"Now, where do we start?" Tobi asked as they walked out of the hospital. The number of people outside seemed to have doubled.
"Why don't we start by asking around the people in town? Chioma suggested.
"Okay. Let's start."
The two of them marauded the town and met with the few people that gave them an audience. They asked a few questions specific to the situation at the hospital. They got to know that the first case of the outbreak was discovered a few days ago and the mode of spread could not be identified. For some reason, they had sent word to the headquarters but no word has been heard from them. The townspeople had started to think that they had been abandoned to fate.
"We need to find a way to get the words to headquarters, and wasn't the captain assigned to us meant to be here by now?" Tobi said.
"I don't know about the captain, but I have an idea about how to inform the headquarters,"
"How?" Tobi asked.
"First, we need to find paper and a pen," Chioma said.
"Say no more," Tobi said as he brought a pen and notebook from his pocket.
"Do you always carry these with you?" Chioma asked in surprise.
"Well, yes."
Chioma looked at him in wide surprise and wondered why he would always travel with a book and pen. Though it served its usefulness at the time, she still wondered why. She collected the book, tore a page out of it and she wrote on it. She took out an arrow, wrapped it with the paper, and balanced it on her bow.
She took her arching stance facing the direction of the headquarters before coating the arrow with lightning.
[Lightning Style: Missile Shot]
She blasted the arrow into the sky which caused her to bend backwards as a result of the recoil. She reinforced her feet with energy which reduced the effect of the recoil pressure.
"That could have gone bad," Tobi commented.
"I know, right." Chioma said, "Let's return to the hospital and hope the message gets to the headquarter." The two turned back and headed towards the hospital.
Then, they heard a feminine voice which caused them to turn back. "Are you the people from the headquarters?" The two of them looked at each other before they nodded in affirmation.
The voice came from a short lady in her twenties dressed in a grey top laced with sparing white beads and a pair of brown open sandals. She led through a narrow, crooked path and brought them to a building which stood at the epicentre of a rocky hill about 150 metres from the ground. The building was fenced throughout its span and was painted purple with strange marks and indentations inscribed on it.
She took them into the building and led them. The lady lighted a torch as they walked across the passage and they could each hear the sound of their footsteps.
"Where is this place?" Tobi asked, his voice reverberating across the room.
"This was where the first case was found," she answered and suddenly the torch went off.
"What's going on?"
"This is where our paths end. We can't have you kids interfering with the plan," the lady mentioned and disappeared.
"Tsk. Wait. What's that smell?" Tobi said before he started to cough and became breathless.
"I can't breathe," Chioma said breathlessly. The rate of her breathing has doubled and it was accompanied by a worsening dry cough. Soon after, they fell to the ground and became unconscious.
It was late at night and two men sat at the top of the hospital building eating bread.
"Have those kids been taken care of, Sam?"
"Yes, but we would have to move fast with the plan"
"Why the rush?"
"It seems those kids found a way to communicate with the headquarters plus I can't stand the sight of these sick swollen people."
"I see. Then that leaves us no choice." Bob said as he stuffed his mouth with the last of his bread before he stood up, "It's time for some action"
The two of them jumped down and scanned the environment filled with sick and wailing people. They cracked their joints and clenched their fists whilst revealing a devilish smile.
"Let's have it."
Andrew had dozed off until a loud thud woke him up, He opened his eyes to see the hospital building falling apart and parts of the building had already gone up in smoke. Loud noise went up everywhere as the people scurried to their safety. The walls of the building were crumbling.
[Swoosh]
Andrew picked up his spear and blew into the piece a large crumble that was about to crash onto his mother's bed. There was no space for him to run without having to injure the others and he'd still have to carry his mother on his back.
"Where are those guys? Shouldn't they have returned?" he thought. He has to find a way out of the terrible situation. He swirled his spear above his head and took in a heavy breath.
[Concentrated Swoosh] A forceful gust of wind concentrated to a point.
Andrew directed the tip of his spear to the sky which produced a loud forceful gust of wind that scattered and flattened the crumbling pieces of the building. Then, he carried his mother on his back and slowly made his way towards the exit.
"What was that?!" Bob asked pointing to the gust of wind that flattened the crumbles.
"Let's check it out," Sam said and dashed inside the building. He scanned the room until he saw a boy heading towards the other exit with a body on his back.
"That must be him. I'll handle him," Sam told Bob and walked towards the boy.
Andrew stopped his movements as he felt a presence behind him. He slowly dropped his mother and lay her down on her back before he faced the figure behind.
"Who are you and are you the reason for this?" Andrew glared at Sam.
"Are you the one that flattened those falling crumbles?" Sam asked, "Thank you for making our job easier."
"Why are you doing this?"
"Why? You don't need to know. You can leave quietly and leave that body behind as well," Sam said.
Immediately, Andrew drew his spear and pointed it at Sam's face. "Why would I leave my mother behind with you?"
Sam put up his hands above his head in response to Andrew's action. "Because she is our test subject? Sam said before letting out vicious laughter that infuriated Andrew the more. "It seems you want it the hard way,"
Sam leapt backwards before he clasped his hands and mumbled some words. All of a sudden, the whole ground quaked and a hot lava erupted from beneath the ground. Andrew jumped backwards moving away from the hot lava.
[Hot Ball]
Sam moulded the lava in the form of a ball and shot it at Andrew.
[Concentrated Swoosh]
Andrew concentrated energy into the spear and let out a forceful gust of wind at the lava ball. Then, he proceeded to hit the tip of the spear on the ground, releasing a forceful wind that pushed him and Sam backwards. Sam crossed his arms and put more energy into his foot but he was still pushed backwards.
"That's quite the technique," Sam commended and clapped his hands. Then, he sprinted towards Andrew and punched his belly which pushed him backwards. While Andrew was still in midair, he landed on his belly pushing him upwards and landed another kick on his back sending Andrew face down into the ground. Afterwards, he approached him and stomped his back sending him deeper into the ground which cause him to gush out blood from his mouth and nostrils.
"Oof. That's how you do it," Sam said before walking towards Andrew's mother. He was about to carry her when he suddenly stopped.
"It's not over yet. I can still fight," Andrew said staggering with his blood drooling from his forehead, nose, and mouth.
"Kids do not know when to stop, huh?" Sam said and sighed.
He clenched his fist and coated them with energy which produce a red colour. "Don't feel bad about it, boy"
[Molten Magma] His hands become coke red and sprinted at supersonic speed towards staggering Andrew.
[Earth Style: Boulder Punch]
Just as he was about to punch Andrew, a hit landed on Sam's groin. His eyes bulged out and let out a shout of pain before he flew backwards as far as a hundred metres. He fell on his back and lost consciousness immediately.
"Yo. My name is Trisha. What's your name?" a young lady said after punching Sam. She had black long hair and wore a pair of goggles. She was dressed in a white shirt and black jacket alongside tight-fitted black trousers with black shoes.
"Who are you?" Andrew asked as he balanced himself with his spear.
"I just told you. I am Trisha. What happened here?"
"Okay," Andrew said and was about to fall before Trisha supported him.
"Don't worry. Everything is fine," Trisha said.
Then, Andrew remembered his mother when he has placed her. He moved to her side and looked at her. Something was strange. Her skin had grown cold and dry. Andrew placed his head on his chest but he heard nothing. He lifted her hands and released them but they dropped effortlessly. He called out his mother's name but there was no response. She was no longer breathing.
Tears dropped from Andrew's eyes and he began to cry. Trisha moved towards Andrew and hugged him from behind. "Everything is gonna be fine," she said.