The first casualties were the guards. Poorly armored and terribly trained, they were dealt by the raiders swiftly. One guard parried a raider's axe with his round shield, pushing it upwards. The guard gasped as a spear rammed through his chestpiece and pinned him against the wall. He grasped weakly at the spear, but a raider hacked away at his throat and his decapitated head fell on the floor.
The second casualties were the miners in the crowd, specifically those closest to the raiders. One by one, they were killed in various gruesome manners. One had her throat slit with an axe, another died in shock from the throes of his limbs being chopped off simultaneously. The crowd was a mad stampede as people surged toward the passenger boxcars and attempted to climb onboard. Those who were already in the boxcars extended their hands to pull others inside as fast as possible. In other circumstances, it was the opposite as those inside the full boxcar tried to close the doors on their terrified brethren.
In the midst of the ensuing madness, Hadrian tripped and fell on the ground. He flipped onto his back in time to see the leering face of a bleached human skull staring at him. The man wearing the skull-like helmet was adorned in spikes and armored in light iron plates. At this distance, he could see a kill tally crudely carved on the left vambrace. The raider swung downward at him and he raised his pickaxe to parry it. In that moment, he wondered if the God's magic would work against the sword. Instinctively, he channeled the forgotten magic through his veins and into the palm of his hand, where it traveled along the wooden handle and stored itself in the pickaxe's head. It glowed with a bright violent light and the air sizzled around it like a desert mirage.
The pickaxe and the sword clashed mere inches away from Hadrian's face. There was a brief spark of light and he saw the sword disintegrate into ashes. The raider's eyes widened at his missing sword and Hadrian quickly kicked him in the shins. The man slipped on the floor, his head banging against the icy floor. The man groaned from the pain and gasped lightly when he saw Hadrian slam his foot into his neck. Immediately, he reached to twist the foot away, but the violet light emitting form the pickaxe sealed his fate. The skull-like helmet cracked and the man shuddered once before he disintegrated into a pile of ashes.
Only a few people witnessed Hadrian's action and they ran through the crowd, hoping to get away from the coming slaughter. He picked a shortsword from a fallen guard, the blade flaring with purple light. With a shout, he charged toward the nearest enemy with reckless abandon. He sliced off a female raider's arm off as he tried to stab a panda Faunus with her halberd, her stump gushing with vitae. A quick stab into her heart ended her life quickly and he moved on to the next opponent.
He blocked a devastating blow from an axe-wielding raider, crossing his weapons in time to catch the axe. Stepping to the side, he pulled with his pickaxe, causing the raider to stumble forward. He silted the man's throat and stabbed him several times in the back for good measure. He heard yelling and turned to see his brothers join him in the fight. They had separated into small groups, taking on a raider through various means before hacking them to death with their pickaxes or other weapons.
In one corner, Dahren, Vezulah, and Gairok managed to trap a raider and attacked him with their pickaxes, chipping away his armor. The moment he fell to his knees, they pounced upon him and Hadrian heard the agonizing scream as the trio did their bloody work. Meanwhile, Ghota and Arik were weaving past the fighting as they headed for the leader. Ghota cleared the way, parrying and deflecting each blow while delivering his counterattack. Arik rushed behind him with a long spear clutched in his hands.
The raiders' leader turned to run back to the mining machine, but he screamed in pain as his leg tendons were sliced open by Ghota's sword. There was a sharp crack as Arik's spear pierced through the man's exposed neck.
Hadrian didn't know where Skand and Ushotan were and he could only hope they were safe. He returned to the carnage around him, charging toward a nearby raider. It became a blur for him. Everything he was doing was automatic. Parrying, slashing, stabbing - it was instinctual. He realized the fight was over when someone grabbed his wrists tightly. The sudden tightness made his hands release his weapons and they clattered on the icy stone floor. He found himself face to face with a pale, heavily-scarred boy. An inverted Y-shaped scar sat above his left brow and a wavy scar stretched from his cheek and over his lips.
"It's over now, Hadrian. They're defeated. The military police are here" Endryd Haar said and motioned at the dead bodies on the floor. Behind Endryd, another train had arrived. Jumping from the carriages and boxcars were policemen armed with riot gear. In another carriage, medical personnel ran to assist the miners and tended to the dead.
A medic gently pulled Hadrian aside from the bloody scene and had him sit next to his brothers. He winced at the medic, who probed him for any injuries. As the medics did their work, he noticed some miners pointing at him. The police officer interviewing them glanced at him before turning back to the miners.
He numbly accepted the wool cloak the medic gave him, wrapped it around himself and watched the ongoing scene before him. The medics tended to the frightened miners and the wounded. The dead were stored in black bodybags and tagged with any personal information found them. Forensic personnel, garbed in bright blue plastic hazmat suits, combed the blood-splattered floor for any evidence. Police men gathered and deposited the weapons in a pile near the train.
From the corner of his eyes, he noticed the police officer looking at him again. This time, it appeared he was speaking to someone over his phone.
"Are you certain?" a man's voice spoke.
"Yes. I have several witnesses who can corroborate this incident."
"Very well. Bring them in for questioning."
Their rest was over when the police officers began herding the traumatized victims to board their train. One by one, the officers pulled the miners up the short stairs and escorted them to their seats. Meanwhile, the train engineers and the overseer were shoveling combustion Dust into the train engine. The carriage Hadrian and his brothers were seating in shook as the engine roared loudly and the smell of burning Dust filled the air. Slowly, the train began to move and they were on their way back to the surface. Hadrian felt someone tap his shoulder he looked up to see a young blonde man with green eyes clad in riot armor. The officer was standing next to him in the aisle, concern tinged in his eyes.
"You alright, kid?" he asked. Hadrian nodded and the officer sighed with relief.
"That's good to hear." the officer said and continued, "My partner wants to speak with you and your brothers at the station." Hadrian frowned and the officer raised his hands into the air, trying to explain. "It's part of the procedure. Once we're done, we will take you home."
Hadrian looked at his brothers and they shrugged their shoulders. There was no harm in being interviewed by a police detective and it made sense to be questioned by the police.
He nodded his head and the officer grinned at him before leaving. Settling in his seat, he closed his eyes and fell asleep. When he awoke, he saw they had arrived back on the surface. Once again, the police officers shepherded the miners off the train onto assigned buses, which would take them home. After entering the police van, they were whisked away to the police station by an escort of cars and motorcycles. The boys were marched past the reception desk and lined up against the wall next to the interrogation room.
The room's interior was pale gray and looked like a stereotypical interrogation room. A square metal table with matching seats in the center, a one-way polarized mirror on the left wall, and painted brick walls. Sitting in one of the seats was a bald man dressed in a police officer's uniform. He had thin slitted black eyes, a hawkish nose and a small topknot haircut. On top of the desk was a blank notepad and a black pen.
He stood up and extended his hand to Hadrian, "Yasu Nagasena, Captain of the First Division". Hadrian took the pro-offered hand, shook it and sat down. Yasu picked up his pen and began asking simple questions, like where he was sitting and what he was doing. From there, the questions became more complex and the answers were more descriptive.
After a while, the captain set aside the pen and rose from his seat, indicating that the questioning was over. "Again, I thank you for your cooperation," the captain said while he opened the door for Hadrian. Hadrian nodded and left the room. The captain pointed his finger at the next boy, Skand, and asked him to come inside. The moment Skand shut the door behind him, Hadrian braced himself for the deluge of questions from his 'siblings'.
One by one, he answered their questions and their curiosity dwindled to boredom as they waited their turn. Twenty minutes later, the door swung open and Skand came out, his face haggard with exhaustion. The process repeated itself as Gairok went inside the interrogation room. The time of how long they were questioned varied, but all the boys were exhausted. By the time the last one came out, nearly all of them had fallen asleep.
Glancing at a nearby clock, the captain frowned when he saw how late it was. It was half past eleven and most of the police personnel had gone home. He looked over the children, who were now slumping over in their seats. He wasn't surprised to see them so exhausted. Both the ordeal at the mine and questioning had taken a severe mental toll on the kids. He motioned the officer who brought the kids to the police station to follow him into the interrogation room.
"So, what do you think?" the officer asked after Yasu closed the door behind him.
"They have potential, Kenwood. Of all the candidates I have seen, theirs is the brightest." Yasu said as he poured himself a cup of lukewarm coffee. He dumped a few sugar cubes into the coffee and continued, "They need to be transported now."
"What about their care-taker?" Kenwood shuffled nervously in his seat. Yasu sipped his coffee before answering, "She will be dealt with. Like all the others."
"Get the van ready. We are taking them to Arrowfell," he ordered after he finished his coffee. The young undercover officer saluted his compatriot and quickly left the room. Yasu looked at the kids one last time before he pulled out the syringe out of his breast pocket.
Hadrian awoke loudly with a gasp when he heard a loud commotion outside. He did not recognize his surroundings and looked for his siblings. Thankfully, they were sleeping next to him on their beds. He barely had time to call out their names when they came in. Tall burly men dressed in leather padded armor and black military fatigues hauled out him, his siblings, and other children out of their beds. Confused and terrified, the children began yelling for their parents while others tried to fight back. Those that did were stabbed in the chest with an electric baton and they convulsed on the ground erratically.
They were herded into a long hall, which led into a spacious atrium with gray walls. A glass dome illuminated the room with light. Once they were inside, the men went to the walls, their arms crossed in front of them. One of the walls swung open to reveal a group of people wearing long white lab-coats. Leading the group was a woman with short black hair and gray eyes.
The group stood a few meters away from the gaggle of children. The woman reached for something in her lab coat pocket and brought it in front of her mouth.
"Good evening, everyone," she spoke. Hadrian and the others looked at her with suspiciously, wondering what she was going to say next.
"I am Dr. Amar Astartes and I apologize for what happened to you. I know you want to go back home to see your parents and siblings. Unfortunately, you will not be able to."
The woman waited for the children's cries to settle down and continued, "You have been selected for a reason. Among the thousands of Mantle citizens, you have been chosen due to your circumstances and innate potential."
"In accordance with the King's decree, you have been recruited into the kingdom's Biotechnical Division as candidates for the Cataegis Project. You will be trained in the art of war, transformed into the greatest version of yourself, and armored in the most advanced technology Mantle has to offer."
The hairs on Hadrian's skin prickled as he took in the doctor's announcement. He glanced at his siblings and they too understood what has happening.
"Although you will belong to the Kingdom of Mantle, I can promise you that your purpose extends to Remnant itself. For now, rest your body and mind. Tomorrow will be the start of your new life."
Author's Note:
Sorry for the late update! Real life can annoying to deal with and I hadn't the time to write my story. Hopefully this chapter will satisfy you. As you can see, things are ramping up very quickly. As always, I look forward to your reviews and questions!