Zephyr: The Elemental Clans

176 - A Glimpse Of Armageddon

Dagan Zephyr - POV;

"What's happened here?! This is terrible!" Alva exclaimed loudly.

"Maybe Xyder?! You think he's still here?!" Fira spoke up.

"He wouldn't do something like this!" Satella snapped somewhat uncharacteristically.

"I wouldn't want to believe it either, but he did murder the Team from Fenix. We have to look at the truth," Naomi stated.

"We can speculate who did this later. What's most important right now is we search for survivors and clues," I intervened before it escalated.

"We stick out far too much like this. We'll be an easy target," Rydia pointed out.

"You're right, I was thinking the same. We'll split here. Cover more ground. Our groups should be such that the Ailani sisters have adequate protection at all times. At no point should any of them be alone. We don't know what we're going up against, so we have to be mindful and protect them with our all," I explained.

"So we're splitting the three sisters between us to keep them safe?" Fira raised an eyebrow.

"Precisely," I confirmed.

"Oooooh! Ooooooh! In that case I'll take Ciara with me! We have so much more to talk about!" Alva announced excitedly hugging onto the young blonde.

"Um... you guys are sticking together right... Storm, Satella? Can I come with? I wanted to talk about Evelynn... if you don't mind of course! I don't mean to be rude!" Jaya spoke up.

"Uh... yeah, sure. I don't mind," Storm replied.

"I'm not sure we can tell you what you want to know but it's fine," Satella smiled.

"Then in that case, Naomi's with me," I concluded.

"I knew this wasn't just about protecting them," Fira snickered.

"What do you mean?" I shot her a questioning look.

"If it's just about keeping them safe, you wouldn't mind if she came with me instead right?" Fira grinned.

"Alright, then take her with you. I don't have a problem," I responded firmly.

"I don't really mind who I'm with as long as I'm not a bother," Naomi laughed awkwardly and uncomfortably.

"Nah, you stay with her. Rydia and I will stick together," Fira cackled.

"Alright, enough kidding around. Be on guard," I warned them as I led the way towards the hellish scene.

Slowly, I began to notice the signs... The putrid odour of decomposing flesh bled through the air tearing into our nostrils as it permeated the thick air. A heavy, stifling aura only added to this, increasing our burden ten fold. Not a single human could be seen as far as my vision could stretch, but the number of corpses of deceased animals and critters only piled up exponentially with each step we took towards the village. Even the flora shared the fate of these creatures in their dead and dying states.

Flies and vultures swarmed the area, with the former buzzing by us angrily while the latter eyed us suspiciously, maintaining their distance. I glanced towards the scavengers and their victims, taking note of the details before turning to my friends.