Mutagen

Day 130 - 12:15 PM - Audubon High School, Audubon, Camden County, New Jersey, United States of America

After eating lunch, Mark urged Mei to sleep and rest. At that time, Roan had long left the rooftop after Mark told them to prepare to since their group would depart tomorrow.

Right now, Mark and Mei were inside a room that he requested for private use. It was the room Mei had been using to recuperate from her injury. Mark was currently accompanying her until she had fallen asleep. At that time, looking after her would be left to Hannah, Felicia, and Sandie.

Mark had to do a lot of things, after all. If not, he would stay to watch over her.

It did not take long for Mei to fall asleep as Mark could make her feel relaxed and comfortable with his abilities.

"Well, time to go, I guess."

Mark stretched his back as he stood from his seat beside Mei's bed.

"Hannah, don't let anyone enter except for Felicia and Sandie."

Mark told Hannah. She was standing by waiting for his orders. Except for that, she was also in charge of looking after the dragonfly egg. It was currently being carried around by her.

"Don't worry. Even if I die, I won't let anyone in."

Hannah replied.

Mark shrugged to that, though. It was not a bad attitude, but it was pretty extreme. He did not need her dead either, and Odelina would be sad if Hannah died.

He then went out of the room and checked for the [Queen Type] that was currently guarded by Arnold. It looked like she was behaving now after the effect of the tranquilizers wore off. Though, she seemed to be complaining since Mark was not around her for too long.

Mark also checked Elise's condition. The soldiers moved her out of the infirmary into another private room. They did it carefully and did not wake her up. No one would want what happened this morning to repeat, after all.

Felicia's family was already preparing their things. There was not much to prepare, though, aside from their change of clothes, and important things they could not leave behind. As for their share of food from the Settlement, Mark told them that it was not needed and leave it behind.

After that, Mark talked a bit with Captain Morrison.

"What do you think of what I said earlier?"

Mark asked.

"Frankly, it's hard to believe." The Captain shrugged. "But I can't deny it either after seeing the phenomenon yesterday and what you showed us. I also heard before that the Armed Forces of our country had a division that primarily deals with these kinds of things. At that time, I thought that it was nothing but a hoax. But now, it might be real, after all."

"Our country also had a task force like that," Mark said. "By the way, I've been thinking. You and your soldiers here should have received orders to evacuate people, right? What happened to all of you to stay cooped up in this place?"

That was one thing that Mark was curious about.

These soldiers were sent to evacuate survivors. Since that was the case, there should be an actual evacuation settlement set up by the country, or at least, by the State Government.

Yet, these people were cooped up in this school. It was despite the danger and harassment they were facing because of the outlaws.

Mark's question made Captain Morrison show a bitter expression.

"Initially, we are supposed to do that. At most, we only planned to stay in this place for a month. But things happened."

***

It was not new that one of the best places for an evacuation site in a zombie apocalypse was masses of land off from the mainland. In short, islands. It did not matter whether it was natural or man-made as long as it passed the needed criterion.

First and foremost, it was accommodation. The government needed an island capable of accomodating a large number of people.

The second was sustenance. Was that island able to sustain the estimated number of refugees? Was there enough land for farms and buildings needed to supply the necessities of the people?

The third criterion was the defensibility of the island. This included the shape of the island, how far it was from the mainland, and the possible threats that the land could face. The number of resources needed to secure the island was also considered.

If an island passed all these criteria, even with a slight margin of error, it would be chosen as a good sight for evacuation.

Unfortunately, no island in New Jersey would pass those criteria.

There were islands in New Jersey, specifically on the eastern coasts. However, not only that one of the islands contained a greater risk, the Atlantic City, none of these islands would pass the second and third criteria needed.

Thus, the Government of New Jersey collaborated with New York to use Staten Island as an evacuation site. It might not be too far from the mainland. However, the distance was enough to slow down most of the infected from crossing before the defenses were secured.

The shape of the island was not bad, either. It also had a wide area for farming and cultivation, although it required the clearing of the forests on the island.

And of course, manpower was needed, and New York, with its remaining people, would not be able to do that alone. With the survivors of New Jersey added to the mix, it would not be far for everyone to enjoy the safety of the island.

The soldiers in Audubon High School performed their duties and planned to leave before the month ended as they wanted to secure as many people as they could.

They also kept contact through satellite communications with the government. However, before the month ended, a radio message was received by the soldiers dispatched to evacuate the people.

"Staten Island has fallen."

That was the only thing that the message said. If it was just that, the soldiers might not believe it. However, the message was sent in an emergency frequency that only the soldiers should know, and it came from the headquarters.

They tried to contact the headquarters, but no reply came back. And not long after, all satellite communications had been cut off.

Unsure of what happened and because of the lack of orders after that, the soldiers decided to stay here. They fortified the place and did their best to survive.

After all, it was too risky to go on the road without a sure destination at that time.

Furthermore, the U.S. Government should have the means to send emergency orders to them. However, they received none. Thus, they could only rot here, wishing that their families were safe.

***

"How about that research facility the military built in Atlantic City?"

Mark asked.

To that question, Captain Morrison shook his head.

"Those people are not from the forces of the state. They are directly dispatched by the U.S. Government. They are not allowed to do anything outside the orders they are given. And even if we came there and they accepted us, our people here might just end up as subjects by their mad scientists there."

Mark went silent. He could agree with that thought since he already met that Alien Professor. It could definitely happen.

"Alright, then." Mark shrugged. "I'll be off to deal with one of your troubles here. Can you write anything your people know about Philadelphia right now? I'll pick it up later."

"Right, your group will leave tomorrow and travel through Philadelphia. I have no problems with that." Captain Morrison nodded. "But what do you mean by dealing with one of our troubles?"

To that question, Mark only smiled and went on his way, leaving the Captain and his soldiers confused.

***

Leaving the soldiers, Mark stood at the rooftop of the high school once more.

"I should have asked that Succubus where their base is before they left."

Mark murmured while scratching his head. He already asked the soldiers if they had any idea where the base of the outlaws was. However, they had no concrete answer. It was because every time they tried to send someone to tail them, the person would not make it back.

The only answer Mark received was that the outlaws always retreated towards the south after they attacked.

That was the only clue Mark had right now.

Thus, stretching his wings open, he flew towards the south.

It was what Mark meant when he told Captain Morrison that he would deal with one of their troubles.

Mark wanted to eliminate the outlaws.

Well, that was only a byproduct, though. What Mark really wanted was to get that brothers' Mutator abilities.

Those bone armors were not bad at all. Furthermore, those were speed type mutations, which made Mark even more interested. There might also be others with good abilities there, or they would not be able to overwhelm the soldiers like this for too long.

Mark flew as high as he could to see the terrain and buildings better.

He took note of the larger buildings and tried to see if there were any visible fortifications on the buildings.

Of course, he also thought that the buildings the outlaws used might not have any fortifications at all. After all, having fortifications would be too eyecatching for a band of outlaws in hiding. Well, Mark could be wrong with that thought, though, since fortifications was a must in a Zombie Apocalypse.

There was also the thought that the outlaws only retreated south for diversion. Their base might also be located in other directions. It was not wrong to think of that since it was outlaws. They might have one or more ways of deceiving their victims.

Starting at the buildings in the southeast direction, Mark checked for any signs of life.

Mark flew over warehouses, malls, apartment compounds, schools, cinemas, and all the large establishments that could possibly become a base for a large number of people.

Unexpectedly, he found some survivors hiding at some of the buildings he went over.

It was quite hard to say whether these people were lucky or unlucky, though. Some might be lucky surviving the first four months of this deadly apocalypse. And they were also unlucky because they were stuck in those buildings unable to leave at all.

These buildings with survivors were easier to spot because of the basins and wide-mouthed containers lined up on the rooftop. Obviously, these containers were used to gather clean water from rain or snow.

Well, the best factor that made these people last this long was the fact that they did not put any signs asking for help on the face of their buildings. If they did, the outlaws might have spotted them long ago, and they would have either died or turned into slaves and playthings.

Instead, they put SOS signs on the rooftops. It seemed that instead of asking help from random people, they gambled on flying military vehicles instead. Of course, it was a futile hope. After all, the last aircraft that flew over these areas was back in the first week of the apocalypse.

Some survivors spotted Mark flying over the area. Of course, instead of asking for help, they ran and hid. Who would ask help from a creature with several wings, after all? Unless Mark came to introduce himself, these people would see him as a threat.

As Mark flew around, he could not help but become troubled. He started thinking that retreating south was really a diversion made by the outlaws.

But after flying for about an hour, Mark found some activity.

"Damn, I flew towards the wrong direction first."

Mark complained as he finally found the location he was looking for.

The direction he flew first was to the southeast when the base of the outlaws was located a bit southwest of Audubon High School.

And seeing the scene below, Mark's eyes could not help but light up.

There were about three hundred people in the place. Fifty of them were Mutators, while there seemed to be around a hundred slaves.

The best part, however, the whole base was in a mess.

It was because of the absence of their leaders.

The outlaws started to fight over who would be the next to lead everyone.