Heavy Infantry of the Iron Bleachers(Vassals to Beacon, technically enemys to Beacon though they can't show it)
Redhaven Municipal Stadium
The Iron Bleachers did not become vassals through negotiation.
They became vassals on the day Manny Oak’s father died.
When Martha Heathe arrived to collect an increased tribute, Manny’s father—one of the civilian organizers of the stadium community—spoke out. He argued logistics. Fairness. Sustainability.
Martha listened. Smiled.
She ordered him restrained.
Each member of The Line was then shot non-lethally—knees, shoulders, legs—enough to drop them without killing them. As they lay bleeding, Martha forced Manny’s father to drink plague blood until his body convulsed.
When the infection took hold, she left him alive.
She then gave the team a choice:
“Clean up your mess.”
They killed him together.
That night, the Iron Bleachers bent the knee.
That night, The Line was born—not as athletes, but as weapons.
Former Position: Quarterback
Current Role: Tactical Leader / Morale Anchor
Manny Oak was Redhaven’s golden boy. A celebrated quarterback with a perfect public image—charity work, interviews, endorsements. What no one knew was that Manny had quietly earned degrees in logistics, organizational management, and emergency planning, preparing for a future beyond football.
Those skills saved lives after the fall.
Manny leads from the front but thinks five moves ahead. He plans routes like plays, assigns roles like formations, and reads combat like a defense he’s studied for years.
He does not forgive Martha Heathe.
He does not challenge Albert Yemin—yet.
He is waiting.
Former Position: Defensive End
Current Role: Structural Engineer / Heavy Breacher
Kenny Lewis is massive—broad, powerful, immovable. Before the fall, he was studying structural engineering, a fact most fans never cared to know.
Kenny is the reason the stadium still stands.
He designed:
Load-bearing reinforcements
Bus barricade anchoring systems
Impact-dampening walls
Collapse points to deny infected entry
In combat, Kenny wields a reinforced battering shield and acts as the Line’s spearpoint. When Kenny moves, the Line follows.
The Line consists of 22 former players, divided into functional sub-units rather than positions.
Role: Shieldbearers / Crowd Control
Gear:
Welded riot shields reinforced with scrap steel
Shoulder-to-knee armor layered over football pads
Reinforced helmets with face guards
Tactics:
Advance slowly, lock shields
Absorb impact from infected
Create chokepoints and kill corridors
These members take the hits so others don’t have to.
Role: Shock Assault / Knockdown Specialists
Gear:
Two-handed clubs, sledgehammers, reinforced bats
Heavy arm and torso armor
Spiked boots for traction
Tactics:
Charge in short, violent bursts
Break infected legs first
Use mass and momentum to scatter groups
They do not finesse.
They overwhelm.
Role: Control / Extraction
Gear:
Polearms with hooks, forks, and barbed tips
Medium armor for mobility
Light shields or bracers
Tactics:
Pull infected out of formations
Trip runners
Drag targets into kill zones
Essential for preventing swarms.
Role: Execution / Area Clearing
Gear:
Short blades, hatchets, reinforced machetes
Lighter armor
Neck guards and face protection
Tactics:
Follow behind Front Wall
Finish downed infected quickly
Clear bodies to prevent pile-ups
They are methodical.
Efficient.
Quiet.
Role: Rear Guard / Emergency Response
Gear:
Mixed melee weapons
Heavy chest armor
Medical kits
Tactics:
Hold retreat routes
Recover injured Line members
Plug breaches
When things go wrong, the Anchor keeps everyone alive.
The Line fights like a living machine.
Never spread out
Never pursue alone
Never fight tired
They prefer:
Narrow streets
Stairwells
Stadium corridors
They avoid:
Open plazas
Large hordes
Night engagements
Against Common Infected, they dominate.
Against Skill Retainers or Vamps, they withdraw unless numbers favor them heavily.
Their armor is ugly. Heavy. Loud.
It works.
Layered football pads absorb impact. Scrap plates stop bites. Helmets prevent jaw-lock kills.
They move slower—but they don’t fall.
The Line carries guilt.
They do not talk about Manny’s father.
They do not speak Martha’s name unless necessary.
Their loyalty is to each other first.
The Iron Bleachers second.
The Beacon never.