Chapter 239: Summer Time [6]

“So are you planning to establish some kind of alliance with us?”

As I walked down the stairs from the third floor of the mall, carefully navigating the debris-littered steps while carrying two bags of shoes, I heard Summer ask the question from behind me.

“What?” I asked, glancing back over my shoulder at her.

“I mean, you’re going to be living basically right next to us—literally just a few blocks away,” she explained, her footsteps echoing in the stairwell as she descended behind me with her own bags. “Even if I don’t tell anyone about what you’re planning right now, everyone in the community will find out about you soon enough. It’s impossible to hide that lot of people living nearl. And if you’re genuinely good people like you claim, then maybe we should establish some kind of formal alliance between our groups.”

“I’m curious what kind of alliance you might be thinking about,” I said cautiously, immediately suspicious about what commitments she might be suggesting.

“I’m not asking you to fight Callighan alongside us or join our war,” she clarified quickly clearly catching on my wariness. “I’m just talking about having a pact of mutual non-aggression and cooperation—a formal agreement that neither community will fight or sabotage the other. We already have our heads and hands completely full dealing with Callighan’s constant pressure and attacks. The last thing we need is conflict with another survivor group on top of everything else.”

“If you’re worried about us attacking your community, you can sleep peacefully,” I replied immediately. “We have absolutely no intentions of fighting anyone or getting ourselves involved in territorial wars. We just want to survive in peace and rebuild some semblance of normal life.”

Obviously, I personally would probably have to confront Callighan eventually for Emily and ensure her safety. But I had absolutely no intention of dragging Margaret’s entire community into that dangerous mess. I would act independently when the time came, operating alone or with just my core group, and preferably wouldn’t even mention their names or connection to avoid painting targets on their backs.

“Even if Callighan directly forces your hand and gives you no choice?” Summer asked. “Because believe me, if his people learn about your community’s existence—and they will eventually—he’ll definitely try to bring you onto his side whether you want that or not. And if you resist his recruitment efforts, he’ll start killing your people systematically until you either submit or abandon the area entirely. That’s his standard operating procedure.”

“It certainly seems like that’s his approach, but Marlon clearly has every intention of resisting until the very end,” I observed. “He struck me as someone who won’t bend or break regardless of the pressure applied.”

A smile spread across Summer’s lips as she nodded with what appeared to be pride and affection. “We all have the intention of resisting Callighan, no matter what it costs. Marlon isn’t alone in that determination—our entire community has committed to fighting rather than submitting.”

“Even if that resistance costs more lives from your community?” I asked. “Even if people continue dying in this conflict that might be unwinnable?”

“What would you have done in our position?” Summer countered, turning my question back on me. “If you were given the binary choice between becoming a slave to a murderer who’d control every aspect of your existence, or fighting back and resisting despite the terrible costs—which would you choose?”

What would I actually have done in their circumstances?

I considered the question seriously rather than offering a reflexive answer.

“I would have fought back, I suppose,” I admitted slowly. “But I wouldn’t want to drag other people into my personal war and make them suffer consequences for my decisions. I’d have tried desperately to find a solution that could eliminate the threat without requiring mass casualties if at all possible…”

I genuinely didn’t think I would be psychologically capable of leading an entire community and being directly responsible for their lives and deaths. Each person who died following my leadership decisions would be my fault, their blood on my hands. That guilt would weigh down on my mind until it crushed me completely.

Eventually, I’d probably try to handle the problem alone rather than asking others to die for my choices.

“You mean you’d fight his entire organization by yourself?” Summer asked, clearly dumbfounded. “Just walk into their territory alone and try to take down several dozens of armed fighters single-handedly?”

“Not his whole group necessarily,” I clarified. “Just the leadership. If you kill the head, wouldn’t the entire organization distort and collapse on itself? Remove Callighan specifically, and suddenly there’s no central authority holding everything together. The group would probably fracture into competing factions or simply disperse.”

“He’s completely untouchable in practical terms,” Summer said flatly. “And even in the unlikely possibility that you somehow managed to reach him, the moment you attempted to kill him—or even if you actually succeeded—you’d immediately get yourself killed by his guards and supporters. It would be a suicide mission with no possibility of escape.”

She wasn’t wrong about that.

If I somehow managed to reach Callighan and used Time Freeze to kill him while he was vulnerable, then yes, I could probably execute him if I got close enough. The ability would give me the necessary window to deliver a lethal strike before anyone could react.

But what would happen immediately after that?

I’d be alone, surrounded by dozens of his armed followers, and my power wouldn’t save me from the inevitable hail of bullets that would follow. Time Freeze had limits—I couldn’t maintain it long enough to escape from the middle of a hostile compound filled with shooters.

If Callighan acted alone or with minimal security, there might be a viable assassination approach. But I doubted that he was that kind of man…

Honestly, the best solution for our specific situation would be to infiltrate Callighan’s organization covertly, locate and extract Emily from wherever they were holding her, then return to live peacefully in the Whitesun Hotel while maintaining a low profile that prevented us from being noticed by Callighan’s people.

We’d essentially let the ongoing war between Callighan and the Boardwalk Community continue without allowing ourselves to be dragged into it.

It was admittedly selfish and morally questionable—standing aside while others fought and died. But that approach represented the best solution for protecting Margaret’s community, and I was reasonably sure most of her people would agree with prioritizing their own survival over noble but suicidal interventions.

Regardless of longer-term strategy, I now knew from what Marlon and Molly had shared during our diplomatic visit exactly where Callaghin’s people were positioned.

They’d established their main base of operations around the Absecon Inlet and the Marina District.

I should see around on that area as soon as everyone from Margaret’s community got properly settled into the hotel.

“Why is Callighan even attacking your community specifically?” I asked after a moment. “Don’t tell me it’s just his megalomaniacal ambition to create some kind of kingdom or empire by forcing every survivor group to obey him? That seems like an unnecessarily complicated motivation when simple survival should be the priority.”

“Well, that’s… complicated,” Summer said, her voice taking on a guarded quality as she clearly considered how much to reveal. “He has personal reasons to specifically target our community, I suppose. It’s not just random territorial expansion.”

She trailed off without elaborating further, obviously unwilling to share whatever deeper context existed.

I was about to press the issue and insist on more details, but I stopped immediately as I felt a distinctive chill run down my spine.

“Did you hear that?” I asked sharply, my voice suddenly tense as my entire body went on high alert.

“Hear what?” Summer asked, clearly confused since she obviously hadn’t perceived anything unusual.

I looked upward, scanning the levels above us with intense focus.

We’d descended the stairs and were now approaching the first floor, but the sensation was definitely coming from somewhere higher up—maybe the fourth floor, or possibly from the open-air terrace area that topped the mall structure.

I felt exactly the same distinctive vibration I’d experienced whenever encountering Starakian technology.

Are you actually kidding me right now?

Here? In this mall?

Was this the doing of Kunta and her missing companion Zakthar? I honestly wished it was them, than anyone else’s doing….

“Something’s wrong?” Summer asked, also looking up now though she clearly couldn’t sense anything unusual herself.

“No, nothing… just let’s get moving,” I said, keeping my voice casual while secretly gritting my teeth in frustration.

I prompted her to speed up our descent, wanting to get her to safety quickly.

Damn it.

I will need to come back here.

There was no possible way I could leave active Starakian technology operating here—not far from the hotel where Margaret’s entire community would be living, including vulnerable children and elderly.

“…Ryan.”

I suddenly stopped moving when Summer called my name.

I glanced at her questioningly, and she pointed down the stairs—specifically toward the final flight leading to the ground floor.

Thankfully, the mall’s architectural design positioned the staircases relatively close together in a compact footprint, which meant we hadn’t needed to navigate through extensive corridors filled with Infected between levels. I’d already taken care of all the creatures we’d encountered during our descent.

However…

I followed her pointing finger and looked down toward the ground floor landing, then froze.

Standing there at the base of the stairs was a Hybrid Infected—but not a standard variety.

This was clearly an Enhanced Type, belonging to the same terrifying category as the monsters we’d fought in Jackson Township.

It was physically massive—large and tall like the others I’d encountered before, with exaggerated musculature and proportions that suggested tremendous strength. The creature stood perfectly motionless with its head lowered, not making any sound whatsoever. Just… waiting.

Behind the Enhanced Hybrid, I could see roughly ten or so additional Infected also frozen in the same unnaturally still position, arranged in a loose formation as if they’d been organized deliberately.

I suppose things had been going too smoothly and peacefully. Of course there’d be a deadly complication right when we were almost safely out.

Gripping the bags of shoes I was carrying, I threw them over the stair railing. The bags tumbled down and landed on the ground floor with heavy thumps, scattering some of their contents.

“Throw yours down as well,” I told Summer quietly. “You can pick them up later or any day once we’re safe. They’re not going anywhere.”

The priority right now was getting both of us out of this building alive.

Summer nodded immediately, understanding the seriousness of the situation, and threw her own bags down after mine.

They fell and hit the floor with considerable noise—enough sound that it should have drawn attention from any normal Infected in the vicinity.

Yet the Enhanced Hybrid didn’t react at all. It remained completely motionless, as if the noise hadn’t even registered.

The ordinary Infected scattered throughout other parts of the ground floor began shambling toward the sound, responding to the stimulus as expected. But the Enhanced Hybrid and its organized group remained frozen in their positions, utterly still.

“W…what do we do…” I heard Summer whisper from behind me, her voice trembling slightly.

I looked carefully.

Roughly ten stairs separated us from the ground floor landing—from where that Enhanced Hybrid and its pack were positioned and waiting.

Taking them on directly would be risky, even with Time Freeze available. Enhanced Hybrids were intelligent enough to potentially anticipate and counter my moves, and fighting one while simultaneously protecting Summer would split my focus dangerously. And if there were actually multiple Enhanced variants in that group rather than just the one I could clearly identify, the situation became exponentially more deadly.

“Climb back up slowly,” I said quietly. “We’re returning to the first floor. Move carefully and don’t make sudden movements.”

We both began retreating backward up the stairs, ascending slowly while I kept my eyes locked on the Enhanced Hybrid below.

It still wasn’t moving. The creature remained frozen in that waiting posture, head lowered, perfectly still.

But I could feel its awareness—could sense that it knew exactly where we were and was tracking our movements despite not visibly reacting.

“I can’t believe there are so many Hybrid Infected here today,” Summer whispered as we reached the first-floor landing again. “And more than the usual number we’ve seen before when scavenging… This isn’t normal.”

That was clearly my fault…

But I didn’t voice that aloud.

“Look—do you see that window?” I said instead, pointing toward a large window set high in the wall that provided a view of the beach on the opposite side of the shopping mall from where the Boardwalk Community’s territory was located.

The window was actually positioned on our side of the building—the western face that bordered our claimed area rather than their eastern boundary.

“You want us to jump outside?” Summer asked, her voice rising with anxiety. “We’re on the first floor—that’s like twelve or fifteen feet up! And how exactly do you plan to break through that window? It looks like reinforced safety glass…”

“I’ll handle destroying it, but we need to move quickly,” I said. “I have a genuinely bad feeling about this situation.”

She looked at me with wide eyes but then nodded.

I rushed immediately toward the high window, moving fast while my enhanced senses tracked threats.

Two ordinary Infected shambled into my path almost immediately, but I swung my axe in rapid succession—both strikes connecting perfectly and sending severed heads flying away from stumbling bodies.

The moment I reached the window, I ignored the additional Infected approaching from both sides of the hallway. They were too slow to intercept us.

I gripped my hand axe, adjusted my stance to generate maximum force, and swung the blade against the window with enhanced strength behind the strike.

The window was definitely sturdy—thick safety glass designed to withstand significant impact. But it was completely useless against my strength.

The axe blade collided with the glass surface, and the window immediately shattered into thousands of fragments. The entire pane collapsed outward and downward, raining broken glass onto the sand below.

“Haah!!” Summer yelped, covering her eyes and face with her arms while I shielded my own face from the spray of glass shards.

When the window had completely collapsed and the danger of flying debris passed, I looked down to assess the drop.

Roughly twelve to fifteen feet yeah like Summer said.. Not a trivial fall, but manageable.

“We’re jumping down right now. Come on,” I said, turning back toward Summer.

“W…wait, I’m going to break my ankles landing from this height!” Summer protested, looking down at the sandy ground with obvious fear.

“It’s soft sand below us, not concrete,” I pointed out, reaching out my hand to urge her forward while simultaneously glancing behind us to check on threats. “That’ll cushion the impact significantly.”

“That’s not the point!” she complained, her voice rising. “I don’t have a super-reinforced body like you apparently do! Normal humans get seriously injured falling from first-floor windows! W…What if I get injured and that monster follows us…”

I guess she was right about that assessment.

She wasn’t me.

“Shit,” I suddenly let out, my attention snapping to movement behind us.

Summer followed my gaze and immediately stiffened, her entire body going rigid with terror.

The Enhanced Hybrid Infected had climbed the stairs and was now standing in the first-floor corridor, positioned perhaps thirty feet away. Its head had finally lifted, and it was staring directly at us.

Summer took an instinctive step backward, pressing herself behind me.

“Hold onto me tightly,” I said quickly, making a split-second decision.

“What—hyaaaa!” She yelped in shock as I suddenly lifted her up in my arms, cradling her against my chest.

And then, without further hesitation, I jumped through the broken window frame.

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