The flickering light of the torch illuminated the sewer ahead partially. The sewer was too dark that they couldn't even locate their hands by pure sight. The surrounding seemed the same even after a long walk, everything was just like an infinity loop, the only thing that different was sometimes a portion of blood will simply mixed in the sewage they were walking through.
“ Are you sure we are going the right way? ” asked Victor.
“ According to this old waste system map, yes. ” answered Blake while looking at his iPad.
“ Damn, this stink! This is already the worst, hopefully we wouldn't bump into any mutant. ” Victor had flung himself in a pose of disgust. This time, Blake didn't say a word. The sewer had backed to its silence.
After a few minutes, they reached a ladder with some corpses lying beside it, which will eventually lead them to the surface. “ I think it's here. ” Blake stuffed his iPad into his backpack.
“ I'll go up first. Guide the rear and wait for my signal. ” ordered Blake.
“ Roger that. ” said Victor.
Blake climbed up the rusty ladder carefully and stretched out his head to observe the surroundings. The manhole was in front of a small apartment block. There was nothing beside the manhole except for a few abandoned cars.
“ All cleared. ” said Blake.
They walked through the gate of the apartment block and came in front of its entrance. The entrance was barricaded with variety of furniture such as chairs, tables or even a leather sofa. Blake came close to the broken window at the corner of the apartment block and knocked on the plank that used to barricade it.
A young woman came out from the corridor and removed the plank after a glance at them.
“ Aren't you suppose to locate the Rainmaker only? What took you guys so long? ” asked the young woman discontentedly as they walked down the corridor. “ You know I had waited here for how long, worrying about you? "
Blake and Victor lowered their heads as they walked, didn't say a single word. The young woman stopped questioning them as if she noticed something terrible.
The conversation fell into complete silence, it was quiet till they could even hear their own breath. This moment of silence seemed forever when they stopped at the end of the corridor. What lay ahead of them was an iron door with scratches all over it.
The young woman opened her mouth, “ …..Hey.....tell me......does Jayce..... ”
The iron door flung open. A little girl around 5 to 6 years old who was holding a crinkly paper ran out and rushed to where they were standing. “ Papa! Papa! Welcome back! ” shouted the little girl.
The young woman quickly turned to the little girl and held her off.
“ Papa is back, Kelly. I wanna show him the picture I draw! Where is papa? ” said the little girl excitedly.
“ Carol, listen to me... ” Blake indicated Kelly to step aside and crouched in front of Carol, putting both of his hands on her shoulders. “ Your father......he won't be coming back...... ” said Blake calmly with grief in his eyes.
“ Why....? ” Carol hardly let out a word. She couldn't believe what had she heard.
“ Because......he is dead. ” Blake finished his words while looking directly at Carol who was all misty-eyed.
The tears burst out from Carol's eyes as if she couldn't hold it back anymore. “ No.....No! You're lying! It's not true! ” Carol shook off Blake's hands and slapped him in his face.
Blake endured the slap directly. “ It's true. ” said Blake emotionless. “ Your father is a great man. He died protecting us. He didn't give up till him last breath. ” Blake continued.
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“ No, it's not! He promised me that he will come back! He will stay beside me! ” Carol kept shaking her head as to denied the truth and cried her heart out uncontrollably. “ No......You are lying! My father hasn't died! He is still somewhere out there, carrying out his usual mission! Carol will be a good girl so that when he come back, he will..... ” shouted Carol with all her strength. “ Carol! ” Hasn't waited Carol to finish her words, Kelly went forward and hugged Carol tightly in her arms.
Blake and Victor just stayed there, didn't say a single word. After a few seconds, Blake stood up and walked through the iron door.
“ Why don't you guys go take a bath? ” said Kelly with her back facing them.
“ Maybe later....I gonna report to the HQ first.... ” replied Blake impersonally.
Blake walked away as he spoke, leaving Victor behind with them. Victor was trying to say something to them, it was just on the tip of his tongue but he held back, turning around quickly to follow after Blake.
Kelly didn't hear a sound of his words but she knew what he was about to say by looking at his lips. “ We're sorry! ”
***
“ Here is Master Sergeant Blake from Special Operation Squad 13, reporting in! Over! ”
There was no reply from the radio except the fuzzy noises on the line.
“ Here is Master Sergeant Blake from Special Operation Squad 13, reporting in! Over! ”
“ Bizz.......bizz.......Hereee......is HQ. Over! ”
“ We have located the target location. Sending its coordinate now. Over! ”
Blake entered the coordinate of the Rainmaker into the laptop beside the radio as he spoke.
“ .....Coordinate confirmed.....received. Over! ”
“ Listen, Special Operation Squad 13, you have a new mission. Eliminates all the target Rainmakers within the next three days at all cost. Over! ”
“ But.....we don't have enough hands and firepower to do that. Please reconsider......perhaps the HQ can send some reinforcement here. Over! ”
“ You are on your own. There will be no reinforcement. ”
“ Like I say... ”
“ This is an order! I hope you know your place, Master Sergeant. ”
Blake remained silence for a while and then picked up the handset. “ Copy that. Over! ”
“ Acceptance confirmed. Anything else need to report? ”
“ Jayce Wright, Sergeant 1st Class, Special Operation Squad 13.......KIA. ”
“ I am sorry to hear that. The country will recognize his contribution. We feel deeply sorry for your loss, Master Sergeant. ”
“ …......... ”
“ Remember, the time limit is three days. Good luck, soldier! ..... bizz ........ bizz ...... ” The transmission ended.
Blake hung up on the radio. He sat there, kept silence for a few minutes just to grieve about what had happened. Again, he couldn't hold back his tears that ran out like water from the tap. “ Squad 13 huh? I thought we were platoon before... ” said Blake sarcastically, with a wry smile on his face. “ It's all my fault ….. I ordered them to sacrifice for the sake of the remaining ....... my misleading, my incompetence made them died ....... it was me who killed them....... ”
“ I am the murderer......the sinner....... ”
***
There were five cloaked men taking cover inside a small coffee shop. Although the coffee shop was ravaged after The Second Impact, its appearance still remained cozy and lovely, reminded anyone that walked pass it about the previous world. However, they don't seem like coming to reminiscent here. All of them held a serious expression.
“ That's it! ” said Hulk.
“ Damn! It's huge! ” Adam was grasped of surprise.
“ It's the biggest I have even seen! ” George agreed with Adam.
“ It's the biggest Rainmaker in this area. ” said Blake while checking on his iPad. “ How's the surrounding? ” Blake asked Victor who was observing the situation outside the window.
“ Not quite good! There are a handful of mutants, around 20 or even more. Such a troublemaker! ” said Victor.
There were many people lumbering around the street directionless with unusual movement just like a zombie. Their crazy, diseased eyes could terrify a normal person just by a glance. They just looked like the beastly creatures crawled out from the caves of hell. Five of them could even hear them cracking bones and clamping their fangs on the shop next door.
“ Seems like we don't have another choice. A fight with these shitheads is unavoidable. ” said Blake while loading his M4A1.
“ This is the best part I like about this job. Haha! ” Hulk patted his AUG rifle.
“ Hey you battle demon, we are here to carry out our mission, not killing people. ” George reminded him.
“ Shoot to kill! Don't make them suffer any longer, they can still feel pain even turn into a mutant. ” ordered Blake.
“ Roger that! Don't worry, I'll give them a headshot! ” laughed Hulk.
“ Victor, Adam! Are you ready? ” asked Blake.
“ Yes, sir! ” answered Victor and Adam.
Seeing that his squad was prepared, Blake prayed in his mind, begging God for forgiveness on his murders afterward. Although the people had turned into mutants due to the unknown neurotoxin of the Killer Bees and Stingers
which they gained from the Rainmaker's secretion, they were still conscious and could feel intense pain, they just couldn't control their body and mind. They didn't want to be aggressive to others, they just couldn't control it!
“ Let me bear all the sin. I will finish you with a bullet, free you from this living hell. ” Blake murmured.
Blake stood up and walked out the coffee shop.
“ Squad 13, let's move out! ” shouted Blake.