After a few minutes of frantically packing clothes and daily necessities into a duffel bag, Elias guided Maya out of the house toward the parked tactical vehicle.
"Sergeant Cruz, this is my younger sister, Maya. Her safety is now a priority on par with my own," Elias ordered, his voice heavy and solemn.
Sergeant Mateo Cruz looked at Maya, then snapped his gaze back to Elias with a sharp salute.
"Copy that, Supreme Commander!"
Maya stood completely frozen.
Her eyes widened in total shock as she looked from the heavily armed military men back to her brother, her mind failing to process how he was commanding them.
Suddenly, flashlight beams flickered from the second-story windows of nearby residential houses!
"The military! The army is here!" a terrified neighbor shouted from across the street.
"Help us! Please, save my family! Evacuate us!" another voice screamed in desperate panic.
Several surviving neighbors peeked out from behind their curtains, weeping in relief at the sight of the heavily armed squad and the military truck.
Maya gasped, clutching Elias's arm tightly.
"Brother... who are these guys? Did the government send a rescue team for us?" Maya asked, her voice trembling in disbelief.
"These are my soldiers, Maya," Elias replied with undeniable authority.
"No more questions. Get inside the vehicle."
Sergeant Mateo Cruz stepped toward the street gate, his voice booming with strict military authority.
"Attention civilians! Maintain total blackout and stay inside your fortified residences!"
"This is an active combat strike team, not an evacuation task force!"
"Any loud noise will draw the horde directly to your doors!"
The panicked shouting of the desperate neighbors had already shattered the quiet evening.
"Grrr... Raaagh!"
Horrifying, guttural snarls echoed from the shadows of the suburban street!
Dozens of turned residents, their pale gray skin smeared with blood, rushed out from open garages and broken front gates!
"Infected approaching from the north lane! 30 meters!" a sniper called out from the truck bed!
"Squad, form a defensive firing line!" Sergeant Cruz barked, raising his assault rifle! "Protect the Supreme Commander!"
"Bang! Bang! Bang!"
The disciplined riflemen of the 1st Infantry Squad unleashed controlled 3-round bursts into the oncoming swarm!
"Crack! Crack!"
5.56mm rounds shattered the skulls of turned neighbors, dropping eighteen infected instantly onto the blood-slicked asphalt!
Within minutes, the lethal efficiency of the 1st Infantry Squad wiped out every approaching threat.
"Fireteam Bravo, harvest all Red Cores from the fallen targets!" Sergeant Cruz ordered crisp and clear.
"Roger that, Sergeant!" two riflemen responded, drawing combat knives to cut open the skulls of the dead infected.
"Squiggle... Crack!"
The soldiers efficiently extracted eighteen glowing crimson crystals from the corpses, securing them in a tactical pouch.
Elias opened the tactical truck door and held out his hand to Maya.
"Come, Maya," Elias said softly, his voice full of solemn warmth. "We need to put Ma to rest together."
Maya nodded tearfully, stepping out of the vehicle and clutching Elias's arm tightly.
"Sergeant, get a team together and grab some shovels," Elias commanded, his voice heavy.
"Yes, Supreme Commander!" Cruz saluted, immediately dispatching four men with shovels to the backyard of the Camella property.
The heavy rain of blood had reduced to a sickening drizzle, turning the garden soil into a muddy, crimson mess.
"Shhhhk... Shhhhk..."
The rhythmic sound of military shovels biting into the earth echoed behind the quiet house.
Elias gently carried his mother's frail, lifeless body out through the back door, with Maya walking right beside him.
He had wrapped her securely in her favorite woven blanket, hiding the ghastly, mottled gray skin of her mutation.
There were no bite marks or wounds on her body at all.
Just like seventy percent of humanity, she had succumbed naturally to the terrifying airborne infection brought by the crimson rain.
His chest felt incredibly heavy, a suffocating grief threatening to crush his iron-forged will.
Beside him, Maya sobbed softly, burying her face against Elias's shoulder as tears streamed down her cheeks.
He possessed the terrifying physical power of three peak adult men, yet at this moment, he felt entirely powerless.
In a single day, the world had ended, and both of their parents had been violently torn away from them.
Together, Elias and Maya lowered their mother into the cold, wet earth.
"I'm sorry we were late, Ma," Elias whispered, his voice cracking slightly as the first clump of dirt fell.
"Goodbye, Ma... I love you..." Maya sobbed, her voice breaking in pure agony.
Elias wrapped a firm, protective arm around his sister's shoulders, drawing her close against his chest.
They stood side-by-side in the blood-soaked mud for a long time, watching the soldiers silently and respectfully fill the grave.
When the mound of earth was finally patted down, Elias wiped the crimson rain from his face, his grief hardening into absolute ice.
He had failed his parents, but he absolutely would not fail Maya.
After the grim task was completed, Elias guided his crying sister back to the front driveway where Sergeant Cruz stood at attention.
"Supreme Commander, perimeter is clear. We harvested eighteen Red Cores from the eliminated infected," Cruz reported, handing over a heavy tactical pouch.
Elias took the pouch, transferring the glowing crimson crystals into his System Vault.
"Ding!"
[ System Notice: 18 Red Cores Absorbed! ]
[ Current Vault Balance: 25 / 500 Red Cores ]
[ Progress to First Lieutenant (1LT): 25 / 500 ]
"Good work, Sergeant," Elias acknowledged, feeling the warm energy dissolve into his system.
"It's almost nighttime, Sergeant Cruz. What's our situation right now?" Elias asked, scanning the darkening horizon.
Sergeant Mateo Cruz stood at strict attention, his face an emotionless mask of military discipline.
"Supreme Commander, moving the vehicle now would be a grave mistake," Cruz reported crisp and clear.
"The roar of the engine and our earlier gunfire have alerted the surrounding sector."
"In total darkness, a night road move back to base will draw swarms from every corner of Imus into a fatal ambush."
Cruz turned and pointed back toward the entrance of Elias's family home.
"I strongly advise we fall back and fortify this residence for the night, Supreme Commander!"
"We barricade all entry points, establish a tight killzone, and wait for daylight before clearing a path back to base."
Elias looked up at the setting sun.
The sky was a bruised, sickening crimson, and distant roars echoed across Cavite.
Nighttime belonged to the monsters.
He glanced down at Maya, who was leaning against him in emotional exhaustion, clutching her duffel bag.
He couldn't risk her life in a chaotic night ambush.
"Agreed," Elias nodded, his eyes flashing with a cold, decisive light.
"Sergeant, order your men."
"We secure the house."
"We rest tonight, and tomorrow, we think about our next plan."
"Yes, Supreme Commander!" Cruz saluted sharply before turning to his squad.
"Dismount! Secure the perimeter!"
"Barricade all ground-floor access points! Move, move, move!"
The twelve heavily armed soldiers of the 1st Infantry Squad moved with terrifying efficiency.
Heavy wooden tables and sofas were dragged in front of the doors.
Thick curtains and wooden planks were secured over every window to block all light.
"Thud! Thud! Thud!"
The sharp sound of heavy hammers securing the barricades echoed through the darkened living room.
Within fifteen minutes, the house was transformed into a tight, temporary killbox.
Inside the darkened living room, the atmosphere was heavy and quiet.
Maya sat curled up on the sofa, exhausted from the trauma, watching two heavily armed riflemen stand guard by the door.
Elias stood by the barricaded window, peering through a small crack into the pitch-black street outside where zombie growls echoed in the night.
He now had 25 Red Cores in his balance after harvesting the turned neighbors.
He needed 475 more Red Cores to reach First Lieutenant and unlock Platoon-level summoning alongside Tactical Vehicles.
Elias clenched his fists, the terrifying force of three peak adult men humming through his muscles.
Tomorrow, the rest of the Camella Subdivision and all of Cavite would become his hunting ground.
He closed his eyes, resting his back against the barricaded wall, and waited for the dawn.