There are only a few points that I can earn here since it wasn't feasible to access all the houses in the game. Even if it's real time now, I don't necessarily have to go to each of them that are open. The other cadets already took care of that.
Tracing back my memories and making sure the correct houses are there, I go to the nearest one.
Jake is following me closely, seems like he's taking his senior role seriously. I 'must' get rid of him.
"Open lightly," Jake told me as we reach the porch.
I may be in tight schedule, and I know where the enemy is. But I also have to make sure I give this senior a good impression before I leave him. I'm not risking giving birth to point deduction. So I did as he says.
I open the front door lightly with my gun ready. I feel like a police officer who is about to ambush a drug dealer. I feel so cool already.
"Clear," I said after pretending to secure the room.
"Alright. You check upstairs, I'll check down here." Jake said. I see him walk to the hallway on the right side with his bat in front of him. The scene looks so ridiculous that I almost laugh. I ignore the guy and walk upstairs.
Luckily, he asks me to go upstairs, which is where the enemy is. This point is for me.
I hear scuffling from the left end of the hallway, so I make my way to the only door there. I don't bother knocking and just kick the door open.
There is a shriek of a woman and a loud thud as someone behind the door falls on their behind, the terrorist.
I don't let him get up and immediately jump on him. I take his weapon and throw it aside, then I strangle him to keep him from getting up.
"Stay there, mam! I'll be with you in a minute!" I told the crying woman and she immediately backs away from us and leans on the shelf behind her.
In the midst of our struggle, I see the man's eyes shimmer blue briefly. He manages to get one of his hands on my neck. It caught me off guard and I couldn't dodge in time. He choked the air out of my lungs and I start coughing like crazy. So this is how being choked is like? NOT COOL!
I try to push his arm with my own while also pulling my head away from him. It's so hard because he has bigger body than mine and much stronger. But I put my strength and willpower into it, grunting hard to the point that I'm yelling, before I finally pull it off. I suddenly feel this rage inside me and I start punching his face like crazy.
"I'm. Not. Dying. This. Soon. By. Mindless. Mongrel. Like. You!" I yell with each punch. I don't care about my surroundings. I just punch the guy out like there's no tomorrow. Because I am certainly not letting myself die this early!
It took a few more hits before the man stops struggling, and I can finally pull myself away from him. I don't stop there though. I immediately tie him up with bed sheets and lean on the wall to catch my breath. Then I look over to the window, but I don't see the woman there.
Strange… She was there. Maybe Jake got her when I was busy beating that man.
The said man doesn't move much now, his body bends forward and his eyes look like dead fish. Plus, his bruised and bloody face, also his wrecked rabbit mask. His shoulders are still moving up and down though—a sign that he's still breathing.
'Now I know why bad guys like fighting. Adrenaline's no easy deal.' I thought as I hear a soft ding from Ozzie and my point goes up by 1.
I push myself up and go downstairs. Jake must be bringing the woman to the base, so I hurry to the kitchen to steal some food before he comes back.
Call me a thief, but after all that ruckus up there, I'm now starving. This morning's sandwich is not enough to help me deal with the adrenaline, and I need more energy to survive this whole ordeal. It's only the beginning after all.
I instinctively aim my gun to the door when I heard footsteps coming closer. I'm still very sensitive after that outburst up there, but when I see it was just Jake and another senior, I calm down.
"You okay, gunner?" He asked worriedly. I nod in silence as I put my gun away. I pay him no heed as I take a glass of water. "Did you kill…?" He asked hesitantly. The other senior is also looking at me wearily.
"No. But I beat his face badly and tied him up." I said.
"Alright." He's quiet for a few seconds. Then he says. "We'll take care of the guy upstairs. You can stay here and just… Take a breath."
How nice of him. But this is the perfect time to get rid of him. "Actually, I saw something from the second floor. In one of the houses. Can I go there and check?"
"Are you sure?" His eyebrows furl.
I nod. "Yeah."
He still doesn't look convinced, so I add. "I'll be okay. It won't be like the guy up there, I promise. Besides, I have a gun, I can shoot them faster if they're taking hostages like the woman. Let me go there."
He seems to consider it for a moment, but he eventually agrees. "Alright, go ahead. But be careful."
He gives me one last look before he leaves.
Huh, I didn't think it's easy to get rid of him. Is he impressed by my wild side or my tactical side? Either way, I don't care as long as he's gone. After finishing my brunch, I move to the next house. It's the second one from the right end of the road.
The enemy in this house is kind of critical, so I must tread lightly. There are two hallways in the second floor, and I hear sounds coming from the right one, just like in the game. I approach calmly and carefully. I stop right beside the doorframe to make sure my shadow won't be seen from the gap below the door.
I take a deep breath, then I open the door with my gun pointing forward. All of this happens so fast.
I see two people near the window. A woman is kneeling while a man is holding a knife by her throat. I immediately fire at the man's arm—the one with the knife—twice. His hold staggers and the woman screams. But I do not stop there. I run inside with my right hand stretched firmly to the side. Then I leap on the bed and tackle the man down by his head. The man falls backwards and hit the bedside table behind him. He flinches a little, so I bring my gun down and hit the guy on the head. He stops moving.
There's a stinging pain on my upper arm because of that tackle, but I try to keep it cool because there's still a woman crying.
"M-Mam… I need you to calm down." I put my gun in my holster and show her my empty hands.
"W-Who are you?!" The woman backs away.
"I'm with the Terrace." I show her my Arrow. "And if you look through the window, you will see Terrace cadets swarming the neighborhood."
She stands up clumsily and looks out the window. When she finally realized I was telling the truth, she runs over to me and cries for help. I notice her hands are tied with a cloth, so I take my knife from the bag and cut it loose.
"It's alright, you're safe now. I need you to go to them while I make sure this man doesn't get up to follow you. And don't worry, downstairs is safe." I told her.
She nods furiously before she runs out of the room. I put my knife back and check on the man. He's still alive. He has his eyes open but he's not looking at anything in particular. Like in the first house, this enemy also has this bluish hue shimmering in his eyes.
After tying the man with sheets and cables I could find, I leave the house. The woman was already taken care of by one of my classmates, and I can see Jake giving me a nod. I don't know what he meant by that, but I nod back before going to the next house right next to this one.
There is no threat in this last one, just a sweet, ol—
"Wake up, grandma~ It's lunch time~" I softly shake the frail looking old woman who is peacefully sleeping on the bed.
The elderly's eyes open slowly, then she looks at me sleepily. "Oh? Michael?"
"Nope, I'm Terrence."
"I don't remember having you…" She frowns cutely.
I smile sweetly. "I'm with the Terrace, grandma. There's a trouble in the neighborhood and we're evacuating everyone."
"Trouble…? My goodness… Then please help me, Terrence…" She asked nicely.
"Of course. Let's get you to safety." I help her get into her wheelchair and I wheel her out of there.
"How about my grandson, dear?" She asked as we reached outside.
"Your grandson?" I lean closer.
"My Michael… He works in that tower…" She looks at the North Tower. "Do you mind checking up on him…? For me…?"
I glance at the tower briefly before giving her my most charming smile. "Sure. May I know your name, grandma?"
"Polly Grey…"
"Alright, Grandma Polly. I'll make sure Michael is safe."
"Thank you." She pats my cheek softly.
I bring her to my nearest classmate and leave for 'Michael'. Well, there are some things I need to do before going to the tower. So I'm gonna do those first. Besides, at this time, Rean's team should still be stuck at the tower's other entrance, fighting the terrorists.
-
Rean knocks the terrorist in front of him with his sheathed sword. The terrorist falls unmoving. He sees his female classmate struggling with another, so he jumps in to help her. He hits the terrorist on his back, earning his attention. When the man turns around, the redhead immediately gives a roundhouse kick. The man is thrown away a few feet aside and stops moving.
"Are you alright?" Rean asked the female cadet.
"Y-Yes. T-Thank you Rean." The girl said.
He nods at her and turns around to look at the situation. The terrorists are fighting against the cadets, but he notices that the enemies' movements are a bit… Off. He can't put his finger on it, but they're just off somehow.
When he's observing, however, the female cadet he just saved gasps. "Rean, look out!"
His instinctively dodges, and a loud crack emerged in his place. It was one of the terrorists, he had just cracked the ground with his battle hammer. If Rean was a second too late, those cracks would probably be his head.
"Run." He told the female cadet as he unsheathes his sword.
The female cadet runs away while he figures out how to subdue this one without killing him.