One hour b.w.b (before wall breach)...
Mathias sat comfortably on the balcony, surveying the city through binocular eyes. He saw the squads of mercs race toward the walls, as planned; he watched the small explosions omit from military bases, as planned; he watched the unit slowly march toward the estate... as planned. "They approach my friend. Captain Drax leads the battalion." Earlson noted, sipping tea on the adjacent chair.
Mathias remained stoic in expression, deep in thought "Is the transmitter set?" Earlson replied with a nod and Mathias finally allowed a small smile to manifest "Very well, pass me the mic Earlson, i think its time we had a chat with the Captain." As he readied the ampliphone, Mathias eyed his prey.
The unit was marching down an old high street when they halted, over 700 men were held to attention at the voice projected from within the snowstorm ahead.
"Captain Drax, this is Mister Winter's speaking. I suggest you turn around." Laughter could be heard from the legions of men, but the were soon cut short by the authoritative tone of the ethereal voice.
"Laugh all you want, it wont save you!!! I am perfectly prepared to end your lives with a push of a button, you'll have to take my word for the i'm afraid, the only demonstration i could provide would be your death. Now please, listen. I have known of your superiors game-plan for a long time; 1. hold the wall, rather obvious, 2. take as many defendable landmarks as possible, hold the most land and you hold the most power and of course 3. move in large groups to avoid ambush. Well i'm so very sorry gentlemen but those plans just don't work for me, you see the people on this estate are my family now and they want to leave this city. Therefore we will pass the wall and you wont overthrow this estate, if you are allowed to take this land, you will be in control of the entire north-east and will have too much of a foothold, that's not going to happen. Now, be good dogs of the military and turn around! That's right, turn and go, you have this one chance to retreat so we can leave the city, you have two minutes to decide."
He waited impatiently, his forefinger rapping on the table. Both he and Earlson felt an immense sensation of dread, they could not hold back a battalion so large, if they didnt turn around Mathias had only one card to play and if that didn't present a decent hand...game over.
Suddenly a sound.
The trudging of boots, but the battalion was moving forward, they had ignored his warning of retreat. He panicked, what if his plan wasn't perfected, what if he could save his family, what if he lost it all.
"Find strength boy!" Boreas returned to his mind, after a long absence. "Your people need you to be strong, this isn't some gang war now, there is so much more at stake than money. You must be cold, these are soldier not civilians. You must rage like the north and strike the down!!"
He rose to his feet, a pillar of strength staring the enemy in the eye. " Objective number 3. Move in large groups to avoid ambush! HA! Your superiors didn't account for me then did they! I warned you Captain Drax! Let this be your last lesson, never mess with the Winters family! We can be bloody cold sometimes."
A single, poignant button push, that's all it took. A buzzing, electronic scream filled the air and then a short silence. Again the battalion stopped, but before they could march again, the ground shook with noticeable force. A rumbling built up, dust clouds were visible from the east and gnarls, groans and roars highlighted impending danger.
The gentlemen watched on at their balcony as the mutated husks stampeded down the narrow, inescapable high street. The transmitter built by Zachary was attuned to the creatures that plagued the factory dwellers, Mathias had time to notice their dislike for high pitched sounds when hunting them and had sent Earlson off to investigate further. Sure enough the investigation presented that a precise frequency attracted the monsters, luring them in as a frenzied mass of aggression. It took 5 minutes for the 700 to fall, torn apart by the barbaric giants, or clawed at by the small packs of sickly, twisted hunters. Some soldier finally took note of Mathias' words and tried to escape, but they were unsuccessful, dragged back by creatures those limbs retracted like tentacles to snare their prey.
The show was truly horrific, but what Mathias felt was sadness more than disgust. He had no pity for the soliders, but the creatures before him who were once human, mutated and over-taken by low-level kages or driven mad by the events in the city that their humanity had long been disposed of.
That was the hardest part of all, having to end their misery. They had succeeded in saving the estate, but given the chance they too would march forward, devouring every human is sight. With a second button-push a second transmission echoed down the high-street, making the creatures halt and shiver. They screamed and bellowed, their bodies vibrating at excessive speeds until in unison they exploded. What was once a bustling high street was now a sea of blood, both military and, in a way, civilian.
Sitting back in his chair, the often immovable man was shook. He had committed so many horrific acts in a short space of time, a part of him would never forget this day and never forgive. After a moments silence, with snow gently falling down around the massacre below, Earlson and Mathias rose from their chairs and walked slowly to the lobby. There they were met by the guards, the factory dwellers and Mathias' bloodline. "My friends...My family, the path is clear, we must leave this place and find our true home. The people of this city have fought hard for us today, we in turn have paid our dues and made a significant contribution to the war efforts. Let it not be in vein, let our escape be clean and without casualty. Come, its time we started a new chapter, for freedom! for family!"