The vehicle bounded forward, scaling the sandy ridges in controlled drifts.
I spun toward the rear, drew my weapons, and opened fire.
Bang!
Bang!
Bang!
The detonations rang out one after another, but my bullets ricocheted pitifully off the beast’s hide.
No effect whatsoever.
“Speed up!
Can’t you see we’re in deep shit?!” I bellowed at Lamar, my voice drowned out by the monster’s roaring.
“What do you think I’m doing?!
I’ve got the pedal to the metal!” he retorted, giving the steering wheel a sharp jerk to evade a jaw snapping in the empty air.
“Hold on tight!”
“We’ve been doing nothing but holding on this whole time!” I growled, gripping the chassis.
“Your words of encouragement aren’t exactly helping, Eden!”
“If you’re not happy, feel free to hop out and keep it company!”
A large building finally rose before us, massive and fortified.
But the Calamity was faster.
In one final charge, it rammed the rear of the all-terrain vehicle, launching it several meters into the air.
During our airborne glide, time seemed to stand still.
In a motion of divine fluidity, Alya drew her black blade and, with a clean and precise strike, sliced the car in two to break the impact.
Her sword plummeted into the sand amid the metallic debris as we were thrown onto the roof of the building.
The crash was brutal.
I landed awkwardly, headfirst on the sheet metal, letting out a curse.
Alya, more agile, fell right into Lamar’s arms, and he gently set her down on the ground with the trademark class that defined him.
We stood back up as best as we could, dusting the powder from our clothes before scanning the desert landscape.
Calm had returned.
The creature had dived back beneath the surface.
“See anything, Lamar?” I asked, wincing.
“Nope… You?”
“Same.”
Despite the bruises and the adrenaline, we burst out laughing at the sheer absurdity of the situation.
“Well, at least we’re still alive.
That’s the main thing.”
The three of us descended through a roof hatch and entered the building.
It was a massive biological research base, cold and labyrinthine, where the scent of chemicals hung in the air.
Deepening into the corridors, we stumbled upon a group of nine people who seemed to have taken over the place.
A man in his forties, wearing the insignia of the Order, stepped toward us:
“Hello.
I am David, a researcher from the Order of Doctors.
This is my wife Sally, my daughter Sophie… and the youngest is…”
David didn’t have time to finish.
Upon catching sight of Alya, the child hurriedly hid behind his father’s legs, terrified.
Alya, equally intimidated by this sudden movement, did the exact same thing, concealing herself behind my back.
They peeked out at each other warily, hidden behind their respective protectors.
“That’s a Calamity,” David noted, his gaze turning sharp and analytical.
“No, she’s my friend,” I replied in a crisp tone that brooked no argument.
David observed my seriousness, then glanced at Alya.
Shifting his demeanor, he turned to his son and, with a fluid gesture of his hands, spoke to him in sign language:
“The man said she isn’t a Calamity.
Don’t be afraid, go say hello.”
The little boy stepped forward cautiously, his tiny steps echoing on the metallic floor.
Alya, intrigued, mirrored him and advanced in turn.
They found themselves face-to-face in the center of the room.
Seized by a wave of shyness, Alya knelt down and hid her face between her hands.
The boy approached, gently pulled her fingers apart to meet her eyes, and signed with a pure smile:
“My daddy told me not to be scared of you, so you don’t have to be scared of us either, okay?”
Alya nodded slowly, touched.
She raised her own hands and answered in signs:
“My name is Alya.
What’s yours?”
“Tony,” the little one signed back.
A broad smile appeared on their faces.
The moment was of a rare purity, but it was instantly ruined by a drawing, aggressive voice rising from the back of the room. The source of this chapter is g.com.
“Oh please, you guys are making me sick,” a man leaning against the wall suddenly sneered.
“One more minute and I bet you two would’ve started crying.
Instead of moving your asses to go blow up those Calamities…”
He spat on the floor before turning on his heel to plunge into another room.
He was followed closely by a superficial woman clutching a small, non-stop barking dog to her chest.
“You’re so right, my wolf.
Everyone in this place sucks,” she added with a contemptuous glare in our direction.
David sighed, clearly used to their behavior, and resumed the introductions in a weary tone:
“Those two aren’t exactly easy to deal with, that’s Rick and Katy.
And the dog is Croquettes.
The last two over there are Mr.
Bones and Mrs.
Bones.”
They were a petite elderly couple, a pair of old folks who looked completely out of place in this doomsday environment.
“Okay, I’m Eden, this is Lamar, and she’s Alya,” Eden said.
Mr.
Bones, a mischievous glint in his eyes, walked up to Lamar and me:
“How’s it hanging, young men?
Well, you two are quite the sturdy lads, I see!
We could use arms like yours.”
Meanwhile, Mrs.
Bones discreetly approached Alya and, without warning, gave her an affectionate slap on the rear.
Surprised and utterly embarrassed, Alya leaped backward, her cheeks turning crimson.
“The young lady is beautiful,” the old woman exclaimed, completely unfazed.
“Almost as beautiful as our daughter… though her buttocks aren’t quite as plump.”
“You could marry our daughter!” Mr.
Bones proudly suggested, looking at Lamar and me.
“Excellent idea!” Mrs.
Bones cheered.
And just like that, the two old folks, all smiles, began executing improvised dance steps around us.
“She is tall, strong, and so kind,” Mrs.
Bones continued, driving the point home.
“And she’s a wonderful cook!” Mr.
Bones added.
“She gets it from her mother.
So, is it a yes?
Yes?
Yes?”
Lamar burst out laughing and raised his hands in the air:
“Sorry, not for me.”
“What?
You don’t like tall women, my boy?”
“No, it’s not that… It’s just not possible.
My heart is already taken.”
“Yeah, I highly doubt Elena would tolerate a rival,” I added with a wink to my teammate.
“She’d chop him into pieces.”
“Oh, that’s no problem,” Mrs.
Bones swept the comment aside before turning to me insistently.
“What about you, Eden?”
I smiled, crossing my arms:
“My heart belongs to the battlefield… but who knows, maybe one day I’ll think about marriage.”
“A pity.
But make sure to invite us when you do get married!
We’ll bring our daughter along,” Mr.
Bones concluded, not discouraged in the slightest.
“No problem,” we replied in unison.
“You must be starving after all that,” the old lady picked up.
“It’s almost dinner time.
I’ll go whip up my famous King’s Dish!”
“Perfect, we’re famished,” I admitted.
Mr.
Bones took Alya by the arm and led her toward the kitchen, beaming with smiles, leaving the young woman a bit bewildered but visibly reassured by their kindness.
Once calm had returned, Lamar and I followed David and Sally into the base’s control room.
The atmosphere there was much heavier.
Sally was leaning over an obsolete console, manipulating buttons while a radio crackled violently.
“Hello?
Hello?
This is Sally, researcher from the Order of Doctors.
Can anyone hear me?”
The transmission was hacked by interference, offering nothing but white noise.
“We need assistance!
Is anyone—”
The signal cut out completely in a sharp, shrill hiss.
Sally struck the console with her fist, disappointed.
David approached and placed a comforting hand on her shoulder.
“Don’t worry, honey.
They won’t abandon us.”
“Are you sure?” she murmured, a hint of guilt in her voice.
“Even after what we did?”
“You’re worrying over nothing.
You should get some rest.”
I leaned against the doorframe, observing the couple with a critical eye.
Something rang hollow.
“Not to interrupt,” I chimed in, “but could we get a quick rundown of the exact situation here?”
Startled by my question, David spun around.
For a fraction of a second, a suspicious, almost evasive look crossed his face before he reassumed his rigid scientist mask.
“We were sent by the Order to conduct research,” he explained in a voice that was a bit too mechanical.
“And not wanting to leave our family behind in this dangerous sector, we came together.
When we attempted to leave, we were ambushed by Calamities… and now we’re trapped here.
It’s as simple as that.”
“And what exactly is your research about?” Lamar asked, his hunter’s instinct on high alert.
Sally turned around abruptly, her gaze freezing cold:
“Top secret.
You shouldn’t even be in this room.”
Lamar and I exchanged a glance.
They were hiding something, that much was obvious.
But before we could dig deeper, the lights in the control room flickered violently before dying completely, plunging the space into total darkness.
“Hold on, it’s just a partial failure,” Sally’s voice called out in the dark.
After a few tense moments that felt like hours, a mechanical hum resonated and the power returned, illuminating the screens and the neon lights of the room once more.
“Is it normal for the power to cut out that abruptly?” I asked, narrowing my eyes.
“No,” Sally answered, checking her monitors.
“It’s due to our excessive consumption.”
David approached a central table and unrolled a regional map across it:
“When we first arrived, we rationed and supplied this base for only four people.
Now, there are eleven of us in total.
Our resources are dwindling at a critical speed.
The electrical grid won’t hold indefinitely.”
“So there’s nothing we can do to fix this situation?” Lamar asked, concerned.
“Our only hope lies in another base, a secondary outpost located a few hundred meters from here,” Sally explained, pointing to a precise spot on the map.
“We can find food reserves and energy cells there to recharge our generators.”
I stared at the geographical coordinates etched onto the blueprint, a smirk forming on my lips.
The danger lay outside, but staying here to starve wasn’t an option.
“Got it,” I said, tapping the table.
“First thing tomorrow, we’ll head over there to restock.
Always down for an adrenaline rush, old friend?”
Lamar cracked his knuckles, his metallic arm emitting a faint hydraulic hiss:
“You bet your ass I am!”
Right at that moment, Mrs.
Bones’ loud and cheerful voice echoed through the corridor speakers:
“Dinner is served!”
Eden and Lamar looked at each other.
Tomorrow’s expedition promised to be eventful, but for now, it was time to feed the troops.