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Location: Petal Subway Station.
Destination: Zamaton Colony
Mission: Cross the Contamination Zone - 11:05 am
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There they stand. In front of the large silver door that sections the tracks.
Myra: "This is it..." Kohen strides next to her, tapping her shoulder with his palm.
Kohen: "Damn straight. Time to introduce ourselves to Zamaton."
He takes a few steps forth until Myrellie snatches him by the ear.
Kohen: "OWOWOW WHAT THE HECK MOM!?"
Myrellie: "Hold your horses you rambunctious little adventurer! You can't go in there yet."
Kohen: "Why the hell NOT!?" He releases himself, softly caressing his ear.
Myrellie: "You kids haven't gone in a Contamination Zone like this yet."
Lily: "What do you mean?"
Myrellie approaches the gate whilst looking at the miniscule gap between the ground and the bottom of the door. "Come here." She ducks.
"See that green mist seeping through the crack? That's a sign of floral mutations. This Zone is either full of mutated plants, or infected that look like them."
Kohen: "Okayyy. We supposed to do some gardening or what? What does this mean?"
Myrellie: "It means that if you so much as step in there as you are now, you'll more than likely turn into a talking mushroom and your body will bloat until you explode."
Orton and Kohen gulp.
Orton: "Really..?"
Kohen: "That... can happen..?"
Myra: "You guys are so dumb." She hooks her arms around their necks. "No you idiots! Myrellie's messing with you!!"
The adoptive mother smiles.
"Got you good didn't I?"
Kohen: "OH LAY OFF MOM!!"
Myra: "HAHAA!! You actually got scared, didn't you Kohen?"
Kohen: "NO! You can lay off too punk!"
Myra: "Pooooor Kohen! Maybe you should finish that collection I gave you." She giggles.
Kohen: "Maybe you should stop being an ass!!"
Orton: "With all that ass? Doubt it." He smirks as he approaches his blushing girlfriend.
Myra: "What happened to not talking like a punk?"
Orton: "I'll make exceptions every once in a while." They both smile.
Kohen doesn't really react to this comment, although he doesn't feel the pressure of Lily's gaze on the side of his face.
Upon glancing at her, he softly smiles.
It is slightly reciprocated.
Myrellie: "Did you truly believe I'd leave for a mission of this caliber without knowing every detail about it?" She catches his attention, interrupting the moment. "You underestimate me Kohen. I thought last time taught you a lesson."
Kohen: "THAT WAS AN EXCEPTION!!! How was I supposed to know you were the one who destroyed the damn nest and that big ass Behemoth protecting it!?
Myrellie: "You just should've." She shrugs.
Kohen: "I was busy trying not to DIE!! PLUS WE WERE WITH KYLO!! I THOUGHT IT WAS HIM WHO DID IT!!!"
Myrellie: "Dying or not, Kylo or not, ya should've known." She smirks. "Either way, we don't have to worry about this green mist."
Kohen: "That's good! I was starting to think we needed suits or something."
Myrellie: "Well, we don't ."
Kohen: "What do you mean?" He approaches her.
Myrellie: "Let's just say we're special."
Kohen: "Does it have anything to do with..." He points to his neck.
Myrellie: "As far as you're concerned, yes. "
Kohen: "Oh... What about you guys? And is it just the five of us or are there others?"
Myrellie: "There are only a few others in our Colony. Goto and Zelda have extremely resistant bodies, for example. They were the ones who traveled through this very Zone to scout the entrance of Zamaton and see if it was safe for us to cross."
Kohen: "Those two do look sturdy.
What about Kylo?"
Myrellie: "... Yeah."
He picks up on her short pause.
"Regardless, I want you kids to be careful in this one."
Kohen: "Of course. Can't forget The Wraiths could be around the corner."
Myrellie: "Exactly. Considering our discovery in the facility, other threats surely await us from this point on."
Myra: "Kohen." She steps towards him. "Remember what the merchant said about the beings that attacked Zamaton? That they weren't human?"
Kohen: "Oh yeah! There's no way I could forget. He was pretty convinced about it too, wasn't he?"
Myra: "Mhm. I'm afraid that if they're around, we need to be ready for a fight. And that scythe looks really difficult to use. Are you sure you can keep up?"
Kohen: "Pfff!! You're underestimating me Myra!" He taps her on the top of the head, causing her to playfully stick her tongue out. "You okay though?"
Myra: "Yeah... Just been thinking a lot."
Both of them look at Myrellie, who nods in agreeance.
"She's not the only one." She taps his chest with her palm. "Buckle up, we're moving."
Myra: "Wait!!" She swings the backpack she's carrying over her shoulder and plants it on the floor. "Before that, I mayyy have stopped by Elise's Bakery to get everyone some snacks."
Orton: "ARE YOU FOR REAL MYRA!? YOU'RE FREAKING AMAZING!!"
Myra: "I know I am! Althoughhh... You only get one snack sweet stuff." She boops his nose.
Orton: "HUUH?! Seriously!?? I only get one!?"
She smirks and puts her lips next to his ear. "Yes, darling. Me." She whispers, giving his earlobe a long, passionate and full kiss, gently placing the snacks in his pocket, along with a little box of cakes, and winking at him when their eyes meet again, as she backs away.
He is left completely speechless. The shades of pink on his face nearly match the tone of the red coat he's wearing.
Kohen: "ALRIGHT!!" He excitedly jumps, as Myra approaches him with a little box of cakes in her hands. "Don't mind if I do!!"
Myra: "Be careful not to choke on them, some are quite doughy."
Kohen takes a full bite into one them before Myra could even finish her sentence, which instantly dries his mouth.
Kohen: "Ohm- Mahgad!!"
His friends watch his enthusiasm as he hums and shakes his head, appreciating the flavor.
Kohen: "Elisshe-- makesh da besht cakesf-- in da hole friking worldh-- Laike-- MMMM!!"
Everyone smiles.
Myra then gets to Lily.
She pulls a little box with Lily's name out of the bag. It's wrapped like a present with a red striped lasso. Although when Myra lifts her gaze from it, she pauses.
The defeated look in Lily's eyes, the bags right underneath them, the small posture and quietness. Her indifference towards the situation worries her.
She places the box down and tightly embraces Lily. Despite being met with inactivity for a few seconds, Myra squeezes tighter, causing Lily's face to sink deeper into her shoulder. Her legs soon collapse, and she slowly drops to the floor along with Myra.
Only then, she brings her weak arms around her precious friend, and strongly reciprocates the hug given to her. Like she hasn't had one like this in years.
It's so soft. Comfortable. Warm. Motherly. Safe.
After a few moments, the blonde gives Lily her box of cakes.
....
....
Once everyone is ready, they lift the metal door open, and a gush of green mist engulfs them. It's clear this hasn't been opened ever since Goto and his team came through, or maybe the mist just returns that quickly?
Upon closing it behind them, the only direction to take is forward. It's dark and there's a strange, moldy smell in the air.
As they march, Orton can't help but observe the different flora that have consumed nearly every corner of this place. He can't wait to scribble them in his sketchbook, so much so that he ignores the unnatural itch in the back of his throat, that slowly propagates down his spine.
Myra observes the same, although less enthusiastically. She remains apprehensive when passing them by, prepared for the possibility of these plants having some sort of unknown defensive mechanism that might prove difficult to handle. Not to mention she feels the pulse of her heart throbbing inside her shoulders plates, since it is the most recently affected area.
Kohen carries a heavy burden on his chest. One that pulls his lungs towards the floor as he pushes through to the next step he takes. Ever since they left Apperton Colony for that facility, something's been wrong... Just.. wrong..
Besides what she felt outside, Lily carries no other discomfort. This is the first time she's been quiet for this long in such a state.
....
As they move through the tunnel, the landing platform becomes visible at the end of it, and the vegetation finally starts dwindling.
Reaching the opening reveals the pillars that hold the ceiling of this new room. Half of them breaking apart like something was slammed against them. Some of the planks on the train tracks have been reduced to shrapnel.
Darting towards the silver door ahead of them, without much interaction with their surroundings, Kohen instinctively glances to his right as he sees the stairs that rise further into the building. He's curious about them, but there is no time to explore.
Further in the same direction, there's a blue doorframe that has bloody fingerprints by its skirtings. In front of it, several little black spheres connected to a wire idly remain, sprawled across the floor. It's a broken bracelet.
Orton and Myrellie don't hesitate in lifting the silver door, signaling Kohen to crawl underneath it after his friends make it through. The other side presents the same environment they walked into 35 minutes ago, more train tracks, with the absence of the green mist. The carriage on the right side is battered up, and more planks are broken along their path.
What the hell happened here?
...
Another hour into walking, they finally come across signs of life.
An establishment is blocking their path by covering the entire passageway with a metal grated fence. There's an iron door in the middle, guarded by none other than The Wraiths themselves. Kohen can't mistake the shitty dark green and yellow outfits, with the stupid star symbol for anything else in this world. There is no other way through. The team has to engage.
Kohen: "Mom." He places his hand on her shoulder.
Myrellie: "On my mark."
"One...
Two...
Three!"
The group lunges towards the guards. Some of them were taken by surprise, while others were dealt with effectively, unable to enact strong enough retaliation to faze the team of scouts. Kohen quickly grabs the pair of keys from one their pockets and unlocks the door.
The next few minutes are nothing short of chaotic. Screams and shouts of alert, back to back with grunts coupled with the large thuds of unconscious bodies slamming against the floor. The clattering of the Wraith's armored plates and weapons mixed with the jingles of the keys each of them was given for the metal doors, could almost be muffled by the panic and ecstasy each of them felt in this very moment. They are the only force outside of the Subway Station in both directions, and for that reason specifically, they are painfully aware that no ordinary individual is able to cross the Contamination Zone completely unscathed, much less give The Wraiths, the most prized and feared group of raiders, this much trouble.
No one is forgiven. One by one, the scouts take down all of their enemies, through bullets, hatchets, throwing knives, and even spiked table legs and baseball bats.
As Myrellie and her children leave their unconscious victims behind, one of the defeated snatches Orton by the ankle, missing the calf he attempted to stab due to being stopped by Orton's quick staff.
???: "Hahahaaa... The prosecutor's coming for you faggot!!"
Orton: "The what?"
???: "Imagine asking me to answer you when you wear earrings and a sleeveless coat! HAHAHAA!!! YOU'RE SO GAY IT HURTS TO LOOK AT!!"
Kohen kicks his jaw into the distance, killing him instantly. Then spits on his corpse.
"Fuck you."
As he walks away, Orton ducks to close the man's eyelids.
Orton: "Kohen." He reacts, since Orton doesn't usually call him by his name. "That was unnecessary."
Kohen: "So is all the killing they've done already."
Orton: "Don't forget what Abigail said." He stands. "There is no coming back from a path like this. I know you hate the Wraiths... But you can't forget who we are."
Kohen: "Like I give a shit. If we didn't fight back, we could've been the ones sprawled across the floor with our own weapons stuck inside our stomachs. It's us or them. I'll kill all of them if the situation calls for it."
Orton: "Exactly. This one didn't. He was down already, and we don't kill downed men Kohen."
Kohen: "If you're gonna talk to me about honor then you can stop. I don't care."
Orton: "Huh? You brought it up to me in the first place, back on our first few missions."
Kohen: "So? Doesn't mean I care about it now." He frowns, gripping his scythe harder.
Orton: "What's wrong with you? You gonna attack me too?"
Although the boy hesitates, their intense staring doesn't miss the chance to shoot nerves through their friends' spines.
Myrellie: "Orton is right Kohen." She sheaths her blade. "It's not the path you're looking for."
Kohen: "Leave me alone. I'm talking to him." He points to Orton with the scythe.
Myra: "What's with you Kohen? Despite who they are, these are lives you're taking. What's this sudden hostility towards Orton? He's just trying to help you see what you're doing is wrong."
Kohen: "Funny I hear that coming from you. Did you forget what you did to us back at the facility? Everything you said towards that infected "bitch" as you put it?" She frowns. "Exactly Myra. If I'm out of line.. So were you."
Myra: "Why do you keep bringing that facility up?"
Kohen: "It's a good reference point to sift through bullshit and hypocrisy."
Why is he talking to her like this? His behavior is almost barbaric, yet the way he's talking feels sophisticated...
Lily: "It doesn't matter Alcatraz. You don't have to do the same thing or worse."
Kohen scoffs.
"Hop off my fucking ass. All of you." He turns his back to them. "I wanna get out of here already. I'm tired of seeing the same shitty wooden tracks."
....
More walking, more tracks. The group is mute.
Kohen ahead, his footsteps expel anger. The strength of his grip on the cable of the scythe worries the ones behind him. This behavior is so unusual, even for him. Yeah, he lashes out sometimes, but quickly snaps out of it and starts ranting about the Old World or playing around with one of his friends.
Ever since they left Apperton, everyone has noticed something changed.
...
At last, they reach the end of the tunnel. The torment of the repeated patterns has finally come to a halt, although, the outside air greets them with more Wraiths armed to the teeth.
The group takes cover immediately.
Orton: "Great. Just what we needed."
Lily: "Should we sneak around?"
Myrellie: "No way. The vegetation is far too dense for us to cross, and attempting to do so would make too much noise. We'd be out in the open in unknown territory, at a terrible disadvantage."
Orton: "No choice but to attack again huh?"
Myrellie: "I'm afraid so. Get ready."
Orton: "Alright.."
He glances at Kohen, who's grin expands as he prepares his scythe.
"Hey!" Orton darts towards him, grabbing the boy by the shoulders and giving him a firm shake. "Snap out of it! Fuck are you smiling for!?"
Kohen: ".... Smiling?.. I'm not smiling Orton."
Orton: "What's your name."
Kohen: ".... Kohen... I think..."
Lily: "Alcatraz?"
Kohen: "Thaaaat's the one.... Alcatraaaaaz... Haha.." His voice slightly deeper than usual.
Orton slaps him.
Kohen: "OUCH! Fuck was that for??" His eyes focus on him.
Orton: "Are you with me or not?"
Kohen: "Yes dude! I've been with you this whole time! Why the fuck did you do that!? Ouch..." He caresses his face, the pitch of his voice back to normal.
Lily and Myra look at each other.
Myrellie steps up to him.
Myrellie: "For how long have we been walking?"
Kohen: "What do you mean..?
Myrellie: "Ever since we entered the Station."
Kohen: "Around an hour."
Myrellie: "Hm. Better yet, what's the last thing you remember?"
Kohen: "We just left that damn Wraith base like, 5 minutes ago. Why are you asking me this?? It's a dumb question."
Myrellie: "Kohen. We've been walking for two hours ever since we entered the Zone. One of which is after we left the Wraith's establishment. We're already outside of the subway station."
Kohen: "....What...?"
Myrellie: "..."
He stares into his palm in confusion, placing it over his mouth as his eyes focus onto nothing for brief moments.
Orton: "No time right now" He grabs his friend by the arm. "They're coming Al. I need you with me. You good to fight?"
Kohen: "Yeah.. Yeah I gotchu."
Orton: "Good. Come on."
The boys position themselves to ambush The Wraiths as they approach, but unfortunately, these guys are sharper than the ones inside, since their experience almost immediately blows Orton's cover.
Wraith 1: "INTRUDEEEEERRRS!!!"
Wraith 2: "WARN THE PROSECUTOR ABOUT SUBWAY TEAM'S ELIMINATION!! REQUEST BACKUP FOR DANGEROUS FOES!!"
The girls charge towards the announcers, as Kohen, Orton and Myrellie deal with the heavy caliber enemies.
The second ensued battle ends quicker than the first. A handful Wraiths can be seen riding some sort of four-legged creatures into the distance, at incredible speed.
Kohen: "Shit.. They got away."
Orton: "Yeah.. But more importantly, who the heck is this prosecutor guy they're gonna warn?"
Myrellie: "Likely their new leader."
Lily: "We should keep moving then. They're definitely gonna bring their attention to us when they return."
Myrellie: "Right on. Let's go."
....
They follow the tracks for another twenty-five minutes, until finally making visual contact with the Colony ahead of them.
Their objective lies only a few more minutes ahead.
The end of this indescribable mission is right in front of their eyes. So close to them that it's palpable.