Before I could leave the factory, I had a few things left to do, but I needed to move quickly. I made my way into the main building, still on guard, and was greeted by the stares of the hundred slaves. They looked confused, and scared as they saw me. I couldn’t blame them. I was covered in dirt, blood, and soot, and I didn’t exactly look friendly even without that.

“Any guards left?” I asked.

A few of them looked at each other, and one of them, an older human man with broad shoulders stepped forward, the chain that connected him to the assembly line clinking as he moved.

“There’s no more in here… There may be more outside though.”

I shook my head. “There aren’t.”

He looked at the others, who all looked back at him. Clearly he was a trusted face among the slaves. “What…what do you plan on doing with us?”

I walked over to him. Those in my way moved or cowered as I did so. I gripped the chain that held him, and pulled at it with all my strength. I let out a grunt, and it snapped. “Just that.” I said, moving on to the next person, and the next.

The man looked confused, and glanced at the others. “Eden… has it fallen?” he asked.

“Nope.” I responded, breaking another set of chains.

“So then, why are you freeing us?”

“Because I want it to fall. Don’t like slavery…don’t like the First.”

“What, you want us to fight? We couldn’t win, even if we could. It's a deadzone on three sides, we’d have to take the fight all the way to the gate to get out.”

I shrugged. “You can wait here for them to come back, you can stand and fight, you can try to hide, it’s up to you. Your choice. Once I’m done busting the last of you out of here, I’m heading out.” I moved to another of them and broke another set of chains. “On the other hand… there’s a lot of guns here… and this is from what I can tell the only source of ammo they have. I also have,” I reached into my pack and pulled out a map and journal, “the locations of all of the other camps with slaves, along with the number of guards and areas I thought would be best to attack. The gate’s less of a problem too.” I broke yet another set of chains. “I blew up most of it. Majority of Eden’s warriors are likely out that way, searching for an enemy they don’t realize is already inside. You’d have quite the head start… Wouldn’t waste it if I were you.”

The older man looked out at everyone, his teeth grinding against each other. “Fuck me… Jack, go see if you can find the keys to speed up getting everyone out of here. JT, start getting weapons and distributing them, Cynth go raid the guards food stash and see what we’ve got to work with… throw out the food that… that shouldn’t be food.” He moved over to me and I held out the journal and map to him. “What’s your name, asshole?”

“Asshole’s fine. Name doesn’t matter.”

“You’ve put us in a real shit position.”

“Yeah, better than being worked to death though. Or eaten.”

The man shook his head again and slid a hand down his face. “FUCK!” He started barking orders again after that.

I kept breaking chains, which was sped up once Jack found the keys and started unshackling everyone. I moved for the door, passing by the broad shouldered man. I hesitated and held out a hand.

“Donovan,” I said.

He took my hand and gave it a firm shake. “Mike.”

“Try not to die.”

He sighed. “You too asshole. May we never meet again.”

I nodded, and made my way out the door. I saw people in the yard gathering weapons, food, clothes, and whatever else they could assemble. The fire had died down, and the corpses of the guards had been dragged into a pile. I got a lot of looks as I walked through the camp, but most of them were too busy to pay me any attention and none tried to stop me. That boded well for them. I had no idea what the result would be, but I knew a chance at freedom was worth any price, and that price was often blood.

I started the trek back to where I’d left the bombs. The last phase was the most crucial one, but also the least time sensitive. I doubted the First would leave his cathedral, even to check in on what happened at the gate. I traveled most of the day, but found myself tiring quickly. It had been two days without rest. Two days of non-stop travel, fighting, and avoiding patrols. I was going to need to take a break before I moved the bombs to the First’s palace. If things went perfectly, I wouldn’t have anything to worry about, but I’d already been pressing my luck hard and didn’t think it would be smart to press it even further.

I found a secluded patch of woods far off any path and settled in for the night. I pulled up my notifications, wanting the ping cleared from my vision as I was beginning to find it irritating.

Congratulations Citizen! You have earned a rank in tracking! Like the brave indian on the fertile grasses of the west following herds of buffalo, you carry on a proud tradition!

That notification had been sitting there since I’d found the home of the Panthers.

Congratulations Citizen! You have earned a rank in Investigation! Here in the US we have the right to question everything, except freedom!

That must’ve been from all the recon I’d done throughout Eden.

Congratulations Citizen! You have earned ranks in Long guns! Good job exercising your 2nd amendment rights!

Excellent work Marshall! You’ve successfully performed a secondary goal of your job ‘Combat’! You’ve earned 60 Patriot Points!

Congratulations Citizen! You have earned ranks in Long guns! Good job exercising your 2nd amendment rights!

Those didn’t require much thought to understand what they were from, but the last one elicited a tired chuckle.

Congratulations Citizen! You have earned a rank in customer service! Here in the US of A we know the customer is always right!

I guess I’d done a good enough job with Mike for the system to recognize it.

I fell asleep propped against a tree with my sword stuck into the ground in front of me and my pistol at my side. I was enjoying a dreamless sleep, when a smell woke me. I kept my eyes closed and focused on the scent. It was all around me. At least ten deadmen, closing in.

I stayed still, waiting until the scent got closer and I started to actually hear them moving through the brush. They stayed quiet, clearly practiced at moving silently through the woods.

One of them approached closer as the others fanned out to line up shots at me. The closest one reached out.

I activated my adaptive empowerment, grabbed the hand that was reaching for me, drew the deadman’s body in close, placed my pistol under his chin, and pulled the trigger, killing him instantly.

“Fuck!” exclaimed one of the others, raising a rifle to fire on me.

I pulled the body in closer, using it to catch the incoming fire, then activated my bracer, bringing up the forcefield, and drew my sword from the ground. Freezing one of the others as I did so, before firing a shot directly into his skull.

Two more ran at me with large steel clubs. I kicked one of them, knocking him to the ground as I deflected the other’s strike with my sword. I froze him, and drove the blade into the one I’d knocked down to the ground before quickly removing it and decapitating the other one.

“All of you at once! Remember we need him alive!”

I looked toward the voice and saw Mary, her glowing eyes meeting my own. I smiled in her direction. They may be trying to take me alive, but I had no such restrictions.

Two of the large deadmen came at me at once. I drew my shotgun, freezing one of them and unloading both shells into his head before he could close the gap. The other one managed to grab me by the waist and lift me, squeezing with all his strength as he did so.

I dropped my shotgun, and started punching, using my full strength with each blow, enough strength to kill the average deadman raining down with each blow. He held tight, but slowly loosened his grip as I felt his skull begin to give way beneath my fists.

Unfortunately, two more of the brutes closed in and each took one of my arms. I fought back, trying to bite and claw at them, and managed for a moment to regain control of one of my arms which I used to reach out and grab the one that had grabbed my waist by the hair and draw him close enough to rip out his throat with my teeth before the other of them grabbed my arm and held me down, two more regular deadmen coming to help restrain me.

Mary approached where I was held on the ground and looked down at the carnage I’d caused before turning her attention to me, her mouth slightly agape.

I swallowed, feeling the flesh of the brute slide down my throat, and gave her a wide blood stained smile.

“You should kill me while you have the chance.”

She looked at me, her glowing eyes casting a warm glow in the dusk, and I could see the temptation in her eyes to kill me as I’d just told her to do. Then she looked at the other deadmen that had me pinned. “Chain him up… tightly, and make sure at least three of you are watching him at any given moment. We won’t be taking him to a camp, the First himself wants him brought back to him.”

The deadmen nodded at her without answering, and one of them brought out several lengths of thick chain and rope which they began to wrap around me. I struggled against it, biting and trying to tear myself out of it, but all I managed to do was break one of their arms in the struggle, and it began knitting itself back together shortly after. Clearly this hunting party had been chosen for a reason.

“How’d you find me?” I asked as they finished tying me up and they began dragging me through the woods.

She turned to me, looking me up and down. “You give off a light… Not as bright as his, but not hard to find.”

I gritted my teeth. It seemed her eyes weren’t just for show.

They started moving me, and I began to freeze them as we moved. It didn’t do much aside from slow them down and piss them off, but I was hoping it would give me a window, cause them to make a mistake. Eventually they stopped and wrapped a cloth around my face.

“Let’s stop here for a moment,” said Mary.

I felt myself moved then tossed onto the ground. Then I heard someone knock on something.

“String him up here.”

I felt myself lifted back up, another rope tied to the ones on my back, then I was raised into the air.

“The First asked us to bring him in alive. I’d say that gives us some wiggle room.”

I smelled her approach. She had the scent of ozone and blood.

I tensed as she hit my stomach. It hurt, but not enough to make me wince. Unfortunately, that was just where it started.