What do you think?

- 6:45 PM

- Location: Planet earth, ruins of new zelicya

Kelly looked somewhat sheepishly at Jack, as she revealed a roll of paper "The plan is very simple, take one of these ships."

Jack disappointedly whispered "I guess my expectations were unrealistic for such an occasion".

Ledia contemplated the models on the paper "With difficulty there would be better options, after all, there aren't many ways to get off the planet and most means were disabled."

Brendan pointed to the Starlight F-10000X model "This one looks good" he then watched their reactions in silence.

With sparkling eyes, Ledia extolled Brendan's decision "It's really beautiful".

Brendan narrowed his eyes for a moment.... Then replied with a smile "Especially the front design".

Zeke didn't even bother to take a look at the models "I honestly don't care, as long as we make it out alive, any mean is good."

｢What difference does it make? It's probably a waste of time to test the alternatives｣ Jack considered the models on the roll, after a slow inspection, he said "If we're talking about ships, a ship with attack and defense capabilities would be best. Preferably a military."

Kelly placed his gaze on the list "In fact, it would be best...".

After scanning the list, Jack sighed "Only three models are listed that meet the requirements." After which, he proceeded to underline the models.

"None stand out from the others, overall there is not much difference" He emphasized without saying much more.

Zeke stretched out his arm, showing the palm of his hand, fingers girdled over the edges of it "You said it, if there's hardly any difference let's go for the closest one."

Jack nodded wordlessly. Ledia stretched her limbs, kicking the chair next to her "I was getting used to this place."

Kelly headed for the door "Ready to go?".

Zeke raised his hands to his shoulders and sighed wryly "Whatever is in our hands, that's how much we own."

As soon as they got out, Kelly led the way. She showed millimetric execution of the route to follow, without deviating in any major way.

Jack sensed the strange calm surrounding the place. Even being specifically selected paths, he began to question exactly how much intelligence those beasts possessed ｢Could they even ambush?｣.

The streets simply couldn't be that empty, considering the nature of those beasts. Something escapes his understanding.

"I feel like this silence is a bad sign" He expressed his thoughts as he snooped on either side of the streets.

"If you consider any dangerous factor a bad sign, then everything around you is a bad sign. It's just the heavy atmosphere" Zeke replied.

"I wouldn't know..." replied Jack uncertain at his words "Maybe I'm worried because of nothing."

That ＜nothing＞ continued to grow with each step, a terrifying pressure on top of him.

Finally, a warning sign jumped before his eyes and he looked up.

An amorphous mass of gray, stands a few feet above Jack.... [A grotesque giant eye expands from its center, fully uncovered] with it making jerky movements, holding each of them in its sights.

The mass from which the eye originates not only floats without much explanation, it writhes recalling the image of tentacles that immediately blend in with the body.

Ta-ta-ta-ta-ta-ta-ta!

With absurd speed he grabbed his submachine gun; the huge eye with its hyperactive movements set its sights on him too late, he was only half a move away, however, barely a thousandth of a second later, bullets pierced the deformed body.

The eye exploded, covered everything under it with its humors, the body recoiled with each bullet; it stopped moving and fell.

Jack barely reacted to the thick layer now covering him.

"... Looks like you were right" Zeke asserted as he looked at the amorphous body of the creature, after which he shook his arms, trying to get rid of the pieces of the sclerotia that fell on him.

Brendan and Ledia approached the creature to take a closer look at it "It reminds me of last year's Christmas dinner" Ledia remarked without much thought.

Brendan poked one of the protrusions with a stick "It looks like the chemistry project I did in my first cebsa cycle."

Kelly meanwhile, shook her body rigorously, intent on escaping those foul humors.

Her eyes stared in terror at the slow moving substance, nausea was the consequence that hit her after enduring such torture.

But the good use of time was urgent, and there was little to waste. After several seconds, Jack sighed as he returned his submachine gun to its proper place "Kelly, Is there an alternate route?

Kelly observed the surroundings "Not really, if you contemplate each path from above, you would realize that despite changing streets, everything is connected and, the interior walls restrict movement".

"Wow..." Jack placed his hand on top of his submachine gun "Be prepared to engage in combat at any moment."

Doubtfully, Kelly watched the creature on the ground wondering what looked so dangerous to it.

｢Absurd, many adaptations of this creature are clearly tampered with, it's totally incoherent｣ Brendan continued to scrutinize the creature.

The group had already left the place, when he realized it. He hurried to catch up with them.

Even after advancing, they did not see any threat and this was maintained until they reached the end of the path.

A military compound focused on the storage of different objects, from supplies to means of transportation.

"This place looks terrible" Zeke mentioned as he swung around behind himself.

Numerous corpses lay on the ground, spread out in fullness, revealing what the darkness should hide. Whether indistinct creatures or humans, no secret was hidden in the incandescent light.

Distinct marks, from blood to bruises littered much of the wall and the mutilated lock sways sadly from the gates, oblivious to their duty, caressed by the relentless wind.

"Do you think there are still ships? Honestly, it looks like they've already taken everything useful" Ledia commented as she approached step by step next to Brendan.

Brendan's eyes scanned the place keenly, until he noticed Ledia's approach, after which he adopted her lively features.

The transition was mixed with nervousness "What's your favorite restaurant?" He asked in sudden response.

"Uhm, Kraffls?" she replied as her mind wandered.

"What do you say if we go together? Once this is all over" Brendan smiled as he asked that question.

Ledia nodded softly. Brendan averted his gaze as he heard the footsteps of the others walking away; they advanced a great distance while they were distracted.

They both quickened their pace to keep up with each other.

Finally, in front of them the ship depot.... Totally empty.

"Well. It was to be expected" Jack sighed before heading for the door "I'll go get some useful stuff from weapons storage."

No sooner had he finished the previous sentence than his forehead glowed with a faint light; he took a leap to his left. As he landed his gun was ready, just as the sound of the impact reached his ears, the sound of the bullets drowned out any others.

Y... Nothing, blood, a body, a sudden entry. Absolutely none of those things were witnessed, instead, only the sound of the door slowly opening.

The outside was absent of any intrusion.

Those present showed confusion, except for Zeke who responded by narrowing his eyes.

The most confused was Jack, who changed the charger of his submachine gun and advanced "It seems that there was nothing...".

Kelly extended her arm in Jack's direction. Barely sure what to say, she withdrew her arm sighing "It's time to create a new route...".

Brendan was the only one who decided to follow Jack in search of weaponry.

An impediment, but under no circumstances could he protest. He doesn't even know the real situation.

He could only hope that it was his own mistake and not the result of some skill.

...

...

Some time later, their disappointment could not have been greater, the warehouse was stripped of most of its contents.

Only a small, navy blue pistol with gray accents was left.

"A Fragle? Better than nothing, I guess..." He whispered, dodging Brendan's gaze.

Finally he picked up the gun and directed it towards Brendan "It's not particularly complicated to use.... It should be good against these creatures so.... That, now we'll be three fighters."

｢Wait a minute.... Zeke didn't come despite being the most aloof of the group, Does he own a gun or?...｣ His thought was cut off by the sensation of the gun falling to the ground.

At that moment he looked directly into Brendan's eyes "Do you know how to use a gun?".

...

During Kelly's monologue, Zeke's eyes followed his own path, far from even observing her actions.

At a certain point, he began to slowly walk away, until he was lost from her view.

Behind a bookshelf, he peered at the wall, narrowed his eyes before boring down and pulling out a short sword from his backpack, after which he stabbed the wall.

A green liquid began to seep out of the sword, it quickly became visible what he stabbed at; one of the limbs is practically touching his face.

He immediately yielded to gravity and collapsed to the ground.

Zeke snorted in disappointment, returned the sword to his backpack and returned to Kelly's side.

Coincidentally, at that moment Kelly finished her explanation. She looked at Zeke and asked, "Is that clear?"

"At all" he replied without more thought.

Without giving any chance for a response, sounds of gunshots rang through the warehouse.

...

...

...

"This is absurd" Jack advanced to the front, eliminating the waves of enemies trying to break through the door.

"Brendan, shoot the ones coming out of the herd" His gaze shadowed as he said this.

A field of fresh corpses quickly piled up, the creatures looking like cheaply produced clones spread out beyond where his sight reached.

However, his chargers did not, in fact he was close to his limit.

"Tch" while firing with his right arm, he picked up several grenades with his left hand, one by one he triggered them and threw into the enemy masses.

Casualties were quickly replaced, in an endless swarm.

｢... The front is not a feasible way out, if I can create a barricade...｣.

His eyes lit up and he extended his now empty hand to his shield generator.

He contemplated it one last time before tossing it towards the entrance, covering the access route.

"Let's go!" he shouted to Brendan, after which he turned and began to run.

Brendan could barely keep up with him, and by the time he finally caught up, he had slowed down.

In front of them, the other three members of the group filed out, Ledia especially tired gasped repeatedly.

Jack made eye contact with Kelly, watching her for a few small moments that seemed to last much longer "We need to get out as soon as possible!".

With a sway of his body, he opened a wide field of vision, her eyes shuddered as she took in the scene of a sea composed of bloodthirsty beasts ｢So long, plan number two｣ Kelly pointed in the direction of a hill "There should be a hidden passage in case of a frontal attack."

They set off in that direction, Zeke threw several marbles in the middle of the road.

...

...

"It never crossed my mind that this passage was an abandoned station..." Jack sighed "Are there still any exits?".

Kelly walked over to a map of the tunnels, taped to the center of the wall.

"It looks like the shortest line is the eighth, luckily, it's close to the third location."

"Luck is just what's missing" Zeke slowly withdrew the map "If luck doesn't prove elusive to us. We'll finally take the next step."

Jack shook his face in disappointment "Only if luck doesn't act elusive. That's the problem."

Ledia surveyed the dark passageway, lit with nothing but a faint glow which appeared to be coming from nowhere "I hope we don't run into mutants."

Brendan replied with a chuckle "We're in Europe, that sort of thing only shows up in America."

...

...

...

Trk.

The ground rumbled, shook with violence and fervor.

As Ledia and Brendan fell, the result of the loss of balance. Jack held Kelly so she wouldn't fall.

Zeke sat on the ground, even before it begun to shook "That shield really held up pretty well" he whispered to himself.

The ground stabilized. As time went on, they approached the supposed exit.

The sunlight ceased to be a longing and became a growing presence.

However, that increase slowly turned into a decrease.

An increasingly weakening light was their only guide.

The outside appeared girded in the gray tones of the heavy clouds that screamed in all directions the coming of a drizzle.

Jack paused in the middle of the stairs, contemplating the scene in front of him ".... Exactly... What's among their ranks?"

Most of the buildings were found reduced to ruins, far worse than a confrontation with explosives.

And the resounding of the rain was present, a multitude of exponentially growing impacts.

Countless numbers entered the scene, forming a background noise.

"It only remains to pray that the enclosure has not met the same fate."

Clinging to hope, they advanced through the ruins. The rain made passage difficult, posing a major obstacle as the debris-altered streets became slippery.

That enclosure mentioned, in fact, was relatively close and in spite of it, they arrived with heaviness.

It was certainly a singular sight given its apparent structural integrity. Even the lock was in good shape.... At least until Jack broke it.

Before opening the door, he focused on the building behind the enclosure, a large portion of which he could see was detached.

"A miracle is what we need most...".

As the image behind the door was uncovered, the glow of hope faded.

The building collapsed in this direction, only an undamaged spacecraft was left.

...

"The flux chain is damaged" Jack said dryly before sighing and turning to the opposite direction, looking at the others "I think I can make a temporary fix, but it won't last until the ogch base. We'll have to make a stop on mars."

"It's the only viable option" Kelly approached to the door from which they entered "The alternative is too unlikely."

"Just as I feared" Jack turned to the central construction in the runway "Be prepared for any attack."

Finally, the goal is at their fingertips.

...

...

...

After traveling several thousand kilometers in space, the earth gradually moved away.

Through the windows they observed a dark figure resembling a pyramid.

Ledia asked in exultation "Eh.... What's that!?".

With a nonchalant expression Jack barely gave it a glance before dismissing it "It looks like space junk from the twenty-third century.... A lot of prototype ships were pyramid-shaped."

Confused, Zeke focused on the object, by the way it accreted, the speed at which it was approaching was increasing.

Zeke sighed "The speed at which it is moving is not continuous, unless it is still operational, I would doubt it was simple junk."

Jack raised an eyebrow and took control of the ship "Brendan, you command the rocket launchers. Ledia, you take the machine guns. Kelly on the particle cannons and Zeke on strategy."