Author notes:
I'm sorry that I took me so long, but it seems that my uni and work are affecting me more that I would want to admit.
Here's the 5th chapter of the story.
Hope you enjoy it.
As always thank you for reads, hits, comments, kudos, bookmarks, subscription, etc :)
It really means a lot to me.
My current schedule:
The rise of the Blood Moons' servants
The story of one lost soul
Sometimes it's just better not to know
My home is where my heart lies
Black diamond
A few moments later:
"Do you know how did you get those?" Irelia asked the slightly wounded soldier as soon as she approached.
"I wish I do," May sighed heavily once again. "We haven't been in combat for at least 2 full days, I really have no idea how the hell I got those."
"Easy, easy," Amanda said instantly. "We aren't blaming you, you're just shocked and terrified. Something terrible happened under our noses, and we're clueless who or what caused it."
"I know, I know, I …," May started. "I'm the reason behind our retreat from the slums, and I feel guilty."
"Why do you feel guilty?" The officer asked tenderly. "You aren't the main factor that pushed me to make that difficult decision." The pink-haired woman whispered. "It was just a matter of time for me to sound the retreat. We lost a few of our friends, a few excellent soldiers, and we weren't able to deal with those hunters. Try not to put the blame on yourself."
"I will try, but I can't promise you that I will succeed in it."
"I can't ask for more, May," Irelia lightly squeezed the arms of her friend. "We're all going to move to the upper city. There, the real doctor will see to your wounds." The officer assured.
"Thanks, Captain. It really means a world to me." The wounded woman replied with gratitude in her voice.
"I would do anything to keep all of you safe, but it can't be helped, at least not now."
"Sometimes, we can't save all. You should know it all too well, Cap," Amanda spoke. "The current situation is like a war, just on a smaller scale."
"You're right, I know that, but it still doesn't ease up the process of accepting what happened."
"We know you all too well, Irelia," May started. "You will never forgive yourself for what happened to our friends, but for your own good, you need to. They wouldn't want that."
"Maybe, you two are right, but it will take time for me to process that advice."
"Soon enough, we will be in the upper city, then you will be able to take some rest." The wounded soldier assured. "It is just a couple of more minutes, and all of this will be over, at least for us."
"It won't be," Irelia replied. "I want to come back and revenge them, but for now, you are my top priority. I want the rest of you to be safe in the capital."
"Cap, Cap, Cap," Amanda giggled. "I think you'll never change. It isn't like we're all grown men and women, and we can handle ourselves decently. You aren't required to take responsibility for us like a mother takes responsibility for her children."
"If you think about it for more than a couple of seconds, it does make sense," May laughed. "You are seriously behaving like a mother toward us, Cap."
"Fuck you, I'm not anyone's mother," Irelia laughed as well. "All I want is you to be safe."
"Doesn't a mother want the same for her children?" Amanda winked. "You're pretty young, but if you really want, we can show you a place where you can find a sperm donor. Then wait a couple of months, and voila, you're a true mother."
"Fuck you, both of you. I am not even into men." The officer tried to respond coldly but failed to do so. "I can't even imagine that."
"You know, we can find you a hot shemale if you want." The wounded woman smiled evilly.
"I want this conversation to be over," Irelia slightly whined. "How can you be so cheerful right here? We're in the middle of slums, we're being hunted by some freaking monsters."
"Oh come on, Cap," Amanda said. "We all know that you think that the huntress is hot. I must admit, if she wasn't into killing us, I would probably date her as soon as it would be possible."
"I … I don't." The pink-haired woman mumbled.
"Oh, look at you, you are blushing," May giggled.
"Enough of that. Let's proceed to the extraction point." The officer cut off the conversation. Her whole face was hot, there was red all over it.
Half an hour later:
It was a weird turn of events, but their match to the extraction point wasn't interrupted even once. With all of them grouped in a pretty tight circle, they were the nearly perfect target for the hunters. Or, at least it was what Irelia though. If she was to bet which of the hunters would attack them, she would choose the white-haired huntress without hesitation. She seemed to be thriving in the fights against multiply enemies. The Captain couldn't tell for sure how many attacks took place since they bunkered themselves inside their temporary HQ. They cut off the pieces of information coming from the slums as soon as they locked themselves. The officer thought that it was a good idea, that it would allow them to focus on their goal without much distraction, but in the end, the decision seemed to be one big mistake.
"How many attacks have been reported recently?" The pink-haired woman asked via voice com.
"Around 100, Cap," Roger replied after a while. "None of our boys was killed during the lockdown, but many innocent people from slums were."
"I see," Irelia responded gravely. "Start the extraction. Mike, Tobias, Jason, you're going to cover us. As soon as the lift arrives, you're free to enter the building."
"Roger that," Tobias replied. "How long will it take?"
"No longer than a couple of minutes. There are too many of us to make it to the surface in one lift."
"It's fine, you didn't have any problems so far," Mike added. "We'll see you up there soon enough. Go."
"Guys, if any of the hunters show up before the lift comes back, just force it to retreat, or keep the safe distance. I don't want any of you to play hero right now. So many of our friends have already lost their lives. I don't want any more casualties. Am I understood?" Irelia spoke with a tone of drilling sergeant.
"Cap, you know us," Jason laughed. "We want to get the hell out of here more than you do. Believe me, we won't try to get ourselves killed."
"I really hope so. Good luck and see you in the capital in a few."
"Just go already before we start crying. You know we aren't the best in saying farewell," Mike joked. "Go, we will handle the situation down here."
The moment the lift started its way to the upper world, the areas around the extraction point went silent. The slight fog that began to form about an hour ago was currently reaching the thighs of soldiers. To be perfectly honest, the entire scenery was as if taken from the horror movie. The empty alley that surrounded the exit point added additional tension. Every couple of seconds, it seemed as if something or someone was moving inside of the fog. The creepy sensation was always in the back of their heads. The feeling was slowly creeping its way to overwhelm what was left off of their sanity. Each of them was staring into the different exit of the dark alleys. The extraction point was built on a circle plan. There were exactly 3 ways to reach or exit the lift area.
Even though it wasn't late, the nearby areas were flooded by darkness. To be frank, the only thing that was standing out from the pitch-black was a fog. It seemed as if hours had passed since their team entered the lift, but in fact, not even a couple of minutes passed.
"That scenery is fucking with my mind," Mike said suddenly.
"Yeah, me too, brother," Jason agreed.
"Something is definitely not right, but I can't point out what," Mike added. "I swear I see something moving through that fog every single damn time I look at my exit."
"Mike, someone may be walking there, but as far as we know, there was no attack in that area of slums. It was the reason, Cap, chose that exact extraction point," Tobias spoke. "Just don't lose your focus, a couple of more minutes, and we will be safe inside the lift cabin."
"I guess, but it still doesn't ease my mind," Mike nagged.
"Oh man, you won't calm down till we are finally out of this pit hole." Both Jason and Tobias replied.
"Shut up, I would love to be already inside that cabin. Something is just not right."
"Come on, don't be a pussy, man," Tobias joked.
"Fuck you," Mike laughed.
"Oh, look, our salvation is coming down," Jason added.
"About damned time," Mike growled.
A few moments before the platform reached the extraction point, the vein chilling scream reached Mike's ears. It was coming from his alley's exit.
"Please, help me. Please, don't rape me. Please, leave me alone. Please, please, please." The screams were only going louder and louder.
"Fuck!" Mike cursed under his nose. "Why now?"
As soon as the glass doors leading to the cabin opened, they entered the lift. Tobias and Jason were chatting happily, soon they would leave that pit hole behind them, and with some luck wouldn't see anytime soon.
"Aghh, please." Another whine reached the ears of Mike. "Please, I have kids, I am the only one they have left here. Please, let me go to them."
"Fuck, I can't let it happen," Mike growled and left the platform, barely making it through closing doors.
"Mate, what the fuck are you doing?" Jason shouted through the voice com.
"I can't let it happen again. I can't let another woman be raped and then killed," Mike mumbled.
"What the fuck … talking … mate?" Came the interrupted response.
"I can't hear you. I will be fine, I will come as soon as I deal with it."
"Fuck, fuck, fuck! Cap, do you hear me?" Tobias tried to reach the officer.
"You're a bit low, but I can understand you. What happened, you sound worried?" The pink-haired woman replied after a few seconds.
"Mike left the platform before it started its way top. He was shouting something about not letting another woman being raped and killed. I don't know what he was talking about."
"Shit," Irelia cursed. "He was referring to his wife. She was abused and then killed a couple of months ago by the local mafia. He didn't want anyone to know that beside me."
"Cap, I can't reach him, his com seemed to be cut off," Jason informed. "We can't stop the lift, we need to reach the top before we can get back for him."
"You aren't going back," Irelia said in a sad tone. "If he stayed there, he will be dead before we can reach him. Someone or something lured him. The most terrifying aspect of it is that that thing knew about his trauma. It must have been the huntress, I don't have any proof, but I feel like it was her."
"Cap, we can't leave him like that, he's our brother in arms, we don't leave anyone behind," Tobias was arguing.
"I know, but we can't do anything. Mike will be dead before you reach the top. If the white-haired huntress though us anything, it would be the fact that if we split up, she'll kill us all, she'll hunt us down."
"Cap …" Jason started.
"No!" The officer shouted. "It's the order! You're going to reach the upper city, and you won't go back there."
"As you wish, Captain," Tobias replied in the most pitty voice.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry," Irelia started to sob. "Fuck you, huntress, I'm going to hunt you and kill you!"
In the meantime in the slums:
Mike couldn't say for sure how long did he ended up running. With every single step he took, the voice he was following seemed to be fading as if someone was muffing the cries. The sole, though, was feeding his utter rage. For him, it was like the day his wife died was repeating itself. He wasn't able to protect her, but on her grave, he promised himself that he wouldn't let the same thing happen again. Fueled by his rising rage, the soldier was running through the dark alleys. His senses were sharpened, his entire frame was put in high alert.
After some time, the cries died. There were only silence and the heavy sounds of his boots hitting the ground. He immediately felt lost, vulnerable. Mike headed toward the place he thought the last scream came from. Minutes felt like hours, but he stubbornly was still pushing forward.
Soon enough, the soldier entered a small open area. In a matter of seconds, he located the body of a young woman that was resting on the wall. By the signs of blood that was covering it, Mike was pretty sure the woman was already dead. Something inside of his mind was telling him to run away, but he didn't do so. Instead of leaving, the soldier closed the gap between him and the dead body. She was wearing a blazer. The navy-blue tie was loosened, presenting a deep cut on her throat. By the look of things, it seemed that the woman was a part of the local mafia, but it didn't make any sense. The members of the gang wouldn't ever beg for life. Then, it must mean …
He felt the slender arms enveloping around his neck. Even though they were warm, soft, delicate, he felt the muscles underneath the skin. The warm, damp-breath moved from the nape to his ears.
"Consider it as my gift to you." The woman behind him said. "You'll meet your dear wife somewhere in the afterlife if you believe in such a thing. If not, you won't be required to live without her anymore. Goodbye, Mike." The huntress whispered before she cut the throat of the soldier.
In a matter of moment, the commando-trooper fell to his knees. His vision was quickly fading, his eyes slowly closing in. With his last breath, he tried to ask how the assassin was able to speak in his language. But he didn't manage to do so. Some noises were everything that escaped his throat. The moment his head hit the ground, he spotted the woman drinking blood from the dead body. Soon enough, he didn't feel anything at all. His final wish was to reunite with his wife. With that single thought in his mind, Mike died in the middle of some dark alley in slums.