Chapter Two

The team of Cubs woke up just shy past three in the morning when the sun was still fast asleep and the moon was shining brightly in an illuminated starry sky. Luca had to force himself out of bed, rolling out of his blankets to stop Jin's numerous threats of throwing icy cold water over him. He groaned inwardly as he thought of the amount of time they would be away from home. He was not looking forward to spending his days cooped up on the ground with nothing but a sleeping bag and a thick jacket that would attempt and fail to keep him warm from the bite of the wind.

As his brown orbs gazed back at him through the fogged up mirror of the bathroom, Luca noticed the blue aprons underneath his eyes and thought back to yesterday night where sleep had been scarce, his brain more preoccupied with his personal mission. He still couldn't come to terms with the fact that he'd been trusted with something as important, hadn't dared mention anything about that at dinner yesterday night for he knew that it would only add to his mother's worries.

"We need to understand what the North's been up to, and for that we need a specimen," The Phoenix had told him that same day while twirling a lock of hair around her shoulder, "we've had our doubts about the North for a while, and with the new loophole we figure out, we think it's best if we can get a hold of someone who's been living behind North walls to know what we're dealing with."

Luca had stayed silent as he absorbed her words.

"I heard that from your mentors that you have quite a gift for going undercover and disappearing in the weirdest ways without any trace," The Phoenix had mused, "am I right about that, Wang?"

He'd shrugged, part of him wanting to cower in fear and say that this was a horrible mistake and that he wasn't what she thought him to be.

Another selfish part of him had craved for that attention, loved the fact that he was worthy enough to be recognized.

"If the Elders manage to break in and give you an open passage, do you think you could do it?"

He had cleared his throat without meeting her eyes, hoping more than anything else that this was just a bad dream that he'd wake up from with only a vague memory. But then he'd nodded with reluctance even though his heart spiked up in panic at the thought of being left there, all alone, trying to find something that could cost him his life.

"Luca come on," A knock on the door interrupted his internal arguments as Eli's voice filtered through, as optimistic and as bright as a ray of sunshine. "You gotta get moving if you want to eat something before we go."

Considering this was going to be the last decent meal he'd have— he still wasn't sure whether he'd be back from this mission alive— Luca quickly proceeded to brush his teeth and splash some water on his face in an attempt to wake him up, before shoving his limbs through the black skin-tight shirt and slacks known as their uniform that they would be found wearing with varied shades of blue cloaks to distinguish the ranks and years. His cloak was of a light blue, just like the pale hues of the sky on a sunny day, and signified his position as a Cub in the Terminal. Each year had a distinct shade of blue that would darken the higher up a soldier was ranked. Only a fully-fledged soldier had the honour to wear the royal midnight blue cloak that carried the title and name of the South Terminal.

They packed quickly, shoving pieces of hot bread in their mouths and gulping down scorching tea before making their way to the Entrance Hall. Like the rest of the Terminal, their dormitories were made out of red bricks, arranged so that it looked like a cross between a Victorian style building with the shape of a Colosseum. The small colosseum-like towers were connected to the main building, which was also circular in shape.

The Terminal was void of activity at this time of the morning, a chill coursing through the air as they trudged down the corridors illuminated by tiny candles lining the walls. Luca shivered unconsciously, pulling his cloak closer to his body as he thought of the cold he'd have to endure during the mission.

His bunk bed already felt like a distant memory.

They reached the Entrance Hall and weren't surprised to see the three silhouettes waiting by the front doors. They motioned them silently towards the set of stone steps that led to the ground floor garage. All the equipment, gadgets and vehicles were stored there, mostly accessed by the Elder soldiers and the Mentors. Soldiers in training —like them Cubs — didn't have any rights to venture down without any authorization unless they needed a specific gadget for their mission. On the right side of the garage were the stables,

whereby specific horses were assigned to soldiers, a partner that would accompany the soldier throughout his years of service.

"Cubs, gather round."

One of their Elders, who went by the name of Mark Aronov, motioned them to get closer. Having had him for some of his training sessions, Mark was known to be a very decent guy, humble and quiet-natured. With ash brown hair and cool grey eyes, the Elder didn't strike anyone as a violent soldier. He was believed to be the nicest and most selfless individual Luca had met, although he was ruthless on the field. He was also head of the Close Combat division, where killing and shooting with precision was their centre of focus.

Teams were assigned to graduated soldiers depending on their specialities, ambitions and weakness. There were five main divisions comprised of: Close Combat, focused on specifics and narrow targets, Distance Combat, which included shooting and maneuvering vehicles, Weapon Wielding, that used swords, shields and other weapons, the Medics, focused on healing and almost having to follow the same program as Doctors, and finally the Invisibles, the ones that would infiltrate and gather information to make any kind of mission possible.

Another Elder conducted the introductions with the whole team. He had a stern look to him, a cold flawless face with dark hair cut close to his scalp. He introduced himself as Junior Kim from the Invisibles division.

"I'm assuming the Phoenix chose your team because you guys are more than capable of handling yourselves."

Luca might have considered this young man to be handsome, albeit unreachable, almost inhumane. But no one could ignore the darkness in his eyes that reflected the traces of the battle scars and the countless friends he'd lost. They were tough and unrelenting, hard.

"I just want to make this clear: The Outside is nothing like what you've experienced inside Southern borders. You're going to see creatures — Soul Reapers — and that, it's terrifying." He shook his head, "gave me nightmares the first few times I was out on the field."

"Jesus Junior, stop scaring them. They look like they're about to pee in their pants," another voice bellowed from a distance and anyone could have recognized it as Janu Singh's from the Weapon Wielding division;

the one and only fellow who found joy and laughter in simply everything. If the world were about to end, surely Janu would find a worthy joke to make out of it. With his round face and dark eyes framed by thick lashes, it was no surprise that he was famous amongst the South soldiers.

"Tone it down, Janu," Junior snapped, "we're not in a bloody supermarket." Janu ignored him, "'Sup Cubs! I'm your man, Janu."

He extended a muscular arm across to Adam, who only blinked back in shock before hesitantly shaking his hand.

"Janu," Junior warned.

"Oh Junior, you're adorable," Janu threw an arm around the said man's shoulder, who only shrugged him

off with more than mild annoyance shown through a frown. "This is a mission. Stop acting so foolishly."

"Yes Sir." Janu sniggered, finally toning it down a little before Junior turned back to them once again and cast the group a quick, evaluative glance. "Arm your mares and put on your saddles. Take all the weapons you need, max is three, though I'd suggest you go with two. Once we exit these doors, it becomes a battlefield. So I expect you to be focused, alert, and quiet."

Luca gulped. He had been on missions, countless times. But he'd never ventured to the Outside. That was foreign land. Once they crossed that defined line, it was said that they could consider themselves dead.

"I know you can do it."

Wise words of the Phoenix was his only motivation that clung to his mind. This was the real deal, this time Luca would travel to the North and finally perceive the atrocity lying behind their parameters.

------

Once they passed the Southern Border gates, it felt like the rest of the world fell behind to give rise to a vast amount of unclaimed, dead land void of activity and motion, with nothing but an icy bite in the wind that accompanied them on their journey. It tore at Luca's pale blue cloak like savage beasts trying to wrestle it off his shoulders, biting at his flesh like a thousand tiny knives slapping against his skin and causing it to throb.

As they moved up North, they passed by a few outer Southern cities that were now abandoned and devoid of human activity in-between bursts of forestry and plantations that looked like they had seen better days. Other than that, it didn't seem like there was any sign of wildlife. The grass was yellow and dry, the earth cracking underneath their horses' hooves, but from what they'd studied about the North, it wouldn't be too long until he'd start feeling the weather drop and the environment change.

It had just been five days outside of the safe haven he called home, and yet it felt like a year. He wondered whether his horse was as tired as he was, and unconsciously reached down a hand to pat its muscular neck in an attempt of comfort. As if in understanding, the mare blew softly through his nose and chortled.

Luca did not have any energy left to talk. His lips were dried fish scales aching for water and his stomach was a constant beast growling for food. They stopped once every six hours, just to replenish their energy with the limited rations they'd brought along, but salt crackers and water did nothing to quench his appetite. What he needed was rest.

Ian seemed to be wondering the same thing, for he blurted out, "When's the next break?" "We still have a few more hours to go," Mark replied gently.

"How much more?" Ryder asked even though they'd been warned not to complain about the rough nature of this expedition.

"If you're going to complain this easily, then I'd rather you stop right here and go back home," Junior's voice dripped with terror and authority.

"I never said—" Ryder stopped in mid-sentence when the said Elder soldier kicked his horse and charged forward.

Janu glanced back at Ryder's expression before saying, "I swear he's better than what he seems to be."

Luca was pretty sure that Junior heard them loud and clear, but decided that there was no use in acknowledging that fact.

"Are you okay?" Eli's soft murmur came from his right. Luca nodded and forced a smile on his frozen lips, "You?"

Eli shrugged back before he nudged his leg slightly with his own, causing Luca to wobble on his horse. He narrowed his eyes at the brown-haired soldier, who threw him an amused smirk in return.

Trust Eli to lighten up his mood whenever he needed cheering up.

Time crawled by as they sped through the landscape.

The earth stretched before them as light turned to darkness, greeting them like a long-lost friend. The more they went North, the less sunlight they were going to get. Shades of blue and purple bruised the sky, scars of stars twinkling in the darkness, slithers of sharp cuts opening up the black void of the above.

He thought of his mother to pass the time, wondering how she was doing. Thinking about her always seemed to ease the pain and provide him with some sense of comfort. He reminded himself that he had to come back, if not for him, then for her sake. He was the only thing she had left, the one person that she could count on. If he was gone, who could she turn to?

"Luca," Junior's hiss made him jump, "Focus!"

The young soldier, broken away from his daze, looked around until his dark eyes settled over something unfamiliar, seemingly odd and which didn't blend into the décor before him. The fact that Junior had pointed it out made it clearer as there was no way Luca would have been able to identify the strangely protruding shape from the dark silhouettes that surrounded them.

He squinted at the object, before realization hit him like a truck. Two Soul Reapers stood before them, waiting.

Well, they didn't wait long to show themselves, he grumbled in thought. On his right, Janu adjusted his backpack and suddenly drew out his sword, the moonlight bouncing off the glittering steel, "Good timing. I was getting bored."

Luca just stared.

They were ugly, dented deformed heads and long extended limbs that hung by their sides with featureless faces, holes as eye sockets and noses that were split-open. Their mouths were slack-jawed, like rotten flesh jagged and mixed with dead skin. They had human bodies, but instead of skin were pieces of rotten flesh and parasites instead, as if it was torn and halfway decayed into shades of death itself.

Luca wasn't really sure whether they had even taken notice of the group huddled together and staring, but he was pretty sure that they would catch on soon enough. He had seen them in books, in slides, in numerous videos and simulations, but nothing could have prepared him for the smell that reached his nostrils and caused him to feel like retching out his food from his stomach.

It was a pungent, disgusting scent of bad-rotting cheese mixed with what seemed to be a decaying bodily odour of someone who'd passed a few weeks prior, and he scrunched his nose in distaste.

They were the North's doing, test subjects that had turned out wrong and had been rejected, now out in the open to attack anyone in the vicinity. According to research studies conducted by the other Terminals, it was found that the nature of Soul Reapers stemmed from altered genes that attacked the body like a virus, turning it into decaying flesh and eating away at one's brain as a result of Northern experiments gone bad. It was still unclear what the North was doing, but what was clear was that Soul Reapers had been, above everything else, humans just as they were.

And sometimes, they seemed more like human beings than anything else. And that was scary.

Janu jumped down from his horse to attack before Luca could even blink, and with a slash of his sword he struck the Soul Reaper's head, a jagged, brown liquid exploding through the wound. The creature screeched and was about to grab onto the man when he swiftly turned and threw a roundhouse kick, watching in satisfaction as it flew back and hit the dirt.

Mark had been occupied with the other one, slashing its neck with a knife so that it slid to its knees and fell over like a lifeless doll. Luca tried to will himself not to look at the ghastly picture it presented, but he couldn't help but stare at the overflowing dark liquid paste that kept bubbling out of its wounds like blood would trickle out of a human.

Except he knew it wasn't blood. It didn't smell like blood.

His mare grunted softly and stomped a hoof, backing away from the dead carcass now rotting to death. Even the animals were restless at the odour emanating from the now solidified murky waste.

"Well," Jin prompted in the sudden silence that prevailed, "that was easier than I expected it to be."

"They're not really smart," Mark stated as he bent down to inspect what remained of the reaper. Luca looked away to avoid the gruesome sight; his stomach was pretty strong, but this was so much more than whatever he had expected.

"I thought they hunted in groups," said Joshua.

Junior nodded, "That's true. It's weird seeing two of them in the open like that."

"Yeah they're usually not so solitary," Janu muttered before kicking at the reaper lying at his feet. There was a wet squelching sound and Luca's stomach flipped.

Junior glanced around at Janu's statement with growing unease on his face, "Well, we should get going before others attack us. If we found two this close to home, there are surely others roaming around."

"Is there no way—no way at all to cure them?" came Ian's soft-spoken question.

All three Elders turned to gaze at the russet-haired man, who couldn't help but squirm under their gaze.

"We don't know for sure if there are successful cases of people having Life Source running through their veins without becoming—" Mark gestured towards the reaper at his feet, "—this. What we know is that if your body rejects it, that's the outcome. In other words, your body seems as good as dead, but not dead enough to kill you completely. That's why they're always hunting for human flesh."

"Do they understand what we say to them?" Jin inquired.

"Apparently they're stupid and don't really have any intellectual ability," Mark said as he trotted alongside Adam's mare, "But I really don't know about that."

"That's scary," Eli mumbled.

"You better get used to it," Junior stated, "that's the life of a soldier that swears his oath to a Terminal."

"Says the one who just swore an oath to his girlfriend before embarking on this mission," Janu muttered loudly enough for all the group to hear. He then grinned when Junior's face flushed, "What? Think I didn't hear you and your lover talking about how much you loved each other, Junior?"

"Oh piss off Janu," He hissed. Luca swore he caught a glimpse of a blush dusting his Elder's cheeks. "I mean, I could probably recite it off by heart if I jog my memory a bit—"

Junior shoved Janu's shoulder with such force that the latter almost toppled over from his mare. The animal whinnied in protest.

"Hey! I could've smashed my face on the ground right there," Janu argued as he righted himself.

"That's what you get for talking too much," Junior muttered while pulling his navy cape over his head.

"Do any of you have a girlfriend?" Janu shifted his attention towards the Cubs, all the while pulling a face behind Junior's back. A few chuckles arose amongst them while Adam elbowed Jin softly, "Yeah Jin, tell him."

"We're just close friends," Jin rubbed the back of his neck self-consciously, "Adam just has a wild imagination."

Luca's thoughts drifted after that, not really focusing on the conversation and instead thinking of how long it would be till he got back. If he got back. They'd predicted that the mission would probably take more than a month because they were on horseback, adding on to his personal mission and that surely made two

months at most. The thought of being alone from his comrades for the first time was not an appealing idea, and Luca brushed it off at the moment. That could be dealt with later.

It was only when the sun had risen high in the sky that they finally decided to take a break.

"We can stop here and rest for a few hours," Junior finally gave the signal for everyone to drop down from their horses, and they all breathed out, happy to get a few hours of sleep on this long perilous journey. They found a few trees lined in such a way that would protect them from the wind, and Janu busied himself with tying the horses to the barks before giving them sufficient food and water. The rest of the soldiers quickly settled themselves around a small portable campfire that Joshua had brought along with him, one that he'd made a few nights before their departure which has proven to be handy in such a situation.

Though there was so much light flooding through his closed lids, Luca was surprised that he'd managed to doze off. The next thing he knew, Ian shook his shoulder lightly while stating that it was time to go. It was early evening when he rubbed the sleep away from his eyes and groggily stumbled back onto his mare.

"Here," Ryder came over to press a piece of bread and ham into his hand, "Eat, you'll need it"

"Thanks, man."

The days and hours blended together, with only the sun and the moon as indicators of time passing. It was a long journey strained with fatigue, and soon enough there was no water left, no food except for six granola bars that wouldn't last them over a day. It was then that they started hunting, finding what little food they could from the wild deer that roamed the area. They were scarce, but enough to stop them from starving to death. Once they reached a nearby river, they filled up their water supplies and caught what fish they could find. Mark had whipped out his tester, making sure that the water wasn't infected before they all gratefully drank like parched men.

It took them about two weeks until they finally spotted the Northern towers in the distance and Junior proceeded to halt, ordering them to settle themselves amongst the conifers so as not to attract too much attention. The air was definitely colder in this area, crispier and with conifers like ones they'd never seen before scattered around the landscape, and it was with a lot of groaning and moaning that the group huddled together with extra sleeping bags to keep their bodies warm against the frigid air.

Luca managed to huddle up, trying to make himself appear smaller just for the sake of warmth as Josh managed to light his portable electric campfire, planning out their entry to the Northern borders.

"Do you have a plan?" Mark asked Junior when night fell and silence fell like a hushed murmur amongst the trees.

"Not specifically," Junior said as he took a bite out of his cooked fish, "the Phoenix told me about the North, how they work. They have good security, but not good enough. Apparently their barriers are easy to break and their guards are dumb, but that's because they don't expect people to randomly show up and break into their headquarters."

He then moved his gaze to Eli, whose eyelids were heavy with sleep, "Talcott," he called Eli to attention, who quickly shook himself awake upon hearing his surname, "Yes?"

"The Phoenix told me you were good with infiltration," Junior said, "what's your speciality?"

"Usually pass codes, technological locks," Eli scratched the back of his brown, dishevelled head, "I might be able to pick normal locks, though I doubt they'd be using them for something this important."

"Do you think you can get us in if we manage to get a plan of the whole North Headquarters for you?" Junior asked, eyebrows furrowed and almond eyes appearing even darker and more serious as they reflected the light of the fire, "We can send Mark and Wang in, get them to scout the area for us without getting noticed. Who's the artist here?" His eyes swept over the group before settling on Ryder's silhouette.

The younger man gazed back at him, alert and serious when he spoke in his deep alto, "I can do it if you give me the physical cues," His amber eyes flicked over to Luca, "you'll have to take a few snapshots and calculate the coordinates though."

Luca nodded in understanding.

"Good. We'll get a rough map of the place. The majorly important thing right now is getting Mark and Wang in without getting noticed," Junior looked down at the fire, the flames dancing over the planes of his face and failing to hide the way the Elder clenched his jaw, probably in concern. He felt partly sorry for the Elder soldier, wondering whether he felt the pressure pushing down upon his shoulders.

"I brought some Spy-Spiders with me," Joshua drawled with a British twang. When they all turned their attention on the silver-haired man, he gathered his knees to his chest as his bony shoulders curled in on themselves. He was probably cold, Luca thought in dismay, not liking the fact that Joshua could easily fall prey to sickness due to his fragile physical form.

"Care to elaborate?" Janu asked while Junior's face flickered with interest. The soldiers leaned forward as Joshua retrieved a small number of metal spiders from his pocket. They all looked like normal spiders from this distance, but Luca knew that Joshua had more up his sleeve.

"They stop you from alertness, send you in a mini-daze for five minutes at most," Joshua said off-handedly, "if I send them out towards the guards, they'll be rendered useless for some time. If you can sneak in during that time without getting seen then you'll be fine."

"Janu, do you have any invisibility pills on you?" Junior asked. The said man nodded as he produced a clear vial containing a few spherical-shaped objects the size of Luca's pinky fingernail. They were clear dark blue and sphere-like.

"Alright, good. You guys can take that," He said to Mark and Luca, "Joshua's spiders will render the guards useless and Jin, Adam and Janu will make sure they won't get in the way. That will give you enough time for Talcott to disable the locks and let Mark and Wang inside. From there onwards, Ryder and I will be providing a rough sketch of the place."

Junior then asked Joshua, "Can those spiders prolong the effect?" "Haven't tried them for more than five minutes, so I wouldn't know."

"All right then. Mark, Wang, you have just about five minutes so don't roam around like tourists, understood?" Junior said.

"Roger." Mark and Luca chorused.

"Right then," Junior said, "let's get this party started."