The sun sat at its highest point in the sky, light bouncing off the tar and heating the concrete world around them.
So, when they spotted the thin curling mist creeping within the forest of thorns, they knew it could not be natural. The team had stopped the trucks in front of the entrance and been discussing how to proceed when Wesley had pointed out the fog further in.
If it were just about mist they would not have paused but other signs became apparent. No other vegetation grew near here and that included the sidewalk flower beds. The nearest tree looked withered and blackened as though sickly. While Patrica pointed out the corpse of a bird lying in the middle of the road.
It didn’t take much to figure out the significance of this.
Lisa looked to the group.
“We can go around it, but it will add hours to our journey, or we can abandon the vehicles and traverse it on foot. What are your guy's thoughts?”
Bonnie raised her hand.
“I can totally keep the mist off us but, like, keep in mind we don’t know how big this place is. I might run out of Mana in the middle of it.”
Jonathan stole a glance at Sam who was still resting in the vehicle.
“If it will get us home sooner, I’m all for walking.”
More opinions were thrown out but Mark's eye was drawn to the landscape. The vines weren't that tall but they created a dark canopy for anything living under there. The only things that escaped were the taller buildings poking out of the mass of thorns. Mark’s eyes narrowed at the spaces between the buildings.
“What if we moved above the whole thing using the buildings as our footholds?”
Mark did not have the Mana to fly a group this big, but as he pointed in between the skyscrapers, the group fell silent. Their group could bridge the gaps with any number of things, and depending on what was down there it may even reduce their travel time.
Lisa scratched her chin as everyone mulled it over.
“We would have to fight whatever is in those buildings.”
Mark shrugged.
“Or we could fight whatever’s down here. Either way, we fight. I vote that if we don’t have a choice in the matter, we at least don’t do battle in what looks like a toxic jungle.”
Mark had [Clensing surge] but depending on what kind of poison they were dealing with, he could end up unable to cure it with his already stretched resources.
Lisa seemed to agree and no one had any problems with the plan, so they picked a nearby building and abandoned the cars.
Mark carried Sam’s unconscious form against his back and began climbing the stairs with the group. They encountered some Corrupted presence, but quickly killed them off. As hurt as Jonathan was he did not fall behind the rest, making sure to hold his own.
Once they were on the fifth floor, Mark moved to the wall where he could get a view of the next building over. The next building over was sticking out of the thorns resolutely, concrete splintering as root systems riddled its body.
Casting [Earth control] Mark began to manipulate the surrounding materials. Opening a hole in the wall. Glass and other materials dropped from the twisting concrete as it stretched toward the other building. Whenever he needed more materials, he sheered them down from above, making sure to avoid structural supports.
The pathway formed rapidly, allowing space for them to cross single file. Mark didn’t bother making it extensive, just strong enough to hold them. When the manipulation got to the other side he then pulled material from that building too. Reinforcing the narrow connection. Crossing over into the next building was child's play at that point. However, they were met with some very unhappy residents. The Mana cost was low thanks to only using manipulation and his natural regeneration. So by the time they had cleared the next building, his core was almost full again.
Moving to the third building was much the same. Mark left the bridges in place as it was more effort to break them than it was worth.
As they crossed the second bridge, Mark got a better view of the sights below. The churning mists partially hid the figures from sight, but it was possible to catch glimpses of the Corrupted moving aimlessly through the upturned streets. It was hard to tell from this distance but they looked different from the usual Corrupted, as though blighted with something.
Continuing with their strategy proved effective and they only got faster as they got the process down. Their path through the sky, meandered from building to building, leaving a trail for others to follow.
When they were about halfway across the jungle, the corrupted became more aggressive and they came face to face with the variants they had spotted down below.
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The creatures moved towards them with nettles protruding from their flesh, as thorny vines burrowed through them.
They had arrived in a block of offices with a large vine running up the center
The new creatures were no stronger than a regular Corrupted, but they didn’t have to be. Just the act of fighting them at close and personal was enough.
Several of their frontlines got hit by the thorns seconds later and were staggering as though they had lost their fine motor control.
Terry stepped up and released a wave of sound –which, thankfully he contained to the building– that killed a good number of them.
Mark used [Cleansing surge], and found the toxin was a breeze to remove. In high quantities, sure, it could be a problem, but its lethality was manageable in small doses.
At the same time, losing control of one’s body in the middle of combat can be life-threatening. Because of how fast-acting the stuff was, more than a few new injuries appeared before Mark could step in.
The worst was Wesley, who had been separated and surrounded by the Corrupted. He had tried to block with his bucker but they came from all directions, burying him in bodies. The only reason he was alive was because of Lisa, who dove into the pile and burned them away one by one.
When she extracted him, Mark cleared the poison but found his nervous system going into toxic shock. Confusion and tremors shook his body, not full-blown seizures, but Mark needed time to repair the extensive damage.
The demand for healing was beyond what Mark could deal with alone, Gibby had even helped him by using some of his Prana to heal, but the guy needed his energy to remain a potent combatant, so Mark told him to save it.
They had to keep moving, but before they did Mark cut off a sample from the main trunk of the vine, and threw it into his inventory.
Extending the next bridge was met with even more resistance. They even made use of the bridge by retreating onto it and knocking any Corrupted that charged, off the side. Once they had that down their progression improved.
Mark was relieved when they got to the other end of the thorny jungle. Strangely enough, that had been the most pleasant part of their entire journey. Or best case, it was the least dangerous.
Sam still hadn’t woken up, Jonathan kept glancing over to check on her. Mark had kept a small stream of Prana to keep her stable, but she wasn’t waking up any time soon.
When they climbed down on the other side of their obstruction, no one could hide their eagerness for home and safety.
The final leg of the journey was more them avoiding fights than charging in. Their frontline had taken a huge hit, to the point where one half was carrying the other, while their backline did what they could to create as much space as possible. This meant what would have probably taken them an hour before, ended up taking them three. But, just when Mark was reapplying a bandage to Shameez’s wound Lisa perked up.
“I recognize this area ladies and gentlemen, we’re a couple of minutes out.”
True to her words, the wall came into view a short while later. Pulling out a whistle, Lisa blew on it, and a sharp shirl sound climbed the wall.
Moments later a head popped out from behind it and frantic shouts followed.
A section of the wall opened at their level and they were let in, being brought to a single-story building that had been repurposed as one of NAS’s first-aid points.
All along their path, people from NAS watched them with wide eyes, lowering their eyes to the ground or whispering amongst themselves.
By the time Nathan burst into the tent with his usual expressionless mask, they were already being taken care of by the healers.
Mark didn’t refuse assistance, but he went straight into [Meditation] to start gathering energy.
A short time later Lisa addressed them all, while healers worked on her wounds. When Mark opened his eyes he saw the room had been cleared out to just them and bustling healers.
“Alright, I won’t say much, so you can all have time to recover. Know that the information we gathered on this trip was not a waste. Nor will those lost be forgotten. We were sent packing, but we will return, with greater numbers and stronger resolve. We’ll contact you when we are ready to make the next assault, but it will no doubt be within the week. Take some time to think about this and let us know if you are stepping down. Until then get healed up and get stronger.”
Lisa didn’t seem to want to hang around after that, choosing to exit the building with Nathan and her doctors in tow.
While galvanizing, her speech did little to quell the fears of those here or heal their wounds. They were right about the things down there being a cause for concern, but the fact that their team could barely reach the bottom layer was worrying.
Mark also didn’t miss that she reminded them of their deal. It was more than likely the other groups had made a deal with NAS, so perhaps they could not turn down the call to arms either.
For now, Mark let the healers fuss over Jonathan and the others while he regained some strength. They didn’t know how to help Sam at the moment, but they did identify what the problem was, so Mark took that as a good sign the average healer was coming along nicely. Other than Mark, Gibby probably needed the least healing as he had his own Prana and probably something similar to Mark’s passive regeneration spell.
Once he was more stable Mark gathered the three of them and they headed back toward their base.
If there was one good thing that came from the last thirty-six hours or so, it was that Mark could finally say he trusted Gibby with his life. The man had proved over and over again to be reliable, to the point where Mark could not deny the guy anymore.
They arrived back home as stealthily as they had left. When Mark dropped them on the top of the penthouse roof, the door slammed open, and a very anxious Daphne paced out. Followed by Ethel and Karter.
When Karter took in the sight of Jonathan carrying Sam, his pupils shook. He closed the distance between them and took her from him.
Mark reassured him that she was resting and that Mark would help her as soon as he had the strength.
At the same time, Daphne pulled him into a hug, he could tell from the way her brow knitted together that her worry for him was tinged with anger.
Ethel gripped Jonathan in a crushing embrace that had him hissing for her to release him, but she didn’t.
When Mark asked where Chloe was, Ethel told them she would returning soon. Glancing at the now failing light, Mark was both happy to be home, and restless. The apocalypse outside these walls was cold and unforgiving but with each challenge it presented, it offered the same opportunity for growth.