The smoke from the bodies of the burning Day Stalkers was thick, black, and it stunk. I kept thinking that we were sending out a smoke signal, but the only ones to follow would be other Day Stalkers. The Savages were well aware of where to go.
It was just about evening, and we were finishing the cleanup. Thankfully, we didn’t suffer any casualties in the Day Stalker attack, however, the men and soldiers were worn down.
That was after battling only sixty.
The people that remained in Lyons Estates wouldn’t leave for a safer location. Contrary to what Davis wanted, they insisted that if the guards on duty sounded off the alert, then they were safe in their safe rooms or basements.
After Davis was informed that the people of Lyons Estates and other neighboring communities were opting to remain, he flipped.
“You need to go back there and try harder!” he roared.
“What do you want me to do?”
“Tell them this is what they have to do. Get on the transport and get into town.”
“So we’re just put everyone in one place?”
“It’s the best way to keep them all safe.”
“It’s the best way to get them all killed.”
“That’s insane. And that is immature reasoning at best,” Davis scolded. “Lyons Estates is your security detail. You wanna take that risk?”
“I will. Because anything less with these people is taking away their freedom.”
Davis shook his head. “We need to enforce this.”
“So you’re saying don’t give them a choice. What’s next, Davis. Hiding in the subway? Living down there in garages?”
“If that’s what it takes.”
“That’s no way to live.”
“What else is there? What do you want us to do? We are outnumbered by the Sybaris, the Savages, and the Day Stalkers.”
“Fight.”
“I am.”
“No, you aren’t,” I argued. “You’re defending. Fight for our freedom. Let me tell you something, Davis. Let me tell you what we, the young people, see. We see the older soldiers giving up. Becoming complacent in just surviving under their wrath.”
“Oh, that’s bull and you know it,” Davis scoffed.
“Do I? I remember being a young boy and watching you plan. That plan has changed. You had a plan here recently to let the Stalkers and Savages battle the Sybaris and we pick up the pieces. Well now they’re battling us and if we let them go on, there won’t be enough of us to attack and destroy the Sybaris.”
“I’m out of options. I have a plan in motion with Vala. What else can I do?”
I smiled. “Have you ever thought of going after them?”
“What?”
“They’re coming from somewhere. I’m not talking about some queen bee bringing in a truckload of Day Stalkers. I’m talking about the Savages. Where do they go during the day? We find the nest, and take them out.”
“I can remember thinking about doing that years ago,”
“Why didn’t you?”
“No one wanted to do it. They felt if we took out one nest, another would emerge.”
“We have explosives, Davis. We need to find them. They are close enough to fly here, so they sleep somewhere nearby, at least within a hundred or so miles. Will you at least think about it, work on it while we wait on Vala? We can’t live underground.”
“I’ll think about. I will,” Davis assured me. “Right now, we have to get ready for our nightly ritual of Savage attack and possibly more Day Stalkers. You said you saw hundreds on the road heading this way.”
“Yeah, and at their pace, they’ll be here by tomorrow night.”
“Then tomorrow night, like it or not, our citizens retreat.”
“Why do we have to do that? It’s time to take an offensive position, Davis. We don’t want to live like this. I know where the Day Stalkers are,” I said. “Let’s take them out, the whole lot of them, before they even become a threat.”