Chapter 15. Unexpected Aid

Leaving Emily with Xavier, Jordan rushed through various halls to the main office to alert everyone about the imminent danger. He slammed the door open and made his way inside the office, there were a few secondary rooms inside and when he spotted "Control Room" on a sign above a door, he quickly made his way to it. Entering the room Jordan noted that it was snug before checking out the control panel. Jordan had expected a monitor with a touchscreen or an interactive projection but he was instead met with flips and switches. There was no time to go over how strange this was but Jordan had the sense there was indeed more to this place than what initially met the eye. Flipping the alarm Jordan spoke into the PA system remembering the instructions for a potential invader.

"This is a Code Red! Please remain calm, and make your way to the bunker safe house in an orderly fashion. I repeat this is a Code red, If everyone would please remain calm and calmly make your way to the bunker safe house." Jordan went on, reiterating the command for a minute or so.

Following the advice he preached, Jordan made his way out of the office and to the bunker, trailing behind everyone else. Not long after he had left the office he heard rumbling coming from a good distance behind him. Picking up the pace he looked behind him to see a hulking figure turn the corner. The man had massive muscles barely hanging onto his frame, making him look intimidating and grotesque. As soon as he processed the figure Jordan was suddenly in someone's arms and moving nauseatingly fast. The surroundings were a blur and vertigo struck Jordan as he was carried away. Being set down Jordan placed his hand against the wall and tried not to puke.

"Are you doing alright? I apologize if I was a bit rough with you, I didn't want him to notice us."

Jordan acknowledged the man's words with a thumbs-up and then hurled the contents of his stomach.

"Yeah, I had the same reaction the first time, you'll get used to it...probably."

Wiping his face and shaking off the nausea, Jordan assesses the man before him. He was somewhat plain, his pale completion and roughly cut brown hair making him look relatively ordinary. He appeared to be in his mid to late 20s and held himself like a weary parent exhausted after a long day at work.

"W-wait, that...thing, it was charging toward the bunker...we have to go back and help everyone else," Jorden shouted, already up and figuring out where he was.

"Hold on Jordan, we can't" The man stated, rushing to Jordan. Attempting to resist the man Jordan glared at him and argued back.

"What do you mean we can't, you have powers, right? Emily won't be able to ward off that monster all by herself, they are sitting ducks. We have to go help in any way we can!" Jordan screamed, tears welling up in his eyes as he heard loud banging start.

Facing Jordan the man grabbed his shoulders and looked hard into his eyes. "Listen, there is nothing I can do to that monster, he is simply on a different level. Luckily, he didn't notice me before this moment or when I grabbed you. His blind rage helped in that department but as I, and I'm sure you, could sense that monster as you put it is that, a monster."

Jordan sneered at his words but knew it was the truth, the truth didn't quell his feelings on the matter, however. "I-I understand, but we can't just leave them to die right? There must be something we can do...wait, Xavier. If we can wake him up and help him, he can take down that monster."

The man thinks about it for a few moments before coming to a decision. "Alright, I felt his power earlier and he is the reason that monster came down here. Not to blame the kid but if anyone could deal with him it would be Xavier. I'll wake him up but he will have to take it from there, we would just get in the way."

"Alright," Jordan responded before being picked up by the man and rushed off. Appearing beside Xavier's room the man focused for a moment and Xavier fell from his previously floating position suddenly awake. As soon as the action was done the man sped off once more, Jordan In his arms. It was a few more seconds until Jordan was put down but as he did Jordan gagged and held his stomach. If there was anything left in his stomach it would have surely been emptied. They were in the infirmary, beds lining the wall and medical supplies littering the room.

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"Alright, I'm going to go search for any survivors in the upper shelters, if I find any I'll bring them back here for you to patch them up. You can handle that right?"

Gasping for breath and trying not to fall over from nausea Jordan nods.

Before leaving the man turns to Jordan and says. "Oh, and by the way, my name is John." and with that, John ran off at dizzying speeds.

John returned in short order with a little boy, he had a few cuts so Jordan grabbed some bandages and began addressing his wounds. John brought back a few other survivors but looked sorrowful. After patching up a few more survivors multiple simultaneous resounding booms shake the shelter.

Regaining their balance Jordan finishes up addressing an older lady's wounds and gives John a look. Going into a side room Jordan asks John about searching effort. "How has the search for survivors gone? Does it look pretty bad up there?"

"I'm going to give it one more look around but yeah, that monster made a mess of the two higher shelter levels," John responded, a grave expression on his face.

Just as he had replied to Jordan a loud crash could be heard not too far away.

"It must be Xavier and that monster." Jordan guessed aloud. "If they are still going at it that's a good sign, right?"

"At the very least they are equally matched as if either one was stronger the fight should have been over by now. But it could be equally likely that if the fight is still going on that monster could just be toying with the boy, no way to really know."

"Alright, well after you do your last search can we check in on the fight and see if everyone is alright? I'm really worried about them."

"Maybe," John states.

John rushes off again and Jordan checks over the survivors, some of them have tears streaming down their faces while others embrace loved ones. It's a grim sight but at least some of them were able to survive. The fighting nearby seemed to be picking up, startling the survivors a bit more. Jordan was getting increasingly anxious, imagining the worst of the situation. He wished he could do more, he's felt this way ever since Brian had first woken up and he had to fight. He would gladly put his life on the line and fight but like John had said he would just get in the way.

John returned with a little girl and left again to retrieve someone else, taking just a few seconds he came back with the girl's mother. They were relatively uninjured but shaken up nonetheless.

"Alright, let's go," John commanded, looking at Jordan. "We will have to walk, don't want to signify our approach, now do we?"

"Got it." Jordan acknowledged, nodding seriously.

Walking through the hallways ever closer to the combatants a pressure had begun washing over both John and Jordan. At first, it was barely noticeable just a slight weight, but as the duo pressed on the pressure was nearly debilitating. For John, he had to actively fight off the suppressive force to continue walking. It was no easy feat but compared to Jordan, who was barely able to take any more steps forward, it was something. Imagining trying to fight under this weight was intimidating and Jordan felt even more crestfallen. He was truly delusional if he thought he could ever be of any real help to Xavier.

John strained as he attempted to ward off the suppression on Jordan, something he hadn't ever done before. It was successful in allowing him to at least get close enough to see the action. What was once the dining hall was now a small crater in the shelter, the doors were gone and with each clash, the perimeter of the crater grew. It was hard to tell what was going on with how fast the action was and the constant stream of crimson energy berating the surroundings.

"The-the bunker, we need to-to check it." Jordan muttered, straining to speak.

"Alright, hold on," John says before picking Jordan up once more. At this point, he didn't care if the monster sensed him but he doubted he would. Dashing away they reached the wreck of a bunker and made it deeper inside. The smell of blood and death permeated the space and John braced for the worst. Jordan didn't have the advanced senses that John had so he was none the wiser of what to expect. This along with the surroundings being a blur.

They finally made it into the deepest reaches of the bunker where a terrible sight lay before them. Various bodies littered the spacious room, most notably Emily near the entrance of the room, a trail of blood showing that she had dragged herself. The duo just stared for a moment not knowing how to process the reality of the situation. Jordan slowly reached down to Emily and found she still had a pulse but would need immediate medical attention. Even then she looked crippled badly.

"I-I'll check to see who all is alive, we can attempt to treat the survivors..." John stated with deep sorrow and melancholy.

John first took Jordan and Emily to the infirmary where Jordan asked if anyone could help and for everyone else to leave. John, over the next minute brought in a dozen or so that were barely clinging to life. This included both Alex and Clair but only one of the twins, Avery. Jordan closed his heart to those who were lost and focused on those still alive and in need of medical attention.