Blake and B were well on their way to the Blue region. It had been hours since they had left the forest and even more since he had eaten.
His legs ached but he pushed himself further. Enduring the pain was a far better option than death.
A hunger pang hit him and he winced. B turned to him, "I suppose that you are hungry. Unawakened appetites are difficult to navigate."
The criminal syndicate placed its hand on him and he suddenly felt his hunger vanish. "Don't get used to that. It'll wear off in a couple of days."
His eyes landed on Blake's new face, "And so will that but hopefully, you'll be home by the time it does."
They continued their journey on the red soil until a small city appeared on the horizon. "Is that civilization?"
While having spent most of his life in the Yellow region, Blake was largely unfamiliar with most settlements in the region.
'I had even begun to think that there were no more.' He turned to B.
There was no way that their stumbling across this was a mere coincidence. He must have known exactly where this settlement was.
'Just who are these people and what is in that canister that they can not take it by themselves. They are clearly capable, so what exactly is stopping them? A deal? Fear?' Blake had little time to ponder and even less information to work with, so he quickly tucked the mystery and questions in the back of his mind.
They approached the city's borders and walked in. The red soil gave way to cracking tarred roads, part of the Yellow region.
'But why is there no one here?' In the place he had grown up, there were Primals, prostitutes, and drug addicts littering the streets but this place seemed abandoned.
The few buildings were decimated with some leaning and seemingly on the edge of collapse. Vines and moss grew on some structures and amidst the mess, he could make out vague outlines of bones buried under layers of debris.
"Welcome to a forgotten part of our internment zone! Abandoned to the beasts that attacked." B rose his arms as he declared with a dark scowl on his face, "Hundreds of fallen people buried in silence."
Blake looked around with the new information and everything suddenly seemed different. The dead people couldn't escape in time while the city was just abandoned but there was something he didn't understand.
"Beasts? What beasts?" He asked.
B turned to him. "Virus X is the original pathogen that triggered our mutations—" He begun and the latter nodded, this was common knowledge.
"—but as opposed to what is generally spread, the virus also affected a large percentage of the fauna and flora... go too deep in the forests and you'll find lairs of beasts."
This vital information shifted his view of the world.
Finally, the regions had shown their purpose: Red served as the mere cannon fodder, buying enough time for those in the Yellow region to attempt escape while the Yellow region in turn was a shield for those in the Blue region.
'A dog-eat-dog world. I'm sure that this is the original plan of the Global Alliance.' The usual frown on Blake's face returned.
Though with that, a new question came to light. 'Why exactly did he tell me this?' He looked around at the abandoned human citadel but found no trace of sentient life.
'There is no beast to warn me of, why the sudden sentimentality?' The entire thing was odd.
But B did not explain and continued walking. Blake jogged a little to catch up to him.
They passed a large building with a damaged but familiar logo. Three overlapped triangles with a single camera shutter in between... The Global Alliance.
'This must have been a head office, maybe even their initial headquarters.' From the state of everything around them, it was easy to trace the city to at least three decades.
His eyes glanced at B's muscular back. 'So how does he know what happened here? Is that why he and his entire organization want that canister?'
While he couldn't read him, he could recognize a similar simmering hatred for the Global Alliance.
A loud thud echoed through the empty city, breaking Blake out of his thoughts.
He and B froze, taking a look at their surroundings. From the buildings around them to the oddly bright blue sky above them.
A low growl rumbled through the air around them, making Blake's vision tilt. He adjusted a little and staggered.
All his attempts at gaining balance proved futile under the effects of the strange guttural sound.
B closed his eyes and his ears sealed off, almost like he had never had them before. The flesh comprising his hand rippled before bursting into insect-like claws typical of praying mantises.
A large object flashed in Blake's peripheral vision but before he could react, B was already on the move.
He got in between him and the object, striking it with his claws.
The claws made contact but failed to pierce the furry, dark hide.
Both bodies flew back.
B planted his feet firmly into the ground, slowing himself and stopping abruptly. On the other side stood a three-meter-tall wolf.
Patches of its skin had peeled off showing oozing sores that leaked a pungent odor.
'What the hell? Is that a beast?' Blake's eyes widened as he stared at the primal monstrosity before them.
For the first time, he was happy that he was with B. Without the latter, he knew that death was imminent.
The wolf growled louder and the world around Blake seemed to flip. He fell to the ground, unable to balance himself but B was unaffected.
Instead, his arms turned to flesh-blades and he charged in again.