" I haven't told you much about myself, have I? I don't mean to brag but I retired from a high position in the army."

"But you don't look that old.", Ralph intruded.

"I know I look well-managed for my age but I am just shy of fifty years." he gave a wry smile which faded after a while.

" I didn't intend to speak about this but since we are going to be partners, I might as well tell you a story, Ralph."

" I was once sent on an operation overseas, we were meant to wipe out the command of a regional terrorist group. My unit wasn't officially recognised, We were hounds taught to never question and we never had a reason to, we were fighting to protect the country after all."

"You might not realise it Ralph but peace is achieved through wars. The wars we fought were just more discrete and against people that claimed to be civilians."

" I had a hint that we were employed by the country we were in, the process of getting in the country was too smooth."

" Missions like these were meant for the greater good but we couldn't do them openly."

"We were provided with the location. I wasn't surprised to see that it was a barren area. Locals knew about their activities and had a common consensus to leave the area, this made our job easier."

"We surrounded the building with two snipers that covered us and two four-man squads. I was in the squad that moved in, which was standard protocol, We didn't know the floor they were on, and the snipers were trying their best to locate them but all of the windows of the ten-storey building were boarded up."

"I took the lead as the squad captain and with the others made my way through five floors as sneakily as I could in the creaking building."

"The heat sensors detected two individuals with guns facing the stairway. My squad was facing me now, we all knew what was about to happen."

"We hid ourselves and grew quiet. I relayed the information to the snipers, giving them an approximate position on the sixth floor, the snipers fired simultaneously."

"It was a blind shot but it helped lure the terrorists down to the fifth floor. The one that came down first was shot down, our target was successfully eliminated, and the group would soon disperse and remnants would be easily eliminated by the government, the leader was the one who got the weapons from larger terrorist organisations after all."

"I was ready to kill the next one who had more faith in his gun than his legs, the terrorist who decided to run down even after hearing the gunshot."

"Turns out that it was a kid barely fifteen years old with a pistol in his hand. I couldn't shoot and at that moment in which I hesitated, two shots were fired."

Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

" The first was fired by the boy which hit me in the abdomen, the second was fired by my squad member Marco who realised I wouldn't be able to shoot in time. They carried me home and the bullet was surgically removed."

Ben said with a blank expression.

"I was made a major in the army but after realizing that the bullet wound still hurt me they offered me retirement, which I accepted."

Ralph was at a loss for words.

"That's how I realized that the gems work miracles. The wound stopped hurting in a long while without any painkillers numbing the pain."

"Don't think too much about it, kid."

"The thing is the army base I was in, I believe that it could serve as a base. From what I have seen thus far there will soon be more of the big ones in the nearby towns. I am not sure if we can outrun them if we stay here. The army base also has heavy guns that we will need to take it down."

" Before I met you, I wasn't sure if a car could help me escape the town, you should have seen the thing run, it's a real nightmare fuel."

"Base Alpha_3 is a long distance from here. There might still be some soldiers holding the fort. I think this is a decision which needs both of our opinions. What do you think?"

Ralph took some time to think.

'The chimeras increased in numbers as well. There's no doubt the same will happen for the big one as well. The vibrations were enough to determine that I wouldn't be winning that fight. Travel isn't that safe as well, I have yet to see many monsters on the highways but the possibility can not be eliminated.'

'If we avoid the towns, there might just be a way to go through with this.'

"How long is the distance?"

"Oh, about 1200 kilometers."

'That settles it, time to move.'

"I think we should get going then."

Ben grinned at Ralph.

"Good, I was going to drag you otherwise. Since you realize the danger I won't have to rant. I think we can make it in 2 days if we take shifts driving, can't afford to overheat the engine as well, so We will take breaks to make sure both us and the car are ready. I'll check the car, you pack whatever you think of as necessary."

Ralph nodded and collected food for the two of them. He packed the guns he had and a few Molotovs, just in case. Then he packed clothes and a few other things that would be needed. He had gained a lot of experience from the few trips he had had.

After packing all of the things he deemed necessary, he notified Ben who was working on the car. Ben closed the hood of the car and cleared the dust off his clothes.

"Good, We are ready to go. I'll drive first and you can switch out with me after a few hours."