Finding a gate to leave through was harder than they first anticipated. It was not a matter of having the right documents. No, the problem came an exit that had no Loyalists as their guards. Ethel had warned that their departure would reach Oscar’s ear through the grapevine. So to avoid problems, they scoured the length of the wall, only finding an exit in the heart of NAS’s territory. Karter would relay what was happening, and that they were not reneging on their promise of aid. It cost them time, something they could scarcely afford, but it was worth it if it kept their people safe.
When they finally crossed under the colossal mass of stonework, concrete, and steel. The security of the city disappeared behind the wall, and once more, the empty streets and lonely structures called vacantly. Silence descended like an alarm and Mark's arm hairs pricked. His instincts came into sharp focus, and when the direction was set, they took off in a loose formation.
They were heading to Sam and Jonathan's old campus. It was at least a day's journey from here and when they got there, there was no telling what they would find. Sam had only caught sight of their supposed target once, and she had high-tailed out there. The description she gave was that of a bipedal humanoid covered in a crystalline exoskeleton.
Worryingly, the Guardian carried some sort of contact-based infection.
“So from what I saw the creature sheds shards of crystal that grow into living flesh, all it takes is the smallest of brushes with the stuff. I didn’t have any way to stop it before, so we have to be careful. ”
There was a waver in Sam’s voice, that spoke of friends lost, but no one said anything.
“Okay, don’t touch the gray crystals while we kill the thing. Got it. We should go for a stealthy approach in that case.” Jonathan said.
Heads bobbed as they hit the alleyways. Streets were choked with the dead and lost, but their group was small and agile.
Moving parallel with the city, the sound of the East River became noticeable. It was easy to navigate the low rooftops in this area but that did not mean they weren’t met with the odd Corrupted.
Mark used his newest spell to deal with any stragglers. He set the orb to hover over the group as overwatch and limited its range to avoid pulling the hoards down on them.
The spell worked efficiently, picking off any Corrupted that got too near with [Force bolts]. By the time it ran out of Mana, Mark had regenerated the energy. So after a recharge it was back in the air. In the beginning, He had a problem with getting the spell to recognize when the Corrupted were dead, but he fixed that by setting a condition. If the things were still moving, then the spell was to keep firing. That seemed to work just fine for now.
Sam was watching the little drone orbiting their group with interest and shot Mark a look that he knew well.
They kept following the river banks, the walls of the city long behind them. The sun was out in full force, but all Mark could feel from it was a wistful light. They passed through what looked like a cargo loading bay. Empty freight containers lay open in the port, abandoned wherever they had fallen. The loading machinery was motionless, their chains clinking in the delicate breeze. It felt as though they were the only souls alive in this world. They stopped there to take a brief break, before crossing the river. They were a small party so traveling over it was doable. Mark carried Daphne and Jonathan across, their shadows the briefest dots over the water's surface.
Landing on the other side, they kept traveling upstream until another bridge came into sight. With it was another large highway. Only this one looked scorched, as though a turbulent fire had come through here.
Even the tar was covered in a layer of carbonized ash.
All the lanes of the highway were clogged but melted lumps of metal and glass, remains of what had once been cars. Countless bullet casings lay scattered on the ground, misshapen from the heat.
It looked as though a battle had taken place here, while a trail of destruction carved its way through the landscape.
A sinking feeling spiked in Mark’s stomach.
He didn’t get long to contemplate it, because just as Sam was setting their course the sounds of rifles cocking became apparent.
A construct expanded, as Mark spotted a medium-sized group stepping out of the nearby buildings.
A couple were on the rooftops, but most were coming through at ground level. Numberwise they easily had ten times their group's fighters. Mark spotted military uniforms as well as civilians with guns.
A man in uniform stepped forward briskly.
“Alright, nice and easy we don’t mean you any harm. My name is Corporal Penny Wizer, Bravo Company, 3rd Platoon. This area is incredibly quarantined, you need to turn back for your safety.”
Sam and Chloe stepped towards the group and for their part, they didn’t flinch, all of them looked well-trained. Even the civilians were steady, though they threw glances at a woman near the back of their formation.
Stolen novel; please report.
“Thank you for your warning Corporal Wizer, but we need to move through here. We have confidence in our ability to traverse this area, but any information you can give will be appreciated.”
The man named Penny frowned at them.
“We have orders to contain any collateral damage in this area. Letting you in will only get you all killed.”
Now it was Sam’s turn to frown.
“When did you last receive orders from your superiors?”
Penny glanced around at his people and moved a step or two closer.
“Our equipment went dark just over a week and a half ago. Our last order was to contain the spread, and so we will.”
Mark was impressed, if what he said was true, then these people were still acting on their last given order. They were in the dark, but still hung fast to their orders. It also didn’t explain why there were civilians here.
This just got a whole lot more complicated. Chloe spoke up beside Sam.
“Corporal Wizer, I understand your worries, but perhaps we can discuss this somewhere safer. We need to cross your territory one way or another and I can tell you are a reasonable man. We might even be able to help you.”
Penny looked at each of them in turn. Mark was not sure what he saw, but he felt a wave of Aura briefly searching them, and right after that he stepped back and indicated for them to follow.
Turning back, there was the briefest look of disapproval on the woman's face. She held no weapon but had a bandolier strapped to her chest. Instead of shells or bullets, small glass vials of varying colors looped her person. Liquids sloshing about inside, she eyed their group warily.
Chloe was the first to step forward, but they followed her lead and headed towards the group. If she trusted them, then they were most likely in good hands.
That didn’t mean Mark lowered his shield, but at least for now, he trusted them not to attack.
The crowd surrounded their small group, but no one made any aggressive moves, and after a good bit of traveling they came upon an older building with grey stonework, in much need of maintenance. Mark realized it was a hostel, probably off-campus housing for students.
They passed simple barriers made up of sandbags, stacked waist-high.
More people were showing up now, walking the abandoned streets and going about their business. The number of soldiers was not low but the civilians outnumbered them three to one. Entering the building Mark noticed a good deal of people looking their way. Soldiers watch them, as well as the entrances, though it was with curiosity rather than hostility.
Climbing a set of staircases they arrived in an empty common room on the third floor. The space had been cleared and a sort of situation room had been set up.
Forgotten and battered equipment had been shoved into one corner. Near that, a haphazard assembly of basic gear lay strewn about. To one corner a makeshift workstation had been set up with bottles of chemicals, and bubbling concoctions hinting at some kind of experiment going on.
In the heart of the room, a sprawling table dominated the space, its surface adorned with a weathered map. Countless markings covered it, some faded, others freshly penned, sprawling across the map.
However, the most eye-catching thing was the view from the large set of windows in the room. The sight was that of a sprawling campus, littered with derelict buildings and dying foliage. As far as the eye could see the landscape was plagued by smokey grey crystal, poking out from trees and buildings as though a cancer.
Some were as small as a pinky finger while the larger shards of opaque glass were the sizes of trucks, protruding from the structures themselves.
The next thing Mark’s eye was drawn to was the colossal, stalagmite of crystal, stretching up towards the sky. The thing was fifty meters tall, easily the highest thing among the surrounding lecture halls.
Below Mark spotted Corrupted, moving with shards of the same glass protruding from their forms.
He took a step in the window's direction to get a better look because even with all of this there was still more.
Near what Mark was terming the crystal spire, was a flickering golden light. It looked like a candle flame, stretching into the sky, moving with the same tempo of slow-moving honey. The flames were only half the height of the spire, but they called to all observers. Challenging those who looked upon it.
The golden light was eerily beautiful, and it reflected off the surrounding crystal in a multitude of colors, but with that beauty came desecration.
A sense of aggression rose in Mark's heart. The thin whisps of black thread, slinking through the light held a sinister meaning to the bizarre nature of the flame.
The longer he watched it the more it felt wrong. As though something was trying to lay claim to their territory, their world. It felt like an affront to everything life stood for.
Jonathan let out a disgusted grunt beside Mark.
From this vantage point Mark could tell the campus was trapped between the East River and their thin blockade. If the creatures from within had any intelligence, Penny and his men would not be able to contain them, but for now, they were enough to stop the spread.
Mark was so lost in the scene in front of him, that he didn’t notice the woman beside him until she spoke.
“That’s what you guys were thinking of walking into, thinking twice?”
A glance at her revealed a conflicted expression.
“No, but I’d love to know how you’ve been dealing with them all this time.”
The woman searched his face, and when she found no hesitation she huffed.
“I’m Jana and we’ve mostly just kept at a range to avoid infection. The crystalline structure grows through any contact with the creature itself so ranged is our only option.”
“Are you a chemist of some kind? Have you discovered any way to stop the spread of this stuff”
Mark said, pointing to the concoctions on her body.
“Yes. And No. I’ve managed to compound a few useful solutions, but now it's my turn, where are you guys from?”
Mark saw where she was going with this and they began to exchange information at a rate one for one. Explaining where they had just come from.
At the same time, Corporal Wizer spoke up.
“Now please listen up ladies and gentlemen. If you all want to go in there I won’t stop you. But know this once you enter, I will consider you part of the quarantine zone. This is all to say, you go in there, you’re not coming out.”