The midday sun illuminates all there is to see and ponder upon by the human eyes. A vast stretch of ruined buildings to be observed, broken statues, lost hopes, forgotten times. A sky so grey that it will put graphite to shame envelops the horizon as it's about to swallow all it's known. Kai, a young gentleman with sharp silver eyes and black hair, long enough to cover them while the rest if his face was hidden behind a mask. Not to help him against the radioactive rays that bathed this earth but rather to secure his injured jaw.
Making himself quite comfortable atop the barely standing library building. Resting his back against his dear husky which was quite large to say the least and he had held a book in his hands that he could barely read without squinting his eyes. Soon, a buzzing sounding disrupted his leisure time. He looked over, towards a modified piece of equipment which resembled a phone however, only capable enough to handle video calls. It seemed to be from his close friend and colleague, Azure. Without hesitation, he picked it up and answered. A pop-up opened in a old school hologram style to form a live picture of a rather young man with azure blue eyes and a mole under his right eye. He spoke first
"hey Kai, are you done with your patrol duties?"
Kai just simply nodded in a yes. And put up a V-sign upon seeing which, azure's face lit up
"as fast as ever huh. But you must report back to HQ once you're done even if it's 2 hours earlier instead of procrastinating on your job"
His tone took a stern form as he reached the end of the sentence. He took a deep sigh before looking at Kai again and continued.
"anyway, I contacted you to convey urgent orders from the HOD, a meeting will be held in 20, main hall 1. Be there sharp."
Azure waved bye to the now blank screen of the device before ending the call and Kai was left speechless for a moment after realizing what he had been asked to do.
He sighed as he got up and made his way to headquarters. Which if he had been alone would've taken up to 3 hours from his location. Luckily Pluto, the large husky was with him. Kai simply tugged on its huge coat of fur
"Pluto, nap time's over."
The listless husky got up on all fours and wagged his tail showing its appreciation towards its owner. Kai sat on top of the larger than life dog to make his way towards the HQ cutting through the Red pine forest which was a dangerously polluted area but was treated as a shortcut and within about 15 minutes they were outside the gates of the HQ. Which, would've been 11 if the guards at the city gates hadn't demanded of him to take off his jacket and to perform some quick tests. He handed over the leash bound to Pluto to a nearby worker before stepping inside the establishment where he was met with Azures gaze and cheerful demeanor.
"you're actually here on time! Come come let's go before we never get to hear the end of it" he said as he hurried along leading Kai by his wrist towards the tall standing building located near the center of the establishment.
It was a building painted in all black and large enough to give a megalophobe a run for their money. Kai being a bit tired from all the walking around pulled the mask a little away from his face to allow more circulation of air before continuing towards the basement where the tall doors for the hall 1 opened. Kai before entering gave out a big sigh since he disliked the idea of holding in-person meetings when they had the perfect devices right in their pocket! But alas, They said that it was more reliable and secure.
The doors opened with a silent creak into a dimly lit room whose space was eaten up by the big round table. The two boys made way to their respective spots. Kai, who was the head of division 7 of liquidators, responsible to look after the north west of the area, sat down on the chair at the round table as azure stood behind him as the second in command. The others were already seated around the table. Azure took note of all who were present. The only one missing, was the director of HOSPITAL, a man named Nix, who was required to be present during these sorts of meetings as well. However, he was still considered the head doctor in charge of the hospital first leading to his unexpected absences being excused.
There was an undeniably sour look on the personnel present there as It was currently noon. A time slot when most of them would have been enjoying their break if not for this meeting. Kai and Azure were the last missing members and the HOD present there decided to begin the meeting.
she cleared her throat before addressing all personnel present in the room.
"Apologizes for the sudden call. However, the matter is urgent. As most of the liquidators are already aware, there have been a number of causalities occurring outside the establishment walls. According to the forensic science department, these are unfortunately not the work of a human but a beast. There are pamphlets present in front of you containing extra details regarding the matter. The eye witnesses are full of paranoid accounts devoid of any comprehensive details further enhancing the risks of this situation."
Kai who was already flipping through the pamphlet seeking entertainment found that her statements were true. All the eye witnesses stated that the beast's teeth were sharp, like knives. It had four set of eyes. its skin was also covered in scales or a fur of some sort. Some even claimed that It could shapeshift . They were all bold claims but they could not be simply thrown out of the window because it was unpredictable, even to the authorities that what was being produced by the genetic mutation happening in the areas not well looked after.
The HOD's gaze then shifted towards Kai as she began to speak with a confident tone,
"Kai, you are best at handling such jobs. No?"
Acknowledging this situation as of critical danger, Kai had been expecting such a command. His division was the only one that had people who excelled at arms and weapons adept at handling any threat that imposed the peace that hung by a thread in this world. This was also the reason they had been issued the north-western area, the red pine forest which was one of the most dangerous zone out of the eight.
Kai simply shifted his gaze towards the HOD and nodded yes. While azure gave a slight bow. Seeing their unwavering compliance, a smile crept across her face.
"good then."
She looked down at her paperwork as if to sign something and continued,
"I shall be granting the entirety of Division 7 the freedom of movement and arms for the sake of public safety. I am looking forward to your success."
The other personnel however looked somewhat relaxed that they do not have to deal with such troublesome and life threatening tasks. Her all seeing eye took note of this as she leaned backwards on her seat and she spoke further,
"I move to adjourn the meeting and,"
She paused for a second looking at everyone's faces with the leisure of knowing the fact that no-one would even dare raise even a brow against her orders She was the most powerful woman who knew how to take full advantage of her position after all. She continued.
"hearing no objection, I declare the meeting adjourned."
All present personnel waited for the HOD to take her leave first before exiting as well. Kai and azure stepped out of the room and all the tension released from their bodies. Kai looked up at Azure and signed at him conveying the generalized message,
"are your legs good?"
Azure gave a chuckle at the fact that his friend cared so much for him. Feeling embarrassed by being laughed at, Kai pinched his side which ended up getting quite the reaction from him. After laughing in pain for a little while, He reassured him of his healthy body and redirected his attention to the matter on hand.
"Lets head back to the main quarters to relay the matters to the rest of the members."
Kai agreed with his decision and made way towards the exit of the building. Wanting to be efficient with the case, Kai suggested to discuss the skeleton of the operation on their way. Even though Azure didn't find it to be the best idea, complied anyway knowing how stubborn he can get at times.
Azure looked up at the forged blue sky which attempted to divert the common man's attention from the corroding world outside the walls. He tried to come up with various solutions and plans accompanied by his habit of always forming weird gestures with his hands which to him, helped him concentrate his thoughts. He babbled,
"The lesser ranked and less capable workers will remain in the territory performing their every day to day task whilst you, me and Mary alongside some others will go to this region with the intent of exterminating this threat if we find it. But we won't be able to leave the establishment right now. We need supplies. Food, tools and water."
Kai put forth the suggestion of letting Noah deal with the preparation of supplies by writing it down and showing it to Azure.
"Yes, Noah will be perfect for such a task. He is very exhaustive with matters" He claimed.
They both were feeling quite sluggish despite being the most physically active. Taking a note of the time displayed on the street clock Azure could easily blame it on hunger. He asked Kai to sit down on a nearby bench as he went towards the store across from it. After a while he came back with his hands full of edible goods. He gave the sweet ones to Kai and kept the sour ones for himself.
Kai looked at Azure with a puzzled look as he believed that Azure knew how he felt about having to take off his mask in public. Azure in response said,
"You can eat them later~"
They, by half an hour made it to the main quarters of the Division 7. It was rather small but sufficient to house the handful of authorized Division 7 personnel. Kai opened the doors to his beloved space only to find it littered with empty cans of alcohol. Frustrated by the sight before his eyes he screeched the name of the person he saw amidst the trash snoring.
"MIKA‼"
Hearing the furious roar she quickly stood on her two feet and in the position of a salute. Her eyes still half closed. Kai pinched his brow in sheer disappointment and sighed. Azure stepped forth and confronted Mika instead of his commander.
"Mika, I believe it is stated clearly that drinking on the premise of main quarters is prohibited. What is the meaning of all this?"
To which she ran a cold sweat knowing she wont be able to cook up a good excuse on time.
"I'm sorry vice-commander it will not happen again!"
Smiling quietly with his eyes, he said,
"This is your last warning. Clean up this mess and notify all members. There will be a general meeting tonight at 6 sharp."
And left for their personal office to take care of some paperwork. She heaved a sigh of relief and thanked the God that she didn't get into a deeper trouble than this. whilst she diligently started picking up the cans making sure that none escape her eye. From the dark corner of the main room, a figure was spectating the events as they transpired. Sensing the gaze, she looked towards the general direction to find nothing more than a few specs of dust.
Later that night at the time of the general meeting Kai and Azure were the last ones to enter the room with corresponding paperwork in hand. Azure scanned the room as both of them took their seat. Kai would have loved to explain the operation himself however his injury stopped him from doing so. Thus, Azure always is the one responsible of relaying his messages. All that was discussed in the meeting at the HQ was relayed to the members without error. The situation regarding the beast and its dangers were clear in everyone's minds. Azure communicated the the generalized duties of each member.
"the ones to join us on this expedition will be, Mika, Olivier, Lilith, Ai, Freya. The rest are to remain in action under Noah's command. Understood?"
The room voiced a harmonized agreement apart from a single person. He was a new recruit and quite ripe speaking of appearances alone. He voiced his wish to be included in the expedition but knowing about the severity of the situation he was abruptly shot down by Kai.
"But sir! I wish…" He found his voice shaking. A lump in his throat stopped him from saying a thing further. He couldn't help but hang his head and mutter the rest. "I do not wish to be hopeless at its face again."
Kai couldn't help but squint his eyes at the sight of this poor man. He double tapped the table to alert Azure. He leaned closer to him as he wrote something on the notes
"he was stated as a witness in the pamphlet. He has seen the beast before whilst none of us have. I think he will be a valuable resources."
Azure as he read that couldn't help but give Kai a side eye but he agreed anyway because what Kai was saying was true. He got back into an upright position and stated. "After the revision of the plan, Jason will join us on this expedition as well."
A splash of joy covered Mika's face as she was happy that Jason has gotten a chance to get back at the beast as she went over to him and rejoiced. However the face that should be covered with courage and determination hid behind cowardice as he broke into a cold sweat and his eyebrows curled up.