Carl drained the death energy off the host, who promptly fell limp on the floor, he wasn't dead, not yet.

His girlfriend, Misha, propped the man on a sitting upright position, he would be recovering soon, Carl knew from experience.

The elderly man, the previous host, woke slowly, Carl wanted to get moving, he had things to do, but he wasn't selfish enough to leave an injured man lying in the middle of an apocalypse.

Bolting upright the man asked a few frantic questions, he asked the date, about government-help, his lost family members which Misha attempted to answer.

The frightened senior man looked panicked at what little they could answer, but he quickly apologized and fled as fast as his legs could take him in a random direction.

His clear life signature vanished, his death sense and power were enough to scare any of the nearby wraiths, however, it seemed they lost that fear as soon as they gained a host.

Occasionally he would spot a confused ghost either wailing, or wandering the streets confused, or being eaten by other more vengeful wraiths, which then fled at the sight of him.

He had tried communicating with a few of the more confused ghosts, a few seemed to accept their fate and vanish... to somewhere, some had requests to help their loved ones, Carl sympathized but he had to decline, some of these... reacted violently and became akin to wraiths and the rest simply broke down crying or continued wandering.

These wraiths were what had been possessing people, Carl had seen it happen and of course he 'put them to rest' them if they got too close.

Once their target vanished Misha began to expound on a previous point, one which did not involve wraiths nor their unfortunate hosts.

"You still can't control more," Misha spoke with the surety of a college professor, choosing to speak to him instead of sending.

"I can't take on any more as familiars. This. This is different from that." Carl clarified as they made their way back to base.

"Are you certain they won't be a danger?" Misha frowned looking up thoughtfully to the sky.

"A bit, but I set things up properly. I doubt they are dumb enough to attack humans alone." Carl explained, stalking forward.

Carl felt a living person trailing him and he looked back, the target froze and bolted like a deer fleeing a hunter, vagrants occasionally did that.

'Huh... Not the same one, and clearly not Russel.' Carl frowned, he hoped that random person wasn't stupid enough to mess with his bindings.

Truth be told Russel's Psi ability stirred his paranoia, not that he thought Russel was the type of person to do anything malicious with it, but the idea of discovery was troubling, not to mention the idea of being watched was creepy as hell.

'You felt that?' Misha sent after looking around with him.

"He ran away as soon as we turned." Carl kept looking back.

'One of ours?' Misha asked as she scanned the area.

"Didn't look like it, we will find out when we get back either way. I'll also check the containments tomorrow, either way, worse case a few weaklings lost matters little, I'll just make more." Carl shrugged.

That was the end of that and they made their way back to the base safely and started their shift guarding the little troublemaker.

Carl looked outside the window, the blistering heat of the midday sun made the air visibly twist at times, his power over death helped little in that regard.

Frustration was welling up inside him, he should be out there getting stronger to protect Misha and rescue these stupid people Russel insisted on rescuing, instead he spent his day inside guarding a boy bearly old enough to hold civil conversation.

A gentle touch on his hand made him turn to look at his lover, Misha's eyes were gentle and soothing, she wanted him to calm down and he appreciated her efforts, despite her own problems.

Giving her a quick peck on the lips he turned his focus on the boy, a dangerous child to be sure, but Carl's mental defenses were always in place and Misha's were also.

Carl was currently undecided but leaning towards the opinion of abandoning him outside, the boy was clearly a danger.

'Calm down,' Misha patted his shoulder but spoke directly to his mind.

"Why? It was a mistake to come here. We agreed to come because Russel insisted it would be quick! Instead, we've been here nearing a fucking week!" Carl growled at the window, speaking out loud.

'Soon, either they free the captives or we can return ... afterward.' Misha said via telepathic waves.

"And why should we lose? I mean, I don't care about the people here, they're thrash. I'm sure they are not jumping up to help me either, or you, or any of the others. If anything they're glaring at us like we're the problem." Carl looked at her dark eyes.

Carl rubbed his face, annoyed at being put on babysitting duty almost daily, Russel let his friend 'Eian' do whatever he wanted while trying using 'logic' to convince him to stay, biased bastard.

He wasn't an idiot and to be truthful, Carl understood to some degree, he and Misha both had ten points in Mind, just like Russel, that gave them both a stalwart defense against psychic attacks as well as unique abilities.

Others had high mental defenses, but it was best not to take chances with a power as dangerous as Dominion, even Carl knew that, but being on nanny-duty was still an annoying waste of his potential.

It was best to simply plant a bullet at the back of the boys head before he became a threat, Carl knew the look of a scavenger when he saw one, this Ezrael was trouble.

"Not only that. They refuse to listen!" Carl continued venting his frustrations.

'Legends and paranoia are both difficult things to overcome, it is not unexpected for them to be skeptical.' Misha soothed him.

"I know, I know. But damn, I mean it's not rocket science, let a couple of demons loose on the bastards, if anyone deserves it, it is them." Carl grumbled softly.

'The word 'demons' itself makes triggers something primal. Too much superstition.' Misha sent silently.

Silently stewing Carl looked outside watching the clouds drift without care, after some time he reached a conclusion.

"I'm going to talk to a few of the others. It's beyond stupid to risk our lives for something that doesn't concern us." Carl said lastly.

'You've tried before love, Bruce thinks himself invincible along with a few others," Misha started.

"Bruse has an inflated ego, he thinks he can muscle out of any problem." Carl snorted.

"...and the others still want to do a bit of good, they haven't realized that world ended.' Misha sent finally.

"...Then we have to make them see, we should be evacuated to the West, the L.A. has to have some form of government providing shelter. It's a major city, that means abundant military or police aid." Carl rubbed his jaw, a bit of subtle growing due to inattention.

Misha lapsed into silence and looked outside playing with her hair, he did not have to wonder at her thoughts, he knew what had been in her mind since they came here.

"They're fine, they had a head start towards L.A., and my brother is with them," Carl looked at her, trying to assuage her fears.

'We should have gone with them.' Misha looked down at the floor, he could feel the aching hurt through her message.

"...We still will, I promise." Carl turned to glare at Ezrael, who was a partial source of his annoyance.

'Even if we follow them...how will we find them?' Misha grabbed his arm, leaning into him for comfort.

Carl looked at her sympathetically, he could understand it was a big state, and with communications temporarily down...finding relatives would be almost impossible.

"...Things will get better, not today, not tomorrow, but someday." Caressing her arm to provide comfort he added more. "Someone has to eventually fix the communication problem, when that day comes we'll definitely find them. Besides...they're probably somewhere with soldiers or at least police officers, there might be many places to check, but we will find them, even if it takes weeks or months." Carl added trying to cut down her fears.

'Everyday...it just makes it more unlikely we find them.' Misha sighed fretfully.

'True.' Carl thought grimly, though he did not let her know it, it had been a major mistake to come here, but he didn't think telecommunications would go down, now they were here with no idea how to find their family members.

A quick look proved the boy, Ezrael, was staring at the wall uncomfortably, Carl was desperate to be gone already, the people here were assholes and not worth the risk.

Carl sighed and waited, once his shift was over he would get back to his project, hopefully, he could finish it in time to be of more use.

Despite his talk, Carl himself did not like the idea of abandoning people in need, he would do it if he had to, but he was willing to help in ways that did not risk himself and Misha.

Russel had an annoying way of tying up his time, if he had all the time in the world he would have already been ready and rescued those people in record time, idiots.

*****

The next day, his hellhound had scouted an abandoned home which had been already been looted, he had managed to kill and drag an overly large canine dog which looked to be transitioning into a wolf, he trapped it in a containment circle.

Carl chuckled grimly at what animal rights activists would have done to him under normal circumstances, it would be a shit-show for sure, now everyone had bigger worries.

This particular residence was not near his intended target, the base of operation of this criminal organization, whatever the hell its name was.

It would not matter however, he had thought of everything, and taking a vehicle out would have raised some eyebrows, more people would have likely wanted to go with him or take more interest.

Instead, he and Misha simply walked to a distance, with the excuse of patrolling for monsters and scavenging for food, an easy enough thing to do with his familiars.

Carl stared at the inscriptions on the floor, three circles were needed, one for the summoner, an especially intricate one for the demon and another for the warder who was Misha in this case.

Everything on the demon's circle had to be perfect, the demons he was trying to summon would normally not be much threat, but he had been warned sometimes stronger ones try to jump ship into a delicate summon.

That was where Misha came in, her job was to purify and sever any external demonic influences on him, she was intimately familiar with his three familiars who lounged around in their containers.

Loki the imp, Thor the hound and Hell the shade, he named them after Norse mythos, he had Icelandic descent and it seemed humorous, especially since he had only a vague idea of the whole religion, or myth, or whatever.

Those three demons were weak enough for him to control himself, useful even being tier one and considered food by demonic ecosystems.

'Ready.' Misha addressed him.

"Yeah, I'm ready here too," Cal announced finishing up inspections.

Activating the circle, Carl opened his mind, finding himself in an icy wasteland, 'looking' around he sent out a signal and waited.

The response came slowly, distant, Carl waited patiently, inspecting he took in the sight, this plane varied greatly, last time he was in a desert environment and the time before that an ocean floor.

He could feel nothing here, only his a vague visual his brain interpreted as real, sort of like seeing with his eyes as he could 'move'.

Finally, the demon appeared before him, a large imp the size of a five-year-old human, bony spines stretched from it's hunched figure.

It came crawling cautiously on all fours towards him, sniffing cautiously and seeming ready to flee.

"Deal." The imp grunted at him, eyes narrowed.

"No, but~" Carl started simply, he had another plan ready.

"No? NO DEAL?!" The imp turned ready to bolt.

Carl grabbed it, a slow strain began in his mind as he held it down, the creature squealed with a primal fear which showed in its struggle against him.

"No kill! No kill." The imp squealed fearfully, Carl grunted and shook his head at its cowardly behavior.

"Hold, you stupid thing. I'll make you a damn deal then." Carl growled, annoyed at its behavior.

The creature quieted and watched him in fear, shivering as though the cold had finally caught up to it.

"Deal?" The imp repeated cautiously.

"I've got a body ready for you." Carl frowned unpleasantly, he knew imps were stupid but he didn't think it would bolt so easily.

"Body?" The imps eye grew wide as saucers briefly.

"Yeah." Carl frowned.

"Who deal?" The imp said eyes guarded now.

"I need you to do something for me. Well, a few somethings really." Carl tried to smile encouragingly, not sure if the dumb thing would even understand the expression.

"Deal." The imp nodded quickly, baring its needle teeth in mock contrast to his.

'Well time to continue on.' Carl though glumly at the task of trying to educate the stupid thing.

******

Jacob looked at the house, he had been tailing a few of the groups that were leaving the apartments where the black bastard who killed Rafe was holing up.

Somehow people always turned in his direction, at any time, night or day, they could tell where he was even before he saw them sometimes, it had led to a few close calls.

The group had grown slightly in size from the original survivors that had attacked him while he went to get the bastard Eian, the bastards were taking regular visits outside, which at first seemed like the perfect chance for him to strike.

Although he was stronger he didn't fancy going against a group with superpowers while they were grouped up, he was simply waiting for a chance to ambush them.

He had moderate success, killing a weakling who strayed too far from his group, they hadn't even noticed him.

His target, Eian, was even there! Jacob had seen him, leaving several times with a group of four, then his chance slipped his grasp as they had acquired several vehicles, which made it impossible for him to follow them recently if he tailed them on a vehicle he would be made apparent easily.

Jake wanted nothing more than to attack Eian and that bitch mother with him, to let this be over with, but he had seen something which had changed his opinion recently.

He had watched from afar as Eian had arrived with the giant corpse of a monster, which was offloaded from the truck, Jacob was sure Eian had killed it, he had tailed Eian before the vehicles enough to know the girl was not a strong fighter.

That meant Eian was strong enough to bring down a monster like that without a gun, Jacob had never seen him use one, this meant he had to be careful in enacting his revenge.

Eian was an impossible target for now, although Jacob was noting a certain direction in which he went off to hunt, that would come in handy soon.

Jacob wished he had not lost his gun, at first he tried looking for one.

In America of all places finding another one seemed impossible, all the nearby gun stores were already looted, everything was just gone and scrubbed clean, even a handgun would help assuage his worries.

The things he was seeing were getting freaky quickly, the other day he had killed a goat with two heads, how a god-damned two-headed goat had somehow appeared in California was a good question he asked himself, perhaps a zoo or a pet, either way, he didn't care, it was dead.

He had also seen a lot of dogs running around growing weirder, cat-like-things were another constant, weird birds and big insects too, top it off with a few vagrants that fled at the mere sight of him, made for a truly weird experience.

Rarely a vehicle would sometimes drive by, those times he would catch only glimpses of the drivers, people whom never stopped, they had other goals in mind.

Back to himself, however.

Jacob wasn't sure how he would stock up against another strong opponent without a gun, during the last few days Jake had grown stronger, he killed the crazy zombie-people, regular people and even monsters.

His muscles were far more pronounced and felt to be made of steel, still, if he could get this powerful he was sure his targets already were also, he had caught up to do.

He hunted day and night, munching on a few scattered food-supplies left in broken houses, sometimes he found small groups people huddling within, they were usually not much threat, they were usually gullible too, and he grabbed they usually had food which he helped himself to, they couldn't complain after anyways.

He kept checking in on the activities of Eian's group from afar, watching for weaknesses he could exploit when he caught sight of something odd.

A pair compromised of one averagely built blonde man, along with an Asian woman had walked somewhere, instead of driving, a chance for an ambush if he ever saw one.

As he was getting prepared to spring his ambush, it was thwarted almost immediately, the duo had both turned in his direction as he encroached too closely, he had been forced to bolt.

Damnation, it was simply frustrating to see how competent these people were, if only he had a rifle or something to kill them with from afar.

Perhaps he should try running them over with a vehicle, but that much noise would alert them too quickly, but it was an idea to consider.

He would need to monitor them more carefully, now that they were aware of him, it would be much more tricky.

Jacob found it weird though, these two did not look as though they had been fighting, it made him wonder what they were doing.

Looting was likely not it, everything edible had long been scavenged from the nearby buildings by their own people, and so walking to do small errands was out of the norm.

He would need to see what they were doing, perhaps he could kill the man and capture the woman, she would likely be easier to interrogate for a weakness.

Women tended to talk more when faced with certain...consequences of not speaking, Jake smiled at the thought, he had been living like a savage for these last few days.

Still he just need to be patient, hunting was all about patience, you needed to watch for a weakness and seize the opportunity.