Here we go.

Cover Art: Kirire

Chapter 95

"I was worried he'd take one look at our world and realise it wasn't the utopia his religion made it sound," said Jaune. The two of them watched as the boy, Aelfred, was fed by Kali. "But I guess that isn't a problem."

Aelfred was in awe of Kali, sitting with wide eyes and obeying her every command, while also weeping at the quality of the food. Real meats, steamed fresh vegetables he'd only heard of in stories, and sparkling water. The sugar content alone in the food was probably enough to have his dopamine-starved brain on the verge of collapse.

"I guess any world is going to look like heaven compared to what they've lived through," said Blake. She let her voice drop a little. "Is there a… process for someone like him? ARC Corp isn't going to come down on him because he's born from an anomaly, are they?"

It really wouldn't surprise her.

"Not as long as he's human. ARC Corp understands that there are victims from anomalies and silencing them doesn't mean killing. Usually, it's enough to explain things to them. Some choose to join us, either as employees or the BTF Taskforce, but more just want to leave in peace. We find them jobs." He took a breath. "That probably won't be the case here given he has no life experience, but being stuck on an isolated island like Menagerie will be a point in his favour."

"There aren't any cross-dimensional politics, then?"

"Not here. We do have protocols in place for if there's ever a constant connection between two worlds including governmental contact." He let that sink in. "But that's more for the sake of preventing any wars between worlds. It's diplomatic combined with trade combined with mandates of secrecy on both sides. The basic hope is that if we can bribe the other side, they'll want to keep the portal secret to benefit from it and us."

Corruption, then. You could always rely on the government to be that, so ARC Corp's plan wasn't a stretch. Then again, neither was the idea of conflict. If two worlds became adjacent, it might not be an invasion immediately, but after immigration and ideological tensions – maybe even religious as well – she could see tensions rising. Add in a few criminal elements or unscrupulous corporations on either side making quick money off abusing the other, and it could escalate to raids.

And that was before you got into the complicated mess of law and legality. Atlas liked to think it was powerful enough to have its laws apply to other kingdoms, and the others often let it to avoid drama, but governments in another world wouldn't be so keen. What happened, then, when a criminal from one side went to the other? Deportations would be much more complicated. Not to mention subterfuge and weapons technology, diseases, economic crashes and booms. It was a recipe for disaster.

"I guess we're lucky these people have been cut off from their world, then," she said.

"Definitely. It saves us a lot of work. Your mother seems to like him."

"Small, malnourished, obedient. He's ticking all her boxes for poor waif in need of a mother."

"Sienna was less thrilled."

Little wonder. Finding out an army with civilians lay beneath you and saw you as the promise of paradise was a headache and a half. On the one hand, potential new recruits. On the other, religion. While it may have been necessary to keep spirits up down there, it would only be a point of contention here. Sienna was essentially a dictator when it came to running the White Fang, and dictators throughout history tended to have poor relationships with religion. Namely because they tended to espouse the idea of absolute power belonging to someone else, and because quite often those deities were selfless and forgiving. Things the local "supreme leader" was not.

Beyond that, it would also just be complicated work. They'd struggled through getting a village for the anomalies and were now being told there might be hundreds or thousands more. Sure, they'd settle in easier, but they were also human – or human-adjacent – and this was Menagerie. They could ship them off to the kingdoms, but then it might draw attention to the White Fang. The whole thing was a mess.

Ultimately, Jaune had convinced Sienna to accept a "wait and see" approach. No one was heartless enough to suggest the idea of leaving them down there to die, and the White Fang were grateful for the return of Ilia. The poor girl was in a medical tent now, being treated fir a variety of problems. Aelfred had been born and grown up in the dark and mould and had adapted to it. Ilia had not, and she was in dire need of some vitamins and minerals. Not to mention bedrest, food, and sunlight.

"We should get going soon," Jaune said. Blake grimaced. "I know. I know. But those people need us. Do you really want to make them wait?"

Yes.

No.

Blake sighed. "Mother. Jaune and I need to go. Can you look after Aelfred while we—"

"But Miss Angel!" cried the boy, his mouth full of breakfast. "I promised Lady Angela I would return!"

"You will stay." Blake meant it as a factual statement, but the boy took it as divine mandate, staring down at the table and lowering his head in deference. "Can you read or write?" He shook his head. "Then we'll have you make a palm print on some paper. Proof enough you're here, alive and well. We're not taking you down there again."

He would only be a burden.

"Your journey is done," said Jaune, a little smoother, a little more willing to play into their divine messenger nonsense if it got the job done. "You have passed your trials and ascended, and now it's time for us to return and give your fellows the same opportunity. This is your home now, Aelfred. Regain your strength here."

"Y—Yes, sir. I'll do as you command, Miss Angel."

Blake and Jaune headed out, with her shaking her head. "I hate when you play into that, you know. This delusion of theirs. I don't believe in religion in the slightest, but even I think it's disrespectful to pretend to be related to their deities."

"It's not ideal, I know, but we'll ask forgiveness once they're safe and the anomaly – or anomalies – are dead. The ends justify the means." Adam had said the same, but she supposed that was an unfair statement. Jaune justified it to save lives, while Adam used it to take them. "Let's go see if Sienna has everything we asked for ready."

Sienna did in fact come through for them. When they arrived, they were greeted with two huge packs stocked full of MRE rations, and then a smaller briefcase off to the side.

"These are Atlas MREs," she told them.

"Stolen off bodies?" asked Blake.

"Don't be so dramatic. We don't ambush military convoys to steal food. These have been ordered online or smuggled through sympathisers in Atlas – or purchased in bulk from corrupt quartermasters looking to make money. Atlas is a vast bureaucracy that constantly loses track of its own assets. We benefit from that."

"That's perfect. How many are there?"

Sienna turned to Jaune to answer, dismissing Blake entirely. "About four hundred packets all told. They're ridiculously rich in calories, however, so you could easily stretch that to feed twelve hundred people a single meal. We could have provided more, but these bags are fit to burst, and I refuse to send anyone else down there."

"That's fair – and thank you for getting these. And the rest?"

Sienna nodded to the smaller briefcase. It was reinforced with metal. "Remote charges. The dust is stored separate so there's no risk of any accidents down there. You can plant them, insert the dust, turn them on and they're good to go. We weren't able to find laser trip wires or landmines. Atlas doesn't like using them due to the risk of civilians or animals blundering into them."

Landmines weren't entirely out of favour, but the truth was they were only used in areas Atlas wanted to keep safe from Grimm, and even then, only by abandoning those areas. Given the Grimm numbers as well, it was seen as uneconomical to try and beat them with mines. From what she'd heard, they were kept in very strategic locations and manufactured in small numbers. Little wonder Sienna had struggled to find them, but it was a shame.

Setting mines up on every route but the one out, then escorting the civilians that way would have made this easy. Even if the monster didn't set a mine off, it'd be kept away from the exodus.

"Where's the boy?" asked Sienna.

"He's staying with Blake's parents. Is that a problem?"

Sienna shrugged. "Saves me the trouble dealing with him. I'll have my people gather sleeping bags and towels as best they can, but I sincerely doubt we're going to find housing for this many people. The season isn't too harsh, however. We can keep the old and sick indoors, give tents to the young, and the rest will have to sleep outside. We can set up bonfires for warmth."

"How about food?"

"Much easier. Kuo Kuana's stockpiles are healthy. Feeding them won't be a problem. Medicine for the sick, on the other hand? More so. We don't have enough vaccines to cover against common illnesses. Our hospitals keep a stock, but it's not like our population regularly jumps up several hundred people in a day. Again, we can give to those most at risk, but the healthier ones will have to chance it until more can be purchased and shipped from Mistral."

A lot of work, then.

Thankfully, not all of it theirs.

"We'll leave you to handle to particulars, Miss Khan." Jaune was all smiles. "We shall handle the creature itself."

/-/

The journey back down was as nerve wracking as it was uneventful. Their markings still remained, as did the string, as did the people down below who, after confirming it was them, welcomed them back with relief and cheer.

Sister Angela was wracked with joy when she heard how Aelfred would be staying in "heaven" and was being spoilt with food and a soft bed. She had been nervous at first but seeing his handprint in ink atop a bag of food proved he had made it to the surface safely, and she left to take the good news to her flock.

"To check something," said Jaune, addressing the Brigadier-general. "How much time would you say it's been since we were gone?"

"Time is difficult to measure down here as you know. One day? Two. I haven't taken enough naps for it to have been three. Why?"

"I just wanted to see if our time runs on different paths. It seems it doesn't. We've been gone one day, which about fits with what you said." Jaune looked relieved by that. "Has the creature made an appearance since we've been gone?"

Their good mood evaporated with the quiet nod.

"Two dead since then. One was taken on a scouting trip to find food, and the second was lured out of formation at the front entranceway and stolen into the dark. My people wanted to give chase, but they have their orders. If they had wandered into a trap, that thing would have had a clear route to all the civilians."

It was still active, then. It just avoided them. Or missed them. Intentional or accidental? Blake hoped it was the first, because that implied it was too afraid of them to act. But it hasn't seen us fight. Unless it can sense my aura, it shouldn't know.

Which made it much more likely they'd just gotten lucky.

"We've brought with us explosives," Jaune said, laying the briefcase out before them. "Our plan is to seal the ladder leading down to the lower tunnel – and however many levels there are. Do you know?"

"No. The levels seem to go on forever – far more of them than I expect were originally constructed."

"We thought as much." It was a given by now the bunker itself was anomalous. "I'm not sure blowing up the tunnel will keep it sealed forever. The bunker might clear it. But it'll buy us time to start your people moving. There are only a couple of floors you need to traverse."

"Each floor will take hours. You realise that? It's a single ladder, and we have almost a thousand people to shift, many of whom are sick or infirm. Getting them up a ladder one at a time won't be as simple as you make it sound."

"How much time?"

"Let's assume we have one thousand people here and it takes sixty seconds to get someone up a ladder. That's not entirely accurate because some can scale it in half that time, but we'll have others who can't. Not to mention the crowding in the tunnels making things even worse. But even assuming sixty seconds each and one thousand people, that'll equate to over sixteen hours per ladder."

Sixteen hours!? Blake wanted to call that bullshit, but she wasn't sure she could. These people were starving and frail, having survived for goodness knew how long on scraps and watered-down food. The estimate was probably conservative, because there were people who would need to be carried up those ladders, and that'd make it even worse.

"A day per ladder, practically." Jaune sighed. "This is insane."

"There is another approach," said the Brigadier-General. "If you'll consider it."

"Go on."

"Use those explosives not to seal off the bottom levels but to break holes to the ones above, then we can make ramps from the rubble. It'll be dangerous, but if we can march people up a slope rather than climb a ladder, we could cover the distance in a fraction of the time. Those too ill to move could be carried or even wheeled. The line could keep moving as well, saving time on everyone getting bunched up around the ladders."

A constant procession. It sounded a lot better, and Jaune agreed after a brief glance at her.

"We'll do that, then. We don't have a lot of time to remove rubble and build these ramps, though. Would you be able to donate men to us to build after we destroy the floors?"

"Aye. I can do that. Give me one hour. I'll have volunteers and also guards picked, and I'll make sure each of them has a full ration." He nodded to their carrying packs. "The rest will be shared out among the people. Give them some strength before the long march. Once you blow a hole, a portion of my men will stay to pile up rubble as best they can to form a ramp. They should be relatively safe. The creature doesn't often attack larger groups."

"Get on that, then," Jaune said. "Meanwhile, Blake and I will check our cameras and do a little scouting. Are you able to tell me where your people were attacked?"

"I'm afraid not. We only know they didn't return. The one taken from the front tunnels was obviously taken near there, however. You're welcome to begin your search at that point but we already looked for tracks. There are bloodstains, but they quickly vanish."

"We'll investigate. Please have your people ready and fed within the hour."

/-/

Blake couldn't help but think that their black suits and gloves made them fit the aesthetic of crime scene investigation, and they probably looked rather cool with her standing cross armed as Jaune knelt by a dried puddle of blood. He trailed his finger over it, collecting flakes of reddened dust on his glove, then rubbed it between his finger and thumb.

"It's dried, but it's definitely blood and not some liquid from the creature."

"Bladed weapon, then," she commented.

"Yes. Whatever took him, it dealt a wound as it did – there's some spray here, so it must have hit with a lot of force. I'm thinking a puncture wound. It could be a slash, but most animals go for the neck and this man was said to have screamed."

"No body parts left behind either." He nodded to her point. "You're thinking he was stabbed and dragged back transfixed? Like a hook or a claw. Long talons."

"Yes and yes, but don't make too many assumptions. It could have been a tail, a tongue, a retractable mandible. Or some impossible facet of anatomy by our standards, or just some bizarre attack we can't understand." Blake conceded the point; they were dealing with the anomalous here. "Either way, it struck hard and fast and punctured his body with enough force that he couldn't pull away and escape. Ambush predator."

"Not quite." Blake shook her head, and Jaune looked surprised. "Ambush predators attack their prey and kill them then and there. They know to silence their prey, usually by going for the throat. This thing could have done that but let it scream and dragged it away. I think it was hoping the others would follow."

"Hmm. A mix of ambush and traps, then. Luring the rest out." Jaune stood, dusting his gloves on his pant leg. "We're going to be vulnerable when we're moving all these people, but as horrible as it sounds it's better to lose 10% of them if it means getting the rest out alive."

"You think it'll avoid us, then?"

"We're too confident. Animals pick the weakest pretty. I'm not sure if this is the same, but it has to know we're here."

"It might be the light. Our torches are too bright for it."

"We'll give our spares to the soldiers to spread out along the line, then." Jaune didn't sound like he thought it would help. "The real problem is that only you or I are trained to deal with this if a fight happens."

"Don't you mean only me? I'm the one with aura."

Jaune smiled faintly. "I know I rely on your aura a lot, Blake, but I was facing anomalies even after I lost mine. I'm not helpless. I just rely on you when bullets are involved. Dodging and blocking those is a little beyond me."

While she could accept that in theory, it didn't mean she wanted to test it. She'd seen Jaune fight and knew he could, but this thing had ways of piercing flesh and dragging its victims away. Her aura would be perfect against it, while he'd be at a disadvantage from the very beginning of the fight. His anomalous powers would help, but they wouldn't be a simple solution. He'd need to survive against it.

And they still didn't know what it even looked like.

"Our cameras saw nothing and none of them have been disturbed," said Jaune. "This thing is sneaky – or we're unlucky. I guess it's only been one night, so it's hard to draw conclusions. Small sample size and all."

"We had them watching the ladders, Jaune. Does this thing move through the walls or something!?"

"Maybe. It could be working with or part of the bunker itself. Maybe we're wrong about this being two different anomalies. Or it could be mutual parasitism. Or a symbiotic relationship. Maybe the bunker creates openings for it, or maybe it can pass through them."

"Like a ghost?"

"I was thinking more a cross-dimensional horror myself. The people here are from another dimension, so why not have this thing be from a third? Maybe it's crossing in and out, and it doesn't even exist inside this bunker until it starts to hunt. Then it, or maybe just one version of it out of an entire species, crosses through dimensions and ends up inside here close enough to prey to hunt it, then it crosses back out with the victim taken with it."

"Thanks for the nightmares."

He laughed. "Sorry. Point is, we still have no idea what we're dealing with. That's part of the reason I just want to get the people out. It'll slowly starve to death if they escape, or it'll attack the convoy and reveal itself to us. One way or another, we'll push it into a corner."

"At a cost of human lives."

"I'm afraid so." Jaune's smile fell. "Ultimately, we're on a time limit. We can't leave Ruby to hold Vale on her own when she isn't even an official employee, and every day we waste, more people get taken like the ones last night. I'm not advocating throwing lives away, but I do think it's best we fix this problem sooner rather than later."

Because people would die either way. Sometimes there were just no good options.

It was something the people here seemed to realise, because no one questioned their plan, even those experienced enough to know the risks. Between a chance at freedom and a slow, stagnating death, not a single soul spoke out against it.

"We have your teams ready," said the Brigadier-General. "They are – or were – experienced sappers, and they're prepared to level out and construct ramps as best they can. Each will have a squad of five to defend them. Each of them is prepared to give their lives if necessary.

/-/

"Clear!"

The ground and walls shook as the explosives went off. The people here didn't understand dust and the technology was beyond them, but they could follow simple instructions just fine and knew to get away before it went off. Maybe Atlas made the explosives simple, or maybe these soldiers recognised universal military principals in their design. Blake wasn't sure.

What she was sure of was her relief at seeing rock and concrete crumple down in the tunnel and not flesh, guts, or something stupid like biscuit. You never knew with anomalies, and she'd been half expecting to find out that the walls and floor were alive.

A big hole about ten feet by six wide had been blown in the ceiling, with some small damage to the walls. The rubble had fallen in a huge pile at the bottom, not really shaped like a ramp but more of a mound.

"We can make something of this," said one of the men sent with them. "We'll need to shore it up with supplies from elsewhere, and it won't be as solid as a road, but it'll be much faster than climbing a ladder."

"We'll take what we can get—"

A shrill scream pierced through the tunnels. Blake and Jaune froze, but the soldiers and sappers, more used to it, huddled together and pointed their weapons in every direction. "It hunts!" one said. "Cover every angle! Hold position!"

It came from down the tunnel to the west, but also a floor lower.

"Blake," Jaune whispered. "Are you confident?"

"Yes."

"Then go."

She didn't need telling twice. Springing forwards, she sprinted down the corridor and dove feet first into the hold downward, her aura at the ready and Gambol Shroud drawn. Though her eyes could see in the dark, they weren't as good as with a torch and needed some natural light to work with, so she shone her torch both ways – and just caught sight of a human paid of legs and feed being dragged along the floor, going down another level.

Being dragged.

"Not this time!" she shouted, diving after it. "I'm sick of being afraid of what lays in the dark." Blake flashed her torch right down into the creature's face. "Let's see what you look like!"

Blake wished she hadn't.

For her flashlight illuminated not a creature with a face, sharp teeth and monstrous visage, but an ocean of tiny creatures taking up the whole floor, wall and ceiling, with millions of sparkling eyes.

A creature – or a collection of creatures – that she landed in feet first.

Next Chapter: 8th April

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