A man looked at Andrew, a wry smile on his lips, with Alastair standing next to him. "You must be Andrew; Alastair was just telling me about you and your recent feats. The name is Marcus, the leader of the Blighted Boar." The three of them were on the higher floors of the mall, a swimming pool not far away with a view of the city presented to them.
Marcus turned around, now leaning on the guardrail, looking far into the distance. "Alastair also told me you talk little; your actions do the talking, and around here, that's what I want, as a lot of idiots end up dead because they can't keep their lips shut." A short chuckle followed; however, Andrew didn't engage with it, eliciting Marcus's gaze onto Andrew.
"You really don't talk, huh? Well, let's keep this short. As you know, the Blighted Boar owns a large part of this city; however, there has been some interfere as of late. Military troops have trickled into the city and taken over, a threat to my power, and I want you, Andrew, to help with an attack I have planned tonight."
Marcus had a lot of brown hair sprouting from his neck from his hair all the way to his back. His gray eyes shifted from Alastair to Andrew during his conversation. A man who wore his emotions on his face. "So, are you in or not?" The question hung in the air as if it wasn't intended for Andrew before the response came. "I'll do it alone; however, after this, I plan on leaving. I don't need your approval on this," Marcus raised a brow, intrigued by Andrew's bold claim.
"A man who knows what to say, admirable however don't take me as someone who does whatever you wish Andrew. Had it not been for your feat of killing Kovac, your ladies would have already been sold off to the highest bidder." Andrew and Marcus locked eyes with each other, the former looking with indifference as if his words would come with no resistance, and the latter intrigued, wishing to see the lengths Andrew would go.
"If your confidence comes from Lara, then I'm sorry to say this, but she isn't the only one capable of killing. Given that she's outnumbered." Marcus leaned back from the railing and drew closer to Andrew. "I'm curious to see if you really have any other emotions other than the mask you wear right now." Alastair watched the two face each other before Marcus pulled away. "Be ready by seven. As for your words of leaving, consider that nothing more than a fool's dream. After all, I own this city and the people in it, Andrew."
Marcus's footsteps could be heard fading away as Andrew was left alone on the edge, his gaze on nothing in particular. "That was rather ballsy of you, Andrew; however, you overestimate your own strength should you think killing Marcus will be as easy as killing Kovac," Alastair said, looking at Andrew, wondering what he was thinking about. Andrew wordlessly took his leave, Alastair shortly after as well left.
. . .
"It would seem that he's killed two people in the pit," Alastair relayed to Marcus, who was viewing a fight transpire. "The two said that he has telekinesis, which is already difficult to face, but it would seem that he has another beast-like ability that we aren't aware of." The air fell silent as they both inspected Andrew facing against another opponent; the match came to a close in a matter of seconds.
"He's too good to lose; make sure that his ladies are well kept, somewhere he won't find them. Also increase their surveillance so that they won't be able to make any funny plays." Alastair quickly took his leave, Marcus's focus resting on Andrew, who watched his opponent hauled away as if it was meant to be. 'I really wonder how you'll look when you're pushed to your limits, Andrew.'
. . .
Andrew was waiting outside the mall; around him were other people dressed covertly before Marcus made his appearance. The darkness had already set in as Marcus attracted the attention of the group. "You all know why we're here, so I'll make this short. The military has expanded into our territory and frankly, we're not ones to be pushed around so lightly! So make sure when we hit them, we hit them hard so that they won't be able to realize what happened!"
His gaze drifted to Andrew, who was now infamous among the people of Blighted Boar. "We strike fast and hard; I'll be leading this expedition!" His words followed with cheers from the group of ten before they checked for supplies prepped, making sure. "Everything's accounted for, boss; we should be ready!" One reported, hauling a military-style bag over their shoulder.
"The camp should be near the edge of the city so it won't take long to get there. With the explosives we have, it should be more than enough to scare them and possibly get a hold of their arsenal." Marcus mused as they marched deeper into the city, his words eliciting smiles all around. "What do you think will happen?" Jared, who was carrying supplies, asked Andrew, who walked in silence.
No response came, which made Jared furrow his brows. 'It would seem that he's as arrogant as ever. I wonder if he's ever done such a thing? Let's see if you're still so aloof when explosions light up the night sky,' Jared mused as Andrew kept on walking alone. After a few minutes, Marcus ordered them to stop. "What do you see?" Marcus asked a scout who had an owl weave that blended into the night sky. "Looks like they're in the dark about our attacks." The report brought a smile to Marcus's face .
"Good, we'll go as planned. I'll take the explosives while Jared will go with Andrew and the other half of the explosives. The pincer attack should be more than enough to take this base down." Marcus, after giving orders, took half of the group and went left, while Andrew and Jared went right. The base was in an open stadium, tents and military cars all over with officers on standby.
"Alright, stick to the plan and throw the explosives on the tents. With your strength, you should be able to make it." Jared said to the one carrying the bag, his face stern as Jared brushed down his coat, revealing a watch. "They should be ready in ten minutes, so all we have to do is wait." The group of five waited at the roof edge of an apartment, the people either dead or missing.
*Ten minutes later*
"It's time; however, they haven't given the signal to proceed." Jared whispered as the air grew tense. "Maybe something happened!" Another person was added, but before Jared could argue, the alarm went off. "Damnit! Did they get caught? We have to go through with this to throw them off! Throw it already!" The burly man set himself in a throwing position before chucking the bag, which sailed through the air far longer than any human should before it landed at the center of the military base.
*BOOM*
The tents lit ablaze, the sounds of screams filling the air as wild gunshots echoed through the night sky. "Andrew! Where the hell are you going?!" Jared asked as Andrew wordlessly left the group, making his way to the ground and heading towards the base. Rather than taking the stairs, he jumped off the roof and safely landed on the pavement. "This guy, who does he think he is?!" Jared mumbled as he watched Andrew attract the attention of the military guards. After ordering Andrew to stop, and yet he didn't, they emptied their clips, only for the bullets to stop mere inches from his face.
"If he were capable of this, then he could have done all of this by himself!" One argued as Andrew kept on advancing deeper into the stadium. "Quick! We can't just watch from here; we have to make sure that the boss is okay!" Jared's words made the group make their way to check on Marcus. Andrew faced the blare of floodlights, the sounds of bullet casings hitting the ground clashing with the yells of the military personnel.
He never rushed; his walk felt inevitable as bullets paused in front of him and squashed the heads of officers.
*Whoosh*
A rocket hurled at him was directed into the night sky, painting the black firmament in golden splendor before being swallowed by the darkness.
*BOOM*
"What is this?!" One officer asked, sweat dripping from their temple with their aim on Andrew's figure faltering. "This must be one of the awakened, to think that they would be this strong!" Another interjected before the two met their end. Andrew's scalpels would clean up those he couldn't get with his telekinesis, officers dropping like flies from nothing.
Marcus and his group, which was facing a handful of military personnels had their focus directed at the explosion in the night sky. "We have to go back; the base is under attack!" One of them barked, their voice easily drowning in the sea of bullets fired. "We have to hold them here!" Marcus barked at his own men, the two sides exchanging gunfire.
Some of his men and the military personnel could be seen lifeless on the concrete floor. The military backed away, which gave Marcus and his group the right to move forward. 'I don't know for how long they'll be able to hold on their end, but I have to hurry! I can't afford to lose too many people!' Marcus concluded as he led his party towards the base. As much as they were awakened, they didn't have the staggering power of overwhelming forces like the military with their abilities, as they were still prone to damage from gunshots.
*Thud*
*Thud*
*Thud*
The retreating officers fell, no explanation, just crumpled to the floor, which stunned Marcus and his group. "Jared, what's happening?!" Jared reconnected with Marcus, Jared's face filled with fear and horror. "We went along with the plan; however, after the alarm went off, Andrew took on the entire base on his own. He's the one killing them like this."
Marcus turned to face the base, now half ablaze, and the remaining forces trying to flee before they too dropped dead or the cars would be crumpled like empty carton boxes. "How is one person this strong?" Marcus couldn't help but wonder, his view of Andrew as someone waiting to crack under pressure turning into something catastrophic. "He is the pressure, like an unstoppable force." His words were audible to his men, who couldn't help but wonder what Andrew truly was.
'If I were to face him, I doubt I could win.' Marcus grit his teeth as Andrew came into view; behind him, the base now glowed in the darkness and the corpses piled up in a heap. "Help me!" A military officer screamed, their arm stretched to Marcus before Andrew, who kept inching closer to them, picked him up.
The man now suspended upside down was diced to death by his scalpels, akin to being placed in a blender, as if he couldn't scream any longer. His lifeless body dripping with blood, coating his uniform before he was thrown onto the pile of bodies burning away. There was no smile of triumph on Andrew's face as he finally stood face to face with Marcus, his face wearing his apathetic style as if he had seen all of this before and was waiting to get through with it.
Marcus's smug expression was now replaced with something he didn't want to admit: his men were now slowly backing away from the pocketed man in black. "We're done here." His words landed before he made his way back to the base, failing to wait for the rest of the party who were watching the fortress turn to ash. 'Is he even human?' The possibility rose in Marcus's head.