The harsh red glow of the spectra-pad illuminated everyone's periphery outside the 150-meter range. A message popped up on their spectra-pad; [Outside authorized area. Return immediately. -43m]
Vlad turned to Adele.
"Did they reduce the test area because of the red vulturov?"
"Most likely let's head back-"
Adele was cut off by a female voice over the comms. The voice relayed:
"All cadets cease your actions and return to base at once."
As soon as the message stopped everyone's spectra-pad turned red once again showing; [Emergency recall: Immediate evacuation order - all cadets return within sector walls. Multiple ravager-class mutants detected.]
Vlad's brow furrowed deeply.
"There's more than one!?"
Kel frantically scouted all directions through his rifle's scope.
"Where- there's another red vulturov!"
"Where?" Vlad asked.
"It's coming from the opposite side of the first one."
"Did two red V's get attracted by the floaters?" Vlad questioned.
Adele gave Vlad a puzzled look.
"Floaters? Why would there be floaters here at this time of the day?"
"I don't know but I found a floater nest and little floaters were coming out of it."
Kel interrupted stating:
"It's not flying to where the nest is, It's headed for the gate."
***
The sir split with a deafening shriek ripping straight from the throat of not one but two red V's. Flying in like some kind of feathered apocalypse from opposite ends of the test area. Heads snapped. Every cadet paused for a split second to take a look in the direction of the horrific sound.
But that wasn't the end of the show. The mutants on the ground who'd been acting as brain-dead as usual stopped their sloppy moves.
They were not frantic anymore - acting more accordingly, like a part of some orchestrated plan.
"What the hell is happening? Vlad grumbled, his eyes squinted. "Now even these guys are acting strange like they just gained a hundred IQ."
A sound almost as if someone were shovelling dirt got into his ears. A vibration at the sole of his feat made him flinch
Kel and Adele went from running like the ground behind them was vanishing to a complete stop - their momentum non-existent.
Adele signalled with your hands.
"Don't come here, stay back!"
From the dirt itself, a leathery, fanged monstrosity leaped from the ground, its mouth wide open, trying to take a chunk out of Kel but missing by a fraction of a second. Not before another mutant erupted from behind Kel aiming its jaws at him.
Shit terracodiles! Kel's brain screamed.
His soul nearly escaped as he twisted his head to see and saw the maw of another perfectly placed monstrosity - as if the universe was throwing him into an early grave.
A blur - Vlad recklessly slammed into Kel mid-air sending him sprawling out of the zone of death.
By this point, the first terracodile got into a duel of life and death with Adele - a last dance for either of them.
The terracodile - a near ravager-class mutant - aimed its jaws, full of strong muscles and sharp teeth at Vlad. Snapping shut on his arms - his gauntlets kept its bite at bay.
Stop digging your disgusting-smelling teeth into my arm bastard!
Vlad's bath in a tub full of pain was far from over. The terracodile using his used its weight advantage over Vlad slamming his back against the ever-so-hard ground with a sickening thwack making the air in his lungs leave. The ground around Vlad caved - a loud thud echoing in the air as a crater formed below him. The terracodile's teeth dug further into his already aching arm with the passing second.
Vlad's Spectra-Pad lit up in a color more crimson than the blood dripping from his arm.
[Warning! Major damage detected to gauntlet Structural integrity failing. Risk of limb compromise: high.]
At this rate, I'm going to be the main course of this shit face.
"Vlad, you dumbass!" Kel's voice ripped through the chaos as he scrambled for his rifle, a sprain leading to his legs failing to comply with his wish to stand.
The chances of a sprain occurring with the rad suit on were laughably small, yet it happened at the one moment it would lead to the most complications.
Oh for god's fucking sake!
***
Another scaled monstrosity, more disgusting than a pile of vomit lunged itself towards Adele before she could point her weapon at the overgrown lizard. Its claws, long and sharp enough to cut through steel like butter whistled through the air, missing her barely soft bits by a hair's length. But it wasn't done yet; it coiled to strike again, only for Adele to nearly blow a hole into its behind. The mutant dodged as if it could see the future, digging into the ground as if nothing happened.
Vlad, meanwhile, was having some very unwanted intimacy with the other terracodile. The intimacy being its jaws crushing his arm into a fine paste. Its teeth, as thick as femurs, were buried deep into his forearms. Blood thick and sluggish seeped from his left hand - each falling drop raising the amount of panic in him.
Kel fired and emptied his clip into the backside of the terracolide, but it was akin to throwing pebbles at the reinforced walls of the sector. Its thick bony scales shrugged off the barrage like a gentle massage.
It may have been a futile attempt to damage the terracodile severely, but its tough act didn't mean it was all a painless experience for the scaled lizard.
Kel's seemingly useless attempt to help made the terracodile's mind wander who knows where - creating a window for Vlad to escape.
Now or never…!
With a grunt that ripped through his clenched teeth, Vlad hauled back his leg and planted a desperate kick right into the terracodile's soft underbelly - the only vulnerable spot on the mutant. The reaction was immediate - it let out a guttural bellow, loosening its grip just enough for Vlad to yank his arms free and escape its clutches.
Finally being able to stand Kel shouted:
"Vlad, are you alright?"
"Yeah, just...kill that fucker already."
Vlad scrambled behind a large jagged hunk of rock, trying to get his bloody self out of the terracodiles line of sight.
***
Adele unleashed another blast at the scaled lizard, a vile gurgling sound ripping from its throat. Its scales shattered, succumbing to her monstrous firepower, but still escaping with its life.
Adele rushed over to Vlad.
Kel still not having recovered enough to run just yet.
"How careless are you? Adele spoke in a stern voice. "That arm looks really bad."
Adele ordered her QC:
"Damage analysis."
[Left gauntlet: total damage: 67%. Structural integrity compromised. Left forearm: multiple deep lacerations, 50% tissue damage. Significant blood loss. Immediate medical attention required. Rad suit: 13% compromised. Major damage in arms section.]
"50% tissue damage," Vlad muttered. "It's not completely unusable."
"That's not something to scoff at. Your Rad suit's pretty damaged as well."
"It's alright. My body can handle this much."
***
Agents were swarming out of gate eleven in full gear. Working to cover for the cadets to return safely inside.
"Take care of the red vulturov that's alone. Delay it and try not to engage." Kaff said.
Hax noded.
"The cadets are the priority, I'll get them to safety," Kaff said, as he sprinted towards the cadets.
"One minute and fourteen seconds till contact, eleven seconds until in range of fire," an agent spoke over the comms.
"Keep it at bay and buy time," Hax ordered, his tone direct and firm.
Getting all cadets inside and deploying the shield without having to engage in a fight is the best-case scenario.
***
The monitoring room alarms blared, and red lights flashed across the room. The screens, a crimson tide washing over the digital displays like dipped in blood.
A panicked question ripped from Airel's throat as she shouted across the room.
"What's going on!?"
"Th-there's a disaster-class mutant approaching from the Bentree forest!" An agent answered, his voice filled with terror and sheer disbelief. "It's approaching from below ground."
"What?!" Airel gasped, her face became pale.
Why is something of that calibre here now of all times? Which one of the bunch is it? Her head scrambled.
"How are cadets' situations going?"
"More than half have returned."
That means there's still a lot of them out there! Airel thought, biting her nails.
"Get me in contact with Kaff. How long until it arrives?"
"Less than twenty seconds."
Shit!
A cold sweat ran down Airel's face.
***
Kaff was helping cadets retreat outside the gate, clearing a path for them. Covering for them by painting a masterpiece of mutant gore. Every mutant daring to give chase had their entire body dissected in seconds.
"Get straight inside the gate, don't stop for anything!" Kaff ordered the cadets.
Amidst the chaos, a loud voice over the comms took his attention.
"Kaff!"
He froze in place.
"Airel?"
"Listen to me, a disaster-class from Bentree forest is heading towards here right as we speak!"
"What?"
"Cadets Lionheart, Romanov and Firouza are in its path. It might even be going after them!" Airel's voice was laced with panic.
Why is a disaster-class mutant showing up here? Kaff thought frantically trying to get to them in time.
But the distance was too much to cover with what little time he had.
Shit! I can't get there in time with all these bastards slowing me down.