“We have a few things we need to discuss, but very little time to do so.” Johann started his address. “I will explain the issue, give the solutions and we will vote. There will be no time for questions or discussions. Time is short, the sky clock won’t stop for our squabbles.” Johann spoke in a friendly way, but the hulking man beside him hinted of what would happen if things got out of control.

“First, I want to welcome the newcomers to the group. John managed to recruit the people who had been present when the monsters arrived but were keeping to themselves. They have all fought beside him and helped protect this place and the people inside. Now, they also understand the consequences of being alone. I hope we can all work together in harmony.” Murmurs of agreement surged around the people surrounding the pair of leaders, even I was silently nodding at the man’s words.

“Second, we need to address the situation of the remains of those who passed away. As much as I want to give everyone proper funerals and observe their specific customs, we don’t have the luxury of time to do so. The solution we have come up with is a large funerary pyre. I know this isn’t optimal, but we don’t really have any other options without a place with soft earth that we can dig.” Mrs Aya had no visible reaction from Johann’s words. She kept looking at the man the same way she had before.

“We will allocate a few people to handle the assembly of the funerary pyre and then we will hold a very brief ceremony. No one is obligated to come, but just remember that one day it might be one of us in there.” Johann's warning tone got some people looking away. I don’t think most people here were used to the idea that death could be just around the corner. I sure wasn’t.

“Third, we need to move. This place is too large for us to defend even with our bolstered numbers. We lost eleven people today, and even though we have nineteen new members, it’s still not enough for us to defend such a position. There are other, more strategic, reasons as to why we need to leave this place, but this is the main one. We can’t defend this place.” Some people looked visibly uncomfortable with the idea of moving out. For someone who had stayed indoors most of the time, I could sympathize on how scary the thought of walking around in this place could be.

“Noah here has run a recon mission with the help of Leo.” He pointed at Noah and then me. Noah was somewhere on the other side of the crowd, trying to hide among the people, but Johann had caught him anyway. “Noah, can you please come forward and tell us what you found?”

“Right, right. Just a minute, will ya? Gabriela is finishing the map.” Noah spoke as the people moved away from him. He stood beside the pregnant lady while she drew on a sheet of paper. I wondered if that was the same one who had drawn the map from earlier. Probably.

“Just bring whatever you have, Noah. We don’t have time for perfection.” Johann insisted.

“Got you, got you.” Noah waved a dismissing hand to Johann. “Thanks, Gabs. You are awesome.” He spoke to Gabriela, the pregnant lady. She seemed to blush a little and said something I couldn’t hear. Noah left with a smug smile on his face as he approached Johann and John in the center of the crowd.

“Right, so me and Leo boy found two promising spots.” Noah placed the sheets on the ground and squatted. Johann and John squatted alongside him. I couldn’t see anything in detail from here, but I knew what the places looked like. Noah spent the next minute or two explaining what we had found and pointing at the map.

While only John and Johann could see the graphic representation, I think most people were able to understand the outline. Noah had an excellent sense of space and explained it well. When he was done, he handed the sheets to Johann and went back to his place, next to Gabriela. Now that I had paid attention to her; I realized she must have been around my age, not much older. The pregnancy had given her a bit of a mature air, which had thrown me off at a glance.

Johann and John stood up and the former addressed the group again.

“All of you heard Noah’s explanation, there is no need for me to cover it again. Would you like to say something before we vote, John?”

“I believe the spot by the barrier is the more favorable one. We have more room to adapt and we can fortify our position inside as much as outside. The second position is too exposed and provides almost no room for error.”

“I do agree with your points, John. The first location really seems more promising.” Johann faced away from John. “Alright, now to the votes. Please, raise your hand if you would like to move to the first location.” Johann and John were the first to raise their hands. Unsurprisingly, the vote was unanimous for the first location.

A shred of doubt appeared within me. I had questioned the wisdom of putting strategic decisions to vote. Beside John and Johann, how many of us had the training and mindset required to properly analyze such situations? But after the vote actually happened, I understood. They were only giving the illusion of a democracy. In the end, they were the ones making the decisions. Who would go against their word in the vote after both of them strongly supported a certain outcome and backed it up? It was clever. Terrifyingly so.

“We have a couple more things to discuss before we can set to our new tasks. I will be blunt.” Johann took pause as he turned to face the grouped up pariahs. “Some people fled the fight as soon as it started. Things could have gone very differently if the line was held and deaths would certainly be avoided. This is not an army, you are not deserters. But you will be held responsible for your choices.” Johann looked away from them and towards the man beside him.

“John has a proposition to make.”

“They will be on the front line next time, under me. I will be sure that every one of them will fight as hard as they physically can. I promise you they will be the hardest working members of the group by the time I am done. I have trained plenty of weak ass cadets into proper troopers in my time in the army. This won’t be any different.” John turned and faced the group. “Just let me be clear. Quitting my training will be the same as quitting the group.”

Johann soon called for a vote. Igor was the first of many to raise their hands, though he was probably the most excited. The smirk on his face made his thoughts quite obvious. Before Johann could move on to the last topic, the pot bellied man spoke.

“What about him?” Igor pointed at me. “He hasn’t fought. Shouldn’t he be moved to the suicide squad as well?” I frowned. I was aware something like this would happen, but Johann intervened as if already expecting it.

“First, keep your opinions and naming tendencies to yourself, Igor. Secondly, and I am actually glad you brought this up, I think our friend Leo needs a special introduction.” Johann motioned towards me. “As I am sure you all have seen, the system gives a ranking after the wave ends. Well, he is the Leo that made top rank. He might not have played a role in our defense directly, but he probably killed more of the things than John himself. I am sure we can all understand how this helps us greatly, even if indirectly.” If my estimates were correct, I wasn’t so sure I killed more than John. The boss probably gave me a stupid amount of points. Still, I wasn’t about to correct the man who came out in my defense.

Igor deflated under John’s stern gaze and I suddenly became the center of attention. Everyone turned to look at me and the pressure of all those eyes weighed on my shoulders. I tried my best to look stoic and confident, but I doubt it was very effective.

A distant looking Mrs Aya sat beside me. Johann’s words about the wave probably rattled her. I wanted to grab her hand and tell her it would be alright, that next time it would be different, that I would be there to protect her. But could I? With Kando’s death, I didn’t have the courage to play the hero.

Johann eventually had the meeting under control again. He assigned roles for the newcomers and reassigned some of the early members. I volunteered to help with the funerary pyre. I spent the next two hours destroying furniture with my sledge hammer. It was a hard task, but a good way to blow off some tension. My leg still throbbed, but as I worked my sore muscles it seemed to dull further. By the time I was done, I knew the next morning would be a painful one.

I carried Mr Kando’s body with the help of Johann. Mrs Aya followed along silently, a lone hand on top of her husband’s stiff corpse. I had never held a dead person before, but I realized how disturbingly cold they were. Even through the impromptu sheet that covered him, a mix of cut out furniture covers, I could feel his icy skin. I was relieved when we finally set his corpse on top of the other ones already inside the hastily assembled structure.

We had used a lot of stuffing from chairs, couches and even two recliners someone had found as kindling. The wood from a bunch of other furniture made up the bulk of the pyre. It wasn’t pretty, but Johann felt confident it would do the job. According to him a pyre could burn between 600 and 800 Celsius, but ours should be on the lower end of that spectrum. Modern crematoriums burned between 800 and 900 Celsius, but ours would be enough to break down the bodies into ash and dry bone. Unfortunately, since this was a communal pyre, it would be nigh impossible to distinguish the bones between adults without a proper forensic investigation.

The ceremony was very brief. Less than fifteen people attended. I stood beside the quiet Mrs Aya while Johann said a few words. A few of the more religious people present said a prayer or two and then someone lit it up using a lighter. A few spots had to be lit in sequence to guarantee the structure would burn properly. After a few minutes, the flames had engulfed the bodies and the fire burned incredibly high. Johann had told us earlier that it would take anywhere from three to six hours for the bodies to completely burn, but we couldn’t afford to stay here for so long. I had expected Mrs Aya to somehow protest this, but she made no objections. As we left the raging fire behind, I checked the sky clock.

14:02:57

The sun was starting to inch on the horizon, and soon shades of orange would take over the skies. Most people had already moved to the new location, only the few of us left in charge of the funeral had been left behind. Johann led us to our new spot, following the hastily drawn map by Noah and Gabriela.

I had done my best to not dwell on the funeral and the death of Mr Kando during the assembly of the pyre. I decided it was better for me to think of something else. Therefore, I had spent the last two hours thinking extensively on how I would spend my points. I had reached a decision, but before I actually spent them, I wanted to consult the specialist: Chen.