The Imperial Four

Chapter 6: Amongst the Hunted

          Hours after the massive electrical explosion erupted from his now repaired body, Jay awoke in the midst of the darkness, most of the moonlight being covered by the thick ash that loomed over the once proud city. Being unable to remember most events prior to his reawakening, Jay shakily stood on his feet and began to scan his surroundings, his nude body being concealed by the surrounding darkness of the night. He then began to move forward, his legs trembling with each step he took, and his knees feeling as if they would give out at any moment without warning, however, he carried on until he tripped over a corpse of one of the mutants that was sent out to get him. Jay groaned in pain, and upon hitting the ground, he realized that he was naked. Out of instinct, Jay hid his crotch by placing his hands on it and started looking around for clothes until his eyes fell on the corpse he tripped on. The moonlight that shone on it was dimmed by the massive clouds of ash, however, Jay was able to make out the figure and its size. Despite the corpse's build being way bigger than Jay's, he began to strip the dead mutant off of his uniform so he could at least clothe himself with something until he found something that would actually fit him.

          A few short minutes passed as Jay got dressed and shortly after, he began to walk down the destroyed road, the walk becoming a limp about five minutes of walking. Jay aimlessly turned his head and his mouth hung agape in awe as he caught glimpses of the desolation and ruin around him. He couldn't help but feel insecure as his bare feet tread above the now rocky ground. After some time walking, Jay found himself before the place he used to call home, or what was left of it that is. After the massive blast that was caused by the TRRX Sphere, most of his small home was completely ruined. Most of the roof had fully caved in and multiple walls had either been broken off or was just gone. Jay sighed "I guess it's the best I got for now..." He huffed out as he opened the door, only for it to crumble and fall apart at his touch. He walked in and lurked within the darkness; his feet being scraped by the jagged pebbles on the floor as he shuffled around what was once a comfy home. Jay peeked inside what once was his room and to his dismay, most of it was destroyed.. Aside from a few drawers and most of his bed, most of his belongings were gone. Jay sighed and waddled towards his bed, exhausted. He took a seat on his bed and looked at his hands, his vision slightly blurred. "I know I just woke up, but why do I feel so tired?..." He wondered to himself as he lay down on the dirtied mattress. His eyelids grew heavy with exhaustion and before he knew it, he was asleep.

          The sound of gunshots caused Jay to shoot up awake early the next dawn. Jay looked around in panic as the gunshots were heard again followed by a very loud war cry. Shortly after, a man was heard screaming "Come on you mutated fuck!" At someone, the scream being followed by more gunshots and eventually, a loud thud followed. Jay peeked from a hole that was on his room's wall to see a tall and lean man holding a shotgun with its stock sawn off walking towards a corpse. Shortly after the man kneeled to check the corpse, a petite blond woman came into view and leaned besides him. Jay noticed that the fresh corpse wore the same uniform that he had put on the previous night. Jay's heart dropped and he gulped "Shit...don't tell me these garments are gonna get me killed..." He nervously thought to himself as he quickly stepped back. In his haste, Jay stepped on a jagged rock hard, causing him to yelp in pain and to fall back on the floor. Jay quickly scrambled to his feet and started running towards the exit only for his face to be met with the butt of the gun, the force of the collision causing him to black out immediately.

          Nighttime fell the broken city once more, and it was then when Jay finally awake from his slumber. He attempted to stand, only to discover that he was bound to a chair. Jay groggily attempted to scan his surroundings, however, his condition made it impossible for him to make out anything at all. His attention was then directed to the sound of a door opening in front of him. He could barely make out the figure of a person walking his way while holding something in its hands. Seconds after, Jay felt a metallic barrel press against his forehead, sending a shudder down his spine. "Give me a very good reason why I shouldn't blow your mutated brains out, you sad bastard." The man threatened while holding the weapon on to Jay's head. Confusion clouded Jay's already clouded head even more "M-Mutated? I don't follow..." He groggily responded. The man in front of him growled and prepared to blow a hole through Jay's head when the sound of the door behind him opening caught his attention. From the entrance, the petite blond that accompanied him entered and looked at him. "Kyle, ever think that not everyone is a mutant? I mean last mutant you hit with the butt of your gun didn't even flinch while he was actually knocked out by it." She pointed out. The man named Kyle looked towards his capture and slightly nodded in agreement. "You make a good point, Sarah dear, but he could be hiding his abilities...maybe sent by the rest of those monsters as a spy to eliminate everyone within the Reaper Resistance." He scoffed while keeping his eyes on Jay. The more his captors talked, the more confused Jay grew. "Mutants? Resistance? Geez...something must've been in my ice cream or something, because this doesn't feel real..." Jay thought to himself before clearing his throat to get the couple's attention. "I-I think there's some sort of mistake...I don't know what charade you two are playing, but I just witnessed you murder a man. You mention 'Mutants' and 'Resistance' as if I'm supposed to know a damn thing about how that plays into our current situation." He slightly croaked out. Kyle growled and was about to slam the sawn off stock of the shotgun against Jay's nose when Sarah signaled him to stop, causing him to lower his weapon. The curly haired blond knelt in front of Jay and softly smiled at him. "So you know nothing of what happened...the last thing you remember is getting ice cream, right?" She asked with Jay responding with a soft and weak nod. Sarah looked at Kyle and nodded "Kyle, could you please hand me the knife by the counter, thank you." She chirped as Kyle reluctantly took the blade and handed it to her. Sarah smiled and took the knife then started to cut Jay's restraints. "So, it is best we begin to explain who we are and what is going on..." She warmly stated while cutting the ropes around Jay's wrists. Jay grunted as his arms were freed and shortly after, he felt the restraints on his legs loosen as well. The deliveryman inhaled before exhaling and relaxed his body. Despite breathing in heavily, he remained groggy. "Seems I really did hit myself hard..." He thought to himself while remaining still. Kyle sat on the floor while Sarah stood and kept her eyes on the thin man before him. "So, ready to catch up?" She asked, which was met with a soft nod from Jay. Sarah smiled and cleared her throat "Good, best we get started from the beginning..."