Mere Immortal

Chapter Twenty-One

Chapter Twenty-One

Zella Mills - Costaluna, Naguela

The four of them stood, watching through the Errant's open loading bay. The Errant had landed on the outskirts of the beach. In the distance, they saw carnage sweeping across Costaluna, where drones four times the size of the Grid Warden hovered around buildings. These drones had bombed buildings, torched them, smoked them out, and shot through windows. The air was calm on the beach and along the pier, but the city was in pandemonium. From where they stood, they could feel the devastation that had struck the city. The screams had long since gone. They heard burning flames among the mechanical shifting of the callous drones. Many people had already lost their lives. The circling drones had struck citizens attempting to flee. The casualties were said to be in the deep hundreds, but Zella suspected it was in the thousands already. All of this because Finnigan Watts' secret murder of Naguela's president gave Estrea a weakness to exploit.

"This is evil," Khloe said, her face distraught. They caught sight of a drone hovering near the outskirts. Its spotlights were aimed down at the streets, looking for targets. These drones were bulky. They packed enough armor to make them difficult to shoot down with pistols. Luckily, Tay had more firepower to offer in the Errant's armory.

Tay was on the brink of tears but composed himself enough to focus on his goal. The thing he had shown up for. "Look, I'm heading for the orphanage. Word came through the radio that troops were on the way. My guys are also en route. For now, we need to assist as many innocent people as we can, alright? I'll head for the orphanage in that direction," he said, pointing to the left part of the city.

"I'll head that way with you," Chi said. "Those are G21 drones, meaning that they're operating in some kind of local network. There will be some kind of hub nearby that connects them all. The hub could be anything, some kind of moving vehicle, a ship, or even another drone. Whatever it is, I'm going to find it and shut it down."

"I'll cover you until we reach the orphanage then," Tay added. He turned his attention to Zella and Khloe. "Please, I need you two to head to the care home on the right side. It's next to a pharmacy with a giant neon-red cross on the front. You can't miss it. Help anyone that you can there. There are a lot of helpless people stuck in buildings, hiding."

"Got it," Zella said. "I'll need a little more firepower than these pistols, though."

Tay pulled a keycard from his pocket and tossed it toward Zella. She caught it with minimal effort. "Grab anything you need from the armory. We've got nades, launchers, SMGs, shotties, and rifles. But try not to overload and slow yourselves down, yeah?"

Zella nodded.

Chi looked up at Zella. "The G21s can take a beating, but they have two major weak points at the top and bottom. There are two amber circles, one on their top and one directly under it at the drone's base. They're hard to hit while the drone is facing you, but if you can get over or under one of them, aim for that circle to bring it down fast."

"Good to know," Khloe said.

"With any hope, troops will swarm in and provide support within minutes," Tay said. "Until then, stay alert."

Chi tapped her ear. "Don't forget the earpieces I gave you. Keep in touch."

"Got it," Zella said.

Tay pivoted towards Zella, his gaze locking intensely onto hers. Shadows of unease flickered across his visage, a poignant prelude to an impending ordeal. "Aye, immortal slayer, I know you don't need it, but good luck out there."

Zella offered a solemn nod, her gaze tracking Tay and Chi as they trudged down the metallic loading ramp, their figures steadily melding with the city under fire.