The Outside

Looking around, Jack noticed the many peculiarities of the disturbing land.

But whilst the darkened soil continued to spread, at the same time it seem to be burnt the moment it tried to move closer to the sacred land. Facing the mountains surrounding the town, Jack noticed that not a single one of them had a speck of darkness in them.

'It's almost as if, this demonic land couldn't enter our domain.'

Many peculiarities caught Jack's eyes, the red sun, the darkened lands, and the never-ending fire. In the far distance, Jack could glimpse a piece of the land burning, however, nothing in itself was being burnt. It was as though the fire just existed on that spot.

Unusual was the least Jack could say to describe it.

And whilst checking the surroundings time flew by for all of the members of the fifth division, as they soon heard the sound of vehicles and lights approaching from the tunnel from not so afar.

Ten out of the thirteen that had been left behind soon joined up with Jack and his group, all of them having the same surprised reaction to the outside world. However, with no time to waste, the group immediately started to set up a temporary base that would serve as a form gate for the Sacred Land.

The rest of the trucks on the other side, had remained on the other side to be able to inform the headquarters after receiving the news from the first party.

Well, except for one sole vehicle that was now inside of the tunnel setting up lights to help in future operations.

Unlike the second division which was in charge of the temporary base, the fifth division had nothing to really do at the moment as they all rested together in a spot in which the dark soil, didn't reach.

It wasn't long until someone approached, it was a familiar face for the two veterans of the fifth division, as the moment he laid his eyes on him, Zain started to get aggravated.

In the end, the moment he arrived in front of the group, Zain couldn't help but hide his stupefaction, as the middle-aged man with a missing arm, sat next to Jack and handed him a cigarette without saying a word.

Gladly taking the piece, Jack took out his lighter and offered it to the man.

Zain couldn't take it anymore and decided to confront Jack.

"Old man, why are you just accepting this d*ck sucker."

Although he said it with a mild tone, Jack could tell that Zain was already irritated.

"Zain..."

"What?"

"I will introduce you properly, this is Joshua, leader of unit one from the second division...A previous member of unit three, so technically he is your senior."

"..."

"..."

"...WAIT WAIT WAIT, DIDN'T YOU HATE THIS GUY?"

Surprised by the sudden news, Zain couldn't help but scream at the top of his lungs. Wondering what exactly was going on.

Noticing that he had caught the attention of everyone around, Zain decided to calm down and whisper instead to not stand out as much.

"Old man, explain yourself."

The moment Zain had said those words, both Jack and Joshua looked at each other without saying a word. Joshua said nothing and left as if this had never happened in his head.

Jack, on the other hand, remained stoic like a statue.

Pissed off, Zain decided to storm off and get inside of his truck.

And with that, the time for pleasantries was over, as the second division soon informed the group of the need for their departure.

So the group did as told, getting in their respective vehicles as they had done before. Finally pressing down on the gas, the group started their execution as they willingly headed into battle.

Left behind, Joshua who had just met with his mentor stood by the side of John, the man in charge of a unit of nineteen.

"We didn't even double-check their equipment", John said as he looked at the group who was going far into the distance.

Joshua, who had just lightened up another cigarette, responded in a saddened voice, "Do you think an expedition group would just be sent off like that, without even having set up a place for communication? If the higher-ups wanted them to live, then they wouldn't have sent them off before we had even set up base."

"I know"

[Zzzt, did they leave, yet? Over]

[Yes. Over]

*

The group, on the other hand, was somewhat enjoying their outing.

Lily had her head out of the truck window, smiling like a dumb child. Stefen was with Zain writing everything he had found outside in a notebook he kept by his side.

Jack was also enjoying the gentle freeze as they moved forward in the dark deserted lands.

The other three on the other hand were either worried, angry, or scared.

But it made sense, as even at this moment, Jack had his demonic ability activated.

Looking in every direction in an attempt to find something outside, even a demon would have been a hopeful sight. The emptiness and silence were what worried Jack the most.

In the end, it wasn't long until the group found something that caught their eye. In the far distance, Jack had spotted a small town, consisting of barely eight houses and a church at the top of a heel.

Using his hand, Jack signaled Zain to head to the right.

Stopping at the entrance of the village, the group got together for the first time after leaving the sacred land.

"We are going to investigate the village, stay together, and if you see anything kill it before it sees you."

It was a simple order, Jack had given, but it, of course, made the others wonder.

"What if it is a human?", Unlike his normal quiet stance, Carl spoke with mercy as he wondered about the future of his victims.

However, Jack's response sent shivers down his spine, "Kill it, especially if it's a human."

"Eh?"

Jack wasn't stupid, to say the least, "You think a human could survive the outside world when we in the sacred land can barely accomplish that? And don't believe that anything that looks like a human is a human."

Leaving those words, as his last, Jack grabbed onto his rifle in the back compartment of the truck.

Other than that, Jack also took out six earpieces and gave them to the other members.

But not even Zain knew what they were.

"Put them on your ears like this...", After demonstrating how to put them on, Jack started to test them out.

Pressing onto the only button in the earpiece, Jack spoke, which then immediately sent the message over to everyone else.

[If you can hear me, put up your left arm]

After confirming the simple test, Jack explained that this was given to him by Joshua. It made Zain wonder even more. He knew, however, that this wasn't the time for that.

Once that was done the group got into formation, with Lily at the front searching for any clues about the residents of this land. Anastasia and Stefen were both nervous, but the same could be said for everybody else.

The group moved forward, opening the unlocked doors of the old, dusty, and abandoned houses, finding no signs of any living being.

Jack also noticed the fact that all the houses had little holes all over their worlds, he knew that this probably wasn't used for ventilation, instead, it seemed more as though a spear had pierced through the wall.

As they moved onto the last house with nothing to be found, it was only then that Jack found something that caught his eye. It was blood, and although dried out, it seemed somewhat recent.

*Sniff Sniff Sniff

Hearing the sounds of a dog sniffing around, Jack looked over at Lily who was staring at the white church in the distance.

"Lily smells something, something similar to us"

Instead of heading over, the group decided to back off, returning to the trucks on Jack's orders. Making Lily wonder why. And noticing Lily's impatient expression, Jack explained it to her in a simple manner.

"The sun is going down, be mindful of the pack, not all of them can fight and run in the night"

"Ah, Lily understands"

Taking out the necessary rations for the night, the group made their way inside the first house they found and started to prepare their meals.

And with nothing left to do, Zain jumped at the opportunity to question Jack. Seeing as how he had no escape, Jack decided to answer his doubts as he had no reason to hide them any longer.

"What exactly is going on, old man? I know that there are many things you are hiding from us. It's almost as if, I know nothing about you. It feels like you are wearing a mask of lies."

"That's because I am."

Frustration ran through Zain's face, and everyone in the room also seemed surprised.

"..."

"What are you hiding from me? For what?"

"For the revolution."