When you're gone, the piece of my heart is missing you.
When you're gone, the face I came to know is missing too - Avril Lavigne, When You're Gone.
***
The black smoke wafts in the air, making it's hard to breathe properly. Several corpses lay on the ground. Their body mangled with burn or gun wounds. But many other Noctacian still struggling to walk, they know they need to get out from here or this will be the end of them. They keep running despite their injury, some of them make it to safety while the others not.
Zach sits with a bandage wrapping his body, his eyes watched everything that happens around him calmly. He knows being panic doesn't change anything. He needs to bring back injured Noctacian. His mind forms many plans to do that, he weighs out his options and decides which one he will use as well as the backup plan if it fails.
"Tik, please call Cale," he said.
"Okay, Zach."
A few minutes later, a tall man with dark brown eyes arrived. There's many other followed him.
"Did you bring the tool?" Zach asked the man.
"Yes, it's ready to use," the man answered.
"Good, tell them to get ready if we need. Let's go," Zach ordered. With that, they run back to the field to get back their injured comrade.
Soon, they reach the field and disperse in many directions trying to find their injured friend. Zach gestured to the sniper and they begin to shot at the enemy's sniper. The air filled with gunshots.
"BOOM!" an ear-shattering voice emerges amongst the gunshot.
"BAM!" another explosion can be heard.
Zach watches as RPG ammunition being shot before it explodes in the air. A thick liquid then spread from the explosion, the liquid melts anything it touches.
"Damn! Hurry, go back! They bring acid bombs!" Zach instructed the Noctacian who are still searching.
"BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!" numerous explosions followed, making the Noctacian's corpse melts down.
The searching team goes back after hearing Zach's order, some of them succeeded in bringing their injured comrade, some of them can't find anything while most of them bring back their comrade arms, feet, or head. Any parts that left after the bomb make their body melts.
"Retreat!" Zach shouted as they run back to the forest.
But before they get far, two helicopters fly above them and began to rain them down with bullets.
"CALE!" Zach yelled.
Several other Noctacian comes out from behind the tree, they bring catapults with them.
"SHOOT!" Cale ordered.
They shoot wire snare to the helicopter's propeller. The snare hit the target and tangled the propeller.
"BOOM!" the helicopters hits the ground and explodes, stopping the bullet rain.
"Go back to the village!" Zach shouted.
***
On another side, Alma walked with two other men from the Visa family on both her side while Daphne walked in front of them. All of the men are wearing hazmat suits and bringing a gun. She keeps repeating the same question in her head, will the Noctacian be safe, and if her decision is correct. She doesn't want someone to die because of her.
Suddenly, Daphne stops walking. She fishes out a walkie-talkie from her pocket. She walked away from Alma, trying to keep Alma from eavesdropping on the conversation. But she doesn't know that after becoming a Noctacian her senses upgraded, so she still can hear her perfectly.
Alma heard Daphne requesting a car to transport them back to the Visa family's main base. Then, Alma heard something that makes her blood run cold.
"How's the situation?" Daphne asked.
"It's finished, we killed many Noctacian. We also get their leader. After you bring back the subject, we will launch a large-scale attack on them," the voice in the walkie-talkie answered.
Alma's face went pale at that, no! She can't let them kill more Noctacian. She needs to warn them! At that time, everything happened in a flash, all Alma can feel is her panic and anxiousness. Then, her canine teeth and nails grow longer and become fangs and claws. Alma moves almost instinctively, with a swift motion she attacks the men. She swings her claws at their body and split them into two. After that, she leaps from her position and tackles Daphne on the ground.
She punches her former friend on the chest. The blood splatters on Alma's face when her punch makes a hole in Daphne's chest, killing her instantly. Alma gets up quickly, her red and green eyes looked at Daphne's corpse coldly. She crushed the walkie-talkie with her feet before she runs back to the meeting point.
Alma meets Tika and the rest halfway to the meeting point. She can see many of Noctacian injured as well as the limb, and head they bring back.
"Tika, what happened?" Alma asked her.
"It's a mess, how did you go back?" Tika asked back.
"I killed them, they took the leader and plan to launch a large-scale attack."
"We talk again later, we have to go back and heal the injured first," Tika stated.
Alma nodded and they go back to the village in silence.
***
Mia stands in front of the mirror, she sees her reflection looking haggard. Her eye bag still looks red from yesterday. Just an hour ago, the team has come back. As predicted before, many are injured and fallen. For now, all of the injured Noctacian are put in the hospital while the rest of the village preparing for the funeral. They will do the funeral twice, one for those whose body or remains still exist and one for those who don't. Now, they're going to hold a funeral for those whose bodies can't be found.
After making sure that she doesn't forget anything, Mia walked to the hill in the village. On top of that hill, there's a stone shaped like a spear with many names written on it. All of the fallen ones whose body can't return is written there. The name of the stone is Haizar.
Mia walks in silence, her mind flies to her memory with her husband, she can't help but feel like there's a hole in her chest. One that she can't fill. Without realizing it, she arrives at the stone. In there, many Noctacian already wait for the funeral to begin.
She can't remember what happens next as she follows the funeral with a blank mind. She only nods her head whenever someone said their condolences to her. It's as if everything around her is a blur, with only the stone being clear. Mia watches as Adie writes down the name of her husband in the stone. A single tear landed in her cheeks.
This is real, all of this is real. Her husband, her soul-bond, is dead and nothing is left but an empty grave.
Mia's knees crumble as she feels an excruciating pain from her womb. She curls herself and clutches her stomach in pain. She can feel a sticky liquid coming down her leg. She puts her trembling hand on the liquid and sees her hand turning red with blood.
Mia wailed loudly, she has lost her light.