"Where are we?" Isaac asked.
Elijah gave him a quick glance. "Heading west."
"I know that. I mean our position."
"I don't know."
Isaac took a long breath and savored the apple as he watched the morning sunrise. The two sat on the damp ground after a short two-hour nap.
"We have to get to New Castle," Isaac said. "Our main goal is to get there anyway."
"All right," Elijah nodded.
With only the compass to guide them, there was no telling what kind of trouble they might encounter. But at least Elijah wasn't alone.
"Let's go," Isaac said. The young man stood, picked up his pillowcase and reached inside. Isaac tossed Elijah an apple. "Eat it. I don't want you holding up the trip because you're starving."
Elijah chuckled. "Thank you."
"You should still find food for yourself, Eli. Don't be my burden."
"Yes, of course."
In the distance they heard something in the sky, like the sound of a propeller. When they looked up at the sky, there were black dots that were getting closer and bigger. Then three helicopters passed over them, which were definitely the Army and Deformity helicopters.
"Signal! Signal!" Isaac shouted.
He shot fireballs into the sky to alert the people in the helicopters of their presence. One of the choppers hovered slowly and then circled back. Elijah and Isaac looked at each other, apparently their presence had been detected. They hurriedly ran toward the approaching helicopter.
[Warning]
Elijah stopped. He looked up at the sky and sensed something was wrong.
Suddenly, a barrage of bullets pierced the trees, fired from the helicopter. Isaac and Elijah dodged immediately, taking cover behind a tree trunk while protecting their heads.
"Run!" yelled Elijah, who stepped away from the helicopter.
Isaac followed close behind. "Why are they attacking us?"
"I don't know! Just run!"
The helicopter continued to chase them. Elijah and Isaac ran without looking at the direction, all that mattered was that they tried to save themselves. The ground around them became damp and slippery, where Elijah could faintly hear water running. Who knew how far they were from their destination.
Isaac nearly fell over as they reached the edge of the cliff, and Elijah tugged on his collar to hold him up. There was a river below them, I don't know how deep it was, but it was a long way away.
"Come on, jump!" Elijah urged.
"No!" Isaac backed away in horror.
The sound of the helicopter came closer. Elijah immediately grabbed Isaac's waist and jumped down, accompanied by Isaac's reluctant screams. They didn't freefall into the water because Elijah used the power of telekinesis. The two of them hovered above the water, then Elijah pushed his body to the edge of the river and jumped toward the tree seedlings. Hiding.
The helicopter flew over them and moved down the river, gradually losing its sound. Then it was gone.
"Have they lost their minds?" muttered Isaac in disbelief.
"Logically, it's impossible for humans to roam the forest."
"We are human."
"Mutants, I mean."
Isaac sighed softly. "You're right."
Elijah stood, then looked around. "Where shall we go now?"
"You have a compass, right?"
"I think I dropped the thing earlier."
"I dropped my bag." Isaac shrugged. "Well, it's definitely going to be a tough trip."
"Never mind, let's get going."
*
The deafening sound of the propellers made Bernice uncomfortable, even though she was wearing earplugs. Josh looked uncomfortable and his face was pale. It was certain that the young man hated flying, and it was the first time for him. Meanwhile, Lucas stared out in wonder.
Along the way, they saw only the green landscape below, pine forests and various other trees. It was an unforgettable experience, as they had never seen such a beautiful sight during their time at the Academy. The Academione went to a place near the Orb where the other Deformities had gathered.
Inside the helicopter were several other Deformity members, including Bone.
"Why did the helicopter come back?" Lucas asked.
Bone just shook his head. "I don't know. Maybe they wanted to search the area for something. We'll stay on schedule and go to the Army Deformity headquarters in Milton."
The three had heard that the aliens from the Orb had destroyed the area around Tacoma. However, they had not yet been defeated. So the Deformity and the Army were sent to different areas to reinforce the troops.
The teens had officially become members of the Deformity, wearing the same bracelets as the other mutants. Master Gideon said the armbands were not like the ones the kids wore at the Academy. It was a kind of energy-controlling catalyst bracelet from the Deformity, but not for hurting or killing humans.
"They need us to fight." Bone said.
"You mean fight aliens?" Bernice looked nervous.
"I'm not sure. But I heard that the aliens have spread from the orb in Milton, so we have to destroy them," Bone replied.
"It's useless to waste ammunition fighting ants," Josh grumbled.
Bone looked at the young man.
"You got any other ideas?"
"Maybe we should stay here and wait for the aliens to die out," Lucas commented.
Bernice looked at Lucas with a furrowed brow. "What kind of theory is that?"
"Wasn't there a report that the ants around the Academy died of their own accord?"
Lucas said. "There must be an explanation for that," Bone replied. "Destroy the Orb.
It's the only way."
Josh shrugged indifferently.
Lucas snorted. "There are thousands of ants, I don't know how many. Do you think it's easy to destroy the Orb? What happened before, maybe we just got lucky."
Bone thought for a moment. What Josh said was true, since the Orb was destroyed, not a single ant had been seen in Fall City. Even from the Deformity's report, they found ants around the academy, just dead, with no injuries. They were just gone.
If those ants died because there was a lifespan, shouldn't the rest of the ants die like what happened in Fall City? Bone thought. But the opposite happened, the ants continued to spread.
"How long until we reach Milton?" asked Lucas.
"Two and a half hours, I guess." Bone glanced at his wristband, which showed the time.
When he heard that, Josh made a face like he was in pain and closed his eyes. Maybe sleep was the only way to keep him from feeling restless.
"When we get to Milton, are we going straight into battle?" asked Bernice.
Bone shook his head. "No, we won't. You'll have a short training session."
"And after that?"
Bone's eyes looked at Bernice. "You'll be randomly assigned to teams."
Lucas gasped in shock.
He would be separated from his friends after arriving in Milton. He didn't want that to happen.