Looming ahead, were the strategic apartment complexes that had the potential to change the entire battlefield. Hops knew that fact very well, as the push through the night led them only a couple hundred yards away from the closest part, the lowest elevated part of the apartments. The twenty or so stories they would have to fight for this section alone would be tedious, and likely trapped with ambushes and weaponry to inflict as much damage as possible.
"Nervous?" Hops turned to see Sera give him a quick shot of assurance, "It'll be our toughest battle yet."
"A several-day operation for sure, if even that. It could take weeks to completely conquer the entire place." Hops practically moaned in thought, "And without Jamal too."
"Say, have any of y'all even seen him around? No word on his whereabouts since yesterday," Heskins came into view, rifle steaming after firing off a fresh set of bullets, "I hope it's not for the worst, but I'll keep my expectations low."
"Haven't heard a word from him yet, is he still with Leon and them?" Sera asked, to which a shake of the head answered it for her, "He might be in trouble. Say Hops, why don't you get Alice to find him in that case?"
Hops looked past the complexes and towards the suburban households south of their positions. The echoes of explosions and lights from the attacks still came through the air, although they were less frequent than before. If anything, their other comrades and friends should still be in this fight, and the man knew that Alice wasn't easy to fall down and die. Surely she was safe, right?
"Yeah, I think I will. I'll bring her back with me." He stretched his calves for a brief moment.
"You're finna carry her back here?" Heskins looked towards their forces moving in position and beginning to enter the closest apartments to them.
"Yeah, just don't die and we'll be good. Just be careful in there." Hops gave them a quick grin.
Without any more waiting, Sera and Heskins stared on, as Hops began to slowly jog back towards the others, as he began skipping across the ground. Within five jumps, the man was soaring through the air with ease, as the power of his legs gave him temporary flight before the man disappeared through the smoke.
"Okay, well then, we best deal with the first three floors. Stay alert." Heskins waved for Sera and the stragglers behind to move forward, "Our journey isn't over yet."
"You didn't have to tell me that twice. Let the clean up begin!" the woman passionately roared forth, as the building's lobby greeted them for what would to come.
.....
"What are your main objectives!" A soldier roared in Jamal's face before the man got whipped by a metal chain again.
"Ugh!" Jamal spat another blob of blood from his mouth, which was leaking the liquid heavily.
For the last hour or so, the commanding center soldiers wasted little time attempting to apply information out of Jamal. At first, they tried asking him as to what relevant information he was willing to give out, to which a brief moment of expletives gave them an answer they weren't looking for. That gave Hector the wonderful idea of torture through any means necessary, which led to Jamal getting his hands chained to the roof of the cage, forcing his joints and muscles to ache from the intense stretching. Followed by whipping from a literal metal chain, and the aggression from Jamal was quick to fade away. The energy cuffs prevented him from attempting any type of feasible escape, and the multiple guards aiming their weapons or powers at him at all times meant that he would die if the chance were needed at a moment's notice.
The man couldn't even think clearly enough to speak properly and communicate as to what he guessed was the one-hundredth whipping strikes across his body.
"Ah!" Jamal trembled again, the clinking of the chains rattling through the air.
"Come on Jamal, we know you know something we need. If we have to, we can play the heal and close-to-death game all you want. I'm pretty sure you don't want to experience that do you?" Hector didn't even have to turn around to look at him, jotting down something of value, "I just don't understand, as to how you could be so careless to get caught like this, and then expect to walk freely with ease? It's like you wanted this? Are you into this, Jamal Wrint?"
Jamal didn't mutter a sound, before another crack of the whip made him whimper again. His mind was practically devoid of thought, with him only focusing on staying awake to not lose anything else.
"Dump that special water on him, that'll give him a quick little break." Hector snapped his fingers, as one of the soldiers started mixing a white powder into a bucket of the liquid.
That was enough to have Jamal raise his head in response as to what it could possibly be. Water, now? His chapped lips were begging to quench his already dehydrated figure at this point, as one of Hector's men began walking towards him with that bucket. For some strange reason, the sight caused Jamal to start showing his bloody teeth, with a bit of excitement as to something to drink at least, even if it tasted bad.
"You're welcome." Hector turned to look at Jamal, as the soldier began to move the bucket towards Jamal's face.
The man opened his mouth as wide as possible, tongue out like a dog and panting heavily, just as the soldier changed direction and dropped the water over his head. The fading pain couldn't even disappear properly as every cut on his body began to sting him like never before, making Jamal convulse around like a fish out of water and hollering in extreme suffering.
"You don't like salt? I thought he did?" Hector shrugged his shoulder, as the soldier walked back to his side, "Just admit to us what we need, and I'll end this all right now."
.....
The houses within the southern portion of Appleridge really gave him flashbacks to what Port-O-Bea looked like in days of war, Leon couldn't help but admit, as intense fighting continued forward. The progress was slow, but their side was slowly gaining momentum, although even Leon knew it couldn't be sustained long. Not without either reinforcements, Jamal, or both. Things he hadn't seen in a few days now, when they needed it the most.
"Is that Hops?" Brat was currently in his werewolf-like form, assisting in bringing supplies across the front, as some man in the air was descending fast towards them.
"Yeah, what could he be doing here?" Leon was worried that it was urgent, considering the speed he was traveling. Was one of them hurt, or in need of help?
"You guys good?" Hops shouted down, as he braced himself on the earth, causing the ground to shudder for a few seconds, "Sorry about that."
"Is everything okay? Is Fonda alright?" Brat was worried about them all, as he asked with a sign of despair.
"Oh yeah, we're entering the complexes now. I think some of the recon forces are beginning to meet up now. And the others are all working together, with Fonda keeping check in our rear, so we all good Brat. But that's not why I'm here."
"That being?" Leon raised an eyebrow.
"We haven't really heard a word from Jamal in the last few days, have y'all?"
"No? He's not with either of you?"
"Nope, which is why I need to find Alice now. He might have gotten himself into trouble, and I don't really know the circumstances or time we might have for that." Hops urgently started to explain.
"She's still by the supply route behind the highway, maybe a mile away or so. Not too far."
"Please hurry if that's the case. We gotta make sure Jamal isn't hurt or anything." Brat pleaded with him.
"Don't worry guys, we're family at this point, I'm proud to say. We won't leave him behind, and if we gotta do what we gotta do, so be it! Stay strong and carry forth!" Hops raised his fist in encouragement.
Those words were needed at that time, as the pair let Hops leap his way towards his girl and potentially wherever Jamal was really at. The battle was moving in a decisive moment, and one side had to take that call and use it to its fullest.