collision course (3)

Bucky had a tired face, dark circles around his eyes, worried sick for the only family he had left in this world. He made her join the military because he thought it would be safer; never in his wildest dreams did he think he would see her like this.

In a hospital bed, attached to life support, breathing through a mask and unconscious of her own fate. He held her hand as if it would somehow warm her, bring her back.

After 48 minutes of silence and the constant beeping of machines, Matthew arrived with a report. It contained the chaotic situation they were in.

"What are the captains doing?" he asked.

"They're closing off all activities and locking up every area as you've ordered. The communications went offline; they assume something happened in area six, so they sent two squads with their captains over there to check."

"Their status?"

"Still haven't reported, sir. We assume the Zephyr to be in area six."

"What about others?"

"The rest are concentrated on the first area as per your last orders. Area two has been destroyed by outside wanderers. They've made their way into area four; our troops have failed to subjugate them."

"…"

The base was in a much worse situation than he expected. The commander is missing at the worst time.

"What about the exit?"

If he can't save people in area four, Bucky at least wanted them to have a way out. From all the information he received, the base was beyond saving if the commander didn't come back soon.

"Some of our remaining soldiers went to the hatch, but they were reported to be killed immediately by outside forces. It's the wanderers, sir."

To be honest, neither Matthew nor any other soldiers wanted to leave. The safety of their family was at stake. Some of them had family inside the base in area four, and many had lost theirs to the apocalypse. It was never a choice of running away; it would only break them more. It was if they were willing to fight a losing battle.

"So, outside the exit are killers waiting for us, and inside we have a class five criminal and a group of wanderers rampaging at their free will?" Bucky asked, trying to summarize the situation.

"Yes, sir."

Wanderers were seen as hounds and bands of vigilantes by the military, something that must be taken down before it caused harm. However, going against wanderers who had awakened among them was suicide, and the military couldn't afford to spend their energy on, in their terms, pointless waste of energy before dealing with the apocalypse.

Now, that decision of leaving them be and focusing on more important things came back to bite them. The wanderers have grown stronger and now one of the secure military bases is under attack.

"What are your orders, sir?" Matthew asked, hoping the lieutenant would have some answers to their crisis. Ever since the wanderers came in, everything spiraled out of control. They didn't know what to deal with first, or how. Captain Ange being injured did not help either.

Looking at the soldier, Bucky tightened his grip, "We don't have a choice, do we?"

Fighting the enemies waiting for them at the hatch won't do them any good if he can't save the people inside; consequently, focusing his forces to fight in area four, which, on top of a probable hostage situation, had a slimmer chance of any victory. And even if they did, they can't get out with the exhausted soldiers and fight the wanderers waiting at the hatch. What would they do about Zephyr in area six?

All these crises made Bucky's head swirl with headache. The military was in a deadlock. And without Commander Leo, they had no chance to turn this around.

Bucky looked at his sister one more time before he considered his options. If he wanted to help her, this place could not fall.

"Sigh… take me to where everyone is. I have something to say. We can't keep losing this fight anymore."

***

Area four. Same time.

Crimson was told that everything was ready and the explosives were connected to the detonator in his hand. All that was left was for him to act, to smoke out Zeff, before they were forced to fight the danger Kala told them about.

But just then, through the mind link he established with the teammates outside acted up. Their long-distance communications worked differently than that of the army. It involved using their neuro cells in the brain, and it was unbreachable. Makes it all the safer when using without the fear of someone listening to them. The Spade organization created them long before the apocalypse.

"What is it now?" Crimson asked in irritation, "If it's not important…"

But he was interrupted immediately by the panicking Kite on the other side, "A plague beast showed up!!!"

The gravity of the situation hit him immediately. "What? How many?"

"Only one."

And that was not what he expected to hear. "What are you guys doing?" Crimson asked, coming out of the cloaking he had by Iren's powers. Iren was awakened to the [Light Magus] class, which made him more than capable of casting healing spells. For a limited time and space, he can turn anything invisible.

Soon everyone else came out of the spell when they heard the word 'plaguebeast'. They knew it's not something you fight. You run.

"Waiting for your orders and creating a defensive formation," Kite replied.

"How much time do you have before it reaches you?"

"Uh… with its current speed I expect fifteen minutes… or less," Kite told.

"Alright then, listen to me," Crimson said in a serious tone, "You don't fight it. Run back to the nearby shelter of wanderers. Contact the high spade and ask for help. Do it now."

"But what about the mission?" Kite asked.

"Don't tell me about my job, kid," Crimson replied, "We'll be just fine."

"Okay."

When the call was cut, Koul was the first to speak, "Did you just say we'll be just fine? Against a plaguebeast? How far do you think it takes to reach a nearby settlement?"

"Hours…" Crimson replied, "Okay. New plan."

He just couldn't catch a break. He was more and more thinking about how Kala was nicknamed 'jinx'. Not a single good thing happens when she foresees 'danger'. It was part of her awakening as a [Seer] class, but it never goes well when she predicts the future, and most of the time it can't be changed. Hence making her powers pointless to boot.

"We have fifteen minutes to smoke out Zeff and deal with 'danger'." Crimson said.

"So, now we're on a deadline." Koul scoffed, "Then, what are we waiting for?"

Immediately after he said that, he took out the swords he was hiding in his dimensional pocket. Koul was of the [Keeper] class, so his awakening came with dimensional space where he could store things. Well, he only uses them to store his swords, knives, and guns.

"That," Crimson said, pointing towards the wall in the distance. "As far as we know, Zeff might not be here. Area four is a bigger place. That wall, from what I can tell based on the structure, is fake."

Crimson was talking about the old military dead zone sealed away. He was educated in army dynamics in the spades, so he knew the wall is a pointless structure, something the military used to hide their old experiment places.

"I need to be sure what they keep there before I start the explosion. So I'll go there and check, you… get started before me."

Crimson planned to act separately now, leaving the rest of the attack to them while he checks if Zeff could be hiding in some deeper facility. Worse, that place has some other exit than the hatch.

Crimson, after the three months he was awakened, has mastered his powers to a degree unmatched by his peers. Somehow, he seemed to have a natural talent for the [Fire Mage] class, his awakening class.

He shifted his body temperature with just a thought and placed them at his right palm. This made his right hand seem redder, like raging lava was inside his hand. Reaching the edge of the wall, which came after he crossed the farming zone, he placed his right hand on it.

The farmers ignored the wall mostly due to their misinterpretation of what the military base should look like. Their lack of imagination, even William, never considered the wall that reached the ceiling of the dome might be fake and what they kept on the other side.

The wall began to melt at his touch. When Crimson melted the wall to suit his entrance, he saw darkness inside.

Entering, Crimson conjured a fireball in his hand, lifting it up so he could see around.

The darkness faded, revealing a much darker side of the military and those who cling to power.

Crimson noticed the bombs the size of an airship covered in a metallic sheet with a name on it.

[Mark I]

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