The five hunters braced themselves in their seats as the airship jolted a bit as they began their descent, with Harriet grimacing as she nearly knocked into Tortuga's shoulder with her temple. The green-haired woman giggled.
"C'mon, Hare. Still not used to the turbulence?" She teased, dark eyes sparkling with mischief.
Harriet scoffed. "Shut it, slow-poke." She snarked, though both of them knew she didn't mean it. With Tortuga, she never did.
She scowled, however, when she heard a snort across the aisle from them, and she knew exactly who it was coming from. Clover looked between the two women with a knowing twinkle in his eye and a light smirk. "You two are just adorable."
"Whatever." Harriet broke her gaze and looked out the window behind her. She could see the forest coming up quickly from her vantage point. "What's the name of this place again?"
Next to her, the muscular Elm also took a look. "It's called Patch. I've had the pleasure of visiting once or twice to teach the young students at the academy here." Elm furrowed her brow as more of the island came into view. "It breaks my heart to see it like this."
Harriet could only nod in agreement. As the island emerged from the clouds, plumes of smoke could be seen rising from the small village at the center of the island and in seemingly random areas of the forest that covered almost the entirety of the land mass.
"Do we know what happened?" Tortuga enquired.
Vine spoke up for the first time since they had taken off, the pale man's voice taking on a somber tone. "The Vale authorities were rather vague about the circumstances. All they were willing to divulge was that there seemed to be an unexplainable, random increase in Grimm populations on the island over the past few months. Last night, they attacked under the cover of night, catching the local huntsman off guard." Vine opened his eyes. "The populace stood very little chance."
Tortuga shook her head. "I don't understand. Even with an island this small, the huntsman there should have been able to handle any Grimm."
Clover nodded. "That's what I've been wondering as well. There's an entire academy with teachers who are licensed to hunt. An increase in Grimm in such a short amount of time? It's not possible." He stood and cracked his neck, rolling his head around. "But right now, that's not our concern. Our concern is trying to find any survivors in the forests while the huntsman from Vale investigate the village."
The rest of his team nodded as the airship rumbled upon contact with the ground.
Harriet was the first to stand, swinging her arms back and forth in front of her to test the flexibility of her exo-suit. The weapon was basically apart of her now, she wore it so often. It was a simple mechanism, really. It's primary purpose was enhancing her upper body strength, while her legs were left bare. That's where her semblance came in.
Super-speed.
Harriet took great pride in the fact that she was quite literally able to run circles around even the most talented huntsman in Atlas. Add to that the sheer exhilaration she got from moving at such extreme speeds, she considered herself lucky to have such a power.
And she'd punch anyone who suggested that the power made her cocky, even Clover. She'd done it.
The airship ramp opened in front of them, revealing a lush forest, cut through by a path that led to the beginnings of a small marketplace. From what Harriet could see, the place was in shambles, some buildings totally caved in while others were barely standing, fire and smoke covering the entire area. She hopped on her toes slightly before getting ready to bolt. However, a hand on her shoulder stopped her.
"Hang on a second, Harriet. You're supposed to be looking for survivors. That means you have to be thorough, so you can't just run around the forest at the speed of light." Clover lightly scolded her, though there was a hint of amusement in his voice.
Harriet growled. "I can be thorough!"
"You can be when you're not being impatient."
The short woman was about so shoot back when she felt a palm bop her on the top of her head.
"Don't talk back, Harriet. We've talked about this." Elm said.
Harriet "hmphed" as she crossed her arms, a pout gracing her features. Next to her, Tortuga let out an airy giggle at the other woman's maturity, or lack thereof.
"Alright guys. I'm gonna go talk with the other team leader, and then we should be good to go." Clover called back over his shoulder as he indeed began to walk towards another man who seemed to be waiting for him.
The rest of the team stood in place. Elm sighed.
"I hope we can locate at least some people among all this. I don't know if I could handle it if there are only casualties left."
Vine nodded in agreement. "Indeed."
"There are people alive out there. I'm sure of it." Tortuga stated firmly.
Harriet said nothing as she looked into the forest. She hoped along with the rest of them, but a part of her felt only dread at the possibility of finding more bodies strewn about the brush. And she knew it was indeed a very real possibility. They had been called on search and recover missions many times before, and more often than not, there were more corpses than live people to recover. Such was the profession they had chosen. Harriet had accepted the reality of it some time ago.
She was pulled from her thoughts when Clover clapped his hands, his face morphing into a serious frown as opposed to the light smile he usually wore.
"Alright, guys. We have the go-ahead. We split up and search the forest. Keep your comms on at all times. If there are Grimm, I'm sure you can handle it. If you can't, call one of us immediately and we'll pick up on your scroll location. Same applies if you find a survivor…or a body."
"Yes, sir!" They all responded.
With that, they set off in different directions.
Tortuga looked at Harriet and stuck out a fist. "Stay safe, yeah?"
Harriet bumped it with her own fist. "You too."
Taking Clover's advice to heat, Harriet opted not to use her semblance, instead taking her time as she walked in between the large trees. Sunlight poured in through gaps in the leaves, leaving the forest largely illuminated, eliminating the risk of being ambushed by Grimm. Still, Harriet kept an eye out, occasionally turning in a circle to cover all her surroundings. She kept her fists at the ready, prepared to start swinging at a moment's notice. Though, if she was being honest with herself, she wasn't very concerned about most Grimm. She had faced off against the most common ones on many occasions, and she knew she had backup if she ran into the rarer ones like a nevermore or a deathstalker. She trusted her team to come running if she was in trouble.
It had taken her some time to develop that sort of trust. It didn't come easy to her, being the hardheaded and stubborn person that even she could admit that she was. When she had first been recruited into the Ace-Ops, she had hated it. She thought a team would slow her down. Harriet had more than once bolted into a situation without discussing with her team, putting herself and them in danger. It was only after Tortuga had nearly died trying to stop her from doing something reckless that she realized that, despite her every instinct to the contrary, she needed to slow down.
Tortuga. She was the closest to her out of anyone. The woman had sympathized with Harriet's "gotta go fast" attitude, yet somehow had a profound affect on Harriet. Tortuga grounded her, reminded her of the importance of teamwork and gently scolded her when she stepped out of line. And, much to Harriet's delight, she was able to match Harriet snark for snark, the two of them frequently engaging in battle to see who could get under the other's skin the fastest. It was all good fun and an effective way to get Harriet to let off some steam when she was frustrated at something or other, which bordered on all the time.
Harriet was suddenly snapped out of her own mind when she came across a clearing, an area absent of trees. In the center sat a house. Or the remains of one. The roof had partially caved in, with one side of the home completely collapsed, nothing more than a pile of wood and glass. A tree trunk sat in front of the house with an axe buried into the top of it.
Harriet approached the ruins cautiously, prepared for a Grimm to jump out at her at any second. But she heard nothing. She stopped in front of the collapsed portion. She bent down and picked up a piece of wood and sighed. Her heart ached at the thought that this had been a person's safe haven, a place of security for family and friends. No longer.
She tossed the wood back into the pile, resulting in a thunk and a bit of clattering.
Just as she was about to turn away to continue her search, a voice called out.
"H-Hello…?"
The voice was muffled, but it sounded like a child's, high pitched and almost whiny.
Harriet jumped in her skin and whirled around to stare back at the pile of wood. She cupped one hand to her mouth.
"Is someone stuck under there?" She called out.
"Y-Yeah! I-I've been stuck under here for…a long t-time! Are you here to help me?"
"Oh, Gods, it's a kid." Harriet thought. "That's right! Just hang tight, okay? I'm going to call someone to come help you out of there!" With that, she pressed two fingers to her earpiece. "Elm?"
"What is it, Harriet?" Elm's voice responded from the piece.
"I've got a survivor stuck under some rubble in the forest. This looks like a job for you."
"Roger that. Coming to you now."
Harriet removed her fingers and once again cupped her hands to her mouth. "Help is on the way! Whatever you do, don't move from that spot, okay? Are you hurt at all?"
"U-Um…I think I h-hurt my head. I think I cut my forehead. It's not bleeding anymore, though…"
Harriet cursed. "Alright. Don't touch your cut at all! We don't want it to start bleeding again!"
"Y-Yes, ma'am!" There was a pause. "A-Are you a huntress?"
Harriet, despite the situation, couldn't help but smile a little bit at the awe that was present in the question. "That's right!"
"That's really cool! My dad is a huntsman, and my sister is going to Signal Academy to be one, too! She wants to go to Beacon! I really want to be one, too!"
If this kid was right in front of her, Harriet would've felt the urge to ruffle her hair. "That's a good dream to have!"
Harriet was about to keep going when she heard rustling behind her. She instinctually readied her fists but was quickly reassured when she saw Elm emerge from the forest, her hammer slung over her shoulder. Upon seeing her teammate, she jogged over and stopped next to her.
Harriet turned back to the rubble. "Alright, help is here! I'm going to need you to keep talking so we know where you are, okay?"
"O-Okay!"
With that established, Elm began using her superior strength to clear away the debris in her bath, grunting slightly at the effort. Meanwhile, Harriet continued asking the child questions or prodding her to call out her location, which assisted Elm in determining where she sat trapped under the rubble. Elm took care to not disturb the debris too much, lest the vibrations cause it to collapse on top of the child. Soon enough, she heard the child's voice clear as day.
With a huff, Elm lifted away a timbre of wood, revealing the child.
The girl was curled up in a ball, trembling. She was dressed in a tiny sleeveless hoodie and shorts, both of which were covered in dirt and small holes. She had no shoes on. Her brunette hair that faded into red at the tips was matted against her head, with blades of grass making their home in her dark locks. Her arms were curled around a hunk of red and black metal, holding it so tightly that one would think the girl's life depended on it.
Indeed, as she had said, there was a gash above her right eye, and dried blood trailed down that side of her face.
But what caught Elm's eye almost immediately was the bright silver orbs that stared back up at her. Dried tears carved a path from those eyes and down her cheeks, and it looked like the girl hadn't slept in some time.
Elm kept her voice as gentle as possible. "It's alright, little one. You're going to be okay, now."
The girl was fixed to the spot and made no attempt to move.
"Is it alright if I pick you up?" Elm asked, crouching down to one knee, and reaching out towards the child.
The girl nodded tentatively. Permission granted, Elm reached the whole way and wrapped her arms around the girl and lifted her from her spot on the ground. She curled on strong arm under her back and hooked the other under her knees as she stood and walked the path she had made out of the ruins of the destroyed home.
Harriet had let out the breath she didn't know she had been holding when she saw Elm stand with the girl in her grip. She was grateful the kid didn't look any worse for wear. She watched as the girl blinked owlishly up at the woman carrying her. The entire time, she kept her tiny arms wrapped around the red object she was found with.
Harriet turned on the earpiece. "Clover, we have a survivor. A little girl. We're bringing her back to the village."
"Roger that. We're going to be heading back, too. It's getting dark. Meet you there."
Harriet began walking alongside Elm as the taller woman began walking briskly into the forest back to where they had originally landed. She looked up at the sky. It was indeed getting dark. She hadn't realized she had been walking for so long before she came upon the house.
She looked at Elm.
"Is she…"
"Shh." Elm put a finger to her lips. "She's sleeping."
Harriet's gaze was redirected towards the girl. As Elm had said, she had her eyes closed and she was curled up in Elm's arms, burrowing her head into the woman's chest. Her mouth hung open. Despite her ordeal, she seemed peaceful.
Harriet lowered her voice to a whisper. "Is she okay?"
"She seems to be doing alright, all things considered." She readjusted her grip on the girl. "We're going to need to get this cut cleaned before it gets infected."
"Right. Hopefully, there's been luck finding other survivors. Maybe some family members. Obviously, she didn't live in that house all by herself."
"Yes. Poor girl." Elm mumbled. "I can't imagine how scared she must have been. All alone in the dark for hours."
Harriet merely hummed in response, leaving them to walk the rest of the way in silence. She couldn't even begin to comprehend a situation like this in Atlas, one of the most well-guarded and secure kingdoms on Remnant. The idea of being overrun with Grimm was just unfathomable to her. It seemed like an impossibility, in her honest opinion.
As they approached the airship waiting for them, they found that the rest of their team had already arrived. Clover had is eyes closed, and his arms were crossed in evident irritation. Tortuga immediately perked up at their presence as she jogged over to them.
"Good to see you two are okay." She said, relief lacing her voice. She furrowed her brow at the package being carried by elm. "So, this is her?" She reached out and brushed a few of the girl's bangs out of her face. "Poor thing."
"Have we been able to find any possible next of kin?" Harriet asked.
Tortuga huffed. "Well, that's where we've hit a snag. None of us were able to find any survivors. Neither us nor the teams from Vale. It's like…the entire population of Patch just vanished. Well…almost the entire population." She explained, gesturing towards the girl in Elm's arms.
Elm shook her head. "That's not possible. Grimm don't normally eat people and we would have seen people evacuating. It's not possible that they're all gone."
"I'm just telling you what we found. There's no one here."
"She's right."
They all looked to Clover as he stepped up next to them, with Vine following just a few feet behind.
"None of us found a thing. Teams from Vale and Atlas were combing the island before we got here, and they found nothing as well. As far as we know…" He closed his eyes and took a breath before opening them again. "…this girl is the only survivor."
Harriet's jaw dropped and she looked at the girl once more, who was still blissfully unaware of the conversation and the implications that it held. How were they going to explain this to her? How would her life be from here on out?
"So, what do we do?" Elm asked quietly.
Clover huffed. "For now, we take her to Atlas with us. Normally we would send her to Vale, but…the entire government is scrambling to try to figure out what happened and give the public an explanation. I'm worried that any news of a sole survivor would put attention on her, attention that she obviously doesn't need. And in all of the bureaucratic chaos at the moment, I'm concerned that she'll get lost in the system. Atlas is the safest place for her now." Clover nodded, as if he were reassuring himself of his decision. "Let's move out."
With that, Clover turned and walked up the ramp into the airship, with his team following close behind.
Gently so as not to disturb her, Elm placed the child on the bench next to where she chose to sit. She removed her jacket and draped it over her. She absent-mindedly ran a hand through the girl's hair.
Harriet side-eyed the girl from her spot. Her heart went out to the kid, because one thing was for certain.
Her life as she once knew it was over.