Chapter 11: The Words She Couldn't Say - Maggie
It was nighttime, and after Team 6 had formed, all ten members gathered in the dormitory to check their equipment. Max, who had always been ignored by the resistance as a logistics assistant, was now enthusiastically teaching the others how to use their weapons and gear. The rest of the team treated him like a senior and sought his guidance.
Alex leaned against the door, feeling relieved that his good friend was finally able to show his skills. Just then, Maggie's voice came from behind him.
"Are you trying to get yourself killed?"
It turned out Maggie already knew. She stood there, arms crossed, glaring at Alex, clearly upset.
Alex shrugged, not really sure how to respond. No matter what he said, he knew Maggie wouldn't be happy.
Maggie, frustrated, turned to leave, but Alex quickly stepped in her way and said:
"Hey... I admit I acted impulsively. I just felt like Anna was in danger, but I can't just stay here and do nothing, right?"
Maggie responded seriously:
"Are you her boyfriend? Are you stronger than Leo? Why should you be the one to save her?"
Maggie's words hit Alex where it hurt, and he couldn’t take it. He hated being compared to Leo.
"Yeah, Leo’s the best, Leo’s the greatest. So, do you like him?" Alex retorted angrily, which made Maggie fall silent. She stared at him, like she had something to say but couldn’t.
At that moment, Maggie chose not to say anything more. She turned and left quietly, leaving Alex, who couldn’t understand her, to sigh:
"Isn’t it true?"
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The next morning, before dawn, Team 6 exited through a secret passage in the western forest of Renier Mountain and immediately set off.
There were 11 of them in total: the guys—Joey, Brenda, Dylan, John, Nick, Max, and Alex; and the girls—Shirley, Susan, and Gordon. Training officer Chad had specially come to lead them on this rescue mission.
Their destination was Olympia Airport, as it was the only remaining possible emergency landing site for planes.
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Back at the tailor shop in the center of Rockhill Valley, the others had gone to lunch, but Maggie remained seated at the sewing machine, lost in thought. She stared at the half-finished jacket she had once made for someone, unsure whether she should finish it or not.
Suddenly, Maggie grew more and more frustrated. She stood up, threw the jacket into the trash, muttering:
"Why the hell did I work so hard for that idiot?"
After throwing it away, she stormed off in anger.
But soon after, she came back. Calmly, she retrieved the jacket from the trash and hugged it tightly, as if holding onto someone. Perhaps, she just couldn’t let go of her feelings.
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In Puget Sound, the heavy rain poured down, and through the mist, four intelligent city "nests" could be seen, stretching from north of Seattle to Olympia. They were not only magnificent but also quite terrifying—unprecedented, as the four appeared simultaneously in this area, signaling their urgent search for the whereabouts of the scientist.
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At this moment, Team 3 was hiding in the basement of a house in Tacoma. The area was swarming with mechanical bio-soldiers searching for them, and on the shore, a massive "nest" loomed over the area.
Leo peeked through a vent in the basement window, observing the street, looking for an opportunity for the team to escape.
They had been trapped here for four days, and their food supplies were nearly depleted. Worse still, they had lost six members, and the remaining two were injured.
At that moment, Anna Rain sat in a corner of the basement, eyes closed, deep in thought as she tried to figure out how to break through this dire situation. However, unexpectedly, the image of someone crossed her mind, disrupting her focus—it was Alex.
The memory of Alex saying:
"That's right... at least I have plenty of room for improvement, that's a good thing, right? I won’t give up!"
That image appeared in Anna’s mind, making it hard for her to concentrate.
"Are you okay?" Leo suddenly asked, bringing Anna back to the present. However, Anna didn’t respond. Instead, she coldly asked:
"...How's the situation outside?"
Leo replied:
"There are mechanical bio-soldiers outside. It’s not the right time to move... By the way... could you not be so cold when you speak?"
Anna didn’t want to engage. She stood up and checked on the injuries of the other two team members.
"I speak like this to everyone. You’re reading too much into it," Anna responded begrudgingly, which made Leo upset and almost ready to argue with her. But just then, the mechanical bio-soldiers seemed to have noticed something and were heading toward the house.
Both Leo and Anna immediately grabbed their weapons, ready to defend themselves. As the bio-soldiers drew closer, their worst-case scenario was to fight their way out, after all, they were both excellent marksmen.
Just as the mechanical bio-soldiers were about to enter the house, Leo stepped in front of Anna, aiming his weapon at the door, ready to strike first...
"Woof!"
Suddenly, a dog ran out of the house and began barking at the mechanical bio-soldiers. Since the bio-soldiers only had hostility toward humans, they turned and left when they detected the biological signal from the dog.
Inside the basement, both Leo and Anna let out a sigh of relief. Anna, despite her usual cold demeanor, looked at Leo and, though still aloof, said softly:
"Thanks... just now."
Leo froze for a moment. He had known Anna for so long, and this was the first time he had ever heard her thank him, which caused him to smile faintly.
Although they were safe for now, they still had no idea how much longer they would remain trapped here.
Or perhaps, would unexpected reinforcements arrive?
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The heavy rain poured down as Team 6 walked along the rural path, keeping close to the edge of the forest to avoid detection by the mechanical army. Through binoculars, they could vaguely make out the towering "nest" in the direction of the bay—an intimidating sight.
Alex, walking at the back of the group, watched the training officer Chad at the front. He had a question on his mind, so he quickened his pace to catch up with Chad.
Seeing Alex approach with a look that clearly indicated he wanted to say something, Chad spoke first:
"Go ahead... you didn’t come over here for nothing, did you?"
Alex hesitated for a moment before asking:
"Why, when you saw me volunteer for the rescue mission, didn’t you seem surprised or try to talk me out of it? Aren’t you the one who doesn’t think much of me?"
Chad smiled without answering directly and said:
"Remember when I told you, 'People’s abilities vary, but being a good person is never in vain'? If a rich kid is willing to take on a challenge that someone with more strength would shy away from... then he's already more noble than others."
After saying that, Chad patted Alex on the shoulder as if encouraging him. But Alex froze, stopping in his tracks. The truth was, he had only thought about rescuing Anna and hadn’t considered anything else. This caught him off guard—Chad was so certain of him.
He stared at Chad's figure ahead, repeatedly asking himself:
"Is that really who I am?"
At that moment, Alex’s mind was solely focused on completing the rescue mission and then leaving the team with Max to find Anna. He believed that if he could save Anna, she would definitely see him in a new light, even accept him. So, he didn’t take Chad's words to heart.
Carrying this mindset, Alex continued on, and finally, they arrived at their destination. The roadside sign read:
"Olympia Airport"