Expedition pt 4

{Blaze's POV}

{Twenty minutes earlier}

The more time we wasted the more I felt like my head could implode any second. If I didn't make it in time, I would have to face an opponent with no prior knowledge of it's strength or weaknesses, therefore putting the rest of my team in jeopardy.

I watched as Ace raised his hands before tightening his palm to signal that we halt, a gentle air of silence being carried around us.

We had marched deep into the settlement and were already closer to squad 36 as the malfunctioning of our receiver could prove so. I tried communicating with the captain once more as we stood still, but was unable to reach his signal in time.

'What the hell is Ace doing, we're sitting ducks here!'

As a negron pushed it's ugly head through the small space between the both of us, I felt the sudden urge to completely rid it of whatever life it bore, but had to hold back so as not to provoke an ambush.

The closer we got to the operation channel, the more negrons that spawned, so we tried our best to reduce their numbers discreetly, for fear of attracting the strange breed squad 36 has encountered.

"On my count.... 3... 2..... 1..... Now!" Ace counted, staring at Veronique who braced for an attack.

Ace and Veronique took care of the negron in an instant, silently destroying it's vocal cord with a force field as Ace plunged his entire arm into it's chest with great force, completely destroying it's core.

I stood up from where I had sat down, my eyes moving towards Sasha who was behind me, dusting herself as she stood. I had to make sure no harm had come to her no matter what, since she had no formal combats training and was dear to me also.

"Captain?"

I looked at my receiver in hand before turning towards the sound of the voice that had spoken, my eyes flipping with amazement at the discovery of Ferol.

'Thank God he's still alive' I thought gasping for breath.

I moved towards him, speedily without any consideration and bent over to speak in a whisper just so no one could hear.

"I can't believe I made it in time, are you okay?" I whispered, just enough for the worry laden captain to hear.

"Yes, help me up. I got separated from my team a while ago"

I lifted his body weight through his shoulder, pulling him to his feet as he whined in pain. I couldn't even imagine how rough it had been for him and his team for the past couple of days. He looked back at me, offering a short smile as he chuckled slightly.

"It's been hard but we did survive, at least some of us" Ferol responded, as if he had read my thoughts.

"How many are left."

"Six. Four of my team including me and two members of squad 66. They encountered the prime negron before us and even battled with it three times before our team came along.

Unlike theirs, our team was charged with gathering information through surveillance of the operation house, which we have completed even though we encountered unnecessary drawbacks." The captain responded, a tinge of confidence laced with his words.

"Prime negron?, You mean the more evolved negron you encountered right?" Root inquired, an intrigued look on his face.

"Yes, Root. Go back and help Ace with his surveillance" I replied, smacking my lips at the thought of his imprudence.

"Yes sir!" He responded with a brief mock salute.

Root was an unusually slow individual and it worried me as his captain about his inability to grasp very fundamental coded message.

He scratched his short black hair as he walked towards Ace, disappointment written all over his face. He wanted to partake in the conversation we were having and I was aware of that, but I just felt like his constant remarks might have slowed our pacing.

"So, did you find out about the weakness of the prime negron?" I asked, resuming the interrogation.

"Yes, it's hide is more sturdy than the normal negrons we had encountered so far but I think it would be possible to bring it down with a precise and powerful thrust to it's chest. We currently lack the manpower to pull a distraction but with the help of your team may-"

"Captain, it's here!" Ace's voice echoed, rising in tempo until it clashed with the shrieking of the monster.

The beast that approached us from the shadows, let out a strange waul which followed with a clicking sound. It was triple the height of Ace who was easily the tallest amongst us, with the width of a small car. I shuddered the instant it became visible, like I had come face to face with a giant.

"Go!, I'll buy you guys some time" Ace screamed, charging directly at the monstrosity.

"No Ace, do not engage with it" I reproached, jumping toward him.

Before I could even complete my statement the two had already gone to battle, hot wind emanating from each of the monster's swing.

I headed back towards the covering of a rock with the captain close to me. My mind was shattered, and all hope of leaving alive with it. 

Ace was already at his peak performance but the beast was still unfazed by any of his attacks, it just responded in a hurry trying very hard to end the fight as quickly as it started.

Ace took a hit, crashing on a boulder, and by the time the beast noticed, it's primal instincts had kicked in and it immediately launched an attack, knowing Ace wouldn't be able to react to. Luckily for him, Veronique had made it in time, providing him with the very little protection she could offer.

AARRGGHHHHHH

As I saw the arms and head of the monster rip apart, I thought it had all ended, jumping out of my hiding spot in joy. 

'No, it's all too easy' Another thought hit me.

"Get down captain, It's not over yet!" Ferol screamed, affirming my suspicion.

Almost in an instant all the pieces of it's body that had been blasted completely, regrew as effortlessly as it had been lost.

It roared in anger, displeased by the surprise attack that Veronique had pulled and kept on beating on the invisible force field between them, hoping to get past it. Veronique fell to her knees, blood gushing from her nose like water from a burst pipe, she had expelled too much force and was suffering the consequences.

"Veronique, get out of the-"

BAM!!

I watched as it crushed Veronique to the ground till all her bones were like chips being stomped on.

Before Ace could even let out as much as a gasp, it had already swung it's claws, thoroughly amputating his head with relative ease, as if it were chopping off the head of a bird.

"NOOOOOOOO" Root screamed from behind us, livid in anger.

He leaped forward in rage, reluctantly in hopes of cutting down the monster with his attacks but the beast just moved behind him in an impossible instant, dispersing his upper body with one strike, as steam expelled from his absent upper form.

It had hit his upper body with so much speed and vigor that it had cause his blood to evaporate.

I just stood still, my mental state crashing at the sight of my entire squad being butchered with ease like as if they were flies being swatted at to death.

'This is impossible' I thought, whispering in my head for fear of attracting the monster's gaze.

I felt the little food I had in my body well up until it came out of my mouth, the sound of retching masking my brief squall.

If I had seen this in a movie, it would still be unbelievable to me but at the moment, I was experiencing it live and I couldn't even tell if it was real.

I felt the pull of someone, and crouched down before my buttocks hit the ground. The voices of the captain and his other teammates were as distant as the sound of music from an opposite building with no windows.

"Captain?, Captain, we have to move, can you hear me captain, we really have to move now!" The voice recovered it audibility, as I turned to pay attention to it.

"Huh?.... Ah yes" I replied adamantly, getting ready to run.

I ran with the rest of the survivors without reason, at this point I didn't even believe that we were going to survive another attack from that monster. Even with the symbiote and our abilities, we were still nothing but bugs to it. If the fate of humanity hanged on whether we could fully exterminate those beast, then humanity was doomed.

I picked up the receiver that fell from my pocket, the sound of Nezro's breathing could be heard from the other end. I had completely forgotten about those two, but it did little to reassure me at the moment.

I pulled the receiver towards my face, mouthing a few words that came to my mind at that moment.

"Nezro, are you there??. We need back up, Ace is down, can you hear me, I said Ace has been killed."