standing guard, their rifles pointed at the other two.
"Well?" Tysone asked, walking in. He had his radio on his hip, one hand resting on top of it. Just in case.
Shizuka looked up from her work. "He's lost a lot of blood. But it's not a zombie bite. It's a clean stab wound. I've cleaned and stitched it. He'll be fine, with rest."
"A stab wound?" Tysone raised an eyebrow.
"Yes, no sign of infection. The others are fine too. Just a little tired." Shizuka finished, nodding at her own words. "We have found nothing else on them; not even food."
"I see..." Tysone rubbed his chin as he looked at the woman, Yuki, who was lying on a bed, tied securely to the bedframe. Next to her were her friend and brother, likewise bound to the bed. Their body language didn't convey any sign of deceit; they were hardly a threat without any powers of their own, but he still decided to err on the side of caution. "So, go on... what happened."
Yuki's jaw tightened as she briefly closed her eyes in recollection. "They call themselves the 'Red Serpents'. They're a bunch of thugs who got their hands on those crystal thingies and… changed."
'Crystal thingies.'
Tysone scoffed, amused.
"Are you talking about the cores?"
Yuki turned towards Rei. "Huh?"
"Oh, that's how we call them..."
A shaky nod. "I-I see..." Yuki's eyes drifted back to Tysone, whose very presence was still a little hard getting used to. "Well, the leader's got a bunch of them... umh, it lets them do superhuman things. They got them from zombies, I think. That's all I know..."
"Do you know the size and color of those crystal thingies?" Tysone asked, pressing for more info.
"I-I... I don't know." Yuki stammered. "The leader's got a big one, black... I think. The others... they have smaller ones... I don't know how many."
Tysone made a mental note and nodded, urging her to continue.
"Okay, I see... What about this gang? How many are they? Tell me everything."
Yuki hesitated, then took a deep breath. "About ten, maybe fifteen. They're a mix of street thugs and yakuza rejects, I think. They've taken over the Aikawa estate, killed the elderly couple and their son who were living there before. They're not good people."
Jun clicked his tongue as he looked away, a hint of anger still there in his eyes. Yuki briefly looked towards her brother, offering a silent apology before looking at Tysone again.
"And what did they want from you?"
"We... we found a small stash of food and medicine. We thought we were safe. But they found us. They took everything. They wanted to... have some fun with us." Yuki's hands clenched into fists on the bed. "But we fought back. We managed to escape. Jun got stabbed. T-They ended up following us all the way here..."
Rei, who had been standing by the door, her arms crossed, stepped forward. Her eyes, usually so kind, were hard as steel. "You basically led them here."
Tysone lifted a hand to hold Rei's burgeoning temper at bay.
Yuki looked down. "We didn't know where else to go. We saw this place... it looked safe. We didn't mean to bring trouble."
Tysone looked at the three of them. "Why go as far as following you here? They're from the city, aren't they?"
"I..."
"They were being hunted." It was Jun who managed to wheeze out, still holding the now bandaged wound.
Ren and Yuki looked at him in surprise. "How did you..."
"I overheard them." Jun ground out. "They were being hunted by some people..."
"Hunted, huh?" Tysone leaned against the wall, arms crossed. "Any idea who it might be?"
Jun shook his head, shifting a little. "No... just that the leader fears them, and that going against them means death."
Tysone's eyes narrowed. A power struggle between factions? Except that the power dynamics were lopsided, with a clear superior side. He wouldn't discard the possibility that Jun was mistaken, but that would be a conversation for later.
Everyone in the room looked at Tysone. The survivors had been cleaned and patched up. But the problem they brought with them was still out there. And it was on Tysone to deal with it.
He looked at Yuki and her group.
"You'll stay tied in the bed and monitored until this problem that followed you is dealt with. Please understand that until we can confirm your story, we can't just let you roam free. I hope you'll understand."
They nodded, looking defeated but not surprised.
"Good." Tysone then turned to the others in the room. "Alright, here's the plan. We can't let these Red Lizards or whatever stay out there. They're a threat, not just to us, but to any other survivor out there. And since they're close... we're gonna deal with them. Tonight. If we wait any longer, we'll lose the element of surprise."
Author's Note:
If you're enjoying the story and want to read ahead or support my work, you can check out my P@treon at [email protected]/LordCampione. But don't worry—all chapters will eventually be public. Just being here and reading means the world to me. Thank you for your time and support