The thick radiated air wrestled the city and its constituents, heavy with its luminescence that tinted the yellow rays from the sun a light blue; the buildings were painted teal as if the metropolis itself was engulfed by the ocean. Within the thickest parts of the haze the distance began to be obscured and lost to the fog as it then blocked out the sky as well. The blue smogged city was in shambles and in a diresome state after the presence of society had abandoned it, leaving it to the whims of anarchy and the elements. Trees, moss, shrubs, and all the like of overgrowth devoured where they could, conquering any possible open surface. Nature and wildlife thrived in the utmost neglected regions of the once prosperous concrete jungle. The streets were clothed in the dredges of fiber and peppered with crowds of broken down vehicles that were claimed by flora and splotches of rust. Peeking out into the cluttered roads were the lifeless eyes of the vacant buildings, eyes that were either intact or lined with teeth of broken glass.
Crawling along the desolate tarmac and weaving through the scattered corpses of cars was a group of humans, trickling down the road in hopes of refuge. They were wearing protective gear which encapsulated their entire bodies. Tan in color and accented with oranges throughout, the helmet had a round visor that glimmered, sheening the hued light as their heads bobbed and jostled. The metallic surfaces of their backpacks also glinted as they swayed from side to side. Resting atop of their right forearms was a flat panel in which seemed to inlay a screen, numbers and lines wiggled about within the pixels of the arrays.
At the front of this group was a man taking point who wielded an energy rifle, making sure that the coast was clear as he then waited for the others to catch up. Another was at the rear making sure they weren't being followed, turning once in a while to watch her footing and to check in on her injured comrade. The two in the middle of this formation were holding up a woman in the middle supporting her by the shoulders; her strength was fleeting as she had been shot in the stomach. The field aid that was quickly applied to her wound helped, but actual stitches and blood transfusion was desperately needed if they wished to keep her alive. Her suit had also been compromised as the hole was letting in copious amounts of radiation, the applied tape helped to seal the opening off but lacked the proper warding capabilities compared to the original materials of her suit.
“Charles, how much farther!” The man on the right yelled out to the one ahead of them. The one taking point had let a hand off his rifle and shaded his eyes from the light as he peered down the road before them.
“Just one more block, roads still clear!” He yelled as he turned back towards them. The woman on the left put her other hand on the injured woman’s shoulder.
“You hear that Shae? We're almost there, just hang in there girl.” She said to her trying to bolster morale. The three of them were panting, but Shaela was the loudest as she limped along with her two walking crutches. The man on the right holstered his pistol and then pushed a button on the side of his helmet.
“Rafii this is Marcus, where the hell are you guys? You guys should have been at the rendezvous thirty minutes ago.” Releasing the button plays a few beeps affirming that his voice had been relayed.
“Uh, sorry captain. We seemed to have ran into some trouble and needed to procure evasive maneuvers-” The radio was interrupted by a muffled bang and some static. “Ah Cyka!” The man on the other end exclaimed.
“Raffi!? Is everything alright?” Marcus responded back while momentarily halting his steps.
“Oh yeah, no worries here. Just some minor inconveniences. We will loop back around once our tails are clear.”
“Well make it quick, we need a medical evac, pronto!”
“Roger that!”
As they neared their destination they picked up their pace trying to avoid encountering additional conflict. The leader turned his head to check in on the one taking the rear. He could see that she was panicking as her shoulders were rising and falling rapidly to accommodate her breathing. Aiming down the path behind them with diligence, she scoured every nook and cranny hastily, gripping the rifle much too tightly. With bigger problems to worry about, he disregarded her mental state and turned back around. The walking trio then started making their way up the stairs, Shaela grunted with each lift of her legs to ascend the steps. Suddenly an unbearable bright flash was produced in the distances down the road to their left. The red plume reflected in all of their visors as they gazed in awe at the destruction as the delayed shockwave then made them buckle on their feet. The leader pushed the button aside his helmet again posthaste in response to this event.
“Rafii, you there?” There was no answer. “Rafii, come in!” Static played through the radio. Then soon after muffled words came through that were unintelligible.
“He-...ca-...ny-...” He looked at the woman that was shouldering their comrade with him with a look of confusion as they both continued to listen to the airwaves. “He-...Hello? Hello?”
“Oh thank god! Rafii, are you guys okay?”
“Yeah, we’re fine. That explosion seemed to jam our feed for a moment there. Must be some infighting.” As they were all looking towards the mushroom cloud, a large and long slithering blue mass flew past them and down the lane towards the chaos, a cacophony of screams and wails came from what looked to be ghosts of human-like shapes that made up the wriggling body of this strange apparition. They watched the figure dart off with great speed away from them with fear freezing them like statues. The leader was the first able to set his bearings in as he slowly turned around and scanned the area behind them, shortly afterwards the others followed suit. Two additional masses began to secret out from hiding, one from an alleyway while the other consolidated from various windows of a singular building. The floating beasts eyed them down below on the pavement as they then screamed at them.
“Wyverns!” Shouted the leader. His shout had rallied the others, setting them into immediate action. The disgusting speed of the apparitions was terrifying and reminded them of a fever dream as the banshees shrieked with their movements. The ones with the energy rifles opened fire against the two adversaries, a few of the bolts had landed on the closest one while a majority of the shots zipped past and disappeared into the consuming haze. The portions that were pelted had dissipated into a swirl, the damaged beast screamed and faltered but resumed its efforts with dire haste. The ones carrying the injured woman did their best to make way for the building at the top of the stairs while they panted heavily, praying they had the strength and speed to escape. The two providing covering fire continued their way up the stairs walking backwards slowly, panic had altered their accuracy but they still managed to land a string of hits on the first wyvern. Chunks of it had fallen off as the beast sank lower to the ground losing its strength. A final shot to its withering body at the top of its head had made all of the conjoined spirits crumble away and fade into the Earth below.
Continuing their fire unto the final specter, they were unsuccessful in their endeavors as the monster proved to be too agile for their aim. The three they were protecting had managed to make it inside of the building while they made it to the top of the stairs. The beast closed its distances as it flew into the lagging female, phasing through her body as she then flung her posture open feeling a great deal of pain. As the monster passed through her, her soul could be seen being ripped away from her body with blue iridescence as it got dragged into the mass of the wyvern.
“Estelle!” the man yelled out as he then shouted with rage and proceeded to fire at the monster flying above him. Marcus had come back out from the building and dragged him inside while he tried to break free from his grip with weak drained effort. Emotion was dragging him down. “Let go of me goddamnit!” He yelled out to him.
“Charles, she’s gone!” He continued to wrestle with the man as they entered through the frame that was missing its doors, outside the wyvern could be seen devouring the fresh soul it harvested, adding it to its own mass while it hissed and shrieked. Once they were fully inside they fell backwards to the ground as Charles had then dropped his weapon and began weeping for the one they just lost. The uninjured woman amongst them threw a metal puck onto the floor at the doorway that then shot out a light blue veil which looked like a watery shroud of glass covering the entryway. The other entrance that was off to the right had been covered as well, blocking the exits which hid them from the outside world. As the man whimpered quietly to himself, the rest remained silent. Listening and watching the windows, praying that the beast would leave them be. A few moments went by as the wails from the massed souls died off with the swishes that could be heard, presumably the sound of the monster flying away. Marcus then stood up and edged to the wall near a window, he cautiously gazed out into the open, then pushed the button on his helm.
“Rafii, ETA on arrival time?”
“I'd say roughly 10 to 15 minutes there Cap. Being knee deep into gang territory is making our job a little difficult.” Hearing this he turns his head back towards his team, looking directly at Shaela, who they had set on a table further back into the lobby with her gyro-pack resting just beside her. She was holding her stomach, her breathing was heavily labored as he could see her chest rising and falling rapidly.
“Denise, set up a purifier next to her so we can replaster her wound.” Marcus said as he walked towards the table whilst grabbing a medgun from his pack. Denise hurried over to the table while she unharnessed her own pack, setting it on the floor and pulling a large cylinder off of the right side. With a pull of a handle from the top and a twist, a green aura began to emit from the capsule making a sphere around them; it seemed to be ridding the small area of radiation. She then set it on the floor next to the table. “Deep breathes there Shae, ride is on its way.” Marcus said to her, resting a hand on her shoulder. He looked at the screen on her forearm that displayed her vitals, her oxygen was at a healthy 95% but her heart rate was getting frighteningly low resting around 40 BPM. He carefully rolled the injured woman onto her left side as he lightly peeled the adhesive on her back which covered the exit wound. The surrounding area of the fabric was wet with blood, after exposing the hole and revealing the leaky and bloody surface, her wound seemed to be covered with silicone. He held the trigger of his medgun that turned the circular light on its side red as it began to produce a faint whir. As the light turned green it notified him with a chime that it was ready to use. Moving the snub nozzle end towards the already plastered injury, he pressed on the secondary trigger to apply another layer of the sealant. The piping hot slime burned as Shaela screamed in agony, gripping her pack tighter than she ever thought she could.
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Charles stopped his sobbing as he got up and grabbed his rifle off of the floor. Anger powering his stomps, he moved closer to the rest and aimed his gun at the back of Marcus’ head.
“You and your goddamn hopeful thinking. If we hadn't pushed on for so long Estelle would still be alive and Shaela wouldn't need any kind of treatment like that. All of our gyro packs and deflection arrays are broken down and we are in the thick of gang territory. If you ask me, I don't think we are lucky enough to not encounter more wyverns or dragons. I might as well just cut out the middleman and have the joy of killing you myself.”
“Put it down Charles.” Denise said to him as she raised her pistol in his direction.
“Yeah, this will be perfect. I put a hole in his skull and then you can put me out of my misery. At least this way it won't be painful.” He responded to her in a sardonic tone, finishing his sentence off with a laugh.
“Look, it wasn't my fault. You all knew what you were getting into when we decided to make these expeditions out here into the city. You've seen yourself how many squads never came back.”
“Shut your goddamn mouth!” Charles yelled, then he looked at Denise while still aiming at Marcus’ brain. “He didn't even tell us why he brought us so deep into the city.” Looking back at Marcu, he pushed the barrel harder into the back of his helm. “Now if you would be so kind as to telling us your reason before I paint the floor with your liquids, I would greatly appreciate that.” The room was silent, Marcus didn't speak. The only thing to be heard was the hum from the purifier and Shaela’s tumultuous pants.
“Charles, Estelle wouldn't have wanted any of this. You know how much she trusted all of us.” Denise said with a tremor in her voice.
“You don't know what she wanted!” Charles yelled, turning his head towards her. “I knew her more than the rest of you, she only came cause she didn't want to lose any of you. Her naivety and his orders lead her to her end!” His voice had begun to shake. “I had to come to ensure her safety, I failed, but only because this dick head pushed us too hard.”
Charles then caught something out of the side of his eye, a man sitting at the next table just past Shaela, he was shrouded in a dark brown cloak, long sleeved shirt, gloves and ragged pants. His hood covered most of his face, but the opening had a blue glow pooling out of it. Reacting quickly to the sight of this person, he aimed his rifle towards him and squeezed off a round. The blast pelted an invisible field that was enrobing the man as it then dissipated and wrapped around its surface. He knew then that firing more shots at the man would be pointless as he let the gun down stricken with awe. The rest stared forwards unto the stranger, not sure if this person was a threat.
“She's bleeding on the inside, you're going to lose her.” A disembodied voice abruptly spoke out to them. It sounded like it came from the man’s direction but not from him at the same time. The group was confused.
“How do you know that? Who are you?” Charles responded. Suddenly a figure of another man started to fade in, floating behind the cloaked one. Blue like the beasts they dealt with outside, but calm and stoic as particles gathered and formed his appearance. Dressed in a nice suit along with a ponytail and a braided beard, all of course only made up of shades of blue. Charles and Denise both raised their weapons at the man, the group wasn't sure on how to react to this being before them.
“I am Frederick Alabaster. I used to be an entrepreneur of this city before civilization met its untimely end.” He floated just past the man sitting before him and looked down upon Shaela. The two holding their weapons aimed at him didn't let up as they braced, reacting to his movements. He moved his eyes up and then started to speak again “Now I know you are all wondering why I am still sane compared to the rest of the souls that wander these wretched lands. That is a question that I myself would like the answer to as well. Of course you needn't be worried, I mean none of you harm. I simply heard the commotion and my curiosity couldn't be contained.” Marcus turned his head slightly to look back at Charles.
“Would you believe me if I said that he was the reason for our journey?”
“Hell no! That would be far too convenient, you expect me to believe any of that shit! That this man just so happened to show up minutes before we extracted from the city?” Charles yelled back in disbelief while still holding the strangers in the sights of his weapon.
“Look, I know it sounds too good to be true. But you have to believe me. The sake of our survival depends on this-person from the past.” Marcus said to his group but mainly to Charles in hopes that he could change his heart. Charles then lowered his gun and inquired with the spirit.
“What year do you hail from?” Frederick ascended to the floor slowly while staring at Charles as he remained silent. Then spoke once he was at eye level with the man.
“2054” Charles stared at him, feeling reluctant to accept what was happening before him.
“And how the hell are we to trust you? I'm just supposed to take your word and his? For god's sake, the woman I loved was just murdered! Is this ghost going to bring her back Marcus!?” Denise fired a round blowing the rifle out of Charles hand along with a few of his fingers. As the gun clattered to the floor his shouts could be heard along with it. Marcus tackled him to the ground as he warmed up the medgun. Denise came over and picked his gun up off the floor as she then grabbed some radiation tape from her pack. The both of them sealed up and taped his hand to protect from the elements as he moaned in pain.
“I am sorry Charles, I knew how close the two of you were but you are not the only one hurting. But right now, we do not have time for your bullshit!” She said to him as she finished taping his hand.
Shaela’s vital monitor started to emit a harsh beeping sound as the screen proceeded to flash a bright red. She was no longer conscious as her limbs fell limp upon the table. Both Marcus and Denise ran over to her side. Checking the monitor on her forearm they could see that her oxygen levels were dropping alongside her blood pressure.
“Shit Marcus what the hell are we going to do!?” Denise uttered out in complete panic.
“Goddamnit Rafii, we need you here STAT!” Marcus yelled into his receiver, hoping that their medevac was close. Alas the line was silent. “Rafii!” He yelled one last time as the hope began to leave his eyes. Looking over to Denise he could see her staring at him with her heart in the soles of her boots.
Frederik moved closer to Shaela and got a good look at her face through the visor, he could see her eyes were shut as sweat was dripping down her face. The inside of the helm had started to fog up. He gazed at her for a few moments as he mustered up the courage to speak again. The words came out of his mouth as he held his glance upon her face.
“I may be able to save her, but I don't reckon that you lot will like what I must do.” Both of them looked up at him with a longing expression in which Charles joined soon after who was still sitting on the ground holding his hand.
“What-what do you mean?” Denise asked wistfully. Frederik pointed with his thumb to the man behind him who was still sitting at the table.
“The person that you see there had perished a week ago, he is my vessel. If his body decomposes anymore I will return to a wandering spirit and slip back into madness. I am not one hundred percent certain, but my ability to function normally in my state seems to also come with other gifts, one such as being able to deflect your bullets. As long as my host lives I am able to mend them in the presence of this radiation, unless of course their body is too far destroyed or decayed.” Finishing his explanation, he looks back up at their faces with a flaccid expression. The air surrounding them was filled with incredulousness. They did not answer or question him for they were speechless. Shock was settling into their bones and freezing their tongues as they were uncertain of what to do. The emergency beeps kept playing from Shaela's arm. “Of course I would do no such thing unless permitted by her comrades, considering she is in no state to give permission herself.”
“You got that man killed?” The question cut through the air and had come from behind the two. They turned around and looked at Charles who was still grasping his hand. “You suggest that you can save her, yet you got that man over there killed? How did he die?” Frederick said nothing.
“Charles, how do you expect us to save her? Her condition is critical and our medevac isn't answering us?” Marcus asked him with a disconcerted tone. “I don't want to lose two friends in one day.”
“How can you so easily trust this man?! He said himself that even he doesn't know if it can work, there is also something that he isn't telling us?” All of their attention then focused on Shaela as she started choking on her own breath.
“Shaela!? Shaela!?” Denise yelled out as she lightly shook her friend, trying to pull her back from her declining health. The shakes were in vain as she then flat lined, her monitor let off a solid toned ring that didn't stop. “Oh my god.” Denise said as she put her hands on her helmet in disbelief.
“Please, you gotta save her!” Marcus yelled out as he finally snapped to reality. All Frederick did was nod, then the body behind him had collapsed as a blue crystal bore its way out from the man’s back. Floating in the air as its luminescence pulsed and licked the surrounding surfaces with blue. Frederick stared at all the faces in front of him, watching their reactions as his fragment floated over. Then with haste, the shard flew into Shaela's wound, tearing through the fabric with ease and entering the sealed up hole. As it entered her body, Frederick’s form had slowly vanished and flowed into the crystal. Her body twitched and jolted as her visor began to glow blue, the light was too bright to make anything out from the inside. A few moments went by and her monitor was still emitting its sound of death as her body went limp once more, the blue light then faded away. Denise began to cry as she fell to her knees. Marcus walked over and silenced the device on her arm.
“Hello? Marcus? Denise? Anybody” Their radios abruptly announced to them.
“Rafii? What happened?” Marcus asked, responding to him over the radio.
“Not sure, but for a moment there I wasn’t getting any responses. How's the patient?” A moment of silence befell them.
“Shaela's gone. It wouldn’t have mattered if you were already here waiting for us.”
“...My condolences… Arriving in roughly 5 minutes.”
As they waited, the two most able ones tore down one of the barricades and checked if the coast was clear. Then they went out and grabbed Estelle's body and rested her on the floor next to Shaela as they waited for Rafii. They removed their helms to get one last look at their faces. Laying their motionless they seemed to be at peace, no longer having to deal with the rough life that this world had to offer them. Rafii and Terrence came running into the room from the garage underneath. Terrence raised his hands and rested them on his head after seeing the two lifeless bodies before him.
“No, no ,no.” Was all that he could mutter. Rafii went over to Denise and embraced her, she hugged him back as she let off more whimpers of grief.
“Oh darling I am so sorry.” He turned and looked over at Charles who had gotten up and walked past them without saying anything or even acknowledging their existence. Marcus stood up after closing Estelle’s eyes, stood near her head as he grabbed onto her hands.
“Rafii, Help me with her, you two grab Shaela.” He said as he was pointing at them. They lifted Estelle and proceeded to move her to their vehicle. As Denise and Terrence got into position to lift Shaela's body off the floor, they paused and looked at her for a moment.
“Hey uh, how long has she been glowing like that?” Terrance asked them. Marcus stopped and turned around to glance at her again. He could see the veins on her neck and face had begun to produce a blue glow that was similar to the radiation in the air. Denise kneeled down and turned her vital monitor back on, everyone in the room was frozen with anticipation as the system booted up. Once finally on, it displayed a steady heart rate, pulse, and oxygen level. Denise turned her head up to look at the rest of her team.
“I-I don't believe it. She has healthy vitals.”
Shaela squirmed about as she proceeded to cough harshly, this sudden unexpected turn of events startled the rest as they fumbled backwards and away from her. They sat still and watched as she then sat up and opened her eyes, they were glowing a lush bright blue.