- 4 Days Later -
The newer buildings soon gave away to old, deserted ruins as we continued on the Main Pathway, and my drone warned me that we were moving away from familiar territory, just like the others' in the squad for the mission.
Speaking of which, they insisted that I went on this mission because they thought that I was more familiar with the Neutral Territories. They were simply treating me as one of them, and one who knows a lot about drone technology and a very intelligent person. I could not let myself accept the fact that I was the one being complimented; I was a nobody and it would be irrational for somebody to think otherwise. After all, I did nothing for them, and whoever —
"Potential danger detected. Main Pathway, about a mile away." My drone suddenly called, cutting through my thoughts like a knife.
"What's wrong?" Someone asked worriedly.
Suddenly I forgot about all the nonsense of questioning myself and spoke up. "Did somebody else's drone detect this danger?"
"No, mine said nothing." Answered the person at my right, who earlier identified himself as #77757, and the temporary leader of the group. The others nodded in agreement and re-activated their drones into stealth mode. "But remain cautious, as we're nearing Red Nexus territory after all. Be careful, everyone."
No one questioned anything more on our way towards the destination of the viewpoint. Our goal was to let our drones scan the area more closely to detect signs of Red Nexus turning hostile. To show that this wasn't a small-scale invasion on the Walkers' side, none of us was armed, and all of our drones were just personal drones with the advanced scanning module, with no firepower at all. However, a small question still arose deep in my mind. Why, of all the drones, did my drone gave that warning? Of all the drones in this team, mine was the least modified -- it was only given a basic scanning module, nothing else. Maybe some of its software was malfunctioning, and it was giving wrong alerts? I shook my head free of worries. There was too many questions surrounding just this week. There were more important things to worry. Like our mission. You need to concentrate on your new job, okay? Don't let your mind sway off wondering again. Wondering about unimportant things is useless! It's worthless, and it's not getting you anywhere! My rationality screamed loudly inside my mind, and I listened to it obediently.
We walked on until we reached a certain point, where a half-fallen stone statue rose from the side of the road. Overgrown grass surrounded it, and a small blue trangle lay in the grass, reflecting the sunlight and giving off a little light. We stopped there for a little rest. #77757 reported back to the Team with his drone. "Reporting to Team. Halfpoint reached. All clear of dangers. Over."
Just when he was signaling his drone to go back into the air, we heard a suspicious sound. An attacker drone shooting laser beams. It was unmistakable. Traumatic memories flooded back in, but I pushed them out decisively. This wasn't time for terrifying dreams and visions. This was a time to stay alert and act quickly.
#77757 signaled for some of us to hide behind the gap between the statue and the ruins of a fallen building, and the others to run for a more stable building a little distance from the statue. I picked my speed up to run. If I was not nearly as knowledgeable as my teammates, at least I was capable of moving quickly. I kicked the ground fiercely, running with all my power, as I tried to reach the other side of the deserted road. My drone first decided to follow suit, but as I neared the building, it signaled me to turn around and enter a dark alleyway between two buildings. At times when your survivability was put to risk, your brain would automatically follow anything guiding you, thinking by default that it was correct, with a questionable function or not. All it knew was to run, to hide faster from the trouble. I followed the drone quietly, taking turns at many small, crooked alleyways. For a split second I turned around to see whether any of others' drones guided their owners to the same place as well, but all I saw was a silent alleyway, with the subsequent echoing of firing lasers. I wondered if my companions were okay, praying that none of them was hurt, and they returned to the base safely.
The drone didn't show anything like that. It just kept floating in the air, flying forward, and forward, turning on its blue light in the front as the surroundings got darker. Soon the ruins of the town turned into a dense forest.
Where in the world was it leading me towards?
My rationality told me to investigate my surroundings and find a way back to the base, but my instincts told me to follow the drone and see where it wanted me to go. Maybe it was showing me to another smaller-scale Walkers' base -- it wasn't impossible, but also not too plausible: if there was really a base this far out, why send a team from the main base to scan the threats? It didn't make sense. But then, where should it be going to? Then the question from earlier on came back into my mind. Why would a basic, new personal drone know so much about threats far away, and could guide its owner to a place far from the base, when the other advanced, modified drones couldn't? Now nothing made sense at all.
I ran on, trying to figure everything out as I made my way through the forest. It was getting darker as I progressed, and I thought I could hear the distant howling of wild beasts from the heart of the forest. The more I walked on, the less human-touched the forest was. I wondered if my drone was really malfunctioning, and I was stupid enough to follow it into an unknown forest. Now I was surrounded by trees and only trees, and it was only getting darker.
I was lost in a forest. Alone, with a malfunctioning drone that seemed to go deeper and deeper into the woods, at an unstoppable pace.
Drenched in fear and desperation, I slowed down and called out to my drone. "Avie!! Stop!!" I pratically screamed.
It appearantly didn't work, just as I half-expected. A malfunctioning machine, no matter how advanced, would not react to any commands. It floated on, just at a slower speed.
I am lost in a damn forest. And who knows if I can get out from here, if I survive this hell at all. And I have no tools with me at all. It's getting dark and I have nowhere to stay for the night, because there isn't enough time for me to build a shelter, and my only connection to the base — my drone — wouldn't even stop, and I can't bear to lose it in this hell when I'm alone.
Just out of a sudden, light flashed from deep inside the forest. At first I thought that I was seeing things, but as I blinked several times, it was still there. And the drone was apperarantly heading straight towards its direction. A pool of water, reflecting the moonlight? I couldn't think of any more reasons; this part of the forest was far too untouched for anyone to live in here. But if there was a pool, at least I would have water, and that meant that I could stay hydrated there. I decided to follow the drone and head towards whatever was shining in the deeper woods.
But as I neared it, it became more and more obvious that someone lived there -- or used to live there. I thought that I saw footprints -- human footprints -- on the mud track, but it was a confusing mess of steps, and whoever made those steps was to confuse any intruders. But why confuse intruders with barely-visible footprints when you had a beam of light shining directly from your base? Nothing made sense. It seemed that the person was extremely skilled at hiding, yet not doing a thing about staying hidden at all.
The drone finally stopped. And when I looked up, I saw nothing but a small hut.
No. Not quite. This structure... it looked more like two triangles forged together than a regular hut. Just like...
The Walkers' base.
That's how it looked from above. I saw drone-taken pictures in the Drone Tech room earlier on.
I was extremely alerted upon approaching the structure, in position of running away from attacks as I inspected it from different angles. There was a small, triangular door hidden a little below the ground surface, and a small window, presumably for watching for threats, on top of the upper reversed triangle. The window was the light source I saw earlier on, shining a pale light into the forest.
Does that mean... that it's occupied?
Then by whom? Walker, or Red Nexus? Or neither? Another aggressive force, relatively smaller than the two factions, that I'd never heard of? Possibilities swarmed in my mind, and I backed a little away from the structure. But just as I thought about it, another thought from earlier came back into my mind. I had to stay somewhere for the night before navigating back to the base. I could still hear the howling of unknown beasts in the distance. If that light attracted any of them... Damn, anything would have happened. But should I risk alerting the owner of the structure, and potentially attracting enemied to attack me. Should I...? I tried to think of a possible solution, but couldn't.
The drone stayed at the doorway, illuminating the front steps leading down to the door. It was appearantly leading me into that house or whatever thing it was. Should I trust it? Should I--
Suddenly, a white shadow flared in the woods of the other side of the structure. It was getting closer to it, but a distance still remained. Terrified, I sped up and trusted my instincts -- to enter the house immediately. I sped towards the doorway, careful not to alert the approaching white thing.
And at the doorway, with the lighting of the drone, I saw a small plaque:
TH3 H0U53 0F 4V3M
R351D3N75: #0 / #1 / #???
From what I learned back at the base, TH3 H0U53 0F 4V3M meant "THE HOUSE OF AVEM" and R351D3N75 meant residents. And if I was not mistaken, the #0 of all the legends lived here. Right here in the house in front of me. The #0. The Walkers said that he disappeared about fifty years ago, and was never found again, but what have I come to right now? The #0. I valued it for a split second. The builder of the Base. The original leader of the Walkers. Their ultimate leader of all of the advanced people.
And whoever #1 was, they must meant a lot to him.
I knocked on the door loudly before a white shadow flared in front of my eyes with a wide and terrifying smile.
I thought I saw a ghost. More terrifying than all my nightmares.
That was when I lost my consciousness.
A/N: That was intense wasn't it? I had a lot of fun writing it. Anyways if you have any concerns/ requests please comment so I can see it! Have a good day/night! Potato as always🥔
another note, this 77757 mentioned is an empty id on the platform, because i'm out of options, as the real id's will play bigger roles later.