Chapter 651: Chapter 651: Not A Hero (Part 1)

The next two minutes felt strangely long.

Not because the helicopter moved slowly.

If anything, the silver aircraft cut through the night faster than the UPSDF strikers had earlier.

The city blurred beneath them in dark stretches broken by emergency fires, overturned vehicles and the occasional sweep of military searchlights across distant rooftops.

But now that Don had decided to move again, his thoughts refused to stay still.

Outside the window, Santos City looked almost swallowed whole by darkness now.

Only sections still burning remained clearly visible beneath the drifting smoke clouds overhead.

Somewhere far below, another explosion rolled faintly through the streets before vanishing behind clusters of high-rise buildings.

Then Winter’s route overlay shifted slightly across his vision.

Destination approaching.

The helicopter lowered soon afterward.

THOOOMM THOOOMM THOOOMM~!

Rotor wash churned across a massive apartment complex spreading beneath them.

The place looked expensive.

Or at least it had once been.

Several interconnected apartment buildings stretched across the property in layered sections linked together through elevated walkways, inner courtyards and rooftop leisure areas.

Decorative pools reflected portions of the helicopter lights weakly below while collapsed lounge furniture littered parts of the open recreational spaces between buildings.

Now most of it sat buried beneath darkness.

Only a handful of lights still remained active across the entire complex.

Dead bodies littered the grounds everywhere.

Some rested in clusters near entrances and pathways while others remained scattered alone across parking sections, rooftop terraces and open courtyard seating areas.

A few looked half-covered beneath debris or overturned furniture while dark stains spread outward beneath them across the concrete.

The helicopter searchlights swept slowly across the property.

And the darkness moved with them.

At one point Don spotted an infected sprinting across an upper walkway between two apartment sections before disappearing back into the shadows.

Another repeatedly slammed itself against a third-floor apartment door farther below while faint screaming echoed briefly somewhere deep inside the complex before cutting off entirely.

The searchlights shifted again.

More bodies.

Broken windows.

Blood trails.

Then suddenly the lights shut off.

Darkness swallowed most of the complex again almost immediately.

The pilot spoke from the cockpit.

"This is as close as we can get. Landing is too risky."

Don didn’t argue.

He simply unstrapped himself and stood.

Behind him, one of the officers monitoring Charles’ vitals looked toward him briefly while adjusting one of the scanners attached near Charles’ arm.

"I don’t think it’s wise to engage in more combat given your condition."

Don reached toward the cabin door.

"I’ll manage."

The nearest officer opened it immediately.

WHOOOSHHH~!

Cold wind rushed violently into the cabin alongside distant city noise and rotor pressure.

Don stepped toward the opening and steadied himself near the edge.

Before jumping, he glanced once toward Charles.

He returned the gesture with a small nod of his own while remaining leaned back against the seat beneath the medical equipment surrounding him.

Then Don jumped.

The wind tore past him instantly.

A fraction of a second later—

THOOM~!

He landed hard against the rooftop below.

The impact cracked portions of the concrete beneath his boots while loose gravel bounced outward across the rooftop surface.

The helicopter immediately began pulling upward again afterward, the rotor noise fading slightly as it repositioned higher above the complex.

Don straightened slowly and looked around.

The rooftop itself had once been designed as some sort of recreational space.

Sections of artificial grass still remained between decorative lounge furniture and collapsed canopy structures.

A rooftop bar sat near one side beneath shattered glass shelving while several overturned chairs remained scattered near the pool area farther back.

Now blood stains covered portions of the flooring beneath the dim emergency lighting.

Several bodies remained near the rooftop exits.

Old.

Not moving.

Don’s focus barely lingered there.

Instead, his eyes shifted toward the augmented overlay stretching across his vision.

Winter’s route mapping had already expanded fully.

Multiple highlighted pathways now threaded through the apartment complex alongside structural layouts, possible obstruction points and bunker depth indicators. 𝚏𝕣𝐞𝗲𝐰𝕖𝐛𝐧𝕠𝕧𝚎𝚕.𝐜𝚘𝗺

Sections blinked red where movement had been detected while thin directional markers continuously updated depending on his position.

Distance to bunker: 213 meters.

Estimated depth: 5 floors below surface.

Detected movement: intermittent.

Then his Keen Eye activated fully.

The world sharpened strangely.

Not visually alone.

Details started separating themselves automatically inside his head.

The rooftop bodies.

The blood.

The surrounding damage.

His gaze moved slowly across the scene while information settled together piece by piece.

One corpse near the pool had originally died closer to the rooftop entrance.

He could tell from the drag marks beneath dried blood smears leading several feet across the concrete.

Another body near the lounge section had both shoes missing despite no visible struggle nearby.

Dragged afterward.

Not attacked there.

Don crouched slightly near another dark stain while his Beastshift-enhanced senses continued feeding him detail after detail beneath the night air.

Footprints.

Multiple.

Human.

And calm.

That was the strange part.

The blood-stained shoe prints crossing portions of the rooftop lacked the frantic overlap he’d expect from a horde or panicked survivors.

They moved with direction instead. Organized enough that several paths repeated near the exits without colliding into each other chaotically.

People had moved through here carefully.

Recently too.

Don rose again slowly.

Then stepped toward the rooftop edge.

A second later he jumped.

WHOOOM~!

Air rushed upward around him before he landed heavily several floors lower near one of the apartment complex entrances.

THUDD~!

The concrete beneath his boots cracked faintly from the force.

He immediately looked toward the entrance itself.

The glass doors had been barricaded from inside using furniture, tables and what looked like parts of dismantled shelving units shoved tightly against the frame.

Deep impact marks spread across portions of the glass while bloody handprints smeared sections near the handles.

Something had tried forcing its way in repeatedly.

Don stepped closer and pressed one hand against the door.

It barely moved.

The barricade behind it held tightly enough that even his strength only shifted it slightly with a low scraping sound from inside.

With enough force, he could destroy it.

Easily.

But that would create noise.

And noise mattered now.

His eyes shifted downward again toward the blood patterns near the entrance.

Then toward another trail partially hidden beneath the darkness farther along the building exterior.

Dragged bodies.

Again.

Don followed it.

The route curved past decorative stonework and darkened windows before reaching a smaller side access door partially hidden beside a maintenance corridor. Unlike the main entrance, this one showed less exterior damage.

Locked.

Don grabbed the handle and pushed.

Nothing.

His fingers pressed briefly into the edge of the reinforced frame afterward while testing the structure itself.

Solid.

Surprisingly solid.

Metal reinforcement hidden beneath the decorative exterior.

He released it quietly.

Then kept moving.

The apartment grounds remained disturbingly still around him aside from occasional distant movement somewhere deeper in the complex.

Wind moved weakly through the open walkways overhead while emergency lights flickered intermittently near parts of the parking structure farther away.

Eventually he found another body.

Security uniform.

Male.

Dead for hours at least.

The corpse sat slumped against a decorative planter with dried blood covering most of the chest area while one arm remained stretched awkwardly toward the nearby access panel.

Don crouched beside him and searched the uniform quickly.

Wallet.

Radio.

Then—

A keycard.

Don took it immediately.

A few moments later, he returned to the locked side entrance and pressed the card against the scanner.

BEEP~!

The lock disengaged.

The door opened inward slowly.

And the smell hit immediately.

Blood.

Death.

Don stepped inside carefully.

The emergency lights inside flickered weakly overhead, barely illuminating the lobby beyond.

Bodies covered the floor near the entrance.

Dozens.

Some piled over each other.

Others collapsed individually near the sealed exits farther inside.

Don’s eyes moved across them carefully while his Keen Eye continued feeding him detail after detail automatically.

Bloodied footprints led toward the exits repeatedly.

Finger marks clawed across sections of the floor.

Several corpses remained turned toward the doors rather than away from them.

People had been trying to leave.

Desperately.

And the barricades suddenly made sense.

Not to keep things out.

To keep something in.