"Let's vote,"
The Commander's defeated voice broke the silence.
"First, vote for Marcus' suggestion. The survivors must pay 10 units of food each month." The commandeer spoke, his voice pained.
Where would the survivors get 10 units of food?
They must venture out.
The death rate? Extremely high. No different than sending them to their deaths.
"I disagree,"
The Commander voted.
"I agree,"
The elderly man raised his hand.
He no longer cared about offending the Commander.
Vivian painted a clear picture.
The dangers and problems they had to face were far from here. They had no time to dwell. Action. They needed fast, ruthless execution to grow their forces.
"I agree,"
"Agree,"
The others followed.
In an instant, it became 5-1 in favor.
"I agree,"
Vivian voted.
"I agree,"
The governor voted last.
Not because he hadn't made up his mind. No, he was the only ordinary person on the table, giving the others an unpleasant sense of superiority.
So he voted last, to attract the least attention.
The Commander gritted his teeth. He lost 7 to 1.
He closed his eyes, accepting the result unwillingly.
"From now, everyone needs to pay 10 units of food. Including us, present here." The Commander glanced at Vivian.
"Vivian, announce this after the meeting."
"Yes," Vivian nodded.
"Next," The Commander's expression darkened. "Vote what to do with the survivors. Do we expose them to the dangers of the outside world?"
"Everyone in favor, vote."
Swish!
Vivian raised her hand first.
"I apologize, Commander,"
Marcus raised his hand.
The hands kept rising one by one.
The result of the previous vote repeated.
The Commander didn't need to raise his vote against—the decision had been made.
Seven in favor.
Red flashed in the eyes of the Commander. But he restrained his actions.
"We'll expose them to danger,"
He announced through gritted teeth.
Everyone present could feel the enmity in his voice.
"Commander, I have another report. A hypothesis," Vivian spoke respectfully.
The Commander glanced at her indifferently.
"Speak,"
She pushed her glasses.
"I observed the zombie virus," She started.
Everyone straightened their backs, listening with great interest.
The zombie virus worried them.
They had no information on it.
And hearing Vivian speak of it aroused their interest.
They acknowledged her intelligence. Not doubting she was the smartest among them.
"The zombie virus will bring a change.
The peaceful world with no war or conflict —the three great cities created—has crumbled.
Our city has seven military bases, with an overall army of less than 30.000, kept just for formalities. Our base had 5000 soldiers."
Everyone listened carefully.
The information to this point, they knew it.
But they had a feeling Vivian would take the report in a different direction.
"Since the zombie virus emerged, approximately 3000 soldiers left the base each time to search for resources. The remaining stayed and protected the base.
Unfortunately, 1620 soldiers died. Infected, killed before transforming."
Silence. Dead silence.
The hearts trembled.
The Commander closed his eyes painfully.
"Commander, why are we not informed of this?"
The governor frowned.
Dark expression formed on his face.
The faces of everyone twitched in anger and grief.
Disaster. Catastrophic losses.
Swiish!
Bloodlust engulfed the room.
As awakened, they could feel it.
Bom! Bom!
The air around the governor trembled.
Barriers surrounded him.
"Son?" He looked behind, surprised.
A deep from has formed on Lucian's face.
The others broke out in sweat, not daring to move.
As an ordinary person, the governor couldn't feel the bloodlust.
But they could.
It was suffocating.
The Commander's eyes completely turned red.
"Don't misunderstand," He leaned forward. "I took you in. I created this council. This council exists to help manage the base. The soldiers? I still command them.
And I don't yet have to report it to you. Am I clear?"
Again, silence.
Everyone backed away.
"54% of those soldiers died." Vivian continued, ignoring the bloodlust. "The others also got infected. But instead of turning into zombies, they awakened."
The Commander's eyes widened.
The bloodlust disappeared.
He only knew of the deaths of his soldiers and the joyous news of the awakening of the others. But he had no time to connect the dots.
He attributed their awakening to the stress and danger they were exposed to outside.
"I interviewed them personally." Vivian pushed her glasses. "They awakened after being infected. The zombie virus stimulated their potential."
"From their words, the awakened humans are immune to the zombie virus."
The room fell into silence.
'I never thought his force would grow so strong,' The governor glanced at the Commander. 'Now, he alone can suppress the council. What is the point of us here?'
"Vivian, do you suggest we purposely expose the survivors to the zombie virus?" The elderly man questioned, feigning disbelief.
'Old man? The thought clearly came to you? Want to push the blame on me?' Vivian smirked.
"Exactly. Eventually, the virus will reach us. They will die. It's something they can't escape, and we can't shelter them.
If we expose them to the virus, we'll gain an army of awakened humans. Commander, the choice is clear."
"YOU ARE PUSHING IT TOO FAR!"
The Commander jumped from his seat, his eyes flickering red, glancing at Vivian.
"You forced me to make the survivors pay for staying here? Alright,"
The red in his eyes intensified.
The bloodlust in the room increased.
"You forced me to send them out with the expedition team and expose them to danger? Alright!"
His lips slowly started turning black.
The hearts of everyone present skipped a beat.
"But now, you want me to push them to death willingly?"
Swoosh!
They all jumped from their seats.
The Commander was prepared to fight.
"C-Commander, please calm down," The elderly man's voice trembled.
Their mind raced.
With Lucian here, they could kill him.
But what about his army of awakened?
If Vivian's words were truthful, they amounted to more than a thousand.
They didn't want to bet.
"Calm down? Do you take me for a pushover?!!"
Thud!
The Commander grabbed Vivian by the neck.
"C-Commander,"
She struggled, eyes bulging.
The files fell from her hands.
"Vivian, I didn't realize you were such a snake."
He tilted his head.
"Tell me? Is this your true face? You are a monster, indifferent to human suffering."
"COMMANDER!"
Marcus roared.
"Please calm down!"
They were all terrified.
Never would they have imagined the meeting would escalate this much.
A war raged within the Commander—a war of reason and logic against his morals and principles.
And with their push, he snapped.
"C-Commander...The death...rate is only about...50%." Vivian spoke, choking.
Thud!
The Commander threw her back on the chair.
"Cough...cough..."
Vivian fought, desperate for air.
Her delicate neck red.
"50%? So if we send a thousand, five hundred will die? Good! What good odds!" He clapped his hands, but with no joy in his voice, only fury. "WHAT GOOD ODDS! Even if the death rate is 10%, it's not good!"
"Vivian!" The Commander pointed at her, his index finger trembling. "You are lucky you are too long by my side. I don't want to hurt you, otherwise..."
He didn't finish his sentence. He didn't need to.
His bloodlust subsided. His lips returned to normal.
Swoosh!
His gaze swept through the room, sharp. "I'll stop the first half of the meeting here,"
"We'll resume in an hour," He waved dismissively. "Right now, I have to have a good talk with my secretary!"
"Yes," The elderly man acted first, getting out.
They didn't dare seek the answer right now.
But it didn't mean they gave up.
One by one, they left.
They didn't concern with Vivian's safety.
She was his secretary. It was an internal matter of the military. They didn't care.
Marcus glared at the governor as he left.
But the governor paid attention to the Commander.
'Falling apart internally already? In peacetime, you didn't need to be capable. Now, your shortsightedness is showing. You're unfit to be a commander.'
He mocked internally, but his face remained unchanging.
He left last, accompanied by his son.
They closed the door, leaving the Commander and Vivian alone.
Swooosh!
The Commander glared at Vivian, his eyes sharp, expression dark.
"VIVIAN!"
His roar shook the room, louder than before.
Murderous intent swept from his eyes.
"Good job,"
Thud!
He collapsed back into the stone chair.
"Commander, everything went as planned."
A smile curled up Vivian's mouth—a victorious smile.
"It's tiring,"
The Commander spoke. His expression turned serious—his tone carried sadness.
"I'm manipulating them, but I have no choice."
He sighed.
"Commander, your acting was perfect," Vivian praised, her eyes gleaming with intelligence.
The Commander smiled—a bitter smile.
"I would like to be my usual self. I genuinely don't like those decisions, but we have no choice. But it's easier for me if they think of me as a good person.
A leader too good to make rational decision. So I had no choice but to borrow their knife to kill."
He looked her in the eyes. His eyes full of affection.
"I'm sorry for making you the bad one, while it's on me."
Vivian shook her head.
"Commander, it's what we should do." Her voice softened. "I'll bear this burden with you,"
The Commander nodded.
They sat in silence for a while, not advancing their relationship.
It was not the time now. They had more important things than their relationship.
"Sigh...It's so troublesome dealing with Orson."
The Commander sighed.
Vivian nodded.
"Indeed. He may be cowardly, but he is greedy. He won't sit still."
The Commander rubbed his temples.
"When his life isn't in danger, he turns into a glutton. At the moment, he will lie low. But once Lucian grows, the governor will show his fangs."
Another tired sigh escaped his lips.
"If I didn't need him, I would've already gotten rid of him. Unfortunately, in those troubled times, civilians will trust him more than they will us. We need him to control them.
Vivian shook her head. "A pity for his son. Lucian has potential, but his father controls him.
The Commander smiled. "Vivian, Vivian," He shook his head.
Confusion spread on her face.
"Human nature is complicated, Vivian. Oftentimes, unpredictable." He looked her in the eyes. "Your ability enhances your mind. But you are limited by information."
"Commander, you mean..."
"An apple doesn't fall far from the tree. He is not stupid. He is the most difficult to see through." A deep frown appeared on his face. "He won't be played by someone inferior, even if it's his father.
Don't underestimate him. His strength almost equals mine. His father can't control him.
Vivian's eyes widened in shock.
'To be second only to the commander,'
Her brows furrowed into a frown.
"His father will go for a political divide." Her voice turned threatening. "We mustn't allow factions to form."
The Commander continued rubbing his temples.
His eyes weighed heavily. He barely kept them open.
Vivian noticed this. Her heart softened.
"Commander, let's leave that for later. Why don't you rest?"
She couldn't remember the last time he had proper rest since the madness descended.
"If you continued like this..."
"No time," He interrupted her, waving his hand. "So much to do...The city's resources won't last forever..."
He started sharing his plans and worries.
Vivian listened carefully.
Caught up in their discussion, the hour flew by.
The time to resume the meeting came.
The board members returned, taking their seats.
The Commander started the meeting.
"The damage report arrived," He announced, his expression grim.
A large, half-rolled paper lay on the table before him. He unrolled it.
It covered the whole table—a map of the city.
"The city's surface is approximately 50,000 cubic kilometers. And has a population of 113 million."
The Commander pointed to the city center, marked with a red point.
"The tower crater is half a kilometer to three kilometers...Initial destruction 34 km radius. The inner city is no more. Just ruins."
The Commander paused.
The board members' faces darkened.
Their breathing quickened.
"The shockwaves and monsters caused damage, which reached the outskirts."
A painful expression painted on the Commander's face.
"We estimate 35-50 million died."
"Damn!"
Marcus slammed the table.
His eyes trembled, welled with tears.
"The monsters and the zombie virus only add up," The Commander continued. "Our final death count is..."
He paused.
No one spoke. Silence fell in the room.
The breathing stopped.
"close to 80 million"
The Commander's pained voice echoed in the room.
Silence again.
Broken by sharp breaths and loud heartbeats.
"Best case scenario, several million people survive. They all will have awakened."
The Commander's voice broke the silence.
"The casualties are far greater than we imagined," the elderly man sucked in a breath of cold air.
"Marek, if so many people survive, it's crucial to form a proper shelter. It won't be long till our shelter has 100,000 people. It's crucial to act fast and decisively. Have you decided what to do?"
The governor pushed. As expected, he won't let go of the matter of exposing the survivors to the virus.
He benefits greatly. He will have dirt on the Commander. He can easier manipulate public opinion if needed.
The Commander frowned. "We'll go back to that at the end." He glanced at Vivian. "What's next on the agenda?"
"Commander, the electricity generators," Vivian replied respectfully.
It didn't go unnoticed.
The members noticed they had mended their relationship.
"We have plenty of fuel," The Commander continued. "But we still need to use the gathered electricity sparingly. We should use it on cameras,"
Everyone agreed with him.
But they had no interest in that at the moment.
The Commander's answer interested them more.
"We should form teams of awakened..."
"Aghhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!"
A scream tore the air.
A horrified scream.
It came from outside.
The faces of the boar members sank.
A dark pressure descended into the room.
They froze. Hearts pounded.
They feared the worst.
"Kyaaa!"
"Noooo!"
More screams followed.
Thud! Thud!
Loud footsteps approached.
They got on guard. Prepared to battle.
Pam!
The door flew open.
A soldier ran in, out of breath, his uniform sprayed with blood.
"What happened?!" Marcus roared.
"Commander!"
The terror in the soldier's voice was evident.
"Zombies!" He shouted.
Their fears solidified.
"The people are turning into zombies!"
The soldier collapsed to the ground.
Tears streamed down his face. Despair.
Terror took over everyone.
Swoosh!
But they acted.
The more they hesitated, the worse the situation would become.
They ran out of the room, rushing to check.
Vivian, the soldier, and the Commander remained in the room.
The Commander's eyes flashed red.
His heart pounded. Not in fear. In pain.
"What one runs from, inevitably comes to him." He closed his eyes in acceptance. "It still came to this."
He walked out of the room: heart heavy, responsibilities weighing his shoulders.
He walked ready. Ready to take a burden. To carry it his whole life.
The burden of killing the survivors in the base.