"Nina! Get the door open! NOW!" Nina stood there, paralyzed by fear. Her eyes widened as she stared at the arm on the ground. "I can't hold them off much longer."
The three of them had been fighting off four creatures for the past hour. Their stamina had depleted to the point where they could barely breathe properly. Judith felt light-headed. One wrong step, and it cost him his left arm.
"Judith...! Your arm—! Your arm is...OH MY GOD, WE'RE GOING TO DIE!" Nina felt, for the first time, the reality of war. Her legs crumbled, causing her to fall to the ground. Her hysteria was getting on the nerves of Participant Number 4.
"SHUT THAT BITCH UP OR I WILL DO IT!" She gritted her teeth and knocked away one of the pursuers.
"Kierra! We should all be helping each other, not fighting!" Judith shouted back and gave Kierra, Participant Number 4, a glare.
"HER STUPID WAILING AND WHINING IS WHAT LED US TO THIS SITUATION! I WOULD HAVE ALREADY FINISHED TWO OF THEM OFF IF IT WEREN'T FOR THIS DUMB BITCH FALLING AND TUMBLING EVERYWHERE!" She pointed the gun at Nina, nearly firing when something shot past her. The door behind Nina blasted open, particles flying everywhere from the blast.
"Shut your mouths or end up like that door. I'm disappointed." Tora shot at the creatures with great conciseness. "Make sure you decapitate them, 43. Neck completely severed from the shoulder, got it?"
43 flinched and nodded, using his strength to slice the necks off. His eyes tried not to look at the large, disgusting holes in their heads. He nearly curled in horror when one had a few human-like features. The human skin decorated with disgusting tentacles made him feel sick. The large teeth and mouth had failed to imitate that of humans. This made it horrifying to look at.
Tora grabbed hold of that body and began dragging it with her. "We're heading back to the weaponry. Grab one of the creatures each and bring It along."
Judith stared incredulously at the famed Omega. They had been struggling with the creatures for hours, but in less than a minute, Hallie Moore had managed to kill all four. He felt his pride as an Alpha dwindle. He pulled Nina up and dragged her with him.
"I'll take Nina, so can someone take the corpse?"
"I said, grab one creature each. If she can't carry her weight, she's not qualified to survive." Tora kicked Nina out of his grip. The kick sent her falling over and groaning in pain. "What's your Number?"
"The name's Nina. You didn't have to kick her like that!"
"State your Numbers. Her screaming probably already attracted a few others. If you want to waste time and die here, then be my guest."
"Kierra Williams, Participant Number 4, from Fire Wing City. I wouldn't mind leaving these idiots behind. These love birds are a waste of time." Kierra walked up and saluted Tora. Her snarky words infuriated Judith.
"How could you be so heartless—!" He bit his pale lips. The adrenaline had long worn off, causing immense pain to spread through his body. "Judith Kent, Participant Number 59, From Moon Wing City. This is Nina Grant, Participant Number 13, from Moon Wing City."
"Grab a corpse and start walking." Tora nodded and kicked one of the corpses towards Number 13. Nina cautiously picked it up. Her body shook under Tora's gaze. She feared another kick would come if she didn't start following after everyone.
Tora walked behind everyone until they finally reached the weaponry. After making sure the door was locked, she grabbed the first aid kit and threw it at Number 59. "You help him, 43. Make sure he stops bleeding. And if he doesn't, go outside, grab a bunch of dirt, and shove it on the wound."
"Why dirt? Wouldn't my wound get infected?" Judith retorted immediately.
"Why? Do you prefer burning it instead? I'm fine with that, too." Judith nearly choked from anger. Amazingly, he wasn't bleeding out as fast as he thought. The suit had tightened a few inches above his stump, reducing the amount of blood that would flow there.
"I'm Ryan Carson, Participant number 43, from Sun Wing City." Everyone gasped when they heard the Sun Wing City.
"Sun Wing? Your father is the famed Duke Carson or something?" Kierra chuckled at the oddly similar surname.
"Is Father that famous?" Ryan looked confused as he tried to figure out how to bandage the wound.
"Crazy..." Kierra shook her head in disbelief. She felt like she had just witnessed a living legend of some sort. "That control frea— Duke allowed you to join? Give me that!" She snatched everything away from him and tended to the wound instead.
"Father doesn't know."
That dumbass is royalty? Give me a break. Tora felt the palm of her hand's itch. She felt like her nerves were about to flex and punch someone in the face.
The three newcomers were cautious after learning the identity of the other person. Tora, however, gave in to her inner demons and smacked the back of his head. She didn't have to feel scared of repercussions from the nobles because of the message she received earlier.
[General Moore left a message saying that he would cook a full-course meal for you while he awaits your return. I also sent everything you asked along with the updated map.]
"Grandpa will block out all the eyes watching, so investigate as much as you can," is what that message meant.
"43, we're leaving for the lake since you aren't any help with the first aid." His silly smile while he rubbed his head greatly annoyed Tora.
"Yes, Boss!" Everyone looked on with a bewildered expression. They all had a hard time comprehending the social levels of these two people.
"Do you need me to come with you?" Kierra quickly stood up when she noticed Tora by the door.
"You stay here. Check your map often and rescue other participants if possible. If you hear a knock on the door, but the radar doesn't show a green dot, don't open it. Make sure you stay armed at all times."
"Got it."
The two of them left the basement. The lake was near Entrance 23. It would take them 8 miles and under an hour to get there. Tora made sure to reload and stock up on ammunition. She had the sniper flung over her body and a bow and arrows.
Ryan had two batons on him, a long sword, and a cutlass sabre. Tora had given him these weapons when he mentioned the batons. She had deduced that Ryan was the brute force type. This made their pairing a lot better than expected. Tora would either knock the enemies down or kill them, while Ryan was tasked with either delivering the finishing blow or decapitating them as a precaution.
Tora decided to rest atop the cliff that Ryan mentioned. She scoped out the area and tried to come up with a plan.
"Go punch a tree down and drag it here."
"Punch a what?"
"Do I have to repeat myself?"
"N—no. I'll bring one right now!" He dashed off and came back with a large tree.
"Throw it with all your strength into the lake. Get ready to chop the head off. I need you to be quick since there are other ones nearby."
"O—ok." He chucked the tree and pulled the long sword out.
SPLASH!
Before the tree touched the water, something came bursting out and tackling it. Tora fired multiple shots and jumped down to the shore. She used her body to lure out the ginormous creature. It was fast and nearly caught up to her in an instant.
Her foot shot forward. She ran as quickly as she could towards the cliff. Her hands waved to Ryan, signaling for him to do his part. He leaped off the ledge, borrowing the force of gravity as he sliced down as hard as possible.
The sword struck something hard, causing his hands to slip and him to fall off, twisting his ankle as he landed. The long sword was stuck in the nape of the beast. Its tentacles reached towards Ryan with great speed, grabbing hold of him and flinging him into the water.
Tora shot at its face, blowing away portions of its skin to reveal robotic mechanisms. Her body was smacked by its large claws that scratched past the suit and deep into her sides.
"Ughh fuck..." Tora groaned in pain, struggling to stand back up. She felt like a few ribs had broken from that blow alone.
This one is man-made. How do you kill a fucking robot?
"Damn it!" Her hands reached for the machete, shoving it straight into its mouth that attempted to bite her. The machete was also caught on the metal parts. Tora reached for a large stone near her.
She smacked the stone against the hilt with all her strength, launching the machete through its throat. Her repeated actions nearly decapitated it. The creature stomped down, missing Tora by a hair. Her quick action of rolling to the side saved her from being crushed.
Its tentacles wrapped tightly around her. She heard the sound of the bow snapping in half the tighter it squeezed. Her wounded side was in agony, but she couldn't scream. She felt out of breath, and then she fell to the ground. The slimy tentacles spasm and writhe around.
"Boss!" Ryan had swum to the cliff, climbing up again and jumping down with the cutlass sabre. This time, he stabbed the beast instead of slicing it. He plunged the knife deep into its neck, hearing the sounds of metal and wires snapping as he did so. With all his strength, he flexed his muscles and punched the half-decapitated head, sending it flying off to the side.
The body continued to twitch and spasm as he stumbled his way over to Tora. He pulled the tentacles off her, feeling relieved when she gasped for air. Tora groaned and reached for her side, gently assessing the open wound she had.
"43."
"Yes, Boss?"
"Tear it open and find the thing keeping it running. We need to hurry."
Ryan nodded and proceeded with the command. Tora threw the bow away and struggled her way over to the gun.
With how much noise we made, the real creatures would certainly come.
Tora hated being right. It didn't even take a minute after picking up the rifle that one came running in. The 50-caliber bullets blasted open its head. She fired multiple shots, obliterating the head. The recoil of the rifle was affecting her more than it did because of the wound.
"Hey!" Someone came running towards them. "I heard the commotion. What is that?" It was the Participant who spoke up in the aircraft. Her eyes widened as she stared at the large man-made creature.
"Here. You know how to shoot a rifle, right?" Tora handed her the sniper and pulled out her supplies of ammunition. "Participant Number 38."
"Yes, I can shoot." She waved her semi-automatic around and happily accepted the sniper. "You're in a pretty bad shape. Are you headed to the facility as well?"
Tora nodded.
"I found it! We can head back now, Boss!" Ryan grinned as he handed the small microchip to Tora. His little limp was interesting to look at.
I guess he hurt his ankle.
"This dud!? When did you become his boss?" Number 38 was even more confused now. She looked back and forth between the two with curiosity in her gaze. "OOH! You showed him who the real Alpha is huh!"
"Alright, time to head back. Are you able to sprint at all, 43?"
"Even if I can't, I will."
"Good. Let's head out."
They both gritted their teeth and fought through the pain. It took them a lot longer to return to the weaponry room. The trap they set up at entrance 13 had managed to catch a creature. It flailed and tried knawing at its limbs stuck on the stakes. Tora signaled for Ryan to quickly chop the head off while it was occupied.
Once inside the weaponry room, Tora nearly collapsed. It was the first time in her life that she experienced this much pain. Kierra handed her some painkillers and tried her best to bandage the wound.
"I learned some medical skills. I can do it for you." Number 38 offered to clean the wound up. She skillfully wrapped it and went to have a look at Ryan's ankle as well. "Let me look at yours, too."
Tora ignored the weird gaze that Nina and Judith gave her. She silently watched as 38 checked and cleaned Judith's amputated arm.
"Number 4, I need a report on what happened here while we were gone." She whispered to Kierra, who was sitting next to her.
"You know how wimpy and whiny Number 13 is, right? Well, she did a complete 180 once you left. Her eyes went dark, and she started whispering some weird shit with 59. I acted like I was focused on eating but was actually listening in."
Kierra leaned in to whisper something that nearly made Tora burst out in laughter.
"They'd probably die from experiment coded 15. Do we have to report this to the higher-ups? Is what I managed to pick up," Kierra gestured towards the wound on her side. "What kind of thing did that?"
"A 15-foot man-made creature, probably the one they call experiment coded 15 that you heard." Her lips curled as she twirled around the water in the bottle. "I found it weird that you three didn't manage to take down even a single creature. Now it makes sense."
"Every time I nearly killed one, that bitch would always scream and find ways to be attacked by it. I would always end up losing focus and trying to protect her dumbass that we ended up surrounded by four of them. I failed to see through that act, it was a mistake on my part. Thank you for saving me."
"Come with me to check on the corpses." Tora gestured for Kierra and Ryan to follow after her. They did simple inspections on the other three. "They already figured out a way to counter the bullets from your handgun. I guess they really are fast learners."
"So that's why the bullets merely knocked them back,"
"This one is a bit different." Tora tapped on the one that mutated and had human skin.
"That one started changing after chopping off his arm."
"I see, so they're only able to shapeshift after coming into contact with the subjects." Tora found it weird that only the first generations of the creatures were around. "It had been over a century since the first attack. Newer generations would have already been born with the newest evolution. Everything about this is sketchy."
She glanced back at the two sitting there. The creatures are definitely related to experiment coded 15. Her hands twirled the microchip around with a sinister look.
"The rescue team will arrive in an hour. Keep an eye on those two." Tora said so and got up. The painkillers were working miracles, so much so she no longer felt pain from her wounds. "I have somewhere I need to be."
'You can just wait until the rescue team gets here.'
For a time, I forgot that you existed.
'That hurts my feelings. So I'm the only one thinking of you.'