At long last, and most probably by the miracle of prayers from the loved ones of soldiers back home, the Cargo plane landed at the citadel.
"Alert!!! Emergency response team needed on the runway." The voice of the Air controller went out as ambulance vans and fire trucks swarmed the Air crafts once they landed, like ants to sugar.
"I want fire extinguishers on those burning engines! And medical response teams ready on the go!" The Airport emergency officer yelled orders as people rushed for the planes. Unfortunately, only three planes made it to the citadel. The last one delivered itself right into the hole as a result of having its engines destroyed.
The first thing the rescue team saw once the back end of the cargo plane opened up, was a half-naked man with bloodstains all over his body. He had a cigar stick in his mouth.
Adria smiled at them, "Ah! the welcoming party arrives!"
"Excuse me sir are you alright?" One of the members of the rescue team asked, but Adria did not pay him mind as he proceeded out of the plane.
Meanwhile, not so far away, Walter and the other newbie darklings proceeded down their own plane too. Nora could not help but look in the direction of the plane Adria and just come out of.
Walter caught her staring and he smiled, "You know, that is not even the craziest thing I have seen that Idiot do."
"What do you mean instructor!?" She turned to Walter.
He snorted a bit, "Ever hear about the Blood invasion, kid!?"
"Yes, sir! The Blood invasion. It happened some three years ago. At fox town just south of our current position. It was a massive influx of Vampire attacks that happened in a span of one night eradicating the entire town. Records say that only one girl survived. It also says that the casualties sustained were a result of a mistake made by one useless Darkling captain. Ironically, He was the only one to have returned out of eighty Darklings sent. It was the most embarrassing event since the dawn of Darklings ten years ago."
"Good! Good!!" He smiled at her, "No wonder you remain the brightest in your batch. You always stick to the books."
Nora nodded in acknowledgment, It was always a thrill for her whenever she got praises from her superiors.
"However, that's why you will remain a fool!" The smile on his face morphed. And she could clearly see the disgust in his eyes. "Let me give you some advice kid! The history books are not always right. They just let you know what they want you to believe." He drew closer to her, "It is always written in their favor."
She looked at him in confusion. Nothing he had just said made any sense to her. Walter turned and walked away.
"Instructor, what do you mean...?" Her words were interrupted by a female soldier that appeared from nowhere in her line of sight.
"Sorry, But excuse me Darkling Ma'am. I was instructed by Captain Adria to come to take his clothes and bag here."
"Captain Adria!?" That name was both familiar and yet foreign to Nora. And then the soldier pointed to the shirtless man with blood stains and a cigar walking away in the distance.
"Oh! His clothes are with Holland." Nora replied. She had only walked away a few steps when something clicked in her head.
"Wait!" Nora called to the Female soldier. She had just collected the clothes and bag and was about to leave.
"Yes, Ma'am!" She stopped and turned to Nora.
"Let me see the name on the tag of that jacket. Erm... I want to be sure you got the right one."
"Yes, Ma'am!"
Nora took a look at the tag on the jacket and then a few things clicked in her head. She couldn't help but look in the direction he had gone. "It can't be..." She whispered slightly to herself as questions popped like heated corn in her head.
"If that will be all. Can I go now, ma'am?" The soldier asked.
"Yes, you can." She answered subconsciously and the soldier ran in the direction Adria had went.
...A few minutes after the planes landed.
In a very high tower, with a view that had nearly the entire barracks in sight, a man stood by the window watching as the broken down planes were being attended to. He was on full military green regalia. On one side of his chest were badges and medals which were proof of his valor and outstanding achievements. On the other side was a name tag with the initials and name, L.E Bridges. On each of his shoulders were three stars and an eagle. Which was the sign that he was of the rank of brigadier general. On his head was the proud red beret of the United Countries(UC)
His face was cleanly shaved except for a small patch that crowned his lips. He was not so tall, and even though he was already far gone in age, it did not seem to have a strong hold on him as he stood upright with his chest out.
*Knock*
"Come in!" he responded without turning about.
A soldier carrying some documents with big rounded glasses on her face entered the room and saluted him.
"Yes! At ease sergeant. What's the damage report?" He asked with his eyes still on the crafts in the distance.
"We lost one cargo carrier and three with massive damages. Although most of them are restricted to the engines, we still have one with parts of the hull removed. Apart from that, nothing else sir." She reported.
He sighed loudly, "Damn those blood-worms! How many did we lose on the dead bird?"
"Fifty-two sir! Including both pilots."
"Hmmm! I thought we were bringing in Fresh Darklings today. Why didn't any of them do something?" He snorted in annoyance.
"Actually sir, the reports say they did. In fact, one of them went out of his way to..." Her voice trailed and she adjusted her big round glasses to be sure she was reading the report right.
"Go on! what did they do? Was it another brawl with one of my officers?"
"No sir, You won't believe it, but it says that he rode a vampire to another plane at 36,000 feet just to render help!"
"Hmmm! not bad. We have another very good one. He will probably be another star. What's his name?"
"It's batch number 12..."
"I don't need the batch number, Just the name." He interrupted her rudely.
"Yes sir! His name is Captain Adria sir. I took the liberty of checking his file beforehand. He is a..."
"ADRIA?!" He sharply turned about, "Did you say, Adria!?"
"Yes, sir! His file says that..."
"Screw his god-damn file. Shit! Shit!! I'm so fucked!" he slammed his red beret on the floor revealing his bald head beneath. "It's over for me!"
And then the most unbelievable thing this secretary had ever seen this famous and renowned general do happen...