CHAPTER 12
RED FLAG
-----
Back Lake, Pittsburg, New Hampshire
A stars and stripes flag was waving wild when the breeze of the lake changed to the strong wind of a V280 Valor tiltrotor aircraft. A row of spruce and maple trees swayed around a helipad on the side of the beautiful lake. The surrounding area was more like a lake resort for the richest man. Nevertheless, several US soldiers created a zone of action between the green scenery of the outermost border of New Hampshire and Canada. It was so obvious that the resort was a disguised military infrastructure.
“Miss this country?” Stepping out of Bell V-380 Valor, an Indonesian high-ranking officer with a red beret spoke in English to his aides.
“Since special operations in Afghanistan with Delta Force? Affirmative, Commander. I miss my friends here.” A young Captain answered in same language.
The one-star high-ranking officer was Brigadier General Jimmy. He was the Commanding General of Indonesian Ethereal Management and Security. Jimmy was the one who led 28 Red Zones throughout the nation. As a military officer in the EMS, today was not his first visit to the United States. He had been educated in the US Army and earned six brevets for his achievements over the years. The same goes for his two aides who also achieved their own specialized brevets and badges. All three were as relaxed as if the United States were their second home.
“Long time no see, Jimmy.” The US Armed Forces Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Michael, greeted him without bothering to mention rank. “Where’s that crazy guy?” He frowned for a moment as he didn't find the person he was looking for.
“Pram ran away from his wife, General.”
“Ah, too bad. I wanted to punish him for carelessly exposing himself.” Saluting back to his guess, General Michael walked with a smile to a sole hut with a Scandinavian style.
Today, Jimmy had come on very clear business after his small marketing attempt had been responded to by a love call. The Indonesian Armed Forces couldn't fight alone in a war that definitely wasn't a military’s battlefield. Crystal extraction was a dangerous business that had the potential to change the world. The United States, on the other hand, was also ready to spill the beans after Indonesia openly declared success in crystal research. And that secret had a lot to do with a unique species whose existence should not be known by the public.
“Let's straight to business, shall we?” General Michael played his eyebrows and smirked.
“Why not?”
Arriving in the living room, Jimmy took something from his pocket. It was a small crystal that caught the host's attention. Their ways of speaking were too casual, despite their military-like attire. They even drank luxury wine like longtime friends. Sitting on the chair, General Michael spoke with a crystal in his hand.
“Before the Monster Era, 10% of the US Armed Forces had gone to combat zones and fired their weapons. You know which nation our muzzle points at, don't you? Most of the US military's operations were in the Middle East. For oil.”
Jimmy raised an eyebrow with a faint smile. He pinched the wine glass holder and shook it slowly. General Michael, on the other side, gazed at the glittering thing on his hand and examined it like a pawn shop owner.
“This small thing has changed the world. The war over oil is just history. OPEC was no more. Changed to the OCEC we know today. All the big guys out there have spent billions of dollars trying to find out how to extract it. Still, only walkers are able to get this thing from another world.”
“Welcome to the new era, General. We are now able to extract crystal with 100% efficiency after six year of research.” Jimmy raised his glass in a smug manner. “And tell General Dynamic, Northrop Grumman, Lockheed Martin and Raytheon to clean their garage. No free lunch for secret recipes.”
Both of them laughed loudly at a joke that was a bit rude to spout. Indonesia didn't think twice about buying the transfer of technology with crystal extraction as payment. The situation in the South China Sea had been heating up. Because of the discord with China, Indonesia threw away the word "non-block" from its geopolitical policy. The negotiation with the US was smooth.
Unfortunately, their conversation had to be interrupted when someone suddenly called.
It was Captain Nadine.
“Commander, we have a problem.”
Jimmy excused himself for a moment of privacy. General Michael obliged, even though their conversation had to be delayed. A soldier as stiff as Captain Nadine wouldn't have called if it wasn't important.
“Speak.”
“There was an anomaly in the radioactivity in Surabaya's Red Zone. We've confirmed that the sensors are not compromised. The scale has reached delta 3 and continues to rise.”
Jimmy's expression instantly changed. The Brigadier General was a rather paranoid person, so the slightest thing was impossible for him to underestimate. His instinct told him that something big would come out.
“Pick up Lieutenant Colonel Pram on Thousand Island.”
***
The Outermost Island of Thousand Archipelago
“Sector 4B is safe.”
“No unusual movement in sector 4D, Over!”
A fleet of patrol ships surrounded the unusual island. There were no walls, no military bases, and not even layers of sectors around it. There were only monsters roaming around. And all of them were killing each other because of the urge of the food chain.
“Grooaaaa!”
“Pancaakeeees!”
Clank!
A truck-sized monster died when its head flew away. They were scared after being attacked by an axe that weighed 500kg (1100 lbs). Their attackers was too distinctive. They were a three-meter-tall creature (10 feet) with a muscular body and a bull-like head.
“For pancake!”
“We are entrepreneur!”
The beast was a Minotaur. To be more specific, Sigma minos. They were the most powerful members of the bullhead family. Sigma Minos ruled Jakarta's Red Zone by slaughtering other monsters from the tower. They were thought to be the most powerful monsters in the last 25 years. And the power wasn't just physical. Sigma Minos had the intelligence of a humanoid creature and was extremely difficult to tame.
“We are smartass!”
“We have passed elementary school!”
As the result, Indonesian government chose to compromise. They let Sigma Minos to have a village and recognized them as citizens. Seriously, those monsters already had their own ID cards. So much like human beings, they even did business with the Navy. A small business that made Minos fill their belly.
“One ton of cabbage, three tons of the finest grass, and five hundred packs of your guys favorite banana chips”
“Groaaa! Long live navy guys!”
A dozen bull-headed creatures patted themselves on the chest. They handed over tons of hunted carcasses from the tower to the Navy. It was a win-win barter activity that had been going on for the past 15 years. Sigma Minos got the food, while the Navy could sell carcasses without wasting any bullets.
“Groaaaa! Navy guys! Gimme pancakes tomorrow.”
“We'll get scolded by your chief. You want him to beat shit of you, huh?”
A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.
A dozen scary creatures suddenly became puppies. Their faces were terrified, an obvious sigh that their tribal chief was the scariest among them.
***
Deepest part of the Island
“Graawww! He broke my shin!”
“This is a human rights violation! Groaaa!”
“We're not human, are we?”
In the village, several Minos were being thrown from the biggest hut. The scene was so brutal. Apparently, they were facing one person, the figure of the strongest minotaur, whom they called the chief.
“Come forward you piece of shit!” yelled the chief in Bahasa Indonesia.
Sigma Minos was indeed a civilized creature. Almost all of them were good at speaking Bahasa. They could even use smartphones to debate on social media. However, no matter how developed they were, Sigma Minos were monsters. They always kept their natural instincts as violent creatures.
“Arrhhh! My ribs is cracked!”
“Groaaaa! Great chieftain! We surrender!”
Surprisingly, the chief was a 180-cm-slender minotaur that resembled a human from any point of view. On closer inspection, it turned out that he was indeed a shirtless human in a bull mask and camo pants. His muscles looked hard, like lumps of titanium. There were many tattoos all over his skin as a symbol of being the leader of a ferocious monster.
“It's because of you that I got kicked out by my wife!”
Wearing military boots, he kicked the biggest minos. His kick was so ridiculously strong that it threw a huge bull monster a dozen meters away. The chief had no chill at all. And he looked retarded with a stupid-looking bull mask from head to chest.
“Why are you laughing? And what the fuck is this? Are you asking the Navy for banana chips?” He became even angrier when he saw the snack wrappers scattered around. “No wonder you're being chubby mothefuckers! Sit up 500 reps!”
Bzzzzzztttttt!
Not long after, a loud noise echoed in the sky. Minotaurus turned their heads and saw a helicopter approaching. They seemed familiar with flying machines and even made a room for the landing zone. The minos stayed where they were as the helicopter brought out four humans dressed in camo.
“Groaaaa! The chief's guests! Saluteee!”
“Do you bring any pancakes?”
The four soldiers trembled slightly. But they weren't afraid of Minos. Rather, they were afraid of the stupid-bull-masked chieftain. They walked nervously to the village hall and quickly saluted.
Of course, after putting down the big boxes of pancakes.
“Lieutenant Colonel, you have been summoned by the Brigadier General to Surabaya.” One of them spoke to the chieftain.
***
Sector 1, Surabaya Red Zone
As the largest red zone in Indonesia, the Surabaya Red Zone was visible from the sky. It could be seen from an airplane at 30,000 feet, or perhaps from satellites. The structure was so massive, with 26 kilometers of diameter. Definitely, its shape was so clear from the Bell 412 that just came from Jakarta.
“Is he sleeping?” Someone gave a sign.
“Yes. Do not disturb.”
Over the noise of a helicopter, a stupid-looking bull-masked man sat stiffly with his arms tightly crossed. Two strategic reserves who guarded him did not dare to say a word. So did two special forces personnel who acted like they were carrying a bomb. The atmosphere was awkwardly thrilled until the helicopter was about to land.
“Wake him up.”
“No. I'd rather fight in Afghanistan.”
The flight took eight hours round-trip and one hour to cool down. They used the NB 412 RP, the Indonesian Army's most numerous helicopter. In the past, the Jakarta-Surabaya trip was impossible without refueling. The advent of the crystal reactor changed everything, even though aviation-grade crystal was more expensive than its oil counterpart. The radar anomaly was so urgent that the armed forces summoned a beast.
“Ma'am, he has come with us.”
“Leave him to me.”
As soon as they arrived in the Red Zone, Captain Nadine picked them up. She knew that the soldiers were keeping their distance from the bullhead. And she knew a magic word that awoke the beast from its slumber.
“Sir! Ms. Linda is looking for you—
“Fuck!”
Bullhead was genuinely freaked out. For a moment, he looked around like an idiot. His arms still crossed in front of his chest, he just realized that the helicopter had been landed.
“Captain Nadine Ariana, Tactical Communication to Lieutenant Colonel!” She saluted.
“Any report?”
“Unstable, Sir! It has been 12 hours since the anomaly! The Brigadier General ask you to lead just in case!”
The bullhead stood with his arm crossed. He turned at the 200-meter-tall tower, which seemed nothing wrong at first glance. Somehow, he grew up knowing something would happen.
“Ring the alarm. And where that nasty long-eared piece of shit?”
“Sergeant Diki escaped. He snuck out of the Red Zone after bribing some officers.”
Bullhead was furious. The prince from another world must be busy looking for sleeping partners. As his teacher, the bullhead knew him well. His pupil's womanizing habit was beyond belief.
“Ask the intelligence agency for help. Find him anywhere. Right now!”
***
In A Certain Hotel
Bam! Bam!
“Wake up! You asshole!”
“Alright, I woke up. Stop banging.”
In a messy bed, a hot, muscular guy scratched his armpits after he heard the door bang. His mouth yawned while his eyes looked around. The hotel room was more like a battlefield than a place to sleep. Everything was all over the place. The royal prince was a bit startled when he realized a good-looking woman had been sleeping beside him.
“Who are you?”
Under the light from the desk lamp, Varg tried to remember what was going on. It was obvious what had happened by looking at a lacy panty on the floor. Ah! He just recalled picking up a random lady on the way to the hotel. There was nothing strange about that. A normal human like him should have to sleep with any female he meets. That was what he had learned so far. On the other side, the lady woke up when she also heard the sounds of banging on the door.
“Wake up, Sergeant! Code red! Code red!” A female voice could be heard behind the door.
Varg immediately got up and felt the floor to grab his pink shorts.
“Wake up!”
“Alright, I just wake up!”
For a moment, Varg asked his partner to hide. He grabbed her underwear on the floor and asked her to wear it. He then immediately went to the door while putting on an innocent face.
“Last night was a blast, huh? Which woman did you bring this time?” A female military officer asked with an obvious sign that she knew everything.
“Chillax, Ma'am. Nothing happened. Can you see my pure and honest face?”
The captain kept a suspicious stare. So did two military police she brought along. Her arms were tightly crossed on her chest, and she frowned when Varg held the door with his foot. It was a clear sign that she was not allowing a peek. Her eyes squinted fiercely as she saw a slender silhouette under the blanket.
“Well well well, someone will be court-martialed, today.” She showed off a handcuff.
“It's just a pillow!”
Right after he reasoned, the woman started moving. She revealed an awkward smile and a slight wrinkle around her lips, a clear hint about her age.
“She's my girlfriend, Captain Nadine. Seriously. We're dating. I love her.” He made an excuse even though he got busted.
“Do you even know her name?”
“Nope. Give me a second. I will wash myself.”
Captain Nadine remained unmoved. Her face was getting suspicious. Especially when Varg hesitantly knocked on the bathroom door.
“Who else is there?”
“No one, Ma'am. Take it easy.”
The female captain entered the room impatiently. She opened the bathroom door which turned out to be unlocked. There were actually people inside. She gave a sign to military polices when she saw three women bathing together.
“Ma'am, I can explain.” Varg panicked when the captain glanced at the MPs.
“Get this asshole!”
***
“You're under surveillance! Oh my God! Four women at once! Are you a horse or something? Can you stop embarrassing the armed force?”
Varg sat like a kid between blue caps (Indonesian Military Police). Earth's common sense was pure nonsense. Sleeping with women wasn't supposed to be a crime. However, as a soldier, he had to obey. And Captain Nadine's behavior was reasonable after they arrived at the Red Zone.
“Can you sense it?”
The prince didn't answer. To be precise, he couldn't answer after he realized what was going on. His eyes shone brightly when he saw something unseen on the tower. His legs trembled. As a Valoran who was obligated to prevent the disaster, his natural instincts kicked in.
“Ask for evacuation! Millions of people will die!”