Chapter 62
Neverending Wars (I)
Layla gasped in awe at the rather marvellous sight in front of her–two helicopters, both seeming massive and beyond deadly, were being filled up by men and women rapidly as she, Ethan, and Ronald stayed to the side with an older-looking man who would occasionally bark an order or two. She'd been roused rather early from a nice dream and dragged out of the room, and though she was a bit peeved, the sight in front of her turned it all around.
"They're pretty cool, huh?" Ethan, noticing the young girl's eyes, picked her up and put her in his arms.
"Yup! They're amazing! What are they?" Layla asked curiously as Ethan awkwardly turned toward Michael. Ethan knew many things–shallowly, but many nonetheless–but military aircraft simply wasn't one of them.
"The bigger one is the CH-47 Chinook," Michael replied. "Or, well, just Chinook, really. The smaller one, that you'll be travelling in, is called Black Hawk."
"Like the bird?"
"Yup, like the bird. Just as mighty and grand." Michael chuckled lightly at the girl's curiosity. "Ever been in one?"
"Nuh-uh, never!" Layla said.
"Are you excited, then?"
"Very! But… will… will it be scary?" she asked cautiously.
"Scary? No. A bit loud, perhaps. But we'll fetch you one of those nice headphones that block it all out so you can just enjoy the pretty sights. How about it?" Michael said.
"Okay! Will we fly high?"
"Oh, very high."
"How high?"
"Miles high!"
"No way!" while the two continued building amicable rapport, Ethan's gaze shifted over to the last few soldiers boarding Chinook. Aside from just the selected soldiers, Michael brought along quite a lot of additional personnel–a few cooks, some auxiliary operatives, logistical support, and so on. Most would be staying outside the Tunnel, though a few would venture in with them.
"We are ready, Sir!" Sarah appeared soon after, informing Michael that everything was set. It was yet to dawn, though some golden hue did manage to spill over. It wouldn't be an hour before the new day would arise.
"Very well. Shall we?"
Ethan, Ronald, and Layla boarded the Black Hawk heli. Due to the aircraft's design, Layla was shuffled over to the front and at the copilot's seat, while the others strapped down with belts and rather uncomfortable chairs. Besides Michael and Sarah, there were a few other semi-senior members accompanying them as well as James, Michael's 'husband'.
It wasn't long before the rotors revved up like monsters and their sound became deafening. Using the headset, Ethan chatted with Layla, ensuring that the girl was fine–and judging by the relentless giggling on the other end and repeated exclamations of awe, he had little to worry about.
It wasn't the smoothest ride–though it could have been much worse. The journey of just over two hundred miles took just shy of an hour and a half, somewhat slower than Ethan had expected.
By the time they arrived, the sun had begun to cast its golden rays upon the world, but it didn't matter. So long as they entered the Tunnel before too many questions were asked, it should all work out in the end.
Deboarding the plane, they were greeted by quite a committee–there were some forty people present at the aerodrome, few of whom looked particularly happy to see them. The cold greetings and shallow-level introductions that Michael engaged in spoke to the fact that he really did step over a lot of toes to get access to this place, and though nobody at this particular base outranked him as their commander was Major General Watkins, a bald, seventy-something man that should have retired before the Gulf War, it didn't truly matter because this was, for all intents and purposes, a massive overreach on Michael's part.
Nonetheless, their silent protests aside, they still held up the pretence of agreement. They escorted them to their temporary lodgings and informed them that the breakfast would be ready in about thirty minutes which would be when they'd work out the details.
"No," though Ethan wanted to say that very thing as well, he was interrupted by Michael who stealthily glanced at him. Am I getting predictable? Ethan sneered mildly at the General's behaviour. "We'll depart for the portal immediately. In my absence, Captain Trevor here will be debriefing you and meeting with you. If you have any questions, direct them to him."
"... this is rather inappropriate, General," Major General Watkins commented. "Unprecedented, even."
"We live in unprecedented times, Major General Watkins," it must be rather difficult, Ethan mused, to be subservient to a man three decades younger than you yet one that also far outranks you. "As we have discussed and agreed, you have two allotted slots to send in whoever you want–a soldier or a spy, I can't care either way. Once we have finished, they can inform you of why we were in a hurry."
The atmosphere remained heavy as everyone dispersed. While Michael, James, and Sarah went ahead to arrange the mode of transportation–as the Tunnel was some ten miles from the city–Ethan rejoined Ronald and Layla who were stationed in one of the barracks. The girl conked out as soon as she felt the mattress, catching up on the missed sleep, while Ronald sat on a chair beside her, flipping through his phone.
"How'd it go?" he asked, putting the phone in his pocket.
"Colder than the Arctic," Ethan replied.
"Damn."
"Yeah." Ethan crouched next to Layla and gently removed a few strands of hair from her face. "You can't stay here."
"I figured," Ronald nodded. "I'll take her to the city."
"Hm," Ethan nodded as well. "Ronald–"
"I know," the boy said firmly. "I won't let anything happen to her. I promise."
"... there are a few names that I want you to look up in the meantime," Ethan said. "Jackal Strauss, Marina Reed, Hammock Wolf, Quintin Kaaz, Haruki Sato, Erdene Jargal, and Mingzhu Wu. They should start making headlines soon."
"Who are they?" Ronald asked tentatively.
"A few possible recruits," Ethan replied. "And a few future corpses. Let's make it your test. By the time I come back, divine which is which."
"... all women are for recruitment?" Ronald cracked a joke as Ethan sighed.
"If you want your lil' pecker chopped and boiled, sure," he grinned as the boy swiftly crossed his legs. "There are security cameras everywhere outside, it will be impossible to sneak out. I'll dig a tunnel for you two that reaches a block or so away from the base where you'll have some level of protection. You have enough supplies in your inventory to last you a while; find someplace abandoned and dig yourself in there. She'll listen to you."
"... I know," Ronald nodded. "Good luck, Ethan. I hope… it will be easier than the last time."
"It won't," Ethan replied confidently as he summoned a crimson blade and started digging directly. He didn't have much time–less than fifteen minutes–so he had to hurry.
Everything was ready.
There were some ten humvees prepared for them, already boarded by all the young soldiers. Though Ethan was rather sweaty and dusty by the time he appeared, Michael didn't ask any questions, simply leading him to their humvee.
Less than twenty minutes later, despite the somewhat awkward terrain, they were upon a hill overlooking a deep plain that used to be decorated with wildflowers and waist-high grass. Now, however, it was all gone, replaced by a deadly mist seemingly hellbent on devouring the world. It rolled and unfolded, framing a pillar of light that was the portal.
Ethan had already suspected it based on the Mana signature, and seeing it only confirmed it–it was another anomaly. A massive one, as well.
They were right to hurry as there were only six days left on the Tunnel before it would have exploded. Furthermore, though the maximum Level was exactly the same as the Savanna, the faint differences in Mana suggested a much more top-end distribution.
"What now?" Michael asked. Though Ethan had urged the man to reconsider going in, the General refused. Even if he knew that leaving his post for any prolonged period of time–even if it was just a few days–was somewhat moronic, he had to do it, just to witness first-hand what humanity was dealing with. He left a few trustworthy people to run the city in his stead and hoped that his journey here would be successful enough to dissuade any long-lasting punishment.
"Now?" Ethan mumbled. "Now we go in."
Ethan didn't know what to expect inside–both in terms of what kind of a Tunnel they'd encounter as well as how the large raid would work together. He had no experience leading as many people–anything past 4-5 people always felt too volatile for him, too unpredictable to even try.
That sentiment didn't disappear, but it was somewhat alleviated by the nature of who he was with–the soldiers. It wasn't as though they were simply faceless brutes who'd obey commands silently, but there was a level of uniformity there that few, if any, groups of Awakened ever achieved in the future.
In so much, at least, that they wouldn't immediately dive for the personal benefits. There were still, undoubtedly, quite a few present whose motives probably ranged from killing him, coming back alive and reporting him to their superiors, killing Michael, and likely a slew of other things–but it was irrelevant. Soon, they'd all be tied to his hip like dependent children who never learned to live. And there they would rot, their dreams buried in the wretched, eternal tomb that was a Tunnel. There where the incalculable millions perished, buried in the sands of time forgotten, all their footsteps erased… as though they were never there.