Immediately after beheading the monster with his sharp claws, Ricardo scanned the entire building frantically in search of Alice. Feeling her presence below him, he jumped down and arrived in front of an underground shelter. Hearing the door open, Ricardo smiled when he noticed Alice's confused expression.
"Ricardo?" He grinned lightly and said,
"Yo, Alice! I'm here to help you out." Ricardo's eyes landed on tens of people who were looked at him curiously.
Initially when they had heard someone coming from Alice, they were frightened to their very being. However, the moment she uttered his name, they all soon relaxed. Truly, it was a miracle to have been able to survive against a creature of such monstrosity.
Much information had been hidden to the public by the biggest heads and organizations which ruled the country. Today however, this hidden secret soon turned public.
"How did you get here? Weren't you supposed to be at Golden Enterprise? They have set bombs there!" Alice grabbed his shoulders in anxiety. Should the bomb be detonated, the deaths of many innocents would haunt her for the rest of her life. Those weren't just employees. Everyone who worked for such a prestigious company founded by Richard Starling, were all considered family to her.
"Ah, about that don't worry Indra's friend, whatever his name was, is helping us out. Moreover, Tony and Felicity are there fighting against other demonic creature outside the headquarters. Soon, the bomb should be diffused in no time."
Alice sighed once again in relief. Setting her worries aside, she turned around and signaled the people to step outside.
"Everyone, we have to leave this place soon or things are going to get crazier. As soon as you get out of this plaza, do whatever it takes to find shelter or return to your houses. Contact your family in case of emergency." Having hear her reply, many people refused to take a step outside.
"What are you talking about? If we step outside, who knows if another monster would crawl out of nowhere and kill us all!" Hearing a civilian retort, others in the room agreed silently as they began whisper incessantly.
"No, because soon many more monsters are going to destroy this place if you continue to stay here. My friend outside has brought sometime and please trust me. If you guys do not leave, this entire building may collapse on due to the shockwaves and power." Not willing to listen to Alice, the people sat down and discussed about their next step of plans.
"Are you guys crazy? Why aren't you listening at all?" Ricardo yelled at the people who eventually ignored him too. It was then director of the FDA spoke up, garnering his attention.
"Listen everyone! I'm aware that you are all afraid and confused of the state you're in right now. However, being in this tight spot, I would urge you all to stay calm, because the solution right now isn't to stay and wait for a miracle to happen again.
What needs to be done is to find a way to get out of here without alerting any other creatures of such sort nearby. I have contacted the police and they in turn will contact the army. Soon, everything will return to normal." People within the room began nodding in agreement. Not because he was a celebrity of some sort.
But because his words of advice sounded realistic compared to Alice's words. Police and army have always been the people's hope. If someone simply said that their friend or acquaintance would help them out, no one would believe them.
Alice found this understandable. As expected of the director of the FDA. Even without his call, the police would've arrived soon enough. However, the army was a different matter altogether. The army was the last line of defense and only the President or the Chief Commander of the U.S Armed Forces had the authority to issue orders to go against war.
Despite such connections, Alice shook her head in disappointment.
"Calling the army is not going to help them in anyways. Every single demonic creature can take tank shells all day and they would still be fine." Alice nodded when she realized Ricardo too thought of the same thing.
"There is no point in telling him. Should we do, the people are not going to believe us either. We need to make sure the people here get out of here safely."
"Why don't I escort them out as quick as possible?"
"There are at least sixty people here. By the time you escort them all towards a safe place, the battle would already start." Ricardo looked at Alice, waiting for her to find a solution. It was then the director of FDA walked towards Alice.
"If I may miss-"
"My name is Alice, it is a pleasure meeting you director." Alice shook his hand, returning the polite gesture.
"Pleasure is mine. Just call me Lawrence." The old man gestured.
"Will do, Mr. Lawrence."
"It seems that you are aware of the situation outside, do you know what that creature was and why it was attacking us?" Alice remained calm for a couple seconds, as she racked her brains to explain it simplistically. She did not wish to reveal the entire details as there could be someone working for Aaron and Maria.
"I'm sorry sir, I am not entirely aware of how these monsters came about. All I am aware is that these monsters are able to take bullets without being injured. They are much stronger than they look and regular guns and missiles would not harm them." The old man raised his eyebrows as he slowly raised his hunchback.
"Are you implying that you have fought these abominable creatures? And you know all of this…" Alice was aware how shrewd this old man was. Not only was he calm in such situations, but he was also able to deduce the link Alice had with these creatures.
On the other hand, Alice knew she had to explain this without hiding too many details. However, it didn't matter if this man did know. Whether he was pretending as if he had neither a clue nor anything related to this, or he was genuinely innocent did not matter to Alice.
"I work for the Golden Enterprises sir, and I have come across creatures similar to these before. Except they were smaller. Much smaller than these huge ones."
"Ah, Golden Enterprises. Richard Starling was a man of honor and strength, how could I not know an old friend?" The old man smiled slightly, before returning to his usual stoic demeanor.
"Are you aware of our boss?" Ricardo spoke up this time.
"I do, but let's speak after we leave this place. We need to get out of here before things do get worse. But before we leave, I just have one question for you." Lawrence stood still as he stared intently at Alice.
"What is it Mr. Lawrence?"
"Can I trust you to safely evacuate all these people?" Alice's eyes flashed in determination.
"You can leave it to me."
"Hey old man, better not underestimate us. We might look normal, but we're strong enough to take on those monsters." Ricardo replied as he lifted a huge slab, which was about three times larger than him, effortlessly This did earn a surprise from the old man and the others around him.
He had heard of strange mysteries, where people had superhuman speed, strength and there were some who could even fly. However, none of the speculations were proven to be true. Now many things started to make sense to him.
"How were you able to do that?" This time Lawrence's secretary asked in disbelief. If such powers existed, how were the majority of the population unaware of these mysteries. What was going on?
"There is no time to explain, like I said before and I am saying it again, please trust me. I promise that my friend and I are going to get you guys out of here safely." Some people refused to go with them, while the majority followed Alice, Ricardo, and Lawrence out