Tosin tapped his card on the reader.
The door clicked.
He threw the door open, but not forcefully. Moved with long strides between desks. There were about half a dozen of them; a computer stood on each one, shining white-blue light onto the agents tapping away at them. "Good evening, Oladeji sir," they greeted as he passed. Tosin met them with a nod, not stopping to properly greet them. He had other matters to attend to. The far side of the room, where Makoto and Josep sat.
A long desk that stretched from one end to another is where they sat. Against the wall above it were multiple screens, each with different satellite images of the void. The screen in the centre was the largest: a satellite image of the void in its entirety, with four red dots that beeped and a large blue dot in the centre that had the word Heart on it. Each of the red dots is related to a corresponding squad—the leaders: There was Julia Mason in the west, Rorigo Jiminez in the North, and Himiko Suzuki in the south. Interestingly, there was another dot next to Himiko, Devon Harden. They were all on the outskirts of the heart, with Himiko, along with Harden, being the closest.
"Why are there two dots in the south?" Tosin wondered as he pointed.
Makoto didn't look up. "The eastern expedition squad was wiped out. Somehow, he managed to stumble into Himiko's squad from the looks of it."
"Have you heard any news from them?"
"South? No, they've been silent for a while, but their beacon has been moving."
"Mrs Isamu," a voice crackled through Makoto's radio, "news from the western expedition squad."
"Speak, Harlow,"—Jason Harlow, the western expedition commanding officer.
Harlow continued, "Due to heavy injury over the course of the expedition, Captain Mason has decided to call off her expedition and return to base."
"Dammit..." Makoto mumbled under her breath through gritted teeth, "Thank you, Harlow. Let me know when they return, and send the report once they're back." She placed the radio down, resting her head on her hands for a moment in silence before continuing the tapping of her keyboard.
"I suppose that leaves us down to two then." The director lamented. Makoto didn't say anything; her eyes didn't even leave the screen. Tosin looked up at the central monitor, focusing on one marker in particular, the southern one.
"I wonder how your prodigy is doing, eh, Makoto."
"How are you holding up, Miss Himiko?" The voice was gentle, the words carefully plucked—the farmer.
Lefèvre was covered in blood from when he was sent flying by the Sylvacapra's kick.
"Are you sure you don't need any treatment?" I asked.
"No, I'm fine," the corners of his lips curled into a gentle smile, "I may look like shit, but because of the abilities I've gained, my wounds heal way quicker."
"Really? And you don't feel any side effects?" I wondered, looking him up and down.
He shrugged.
"Interesting..." I thought.
But we didn't have time to think about that anymore, the sun was setting, and it's not safe to camp out here. Kaoru was back on his feet thanks to Nozomi's help.
"We need to get moving," I announced.
"What?" Miko replied, sitting beside Connie, now covered by a blanket, his cold hand wrapped in hers. "We should go back to base, it's over."
The scene was a bloodbath. The dripping. It felt as though they were banging on my skull. As hard as I tried, my mind couldn't cut out the sound of dripping blood. The bodies were scattered across the clearing, painting the soil around them in crimson.
"You want to go back now?" I mumbled, through gritted teeth.
"We've lost half our squad... Connie..." She paused, "We have to go back... Or we'll lose more."
Kaoru, Nozomi, Aiko, and even Miko herself, I didn't want to lose them. I see those cold, lifeless eyes staring at me from the corner of my own. I thought to myself, what would they think... If we turned back now...
"If we go back now..." I grunted, "Then what was the point in coming at all?"
She bit her lip, failing to form a response.
I pointed to the bodies, "they've lost everything," sniffle, "we can't let that be for..." My tongue was caught in my throat; it was a struggle to say the final word without my voice cracking.
"Nothing."
There was silence in the air. Everyone, somewhere deep down, was thinking the same.
Nozomi placed a hand on my shoulder, "You don't have to blame yourself," he whispered.
"But they were killed under my watch." My voice was wobbly. The last word hung in the air.
Nozomi's hand stayed on my shoulder, firm but not squeezing. He didn't answer instantly, just let the words sit in the air for a moment.
"Himiko," he broke the silence in a voice so low that it broke through the dripping blood despite being so quiet.
"Look at me."
Slowly and reluctantly, I opened my eyes. His face was calm, but his eyes were wrinkled, even in his youth. He was frowning, but he didn't look angry; they just stayed that way.
"They didn't die because you failed them. They died because this place destroys everything in its path, and yet, even in the face of all danger, you've brought us this far."
A thumb brushed on my shoulder once—barely a movement at all.
"You kept going; kept moving forward. Stood your ground in the face of absolute terror. That's why they followed you.
His grip tightened—only slightly.
"And that's why we will always follow you."
My throat tightened. The tears I'd been holding back for so long finally fell. Burning my cheeks. My head was pulled into his chest. The fabric of the shirt covering his chest started getting wetter and wetter as they soaked my tears.
He didn't say a word, just let me release it all.
Kaoru was watching from a distance in sorrowful silence.
I pulled my head up, eyes red and puffy.
"Nozomi, where's your hazmat suit?"
He was wearing a regular white shirt—sleeves rolled up—tucked into black trousers.
He rubbed the back of his neck, "Well... Aiko kind of rushed me out, you see."
We laughed—quietly. They eventually faded, but his smile didn't.
"What's our next move, Captain?"
I rubbed my eyes before marching towards the rest of what's left of my team.
"Everyone!" I yelled, "Scour the bodies and take any form of identification—anything that proves they were here today."
No one made anyform of affirmation, but they moved, digging through the pockets and bags of their cold comrades.
"Connie..." Miko's head dropped one last time into her old friend's chest.
She untied a red bandana that had been wrapped around his neck; it was hard to see under the hazmat suit. Rising slowly, she held the bandana tightly in her fist, locking her eyes on the paisley pattern. She tied it around her neck. Looking forward, she bore a new face of determination.
We moved. Leaving the bodies behind, their memories were being carried with us.
The walk ahead was melancholic. The silence walked alongside us. Blood-drops still taunted me with everystep I took—a constant reminder of the losses we suffered.
But whilst the overall group had shrunk, we had gained a few new members: The farmer, Gabriel Lefèvre, and the Sylvacapra's last victim, who, it turns out, is Captain Devon Harden from the eastern expedition squad—the one that had been wiped out by the great tree. Harden was still broken, but his mental state was stabilising; we could now converse with him—that's how we ended up learning who he was.
We gave up on the formation, instead choosing to ride the Gurkha in one final push to the heart. Captain Harden was inside, along with Kaoru—still healing—and a few other agents. Aiko was manning the turret, Nozomi was driving, and Lefèvre and I were holding tightly on the railing on either side of the fan—wind stroking my face. A great bot—BB—glided alongside us.
From far behind us, among the cityscape of trunks and branches, there was a buzzing sound. I looked back. There was something in the distance; I squinted. Spots of light—a dozen of them. The buzzing sound became louder, and so too did the size of the lights.
Zoom.
They darted overhead, a swarm of drones, the same as the ones from before. Glowing shards floated beside them—four of them. Not giving us any attention, they kept going and going, in the same direction as us. They're going to the heart.
"Nozomi!" I shouted, "Speed up, we need to follow those drones."
The engine roared; the change in windspeed almost knocked me off. The wheel spun rapidly, and the bumps became more aggressive.
"Up ahead!" Aiko shouted, pointing to three creatures in front of us, "Boars!"
Dammit, why now? We're going to lose the drones. However, just as I thought we were about stop and fight, turn and dodge or stop and retreat, the farmer made the first move.
One arm tight on the handrail, the other waving palm out in front of him, his eyes glowed even brighter than before.
"Hold on tight," he said, glowing eyes meeting mine.
I gulped, following his orders. Hugging tightly against the body of the van, my fingers clamped around the metal pole. My palms burned.
Suddenly, a ramp, made of pure energy—bright blue fire—appeared, manifesting itself right in front of the boars. I don't know what was going through Nozomi's head, but he must've floored it.
"Wait..." I yelped.
He didn't wait; the ramp pulled closer.
"Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait—"
The body of the van buckled as it switched surfaces, driving diagonally upwards. We left the ramp... Time slowed... Wheels floated in the air—still spinning... My mouth was agape, my eyes were almost as wide... The boars' heads tracked the van, gliding through the space in the air between the trees, unable to conceptualise a reaction to events it could never conceive... The body of the van rotated in the air, we were now diagonal, downwards this time... We were going down.
Another ramp spawned below us, arced. We hit the surface of the ramp, following the arc, maintaining momentum as we switched from energy to soil. Not slowing down, even a little bit.
I released all the gas in my lungs—I'd been holding onto it for a while—I almost released the contents of my stomach while I was at it, but I resisted.
"Where did you learn to do that?" I asked the farmer.
He laughed—that was the first time he tried that, wasn't it (?)
We could still see the drones in front of us—good—but there was something else there as well, something bad. In the distance, beyond row after row of trees, there was nothing. The ground seemed to stop as well. At the end, there was nothing. The drones continued on, but as it reached the end of the word, it went down. It was like staring down a river, barrelling towards the inevitable waterfall at the end.
I gasped.
"NOZOMI!" I cried, "STOOOOP!"
The tyres screeched. Left and right, the body spun, eventually giving in to one direction, rotating in full circles. The edge came closer and closer. The ground fought against us, causing us to bump and bounce against the soil and gravel. The edge got closer. We were slowing, but was it enough? The wheels were screaming as though their flesh was boiling, tyres were carving streaks in the soil as we slowed and slowed. The edge was in front of us.
We finally stopped.
Our panting was united in its relief. A unanimous symphony of. Boots pounded against the earth as I jumped off the van, back hunched over, hands on my knees. Within the Gurkha's interior, I heard the scrambling of bodies. The doors opened. I looked, trying to hold in my laughter as I saw dazed bodies clamber over each other.
Nozomi hopped out of the driver's seat, fell to his knees, and spewed his guts out on the ground. That's my medic. Others did the same.
BB began beeping frantically. He was looking out to the edge. I trodded along the ground, my steel-toe cap boots pounding against the floor. Toes right on the very edge of the world, I looked in awe, shock, confusion and horror, all wrapped in one big bubble.
A crater. A wide open space of dead, grey earth, wrapped up in a cracked, chaotic wall. In the centre was a behemoth of a tree, a single trunk twisting up into the heavens, exploding out in branches at the peak, covering the whole crater in a white canopy. Whatever caused this hell was in the core of that tree.
Drones patrolled the space in swarms. Even more fed in from the treeline, coming from every direction, all converging on one point. A giant metallic structure. It wasn't built into the ground; it was a mobile structure—large. Black, with bright orange lights all over its hull. It had a pair of wings that stretched out far, releasing more and more swarms of drones, collecting the ones who flew in from the treeline, collecting the resources, samples and whatever else they collected, chewing it, recycling it, and spitting it back out again; releasing another swarm to collect samples.
We thought they had given up on Earth.
Ever since the attack on Grossaint a couple of months ago, they stopped coming.
But they never fully left. They're planning, learning whatever they can about Aethesium so they can take down the entity that seems to foil their plans at every turn.
The aliens weren't gone.
Just preparing.