'The god of death's punishment?'
It was the first time i had heard the phrase and I grew deeply invested by the moment as to what it was in particular.
According to John's file, they had not been able to fully grasp the ability and so they had to withhold details about it in the meantime. But for the rest of the team that had seen his ability the first time he had used them, it wasn't anything new and it had already even attracted a nickname.
The negrons continued towards John at top speed, almost like he was a greater threat than Rukius or a possibly easier target. I had expected John to cower in fear at the sight of those mindless beasts running towards him, but instead he remained perfectly still and calm, as if he wasn't in any danger at all.
The next thing that happened, played out so fast that it was almost too quick for my eyes to follow; Before the extended claws of the negrons reached him, he moved a step further towards it carefully evading it's grasp, then touched it's chest before speaking so quietly that he almost whispered.
"Die"
In that instant, I felt a great chill wrap around my body as if had stood face to face with death itself. The negron that he touched fell to the ground and shrieked so loudly that it caused the other ones to flee. Slowly, death seeped into it's entire being until it's life force had completely extinguished.
It was a very terrifying but insanely effective ability, and I saw why the government hadn't recorded the ability yet.
So they could keep it confidential and try to monopolize the ability.
'The lesser the number of people that were aware of his ability, the more utile it would be"
Regardless of that fact, it was truly a dreadful ability and I could not fathom the dynamics of the Z fluid.
True details of the rocks where shrouded in so much mysteries, that even seeing the effects of it's properties was like a fling.
Rukius proceeded to pursue the remaining negrons that fled, but I immediately stopped him from doing so. There was no need to draw pointless attention towards ourselves since we hadn't fully confirmed the location of whoever was watching us. I walked towards John and tugged at his brown hair before reassuring him.
"You did great"
The sweat on his face trickled down faster when he lifted his head and smiled, his ectomorphic body shaking like he had a fever.
"You alright?" Ken smirked, tapping his back.
"Yeah... Just need a couple of minutes to get myself back". John replied, almost out of breath as he crouched down for a bit.
"Alright, let's move out"
I peered towards the distant trees trying to pinpoint the location of the spy who had been tagging along with us since we got past the wastelands over five hours ago.
I could definitely feel it's presence, but I couldn't see it at all. It was getting dark and we needed to set camp somewhere before the darkness fully enveloped the light.
We drove a bit further towards the trees in order to escape the rocky terrains we were in, our movements drawing minimal attention.
We had to be very careful with the way we were progressing, any little slip up and we would be put in a very bad situation. When we got deep enough inside the forest, I signaled the rest of the team to halt.
"We'll set up camp here"
I remembered the last time I had said those very words, I was with my former team on the first reconnaissance mission on the planet. I didn't want what happened the last time to reoccur again and I was prepared to put my life on the line this time if it came to it. We had to say together because the more our numbers, the stronger our force.
Joan and Rukius went to get fetch wood for the fire while Rita and Ken pulled up the resources for dinner and also set up our sleeping tents. John sat alone, away from the rest of the team, hardly speaking and hardly assisting with anything. The fight with the negrons must have been weighing heavily on his mind, judging from the fact that he was a pacifist and very religious folk.
In his file, when he was asked during the interview why he wanted to enlist in something that he was against morally, he said;
"In order to curb violence, once must be actively involved in the problem. If I just sat idly, expecting the war to solve itself under the guise of my religious or moral practices, then I am an even bigger hypocrite than the rest of the world."
The first part of his statement was from the quote of a very famous religious leader in the country, and I had heard him speak a few times on TV and in our army base back when I was in service.
His voice quivering everytime he mentioned war or suffering or pain, almost like he felt the same pain that he spoke about. John H mallory was his name, maybe it was the fact that they were both namesakes that he quoted him on an interview.
The sun had completely set and we had already set up camp fully, so we sat together to eat, sharing stories of our lives before the war.
Rita was 24 and a specialist at a very popular hospital in Kenon -one of the major cities in the country- where she worked as a dietitian and consultant.
She served in the military when she was 18 and later joined the armed forces for a few trips before finally starting her part-time course on dietary at 21, after graduation she worked for a year before the tragedy occurred, causing her to move to Orion to fight for what see claimed to be 'a greater cause'.
She smiled when she spoke, her dimples stretching each time, often letting out chuckles too at intervals, in response to the laughing of the other party members. She was by far the most jovial of all of us, and she had her way with jokes.
She was slender girl with straight red hair, fair skin and beautiful brown eyes as damp as chocolate.
There was always this sense of grace that she carried around herself, as if she was different from most people in a special way.
Ken spoke next, his ragged tone and crude remarks consistently filling up his tale. He was the son of a very wealthy business man in Orion, and seeing as he was the only child, he received all his father's wealth upon passing when he was just 19, he then worked effortlessly to further improve the business till it became world class, often offering services to even international countries.
A feat no one would have expected from this lanky brute, and the surprised looks on the faces of his teammates was testament enough. He kept his age a secret, but I had read about it in his file so it was no surprise to me. He also served in the military.
Martha on the other hand, worked in a very popular tech company that developed software for games and mobile phones, as a top software designer there. She was 23 and still lived in her parents home, hence why she joined the program so she could show her parents that she was more than someone to dote on. She also wanted freedom to be able to test her craft without restrictions, and since the task force were short of geniuses like her, she felt it was the place she would be most appreciated in.
Joan was a teacher, very simplistic occupation and personality. She was 23, same as Rukius and Martha but her appearance was that of someone younger and even her shy disposition also added to the reasons why she was generally liked by everyone. Being moved by the sufferings that the war had caused, she decided to enlist in the task force, already possessing prior knowledge about the military, judging by the fact that she had served once before.
Rukius and John decided to remain quiet, both withdrawn from the conversation we were having and although I only told them of my days in the army, I was picky with the amount of information I shared after that. Most of them went to sleep after that, while Rukius and Joan remained on guard duty for a while.
As I laid my head to rest, I began thinking of the possibility of Kate still being alive, I knew it sounded like speculations but there was this surety in my heart that I could not chase away.
'where are you Kate?..... I hope you're safe'.