- What: Began as a self-deprecating joke club of boys Ember rejected; curdled into genuine bitter misogyny, then began receiving real funding from an unknown source (Micah Rush) — now a structured group "with a budget, a structure, and a plan." "The countdown had begun."
- Marks: Red wristbands numbered with "ER" (Zik #43; #13 planted at Ember's ambush).
- Known members/attackers: Zik (#43); the Ch 36 strike team — the brute (chubby man who inflates into a bouncing wrecking ball), the trapper (fisherman with barbed-line hooks; "I'm only here for the bounty. I don't care about your little cult"), the doubler (clone-maker who faked hostage-Mira), the water-user (geyser + falling net), plus a net-dropper and a "Split 'em up!" caller (fates unstated). The trapper's "cult" remark implies a cult faction among them — never named or explained.
- Status: Active; bounty on Ember tripled (alive or dead).
Spoiler warning: this page contains spoilers for all published chapters.
Characters › Antagonists