"Let's roll out."
At those words, the car starts following his quick pace. Father David keeps an eye out for any suspicious movement, his muscles twitching in anticipation for a fight.
"Calm down, Father. Leo hasn't smelled anything yet. Conserve your strength, and let's move these cars that are in the way." Henrick says, doing his best to move a car silently to the side, but the groaning of metal makes it difficult.
David simply nods, though the eagerness to prove himself hasn't abated. He helps Henrick in moving the vehicles, the task proving to be more difficult than they expected.
The dark purple energy may have enhanced their physical capabilities, but the sheer number of cars that they have to move without making a noise is daunting.
Though it's difficult, Henrick and David decide to lift one care at a time to minimise noise and conserve energy.
"I just remembered that there's a military armory on the northeast side of Manhattan. You think we should make the journey?" Henrick asks, hopeful that the armory would be a good building to set up camp in.
Father David grunts as they move another vehicle, this one taking considerable effort as its a truck. "Ngh...I don't know. Like I said, the city doesn't seem like a...oof...good place to be in right now." the priest says, his breathes coming in ragged rasps.
Henrick just nods, considering David's perspective. The soldier weighs his options: Make the trip to an unknown camp that they have no information on such as its location, or take their chances in a city that wants to eat them.
Three hours pass, and their progress has slowed somewhat. Elly looks at David with concern, noting the sweat beading on his forehead and the shaking of his limbs.
Henrick still moves with almost mechanical efficiency as his muscles burn with the exertion. "That was the 322nd car we had to move. Damn it feels good to workout again." he says, not sounding tired at all.
After a couple of minutes, they finally see a long stretch of road that's been cleared by the Corrupted. "Thank goodness. I was gonna collapse." Father David says, putting his hands on his knees and taking deep breaths.
"I've never felt as tired as I do now, in my entire life." says David, gasping for air as he takes a bottle of water out of his backpack. The duo dry the sweat on their bodies and change into different shirts before sitting inside the car.
Veronica secretly watches the way that Henrick's muscles ripple underneath a shirt that's just a little too tight, biting her lips at the stimulating sight.
"Want some water, Henrick?" the water user asks, conjuring an orb of water as she realises that he hasn't had any water for hours. Henrick nods and takes out an empty water bottle, drinking from it once it's been filled.
The soldier doesn't notice the way she watches his throat as he gulps down the life giving liquid. Selene does, however, and chuckles at the infatuated look that Veronica has.
The range rover sport hums as it moves silently on the street. Minutes pass in companionable silence, the only sounds in the car being Elly's giggles as Henrick makes his electricity do tricks for the little girl.
The group pass by a police station and Alex is about to drive past it, until Henrick taps him on the shoulder. The car slows to a crawl, then stops as Alex turns with a raised brow.
"There might be something useful in there or there might be survivors. Keep the engine hot." says the soldier as he exits the vehicle along with Selene and a now recovered Father David.
The trio approach the entrance but freeze as they see a shotgun barrel on the other side of the dark doors. "Hands where I can see them." comes the command right after, in a tone that brooks no arguments.
David is about to raise his arms when the soldier says, "No." as electricity covers his body. "We came to see if there were any survivors. Put the gun away." Henrick says, annoyance clear in his tone.
A tall police officer opens the door and watches the arcs of electricity on Henrick's body with tactical consideration. "So you've got powers too, huh." he says, placing the shotgun at the side of the door.
Stepping to the side in a clear gesture of invitation, the trio head inside and are led to the bullpen. "Haven't seen anyone else in three days. Thought we were all that was left. I'm Tony." the cop says, introducing himself with a smile.
"What abilities you got?" Henrick asks, clearly trying to gather information. "I can turn my skin into metal." Tony replies, shifting into his metal state, a silver sheen overtaking his skin from his chest to the rest of his body.
Henrick observes and nods. Tony smiles at the approval then winks at Selene, making the woman scoff and turn away. "Ouch, so what's with the ears?" Selene just sighs at the question and keeps silent, clearly annoyed.
"She's human. I assume there's still other weapons that can be used?" Tony nods at the question but frowns as he lets out a frustrated huff. "I know what you're thinking, but the only weapons that work are shotguns. Even then, we'd have to get close."
Tony shudders as he remembers the day it all happened. "We used all we could, machine guns and pistols. So many of us died using shotguns. More of us turned into those...things..." he says, blanching at the thought of those monstrosities.
The group make their way to the office space and see four police officers along with 10 survivors. "This is all of us." Tony says, giving the other officers a brief nod of assurance when they see the group.
A burly but short police officer stands up, a frown on his face marred by stress lines. "What's going on Tony?" he asks, turning to his fellow cop.
"Saw these people outside in a car, Mac. Thought it'd be best if we got together, combine our 'abilities' and all that." Tony says, very obviously emphasising a specific word.
Mac's face lightens up as hope fills his body. "Where are you heading to? I assume its that camp at Staten Island, in North Mount Loretto State Forest?" Father David eyes widen at the exact location and looks to Henrick.
"We've been going towards Times Square this whole time. Should've been going to the Lincoln Tunnel." Henrick crosses his arms as he fixes the priest with a look. "Thought you said it was on the outskirts of the city."
David scratches his head sheepishly. "I assumed so. All I got from the broken radio message was that they were in a forest. I thought they meant a forest outside of the city." he says, exasperation on his face.
The decision is instantly made in Henrick mind—head to Staten Island. "We're heading to that camp." Henrick says, making Tony's eyes widen and his lips smile.
"Let's go together. Strength in numbers, plus we need all the strength we can get to keep these people safe." Tony says, already directing the survivors and other police officers to pack up.
"Come on, let me show you the armory. We've got a few more shotguns. You guys can keep it at your side when you get tired of using your powers."
Those words make Henrick perk up, finally getting what he wanted to get his hands on this whole time. Selene sees the childlike glee in Henrick's eyes and rolls her eyes, even as she smiles at it.
Coming up to the armory, Henrick notes the discarded weapons on the floor that doesn't have stopping power. He picks up a pistol and holster, then grabs a shotgun for himself and an extra one for Alex.
Seeing that his companions have done the same, he raises a brow and crosses his arms. "Do you guys know how to shoot?" Selene smirks and Father David just tilts his head in confusion.
"Just point and shoot." the priest says matter of factly. Henrick is about to say something but pauses as he considers that their enhanced physiology should easily be able to handle the knock back of a shotgun.
Henrick just stares at them both and sighs. "Make sure to grip the gun tight. Don't want it flying off." he says with a wry smile. They turn to Tony and follow him back to the bullpen, ready to leave.
"We'll follow your car from behind, we've got more than enough leftover cars to bring everyone." their guide says as they file out of the building.
Henrick just nods and helps the survivors, mostly middle aged and elderly people, to put their bags into the back of the cars. Most of them pull away from his intimidating stature and physique.
"Make sure you stay as silent as possible. We don't know if those things are attracted by sounds." Selene says, already making her way back to the range rover with the others.
Father David nods to the police officers and walks back with Henrick. "It's been eerily quiet." the priest says, as he looks around at the ruined city.
The duo enter the range rover and Elly immediately asks for a hug. Henrick laughs and gives her his arm as they settle into the car.
Father David rubs his forehead and shares the information with everyone. Their eyes light up as they now have a destination to go to, instead of running around without direction.
The range rover starts moving slowly, and the cop cars follow. Everything seemed normal for a few minutes, until Henrick suddenly feels a sense of dread that makes every hair on his body stand on end.
He rolls out of the car and fires an electrical bolt at a bullet streaking towards the cop care behind his group. The bolt misses the bullet, and lands squarely on Tony's head.
"SNIPER!"
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END