The commander got up very early to organize the tasks for that day, he thought if it would be better to go out during the day or at night, and he also began to divide the soldiers for different missions.
Later, when everyone finished eating breakfast, he sent for them, the rescuers and some fighters would go in search of more oxygen capsules for Ocean and Evander, while the soldiers would take charge of capturing the girl.
"We entrust you with a simple mission, to the south there is a base, it is more like a warehouse, it is a safe place, there you will find the oxygen capsules," he cleared his throat, "that place belongs to the Community, however, nobody usually goes there , there are no walkers nearby either, I'm sure you will be able to with this.
"Are we going alone?" Milo questioned, trying to hide his nerves.
"Ronda, Ocean and Evander will go with you, there's nothing to fear," he smiled warmly.
The rest of the men felt calmer hearing that, Luna was excited because at least she wouldn't be the only woman to go, Zev for his part was hard to decipher, he could be happy or upset about who his companions would be, he might not even he was feeling nothing but one thing he was sure of was that if they were attacked he would know what kind of power Evander has.
"Don't forget to take care of each other and come back before dark, you have radios so don't hesitate to contact me or soldier Caleb for anything."
They filled their backpacks with bladed weapons, loaded pistols and first aid kit, as well as bottles of water and binoculars.
"I'll be the leader," Ronda said with a firm voice, "Ocean behind me, then you three," she pointed to the other rescuers, "followed by Luna, Milo, Zev and finally Evander."
With the formation ready, they headed towards their objective. The helicopter was waiting for them outside, they got on and flew to the area where they had to get off.
"We have to jump, put on the parachute," she gave the order.
Ronda helped the rescuers put on their gear, apparently they had never jumped from a height before but they had no other choice.
"Can I jump with you?" Evander leaned closer to whisper to Ocean with a sweet vocal tone.
She gave him a mischievous look accompanied by a genuine smile. Zev wasn't looking at them but he could imagine the cheesy scene between the two of them, enraged he finished putting on his gear and was the first to line up to throw himself.
"Ready?" Ronda asked.
Zev was about to dive but Ocean and Evander got the upper hand, diving just before him. Evander was attached to Ocean's body, which made Zev curious, there was no need to use his arms, the boy was like a sticker.
"I don't think it's the only thing he can do," Zev thought, frowning.
Luna was screaming, she was the only one of all who expressed her fear of heights, which made Milo nervous and he started screaming too.
Some were already landing, Luna and Milo held hands to fall at the same time and alleviate the fear they felt, Ocean and Ronda arrived quickly but Zev was last. In that he felt a strong weight on him, as if someone was on top of him, he turned and saw Evander attached to his body.
"You're falling behind," the boy told him.
"I don't care, I'm taking it easy- he smiled as the soft breeze caressed his face, "I like to control what I do…"
"This mission is not something you should take lightly," he said, letting his weight fall on him.
Zev got annoyed and tried to turn his body so that Evander fell but it didn't work because he was completely attached to him, he started to move abruptly but he couldn't get him off of him. Being only a few meters from the surface, Evander pushed off and took his place in the formation. After taking off the parachute, they started walking.
"According to the radar we are close," Ronda said.
"Have you never come before?" Luna asked from behind.
"Not really," she looked at the radar.
Everything was quiet but that loneliness put them all on the defensive, they couldn't trust such a passive place, there must be something wrong with it. They continued advancing without stopping, apparently they were a few meters from the warehouse.
"What is that oxygen for?" Milo asked Evander.
"Umm," he took a while to answer, "let's say it's a little different from what you breathe."
"Are you like aliens or something like that?" He laughed to lessen his nerves.
"Yes," he said calmly.
Suddenly Ronda pointed towards what seemed to be the base, there was a huge purple door in the middle of nowhere. They increased their speed to get there as the clouds began to cloud the sky.
They ran until they were as close as possible but suddenly Zev stumbled due to a tremor that was taking place at that moment, soon the others fell one by one.
"What's happening?" Luna was alarmed.
"Don't get separated!" Ronda yelled. "Maybe it's a trap!"
The desert land did not stop shaking suddenly, it was so strong that walls of earth rose in front of them, forming a dark, rocky and dusty labyrinth. They started to cough, they even covered their mouth and nose with their clothes. Immediately the tremor stopped leaving them trapped in that place.
"It can't be," Ronda spoke and then coughed hard.
"Is everyone alright?" asked Ocean, who hadn't said a single word the whole way.
The others agreed. Ronda was confused, she used the radar to try to find a way out of there but it didn't show anything, she took out the radio and communicated with Kylen.
"Kylen, there is a huge maze before the base, do you read me?"
Nothing. No one on the other side, the signal was interrupted.
"Damn it," she groaned.
Ocean suggested going ahead, they couldn't waste time thinking about what happened, they had to act and hurry, it was getting dark. They took out their flashlights and Ocean used his hand to emanate fire. The walls were very high, the boys carried the girls to try to see over but it was impossible, they were still very high.
"We will have to go through all the corridors until we find the exit."
After a few minutes, the earth shook with great force and behind them a huge walker appeared but this one was white, it was much larger than the walls of the labyrinth, it would be someone difficult to deal with.
"Common walkers are blind because they don't have eyes, this one doesn't either," Ronda murmured so as not to call his attention.
"Walk slowly and quietly, as long as he doesn't know we're here there won't be any problems," Evander said in a low voice.
They took small and subtle steps that slowed them down a lot, the night was too dark, Ocean made his flames bigger to illuminate better since the light from the lanterns was not enough.
"Evander," Ocean said in her mind.
"Ocean," he replied.
"This place…"
"I think the same."
Zev could tell that they were both having a telepathic conversation but he couldn't explain how or why he knew it, maybe it was his intuition or the fact of observing them very well, or something else…