2026-02-26 00:25:52
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Chapter 280. The Rules of Safety 2
They followed the street deeper into the fort. Jonah noted the signage embedded in the asphalt: arrows, zones, markers for patrol coverage. Every inch of ground was accounted for. Even the ash was measured, engineered to fall evenly, creating visibility reduction without compromising surveillance optics.As they approached the central square, they passed a public punishment in progress. A young man knelt atop a steel platform, wrists bound. Soldiers circled him, conducting the procedure with methodical precision. A single stun round, delivered to the man’s side, caused him to convulse and howl briefly. His screams ended abruptly as the system calibrated the next pulse. The crowd of civilians around the square didn’t flinch, some murmured gratitude to the soldiers.Jonah’s teeth clenched. Kevin whispered, “They feel safer.”Jonah’s gaze swept over the square. “They feel owned,” he said, repeating the phrase like a mantra, but louder this time. His voice carried over the ash-thicken
Chapter 280. The Rules of Safety
The morning haze clung to Fort Ashfall like wet cloth. Ash drifted down from the nearby volcanic ridges, settling in gray layers over streets, rooftops, and watchtowers. Jonah stepped off the transport platform, the gravel crunching sharply beneath his boots. Every movement felt amplified in the silence of the compound. The hum of distant machinery under the ashstorm was the only constant, but even that pulsed irregularly, as if the fortress itself breathed.Jonah’s eyes scanned the surroundings. Soldiers moved in rigid formations, rifles slung low, boots hitting in perfect synchronization. Patrols flanked the wide avenues, each squad keeping a precise interval. The air smelled of metal and ash, mixed with something faintly acrid, stun residue from prior curfew enforcement.A loudspeaker crackled, the voice crisp and flat: “Curfew begins in fifteen minutes. All civilians must report to designated shelters. Noncompliance will be corrected immediately.”Jonah’s jaw tightened. He’d se
Chapter 279. Colonel Rask
The ashstorm pressed against the walls of Fort Ashfall like a living thing. Jonah stepped through the main gate, the gray flakes falling in silent sheets around him. The ground underfoot was gritty, blackened, and uneven from years of volcanic ash and ruined infrastructure. Jonah’s boots scuffed against debris, sending tiny clouds spiraling upward. He walked with Kevin and Lisa, their steps measured. The loudspeakers overhead crackled with another repetition of the rules: “Discipline ensures survival. Obedience preserves life.” The words felt hollow here, but the cadence had weight, like the heartbeat of a machine.At the center of the courtyard, Colonel Rask awaited. He stood straight, his uniform sharp, black polished boots reflecting the dim ash-filtered sunlight. His face was calm, almost unnaturally so, every line precise. Jonah could see the glint of surveillance monitors behind his eyes, the way he surveyed not just the three of them but the courtyard itself. The patrols m
Chapter 278. The Walls of Ash
Jonah stopped at the ridge overlooking the ash-choked valley. The wind carried fine gray dust in constant waves, coating his boots, scratching at his eyelids, and settling into the folds of his coat. Below him, Fort Ashfall rose like a jagged crown on the edge of the volcanic plain. Concrete walls stretched high, reinforced with steel plates that gleamed dull silver under the pale light. Watchtowers jutted at uneven intervals, topped with spotlights that swept methodically, slicing through the falling ash like knives.He pulled the hood over his head and leaned forward, gripping the railing of the ridge. The perimeter below was alive with movement, though none of it felt spontaneous. Armed patrols marched in perfect intervals, synchronized to some unseen cadence. Every bootfall struck the ground with sharp precision, and the cadence carried through the crisp, ash-laden air. Jonah counted them once, twice, three times, then let the rhythm fade into the background.Civilians lined
Chapter 277. End of the Broken Highways
The highway stretched out ahead, empty and cracked, vanishing into low, rolling fog. Jonah gripped the wheel of the armored truck, knuckles white. The cold morning air seeped through the cracked windshield, carrying the tang of distant smoke and something metallic, almost alive. Every mile they traveled left behind another burned-over settlement, another skeleton of the old world. The remnants of the Convoy Kings were far behind them now, yet Jonah felt their absence like a weight pressing against his chest, it was not freedom. The road had not ended; it had only become a test.Lisa crouched in the rear, rifle resting on her knees. Her eyes scanned the fog constantly, moving in slow arcs, noting shadows that might not be shadows at all. She fingered the magazine of the rifle, listening for the soft clicks and vibrations of the Tactical Grid feeding through Jonah’s HUD. The vehicle hummed beneath them, a low vibration that seemed to echo through the tires and into the seat. It wa
Chapter 276. The Silent Stretch
The road opened wide and empty. Jonah stood in the lead vehicle with one hand on the roll bar. The engine idled low. Heat shimmered above the asphalt. The highway ran straight ahead for miles, cracked but clear. No wrecks blocked it. No smoke rose in the distance. No movement crossed the lanes. “Slow it,” Jonah said.The driver eased off. Tires hummed. The sound carried too far. Lisa sat behind the dash, eyes flicking between external feeds. Her fingers tapped once, then stopped. She leaned closer to the screen as if it might move on its own.Kevin rode on the back step, rifle down, head tilted. He scanned the shoulder, then the overpass ahead, then the empty sky. He kept scanning. He did not settle.The convoy followed at a distance. Two trucks. One armored bus. Spacing was tight. No one spoke on the open channel.The Tactical Grid hovered across Jonah’s vision. Clear lanes. Zero hostiles. No heat spikes. No motion flags. No probability cones. Nothing.Jonah blinked once. The Grid
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