Chapter 527 (2/2)

What is this salesman, that this woman would fear them so? Lucretia asked, slightly puzzled.

Randidly didn't have the energy to answer her. He had been hard at work for almost an hour now, moving people from apartment buildings and condominiums and having them escorted back to the disaster station. In the apartments, once one person left, most people followed, drawn by Randidly's crew's air horns. Their speed also rose noticeably when the first sounds of gunfire echoed in the distance.

All in all, Randidly had led his team of 6 to clear 5 buildings already. They were moving so much faster than the soldier expected that Randidly sent one or two people into each building to pry out recalcitrants who didn't exit when everyone else did. With plant dominance, it wasn't hard to extend his senses into every houseplant and bit of mold in the building, resulting in a pretty comprehensive search. Things were easier in the buildings.

Now they moved into higher end condos, and there was significantly more trouble.

”Ma'am, the power is clearly out,” Randidly said calmly, wondering what crime he committed in a past life to deserve this inanity. ”You can hear gunfire. There is no cell service. This is an emergency, and I would appreciate if you-”

The woman, a 60ish-year-old woman with a thick new jersey accent, held out a phone to him. ”I dialed 911, and it's ringing. Now, do you see why I can't come with you? You just told me the cell service is out, and here it is, ringing like normal.”

The line clicked, and then a voice emerged. ”Thank you for calling 911, what is your emergency?”

Randidly wanted to slap himself in the face. Of course Zone 1 took the time to set back up cellular service, and of course, they didn't bother to improve it enough that old phones wouldn't work. ”Look, that was just a guess on my part. But you really need to come with me. Look, your neighbors are departing.”

”Bah, they are Gentiles. They are as gullible as lambs,” the woman said, waving her hand dismissively. The family in question was a youngish couple with what looked like twin 5-year-old boys. They carried their children and hurried after one of Randidly's team members towards the shelter.

As Randidly considered his options, he felt a pulse of warning from Acri; it had encountered a monster in the nearby area that was Level 19. It looked like the rise in Levels was beginning to accelerate.

Again, Randidly tried to open his mouth to say something, but the woman held up a forestalling hand. ”Get off my front lawn or I'm calling the cops. And believe me, I've made calls before, they know they need to respond promptly to my calls.”

Then Randidly's radio squawked. ”Viking, report. High sighting for your group?”

Grimacing, Randidly raised the radio to his mouth and replied, ”19.”

Randidly's squad had heard Tatiana say it, and now they were saying it too. The worst of it all was they all gave him weird looks, but said nothing. Inwardly, Randidly deeply wished someone would say something, anything, just so he could come clean and make a joke out of it. As it was, it sounded like some lame codename a tween thought up.

The woman, of all fucking people, snorted. ”Did they just call you Viking? Do you think you are a spy? Okay, okay, get off my land. I've had enough.”

She closed the door in his face. Randidly waited three seconds, then knocked. There was the sound of dragging furniture, and Randidly could see through the glass window on the door that the old woman was pulling a fainting couch over to block the door. When she noticed his gaze, she flipped him off.

”Fine,” Randidly said, and he turned on his heel and walked away. There were still about 30 people left in the neighborhood. Beyond the neighborhood, there was one more apartment building, but Randidly had already sent two of his people ahead to talk to those gathered there and start bringing as many people as they could back.