!!!WARNING!!!
THIS CHAPTER CONTAINS EXPLICIT LANGUAGES
!!YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!!
"CODE RED!! I REPEAT! CODE RED!!"
"ALPHA OF THE SKY!!! GET READY! DEFEND OUR TERRITORY, THE LAND BY THE CLIFF, TOR!!!"
The captain empowered his authorities and ordered his battalion to commence the troops, defending their lands, and protecting his people.
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[Present]
XX-MAY-XXXX
The gray-black mist floats through the sky and fills the horizon with ash, running on land feels like running on harsh gray lifeless sand with an empty road ahead, no destination to be found, no soul to encounter, not even a single present of any floral arise from the untainted gray soil.
A full view of the surrounding landscape slowly collapses from bricks by bricks, crumbles by crumbles of hard roofs, and the no-longer standing wall of ceilings, high wall of storey after storey continuously falls like an unstoppable flow of snowstorm atop the mountain peak, as if the impact of the bombing force is powerful enough to devour and left no crumbs, not even a single ant can escape this unreservable will of power.
A little girl amidst the soon-to-be black smoke, running with her bare feet as her shoes were torn and ugly, tainted as she kept running till they fell off, lost to the crumbling dirt.
By the time Noviera arrives at her village, the sight that greets her becomes so foreign like the new horrible world just emerged. The path to her home turns out to be a new misery, full of adventure, layer upon layer of rock from buildings, and broken unrecognizable roofs from some family's home, become an obstacle to her path, like an intrusion to her only journey back, an intervention of her family's warmth embrace, to the only place she called home.
Noviera, a girl who likes quiet places, but not this type of quietness, she likes to be alone, but not this type of loneliness, when all she feels is her present, all she hears is her breathing, and all the smoke is no longer polluted but deafening, the black smoke dancing and evaporated in the air is too loud and too clear for the girl's blurry vision with the eyes that full of tears. In tattered clothed, distorted nasty hairs, wet eyes, and tears that can't be stopped, just like a lost squirrel in an unknown place of vast inhabited land.
"ELLA!!!!"
"ELLAAA!!!!"
"MOMMM!!! DADDD!!!"
"ELLA!!"
"WHERE ARE YOU GUYS????", Noviera sobbed harshly, she screamed and yelled but her voice couldn't seem to reach anybody's ears.
"PLEASE! DON'T HIDE FROM ME!!", She couldn't take it anymore, couldn't accept the fact that just happened, when everything was too sudden, too hurry, even for the wind to sense it.
"PLEASE! DON'T ABANDON ME!!! ELLAAA! , MOM! DAD!!", she screamed her lungs out, hoping someone would hear and get mad, hoping Emuela would come running and yelling back, telling her to keep it down, snap at her saying she is crazy.
"I don't want to be left again..hik..hik..he........please...plea..see.."
"..." Nothing. Quietly isolated.
Only the sound of brick grumbling and a wisp of smoke accompanied her.
Noviera slowly stumbles down, hands hugging her knees, and she buries her head within, she just wants to be smaller, small like how her heart keeps clutching, squeezing until nothing is left but pain that is still fresh and new, no longer can be numb, not now, not then, not yet.
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[A 1000 miles above grounds]-The Alpha Battalion
"We are getting close to the cliff, signal for safe landing"
''I repeat, we are getting close to the cliff, signal for safe landing"
"Copy!", said the Captain.
"Landing in 5, EMBRACE!", the Captain called over through the voice cam that connected to his headset, then...swoosh!
The aircraft swiftly ducks its head downward, a sudden movement will be a nuisance to one's mind, but not the people on board right now. They both sit still like statues, spine straight, eyes sharp, with just prompt hand movement to control the operating aircraft.
'500 feet above ground' women's voice system
The one in the pilot seat presses the airborne button, then just like there is a palm to handle the aircraft, it floats, hovering above the ground and then lowering itself to a safe landing.
In only five minutes the aircraft safely landed. After the announcement on board, this last model war weapon was renounced as the fastest one to be innovated, it is light and swift, with a bullet and missile detector. But due to its swiftness and flexibility, while taking off and landing the window will be misted.
Upon landing, the mist from the window becomes clear, and Kyro turns in the direction of TOR to identify the situation. But, unexpectedly they were late, already too late.
TOR is now, a barren land by the cliff.
Nothing remains but the crumble of rocks and dust and black-inked smoke rising and fading into the horizon.
"Shit! Shit! Shit! Shit! Shit!", Kyro cursed as he hastily clicks off the safety belt and jumped down from the craft, engined yet to undead.
"Tsk! This son of a-", swore the Captain
"TEAM TWO STATION THE CRAFTS"
"TEAM FOUR INSPECT!"
"THE REST FOLLOWS ME!"
As the Captain of Alpha shouts out the order, all soldiers get into their positions and commence immediately without a single breath of delay.
Kyro quickly grabs one of the electric guns in the crates that were just unloaded from the main aircraft, he then clasps a pair of laser bullets around his waist and pulls the helmet-suit on.
The helmet suit is straightforwardly built into the soldier's uniform, inflated if not used, thus it feels invisible there.
Since the North was a drug expert, thus the army concluded that the air posterior to the bombing was poisonous air. It was one of the North battle strategic, due to their inferior weapon production, their skills in the integration of steel, fire-arm, and electronics were limited, thus, they tended to expand what they had by constructing a small impact missile intermingle with the aftermath of deathly poisonous air.
The poisonous polluted air extended a radius of 50 to 100 miles wide from the attacked position, within the radius that the air could reach, no living thing could be found alive, even the strongest of the strongest metals trembled at the presence of the gas. Consequently, as long as these poisonous substances reach any lungs, they rob away the breathe and claim one's life.
Every soldier was armed and protected, and then they assembled.
The captain, who was the duke's son, is the leader of Alpha Team Two, thus, it is no surprise to see Kyro among the team members rushing toward the designation area. Each runs their marathon, trying to bring their feet faster than their racing mind.
All the ships and aircraft landed at the opening space close to the cliff due to the vigorous effect of the silently hazardous weapon that was being omitted. And while the North can produce some corpse-like substances and turn them into weapons, then thus the South.
Aside from the most advancing aircraft on land, the Southern's defense system is no joke. While the material of their aircraft had yet to compromise with the pallid substances, their body suit was constructed like a siege barrier safeguarding any user from all kinds of harm, like a buttress innovated by the hand of god.
The armor suit was forged like a bridge that endured harsh rain, like gardens of blooming jewels of crown undertaking harsh sun, just as autumn leaves swiftly and lightly hover before landing smoothly undamaged.
The accelerating speeds of each individual in armor are brisk and firm, just as leaves float in mid-air when jump, like leaves nimble and ripple on water surfaces when drop.
"Checking on diameter for signal!"
"Scanning on the dynamic zone for targets!"
"COPY!", Kyro
Once the battalion reaches the land of debris, the sinful air sinks the once peaceful village into the land of an old ruin, omitting virulent smoke blackening the so eye-opening sky, turning the land barren.
Even beneath the protective barrier of a mask-like smoke shield, the aftermath of these new developments gas still makes one's skin prickle, sending a chill down one's spine.
"What's in the mother Emosa is this..", someone gaspingly swears.
Knees slightly bending, action on alert, movement swift and adjust, like a robot that was made to identify for foes, for flaws, for imperfection and corruption that keep leaking from the jar of perfectly covered lit. The eyes that scan the surroundings are as sharp as the newly sharpened blade, with hands gripping the iron-cold firearm, freezing the holder's gloved hand, numbing one's vessel, chilling to one's bone, but in the rapid beating of the heart burning by the anger from the inside, the despair and utter regret, no matter the iciness of the lifeless metal in that person gripping hands, still could not reach the inflaming anger in his heart.
That someone was none other than our respectable captain, leader of the Alpha Battalion, the heir to House Octantis, the next ruler of the South, Cassandre Octantis.
TOR the beautiful land of flowers is now like an abandoned desolate space that not a single soul bothers to steal a glance at. The only sound that every walking individual stepping their foot on TOR heard was the echo of their own footstep and the harsh gasping of their own breathing.
"Enemy undetected"
"Horizon cleared"
"Surrounding cleared"
The echo of reports from each assigned team bellowed.
"Any sight of living?", Cassandre voiced through his earpieces, stating in question with an expect not a bad news as an answer.
"No, sir"
"Not a sight, Sir"
Cassandre let out a low sigh of defeat, he slowly shut his eyes, forming a tiny bit of hope in his heart.
But deep down he knows, every walking person of this land knows, that no one will be able to survive this newly godly poisonous drug.
'CRASH'
Cassandre alertly snaps out of his momentarily day-dream space, turning to the destination of the noise, he quickly stands up and raises the firearm in alignment with his shoulder, one eye inclined on the pointer, scanning for enemies like scanning for prays.
"FuCK THIS!", Kyro impatiently kicked the broken bucket next to his feet after hearing the reports and exasperatedly expresses.
"Keep it in soldier", Cassandre
Kyro's head snaps up, eyes open, pupil dilated, looking disbelieved.
"Keep it in? Keep what in, Cas?", Kyro exclaimed fulminatedly.
"You see how these monsters act?", Kyro continued, "They killed women and children without batting an eye!! I can't keep this SHIT in! They are blinded by some fortune-telling, blind by believing nonsense, and then what???"
"Control yourself!", Cassandre expresses in an uneventful tone.
"And YES! I see it. I'm not blind", He clarifies, "I see how and what these weapons do and what were the prices!"
"They murdered my people! They claimed my land, my people, and my properties as their champion!!", Cassandre's tone is induced with anger.
"..."
"-And they will pay", Kyro finished.
'CLINKS!!!'
The soft dropping sound of some light metal was heard, and all the heated conversation suddenly died down, substituted with the adrenaline of alertness from each person. They quickly scrutinize the surroundings. Because to everyone's ear, what they just heard was something that was made by a living thing.
Cas and Kyro's eyes locked on each other with a signal of understanding and surprise.
Cas then motions his team to scan for the source of the sound. He slowly and softly in his steps forward, weaving his path among the broken pieces of stone wall and bricks.
Suddenly, a small piece of fabric's tail lies behind the rock, like someone was crouching there, afraid to show themself, for they do not know what was already being exposed.
Seeing so, Cas signals his team to stop on their track and he slowly paced forward to the place among the high pieces of broken bricks that he suspected someone was there. Hiding.
After a few steps forward, Cassandre jumps ahead, firearm-ready, but-
'Shwosh'
Nothing!
Only a piece of fabric that someone had cut from their own dress was placed there as bait.
And to come up with these kinds of bait means that person is buying their time to escape.
He turns back and is ready to shout an order when, with a swift movement someone jumps up from another rock behind, and grabs him by the neck with the feeling of something sharp and gleaming pointing to the crucial point of his throat, then he hears-
"Lend me the flyer or your leader die!"
A harsh rough voice of a woman bellowed.
Amidst the stormy black smoke and a group of fully armed soldiers, everyone gasped in aghast.
[To Be Continued]
Key Identification:
-Cassandre, nicknamed Cas
-Aircraft: short for craft, another named was known as flyer