Chapter 30
Call and Wolf
Alexander North
"Is everything okay?" dad asks as soon as he accepts the connection.
I nod my head in reply despite the video feed not being connected as I answer, "Yeah, was just calling to see if you still had the intel about the executive staircases."
No need to tell him about how I was split up from the others again. Or the fact that I was sent in alone to fight the monsters. Because I know that he won't react well to that, even if he won't do anything to the lieutenant colonel for giving the order in the first place since it was a logical one.
Dad pauses for a moment before saying, "Wait a sec," and going silent again, with the only sound coming through the connection being that of rustling paper.
Wait a second, does he-
"Here it is!" he suddenly exclaims before answering my question, "The executive stairwell is hidden in the center of the symbiont storage room, underneath one of the special symbiont containers."
He really has the blueprints printed out and stuffed somewhere in his office? Are you serious?
I mean, it comes in handy in this situation, but still... also, that location actually makes sense. After all, it's best to put the executive stairwell in a place that only higher ups can enter.
"Thanks," I tell him before getting up from the stairs and walking over to the door. "Any news on the situation?"
Dad quickly settles into a business-like tone as he responds, "A little. We've basically confirmed that the Eternal Winter has something to do with Cocytus by now, and the Fifth Procedure has finally been called." My eyebrows raise at that before a faint smile makes its way on my face. "The legislative council should be directly contacting each Tier 5 symbiont host
as we speak, so the casualties should drop by a massive amount after this point."
"That's great," I breath out in relief while reaching for the doorknob to BF2.
The Laws of the Fifth are set in place to limit the potential damage Tier 5 symbiont hosts can cause. It directly forbids them from entering combat unless given a direct order from a member of the legislative council, or the general himself. And in the general's case, he's forbidden from acting entirely.
Meanwhile the Fifth Procedure basically lifts the laws on the Tier 5s entirely. It allows them to act in combat as they see fit, and even allows the general to do so as well.
Although if it weren't for the kill code scripted into every terminal that would paralyze the Tier 5's symbiont were they to break these laws, then I get the feeling that a lot of Tier 5s would have ignored the laws during this. But now they don't have to worry about it.
It's just too bad that this base doesn't have anyone stronger than a Tier 3. In fact, this planet doesn't have anyone stronger than a Tier 3 symbiont host.
It is a tourist planet after all. Why would there need to be a strong military presence here?
Just a few bases are enough, with a single Tier 3.
"Why are you ask-" dad begins to ask, only to pause as I interrupt him to say, "I have to go. Take care!"
I then cut my connection to the direct port without a hint of hesitation.
Sorry, but I'm not gonna sit here for half an hour listening to you insulting my superior officer when you could be fighting yourself now that the Fifth Procedure has been called. And especially not in the middle of a stairwell when I need to get going myself.
Although that might be a bit of an exaggeration.
I turn the doorknob after narrowing my eyes to focus and search for heat signatures, just to find none. But I quickly find myself shutting the door again when it opens to reveal some strange hairy monster just a couple of meters from the door.
Oh.
Well, that's not what I was expecting.
A snarl follows, and I quickly back up from the door before it gets sent flying off of its hinges by what looks like a large and quite intimidating wolf, whose eyes are the same as most of the other infected monsters and whose chest is letting out the same pale blue glow. Despite its canine form though, it is the size of a bear, and clearly has the strength of a super bear as well considering the now wrecked door lying on the other side of the stairwell that only barely missed me.
"What the fuck are you doing down he-" I cut off as I jump into a roll to avoid the wolf's charge, letting it ram into the wall with its open muzzle. I then keep my mouth shut to rush off through the doorway while it's busy gathering its bearings.
Right. There were dogs in the base.
Military trained ones.
Why didn't I think about that sooner?
Not sure why it looks like a wolf now though. Maybe it's just because
of its massive size?
Either way, I hide on the side of the doorway on BF2 before swinging
my sword down the moment I see it charge through. But instead of hitting its neck like I'd wished, the creature's immense speed makes it fly by and makes my sword hit its midsection instead. And it only pierces a couple of inches into it as well, seemingly stopping cold once it hits what I'm guessing are its bones with a chink sound of something hitting ice.
Now that's just annoying.
The wolf lets out a low growl while swinging its massive paw to strike me directly in the shoulder, batting me straight at the wall where I let out a grunt before falling to the ground. I ignore the pain in my shoulder though and begin getting up again without any hesitation as the monster stumbles a bit and leaks a pale blue blood that drips onto the ground, fortunately not doing anything to it in the process like the spider's blood.
I narrow my eyes on my sword that's still stuck in the creature's back, but I don't go for it immediately as despite its wounded status, it is still keeping its gaze locked on me.
Surprisingly, it backs up a little and we end up circling each other. Meanwhile I feel the pain lessening in my shoulder as my energy goes down. But at the same time, I don't see its own wound healing. Which means that not all of the infected have the ability to heal themselves with energy.
Right as I'm about to charge in towards it, a notice appears in my vision that catches me by surprise.
Chapter 31
Terminal Changes
Alexander North
/ Notice \
Exterior energy source located.
Energy source identified as a Frozen One with an energy level of 0.74.
\End of Notice/
What the heck?
I don't get the chance to think about it as the wolf charges towards me with a snarl and I'm forced to back up while grabbing both of the knives from my back. I then raise the knives and form a cross with them to block the wolves' muzzle before swinging my foot around to kick it in the side of the head.
The wolf lets out a whimper from it, but I follow after it to stab the creature in the eye while it's still falling to the ground, killing it as soon as my blade pierces its brain.
After pulling my knife back out of the monster and reaching down to absorb its energy, I stand up straight again while ignoring the notice about my stat increase and instead asking out loud, "Terminal, how are you able to determine the energy level of beings outside of my body? And are there any other new features that weren't available prior to now?"
The terminal takes a second as I hear very faint vibrations from behind my ear before it responds.
/ Notice \
Answer to User's Query – Energy within user's body has integrated itself into user's terminal, making new features available for use.
New features include the ability to scan the energy level of nearby objects and creatures above a certain degree, the ability to locate energy sources within a five meter radius of the user, and more possible abilities as the
energy level in the user's body continues to grow and change the terminal.
\End of Notice/
Oh shit.
As useful as those features are, I don't think I like the sound of my terminal being mutated by radioactive energy that turns things into monsters. In fact, I very much dislike the sound of that.
It also doesn't make much sense. After all, the radiation is supposed to change physics in a way that doesn't let technology work. So if it's affecting the terminal, then why is the terminal still working?
Also, is it going to integrate with my artificial heart as well, since it's affecting my terminal? Because that's a scary thought.
Whatever the case, I'm sure the scientists at the Terran Researcher Union would love to open me up and find out. So maybe it's best not to tell anyone who might tell them.
My thoughts are cut off as a query appears on my terminal.
/ Query \
Would user like to set a minimum threshold of energy required for the terminal to notify you of a source of energy's energy level?
Oh? Huh.
Very interesting.
"Yes, please set the minimum threshold to be seventy-five percent of
my own energy level," I speak out loud while ripping my sword out of the wolf's body and wiping it along with my knives on its fur to clean them of blood.
Confirmed.
Minimum threshold of energy required for terminal notice set to 75% of
user's energy level.
Current minimum threshold is 1.3425 Energy.
User may also use the keyword 'Analyze' to direct the terminal to determine the energy level of a nearby energy source within eyesight.
\End of Query/
Okay, that'll be helpful in gauging the strength of monsters I meet. Also, I didn't notice it earlier, but it mentioned the term Frozen One. "Terminal, define Frozen One," I ask while sheathing all three of my
blades and looking around the hallway I find myself in. It's a rather narrow
one, with doors scattered across both sides of it, each with passcode locks that have been rendered useless by the Eternal Winter.
While reading the answer that pops up on my terminal, I begin to walk down the hallway.
/ Notice \
Answer to User's Query – Frozen One is the term imported into every terminal's database via direct port from the mother terminal for the
mutated creatures made via the radioactive energy contained within the shards. These creatures can all vary, and there are many different types ranging from large brutelike ones, smaller ones with blade-like appendages, equally smaller ones whose skin will freeze that which they touch, and many other lesser common ones.
\End of Notice/
Oh. So the higher ups decided on a name for the monsters then.
It's a tad on the nose, but I guess it'll work.
Better than just calling them monsters or creatures I guess. Or infected. Although it does make me wonder just what I am considered to be. An
infected human? A human-frozen one hybrid? A frozen one?
If I had to guess, it'd probably be something closer to the lines of a frozen one whose intelligence is untampered with. Since the definition only says that frozen one is a term for those mutated by the energy. And I was in
fact mutated by the energy.
Philosophical thoughts about what I am aside though, I wish I had a
map of this floor. Because it's starting to feel more like a maze than a military base.
The hallway keeps splitting off at intersections every couple of minutes of walking. And each of the intersections seems to have some sort of frozen one at it, with the most common ones being the wolves. Likely because this was also the floor where the military dogs were kept.
And I get the feeling most of those dogs are either dead or frozen ones now.
Which makes me wince as the image of a certain dog comes to mind. But I shake my head to clear that thought right before I hear the sound of a loud howl. One much louder than the other wolves ever made.
I quickly turn my head to look down the intersection of hallways, just to grimace as the wall explodes into the hallways and a wolf nearly twice
the size of the ones I've seen so far bursts out of it with a wendigo in its mouth. Meanwhile the ceiling around it and even over to where I am begins to shake a little from the damages.
Oh come on. What the-
/ Notice \
Exterior energy source above threshold located.
Energy source identified as a Frozen One with an energy level of 1.52.
\End of Notice/
-hell? Does every floor just have to have a really freaking large frozen one that is for some reason a lot stronger than the others?
My grimace deepens as what looks like a pack of wolves follows it out of the collapsed wall while fighting with a bunch of other wendigos.
Well, at least the monsters fight each other.
And with that thought in mind, I bolt it down the hallway on the opposite side of the intersection from them.
Chapter 32
Emergency Announcement
Alexander North
Fortunately for me, none of the fighting frozen ones seem to notice my exit. That or they're just too busy to do anything about it. Because I doubt I'd be able to fight that many. And especially not with one of that size, and with almost the same energy level as myself.
I let out a sigh of relief after making sure that I'm good.
Let's just hope there aren't any more of tho-
My thoughts cut off as the sound of a door slowly squeaking open
enters my ears from further down the hall, and when I jerk my head to look in the direction of the noise, I find a couple of soldiers and three civilians walking out of one of the rooms.
Huh. So there are survivors on this floor.
They freeze the moment they see me before seemingly looking over the damages to my armor and then glancing at the insignia on my shoulder displaying my rank of second lieutenant. The soldiers then immediately salute me and quietly exclaim, "Sir!"
I don't say anything for a second, just focusing my gaze on their own insignias, one of which is that of a private whereas the other is a sergeant.
A private? Don't really see very many of those on this planet, and especially not at this base.
Generally, the new recruits of the military tend to request being sent to the front lines of battlefields so that they can get promoted more quickly. Which also leads to a lot of deaths, sadly enough.
"At ease," I tell them before glancing at the civilians behind them and asking, "state your names and positions."
The civilians all look nervous, but each of them answers one by one.
"Jacob Hardlight, from IT." A thin man wearing a ball cap with a random company logo on it says, his voice cracking slightly as he speaks.
"Maria Holston, also from IT." An equally thin woman wearing a simple gray skirt with a ball cap of her own, making me wonder if that is regular wear for ITs or something, says.
"Arnold Morus, visitor." A bulky man seemingly in his forties or fifties, who looks like he could be a military soldier himself says with a frown.
I look between the three for a few seconds before narrowing my gaze on the third one and asking, "You a veteran?"
He nods his head and says, "Of ten years."
Oh? Impressive.
Anyways, I can't keep them around me. They're very likely to figure
out about-
My thoughts are suddenly interrupted as a loud blaring sound echoes
in my ear followed by an emergency announcement that appears in red text from my terminal – and judging by the other two soldiers' reactions, it's not just happening to me.
I raise my hand for the sake of the civilians before pointing to my ear and then reading the emergency announcement given to me directly by the mother terminal.
/ Emergency Announcement \
This is an announcement to every soldier of the Terran Empire. The apocalypse we are currently undergoing has been caused by the
Arctic Empire and it's been labeled as the Eternal Winter.
Due to the Arctic Empire's actions, the planet Cocytus has released its cold atmosphere in a massive wave that spread out to cover the entire universe, altering physics itself in the process to disable the use of electronic technology and guns.
But you all must be aware of this at this point.
The major threat of the Eternal Winter are the beings known as the
Frozen Ones, who are creatures who have been infected by the radiation inside of the crystals floating through the air, and the crystals themselves.
The crystals are known to target any unique sign of life that has a base amount of intelligence.
This means that each crystal will only target you once before leaving to find a new target.
The Frozen Ones vary in strength, agility, and their use of their individual power. And each frozen one has a different power, ranging
from freezing what they touch, to growing stronger through eating specific things.
Furthermore, a new type of creature has been identified as 'Frost Infused'.
These creatures are humans who through one way or another retained their intelligence after being infected.
However, not much is known about them as of yet. And the identities of the current known frost infused are confidential.
We have been able to confirm their trustworthiness, so all soldiers are ordered to treat them as they were prior to turning.
The casualty rate during this apocalyptical catastrophe has been calculated to be around 70% loss of life, so make sure that after you
retake control of your base, you take control of the cities closest to you and protect the civilians as well as you can.
This is a direct order from the General of the Military, the Council of CEOs, and the Council of Governors.
Protect the Empire. At all costs.
\End of Emergency Announcement/
My mouth drops open after reading the part about the frost infused – which obviously includes me – and how they mentioned it as if there were more than one case of it. Meaning there might be others like me.
Although judging by dad's reaction to learning my situation in the first place, I'm not so sure about that. Especially considering that they seem to be hiding some information.
After the announcement disappears, I turn my attention back to the soldiers again. Then towards the civilians.
Well, I guess the soldiers should know about what I am now. But the civilians probably still won't accept me.
I purse my lips in thought for a second before eventually focusing on the soldiers and asking, "Where are you currently heading?"
The sergeant snaps out of the stupor he was in due to the announcement before standing at attention and answering, "We were heading towards the stairwell, second lieutenant, sir!"
I thought so.
"Bad plan," I tell him while glancing at the private, who seems scared to death of both our surroundings and possibly even me due to my status as a superior officer by several ranks, "the entrance to BF1 is currently blocked by rubble, and the bunker down below is blocked as well, making the only way out from here the executive stairwell on this floor. Which is where I'm going."
My statement shocks the two soldiers and seems to frighten the two IT civilians as well, with the veteran being the only one taking it well.
Chapter 33
Royals
Alexander North
I glance down the two sides of the hallway for frozen ones while they're shocked silent before turning to the veteran as he asks, "Do you know where the executive stairwell is for this floor, Second Lieutenant North?"
My eyes widen slightly at his direct use of my last name, only to relax again as I remember that my crest is a rather well known one. Or at least part of it is. The part that marks me as a member of the North Archduchy Household.
"Yes, I do," I answer him while glancing at the sergeant and private, who are once again with us. The civilians not so much though. "The executive staircase is in the symbiont storage unit."
Although where exactly that is in this maze of a floor is a bit of a mystery to me. All I know is that it's somewhere on the opposite side of the floor from the staircase, near the rightmost edge.
And that it's not close to here, considering that we're on the leftmost edge of the floor.
"Excuse me, your nobleness sir," the private suddenly says, making my eyes raise as far as they possibly can with his horribly jumbled greeting. "How did we get that emergency announcement when we can't use our terminals to make calls right now?"
Huh? I don't know what to comment on first. The way he botched the noble greeting, the fact that he used it in the first place when it's not a regular thing in the military, or the fact that he's asking me stuff he should've learned in basic training.
"This should've been covered in basic training," I scold him before answering his question anyways since this is still a crisis situation, "but it's because the emergency announcement uses a one-sided direct port to the mother terminal implanted in the royal emperor, whereas our usual
connections use indirect connections, which connect us through the use of terminal towers."
"Direct... port?" the private asks, sounding nervous and making me question who did their basic training and whether they should be fired or not.
I let out a sigh while glancing at the sergeant, just to see him shrug as I continue, "A direct port is where there is no intermediary between the two terminals. One terminal sends the signals directly to the other. But a direct port has to be connected manually through surgery, with the exception of the direct port to the mother terminal which comes with every terminal."
The private nods his head and mutters a thank you.
At least he seems like an okay kid. Although I doubt he's all that much younger than me.
Then again, it's hard to tell with a helmet on.
Anyways, I wish we could get more frequent updates from the higher ups. But the only one who can send out an emergency announcement is the emperor, and even he is only able to do it once every month or so for some reason.
The exact reason was never told to the public, or even the noble families. In fact, I don't even know if the emperor himself knows. After all, no one even knows where the mother terminal came from. Just that the founder of the Empire had it and it's been passed down the royal family ever since, with each ruling emperor or empress having it implanted in their head.
"Alright, all of you make sure that you either find a place to hide, or you trail far beh-" I begin only to be cut off abruptly by the several howls and the sound of approaching wolves' paws hitting the metal floor at a gallop. "Shit."
I turn around to face the side of the hall I came from, just to find five large wolves running down it towards us while howling their little frozen hearts out.
"Run!" I shout back at the others before rushing forward to meet the wolves. "The symbiont storage unit is somewhere at the back right side of the floor from the entrance stairwell!"
The sound of escaping footsteps echoes from behind me as I rush towards the wolves.
So much for having them trail behind me at a safe distance as I deal with the frozen ones. But I can't exactly let them stay close enough to watch me fight, and it really is safer not following me. Seeing as I'll be fighting the frozen ones head on. And not in small numbers either.
Once I reach the wolves, I jump into a roll to go directly beneath one before bringing my sword up and slicing straight through its underbelly.
It's a pity that I have to kill these things though. I really love wolves.
After dealing with the wolves with a minor sacrifice of my right vambrace, which was mauled by the creature, I absorb their energy, getting a bit of strength, agility, and energy in the process before I begin heading in the direction opposite to the entry stairwell.
But on the way, I end up running into something unexpected.
"Are you okay?" I ask while leaning down and shaking the soldier lying on the floor in the middle of one of the rooms whose door was left wide open. Their armor is pretty badly damaged, but most of the damage is kept around the arms and legs. That said, they do have some damage on their left shoulder as well, making their insignia and crest too damaged to identify.
I hear a groan from the soldier – who judging by the voice of the groan and the armor's form is a woman – before they shift a little.
Just to make sure they don't have a head injury or something, I take their helmet off. But the face that it reveals is all too familiar to me. The girl has ruby red eyes, with long black hair that falls out the moment I take her helmet off along with sharp features.
"Cynthia?" I mutter in confusion.
Since when was she at this base?
Actually, scratch that. How the hell did the princess even manage to
get stationed here without the entire base knowing?
Cynthia Inverno is the only daughter of the current emperor and is also
my cousin, seeing as my mother was actually the current emperor's sister. But since my mother married into the North family, she relinquished her status of princess and became an archduchess instead. Which her family was not happy about, and the media didn't react that well to either.
"Al... Alex?" Cynthia mutters, her eyes fluttering open in confusion while looking at my crest.
Well, shit. This complicates things.
Chapter 34
Catching Up
Alexander North
The imperial family may not have anywhere near as much power as it used to have, but it does still serve a major purpose in the Empire. Even if part of that purpose is more of a figurehead since the imperial family technically has less power than the general in most things. Outside of their control over the mother terminal that is, and their large control over the economic council seeing as they always have the largest wealth in the entire empire. For obvious reasons.
So not only would I not be very happy if Cynthia died here, considering she's my freaking cousin and we've hung out a lot since we were kids, but the entire Empire would go bonkers if she died.
Cynthia suddenly reaches out and grabs my arm before smiling slightly and saying, "I'm glad you're here."
I give her a nod while moving over to the door to close it as quietly as I can.
"How bad is it?" I ask, only for her to grimace when she tries to move. "Stop. Stay still."
She does so and quietly answers, "It's not life threatening, and I should still be okay to fight."
I raise an eyebrow at that before beginning to take off her armor to reveal her under armor beneath and the cuts and bruises all over her arms and legs after I remove the segment covering them. There are probably some bruises as well on the torso area, but I'll leave that area alone for obvious reasons.
She's right about them not being life threatening though.
"How did you end up passing out with..." I begin before trailing off as I notice the blood dripping out of her black hair. "Oh."
How did I miss that?
I glance at her face to find it flushed a little, making me realize that it's probably freezing cold here. So I quickly administer first aid with the equipment in the room, which happens to be a storage room that also has some first aid kits in it and is probably why she was here in the first place. Likely came to get the first aid kit before passing out.
After finishing wrapping up all of the visible injuries, I help her back into her armor. But for some reason her face still seems a little flushed.
Is it because of a concussion?
"Do you think you have a concussion?" I ask her, worried about how she'd be able to make it through this hellhole with an injury like that. But she just shakes her head and mutters, "I... think I'll be fine. Thank you."
I purse my lips at that before realizing it might just be because I had stripped her to her under armor.
Oops.
Guess anyone would be embarrassed by that. I didn't really think about it though since she's my cousin.
After a few seconds, she seems to return to normal and asks, "Have you contacted your dad yet?"
I nod my head and ask back, "Did you contact yours?"
She nods before glancing at the door as another howl echoes through the floor.
A few more seconds pass with the howl still echoing down the halls before I ask, "So you heard about the frost infused, right?"
She's family, so she'll likely end up finding out eventually. Better to tell her now than have to explain later when we're in a tough si-
"I know you're one," she says without even taking her eyes off of the door and instead trying to get to her feet with a grunt and some wobbling in the process. "Dad already told me."
My mouth drops open at that, but before I can say anything, she puts her hand on my head while I'm still kneeling on the floor next to where she was in order to gain her balance and push herself the rest of the way up.
"Rude..." I can't help but mutter while following her to my feet. "Guess that means dad told the emperor then."
Cynthia turns to look at me with an eyebrow raised before putting her helmet on and saying, "You know he's told you to call him uncle Rainald, right? At least a hundred times by now."
Yeah, and I'm not going to call him that. He's the emperor. Period.
"Sure," I tell her as always, making her stare at me through her helmet, likely with a brow raised in suspicion.
It's good to be joking like we used to. I haven't seen her since basic training a couple of years ago.
And if I remember correctly, we were both corporals back then. Which makes me wonder what rank she is now, but her insignia is too damaged to tell.
"So, you're a second lieutenant now?" She suddenly asks as we begin making our way towards the door. I watch her as she walks to make sure that she didn't lie about the concussion earlier, but surprisingly, she seems to be walking perfectly fine.
So I turn to face where I'm going as I answer, "Yep. You?"
Out of the corner of my eye, I catch her glancing at her destroyed insignia before facing forward again and answering, "A warrant officer."
Oh? I out rank her by a single rank then. Interesting.
Then again, I've probably seen more active combat than her. Considering the pirate fiasco a little while back.
Once we reach the door, she pauses, making me stop as well before she turns around and asks, "Can I see?"
I furrow my brows in confusion at that for a second before understanding and taking off my helmet. She then steps closer and stares – likely at my eyes. And after several more seconds, she reaches for my hand and grabs it, only to frown.
Understanding what she's looking for, I extend my claws while my hand is still on her own, making her jump slightly in surprise.
"Huh." She mutters before looking up at me and asking, "Retractable?"
I nod my head in response and she begins moving my gloveless hand around for a few seconds, only for our bare skin to touch at some point, making her skin begin to freeze over. She jerks her hand back and stares at the frozen skin.
"Yeah, probably should've warned you about that," I tell her while frowning. "Didn't think about it since you're wearing gloves."
Just that her gloves have quite the number of holes in them.
She stares at me for a second before shaking her head and turning back to the door while blowing warm air on her hands, which were thankfully only a tiny bit frozen since we barely had any contact at all. Basically just a
small bit of skin that peel away after she blows on it and rubs her hands together enough.
Which makes me wonder if I'll ever be able to control that power. Because freezing people every time I touch them with my bare skin might get a little annoying.
"Ready to head out?" she asks, making me glance at her before nodding after looking at her sword sheathed on her waist.
"Let's go," I tell her while opening the door and stepping out of the room.
Chapter 35
Symbiont Host Storage
Alexander North
After walking through the hall for a few minutes without running into any frozen ones, I finally remember to ask, "By the way, did you happen to hear people running by before you fell asleep in there?"
Cynthia turns her head to look at me but doesn't say anything until she turns to face forwards again and says, "No. And you really should've asked this earlier."
Yeah, probably. Wasn't thinking about it then though.
"Situation?" She asks after a couple of seconds as we walk.
I glance at her before raising my arms and extending my claws as I see
the outline of a brute charging through the halls ahead of us. "You good for a fight? We can talk after we deal with this."
She glances at me, then towards the direction I'm looking as the footsteps of the charging brute begin to draw closer. "Count me in."
I can't help but grin before rushing towards the intersection with my claws out and her following behind me with her sword drawn. The brute rounds the corner right when we reach it before looking at us with a crazed look in its eyes and changing the direction of its charge directly towards me. But I jump into a roll to dodge it while reaching for a knife and sending it flying at the brute's leg, piercing into it for a second and making it stumble. Cynthia then sidesteps it as it falls before bringing her own sword down on its neck and beheading the creature.
"Just like old times at basic training." I state with a nod while beginning to walk over to the frozen one in order to retrieve my knife.
Cynthia barks out a laugh at that while shaking her head and pulling her blade out of the brute's neck, just to pierce it into its skull instead as she says, "I don't remember any monsters at basic training."
"Meh," I retort back before yanking my knife out of its leg. "The minor details aren't important."
"Uh huh," she slowly drawls out as she pulls her sword back out of its head, wipes the gore off of it onto the ripped clothes of the brute, and sheathes it again. "Now what was that about people walking by?"
"Not too long before I found you, I ran into a group of two soldiers and three civilians..." I begin to explain the details of our reunion.
"Okay, I understand," she says after I finish explaining. "You told them to run away instead of to hide in one of the nearby rooms because you didn't know how your fight would turn out, since it would've trapped them in that room if say that large wolf you found earlier appeared. And now you don't know where they went."
"Yep," I answer with a nod before looking around the floor and asking, "you wouldn't happen to know the exact layout of this floor, would you?"
Surprisingly, or I guess not so surprisingly considering that her father is even more protective than my own, she answers in the affirmative, "Yes, I do."
I glance at her before nodding my head towards the hallway and saying, "Well be my guest then."
She chuckles at that while walking ahead of me and beginning to lead the way towards the storage unit.
"So," Cynthia whispers as we both kneel down low to the ground and peer around the corner at the enormous wolf standing at the end of the long hall, right next to the symbiont storage unit entrance, "I think we found your wolf."
"Hmm," I quietly hum in response. "That we have."
We both quietly stare from our place at the intersection for several seconds as the enormous wolf seemingly sleeps in peace surrounded by a few other smaller wolves. Which makes me wonder if the rest of its pack is just out for the moment, or if they died while fighting those wendigos from earlier.
However, after a while, my eyes widen in shock as a familiar head pops out of the window of the symbiont storage unit before the veteran guy gives a salute and a nod.
"And that's one of the civilians," I whisper, quite surprised that they managed to make it here themselves. And by the looks of it, before the massive wolf did.
The veteran points at the large wolf outside, then down the hall, then down at the doorknob.
"He wants one of us to lead it away before he'll unlock the door from the inside for us," Cynthia repeats the meaning of his hand motions out loud.
I frown at that before thinking of the many things that could go wrong with that plan. But the issue is that there isn't much we can do about it. After all, that door is one of the most secure doors in the entire building and even has bolt locks along with the magnetic locks. So even with the technology being unusable, that door's lock is still in effect. Meaning we can't get past the door without them unlocking it.
"Damn thing's probably camping out there because of them," I hear Cynthia mutter with a hint of frustration in her tone.
Yeah, that's likely. Wolves are supposed to have good senses of... smell...
As if responding to my line of thought, the large wolf opens its eyes before instantly turning to look directly at us with a sniff of its large nose.
"Looks like we don't have a choice," I tell her while quickly climbing to my feet and pointing towards a room. "You hide in there while I distract it and bring it away from here for a few minutes. Once the coast is clear, make a break for the door and get in. Then wait for me to return."
Cynthia begins to protest, but I push her away and begin running towards the large wolf.
"Hey furball!" I shout with a wave of my arm while stopping at another intersection between us and the wolf that is already getting to its feet. "Catch me if you can!"
I then bolt it down a different hallway branching from the intersection right after seeing the large wolf begin its chase.
Heroics normally aren't my thing. But there really isn't another way I can think of for us to make it through to the stairwell.
So I better not die.