The border guards that approached them were accompanied by eight soldiers, all wearing the same uniforms as his companions. They came here to investigate the explosion that was detected by the border sentry.
After the brief self introductions among the soldiers and the border guards, the lead soldier explained the whole events in great detail.
The newcomers took down some notes and made some calls. Checking up for their physical conditions was done immediately afterwards.
"More people will come over to this site and they will ask questions. I suggest that you keep your silence and let me do all the talking for you." The lead soldier cautioned him.
Foxtrot-5 simply nodded in agreement. He's too tired too talk anyway.
He stayed quiet as he let himself be ushered to a series of medical check ups. He was finally able to change his clothing and he was even allowed to wash himself up. If not for the chains that binds his hands, he could even blend in with the well dressed people that just arrived the area.
All in all, he sustained three gunshot wounds. One on his shoulder and two on the side of his torso. The soldiers are good at dealing with such injuries as he barely felt pain when they extracted the bullets from his flesh. He just felt the initial prick of the tweezers and the sharp pain of the disinfectant solution that they rubbed on him.
"You have a high tolerance for resisting pain." The soldier that attended him said in a complimenting voice.
"I guess his body just went too numb after this long, exhausting day." The lead soldier answered for him.
The area quickly became crowded as more and more people came to check the scene. There were high ranking City officials, military personnel, medical researchers and all sorts of uniformed men and women that Foxtrot-5 had never seen before.
"I already told you everything. The beast did not evolve or anything. It was able to free itself after the cart was thrown away by the explosion's shock wave."
Foxtrot-5 raised his head as he heard a familiar loud voice near him. It was the big soldier that shoot and killed the beast. He was still wearing his bloody military uniform. The dried blood and dirt made the soldier look like a street beggar. He was flanked by two men wearing dark coats that Foxtrot-5 doesn't recognize..
"That's everything that you can recall?" One of the dark coated man asked.
The other man was just standing, taking some notes.
"It happened so fast. We were all thrown after the blast. The poor horse collapsed to the ground and dislodged the beast from the cart. Maybe we did not chain it tight enough or it simply recovered some of its strength. We had no time to think about anything at that moment. When I saw my teammate's death, I just knew that I had to kill the beast." The big soldier explained once more.
Foxtrot-5 inhaled deeply as he heard the big soldier's voice. He was referring to the youngest soldier whose chest was punctured by the beast's claws. It all happened in front of him and still etched clearly in his memory.
"Thank you for your cooperation, we will be taking our leave now." The two men made a military salute and finally left.
The big soldier responded with a salute of his own before walking towards Foxtrot-5.
"I can't believe that I will say this, but I wish I could switch places with you just for today." The soldier sat beside Foxtrot-5 and spat to the ground.
"What's the big deal for all of this? It's not like we slayed a legendary dragon or anything. Why the circus?" The soldier asked, exhaling loudly.
Foxtrot-5 just shook his head. He had no idea himself. It's maybe true that the beast was a new discovery. He saw its bullet ridden corpse being taken away by a fancy looking vehicle, with heavy military escort.
"I overheard some medical researchers said that the beast was indeed a new discovered specie. They even look at us with detest for killing it." The lead soldier said as he walked towards them.
"It was a good thing that it was dead, or it would have killed us all." The big soldier sneered back.
"Yes. I have already explained that to the higher ups. There's nothing we can do about it."
"What now? Are we still not allowed to return to the city? I want to rid off this stinky uniform already."
"Our ride is already here. I just came here to pick you up." The lead soldier said, chuckling.
Foxtrot-5 immediately got up from his seat when he heard it. He never liked his prison cell. But after what happened to him today, with all the violence he witnessed, he would rather stay inside his cell and never come near this area again.
"No man, you are not coming with us this time. This is our farewell. Someone else will come and pick you up. You still need a proper treatment with all the wounds you sustained today." The lead soldier said, shaking hands with him.
Foxtrot-5 just nodded blankly.
'So that was it. My adventure is finally over.' He thought to himself as the two soldiers walk away from him.
He didn't have to wait for a long time. A few of minutes later, a group of men came and picked him up. Foxtrot-5 recognized their uniforms instantly. They are prison guards.
"Hey buddy. We heard that you had a rough day."
Foxtrot-5 knew the person that approached him. His name is Sanchez. This was also the man that recommended him to the soldiers for this mission. Sanchez was one of the few prison officer that Foxtrot-5 actually befriended. He was one the few who doesn't find entertainment in torturing prisoners.
"Yeah, I guess. Are you taking me back to my cell already?" He asked.
"No, not immediately. You earn the luxury to be in a hospital and be treated. That's your reward." Sanchez said.
"I thought that I would be rewarded money or gold." Foxtrot-5 said mockingly.
"I guess it would be okey to ask for money if you just accomplished your mission. Too bad you had to be in the company of incompetent soldiers." Sanchez said, letting out a short laugh.
"Yeah, A dead beast will not be anything useful. Maybe whoever picked it up will end up cooking it for food or something." Foxtrot-5 said, smiling for the first time in the day.
Foxtrot-5 was escorted by Sanchez and some other prison guards back to the city. A number of papers were signed before some uniformed personnel came in to take him away. It was already afternoon when he finally entered the hospital's front door.
The medical staff did not do much. His wounds has already closed up and there was no more bleeding. His vitals where checked and re-checked.
Foxtrot-5 was made to sit on one of the hospital beds and a elderly doctor replaced his already soiled bandages. The doctor claimed that the soldier that initially treated him must have some kind of advanced medicine to deal with wounds. This kind of medicine might just be available to the military. That would explain why his wounds did not open up when the doctor removed his bandages.
He nodded in agreement. He told the doctor about the liquid which he just thought as a simple disinfectant that was rubbed on his wounds earlier. It must be the kind of advanced medicine that the doctor was talking about.
The elderly doctor gave him a pill so he could sleep and recover his strength faster. He took it and finally able to feel relaxed. It has been a long day for him. His eyelids slowly become heavier and soon he was already asleep.
----------
The elderly doctor was walking on the hospital aisle. He just watched as his patient fall asleep. The man's hands were chained to the bed and a special identity tag placed on the headboard.
Before they let the patient in, their hospital received the complete background report of the patient's identity. They were also given sets of photographs of the patient's wounds and injuries.
What he saw on the photographs earlier today and what he had actually seen in flesh were nothing the same. The only similarities were the locations of the wounds.
The report within the photographs said that the bullet wounds was just acquired today. Yet when he checked the patient, it looked like the wounds has been recovering for more that a week now.
"Those military leeches! Keeping advanced technology and medicine to themselves." The doctor said in annoyance.
That must be the only explanation. Being in the military is such a hazardous job. It would not be a big surprise that they would develop a drug that would make a soldier's injury heal in accelerated rate. As a doctor in the medical field, He was just annoyed that the military would not share it with them. Or maybe the technology is still on the testing phase. It could also be the reason why it was still unknown. It would only explain why they were allowed to test it on prisoners. If it develop any complications, Losing one prisoner is not such a big deal.
The elderly doctor stopped walking. He decided to not let curiosity get the best of him. It would be a waste of resources to conduct further tests on some nameless prisoner.
He sighed and went to the hospital canteen.
----------
Foxtrot-5 was awaken by the sound of loud argument happening near him. He slowly opened his eyes and saw three men wearing dark coats and two hospital staff. One of them was the elderly doctor that took care of him.
"We are just here to ask the prisoner a few questions for our investigation." One of the dark coated men said in a calm voice while holding his identification card in front of the doctor blocking the doorway.
"The patient is sleeping, waking him up at a time like this is not good for his recovery." The elderly doctor said, not moving away.
"Perhaps you can come back tomorrow." The other medical person suggested in a kind voice.
"It's okey, I'm already awake." Foxtrot-5 said.
He figured that this men will get whatever they want, one way or the other. Just a few questions would not hurt him. And the earlier they ask their questions, the sooner they will leave. Foxtrot-5 sat up on his bed and nodded to the men on the door.
The elderly doctor just let out a sigh and left.
"Thank you for giving us your time. We will make this quick as possible." One of the dark coated men took a chair nearby and sat in front of him.
"I guess I have no right to refuse even if I want to." Foxtrot-5 just let out a small smile and raised his chained hands to make his point.
The three dark coated men looked at each other and laughed lightly. The air become relaxed once more.
"Can you describe us the beast that you captured and killed?"
"It has the posture of a man with scales of a fish and claws of a bird, I guess." Foxtrot-5 was confused by the question. He did not know how to answer. He was sure that this men already saw the corpse of the said beast.
"I meant, can you describe its behavior? Did you notice something that might look strange to you?" The man asked again
"I'm not sure, I was only there to track the beast by the footprints it left behind and the irregularities of the foliage and vegetation. When we located the beasts, It was the soldiers who faced and fought it." He explained.
"So you were able to track it by its footprints. Was it walking on two legs, like a man?"
"Its footprints suggests that it can walk on two legs, but it uses its arms when running and jumping."
"Anything else? Take your time and try to remember more." The man said as he offered him a cup of drink.
"I'm not certain about this but I think I saw its scales change colors too. It happened when the soldiers were still fighting the beast." He said.
"It has the ability to change the color of its skin? Like that of a chameleon?" The man asked again, more curious this time.
"I'm not sure. I was a distance away. The beast was moving around and it was agile. Maybe it was just the sunlight that reflected on its scales."
Foxtrot-5 pondered about it for a moment as the men around him talk to themselves while taking down some notes. The beast really did looked like it could change the color of its scales. Was it for camouflage? The soldiers did not seem to notice it though. Maybe it was just really sunlight.
"You are called Foxtrot-5 right? Is there nothing else you can remember?"
"I think it has the ability to call other beasts. But I guess the soldiers already told you that."
"Yes, We saw the explosion site and the carnage that was left behind. The beast can really call on other beasts and animals." The man said in agreement.
"I'm sorry but that's all I can recall. The two surviving soldiers must know some more details about it." He said, offering a weak smile.
"We will do that. Thank you for entertaining us. You can take your rest now." The man sitting in front of him finally stood up and offered his hand.
Foxtrot-5 raised his chained hands once again and smiled weakly.
The dark coated men smiled back at him and turned to leave.
"I'm just wondering, Does the beast have a name, or was it really a new discovery?" Foxtrot-5 asked the men standing by the door.
"It's just a new discovered specie, that's why we are gathering information about it."