"sπππππππ!, πππ ππππ’'π πππππ π ππππππππ ππππππ πππππ πππ , πππ ππππππππ πππ πππππ ππ ππππ ππ ππππ’ πππππππ ππ", π»πππ’ ππππππ πππππππ’ πππ πππππππππ-" π³ππππππππ ππππ ππ πππππ ππ ππππ ππ ππππππππ ππ ππππ π π πππ’ πππ ππ ππππ πππππ ππππππππππππ".
ππππππππ πΌππππ π ππ ππππ ππ ππππ ππππππππ. π·π ππππππ πππππππ πππ πππππ π πππ πππππππ. π΄ππππ’πππππ π ππ ππππππππ πππππ. πππππ, πππππππ, ππππππ, πππππ’πππππ ππππππππ ππππππ πππ ππππ.
πππ ππππ’ ππ πΎππππππ π ππ πππππ ππππππ. π΅ππ πΏπππππππ, ππ π ππ ππππ π πππππ ππ ππππ ππ ππππππ πππ ππππ ππππ’ ππππ ππ π ππππππ ππ πππππ. πΏπππππππ, πππππ ππππππππππππ πππππππ’ π ππ ππππππ π sπππππππ ππ πππ ππππππππ ππ πΎππππππ ππ was a πππππππ πππππ πππππππππππ ππππ ππππ. π°π πππ πππππππ πππππ πππππ (present) πππππππ πππππ ππππππππ ππ π ππππππ πππππ ππππ’ ππππππ ππ ππππππ. ππππ’ πππ π πππππ ππππ ππππππ ππ "ππππππ πππππππππ" ππππ πππππ π πππππ πππ πππππ’ ππ ππ ππππππππ ππππ’ π πππ π πππππ ππ πππππ ππππππ. π±ππ πππ ππ πππ πππππππππ ππ πππ πππ ππ’ π ππππππ from different species, π πππππππππ π ππππππ πππππ πππ ππππ πππ ππππ. ππππe π πππ πππππππ ππππππ ππππ πππ πππππππ’πππ ππππ ππππππ ππππ’ πππ πππ πππ πΎππππππ ππ ππππππ πππππ ππππ πππππππ π ππππ πππ πππππππ’ ππππππ ππππ πππππ ππ πππ ππππ’.
π³ππππππππ π πππ ππ ππ πππππ π ππππππ ππ ππππ πππ ππππππ π ππππ πππ ππππ πππ πππππ£πππ ππππ ππ ππππ πππππππ πππππ ππ π ππππ’ πππ ππ πππππ ππ’.
π»πππ’ πππ ππ π πππππ ππππππππππππππ’, πππππππππππ. πππππ ππππ ππππππ πππ πππππππππππππ πππ π πππ ππ πππ ππππ, had πππππππ ππππππ πππ πππππππππ- "π²ππππππ!, π π ππππ ππππππππππ ππππππ πππππ πππ !, π π πππ'π ππππ ππππ, ππππ’'ππ ππππ ππππππππ. πΎππ ππππππ πππππ ππ ππππ ππ ππππππ ππ πππππ ππππ ππππ’, π ππππππ πππ π’πππ ππππππ"-π»πππ’ ππππππ ππ πππ ππ’ππ πππ ππππ π πππππππ‘ππ ππππ-"π·ππ π πππ!, ππππ’ πππ ππ ππππππ ππππ πππ ππππππ", πππ ππππππππ ππ’ ππππ πππ πππππππ'π ππππππππππππ π ππ ππππππ πππ. She tried to communicate furthermore however she found herself yelling at her communicator.
"π°ππ!, π πππ πππ ππππ'π π ππππ π πππ ππππ ππππππππππππ", πππ ππππ πππ πππ πππππππ πππ ππππ πππππππ πΌππππ.
"ππππππππ πππππ'π π πππππππ, πππ πππππππ ππ ππππ πππππ ππ ππππ ππ ππππππ ππ πππ ππππππ ππππππ. ππππ ππ ππππππ’ πππππππ", πππ ππππππ.
ππππππππ πΌππππ π ππ π ππ ππππππ’ πππππππ πππππ πππ πππππππππ πππππππππ ππππ ππππ ππ’-"ππππ!, πππππππ.....ππππ ππππ ππ πππππππ πππππ πππ , π π'ππ ππ πππππ πππππππ ππππ", he bellowed as he boosted his voice.
π»πππ’ πππππππ’ ππ ππππππ ππ πππ ππππππππππππ πππ quickly ππππππππ-"πππππππ, πΈ ππππππ, πππππππ!, πππ π’ππ ππππ ππ πππ ππππππππππππ ππ πππππππππ πππ ππππ, ππππ‘ππππππππ’ πππ πππππ π πππ ππππ πππππ πππ π πππππππ. πππ ππππππ-"π²ππππππππ!, ππ-πππ π’ππ ππππ ππ", ππ πππππππ π ππππππππππ πππ ππππππππππ πππππ πππππππ-" π²π-πππππππ π π ππππ (πππππππππ πππππππ’), πππ ππππππππ πππ ππππππ πππππ ππππ ππππππe ππ‘ππππ πππ πππ πππππππ πππππ πππππππππ. πππππ πππ ππ ππ-πππππππ ππ ππππππππππ πππ ",ππ ππππ πππ ππππππe.
-"π²ππππππππ!,πππππππππ ππππππd!, ππ! ",πππ ππππππ πππ πππππ ππππ πππ ππ πππ ππππππ πππππππππ. πΉπππ πππππ π π ππππ πππ π ππππ πππ πππππ, ππππππ ππ ππππ πππππππ πππ πππππππ πππ π-25 πππππππππ πππππ. ππππ π ππ π πππππππ ππππ ππ πππ πππππππ π πππππ ππππ πππππππππ ππ πππ πππ£ππ ππ πππ ππππππ π ππππ πππ ππππ πππππ π πππ πππππππ.
ππππππ ππππππππ πΌππππ π ππ ππππππππ’ ππππππ, ππ πππππ πππππππ ππ πππ πππ πΈππππ‘ ππππππ ππππππ πππ ππππππ πππππππ πππ ππππ ππππππππππ ππ ππππ πππ πππππ£πππ ππππππ ππππππ πππ ππππ π πππ ππππππ ππ ππππππππ π ππ πππππππππ ππ ππππππ ππππ. π·π ππππππ π»πππ’ ππππππππ ππππππ πππ, πππ πππ πππππππππ’ πππππ πππ-"ππππ’'ππ ππππ", πππ ππππ ππππ ππ’,
"π·ππ!.....π πππ! ππππ’'ππ ππ-ππππ" ππ ππππ πππππππ πππ ππ’ππ. π·π πππ ππππ πππ ππππ, πππππππ πππ π πππ πππ π ππππ ππππ ππππ ππ πππππ ππππ ππππππ πππ π πππ ππππππ. "ππππ! πΈ-πΈ ππππππ’ πππ'π ππππ π πππ ππ ππ ππ ππππ ππππππππ’. ππ'ππ ππππππ".
"π½π! π½π ππππππππ π π πππππ πππ πππππππ πππ πππππππππ, πππ πππ πππππ£πππ, ππππππ π π πππ'π ππππ πππ ππππ’ πππ ππππ π π πππ πππππ ππππππ πππ ππππ πππππ πππ πππ ππππππ πππ πππ πππππ ππ a πππ ππππππππ, πππ'π π π?". πππ ππ‘ππππππ πππππππ ππ ππππππ πππππ’πππππ πππππ πππ ππππ πππ ππ πππππ ππππππ ππππππ πππππππ.-"ππππ!, π’ππ πππ'π ππ ππ πππ πππ ππππππππ π'πππ!", πππ πππ£ππ ππ πππ πππ π π ππππ πππ πππππππππ,- "ππππ!, πππππππ!, πππππππ, ππππππππ π πππ π’ππ ππ ππππ ππ ππππππ πππ ππππππ πππππππππ?"
-"πππ πππ πππππ πππ ππππππ ππππππππππ πππ π ππππ ππππ’ ππππ ππππ ππππππ
π²π²ππ π", ππ ππππ ππππππ’.
πππ ππππππ πππππππππ’ πππ ππππ-"πππππ ππππ ππ ππ".πππ π πππππ ππ ππ’ πππππππ‘πππ ππππππππ πππ π π ππππ πππππ π πππ πΈπππππππππ πππ'π πππππ’πππ πππ ππππ ππ ππππ'π ππππ πππππ π ππππππ πππ πππ ππ ππππππππππ πππ ππππ ππππ. π·π ππ πππππ’ ππππ πππ-"π½π π»πππ’! ,ππππ!.....π’ππ ππππ'π πππππ ππππ, π»πππ’!",ππ ππππ πππ. πππ πππ πππππππ’ πππππππ ππππ πππ ππππππππ πππ ππππππ πππ πππ πππ πππππ.
-"π΅ππππ πππ",π»πππ’ πππππ ππ πππ ππππππππππππ-"πΈ ππππ π πππππππ πππ π πππππ ππππ ππππ πππππ πππ ", πππ ππππππππ.
-"πππππ ππππ, πππππππ πππππππππ, π ππππππ πππ π’ππ ππ πππ ππππππππππ π²ππππππ". πππ ππππππππππ π ππ πππππππ ππ πππ πππππππ ππ πππ ππππππππ π πππ π πππππ πππππππ ππ ππ.
πππ πππππππ πππ πππ πππππ ππππ π ππ πππ πππππππ πππ π π²π°-22 πππππππ πππππππ πππππ πππππ ππ πππ πππππππ.
"πΆππππ!", πππ ππππππππ ππ πππππππ.
-" πΆπππ ππ πππ π’ππ πππ’π πππ πππ πππππππ πππ πΈ'π π’πππ πππππππππ ππππππππ πππ ππ",πππ πππππππππ πππππππ’. ππππ’ πππππ πππππ πππππππππ ππ πππππ π²ππππππππ πππππππ. π±πππ πππ πππππ’ πππππ πππππππ ππ π»πππ’ πππ πππ ππππππ ππππ πππππππππ πππ ππ ππ.
πππππ π πππ 5 ππππππππ ππππππππ πππ πππ πππππππππ. πΎππ ππ’ πππ πππππ’πππ πππππππ πππ πππππππ. πππ πππππππ'π πππππ πππ πππππππ ππππππππ. πΈπ πππ πππππ ππππ ππππππ πππππ πππ ππππππ πππ πππππππ’ πππ πππππ πππ πππ πππ πππππππ.
πΉπππ πππππ πππ πππππππ ππππ, πππ ππππππ ππππ ππ πππ π ππππππ ππππ ππππ ππππππ πππ π ππππ πππ ππππππππ. π·π πππ ππππ π ππππ, π ππππ ππ πππππ πππ£ππ ππ’ππ, πππ π ππππππππ ππππ. π·ππ ππππ’ π ππ ππππππ’ πππ ππ π ππ ππππ ππππππ ππ πππ πππ πππ πππππ ππ πππ ππππ πππππππ.π·π πππππππππ’ πππ ππ ππππ ππ ππππ ππ πππ ππππππ πππ ππππππππ.
π·π ππππππ ππ πππ ππππππ πΌππππ ππππππππππ’ πππ ππππππππππ,-"πΈ πππππ π πππππππ πππππππ πππ ππππ πππ πππππππππππ'π π·πππππππππ, π΄ππ πΈπ πππππππππ π ππππ π³ππ, πππ πππππ’ πΈ ππππ ππππππππ", πΌπππ ππππ
π·π ππππππ πππ ππππ πππ ππππ ππ πππ ππππ’ ππππ π ππ ππππ πππππππ πππ πππππ π ππππ. ππππππ π πππ πππππππ πππ πππππ πππ ππππππ.
-"ππππ! πππ, π»πππ’'π ππππππ π πππ πππππ. π·ππ ππππ ππ ππ πππππ πππ πππ ππππππ ππππππ πππ ππππ πππ ππ’ πππππππ πππππ πππ πΈ'ππ πππππ ππππππ πππ πππππ£πππ ππππ,....πππ’ πππ ππππ πππ".
"π°ππ π’ππ ππππ πππ πππ πππ ππ ππππ ππππ!", ππππππ πΌπππ.
"π½π!, πππ ππππ ππππ πππ ππ π ππππππ πππ ππ π ππ πππ ππππ πππ ππ ππ ππππ πππ",πππππππ πΌππππ ππππππ ππππ πππ πππππππππ,-" πΈ πππ'π ππππ πππ ππππππππππ πππ πΈ ππππ πππ'π πππ’ππ' ππ ππππ πππ ππππ".
πππ πππππππ π ππ π ππππ ππ ππ’ ππππ πππ πππππππ ππππ. πΌππππ ππππ π»πππ’ ππ‘πππππππ ππππ πππ ππππππππ’. ππππ’ πππ ππ π πππππππππππ π ππππ πππ πππππππππ πππ πππππ. π»πππ’ πππ ππ πππ ππππππππ ππππ ππ‘ππππππππ ππππ πππ ππππ-"πΏππ’ πππππππππ πππ’π, π π'ππ πππππ πππ‘ π4 πππππππ ππ πππ ππππ'π ππππππ. πΈπ ππππππππ πππππ π πππ ππ ππππ πππππ πππ‘ππ πππ π πππππ ππππ’ππ ππππ’πππ ππππ ππππ πππππ π ππππ π πππ ππππππ’ ππππππ πππ πππππππ ππππππ. ππ'ππ ππππ ππππππ ππππππ πππππππππ πππ πππ ππππππ ππππ’ πππππ πππππ ππππππ πΈ'ππ πππππ πππ ππππππ. ππππ ππ‘πππππππ π ππ'π ππππππ πππ πππ πππ ππππππ πππ ππππ πππππ ππππππ ππππππππππ ππππππ πππ ππππ’ π πππ ππ πππππππ π πππ ππππ ππ‘πππππππ π ππππ π πππ ππππ π π ππ’ πππ ππππππππ ππ ππππππ πππ πππππ£πππ. πΈπ ππππ πππππ !", πππ πππππ πππππππ ππ πππππ’ππππ’'π ππππ πππππ.
-"πππ πππππππ", ππππ’ ππππ ππππππππ.
"π°ππ’πππ πππππ π ππ π ππππ ππππ ππ?, ππππ’ πππ ππππ ππ πππππ πππ ", πππ ππππ ππ‘πππππππ πππππππ ππ πππππ’ πππ πππ ππ ππππππππ. ππππ πππππ ππππ πππππ’πππ π ππ ππππ ππππππ ππ ππππ πππππ ππππππ ππππππ.
" πΆππππ", πππ ππππ ππππππππ πππππ’πππ'π πππππππ.
"π°ππππππ, ππ πππ ππππ πππ ππππ πππππ, πππ'π πππ ππππ ππ ππππππ", ππππππππ πΌππππ ππππ ππ ππ π πππππ πππ ππππ πππ ππ πππ πππππ ππππππππ. πΌπππ ππππππ ππ πππ ππππππ ππ‘ππππππππππ’ πππ πππππππ πππππππ ππ π πππππ ππππππ πππ.
πΎπ πππ πππππ ππππ π»πππ’ πππ πππππππ πππ πππππππππ ππππ, πππππππππππππ’ ππππ’ ππππππ'π πππ’ πππππππ ππ πππ ππππππ πππ πππππ πππ’ ππππππππ ππππππ π πππππ πππππ πππππ ππππππ πππ ππππ πππππ πππππππ πππππππ πππ ππ ππ.
"πΆππππ ππππ ππππ", πππ ππππππ πππππππ πππππππ πππ πππππ π πππππ πππ πππππ πππππππ πππ πππππππ ππππ, ππππππ πππππππππ, ππππππ ππππππππ πππππ.
π½ππ πππ πππππππ π ππ ππππ ππ’ πππππππ πππ π π πππ πππ ππππππ ππππππππππ πππ πππππ. π΅ππππππ’ πππππ π ππππ ππππ ππ π ππππ ππππ ππ πππππππ, πππ πππππππ πππ ππ πππ πππππππ. ππππ’ πππππ π πππππ ππππ ππππ’ πππππππ ππππππ π ππππππππ π πππ ππππππ.
"πΏπππ !, πππππ πππ ππππππ ππππππππ ππππ ππ ππ ππππ ππ ππππ ππ ππππ ππ π’ππ πππ", π»πππ’ ππππππππππ ππππ πππ ππππππ πππ πππ ππππππ πππππππ ππππ ππππππ πππ π πππ. πππππ π πππ ππππ πππ πππ πππππππππ πππ ππ πππ’ ππππππ ππππ’ πππ’ ππππ πππ£π£πππ ππππ ππ ππ π ππ ππππππ ππ πππ ππππππ ππππ ππ’.
" πΎπππ’, πππππ'π ππππ ππ ππππ ππππ ππ πππ ππππππ ππππ πππ πππ "-πππ ππππππππ (ππ ππππ πππππ ππππππππ πππ ππππ πππ)
ππππ’ ππππππππ πππ ππππππ π ππππ π ππ πππππ πππππππππ πππ ππππ ππππ’ πππ ππ πππππππ ππ πππππ ππ πππ ππππ'π πππππ. π»πππ’ πππππππππ ππ πππππ πππ πππππππ ππππ’ π πππ ππππππ ππ πππ πππππ ππ ππππππ π πππ. πΈπ π ππ πππππππ. πΌππππ ππππ, ππππππ π πππ ππππ’ πππππππ ππππππ πππ’πππ ππ ππππ ππππ ππππππ, π»πππ’ πππππ π πππ πππ£π£πππ πππππ. πππ ππππππ πππππ πππππ πππππππ πππππ ππ ππππ ππ’ ππππ πππ πππ ππππ ππ πππ ππππ ππ ππππ. ππππ’ πππ πππππππππ. πππ πππ£π£πππ πππππππππ πππ ππππ πππππ ππππ π πππ-πππππ πππππ π πππ π πππππππ πππ πππππππ ππ πππ ππππππ ππππππππ.
"πππ! πππ'π ππππ",πππ π πππππ ππππππ. πππ ππππππ π πππ πππ ππππ ππ ππππ ππ ππππ π ππππππ ππ πππ ππππππ.
π³ππππππππ ππ ππππππππ πππ πππππ ππππππ ππ ππ’ ππππ ππππ πππ πππ πππ£π£πππ πππππ ππππππππππ πππππ πππ πππππ πππ ππππ ππ ππ’.
" ππππ! ππππ, ππππ π ππ πππππ", πππ ππππππππ ππ πππππππ.
π°ππππ π π ππππ π»πππ’ ππππππ ππππ ππ ππππππππ ππ ππππ ππππ πππ. π° 15 πππππππ ππ π πππ πππππ πππ ππππ'π ππππππ ππππ ππππ πππππ πππππ πππππππππ’ πππππππ πππ ππππππππππ πππππ. π»ππππππ’ πππππ π πππ ππ ππππππ ππ ππππ ππππ. πΈπ π ππ πππππππ πππππ ππππππ ππ πππ πππππ πππππ. ππππ ππππ πππ ππππππ πππ ππππππ πππ ππππ πππ ππππππ.
π°π ππππ’ πππππππ ππππ πππ ππππππ πππ πππππππ’ ππ πππ ππππ'π πππππ, π»πππ’ πππ£πππππ πππ ππππππππ πππ ππππππππππ’ ππππ πππ π π πππππ πππ‘. πππ πππππππ ππ ππ π πππ π πππππ ππππππ πππ ππππ π²4-πππππππ π πππ ππ π πππππ πππ‘ππ πππ π πππππ ππππ’ππ ππππ πππππ.
-"πΆππππ!", πππ ππππ ππππππ’, πππ£πππ ππ πππ πππ‘ ππππππππππ πππ ππ‘ππππππππ πππ πππππ πππππ.
πππ ππππππ πππ ππππ πππ ππ πππ ππππππππ πππ πππππππππ-"π»πππππ, ππππ πππ πππ πππ’ ππππππππ ππππππ πππ ππππππ ππππ ππ ππ πππππππ ππ πππππ πππππππ ππ πππ ππππππ ππ πππ ππππππ."
π°ππ πππππππππππ π»πππ’ ππ πππππππ ππ π4 πππππππ ππ πππ ππππππ'π ππππ’ ππ‘ππππ πππ πππ πππππππ πππ πππ ππππππ.
πΈππ π ππ πππ ππππ ππ‘ππππ πππ πππ πππππ πππ. π»πππ’ πππππππππ πππ π4 πππππππ, πππππππ πππ πππππ ππππ’ππ. π±ππ πππ ππ π ππππππ πππ ππππππ πππππ ππ π πππ ππππππ πππ ππππ£πππ ππππππππ’ ππππ π ππππππππ. ππππ ππππ πππ πππ πππππ ππππππππππ ππ πππ πππππππππ. πππ ππ π 6 π’πππ πππ πππ£πππ ππ π π±ππππ π»πππππ£π ππππππππ πππ ππππππ ππππππ π πππ 60 ππππππ. π°ππ πππππππ ππ πππ ππππππππ’ πππ ππππππππππ πππ πππππππππππ. πππ ππππππππ ππ πππ ππππππππ πππππ ππππππ πππππ’π ππππ. π»πππ’ πππ ππππππππ ππππ πππ π ππππ ππππ ππππ ππππ ππ πππ πππππππ ππππ πππππ ππππππππ π ππππ ππππππ π πππ πππ πππππππ. π·ππ πππππππ ππππππ ππ πππ ππππ π ππ π ππ’ ππππ ππππ ππ πππππ ππππ. ππππ ππππππππ πππππ’ππππ’'π πππππππππ, π πππππ πππππππ πππππππ ππππππ πππ πππππ’ ππππππππππ. π°ππ‘ππππ, πππ ππππππππ πππππππ ππ‘πππππππ πππ πππ’. πππππ πππππππππ πππ πππππππ ππ ππ π πππ πππππ ππ‘ππππππππππ ππ πππ πππππ. ππππ’
πππππππ ππ πππππ'π πππππ ππ πππππ ππππ’.π±ππ ππ πππππ ππππππππππππ, π ππππππ’ ππ ππππππππ π πππ ππ πππππ’ πππππππππ ππ πππππ ππππs. πΈπ ππππ£ππ πππππππππ’, ππππππππππ πππππ πππππ ππ ππ πππ πππ’. πππ πππππππ’πππ πππππ πππππππππ π»πππ’ ππ πππ πππππ ππππ π ππππ πππππ πππ£πππ ππ πππ πππππ πππππππ. πππππ ππππππ πππ π πππ ππππππ ππ πππ ππππππππ πππ ππππ πππ πππππ,-"πΌππ!, π³ππ!", πππ πππ πππ π ππππππ πππ ππππ ππππ ππππππ ππππππππ πππ ππππππππ πππ ππ πππ ππππππππππ ππππ πππππππ πππ ππ ππ’ ππππ πππ πππππ. πππ π ππ ππππ 9 π πππ ππππ πΈπππππππ ππππ πππππ πππππ πππππ ππ πππ ππ’ππ. π·ππ ππππππππ πππππ πππ πππππππ π πππ ππππππππππ’ ππππππ πππ.
"π²ππππππ!, πππππππ!",π πππππππππππ ππππ π πππ πππ up ππππ πππ ππππππππππ.
"ππ-π’ππ!", πππ ππππ ππ π π πππππ’ ππππ, ππ ππππππ πππππππ’.
" π°ππ π’ππ πππππππ πππππππ?", πππ ππ πππ ππππππππ πππππ, ππππππ ππππππ π πππππππππ ππππ ππ πππ.
"πππ, π’ππ πΈ'π πππππππ, πππ! ππ’ ππππ'π ππππ’πππ ππππ ππππππ π πππ ππ , πππππ’", πππ πππππ πππ, πππππ’πππ π πππππ πππππ. ππππ π ππ πππππ’ πππππππ‘πππ. πππ πππππ πππ ππππ πππ’ππππππ ππππ ππππππ.
π±ππ πππ ππππ'π πππ’ ππππ πππππππππ πππ ππππ ππ and ignored it.
"πΎπππ’ πππ πππ'π πππππ ππ πππ ππππ". πππ ππππ πππ πππππ ππππ’ππ ππ πππ ππππ ππππ. πππππ π πππ ππ π πππππ πππ‘ππ π ππππ π πππ πππ ππππ ππππ ππππππ ππ πππππ πππ πππππππ’ drones ππ π πππ ππ πππππππ ones πππ. They all got divided into two groups. Lucy decided to stand solo. The refuge was taken inside a different building, Lucy hid inside a ruined mall. She stood behind the entrance, waiting for others to take complete refuge.
Finally, after a refuge hunt, Lucy clicked the music player button. A loud defeaning rock music started to play. She peeped outside to look out for any allured drones coming towards the spot and indeed a lot was coming near. She quickly tucked her head in and was ready to click the explosion button. But all of a sudden she stepped on a rock piece which made her slip and falls as well as the remote slipped and flung some feet away. In addition, she slipped and fell flat with her face facing the ground. This led to a terrible situation getting built up as one of those drones turned towards her and began to scan her. She gasped and swiftly crawled forward for the remote. It just takes a couple of seconds for the drones to scan and recognize whether it's a danger or not. Other members wondered what was on her mind when they didn't hear any explosion sound in the drones' presence near the statue. So one of them had peeped out to check what was going on. He raised his head, trying to figure out the unknown complication that occurred and a half body that was the pair of legs was visible through the entrance and the other half was hidden behind the entrance wall. He furrowed his eyes and also sighted a drone moving towards that building. Lucy was in danger he thought which made him shower a hail of assault rifle bullets towards the drone. And fortunately, Lucy had pressed the explosion button. A deafening explosion blew the nearby drones as well as the drone that was moving towards Lucy.
"Phew!, that was so close", she stood on her feet. Other soldiers searched for her from distance and finally, she showed up at the entrance. She did thumps up and they understood that she's was fine. Lucy brushed her legs and body. That was an undesirable situation that would have taken her life. The other soldiers relaxed however they were alert since there will be other tempted drones coming here at any minute. Lucy grabbed her rifle and sat on the floor waiting for the other drones to come.
" Sigh!, this life is too small for us to live. It would have been better to stay lifeless", she giggled and continued-,"what am I saying," she said sarcastically to herself. I m going Insane", she acted strangely but it was nothing wrong with her as she was speaking from her heart the truth of her own life, being an orphan, getting raised in an orphan school.....she felt strangely humorous towards her life. Just after Lucy ended her talks, numerous buzzing sounds were heard arriving from a distance.
The other soldiers alerted themselves so did Lucy. The black drones came into sight when they had reached the explosion spot. The king's statue was shattered into pieces after the explosion had taken place.
And instantly, a high-pitched voice commanded-"Firrree!!", a hail of bullets was showered towards the drones. It didn't
make any change in the drone. Nevertheless, they had no choice left but to hold their positions until Sergeant Mario rescue the other citizens. The army backfired and the drones too carried a machinegun with a box of ammunition that had an unidentified limit of ammo. Their body was completely bullet resistant.
The huge platoon of soldiers which had been sent earlier in the defence had completely broken down to death. Except for 4 of them who were breathlessly holding their positions. They stood astonished when the drones shooting towards them had mystically ceased fire and were moving away from them.
"Huff!, huff! they breathed heavily. The sudden cease-fire and moving away of the drones just went out of their mind. After all, they had been defending for hours. They all lay flat on the ground, truly exhausted. All relaxed and when they gained a little more oxygen, it struck their mind again. Why the drones had left suddenly? They exchanged mystified faces. Resting for a while was one of the options but they seemed to have curiosity about the answer to this question. They just need to follow those drones stealthily without any action that could attract them again and will get their answer. The squad rushed towards the direction the drones had flown.
The drones had left monitoring the area of the dome and now it was completely free. Colonel mike led the rescue operation.
He ordered the soldiers inside the domes to rescue the citizens and transfer them to Ground-99. The entrances of the domes were opened and from each, a mass crowd paved their way out of the dome. The soldiers asked them to stay calm and relaxed. The situation itself was desperate. So they couldn't control their terror. However, they somehow managed to follow the soldiers who were heading towards Ground-99.
"Sergeant!, the citizens are being taken to ground-99", Mike said cheerfully.
-"Great!", he admired. He then tapped his communicator and tried contacting Lucy-"Captain Lucy on the line, I repeat captain Lu-"
-----"Yes Sergeant responding!", she responded.
-"Lucy, how did you manage to allure them? She smile, however,r didn't answer his question.
-----"Leave that", he skipped the answer and continued-"what's your exit plan now?"
-" I've none", she replied at once.
----Hearing that Sergeant gave out a Sigh.
--"So wh-what are you planning to do now?", he spoke softly and hopelessly.
"Umm, knock those flying rats down", she said normally.
"That's not the main thing! your life matters, it matters to us",
"Tell me a thing Sergeant, if something happens to me, is there anyone to weep on my behave?, no right!, so what's my point of living!, yes it will make much sense if I give more importance to life of citizens."
-"Oh Lucy, why don't you understand!", he bellowed.
-----"Sorry Sergeant, it's better if you guys too escape from this place till then I'll hold positions and the other soldiers I have chosen to agree my words. I've only chosen five of them who are orphans and they do think the way I think", she inserted another magazine into her rifle and
-"But Lucy-", immediately the communication was cut off. Furiously, he pulled out his communicator and banged it down on the floor. It was sure to get damage inside.
-----"She, she needs reinforcements! but there it made no sense of deploying them. This will again risk their life and on top of that, those drones are completely bullet resistant. What the hell do I do now?", he murmured to himself, terrified.
Mike had eavesdropped on their whole conversation and he was quite sure about what he had to do now. He quickly picked up his rifle and marched straight towards the elevator. Sergeant Mario lifted his head. He had caught sight of Mike and was aware of his intentions.
Instantly he shot out,-"Mike stop, I said stop! right there", but he left the room, unbothered.
He called a few army men to come with him. Few joined and they walked towards the garage which was on the ground floor. A huge, black armoured truck stood there. They gazed at it pridefully. There were at least six of them who accompanied Mike and the truck was more than enough to carry all of them. It was completely bullet resistant. Mike was seated on the driver's seat, others on the normal ones. Mike accelerated and it slowly led its way out of the garage. He turned the jeep right and accelerated towards the direction. The jeep was now catching agile speed as there were unusually no vehicles seen on the road, so it was quite easy for them to exceed speed limits. However, as soon as they entered the city they were persuaded to drive cautiously as they faced several crashed cars, buses and other vehicles lying on the road, lifeless. Some burnt whereas others had the flame go off their body that made them look like grilled chicken. They were covered with a smoky black layer which was a literal sign of ire catching on them.
As they moved on, there were numerous ruined buildings, complexes, apartments and furthermore. Everything had been destroyed. Nothing was spared alive. Few foster families, their relatives. It was fortunate of most of the citizens attending a concert. And the poloslovians weren't aware of it. They blindly showered missiles on least occupied Buildings and the crashed cars were nothing but were mostly seen blazing near parking slots, near the concert area which was on a stadium and others at no use.
"Huff!, huff!", she breathed heavily, unsteadily inserting a loaded magazine into her rifle. She rapidly backfired, unloaded and loaded magazines which made her thoroughly exhausted. Her magazines were coming up to an end now.
Mike explored the outer scenery which he caught sight of, expecting to get a drone hovering. It was 6 p.m. of the evening that covered the sky with an orangy tone. Winter made the days short so, the night was falling earlier. The king's cross was now a few miles away. Meanwhile, one of the soldiers who was seated inside the truck noticed a rectangular large wooden box under the opposite seat. He bent down to pull it out and check what was it containing. They all gazed when he tried to open it. And with a little more force it swung open. There they saw was nothing but a bazooka with a missile. Delighted, he lifted it, and indeed it was a real one. They all cheered.
-" Colonel!, luck kicked us! we have a bazooka here."
-----"Wait what! that's a bazooka!, heh! now those drones are gonna suffer!"
Everyone, including Mike, was in a state of astonishment as they didn't expect a bazooka in their truck. Due to the war, most of the armoury was finished up including the oka. Indeed luck kicked them. They found something that was expected to be ended up.
Sergeant Mario could think nothing but about Mike and Lucy. What are their situations? He quickly remembered the CCTV camera right in front of the king's cross.
He wasn't sure if it was destroyed in the bombard. His curiosity turned intense. He marched towards one of the staff members and asked-"Try accessing the CCTV located right front of the king's statue".
-"Alright sir,"
----Sergeant Mario nodded.
-After a short while the staff member who was assigned to access the CCTV, suddenly called out "Sergeant!". He quickly jogged towards the screen. "Here you go, I have accessed!"
----"Well done!", he admired and focused on the screen, the camera was successfully working. He had no idea how in this current situation the CCTV had survived the apocalypse, but his motive had more importance. He sighted a huge number of drones rapid-firing towards a few soldiers. But Lucy wasn't seen in the spot. Instantly, from the opposite building, Lucy showed up. She too backfired at them. Sergeant furrowed his eyes and glimpsed a wound on her right arm which was densely bleeding. He gasped getting the unconditional sight. She was shot a while before.
-He regretted having been unable to stop her. He absentmindedly stepped back about two steps and sat on a chair behind him, lowering his head. The night was falling way quicker than before. It was turning dark now.
Lucy felt the acute pain in her right arm which was shot by one of the drones. Her visual was slowly getting blurred now due to the intense blood loss she was facing because of the wound. However, she managed to insert the last magazine of her rifle. Slow and unsteadily she backfired on them.
As Mike drove the way to King's cross, the night had fallen. It was past 7 o'clock. He turned on the headlights which lit up the whole street in front of the jeep. Mike realised that they were close to the King's cross as the drones were partially visible and their machine guns that fired bullets, their sparks were seen from distant.
Lucy and all heard a sudden vrooming sound coming from a distance which increased in every second. She wasn't able to make her steady. Her behaviour was like a drunk person. The blurriness of her eyes was increasing. Others weren't able to make out, what it was?. The first thing was night and on the other hand, the assault spot had no lights. Lucy was getting a faint vrooming sound now. Her visual was thoroughly blurred. She tried to lift her rifle to backfire but ended up her gun slipping from her grip. She gazed at her wound which was densely bleeding. She now couldn't hear a single thing, not even the crossfire sounds. The reality was all the drones had halted their guns and turned the other direction, the direction they could hear the vrooming sound. Soon two round headlights emerged from the darkness. As it drew closer they realised it was nothing but a black truck, it was an armoured one. The soldiers staring at it with a puzzled look were partially sure that it was the reinforcements sent by the Sergeant.
Finally, Lucy had found herself unconscious lying on the dirt floor. The paused assault was again started and this time it was towards Mike and other soldiers who came up with him. Mike held out his left arm holding the bazooka with a missile in it, the other managed the steering of the truck. He was robust enough to be able to control both things. He aimed the fleet of drones and 'Swoosh!', the missile left its launcher and darted swiftly towards the drones. In a second, the fleet was blown up into useless tin boxes. There were more of them still left hovering and firing rapidly. They were glad to have knocked down its half fleet.
The army had now reached close enough to the 's cross. Mike braked instantly with a jerk. He held his rifle in his grip tightly and took a deep breath. The side door of the truck he kicked, swung open swiftly. He drifted out as he bellowed-"Take your positions".
Others soldiers had their doors opened and they took refuge behind the truck as did Mike avoiding the bullets.
Crossfires began once more. Meanwhile, Mike explored the front buildings with his night visions, expecting to spot Lucy. Fortunately, he caught sight of a riot shield inside his truck. It was lying against a seat. He helped himself grab out the shield which he succeeded to. He doubted if it was vain against the drones' bullets. Members of Lucy's platoon had themselves jovial as they were confidently sure about the unknown soldiers were reinforcements sent by Sergeant.
Lucy had lost a lot of blood and it seemed the bleeding was not in the form of clotting itself. The wound was severely deep. And more loss will ultimately lead to her death.
Mike was trying to get sight of Lucy, he furrowed his eyes and finally to his right corner, a hand rested out of the entrance of the ruined mall. He gulped and murmured to himself in horror,-"Lu-Lucy!". His thoughts about Lucy were thoroughly desperate. Her other body was resting on the floor inside the mall. He quickly searched for ways to save her, however, he got none. Then he suddenly got reminded of the shield that rested right beside him on the road. His premium plan was to take refuge from the shield and somehow reach the building. At first, he hesitated because he didn't know whether the shield can be steady against the drones' bullets or break apart. He had no choices left but to use the riot shield.
"Hey!, you guys hold your positions here and I've to go save Lucy there in that building", he was about to leave but suddenly one of the soldiers interrupted,-"Bu-but colonel, that's risky if I'm not wrong", he said ignoring the drones' bullets hit their truck.
"Yes, indeed it is, however, I've no other options left", Mike said instantly. The soldier nodded and continued to backfire.
Mike held his breath for a while and released it. On the count of 3.....2.....1...he rushed towards the building as fast as he could hoping no drones get a sight of him but a bullet just passed from right behind him. This made him crouch holding the shield in front of him in the midway. The building was a bit far away. The black drones were not seen properly in the darkness of the night. However, Mike had located the drone which was right in front of him. He gasped. Bullets, the drone had been showering, constantly hit the riot shield and the force pushed Mike backwards. He couldn't think what should he do now. Soon true to his expectations the bullets had shown their action and there were cracks seen in the shield. This was a wrong situation that had built up now. He bugged out his eyes when he glimpsed at the cracks, getting wider. The drones seemed to have limitless ammunition which wasn't ending at all. He too backfired however had no point in it. The primary objective of reaching the building was interrupted by one of the drones.
" Oh no!", he gasped. Rapid-fire shots attenuated his shield and out of exasperation of having no choice left, he grabbed the shield by its edges and tossed it towards the drone furiously. Unexpectedly, it banged the drone right on its face and it hurled like a psycho, ending up getting crashing into a building.
There was no time for him to admire himself, he quickly galloped towards the building and there lay Lucy unconscious on the floor. He panicked as he spotted a bloodstream flowing from her arm. His realisation made him anxious about her. He immediately sat down beside her head and lifted her head making it rest on his lap. His hand pulled out a bottle of Violet Moon and poured it into her wound. This would clot the wound and it would stop bleeding. After that he unfolded his handkerchief that was tucked into his pocket and wrapped it around her wounded spot, hoping the bleed to stop as fast as possible.
"Huff!, huff! I reached at right time otherwise....", he waved his head ignoring his saying about Lucy's death. It was too dark to see anything inside. Hopefully, Mike was equipped with a night vision. The time was past 10 and the moonlight stroke the city which was buried under dead silence, except for the gunshots that echoed in the atmosphere. Mike, just to ensure he grabbed his rifle and cautiously placed Lucy's head on the floor. The entrance was the risky spot if any drones were guarding it, but to his fortune there were none. All were busy with the other soldiers.
Mike had stepped out with no worries but was alert about the drones. As he looked sight by side, a pair of arms waved that grabbed his attention. They were the soldiers of Lucy's group who were trying to get the attention of Mike and succeeded too.
They talked in sign language. Both made different patterns from their hand to ask or answer something specifically. "Are you guys okay?", Mike signed and received answers in the sign itself. They asked Mike if he had any Violet Moon Potion, the answer to this Mike quickly returned to Lucy's spot. There he grabbed the bottle of Violet Moon and returned to the entrance again. They waited and the moment Mike returned, he tossed the bottle high in the air, towards the opposite building. One of them caught it. They thanked him and quickly turned inside the building. Mike acknowledged their circumstances, there were one or two soldiers who were injured during the combat. They had to be cured very soon as the infection might arise some more new abnormalities in them. The situation was now getting worse as now the ammunition of the soldiers were ending up. All now had a particular thought that was the escape. How do they escape now? Meanwhile, the soldiers who were backfiring from behind the truck, watched a missile rolling down slowly. A spark of hope lit up their mind. The missile halted as it touched one of their boots.
One of them unloaded the bazooka from the truck. It charged him a little time due to the darkness but finally found it at the corner somewhere. They all gladly loaded it and one of them aimed the fleet and launched the missile. Boom!!, the explosion was expected to take down the whole fleet but there were more than two left. Others were knocked down by the missile. "Phew!", the one who launched the missile relaxed, others cheered. Just a few drones away from their escape, Mike admired them in his mind as he caught sight of the explosion.
The gunshots were way lesser than before. However, one single doubt rummaged around his mind, what would the drones do when their ammunition concludes?. He stuck himself against the wall inside. The darkness stimulated his question. But just a while after, a tick-tick sound reached Mike's ears. It was from outside. He listened to it carefully. His negative feelings rang up his mind after the sound turned louder and faster. He instantly drifted out, not bothering about the other drone. He watched a drone slowly soaring towards the soldiers. Soon he had the realisation of the tick-tick sound, it was the drone that produced it. But ignoring that, he caught sight of a red screen blinking constantly at the back of the drone. He zoomed in his night vision and read-" Self-destruction". That petrified him for a while but immediately jerked off his head. He shot out, not bothering about the drone hovering outside-"Run!, the drone's in self-destruction mode!", according to the expectations, another drone fluttering outside was attracted by his scream which turned towards Mike and started showering bullets. He quickly tucked himself inside the mall, panting as his heart rate increased. Lucy rested peacefully on the floor.
The other soldiers weren't still aware of the tragedy that they are going to face after a while. They constantly showered bullets, however, they had halted in a doubt about the drone that unusually moved towards them without hailing bullets upon them.
Mike didn't want that to happen. Instantly after a few seconds of refuge, he caught sight of a broken wall where lay huge concrete pieces. He grasped one swiftly. Unhurriedly, he peeked out looking for the drone which had already turned again towards the soldiers and continued to shower bullets on the others, he then caught sight of the drone moving towards them, it was just a few metres away from them.
Without any delays, he launched the stone with his force that swiftly darted towards it and Boom!, the stone struck the drone in midway that blew itself. There was no doubt of his master accuracy.
"Phew!," he loosened up, hiding again behind the entrance walls.
Other soldiers were in a state of shock during their realisation about the drone explosion which would have to get themselves killed if Mike wouldn't have thrown the concrete piece on it. They were fortunate enough to have had been saved from the tragedy.
Unfortunate situations were now taking up in the headquarters as all the networks including communications had been jammed by the Poloslovians. Their electricity generator was running out of fuel. Options were very limited.
All were seated desperately in their seats.
Sergeant Mario marched across the room anxiously. Concerned about what to do and what to not, he heard footsteps moving towards him.
"Sergeant, what do we do now?", a female voice spoke out from behind. He turned and faced a thin, skinny female staff member who was tremulous, acting to be confident.
Sergeant Mario acknowledged her words.
He continued his silence, staring at her constantly. And after a while of deep thinking, he tried to speak to her however, was interrupted by a sudden ringing sound on his smartphone. He gave a bizarre look to his phone that lay on his table. As he stepped forward, the screen of his phone appeared and an anonymous number was shown. He received it and a mechanical voice spoke out "Hey!, Mr Mario am I talking to?".
"Who's this?", Sergeant shot out.
"Ahhh,(loud devilish laughs), so I was right, well, Mario how's life going.....oh sorry! quite insane am I, asking you about your life in this desperate situation. Now listen carefully", he quickly changed his frank tone into a serious one, "if you don't wanna lose your life, surrender Lucy to us right now and I'll let you all escape out of here.", he said in a deep mechanical voice.
Sergeant realised who it was, the General of Poloslovia was on the line. But he quite didn't understand why did the general wanted Lucy? Sergeant Mario rankled with anger and spit out "Heh!, forget about Lucy because you aren't getting her, do you remember something, there was a day when we were friends but just because of your city's dumb laws you had to follow, you just! just betrayed us!", he turned emotional.
"Huh!, that was long before and now it's all over Mr Mario. Nevertheless, I've no time to argue, tell me your opinion, quick!", the general said.
" Oh!, my opinion...then listen, Go! to! Hell!", he bellowed holding the phone near his mouth and just after this he was about to cut the call however he couldn't. He tried several times but failed. His mobile was hacked long before and the control wasn't in his hand now.
After a long pause, The General answered- "Sigh! Well, as you wish, I'm done as I've provided you with options which you wouldn't even have expected but if you want to hold your ego, I've nothing to do with that...You will suffer(devilish laughs)", he ended his talks with a slow whisper which was too metallic. The call was immediately cut. All the staff stared at him anxiously. The room lights were now sparkling and all of a sudden a siren had spread across the atmosphere. It was the loud and defeating one. Everyone there in the room exchanged concerned looks. Sergeant Mario's acrimony was still burning in his mind. But the siren allured him out of his acrimony. He suddenly remembered a siren he had heard last time during his first day of his duty. There was a volley of missiles that were showered upon his training camp and many lost their life. Fortunately, he was saved by a senior who was already aware of the incoming danger.
"Pack your necessary things and get outta here, quick!", he suddenly bellowed as he came to know what was going to happen.
"Aaargh!, this last drone, just something to knock it down and we'll escape", he searched for some ideas but just after a while, the siren had reached Mike's spot too.
He carried a bizarre look on his face as well as the others, exploring the darkness of the sky and trying to figure out from where was it being produced. No clues they had obtained doing that. Along with the siren, there were footsteps on the road which attracted Mike.
He narrowed his eyes as a few bodies emerged from the darkness of the right side, from behind the statue.
Mike tried to recognise them but couldn't as it was too dark to see their faces. His night vision wasn't helping him as it was showing just the outlines of their body. They were in a group of 4. The unknown squad stopped at a spot. All the other soldiers didn't notice them except for Mike.
He peeked out with his rifle grasped in his hand. They looked quite exhausted as if they had some marathon recently. The foggy night hid their faces behind the darkness. The only thing Mike could see was their body outline. The gunshots from the last drone had been seen sparkling since the night had fallen.
It was midnight and the full moon had completely risen above their heads, the faint light of the moo revealed the anonymous squads' faces partially. The combat was still on the rage, but it was quite dull now. Very few gunshots compared to before and soldiers were running out of ammunition. The last drone wasn't getting concluded with its ammo.
It was a chilling night that froze Mike's bones. He wrapped his arms around his body to support some warmth but couldn't help with it.
As he tried to ignore the frosty weather and examine the unknowns, all of a sudden, he caught sight of them holding a heavy weapon above their shoulder, aiming somewhere front and with a swoosh, a missile was launched that darted towards the drone swiftly and knocked it down.
The last one was knocked out. No gunfires, there was a loud silence. Mike stood as if he was frozen with his eyes bugged out. Other soldiers just had a realisation that the drone had been disposed of.
The jovialness of all still hid behind their doubt o not knowing who were the unknowns. All stepped out of their shelter slowly through the darkness. Stood with astonishment.
"Why are you guys are acting so weird, is anything wrong? The drones have been cleared off right!", one of the four unknowns spoke out.
"Errr, ma-may I know who's this because I can't see you guys", Mike spoke helplessly as he existed to see nothing but a few partially visible alive bodies. Meanwhile, a soldier rushed towards the truck and turned on the headlights of it that stroke on their faces. Now there was clarity and there prevailed four soldiers, fighting with their body to make it erect. Mike, who was delighted, immediately hung his arms around their neck, squeezing hard. All choked and were not able to free themselves. After a while of struggle, Mike released them from his grab.
"Like!, I can't believe you guys just came as some sort of guardian angel and saved us!", Mike said cheerfully. The four soldiers grinned broadly.
" Sigh!, but unfortunately we lost our army. They are dead", he said lowering his head, gloomily.
Mike conceded his words-"There is a saying, "We are soldiers we are born to die. And indeed it's true, no one can help with it".
"Alright, let's escape now, we've no time. Their drones will arrive here in any minute. So better make it fast". Mike jogged inside the building where Lucy rested. He lifted her and walked towards the truck's carrier, ordering the other soldiers to prepare the truck for the escape drive. He placed her inside cautiously and waved others to get inside the truck carrier. All others stood near the ruins of the statue gossiping about something Mike wasn't aware of. They nodded and all of a sudden ire started upon them which made chaos.
Lot more drones were emerging in the Northern road's darkness.
Right in front of Mike's eyes, three of the four soldiers were shot in cold blood, one survived hiding behind the ruins of the statue that had the bottom left. Other soldiers immediately rushed towards the carrier of the truck and the engine was started by another soldier in addition he accelerated and it began to move slowly. Mike too leapt inside the truck, signing with his hand furiously towards the other last soldier who was hidden behind the s of the statue, avoiding shots.
" Hey!, come on, fast!"
The soldier stared at Mike constantly, as if he wasn't listening to him but thinking of something else. Mike couldn't understand his intentions. As the truck had started moving now with a greater speed, Mike sighted the other last soldier picking up a rifle that was dropped by other soldiers and throwing a final salute towards Mike.
"Nooooo!, boy, you can't do that", he said dreadfully, banging his thigh with his fist. The last soldier had now decided to hold back his position and combat with the drones till the truck escapes.
Deliberately, the soldier went out of sight as the truck caught some speed. The siren was still echoing around the atmosphere but it didn't bother them much. While on the way, a loud explosion snatched their attention.
"They all gasped as they sighted some flame blazing furiously at someplace. They could see it, as the blaze was so huge that it was seen above the buildings spiralling smoke up to the atmosphere.
It existed to be a full moon night. While on a moving truck, they caught sight of a blazing chopper. Mikeaacknowledgedit was the chopper in which Lucy had boarded for the mission and now it was demolished into a useless burning metal piece. The inside of the truck possessed a dead silence amongst everyone. They were not in the mood of sharing anything. The cloudless sky showered nothing but a faint light of the full moon. It was the end of ber month and the beginning of the chilling winter. Cold wind gushed inside the compartment that made everyone shiver. Mike looked through the window, the ruins of buildings were the formers he saw, and later was the milky white moon that lightened the sky near it.
They drove through the darkness. Mike caught sight of Lucy resting peacefully. Her wound had clotted long before and there was no bleeding now. Mike realised that they were a lost building that was recently bombarded. A slight suspicion about something that they were quite familiar with, they were going towards the right way of the headquarters and their surroundings too made them feel that they were somewhere near. But one thing rummaged around his mind that in that area, nothing was taller than their headquarters and the blaze that was recently seen was quite high. Goosebumps caught Mike as he thought about what might have happened in the headquarters.
They reached much closer and with a left turn towards the left road, there stood their headquarters blazing furiously. The truck was shortly braked on that spot.
Mike gasped in uncertainty-" Oh no!"
Everyone gazed at it with their eyes bugged out.
"So-so, Sergeant Mario and others are-"
"No-no, I-i know my father, they aren't dead!", Mike reacted in complete disagreement.
"They might have moved to Ground-99", he added as he was pretty sure about that. The truck was again accelerated and now their destination was Ground-99. The secret base lay after crossing a dense wilderness.
"But why would they just move into ground-99 without waiting for us?", one of them questioned as they all jerked due to the truck facing a crater on the road.
"Maybe they had expected our death but they didn't know who we are", the driver replied confidently and paused for a while.
"Son of Lionesses", he shot out loudly.
"Hey! hush! you don't want us to meet those rats again!do you?", Mike bellowed irritably.
"Uh oh! sorry my bad", the driver said mockingly and laughed aloud. Mike sighed exhaustively and rolled his eyes. They could now see the woods coming near. There were withered trees and the full moon night almost created a spooky atmosphere around. As they entered, several bats were traceable. Mike ignored them except for others staring at them curiously. There were bush beats and cricket sounds that competed with the dead silence.
Mike suddenly turned towards the driver and asked-" Ahem!, so how long will it take to cross this jungle, Mr driver", Mike asked sarcastically.
"Errr, probably, Ummm", the driver guessed as his forehead wrinkled-"8 minutes and then we'll show up on the beach".
Mike nodded and turned again towards the window, appreciating the icy breeze that loosened him up. The woods turned denser as they drew inner. Deliberately, the forest concluded to an end and they all showed up on a deserted beach with some lights gleaming from distance. The driver halted the jeep outside the beach and all leapt out promptly. The chilling breeze of the sea made them spread their arms in the air. Mike lifted Lucy out from the truck and together, they all began to walk towards the ground-99 with their feet drowning in and out of the sand as they stepped forward. Ground-99 was an enormous fortified harbour that had 4 huge ships ready to sail in the Hazel ocean. A vast crowd with a population of somewhere around Four-Thousand or more walked upon the bridges towards the ships' entrances. Four of the ships were adequate to carry all of them. It had sufficient food that would keep all alive at least for a week.
All the soldiers who stood in front of the entrance of Ground-99 were occupied gossiping except for one, who noticed a gang of bodies emerging from the darkness.
He tried to see them clearly through his binoculars but proved in failure. Their bodies were not getting the reflection of light.
"In your positions everyone!", he insisted.
All of the others turned back in astonishment. What might have happened? they all thought. All pointed their gun towards the strangers as they caught sight of them. They all crouched slowly and stepped forward, away from the metal walls of the fortified harbour. The bodies were now enlarging as they reached closer. Sergeant Mario was engaged, supervising the crowd to stay calm and quiet however, he was also allured by the command given by the soldier. He climbed down the stairs and strolled outside to see what had happened. He also had now seen the gang that was now closed. The giant lights made them partially visible. However, the Sergeant had already realised who were they. As they walked, their faces were deliberately getting revealed and soon other soldiers had also realised who were they actually and regained their usual standing posture. Sergeant's face lit with jovialness and he burst out in tears. Tears of happiness. He rushed towards them and hugged Mike, avoiding hitting Lucy who lay in his arms.
"Son!, but how?"
"Dad!, dad! dad! it's a long story", Mike said in a singsong voice.
2 a.m. of the morning. The full moon still gleamed above their heads. The four ships were ready to sail now. Mike and others were on the topmost floor of the third ship. This floor was a total luxury. Milky white walls, a complete form of urban home setup with a matt finish on everything. Oakwood tables, mood lights around every duplex bed. It was all modern inside. A glossy chandelier hanging from the ceiling lit the whole compartment. It had a luxurious dormitory too. Sergeant Mario and other soldiers had gotten a chance to experience the exclusive luxury.
It was limited. The food, the water, everything was limited. Mike sat near the bed where Lucy was asleep. Sergeant Mario and others were seated on sofas that surrounded a large dark oak wood table.
"This was the worst real-life nightmare I've ever had before", Sergeant complained.
"Sigh!, nevertheless, we gotta start a fresh beginning now", he added. Others nodded particularly. It was truly quite difficult for them to abandon their very own city. But it was a cakewalk after kicking it out of the mind. They all drank and cackled, forgetting everything about the past. Meanwhile, Lucy had awakened and she slowly opened her eyes, glancing at the strange place she was in. She kicked herself up and sat on the bed with her palms leaning against the fluffy bed. Instantly, she felt an acute pain in her right arm, immediately-" Ahh!", she removed her hand from the bed. Her eyes were half opened so, nothing was visible properly. Mike woke up heeding to Lucy's scream. He sighted Lucy who was now wide awake, exploring her right arm. She then lifted her head and the initial thing she caught sight of was Mike, grinning at her. She threw an amazing look at him.
"Welcome back Lucy", Mike said cheerfully and continued-"You've been unconscious for hours and now you're awake. I'm glad".
"Mike!, this place! where are we?", she questioned stubbornly. She turned around and watched others beaming at her. She ignored.
"Calm down Lucy!, everything will be deciphered, now rest", Mike cautiously held her shoulders and made her lie down on the bed. She gazed at her wound, unworriedly and turned towards Mike. Mike turned around and picked up a sandwich for her to munch-"Here you go, have it", he handed in the sandwich and they both kissed each other. The ones gazing at them threw an astonishing look at them. With this sight, they all came to know that Mike and Lucy were dating each other. Sergeant Mario felt bashful, though blushed at them.
οΏΌ
All the four ships had left the harbour about a few minutes ago. It sailed across the blue sea. Yet, the sea looked dark at night. The images and reels of the Apocalypse had completely gone out of their mind. Their destination was a question mark to them but their prosperity made them not think about that. The full moon night had created an exquisite sensation through the sea. They were unaware of what lies at the next destination.
To be continued....
"Written by?", I investigate the book for the author but didn't conclude finding it. There was a blank after the "written by". Aaron was continuously swinging his head from side to the side towards the door. He was looking out if any guards were stepping towards the door.
"Sigh!", so this was the so-called secret novel my sis had been forbidding from me", I throw an irritated gaze towards the novel as well as Aaron.
"Just a piece of sh-"
"Merlin!, you promised me you wouldn't use this word again", Aaron turned instantly and scowled through his blue rectangle spectacles at me before I could finish saying the word. I just ignore him, curling up my lip.
"This novel is as normal as the others, then what the hell is the point of hiding and creating a shitty sensation upon me", I bellowed a bit louder than I was supposed to.
"Stop it!", the guards may hear us, idiot!", Aaron yelled in his undertone.
Our voices echoed inside the library itself. A large library with several bookshelves surrounding a pillar of a half-height than us, upon which the novel was kept freely.
Unworriedly, I examined the secret library into which we had broken in stealthily, hoaxing the guards. The former objective was accomplished but then the latter which was the escape plan wasn't done yet. The atmosphere inside the room was chilling, as it was an October night.
I rubbed my palms to support some warmth, as I questioned Aaron, promptly, "What's next? Did you even make an escape plan? Don't tell me you didn't", I had to raise my eyebrows.
Aaron, who was looking the other side replied at once-"Nah!"
I growled at him on listening to his reply and I was ready to shower a bunch of yells at him however was interrupted by some footsteps that were moving towards the door of the room. Our head was in a whirl now. Both gasped and just then a piece of paper slipped from inside the novel which was in my grip. I, however, didn't notice it. Aaron had picked it up and tucked it inside his pocket but he gave much importance to the desperate situation we were now trapped into.
I had just one word that was tackling my mind-"We're dead!".