Northern Region of the Deadlands: 936, December 31st, Monday, 4:00 AM.

“Frozen huh?” Scott said while rubbing his chin.

Having left the camp built by Cerberus’ troops behind, Bloodhound ventured once again into the crimson fog of the Deadlands on their own. Word from the head of the company instructed them to retreat from the zone and return to headquarters immediately, an opportunity that Claire utilized to gather her team where no ears would overhear their discussion.

Bloodhound drove across the barren lands of the Deadlands in a white armored truck, proudly displaying the three headed dog of Cerberus painted on its hood. Scott drove the vehicle as usual, with Tori sitting next to him on the passengers sit. At the bed of the truck in the back, both Claire and Eric peeked their heads inside through the open window of the truck to join the conversation.

“You could’ve just chosen a four-passenger vehicle, Foley.” Declared the noble with a displeased frown.

“Hey, give me a break… I like driving these.”

“I hope it’s not too cold in the back, lieutenant.” Tori said while looking at Claire with furrowed brows.

Shaking her head, the lieutenant cleared the young medic’s worries with a smile before moving to more important subjects. “It’s actually quite pleasant at the moment—”

“Surprisingly,” Eric interrupted with half closed eyes, earning an angry glance from Claire—who resumed her explanation quickly after.

“Could be consequence of what I witnessed when I was away… those sp—"

“The petrified specters?” the noble cut in for a second time.

“Interrupt me again, and I’ll send you flying straight back to the Empire in a single kick to the chin.”

“…”

“Yes, those specters…” She continued. “They all suddenly froze, but…” the lieutenant threw another angry glance at Eric, who innocently listened to her explanation—this time without interruption. “But there is actually more than I want to reveal to all of you, just make sure to keep this from anyone outside of our group… even from the boss.”

“I-is that why we are going back instead of retreating like we were told?” Tori asked, swallowing hard with concern. “You don’t usually disobey orders like this, lieutenant.”

“…” Claire’s lips dropped at the redhead’s claims, followed by furrowed brows and a sad groan.

“S-sorry, I didn’t mean anything by it! It’s just…”

“It doesn’t have to be a bad thing,” Scott joined in the conversation with a positive smile, turning his head to look at the lieutenant from over his shoulder.

“Eyes on the road.”

“Sorry…” the young driver of Bloodhound apologized before clearing his throat. “Ahem! As I was saying, it doesn’t have to be a bad thing. Part of our training at the academy emphasized in adapting to situations, and as special forces, we are given more freedom when operating in the Deadlands. We are supposed to be the experts, right?”

Finding some comfort in the man’s words, the lieutenant chortled a quiet laugh while shaking her head. “Right, make sure we are not seen by any patrols that may be deployed around this area.”

“Nah!”

“…”

“Yes, ma’am…”

Against every command conveyed to them by the—unknown to most, new owner of Cerberus, Bloodhound ventured deeper into the Deadlands in search for the specters that their lieutenant had claimed became frozen in time. Despite the low chance of ever encountering them in the open fields, the group continued their path forward with not a single thought given to failure.

The identical barren fields of the hellish zone would hinder their search at every turn however, as the lack of detailed landmarks in their maps forced the group to improvise during their search. However, the longer their hunt for the demons lasted, the more fuel their transported burned in the process—Bringing with it the possibility of becoming stranded in the middle of nowhere.

“Maybe… they went home?” Scott suggested with a nervous chuckle.

“Tsk…” the lieutenant bit her lip, frustration brewing inside of her as the needle from the fuel gauge neared empty. Claire lowered her head to look at a handwritten map she carried in both hands, tapping a specific spot with her index finger. “We should be around here…” she said, pointing at a wide-open space just before entering what was considered the center of the Deadlands. “Make a full turn towards the east… we should be nearby…”

“You go—”

“Wait!” Claire interrupted quickly, as her attention was immediately taken by the azure ring in her finger.

“W-wow…” Tori was lost for words, admiring its magical glow with a slacked jaw. “It’s so pretty…”

With little times to waste, the lieutenant gently moved her finger across the surface of the map to point in different areas of the Deadlands—prompting her ring to either glow with intensity, or fade back into a common jewel. Unlike her previous assumptions, Claire’s precious gift advised for her to venture west instead of east, indicated by its vivid glow when her finger neared a specific area.

“Turn west from here, Scott.”

“Yes, ma’am!” the man enthusiastically, though curiosity had gotten the better of him, as both Eric and the young redhead gazed upon the beauty of the lieutenant’s rings while he drove the vehicle. “Damn… where do they sell these?” he said, admiring its elegant azure glow from the rear-view mirror.

“I’ve never seen a ring like this… not even amongst the most renowned houses of the empire.” Eric commented. “I can’t tell its material at a glance either… where did you get this?”

“It was a gift,” Claire replied. “It was the ring father gave to my mother when he proposed, but he never told me how he got it…”

“A-a wedding ring?” Tori’s face reddened like her hair while she covered her mouth with one hand.

“It’s something I wanted to talk to you about, but it would’ve been harder to explain if you saw it as a nor—over there!” the lieutenant cut off her own sentence, throwing one arm forward to slam her hand in Scott’s cheek—pointing him towards a group of frozen demons in their path.

Almost derailing the truck thanks to Claire’s sudden slap, Scott managed to skillfully regain control of the vehicle with a series of nauseating spins, slamming the breaks just in time to park it safely near the slumbering beasts. Bloodhound wasted no time in hopping out of their transport to inspect the specters from up close, a large horde that remained petrified like a group of statues in a museum.

A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

“Stick to the sides,” Claire commanded. “I’d hate to be in the middle of these things if they were to wake up.”

“I-I’ll walk closer to you, lieutenant.” Tori said while gluing herself to Claire. “If you don’t mind…”

Scott pushed the bridge of his glasses while narrowing his eyes, putting his face mere inches away from one of the creatures. “Interesting…” he whispered.

“Ah!”

“…!”

A scream from behind fired up every survival instinct within the young man as he jumped in the air, almost crashing against the frozen monster in the process. “Eric!” he furiously shouted—his cheeks as red as a tomato.

“Hmph!” the young noble crossed his arms with a self-satisfied smirk. “If your brain was as large as your screams, this problem would’ve been solved by now.”

“If you are that smart then why can’t you beat me in Cards O’s?”

“I did!”

“You didn’t!”

“Are you children!” the ferocious roar from an angry Claire rose every hair in the skin of both officers, making them tremble with a chill colder than the death itself. “Come here immediately!”

“Ma’am!” both men replied.

Now all packed together once again—after a quick and brutal scolding from the lieutenant, she and her team investigated their surroundings in extreme detail before marking the location on the map, leaving no stone unturned in order to secure the location. Their examination of the zone concluded, Claire gathered her group near the truck to move on to the next step of their mission, weapons prepared, and with every petrified specter in their sights. She was brief, but informative in her explanation about what transpired during her battle at that exact same spot. Bloodhound listened intently to her narration of the fight, and while a few gaps and details did not escape them, they simply gave their undivided attention to the young lieutenant’s story.

“And one last thing…” Claire said while lowering her head slightly, her eyes losing themselves in emptiness with a pensive look.

“If you don’t want to tell us…” Eric began, quickly interrupted by the lieutenant.

“No,” she shook her head, breathing deeply before proceeding. “This is for the best… I told you about how I got ambushed here, and how ‘she’ was attacked too.”

“Was someone else here with you?” Tori asked.

With a gentle nod, Claire responded positively to the redhead’s question. “Yes… Lucy.”

At the mentioned of the girl’s name, a small cluster of crimson particles began to form next to Claire—a familiar event that her team had yet to grow accustomed to. Barely reaching her waist however, the size of whatever demon was being spawned did not seem as impressive as her previous feats—with the horned demon becoming an intimidating presence that even Bloodhound preferred not to interact with.

“T-this one is… a little small, isn’t it?” Tori smiled with furrowed brows. “I-it’s got a cute name though…”

Nodding twice with short hums, Scott rested his chin in one fist as he too offered his opinion on the matter. “Maybe it becomes bigger when fighting… you know, like in the movies.”

“Lucy…” Eric whispered while narrowing his eyes. “It might just be a dog or something.”

What formed in front of their eyes however, left the group startled beyond words as none could predict the presence of such unique specter. Her fragile particles of crimson gathered together like a cloud of fireflies, merging together into the shape of a small child, and eventually giving form to the young girl of name Lucy. All members of Bloodhound nearly fell on their backs at the sight, setting their eyes on the girl that seemed no less human than any of them.

Scott was the first to speak through half parted lips, fixed on the smiling brown eyes of Lucy. “You create people now…” he said with disbelief.

“It is certainly not what I was expecting…” Eric followed.

Tori giggled after the shock had passed, covering her mouth with a wide smile. “She is so cute!”

Ignoring the baffled reactions of Claire’s team, the young girl could not contain her happiness after seeing her caretake once again. She jumped into her arms with a few giggles, squirming happily in Claire’s warm embrace.

“Hey there…” the lieutenant scratched Lucy’s hair with her fingers, turning her wide smiling eyes back towards Bloodhound. “Ahem!” she cleared her throat, struggling to harden her expression for the others. “Let me introduce you to Lucy. Despite her human appearance she is also a specter… I was instructed by the boss to keep her presence confidential, and protect her from any possible threats.” She said, pointing at the petrified demons with her chin. “My ring reacted to her, and so did those specters during our fight… I believe she was the key to make this happen.”

“If she was to remain hidden, then she is definitely no ordinary child.” Eric said.

“A specter…” Tori cautiously approached with curious eyes, which Lucy met with a wide smile. “This cute?”

“She’s been with me for a few months now… she actually lived with us in the dormitory, Tori.”

“Oh…”

“What do you want us to do, lieutenant?” Scott asked, walking in closer himself. “I mean… I assume we should be protecting her too?”

“Yes,” Claire nodded while pulling the girl closer to her chest. “I was attacked by Loki before the ambush…” she told them, making Bloodhound flinch at the knight’s name alone. “I couldn’t protect her from him, and we only escaped because he allowed it. I want to keep her safe, not just from him and the specters, but from…”

“From Cerberus,” Eric stepped in. “They want her too, correct?”

“Yes…”

Scott raised one brow while fixing his glasses, confused by the lieutenant’s claims. “Wait… You said it was the boss who ordered you to protect, uh…”

“Lucy!” Tori reminded him.

“Yes… to protect Lucy.”

Although she tried her best to hide it, Claire once again failed to maintain a stoic expression as her team pressed for further details—some, which she did not want to disclose. She clenched her jaw, furrowed her brows and avoid eye contact with Bloodhound while gulping down.

“Lieutenant?” the young redhead spoke gently as to get her attention.

Eric in the other hand, crossed his arms with a sigh and a frown. “I guess it’s fine if you don’t want to tell us… at least this once.”

“Thank you, Eric…” Claire replied, exhaling through pursed lips to relax her beating heart. “Listen, my orders did come from him, but… it’s more complicated than that. A lot has happened within the company these past few months… including us being attacked by our own allies… I just need to know if I can trust you to help me…”

Eric, Scott and Tori looked at each other with raised brows for a quick second, as for just a moment, it felt as if Claire had forgotten her role within the group. Her words felt more like a desperate request from a friend, rather than the absolute orders from the proud leader of Cerberus’ greatest unit. This realization brought a concerned smile in the face of the trio, laughing and chuckling to themselves to Claire’s bewilderment.

“Wh… what’s so funny?” she asked, the contagious laughter of her group prompting the young girl in her arms to join them as well. “Lucy…”

“Of course we’ll help you, lieutenant!” Tori claimed with pumped fists, her bright emerald eyes gleaming with enthusiasm. “You didn’t even have to ask!”

With pride in his smile, Scott pushed the bridge of his glasses to lighten up the lenses while nodding at the young medic’s words. “Do I even need to say anything?” he said. “We have no reason to refuse, and not just because you are our lieutenant.”

“Do you still see us as mere pawns in your group?” Eric jokingly asked with a casual smile. “We are friends, we’ll help you with whatever you need, whenever you need… paid salary or not.”

A wind of relief struck Claire at the words of Bloodhound, carrying away the worries that existed only inside her own mind. Her lips curved into a warm smile, and her eyes sparkled like never before. “Thank you, everyone… Sorry I worried for nothing. It comes with the position.”

“Hmph!” the young noble avoided his gaze and closed his eyes, placing both hands on his hips. “Don’t mention it, I’ll always be here when you need me.”

“And me, of course!” Scott jumped in as he pushed Eric aside with a powerful elbow. “Always remember who was the first to join the team!”

“You are bothering the lieutenant!” Tori shyly yelled at the pair while pushing Scott away with both hands, clasping her hands together as she looked into Claire’s eyes. “A-and I was the first to be informed about joining Bloodhound! I’ll always be close when you need someone, lieutenant! We share a room and everything!”

“Hey, we share it too!” Scott smacked his cheek on Tori’s—followed by Eric, who smacked his own on his.

“Indeed… we did move into the female barracks not long ago.”

A friendly argument broke out between the trio, a conflict that would bring the victor more than just pride, but the privilege of imaginary points that would bring them closer to being the lieutenant’s favorite unit. Claire lowered her head with a sigh, huffing a quick laugh as the antics of her team brought even greater happiness to Lucy—who rejoiced in her arms with cheers and giggles.

END OF CHAPTER