Surprise double upload within the same day! I figured you guys earned it after waiting for... uh... a couple of months.
Thank you for your continued support!
"Code green, you are good to go, Alpha." The intercoms said through our jeeps.
We've been loaned 4 jeeps for 16 men each. One of the Jeep's were military-grade, with a heavier gun attached to the top in case we encounter a heavier enemy.
"We'll be heading into the forest outskirts, in an attempt to find the lost personnel," I explained. "We shouldn't be expected to use any piercing rounds since the heavier foes are not expected to linger around the forest."
Together, with 16 of the original 30 members of the psychic division, we were eager to be put into our first mission by ourselves. I could hear the men murmuring in the back. I sat by the passenger side of the driver. I opened my pamphlet of notes. Our side mission was to first check out the forest, where the last signal was sent. After checking the area, we were prompted to head over to the other human regions to try to communicate with them. From what we could understand, they did not speak our language. We were hoping to find somebody willing to translate our language or vice versa. If we were able to have some of them in our headquarters, we can analyze their language very quickly with the modern technology that we have. Although it would not be perfect, it would have to do for now.
The drive to the forest would be a short one, as it was near where our base was first up. I was instructed to ditch our equipment if we had to, as most of the items we were carrying were either old grade or they didn't want it to fall in the wrong hands.
I peered over to the side of the car. As we slowly, but surely, treaded over small bumps, I can see the edge of the forest.
"Damn," I said when I can see the forest fully. The lush green grass was covered by towering trees. They were impressively high as if they were reaching for the skies. It only worried me more than psychic beings should be expected to be around the area.
"Deploy the Detectors," I said to our engineering team. With an okay sign, the signals were quickly put out. The Detector was designed to shoot out IR rays to detect other presences. Any heat or living thing would be picked up instantly and we would be alerted. It was a very useful device against cloaked enemies or, in this case, psychic users, we can manipulate how we interpret information sent to our brain.
"Protocols are now in place," I said, with a grim tone. "Let's try to avoid executing each other."
The protocols that were mentioned were in place to counter any psychic effects. Based on several scouts from the past, psychic users were able to possess humans and take their place. We were trained to spot the difference between each other compared to a mimicked or controlled person. This can usually include strange speech patterns, eyes widening to an extreme extent period of time, and also strange movements. If anybody was found exhibiting these actions, then we are forced to end their life quickly. It was better for the overall safety of the team. It would be terribly unfortunate to have to shoot each other, but we hope that our anti-psychic methods would work. One of the methods includes harming yourself to force the psychic user out of your head. It was the most effective one by far, as the pain simulation hurts the psychic user to possess. If anything, it served as a safeguard for possession.
In collective silence, we carefully approached the forest entrance, which was guarded with a loosely formed grass gate of some kind. With the lasers illuminating from our rifles, we heckled each corner before proceeding into the Gardens. It was slightly past the Gardens would we reach the Forest, according to images sent from our intel earlier.
"Clear." Somebody said.
"Clear."
"Clear."
"All checked, let's proceed," I said, carefully navigating into the Forest entrance.
The forest itself was splendid. It was lush green. The light from the sun above floated gently between the leaves. It was something out of a surreal dream.
"Beautiful." One of the men remarked. It was the first time that we'd seen the Forest ourselves. Ahead of us, was several footsteps in the caked mud.
"Seems like the previous squad was here." One reported.
"Casing shells here." Another called out.
"Report it." I said.
"...seems like a 5.56 round." He said. This indicates the standard rounds that we use. "It seems that the squad encountered something, fired off a few burst rounds, then pursued the subject."
"No bloodstains?" I asked.
"No." He said, kicking the dirt. "The soil leaves us with nothing."
"Darn," I muttered. Looking around, it wasn't evident that there was a conflict in the area. However, upon closer examination, it was noticeable that the leaves were disturbed by the presence of a thing or person.
"Let's push on," I said. "Anything on the radar?"
"No."
We cautiously approached the gates of the Forest. Just a few feet in front of us was an expanse that stretched for several feet before the road was hidden by the vast amount of trees and bushes in the area. It was difficult to see in the area and the air suddenly grew thick as we ventured further. With every step we took, we were getting farther in the forest.
"Follow the path. We should stick near the borders. The roads should lead to a pitchfork, then we'll take the west one. It should give us direct access to the mission zone."
It was after several hours of walking that we decided to stop. We arrived at one of the checkpoints, however, it seemed like there was still more to go. Exhausted, we set camp on the side of the dirt etched road. I drank a sip of water and felt the tension of my legs. It was getting more difficult to walk by the minute, especially since we had large equipment to carry. We were slowly approaching the zone that the Second lieutenant was at, according to the signals. We've tried to send out a local message by radio, however, nobody has responded. Looking at the situation, the team atmosphere was extremely serious. From how I perceived the information, I would assume that he was KIA. With a deep breath, I looked at the operators I was with. Sitting on the side, I watched them tell jokes and laugh with each other. Even in our situation, I was rather glad that we could still make the best of it.
It has only been 5 days since we've arrived in the unknown world. Much of it has yet to explore. The prospect of adventure was one that was appealing, though, given the dangers of this new world, that luster quickly diminished.
"Alright boys, we've got the final stretch," I said loudly to get their attention. Everybody began to get their supplies. I bent over and grabbed my rifle. Somebody suddenly hit my rear.
"What's going on," Frankie said. I turned around and Ted was there smiling too.
"Not much. Get into your positions." I said, switching safety off on my gun.
"Yes, Captain." They said, before slinking off to their separate units.
We were ready for departure after several minutes. According to our travels, we should be approaching the work zone. As the driver rode, I couldn't help but admire the scenery. So far I was glad that we have not encountered any strange creatures, however, my relief soon decided to take an ironic turn as all the jeeps halted in front of a large bear-like creature. It roared, forcing our jeeps to veer off course to fight against the two-meter tall thing.
"OUT OUT!" I heard screaming. All 16 soldiers were on the ground, guns drawn, and lasers spotting the bear. The bear roared and attempted to slash one of the operators with its claws. Luckily, the man leaped out of the way, missing death by a little distance. Instantly, the team fired its rounds.
The bear, covered in bullet holes, seemed to become even angrier as it gained speed. I leaped put the way as it tried to charge me.
"Switch to the armor-piercing!" I commanded. "Aim for the heart! These creatures have different systems, but get the torso area!"
Another barrage hit the surrounded bear. We had to be careful not to shoot each other. The bear collapsed quickly, as one of the lucky shots entered the nervous system or struck the heart. The fallen creature bled.
"Quick, let's go. The smell of blood will attract the others." I said, climbing into the Jeep. Within moments, we sped away, accelerating to the marked location faster than ever. If anything, I hoped that we didn't run out of fuel.
Once we approached the fork, we were met with three separate routes, instead of two.
"I thought there were two?" The spotter asked.
Confused, I looked at the map again.
"Strange, they did mark two on the map," I said.
"Which one do we take, chief?" One of them asked. I scratched my head.
"I would say to retreat and stick together, but we've already killed a creature. The blood pool has probably gathered some attention. We can only head forward."
"Do we gamble our way through?" Frankie asked to the right.
"I suppose we have to," I said. I tried to peer down each of the roads, but the view was quickly cut from how dark the forest was getting. One path led to a flowery path, another led to a darker area, the last one on the left seemed the most promising, featuring a smooth path and small grass patches.
"Let's take the left as we've planned. Perhaps the scouts marked it wrongly." I said, radioing the team. "We have to add this in the reports for future operations."
With all jeeps readied once again, we lined up and proceeded down the path. The ride was so incredibly boring that I couldn't stop thinking about how vast this forest was. My train of thought was quickly cut off by how increasingly dark it was getting.
"Let's stop for the day," I said. We stopped on the side of the road.
"Let's split into two," I suggested. "One should stay here to radio the other, who will scout suitable ground for the tents."
"Or we should just stay together," Ted said. "We would have a better chance of surviving should we encounter any monsters."
I pondered the idea and gave into it. "You're right, we should stick together."
As a group of 16, we trudged through the forest. It was difficult to find an area and I sensed that all of us were getting tired.
"Fuck." One of them complained.
"Don't complain." The squad medic said, carrying his share of the medical equipment. I felt quite bad honestly.
"Keep your guard up. Nighttime we have no idea how we'll end up by the morning." Another said.
"Man, fuck this." The same person from before said.
"They're getting agitated," Ted said, nudging my arms.
"I know." I nodded. "But we have to keep pushing on. Keep watch on the radar, we're entering unfamiliar zones."
The next moment I knew, my stomach felt a strong force, almost like a fist, and knocked the air in my lungs out. Coughing, everybody began to panic from an ambush. I quickly scouted around and spotted several thin and tall figures.
"Regroup! Psychic users spotted!" I tried to yell out, but it was useless. Without my stomach stinging in pain, I couldn't yell.
One of the operators threw a smoke at the figures, but it was deflected by a tree. The projectile landed near us, gassing us with smoke. While it was not harmful to us, it did provide cover. The only problem was that we couldn't see them.
By my backpack, somebody lifted me to my feet and we regrouped.
"Split 3, try to flank. Same protocols, tactic 2 in training." I mustered. With a nod, the 16 split up.
Staying near our smoke cover, the first group let several bursts of fire. A couple of the bullets killed the figures, perhaps by surprise. I squinted into the distance, trying to count the number of psychic users we were dealing with. However, the disorientation threw my senses off. As the third group let off several shots to cover for the first, the first group relocated quickly. The slender figures seemed to be thrown off.
As our flanks began to surround the group, the creatures cried something and a painful wave of aura washed over everyone. With the sound of the radar going crazy, we scrambled to get up from the ground. The ripples of the waves were horrible, causing us all the experience the worst kind of migraine possible. The three figures that I finally counted, threw multiple casts of psychic waves. One of the men screamed in pain as their arms were torn off.
The squadmate who was beside me groaned next to me.
"Hurry hurry. Get the flashbang from my pocket. My hands are nonresponsive." I urged him. He slowly reached out to my pocket and grabbed the small canister. With his other hand, he quietly pulled the pin and held onto the flashbang, preventing detonation. I glanced at the weird things in front of us, who were busy checking the others.
"Now," I whispered.
Out of the corner of my eyes, I see the object soar through the air. The flashbang floated in the air, a psychic ability from the creatures, but it was too late.
A white flash engulfed my vision and the smoke gathered around us all.