LIGHTNOVELONLINE Chapter 13: Into The Unknown
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===[Chapter 13: Into The Unknown]===
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>>> [YOU VENTURE INTO A WORLD UNKOWN, MANKIND IS AS BOLD AS IT IS FOOLISH. THIS IS WHY I HAVE SELECTED YOU. THERE ARE THOSE WHO WOULD'VE THOUGHT AGAINST SELECTING ONE OF YOUR OWN. IT IS IMPORTANT TO IGNORE SUCH NAYSAYERS. CONTINUE ON YOUR CHOSEN TRAIL, I WILL WATCH AND GUIDE AS THOROUGHLY AS I'M ALLOWED TO. ONE STEP INTO THE UNKNOWN AT A TIME.]
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The rainforest was nightmarishly dark.
As the ambient light from the Nexus slowly faded with distance, the shadows took their place. The jungle landscape obscured everything. Leafy trees, thick bushes, tall plants, all of it enveloped the four fugitive phantoms. The thick shroud hugged them in an embrace that provided shelter from the watchful eyes of The Nexus and its blaring sirens. Yet, it was a double-edged sword. The darkness made it impossible to see, and it only took them a few steps into the bush for the message to become clear.
Eli forced his way through a palm, his face being scratched by the sharp and wiry leaves. He had to close his eyes, holding his arms up in a struggle to break through the vegetation. Occasionally, he feared something horrible had slipped into his uniform. The sensation of a spider falling into his clothing, tickling his neck and collarbone, terrified him. Luckily, it moved on, the feeling revealing itself to be nothing more than the light touch of a leaf. But the fear that it would become real motivated him to get out of the bush and to find a opening.
Yet that opening hadn’t come. It was impossible to see farther than a few feet. Just beyond Eli’s nose and he could hardly make out the vegetation from the floor. It would have been far more disorienting had the starry night sky not occasionally poked through the fog-like canopy of the jungle, casting what little light there was to form shadows in the dim blue darkness. Occasionally, he would turn back and whisper to those behind him.
“Misfit? You still with me?” He asked. His heart skipped in fear whenever it took a moment for them to respond. But they always did. Sounding off one by one to confirm, indeed, that they were all still together. It was far too easy to get lost here.
And then there was the heat. While it had been hot ever since they arrived onto this cursed planet, only tapering off when it rained or during the cooler nights, they had all been on relatively “open” terrain. But here, surrounded by the plants, with misty rain failing to get to the dirt because of the plant cover, the heat had become unbearable. Like an oven, trapping the heat in, blocking out fresh air. They were drowning. Being choked out by the same jungle which offered them the protection of its exotic shade. And they still had to push through the most difficult terrain they could come across. Luckily, they were headed downhill towards the coast and the nearby city. But even the basic downhill trek came with its own unique challenges. Like, ensuring one didn’t accidentally fall off a cliff into a deep void of brambles and rocks below. Of which, there were plenty. Or tripping over a root. Or stumbling on a boulder. Or getting an ankle caught in a narrow stream. And everything else that came with the rough terrain. The only relief being the small circles of light generated from their flashlights, which they kept turned off for fear of detection by the Coalition until they had gotten far enough away.
Forty minutes later, Eli’s shirt was soaked in sweat. He was filthy and could feel the dirt trapped underneath his uniform scratching against his skin. Slipping down steep declines, wading through the vegetation, and climbing over hills that were impossible to go around. His only sense of direction being the flashlight and the map of his monitor.
“This jungle has gotta open up man,” Dutch said, his voice husky as panted through strained breathing as Misfit attempted to clamber over yet another rocky hill, “It’s gotta be this hill. I think I can see a clearing up there. Can you?”
“I don’t know. Maybe?” Omar muttered to him. He was on all fours, leading the pack as he paved the way up hill first. He was the fastest of them all, and the smallest too. It was good to keep him up front where he could set a reasonable pace, and where the others could keep a better eye on him. But in spite of his advantages, he struggled even worse than all the others. His inexperienced hands slipped causing his body to collapse to the floor, banging himself against rocks, and sometimes requiring assistance from whomever was closest to right himself. By the time Eli shone his flashlight on him to check if he was injured, his dark blue and orange prisoner’s uniform had been completely caked in a layer of mud and grime. Eli’s uniform couldn’t be too far off, “I think so. Yeah, it’s opening up. I can see the sky!”
“Sweet baby Jesus, those are the best words I’ve heard since we’ve came to this hellhole!” Dutch nearly shouted over his struggle.
Omar grabbed a stone ledge and pulled himself up and over. He turned around and offered a hand to Eli, who grabbed on to assist him in getting over. After they helped Dutch and Matteo get onto the stone ledge, they were indeed in the midst of an opening. Standing at the height of the hill, they could clearly see dim lights from the Nexus at least a half-mile uphill from where they came. They would’ve been impossible to spot now, at least by any ordinary means. The brief moment of respite gave the exhausted men a time to breathe. And they wasted no time in taking a seat on the hard stone surface to catch themselves and enjoy a faint downpour of cooler air into the opening.
It was the first time that Eli was able to observe the truly alien world in which they had been transported. There were plants in colors that were unfamiliar, if not, downright impossible on Earth. Pink leaves, glowing stems, smells and sounds that weren’t native back home on their familiar blue rock. Nocturnal animals stalked around them, but kept to themselves thankfully. It provided the Earthbound men a chance to simply observe them. Unfamiliar animals, glowing red birds, two-legged mice, small flying reptiles like miniature dragons. It all lived within the cover of the rainforest. Eli was nothing but fascinated by it all.
He turned back to his squad, “Are you guys seeing this?”
“Yeah. It’s beautiful,” Dutch said, as he inspected the wildlife around them. Unfamiliar calls from beasts that lurked within the rainforest. Distant chirps, growls, and beastlike vocalizations from the depths. Luckily for them, they were armed with guns.
“Alien life out here could have got them,” Matteo cautioned, though he too was captivated by the alien landscape, “We should remain cautious.”
“How are they holding up anyway, Eli?” asked Omar.
He checked his wrist monitor as he walked, he had been following the map on his monitor to get to the location of Rafael, Badger, and Cato. But it had been a while since he checked on their vital signs. When he flipped to that page, it displayed a worrying sight.
Cato’s condition had worsened. Now the Vital Signs monitor displayed him at Critical. Rafael’s status was also injured. While Badger remained at risk – though not under immediate threat, “They’re not doing so good,” Eli admitted, “We have to get there soon.”
“That we will,” Dutch assured him.
“We’ll try…” Matteo grumbled.
Eli glanced at Matteo, obviously noticing a certain inflection in his voice that carried with it a layer of doubt. Regret even. It wasn’t hard to guess why. Thrust out, into the unknown. Far, far, away from anything they were even remotely familiar with. Far from Earth, far from the Nexus, far from the even the Coalition. They may have no longer carried with them the chains of slavery, but at least the Coalition offered a sense of familiarity in this alien realm. And in a twisted sense, they were safer inside of the Nexus as prisoners than out here, free.
All of it was so foreign to them, but of course that only proved Kovic hadn’t lied after all. They truly were in a whole new world. Separated away from Earth and everything they knew by the portal. It was a chilling thought to come to, but Eli knew thinking like that would get him nowhere. He had to make sure that Misfit would survive. He wouldn’t be out here doing this if he didn’t think they didn’t have a chance together.
Walking further through the brushing palms and the thick vegetation of the forest, they heard something rumble faintly in the far distance. Like thunder. Eli figured that it was supposed to rain heavily around now, yet there was something off about how it sounded. It wasn’t natural at all.
“Gunfire,” Dutch whispered as he listened to the faint blasts which were somewhere to the east. Out of view for now.
“Coalition’s still fighting out here?” Eli asked.
“It's a counterattack,” Matteo grumbled, “Overwatch has had regulars out on the offensive around here for about a month before we arrived. They were invading a city nearby, at least until the behemoths fought back. Now that the Nexus is safe, they’re launching their counter.”
“Then regulars might be lurking around nearby,” Eli muttered to himself.
Almost as if responding to Eli’s words, the relative tranquility of the jungle was once again disturbed by a faint brushing sound that grew louder. A rush, like the sound of a massive engine, advancing rapidly towards them. Misfit stopped in their tracks as they listened to the noise which only continued to grow. Increasing in strength until they could make out that it was the whirring blades of a helicopter which chopped through the skies.
“Helicopters! Get down! Get down!” Dutch warned, “Get the hell down!”
Eli, without hesitation, dropped to the floor. Keeping an eye on the gaps through the canopy to watch the dark skies above for anything. Misfit shuffled into cover in the darkness. Waiting, as the helicopters flew straight overhead.
The whir of chopper blades grew to deafening levels, like the roar of a beast approaching. In Eli's mind the image of a behemoth materialized, it's foghorn warning call managed to send chills down his spine even now. Moments later and the searchlights became visible, rays of heavenly bright light pierced through the canopy and revealed everything hidden on the forest floor. The light was blinding as it passed overhead, like seeing a UFO cut across the sky. Eli could feel his heart freeze as he felt the bright orbs of light and rush of engines speed through the skies, and over him. The intensity of the lights were enough for him to feel like a gnat underneath a heatlamp. For a moment, he feared that they had been spotted…
But the heat dissipated, and the whir of chopper blades dwindled. The twin helicopters continued their course towards the gunfire, down by the city.
“Oh Madonne,” He could hear Matteo breathlessly whisper when the lights vanished from view, and the engines dimmed in tone.
Looking at him, the man was shaking. Badly. It was almost as if he had been electrocuted. His hands were covering his face. Almost completely paralyzed with fear, “Hey, Matteo. You alright?” Eli asked as he stood up and went over to Matteo. The man did not respond.
“Is he alright?” Omar asked.
“I’m not sure, hey, Matteo. We have to move! Come on!” Eli put a hand on the man’s shoulder. It seemed to snap him out of whatever trance he was in, but he took a few breaths in to calm himself.
Eli reached out his hand, pulling Matteo up to his feet, “I’m sorry, just bad memories… thank you.”
Matteo dusted himself off, picked up his gun, and kept moving. But as Eli watched him move on, he noted how pale Matteo looked, and how far his eyes stared into the darkness ahead.
“You think they’re looking for us?” Dutch asked, emerging from his cover behind a cluster of palms.
“I don’t think so, they’re going to where the shooting is.”
“Then what about the lights? They had their spotlights on. They’re looking for something on the ground.”
“Something," Eli told Dutch, "But I doubt it's us."
He squinted as he watched the searchlights dwindle into the night. Uneasy with the thought that something else lurked in here, something more of a threat to Overwatch than Misfit.
It was bad enough that they had to be out here. And now they knew for a fact that they were not alone in this jungle.
They walked for what must’ve been an hour. Eli checked his monitor again, noting that they were indeed getting closer but there was another half hour march ahead of them. It felt as if they had walked miles, but they were moving slowly. Unfortunately, the map did not provide anything related to distance. It was all approximations, guesstimates. If Eli remembered from his admittedly rushed and blurry navigational training before the war, Coalition monitors operated off of radio tracking. Since the Space Wars destroyed most GPS satellites, military and civillian alike, everyone was forced to adapt. He was taught that navigational devices in use almost always used radio signals instead of sattellite - as what few satellites there were couldn't always be reliable. It would explain the massive radio mast ontop of the command center, making it useful for more than just communication but basic navigation too.
All that mattered was that they were getting closer. Though Cato’s condition was worsening rapidly.
Yet as they marched through the forest, they happened upon a clearing. A dirt road which paved a trail across the vegetation like a barrier parting dark walls of living jungle. Obviously, the Coalition did not make it given their limited time, yet there were signs of recent activity. Namely, tracks which could’ve only been made by tank treads.
Eli’s eyes followed the tracks as they plowed through the dirt road before cutting abruptly into the forest. Downed trees and crushed vegetation revealed a path of destruction that the tank had taken. Eli looked over to the others, “Tank treads?” He asked.
“Wanna take a look?” Dutch cast a beam of light towards the flattened path made by the tank, “I don’t hear an engine. Could be far.”
“It could be,” Eli doubted. His hands caressed the smooth alloy of his rifle, staring at it.
“It’s a walkable path at least. Beats pushing through brambles," Dutch said.
“After you,” Matteo gestured towards the path…
The light from Dutch's flashlight illuminated the trail that the tank had slashed through. The cut was rough, not necessarily just sloppy, but quite literally the path zig-zagged through the jungle terrain. Tank treads had crushed everything in its way, from small boulders to logs and even tough looking trees. It all made Eli doubt that the trail was intentionally cleared, but rather made by a tank crew that had panicked. Trying to get somewhere fast. Or, more accurately, trying to get away. But from what, and where was –
“I can see a light,” Omar pointed out a faint glow from between the trees. Their eyes snapped towards where his slender fingers pointed. Tucked behind the wooden bark and bushy leaves, illuminating the darkness around it with a faint aura, an orange light flickered only a few yards away.
As they approached nearer to the orange light, they could hear the sound of crackling, smell the scent of burning chemicals, and feel the heat. Their eyes were captivated by the inferno as they drew near. Localized entirely in one spot. As Eli walked, his eyes locked onto its flaming husk who's bright fireball seemed almost blinding in contrast to the black forest surrounding it.
They found the tank. A once mighty machine, reduced to a blazing corpse. Eli recognized the metal hull from his days in the army. State-of-the-art equipment, reduced to a burning and charred corpse. The body leaked fluids which poisoned the ground around it. The hull of the vehicle had been damaged by marks which were incomprehensible, and plenty of the exterior bits had been torn off. Hanging limply off the chassis or scattered on the ground around it.
And then, there were the real bodies. A few of the crewmen, regulars, lay dead around the tank. As Misfit walked past, silently, they observed the markings. Chills swept into Eli’s body and mind as he looked the bodies over. Torn clothes, deep wounds, slashes, bite marks. In fact, the very dirt around them had been disturbed by what looked like claw imprints. A lot of them. Dozens or more.
Eli only walked past the destruction silently, and Misfit followed close behind. Not wishing to spare a second longer near the scene than was necessary. It was a haunting feeling, not one of abject terror in the same way they had all felt looking up at the behemoths or the dragons, or caught in the clouds of toxic fumes that melted the lungs and sentenced those unfortunate enough to inhale them a slow and horrifying death. But instead, it was a lingering sense of unease.
Something was out here. It only confirmed their suspicions that the helicopters – indeed – were not searching for the rogue prisoners.
Eli swallowed hard as he watched the flames. Did he, as Misfit’s squad leader, unwittingly lead them out of the frying pan – right into the fire?
Something far worse than the Coalition was out here. Whether it was the same force that sent the behemoths and dragons, who knew? And really, who cared? They were out here alone with only their wits and gut instinct to keep them alive. Was it really worth it to save the lives of their squadmates who seemed hellbent on dying anyway?
Matteo would’ve been right after all.
They couldn’t peel their eyes away. There were faces in the shadows. A feeling of unease in a place already so terrifying. They could see monsters lurking, crawling towards them, hands reaching out to grab ahold of them and drag them to their deaths.
Eli’s eyes were entranced by the fire like a moth to the flame. But unlike the moth, who cluelessly thought the flame was a torch of safe port, Eli knew exactly what this was. It was a warning of worse to come. A nightmare hidden behind view. There was only one question that remained, looking into the fire that consumed the tank and the blood pooling around the bodies of the crewmen strewn about it.
Had the nightmare spotted them?
A question so potent in consequence that not one of them dared to utter another word, and only walked past with a new horror chipping away at their psyche. Eli’s skin felt hollow and his throat dry. The first person he saw was Dutch, who’s skin was pale and eyes dark.
They would’ve been safer within the walls of the Nexus after all. But all hopes for turning back were dashed the moment something moved within the bushes.
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