Chapter 33 - WHITE WHALE
...
Two days after meeting Himari, the Abydos girls, sans Ayane come with me into the desert. Ayane stays behind, as usual. The four girls and I ride in my armored car I stole from Kaiser a while back.
"So what's really going on, Sensei?" Serika asks me.
"Yeah, Kaiser's gone. There can't be anything out here." Hoshino says, agreeing.
Sighing, I relent. "Look, Kaiser was investigating a certain... 'white whale'." To my side, I see Hoshino's eyes widen, then narrow in recognition. "Yeah, THAT. Turns out, it was made by a super-strong rogue AI, but there's also a bunch of small robots out here. A friend of mine, wanting to investigate all this stuff, asked me to come out here and see what's up with those little robots. Y'know, if they're being controlled or the like."
"So, we're just looking for the little ones?" Nonomi asks.
"Yeah." I say simply.
"And the whale?" Hoshino asks, deadly serious.
"We shouldn't see it, but it's not like I didn't come prepared. This car's had some work done since last time." I explain, rapping my fist against the roof of the vehicle.
After a somewhat tense ride, we arrive at a small, empty Kaiser base. As we get out and look around, we all notice it's much smaller than the one we ended up at in the desert's center.
"All right, girls. Keep an eye out for those little robots. They're short and square with stubby legs, and are usually white and yellow. There's two areas of interest. One north of here and one south. Split up and investigate each, while I investigate this area. And... stay safe." I explain, receiving a serious nod and a smile from all four girls as they walk off. "Ayane, you read us?" I ask into the comms.
"Loud and clear, Sensei." The elf girl says.
"Good. Keep an eye on the seismograph for the area. If Binah shows up we have to leave ASAP." I say. "Alert us about even the smallest disruption."
"I will, Sensei." Ayane replies, equally as serious as I.
Speaking of coming prepared, I'm 'suited up', so to speak. On my back is my assault rifle and a sniper rifle, each held by a strap that goes over one shoulder and under the other. I've also got some kevlar on under my outfit, and a belt of ammo and grenades around my waist, along with a pistol holstered on my hip.
You can bet your ass I'm taking this seriously.
Serika and Nonomi investigate the small encampment to the north of their car and Sensei.
"Hey, Nonomi?" The cat girl suddenly asks, while holding her rifle by her side, her body tensed and ready to fire.
"Yes?" The blonde asks, holding her gatling gun firmly.
"Do you know what Sensei meant by 'white whale'?" Serika asks her friend.
"No clue." Nonomi says, seriously. An odd change of pace for the usually bubbly girl. "But Hoshino seemed to know."
"...Maybe it was something the old Student Council were involved in." Serika theorizes.
"Okay! Enough of that talk, let's go find those robots!" Nonomi says cheerfully.
"Heh, all right." Serika says, as the two trek forward.
Meanwhile, Shiroko and Hoshino investigate the southern encampment, both gripping their guns tightly. Hoshino's riot shield, strapped to her back, bobs up and down with each step.
"Hoshino?" The wolf girl asks.
"Yeah?"
"What's the whale you and Sensei were talking about?" Shiroko asks.
Hoshino lets out a long sigh. "Binah."
Shiroko tilts her head in confusion.
"That's it's name, Binah." The heterochromatic girl says with a low voice. "The old Abydos Student Council fought with and investigated it for a while, but all the reports of it were lost when the school was moved a bunch." She explains.
"Is it... dangerous...?"
"The thing can swim through the sand and is pretty much indestructible." Hoshino says with a calm seriousness, looking right into the other girl's eyes. "If that thing shows up, we HAVE to run."
Shiroko's eyes widen, not just from the serious tone of voice coming from her usually lazy and whimsical upperclassmen, but also from the fact she said to run. Not to maybe run, but that they HAVE to run, with no other course of action available.
The wolf girl nods with seriousness.
"Now then, let's go find those tiny robots." Hoshino says, walking forward while switching gears as her voice returns to a calm normal.
"Right." Shiroko says, following her slowly, a bit worried now.
I explain the situation to Ayane as I look around the empty base.
"So, all the information our school has on this... 'Binah' has been lost?" The elf girl asks for clarification.
"All gone, yeah. Apparently, it was lost when the school moved locations." I explain. "Though, seemed like Hoshino knew about it."
"Is that good?" She asks.
"Yeah, she knows how dangerous it is and can back me up when I say 'If that thing shows up, we run'." I say, seriously.
"Is it truly that dangerous?" The elf girl asks.
"It's made of futuristic tech and is not only armed to the teeth, but also can't be scratched except from the biggest of guns. Even then, Kaiser only dealt small scratches to it, despite their many skirmishes with the creature. Oh, and it can swim through sand." I explain. "Our Kaiser pals had lots of records about it in their lab we raided. If any of us see that thing, we run."
"...Okay, then, Sensei. I'll keep a close eye out." Ayane says resolutely after a moment.
"Sensei." Serika's voice pops up over the comms.
"Yeah?" They hear their Sensei's voice speak over the comms.
"We found some of those little robots." Serika says.
"How many?" He asks, seriously.
"A few dozen." The cat girl adds.
"They're all just walking around randomly. It's kind cute!" Nonomi says.
"Good, that means they ARE in this area, but no proof of them being controlled by that AI..." He says, trailing off. "They shouldn't be so tough. Think you two can break 'em? Maybe bring a few back to the car?"
"Of course!" The blonde chirps.
"What do you take us for? Of course we can fight them!" The cat girl snaps back.
Their Sensei just chuckles. "Right. Shouldn't doubt y'all. Good luck." He says, leaving the call.
"Seriously, that guy..." Serika says. Despite how her words may make her seem annoyed, she has a smile on her face all the same.
"Ready, Serika?" Nonomi asks, receiving a nod from the cat girl as the two charge forward.
"Serika and Nonomi are engaging the small robots." Ayane says to me, as I walk through the small building's empty halls. I say it's smal, but it's still a pretty large place, bigger than a school auditorium, at least.
The place is totally empty, no robots, no nothing. Just abandoned desks, tables and various other pieces of furniture. It's kinda horror-esque.
"Nothing here, Ayane?" I ask.
"No, Sensei. No movement, or anything. I think this building is completely empty." She says.
"I wonder how-" I begin to say, but am cut off by Shiroko's quiet voice.
"Sensei."
"Sensei here." He says over the comms, eliciting a small smile from both girls.
"We found some robots." The wolf girl says.
"How many?" He asks.
"Three or four dozen." Shiroko says.
"They seem kinda dumb." Hoshino says.
"Are they just wandering about at random?" He asks.
"Nn." Shiroko makes a sound in affirmation.
"The other two ran into the same thing..." He trails off. "Anyway, beat 'em up and bring a few back, if you'd please."
"On it." Shiroko says simply.
"Good luck." He says, leaving the call.
"Well, let's get this over with, then." Hoshino says with a yawn, causing Shriko to smile and nod.
Soon after my call with the other two, I reach a small room, filled with papers and the like.
"What's in there, Sensei?" Ayane asks.
"Lots of papers and... Oh! 'Structural Integrity Report on Binah'..." I say, beginning to skim the papers, stapled together. I whistle, "Seems like Kaiser wasn't fucking around when it came to this thing. They've got pictures, detailings of behavorial patterns, strategies for attacking and defending against and even info about Binah's weaponry."
"Incredible find, Sensei!" Ayane cheers.
"...Holy fuck..." I breathe as I read it. "This thing is WAY more dangerous than I thought."
"Sensei...?" Ayane asks concerned at my tone of voice.
I begin to read off various passages of text. " 'Subject Binah's armor plating is nigh-indestructible. Even after firing a miniature missile at it, the only damage it suffered were small, hairline fractures, only noticed by zooming our footage in as far as we could.', 'Subject Binah can fire small shots at a single target from its mouth. When it does so, its eyes glow momentarily as the shot is fired with a roar. Upon later inspection, the rounds it uses are quite large, perhaps even bigger than sniper rifle rounds.', 'The white armor plating does not cover Subject Binah's entire body, yet its actual body is just as, if not a little less, durable. Additionally, its back is riddled with closed missile silos, each capable of firing quick, heat-seeking missiles. It was once recorded firing off nearly three dozen missiles at once'."
"Goodness... How could someone even defeat this thing?" Ayane asks, almost afraid.
"I don't know... but it gets worse... 'The most dangerous weapon Subject Binah possesses is an energy cannon within its mouth. It is capable of firing off two different types of lasers. Each laser is identical, with the only difference being the time it takes to charge. Subject Binah's first laser takes approximately 2.5 seconds to charge, yet the beam is wider than a truck and hotter than the sun, averaging at 6,750C. It is capable of melting metal and turning sand to glass in an instant. Subject Binah's second laser is far more dangerous, yet takes 8 seconds to charge. The beam is wider enough to completely engulf a double-decker bus. The laser's temperature cannot be recorded due to it possessing disintegrative properties, breaking anything and everything it comes into contact with into atoms. Fortunately, as mentioned above, it not only takes 8 seconds to charge, but also can only be moved up or down, unlike its first laser, which the beast has complete control over. The first laser's duration is an average of 10 seconds, whereas the second laser's duration is a mere 3, likely due to it costing much more power to fire. When it begins charging up, run and pray'." I read off.
"It has... a laser..." Ayane says.
"Yeah..." I say, unable to form a response. I knew Decagrammaton was dangerous, but to create something like this? It needs to be destroyed, ASAP. "How... How are the others doing?"
"Quite well. Judging by what I can see, they've almost destroyed all of the robots." Ayane relays over the comms.
"Good. I'm gonna take more papers and bring 'em back to the car. Tell them to meet there with the robots." I say.
"All right, Sensei." Ayane says.
Seeing a nearby fire-proof suitcase with a lock, I grab a bunch of papers and stuff them inside. After a few minutes of this, I walk out of the room and back into the dark halls, lit only by slight amounts of sunlight peeking in.
After a minute of walking, I reach the car and sit the suitcase down, as I sit on the car's hood, waiting for the four girls to return.
"Sensei!" The bubbly blonde calls out as she and the cat girl walk up to me, dragging a few robots held together by rope, tied into a net.
"Oh, you managed to snag quite a few." I say, surprised.
"Yup, yup! They were easy!" Nonomi says, happily.
"What's in the suitcase, Sensei?" Serika asks.
"Bunch 'o documents. Some interesting stuff." I say.
"Important stuff?" Nonomi asks, curious.
"Yeah. I'm probably gonna have to give this to Rin and the GSC." I say, causing the girl's eyes to widen.
"It's THAT important!?" Serika shouts, receiving a simple nod in return.
"It's intel regarding that whale I mentioned earlier." I say.
"Whale? Is it dangerous?" Nonomi asks, tilting her head slightly.
"Definitely. It's made out of some kinda futuristic tech and even Kaiser, with all their firepower, only managed to cause hairline scratches on it." I say. "If it shows, we run."
"You got that right, Sensei." Hoshino's voice says, as I see her and Shiroko walking up, sack of robots in tow. "It would take multiple schools working together to take down that thing."
"And how do you know?" Serika asks, doubtful.
"Abydos' old Studen Council was researching it, until they lost their info when they moved the school a bunch." I explain, causing Serika's eyes to widen.
"I used to be a pretty confident and gung-ho person back in the day, but even I would've thought twice about even getting near that thing." Hoshino says, altering all of us as to how serious of a thing it is.
"Well, enough of that worrying talk." I say, popping the car's trunk. "Toss the robots in the back and get it. We've got what we needed."
As Serika and Shiroko toss their respective sacks of robots in, I begin to speak. "All right, then. Let's get outta-"
BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP
"Huh?" The pink haired girl says, as everyone's eyes widen from shock.
"The fuck?!" I shout.
The robots have all started emitting this loud beeping and have lights on them blinking, making them resemble a small car alarm.
"What the heck are they doing?" The cat girl asks.
"I... have no clue." I say slowly. "Let's just get in and go. Maybe the trunk will muffle 'em." I say with a kind of shrug.
"Sensei!" Ayane shouts over the comms, louder than I've ever heard her shout.
"Ayane?" Nonomi asks with wide eyes, shocked at the elf girl's volume.
"What is it?" I ask.
"Something just got picked up on the seismograph! Something massive is headed right for you all! And fast!" She warns.
"What?! Where?" Serika asks.
"Under the sand." Ayane says solemnly.
Hoshino and I lock our wide eyes together, causing me to say only one thing. "Fuck." Scrambling, I grab the two sacks of robots, still making that horrendous beeping sound, with one hand. Stepping a bit away from the car, I spin around and let go of the sacks, throwing them like a shot put. "Everyone in!" I shout, urgently.
We all but cram ourselves into the car, before I smash on the gas pedal. "What's coming? Is it that whale thing?" Serika asks.
"Probably. It's Binah." Hoshino says lowly.
I'm slamming on the gas even harder than when we resuced Hoshino, the car now going one thirty hundred km/h. Wonder what this thing's zero-to-sixty is?
"Is it focusing on the small robots?" I ask.
"No, the movement hasn't changed. It's still coming straight for you all." Ayane warns.
"Fuck!" I say, slamming on the gas. "Speed up, dammit!" Two hundred km/h. Two thirty.
"Sensei! It's closing in!" Nonomi warns. Looking in the rear-view, I see a trail of dust behind us.
"How?! We're going three hundred kilos per hour!" I shout, seeing the speedometer go past the three hundred limit. We're likely almost going three twenty now. "I knew this thing could swim in sand, but Christ!"
"Oh, crap." The pink haired girl says simply, as if completely summing up our situation. The sand cloud is right behind us.
"Everyone! Brace!" Ayane shouts as we all jerk around uncontrollably, as the car takes a massive hit, causing it to flip around. Eventually, it comes to a stop, completely on its side. As I regain my bearings, I see sand pressed against the now-broken window next to me, as gravity pulls me to my left.
"Everyone alive?" I ask.
"I'm okay." Serika.
"Wowie..." Nonomi.
"Fine." Shiroko.
"I hope I didn't break anything." Hoshino.
"Oh, thank God." I say, relieved. "Okay, everyone up and out." The four girls then get out of the vehicle, crawling their way upward and pulling themselves up and out of the flipped car. I soon hop out and land on my feet, looking at my poor car. "Oh man, I spent a fair bit of money on her..." I say sadly, grabbing my briefcase and strapping it to my back, over my guns.
"How did it find us, anyway?" The wolf girl asks.
"The smaller robots sent some kind of signal to Binah, most likely." Ayane says.
"How do we even know that it IS Binah?" The cat girl asks.
"Because this is how it attacks. I recognize the pattern." The pink haired girl says, serious. I can tell that the other three girls are unnerved by Hoshino's sudden seriousness, even if they aren't showing it. "Still, we need a plan."
"Ayane. Call Rin at the GSC, ask them to send a chopper to us. Tell them it is URGENT." I say, stressing the last word.
"Roger, Sensei." The elf girl says.
"Now what?" The blonde asks.
"Now?" I ask, pulling out my rifle. "Now, we need to survive for a while." Almost as if on cue, the ground starts rumbling. Observing our surroundings, I see buildings behind us, as well as a old, cracked road, partially covered by sand. "Everyone, into cover by these buildings!" I order.
The rumbling grows stronger as the earth begins to shake. It feels like an earthquake as we rush to solid ground. Soon, we all stand on the broken road and hide behind pieces of debris and rubble. Eventually, the shaking reaches a climax.
And out from the ground... IT appears.
Shooting out like a missile is a giant snake. It coils around itself, gathering its balance, as it turns to face us.
"Holy crap..." Serika breathes.
"Well, shit." I say simply.
Staring us down is Binah and it is MASSIVE. It's body is covered in bright white plates of armor, hiding its black body, bright orange energy coursing through it, being visible from 'cracks' in its black body. Its head resembles a white, four eyed snake, or perhaps even a whale as its body widens somewhat just before the head. Above its head... is a halo made of the same orange energy coursing through it. The halo itself is a singular ring with two spikes on either horizontal side and a small sphere in the center. On its forehead is a rune of sorts, with the 'logo' of the sephirot, Binah in the center.
"Uh, Sensei?" Serika asks.
"Yeah?" I say, locking eyes with the creature.
"Any tips?" She asks, shaking a bit.
"Indestructible. If it roars, it might fire larger-than-sniper rounds from its mouth. Missiles from top of back, can fire laser from mouth." I read off from my memory.
"Laser?" The wolf girl asks.
"Smaller takes two and a half seconds to charge, lasts up to ten. Melts anything, has full movement control. Larger takes eight seconds, lasts about three. Can only move it up or down, disintegrates everything." I continue.
"Disintegrates?!" Serika shouts.
"If it charges up, run and pray." I say, still having not dropped eye contact with the beast. "So... You wouldn't be willing to talk this out, would you, בִּינָה?" I ask, nervously.
The creature roars menacingly in response. "Well, shit. SCATTER!" I shout with all of my might.
The five of us break in different directions, jumping behind cover as the rubble we were near is destroyed by a shot from its mouth as it roars.
"Sensei? Any orders?" Hoshino asks.
"We just need to wait for the chopper, so... don't die. That goes for all of us." I say. Looking around, I see them all nod resolutely.
"Sensei! Miss Rin has sent the helicopter!" Ayane alerts us.
"ETA?" I ask.
"About five minutes." The elf girl admits.
"Five minutes? Plenty of time." I say. "Serika, Shiroko. Get on top of that building next to you both. Hoshino, Nonomi. Stick to the ground, distract the bastard. Flank left and right, I'll stick to the center."
"On it." Serika says, as she and the wolf girl move inside. To help, I quickly shoot at Binah, causing it to shoot more rounds from its mouth at us.
"Got a plan?" Hoshino asks again.
"Those eyes make good target practice. If you know what I mean." I say with a grin, taking my sniper rifle from my shoulder. "Now git gone." I say, motioning my head forward. The blonde and pink haired girls chuckle as they move forward. Hoshino sticks left and Nonomi right.
Binah's massive head swivels as it follows Hoshino, but gunfire from Nonomi pulls its attention to her. A blast from the pink haired girl's shotgun draws its attention back. This pattern continues, until it growls and lowers its head. Holes in its white armor pop open, causing my eyes to widen. "DUCK!" I shout, as the two girls hide behind cover, narrowly avoiding the deluge of missiles the beast just let loose from its back.
As for me, I've been aiming this whole time. In the corner of my eye, I spot Serika and Shiroko on two nearby roofs, spaced apart. 'Smart.' I think to myself with a chuckle. 'Now then...' I reach into my bag and grab something special, piercing sniper rounds, filled with explosives. 'This'll do just fine.'
"Serika, Shiroko. Help distract it, watch for missiles." I order.
"Roger." Shiroko says in her usual quiet tone.
To the side, I see Serika begin firing as Shiroko sets up her drone. "Good, keep alternating it's attention!" Binah is shot by one girl, then another, then another, causing its attention to keep changing. Once more, its back opens up, unleashing a deluge of missiles upon the girls...
...but not me. 'Good.' I line up my shot, looking down my rifle's scope. "Smile you son of a bitch." I say with a likely manic grin as I squeeze the trigger.
With a whizzing sound, the bullet cuts though the air, flying towards the beast. Suddenly, it roars and thrashes in pain as one of its four eyes is impacted by a small explosion. As it recovers, I see smoke coming from the 'socket' as it struggles to open its eye. As it does, I see the 'eyeball' is cracked, with smoke pouring out from within.
It looks directly at me, as I throw my hand up into the air, all of my fingers raised, save my middle one.
Its mouth opens as a menacing growl emanates from within its maw as crackling, yellow energy forms therein. My eyes widen in alarm as I begin to run while mentally counting. 'One...'
"Cover me!" I shout.
'Two... and half!' I think to myself as the crackling energy spills from the beast's mouth, forming a literal laser. Over my shoulder, I see it raise its head upward quickly. 'Shit!' I quickly dodge to the side, as a straight path next to me is hit with the laser. The cracked asphalt is turned a bright red and the bits of sand are hardened into glass. The energy from the laser's sudden sweep also pushes me back a ways, helping me to dodge it. Continuing to run, I see Shiroko's drone firing at its eye, but missing, as the beast turns, the laser still coming from its mouth as its laser cuts through the buildings like butter. Shiroko and Serika quickly hop to nearby buildings as I ready my sniper.
Quickly aiming at its eye again, I fire, this time narrowly missing my shot. Its laser continues to shoot forward, only around seven seconds having passed. It sweeps horizontally, aiming for me. I run away once more, physically jumping away this time as the ground beneath my feet, prior to jumping, is melted. Scrambling to my feet, I see the laser end. I run and jump over the trench of molten asphalt and return to the girls. The beast roars, firing a round at me, but I hop to the side to dodge. Nonomi and Hoshino continue firing at it, as does Shiroko and Serika. Its back opens, raining missiles down again. Nonomi and Hoshino duck again, the latter with her riot shield out, Serika and Shiroko dodge behind sturdier rubble. As for me, I simply avoid the missiles, while running forward. As I dodge one, another is right in my path, so I simply jump up. Planting my feet onto the missile momentarily, I jump off, boosting myself forward.
Upon returning to the forefront of the battle, Binah fires a round at me again. I suddenly find myself annoyed, as I flip the sniper rifle around in my hands and-
SMACK
-hit the bullet back to the beast with the butt of the rifle, swinging it like a baseball bat. The returned bullet hits it in the face, as I quickly un-holster a grenade, tossing it at its mouth, just before it fires again. The grenade lands in its mouth and collides with the bullet, exploding, causing the beast to recoil. The beast looks like its in more pain than last time, thrashing and screeching wildly and loudly. As it regains its bearings, it lets out a low growl, before... turning around and diving into the sand...?
"The hell...?" I say, out loud.
"Is it... leaving?" The blonde girl asks.
"Maybe." I say, before speaking into the comms. "Ayane? ETA?"
"About one more minute, Sensei." The elf girl says, helpfully.
"Good." I say, as the other three girls walk towards me. "Now we just need to-"
"Sensei!" Ayane suddenly shouts. "Binah hasn't left!"
"What?" The pink haired girl asks.
"What's it doing, then?" I ask, worried.
"I don't know, but the seismograph is going wild!" She shouts over the comms.
"But we don't feel anything!" The cat girl yells.
"Whatever its doing, its doing it deep under the ground." The elf girl explains. "It's- It's coming back up!"
In the distance, we see the tip of its whale-like tail sprout from the ground, waving around menacingly. The sand begins to almost warp and distort around it. The tail disappears, at its main body reappears, flying high into the air and slamming back down. It quickly dives into the ground, kicking up more and more sand as it dives. Once its tail retreats under the sand again, a massive cloud of sand has formed around it. Then, we see it swipe its tail towards us, as the cloud of sand MOVES.
"Oh, shit." I breathe. "Since when could it do that?! Everyone, get inside!"
The girls, just as worried as I, scramble towards a building. Unfortunately, Hoshino, next to me, trips on a piece of rubble. "You alright?" I ask, stopping to hold out my hand.
"I'm fine." She says, picking herself up as she grasps my hand.
"Come on, Sensei!" Nonomi shouts, her and the others already inside.
"Hurry!" Serika shouts, voice filled with urgency.
Then, it hits. Sand and wind slams into the short girl and I, knocking us both off balance and onto the hard asphalt. I barely see the other three girls fall back further inside, the wind smacking them as well. I grab a hold of the short girl's arm, pulling her towards me as she grabs me as well. The two of us begin to slowly inch our way towards the buildings, our vision almost completely obscured by the sand. My skin feels as though it's going to peel off as my body is assaulted by fast-moving sand. I try my best to shield Hoshino from the sand, but some still hits her.
As we march, we both stumble, the ground beneath us shifting. Looking down, I see the cause. The asphalt here was old and cracked already, but Binah's laser has only served to break it even more. Pieces of it have begun to fall back, down a slope of sand behind the city. Pulling myself and the shorter girl forward, we move.
That is, until the rather large piece of asphalt we stand on breaks loose. Hoshino and I scream out, sand filling my mouth and likely hers, as we slam onto the ground. The piece of asphalt, as well as a few further back have broken loose and are now sliding down the newly-enlarged slope.
Through my sand-assaulted eyes, I see the asphalt next to us is stable. I try my hardest to regain my balance, but between the ground literally sliding and the skin-peeling sandstorm, it's tough. Eventually, I grab a hold of Hoshino and sling her onto my back, myself now kneeling on my knees. She latches onto my torso tightly as I struggle to stand. Eventually, I succeed and begin to move, constantly stumbling due to the ground's movement.
I inch my way closer and closer to solid asphalt, but we keep moving, down and down. The short girl clings to my back for dear life as I reach the edge of the moving platform on which I stand. Then, I jump.
My balance is screwed already, so my jump isn't the best and I don't land on my feet. We both smack down on hard asphalt once more, however, we roll forwards a ways, our momentum still carried from the moving platform we were just on. My suitcase of papers drops from my back, but is caught by Hoshino as she, too, struggles to stop moving forward, but the wind and sand push us faster still. I twist my body around, my feet facing away from the sand, in a bid to stop myself. I slam my feet down, but this only serves to propel my upwards and forwards still. I smack around on the ground a few times, losing sight of Hoshino as I see something bad.
The end of the solid asphalt. Up ahead is the slope of sand.
'I need to... HAVE TO STOP!' I shout in my mind.
Putting my all into stopping, I slam my feet and hands down, trying to grab or catch myself against anything. As I do, I hit a crack, causing my body to flip over, now on my stomach. Soon, I do grab something and stop my momentum.
Problem is, my feet and one of my arms are dangling off the edge of the asphalt, the dune slope awaiting me below. Despite my strength, I struggle to move at all, the sand and wind smacking me harder than before, somehow.
As I struggle, Hoshino stands above me, holding onto a broken, metal railing near my hand, her arm using my suitcase to hold herself more stably. Using everything I have, I pull my hand up, grabbing the asphalt. I pull myself forward and take Hoshino's small wrist in my hand, as she does the same to me.
As if fate wanted to shit in my mouth and call it a day, I make out Binah's body in the distance, among the swirling sands. Or more accurately, it's tail. Swiping towards us.
'Fuck.'
Sand and wind blast at Hoshino and I, twice or even three times as strong as before.
She stumbles forward.
I get pulled back.
My grip lessens.
Her grip tightens.
But the winds are too strong.
We both get jerked along with the winds.
The sands continue to tear into us.
The beasts's tail swipes again in the distance.
Seeing yet another gust of sand and wind coming, I realize...
There ain't a way out of here.
I doubt I'll die, but...
These girls definitely deserve to live more than I.
The wind slams into us once more.
Hoshino jerks forward.
I get pulled back.
Our grips lessen in strength.
I am pulled away from her.
I see Hoshino's eyes widen.
Despite the raging sands, her heterochromatic eyes widen...
...in horror.
That's the last thing I see...
'Sorry, Hoshino...'
...before it all goes dark.
AN
Binah has attacked! What will the fate of our dear Sensei be...?
I hope you all enjoyed this chapter, and look forward to the next!